Recipe: Garlic Ranch Turkey Burgers

Here's an easy recipe to whip up that adds a little twist to the regular old burger.  Our family loves this recipe because it's quick, easy to make and full of flavor. Even Ava eats these without the bun.

Makes 4 quarter pound patties

1 pound ground turkey
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 egg
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
6-8 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste


Mix all ingredients together and shape into 4 patties.  I make these the morning I want to cook them because the mixture is loose.  Letting them chill in the refrigerator for a few hours seems to firm them up.  Cook in a nonstick skillet or a grill pan 4-5 minutes each side. 

On a side note, I don't think this recipe would work well on the grill because the burgers might fall apart.

I'd love to hear if you make this or any other recipes on the site.  I'm always looking to tweak recipes.

Book Club: Catch Up

So while I was gone book club trucked on and we read some really good books.

    The Help was a really good unexpected read for me.  I didn't know how I would feel about reading a book with some dialect in it.  To be honest, I read some reviews prior to starting it and that was one of the complaints.  I learned not to let reviews jade me.  The entire book club really liked this book.  While it is a work of fiction about women in Jackson, Mississippi during the 60's there was some history intertwined throughout the story and you grow to love the 3 women in the story.  It's a story about racism and unexpected friendships.  Several of our group commented how we thought about these women when not reading the book and we wondered what happened to them after the story was over.  That to me is a sign of a good book.  

Being an animal lover, I knew this was going to be a book I loved.  This is told in a series of flashbacks.  Jacob is an old man who is living in a nursing home. A circus sets up outside the nursing home and he starts recalling his days of working as the vet for a struggling circus during the depression.  He travels with the circus on train from city to city tending to the animals the best he can.  Some weeks the food is low, some weeks there is no pay but it's a job for him.  He meets and falls in love with Marlena the equestrian star who is married already.  Rosie the elephant is a stubborn girl who grows to love Jacob and Marlena.  Great characters and a great story.  I thought it was an easy read too.

The book club is reading this one now but I actually read it back in April when I went on a trip.  This was another one that drew me in with it's great characters.  This book is different in that it is written in a series of letters from character to character.  At first it was little difficult to follow but once you got a handle on all the characters it was fun.  It also is a good one to read if you only have short periods of time because the letters are short and it's easy to find a spot to stop.  Coming out of WWII, Juliet is trying to come up with a topic for her next book.  A man she has never met ends up writing her a letter and they hit it off.  She is drawn into his group of friends who live on the island of Guernsey.  She learns of their lives during the war and trying to deal with the Germans who occupied their island during that time.  I was expecting this book to be serious but was pleasantly surprised by how light and easy this was to read.  Good quick read for the end of summer.

Weekend Outdoors

Beautiful weather - check

Delicious apples - check

Family together - check

Memories made - check

A Mouse in the House

This little gal might have to be baby #2's first stuffed animal.  I love her little expression.  The Craggy Moor makes adorable handmade animals and each little one is unique in it's own way.  I can just see her perched on a shelf in a little kiddos room...so sweet.

Freebie From Good Gravy

So just how cute are these?  Lelan over at Good Gravy has a design style that I adore.  Clean lines, great colors and she's always coming up with free printables.  I've already printed these off and can't wait to put them in my books.  Go get yours here.  I love this gal's style so much she did the invites and thanks yous for Ava's butterfly party and I couldn't have been happier.

Let the Sewing Resume

I just finished up a sewing project for a friend (Hi Amy!) that ended up taking me waaaay longer than it should have due to the baby and the constant sickness.  The patterns are nothing new but the fabrics are super cute so I thought I would share.  12 "green" snack bags and 2 drawstring swim bags in adorable fabrics...so fun.  Ava and I both think the farm animals are our favorites.  

Ava is my little assistant now for all sewing projects.  By assistant I mean kid who spreads all the fabric that's been cut all over the table and counts the cows, piggies, bugs, etc. while making the appropriate mooing and oinking noises.  At least she's working on counting skills, right?

Up next for sewing is a doll for Ava.  I'll share as I start to make some progress.  

So sorry for being such a slacker but...

The big 2 year old!

"Moooommm, stop with the pictures would ya??"

I really do have a decent reason for my summer laziness.  Steve and I are expecting our second kiddo in February.  As with my first pregnancy, I was pretty nauseous all the time the first 3 months.  The thought of sitting at the computer was enough to send me running to the bathroom.   The sewing machine went in the closet and last night finally saw the light of day again.  Now that I'm past the first trimester, I should be getting back to normal and I know my house is especially happy of that.  Clean laundry all the time, home cooked meals, taking Ava out of the house and farther away from the couch where mommy spent too much time trying not to be sick :o) Thank goodness I'm feeling better just in time for my favorite season, FALL!! 

I decided that trying to tell you about our summer sounded daunting so instead I'm just going to start from right now and go forward.  We've got tons of things on our fall calendar already and lots of small projects in the works so I have plenty to share.  

Little Miss Ava did have her second birthday (yay!) and we went to Destin, FL recently for a little R&R.  Ava loved the beach and ocean.  She is definitely a water baby which is good because both mommy and daddy love the beach and we are already planning future beach vacations.

Thanks to all of you who stuck around during my really, really long absence!!