Snow Day

 
It snowed yesterday.  It started in the morning and continued off and on all day.  By about 3:00 there was an accumulation of about 4 inches. 

 

Lee took the tractor out and made a path to the street. 

 

He placed our recently acquired posts to show the edge of the drive, especially where it curves.  In years past, the tractor has gone off the road, and even with 4-wheel drive, it is difficult to get back on when the snow is deep.

 

 

They predicted another 4 to 8 inches overnight.  Having done one pass on the driveway, Lee felt he could stay in the house overnight. It is no fun plowing in the dark, in the snow, on the tractor without a cab.

 

 

He got up this morning and started scraping.  We don't have a snow plow, just a scraper on the back of the tractor. 
 
 

A plow would work better, but we only need one every few years and they are expensive.

The poles helped Lee stay on the curving driveway.  He went down, got the paper for me and took these pictures.  Back when we had horses, he would scrape a path for me to drive the Kawasaki Mule to the barn and then scrape the driveway while I worked in the barn.  Now I get to sit at the table and drink coffee, while he works in the cold.  It is currently 18 degrees.

 

I'm sure glad I have Lee to do these things for me.  If not, I may just wait in the house for a spring thaw.  I have a shelf of granola and other sorts of meal bars and I'm not afraid to use them.

There are days when I bet Lee wishes HE had someone to do the cold jobs.  I imagine this might be one of them.

I can't ask.  He is still working.

I am going to visit my mother in Southern California soon.  It is 7:30 AM there and 58 degrees.  It is supposed to be 70 tomorrow.  I may take shorts.  And flip flops!

Beef And Cheese Foldover

   

On my last post I mentioned liking snow days.  I'd like to amend that.  I like snow days when I still have power.  Dark, cold snow days are not as much fun.  Having something in the oven that you are taking careful pictures of so that you can blog about it in the morning, when the power goes out, is not fun.  Finding a way to finish the meal and staying warm until the power gets back on makes one feel intrepid and strong...hear me roar?...Loving the poor, power line folk for getting the job done before morning makes me feel blessed.

While I was writing that last sentence my power went out for another 8 hours.  I am completely rethinking my snow day philosophy.  I was just glad when we no longer had to schlep through the snow to feed horses.  Schlepping through the snow to WalMart to get water because the well doesn't work without power isn't fun. 

Whew!  It felt good to vent.  And here is how you make a Beef and Cheese Foldover.  It was a recipe idea using things on hand.  I suppose that's true if you keep ground beef on hand.  I don't, so off to the store.

Beef and Cheese Foldover.

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup corn
green chiles
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Top that off with some ketchup and mustard
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1 cup mixed cheeses, shredded  I used cheddar and jack.

Heat the oven to 375.

   

Brown the meat with the onions in a large skillet.  I got a handy dandy meat chopper upper for Christmas and it works better than the side of the spoon or a spatula, so run right out and get yourself one. 

   

Add the corn and the chiles.  I used half of a small can of green chiles, but a whole can would have worked. 

   

The recipe called for ketchup and A1 sauce.  I don't have A1, but I do have BBQ sauce.  And I like that better.  I filled a 1/2 measure with BBQ sauce and added some ketchup on top.  Then I put a wee bit of mustard as I didn't want this to be too sweet. Feel free to change the amounts to suit your taste.

   

Set the meat aside and start on the biscuit dough.  Add the milk to the baking mix in a medium bowl.  mix it all together.  If it is too sticky add a bit more dough, too dry a bit more milk.

   

Put some of the Bisquick on very clean counter and dump the dough on top.  Knead the dough 4 or 5 times.  Then roll it out to about 12 inches.

   

Place some parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Fold the dough in half and then again.  Gently lift it and place it on the parchment and open it out.  You folded it so it wouldn't tear while moving it.  If it tore anyway, press the tear back together.

Scrape the meat mixture in the middle of the dough and spread it out to within 2 inches of the edges.  Fold the edges over the meat leaving the middle exposed.

   

Bake for 20 minutes.  Then remove the pan and add the cheeses. I like to shred cheese over a paper towel.  It makes it easy to move and clean.  A package of shredded cheese from the store is also easy and clean!  Bake for 5 more minutes.

Or you can do like I did.  Bake for 15 minutes and then have the power go out.  Leave it in the hot, but cooling, oven for 10 more minutes and add the cheese.  Return it to the oven for 5 minutes and figure that is good enough because you can't tell how brown the crust or melty the cheese is in the light of the lantern. 

   

Take a picture in the dark and hope the flash is good enough.  Eat it and think, Not bad!