Roasted Asparagus with Onion

Chop two sweet onions and spread on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Add some garlic and sprinkle with Kosher salt.

Roast in oven 20 minutes.

I was baking chicken at the time so the temp was lower than I would normally favor for roasted veggies. 400 or 425 works best.

After the onions have softened a bit (turn over with fork), add fresh asparagus (woody ends snapped off). Drizzle (or spritz) with olive oil, sprinkle salt and fresh Rosemary. Bake for another 10 minutes. When asparagus is done to desired softness (I like mine crisp), take out and garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese.

I love roasted onions so I took the opportunity to cook them along with the asparagus. You’ll have to experiment with the baking time. I was working on pulling everything together for dinner and didn’t time the veggies very precisely. Okay, I barely timed them at all so I am not responsible for your under or over cooked veggies.

Roast at your own risk.

Visit the Recipe Index (linked in side bar) for more yummy eats. This recipe was shared on SHS by Kathy of Ducakbush Blog and has become a favorite.

{I'm making it a lot right now as I'm not sure I'll be able to easily get asparagus in Japan. Still posting favorites to Choosing Joy in the hopes of leaving cookbooks behind.}

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

Check it out

My friend Debbie told me about an album she found that she thought would be great for me. I agree (but am committed to using all my Creative Memory albums first). While I was picking up stuff for PWOC today, I called Debbie and she directed me to the aisle where these babies are kept. These are made by Pebbles Inc.

You can slide your printed 4 x 6 photos right into the sleeves (No Time), or add a couple of journaling boxes (Some Time), or do what I've been doing with my digital, make a fancy 12 x 12 layout and slide it into a full page protector with the next page being plain (Creative Time). This seems to allow for digital scrapping pretties when wanted, ease of storing photos in a safe spot etc....not sure that I'd want to do this when I reach my digital photos.....as I plan to do most of that on whatever size, print it out and put them in an album....but who knows.

They ship FREE to military bases world wide....gotta love a company that puts their "military support" into discounts. ::snort:: It's standard shipping and I've been told that standard shipping to Japan can take a long time...but it IS an option.

Has anyone used these albums?

No, we didn't find winter gear...but surely Japanese children wear winter gear, boots, gloves etc for skiing etc???? I've heard from saver that the BX sells out quick and has cheap stuff that doesn't hold up. I've heard that you need to be petite to find clothes in Misawa and that there isn't much there actually....but don't you think that they'd have SOME winter gear either in local shops or at the base thrift shop? I can see stocking up for Jared, Mike and I - possibly Arielle but the boys and Stacia are young enough I would think there would be something! What do you think?

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

Photo Albums ???

I've been thinking as I transfer photos from boxes to CM safe albums (naked albums). I'm now at June 9, 1985 - the day Bre entered the world...so 23 1/2 years to go...... Hey that means I've finished 22 years. ::snort::

I want to use up all my CM albums but then I'm thinking of changing.....

Keep the naked CM albums until I run out (probably about when we switched to digital photos)

At that point I planned on switching to a hybrid/digital scrapping style. Those I can work on in Japan....BUT I got to wondering.....do you think I'll find a place to PRINT 12 x 12 digital layouts in Japan? I may go to 8 x 11....

I saw Lois' albums and she has them in page protectors and nice notebooks....certainly cheaper than buying CM albums....and easy to print at home or at any photo shop.... Of course they wouldn't all be the same then...naked albums until 1990's, a few years of highly decorated scrapbooks, more naked albums, then 8 x 11 digital albums. I don't know if I can handle that....I'm the one with 28 matching, 3 ring magnetic albums....it always must match. What is God doing? First my curriculum being 1/2 classic and 1/2 redesign and now my albums....

OK - off to search for winter wear on clearance....and work on more photos....and go through a few more closets...

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

Garage Sales

We are contemplating a garage sale. There is not a Craig's List in our city. I checked.

Should we aim for next Saturday? Just Between Friends or Just Friends something is having their big sale on Saturday. Would that make it a bad day for a garage sale? Should I put it off another week?

I'd love ANY garage sale tips you pros have. I really don't like garage sales....I don't like my private life displayed in the yard. ::Snort:: We have camping things (stove, showers, potty, etc), sports things, homeschooling kits and books, weight set, bike trailer....enough that I don't want to simply donate it all to charity - which we usually do. WHY? Because we need $ for things like the move, home repairs, bringing children over to see us. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

Peanut Butter - Honey Fudge

1 cup natural peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until the chocolate chips are melted and blended in (about 30 seconds).

Spread fudge into an 8×8 inch pan. Refrigerate until solid. Cut into 1 inch squares.

{We love fudge. The problem is that Mike like's the old-fashioned grainy kind. ::snort:: I cheat. The verdict is out on this recipe. It's good, quick....but it was sort of chewy....and tasted a LOT like honey. I didn't have a stove and did it in the microwave, but I doubt that would make a difference. I didn't measure (as typical) and so I'm going to try this again and measure. I suspect I used more than 3/4 C honey. BTW - I used raw honey, organic peanut butter with one ingredient - Peanuts, and organic chocolate chips. So BACK OFF y'all, they're sort of healthy. ::snort:: How does Heather label her recipes? "HealthIER Fudge - that's what it is. ::snort::}

I found this recipe at Heavenly Homemakers. I am making a real effort to get favorite recipes HERE because several times my favorite recipes have gone away when blogs and websites disappear.

Visit my Recipe Index for more yummy eats.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.