Hello dollies,
Happy 4th of July, U.S.A. And earlier in the week, Happy Canada Day to our neighbors to the north. Linking up today with Shelly of The Queen in Between and Anne in Residence for Currently, 07.2018. We will be sharing what we’re currently baking, celebrating, loving, visiting and wearing. Here we go!
Currently, 07.2018
Baking
Does making those cinnamon rolls in the can that you crack open on the edge of the kitchen counter count as baking? If not, I am in trouble because there hasn’t been a lot of baking going on around here. Unless, unless you count my baked jalapeño poppers!! Oh, girls, these are so good. And they go so well with the 4th’s fireworks displays!! They will rock your world and your 4th of July, if you put some together today.
Found this recipe, here, on…yup, Pinterest.
[source]
Ingredients
12 jalapeño peppers
4 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (you know me, I use whatever cheese I have)
3 ounces cream cheese (low-fat or fat-free)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 large eggs (one egg, one white when I make them)
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sour cream (for dipping) (we use sweet and sour sauce)
Directions
Peppers and Filling:
1. Cut each jalapeño pepper in half lengthwise. Scrape out and discard seeds and ribs.
2. In a small bowl, combine cheddar cheese, cream cheese, garlic powder, and chili powder.*
Prepare Your Assembly Line:
3. In a small shallow bowl, lightly beat eggs until frothy. In another small shallow bowl, mix together Panko bread crumbs and salt. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange your ‘assembly line’ for easy preparation – halved jalapeños, cheese filling mixture, beaten eggs, Panko, and then your prepared pan.
Popper Assembly:
4. Fill each jalapeño pepper half with a little of the cheese mixture. Roll each pepper half in egg, and then in Panko (the Panko will stick a lot to the cheese filling, but just a little to the jalapeño itself). Place each pepper on the baking sheet.
Baking:
5. Bake at 325 degrees until tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with sour cream for dipping.
Enjoy!
Source: The Kitchen is My Playground
*I have made these about a half-dozen times. PC loves them. I mix up more of the cream cheese filling than the recipe calls for (of course, I never measure) because I really stuff each pepper full.
Celebrating
Our country’s birthday. If my brain (and computer’s calculator) serve correctly, this is America’s 232nd birthday. Oops, double-checked that math and it is the 242nd birthday. I always have trouble when you carry that 1 over to the next column. And the old gal is holding up pretty well despite what the news would have us believe. There’s no place else I’d rather live. Six years of living out of the country convinced me of that. For our Independence Day celebrations we are torn between celebrating on post at Pop Goes the Fort (Bliss) or attending festivities a little closer to home with Music Under the Stars at Cohen (baseball) stadium.
A week from today, 07.11.2018, my Prince and I will celebrate 10 years of wedding bliss. Yay for US!!
Loving – not to be confused with Running
When Anne sent out the email invitation and reminder for Currently, 07.2018, it listed baking, celebrating, running, visiting and wearing as the topics of conversation. But then she quickly sent a second email explaining that darn auto-correct, in its infinite wisdom, had ‘corrected’ loving to read running. The real prompt was loving. So loving it is.
And that’s an easy one. At the risk of sounding like a Miss America contestant, I love my husband, PC, my daughters, Brennyn and Lauren. Brennyn’s husband Mustafa (his family) and my granddaughter Cadence. Lauren’s husband (his family) and my granddaughter Lucia. My parents, my sister Valerie and her family, my brother Kevin and his family. The Clingan family. The Roberts (my maiden name) family. My friends, virtual and those I have hugged in real life. The children with whom I have had the pleasure of working. My kitties, present and past, and all of my pups, fish, turtles and rabbits.
Also loving the gals in my virtual book club. They have been so great! So active, supportive, fun. I truly started the book club on a whim and it has turned out to be a delightful activity. Join us?
Visiting
Guess what? My baby sister is coming to visit. On Monday!! And before that Lauren, Lucia and Francisco will be here over the weekend for a whirlwind trip. I need to get this house cleaned up, you guys! Started today, managing to get two bathrooms cleaned and then I pooped out. Pun intended!
Wearing
Gingham. Okay, not yet. Well, once. But I have purchased a total of 3 pieces of gingham and can’t wait to wear all of them. Not all at one time, however.
You might remember my gingham skirt shared in a recent post. Maybe I will wear it on our anniversary date! Or my gingham pants from Gap.com or my gingham OTS top from Yoins that I first saw on my pretty pal Kellyann at This Blonde’s Shopping Bag.
Hope to do a gingham post from my fashion haus very soon.
Your Turn
Tell me true, what’s going on in your world currently? What have you been baking, celebrating, loving, visiting and wearing? It’s funny, when I first see the prompts for each month, I am immediately stumped. What am I going to say for baking? What am I wearing besides the obvious…clothes! But as I begin to write my Currently post, I am inspired – if you can call what I turn out here inspired! These are fun challenges that make me think about what I am doing currently in a new light.
Off to the gym, then floating about in the pool this afternoon and grilling burgers for my Prince. Fireworks on Ft. Bliss tonight. Enjoy your day and be safe out there, my sweets!
Hugs and kisses,
Gail
Happy 4th July my friend! Sounds idyllic, splashing in the pool, burgers and fireworks! Just an ordinary day in the office here, though at least the sun has been shining nonstop for weeks! The gingham skirt looks very flirty and swishy. Look forward to your fashion haus!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Gail. I hope I get some wear out of my gingham pieces. We don’t dress up much but the skirt would be ok even for shopping or a lunch date. Glad you all have enjoyed such a sunny summer. I am afraid living somewhere that was gray and gloomy a large part of the time would depress me. Our afternoon sun can be blistering but our mornings and evenings are glorious.
Anne
Haha, sorry for that goof on the loving/running prompt – but glad it got fixed, because it was fun to read about what you’re loving 🙂 And what fun gingham finds!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Anne. I got a kick out of the goof on the prompt. My auto correct types the darnedest things! Makes me crazy. I have a granddaughter Cadence whom we call Cady. No matter how many times I have typed Cady, my phone types Katie. So frustrating. Her Cady’s mom, my daughter’s name is Brennyn. You can’t imagine the names my phone subs in for her name.
I truly enjoy these Currently posts. And I am always surprised, when I think about the prompts, how they lend themselves to all kinds of interpretation.
ShootingStarsMag
I hope you had a lovely 4th and happy early anniversary! I do love all things gingham; I really need to add a piece to my wardrobe. 🙂 I’m glad your virtual book club is going well – I used to be in one years ago and it was a lot of fun. I’d love to take part, but I don’t know that I’d have time – but I’m curious!
-lauren
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hey, come check out the virtual book club. It is absolutely no pressure…no pressure to read at a certain pace, no pressure to comment on our FB page, you can discuss the books or not!! Holler back in an email if you are interested. Our next book is going to be lighter than the first two.
Daenel T.
Thanks to Kellyann, I’m a gingham fan too. So funny how one person can influence so many. LOL
Hope you had a fun 4th!
Laura
I remember watching fireworks on Ft Bliss as a kid! We lived on Border Rd when we were there. Those jalapeno poppers look so tasty! My husband would love them! I’ll have to pin the recipe for later. I probably won’t be cooking or baking much until we are settled in the new house, but then that kitchen is just begging for lots of home cooked dinners to be made in it!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
So crazy that you watched fireworks at Ft. Bliss as a child. I had forgotten you lived here. And so did Whitney at Whitney a la Mode! Small world. Is Border Road on post? I will have to look for it. We lived on post (my ex-husband and daughters) for a short time, near Kelly Park and the commissary. My PC lived on Ft. Bliss, too, a few streets over from me and a few years later.
So anxious for you to get settled into your new house and get the move behind you. Such hard work, moving.
Laura
I had no idea Whitney lived there too!! I will have to connect with her about that! Border Rd is on post. It was where the Majors lived, sort of behind where the Lt. Colonels and Colonels lived on Sheridan Rd. It wasn’t too far from a gate either, maybe a block or 2? I was actually born at Beaumont Hospital and then we moved to Ft. Dix, NJ for a time then back to Ft. Bliss before he was stationed overseas in South Korea. I am so excited to get settled in our new home too. Our closing date is 8/16 and it can’t get here soon enough!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Would love to see some of your photos of Bliss and Whitney’s, too. How it has changed just since 1988 when I got here. My dad was stationed at Ft. Bliss in the ’40s and 40 years later, when we moved here, there was very little difference. When he came for a visit to see us, he recognized many of the buildings that had been there when he was stationed at Bliss. When we arrived, we stayed in old wooden billets on stilts that had window AC units. We shared a bathroom with other guests. Primitive!!
Anxious for you kids to get moved and settled in your new house. Exciting times
Carrie
Oh, goodness! Cute, cute gingham! I totally laughed about the cinnamon rolls. They are really delicous!
Lysha
I am with you! After a week away allergies and sinus stuff has caught up with all of us. Mine hasn’t been too bad. I love gingham, I just don’t where it that often. I love that skirt!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I found the best pair of gingham cropped pants at Gap Outlet online. I can foresee wearing them quite a bit. They are comfy but look dressier than a pair of jeans. Need to get my gingham skirt on this weekend and have my Prince take me out on the town!