Almost Wordless Wednesday on The Acreage

Hostas and Azaleas (Encore 'Autumn Twist')

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Sloppy Joe's ala Jamie Oliver & Lunch Alfresco On The Deck!

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Don't worry, be happy!  This simple, positive outlook phrase guided me during my recipe search for this week's theme of "Happy Food" for the I Heart Cooking Clubs group, in which we've been cooking with Jamie Oliver.  I already had some corn-fed, Iowa beef thawed out from the freezer that we were going to just grill burgers with.  Instead I began wondering if there might be a recipe on Jamie's web-site for ground beef . . . there was ONE, lone recipe:  Sloppy Joe's!  What fun!  And so easy for a Sunday afternoon.

My husband even set the table on the back deck since the weather is so nice today.  I cannot remember the last time we had Sloppy Joe's; it's been that long.  Although they are not the healthiest sandwiches on the planet, they certainly are fun!  Even my husband said while biting into one, "I always thought Sloppy Joe's were so much fun!  In fact, I think I'm going to have another one."  Along with the traditional side dishes of baked beans and potato salad, we really had a fun and enjoyable 'alfesco' lunch.

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Our acreage is in the middle of 24 acres of woods and pastures.  

Only in the winter when the trees are bare, can you see the corner of a house about 4 acres away.

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I just read a piece of foodie trivia in Saveur's Sandwich Issue:  Sloppy Joe's were named after a 'sloppy' chef in a Sioux City, Iowa restaurant.  How appropriate that this recipe popped up on Jamie's site just in time to use up some of our Iowa beef!  Talk about serendipity!  Whenever my husband and I return to Iowa for a visit or whenever my parents come to visit us, a variety of Iowa-raised, corn-fed meats are frozen and packed on ice in a cooler to partially fill up our South Carolina freezer.  This state (SC) may have some super, awesome, juicy peaches, but it sure doesn't produce the flavorful beef that my husband and I were raised on in the Midwest.
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And now here is Jamie's recipe for this happy and fun sandwich:
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.click on "read more" beneath my signature for the recipe.

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Seasonal Saturday & Fresh, Clean, and Pure Friday

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It's another wonderful weekend!  Time to link up some of your great posts that you'd like to share with others.  I'm putting together the featured blogs right now and will continue to post them during the course of the afternoon.  As always, please remember not to link posts for giveaways, coupons or sales, or attempts to sell something.  I'd appreciate it if you'd kindly share a link and/or the button on your post so others can find this get-together.

The featured foodie blog post from last week is from the always impressive cooking extraordinare, Heather from girlichef, with her incredible, mouth-watering, decadent, always in SEASON, super FRESH out-of-the-oven Honey Buns!  Aren't these worth drooling profusely over?

There were no posts for decorating, thus nothing featured for that theme.  Therefore, a SECOND FOOD post is being featured instead.  Gwen from Simply Healthy Family shared a Healthier Fettucine Alfredo with Veggies, a dish that I love, but that doesn't love my body . . . so any help in making this lighter and healthier for us is a welcome addition!  What a GORGOUS, FRESH and SEASONAL spring entree!

For the featured garden post, Jane and Leo from Cottage at the Crossroads, with tips, advice and illustrations on how to build raised garden beds.  My husband is building our 8th raised bed at this very moment, and I can testify to how wonderful these beds are in keeping your gardens more weed-free and your back less strained when gardening!  Nothing beats FRESH and IN-SEASON veggies from the garden!

A Little Bit of Everything linked up the featured hand-made/craft post with this adorable child's needlework sweater and cap . . . it's still mighty chilly at night and in the morning during spring, so this is a great heirloom!  Even to go out on a boat at night, a child would still need something cozy like these!

And finally, the featured clean lifestyle post is from Martha at MM's Missions in which she shares with us how to get our refrigerators squeaky FRESH and CLEAN!  Although this is not a favorite task of mine, once it's done every week, it always leaves such a great feeling of organization, cleanliness.  I also have less waste when the frig is clean, don't you?


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