Virginia State Fair 2016

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One great advantage of where we live is location.  We are on only a few hours from Washington DC,  Blue Ridge Mountains and the beach.  We are also very close to great central virginia venues including the Virginia State Fair Grounds which are just down the road.Now I love the state fair. We have had to miss it the past two years due to vacations and last year rain washed it all out except the first two days so I was determined to go this year. We set the date a month ahead to make sure I didn't miss it. We invited my nephew Greg and Jameson to join us as they have never been to a state fair before.  
It was such a fun day and we already plan to return next year.

Instant Pot Popcorn

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Found on Copy Me That

Instant Pot Popcorn
 
 
 
 
Ingredients
  • 3 Tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 2 Tablespoons of butter
  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
Steps
  • Turn on SAUTE and press Adjust to raise temp to MORE.
  • When display reads HOT, add coconut oil and butter.
  • Wait about 1 minute then pour in corn kernels.
  • Stir and make sure the fat is covering all the kernels. If not add more oil.
  • Cover (I use the IP glass Iid) and in 2 minutes or so the corn will start popping.
  • When about 2/3 of the corn has popped, turn IP off and let sit to finish popping.
  • Add salt and any seasonings of choice.

Chunky Potato Cheese Soup

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From Pressure Cooking Today
 
Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 6 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
  • 2 14 oz. cans chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3 oz. cream cheese, cut into cubes
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups half and half (can use fat free but soup will be thinner)
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 6 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
 
Directions
 
  1. Select Saute and add butter to the pressure cooker pot. When butter is melted, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1 can chicken broth, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and parsley to the onions.
  2. Put the steamer basket in the pressure cooker pot. Add the diced potatoes. Lock lid in place, select High Pressure and 4 minutes cook time and start. When timer beeps, turn off pressure cooker, wait 5 minutes, then do a quick pressure release. Carefully remove potatoes and steamer basket from the pressure cooking pot.
  3. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water. Select Simmer and add cornstarch mixture to the pot stirring constantly. Add cubed cream cheese and shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add remaining can of chicken broth, half and half, corn, crumbled bacon, and cooked potatoes, and heat through but do not bring to a boil.

Fall Decorating

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Trying to get past the fact that another summer has come to and end and we will soon be having those long, cold dark days of winter.Before we get there though we get to enjoy a Virginia fall which is my second favorite season.  I was able to decorate around the house for the first time this year and had lots of fun coming up with new ideas.  Nothing over the top.  I think just enough to acknowledge that fall has arrived. 2016-10-09-12-59-49 2016-10-09-12-58-06 2016-10-09-16-25-07  2016-10-09-16-23-55 Updated: Mom came over a few days after this post and contributed this BEAUTIFUL fall arrangement that she made using pine cones from our woods. It was the perfect addition to what we already had.  I just love it!2016-10-09-12-58-44

Little River Band with Friends

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Guy and I jumped back to our high school days by joining a few friends (from HS) to see the Little River Band perform at the Virginia State Fair this past week.We laughed because until Guy heard a few songs he couldn't remember who they were.  I mean come on, how could you be a teenager in the 70's and not know who LRB was. We blamed it on his old man memory.Considering it has been almost 40 years that they have been a band I wasn't expecting much but they were actually very good and I would go see them again. Just a few photos and video's from the evening. It was great fun and I look forward to seeing what throwback band they bring next year.  (I really hate that the bands of my youth are now known as "throw back bands").