Gram's Gardens!

 Hello everyone!

2020 has been quite the year, hasn't it?  I hope this finds you all safe and healthy!

I wrote about my husband suggesting I garden to help my mental state with being home and not being able to be social.  I often tell him, he's a genius!  His idea truly helped me psychologically and emotionally.  

I turned most of our backyard into a garden, about 1600 foot of it anyway.  I planted my normal garden things and I planted things I'd never grown before.  I experimented with ways of gardening I hadn't employed before.  It was therapeutic for me.  

I knew there would be far more than we needed to eat for our family so I'd arranged to donate the excess.  After what we ate, what I canned/dried/froze, and what we gave to family, we were STILL able to donate 521 pounds of produce.  I had a goal of donating 200 pounds, I had no idea we could more than double that!

I've often wondered why more people didn't garden.  I mean, I know I live in the city now but you don't need 1600 sq. ft. to garden to supplement your groceries.  I find a lot of people don't know how or are unsure how to start.  Many people prefer organics, the best organics you can acquire are those you grow!  When you grow your own fruits and vegetables, you know exactly how those items were cared for. Watching it all grow from dirt and seeds to a colorful sea of fruits and veggies is truly art in motion.

I've wanted to create a community garden for quite some time.  With my husband's encouragement, I've taken the steps to get things started.  I have created a non-profit called Gram's Gardens...yes, a play on my business, Gram's Jams, that I had to close when I got cancer.  To me, the name also harkens back to my own dear, sweet Gram.  She was a cook...in the old school sense of the word.  No one went hungry around Gram and there was always something homemade lurking somewhere in that kitchen of hers! She didn't have a huge garden (that was my wonderful Uncle Luke!) but she always had fresh produce.  I'm in my 50's now and some day, I will learn to cut a cantaloupe with the finesse she had!

Gram's Gardens will start by expanding and continuing the donation garden that we did last summer.  We also own an empty lot nearby that we will be turning into a Community Garden.  There are already some fruit trees there (apple, peach, and pear) and we will be expanding that and also planting some other fruits (strawberry, blackberry, grapes, and blueberries), probably some rhubarb too (even though that's icky...LOL).  I have to move a fence and have one large...really large tree taken down to open the lot up to the sun.  We'll then have plots for members of the community to be able to grow their own mini garden if they don't have their own yard.  I am also looking at a way to allow those with disabilities or others unable to garden on the ground to be able to garden.  I see built raised beds so those in wheelchairs can roll right up to them to garden or the elderly don't have to get on the ground to do so.  I remember when my Mom was in hospice, the highlight of her day was taking her outside to the raised beds, built so a wheelchair fit under them and she could garden from her chair.  More people need to have that available to them.  Fresh air and sunshine are good for everyone!

We'll be showing people how to garden in the Community garden and eventually, I want to make deliveries to elderly and shut-ins who are unable to go to the local pantry or the Farmer's market.

Our state paperwork has been approved, we have a Board of Directors, I've enrolled in Purdue Extension course on starting a farm (I know...but that is sorta what we're doing here) and I've applied for a City program that focuses on successfully running a non-profit to be a food champion...cross your fingers that I'm chosen!  Everything isn't going to happen in a day, or even in the first season, but we're on our way!  

I'm looking forward to getting this going and giving back to my wonderful community!

Wear your mask - Wash your hands - Social Distance - Be safe!

Cleaning wipes

Hello again!

Let me start by saying that I hope you are all safe and healthy.  If you are an essential worker, you have our deepest gratitude and sincerest thanks!  Please be safe and rest when you can.

This past weekend, as I was cleaning I realized it was time to clean and restock my cleaning wipes. This made me think about sharing all of this with you.

Are you one who uses Windex wipes or Lysol wipes to help with cleaning at home?  I was for quite a while.  A little over a year ago in the midst of paying for cancer bills, I realized just how much I was spending on these wipes.  A quick internet search of Walmart shows Windex wipes are $3.08 for 28 wipes (11 cents per wipe) and Lysol wipes are $4.16 for 80 wipes (5 cents per wipe).  I know that doesn't seem like a lot but every bit adds up.  As my Gram used to say, "Mind the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves".  

As one cost saving measure, I decided to try my hand at making my own.  The things on Pinterest that used paper towels I found just didn't work.  I gave up and decided to try something on my own.  

I was at Kroger and saw a sale on Handi-wipes.  The big roll was right at $4.00 on sale, it was about 50 wipes. They're good size wipes too!

I bought a couple of SnapWare containers (again on sale) for $2 or $3 each.  I bought these because it's a waterproof container with locking sides.

NOTE:  LABEL THEM WELL!

And I used what I had on hand for the Lysol and Windex (generic this time)...and this is how I restock them too.  Even if I'd had to buy these, the Lysol is about $3.00 and the Windex (if you bought name brand) is about $3.48

Fold the wipes to fit the container, which for me is folding in thirds and then in half and put them in the containers.  I generally put about 6 at a time.  Pour on the applicable cleaner and lid them up.  Let sit until the wipes have soaked up the cleaners.

Again, MAKE SURE THEY'RE LABELLED CORRECTLY!

Now, here's the nice part.  You can wash these.  I generally will wash them once or twice depending on how they're holding up.  I have washed them three times but twice is usually the standard for them holding up.  And if I've cleaned up something icky, I'll just toss it.

These save money and the because we're using Lysol, it kills 99% of germs & virus.  Super important during this time.

What a crazy time we are in right now!

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all safe amid the COVID-19 crisis!  Please follow the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) guidelines for your safety!  More information on COVID-19 from the CDC is here

PLEASE, check on your elderly neighbors or those that are shut ins.  Don't go inside and expose anyone but call them or ask through the door, find out if they need anything...you can always get it and leave it on their porch.  We are all in this together!

Please take the social distancing seriously as well.  This will protect those with compromised systems and the elderly.  

Here are some suggestions from a Professor at Ball State University for getting through social distancing:

Practicing social distancing to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic may sound scary or impossible to do, but there are ways to appropriately handle the process.

“Social distancing can be tough on people and disrupt the social and economic fibers of our society,” Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor at Ball State said. “Given the existing crisis of isolation in societies—with probably the loneliest young generation that we have today—social distancing can also take a personal health toll on people, causing psychological problems, among many others.”

Khubchandani, a health science professor at Ball State University, has recommended 15 ways to counterbalance the effects of social distancing:

1. Maintain a routine. As much as possible, social distancing should not disrupt your sleep-wake cycle, working hours, and daily activities.
2. Make social distancing a positive by taking the time to focus on your personality and personal health, reassessing your work, training, diet patterns, physical activity levels, and health habits.
3. Carve time to cook for yourself and others in need.
4. Go for a walk or exercise at home.
5. Do not let anxiety lead you to indulge in binge eating or alcohol and drug use. Don’t oversleep, but do sleep at least 7 hours. A recent study found that more than a third of Americans sleep less than 7 hours.
6. Think forward and try to make best use of technology to finish your work, attend meetings, and engage with coworkers with the same frequency that is required during active office hours.
7. Small breaks due to social distancing are also times to reassess your skill and training- think of an online course, certification, training, personality development or new language to learn.
8. Engage in spring cleaning, clear that clutter, and donate non-junk household stuff.
9. Pay attention to you social media habits. While you can certainly become a victim of myths, misinformation, anxiety, and fear mongering, you may also inadvertently become a perpetrator, creating more trouble for communities.
10. Based on American Time Use Survey and leisure related time-spending patterns worldwide, we spend too much time on screen. Limit your screen time, but watch national news for general consumption and local news to check spread of COVID-19 in your own community, you are likely over-consuming information and taking away time from yourself and friends and family.
11. Reach out to people and offer help. Consider providing for and helping those at risk or marginalized (e.g. the elderly, disabled, and homeless; survivors of natural disasters; and those living in shelters). You will certainly find someone in the neighborhood who needs some help, this can be done from a distance, on phone, or by online activities and giving.
12. Check your list of contacts on email and phone.
13. Engage in alternative activities to keep your mind and body active such as: listening to music and singing, trying dancing or biking, yoga or meditation, taking virtual tours of museums and places of interest, sketching and painting, reading books or novels, solving puzzles or engaging in board games, trying new recipes and learning about other cultures, etc.
14. Do not isolate yourself totally (physical distancing should not become social isolation). Don’t be afraid, don’t panic, and do keep communicating with others.

Here are some links for blogs I've posted in the past concerning meals and stretching them, and a bonus one for cleaners.

Magic Chicken

Stretching the Chicken

Baking on Snow Days

Freezing

Leftovers

Homemade Cleaners

Again, please check on your neighbors...safely.  We need to work together to get through this.  Check on them...maybe call someone just to chat for a minute.  You don't know the change you could make.

We're going to eat better, dang it!

In the last couple of years, I really thought I was shopping smart.  And I was...if I'd been properly planning on how to use what I was buying.  And I wasn't.  I'm ashamed to admit, I wasted a lot.  And we ate out far too much!

At one point, I even went out and bought one of those FoodSaver machines to stop the waste.  Yes, it is wonderful for preserving food in the freezer and preventing freezer burn, but if you don't use that food, it's still not truly helping.  I mean the food isn't going bad but it still wasn't being used.  The FoodSaver is great for things besides meat.  As with Ziplocs or anything else that goes in the freezer, label and date everything!

I was off work between Christmas and New Year's and really put a lot of thought into how I was going to fix things.  I bounced a lot of ideas off of my husband.  I did a lot of Pinterest-ing.  I came to the conclusion that I really couldn't do anything until I knew what I had.  Do you dread going to dig in the upright deep freezers because you know if you touch something, it's all gonna fall out on your feet?  No?  Just me?  I put on good shoes and went in....

I just started with the big freezer because I knew the little one was where I put the "overflow" and knew it was the newest stuff.  I did not do a full clean out but I did toss some things as I came across those items that had dates I didn't like.  I did have a package of ham hocks land on my foot but the turkey breast missed me!  Ha!  I ended up tossing a couple of kitchen trash bags worth of more wasted food.  I can assure you, that is going to stop!  

I did a quick run down on what meat was in there and then made a list of some meals that I know we like, that in all honesty is what part of that meat was bought for.  I looked over the things I'd pinned on Pinterest and made a list.  

Side note, I love a good list!  Here is the list of meals I came up with:

Yes, I'm old school to a point....paper and pencil lists!  What you see crossed off is what we have used to date.  I figured out what i needed to complete the meals and went to the grocery for pretty much dairy and produce and a few canned goods.  Oh, and I made sure that I had plenty of FoodSaver bags.  

Every Sunday, I make a menu...having the food prep done will definitely help us stick to it.  Here is this weeks:

The Meatloaf isn't really a recipe, it's just something I make.  I used 2 pounds of 80/20 ground beef and 1 pound of ground pork, not sausage just pork.  With that, I add a diced onion, a little garlic, 4 slices potato bread (we use Aunt Millie's 35 calorie potato bread around here so that's what goes in this) torn into little pieces and soaked in about 1/2 cup give or take of milk, 2 eggs, about 6 strips off uncooked bacon cut into little pieces (use scissors, it's easier) and some tomato sauce, about half a can.  Of course there is salt and pepper and some paprika.  I used the other half can of tomato sauce to mix with brown sugar and salt and put on top of the meatloaf.  This made two meatloaves.  I liked the meatloaf pans with cling wrap and put half the meatloaf in each pan and put them in the freezer.  Once they were frozen, I lifted them out of the pan with the Cling wrap and then wrapped the cling wrap around it and then two layers of aluminum foil.  Back to the freezer until ready to use.  When you take the wrap off it just drops back into the pan to cook it.  Bake it for about an hour at 350 or until a thermometer is at 165 degrees.

The French Dip sandwiches are made with some shaved beef I bought at Kroger, it fries up really quickly, like a cheese steak meat.  I toast Ciabatta buns in the broiler.  I put the meat on the bread with provolone on top and back in the broiler to warm the cheese.  Make a packet of au jus and you have a meal in like 15-20 minutes.  We made french fries in the air fryer and I'd made up a batch of Coleslaw on Sunday for two meals this week.  

Gotta be honest, the Chicken Tortilla soup was bought at Sam's for a night that we needed quick...I just tossed it in the freezer so I set it out the night before and it warms up by the time you have grilled cheese made.

The Honey Garlic Chicken was shared by a friend, it's so easy.  The marinade is 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons honey, 1/2 clove minced garlic and 2 tablespoons water for every 1/2 pound of chicken.  Mix the marinade right in the Ziploc (FoodSaver bags aren't for liquid unless you freeze it first and then it won't lay flat) then put in the chicken.  Get as much air as you can out of it and seal it lay it flat in the freezer.  This allows you to stack them and it thaws quicker if it's flat.  Move from freezer to fridge the night before and bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

The taco meat I made, I added some veggies in it to add some health benefits to it.  I used the frozen mix of carrots, onions and celery...not a lot but every bit helps.  I also add black beans to it.  When I made it, I doubled the batch and divided in FoodSaver bags.  

Finally, the slow cooker cheese chicken spaghetti is an experiment.  It sounds good and I hope we like it, but it's one of those that make you go hmmmm....Here's the recipe:

16 ounces spaghetti-cooked
1 pound Velvetta Light cheese
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 4 ounce cans mild green chilies
1 cup mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup water
1 small onion diced

Combine all in a gallon Ziploc bag, seal, flatten (as you can, it's a lot in that bag) and freeze.  When ready to use, thaw for 24 hours then pour in a crock pot for 2-3 hours.  Stir before serving.

Now, I didn't use cream of soups....I made a white sauce (equal parts butter & flour and instead of milk, I used chicken broth) it's healthier.  

There is week one of the menu.  I worked about 5 hours on Sunday to put together 29 meals that should not take long to make on a week night.  

This is longer than I expected but I wanted to at least share where I started.  I'm going to be as brutally honest as I can in reclaiming our home and diet!  This whole journey of balancing working these particular full-time hours, eating decent meals, and trying to keep my house somewhat decent is going to be a process.  Let's hope this makes it not so painful!  Thank you for reading!

Changing routines!

So much has been going on around here!  Overwhelming doesn't begin to describe it.  The short version is that I have been in school to become an English Professor at the college level and am in my last semester of my Bachelor's degree.  I have decided (with my family's support) that I will continue on to pursue my Master's Degree. I was offered a job at Ivy Tech Community College.  Although it is currently part time tutoring in the TRIO program, it is still 20 hours a week.  I am also going to school during this semester so, in essence, I will still be gone from home almost as much as if I were working full-time.  

But the frugal part of me sees this as an opportunity to have the part time job pay for my Graduate classes.  It will take me a bit longer to get through my Master's courses but, cross your fingers, I won't end up with a mountain of debt when I am done.

This brings me to figuring out how to make this all work.  Although I have worked, it's been a very long time since I had full time out of the home hours.  I will work during the day and go to school a couple of evenings a week.  Plus my husband teaches late one night a week an on Saturdays.  Add to that, we are responsible for transportation for our son to and from school and all of his activities.  This should be interesting.  I know when I was a single Mom, working full time I had a system that worked well for us.  It's been over a decade since then so I'm working on tweaking that to make it a habit again.  Lord knows, without it, we'd eat out half the time and I'd have to devote every weekend moment playing catch up.  The first part of that is too expensive and the latter part I'm just too old for.  LOL.

To make things a little easier, I already do menu planning each week so that's not an issue.  The difference now will be taking some time on Sunday to do any prep work that I can do to save time through the week.  Since I do have two nights a week that I have classes, I have to factor in that those nights need treated differently as one of them is busy for my husband and son too.

Prep work would include browning any meat for the week's menus, chopping any veggies and portioning them out.  Casseroles can be made and put in the freezer, just make sure and take them out the night before.  Roasts can be browned for the crock pot and put in the fridge until needed.  If you cut potatoes, be sure to put them in a Ziploc full of water so they don't discolor.  You can brown hamburger for chili, tacos, sloppy joes, etc.  

The crock pot will be our friend on nights that I have class.  One of those nights, the hubby gets off at 5 downtown and our son has Scouts on the far south side at 7.  He's gotta get home, feed the short dude and get to Scouts.  The first week wasn't exactly a successful experiment with me starting the meal before I left and them finishing it.  So to the crock pot we go!  Many crock pot meals can be put together in a Ziploc baggie and frozen until ready to use.  Again, set the bag out the night before to thaw, then just pour into the crock pot and go.  

I also make a salad bowl (see a previous post) that lasts for several days and they'll eat it if it is ready.  I also cut up carrot sticks, celery sticks and put them into a Tupperware type bowl in the fridge with cherry tomatoes and whatever else you like on a veggie tray.  I keep a bowl or Ranch dip in there too, if it's easy, they'll eat it instead of something less healthy.  

I don't always make them eat only healthy, on Sunday, I'll also make the snack of the week.  Whether that is a batch of cookies, a pan of brownies or whatever.  This week I took some bananas that were turning and made banana bread and a couple of dozen banana nut muffins.  I toss them in a Ziploc and freeze them so they're easy to grab and toss in lunchboxes or to warm up for a snack.

There are more things but I'm still trying to remember what I did way back then and how to make it work now.  I'll add more to that later, as I remember.

I do know that the family calendar is a lifesaver!  I received this one for Christmas and I am loving it so far!

There is a line for each one of us plus a spot for notes.  It helps to keep things straight.  I'm playing with a calendar on my phone that supposedly you can share among family members, but I don't know how to share it yet.  My son ended up with it on his phone (I have no clue how) and he thought it was just on his phone so he started deleting things.  This, of course, deleted them on my phone too.  That was a nightmare so for now, we're sticking to old school and this calendar!  LOL

The other thing that really is helping a bunch is our message center that we created on the fridge.

Our thoughts are the top dry erase board is for "To-Do" list type of things.  Load the dishwasher, pack a lunch, etc.  The bottom one is reminders.  The Calendar says that Scouts are on Wednesday but there is a reminder note here for the hubby that Scouts are at 7 and where the meeting or drop off is (it's not always in the same place).  It has my son's nightly reminders as well.  

There is also a magnetic notepad for items needed from the Grocery.  There is also a magnetic clip for anything else that we need to make sure the other one sees.

I know it's hard to read in detail but the list under the pen cup is our weekly checklist for each room. This list is here because the men in my life are the "can't see the forest for the trees" kind of men.  So if they have a few minutes time to help me, they can see what's on this list and pick one.  Ideally, by the weekend, the list will have all items checked off.  Here is that list:

WEEKLY CHECKLIST

Kitchen:

1.    Sweep floor

2.    Mop floor

3.    Clean out fridge

4.    Clean counter

5.    Clean stove & hood

Bathrooms:

1.    Clean mirrors

2.    Clean counter

3.    Sweep floor

4.    Mop floor

5.    Empty trash

Bedrooms:

1.    Vacuum carpet

2.    Dust

3.    Change sheets

4.    Clean TV screens

Living Room:

1.    Dust

2.    Vacuum

3.    Bag newspapers for recycling

4.    Straighten book bag area

5.    Return ‘strays’ where they belong

Dining Room:

1.    Clear Table

2.    Vacuum

3.    Straighten Jam area

Paperwork & Miscellaneous:

1.    Plan menus for next week

3.    Water plants

4.    Clean out vehicles & check fluids

5.    Check freezer stock

6.    Check pet food supplies

    This isn't a perfect list, but it's a start.  I am thankful that my guys are willing to pitch in and help out.  They know that we're a team and the goal at the end of this adventure will benefit all of us.  I know that I have to accept that they won't do things the way I would do them but they will be done.  And, theoretically, we should still have some time for us that doesn't involve catching up for the week.  I'll keep you posted on how it's working out!  LOL

Super Bowl Food!

Next week is the Super Bowl and we can't wait.  I will say it's sad that there is so much controversy going on this year with "DeflateGate" and all.  My own personal opinion is they should be harshly punished for any cheating regardless of what team, Super Bowl or not.  It's as if these grown adults are currently only seeing money and fame and are forgetting that there are a lot of children who love the game and look up to these people.  And they example they set?  Cheating.  Now before I get blasted I know it was only one team in the media doing this right now but people aren't going to remember what happened in the first round of the playoffs, they're going to remember this cheating scandal.  And that's sad.  So come on people...remember the kids are watching!

We never go to Super Bowl parties because we have kids at home who have school the next day. My kids are not the type of kids that can stay up late and have a good day the following day so we've just always stayed home for the big game.  You can still have a Super Bowl Party at home!

Now back to the best part of the Super Bowl (if you're not going to the game that is)...the food!  I love watching football, so I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen cooking during the game.  There are a lot of fun foods that go beyond chips and dips that you can prepare ahead of time and are so yummy.

Our menu this year (and I will try to remember to take pics next week as I am preparing it) will include hot wings, taco dip, sloppy joe cups, lettuce wraps, cookies, hand pies, and I'm sure there will be add-ons as my guys think of more.

I know that sounds like a lot for our family of three but here's the secret.  Part of that is made with planned-overs.  When we had Tacos, I put the leftovers in a Ziploc and tossed it in the freezer, same with homemade sloppy joes.  The lettuce wraps are also starting with leftover baked chicken.  Even the hand pies are starting with pie dough I had left over after a Christmas order I had for the pies and I tossed it in the freezer.

Here's how it all comes together.  I bought frozen, uncooked chicken drummettes when they were on sale.  I know the drummettes cost a bit more, that's why I wait on a sale but for the amount of meat, I think it's more cost effective to get the drummettes.  I have a deep fryer but you can certainly do this in a dutch oven of oil, just be really careful.   I don't even thaw them.  I have the deep fryer set at 350 degrees and I fry the frozen drummettes for 12 minutes.  Don't over fill the pan and they'll cook better.  When they are done, I immediately coat them in the sauce.  I can't eat overly spicy stuff so, I mix Frank's hot bbq sauce with our favorite bbq sauce (for us, that is Sweet Baby Ray's) I mix it to taste.  I put it in a big bowl and using tongs mix the fried wings around it in.  I am not talented enough to toss them in the bowl...LOL.  I then put them on a cooling rack that is set on a sheet pan and put them in a warm oven to hold while I cook the rest.

The taco dip is so easy.  Basically, you take everything you like on a taco and layer it in a cake pan, sheet pan, whatever.  I start with refried beans (I mix them with a little taco sauce to thin them a bit) on the bottom, then taco meat mixed with black beans, cheese, sauce (if you didn't use some in the refried beans), tomatoes, shredded lettuce, avocado, sour cream, etc.  You can add jalapenos if you like.  Just use tortilla chips with this.  Easy.  I should add that you can serve this with the refried beans and taco meat hot or cold.

The sloppy joe cups are so easy.  I take cheap, biscuits in a can and put one biscuit in a muffin cup that's sprayed with non stick spray.  Kinda push them in so that they fill the tin and make a cup, add in a spoon or so of the sloppy joe mix.  Bake until the biscuit is done.  When they come out of the oven, you can add cheese on top.  Done.  It's nice that you can make these ahead of time and warm them just before the game.  

The lettuce wraps are leftover baked chicken and a packet from the grocery to make lettuce wraps.  Again, these can be made a head of time and warmed.  Just put the bowl of hot chicken mix out with some fresh cold leaf lettuce.  

The hand pies are something I began making because my husband and nephew are from the south and they love them.  It took a while to get the dough just right because I like a thin pie crust and that doesn't translate to hand pies well.  But, now I have it thanks to those guides you can buy for your rolling pin to prevent me from rolling it too thin.  Anyway, I have this neat little hand pie cutter thing that I got from Walmart, it's by Wilton.  it not only cuts out the top and bottom but then you can fill it and it crimps the edges too.  

So, for the filling you can use pie filling from a can or make your own.  Devon loves chocolate or butterscotch pie so you can even use pudding.  Just make sure the pudding is cook pudding and not instant or you'll have a liquidy mess.  I will use apple pie filling for most of them and make a few butterscotch ones for Devon.  I'll be using my Gram's recipe for the butterscotch filling and since it only takes a little bit, I'll put the rest in a graham cracker crust that I have in the freezer (also bought on clearance, I think you can freeze almost anything) and we'll have a pie for later in the week.  I do bake these instead of frying them.  Since the filling is done and they're eaten cool, just bake until the pie dough is done.  Once done, I put them on a cooling rack.  When cook, I sprinkle with powder sugar.  You could easily glaze them with a powder sugar/milk mix but it's all about easy for these!  LOL

Finally, the cookies will be whatever my son decides that he wants for the week.  We bake a treat on Sunday that is for the week.  So, I'll just set some of these out for the game too.

Drinks can be anything from water to soda to juice.  We don't drink very often at all here.  I'll have to see if hubby wants a beer for that night.

So you see, you can have a Super Bowl party at home and eat well even if you can't really go out because kids have school the next day.  So think and prepare now so that you know what you want for the big game and you won't be stuck in the kitchen the whole time!  

Make a Salad Bowl!

Hello everyone!  Our new semester has started at school, the last of those needed for my Bachelor's degree.  My husband and I have talked and I've come to the decision that I am going to go on and begin working on my Master's Degree.  It's such a scary decision but I'm going to do it!

In the past, I have always made salads up as I needed them thinking that they would go bad if I didn't.  I tried something a few weeks ago and I won't lie, I was surprised at the results.

I prepped a salad bowl for the fridge.  I put the salad greens in a big bowl, I prefer Mesclun mix but used Romaine as it was on sale this week.  I went ahead and put some thinly sliced carrots, celery, radishes, sweet peppers and mushrooms.  I bought some mixed salad tomatoes, grape tomatoes would work too, I just found these on sale (of course...LOL).  They are a mix of cherry tomatoes, yellow cherry tomatoes and chocolate tomatoes.  My husband prefers the lower acid tomatoes so I wanted to make sure to have some yellow ones.  Anyway, in little bowls, I'll put some diced up boiled eggs in one, some shredded cheese in one, some cucumbers in one.  You get the idea, if it is wet or will make the salad soggy, put it in a little bowl.  

I did this one Sunday evening thinking that I would have salad for the week since I'm trying to get more veggies in me.  I was shocked when my husband and son went to town on the salad.  Two days, TWO, and it was all gone.  So now, once or twice a week, I put together this salad stuff.  The whole family is eating more salads with more veggies.  If I would have put the celery, peppers and radishes, etc. separately, they wouldn't have added them to the salad.  They're getting more variety in their salads and not even noticing.  Even my son is now eating lighter dressings and not just Ranch!  I'm stunned and loving this.  

It's also saving money as I don't have produce hiding in the lower crisper drawer going to waste.  

I also have to add that if you have a Fresh Thyme Market near you, you really should check them out.  They will have awesome sales on a few items a week and the produce is phenomenal!  If  you can brave the crowds, go on Double Dip Thursday.  They will honor prices from the prior week's ad and the new week's ad both!  The last trip I was there, I left with 4 1/2 bags of produce for right at $19.00.  If you are near one, give them a shot.  Sometimes they will have great meat prices too!

Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Hello everyone!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  If you're out braving the Black Friday crowds shopping, please be careful.

I know lots of people are sitting there with tons of Thanksgiving leftovers.  You can only eat so many turkey sandwiches, right?  Get creative and put your freezer to use!  I didn't host this year so I will be cooking turkey for us on Sunday.  

The first thing I do is cut as much meat off the carcass as I can.  Then I put the entire carcass (you might have to break it down if you have a smaller pot) and put it in a stock pot big enough to cover it with water.  If you truly have a small pot, nothing says you have to use all of the carcass.  I will add some of the same things into the stock that I used in cooking it, carrots, onions, leeks, parsnips, celery, etc.  You could even use some of the veggies from the veggie tray in your stock.  Be flexible and be creative.  Bring it to a boil and then reduce to simmer.  Skim off the gunky gray stuff.  Then let it simmer and do its thing for a while.  I like to simmer it for 2-3 hours, the more it simmers the more the flavors concentrate.  When it is done, I let it cool and then strain it.  From here you can cool completely in the fridge and then remove any fat off the top, it should be in a solid form then.  From here you can use it or portion it out and freeze it in Ziploc bags for later use.

A friend of mine showed us a picture of her freezer.  She'd taken some of her leftover turkey and make turkey pot pies, don't bake them and put them in the freezer.  When you're ready to use them, treat them just like you would those from the grocery.  Only they'll taste so much better.  On a previous post (Here) is a recipe that I use to make Chicken pot pies, you can simply substitute turkey in this recipe.

Turkey and dumplings is just as good as Chicken and dumplings.  There is a recipe for it on the same link above.

My husband looks forward to turkey Manhattans after every Thanksgiving.  This will use up leftover mashed potatoes, leftover turkey and the gravy too!

You could also turn leftover mashed potatoes into potato pancakes.  I'm sorry for no recipe here but I just kinda wing these.  If I have 2-3 cups left, I'll add an egg, some flour, some chives, some shredded cheese (not too much) and some bacon bits (fresh or packaged, it really doesn't matter).  My family loves loaded baked potatoes or kicked up mashed potatoes so they like kicked up potato pancakes too.  The dough needs to be stiff enough to roll into balls, about like peanut butter cookie balls before you squish them with a fork.  I flatten them and fry in a bit of butter, sometimes with a little bacon grease added for flavor.  Fry until brown and yummy.

Stuffing is a tough one.  But I've used it as a topping in the past when I've made the insides of the turkey pot pie and had more than I needed for the pie crusts I had.  Just put the extra pot pie filling in a casserole dish and crumble the stuffing on top and bake.  The stuffing gets all crispy and crunchy. 

At this point, if you have any turkey left, put sandwich sized amounts on wax paper and then put them on a sheet pan or cookie sheet and put in the freezer.  Once frozen, pop them into a Ziploc and you can grab what you need for sandwiches later.

Just some ideas for dealing with the Thanksgiving leftovers.  It should make some of the cooking during the days when you're shopping, wrapping or decorating and need a little help in the kitchen!

Be safe out there!

Fall, what a wonderful season!

Fall, the air is crisp and cooler.  MUCH cooler that it has been.  I am by no means looking forward to Winter coming but I am sure glad the awful heat of Summer is over.  This October will be bittersweet for me.  My youngest of the girls will turn 18 this month.  On one hand, she will be entering adulthood, spreading her wings and, soon enough, heading off to college.  On the other hand, my little girl will be all grown up.  Make note though, five or thirty-five, she will always be my baby girl!  Shhhh, don't tell her I said that, she's "almost an adult"...almost...LOL

I love the foods of fall.  Soups, stews, roasts.  I pretty much  love them all.  I've decided this is because they are less fussy foods.  There isn't a hard and fast rule about these types of foods in my book.  I start with some stock, it might be freshly made or it might be from the freezer, shoot, you can even use the ready made in a box (it won't be as good as your own, but it will do) and add this and that.  Add some cooked beef (or not, it can be just veggies), I add what veggies I have.  That might be potatoes, carrots, corn, green beans, tomatoes (yes, I know that technically they are fruit), leeks, onions, whatever I have on hand can end up in the veggie soup pot.  Sometimes I add barley and sometimes it's alphabet noodles, sometimes both.  The point is that you can make vegetable beef soup anyway you want too.

Chicken soup is similar around here.  About the only standards with Chicken soup here is Chicken and broth.  You can use noodles or rice.  Add carrots and celery, leeks or onions.  We have one we like that we call "Grown up Chicken Soup".  It got that name from one of our picky daughters that may or may not have been mentioned in this blog.  She said it wasn't like Campbell's so it must be "grown up".  I'm sharing this 'recipe' but remember that my measurements are approximate and 'to taste' so if you like more of something, add it.

Grown Up Chicken Soup

6-8 Cups of Chicken broth
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I usually use leftovers)
A couple of handfuls of wide egg noodles (homemade or store bought)
1 cup of frozen corn
2-3 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1 Tbls fresh chopped parsley (1 teaspoon of dried)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a boil.  Add the noodles and cook for about 6-7 minutes.  Then add the the rest of the ingredients and cook until everything is warmed through.  

One little hint that I thought of as I typed this out.  When using herbs, if a recipe calls for fresh and you only have dried, it's a 3-to-1 ratio.  Three teaspoons of fresh herbs equals one teaspoon of dried.  Don't get those backwards, it will overpower your dish.  Don't ask me how I know, just trust me here...LOL

After the Reception!

As I wrote about a couple of posts ago, the Hubby's reception was wonderful.  Even with the best laid plans for the food, there were leftovers.  Lots of them.  I tend to be a "have it and not need it" instead of a "need it and not have it" kind of person.  So, as far as food went, we didn't run out of anything but I did have leftovers.  I threw away as little as possible.

The sandwiches were easy enough, they were pre-made and in trays so when we got home, I just took the trays and covered tightly with foil and popped them in the freezer.  It will be easy on a weekend to pop a tray in the oven and have a quick, ready made lunch.

I took the left over veggie tray items and put them up for future uses.

The broccoli and cauliflower that were left, I steam blanched and then shocked them in ice water to stop the cooking and put them in good Ziplocs.  Pop them in the freezer for dinners later.

The sweet peppers, I just tossed into a Ziploc and popped them in the freezer to use for things like fried potatoes with peppers and onions or even just as additional seasoning in soups or stews.

I took the baby carrots, for some unknown reason, I bought FIVE pounds of these.  I have no idea what I was thinking...  Anyway, I cut them in half and ran them through a quick steam blanch and ice water shock.  Afterwards, I did let these air dry on clean towels so that I could put them in a large Ziploc and not have them end up as one large, cinder block-sized hunk of carrots.  They won't stick together if they're dry and I can pull out what I need.

I thought the grape tomatoes would be the hardest to deal with.  Of course, I bought a ton of those as well.  It seems you either buy a small one pound container or a big three pound box.  Evidently, people don't care for grape tomatoes as much as my son and I do.  I found this amazing recipe for pizza sauce.  It was a recipe for pasta but once it was done, it just tasted like it belonged on pizza.  It makes about 4 cups.  It's a recipe from Emeril LeGasse, here it is.  I made it and I did boil some pasta for a lunch but it was so good, I put the bulk of it up and we will have it on pizzas.


I pulled the fruit off the kebab sticks to just put in a bowl in the fridge as fruit salad but my husband and son picked out all the strawberries and made strawberry shortcakes for a snack...LOL.

I even took the extra Buffalo Chicken dip and the Spinach-Artichoke dip that I had made (This was the extra that was never heated up) I put in Ziplocs and put in the freezer for snacks later while watching a movie or a race or what have you.  By putting this extra dip in the smaller freezer bags, you don't have to heat up a whole lot of it at a time.  I also froze the left over salsa that I had made in Ziplocs.  

So, instead of just tossing so many extras with a little time and effort I have a few lunches, pizza fixings, side dishes and snacks for a later time.  Bonus!  

It is nice as well that since we camp, I have the left over plates, flatware, cups and napkins to put in the RV.  I won't have to do dishes when we camp.  Double Bonus!

Fix it don't replace it!

It's no secret, I'm a tight ass....ummmm, I mean frugal, very frugal!  I love bargain hunting.  A while back, I found this great Wilson's Leathers laptop bag, it is actually called an "Icon Motorsports" Tote Purse and Laptop bag.  I love this bag!  I found it at a Goodwill half-price day sale and bought it for about $4.00.  Here is a picture of it I found on the Internet of how it looked when new.  

It's big enough to carry my normal "purse junk" and I can tuck a notebook and text book in or my tablet to take to class with me.  I won't lie, I carry a lot of "purse junk", my friend Peggy has said more than once she just wants to turn my bag upside down and empty it just to see what is actually in it...LOL.

Anyway, carrying all that junk put some major wear and tear on the handles.  Not only do they not make this bag anymore but the company is listed as being 'defunct' now so matching the straps to have it professionally repaired more than likely was NOT happening!  A couple of weeks ago, while in Lowe's with my husband, I got a brilliant idea.  My husband has learned to kinda hear me out on these ideas and will actually help me with the less hair-brained ones...LOL.  I was going to fix this rather than to try to find another bag I loved.  We found some screws that matched the rivets on the bag pretty closely.  

Forgive the dust, I didn't think to take a picture until after we'd drilled the first hole.  But this is what happens with it being loaded heavy and tossed around by the handles.

After actually emptying it, that took a while as I figured I'd clean it out while I did so...LOL.  Then my little Dremel tool was small enough and powerful enough to do the job in the confined interior of my bag.  We drilled a new hole in the leather, through the handle and the bag itself.  Sorry, there is no picture of the drilling as it took both of us to hold the bag open, the strap straight and actually drill the hole.

After drilling the hole, my hubby put the screw through and put a cheap nut on it.  

He did this so that he could use the Dremel cut off wheel to cut the extra length off the screw.  He said that doing it with a cheap nut on it would allow him to smooth down any little burr on the screw as he took the cheap nut off making it easier to put the permanent one on.

Yup, sparks flying out of my purse!  LOL.  After he cut the excess length off the screw, he took the cheap nut off and put the finish nut on.

I chose this nut because since it is rounded, I won't scratch myself or snag anything as I reach in and out of it.

I have added a little more life to my favorite bag!  To replace a leather laptop bag could be up to $300, I fixed my old one for under $7.00.  Is it perfect?  No but I am more than happy with it.  And I'm confident that it will last me at least until I finish college in a year!