Happy Halloween

Another Halloween in the BOOks!  Hope yours                               was Happy!                                

Use It, Use It, and Use Some More, (Fail) Week 2

You will notice that this weeks list begins on Thursday. If I have early morning obligations breakfast goes out the window and I opt to have coffee only, because coffee fits in the drink holder in my car. Most of these obligations lasted well into the afternoon, and then I would either grab something to eat while I was out or just wait until I got home in the late afternoon and eat cold leftovers. Dinners?  We went out to eat Monday and Tuesday and on Wednesday I was planing on making chicken scaloppine for our anniversary dinner, but TheHub decided at the last minute he wanted steak.  I have steaks in the freezer but they were not the cut he wanted so I made a special trip to buy them. It is not a big deal since we only give each other cards for our anniversary, but it does nothing for knocking out my freezer stash.  At this rate I am not going to have any room for Thanksgiving turkey in the freezer. Craptastic!

                          (Not actual food from my freezer, but a really nice photo)

Thursday
breakfast: Cheerios, 8 strawberries, coffee.
dinner: jerk chicken, brown rice, salad
used: cheerios (p) strawberries (f) 1 pack chicken breasts (f) 1 bottle jerk marinade (p) brown rice ( p

Friday
breakfast: Cheerios 7 strawberries
dinner: meat sauce over spaghetti, tossed salad, brownies
used: Cheerios ( p ) strawberries ( f) 2 small packs spaghetti sauce (f)  spaghetti (p) brownie mix ( p )

Saturday
lunch:  hamburgers with all the fixings, corn chips and queso
dinner: chicken with wine sauce mushrooms and capers, broccoli,
used: 5 hamburger patties ( f) corn chips ( p)  cheese sauce (p) 1 pack chicken breasts ( f)  1 pack broccoli (f)  small jar capers ( p)

Sunday
breakfast: 6 frozen biscuits, jelly
lunch: pimento cheese sandwiches
dinner: pasta salad
used: 6 biscuits (f) 1 block sharp cheddar (f) 1 pack fusilli (p) 1 small can ripe olives (p)


I need to get all my ducks in a row and do some serious freezer eating during the next two weeks. Son1 and his family will be here the 19th for 2 weeks and Son3 flies in for the long Thanksgiving weekend with a friend.  I am going to need freezer space for a turkey plus some additional general food items.  I have to get my rear in gear and also do some serious  cooking and cleaning too.  Ugh!

It's Been A Wonderful Ride So Far

It is heard to believe so many years have passed since these 2 kids decided to try and make a life together. Now 3 kids, 1 grand, many dogs, several houses, excellent times and not so excellent times, we are still here.














                           
                Happy Anniversary and all that jazz to my sweetie!

Use It Up, Week 1 Summery

Rules of the Game

I am only counting items I am using from the freezer (f) or pantry (p) since I plan on replenishing produce, eggs and milk.  I am counting bread even though I will buy it as needed because it is one of my pantry items. I will only count staples if I run out and have to replenish it (ex. flour)
As for the meals? If they are not listed it  simply means I did not use a single pantry or freezer item for that meal.  Ditto for snacks ( I made this rule because I just purchased and ate a Moon Pie and didn't want to record it, because if I didn't write it down it didn't happen, right? )



Monday

Breakfast: coffee, toast, apple juice
Lunch: apple, peanut butter, crackers
Dinner: Chicken stew
Snack: leftover kefir dip, Triscuit
used 1 slice bread (p), 1/2 c. apple juice (p), peanut butter (p), 4 saltines (p), 2 chicken breasts (f), 1 pack chicken broth (f), 1 jar pasta rossa (p), about 8 Triscuits (p)
zero  food purchases

Tuesday
Breakfast: coffee, toasted leftover hamburger bun. apple juice
Snacks: pumpkin muffins
used 1very smushed hamburger bun (p), 1 c. apple juice (p), 1 can pumpkin (p), 1/2 cup chocolate chips (p)
zero food purchases

Wednesday
Breakfast: coffee, pumpkin muffin, 1/2 c. apple juice (just to use it, didn't really want it)
Dinner Cottage-ish pie
Snacks: Triscuit, herbed kefir cheese
used 3/4 lb. ground beef (f),  1/2 bag peas and carrots (f), 1/4 cup powdered milk (p), Triscuit (p)
zero food purchases

Thursday
Breakfast: coffee, cereal, strawberries.
Lunch: broccoli salad, leftover cottage pie
Dinner: Ground beef, sautéed onions, mushrooms, and garlic in  red pepper sauce over pasta with a side of brussels sprouts
used: 3/4 c. cheerios (p), 6 large strawberries (f), 1/4 bag broccoli (f), 1 lb. ground beef (f),  rotini pasta (p),  bag of brussels sprouts (f)
zero food purchases

Friday
Dinner: Chili topped baked sweet potatoes, coleslaw, cornbread
used: chili (f), 1 can chili beans (p,) Aldi's cheese and chili cornbread mix. It was sweet! Ugh! (p), 1 envelope Martha White cornbread mix added to the other to kill the sweetness. Lesson learned, never buy anything but Martha White (p)
food purchases:  potatoes, onions, ice cream, hamburger buns, milk, 4 lb. sugar (stock up item for Christmas, lowest price I have seen this year), chocolate milk

Saturday
used: not a blooming thing.  I forgot to defrost the ground chuck for hamburgers for dinner w/ overnight guests
food purchases:  ground chuck, chips, caramel cake (impulse buy, but totally worth it)

Sunday
Breakfast: pumpkin muffin (I am so tired of eating these) coffee, bacon (me) bacon sandwich (TheHub)
Dinner: Conecuh sausage, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts
used: 6 slices bacon (f),  don't judge: the dog ate nearly 1 1/2 slices of the bacon (floor score!) 2 slices toast, 1 lb. Conecuh sausage (f), 1 bag brussels sprouts (f) 1/3 cup powdered milk (p)
food purchases: technically I bought 2 2 liter drinks, but I took them to someone dear to me who is having a hard time keeping anything down right now (Ginger ale and Sprite) While I was at the store a Moon Pie leapt into my hand and may or may not have been eaten between dropping of the drinks and the return trip to my house.)


I need to do some serious damage to my freezer stores this week. I have not even made a dent in the space there.  Maybe I should have a really large dinner party just to get rid of more food in a shorter amount of time. Now who wants to come for dinner this week?

Festive Friday on Saturday?

I lived through yesterday thinking all day long it was Thursday, so according to my convoluted calendar this post is spot on.  For the rest of you who seem to know what day of the week it is, apologies and congratulations to you for being in the now.
Because Halloween is approaching I am changing the tone of this post just a tad. (Well that, and the fact that I screwed up the lettering on my gift of the week and don't have time to correct it right now. We are having overnight guests tonight and since I thought I had another day to get ready for them, I am scrambling to clean the entire upstairs before they get here)

So this is a quick and easy welcome Fall/Halloween treat. (Plus with a few leaves around it, it will be a nice centerpiece on my kitchen table and hopefully will look like I put some thought into it, rather than throwing the fastest possible thing together.  I guess I also should thank Mom who needed me first ting out of the chute this morning, so I was at CVS butt early and snagged the components of this treat.

1 bag smore's m & m's
1 bag candy corn  m & m's
1 bag candy corn
1 can cocktail peanuts

Mix these suckers together in a large bowl. Put them into a serving container that has a lid. I have a glass pumpkin I picked up for a buck or 2 a long time ago and it actually looks pretty good in it. ( When the kids were young I used to keep bubble gum balls that looked like eyeballs in it but we have grown beyond Eyeballs of Terror) I suggest putting a spoon out beside it just to keep people from putting their hands all over it.  If you have some Halloween muffin liners it would be nice to set them out on the side as well.  This tastes like a Payday candy bar with some melty and crunchy bits added to it.  I am not a big fan of candy corn or Payday's so this is a really good thing for me to have hanging around. It is candy that I can take or leave and when it is possible I prefer to have something I am indifferent to living in a candy jar.

Now go wrestle up some spooks, spirits or bags of candy and get your Halloween on!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Who's Got the Pumpkin?

Today while I was rearranging the pantry I decided to check some of the use by dates.  Now I am not a stickler for tossing things that have passed their dates, but sometimes you just have to draw the line. I found a jar of capers that had gotten shoved to the far corner of the bottom shelf with a best by date of '06 and several jars of chow chow that should have been used by '11. It was quite easy to toss all of those, but some of the other items were harder to call.  For example, I had 4 cans of pumpkin, three of which are still in the current date period, but one was dated 12/15.  I decided to go ahead and open it, smelled it, and declared it fine. Well fine with one small codicil. It had to be cooked for at least 20 minutes at a temp over 300.

The odd thing about all this is I am not a pumpkin fan at all. I bake one pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving for TheHub who eats 2 slices, sticks it in the fridge and 3 days later I throw it out. Every year is the same. Bake, Slice, Chill, Toss. So why did I find 4 cans in my pantry?  I have no idea.  And the even bigger question was what would I make to use this can. I thought about pumpkin soup but I really and truly do not care for it at all, saw a recipe for the Starbucks pumpkin latte (gag) and finally decided to just make muffins.  Edible? Yes! Heavy pumpkin taste? Not at all! Have a recipe handy to use pumpkin? Kinda (My applesauce muffin recipe would work fine)

                                                           Pumpkin Muffins

       

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spices (normally apple pie spices) I used cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace, allspice, cloves and black pepper. I have no idea the exact amounts but I used more cinnamon than anything and used the rest in descending amounts in the order I typed them.  If you are in doubt just use some of the pre-blended pumpkin spice.
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups sugar (For the apple sauce muffins I use half brown and half granulated. For these I just used granulated.)
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (1 1/4 cup applesauce if making the apple sauce muffins)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water/orange juice/apple juice (Your choice. I used apple juice because I found a bottle in the pantry)

Add ins, optional
chocolate chips
pumpkin flavored baking bits
nuts
grated orange peel (would be great if you used orange juice for the liquid)
coconut

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients, including the sugar. Whisk well to combine everything. Add all the wet ingredients and stir until well blended, but do not over mix.

Spoon into well greased muffin tins. Makes 24 regular sized muffins or 48 mini muffins.  I have no idea how many jumbo muffins this will make because: ( a ) I didn't make any ( b )  I don't own any jumbo muffin pans to try it even if I had wanted to.

Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes (less if using mini muffin tins)

I made half of these regular muffin size and added mini chocolate chips to the other half, which I baked in mini muffin tins. I thought the chocolate addition was so-so, but I am not a big chocolate and spice fan.  Son2 had some and loved them. My mother thought they were delicious until I told her they were pumpkin muffins, when she declared she couldn't eat any more than 1 because she hates pumpkin.  Go figure!

I am having many houseguests during the Thanksgiving week and this might be on one day's menu. Next time I think I will use orange juice, toss in some orange zest and add toasted pecans to the batter.

Now go stir up something  delicious or at least stir up some trouble!

Just Because I Can Challenge

Now that the 50 Buck a week challenge is over, I am ready to clear some of the things I have in food storage out.  I need to make room in the freezer for the soon to happen great turkey buys, so for the next few weeks with the exception of milk, salad fixings, fresh fruit and the occasional bread purchase, we will be living on things we purchased and stored a while back.

Though I am not bound to it, I think a budget of 10 bucks a week on average should do fairly well, but understand I am not counting anything I use from the pantry or freezer as a part of the budget amount.

I will post what we ate along with the total $$$ spent each week. My goal is to spend about 40 bucks total between now and the middle of November, and to clear out at least 1 shelf in the freezer. (the big shelf that will hold 3 turkeys!)

I am kind of low on fresh produce and coffee (drats!) but other than that I have a pretty good starting point.

Now I am off to inventory what I have and get as creative as I can so we will not have too many repeating meals.

Fingers crossed that Aldi will have some 99 cent onions this week.  Just looked and I have only 2 left!


THIS IS NOT MY PANTRY!!! I WOULD NEVER BE THAT ORGANIZED OR NEAT!!!

Crock Pot BBQ Ribs

We were at the lake place for another football weekend.  Just exactly how many college games can
we possibly watch on any given Saturday?  With the channel jump function on the TV remote it is possible for us to keep up with 3 games at one time x the games start times (11. 2:30, 6:00, 7:00 and 9:30 Central) OK only the 11 and 2;30 games usually have 3 games we are interested in, and the 6 pm game generally has only 1 game. 2 for the 7:00 game and the west coast game we might or might not be interested in at all.  I still think we watch at least parts of 10 games on Saturdays. (Yeah, OK, I read while everything but the Alabama game is on.  Football is a slow enough sport with so many replays that intermittent watching works fine)

TheHub and Son2 go to each and every home game, so on those days I only have to make whatever I want, which is usually some fruit and popcorn.  For away games we head to the lake place.  It seems like we so nothing there but eat and watch and eat a little more.

I don't mind cooking, in fact I love to cook but we do not keep many food items at the lake. If it is not in a can or something I can store in the refrigerator or freezer I do not keep it there at all. (The lake fridge and freezer are filled with rice, pasta, powdered milk,coffee, flour. corn meal, grits brownie mix__anything that might be enticing to a lake mouse, but is a staple I really like to have on hand. ) Consequently I have to load food in and out every weekend we are there.  It is not a big problem but it does take planning since I do not like bring anymore home than I have to. And at the same time I am planning meals and snacks, I don't want to spend a lot of time there cooking.

I make TheHub and me a small breakfast, because we wake early to sit on the deck  and drink coffee while we watch the sun rise.  Our lunch is just a day of grazing.  I make dip using kefir as the base and we have tons of raw vegetables, and usually some tortilla chips and salsa. Dinner was the meal that kind of pissed me off, because I did not like getting off "The Drug Couch "(so named because no one who has sat on it longer than 30 minutes has not gone to sleep on it) to cook.

Several years ago I bought one of those 3 crockpots in one unit just for Christmas brunch and yes it made my life so much easier that it was worth the price for using only once a year. Then, about a year ago  I had a "Eureka Moment" and realized since all three have separate controls there was no reason not to use a single crockpot regularly, even if it meant having the entire unit on the counter. ( I am a slow learner).  I carted the old single crockpot to the lake, and my life changed immediately for the better.  Now I toss whatever we are going to be eating for dinner in the slow cooker in the morning  and by the evening we have something delicious with little effort on my part.

BBQ Beer Ribs

3 pounds baby back ribs
1 1/2 cup quality bbq sauce (it really does make a difference) bought or homemade
1 cup beer (cheap stuff works fine)
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole onion, sliced
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cut the slab of ribs into sections that will fit into the crock pot.  Pour the beer and bbq sauce over them.  Add salt and pepper ( I use a teaspoon of each) Put the lid on and turn it on low to cook for about 8 hours. You can also cook it on high for about 4-5 hours if you don't start it early enough in the day.  Mid way through cooking add the sliced onion to the top of the contents. Cook until the ribs are fork tender.  Remove the ribs and pour the cooking liquid in a medium saucepan.  Heat on high heat until the mixture reduces by 1/2.  Pour about 1/2 cup of the liquid in a heat proof bowl (coffee mug) and add the cornstarch stirring to make a paste.  Slowly add it back to the cooking liquid and cook until it thickens a little. (Add more cornstarch if you want it thicker, but remember to put some liquid in a bowl to mix with the cornstarch before pouring it into the braising liquid.  If you just dump the cornstarch straight in you will get lumps you will never be able to get out. (And who wants to eat bbq sauce that has globs that feel like fish eyeballs?)

For us, this, along with tomato slices and cucumber spears is more than plenty to eat, with ribs leftover for the next day.

I forgot to take a picture before we chowed down, so sorry!  This was delicious, quick and like I said, we have enough left over for tonight.  I guess I am not planning on cooking!

MIA Festive Friday

Because a few of the major players in my life feel they can take  huge chunks of my time, Festive Friday is being punted to Monday.

grumble, gripe, complain, bitch, moan___doesn't change the fact that this week has not been my own.

Now I am headed to the lake where the bug man will be meeting me (And Hell no, he could NOT meet me in the later afternoon because his time is much more important than mine, evidently)

The upside:  The lake place is stocked with wine and we have sketchy cell service!  Win/win!

Week 7 50 Buck Budget

Confession
I want to buy things I don't even really like or would normally buy just because I feel like I can't.  I also have gotten two "Try The World" boxes since I began this, so I have all my little goodies waiting for me until this challenge is over, but TheHub was having a little sugar craving and did eat one of the almond cookies in the Italy box. So I guess technically it is not ALL waiting.  After  this challenge is over we have food from Sweden, Brazil, Thailand, and Italy to sample. When I opened the box from Italy what did it have in it but a lovely little pack of coffee.  Challenge or no challenge I am drinking all six cups off it. Guilt free!

I have also decided to end this challenge a week early. I have learned quite a bit since I began this and don't think an additional week of doing it is going to add anything of value. Plus, it is TheHubs birthday weekend and we are headed to the lake.  As part of his birthday I want to cook whatever he wants. (I imagine it will be grilling a steak or lamb chops, neither of which would fit into this budget)

I am going to the store today and grab a few things we need desperately for the lake place, along with fresh produce plus some snacks for the game day weekend (Amazingly the kefir dip has been such a hit they are actually asking for it, so no dip purchases).  Son2 is going to the lake with us and would like some almonds and TheHub wants some cashews, but neither care that I will continue to get the Fake Fritos from Aldi to eat with salsa.

When we get back from the lake we are starting a new challenge to eat up a good portion of our food storage.  My freezer overfloweth!

Piggly Wiggly
Bananas  .43 lb.  .99
Cucumbers 2/1.00 1.00
Scallions .50
Lettuce .99
Cauliflower 1.50
Grape tomatoes 1.49
Ground chuck 2.99 lb.  2.99
Pork Butt 1.49 lb. 4.66
Bacon 1.49 12 oz.
Taco shells .99
Coconut milk 1.89
17.44

Aldi
Onions .99
Cheese ravioli 1.49
Potatoes 1.69
Butter 2.29
Tortilla chips 1.19
Onion ring (fake Funyons) 2/1.00 (clearance)
Cheddar cheese 1.89
Salsa 1.49
Chocolate milk 1.59
Cheese crackers 1.49
Fake cheerios 1.19
Bread 1.35
Mushrooms  .69 each 1.38
Red cabbage and apples .50 (clearance)
Carrots .49
Marzipan cake mix 1.59 (clearance)
21.61

Publix
Red curry paste 2.27
Tomato sauce 1.25

I spent 42.57 for the week.  If I had realized I had that much left I would have bought some ice cream sandwiches for the lake.


The Meals
Breakfast
Wednesday coffee
Thursday Took Mom for an 8 am Dr, appt.  No time for anything, coffee finally at about 11
Friday coffee, was summoned to Mom's to help her get ready for a luncheon
Saturday toast, coffee,  (both of us) fried eggs (TheHub)
Sunday toast, coffee, (both of us) fried eggs (TheHub)
Monday coffee,  cookie (at about 10:45 but is was the first "food" I ate so I guess it counts as breakfast)
Tuesday coffee, cereal

Lunch
Wednesday bologna sandwich (end of the overpriced bologna)
Thursday Spent the day at Mom's bank, drugstore, house.  Pack of crackers at Mom's
Friday round 2 of Mom's bank and drug store, then helping her clean her luncheon mess, brought a plate of her party food home, stumbled in the entrance when the damn front door jammed (then opened way to quickly), dropped food all over the foyer floor, Shelby the dog had a feast. I ate chocolate chips mixed with a bowl of dry fake cheerios instead. (Should I mention how teed off I was while eating?)
Saturday football game day snack stuff, veggies, dip, nachos (made with cheese sauce purchased a few weeks back and tortilla chips) carnitas
Sunday leftover bbq, baked beans, cucumber tomato and onion salad (leftover from Persian restaurant)
Monday hummus and pita (leftover from Persian restaurant), celery and carrots
Tuesday leftover potato soup

Dinner 
Wednesday cheese ravioli with olive oil and herbs, tossed salad
Thursday TheHub was in Atlanta and got home about 8:30.  We grabbed food from the Persian place, ate at the house and had caramel apple martinis after dinner
Friday TheHub was very late getting in from work to leave for the lake.  We picked up bbq at about 9 pm on the way to the lake.  Oh well!
Saturday spaghetti with meat sauce, salad
Sunday potato soup
Monday red curry chicken, with onions, carrots, cauliflower, sweet red pepper and mushrooms, over rice
Tuesday carnitas tacos, using leftover carnitas, lettuce shreds. tomatoes, onions, and cheese plus the remaining 3ish tablespoons of salsa.

Additional cooking/baking
Flourless peanut butter cookies, loaf pan size marzipan cake, cream puffs

Food 911

I have an insane amount of milk left along with an abundance of eggs, while I was thinking about how to use them I thumbed through our family holiday cookbook.

I am in the process of creating handwritten cookbooks with family favorites for each of my sons, but the holiday one is just recreating one I started when my older two sons were very young and I was flipping through it making critical decisions about what stays and what can be edited out.  As I was looking through it, I saw the recipe for cream puffs and for old fashioned pastry cream.  Since the recipes use a total of nine eggs and a cup and a half of milk (plus TheHub really loves them) I thought it would be a great idea to make them.

The cream puffs are just your basic choux dough, and you can find a recipe for it just about anywhere, but this is the one I use when I am making something sweet.

Cream Puffs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
5 eggs

Pour 1 cup boiling water in a saucepan, add butter and salt.  Cook on low heat until the butter melts. Add the sugar and flour all at once and beat well over low heat  with a wooden spoon until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan.  Remove the pan from the heat and cool for about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated in the dough before adding the next.  When all of the eggs are mixed  in and the dough is very well mixed, put it in a pastry bag or a plastic bag with one corner cut out of it.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe golf ball size balls of dough, leaving space around each ball.  Pop them into the oven, do not open the door for at least 20 minutes.  At 20 minutes check them. (I generally take them out of the oven at this point and poke a wooden skewer through the top of each one, then put them back in the oven for about 5 more minutes (This allows the inside to dry well) This is a great time to tell you how I screwed this up. I had no parchment paper so I cut a Trader Joe's brown bag to fit the cookie sheets.  It seems that particular paper does not release the cream puffs like parchment does, so the bottom of every single one stuck, leaving me with just the pretty puffy tops. So instead of cream puffs I made cream half puffs. Oh well!

Take them out  of the oven, remove from the baking sheet and cool on racks until they are completely cool.  You have the option of filling them with whipped cream, pudding, cheese cake filling or  whatever else you can imagine.  Personally I only use this very basic pastry cream recipe.

Pastry Cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 egg yolks

Mix the milk and vanilla and set aside. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a medium sauce pan and whisk it well.  Slowly, slowly add the milk mixture, whisking continually until you have a very nice and smooth mixture.  Turn the heat on medium and cook, stirring continually until the mixture thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the custard mix to cool for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile put the egg yolks in a heat proof dish and beat them well.  When the five minutes is up, slowly pour 1/3 of the milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. The purpose of this step is to temper the egg yolks and bring their temperature up so they will not cook when you add them to the milk and flour mixture.  If you skip this step and just put them straight in the pan, trust me__you will have cooked eggs in your custard. Pour the heated eggs slowly into the remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly yet again. Return to medium heat and cook while stirring until it boils and thickens enough that a wooden spoon drawn down the center of the pan will leave a "trail".  You can store this in the fridge for a day, but you need to have plastic wrap touching the entire surface of the cream.  If it is exposed to air it will form a "skin" and this is just too tasty to waste.

If you made your cream puffs correctly use a pastry bag to fill the interior of your cream puff.  (Or cut them in half and spoon the filling in them putting them back together kind of like a sandwich) Since I only had halves I just spooned it directly onto the half. I followed it with a drizzle of a very basic chocolate glaze

Chocolate glaze
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup confectioners
1 tablespoon milk (add a few drops more as needed)
Drizzle it over the top of the cream puff , or in my case over the cream in the puff half.

Dang these things are good. I ate 2, I don't know how many TheHub ate but there are only 4 left. Feel free to count and do the math if you wish

These are easy, much easier than it sounds and really tasty.  You can use this same recipe, minus the sugar to make cream puffs to fill with chicken salad, tuna salad, crabmeat, whatever savory thing your heart desires.

And now I have 9 less eggs (well except for 4 egg whites and now I have to find something to do with them) and 1 1/2 cups less milk.  Yay!

October Joy List

September was not totally joyless, but I did not get as much knocked off the joy list as I had hoped I would.  I am keeping a joy journal now recounting what gave me joy each day.  It is amazing how many joyful things happen if we stop and take note of them.  

Did anyone else have a September that just flew by?
 1. Volunteer at Independence Place Been 5 times so far.  I find my joy there.
 2. Volunteer with a homeless mission
 3. Mentor at least one person regarding SNAP budget and meal planning
 4. Continue the 50 dollar a week food challenge
 5. Make ice cream
 6. Spend a long weekend at the lake (Labor Day)
 7. Bake bread
 8. Try cooking something I have never made before
 9. Try a new beverage
10. Swim laps 5 times a week
11. Use the eliptical  Started using it and will switch to daily use as the weather/water gets colder
12. Make a Christmas gift
13. Mend at lest 2 squares on the quilt
14. Take food to someone having a rough time
15. Watch SEC football (Roll Tide Roll!)
16. Have Mom up to eat weekly   Started out well but finished the month badly!
17. Take Mom out at least 3 nights during the month
18. Go to a movie by myself
19. See a play or opera
20. Take flowers to someone
21. Reconnect with an old friend
22. Enjoy some free music
23. Learn something new
24. Learn a jazz song on piano (Bonus if it it a Christmas jazz tune)
25. Sit on the deck at night and listen to crickets
26. No  Tv at least 1 night per week.  Read and listen to music
27. Have guests at the lake place
28. Plant a fall garden (Yes I know I am late to the party)
29. Have a back to school swim and hot dog dinner for the neighbors
30. Watch a couple of documentaries
31. Try recipes for 4 different Christmas food gifts including presentation
32. Work with TheHub on a new business plan
33. Be more intentional about gratitude
34. Pray for the entire world
35. Create some artwork (Paint or pen)
36. Keep a daily joy journal noting something particular that gave me joy.
37. Burn a scented candle every day (thanks Laura!)
38. Establish a weekly Cocktail Night (thanks again Laura!) TheHub really likes this one

October Joy List

 1. Pray for the entire world

 2. Volunteer at Independence Place

 3. Volunteer with a food pantry

 4. Learn a piano jazz tune

 5. Find and enjoy some free music Serendipitious, party across the lake with a live band

 6. Mentor someone using SNAP

 7. Reconnect with an old friend

 8. No TV at least one night per week (read and listen to music)

 9. Read 4 books

10. Try a new food

11. Cocktail Night each week (try a seasonal cocktail on the deck, weekly) Caramel Apple Martini,

12. Go to a play or opera

13. Have a small dinner party

14. Create some art 

15. Maintain the daily joy journal

16. Take food to someone having a hard time

17. Be intentional about gratitude

18. Burn a scented candle daily

19. Make at least 1 Christmas gift

20. Reconnect with an old friend

21. Take Mom to see Uncle Bob

22. Visit a small town in Alabama

23. Start Thanksgiving preparations

24. Do the Halloween decoration thing

25. Buy a pot of mums for the front door

26. Buy some mums for someone who can't buy their own

27. Spend a restful weekend at the lake place

28. Work on the family cookbook

29. Work on the lake cookbook

30. Go to a local lecture

31. Have Mom up to eat weekly

32. Take Mom out at night at least 3 times

33. Sit on the deck and listen to crickets

34. Do something totally out of character for me (no idea what yet)

35. Look for the good in every person I encounter (even if it means looking hard)
36. Mend 2 squares on "Nana's" quilt

The First Soup of Almost Autumn

We got back from the lake place and walked into the house which smelled like something had died. Following my nose I found one seriously rotten potato (from a bag I just bought on Wednesday no less) in my wire basket that holds potatoes. (Might I also mention it is in the coolest and  darkest part of the kitchen) Unfortunately every single potato that touched the olfactory offending one had to be cooked immediately.  I washed, peeled and cut out any soft spots, then chunked them in a medium dice and wondered what I was going to make with them.

Even though the day warmed considerably, this morning while we were sitting on the screened porch drinking coffee, we both had to throw a sweatshirt over our tee shirts. (But we did still wear our shorts and flip flops!) to keep from being chilly.  Because of the days beginnings I declared it soup weather. (Hey! We turned the a/c down a little lower and it was cool enough in the house to eat soup tonight!)

Slightly Different from Mom's Potato Soup

5 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion chopped
4 ribs of celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dill weed
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

In a large soup pot add the potatoes, onion, celery, carrots and broth. Cook until the veggies are soft, but not mushy.  Add the milk, salt, pepper, and dill weed and stir gently until it is simmering.  In a small sauté  pan melt the butter, add the flour,  and stir until it is a nice thick paste. (You want to cook it just long enough to cook the raw flour taste, but not enough for the mixture to brown like a roux. ) Stir the flour mixture into the soup pot and cook until thickened. Stir often.  Then add the grated cheese and stir gently until it is melted.  Serve piping hot.

This is a nice thick soup that is hearty enough to serve as the meal.  Normally I would serve a salad along with this, but I was feeling particularly lazy and just didn't want to make one. TheHub  didn't care either, so all we ate was soup and more soup.

Now will someone just let me know what the proper wine pairing for potato soup is.  Pretty sure the cab was  a failure. (But it was not enough of a failure to stop at one glass)

Festive Friday, Let's Hear it for the Boy

Today we are going with a gift for the guys. TheHub is blessed (cursed) with a very heavy beard, so his mantra throughout our married life has been "shave well and shave often".  In addition to his Fred Flintstone beard, he is also cursed with sensitive skin. (To be honest as his beard has grayed he no longer looks like F.F. in the afternoon but let's just keep that our little secret. The beard is still heavy, but gray casts a much lighter 5 o'clock shadow.  So shhhh!)

We have bought every brand of sensitive skin shaving creams known to man, be it gel, soap or cream form and all work to an extent, but still leave his face chapped and itchy. Today I thought I would whip up some oil dense shaving cream for him which would also work well as an extra handmade guy gift.

First purchase or save a foam soap dispenser.  I bought mine at The Dollar Tree and it was filled with grapefruit soap.  I thought it was a good idea since I would just pour the contents of the foaming soap into a decorative dispenser I already have in my powder room.  It was a brilliant idea if you can ignore the fact that the grapefruit bottle is very pink. I think there was a different product with a different scent  in  a clear bottle, but  no, I went for the grapefruit fragrance.  Why?  Not thinking? Or just thinking how good I think grapefruit smells? Dunno! But a dumb ass move on my part. Also if you are getting a bottle to recycle, make sure it has a label rather than the printing inked on the bottle. Rubbing alcohol might take it off, or it might not. I haven't tried yet because none of my guys would be thrilled with the pink bottle anyway.

1/4 cup olive, almond or coconut oil
3 tablespoons shea butter
1/4 cup castile soap
1/4 cup aloe vera gel or honey
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon kaolin clay (optional)
vitamin E
3 drops Rosemary essential oil

Put the oil in a double boiler (I live dangerously and put it in a small pan on low heat.  I have better things to do than boil water just to get something to melt.)
Add the shea butter and heat it just long enough for the shea butter to melt.





                                                                                                                                                                                   






Whisk it rapidly to incorporate the oils . (Yeah right!  I keep chopsticks saved from Chinese take out and use it to stir so I won't have to clean my whisk afterwards.) Continue stirring adding all the other ingredients.
I was unsure about how much vitamin E to add so I used a sewing pin and punctured about a dozen of the capsules, squeezed out the vitamin E into the mixture and got tired of the process, so I stopped. Then I saw the rosemary essential oil sitting on the counter for another project I am doing today and thought it would be a nice, clean manly scent so I added just 3 drops.


This is before the baking soda addition.  That seems to
be what makes everything become really creamy.

Stir and stir and stir a little more until everything is smooth and creamy.  It really does become insanely creamy quickly. Put it into a bottle  and it is ready to use.

















I actually think a regular pump bottle would be just as effective as the foam pump.  This is not so much  a terribly thick lather as it is this a luxurious foamy cream.  TheHub was not around this morning when I finished this so I tried if first on my right leg.  It worked very well, and was not so soapy that it took a lot of rinsing to get it off.  It left my leg seriously smooth.  Then I put it over my face, like a guy shaving would do. I scraped it off with one of those unsolicited credit card junk mail cards, (you know, the ones with YOUR NAME and account number 00000-000-0000000 on them) then did a quick rinse so I could see how it felt on a face.  To be honest my face feels as soft as a baby's butt right now.







 I think this is going to be a winner.  Sons 1 and 2 both shave their heads on a regular basis so I am pretty sure this will be one of their "filler" Christmas presents.  Son 3 not only doesn't shave his head (yet!) but one of his "filler " presents is a beard brush.  Hope springs eternal that will change!

Update: Son2 gave it a try.  He declared it one of the bests shaves he had ever had (other than a hot towel professional one)

50 buck Challenge,Week 6

Confession

I am tired of doing this and am ready to go back to our normal way of life, however abnormal it is to the rest of the world.  The little things I miss other than really good coffee are options. Before, if I decided I wanted fresh pineapple, I went and bought it. If it was a gorgeous night and we wanted to grill a steak, I bought it and we enjoyed it.  If we decided we wanted a Caprese salad I went to the store and bought fresh mozzarella.  My food budget was not extravagant but it was not limited to only what was on sale or what I had on hand. I miss the luxury of impromptu decisions, and I realize now what a luxury it truly is.

Oh, and we did go out to eat Friday night. We are finding we really do need the date night for both entertainment and reconnection.

The Shopping

Sprouts
Red grapes .88 lb. 2.04
Ginger 2.49 lb.  .34
Honeycrisp apples 1.48 lb. 1.64
Red peppers 2/1.00  1.00
10 bean soup mix .99 lb.   .99
6.01

Piggly Wiggly
chicken quarters .49 lb. 4.90
Duke's mayonnaise 3.25
8.15

Persian Restaurant Takeout
Meat pies 2.95 each  5.90
Spinach pie 1.50
7.40

Aldi
Cheese crackers 1.49
Fake Fritos 1.59
Sweet Potatoes 3 lb. .99
Cabbage 1.39
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs 3.27
Bread 1.35
Cheese ravioli 1.69 (clearance)
Chocolate milk 1.59
Pasta* .75
Hamburger buns .89
Canned biscuits .48 each .96
Cheese 1.89 
Pomegranate .69 each 1.38
19.23

Publix
Ice cream 3.00
Caramel topping 2.37
Apple juice 2.00
7.37

I spent 48.16 this week and included the takeout food as part of the budget.  I did not include our Friday night dinner because that is in our T& E budget. I actually have a ton of food left.  I have a couple of tomatoes, 1 bell pepper and 2 red peppers, 2 cukes, 1/4ish head of lettuce, more than half of the cabbage, 1 head of cauliflower, 1 onion, all the sweet potatoes, 3 regular potatoes, a few grapes, 1 apple, both pomegranates, a few limes, 1 carton of processed mushrooms (dehydrated) , 3 chicken breasts (frozen) 11 chicken thighs (boneless skinless, frozen) 7 chicken legs (frozen) the dried beans for bean soup, over 1/2 gallon of milk, 1 quart chocolate milk, about 2 cups of super thick kefir (making "cream cheese" out of it tomorrow), cheese ravioli, canned biscuits, 1/2 loaf bread and 4 hamburger buns.

Needed staples
coffee
butter
popcorn


The Meals

Breakfast 
Wednesday cereal, coffee
Thursday cereal, coffee, grapes
Friday toast, coffee
Saturday Dutch Baby variation
Sunday went to church so coffee only
Monday toast, coffee
Tuesday coffee, peanut butter and jelly sandwich (breakfast lunch combo meal)

Lunch
Wednesday handful of grapes (busy)
Thursday  random leftover stuff from the fridge (don't even remember what)
Friday peanut butter and jelly sandwich, milk, grapes
Saturday leftover pork butt bbq sandwiches, cauliflower salad
Sunday toasted cheese, onion and tomato sandwiches, coleslaw
Monday leftover tomatoes, okra and onion, about 2 tablespoons leftover lady peas, apple
Tuesday see breakfast

Dinner
Wednesday TheHub was out for a dinner meeting, Me, leftover chicken thigh, leftover cauliflower stuffing, fake Fritos, leftover salsa
Thursday TheHub wanted to try the new Persian restaurant 2 meat pies, 1 spinach pie (takeout) salad (home made) tea
Friday out to eat
Saturday leftover cauliflower leftover lady peas, leftover collards (TheHub went to the ball game and had his prepaid meal.  I had whatever)
Sunday broccoli dense chicken divan, brownies
Monday Italian sausage (frozen from shopping 3 weeks ago) with sautéed bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms over pasta
Tuesday variation on a theme of chicken taco (homemade pan fried flour tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, shredded cheese, seasoned cooked and shredded chicken from the .49 chicken quarter sale, leftover salsa) 

Snacks popcorn, peanut butter cookies, brownies, cheese crackers, apples, grapes, celery sticks, carrot sticks, muffins.

Extra cooking  6 minute brownies, 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies, homemade tortillas, plain muffins with hazelnut extract for additional flavor, 2 quarts chicken broth from the bones and 2 leg quarters of the .49 lb. chicken purchase.

* things I have on hand but am applying this weeks sales prices to

Variation on a Theme of Dutch Baby

A few days ago Rhonda from If you do stuff, stuff gets done shared her tried and true recipe for a Dutch Baby pancake.  I tried a small version the next day but ate it plain.  Other than eating a piece of birthday cake for breakfast the day after my birthday, I really don't like sweet things in the morning. It was delicious perfectly plain so I thought I would make it for TheHub and me over the weekend.

Rhonda's Dutch Baby Recipe

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour pinch of salt

Beat the eggs, add the milk and melted butter and stir well, Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Pour into a well buttered pie pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Rhonda suggests serving this with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar and syrup.  I know it is delicious that way and we will try it one late breakfast morning

                                       Pure unadulterated Dutch Baby straight from the oven!

Saturday was one of those glorious unhurried mornings with a beautiful sky and cooler air, so we sat on the deck and had several cups of coffee before we worked up any appetite at all. I went into the house and popped the Dutch Baby in the oven then spent the next 20 minutes on the deck with more coffee and conversation. How great is it to have a breakfast that basically makes itself.  A couple of minutes before it was done I grated about 1/4 cup of cheese and popped three pieces of precooked frozen bacon in the microwave.  When the Dutch Baby was all done and nice and puffy, I sprinkled the cheese over it followed by crumbled bacon.

Oh my goodness! It was so good, better than good in fact! This is going to be a standard at the lake place for breakfast.  It was that delicious and so easy.! Now I am just happy we are going to the lake this weekend so we can have more of this goodness without waiting too long!  College football and a Dutch Baby, life is good!

Sorry all these songs pop  through my brain as I post the title of whatever is my "new happening"! I keep telling myself I am ok, because I don't hear voices in my head, just music.