Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

Lettuce Salad

We are off our game recently. We can't seem to finish the last bit of salad before it gets slimy. I guess I get hopeful that the carnivores will have more than one serving so I make a lot. Silly me. The Carnivores are not going to go back for seconds of a green salad. Maybe next week we will get it all right.

This Week's True Food Confessions

 

Roasted Butternut Squash and Peppers

We did pretty well this week and didn't eat out at all. We avoided our usual weekend restaurant foray by cooking three racks of ribs over the weekend. Those served us with leftovers for a few more days.

The new dish we tried was Roasted Squash and Red Pepper Casserole. The dish was not exactly new to us, but it was the first time we made it. My sister-in-law usually brings it to family dinners where we have enjoyed it many times. So when my father-in-law gave us a butternut squash last week, it seemed like the perfect thing to do with it. The dish is simple and is basically roasted squash and peppers seasoned with rosemary and Parmesan cheese. It was delicious as always. I have reprinted the recipe below. Enjoy.
Until next time...

Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Casserole Gourmet | September 1995

4 fork user rating

92%would make
it again

0 reviews

Yield: Serves 6 as a side dish

ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces)

preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F.
With a sharp knife cut squash crosswise into 2-inch-thick slices. Working with 1 slice at a time, cut side down, cut away peel and seeds and cut squash into 1-inch cubes (about 9 cups).
In a large bowl stir together squash, bell pepper, oil, garlic, herbs, black pepper, and salt to taste. Transfer mixture to a 2- to 2 1/2-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.
Bake casserole in middle of oven until squash is tender and top is golden, about 1 hour.

Epicurious.com © Condé Nast Digital, Inc. All rights reserved.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Butternut-Squash-and-Red-Pepper-Casserole-10629#ixzz2e4Bhiksg

Today...

Today I'm going let the mess be.

We're getting ready to go on a little trip. When I go away, I like to come home to a neat house. However if I spend too much time worrying about the house, I take away from the fun, relaxing time the trip is supposed to be. I am going to leave some of the mess and leisurely clean it up when I get home. Bye, bye.

A Second Look--September 4, 2013

This past weekend we borrowed Miss Landers' pressure washer and worked on removing the green and black gunk growing on the back of our house. At the same time, we cleaned our patio that was dirty enough that water was splashing up from it and making the siding dirty again. During the cleaning operation, we were also doing yard work so that meant we spent most of the weekend outside. I had a chance to see several things I don't usually notice on my normal rounds for a Second Look.

Here's what I saw this week during a Second Look.

The patio was definitely dirty.

Wally lashed together a walking stick and a broom to help reach the second story of the house.

This swallowtail was resting on the freshly cut grass.

There was one big toad and several little ones living in this window well. (See one big and one little on the window sill, another little on the leaf on the bricks.)

I uncovered this beetle while weeding.

This grasshopper jumped on top of the grill.

I found these egg shells in the middle of the field. These are either from a chicken egg from someone's trash or a goose egg that a critter has enjoyed. We occasionally find goose eggs buried by a critter with the intention of coming back to enjoy it.

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In case anyone's wondering about the water that it took to pressure wash things, I am lucky to live in an area that doesn't have water problems. We are on a well and never have had any problems--especially this year with all of the rain that we have had.

Thankful Sunday--September 1, 2013

I am thankful recorded books.

Sometimes I get tired of the latest hits and talk radio. Then I turn to listening to a good story with a recorded book from the library. It really does help pass the time.
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Right now I'm listening to The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. It is a Newberry Medal Award winner children's book about Ivan, a gorilla who lives in a circus themed mall. Ivan tells of his friendships with the other animals around him and how his love of art plays into their difficult lives. There are serious themes about the treatment of animals, but the story is also filled with humor as the animals play into their basic characteristics. I am just now at the climax of the book, but would recommend it for the young* and old.

*Older than preschool

The Wisdom of Young Wally

When Wally was nine years old, we made a big move from the Gulf Coast to the East. Ward and I were very absorbed in everything involved with that--getting the house ready to sell, finding a new place, packing, etc. But most of all we were involved in helping Theo, who was six at the time, deal with the coming change. He was very worried about everything and expressing that the only way he knew how--by acting up. Unfortunately daily notes from his teacher became the norm during this time.

After a few weeks of this whirlwind, we realized that maybe Wally needed some attention too. We sat down with him one day and said that we had been paying so much attention to Theo and the move, we hadn't even asked him how he felt about everything. This is the reply he gave us.

"When you first told me about moving, I was upset. I didn't want to leave my friends and my school. But then one day, I laid down on my bed and thought about everything. First I thought about every bad thing there was about moving and then I was done with the bad stuff.  Then I thought about the good stuff like having a bigger yard and seeing snow. And the good stuff is the only thing I think about now when I think about moving and it's okay."

I was inspired at the time with Wally's method on how he handled his worry and still am. Since then, I've tried to remember his example. When I'm worried about something, I try to think about what is really bothering me and causing the worry. Then I think about if there is any action I can take to change it. Next I try to look at the positives of the situation and focus on those. Or to paraphrase young Wally, "First I think about all of the bad stuff and then I forget it. Then I only think about the good stuff."

How do you calm your worries?