Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Feb. 22, 2013

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

 None!

    None!

              None!

This Week's True Food Confessions

In the center is a cabbage roll--our new recipe for the week.

 
This week, when we had our favorite takeout pizza, I realized that we hadn't had it for at least two or three weeks. Remarkable, considering we had it at least twice a week before. And yes, it tasted as good as we remembered. We had the rest of our vegetable-rich meals at home. While the carnivores in the family would have preferred a big steak, they didn't complain when meat was only a condiment in most of our dishes. However, the best treat we had required no cooking--grapefruit. This is the time of year for citrus and these grapefruits were certainly proof of that.

The new recipe we tried was Stuffed Cabbage with Tangy Tomato Sauce. I got the recipe out of the latest Prevention magazine, but it is also available online. The recipe was good, but was not hit-out-of-the park good. Everyone had several servings, but gave it only decent reviews. Theodore and Ward thought it was too sweet. The recipe called for 2 tablespoons of sugar and I would cut that in half next time I made them. And speaking of next time I make them, I would change the recipe quite a bit procedurally. There were entirely too many steps for me. You had to make the sauce and simmer it, and you had to cook the cabbage multiple times to get the leaves off to stuff, and you had to cook the rice, and you had to brown the meat and onion. And then you had to assemble it all and cook it in the crock pot for five hours. Golly, that's a week's worth of meal preparations for me.   However, we do like the combination of cabbage and tomatoes, so next time I will probably use this recipe as a basis for a cabbage stew. Or I'll just let Theo make it. He made an excellent cabbage-tomato soup recently with just a little of this and a little of that.


So how would I rate this week overall? Pretty good. However, I can feel that we're starting to slip a little. That's because I start too late to cook. Then I'm tired or something else I have put off is calling me louder than the kitchen. I'm going to try to get some of the prep work done before I go to work. That should help. Until next time...

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--May 3, 2013

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

 Yes, I have no food waste. I have no food waste today.

(Does anyone recognize the modified banana song?)

This Week's True Food Confessions

We managed to eat out less than I thought we were going to this week. We were away for a long weekend and also had a lot of extra things going on. On our trip we had breakfast at our hotel and nice dinners at our relatives' house including grilled steak, pizza, and ice cream. It doesn't get any better than that according to the Carnivores. The rest of the week we managed to have dinners at home by making them simple. This included tuna mac, spaghetti, and baked chicken. By making them very simple and doing some prep work before I went to work, I was able to prepare meals even when I really wanted to call out for pizza. (However, I feel that call coming tonight.)

Speaking of simple, I tried a new baked chicken recipe. It was inspired by a recipe posted by Shara on Mama's Mission II. Apparently, various versions of this recipe have been around for a while and Shara put her own spin on it as did I. The point being, it is a very adaptable recipe. I have made it twice with different spices and each time it was a hit. Besides being very tasty, the recipe is VERY easy. Basically, it is Greek Yogurt, Parmesan cheese, and spices baked on chicken. It's almost as easy as when I spread BBQ sauce on chicken and zap it. This dish will definitely be done again. Below is the recipe I made this week.

Until next time...

Greek Yogurt Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

8 chicken tenders

1 cup Greek yogurt

¾ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

-Preheat oven to 350° F

-Place chicken in a baking dish.

-Mix yogurt, cheese, and spices.

-Cover chicken with yogurt mixture.

-Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

This recipe is very easy to customize with types and amount of spices. Also, mayonnaise can be used in place of the yogurt.

http://liveandlearn-tossandturn.blogspot.com/

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Z is for Zucchini

 I'm going for the obvious today-zucchini. 

I'm always surprised when I hear that someone has had no luck growing zucchini. We must have the right climate for it around here because in July and August it's shows up everywhere. We have had many bags secretly placed on our doorstep in the middle of the night. We were happy with these gifts, but I'm not sure that everyone felt the same way. The other thing about zucchini is how big it can grow. The perfect size is 8-10 inches but we have grown more than one zucchini over 2 feet long. They were seedy, but otherwise good. However, our big zucchini paled in comparison to the Guinness Book of World Records world record holder of 8 feet, 3.3 inches long. 

In case you have an abundance of zucchini this summer, below is a previous post about different ways to prepare it. 

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Our zucchini with tomato for comparison

A Week of Zucchini Dishes

or The Vegetable That Keeps Giving and Giving 

or Today's Equivalent of the Loaves and Fishes--Zucchini

Recently, Aunt Martha gave us a zucchini from her garden. It was one of those that somehow got hidden and grew to almost the size of a baseball bat before it was found and harvested. Our goal last week was to eat it until it was gone. We knew it was big, but didn't think that we would be able to cook it in five different dishes before we saw the last of it. But we did. Below are our results with links to the recipes we used.

 
Day One: Zucchini Patties
We were having salmon cakes this day so it seemed like a natural accompaniment.  The cakes were basically pan fried shredded zucchini and bread crumbs. Everyone liked the taste, but Theo and I weren't crazy about the texture. I thought they were a little gooey from too many bread crumbs, and Theo didn't like the stringiness of the shredded zucchini. I got a tip for this recipe from the Frugal Girl.  


Day Two: Zucchini and Cheese Casserole
This has been a favorite recipe in our family for many years and is a favorite of guests.  It is a baked casserole containing zucchini chunks, eggs, cottage and shredded cheese topped with bread crumbs. I usually add another vegetable like broccoli or asparagus to give it more flavor. This recipe comes from Jane Brody's Good Food Book.


Day Three: Hearty Tuna Casserole
This recipe was given to us a few years ago from a friend when were trying to find new ways to cook zucchini. We make other tuna casseroles, but this is my favorite. The dish contains the standards for a tuna casserole including noodles, tuna, sour cream, and shredded cheese. However, there are layers of zucchini slices in it as well as diced tomatoes on the top. We leave out the mustard and green onions as a favor to Ward and still find it very tasty. A word of warning: the zucchini and celery take far longer to cook than the 30 minutes allotted for the casserole. We cook them a little before we add them to the dish so it doesn't take forever to bake.


Day Four: Oatmeal Zucchini Bread
For years, I have been carrying around this recipe for zucchini bread that included cooked oatmeal. Last week, I finally made it. The bread was very good but was dense and gooey. This may have been because the recipe called for three eggs and I only had two. I read somewhere on the internet that you can substitute milk for an egg and you will never know the difference. Well, I think we knew the difference. However, the four loaves disappeared in less than 24 hours.


Day Five: Continental Zucchini
 As we were brain storming about what we were going to do with the last of the zucchini, Ward remembered a dish he had as a child-- continental zucchini. This dish is stir fried zucchini and garlic with corn and pimentos added. The whole thing is topped with melted mozzarella cheese. When we made it, we also added some yellow squash that we had. Everyone liked this dish. However, Ward thought it could use black pepper. Also, this dish would lend itself well to the addition of sweet or hot peppers We may try that next time.

Zucchini dishes from last week.

A Week of Zucchini Dishes

or The Vegetable That Keeps Giving and Giving 

or Today's Equivalent of the Loaves and Fishes--Zucchini

Our zucchini with tomato for comparison

Recently, Aunt Martha gave us a zucchini from her garden. It was one of those that somehow got hidden and grew to almost the size of a baseball bat before it was found and harvested. Our goal last week was to eat it until it was gone. We knew it was big, but didn't think that we would be able to cook it in five different dishes before we saw the last of it. But we did. Below are our results with links to the recipes we used.

 
Day One: Zucchini Patties
We were having salmon cakes this day so it seemed like a natural accompaniment.  The cakes were basically pan fried shredded zucchini and bread crumbs. Everyone liked the taste, but Theo and I weren't crazy about the texture. I thought they were a little gooey from too many bread crumbs, and Theo didn't like the stringiness of the shredded zucchini. I got a tip for this recipe from the Frugal Girl.  



Day Two: Zucchini and Cheese Casserole
This has been a favorite recipe in our family for many years and is a favorite of guests.  It is a baked casserole containing zucchini chunks, eggs, cottage and shredded cheese topped with bread crumbs. I usually add another vegetable like broccoli or asparagus to give it more flavor. This recipe comes from Jane Brody's Good Food Book.


Day Three: Hearty Tuna Casserole
This recipe was given to us a few years ago from a friend when were trying to find new ways to cook zucchini. We make other tuna casseroles, but this is my favorite. The dish contains the standards for a tuna casserole including noodles, tuna, sour cream, and shredded cheese. However, there are layers of zucchini slices in it as well as diced tomatoes on the top. We leave out the mustard and green onions as a favor to Ward and still find it very tasty. A word of warning: the zucchini and celery take far longer to cook than the 30 minutes allotted for the casserole. We cook them a little before we add them to the dish so it doesn't take forever to bake.



Day Four: Oatmeal Zucchini Bread
For years, I have been carrying around this recipe for zucchini bread that included cooked oatmeal. Last week, I finally made it. The bread was very good but was dense and gooey. This may have been because the recipe called for three eggs and I only had two. I read somewhere on the internet that you can substitute milk for an egg and you will never know the difference. Well, I think we knew the difference. However, the four loaves disappeared in less than 24 hours.


Day Five: Continental Zucchini
 As we were brain storming about what we were going to do with the last of the zucchini, Ward remembered a dish he had as a child-- continental zucchini. This dish is stir fried zucchini and garlic with corn and pimentos added. The whole thing is topped with melted mozzarella cheese. When we made it, we also added some yellow squash that we had. Everyone liked this dish. However, Ward thought it could use black pepper. Also, this dish would lend itself well to the addition of sweet or hot peppers We may try that next time.

Zucchini dishes from last week.

Spinach Pie

 I make spinach pie fairly often because it's a vegetable based dish that the carnivores in the family like. It is very easy to make and is basically spinach and cheese between two pie crusts. The recipe for it came from someone that I used to work with and I think that she got the recipe from someone she used to work with. Some of you have been asking for it, so here it goes. First I'll show you the recipe that I use. I copied this down quickly over the phone. Next, I'll show you a pictorial of how to make it, and lastly I'll include a "proper" recipe with comments that will be printer friendly.

My original recipe

Pictorial of the basic steps

Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

--Two 9" pie crusts (store bought or make your own. The store bought ones or ones made with lard or vegetable shortening are usually flakier than the ones made with oil. The store bought ones usually are saltier than the ones I make at home, so if I'm making my own, I add a little salt to the spinach.)

--One bag fresh spinach (6 oz. to 9 oz. bags will work. The bigger the bag, the thicker the pie. I like the bigger bag. I also use either baby or regular spinach.)

--2 Tablespoons olive oil (or oil of your choice)

--1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or two cloves garlic minced or as much or as little as you like to taste)

--1 teaspoon nutmeg (I usually leave this out since I don't like nutmeg)

--Fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded ~ 4 oz. or one cup (I use however much fresh I have. If I don't have enough, I used dried at about half the amount.)

Actions:

--Preheat oven to 375 ° F

--Line 9" pie plate with one pie crust.

--In a large bowl mix spinach, oil, cheese, garlic, and nutmeg.

--Put spinach mixture into pie pan on top of pie crust.

--Top with second pie crust and seal edges.

--Bake for half hour or until the crust is golden brown.

--Let cool 10-15 minutes, then enjoy.

Print this Recipe

From the files--Soup

It's been cool and rainy the last couple of days--perfect days for soup. So when I ran across this recipe for potato soup, I decided to make it. The recipe calls for cream cheese so it didn't hurt that I've had a brick of cream cheese in the refrigerator for a while now that we needed to use. 

Below is a post where I originally published the recipe. The cream cheese gives it a slight tang that you don't always get with a cream soup. However, I love cream cheese, so that was a big win for me. 

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Wally Makes Soup

Wally likes to eat. No, let me correct that. Wally loves to eat. However, he doesn't like to cook. But today, he did just that. I asked him to help me with some potato soup by peeling the potatoes. One thing led to another and in less than an hour he had created a delicious potato ham soup.

True to the family tradition, he didn't follow a recipe. He looked at couple of recipes, took inventory of ingredients on hand and started cooking. For better nutrition he added carrots and used low-fat cream cheese. He didn't use onions as a favor to Ward and he added his own special optional ingredient at the end--Stubb's Spicy BBQ Sauce. The result was a very delicious soup that reminded me of scalloped potatoes with ham. I hope this successful cooking adventure is the beginning of a new trend.

Below are basic instructions for making the soup. Detailed recipe at the end.

Chop potatoes, celery, carrots and ham.

Saute celery, carrots, and garlic before adding potatoes and water. Cook until veggies are tender. Add cream cheese and ham.                                     

Garnish with cheddar cheese and/or Stubb's Spicy BBQ sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Wally's Potato Ham Soup

Ingredients:

Oil, 1 T

Celery, 2 stalks chopped

Carrots, 3 large chopped

Garlic, 3 cloves minced

Potatoes, 7 medium--5-6 cups chopped

Water, 4 ½ cups

Chicken bouillon cubes, 2

Low fat cream cheese, 8 oz, softened and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

Ham, 2 cups chopped (¾ lb)

For garnish:

Shredded cheddar cheese

Stubb's BBQ Sauce, 1 teaspoon/bowl

Saute celery, carrots, and garlic in oil until celery is starting soften.

Add potatoes, water, and bouillon cubes. Bring to boil and boil until vegetables are tender. Approximately 10- 15 minutes.

Lower heat or turn off heat on electric range and add cream cheese. Stir until melted.

Stir in ham.

Note: I added a little of Stubb's spicy BBQ sauce into my bowl. It gave the soup just a hint of spicy hotness without overwhelming the other flavors.

My mom and dad just put a little shredded cheese on theirs.

Everyone was happy. I hope you like it too.

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When I took a look at this post, I found it interesting. First because, back in the day, I did recipes on my blog. And second, it has a printer friendly version of the recipe. I'm impressed with myself on that one. :)

Until next time...

Soup

I made soup.

Is this a big deal? Well, yes and no. First, it's not a big deal because I make soup fairly often. But second, it is a big deal because I followed a recipe. You see, I usually make soup when we have food to use up from the refrigerator or freezer and I make it with no set formula of ingredients, spices, or amounts. Usually, it turns out very good. But sometimes it doesn't.

Therefore, I decided since this week I was going to make soup for friends, I would follow a recipe to ensure a good outcome. Broccoli cheese soup was my choice. I read several recipes and reviews of broccoli soups and decided on one from Cooking Light. But I guess old habits die hard. On my way to follow the recipe, I changed at least eight things including adding ingredients, changing ingredients, changing amounts and changing cooking methods. And guess what? I got lucky. It turned out great.

Now you may wonder how that counts for following a recipe? It counts because I had one posted on the refrigerator. Usually there is not a recipe anywhere in sight.

Here's what I ended up with.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

by June

1 medium onion-chopped

2 cloves garlic-- minced 

3 cups chicken broth

1 8 oz. package of frozen broccoli florets

2 large carrots-sliced

1 medium potato-chopped

2 1/2 cups skim milk

1/4 cup all purpose flour

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese made with 2 % milk

1/4 t of black pepper

Baked Cheese Doritos

In a large skillet or soup pot, saute onion and garlic in a little oil until they are translucent. Add chicken broth and carrot and bring to a boil. Boil for a minute. Add potato and boil for an additional minute. Then add broccoli and boil for another 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Whisk milk and flour and pepper together until there are no more lumps. Add to broccoli mixture and boil until slightly thickened stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. 

Puree 1/2 of soup with blender or similar device. Combine with other half.

Garnish with crushed Doritos.

Enjoy.

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Note: I noticed some cream cheese in the fridge and am going to add a couple of ounces of this with the cheddar cheese next time I make the soup.

Throwback Thursday--a recipe

I don't talk much about cooking and food here because it's just not my thing. Although, I have tried then and again to post about what we were eating or wasting as motivation to do better. I finally decided that we were doing okay, so food posts are few and far between these days.

Here's one of my infrequent food posts. It's a recipe for spinach quiche. I use this recipe every time for the right ratio of egg to milk to cheese. I have varied everything else using what we have on hand and it turns out well every time.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2014

Spinach Quiche

There must be hundreds of recipes out there for egg and cheese combination dishes, and I've read many of them. But in my standard way of cooking, I made a quiche recently and made up my own. I used what I had on hand and a little common sense. The results were just what we wanted--an easy to make, hearty, good-for-you dish. Now it may seem strange that for someone who doesn't like to follow recipes, I usually write down what and how much I put in a dish that I don't make all of the time. That way I can make it again if it's a success. And that's what happened this time. The quiche was a nice combination of flavors without being overpowered by any one. Also, the texture was good without being too eggy or too cheesy. (I know. My husband has told me that there's no such thing as too cheesy.) I've made it a couple of times using this combination and now the recipe has gone into my files. If you'd like to give it a try or just read another recipe, here it is.

Spinach Quiche

Preheat oven to 400°F

Crust:

1 cup flour
3/4 t. salt
1/4 cold water
1/4 cup oil

Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Stir until ball forms. Press into 9" pie plate. No need to roll out, just press into place.


Filling:

3 eggs
1 cup skim milk
3 strips of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach cooked and well drained

Beat eggs and milk together. Add cheese, bacon and mix. Add spinach and mix well so there are no large clumps of spinach. Pour into crust and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Enjoy!

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Aug. 16, 2013

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 and Tomato

I bought a bag of lettuce that had seen better days before I even opened it, but I did manage to save some of it. However, a tomato turned rotten waiting for me. But the other dozen or so tomatoes we got from Uncle Billy were put to good use (made salsa) before they met with a similar demise. Also saved were a cucumber, mushrooms, and the last of the yellow watermelon. Fresh produce is hard to keep up with. Sometimes it feels like I am spinning plates in the air to use it before I lose it.

This Week's True Food Confessions

The making of Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut

A little cooking and its leftovers, good sandwich supplies, and fresh salsa and humus kept our bellies full this week. And oh, I should mention there were also leftovers from Ward's favorite Chinese restaurant. We have developed a pattern over the last couple of months with our eating. We eat in most of the week and eat out sometime over the weekend. This usually happens when we're away from home on an outing. .

We did try a new recipe this weekend thanks to Theodore who took the time to look one up and buy the ingredients. We made Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut from the blog Dad Cooks Dinner. The recipe has pork ribs, bacon, potatoes, and sauerkraut as the main ingredients. And guess what? The carnivores in the family loved it. And guess what even more? So did I.

I have copied the recipe below from this link.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut

Cook time: 8 hours
Equipment:

• 6 quart or larger slow cooker (Crock Pot brand is fine, but I like my fancy one from All-Clad)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz bacon, cut into 1 1/2" pieces
• 2 lbs sauerkraut, drained and rinsed (I prefer bagged sauerkraut)
• 1 lb new potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 apples, cored and diced
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp coriander seed
• 1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 lbs pork western ribs or pork country ribs
• 3 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups white wine (Riesling or other dry white wine)

Directions:
1. Brown the bacon: Put the bacon in a cold fry pan and turn the heat to medium.  Cook, rendering the bacon fat and turning occasionally, until the bacon is browned and crispy, about ten minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon. Leave 2 tbsp bacon fat in the pan, and dispose of the rest.

2. Prep and layer ingredients in the crock pot: While the bacon is browning: Drain and rinse the sauerkraut, and place in the bottom of the slow cooker crock in an even layer. Scrub the new potatoes and put them in a ring against the outside edge of the crock. Core and dice the apples, and put them in the middle of the potatoes. Sprinkle the brown sugar, thyme, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and bay leaves into the crock. Sprinkle the pork with 3 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground pepper, then layer on top of the other ingredients in the pot. Put the browned bacon in the pot whenever it is ready; in my case it wound up on top of the apples.
3. Saute the aromatics:When the bacon is done, add the diced onion, crushed garlic, and 1/2 tsp salt to the pan. Saute, scraping the browned bacon drippings into the onions. Cook until the onion is starting to brown around the edges, about five minutes. (While the onion is cooking, continue with the layering the ingredients step if it is not done yet.) Add the wine to the pan and bring to a simmer. Scrape any remaining browned bits from the bottom of the pan, then pour the onion/garlic/wine mixture into the crock over the top of the pork.

3. Slow cook the pork: Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours.

4. Plate and serve: Remove the pork ribs to a plate. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon, cut into quarters, and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and throw them away.  Stir the ingredients left in the crock into the sauerkraut, then remove the sauerkraut to a serving platter using a slotted spoon. Ladle a cup or two of the liquid left in the crock over the sauerkraut, ribs and pork. Put the pork and potatoes on top of the platter of sauerkraut, and serve.

Variations:
*Pork Roast: Instead of the pork ribs, use a pork shoulder roast. Increase the cooking time to 10 hours on low or 5 hours on high. *Add smoked sausage: If you have a pound of kielbasa or smoked sausage, slice it and add it on top of the apples. You'll have bacon, smoked sausage, pork ribs, and sauerkraut. What could be better?
*Use red wine instead of white wine: Red wine is common in German sauerkraut, so if that's all you have, go ahead and use it.
Notes:
*Riesling: Riesling comes in a wide variety of sweetness levels, from dry (no sweetness) to syrupy sweet (dessert wines). A dry to semi-sweet Riesling is my preference for this recipe. German Rieslings have their sweetness level as part of the name; look for halbtrocken (off-dry), or trocken (dry). Really, any inexpensive white wine that isn't too oaky will work. (Avoid cheap chardonnay, which tends to be very oaky.)
*Why a cheap white wine? Because about half a bottle goes into the slow cooker. I can't bring myself to cook the good stuff for hours. I save the good stuff to drink. If you're serving a crowd, get a cheap bottle for the pot, then some better wine of the same type for everyone to drink with the meal.



Until next time...

Four Days After Christmas

 

One of the best gifts I got happened a few days before Christmas, when a crocus I had been working with for the last four months bloomed inside. It made me very happy. Other leaves are up, and I hope there are more blooms to come.

Winter is showing itself throughout the country, whether with heavy rains, deep snow, or wild winds. Here, the front that's been wreaking havoc across the country has made it very windy with temperatures dropping 30°F in just a few hours. Some of the neighbor's trees have come down, but we're okay. I hope that all of our old trees have already come down, as we have lost four in the last few years. My sister in Maine had almost 2 feet of snow on Christmas Eve, which changed more than one holiday plan. I feel fortunate that we were not trying to travel during these challenging times. 

Or I should say, we weren't trying to travel far. We went to Ward's father's house on Christmas, which is only 1 1/2 hours away if traffic cooperates. And it did that day. There were 20 of us who gathered, and a good time was had by all, with ages ranging from 4 months to 92. It still amazes me that we are able to shove all of the furniture aside and piece together a table where we all sit together for dinner. 

We're slowly putting away the Christmas clutter, but don't plan to take down the decorations yet. I'm a "take it down on New Year's Day" kind of person, but Ward likes to leave things up until Three Kings Day on January 6. And that's okay because the lights on the tree and the mantle make a very nice atmosphere.

Wally and Theo got me an air fryer for Christmas. I'm looking forward to learning how to use it and doing all the amazing things my friends say it can do. They brought some tater tots over for its maiden test, and they were quite crispy. 

Also, Theo got me an American's Test Kitchen cookbook, and we've made one recipe from it — a Spanish lentil dish. There was a nice blend of spices, but we both thought it wasn't good enough to warrant all of the steps it took to make it. I'm still deciding what to cook next. We plan to take turns picking a recipe from it to try. 

Of course, when Wally was looking at it, he started on page 314 (for Pi). Next, he doubled and checked out the recipe on page 628. It reminded me of when he was at home, and I sometimes made him responsible for meals during his school breaks. He would take a cookbook, open it at random, and alternate between choosing the recipe on the right or one on the left. Whatever worked for him. 😀 I didn't interfere unless he asked for help. 

Back to the mundane. I need to get the sheets out of the dryer and remake the bed.

Until next time...

P.S. I haven't taken many pictures recently, except at family gatherings, and I can't show all of those faces. Let's see if my next post has more pictures.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--August 30, 2013

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

Cottage Cheese and Chicken Soup

The cottage cheese turned green before we finished it. I knew the container was too big when I bought it, but the price was so good. A rookie mistake made by an old pro. Also, last week I was sick for a couple of days and had 1/2 can of chicken soup--our favorite go to with an upset stomach. However, when I felt better, the soup didn't seem so appealing any more. So there it sat in the back of the fridge until it was time for it to go.

This Week's True Food Confessions 

Do you ever have a hard time remembering what you did yesterday? Sometimes I can't remember what I  did even that morning. So sometimes, I can't remember what we had to eat over the last week--like now. But I'll take a stab at it any way. Last night we had meatloaf and a couple of days before that we had chicken and noodles with chicken left over of a roasted chicken. Another night was a frozen pizza. The treats of the week were fresh salads, watermelon, and peaches. Oh the peaches were heavenly. I love peach season. 

Picture from Browneyed Baker.

I didn't make a new recipe this week, but I tasted a wonderful one at work--Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream. This is not ice cream with chunks of cookie dough, but the ice cream tastes like chocolate chip cookie throughout.  It was rich, creamy, and delicious and didn't require churning with an ice cream maker. I may make it this weekend. My friend that made it said that she got the recipe years ago off a bag of a bag of chocolate chips, but I have reprinted it below from Food. com.

Toll House Quick Ice Cream

By children from A to Z on July 16, 2007

0 Reviews

• 
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 24 hrs 30 mins
• Yield: 1.5 quarts

About This Recipe

"I haven't made this but it sure looks good. I found this in the Nestle cookbook I have. No ice cream maker necessary. Cooking time is chilling time."

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup mini chocolate chip
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. In a small heavy gauge saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter.
2. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring occasionally; boil 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. In blender container, combine eggs, vanilla extract and salt; cover and blend at medium speed for 30 seconds.
5. Gradually pour in brown sugar mixture; blend at high speed for 1 minute Set aside;.
6. Cool to room temperature.
7. In a large bowl, beat heavy cream until stiff.
8. Fold in butter/sugar mixture.
9. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
10. Pour into foil-lined 9x5x3 in loaf pan.
11. Cover with foil; freeze until firm (several hours or overnight).

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 (1179 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Calories 3208.8

Calories from Fat 2467

76%

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Total Fat 274.1g

421%

Saturated Fat 140.3g

701%

Cholesterol 1020.4mg

340%

Sugars 155.0 g

Sodium 1522.1mg

63%

Total Carbohydrate 183.1g

61%

Dietary Fiber 12.0g

48%

Sugars 155.0 g

620%

Protein 36.4g

7

 

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions-June 7, 2013

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

None that I could find.

This Week's True Food Confessions

Now let me see. It seems as if we have been cooking and eating at home most of the time this week, but I can't seem to find pictures for it. Upon more careful consideration, I guess Ward and I had lunch out on Saturday while we were on our garden tour. Leftovers from that were served another time. Another day this week, Wally had some good news, so he treated everyone to California Tortilla. Tonight we are having pizza from Aldis. Other times we have had stir fry and baked salmon that we actually cooked. 

And over the weekend, I tried a recipe I got from Lili at Creative Savv--Guacamole Salad Bowl. Lili is trying to eat more fish and this recipe is one she likes that includes tuna. The recipe was a no brainer as far as I was concerned. It had lettuce, tomato, black olives, cheese, guacamole, tuna, and FRITOS. It's been years since I have had those greasy, delightful chips, so when I saw this recipe, I knew we had to make it. It was a hit with everyone and the big bowl of salad was gone in no time. (Maybe a record for the Carnivores.) However, if I were to make it again, I would add the Fritos on top just before I served it so they would be crunchier, and I would use chicken instead of tuna. I'm with Lili. I don't like fish that much. 

Until next time...

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Mar. 1, 2013

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

I had lettuce that got limp and slimy before I got to it this week. I looked at it for a couple of days and thought that I should make a salad because the lettuce might be getting old. And guess what? While I was watching it, some of it did get old. So out it went. 

 

This Week's True Food Confessions

We had take out pizza again this week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Otherwise, we cooked at home as I tried to use up ingredients we had on hand. We had soups, casseroles, and some baked chicken and sweet potatoes. Even though we've been doing this for a while, Ward continues to be amazed when we don't ask him to pick up something on his way home from work. Mostly, everyone is happy with the new way of doing things, but they do wish that we ate out more often.

The new recipe this week was inspired by Lili at Creative Savv. She posted a recipe for "meat" balls made from beans. She then used her "meat" balls in a meat ball sandwich. That seemed like a good idea to me. However, when I say a new recipe this week, what I really mean is a new inspiration because I didn't follow her recipe at all. I decided that we weren't ready to have no meat in our meat balls, so I mixed a can of mashed black beans with a pound of extra lean ground beef. I also added some spinach to sneak in a vegetable along with the standards of bread crumbs and eggs. I seasoned with a little of this and that that needed to be used up from the fridge. We then made meatball subs from them with pasta sauce and cheese. 

The results? Everyone definitely enjoyed their meatball sub. However, the meatballs by themselves took a little getting used to. Even though there was an equal amount of meat to the beans, the texture caused problems for a couple of us. I think it may take a couple of more times making them for us to get used to the beany meatballs. 


What's in store for next week? I have no idea, but it's time to start thinking about it.
 
Until next time...