Baking, Remembering, Feeling Blessed

Baking, Remembering & Feeling Blessed

Today I Yesterday I quit my job.  I had only worked there for 3 days, and I gave no notice what-so-ever. I feel it was a good decision though.  I was nervous yesterday when I was writing my resignation letter and washing my uniform so I could turn it in.  I procrastinated so long that when I finally went to turn everything in - they were closed!  Luckily Someone was still there and I turned everything in.  I felt a great peace as I drove home.  Of course I was nervous again this morning when I realized that I forgot to charge my phone (on the only charger that I could find that would charge my phone, I just forgot to turn the switch on for that outlet!).  I just don't want them to think that I am childishly ignoring their calls (like I do to everyone else).  I got over it though when I realized that I had a beautiful rainy fall day to spend with 2 of my children.
      So, I decided MJ decided that we needed to make some cookies this morning!  I knew the perfect recipe to try out too!  A fabulous Toll House recipe on the back of the white chocolate chips I bought for a very specific reason (NOT the cookies I was about to make, of course).  So we got out all the ingredients and pushed MJ's chair up to the counter so she could help.  I was repeatedly amazed at what she knew/remembered from watching me (and Bug) in the kitchen.  She helped me with the flour - and knew what it was!!  She knew the brown sugar goes in her oatmeal, and knew there was four, butter, and sugar that goes in the cookies.  She was very excited about mixing!  She was even more excited when we put the white chocolate chips in the mix and she got to sneak a few chips without getting in trouble.  A friend of mine from Florida always posts about baking with her daughter and I always wished MJ was old enough to do that with me.  She finally is! 
     I was also thinking about baking with my mom.  My mom stayed at home and worked with the family business (from home).  It was a rare occasion that I actually got to see or help her bake.  Everything was usually done while we were at school.  I was a very lucky & spoiled child.  Now days we always talk about how spoiled our own children are with their cell phones and iPods and game systems.  I think, though, that we are the lucky ones.  I remembered the kitchen table being covered in tin foil for the cookies to be cooled on. I have a cooling rack with 2 shelves.  My grandmother mixed everything by hand.  We now have hand mixers & stand mixers (although Bug and I really do prefer to mix everything by hand).  When I am done baking I throw everything into the dishwasher, not the case for my mother.  Not only did I grow up spoiled and lucky, but I still am.
     I really do feel blessed today to be able to spend time baking with my girls and helping SAW with his homework.  I am glad that I have the option to stay home with them like my mother did.
    

Making it at Home

Yet another blog post about trying to make it to the end of the month and still have food left over...

A lot has happened already this month.  I've been keeping busy, and staying stressed out as well. But that's another story. OK, not really another story, pretty much the same story that repeats every month or so...

Anyways...

Yesterday I actually started thinking about dinner BEFORE it was dinner time!  I knew I had a head of cauliflower that had to be used up, and a pound of ground beef that I thawed out.  I had to find a way to make the cauliflower so that everyone would eat it, not just me & Bug.  My original idea was from a recipe for mac n cheese with cauliflower.  Personally, I think it sounds great, but I doubted that Mike would eat it.  Then I found a recipe for Cheese sauce from scratch in this awesome cookbook I checked out from the library.  Who knew?  OK, I guess it is kind of common sense, but still... I had no idea!  So Cheesy Cauliflower it is!  I also made a meatloaf to go with that.  UGH. It was by far the WORST meatloaf I have EVER made!  I love meatloaf.  I would make it every day if I could.  I just learned yesterday that my husband DOESN'T like meatloaf! (I find myself wondering, often, what planet he is from!)  I told him he would need a lot of ketchup with it because it wasn't very good.  "All meatloaf tastes like shit.  I don't know why you thought this would be any different."  Harsh, yes, but I know that he wasn't putting MY cooking down, just meatloaf as a dish in itself.  As long as I have the time and the ingredients I will continue to make meatloaf though!  So, if anyone has a good tried and true recipe for meatloaf I would LOVE to try it!

Today is a nice brisk fall day.  It's the perfect day for soup!  I don't have any pasta of any kind (and am not in the mood to make it myself) so I had to get creative again.  I had frozen broccoli, leftover cheese sauce from last night, & onions... Creamy Broccoli & Cheese soup!!  I started out with this recipe and went from there.
I didn't have Velveeta, so I used the left over cheese sauce from last night, and I tossed in the teeny tiny bit of leftover cauliflower from last night too.  I put in the nutmeg that it calls for, but next time I will not!  We did not like the taste of the nutmeg in the soup.  We also had to add a lot of salt 1) to overcome the taste of the nutmeg, and 2) because my cheese sauce was not salty at all and Velveeta IS.  I will definitely chop the onions smaller next time, and use more milk!  The way it is written it would definitely NOT feed my family of 5, but with a little extra milk/water it was great for the 3 of use that were here for lunch!  I know a recipe is a keeper when SAW goes back for seconds!!!

What have you been making for dinner lately??

LIFE

I've been having a rough time with life lately... I am overwhelmed.
All this crap we are going through with the court systems is just grating on my nerves.  I hate it every time my phone rings because it is either a)someone wanting money I don't have or b)something about the court case. OK,  maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration - My Dad called & talked to me for 1.5 minutes the other day and I missed 2 phone calls from Kathy, but other than that - it is either a or b.
I am feeling super whiny, but also feeling justified in my whininess.
I really need a job.  I think I might feel a bit better about myself if I had a job and a way to help fix this situation instead of just sitting here like a lump.  A big overweight lump....

Meal planning

I am - yet again - trying to make a meal plan for the week.  Thanks to Pinterest it seems a lot easier than before!  People have posted such great recipes to try!  I have posted a ton of them to my board here.  I have even made a few of them! LOL!  Anyways, I digress, I am trying it one more time because once again - we are broke!  No news flash there, but still....

So far I know what I am doing today, tomorrow and the next day.  I have the ingredients for all three dinners (why would I bother planning breakfasts and lunches when we all eat at different times?).  Now I am stumped!

Enter Facebook.

I have searched for a few groups to join for meal planning and freezer meals in hopes for inspiration.  I also posted in a few of my mom groups.  I am sure that some of my friends will come to my rescue!

So wish me luck and feel free to email me some tasty recipes (cheap - no chicken - tasty recipes!).

At the end of the week I hope to (remember to) post my menu and recipes and maybe even a few pictures.
Check later!

Sweet tea Addicts

When we lived in Florida we discovered that Northern Sweet Tea is NOT the same as Southern Sweet Tea.  My family quickly became addicted to Sweet tea.  It got even worse when we discovered a little place in Fort Walton Beach called Yardbirds.  Not only did they have AMAZING chicken, but their sweet tea was so good we bought it by the gallon!  When we moved up to Idaho we realized that we would never be able to find tea as good as Yardbirds.  I was on a mission.  I HAD to find a recipe that was good enough for my family!  I tried and tried.  I tested all kinds of recipes.  I went through A LOT of tea.  I even tried different kinds of tea bags, sugar and water!
I finally found it!  The recipe of a lifetime! My family loves it & I now make it by the gallon - almost every single day!
I have to say though that when I first read that the water is the most important key to goo southern sweet tea I laughed, but I tried it anyways.  Yup, filtered water makes better tea.  A lot of people swear by spring water, but our filtered water from the fridge and the spring water from the store made the same tasting tea.
Sooooo....Here it is - you MUST try it!

First - get 1 gallon of your best water. 
**Boil 2cups of that water and 2cups of sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved & remove from heat and set aside.
**Get 8 regular size Black tea bags, or 4 family size (Luzianne makes the best, but I am currently using a generic black tea and my family didn't notice a difference) put them in a large pot but tie them off to the handle or something so they don't touch the bottom.  Pour the rest of your water over them.
**Bring tea to a simmer (DO NOT BOIL) for 5 minutes.
**Remove from heat & cover & let steep for 20to 25 minutes until you get a nice dark color.
Meanwhile - I stir in my secret ingredient to the 2 cups of sugar water - 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey.  Stir until it's all dissolved.
**Pour you sugar water into your gallon container, then pour your tea over.  Give it a good shake and put in the refrigerator until you just can't stand it anymore.
Fill your glass with crushed ice and pour your tea over it & enjoy!

It looks like I may have to start making 2 gallons because I just went to get some for myself and its ALL GONE!!! Be aware, you may be creating a habit you can't break!

Yard sales and unfriendly neighbors

We are finally having our yard sale (OK, it's a driveway sale - but you know what I mean!)!  I have been planning it for months!  I posted on all my groups & FB pages.  I invited everyone I know to bring stuff and yard sale with me.  I cleaned everything & priced everything too!  Here I sit, all by myself (except for the moments that SAW sticks his head out the door to check on stuff & when MJ sits out here with me). So far, as of lunchtime on day 2, I have made about $30.  Not the big haul I was hoping for!  But, basically it's free money, so I know I shouldn't complain.  I was really hoping to not have to haul all this stuff back into the garage and find storage space for it AGAIN!  Yes, some of it will be going to the Airman's Attic, but some of this I know is worth some money and I am holding out hope that someone else will want it!  We have had a lot of drivebys (you know, when they just stop at the end of the driveway and look out the window but never get out of the car).  Personally, drivebys are the worst!  I mean, doesn't my stuff warrant more than a glance out the window?  I have one large table that is very crowded & there's no way that from the driveway you can see what's on it! 
Enough complaining about that... I've got bigger things to complain about today!
We were so freaking excited when we saw that someone was finally moving into the house next door!  the day their moving van showed up I rushed into the kitchen and baked them a loaf or apricot coffee cake and packaged it up with some of the apricot syrup I made to drizzle over the top.  SAW and I knocked on the door & handed over the "Welcome to the neighborhood!" gift!  We quickly introduced ourselves and let them get back to their moving in!  We had high hopes that we were going to become great friends with our new neighbors.  They also have kids SAW and Bugs ages so that made everyone happy!  They have a dog also, that made our dogs pretty happy.  Happy enough that Bloo decided she needed to hang out ON TOP of the fence and chat with them, and Gizmo decided that he needed to dig under the fence and go play!  The day he had to come knock on our door to come get the dog out of his yard was a very unfriendly day!  I apologized profusely and told him that we were working on it (we didn't have neighbors when we brought the dogs home so this was new for them).  A couple days later gizmo was over there again...  It hasn't happened since then,they also have not spoken to us since then.  We smile and wave and say hi every time we see them outside (I mean, how can we not - we share a garage wall and a driveway so we see them a lot!).  They never respond.  Ever. Not even a wave or a nod.  Except for their teenage girl (who was very interested in SAW the first day they moved in), but even she only smiles and nods after she is in her car & driving out!  WTF?? (BTW - according to Bug that means "Well that's Fantastic!")  My hopes and dreams of being friends with our neighbors is crushed.  I feel horribly guilty about it too.  I am also a bit perturbed though, the reason the dogs stopped trying to say hi to them is because they only go outside a couple times a day now and someone has to sit and "supervise" the whole 5 minutes.  My dogs LIKE to be outside.  Gizmo would stay out there all day if he could just lounging in the shade on his blanket.  But, we just can't risk the chance of them trying to go over/under the fence again.  It's sad.  The only upside of that (for the dogs) is that we take them to the dog park A LOT now!  Almost every night.  They get to run and play with other dogs and we get to sit in the shade and chat with friendly dog owners that tell us stories about their awesome neighbors!  UGH!


So do you guys have good neighbors?  What is the deciding factor that makes a neighbor good/bad?  

Self Esteem Playlist

I was reading on Cafemom about a Self Esteem playlist that someone created.  I started thinking that it's a great idea!  I have playlists for when I'm having a bad day, when I'm sad or angry, but I can always use more music!  We all can, right?
So Now I'm thinking about what songs would be on my playlist to boost me up and what would my number one song be?
This might take me a bit to figure out and gather up all the music, so until then - tell me what your #1 song would be?