I’ve been picking peppers by the peck! Or so it seems. I’ve searched the internet for ways to use them all and combined a few ideas into two new recipes. Roasted Jalapeno-Tomato Salsa with Fresh Cilantro is more intense than your common grocery store condiment. It took a bit of tweaking to get the balance of peppers and fresh cilantro just right, and that’s still a matter of personal preference. When you make this recipe, I suggest you start small with those two ingredients and work your way up.

The second new recipe was for Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers, They were fun to make and fun to eat. I don’t think the peppers would freeze well, but I wonder how they would turn out on the grill? We may need to grill something this week just to find out. I’ll have to check my freezer inventory to see what’s available.  Some sort of pork might go well with the Poppers.

Michael and I have both been working overtime. Working overtime, you ask? Aren’t you retired? Well, yes, we are both retired from paying jobs, but we’ll never stop working. Anyway, while I’ve been playing with produce Michael’s been busy laying flooring. He finally finished the last room, and I must say he’s done an excellent job. Do you think I could get away with handing him a paint brush next?

All this work hasn’t left much time for day-to-day cooking, but we’ve managed.  We took the day off last Sunday, just to relax.  New York Speidies took no time to grill, and since they came from my freezer stash they took no time to prepare.  While I was poking around in the freezers I came up with some Cauliflower Baked Shells and Cheese.  I had frozen our two portions in a foil container, so all I had to do was pop it in the toaster oven. With the combination of pasta and cauliflower, this was the perfect side for that night’s dinner.

For Meatless Monday another round of my Roasted Vegetable Medley went straight from the garden to a sheet pan in the oven. The eggplant was so fresh I didn’t even bother with the pre-salting and rinsing business. There was none of the bitterness that eggplants tend to develop in storage.  More Homemade Marinara Sauce and some Cheese Grits also came out of the freezer to complete the meal.

Tuesday I went back into the freezer and pulled out My Best Meatloaf. That provided us with leftovers for the next couple of days, which we didn’t mind at all. By the time we finished working it was too late to cook a meal from scratch.

By Friday Michael had finished all but the trim on his flooring project and I was at a stopping point in processing the produce. It was time to start cooking again. I decided to try a new recipe that was published by one of my grocery stores. Now usually, recipes from the stores that push their products are pretty good. They want you to purchase that product again. Not this time! Bayou Shrimp, Beans, and Rice was a definite flop! Sadly enough, the recipe made a huge pot of the stuff and I’m afraid it will all go to waste. It was that bad. Maybe if I had left the shrimp out….

Oh well, this coming week will be less busy, although the tomatoes are picking up again and the peppers haven’t quit. Now I just have to pull a few stickies and put them on the calendar for my Sticky Menu Plan.

Be thankful for what life gives you.