After nearly two weeks of being the victim of one of the nastiest head colds I can remember, I’m finally up and running. Thank goodness for Michael, grilled cheese and tomato soup, and homemade freezer food!
Unlike most of my posts, this one will be really short. Some of you may consider that a good thing, Here are a couple of recipes from the days before my head exploded.
I try to keep up with my freezer inventory, but sometimes I miss doing that. The Bean and Ham Soup I was craving didn’t exist, so I winged it with what I could scrounge up and came up with a new recipe for Loaded Lentil Soup that was really good. Luckily, I wrote the recipe down as I went because I believe it’s a keeper.

I also worked on my Patty Melt recipe. I wasn’t able to reduce the calories and fat as much as I hoped, even though I gave it my best shot, so I guess they will remain an occasional treat. The scaled back version tasted just as good as the original though. I’ll go with that.
I’m feeling much better now and have a lot of cooking to do.
Be thankful for what life gives you.

The Holidays are always such a busy time.  I haven’t intended to stay off this blog for so long, but it happened! Here’s what we’ve been up to.
The week before Christmas we were in pretty good shape. All of the wrapping was done. My Holiday menues were planned, and because I try to buy my recipe ingredients in advance, a little at a time, most of what I needed was on hand. Much of what we ate for dinner in that preceeding week came from my always over-stocked freezer, but there were two fresh and flavorful standouts, Chicken Fajita Quesadillas and Szechwan Shrimp.

The Monday before Christmas I made my last trip to the grocery store. This was a carefully planned trip with set goals. I only bought fresh produce for the upcoming days, some dairy that needed to be replenished, and most importantly, I kept the number of items below the express lane limit. Because the stores are always such a zoo with people purchasing full carts filling all the lanes, this approach serves me well every holiday.
This year Michael and I were alone on Christmas Eve. Since I was only cooking for the two of us I was able to splurge on dinner. We feasted on the Perfect Prime Rib and it turned out perfectly. Creamy Leeks Parmesan and Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes along with some of my White Wheat Refrigerator Rolls were delicious on the side without stealing the show.

We enjoyed Christmas Dinner at Emily’s. Kelton requested crescent rolls, which of course came from my refrigerator roll recipe. Emily’s dessert request was a bit more of a challange. There’s a first time and a last time for everything. Both of those happened at the same time when it came to baking my friend Carol’s recipe for Red Velvet Cake. This cake is as beautiful and festive as it gets, and has a wonderfully unique flavor, but baking cakes is not exactly my strong suit. It took me forever to bake, not to mention the mess I made with 2 oz. of red food coloring. Maybe baking this cake will be kind of like childbirth, and by next year I will have forgotten what a pain it was!

They say that “necessity is the mother of invention” and in the case of our Christmas cake that was true. I don’t have a cake carrier tall enough to accomodate this cake, and the icing was rather soft and fluffy, so simply covering it with plastic wrap was not an option. After spending quite some time and effort rummaging around the kitchen looking for the solution it came to me. I stood wrapped candy canes around the cake and tented plastic wrap over them. It worked beautifully. I’ll have to remember that trick and add a page to my Lessons Learned.
Aaron, Jen, and Xander arrived on Friday. After snacking on our usual Spicy Sausage Balls and a few other tidbits, Fishy Friday was observed with Saucy Shrimp with Whole Corn Grits. I had to cut back on the spices a bit to satisfy the palate of a two year old, but the shrimp and grits were still good.
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Saturday, the 27th, we entertained Michael’s side of the family. I cheated and baked frozen biscuits to serve with my Simple Pork Tenderloin. The pork was sliced thinly and served at room temperature on the biscuits. A choice of Horseradish Spread or Maple Mustard Sauce worked well with this easy make-ahead appetizer. Tiny Twice Baked Potatoes were made in advance as well.
In all the whirl of activities, the camera was forgotten and I neglected to take pictures of anything on Saturday, but a few leftovers survived to pose for pictures the next day. My sweet offering, Pecan Tassies and just a few of Emily’s excellent Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs were about all I had to work with.
. Among the other delights that disappeared, I wish I had taken a picture of Jen’s Zucchini Appetizers. They were so yummy that I doubt any of the picky eaters realized those little squares are actually good for you.
The holidays continued as we visited my sister, Betsy, AKA Ann, and her husband Wendell on their farm in Tennessee for a little nip of eggnog and snacks. As we were leaving, Betsy shared with us a jar of her homemade Pepper Jelly. I was really impressed. Getting the right consistency to any jam or jelly can be tricky and with pepper jelly you also have the heat factor. This pepper jelly was spot-on. Half the jar was gone the first evening we opened it. I guess I’ll have to make a batch of my own soon. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it turns out as well as hers.

We flipped things a little for New years. Normally I serve the big dinner on New Years Day, but this year the day was devoted to football. ( More on that in a minute.) My New Years Dinner is very traditional. You have to start with some sort of Pork, so Sunday Pork Roast fit that bill. You have to serve greens to make sure there is plenty of money in the coming year. Michael doesn’t really care for “greens” so I serve braised Green cabbage. Apparently cabbage is green enough, since we are still able to pay our bills. Black eyed peas are served to bring luck. I saved some of last summers home-grown pink eyed peas just for that. Since the pork roast is prepared with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes were a must, although not called for by tradition.  By some miracle we even stayed up past midnight to welcome in the New Year!  How in the world did that happen?
Now for New Years Day. This year it was the biggest football day of the year if you happen to live in the state of Alabama. Only the Iron Bowl might rival it. Both Auburn and Alabama played in bowl games, and sadly enough they both lost. Superstition tells me that it was all Michael’s fault. Before each and every Alabame football game of the season he has gone to Star Market for a special Terry’s Pizza, but not this time. Frozen pizza it was, and I guess that put the freeze on both teams. He won’t be doing that again, at least if I have anything to say about it. ROLL TIDE!!!
Be thankful for what life gives you.

No, not really. As I’m beginning this post it’s really Thursday, but any day can be YOUR Monday, or New Year’s Day, the first day of school, or any other day of new beginnings. So, what do you want to do with your Monday?
It’s so easy for a good habit to be replaced by those bad ones. Sometimes the change is brought on by circumstances, but most of the time that negative habit is continued through plain old laziness. Let me give you and example: A couple of months ago Michael’s mother was hospitalized for a week. Since we are the only ones who live nearby, we spent our days shuttling back and forth from the hospital, starting very early in the morning so as not to miss the Doctor’s visit. Home cooking was virtually impossible. We fell into the habit of grabbing a breakfast biscuit at the hospital, then going out for dinner. Since then, the breakfast habit has ceased but we have eaten out way too often and paid too litte attention to nutrition. It’s time to change that bad habit. It’s my Monday.
This week I resolved to cook at home, which I did, but I still didn’t pay much attention to nutrtion. My favorite cut of meat, chuck roast, came on sale. Chuck roast is so versatile, especially if you have it ground. I never buy commercial ground beef. As I’ve said before, you never know where it’s come from. Any time chuck roast is on sale I jump on it. Sadly enough though, most of my beef recipes are not the highest on the health scale, but it was On Sale. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!
We started out the week with comfort food, Sunday Pot Roast. If you have a pot roast you have to have Mashed Potatoes and gravy on the side, right?

We did observe Meatless Monday with a bowl of Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili , but that was simply my laziness kicking in again. The chili came straight from the freezer.
Another reason we were happy to see chuck roast on sale was that Michael had run out of Krystal Style Sliders for lunch, and if I don’t make them he will buy them.

As long as I had the meat grinder out, Patty Melts sounded like a good idea. NOT! I didn’t sit down to write the recipe until after I had made them, and that was a big mistake. I didn’t expect Patty Melts to fall into the diet food catagory, but as made, each sandwich came in at 775 calories with 50 grams fo fat! I won’t be making them that way again, but I’ve included the recipe for those of you who are either trying to gain weight or want to get time off from work by having a heart attack. (Not funny) I have 6 more patties in the freezer, so expect a revised recipe to appear soon.
Remember those mashed potatoes we had to have with the pot roast? When I went to purchase potatoes, the sale monster raised his head again and forced a 15 pound bag of potatoes into my cart. Fifteen pounds bags were on sale for less than the 5 pounds I intended to buy. What else could I do? Now I have 15 pounds of potatoes to deal with, and mashed potatoes for two take maybe one pound. Here I go again.

Zesty Oven Roasted Potatoes went well with Patty Melts, and Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes freeze fairly well, but now what am I going to do with the remaining 7 or so pounds?  Maybe another batch of Sausage and Potato Breakfast Bowls will help, but I guess I’ll just have to hope that the rest of the potatoes will last until Christmas.

Thursday I continued my effort to eat at home. I’ve also been trying to use up more of my freezer food, so I pulled out a Ham and Noodle Casserole. I was a little anxious about how our dinner would taste, because freezing ham can be tricky. It sometimes developes an odd aftertaste, but I was pleased that the ham in this casserole fared just fine. I suspect that if the ham is totally enveloped in sauce or broth the liquid protects the flavor.
Fishy Friday continued the trend of freezer food with clam chowder, still not so diet friendly, but home cooked.
I suppose next week I’ll have to work harder to cook not only what we like, but what likes us. My clothes are getting tight!
Be thankful for what life gives you.

Making a list and checking it twice isn’t just for Christmas. Any time a big dinner like Thanksgiving rolls around, or for that matter any time we entertain, I always work from a list. It just makes life simpler. Not that my list system is foolproof, Michael will tell you it’s not, but most catastrophies are minimized. Here’s how it works:
First, I go through my recipes to select a menu. Sometimes the menu is dictated by tradition, like Thanksgiving, and sometimes it’s more seasonal, like a summer barbecue. This year Emily is cooking the main meal at her house and we are bringing some of the sides and deserts. I pulled my recipes for Broccoli Casserole, Cornbread Dressing, Pecan Cheesecake Pie, and White Wheat Refrigerator Rolls. Reading the recipes, I noted that in order to make the dressing I would also need to bake a recipe of Iron Skillet Cornbread and some White Wheat Biscuits well in advance to let the breads go stale.

Next, it was time to prepare my shopping list. I sat down with the printed recipes and made a list of all the ingredients and the quantity needed, grouping the quantity of common items, like eggs for example. I found I would need a total of 10 eggs for all of the selected recipes. I compared the items on this master list with what I had on hand and came up with my shopping list. Since I had a general idea of what I might be cooking for Thanksgiving, many of these ingredients were purchased ahead, ideally as they came on sale. I added a pumpkin pie to the bottom of the list, since pumpkin pie is mandatory at Thanksgiving but I’m not good at baking them.
With my shopping list done I moved onto the next task, scheduling my time. Sometimes, scheduling time is both the hardest to plan as well as the hardest to execute. I try to build in a little blank time so my Sticky Menu Plan has room to slide.  I try to have the bulk of my ingredients on hand well in advance, but with produce fresh is best, and that’s where it gets tricky.  I do not like fighting the  pre-holiday crowds at the grocery store.  Monday is my compromise day for a final shop.  Most of the produce is cooked into other dishes by Wednesday, so it’s not too far a stretch.

I leave as few tasks as possible for Thursday, but there is always something left to do. Fresh is best. Happy Turkey Day!
Be thankful for what life gives you.

I’m guilty. I’ve fallen into the “I don’t have time” trap.
I too often tell myself that:
A. I don’t have time to sit down and work on my blog for the hour or so that I “think” it will take to accomplish anything worthwhile. Or…
B. I don’t have time to sit down and work on my blog because there are other things I “should” be doing. Or…
C. I don’t have time to “play” with the things I enjoy, like my blog, because there are others who need my attention.
In fact, all of the above apply to many facets of my life, but they are not reasons, they are excuses that waste my time.
Enough of that! I need to get started.
Here are some of the highlights of the time I’ve been AWOL.
I can just about tell what time of year it is by what is featured in the grocery ads. During the warm months a lot of the sale meats are things to be grilled or for other simple, light preparations. As the days grow shorter and cooler the ads feature comfort foods. I was delighted to find boneless chuck roast at a good price so we could have a crock pot full of Eight Hour Pot Roast and Vegetables.  Another chuck roast was ground for a big fall pot of Chili.

Along with the chili I made a pan of Iron Skillet Corn Bread, but as you’ll see in a minute, that cornbread served a duel purpose.
Fall ads also start to feature turkey in anticipation of the holidays. I always purchase one early, not because we are particularly fond of turkey, but because I don’t like mixing chicken broth into my turkey gravy or dressing. I cook a turkey breast ahead of time to make broth for the freezer. While we enjoy turkey the day it’s roasted, Michael and I don’t care for the taste of a re-heated bird or turkey casseroles. Two people can only eat so many sandwiches or so much soup, but don’t worry, the rest doesn’t go to waste. Bella and Lizzie appreciate their turkey in place of the chicken in a recipe of Bella and Lizzies Chicken and Brown Rice with Veggies.

Remember that skillet of cornbread that was served with the chili? After it got intentionally stale, I used it to make Cornbread Dressing to go with the Roast Turkey Breast and Roast Turkey Gravy. Michael is a gravy lover, so we had to have some Mashed Potatoes as well. Oven roasted asparagus, White Wheat Refrigerator Rolls, and Coconut Cream Meringue Pie rounded out the meal.

OK, we had a mini Thanksgiving dinner, but it all went for a good cause!  Bella and Lizzie have a new batch of their special food, (no they don’t get it every day!) and I have my turkey broth in the freezer.
Be thankful for what life gives you.

As predicted, our lives have been totally disjointed for the last two weeks and The Sticky Menu Plan has gotten quite a workout.  For the most part, but not always, I’ve been able to stay on track. Having kept up with my calendar and noting our obligations and appointments in advance has been a big part of making the plan work, but my menu’s built in flexability has been a major factor in it’s success.  We ate a lot of home cooked “freezer food” the last two weeks, a few leftovers, and a couple of nights we just threw in the towel and went out for Mexican comfort food.  Those little stickies just flew all over the place!
Before all the craziness started we enjoyed the company of Emily, Kaij,and Kelton for dinner. The Sunday Pork Roast went over well, with very little leftover which makes me happy.

There was just enough pork left to make a dinner of Pork Fried Rice for Michael and I later in the week.  That was a quick and easy meal.  I always keep the refrigerator produce drawer well stocked, so the only thing missing was the pre-cooked and cold brown rice. I took care of that before we set out for the day.  All that was left when we got home was a little chopping and stirring.
The next night I prepared another quick and healthy meatless meal. (Partly because I felt guilty about our previous Mexican meals out, but mostly because it fit the bill.)  More veggies and some store-bought tortellini became Tortellini Primavera in no time.

Often I literally “dream up” a recipe.  I find myself mulling an idea over in my sleep and wake up with a plan. That happened last week with my Bay Scallop Salad.  Michael had requested one of his favorites, Bay Scallop Po’Boys, which I also enjoy, but only on occasion.  Thinking about that dish must have prompted me to dream up an alternative compromise.  We had both.
We generally eat a light breakfast during the week and save the full cooked meal for a weekend splurge. One Saturday morning dish we enjoy is a Sausage and Potato Breakfast Bowl. It doesn’t look like much, but looks aren’t everything. This is delicious, filling, and is so easy to freeze ahead in batches. Breakfast is served in minutes whenever you’re ready to eat.

Something I do keep on hand for weekday breakfasts is a variety of muffins, frozen of course. We just wrap one in a paper towel and pop it in the microwave. Sometimes we add a smear of cream cheese or even peanut butter. Banana Oat Muffins are some of my best. Low cal(167 calories), low fat(2g), and high in fiber(3g), these are a good start.  Without the optional nuts each muffin provides about 5g of protein.  I usually have some Greek yogurt on the side.

In the fall, Saturday is Alabama football day, and with it comes “football food”. We often have something sweet for Michael and something savory we both enjoy. This week I baked up a batch of Peanut Butter Cookies, but tried something new.  I added dark chocolate morsels to half the batter and kept the other half plain.  Michael was a bit skeptical, but those with the added chocolate didn’t hang around long.  At half time we balanced out those sweets with a plate of Roasted Eggplant and Garbanzo Spread, a vegged up cousin to Hummus.  I like to garnish the dip with a sprinkle of feta cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, then serve it with whole wheat pita wedges.  Who knew football food could be good for you?  After the game Michael enjoyed his game day pizza and I finished off the fried rice instead of my usual Reuben Sandwich.  I guess I saved a few calories and fat grams that time.  ROLL TIDE!

Along with football, fall brings Baked Ham to the menu. When there are only two of you, it’s hard to consume the whole thing before it goes to waste. Kaij and Kelton were happy to come help us out with that, but there was still a lot left. Tuesday was my only non-commited day for the week.  I had a ham marathon that took me all day. We had Savory Scalloped Potatoes and Ham that night, and since scalloped potatoes don’t freeze well, the leftovers came in handy on one of the busy days later in the week. Into the freezer went two meals of Ham and Noodle Casserole and two more of Spring Time Manicotti. I know, it’s not Spring. The name comes from the fact that these manicotti feature asparagus, which used to be available only in the spring. Finally, the bone was simmered with some of the vegetable trimmings I always save to produce broth and ham pieces for a future pot of my Brunswick Stew as well as Southern Style Pinto Beans for next week.  Waste not, want not.
Gosh, until I looked back on it writing this post, I didn’t realize we had eaten as well as we did.
Be thankful for what life gives you.

But by looking at my calendar I know that it’s just the calm before the storm. There are upcoming hair appointments, medical appointments, vet appointments, and the fall baseball season is starting. Whew! The Sticky Menu Plan is going to get quite the work out.
Last Saturday was the first Alabama football game of the year. I must admit, the game was a bit of a disappointment, but at least they won. Traitionally we make a trip to Star Market before the game for Michael’s take-and-bake Terry’s Pizza. We hadn’t been since last season, but the man who always fixes Michael’s order remembered us and knew exactly what to prepare. We pigged out on Baked Potato Skins at half time and saved the pizza for after the game.

I hope all of you had a great Labor Day. Ours was quiet by choice, just Michael and I. Although we may have skipped the party we didn’t skip the food. Michael Smoked Ribs and I made a batch of Roasted Garlic Potato Salad along with some  Coleslaw, Krazy Jane Style. We still had peaches left from our stop at Durban Farms on the way home from the beach, so the last of them made one more Fresh Peach Pie.

It was all good, but not so good for our diets. Of course, in the spirit of not wasting food, we had to polish off the leftovers on Tuesday. I never did figure out how my mother was going to get all the food I left on my plate to the “children who are starving in China” if I didn’t finish it myself.
There were a couple of new menu items this week. Wednesday we had Two Sauce Lasagna. Three meals of that went into the freezer for later. Fishy Friday was my Tuna Salad, but with a twist. It was served in an avacado half over a big bed if spinach, red leaf lettuce, summer tomatoes, and red bell peppers. Yum!

I thought peach season was about over, but not so fast. The other day, another big basket of peaches jumped into my shopping cart and begged me to take them home. The peaches were marked down in price since a couple of the peaches on the top of the basket were badly bruised, but all the rest were still fine. This fruit came from a local peach orchard, and I think it was just as good as  what we brought home from Chilton County.  Now I had another greatly appreciated basket of peaches to deal with. Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler and Peach Preserves were the result.

Be thankful for what life gives you.

Even though I haven’t been blogging, August was an busy and productive month for us. We managed to finsh building out the new garage shelving, which is just beautiful in my opinion. Let’s see how long we can keep it that way. Lizzie got her first haircut EVER! We are all happy with the result; no more tangles and a lot less shedding.

The best part of August though was Beach Week and a different seafood restaurant every night. It’s hard to say, but I think our favorite was Blue Parrot and their crab claws.

As wonderful as Beach Week was, now it’s time to get back to the real world.
Sunday’s dinner was simple…Beef and Bean Burritos with Salsa Rice. Other than the fresh toppings, that meal came straight out of the freezer.

Meatless Monday was almost meatless with Sneaky Quiche. I did sneak in a little bacon, but this dish is called “sneaky” beacause it doesn’t call for a conventional pie crust but sneaks its’ own in. It’s a delicious dish.
Flat Iron steak was on sale this week. We enjoyed it two nights in a row in two completely different preparations. Tuesday night was Pepper Steak over plain brown rice. I hadn’t made that in a while, but it was very good. I’ll have to serve it again soon.

Wednesday evening Michael grilled a batch of Steak Fajitas. We had a side of Cauliflower Tomato “Grits” and Mexican Cream tied it all together.

Thursday night brought another variety of Stuffed Mushrooms, this time with Italian sausage. I tend to make stuffed mushrooms often. While I was looking up the Italian sausage version I ran across my recipe for some stuffed with spinach. I plan to make those next week.
Friday night was a repeat of Grilled Ahi Tuna Steaks along with Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes. I try to stay away from white potatoes, but they just taste good, especially when stuffed with cheese and butter and sour cream. Do you think the healthy grilled tuna offset any of all that? Oh well. To quote Katherine Hepburn, “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”
Be thankful for what life gives you.

It’s one of those weeks…two days shot with Dr. appointments, vet visits, produce to put up, and garage shelving to build. This was one of those weeks The Sticky Menu Plan was designed for!
Sunday we worked on more garage shelving, so there wasn’t time to devote to cooking a big meal. We always enjoy my Big Spring Jam Greek Chicken Salad. It does take a little prep work, but that prep can be done in bits and pieces as time allows. Once again, Monday wasn’t meatless. Taco Salad Our Way was a quick choice. I had Taco Seasoned Beef in the freezer, as well as some Simple Refried Beans.  We don’t use a big tortilla shell for this salad, just a base of tortilla chips, plenty of lettuce, and home grown tomatoes.  So good!

Tuesday was another trip to the Madison County Farmer’s Market and another long day of working to fill the freezer with more Summer Squash for the Freezer and Cream-Style Corn for Freezing. I do believe the old adage “Make hay while the sun shines”. If I don’t take advantage of the fresh summer produce I’ll be sorry come winter.

The tomato plants are still producing, as well. I have some Homemade Marinara Sauce and Simple Plain Tomato Sauce left from last year’s bountiful harvest, so this year I’m concentrating on chunky style Freezer Tomatoes and Fresh Tomato Soup. I’m saving freezer space by storing the soup as a concentrate without any broth. I can add that as needed or substitute milk if I’m in the mood.
Tuesday night’s dinner was a spin on my Pork Stir-Fry with Sugar Snap Peas. I had some broccoli in the fridge and substituted that for the peas. Yellow bell peppers and sliced mushrooms went in too.

Michael wasn’t too thrilled with Wednesday night’s Freezer Food, Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. To be fair, I did nothing to enhance them. They were just heated straight from the freezer and pretty bland. I should have at least added a little extra sauce or something.
By Thursday I was starting to wear myself out. My Sticky Menu Plan said we were supposed to grill some of our Bacon Cheeseburger Rolls, but when I went to retrieve them from the freezer a couple of already grilled hotdogs jumped into my arms instead! Well, at least we didn’t head out to a drive-thru.
Friday was Fishy, but with a twist. We rewarded ourselves for the week of hard work by going out to dinner. OK, it was just to a Mexican joint again, but we enjoyed it. My Fishy Friday entree was a combination of shrimp and chicken called “La Marina”. I’m going to work on figuring out the recipe because it’s more diet friendly than some Mexican meals.
All in all, it was a good week. Be thankful for what life gives you.

The week after the Forth of July was uneventful. We ate leftovers until they were coming out of our ears, and then we grilled those forgotten hot dogs.
I guess there were a couple of moments that did stand out, though.
Before Aaron, Jen, and Xander left on Sunday morning we had our usual big breakfast. Aaron and Jen shared a jar of their plum jam, made with plums they grew themselves. It sure was good.

Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. Thursday night we were getting ready to grill Spinach and Mushroom Smothered Chicken when the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. It was getting late and all the ingredients were already prepped. Spinach and Mushroom Braised Chicken was born. I don’t know which version I like better. The grilled version has that wonderful smoky charcoal flavor, and the braised version is a little moister with the braising liquid. It’s a hard choice.
Sunday’s dinner was phenominal! I can’t take credit for it though. We saw a segment on The Today Show that featured Thomas Keller’s Simple Roast Chicken from Epicurious Magazine. That roast chicken tasted like CHICKEN and was unbelievably juicy. The recipe calls for a “farm-raised” chicken, but the best I could do was an organic fryer (on sale) from my local grocer. I did finish it with my own pan sauce that I often prepare when I roast various meats. We also had to try some of the creamed corn that I put up for the freezer. This year we had a lot of rain, so the corn crop has been excellent, and that makes all the difference.  You can’t cream dry corn.

I also tried a “new to me” recipe for Angel Biscuits. This particular recipe can be made in advance and baked as needed. The recipe was copied for me by Michael’s mother from an old VanHook family recipe book. Of course, I then had to borrow the book to read through myself. I copied several more recipes which may show up here after I’ve had a chance to try them.

Our own garden is beginning to come in, as evidenced by this basket of pink eyed peas, sometimes called “purple hulls” or “cow peas”. What ever you choose to call them, they are delicious. It takes a while to shell them, but then all you have to do is put them in bags and freeze, no blanching required.
Our tomatoes are also beginning to come in as well. Meatless Monday’s dinner was Italian Tomato Pie. Tomato pie is one of those dishes that is only good with summer tomatoes. Store bought just won’t do.

Along with the tomatoes and pink eyes, we are in the middle of our blueberry harvest. I don’t think the blueberry yield will be as good this year as last years’ 84 cups, but hopefully we’ll get enough to make it through till next year.
Wednesday night I jumped the gun on myself. We were supposed to have Salisbury Steaks from the freezer, but instead I made Chile Rellenos. I had planned Thursday’s dinner to be Emily’s Chili Rellenos, but I started thinking about all the calories in fried foods. I decided to try baking the chilis instead of frying them and it worked out well. Emily’s Chili Rellenos II is still her basic recipe with the addition of Emily’s Easy Enchilada Sauce. I served Simple Refried Beans and Salsa Rice on the side. (in this photo the cheese on top looks a bit like yellow mustard, but I promise it’s cheddar cheese.)

Thursday The Sticky Menu Plan was called into action. We were out and about when Michael twisted my arm and we wound up at a Mexican restraunt. You know he had a hard time convincing me, right? Anyway, Thursday’s planned Salisbury Steak with Onion and Mushroom Gravy got slid to Friday. Fishy Friday’s sticker was just Tuna Salad Salads, and I make that with canned tuna out of the pantry. I’ll just slide that stickie to next week. Whether or not I actually use it isn’t decided yet. Some other fish dish may sound better by the time I plan next weeks Sticky Menu. I can do as I like!
Be thankful for what life gives you.