So much in one week! Lost a bone spur - yeah! It was painful. My plates are annoying and I never thought I would be buying denture adhesive before I was 50!! But slowly and surely my mouth is healing. Still can't chew much at all, but I did manage to tenderize a small piece of steak yesterday evening so I could eat it. It was luscious.
I am still grieving the loss of the bread machine but I am going to try some no-knead artisan bread and see how it works. If I like I think I will purchase the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day . I love the idea of NOT kneading bread.
I made a double batch of laundry detergent this week. We were down to the last dregs. This time I heated up the water before I added the grated soap and I think it worked better. I wound up fixing it in the hot water bath canner and that worked out well. Mom said several of her friends are interested in learning how to make it, so we are planning to make a morning of it one day soon.
I picked up the Angelfood, with the help of Mom. The freezer is stocked, the pantries are full, and all we need is milk. Its a fabulous feeling not to have to worry about that.
This week we are going to eat a big batch of chili and cornbread. Partly because its soft, partly because its filling, and partly because this end of February/beginning of March weather is so yucky that the chili will be comfort food. We may have chicken and dumplings again (for the same reasons). I want things that are easy to have extra servings of, easy to warm up individual portions, and keep me from messing up the kitchen. It is on the list of "things to do" this week - to really houseclean the kitchen. The fridge needs to be cleaned out and the floor mopped.
I have been investigating the purchase of a pressure cooker/canner. First of all, it would be great to fix food that quickly. Secondly, I would like to be able to cook and can some non-acidic foods.
Oh good news - Save a Lot had strawberries, grown in the USA, for 2 bucks a package! I am so happy to see them. I really need to plant my own. I have been eating oatmeal with brown sugar and french vanilla non-dairy creamer with fresh strawberries and its delicious!
Enough for now, the Oscars are on :)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Empty Nest
Today we became "empty nest-ers". Our youngest daughter became a "college girl", and the oldest has been out on her own for just over a year (married, expecting a precious baby girl). Suddenly I have no children to be responsible for right this minute.
It feels kind of strange!
However other events in our lives are changing the finacial picture for us. Hubby is about to be laid off. I have only found part-time work and have no unemployment left. And now the Making Do slogan is a very real aspect of our budget. I have been stocking up a little at a time on canned goods, and boxed food (hamburger Helper, cake mix, pastas, etc). We do have a small freezer which already needs to be re-organized and a few "fishing" meals designed to get the oldest stuff out and used up. So, this week, as we clean our house without someone under foot moaning and groaning or refusing to help out, we will also be planning some major meals.
To that end I have just ordered Angelfood for February. We chose the $41 Bountiful Blessings Box and the $25 Sirloin Steak box. That, with the turkey we have frozen, 2 chickens, several bags of green beans, and atleast 3 bags of filling for fruit pies or cobbler, all mean we will not starve.
I have a sad event to share. The bread machine has died. It was located on the counter and I opened a cabinet door only to have a piece of corningware fall out and land on the glass viewing window of the breadmachine lid. I can report the corningwear came out much better from that tussle than the machine did. So now I am gathering recipes that do not require kneeding. Fortunately there are a lot of them out there. And we have all the bread making stuff, so we will have bread for sandwiches.
As I shared last time, I have been recovering from oral surgery. The good news is I am getting used to the plate. The bad news is that I still can't chew. So I anticipate a menu of very soft foods this month. With the exception of the steak. If its not soft and tender it will take spin in the blender!! This diet of mashed potatoes, eggs, ice cream, oatmeal, and yogurt really really needs something in it I can chew. I may puree my honeydew melon so I can eat it too!
So next post will list the meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). This should help me get back on track. Also its time to make laundry detergent. Mom and her friend want to learn how to do itt, so we are all going to meet at her house and I am going to teach them the "recipe".
I have also been considering making bar soap. I love lye soap. It sounds so harsh but its really not. Its a lot of work, but I feel like making soap and candles would probably good survival skills.
It feels kind of strange!
However other events in our lives are changing the finacial picture for us. Hubby is about to be laid off. I have only found part-time work and have no unemployment left. And now the Making Do slogan is a very real aspect of our budget. I have been stocking up a little at a time on canned goods, and boxed food (hamburger Helper, cake mix, pastas, etc). We do have a small freezer which already needs to be re-organized and a few "fishing" meals designed to get the oldest stuff out and used up. So, this week, as we clean our house without someone under foot moaning and groaning or refusing to help out, we will also be planning some major meals.
To that end I have just ordered Angelfood for February. We chose the $41 Bountiful Blessings Box and the $25 Sirloin Steak box. That, with the turkey we have frozen, 2 chickens, several bags of green beans, and atleast 3 bags of filling for fruit pies or cobbler, all mean we will not starve.
I have a sad event to share. The bread machine has died. It was located on the counter and I opened a cabinet door only to have a piece of corningware fall out and land on the glass viewing window of the breadmachine lid. I can report the corningwear came out much better from that tussle than the machine did. So now I am gathering recipes that do not require kneeding. Fortunately there are a lot of them out there. And we have all the bread making stuff, so we will have bread for sandwiches.
As I shared last time, I have been recovering from oral surgery. The good news is I am getting used to the plate. The bad news is that I still can't chew. So I anticipate a menu of very soft foods this month. With the exception of the steak. If its not soft and tender it will take spin in the blender!! This diet of mashed potatoes, eggs, ice cream, oatmeal, and yogurt really really needs something in it I can chew. I may puree my honeydew melon so I can eat it too!
So next post will list the meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). This should help me get back on track. Also its time to make laundry detergent. Mom and her friend want to learn how to do itt, so we are all going to meet at her house and I am going to teach them the "recipe".
I have also been considering making bar soap. I love lye soap. It sounds so harsh but its really not. Its a lot of work, but I feel like making soap and candles would probably good survival skills.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Its been a while...
Oh there are many reasons I could give for not updating. Lets just stipulate that we all have life stuff happening and let it go :)
The end of February is beginning to tease a little spring like weather our way. I would be perfectly glad to have a few weeks of moderate temperatures and a little rain. Makes starting your garden much easier. This year I am moving to a completely backyard garden. Turns out travelling back and forth to the farm was not a realistic expectation. Now I am pondering what type of containers to use, and how easily they might be in the even that we have to move mid season.
Had some major dental work done a few days ago and am still sore and dealing with the on again off again pain. But I have been surfing around looking for new things to try to reduce the money out the door. I will up date this next week with more info.
Ordering day for AngelFood Ministries is approaching next weekend. Check out their site and consider ordering.
The end of February is beginning to tease a little spring like weather our way. I would be perfectly glad to have a few weeks of moderate temperatures and a little rain. Makes starting your garden much easier. This year I am moving to a completely backyard garden. Turns out travelling back and forth to the farm was not a realistic expectation. Now I am pondering what type of containers to use, and how easily they might be in the even that we have to move mid season.
Had some major dental work done a few days ago and am still sore and dealing with the on again off again pain. But I have been surfing around looking for new things to try to reduce the money out the door. I will up date this next week with more info.
Ordering day for AngelFood Ministries is approaching next weekend. Check out their site and consider ordering.
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