Missing the boys

I did my darndest to stay busy this week while the boys were at camp.  

This is how Sunday at 4:45 a.m. looked - Philmonters bright and bushy-tailed on our way to the drop site. After dropping these two off on the other side of Austin, it was time to head home to get Bubbie up and at the park by 8 a.m. for his drop-off.  Here he is with his orange backpack looking ready to roll.  And then I headed in to work til 7:30 p.m.  Very anti-climatic.

So far, I've had no news since Monday from the the Philmont crew, but understand from a friend at Bear Creek that Bubbie is having a great time.  The biggest complaint?  The food.  Nothing like camp food to make you appreciate mom's cooking, right?

See you this afternoon, Bubbie.

Gina

Banana Jam

 We ran out of jam yesterday morning while eating the scones from a mix that Scout made me for Mother's Day, so jam-making got moved up on my list.  We made some berry jam straight from the Sure-Gel recipe booklet.  But I also wanted to make something a little different - something we've never tried before.  So, I dug out my favorite cookbook and found this gem:

Aunt Henry's Easy Banana Jam 
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
juice of 6 lemons
1 c. sugar per cup of banana and lemon mixture

Mix in 2 qt. saucepan and cook on low heat for one hour.  After an hour, I raised the heat and brought it to a boil for one minute, then poured into a sterilized canning jar and set it out to cool.  You can refrigerate or seal with parafin.

 Ummmm...chunks of sweet banana in banana jam!  

I have to say, its pretty good!

Gina

Lemon Cake

I had the best of intentions for making this cake for Father's Day, but intentions only get you so far when you've worked all day and can barely eat your dinner at 8 p.m. then fall into bed.  Such is the weekend life for me.

 This is another oldie and goodie from my MIL, Marie.  Years ago, she let me rifle through her recipe cards and pick the ones I wanted.  Can you imagine?  Like going through a treasure chest!

Lemon Cake
1 package yellow cake mix
1 c. apricot nectar
4 egg yolks, whites reserved
3/4 c. oil
2 T lemon extract

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a Bundt pan.
Beat ingredients for about 5 minutes.  Stiffly beat the 4 egg whites and fold gently into batter.

 

Bake for 50 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes, invert onto plate and poke a few small holes in the top.  Mix 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar with the juice and grated rind of one lemon.  Pour over warm cake.  Cool and slice.

It was worth waiting until Monday night to bake - and even better to eat some with Tuesday breakfast!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #65 and Happy Campers

 

 Bubbie, ca. 2005

It's the second full week of summer vacay and GO week for my campers.  

Monday - Chicken Fajita Salad, chips and That Green Sauce
Tuesday - Creamy Italian Sausage with chard and pasta, garlic toast
Wednesday - Shrimp in garlic and lemon butter, coleslaw, corn, rolls
Thursday - Chili Nachos, avocado, tomato, green onion
Friday - Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken, mashed reds, green beans
Saturday - Grilled sausage wraps and the fixin's
Sunday - Fully Cooked Burgers, chips

 T minus 6 days until they leave for camp.

 It looks like this every year, so I'm used to it.

Gina

Goulash

 My mother is a great cook - and one who could make the most of leftover anything.

I want to share her "method" here for a meal using leftover roast or other meat - she always called it Goulash when I was growing up.

Start with the leftover meat (here I have Italian Drip Beef ), a potato per person, an onion, a bell pepper, about 1/2 c. ketchup, some steak sauce - your choice - and some seasoning. 

 Heat some olive oil to medium heat in a large pot - whatever you make stew in.

 Chunk up the potatoes and add them in, but don't stir them.  The potatoes will loosen from the pan in a few minutes and in the meantime, they will develop a browned, carmel-y crust.

 After the potatoes are browned a bit, add in the chunked up onion and bell pepper. 1 inch chunks are ok.  Add some garlic, too, if you like.

 Add the ketchup to the steak sauce then add enough water to make about 2 cups.  Season it up.  I used my seasoning blend. Season it up however you like - I recall hers being a little different each time.

You don't have to stir this a lot.  

You want the browned edges.

Add in the meat,

 pour in the sauce, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, while you make rolls.

 

Stir and serve, with a smile and a glass of sweet tea.

Gina

Nice Things

Last week was hard

And it was easy to fall into a funk of despair.  It started with working extra hours on Monday, after a very  hard weekend, then having to rush to buy groceries, shower, and go to a two hour Boy Scout meeting.  Tuesday,  I took my sister in  for a biopsy at the crack of dawn.  She kept her chin up - but inside I was thinking "how are we going to handle the worst case scenario?" 

Wednesday I turned in my ladder portfolio,  rushed around trying to play catch up, and took some meds over to my sister.  

Firstborn's car stalled out on Mopac and we got to play in traffic in the heat for almost three hours. Guess it's a good thing we haven't gotten rid of the van. 

Thursday Scout had his wisdom teeth out.  Aside from him barfing in the front yard, it went well.  Friday I worked - but The Girl had her debit card number breached and someone managed to clean out her checking account - temporarily.  So, this Monday we hung out at the credit union for a couple hours.  

The weekend passed in a blur with a busy two days, Sunday without a break, ending with a co-worker telling us she was quitting.   But Saturday I came home to a Thank You bouquet of lillies from my sister, along with wine and chocolate - the two most important food groups.  And a great dinner, a la hubby, with a good night's sleep.

 And look what I got in the mail -  the craft exchange gift from Donna!  It so brightened my outlook - I  love owls.

I borrowed a book from a co-worker called "The Art of Living" by Epictetus.  It's like the universe is trying to send me a little encouragement, and maybe some direction.  

Gina

Mealplan Monday #64 and tying up loose ends

Last week was all about getting people where they needed to be with what they needed. In it were the odd projects that make their way onto the list, such as repairing Hubby's ripped backpack.

I don't know if I can really say I repaired it - the rip is still there, under the black and white grosgrain ribbon, but less likely to tear since it is anchored down.

 It looks like part of the pack and Hubby was pleased. 

Monday - Sausage and Spinach crescent bake, carrots
Tuesday - leftovers!
Wednesday - Pot of beans, Fritos and pico
Thursday - Freezer meal: Leftover Italian drip beef with onions and peppers, skillet potatoes, ciabatta
Friday - Brown Sugar Chicken in crock, rice, peas
Saturday - Dad grill
Sunday - Party sammies, butternut squash soup, chips

I also had time to finish up a few loose ends with my portfolio ladder notebook. 

Gina

Mealplan Monday #63 and schools' out!

This week is the end of the school year - just three days!  Scout has finals, Bubbie is winding down on middle school, The Girl and Firstborn are steadily working their full-time jobs.  I love summer!
Easy menus this week - a busy week ahead.

Monday - Freezer Meal, frozen corn
Tuesday - Mexican Dorito Casserole, salad
Wednesday - Korean Beef and boccoli, brown rice
Thursday - Homemade Mac and Cheese, peas
Friday - Freezer Meal, green beans
Saturday - Dad grill (Honey Pork Chops)
Sunday - Chicken strips, pintos, potato salad
Dessert this week is Pineapple Sponge Cake with Cool-whip*
*One can crushed pineapple, 1 box Angel Food cake mix, 13x9, 350, 30 minutes.

Our Command Center on the way to the front door?  No one was really using it.  

I may go back to a big calendar on the fridge like I used to do.  

Gina