5 thing Friday - XR earrings, cooking, memories, window plants, World Market

One of our PRN techs at work has an Etsy shop and gives us her fun things for free.  She has given me a sparkly XRAY marker holder for my badge lanyard and these cute R and L marker earrings:

If you know, you know.  Thanks, Marlene!

I have made very tiny steps forward cooking for myself.  One night this week I made a smashburger with sauteed onions on the last two pieces of butter bread, sweet potato fries on the side.

I also cooked what felt like a vat of taco meat, to freeze in 5 ounce portions.

There was a little bit left, so I plopped it onto my French bread pizza and drizzled with Mike's Hot Honey for lunch.  So good.

While I was rooting around finding my gum parker, I also found these two lovely ladies from 1975ish.  I bought them in Chinatown in San Francisco on a road trip one summer.  My mother, brave woman, took my sister and brother and I cross country from Galveston.  Along the way we saw the Grand Canyon, Calico ghost town, Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, and Alcatraz.  It was like a field trip on steroids.  Mind you, this was before cell phones and internet.  Just a single woman and three kids under the age of 15.  I remember it as being an adventure...

The plant I had in my mother's planter bit the dust, so I am trying my hand at succulents.  Anyone got any tips?  So far, these two love the hands off approach of little water and sunny window.  I will never be accused of having a green thumb.  There are a couple of pretty rocks in there for color.  One of them was from my youngest who thought of me on a field trip to a rock show may years ago.

The World Market near me is moving, and so everything in the store is at least 30% off.  Since they will be there thru June, I will visit again close to the end of the month for some last minute deals.  Meanwhile, I scored some sugar-free Torani syrup for cheap as I have kicked my creamer habit.  Might be a good time to get stocking stuffers!

Gina

5 thing Friday - freezer restock, gum parker, frozen treats, fridge magnets, strip center

I took advantage of a dreary and rainy day to grocery shop and restock the freezer.  I had used up the previous supply fairly well, even with my limited cooking.

I bought a package of carnitas meat to season, cook, and shred for easy meals. I estimate each package of this I stored cost me around 88 cents.

Did the same with some frozen chicken I already had, too.  Each package is about 5 ounces of meat and is packed in snack size ziplocs within a gallon ziploc.

I also separated out some pre-seasoned tilapia filets and some link sausage.

Then I stocked up on frozen veggies for those nights when I cannot deal with cooking a fresh one.  And I bought some pantry items to finish out. I'm all set for simple dinners.

Cleaning the garage recently I found this little guy, bought in 1981.  When my mother picked me up at the end of my first year of college, we stopped and had lunch in Giddings, then visited a shop on the main drag.  We both saw this "gum parker" and laughed, so I bought it; I think I paid $2 for it.  He has such a weirdly human face.  I don't think I ever used it to park my gum in, but it makes me smile to see him again.  I added him to my sewing room which is becoming a place for mementos to live.

Andy's sent me a 2 for $10 coupon for a small concrete, so I headed over there yesterday afternoon and bought one to eat, one to freeze for later.  But they were both so good I could have eaten both of them in one sitting!  I've been doing well with my daily walks so I'm not too worried about treats.  Plus, its summer.  And I'm a good girl*.

The magnets arrived for the fridges at work.  Maybe when people stop to admire them they will notice that I added a magnetic cup on each fridge to hold a Sharpie and posted a laminated sign asking them to label and date their things.  I clean both fridges out once a month and it takes maybe 30 minutes. I think the work breakroom should be a nice place to eat lunch.

There's a somewhat old school and slightly seedy strip center near me that we used to visit often.  Over the years the businesses have changed here and there, but some of them are still around.  Its kind of a cultural mish mash of restaurants with some other small businesses sprinkled in: karate studio, coin shop, cleaners, bakery.  I think I will check out the Nepali and Indian restaurant next week, just for fun and adventure.

Happy June!

Gina

*something my mother would announce as she scooped up her daily ice cream.

Empty Nest menu #118

 This is me, thinking about what's for dinner while I am still at work feeling tired and hangry.

Monday - Seasoned chicken breast, couscous with quinoa and veggies (a frozen thing)

Tuesday - Gnocci, kale salad with lemon vinaigrette and avocado

Wednesday - Thick cut pork chop, Italian beans with broccoli {the alarm company returns}

Thursday - Walnut Enchiladas, sauteed kale {last day of call}

Friday - Happy Hour with The Girl: burgers and tots

Saturday - TBD {wine club pick up, beer release at STW, check on Highlands}

Sunday - Freezer meal {might visit my mother for the first time in months}

Gina

(un) Mealplan Monday #216

This week we are eating out of the freezer to save a little grocery money this spendy month!  There is plenty in there...

Monday - Ranch Pork Pot Pie
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes, coleslaw
Wednesday - BBQ Smothered Pork Chops, scalloped potatoes and carrots
Thursday - Chicken Enchiladas, corn
Friday - Lazy Daisy (HEB) Meatballs, rice, broccoli
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs, BBQ beans, chopped salad

Gina

Freezer meals #20

My collection of freezer meals this go-round is mostly tried and true.  

Step One is always getting organized - labeling bags, and setting all of the ingredients and recipes out.  Here we go!

Comfort Chicken - 2 pound boneless chicken thighs, 1 can cream of chicken soup, pinch dried thyme, 1 c water, 1 bouillon cube, 1/2 an onion chopped, 5 carrots peeled and sliced.  I will cook on low in the crockpot 7 hours and served with mashed potatoes.

BBQ Ribs - (this is actually a pork roast because I couldn't find the ribs!) I made a rub with brown sugar, garlic, paprika, cayenne, S&P and coated the roast.  Then added it to the bag with 1/2 c or so of spicy honey BBQ sauce.  Will cook on low in the crockpot probably 8 hours.

Ranch Pork Chops - 6 boneless pork chops with a mixture of homemade HVR dressing mix, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and 1/2 c milk poured over.  I will cook 7 hours on low in the crockpot.

Shredded Korean Beef for tacos - this is so good!!

Taco Chili - 1 pound ground beef cooked and drained, 1 can drained corn, 1 medium chopped onion, 1 c black beans*, 8 oz. tomato sauce, 2 can diced tomatoes,  1 small can diced green chilies,  1 packet taco seasoning mix.  Cook on low 6 hours in the crockpot.

Mrs. Ringle's Brisket Chicken - Couldn't find brisket so I used up some chicken breasts I had!  I cut each one into thirds, coated them with dijon mustard, rolled them in onion soup mix, and placed in the ziploc.  Will cook on low in the crockpot about 6 hours, or in the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes.

Nashville Hot Chicken - we've had this one before and it was a big hit - we eat it on onion hamburger buns.

Buffalo Bites - I cubed a couple of very large chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces and coated them in a mixture of HVR and buffalo sauce.  I will cook them at 375 for about 20 minutes on a sheet pan and serve over quinoa bowls.  Easy peasey.

*I also got the crock going for black beans which I will use in the taco chili, as well as in taco salads and such.

 And here is the mess I made.  Sigh.  I had about 15 minutes to clean it up before I had to get dressed for work!  And believe it or not, when 15 minutes was up, the dishwasher had been unloaded, reloaded, and taco salads for dinner made.

 Boom, baby!  I promise I also took the overflowing trash out.

For all that work, it takes up so little room.  But that's a few meals to see us through the next 8 Mondays.  

Gina

Mealplan Monday #205

Monday - Apple Pork Loin (crockpot), mashed potatoes, green salad
Tuesday - 3 Ingredient Chicken Tacos with the fixin's
Wednesday - Party Ham Sammies (freezer), chips, chopped salad
Thursday - Texas-Seasoned Boneless Pork Chops, broccoli cheese rice (freezer)
Friday - Tilapia, snow peas with carrots
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Honey Soy Chicken Thighs (SO GOOD), coleslaw, twice baked potatoes (freezer)

I've been fixing a double batch of something, then freezing it to make life easier later on.  This week's menus feature three such dishes!

Gina

Freezer Meals #19

I had a lot of empty space in the freezer, so it was time to put together some freezer meals.  I bought the groceries on a Monday morning, worked all day, then came home after work to assemble them.  Sounds like a lot of work at the end of the day but it went fast!

I started by setting out all of the things I would need, along with my recipes.  It helped to keep me organized.  I loaded the dishwasher as I went along, so by the time I was finished I could wipe down the counters, store the bags, and be done!

It helps to label the bags in advance, so that's what I do before I assemble each one.

Buffalo Chicken - 1 c. buffalo wing sauce with 3 tablespoons (1 packet) ranch seasoning and 2 T butter over 3 large chicken breasts, each cut in half.  Cook on low in crockpot for 7-8 hours and serve over rice.

BBQ Pork Ribs - I put pre-seasoned country style boneless pork ribs in a gallon zip loc and added about a cup of sriracha BBQ sauce.  Will cook on low 7-8 hours. (These we have already had and they were soooo good!)

Apple Garlic Pork Loin - I used a pound or so of pork tenderloin and added that to the bag with 2 peeled and chopped gala apples, several smashed cloves of garlic, 2 t Italian seasoning, 1/4 c. olive oil, S&P.  This makes its' own juice so I didn't add water this time.  It can cook 7-8 hours on low and I will slice and serve with mashed potatoes.

Roast and Gravy -  I mixed a can of cream of mushroom soup with a packet of onion soup mix and poured it over a 3# chuck roast in the bag, then tossed in some frozen chopped mushrooms from the freezer. I will cook this on low at least 8 hours and serve with mashed potatoes.

Tacos al Pastor - I LOVE this recipe.  Cut up 1 pound pork tenderloin into 1 inch chunks.  Add to a large zip loc bag with one 8oz. can drained pineapple chunks, 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro, 1 medium chopped onion, 1 T. chili powder, 1 t. cumin, 1 t. oregano, 1 t. black pepper, 1 t. chopped garlic, 3/4 t. salt.  Freeze.  Day of cooking, thaw.  Cook mixture in hot oil in a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until pork is cooked.  Serve with warm tortillas.

Cowboy Chicken - This is a recipe from The Girl.  I did make homemade salsa for it and used some leftover corn off the cob from a recent cookout.

Cranberry Onion Chicken (not pictured) - I made this to use up a can of cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving.  Of last year.  My bad.  I added a packet of onion soup mix to the canned cranberry sauce and poured it over three chicken breasts in a gallon zip loc.  I will cook it on low 7-8 hours and serve with rice.

Pulled Pork - your basic pork roast with a spicy BBQ sauce poured over.  I will cook on low 7-8 hours, shred the meat, and serve on buns.

The day after I made all of these, we got a shipment of seafood from The Girl.  Our freezer is very full now and I can look forward to some easy grocery weeks!

Gina

5 thing Friday - sandals, donuts, wine and burgers, houseguests, freezer meals

As a reward to myself for cleaning out the closet I bought myself a new pair of Alegria sandals:

Pretty much my favorite shoe brand, because after an 8 hour shift at work my feet don't feel like they will fall off!

 

 Valentine donuts for my sleeping in peeps...a Saturday treat!

I'm sure Hubby wishes I would stop taking awkward pics of him! We had such a good time at the Perissos pick-up last weekend.  When we finished the tastings, we found a table to enjoy grilled burgers and tempranillo.  After we ate, we grabbed two other couples we saw wandering around, gave them our primo table, then headed into the tasting room to listen to live music as it very slowly warmed up outside.  It was a relaxing afternoon, to be sure.

 Teddy is warming up so much to all of us - including Dutch!

I no longer have the heart to toss him off my bed, despite the enormous amount of fur he sheds.  Here he is making small noises as he sleeps next to me reading on Sunday night.  Wonder what he dreams about?  I'm sure he will be overjoyed to see his momma in a few days.

I was struck by inspiration on Monday and bought some extra meats and sauces to make easy dump-and-go freezer meals for the crockpot.

There's still space in there to add a few more, I think.  Pictured is Sesame Chicken, Beef Veggie Stew, Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork, and Apricot Chicken.  It took me all of 25 minutes to do, then I put a crockpot of pintos on with the leftover ham bone from Christmas.  Easy crockpot meals are my go-to nowadays!

Gina

Wednesday Menus #10, and Freezer Meals #18

It's been August since I have made a batch of more than one or two meals.  So I bought groceries yesterday, then hurried home to assemble them while Scout and GF ate leftover chicken tacos at the table.  Now she knows my secret - I'm not a great cook.  More like a Cook of Opportunity!

 

Most of these are for the crock.

I made:
Pomegranate Beef from A Year of Slow Cooking
Shredded Pork for Tacos
Ranch BBQ Chicken
Sweet Oniony Turkey - 1/2 jar carmelized onions, 1 can cranberry jelly, one 5# turkey breast
Mexican Chicken
Pesto Chicken (skillet)
And a pork roast that used the other half of the carmelized onions along with various spices

I am careful to stack my blobs of gallon zip locs until they are frozen, then they will all go onto the same shelf.

Wednesday - Crockpot Poor Man's Stew
Thursday - Turkey Pot Pie
Friday - Crunchy Crumbs Fish with peppers and onions, quinoa
Saturday - Dad grill
Sunday - Crockpot Pork Roast, baked 'fried' okra (hubby bought two bags of these recently, and this is the extra one)
Monday - Chicken Enchiladas, corn
Tuesday - Meat patties with brown gravy, mashed, peas (a fav meal of Hubbys' from college)
Dessert is a St. Patrick's Pistachio Bundt cake from The Cake Mix Doctor

I didn't make as big of a mess as I thought. I managed to get the dishwasher unloaded and reloaded quickly, though. 

Gina

Freezer Meals #17 for Back to School

This is the week I like to refer to as The Last Gasp of Summer.  

On Wednesday I happily cleaned out the pantry, throwing out expired and terrible stuff  (hello, summer sausage from Hubby's Christmas stocking) and made out my grocery list for some easy meals. 

 Breakfast cereals are ready

 ...as well as the baskets I have to organize everything from granola bars to popcorn, ramen and pasta, and potatoes and onions. I cleaned out the fridge and freezer, too.  I found things here and there to use up: a bag of frozen veg I forgot I had, the rest of the container of ketchup, etc.  Here's what I made:

 

A quick trip to HEB and $65 for 11 meals

Sweet Garlic Chicken
(go here for the recipe)

Beef Veggie and Rice Soup
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, cooked and drained
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 bag frozen soup veggies (um, mine was from the holidays...)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cubes beef bouillon
1 t Italian seasoning
1 c. instant rice
Add all to gallon zip-loc. Write on the outside of the bag "add 5-6 c. water in crock pot".
Cook on low in crock 4-6 hours.

Sloppy Joes
I followed my go-to recipe, but I made sure to use up all of the dabs of ketchup and mustard I had on hand for two batches.  If you don't have a go-to recipe, brown and drain 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, add a half and onion, a half a cup BBQ sauce and ketchup, a tablespoon each of Worchestershire sauce and prepared mustard, and about a teaspoon of celery salt.  You can also add a tablespoon or so of brown sugar, and some garlic, if you want to get all fancy.  Simmer it.  Cool it, then put in a ziploc in your freezer.  Thaw, simmer, eat.

Taco Meat
I browned 3 pounds ground beef, drained it, then added a packet of HVR mix I happened to want to get rid of along with some homemade taco seasoning, and a can of Rotel and half a jar of salsa that was lurking in the fridge.  I divided this into two containers for the freezer, and will thaw, simmer, and serve in taco shells or on taco salads (my personal fav).

Ham and Cheese Party Sammies
I bought some sweet rolls for sammies.  Split them and brushed the insides with melted butter mixed with Worchestershire, brown sugar, and grainy mustard.  Then I slathered on the swiss and ham.  Reassembled the rolls, brushed with more butter, and sealed in foil.  These will bake for about 30 minutes at 300 degrees on delay bake as we make our way home from a football game.

Curry Meatballs
I added one tablespoon of curry powder and 1/2 t of smoked paprika to can of Golden Mushroom soup then poured it over prepared meatballs in a gallon zip-loc.  I will simmer these on the stove one night and serve over rice.

Lemon Garlic Chicken
3 large chicken breasts, cut in half
4 big cloves garlic, chopped
1 T dried parsley flakes
1/4 c olive oil
juice from one big lemon
Add to gallon zip-loc, cook on low from frozen, 6-8 hours.  Might serve this with garlicky pasta.

Mrs. Ringle's Brisket
I slathered mustard all over a brisket and sprinkled a packet of onion soup all over it.  This goes in a gallon zip-loc.  Cook on low 10-12 hours.  (I'm sure I will cook this one, from frozen, on a weekend when I work, as the cook time is long.)  Slice and serve with BBQ fixin's.

 

I made sure we were stocked on ziplocs, wraps, and clips.  And now we have a clean pantry and a full freezer.  Bring on the school year!

Gina

5 thing Friday - stitching, Seniors, sauces, plates, reading

I've been doing little cross stitch projects here and there.

This was a saying contributed by a sweet lady who works in the cafeteria at the hospital. Grammar aside, its a reminder to me to be authentic, whether I think someone will approve or not.

OMG.  

Can my baby actually be a senior in high school?  I anticipate needing a box or two of Kleenex this year.  So many "lasts" to come, so many "firsts" to look forward to.

Last month I took the three frames down from my Wall of Seniors, found another frame just like them (except it was white), gave them all a fresh coat of paint so they would match, and added in Bubbie's portrait.

Seventeen forever, all four of them together.

In a frenzy, I whipped up several jars of marinara and homemade enchilada sauce recently.  Last night I simmered some of the enchilada sauce with chicken breasts and served them with rice, and zucchini.  So good and no oven required.

I found a pretty Pier One plate while out thrifting that already had a hanger attached. I had just read a post form this blogger showing different plate collage walls.  I love the idea but I don't have near enough of them to do a big enough display yet.  And I don't want to buy just any old plates to hang unless I love them.  But this one is sweet!

I added it to the wall behind my washer and dryer.  Someday I will find enough beautiful ones to make a bigger display, maybe in the dining room.  I love the wooden heart bowl, and the other two that are from my mother's travels to China and Portugal.

I finished my first book purchased on the Nook.  It was a meh book, but it was fun using the Nook to read.  So, I bought Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and am alternating that with one of my paperbacks from a growing collection that I've been adding to from the thrift stores.  As the summer continues and the days seem to get hotter, reading in my air-conditioned bedroom is becoming more and more my go-to leisure activity!

Happy Weekend!

Gina