Empty Nest Menu #49

Hubby and I split a lunch last Saturday in Johnson City at this place.  It was the most ridiculous burger that had carmelized onion and bleu cheese, with an order of onion rings.  As you can see, we are still Clean Plate Club members.

Monday - Sticky Chicky, rice, green beans
Tuesday - Cowboy Beans, garlic toast
Wednesday - Fruited Chicken Salad, low salt chips, melon
Thursday - Taco-topped Baked Potatoes, salad with green onion and avocado
Friday - Garden Veggie Cornbread Casserole, Rudy's brisket
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - Leftovers

Gina

5 thing Friday - car repair, grout, owls, fig tree, frame

Its been a week.  This is a family-friendly blog so I will try to keep the complaining down.  How about a bad/good kind of 5 thing Friday?

Bad:  I waited for three hours at the Subaru dealership in a scheduled appointment slot for work to be done on my car, only to told they had "just looked at it" at the bottom of the 3rd hour.  

Good:  I got to sit for three hours, reading a book my mother gave me and they have a free coffee bar.  Hubby gave me a ride to work and took me through the McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast on the way.  Plus, the car's A/C got repaired.

Bad:  The grout in the kitchen is looking fairly groddy.

Good:  So far, it looks like the grout pen I bought is the way to go.  The grout lines look much improved.  I'm going to work on it little by little until it is done.

 I know this picture doesn't show much, but having all of the grout lines be the same color is pretty great.

Bad:  We still haven't built the owl house.  And according to my mother, the owls will eventually disperse since owls don't all roost together.

Good:  The owls are still hanging around!  I go out every evening and tell them how adorable they are and ask them to continue staying.

Bad:   The fig tree gave up, even though I was diligently watering the heck out of it.  What remaining figs there were probably got eaten by critters and 99% of the leaves fell off.  The 100 degree heat is to blame as this particular type of fig tree doesn't do well in extreme summer heat.

Good:  You're welcome, birds.  The sprinkler system is on and we have rain in the forecast so at least I don't need to haul the hose over to water it.

Bad:  I didn't have any business buying junk at the thrift store -  I basically only needed to buy a side table for Hubby to put his coffee cup on in the morning.  And I saw this frame and could not put it down. 

Good:  I found this tiny pic of Hubby and me from maybe Christmas of 2000 in my jewelry box. Instead of a snarky cross stitch I put in this pic.  A reminder of different times for us and a sweet something for my desk.

Happy Weekend,

Gina

Days of Rose

Its been the summer of rose wine for us this year.  I attribute that to so many breweries being closed to on-site consumption.  With tasting rooms being generally closed, and only outdoor seating to be had, Hubby and I embarked on an exploration of Rose wine.  Chilled and ready to enjoy on a summer day!

I'm no expert, but I can tell you what I love about Rose - the fact that you drink it chilled and the fact that it is generally light and refreshing with hints of spring and summer fruit.  That being said, we greatly enjoyed a blended estate Mourvedre and Tannat Rose from Arrowhead Creek that featured very soft citrus and grapefruit.  Perfect on a hot day served in ice!  

  

 At Ab Astris we discovered Aurora Rose - strawberry and kiwi with a slight effervescence.  This was a beautiful Rose - that slight acidity made it perfect for sipping on a hot day.  

 Still on the strawberry side was the Syrah Rose at 7 Creeks.  You cannot beat this Rose while you are kicked back under their shady oaks!  This is summer in a glass.

Both the Italian Stallion and Mourvedre/Grenache Roses at Perissos are delightful, with our favorite being the  Mourvedre.  One of our favorite wineries and I can't believe we are just now trying these Roses!  Maybe the summer of Rose is changing me from a red wine drinker.

And the Tex Way Rose from Fiesta was also a very nice discovery - Dolcetto is one of my favorite wines so it stands to reason that I would love its Rose version.  There are many more wines of theirs to try so I'm sure we will visit again soon.  But for now, it looks like the summer of Rose is just about to give way to the (rest of the) summer of suds. 

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #48

My One Pot Wonder from last week:  Chicken sausage sauteed with onion and garlic, about 1/3 pound whole wheat spaghetti, a pint jar of homemade pasta sauce, a little extra water, and a bunch of chopped fresh baby spinach.  Simmered gently on low until the pasta was al dente, because I knew we would be heating it up later.

We topped it with some fancy schmancy grated Parmesan and it was wonderful

Monday - Beefy Bean Tacos with toppings (onion, cilantro, cheese, and sour cream), salad with avocado and tomato {order my Imperfect box}
Tuesday - Honey Garlic Chicken over rice, Butternut squash
Wednesday - Gyros with Tzatziki sauce, low salt kettle chips, peppers and onions {early morning appt at the Subaru place for a broken A/C!}
Thursday - Pesto Salmon* over seasoned chickpeas, green beans
Friday - Tuna Salad on Brioche buns, Superfood Salad, the rest of the chips {Safelight is coming to replace my windshield}
Saturday - TBD {Harvest Day at Narrow Path - will we go?}
Sunday - Shakshuka, garlic knots, any leftover fresh veg

Gina

How I spent a rare weekend at home...Monday included

Its hot as blue blazes here and I was on call this last weekend, so we pretty much stayed home and did a whole lot of putseying.  Much to Hubby's disgust.  However, since I am the one leaving the house 5 days a week, it is GREAT for me to get a day or two of home time.  I had a fun time doing odds and ends around the house.

I made pesto with a big bunch of basil that I hadn't ended up using in last week's menus.  I froze it in these little containers.  Mine had basil, lime juice, olive oil, salt, walnuts, garlic, and Parmesan - it is DELISH.  Can't wait to slather it over salmon!

 I also went through all of my solid black scrubs and pulled out the faded or bleach-speckled ones and gave them a dye bath of jet black on the stovetop.  It was time-consuming, so I don't know if I ever want to try that again.  A lot of work, too.  But my scrubs came out looking SHARP.

I got all of them cleaned, dried, hung, and sorted, then straightened up the closet, which was very satisfying!  I know it looks crowded in here, but Hubby and I have loads of room for all of our things.  His side still looks neat from a month ago when I ironed all of the wrinkly things.  That's because he wears shorts and tees to "work".

 Hubby's big project this last weekend was to CLEAN UP HIS OWN MESS in the garage.  This was created by simply emptying and moving a desk into The Lounge, now known as The Office.  Ninety percent of this crap could go.

I offered to help (why) but he declined.  Its just as well.  I have cleaned and organized this garage at least twice a year since we have lived here - 23 years.  Do the math.  And it never stays the way I left it.  I think I earned a pass.

 Saturday lunch was some pulled pork rescued from the freezer, with toasted brioche buns, bread and butter pickles and red onion slices, and truffle corn chips.  Oh!  And a beer.  I cleaned my plate.

I had to do at least ONE artsy project.  This is the box that we use for wine club pick-ups for Esperanza.  Decorate it, she said.  Bring it back to get your wine, she said.  So I used some of that flour sack fabric my mother gave me.

 I carefully peeled off the winery tag and re-glued it onto the front of the box, bordered with some rickrack from my stash.  Total cost was zero and I think its quite snazzy.  I am looking forward to visiting this winery again soon!

 Thrift shopping happened.  I found a small table I think will do perfectly between the armchairs in the front room.  No more Hubby balancing his coffee mug on the chair arm. No more coffee rings on the upholstery. 

 I also found a cute lil frame to put a snarky cross stitch in, a suncatcher of a spray of bluebonnets, and this top which I already have one of in olive green that I love (so I know I will wear it).  Spent $6 but I will return for that table...when I get it purchased and painted, I will show you where it will live!  I got loads of other things done - replaced the A/C filters, made a Wal-Mart run, washed and vac'd my car, cooked a glorious Sunday dinner.  Among other things.  And never got called in.

No place like home.

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #47

 I think I can put off going to HEB until Saturday!

Monday - Turkey Chili over Rice, chopped onions and peppers {off today - maybe thrift shop, customize the produce box}
Tuesday - Chicken Sausage with whole wheat pasta and homemade pasta sauce with spinach {water the landscaping, make out next week menus}
Wednesday - Enchilada Chicken, mashed potatoes, frozen veggie
Thursday - Meat Patties (prob turkey) with onions, grilled radicchio, cannellini beans
Friday - Beefy Goulash, corn {on call, today only}
Saturday - Eating here {because someone gave us a gift certificate!}
Sunday - (freezer) Pot Roast, mashed sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts

Gina

5 thing Friday - dinner, cacti, Teddy, winery, sweet potatoes

Its been a heckova week, so in no particular order...

Tonight's dinner was to have involved gnocci, but I found half a package of tortellini in the freezer and chose that, instead.  I cooked some lean beef in olive oil, added one of my freezer jars of pasta sauce, the rest of a jar of pesto (maybe a tablespoon?), a little extra water, the rest of the peppers and onions from a previous meal, and the tortellini and cooked another four minutes.  Smells divine.

 A couple of weekends ago I dug up some cacti from Highlands and brought it home to see if I could get them big enough to plant in the yard.  You can see where there was minor deer damage on this one, but its already bigger!  I don't think the squirrels are interested and it seems to love this sunny edge of the deck.

 Teddy was here last weekend!  Once he got over being worried that The Girl would leave, he thoroughly enjoyed the backyard.  Running laps, playing with the tug rope, splashing in his pool, and laying in the sun, exhausted.  Living his best life.

 Hubby and I visited a winery on Sunday that has a great view from their fenced yard of ... nothing.  We sat there and drank rose and ate leftover cucumber salad with chunks of salami.  'Twas nice.  This winery has had a rough go of it, like most other wineries.  We were pretty much the only people who sat outside and enjoyed a bottle - most people came, bought a bottle, and left.  It was like having our own private winery.

 I bought some sweet potatoes, intending to cook them in the crock pot, and mash them with butter and brown sugar.  When I peeled them I got a surprise - they were purple inside.  I cooked them anyway.  What did I have to lose?

They look exactly like refried beans, but I'm not tossing them.  I looked them up and they supposedly have 2.5 times the antioxidants of regular sweet potatoes and take twice as long to cook.  That wasn't an issue in the crockpot, which I had going overnight.  I'm going to add brown sugar and cinnamon and serve them up.  Mostly because I don't want to waste them, but also because its fun to discover new things!*

Gina

*they weren't good - whomp, whomp