Author: QuiltLady

COOKING THURSDAY ~ REFER PICKLES ~ BLOG 365.169A

You might remember me having mentioned my friend Nellie’s Deli here in town. She began as a kiosk with one item per day and grew into a thriving deli. Then COVID hit and she still managed to make a go of it with a call in and pick up business. After the lock down was over she started back small with a limited staff and it took off like a bullet train again. In fact, she was able to come back on 6 hours a day, 5 days a week and be even more successful than she had been. After COVID her husband retired and a couple years later she decided to do the same, much to the demise of lunch in our town!!!

She continued to do some catering gigs and even catered my step dad’s memorial last summer. She has also recently published a cook book of customer favorites. This is one of my favorites. I haven’t edited it much, but I do alter it to fit what I have on hand.

She calls these REFER PICKLES with is just short for refrigerator 🙂

REFER PICKLES makes 4 pints

SAUCE/BRINE
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons kosher salt

  • Whisk all together in a large saucepan over medium heat until sugar and salt are dissolved and well blended. Set aside to cool.

1 cup chopped green pepper, I often use sliced red pepper
1 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion, I often use a Vidalia
7 cups thinly sliced cucumbers, I often use English cucumbers

  • Toss al together.
  • Distribute into 4-5 pint jars.
  • Pour cooled syrup over veggies equally.
  • Secure with lids and turn upside down to cool.

NOTES:

  • It will seem like there isn’t enough syrup, but as they cool the veggies will breakdown and will be perfect in a couple hours.
  • These will keep for 8 weeks in the refrigerator.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, RECIPE LINKS & MENU ~ week 24 OF 2026 ~ BLOG 365.166

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

MONDAY ~ FRIDAY

  • Monday was Trivia Night, but the day began with a ton of paperwork to end the fiscal year for the Eagles and general clean-up around home.
  • Tuesday was Taco Tuesday followed by a couple VA appointments, car wash, errands and a quick meeting.
  • Wednesday we had a leisurely morning with a quick lunch, hardware shopping for the new supplies we needed to fix the misters and then some antiquing while we waited to pick up an elderly friend from the airport on Wednesday before taking her to dinner. It turned into a bit of a major fiasco. Her flight was delayed twice and then they lost her checked luggage which contained her blood pressure medicine and jewelry. And yes we talked to her about NEVER putting those things in a check bag! Long story short we didn’t get home until almost 10PM and her bag FINALLY showed up on Sunday and they delivered it to her house.
  • Thursday and Friday were a blur of errands and yard work.

SATURDAY I took a girlfriend out for lunch and we went to a couple of estate sales and to a favorite winery that is going out of business where we split a case of wine, some pizza pans and wine glasses. It’s sad to see a favorite place go out of business 🙁

SUNDAY YAY! 🙂 A day of relaxation and a birthday party open house for a friend. Though I did get the bed changed, a load of dishes and 3 loads of laundry done as well as hand watering the garden multiple times because of the heat alert.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We have an active advisory for a HEAT WAVE with triple digits to begin the week! We should be down to high 80’s by week’s end. We’ve had a dry winter and are also on an active fire ban. Our little town had their first brush fire yesterday that they were able to get a hold on quickly, but it’s scary!

TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS, TRAVEL,  APPOINTMENTS, MENUS & DVR/TV
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING 🙂 happy to be caught up 🙂
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a couple meetings this week and lunch with a couple friends. Hubby has a VA appointment and I’ll do our personal shopping and do the Eagle’s bar shopping and Offyce shopping on another day…
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING not much right now
  • DVR/TV just cleaning up the last of the seasons shows, BBQ brawl, The Floor
  • THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY working air conditioning during this heat wave… fresh clean sheets… happy endings to summer book reads… crisp apples… crisp salads for summer dinners…

READING TIME

MARSH MYSTICS Book #30 of The MISS FORTUNE SERIES by Jana DeLeon

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
6/15 MONDAY
 6/16 TUESDAY
 6/17 WEDNESDAY
 6/18 THURSDAY
6/19 FRIDAY
6/20 SATURDAY
6/21 SUNDAY
DINNER
TRIVIA NIGHT
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
YUMMY BALLS & CHEESY CORN PUDDING
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
PEACH GLAZED CHICKEN
CRUNCHY CHICKEN SALAD
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
LAMB CHOPS & GLAZED CARROTS
DESSERT
 
BOSTON CREAM PIE CHEESECAKE
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

For years I’ve been waiting for them to paint Herbette and they finally did. In the beginning she was pretty and always done up appropriately for holidays and then she deteriorated BADLY for many years. They have finally re-painted her and planted her with pretty flowers.

My calla lillies and African violets are blooming really well. I can’t believe they are already baling summer hay. 

When we went to pick up a friend from the airport we had time to kill when her plane was delayed and did a little antiquing where I found this super unusual glass tray made out of plates. And I’ve always liked this little town water tower. The neighboring town has a lot of Simpson’s murals. And these silly ducks are all over the airport.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • REFER PICKLES
  • SWISS STEAK
  • ALFREDO CORN
  • BANANA BREAD CINNAMON ROLLS

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

 

COOKING THURSDAY ~ STUFFED BURGERS & GRAVY ~ BLOG 365.162C

You know how I like to find old recipe boxes and recreate the recipes? Well, here’s another keeper! It’s simple, hearty and will please the entire family. I have tweaked it ever so slightly to bring it into the 21st century 🙂

STUFFED BURGERS & GRAVY

1 pound of ground beef
1-2 to 2/3 + 1 cup WHOLE milk
FRESH ground tri-color pepper
3 green onions, minced
Prepared stove top stuffing (flavor of choice)
1 10.5-ounce can of creamy condensed soup  (flavor of choice – cheddar cheese, mushroom…)
2 tablespoons of ketchup
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

  • Preheat oven 350°.
  • Combine ground beef and 1/2 cup in a mixing bowl. If too dry add a bit more milk a little at a time until you have the perfect consistency.
  • Add pepper and onions, mixing well.
  • Divide ground beef mixture into six even pieces and flatten each into a patty.
  • Form stuffing into balls and place in the center of each burger.
  • Mold the ground beef around the stuffing until it resembles a baseball and stuffing is sealed into the center of the burger bundle.
  • Place the burgers in a 9X13-inch baking dish.
  • Whisk together the remaining milk, soup, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce until smooth.
  • Pour the soup mixture over top of the burgers.
  • Bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours. 
  • Serve with mashed potatoes or pasta noodles. 

COOKING THURSDAY ~ MARRY ME CHICKEN DIP ~ BLOG 365.162B

I LOVE to make Marry Me Chicken for guests, but even better is this dip version! Marry Me Chicken Dip is creamy, rich, cheesy, and packed with some serious flavor!! The tender chicken pieces and sun-dried tomatoes give this recipe its OOMPH. It’s the PERFECT, yet an easy to make party appetizer that comes together quickly and disappears fast. Great for EVERY game day or holiday.

MARRY ME CHICKEN DIP

1 ½ cups rotisserie chicken pieces, small chopped
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ cups FINELY shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup FINELY shredded Parmesan cheese
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained well and chopped **see note
1 cup FRESH chopped spinach (optional)
FRESH chopped basil for garnish, optional

  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth using a hand mixer.
  • Add in 1 cup of the Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and salt, mixing until well combined.
  • Fold in the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and shredded chicken until evenly combined.
  • Spread mixture into medium baking dish (round or 9×9 inch) or large cast iron skillet and smooth into an even layer.
  • Top with the remaining ½ cup mozzarella.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
  • Broil for 1 minute, or until the cheese on top is golden brown.
  • Garnish with extra sun-dried tomatoes and FRESH chopped basil before serving.
  • Serve with crackers, toasted bread pieces or tortilla chips.

NOTES:

  • Roasted Red Peppers substitute really well for sun dried tomatoes in a pinch.
  • The dip makes a wonderful sandwich when served on croissants.

COOKING THURSDAY ~ SWISS CHICKEN DIANE aka POOR MAN’S CHICKEN DIANE ~ BLOG 365.162A

Swiss chicken is made with a classic French daughter sauce, Chicken Veloute, made of heavy cream, butter and FRESH lemon juice. It is commonly used with poultry and delicate white meat dishes. I’ve adapted and combined 3 recipes; Swiss Chicken, Stroganoff and Steak Diane to create this “Swiss Chicken Diane” recipe.

SWISS CHICKEN DIANE aka POOR MAN’S CHICKEN DIANE
2 + 2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon avocado oil
4 4-6 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 shallot, FINELY minced
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
4 slices BABY Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon WONDRA
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or sour cream
8 ounces Beech mushrooms, trimmed
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon
4 tablespoons Cream Sherry
1/2-3/4 cup homemade chicken broth
2-3 tablespoons FRESH chopped parsley + more for garnish
Prepared mashed potatoes, pasta or stuffing for serving

  • Heat heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add 2 tablespoons butter and avocado oil.
  • Generously season chicken with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Saute chicken 2-3 minutes per side.
  • Set chicken aside, top with cheese pieces and tent with foil to keep warm.
  • Add shallots, cooking a minute or too.
  • Whisk in WONDRA until smooth.
  • Whisk in lemon juice and Dijon.
  • Add mushrooms and parsley, cooking 3-4 minutes.
  • Add cream sherry and chicken broth, whisking until smooth.
  • Remove from heat and whisk in remaining butter and cream.
  • Return chicken to pan and serve immediately.
  • Serve over prepared mashed potatoes, pasta or stuffing.