HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

I hope everyone had a wonderful week. Mine turned out quite busy in a weird, but also productive way. I can’t believe it’s October already, mainly because it’s so dang hot here still, but it also means Christmas is right around the corner and I’m not sure where we will be so it makes it seem sort of weird.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

YAY we’re finally down to the 80’s, high 80’s but at least NOT 90’s.  The evenings have been quite nice, here’s hoping they continue to get better and better!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Protein drink and coffee YAY only 8 days until my tests to determine surgery type and date.  I’ve been so miserable – unable to eat, sleep or completely function waiting for this.  It has been one REALLY long year getting to this point.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

We found on Thursday that we did not get through hurricane Harvey completely unscathed.  When we had the atrium professional painted by a contractor last year they sealed the upper windows (at the 20 foot level) first, or so we thought. I discovered that the exposed brick wall behind the bar area was discoloring from the water that had been dribbling through the defective caulking. As we began researching the issue deeper we ended up having to disassemble the cabinets in the bar area, resealing the windows (inside and out) with the proper type of caulk (what they used had shrunk horribly causing huge gaps – and you know water – it takes the path of least resistance) and repainted the wood and the bricks including those behind the cabinets.  Then redid the cabinets.  We thought about calling the contractor and making him do it, but so many people in the neighborhood have had bad experiences with him and we just decided to write it off to one more issue with the HOUSE FROM HELL

At least now we know it is done right this time. Hubby did the outside while I did the inside so they should seal well now. Because of tearing apart that area, I was able to get several more boxes packed and ready for the move.  I had to take down all the plants so decided to go ahead and transplant them into the pots I was going to use to give the plants to my neighbor when we do move and that made quite a mess, but it sure feels good to have it done.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
  • LIVING AREAS… dusting and vacuuming
  • KITCHEN… mopping and bleaching sink
  • STUDIO… I did a DEEP clean  after reassembling the atrium.
  • YARD… some pruning and fertilizing
  • BLOG… some recipe updating from the blog compilations and planning for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I’m currently reading Book #2, Second Chance Girl by Susan Mallery

YAY the new television season is finally here.  We have tried a few new shows and are going to give them a second chance to decide before we narrow our lists.  There were a couple shows that had characters depart and one in particular that we did not care for how they handled it so we may be dropping that show. Some of the old favorites are already in the DVR line-up:

  • BIG BANG THEORY and the new YOUNG SHELDON
  • NCIS, NCIS NEW ORLEANS and NCIS LA
  • CRIMINAL MINDS
  • MADAM SECRETARY, SCANDAL
  • DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
  • LAW & ORDER SVU
  • BLUE BLOODS
  • MACGYVER
  • HAWAII 5-0
  • Z NATION
  • THE GOOD PLACE

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

We were supposed to be away for a few days, but out poor old pup is having a rough time this week so we’ll be here instead and I’m hoping to get my canvas updated since there wasn’t anything already on the calendar to get done this week.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

BREAKFAST

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

SHIRRED EGGS

WAFFLES & BACON

LUNCH

SALAMI & CHEESE WRAPS

GRILLED CHICKEN & TOMATOES

SOUP & SANDWICHES

MAC & CHEESE WITH HAM

SALAD & FRUIT

PASTRAMI SANDWICHES

OUT

DINNER

NOT YOUR MAMA’S MEATLOAF with MEXICORN CUPS

BACON BRUSSELS SPORUTS SOUP

PANZANELLA SALAD

KING TOT RANCH CASSEROLE

STIR FRIED CHICKEN with SNAP PEAS & BASIL

SHEPHERD PIE BITES

TACHOS

DESSERT

PB & BANANA CHOCOLATES

SNICKER DOODLES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

Waking up to such horrific news in Las Vegas has me a bit unsettled. I just can’t understand so many things and people in our world these days. Senseless tragedies leave me feeling very agitated about so many things. Praying for peace for the families and friends off the Las Vegas shooting as they begin to deal with so much trauma.

About a year ago I purchased a cordless vacuum and was EXTREMELY happy with it for the first 9 months.  Then it began to not always turn on and then when it would turn on I couldn’t get it to turn off without removing the battery. I set it aside to call customer service, but put it off because I haven’t had the best luck talking to helpful people at ANY customer service recently. Well, I was nearing the end of my warranty period and growing tired of using corded vacuum after using my lightweight vacuum and loving it so much so I bit the bullet and called.

The call was NOT going well as the guy I was speaking with kept insisting that I was giving him a non-existent serial number despite the fact I was reading it directly off the machine itself.  Long story short he was made aware (I assume by someone monitoring the call) that I was indeed giving him a correct number and then after a brief time on hold he returned to the line with a much improved attitude informing me he would be sending me a fedex label via email and after they received my machine back would be sending me a new one.

I printed out the label on Wednesday morning, dropped the vacuum off at Fedex just before lunch.  I figured I would have the new vacuum sometime in the next couple weeks.  So, imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang on Thursday afternoon and my new vacuum was there!!  Moral of the story, BISSELL stands behind their products and does right by their customers.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

Ever since hurricane Harvey, the clouds have been more amazing – at least it seems that way to me. I THINK I’VE BECOME SLIGHTLY OBSESSED WITH CLOUDS.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 39 of 2017

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend. It took me all week, but I finally got caught up from being gone and even though I wasn’t able to get everyone visited from last HHM, I PROMISE to be back on track this week! I also finally caught up on all my laundry from the broken washer and with hubby’s help moved one of the recliners into the bedroom so I can sleep better until after surgery and recovery. I CANNOT lay flat and sleeping is difficult at best.  The recliner isn’t comfortable either, but at least I’m not choking.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We just can’t seem to catch a break weather wise.  We’re still supposed to be in the 90’s this week, but at least it has been a little better humidity wise, especially in the mornings.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

I’m at the point where I’m drinking more and more of my meals waiting on my surgery so breakfast is a PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE so I can eat dinner later.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRY… WHEW after last week I’ll settle for today’s 2 loads.
  • LIVING AREAS… I did a serious deep clean last week and everything still looks pretty good.
  • KITCHEN… LOL my kitchen is always in various states of food prep, but all in all is pretty clean this week.
  • STUDIO… is a complete wreck as I have made it my staging area for ebaying and packing up the house.
  • YARD… the post hurricane/ flood grass re-seed is growing fairly well and hubby will mow and edge later this week.
  • BLOG… I’m still working on combining into this blog the recipes from my old blogs.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

Most of the new shows begin this week so we’ll do a lot of DVRing and try them one at a time until we narrow the list to our new favorites.

I’m reading You Say It First by Susan Mallery.

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

I’m working on a mixed media canvas that I hope to have finished soon so I can show you.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

BREAKFAST

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE

QUICHE LORRAINE

PANCAKES & BACON

LUNCH

SALAMI & CHEESE WRAPS

GRILLED CHICKEN & TOMATOES

SOUP & SANDWICHES

MAC & CHEESE WITH HAM

SALAD & FRUIT

OUT

BACON BRUSSELS SPROUTS SOUP

DINNER

STIR FRIED CHICKEN WITH SNAP PEAS & BASIL

BLT MAC & CHEESE

KING TOT CASSEROLE

PANZANELLA SALAD

NOT YOUR MAMA’S MEATLOAF

SHEPHERD PIE BITES

TACHOS

DESSERT

PB & BANANA CHOCOLATES

SNICKER DOODLES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND & THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

We’ve been doing A LOT of research this past week and have narrowed our search to 2 different regions.  One we are fairly familiar with from a search a few years back, the other is close enough to check out for a few days before my surgery.  I’m still pretty worked up about how things have worked out with helping family here with this house and TOTALLY PISSED OFF that it caused us so much grief and pain, not to mention how much money it has cost us. We would have to stay here for at least 10 years to get our money back.

On another note, but along the same topic it appears our fears regarding my uncle being pursued by a gold digger are true.  We were recently notified (by her) in an almost threatening way that she has his power of attorney and that we should deal directly with her from now on.  As far as I’m concerned she still doesn’t exist as she was the one notifying us without any legal proof – so she can go jump in a lake. The uncle I’ve known all my life would NEVER forsake the little family he has left without being under undue influence or duress.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

Gunny gets a few more treats now that he’s older.  He’s made it clear that he wants them served on a plate from here on out.

The post hurricane Harvey thunderstorms have been amazing and left us with some interesting skies. There are still debris everywhere and traffic beyond belief, but it looks like most things are getting back to normal.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 38 of 2017

I hope everyone had a great week. we were away the entire week and despite my best intentions I never did get around to visiting everyone during the evenings in the hotel. We were away at hubby’s unit military reunion. Unfortunately, it was poorly organized and planned and was not at all what he was hoping for along with many hotel issues so he no longer wants to participate with the unit one and will only do the divisional ones from here out.  We had gone to the divisional one in June and had a great time as it was well organized and planned with events.  We just got back late last night so I will do a quick abbreviated HHM this week with a follow up in a few days once I’ve downloaded the pictures and pulled my thoughts together.

The other part of this trip was to search for our next and hopefully last community.  Despite online research that looked promising reality fell short of our hopes and dreams. So, we are still searching for that perfect community balance for our wants and needs.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

The weather was beautiful while we were gone according to my neighbor, but looks like it will be excessively warm and thunderstormy again now that we are home.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

COFFEE!! The coffee at the hotel last week was terrible!  I am so in need of decent coffee.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRY… the washer went on the fritz just before we left so I now have 10 or so loads to do after I get it fixed today.
  • ALL LIVING AREAS… a little bit of a wreck since we just got home last night so that will be my priority today as well as getting some groceries.
  • KITCHEN… also a wreck, but I am doing a deep clean today.
  • STUDIO… part of the deep clean too
  • YARD… hubby will take care of mowing and edging
  • BLOG… recipe updating and planing for future posts. 

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I need to do some catch up on whatever is on the DVR and then sit down to do some programming for the new season.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

I will be sitting down next and planning a menu and a grocery list so this menu is a serious work in progress.

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
 COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
FRUIT SMOOTHIE
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
LUNCH
DINNER
TATCHOS
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 37 of 2017

Oh my I can’t believe it’s Monday again already! I hope you had a great week/weekend.  We are personally back to normal after Hurricane Harvey, but so many aren’t including our house/dog sitter who unfortunately lost her car, her job and house was flooded during the hurricane.  She’ll be here this week to “regroup” while waiting on materials for new walls and floors at her house. She’s on a waiting list to get a rental car – there just aren’t enough to go around!

My tests and surgery have been pushed out 6 weeks after being canceled during the hurricane.  While I’m not happy about this because of the way it is affecting my life, I do understand what a scheduling nightmare it would be to push everyone out 2 weeks to accommodate everyone that was canceled.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re enjoying some milder weather finally.  Unfortunately it is because of the Florida situation so I would take the heat and humidity back to save all those people from what they are going through.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

We made coffee to go, but will grab something on the road after we get out of the morning traffic.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE & WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRY… washer is having an issue so will have lots of loads to do next week
  • ALL LIVING AREAS… perfect! I did a deep clean before the house sitter got here.
  • YARD… NOTHING! New seeds have begun to come up and is looking good.
  • BLOG… still doing some recipe updating and planning for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

  • READING – I seem to fall asleep after just a paragraph or 2 – Ava Miles #5 Dare Valley – The TOWN SQUARE

The new season is finally about to start.  I do have some cooking shows to clean up on the DVR, but there are plenty of things still going on:

  • ZOO
  • THE STRAIN
  • SALVATION
  • NIGHT SHIFT
  • MIDNIGHT TEXAS
  • CHESAPEAKE SHORES
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
  • GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
  • Guy’s Family Road Trip
  • Great FOOD TRUCK race
  • MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go – hint hint JEFF still HAS TO GO!

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
on the road
FARMHOUSE RESTAURANT
hotel
hotel
hotel
hotel
hotel
LUNCH
on the road
??
??
??
??
??
on the road
DINNER
??
??
welcome reception
?? out for my birthday
banquet
on the road
DESSERT
cake of course

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

There are so many things going on EVERYWHERE right now that I am just praying for the world and our country to level out and be still for awhile! This kind of comically sums it up though.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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MENU PLAN & HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 36 of 2017

I hope you all had a GREAT week and are taking a much deserved break today for Labor day. We have had a busy week recovering from Hurricane Harvey.  This has been and continues to be chaos even as life tries to go back to normal.  We were blessed to be in an area that received 3 feet of rain and tons of wind, but no serious damage or flooding except for a the few neighbors we were able to help out.  But, that has left us on a “virtual” island not able to go too far in any one direction without running into closed roads and freeways.  They are still releasing waters from the overflowing reservoirs so residential flooding as well as downtown is still a HUGE concern.  Also of concern is a dozen or so flooded toxic waste dumps, mosquito season and raw sewage in the flood waters.

My long awaited testing for my surgery last Friday in the downtown medical center was canceled and has yet to be rescheduled, but I’m hoping to have some answers tomorrow. I know there are other concerns right now, but I am miserable and unable to sleep, eat or function well so am hoping as they reopen they have developed a plan to deal with the week’s worth of patients in limbo in a timely and efficient manner.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We are warmer and humid again, but the skies are blue and full of fluffy clouds.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Protein drink and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I’m blessed to have a house to complain about being messy!  I need to clean well though. So much time spent indoors while the hurricane/tropical storm raged and away after to help friends and now the holiday weekend that I have neglected normal day to day items, but I’ll get those back together as the week moves on.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRY… just a couple of regular loads – just finished 10 or so loads of towels and blankets used to help neighbor with her flood.
  • LIVING AREAS… mostly tidy, but need to do ALL floors
  • KITCHEN… laundry room is at the back of the kitchen and I have been doing so many loads of wet towels and such that the whole room needs a serious deep clean.
  • STUDIO… I’ve been packing so there is a bit of a mess that will remain for awhile.
  • YARD… Hubby just reseeded the yard and put on a layer of manure.  It seems so odd to be watering after just receiving 3 feet of rain, but we really want the new seed to take root and this seemed like the best time while the ground is soft.
  • BLOGstill doing some recipe updating and planing for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

  • STILL READING – I seem to fall asleep after just a paragraph or 2 – Ava Miles #4 Dare Valley – The Holiday Serenade

Waiting for the new season to start, but there are plenty of things still going on:

  • ZOO
  • STRAIN
  • SALVATION
  • NIGHT SHIFT
  • MIDNIGHT TEXAS
  • CHESAPEAKE SHORES
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
  • GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
  • Guy’s Family Road Trip
  • Great FOOD TRUCK race
  • MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go – hint hint JEFF HAS TO GO!

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS & COFFEE
FRUIT SMOOTHIE
PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS & COFFEE
SOUR CREAM WAFFLES AND BACON
SHIRRED EGGS
LUNCH
FRUIT & CHEESE
SOUP
MEAT ROLL-UPS
SALAD
MEAT & CHEESE
C.O.R.N.
??
DINNER
& SALAD
RUSTIC CREAMY PARMESAN CHICKEN
WILTED SPINACH SALAD with GRILLED CHICKEN
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

I saw this on facebook and this is soooooooooooo cool and helpful.
https://www.facebook.com/firstmediasoyummy/videos/1862813597366116/

 

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

I’m probably hypersensitive this week with all the stress, but it just concerns me that people “stir the pot” so easily in social media. It’s so easy these days to “say” something via the written word on social media that you would have thought twice about before saying verbally without really thinking through the implications.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

We were so fortunate where we were in Hurricane Harvey’s path.  The rescue helicopters made it super surreal though as we were apparently in a flight pattern.  My oldest friend (we’ve known each other since we were 2 and 3) Leslie called to check on us though and said her ex SIL was flooded and had to be rescued by boat.  She said she was taking a 4 day weekend and driving down to Help Joan now that the waters were beginning to recede.  We decided we would try to get there to help.  I say try, because where we are kind of became an island of sorts. We couldn’t travel in any direction without  coming upon primarily closed flooded out roads. These trucks were full of police in tactical gear coming from a heavily flooded area.

So on Friday we took boots, gloves, a HUGE pot of chili and started out for a location 11 miles away.  It took us 2 hours, but we got there.  It looked like a war zone!  The primary goal was to get all the carpeting, flooring, drywall and ruined furniture and appliance to the curb.  At some point the city will be picking these things up.  With the humidity here, mosquitoes and mold are the worst fears.  I have to say that for the most part my faith in humanity was restored as people just showed up and offered their  services to cut out drywall, move refrigerators and just offer their talents any way they could.  High school guys offering their brute strength, cub scouts passing out water, friends of friends just pitching in…

There were a couple instances of active tries at looting, but neighbors banded together and ran off these offenders.  Joan lives on a cul-de-sac and the guy on the corner has been parking his car sideways at night and standing vigil with an assault rifle to keep people who didn’t belong there out.  The neighbors a few streets over that were not flooded brought dinner for the whole neighborhood the first night they were allowed back in. Then on Saturday sack lunches and the kindness continues!

About half way through removing the debris and these pictures are just 2 yards of the many thousands that look just like this or worse. They are urging everyone to put out EVERYTHING that was in flood waters, even what appears salvageable because of the toxins, parasites and such that is in the flood waters.

And while we have too much water those poor people in Montana need rain desperately.  Praying for ALL those affected by the wildfires.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 35 of 2017

My week took a bit of a turn last Wednesday when “Harvey” decided to “reform” in the Gulf and suddenly we were under Hurricane Watch with the “promise” of Historical rainfall. Not everyone gets a solar eclipse, hurricane and tropical storm in the SAME week, but we did ~ LUCKY us, NOT!

There were quite a few things I had slated to do over the weekend, but I had to speed up and get them all done ALL at once on Wednesday and Thursday because I was NOT going to be out on the road during the hurricane.  Hubby got the generator ready and made sure we had plenty of gas.  I was going to the grocery store anyway on Wednesday, but once I was there and overheard the local firemen talking about how they were preparing for the weekend I added a few extras and rented some movies so I wouldn’t possibly need to go back out for anything and could stay in and out of the storm. SURE GLAD I DID!

The overlapping tornado warnings have been emotionally exhausting as have the bayou overflows and flood water close calls and I haven’t even left home. We did get an emergency “HELP! “call from our elderly neighbor across the way at midnight Saturday. She has the mirror image of our house. But, my grandfather enclosed the atrium patio off the living room and dining room to enlarge the area back in the 1980’s. Unfortunately, her house didn’t get the same enclosure which allowed for a 13×13 area that basically is just collecting water like a bathtub and with this amount of rain just wasn’t draining despite the fact that she recently had the drain area redone and enlarged.  It drained well before the recent work so I was pretty sure that the contractor messed up and that would be an argument for after this storm until it happened again. So from midnight to 3 AM we moved furniture, wet vacuumed 3 rooms and wrung out towel after towel after towel of gallons of water. Fortunately, the contractor finally showed up late yesterday afternoon and had to take it all apart so it would drain.  He found a 3 inch rock inside the “NEW” pipe that was completely blocking the flow of the water. Evidently when they pushed the new pipe into place, they hadn’t cleared out all the debris.  Costly error on his part!

We secured all the loose items (patio furniture, light weight potted plants, wind chimes, etc…) on Thursday and Friday and went out every lull in the storm after that and collected the loose branches as well as checked all the drainage to clear it of debris.  Unfortunately, the lulls became less an less as time moved on and we had to start doing this during the storms creating lots of wet clothes. The flooding and tornadoes were the biggest issue for where we are. About 6 months ago, crews dredged and really cleaned out the bayou next to us as well as widening it a bit which was sorely needed as we are at the back end of it. I walked down there again this morning (the picture below was taken yesterday morning and hasn’t changed much) and their work certainly is making a difference in it NOT flooding us out, but barely!  I wasn’t sure that was going to be the case Saturday night.  It was a SERIOUSLY LONG weekend and the storm isn’t anywhere near over yet. Our rainfall is just under 50 inches a year.  Just since Friday we have received over 28 inches right here. The last 72 hours feels like it was 3 weeks long! I can’t sleep more than a couple hours at a time hence why I’m writing this at 4AM. Schools and many local services have been canceled for the week and many communities have instituted curfews.

Oh and I stepped in a fire ant hill of pissed off ants with flip flops on and have a couple dozen bites that required medication because of my allergy AND I broke my favorite glasses. 🙁 Fortunately I keep the medication on hand as well as an extra pair of glasses. Unbelievably we have not lost power or internet! YAY!

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’ve been seriously needing rain, but NOT ALL at once! It’s not over yet either.  We are in the expected 2-3 feet zone and have already gotten almost all of the predicted rain for this storm and the storm is supposed to sit over us for another 4 days! So, we’ve  gotten every bit of it and then some!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Protein drink and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE ~ WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRYseveral loads yet to do.
  • LIVING AREASlet’s face it, it’s a wreck under the circumstances and I really need to do ALL the floors from all the wet feet.
  • KITCHENquite clean, but as always I plan to make a mess soon.
  • STUDIOI did a SERIOUS DEEP CLEAN while we were hunkered down and am now working on new ebay pictures.
  • YARD… waiting for it to be a yard and not a pool and then we’ll do some reseeding and fertilizer.  The flowers are all but dead from the over watering the hurricane brought, but I’ll just leave them until then and see if they regenerate.
  • BLOG… STILL working on some recipe updating and planing for future posts.  BLOGMAS 2017 is moving right along as I plan forward.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

We did get a few movies from RedBox before the storm so have had something besides news coverage to watch. Fortunately there is a RedBox in walking distance to return them to since I can’t drive to where they where originally rented from.

  • Guardians of the Galaxy 2
  • Blind
  • Alien Covenant
  • King Arthur

Waiting for the new season to start, but there are plenty of things still going on:

Pre-season Football has gotten a little boring so NASCAR is dominating as it gets close to the “PLAYOFF” time, formerly known as “THE CHASE”. Unfortunately, NASCAR was pre-empted here locally for Hurricane Harvey coverage. PLUS, Defenders has started as well as Guy’s Family Road Trip and the Great FOOD TRUCK race.

We still have a few summer shows going.

  • ZOO
  • STRAIN
  • SALVATION
  • NIGHT SHIFT
  • MIDNIGHT TEXAS
  • CHESAPEAKE SHORES
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
  • GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
  • MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go – hint hint JEFF HAS TO GO!

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

I started a few Christmas gifts this week while we were sequestered for the storm.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE
PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE
PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE
PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE
PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE
SHIRRED EGGS
BACON & WAFFLES
LUNCH
FRUIT & CHEESE
SOUP
MEAT ROLL-UPS
SALAD
MEAT & CHEESE
C.O.R.N.
??
DINNER
MARRY ME CHICKEN
CHICKEN STIR FRY
SLAM DUNK WINGS & TWICE BAKED POTATOES
CHILI MAC CASSEROLE
COQ AU VIN
PORK CHOPS WITH PEPPER JELLY
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND & THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

Still grappling with family issues out of my control because the drama is being created by someone who does NOT know how to communicate and seems to refuse to treat others with the Golden Rule. Yet, it weighs on me because I cannot fix it.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

Unfortunately, there are no pictures that could begin to depict the horrific reality of this past week that haven’t already been plastered all over the television and social media, but I did get a few.

INSPIRATION

I originally selected this inspiration:

But really think this one is more pertinent today:

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HOMEMADE CHICKEN BROTH & STOCK UP TIPS

At this time of year, I’m usually stocking up for winter in the wild and snowy north, but not this year. We’ll pretend though because I can’t seem to cook any differently and am longing for cool, crisp fall evenings for soups and stews.  I originally wrote this post years ago, but nothing has changed – I still do things exactly the same.

I start with LARGE bulk packs of meat.  I then break them down by size and meat right down to cutting certain recipes into bite sized pieces.  Then I wrap them in freezer paper because I really hate freezer burn!  And I package them into pre-labeled ziploc bags for the freezer.

I didn’t get a secondary picture, but I then wrap the center of each one with a strip of duct tape.  Yep, you read that right, duct tape.  Just a small strip.  Enough so when they’re stacked in the back of the freezer you can identify the meat.  I buy it in colors – red for beef, green for chicken and blue for pork.  It makes it soooooooo much easier when you’re searching in the freezer for the right meat.
Many times this prep includes rotisserie chickens.  My market at home has buy one, get one free on Tuesdays.  Can you figure out when I did my shopping? By the time I get home and put away the groceries, the rotisserie chickens are cool enough to pick off the bone.  The bowl below is the skin, congealed juices and bones I collected as I stripped 2 birds.
I think Martha (MM) and I met over some post about buying in bulk and we found a common ground – saving money!  Talk to your butcher.  Many times you can save even more than the advertised sale prices.  For example, recently my local market was running a sale on chuck roast.  None of the roasts were as large as I really needed for company so I asked the butcher if they had one the size I wanted and instead she offered up a manager’s daily sale (in the bulk section just a few feet away from the ones I was looking at) where I could buy twice as much for half as much saving me $8 over what I intended to spend and gave me enough for 3 meals.  I made ALL the chuck roast as Pot Roast & Veggies for company and then used the leftovers to make Ortega Chile Bake and Beef Chili.
I then use a large stock pot and cover the “debris” with water.  I set it to simmer on a low temp and let it go for an hour or so.  I don’t add any seasonings since I’ve normally bought mesquite broiled or lemon herb, but adjust according to your tastes.
Then I drain it into my large 8 cup measuring cup and allow it to cool.
I have several of these containers that I bought just for chicken stock in the freezer.  I haven’t bought chicken stock in over 10 years now.  It’s just so easy to make your own.  Even if I start with raw chicken and poach it for a recipe I add seasonings and by the time the chicken is done, there is several cups of broth ready for the freezer.

Today’s flavor was Mesquite broiled so it left us with a spicy red color also.

So what do you do to get ready for winter?  Have I motivated you to stock up?

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 33 of 2017

HAPPY MONDAY everyone! I hope you had a wonderful week/weekend. It was tax free weekend around here with the kids starting back to school today plus a SERIOUS heat advisory so I avoided going anywhere and pretty much stayed inside with preseason football and racing all weekend. I did make it to the Farmer’s market early Saturday morning and picked up just a few groceries for some luscious salads, but other than that it was a productive weekend at home. We know for sure that we won’t be staying here, but are still uncertain exactly when we will be moving since we are still waiting for tests 3 & 4 to be performed to determine surgery type and date.  So, I’ve started packing ALL non-essential items (Christmas china, winter clothes, studio items, etc…).  This will help on so many levels after my surgery and keep me busy now while I wait for the test and surgery.  LOL it’s a vicious circle, but keeps me busy.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We are back into serious heat advisories and triple digit temperatures, but it’s blue skies full of fluffy clouds and sunny.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Honey Nut Cheerios with a banana and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I am very happy with everything I got done over the weekend.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
  • LIVING AREAS… GORGEOUS
  • BEDROOM… GOURGEOUS TOO
  • KITCHEN… just a little tidying to do
  • STUDIO… I did a seriously DEEP clean Saturday and am not sure I want to make a mess so soon.
  • YARD… YAY, nothing
  • BLOG… still working on some recipe updating and planing for future posts as I continue combining my old blogs into this one.

MONDAY – APPOINTMENTS & ERRANDS
TUESDAY – When I cleaned the studio, I got the table top photo booth set up for ebay pictures and want to get at least 20 items a day photoed, edited and listed.
WEDNESDAY – ebay, packing
THURSDAY – ebay, vacuuming
FRIDAY – ebay, ?? out for our anniversary
SATURDAY – helping my uncle
SUNDAY – ??

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

  • READING – Ava Miles #3 Dare Valley – Grand Opening

Pre-season Football and NASCAR have dominated around here quite a bit lately, but we still have a few summer shows going.

  • ZOO
  • DOUBT
  • STRAIN
  • SALVATION
  • NIGHT SHIFT
  • MIDNIGHT TEXAS
  • CHESAPEAKE SHORES
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
  • GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
  • THE “F” WORD will conclude this week also – I love this fun new side of Gordon Ramsay, but not sure this show will make it.  The background noise that Gordon is always trying to talk over drives me crazy.
  • MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go JEFF HAS TO GO!
  • FOOD NETWORK STAR finished this week– I LOVED Jason, Corey and Rusty.  Corey and Rusty had their unique styles, but Jason was so funny on the Holiday Baking Championship which he won against professionals.  He is pretty innovative with flavor combos and I just love his country accent and euphemisms that I was pulling for Jason to win ALL SEASON! SPOILER ALERT: AND he did!

NEW THIS WEEK:

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
FRUIT SMOOTHIE
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
RED PEPPER HAM STRATAS
SHIRRED EGGS & HAM
LUNCH
FRUIT & CHEESE
SOUP
MEAT ROLL-UPS
SALAD
MEAT & CHEESE
C.O.R.N.
??
DINNER
CEDAR PLANKED SALMON & GARLIC CHEESE CAULIFLOWER & BROCCOLI BAKE
JUCY LUCY BURGERS
SLAM DUNK WINGS & TWICE BAKED POTATOES
BBQ SAUSAGE & CREAMY CUCUMBER SALAD
OUT TO EAT FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY
PORK CHOPS with PEPPER JELLY
MARRY ME CHICKEN & GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

PRAYING for all the hatred and animosity to come to an end in our country.  We have to start helping each other up instead of tearing each other down!

2 1/2+ more weeks until tests 3 and 4. Some days I’m not sure I can last that long let alone until the surgery, but since there is no alternative I’ll just draw on my strength and live with the pain and put one foot in front of the other every day moving forward.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

My old guy still likes to play and is seeming more puppy like lately. He never lets his favorite tennis ball get too far from him.

INSPIRATION

 

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 32 of 2017

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s still very warm and humid with a chance of thunderstorms ALL week, but a bit more tolerable than it has been.  I ran to Costco and did some errands on Saturday and got caught in one of the worst thunderstorms I’ve ever been in.  I think partly because the people around me were so panicked and unable to cope.  Gheesh people, it’s just water.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

BOOST Nutritional drink and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRYjust a couple loads
  • LIVING AREASmostly tidy, but need to do floors AS ALWAYS
  • KITCHEN… NOT quite clean, but just a little tidying will do
  • STUDIOJust don’t know where to start this week in here
  • YARDhubby needs to mow and edge, bit nothing for me to do 😀
  • BLOGsome recipe updating and planing for future posts

MONDAY – APPOINTMENTS & ERRANDS
TUESDAY – PAPERWORK, CLEANING
WEDNESDAY – EBAYING, SORTING and PACKING
THURSDAY – PAINTING TOUCH UPS
FRIDAY – ??
SATURDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, FOOTBALL & RACING
SUNDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, FOOTBALL & RACING

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

With being under the weather and being cooped up so much I’ve been watching a bit more TV.  Rented a few movies the past couple weeks too.

There are a couple new shows starting on the Food Network this month that I’m really looking forward to.

READING: I switched over to Marie Force’s #10 book in the Fatal Series.

  • GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW – I just love this show and I’m not ready for it to be over! SPOILER ALERT! – I do think Candace winning was the best though.
  • MIDNIGHT TEXAS
  • THE NIGHT SHIFT
  • SALVATION
  • ZOO
  • FOOD NETWORK STAR – I LOVE Jason and Matt and Rusty.  Jason was so funny on the Holiday Baking Championship which he won against professionals.  He is pretty innovative with flavor combos and I just love his country accent and euphemisms.
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon and love that Laverne Cox golden buzzered Celine this past week – such a grown up voice out of such a cute little girl.
  • The Returned
  • The OA
  • Friday Night Lights
  • DATE MY DAD
  • MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters this season and some I can’t wait to see go home as well as a couple I thought I was NOT going to like that are growing on me, but JEFF HAS TO GO!
  • THE “F” WORD – I love this fun new side of Gordon Ramsay.


MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
FRUIT SMOOTHIE
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
FIESTA EGG & POTATO BOATS
WAFFLES
LUNCH
FRUIT & CHEESE
SOUP
MEAT ROLL-UPS
SALAD
MEAT & CHEESE
C.O.R.N.
C.O.R.N.
DINNER
BOURBON HAM BALLS  & BROCCOLI SLAW
PEANUT CHICKEN WINGS & SALAD w/ HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING
CHILI MAC CASSEROLE & SALAD w/ ZESTY BUTTERMILK DRESSING
C.O.R.N.
CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS
CHILI CHEESE DOG CASSEROLE
C.O.R.N.
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

I literally dread  having to call customer service ANYWHERE!  I had to call AT&T as well as AMAZON several times this week. Lately every customer service I have had to call is outsourced to the Philippines and they are reading from a script, don’t truly understand what they are doing and don’t seem to really care. I spent over an hour on hold with AT&T to deal with a rude and obnoxious man who told me “to deal with it”.  When I asked for a supervisor, he said he was the supervisor.  I told him he reported to someone so I wanted to talk to them.  At the 2 hour mark I was transferred to the customer loyalty department who was 1) in the USA 2) completely apologetic and said I should have been informed from the get go that the computers had been down most the day and that no one could have helped me.  They gave me a direct dial number to use the next day which also got me a wonderful man here in the states who took care of my problem in nothing flat.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

This is only my favorite photo because I had a wonderful customer service representative at Amazon who finally made a week’s worth of horrible interactions with not so nice customer representatives right in the end.  The new plates should be here before the end of the day.

This picture popped up on Facebook yesterday as a memory though so ALL is good in the favorite photo department.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 31 of 2017

Did you have a great weekend? Ours was full of errands, cooking and racing. Because of the crowds here we try really hard to go no where from Friday afternoon through Monday. So, we have begun to really enjoy our homebody weekends.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Last week was pretty nice until Friday and Saturday when the heat indexes surged upward again to unbearable around 120, but they are supposed to drop again this week to just around 100 – won’t matter much with the threat of rain every day though with the humidity. I really am ready to leave this 2 season (late spring and horrible summer)  place and go back to ALL 4 seasons!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Scrambled eggs and green tea

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

The bug guy is coming Wednesday for our quarterly spray so today is going to be my deep clean day before he does that, but at least the clutter is all picked up and ready for the deep clean.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRYjust a couple loads
  • LIVING AREASmostly tidy, but need to do dusting and floors
  • KITCHENready for it’s DEEP clean
  • STUDIOready for it’s DEEP clean
  • YARDA little pruning and deadheading of some blooms
  • BLOG… still working on some recipe updating from my old blogs and am scheduling the posts I move over to slowly migrate day by day into the new blog.

MONDAY – DEEP CLEAN

TUESDAY – APPOINTMENTS & ERRANDS

WEDNESDAY – BUG GUY, SORTING and PACKING

THURSDAY – PAINT MAILBOX, PRUNE BACKYARD

FRIDAY – MOVIE or BOWLING

SATURDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, RACING

SUNDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, RACING

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

Had a MAJOR DVR glitch last week after a power outage from the phone guys working in the area pulling in new fiber optic cable and in the end LOST ALL of the Christmas movies I had been stockpiling on the DVR from the July premiere on Hallmark!  Not to mention we had to go without television while we waited for the new DVR to be shipped to us.

There are a couple new shows starting on the Food Network that I’m looking for to.

I’m still only half way through with Book #2, French Roast of Ava Miles’ series for Dare Valley. I keep falling asleep LOL. And then there are my summer standards:

  • MIDNIGHT TEXAS
  • THE NIGHT SHIFT – I’m ready for T.C. to come home.
  • SALVATION – We’ll see where they go with it.  I’m still undecided.
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon and fun side of Tyra.
  • ZOO – is back. I wasn’t sure I liked the 10 year jump into the future, but am getting used to it since they are using the same characters, just took some adjusting.
  • FOOD NETWORK STAR – I LOVE Jason and Matt and Rusty.  Jason was so funny on the Holiday Baking Championship which he won against professionals.  He is pretty innovative with flavor combos and I just love his country accent and euphemisms.
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon
  • The Returned
  • The OA
  • Friday Night Lights
  • DATE MY DAD – it’s pretty cute and I want to look as good as Raquel Welch does when I’m her age!
  • GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW – I just love this show – they are always so civilized and nice with recipes that make me WANT to be a better baker. SPOILER ALERT!! NO NO NO I didn’t want Benjaminia to go home!!!!
  • MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters this season and some I can’t wait to see go home as well as a couple I thought I was NOT going to like that are growing on me.
  • THE “F” WORD – I love this fun new side of Gordon Ramsay with his funny antics and pranks with disguises.

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

I’m starting on a new canvas this week (I hope)

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

I’m still working with old recipes that need new pictures to make them look right with an experiment each week.

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
FRUIT SMOOTHIE
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
DUTCH BABIES
HAM & RED PEPPER STRATAS
LUNCH
FRUIT & CHEESE
TUNA TARRAGON
MEAT & CHEESE ROLL-UPS
SALAD
MEAT & CHEESE ROLL-UPS
C.O.R.N.
C.O.R.N.
DINNER
MAC & CHEESE HOTDOG STUFFED PEPPERS
BAKED CHICKEN TAQUITOS
C.O.R.N.
HONEY SESAME CHICKEN  STIR FRY
HONEY GLAZED FRIED CHICKEN
SOMETHING ON THE GRILL
DESSERT
PEANUT BUTTER BLISS BROWNIES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

Spending a lot of time wondering what makes some people tick. Especially those that are so self-centered and feel they are entitled to everything without having compassion, empathy or even sympathy for others let alone respect for them.

THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

  • Two of four tests are completed in helping diagnose the next step in my health process. One was normal, the other was not and the doctor will be able to tell more about that status after tests three and four.  Unfortunately tests three and four are a month off so I’m still miserable and unsure until then. Still praying for a non-surgical end to all of this.
  • “Summer” is half over which means psuedo Fall is not too far off. Real fall never really happens here LOL.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

These days my old Gunny spends more and more time in his favorite position, NAPPING next to his favorite toys. I’m really glad we got him an orthopedic bed a while back.  He LOVES his bed!

INSPIRATION

Have a wonderful week and be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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ESSENTIAL KITCHEN INGREDIENTS ~ Tools, Condiments and Seasonings ~

This post originally ran as a guest post series for Barbara over at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers who is hosting the Homemaking September Shape-up. It was an all around comprehensive house to home style of posts to help us get our homes and lives whipped into shape.
I thought about this category for several days and no matter how you look at it, ‘essential kitchen ingredients’ for your kitchen are subjective. I mean if I cooked a lot of oriental food I’m sure I’d find a WOK an essential tool, but I don’t so we’ll approach this the same as we did the pantry, we’ll try to apply logic and I’ll list ‘my’ essentials and then you can interpret any way necessary for your household and the meals you prepare.

As for essential tools I have many that I consider truly essential! But, in reality we can truly get by with very few. I consider a good set of cutting boards, a great set of sharp knives, my cast iron skillet, quality stainless steel pans, spoons, spatulas and tongs a necessity. I try to stay away from most plastics as they do wear quicker and tend to harbor bacteria. I’m still using the same stainless steel tools and cookie sheets I spent a small fortune on 20 years ago, so that expenditure has paid off. The cast iron skillet has been passed down through my hubby’s parents and grandparents and it too is still going strong. I did purchase new heavy gauge stainless steel pots and pans about 10 years ago and they look brand new as stainless cleans so well. I also stay away from all non-stick surfaces as they do wear eventually and I just don’t want that in our food. I do change my cutting boards and rubber spatulas frequently just to be on the safe side despite always running them through the dishwasher at a high heat.As much as I like all my pampered chef toys, they could all be eliminated by using just what I have listed above. Personally I cannot live without my essential Kitchen Aid stand mixer & hand mixer and my Cuisinart mini food chopper. I had a blender, but only used it to make my home made Creamy Tomato Basil soup and the occasional margarita so now just use my Magic Bullet. I don’t even own an electric can opener. I do love my slow cooker and my Magnalite stock pots and roaster, but they too could be substituted with other pots and pans if absolutely necessary.

Now for seasonings, this too is subjective based on the foods you prepare, but honestly if that recipe you cut out of a magazine calls for Herbs de Provence don’t run out and buy it for a one time recipe. It is a combination of herbs you probably already have on hand. It usually contains rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf and thyme. So you can adjust what you have with your own likes. What I consider essential in the spice cabinet around here is kosher salt, sea salt, white & black pepper, celery salt, garlic salt and powder, onion salt and powder, basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, parsley, paprika, cinnamon, apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, PURE vanilla, maple sugar, orange rind, bourbon extract, rum extract and vanilla powder.

In the pantry I have all purpose flour, bread and cake flour, self rising flour, Wondra flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, coconut, raisins, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder, barley, split peas, tapioca, white rice, brown rice and various pastas.

In the way of liquid essentials I have Worcestershire sauce, Bragg’s Amino acids, local honey; white, rice wine, champagne, red wine, balsamic, golden and apple cider vinegars; olive, coconut and avocado oils as well as some cooking wines and sherries.

In the refrigerator I have mayonnaise, ketchup (both homemade when I have the time), mustard (despite my severe allergy everyone else LOVES it), sun dried tomato pesto, Better than Bouillon chicken and beef bases, fresh lemons & limes, minced garlic and chili sauce.

The real key here is to have what YOU need on hand at all times without a lot of effort.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 30 of 2017

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Can you believe we are more than half way through this year already? I spent the weekend sorting and packing and have been able to make even larger donation boxes and feel quite liberated by it.  While the weather was better, it was still not great and I can’t tolerate the heat with what’s going on in my body so spent the weekend inside and was able to catch both NASCAR races and watch some Hallmark Christmas movies too.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re still having high temperatures in the mid 90’s, but the dew points have dropped making the heat indexes a bit lower so it’s a bit more tolerable even with high humidity.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Nothing as I’m fasting for an 11AM test.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

  • LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
  • LIVING AREAS… I spent the weekend sorting and packing so have a bit of mess, but nothing I can’t live with.
  • KITCHEN… quite clean, but I plan to make a mess soon.  I’m such a messy cook as I invent
  • STUDIO… Nothing this week
  • YARD… Hubby just mowed so we’re good for now
  • BLOG… still doing some recipe updating and planing for future posts as I re-do some pictures from the blogs I’m combining

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

Midnight Texas Starts tonight. I have been stockpiling Christmas movies on the DVR all week during the Christmas in July premiere at Hallmark and we found a few more Netflix shows we’ve been trying.

I’m still only half way through with Book #2, French Roast of Ava Miles’ series for Dare Valley. I keep falling asleep LOL. And then there are my summer standards:

  • THE NIGHT SHIFT – I’m ready for T.C. to come home.
  • SALVATION – We’ll see where they go with it.  I’m still undecided.
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon and fun side of Tyra.
  • ZOO – is back. I wasn’t sure I liked the 10 year jump into the future, but am getting used to it since they are using the same characters, just took some adjusting.
  • FOOD NETWORK STAR – I LOVE Jason and Matt and Rusty.  Jason was so funny on the Holiday Baking Championship which he won against professionals.  He is pretty innovative with flavor combos and I just love his country accent and euphemisms.
  • AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon
  • DATE MY DAD – it’s pretty cute and I want to look as good as Raquel Welch does when I’m her age!
  • GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW – I just love this show – they are always so civilized and nice with recipes that make me WANT to be a better baker.
  • MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters this season and some I can’t wait to see go home as well as a couple I thought I was NOT going to like that are growing on me. I was quite surprised with this week’s ending, at least with the final challenge and who Yachecia choose to battle against and was impressed that she chose to save 6 others instead of herself.  I really thought she’d pick Jeff. I just don’t care for him and I really thought he should go after yelling at Gordon Ramsay.
  • THE “F” WORD – I love this fun new side of Gordon Ramsay with his funny antics and pranks with disguises.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
FRUIT SMOOTHIE
FRUIT & COFFEE
SCRAMBLED EGGS
BAKED OMELETS
SHIRRED EGGS
LUNCH
FRUIT & CHEESE
SOUP
MEAT ROLL-UPS
SALAD
MEAT & CHEESE
C.O.R.N.
??
DINNER
ITALIAN BBQ CHICKEN and SALAD
SLUMBERING VOLCANOES
C.O.R.N.
FONTINA STUFFED PORK CHOPS
CHICKEN and ONIONS in WHITE WINE CREAM SAUCE
C.O.R.N.
SESAME CHICKEN
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

 

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

The first of the four yucky tests is over and the second is later this morning and then I have to wait 5 weeks due to scheduling availability for test three and four which fortunately will both be performed at the same time while I’m under anesthesia by my doctor. Last Friday’s test was a ClusterF**k of technicians and misread orders that left me flustered and agitated.

At this point I almost don’t care what they find as long as the find something that can be cured and cured sooner than later.  This has all been going on for over a year now and it is no way to live!

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

The older (over 100 in human years based on the current dog years to human years calculator) Gunny gets, the easier it is to do this to him on a regular basis.  He also sleeps through thunder and door bells now too.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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