2 cups AP flour 1/3 cup powdered sugar 1 cup butter, diced and softened 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 LARGE egg, at room temperature 1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract Small pinch salt 8 ounces milk chocolate toffee bits 1 cup FINELY chopped pecans
Grease bottom of 9×13 baking dish.
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour and powdered sugar.
Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
Press mixture firmly into the bottom of baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla and salt until smooth and well blended.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire, mayonnaise, minced garlic and anchovy paste until well combined.
Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set dressing aside.
SALAD 8 ounces uncooked pasta, such as rotini or penne 2 hearts of Romaine Shredded rotisserie chicken pieces Croutons (optional) Parmesan cheese, for serving
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook 9-10 minutes.
Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large serving bowl. (see note)
Cut the Romaine hearts into 1-inch pieces and add them to the bowl.
Add chicken pieces to the bowl.
Add the prepared dressing and toss to combine.
Add the croutons if using and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
NOTE: I like to prepare the pasta in advance and chill it. If I prepare it beforehand I add a dab of avocado oil to toss it in after it’s drained.
Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
WEEKEND RECAP
After working so much and doing the auxiliary dinner at the Eagles last Friday we went for a lazy weekend. We visited a few garage sales. I cleaned and did some laundry, read a little, worked on menus and recipes, but nothing strenuous or that used a lot of brain power.
OH MY, it really just hit me that we are almost literally 1/2 way through the year!!! Can you believe there are only 191 days left in this entire year of 366 days!! Or in realer terms, Christmas Eve is 6 months from today. 😀
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE
Lows in the 50’s here and highs in the 70’s here at home. We’re going north to the coast though for the end of the week and it’s supposed to be in the low 60’s during the day and low 50’s at night so no complaints here!
TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS
THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
LAUNDRY & CLEANING ALL caught up as of last night, but you know how laundry is 😀
GROCERIES & ERRANDS None other than the Eagle’s shopping on Wednesday before we go.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS Nothing that won’t wait until next week 😀
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Right now I’m planned through the end of July, but open to changes.
DVR/TV TIME
WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
We watched ATLAS with Jennifer Lopez which was quite good and LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND with Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke that was just plain weird and even a bit disturbing.
I’m also watching the SUMMER BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP and GUY’S ROAD TRIP on the food network.
We’ve also been binge rewatching EUREKA and COACH at night.
READING TIME
I finished Marie Force’s State of Suspense last night and will start Emily Conlin’s The Memory Thief tonight.
FUNNIES
MENU PLANS
BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀 With leaving on Thursday for a short trip it’s a pretty basic menu this week.
6/24 MONDAY
6/25 TUESDAY
6/26 WEDNESDAY
6/27 THURSDAY
6/28 FRIDAY
6/29 SATURDAY
6/30 SUNDAY
DINNER
GREEN CHILE BEEF CALDILLO and REFRIED BEANS
CAJUN CABBAGE and SALAD
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator or your on your own 😀
OOT
OOT
OOT
OOT
DESSERT
FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA
I’ve been cat/house sitting since Thursday for a neighbor. KitKat and I had a great time together. My English Lavender and Calla Lillies are looking absolutely gorgeous this week. The bees LOVE them! I have rarely seen a spotted cucumber beetle, let alone get a picture of one. They are considered BIG pests, but are so unique looking. And my Clematis are looking really nice also with HUGE purple blossoms.
This tart, salty and crunchy recipe never disappoints! It will be the hit at your next backyard BBQ or potluck. Everyone will be asking for the recipe!
SALT AND VINEGAR POTATO SALAD serves 6-8
5–6 medium sized russet potatoes 3/4 cup DUKES mayo 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional) 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup chopped FRESH thyme 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery or radishes (optional) 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Thoroughly wash and dry your potatoes.
Dice your potatoes into bite size pieces and add to a large pot of cold water with a pinch of salt.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Remove the lid once water comes to a boil and SLOW boil for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
Drain potatoes and let cool.
In a large bowl, add the mayo, Dijon mustard and vinegar, mixing together until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Add the cooled potatoes to the bowl and fold together until all the potatoes are well coated with the mayo mixture.
Add in the celery or radishes, red onion, thyme and salt and pepper, mixing together well and adjusting the seasoning to taste.
If you’re a BIG BANG THEORY fan I know you’ll appreciate this and be honest you sang this to the tune of Penny singing Soft Kitty to Sheldon when he’s sick. 😀
Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
WEEKEND RECAP
Friday night we were supposed to go to a local winery, Joseph Jane (who has one of my all time favorites, Pink Panik) to meet friends for wine slushies and brick fired pizzas, but they bailed so we did too and will try again in a few weeks after we get back from our trip. Then on Saturday the temperature dropped A LOT! (high was 55°) and it rained off and on so I got the baking done for the Eagles event, researched some recipes and planned our upcoming trip. I actually pulled out a hoodie and then yesterday was Father’s Day and hubby got to choose everything 😀 which did NOT include the father’s day event at the Eagles this year, but I did make a pan of pecan pie bars for them to have. Hubby decided he wanted to exploring so we went down to the river as we hadn’t been there much since the Archie fire a few years ago and ordered our favorite sub sandwiches (the FLY FISHERMAN and the SWIFT WATER SUB) from a favorite little hole in the wall trading post on the way home.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE
Whenever I read the title for this section a Christmas song pops into my head! “The weather outside is frightful”…, but in reality it is the BEST time of the year weather wise, at least in my neck of the woods. I absolutely LOVE this time of year when the weather is just about as perfect as possible.
Temperatures are mostly in the 70’s during the day, but still getting down into the low 50’s at night… ABSOLUTELY my PERFECT weather. BTW since I brought it up, it’s time to start those summer Christmas projects so they’re done in time!
😂
ON MY MIND
I’m making a list of all the things I have been putting on the back burner and trying really hard to get back to my organized self! My biggest need is blocking out section of time to make this happen. July seems to be the time this will happen after my obligations are done at the Eagles and we have gotten back from our trip.
TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS
THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
LAUNDRY & CLEANING All caught up!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have to have a low pressure sensor checked today so will pick up some groceries while I’m in town.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m beginning to see my way through a couple piles of paperwork.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve been planning a summer menu, but the cold this weekend kind of left me lacking the energy to plan much for next week.
DVR/TV TIME
WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
We watched a wide and varied range of things this past week, EVERYTHING FROM DISNEY+ Marvel movies (MOBIUS and LOGAN) to old classics like CHARADE with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart in ROPE by Alfred Hitchcock. I also watched quite a few cooking shows – GUY’S ROAD TRIP, MASTER CHEF, MARY MAKES IT EASY
READING TIME
I finished Jana DeLeon’s Baskets and Beignets so am down to 2 books which is more manageable as I seem to binge read anyway – Marie Force’s State of Suspense and Philippa Nefri Clark’s The House at Angel’s Beach.
FUNNIES
MENU PLANS
BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
Friday afternoon was absolutely beautiful! We had an absolutely gorgeous and unusual double halo rainbow around the sun. From what I read this usually indicates that it is caused by ice crystals when the sun or moon refracts off them in a thin veil of cirrus clouds. It also said snow or ice is coming. We didn’t get either, but did get a severe drop in temperature and rain 🤣
Trees and the landscape are FINALLY trying to grow back after the devastating Archie Fire a few years back.
