MEATBALLS in BUTTERMILK MUSHROOM SAUCE ~ BLOG 365.189

This is a moist and nutty flavored meatball with a rich and creamy gravy that has become a family favorite!

MEATBALLS in BUTTERMILK MUSHROOM SAUCE
MEATBALLS
1 1/2 pounds QUALITY ground beef
1 LARGE shallot, FINELY chopped
1/4 cup FINELY chopped red pepper
1 celery rib, FINELY chopped
1 cup cooked rice
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 LARGE egg, lightly beaten

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Combine all ingredients until well blended, but NOT overworked.
  • Divide into 12 meatballs. Place in greased baking dish.

SAUCE
1-2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound BEECH mushrooms, sauteed until golden
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Golden mushroom
scant 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

  • Whisk together the soup and buttermilk until well blended.
  • Nestle sauteed mushrooms amongst meatballs.
  • Pour soup mixture over meatballs.
  • Bake 1 hour.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 27 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.188

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

Good morning dear friends. Last week is a complete blur for me. YAY the cribbage tournament is FINALLY over. Before and during the tournament where I had to get up at 5 AM every day and work 10-12 hours straight. That’s in addition to everything else that’s going on around here. My girlfriend and I had just agreed this was probably going to be the last time we did it. We absolutely LOVE the players and really enjoyed the work, but it’s a TON of time and work that we do as volunteers!

We did decide that if we did it again we’d do it as our own catering company so we could make the money to make it worth our while. But, to our surprise, the guy that runs the tournament announced that he was moving next week and handing the torch to a younger guy who lives quite a ways away. So, it looks like this was our last job anyway.

That said, I will finally have the time to get caught up around the house as well as with blogging visits to all of you!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’ve been quite cool of an evening for this time of year. I even wore a heavy sweatshirt during the fireworks on the 4th, but that all supposed to change this week with highs in the mid 90’s! At least the night time lows will still be going down into the 50’s to give us nice mornings and evenings.

ON MY MIND

I’m praying for all those people and families devastated by the flash flooding that occurred when the two tropical storms merged and stalled over central Texas. It sure seems like the weather is changing all over the country and for the worse in so many of those places!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I did get 2 loads done last night, but still have 2 to do.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m going to head to town and pick up a few groceries today and have a pedicure on Thursday, but otherwise will be staying close to home to get caught up around here.
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS All of this is still on hold until after the memorial in late August.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m getting back into the swing of things with a summer menu full of salads and lighter meals.
DVR/TV
  • There’s nothing much on TV, but we still try and end the day with a comedy and never the news. 

READING TIME

I finished the Rose Landgreen mysteries by Sigrid Holm and have moved in to a light summer read, Finding Grace the first of 4 in a series by B.E. Baker

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
7/7 MONDAY
7/8 TUESDAY
7/9 WEDNESDAY
7/10 THURSDAY
7/11 FRIDAY
7/12 SATURDAY
7/13 SUNDAY
DINNER
 CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD
 CHICKEN ALFREDO
 CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own 🙂
 OUT 
WITH A FRIEND 
FRIED CHICKEN & POTATO SALAD
 PORK CHOPS, MASHED POTATOES & GREEN BEANS
DESSERT
 
APPLE BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I didn’t get much time off for the 4th of July, but I did get home in time for my neighbor’s fireworks display with all the grand kids. You can tell from the picture why she’s their favorite 🙂 These were my 3 favorites, the HOT Burger, the ALIEN and the SHOW OFF that we saved for the grand finale.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • MEATBALLS IN BUTTERMILK MUSHROOM SAUCE
  • MAPLE COUNTRY RIBS

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

COOKING THURSDAY ~ MARRY ME CHICKEN original and updated ~ BLOG 365.184

I got this original recipe from a friend when we were in Michigan in 2006. It was ALL the rage there several years before, but I’d never heard of it. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Ironically there are some on the internet claiming they invented it in 2016 which is blatantly not true. They “borrowed” the name and changed the ingredients a bit, but it is significantly different. Below I have an updated version I created giving it a more Italian flair and using a more “on hand” ingredient of white wine because I almost never have champagne on hand. 😀

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup Wondra flour for dredging
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons AVOCADO oil
2 1/2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup champagne
Prepared noodles

  • Generously salt and pepper each breast.
  • Lightly dredge chicken breasts with WONDRA flour
  • In a large skillet, lightly brown chicken breasts to a nice golden brown in oil.
  • Once browned on both sides, add onions, mushrooms and champagne.
  • Cook over medium heat, champagne should boil a little, for approximately 1/2 hour. When chicken is tender, transfer chicken to a platter.
  • Pour cream into skillet.
  • Simmer about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.
  • Pour sauce over chicken breasts. Serve.

MARRY ME CHICKEN – UPDATED with an ITALIAN flair
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 ounces marinated sun dried tomatoes, drained WELL and blotted dry
2 cloves garlic, minced
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons AVOCADO oil
2 1/2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 1/2 cups FRESH baby spinach (optional)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup champagne (see notes)
Prepared noodles

  • Generously season each breast.
  • Heat oil in large skillet.
  • Lightly brown chicken breasts 2 minutes to a nice golden brown.
  • Flip chicken, add onions, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms if using and champagne.
  • Cook over medium heat to a SLOW boil, for 20 minutes until chicken is tender.
  • Pour cream and spinach (if using) into skillet.
  • Simmer about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.
  • Serve with prepared noodles.
  • Spoon sauce over chicken breasts. Serve immediately.

NOTE** For a twist I will sometimes use a flavored Moscato instead of champagne.

2nd QUARTERLY UPDATE ~ BLOG 365.182B

I’m STILL back and going strong in 2025! And I’m really doing great so far!! Deciding to find purpose and intention in EVERYTHING has made all the difference in conquering my lists.

After I wrote my first post Jean pointed out that breaking the tasks into categories made it easier for her. I LOVE that idea and decided to try it myself. I wasn’t exactly able to break it down into 5 things into the 5 categories, but I tried 😀 It’s been a tough quarter as we’ve navigated through illness, hospice and now the closure of death.

A “Word of the Year” sets your intention or theme for how you want your life and year to flow.

In my case I decided a single word just wouldn’t work. There are still too many things I want to accomplish so I chose a few, well actually 10. I even tried to make an acronym out of them, which didn’t work 😀 My words are:

  • BALANCE all my responsibilities with more fun and adventure
  • BREATHE before making a decision to get involved in ANY project
  • EVOLVE from the rut I’ve been in to a new lease on life with a Passion Project
  • SIMPLIFY by continuing to downsize all the stuff in our life and de-clutter most of it
  • HEAL or AKA continue to stay healthy and work on dietary issues
  • INSPIRE my own creative outlet and as many others as possible
  • PERSEVERE through all of my health issues and life itself
  • THRIVE despite the medical and dietary issues
  • PASSION for getting back to more of my favorite pass times – reading, quilting, painting
  • GRATITUDE for everything and EVERYONE in my life

In the end, I realized I’d be extremely happy if any one of these words would happen for me on any given day 😀

My list for 2025 is (some are holdovers, okay MOST are):

HEALTH & WELLNESS

  • Follow a nightly skincare regime DONE
  • Learn YOGA or Pilates or both! I’ve been trying some chair yoga just because I can do it at night.
  • Take at least a 3 mile walk daily. I’ve been getting in close to 5 miles a day.
  • Avoid gluten and fats to help keep my body happier. DONE most days, BUT it’s really hard to give it ALL up!! The cravings are killers.
  • Eat at least 1 piece of fruit daily and more nuts for protein. DONE

ADVENTURE & FUN

  • Complete 4 quilts – at least 1 for each quarter. I’m not done, but I have some pillow fronts started.
  • Finish as many already “started” projects as possible. This quarter I finished a set of double sided place mats and a table runner for Christmas and hot pad for Thanksgiving.
  • I also took a wood plaque class with some girl friends.
  • Read at least 48 books or 4 a month. Hopefully it will be more, but I think this is a realistic goal. I did join a local book club and that is helping me read new authors I might not have chose otherwise. Books read to date are:
    • Society of Lies Lauren Ling Brown – BOOK CLUB CHOICE
    • The LAST ONE at the Wedding Jason Rekulak – BOOK CLUB CHOICE
    • The Rose Code Kate Quinn – BOOK CLUB CHOICE
    • Lilac Ink, The Knocknashee Story by Jean Grainger
    • A Certain Kind of Starlight Heather Webber
    • The Book Charmer – Dove Pond #1 Karen Hawkins
    • Cup of Silver Linings – Dove Pond #2
    • The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove Pond #3
    • The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams Dove Pond #4
    • Blue Waters – Caribbean Adventure #1 Eric Chance Stone 
    • PICTURES OF YOU by Emma Grey – BOOK CLUB CHOICE
    • NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell – BOOK CLUB CHOICE
    • The Boyfriend by Frieda McFadden – BOOK CLUB CHOICE
    • That’s NOT my name by Megan Lally – BOOK CLUB CHOICE
    • Rose Landgreen #1 Forest Trap by Sigrid Holm
    • Rose Landgreen #2 Lake Lure by Sigrid Holm
    • Rose Landgreen #3 Bone Fire by Sigrid Holm

FAMILY & FAITH

  • Do 1-2 devotionals every day – I really need to get better at this, spare time has just been so scattered. I did start The Bible Recap
  • Make a better effort to reach out and connect with friends and family more regularly. I’ve been doing well on this one. Sometimes too well! I’m not getting all my chores done for the play time.
  • Do a date weekend once a month – exploring a new place we’ve never been before. We’ve always done pretty well on this topic, but we’re running out of ideas in this small town. We did find a great new little restaurant, The Atom, when we went to the river in January to see Colliding Rivers with all of our flooding. We’ve been back every other week or so because their menu is amazing!!

DAILY PROGRESS ~ NO PROCRASTINATION! I’m developing a notebook that works in conjunction with my calendar for lists and tasks that make my life operate in a smoother daily operation.

  • Do a Happy Homemaker Monday post each and every week. This keeps me more on track and organized about my home life. Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week. I haven’t missed a day in years!
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my food blog, Savory Kitchen Table. LOL I’m working on it.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on Chasing MY Life blog. When I merged my old blogspot blogs into this single blog it duplicated many things and added an “ALL” category that I am having to eliminate one by one so it’s taking a LONG time. LOL still working on this too – spare time… is fleeting…
  • Continue to downsize and declutter EVERYTHING. I think this will be an ongoing effort for the rest of my life.
  • Clean out photo files that date back almost 15 years! This too will be an ongoing effort for the rest of my life.
  • Create shutterfly photo albums for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and then delete the photos from ALL my devices. STILL Working on it.
  • Go through scrap recipe tote and eliminate all the recipes I will never try – they’re just not worth saving. MOSTLY done.
  • Do more drawing and painting – at least one per month. I did this fun Paint-N-Sip in February with friends at the Eagles as a fundraiser for the local Cancer center. Hubby and I did one in March also, but hubby didn’t really like this one. The owner moved her shop in May, but I’ve been busy and haven’t gotten there recently.
  • Focus on rewriting more recipes to work for only 2 with no leftovers. The NEVER ending chore. I’m trying to only work on recipes that stand out in our memory as superb.
  • Clean out old files and recycle or destroy old papers. I spent MOST of April finishing the re-working of these files and LOVE the progress I made.
  • Clean out craft cabinets and donate craft parts no longer needed. DONE

RANDOM ACTS

  • Do at least 1 random act of kindness every time I leave the house whether it’s just a wave hello to an elderly neighbor, a meal for a sick friend, holding a door open, putting my cart in the designated spot… 😀 DONE
  • Volunteer at least once a month for a community project. DEFINITELY DONE!!

    • I proofread the newsletter up until May when I began doing the actual as editor in May and I manage the kitchen (keep it staffed, do the shopping for the kitchen and bar each week as well as keep it organized and well stocked with whatever is necessary) for the Eagles, do random maintenance as well as donate at least one auxiliary fundraiser meal each month and bake for the bake sale.
    • I also do the Costco shopping for the bar and grill a friend manages.
    • This quarter I prepped, manned, cooked and donated meals for March 16th and 21st, April 21st and 28th. In May I donated a cooking/baking raffle basket full of so many fun things for the Madam president fundraiser event on May 2nd. In May I began sharing the workload for organizing and managing the Friday night dinners as a whole and I cooked on the 21st as well as worked the cribbage tournament just before Mother’s Day.

What do you think? Do you want to join in with us also?

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY TO ME ~ BLOG 365.182

WOW! 18 years sure went by fast!

I originally began as 3 Sides of Crazy while we were going nuts remodeling an old Victorian house back east and were literally going “nuts” with the different things we kept finding wrong in that old house.

Then when things slowed down a bit, a friend and I sponsored OUR Krazy Kitchen, a cooking site for a group of foodies. 

From there I began Always Eat on the Good China as my personal recipe box and then converted 3 Sides of Crazy and Always Eat on the Good China into Savory Kitchen Table. 

Ultimately, I decided to roll them all into a single blog and self host away from blogger after they refused to restore my 3 Sides of Crazy site after it crashed. Much of that original blog has been permanently lost, so the July 2007 date is approximate. My blog was actually begun about 6 months earlier, but we’ll never know!

Chasing MY Life rolled them all into one and I’m still working at the consolidation, getting rid of old superfluous articles, giveaways and recipes not worth making again.

Save

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU & RECIPES week 26 of 2025 ~ blog 365.181

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

It seems like all my days are running together and I can’t get caught up. I’ve been working hard at getting as many things off my plate as possible. I did get several large projects accomplished and will do much more this week after the Cribbage tournament.

I cannot believe we are halfway through this year! I have not come close to getting anything done yet!!!!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Today is supposed to surge close to triple digits, but the rest of the week is supposed to be in the mid 80’s. It’s also been quite humid and breezy for us.

ON MY MIND

I’m trying to put more thought into where we go from here. There are so many questions…What does my mom need?, the estate sale at the end of July, the memorial in August – though we did choose an “in lieu” of charity for flowers – we chose Hospice Care of America because the hospice crew was genuinely so caring and wonderful!, the memorial reception food and accommodating all the out of the area people…

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Deep cleaning closets and drawers
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS All the shopping will be Tuesday for the Cribbage Tournament
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS nowhere until late August
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING need some lighter salads 

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING I’ve been binge watching JAG while cleaning out and prepping for the estate sale at the end of July. 

READING TIME

I’m reading the 3rd book, BONE FIRE in the Rose Landgreen mysteries by Sigrid Holm.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
6/30 MONDAY
7/1 TUESDAY
7/2 WEDNESDAY
7/3 THURSDAY
7/4 FRIDAY
7/5 SATURDAY
7/6 SUNDAY
DINNER
 MARRY ME CHICKEN & SMOKED BAKED POTATOES
MISO CHICKEN & COLESLAW 
 CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
 working ALL day at the Eagles defrosting the freezer and changing out to a new refrigerator so it will also be a CORN/YOYO night.
BBQ at a friend’s house 
I’ll be working the Eagle’s CRIBBAGE tournament – so eating out! 
 I’ll be working the Eagle’s CRIBBAGE tournament – so eating out! 
DESSERT
 
CINNAMON SWIRL COFFEE CAKE 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I did take a couple hours last week and take a class to make a patriotic welcome sign. Unfortunately, the sun was full force when I took the picture.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • NOT SURE YET!

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK