HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 40 of 2022

I absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively that it helps keep me on track and it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for me to follow this week. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Sorry I was so late getting around to visit everyone last week. For some weird reason a week that had absolutely nothing planned turned busy!

I finished my 3rd quarter LIST update. Thank you Jean for getting me started with this! I have found it really helpful to stay on task this past year! I’m already working on my 2023 list. I hate that life has to be so planned these days, but reality is that by planning I actually end up with more QUALITY free time in the end.

I’m excited that we’re actually getting away for a few days this week. I got the suitcases out and will pack in a bit. The hardest part of packing this time of year is the layering required for late evenings and early mornings. 😀 Not to mention we plan on doing some hiking so will need extra shoes.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is done and everything else will wait!!
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll worry about this next weekend at the earliest, but will probably push it out til next week.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS NOPE, not this week.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Planned through the 3rd week of October.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
 CABLE – The DVR will fill up and we’ll worry about it later. 😀

I’m almost finished with STATE OF THE UNION by Marie Force #3 in her First Family series. Next will be a THE LAST SUMMER AT CHELSEA BEACH by Pam Jenoff.

I didn’t get many pictures last week. I know I’ll make up for that this week 😀 The mums my friend gave me for my birthday are looking wonderful and were worthy of a quick pic. I just love the vibrant fall colors.

And we had lunch out on Saturday at a favorite haunt that is in an old railway station. It’s a local pacific north west chain, MCMENAMINS that buys up old historic building and turns them into amazing farm to table restaurants, each with their own specials based on location.Their seasonal specials are ALWAYS fun and I had an amazing truffled Brie Mac & Cheese with mushrooms.

They even have their own breweries and distilleries and have included hotels into the mix. They are ALL different and unique. A couple of my favorite locations are the OLD Catholic school and convent ST. Francis School which is also a hotel and the Cornelius Pass Road House an old Italian Farm. We go out of our way to search out new locations that we haven’t been to before when we’re traveling about. We’ve now been to most of them for at least lunch including the Edgefield location that has not only a distillery, but also a glass blower and lots of gardens as well as MANY other fun things. Many locations are so large they have multiple pubs and restaurants as well hotel rooms like the HUGE Elks Temple in Tacoma, Washington.

There will be two locations, Boon’s Treasury, which was an old general store turned beer parlor after the end of prohibition and Thompson Brewery & Public House, which was an old German country home turned preschool, near where we will be this week that we’ve never been to before so we will see about being at least one of them for a lunch or dinner.

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
 CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night/you’re on your own
 OUT OF TOWN
 OUT OF TOWN
 OUT OF TOWN 
 OUT OF TOWN 
 CHICKEN ENCHILADA BAKE & REFRIED BEANS
 RED PEPPER CHICKEN and TATER TOTS
LUNCH
 
 OUT OF TOWN
 OUT OF TOWN
 OUT OF TOWN 
 OUT OF TOWN
 
 
DINNER
 OUT OF TOWN
 OUT OF TOWN
 OUT OF TOWN 
 OUT OF TOWN
 
 
DESSERT
  OUT OF TOWN  OUT OF TOWN  OUT OF TOWN  OUT OF TOWN

HEARTY TUNA CASSEROLE

HEARTY TUNA CASSEROLE
CASSEROLE
3 cups cooked and cooled egg noodles
1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup WHOLE milk
1/3 cup FINELY grated white cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Duke’s hint of lime mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Coleman’s dry mustard (optional)
8 ounce can petite baby peas, drained well
8 ounces sliced mushrooms, lightly sauteed.
1/4 cup chopped roasted sweet red pepper or pimientos, drained
2 cans white tuna, drained well

  • Preheat oven 400°.
  • In a large bowl combine the soup, milk, mayonnaise and mustard if using.
  • Stir in drained tuna and red pepper.
  • Fold in noodles, cheese, peas and sauteed mushrooms.
  • Transfer to a greased 8×8 baking dish.

TOPPING
1/4 cup Panko crumbs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon paprika
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

  • Combine topping ingredients until well blended.
  • Sprinkle over casserole.
  • Baked uncovered 30 minutes until bubbly.

NOTE – Crushed potato chips (I like sea salt and vinegar) make a great alternate topping.

2022 LIST UPDATE ~ 3RD QUARTER

I joined up with Jean over at Chit Chat with Jean to do an accomplishment list for 2022 and a word for the year. This is my 3rd quarterly update. I wondered if I would be successful? I’m impressed that I’m doing really well. I’m also looking forward to doing this all again in 2023. I seem to FINALLY be falling back into my more organized ways. The minimalizing lifestyle has helped tremendously!!

My list for 2022 is:

  • 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. DONE
  • Do 1-2 devotionals every day. DONE, but not as consistent as I’d like 🙁
  • Follow a nightly skincare regime – DONE
  • Complete 4 quilts – at least 1 for each quarter. 1 Christmas quilt wall hanging done almost done, 2 batik table runners in opposing colors are done and but I’m still working on one more quilt, a batik table runner.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Food blog, Savory Kitchen Table. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year into next year also.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Life blog, Chasing MY Life. 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. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year into next year also.
  • Make a better effort to reach out and connect with friends and family more regularly. This is a work in progress.
  • Learn YOGA or Pilates or both! These are a work in progress.
  • Take at least a 2 mile walk daily. DONE most days
  • Continue to downsize and declutter EVERYTHING. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year, but be done by next March when we are planning a HUGE garage sale.
  • Clean out photo files that date back 13 years! I’m working on it, but it’s really hard. This is a serious work in progress that will always take ALL year, mainly because I keep taking pictures 😀
  • Create Shutterfly photo albums for 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. Yet to do 😀
  • Go through scrap recipe tote and eliminate all the recipes I will never try – they’re just not worth saving. DONE
  • Do more drawing and painting – at least one per month. I’m still working on a few of these, but did complete several, one of which was for a Ukranian fund raiser. And hubby and I did one for a date night outing where we went to the afternoon class then dinner out 😀 Neither one of us liked it though so I’m not even posting it 🙁 I’m scheduled for one more “Santa Gnome” this year the first week in November. Isn’t he adorable?
  • Focus on rewriting more recipes to work for only 2 people with NO leftovers. This is a work in progress, but doing REALLY well so far. It has been seriously complicated by the increase in grocery prices 🙁
  • Volunteer at least once a month for a community project. DONE TO DATE
  • Do a date weekend once a month – exploring a new place we’ve never been before. I’d like to say we’ve been really good about this, but it’s only happened 3 times so far this year 🙁 1) RICOTTA class at a local winery 2) BURGERS & BEER at a local brewery that opened a new BURGER BOMB food truck 3) Romantic dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant. 4) We spent 2 days at a resort near Lassen National Park hiking and exploring 5) We spent 2 more days at Mt. Shasta also hiking and exploring 6) hubby and I are doing one tomorrow. We’ll go to an afternoon paint class then dinner out 😀 7) We were putting together a trip not to far from home for our anniversary in August, but changed it to one after school started for my birthday and then changed it yet again – we leave on Tuesday! 😀
  • Clean out old files and recycle or destroy old papers. This is still an ongoing work in progress, but I’ve made seriously good progress and will finish through the winter and spring.
  • Clean out craft cabinets and donate craft parts no longer needed. DONE
  • Eat at least 1 piece of fruit daily. DONE
  • Do at least 1 random act of kindness every time I leave the house. DONE
  • Read 36 books. Was hoping for double, but this was a realistic goal and now looks like I’ll actually reach that original hope of double. Since I’m now 3/4 of the way through the year I have high hopes of making that double number. 60 so far — 1) State of Grace by Marie Force, 2) Swamp Sweets by Jana DeLeon, 3) Beside Golden Irish Fields by Ava Miles, 4) What Child Is This by Rhys Bowen, 5) Women and Children First by Gill Paul, 6) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel, 7) The Cape May Garden by Claudia Vance, 8) South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber, 9) A Home for Unloved Orphans by Rachel Wesson and 10) All My Loving by Marie Force 11) Wild Widows by Marie Force 12) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel 13) In Name Only by Jennifer Peel 14) Flame & Fortune by Jana DeLeon 15) The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 16) Here, There & Everywhere by Marie Force 17) Someone Like You by Marie Force 18) Beach House Romance by Cora Seton 19) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel 20) In Name Only by Jennifer Peel 21) Silent Partner by Jennifer Peel 22) The Wedding Charm by Susan Hatler 23) The Girl From the Channel Islands 24) Breakfast at the Honey Creek Cafe by Jodi Thomas 25) The Book of Sorrel by Jennifer Peel 26) Written in the Stars by Noelle Fox 27) The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 28) Secrets Hidden in the Glass by Cate Beauman 29) Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger 30) The Woman with the Blue Star by Pan Jenoff 31) The Lost Girls by Pam Jenoff 32) The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin 33) The Resistance Girl by Mandy Robotham 34) The Stationmaster’s Cottage, #1 Rivers End by Phillipa Nefri Clark 35) Accidentally Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #1 36) Finally Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #2 37) Hopefully Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #3 38) A Fire Sparkling by Juliane Maclean 39) The Resistance Girl by Mandy Robotham 40) Jasmine Sea, #2 in the Rivers End series by Phillipa Nefri Clark 41) Palmerston House, #3 in the Rivers End series by Phillipa Nefri Clark 42) Last Known Contact by Phillipa Nefri Clark 43) The Honey Bus by Meredith May 44) Deadly Falls #1 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 45) #2 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 46) #3 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 47) #4 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 48) Hickory Lane by Heather Webber 49) Swamp Spirits #23 Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon 50) UNMISSING by Minka Kent 51) The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent 52) When It Falls Apart by Catherine Bybee 53) The Brighter the Light by Mary Ellen Taylor 54) Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes, Winter Series #1 by Joanne Demaio 55) Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 56) The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman 57) The Woman with Two Shadows by Sarah James 58) The Lost Girls of Paris by Pan Jenoff 59) Beyond the Moonlit Sea by Julianne MacLean 60) State of the Union – First Family #3 by Marie Force 61) The Silent Woman by Minka Kent 62) Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen 63) Real Bad Things by Kelly J. Ford
  • I’ve added a “SEASONAL” list too. I started with fall that you can see here.

STONE FRUIT TOMATO SALAD

STONE FRUIT TOMATO SALAD serves 6-8

DRESSING
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon avocado oil
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

  • Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and oil.
  • Season to taste with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.

SALAD
2 peaches, chopped
3 plums, chopped
1 1/4 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 cup halved cherries
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup FRESH chopped parsley
3 LARGE green onions, sliced thin

  • In a large bowl toss together everything above.
  • Drizzle with dressing, tossing to coat well.
  • Let stand 5 minutes.

RUSTIC TOMATO TART

RUSTIC TOMATO TART
1/2 package Pillsbury pie crust or homemade
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 tablespoons tomato or basil pesto
3/4 cup shredded Havarti cheese
1-2 LARGE heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch slices
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon FRESH thyme leaves
1-2 green onions, sliced thin

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Roll out pie dough and shape into baking sheet dimensions creating an edge.
  • Brush with oil and pesto of choice.
  • Sprinkle 2/3 of the cheese onto the crust.
  • Arrange tomato slices over the cheese.
  • Season with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Top with remaining cheese.
  • Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
  • Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
  • Garnish and serve.

CRACK CHICKEN CASSEROLE

One of my grandmothers used to say there were two ways to things – Her way or the wrong way. This “attitude” became a family “sore” spot a good deal of the time as there are always multiple ways to reach the same end results. For me it always seemed to resonate with recipes… LOL fast forward to this recipe and she was in my head about the best way to write this up.

There really are two ways to make this, the short way and the LONG way, which is my preferred method because I find it the most flavorful is to make the chicken in the slow cooker the day before you want to assemble the casserole.

Not much to look at, but SUPER delicious!

CRACK CHICKEN CASSEROLE (the short way)
8 slices thick cut bacon cooked crispy and crumbled
4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (or crock pot crack chicken)
2 cups dried egg noodles, cooked per directions on box and drained
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup red or orange pepper, diced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
1/2 cup Darigold Mexican sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (omit if using crock pot crack chicken)
1/3 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
1 1/2 cup corn chex, crushed
1/4 cup butter melted
2-3 green onions thinly sliced for garnish, optional

  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.
  • In a large bowl combine the bacon, chicken, cooked noodles, ranch seasoning, onion, red pepper, cream cheese, 1 cup of the cheddar, sour cream and mayonnaise until well blended.
  • Spread into the baking dish.
  • Top with the remaining cheddar.
  • In a small bowl mix together the corn chex with the butter and top the casserole with this mixture.
  • Bake for 40-50 minutes until bubbly.
  • Let cool slightly, garnish with optional green onions and serve.

CROCK POT CRACK CHICKEN
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
1 package ranch dressing package mix
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar or cheese flavor of choice – Nacho, sharp, Vampire Slayer, etc…

  • Add chicken to crock pot in a single layer if possible.
  • Sprinkle with ranch dressing powder.
  • Place cream cheese block as a whole on top.
  • Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours.
  • Remove cover and shred chicken while stirring in cream cheese at the same time.
  • Add cheese and stir to mix.
  • Serve on buns, croissants, tortillas, in the above casserole or use it to make tacos next Taco Tuesday!

ZING ZANG BLOODY MARY BEEF TIPS

ZING ZANG BLOODY MARY BEEF TIPS
MARINADE
1 cup ZING ZANG Bloody Mary mix
2 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons pepperoncini juice
1 teaspoon celery salt
2 pounds beef tips

  • Whisk together the 3/4 cup of the Bloody Mary mix, 1 tablespoon of the Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of the pepperoncini juice and celery salt.
  • Add beef, turning to coat.
  • Marinade beef tips 4-5 hours in refrigerator, turning occasionally.

ASSEMBLY
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons WONDRA flour
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 SMALL Vidalia onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 cups matchstick carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tablespoons QUALITY tomato paste
1 cup homemade beef bone broth
4-6 pepperoncinis

  • Add oil to enameled cast iron saute pan over medium high heat.
  • Drain beef tips of marinade. Discard marinade.
  • Add flour to a large ziploc bag.
  • Generously season flour with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Add drained beef to ziploc bag, shaking to coat pieces well with seasoned flour.
  • Shake off excess flour and add beef pieces to hot oil, searing all sides.
  • Remove beef from pan.
  • Add butter to melt.
  • Add celery, onions and carrots, sauteing until soft.
  • Add broth to pan, stirring to loosen any bits from the bottom.
  • Whisk in tomato paste, remaining Bloody Mary mix, remaining Worcestershire sauce and remaining pepperoncini juice.
  • Season to taste.
  • Add garlic and pepperoncinis to pan.
  • Return meat to pan, turning to coat.
  • Simmer 35-40 minutes.
  • Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.

NOTE: Any heavy pan will work, but I prefer an enameled cast iron for its even cooking.

ASPARAGUS POCKETS

ASPARAGUS POCKETS

2 pounds thin baby asparagus, cut about 4 inches from the top
1/2 pound diced prosciutto
6 slices of smoked Gouda cheese
2 Sheets Puff Pastry Dough or pie crust
1 LARGE egg
2 tablespoons chopped FRESH Thyme
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

  • Roll out dough.
  • Cut dough into 6 rectangles and brush with egg wash.
  • Cut 5-7 asparagus in half and lay evenly in the center of each pastry dough rectangle. Leave about a 1/4 inch of dough on each side.
  • Fold 2 slices of prosciutto into a fan and place on top of the asparagus.
  • Place 1 slice of smoked Gouda on top of the the asparagus and prosciutto.
  • Flip the bottom of pastry dough to cover the bottom half of the asparagus, and to create a pocket.
  • Pinch the edges.
  • Brush the whole pocket with egg wash and sprinkle with pepper.
  • Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 39 of 2022

I absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively that it helps keep me on track and it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for me to follow this week. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.


Good morning dear friends. I hope your week was wonderful. Join me for a cup of coffee and let’s start the morning with a good thought that’s also a funny 😀

Have I mentioned that I ABSOLUTELY adore when fall rolls around?

We had a couple days in the high 70’s, but seriously, it wasn’t that warm and the evenings have been absolutely beautiful. This week is supposed to be in the low 70’s for highs and 40’s for lows.

We finally scheduled a short little trip next week to the coast and as of right now it’s 50/50 om whether it will be raining, BUT it will be MUCH cooler – high 50’s/low 60’s for highs, and that I am certainly looking forward to!Will definitely need to pack for layers.

We usually plan a small trip around each of our birthdays just to get away a bit and with our birthdays being 6 months apart, not around any holidays and the kids always being in school it works out perfect!

For some reason this year I am ESPECIALLY ready for the holidays. Don’t get me wrong I am ALWAYS a Christmas girl, but this year just feels like it needs it more.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Finished all the laundry yesterday and deep cleaning will be tomorrow. Pretty tidy all and all.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Have appointments in town today and tomorrow so will work the few things I need around those.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Still working on several things and need to run up to the post office and send off a certified letter regarding the whole SIL mess -YES, that is STILL going on 🙁 Any prayers that help us move forward are seriously welcome. We really want to get this resolved with as few issues as possible.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are planned through the 3rd week in October. I’ll re-evaluate mid month based on weather. 

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX – Just finished season 12 of our NCIS reruns
  • AMAZON PRIME – Hubby had never seen HIGH ROAD TO CHINA so we rented that on Saturday evening. Also tried to watch Thursday night football, but seems like there are even more commercials watching it on Prime!
  • CABLE – The new season is here. We have cutback on many things and will watch others as time and or weather permits. I’m not sure that I like all the crossover events tying all the shows together to start the season. The DVR already has a bit of a build up, but that will make binging easier as we head into the inevitable bad weather for this time of year that will begin a couple weeks. COOKING SHOWS – Halloween Wars, The Big Bake, Halloween Baking, Guy’s Game Night, Bobby’s Triple Threat COMEDIES (YAY they start this week) Young Sheldon and Ghosts POLICE/DRAMAS NCIS series – regular, LA and Hawaii, Chicago series – Med, Fire and PD, Blue Bloods, FBI series – regular, Most Wanted and International, Law & Order series – regular and SVU, Rookie and Rookie Feds starts this week, The Resident, New Amsterdam SYFY/FANTASY – Quantum Leap, La Brea REALITY – Amazing Race

I finished the LOST GIRLS OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff and have moved on to the STATE OF THE UNION by Marie Force.

Lately, we have been seeing quite a few birds that we haven’t seen before. There is A LOT of construction going on near here in a previously woodsy area and I wonder if they’re driving them our way? We saw this guy on the back fence for a quick minute and can’t remember seeing anything like him before. He is like a cross between a Downy Woodpecker and a red capped Robin. Couldn’t get it in the picture, but he had the brightest red cap on the top back of his head, kind of like a Yarmulke. Anybody know for sure what he is?

There is an OLD historic bank building in town on a busy corner that has been sitting vacant for more than a decade mainly because the people that bought it ran into asbestos abatement issues, or so I was told, but they have finally secured a grant to restore the building as a historic site.

I’ve been watching this unique and grand old building for years wishing someone would do something special with it. As I’m told now the bottom will become a wine tasting bar and the upper floor will have a couple offices. I can’t wait to see what they do.

Several other buildings of existing businesses in town have done the same thing thing and there are several others that are vacant that I hope someone follows suit with after they see this beauty redone.

 
9/26 MONDAY
9/27 TUESDAY
9/28 WEDNESDAY
9/29 THURSDAY
9/30
FRIDAY
10/1 SATURDAY
10/2 SUNDAY
DINNER
 PINEAPPLE PORK ROAST, MASHED POTATOES and SALAD
 PECAN CHICKEN with TOMATO ORZO & CREAMY WHITE BEANS
 FRENCH ONION SOUP & SOURDOUGH MUFFINS
CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN
CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN
 COON BALLS & LOADED CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE
AMISH COUNTRY CASSEROLE and HARISSA CARROTS & ONIONS
DESSERT
 

ENGLISH STYLE BAKED POTATOES

Hubby has been complaining for quite some time now that baked potatoes just don’t taste the same anymore. Then the other day I ran across an article that while I knew was probably click bait, I had to check it out anyway. And I’m glad I did. I did pick and choose the parts that appealed to me the most. You can read the whole article here.

The article states that “English Jacket Potatoes Are the Best Baked Potatoes”! And they are correct! I just love the name “Jacket Potatoes”, it’s just so British. I believe this recipe has come the closest to reviving what we were looking for in a baked potato – a crispy outside with a tender fluffy inside.

The article lists 4 specific keys to achieving the perfect baked potato. Turns out that it isn’t difficult at all to make that perfect potato.

1) Slice a BIG X 1/4 inch deep in the potato. Typically here in America we poke a few holes in them to allow steam to escape, but the BIG X makes a HUGE difference. I then rub the potatoes with melted butter and coarse flaked salt.

2) Bake them longer than you usually do. 1 1/2-2 hours at 350-400° (depending on potato size) instead of 1 hour at 425°. They won’t burn at this temperature and baking for this long means the skin will be so crisp that it’s practically like a crispy cracker.

3) At the end of baking time, remove potatoes from the oven and cut the X deeper into the potato and slightly push the ends of the potatoes inward to open them up a bit. Return them to the oven for 10 more minutes. This will dry out the inside flesh and fluff it up a bit more.

4) Take the piping hot potatoes from the oven and push open the crisp, perfectly salted skin and garnish with butter, sour cream, chopped chives, shredded cheese, FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper… and whatever else suits your fancy. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

ORANGE LEMON PEPPER JELLY GLAZED CHICKEN with GRILLED PEPPERS

This can be done on the stove, but, tastes much better grilled.

ORANGE LEMON PEPPER JELLY GLAZED CHICKEN with GRILLED PEPPERS
3 limes, juiced for 2 tablespoons
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon FINELY ground coriander
1/4 cup avocado oil
4 Hatch chiles
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup hot pepper jelly
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup lemon curd

  • Whisk together the lime juice, pepper jelly, orange marmalade and lemon curd.
  • Generously season the chicken pieces with FRESH ground sea salt, black pepper and coriander.
  • Coat chicken pieces and Hatch chiles in avocado oil.
  • Grill over medium high heat 4-5 minutes per side. Start with top side down.
  • When you flip the chicken spoon, add the chiles to the grill and spread  a layer of the jelly on top of each chicken pieces before closing the lid.
  • Garnish with the green onions.

AUTUMN SEASONAL LIST OF TO DO ITEMS

I’ve been doing a quarterly update of the MAIN list I made last January to participate with Jean and I’d never thought about making one that was seasonally specific to holiday menus and events, but I really like the idea that Jean got from her friend, Rebecca at Rebecca’s Hearth and Home. So here’s my Fall 2022 list.

FALL 2022 TO DO LIST

  • Plant the mums that my friend gave me for my birthday and clean out whiskey barrel planters in prep for winter.
  • Prep outside patio furniture and BBQ for winter months.
  • Deep clean oven and refrigerators.
  • Fall trip to coast with hubby for my birthday.
  • Go to the Harvest Festival at the fairgrounds.
  • Go to the Christmas Craft Fair at the fairgrounds
  • Deep clean bird bath and hummingbird feeders.
  • Sort through ALL clothes and donate EVERYTHING that doesn’t fit or I just don’t care for anymore.
  • Finish cleaning out pantry, freezer and seasonings to start fresh in the new year.
  • Clean out and cover garden beds as soon as zucchini and tomato plants are done – probably in about 2 weeks.
  • Bake something once a week from my new cookbook.
  • Try a new and challenging cooking or baking technique every week.
  • Start indoor herb garden so I have them for the winter.
  • Learn YOGA.
  • Take ALL Sundays completely off to watch football, NASCAR, snuggle up and read or WHATEVER I want for that 1 day a week.

Do you have any specific plans for the FALL?