Tag: BLOG 365

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 42 of 2025 with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS ~ BLOG 365.293

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

AHHHHHH a weekend away was just what the doctor ordered! Five years ago hubby and I went to the GREAT JUNK HUNT at the fairgrounds in the county 100 miles to the south of us for a weekend away and it was wonderful. I found not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR vintage recipe boxes.

Two years ago my girlfriend and I went to a great holiday market at the same fairgrounds south of us. We did it all in one day along with a trip to a HUGE Hobby Lobby and it was A LOT to cram in.

Last year we planned it as a weekend and took hubby along. Unfortunately, the holiday market was not as good as the previous year, though we did manage to find several of our favorite vendors and start the Christmas shopping with a bang!

But, this year we went 100 miles north to a GREAT JUNK HUNT and had just as much fun, if not more even though the JUNK HUNT itself was not very good! I’m always on the hunt for more vintage recipe boxes or sewing drawers and found neither this trip!

We were also able to get in some quality antiquing time and FINALLY visited a wonderful architectural salvage house that I’ve been bragging to my girlfriend about for years. She was an interior designed and loves all things architecturally old and vintage.

We also had some great happy hour times sitting and chatting, laughing and enjoying each other’s company at the hotel we stayed at for Friday and Saturday nights as well as checking out some wonderful restaurants that were new to us MOM & POP places. My favorites were Filberts Farmhouse kitchen where Dana had the tomato bisque and I had the most delicious butternut squash bisque with cranberry coulis and we split a Chicken Parmigiana sandwich, Pastini’s Mushroom ravioli with a caramelized leek sauce with garlic bread and Hops&Drops homemade Southwestern taquitos!

Last week’s BLOGTOBER shares were for my favorite:

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Our much needed rain is coming in spurts, but I’ll take it! We are just jumping from summer to winter this year though. Fall is getting lost in the mix! This week’s forecast is cloudy, highs in the 50’s and 60’s with lows in the upper 30’s and some rain each day with much heavier rain coming for next weekend.

ON MY MIND, TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, TRAVELS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS, APPOINTMENTS & DVR/TV
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I need to get caught up on laundry and the chores I didn’t get done while we were away.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I definitely need to get some groceries and I have pedicure tomorrow so will probably do it then. Wednesday will be the normal Eagle’s shopping and we’re having lunch with some dear friends on Thursday.
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS We’re working on a plan for a trip in November, but that will be determined by the discontinued part arrival and mechanic’s time frame for the car we’ll take on the trip.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING planned through October and into November for now. I had hoped to find more recipe boxes this weekend to finish up November, but will dig into my files instead.
  • DVR/TV We’ve changed internet companies and eliminated DISH so there isn’t really any DVR anymore and TV is up to our whims and streaming services. I’ll have to learn a new “normal” to see my “regular” shows.

READING TIME

FUNNIES

The dates are a little off, but the sentiment is the same. 🙂

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
10/20 MONDAY
10/21 TUESDAY
10/22 WEDNESDAY
10/23 THURSDAY
10/24 FRIDAY
10/25 SATURDAY
10/26 SUNDAY
DINNER
JOY’S PASTA ala PASSION
LEMON PORK CHOPS
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
CHICKEN LEMONAISE
NAN’S PORK CHOPS
MANDARIN CHICKEN
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
DESSERT
 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I made a little progress on the new sewing cabinet.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • AUTUMNAL SALAD
  • BRAISED WHITE BEAN & SAUSAGE ONE POT MEAL

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

BLOGTOBER ~ TOP 10 FAVORITE FALL COMFORT FOODS ~ BLOG 365.289B

October is one of those months that the weather can go either way in our neck of the woods. Well, this year does NOT have an Indian Summer in it’s future. Fall is here and winter is close on its heels from what we’re seeing so far!

Because of the sudden onset change in weather I’m thinking comfort foods! So, here are my top 12 favorite rainy and cold weather recipe links.

RUSSIAN CABBAGE SOUP

GREEN CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

CHICKEN CHILE VERDE CHILI

BLACK EYED PEA CHILI

RED CHICKEN CHILI

SPLIT PEA & HAM SOUP

CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN

CREAMY RUSTIC TOMATO BISQUE & GRILLED CHEESE DIPPERS

SUNDAY GRAVY

SALISBURY STEAK & GRAVY

CABBAGE ROLL aka WAGON WHEEL WINTER SOUP

GRAM’S CHICKEN & NOODLES 

ITALIAN GRINDER CHOPPED SALAD ~ BLOG 365.287

When you love Italian grinder sandwiches, but can no longer have bread, what do you do? You make a salad of course with all the same tasty insides of the sandwich, but with smashed croutons instead.

ITALIAN GRINDER CHOPPED SALAD

DRESSING
1/2 cup DUKE’s mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon FRESH small chopped oregano
FRESH ground sea salt & black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup powdered Parmesan cheese

  • Whisk together all dressing ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

SALAD
16 ounces chopped romaine lettuce, (about 8 cups)
4 ounces ham, sliced small and thin
4 ounces pepperoni, sliced small and thin
4 ounces salami, sliced small and thin
4 ounces provolone cheese, sliced small and thin
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 SMALL red pepper, sliced
1/4-1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
1/2 red onion, diced


ASSEMBLY


  • In a large bowl, toss the shredded lettuce with all salad ingredients.
Pour dressing over the salad and toss everything together until evenly coated. If not serving right away, wait until right before serving to toss the dressing with the salad.

1/2-3/4 cup smashed croutons

  • Sprinkle with smashed croutons JUST before serving.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS week 41 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.286

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

I did the Auxiliary Friday night dinner of my great gram’s chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes (kind of like an inside out chicken pot pie) which is ALWAYS a favorite of mine, even with 2 starches! We did okay, but there were many events in many locations and a tremendous rainstorm that I think hindered our attendance. I also finally got a fairly decent photo of this dish to update the blog.

Saturday we drove an hour to the “city” that has decent shopping to pick up my Hallmark order and have a nice lunch at PF CHANGS. We have no Hallmark store any longer (or any other decent major shopping) and only a handful of restaurants so it was a nice change. Since we’ve lived here, the area (within 25 miles) is “growing” housing wise, but decreasing in shopping, restaurants and healthcare. It makes no sense to me! We’ve lost the local hardware store and the one in the next town is about to close, Macy’s, JC Penney’s, Sears, Charlie’s BBQ, Loggers, Rite Aid, a Walgreens, Pedotti’s Italian, Cigno’s Italian, Nellies, FNB, Tolleys, Albertsons, PIER 1, Big Lots, JoAnns, Clarices, K-Mart…And yes I know many of those were lost nationwide, but…we now have 7 Mexican restaurants, just as many second hand stores and the town all but rolls up the sidewalks at dusk and on Mondays.

It was a rainy weekend again and I spent Sunday starting with breakfast at a friends bar & Grill, but then coming home for racing and football while lounging around researching recipes as well as 3 loads of laundry and oiling and cleaning up my “new” sewing cabinet.

On the way home from the city Saturday we stopped at two of our favorite antique stores after the Hallmark store and lunch and then we stopped in another favorite little town on the way back where I found the most unique sewing machine table. Actually, hubby found it for me, but it’s gonna be beautiful when we’re done with it and it was dirt cheap. Someone had added some cheap legs that didn’t match and it needed oiled A LOT, but other than that thee was just a small broken knob that is fortunately on a bottom drawer so not even noticeable when it’s all back together. I didn’t find anything else except these adorable scarecrow ghosts that I’ll use for two friends that have Halloween birthdays.

I’ve been joining in on BLOGTOBER for the prompts that speak to me and even adapting them to fit my life. Yesterday I did a compilation of some of my favorite apple recipes called ALL THINGS APPLE.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It rained A LOT over the weekend, which we really needed, but it should conclude this afternoon, but the next several days, while cool (mid 50’s during the day and lows in the 30’s at night) are only supposed to be cloudy until the end of the week when the rain begins again. 🙂 I LOVE FALL!

ON MY MIND, TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, TRAVELS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS, APPOINTMENTS & DVR/TV
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Pretty tidy besides some totes I need to move to the garage when the weather is less rainy tomorrow.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS With going out of town on Friday I’ll only be shopping for the Eagles and maybe the Offyce this week.
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS We’re headed off this weekend with a friend to go to the GREAT JUNK HUNT and some favorite antique stores as well as a favorite architectural salvage house.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m hoping to find more vintage/antique recipe boxes next weekend and then I’ll put together another menu plan for November and December.
  • DVR/TV The new season has begun and now I need to play catch up and decide which shows to keep watching and those to abandon.

READING TIME

I’m about to finish the BOOK WOMAN’S DAUGHTER by Kim Michelle Richardson. Book club is meeting next weekend, but I’m going to be out of town and am honestly so far behind now I may just be bowing out of book club all together.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
 10/13 MONDAY
10/14 TUESDAY
10/15 WEDNESDAY
10/16 THURSDAY
10/17 FRIDAY
10/18 SATURDAY
10/19 SUNDAY
DINNER
Eagle’s meeting night CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
CHILI con CARNE QUESO CUPS
AZZOLINA SPAGHETTI also making a crock pot of CHILI MAC & CHICKEN VERDE CHILI for the Eagles to serve at BUNCO night
BAKED TUSCAN CHICKEN 
OOT (out of town)
OOT (out of town)
OOT (out of town)
DESSERT
 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

One of my favorites from PF CHANG’S is their Teriyaki Chicken and Fried Rice!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • ITALIAN GRINDER SALAD
  • APPLE PIE DUMPLINGS

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

BLOGTOBER ~ FALL FAVORITE REIPCES ~ ALL THINGS APPLE ~ BLOG 365.285B

What would Fall or Autumn be without apples? For me, apples are one of my favorite things about Fall. Today’s prompt was about favorite apple desserts, but instead I decided to share some of my favorite fall apple recipes whether they are desserts or not. As you can see I have a bountiful amount of apple recipes to choose from. 🙂

CARAMEL APPLE SLAB PIES

CHUNKY APPLE SAUCE

ROASTED APPLE PIE

BROWN BAG APPLE PIE

SOUR APPLE SLAW

APPLE PIE CUPCAKES

CRANBERRY APPLE SLAB PIE

APPLE BALSAMIC CHICKEN

APPLE CHERRY SLAB PIE

SALTED CARAMEL APPLE BUTTER

SOUTHERN APPLE WALNUT CAKE

BAKED APPLE STUFFED PORK CHOPS