Monthly Archives: September 2006

Fast Meals, Part I, Meats

My sister, Cindy mentioned she would like more information on getting food on the table fast. My husband loves that I can walk in the door and we can sit down to eat within half an hour.

Part of it is being ready to cook when I walk in the door. I buy food that is fast to fix. I remember to take something out either the night before or in the morning or have back-up quick foods.

I buy ground beef or ground chuck and divide it into one pound portions and freeze in aluminum foil or freezer bags. Frozen hamburger meat is so versatile. You can cook it on the stove with some water for faster cooking and then you can make taco salad, chili, sandwiches (sloppy joes) or even hamburger helper meals. This part of my back-up plan when I forget to take something out for dinner.

I buy T-bones or Ribeyes on sale and have them cut into 3/4 inch steaks so they cook faster. I individually wrap them in aluminum foil or in a freezer bag. Don’t freeze them together because they take much longer to thaw.

Pork chops, buy in bulk on sale, wrap individually. You can grill the pork chops with onions, or steam them and and add BBQ sauce or make gravy with them.

The gravy is just a matter of taking a cup or so of cold water, adding a tablespoon of all purpose floor and stirring until totally dissolved. Then add the flour mixture to pork chops when the chops are done and cooking on low. Stir until the gravy mixes well with juices and starts thickening. If it gets too thick, just add some tap water. Add a little worcheshire sauce for flavoring. You can add a package of pork seasoning to make the gravy if you prefer.

Chicken…I buy the frozen chicken breasts that are boneless. They are individually frozen (IQF-Individually Quick Frozen)so that helps. Just throw the package of breasts in the freezer. They are ready when you are. This is another “oops, I forgot to take something out meal”.

Steam and spice the chicken the way you like (BBQ, grilled with lemon pepper, etc).  Be brave, add soy sauce or teriyaki.  lol

Another quick meal is make a salad and then chop up the grilled chicken and throw on top. My favorite salad is served with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, shredded cheese, boiled egg and chicken with Ranch Dressing.

I also like to keep boiled eggs on hand. Great for salads or a quick egg salad sandwich. Egg salad sandwiches are great for breakfast, too. You can eat it on the run. Better than a donut.

I have already written about making roasts by cooking them overnight and then make french dip sandwiches with the leftovers.

And then who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner occasionally. We only have a big breakfast on weekends so it is great to have bacon, egg, cheese bagels and home-fried potatoes during the week.

Okay, that’s how to do the meat part of the meal quickly.

Antique furniture dated for you free

I have a piece of furniture that I wanted to know it’s age. It was given to me by an elderly lady who said it belonged to her mom.

I went to allexperts.com and this is what he said:
Frankie – The drawer construction is the key. The type of joinery which uses the “scallop and peg” or “scallop and dowel” in known as “Knapp” joinery named after the man who invented the machine that made those joints. He patented the machinery in 1870 and sold the rights to an investor group who put it into use in a factory in Massachusetts in 1871. It was in use until about 1905 when it was replaced by the machine made dovetail joint. Your dresser was made in that 35 year period.

The style of your dresser is probably either Rococo Revival or Eastlake. The wood will be walnut.

I have now determined it is the Eastlake style after looking up what that meant. lol

I like that it didn’t cost me anything and now I have more information about it.

Keep your dogs from digging

Do your dogs dig? Pain in the butt, huh? Well, I went online and checked out different solutions and this is the one that worked for me.

We have two acres of land of which an acre of land is fenced-in for the dogs. We have fenced the border with field fencing and then cross-fenced the land so I have an area for the dogs, chickens and across the front and side is our yard for my plants.

Our dogs would dig in the same spots over and over along the fenceline and I kept filling the holes. They were getting out of their yard and sometimes would even get into my chicken yard.

The internet site I found said to take dog poop and bury it in the hole that the dog has dug. So refill the hole with dirt but put the poop about two inches from the top of the ground before you finish filling the hole. IT WORKS!!!

I wandered around the yard with a grocery bag on my left arm and a grocery bag on my right hand picking up the crap. Not a job I really enjoyed but would gladly do again now that I know it works. Funny thing is, they have almost totally stopped digging.

It was great to fill the holes that were about 20 feet away from my back door. I feared I would either twist my ankle or fall over. It doesn’t stink either because it is buried. My grass has started growing back and you can barely tell where they dug.

Another method I tried and it works, too but it was going to be very costly for the whole acre. I bought a 50 ft long fence that was 4 ft high and cut it in half so it was l00 feet long and two feet high. I bought the smaller hole fencing…maybe it is called pig fencing…not sure. It has rectangular holes that are about 2 inches by 4 inches maybe. Anyway, I put the fencing on the ground and attached it to the field fencing at the bottom. I used some kite string and also some wire (clothes hangers cut in three pieces) to attach it.

My chicken yard borders the dog yard. The chickens peck at the grass into the dog’s yard for about 6 inches (they have long since pecked all the grass out of their yard). Because the dogs saw bare dirt, they decided to dig there. So, I put the fencing on the ground (on the dog’s side) where the chicken yard and dog yard meet. That solved that problem. So anywhere there was a big area that they dug, I used the fencing on the ground. You can use tent stakes to make it lie down so the grass will grow thru it. Just make sure you knock the tent stake way into the ground so it is not sticking up. You also need to be really careful when you mow the lawn. I use the weed eater where the fencing is on the ground.

Seafood Salad Recipe

During my career in restaurants, I picked up this recipe. I adjusted it somewhat to make a smaller portion.

First thing you need to do is boil 9 eggs. Boil for about l5 minutes and then immediately put into iced water to help make the shell easier to remove. Drain the water off and remove shells. In a separate bowl, mash the eggs up into small pieces. I usually use a potato masher but you can just use a fork.

While the eggs are boiling, I make the Ranch Dressing. I have tried the Ranch Dressing in a bottle….not so good. Make the packet of Buttermilk Ranch dressing you will find in the aisle with the bottled dressings. You will need to get the ingredients on the package (buttermilk and mayo). Refrigerate.

Shred 1 pound of imitation crab meat into a separate large mixing bowl. At Winn Dixie, the crab meat is in the case where the fish is being sold. It is not frozen when you get it so you can take it home and get right to work.

You will need 1/2 cup of finely chopped green pepper and 1/2 cup of finely chopped celery.

Add the eggs to the finely shredded imitation crab meat. Add the green peppers and celery. You are not going to use all of the Ranch dressing. Just add enough to get the ingredients wet but not soggy. Try 1 cup to start. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

This recipe makes plenty of seafood salad. I have never measured how much it makes. But, my best guess would be about 8 cups.

Again, this is a great dish to take to a special occasion. I like to serve it with Ritz crackers but some of my family like saltines with it. My husband and I like it for lunch on the weekends. Serve it on a bed of lettuce and a few quarter slices of tomato and the Ritz crackers.

My daughter, Amber loves this recipe but she is so funny about shredding the imitation crab meat. She will shred almost every piece into tiny pieces and it will take her at least a half hour. Such patience.

Squash Casserole Recipe

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Jeannette, who lives in Greenville, SC. My husband loves it. It would be great to take to a church social or family reunion or any place where you need to take a dish of food.

First, you slice and boil your squash. You need two cups of cooked yellow squash and since it cooks down, I usually cook three raw cups to make sure I have enough.

While the squash is cooking, I grab a large mixing bowl and put 2 cups of crumbled Ritz crackers, l cup evaporated milk, l/2 cup of onions (optional), l cup of shredded cheese of your choice (I like the colby/longhorn cheese), 2 lightly beaten eggs, l tsp salt, l tsp of pepper, pinch of sugar, and 6 tablespoons of butter or margarine melted.

Once the squash is soft, I drain the liquid off and measure out two cups and add to mixture. Mix well and then pour the mixture into a buttered 8 x 8 pan or a 1 quart casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

It is an attractive dish. It almost looks like mac and cheese and it smells so good. I forgot to put the cheese in one time but it was still delicious.

Sept 11, 2009—I started preparing two of these casseroles at one time and freezing one.   I double the recipe and when I put the frozen one into the oven, I cook it an extra 15 minutes, keeping the aluminum foil on it.  I take the aluminum foil off the last ten minutes or so and sometimes add a little extra shredded cheese.

Microwave Fudge Recipe

This recipe came out a long time ago…but, I haven’t seen it in print for a lately so I thought I would share it. I don’t remember who published it or where it came from.

Take a large bowl..not metal..add a box of powdered sugar (make sure it is fresh or it will be lumpy), a stick of butter or margarine, l/4 cup of milk, and l/2 cup of cocoa.

Put in microwave on high for about 2 minutes. Take out and stir. If it is lumpy put it back into the microwave for another minute. Take out again and stir until it is creamy.  Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and stir for 20 or 30 seconds. The fudge will get nice and shiny and thicken up almost immediately. Add 1/4 of pecans or walnuts, if desired.  I like lots of nuts so mine usually has a heaping scoop of nuts

Pour into a square glass pan 8 x 8, or 9 x 9 that has been buttered. Refrigerate.

Variations of fudge:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge:  Add 1/4 cup of peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Fudge: Delete the cocoa and use l/4 cup of peanut butter instead.

You can make a Rocky Road Fudge by adding almonds and coconut and tiny marsh mellows.

The fudge takes about 5 minutes to make and turns out perfect every time. Just make sure you get fresh powdered sugar. Yummy.

Thought for today-friendship

It is late and I should be sleeping but my mind is racing. Do you lie in bed and think about what all you need to do tomorrow? I do…and it drives me crazy. Or I lie there and realize I didn’t do something today that I meant to do. Like go shopping and buy dog food for my three 55 t0 60 pound dogs. I guess I will give them hot dogs and dog biscuits for breakfast. Good thing the store is only two miles away.

Talking about sleeping…..I am not a doctor and I am not prescribing any medicine but I have found if I take a motion sickness pill before I got to bed, it really relaxes me and I fall to sleep and wake up so refreshed. I should have done that about l0pm. lol I am a lot like my mom and I hate pills. Even if I have a headache, I try to put off taking anything. I say, it will go away once I fall asleep.

My thought that is really keeping me awake is news of the death of someone I knew from 6th grade thru high school. His name was Steve and he was my 6th grade boyfriend. He was very popular and remained so thru high school. He was so cute. He reminded me of Elvis Presley…with his dark hair and good looks. I didn’t really keep up with him but I saw him in l979, I believe. Then again in l989 maybe. He lived in my hometown where my parents still live.

My best friend, next to my mom, is Martie and she lives in Dover, NC. We have known each other since we were three years old and she told me, we met in a ditch. I don’t really remember that part. It doesn’t matter how many months or years it has been since we have seen or talked to each other, our conversation picks up like it was just yesterday. She is still the same wonderful person she was as a teenager girl. She never would speak badly about anyone. She is a good Christian woman. I always said she was my best friend…but, she didn’t say that about me but it didn’t matter. She had a few really close girlfriends and I think she would never chose one over another because she wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

So, I guess my thoughts for today are of my youth and friendships. Nothing earth-shattering. Just memories of people who were/are important to me.

Good night.

Prayers answered-reappearing ring

I am not saying my oldest sister has a temper BUT she got mad with her husband and took his wedding ring and hers and flushed them down the upstairs toilet. They were young and hadn’t been married long. James’ ring stayed at the bottom of the toilet and he retrieved it but Sandy’s was gone since it was lighter weight.

Years later, like 20 years or so, Sandy started thinking about that ring again. She had a couple grand daughters and was thinking she could give each one a ring, had she just not thrown her band away years ago down the toilet.

James had been doing some remodeling on their home by that time. Occasionally, Sandy would find coins in the toilet downstairs. She started thinking, wouldn’t it be great if my ring would reappear. Shortly after that, after much praying, she found her ring in the downstairs toilet (20 plus years later).

True Story….

Super-intelligent sister

My sister, who shall remain nameless, is really smart. She is two years younger than me. In high school, she was popular–class officer/cheerleader and so on. If she had been older than me, I would have probably been popular just because I was her sister.

As an adult, she has said some really funny things. She just doesn’t always think before she talks. She doesn’t have a dirty mind either and the rest of us do.

My sister was having a party and went grocery shopping for some snacks. She went up to a young teenage boy stocking the shelves and asked him where he kept his nuts. Once she realized what she said, she quickly walked away from him.

Another time, a soap opera was on. There was a character named Peter Jenkins or something like that. They kept replacing the character with a different actor every week. When she walked into the room and saw they had another guy playing Peter’s part, she said, “That’s the ugliest Peter I have ever seen”.

I have a couple more but I better not share them. I have already said enough. Sorry, Sis.

True Story about Brian

When Brian was about 4, he was outside playing across the street. We lived in a very quiet neighborhood on a cul-de-sac.

It was close to dinnertime so I called him. He didn’t come. I called him again. He didn’t come. I figured he must have went into Eric’s house but I called one more time.

He came into the house and said “Sorry, I took so long to come in. I didn’t hear you the first two times you called.”