What's cooking? Saturday January 25th

[tasty]

Good morning.  Coffee is ready, hot chocolate and tea are available, and I have one of Elza's tea bracks that I pulled from the freezer.  It is so good!


Freezing rain ☔ and snow are both expected today so I did my running around yesterday.  One store had lean ground beef on sale for $2.99 so I bought 10lbs.  Made a couple of pounds into meatballs and repackaged the rest into a suitable size for the 2 of us.

I also found one store that wanted to get rid of their canning jars at a decent price, so over the last couple of days I made 2 trips there and got 2 dozen flats of them.  Saved our FOT about $100 for this coming year.  If that store was closer, I'd  get more.  I'll  see what the weather is like early in the week.

Supper last night was soup from the freezer.  Tonight will either be chicken and rice or left over roast beef with yorkshire pudding and veggies.

Have a super Saturday 🙂

[wilderness]

Good morning. Overnight low was 25° and like others it is overcast and we have a winter weather advisory for snow and freezing rain from 1 PM this afternoon until 4 AM tomorrow morning. We could get 1/4" of rain. It is suppose to be 35° by the time it starts any precipitation and will stay there or above until tomorrow night.

I haven't accomplished much in the past few days. I did finally get to town for the mail and my weekly shopping. DGD brought me her little laptop so that is all redone and ready to go back home and see how long before it is back. Thursday I had all 3 GDKs here sick. Also got the new parts for Annabelle's computer and they are all packaged up and ready to to back as the keyboard was defective and I must have read something wrong as the ram can't be upgraded. So she still has a keyboard with certain letters that don't work and it isn't going to get any faster running. I should get all these packages to the post office this morning and if DGD is home I will drop off her laptop and pick up her big desktop computer and bring it home and work on that. She hasn't used it and I don't know when. Don't even know what windows it has. Should be interesting. Will take a couple of days.

I haven't done any baking in a while so have things out to come to room temperature to make some of Elza's cream cheese/banana muffins.

Tasty, that was a great buy on the jars.

Last night I had chicken fajitas and a big green salad.

Tonight I am trying a new experiment with a same top round roast that I got off the marked down rack the other day.  Not sure of the side yet.

Have a great day.

Bet

[nybirder]

Good morning, Tasty. Your breakfast sure sounds good! What a deal on those jars! And on the beef! I'm trying to resist putting anything more in my freezer. I already gave into temptation with the pork steaks. Got to be good. When you have a drawer freezer and you can't get the drawer closed all the way, you know you have a problem. Working on it, though!

Chris--hope today goes better than yesterday! Keep your eye on that retirement date for courage. It's like waiting for Christmas when you were a kid--seems like it will never come!

We are at the edge again. It looks like rain today--some heavy--with a little light snow tomorrow and Monday. It sounds like we'll hardly get a couple of inches by the end--or less if it turns into rain. Right now there are gusty winds coming from the east--always a sign of rain around here. Its nice to be able to get around but, all the same, it makes me uneasy to see the countryside almost without snow. We are used to an average of 88 or more inches every year so this is highly unusual. I'm wondering how my bulbs are going to be this spring without protection. I was just looking at the weather map and there's blue up around your neck of the woods, Bet. Hope it's just a dusting!

Wow, Bet. Three sick kids! You had your hands full. Hope you don't catch it. Interesting reading about your work with the laptops. All the more power to you! I'm a software geek but haven't touched the hardware part of it. My older brother was the hardware geek.

I took out a couple pork cube steaks from the freezer this morning to make the pork marsala now that I have the marsala part of the recipe. Looking forward to trying it.

With the weather going downhill, I'm expecting this to be a lazy, indoor day. Yesterday, I picked up lunch and took it to the trout stream to do some birding. It was sunny and in the mid 40's. My usual pull-off points weren't plowed by the township but there was one place I could get close to sit. I was surprised how warm the sun was coming into the car--signs that there may be a spring some day! Didn't see many birds except for a small flock of mallards busy finding food in the pools. They were enjoying the warm weather, too!

No coffee left in my cup which is always a signal to move my bones. Later.

Birdy

[marjo]

Going to go to town and get a few groceries. I have been shut up since Tuesday so ready to get out for little bit. Sun is suppose show its face the afternoon but that would be a surprise!

I have two recipes that I am going to make today. One with hamburger and one with chicken. So will see how they come out. Also found another for cookbook! I already have too many recipes in there. 

All that computer work Bet you need a job at Best Buy or some place like that. Or where I had my computer work done for windows 10!!

Hope everyone has a safe week-end.

Marlene

[annrms]

Morning! Cloudy today with a rain storm on the way...! Cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast. Haven't done so since July. Used to do it on weekend with mom so it wasn't the same this morning. Made me kinda sad. :'(
Made mom some cordon bleu chicken salad with the rest of what gave us two dinners! She has those mini-pita breads in her freezer that she can use to make small snacks for herself.
Going to make Lori's Mushroom Rice to go with the tandoori swordfish that I'm going to sous vide. It's marinating now. Will have with some green beans that I blanched a couple of days ago. Will look for a recipe for them...so many good ones on TOH.
Will do some basic chores today, and will give the bedroom a good vacuum...under and over!!!!
Want to find a recipe using roasted spaghetti squash, too. I've had it with roasted veggie sauce, scampi sauce, etc. Maybe I can find something else that catches my interest.
Wishing everyone a happy Saturday. Waving!

[cooktocook]

A quick hello this morning friends before I take off on a morning bike ride. 

DH is in the kitchen painting the trim only then will hopefully do some touch-up work in the hallway bathroom and laundry room--best  I am out of the way for at least awhile.

As of right now, planning to make fish tacos for dinner tonight.

Lori

[emr]

Good morning! We have beautiful sunshine and blue skies today, and warmer temps, in the 50s. DH and I are getting ready to drive up to Greenville for me to do some shoe shopping at DSW and also make a stop at Trader Joe's. We'll see what other mischief we can get up to while we're there. :)

Tasty, I was thinking yesterday that I wanted to have a tea brack or something like that for breakfast today. However, I usually don't feel like doing much of anything when I get home on Fridays. Lo and behold, a customer came in with 5 packages of homemade cinnamon rolls -- one for each of us in the branch. I had a couple with coffee this morning and they were just right. They are yeast rolls with a cinnamon and brown sugar swirl but not a lot of sugar, and no glaze or icing. So not real sweet, but very good.
Also, score on the canning jars! 🤑

Bet, I'll be interested to hear what your roast experiment is, and how it turns out.

Birdy, sitting in the sun and bird-watching sounds like a nice afternoon for you. Wish I could send you some of our sunshine.

Marlene, hope you can get out and get your shopping done. What are you making today?

(((Ann))) It's funny how the little things can impact you -- like bacon and eggs. I am glad you can still cook for your mom and that she is doing well.

Lori, enjoy your bike ride and hopefully DH will get done while you are out. Believe me, I know how that is. I learned pretty quickly that I needed to stay out of the room if DH was working on something at home. We were both much happier that way!

Well, I need to get sheets changed and something done in the bathroom before we head out.

[cfniervt]

Good morning friends.

Tasty- Good score on the jars. We are supposed to get freezing rain and snow today too then high winds. I think you and Birdy are sending me your weather! Nice of you both to share! LOL But you really don't need to! Bet and I can do without it for sure! LL

Bet- 3 sick kidos! Wow. Dan does that computer stuff for a living. He just did an update fr a tower that a person just wants for gaming! Big ram in it! He does both hardware and software work.

Birdy- Today has to be better as I am not at work! Bwhahaha! I could not get to sleep last night until 5am this morning! Mind just would not shut off because of what happened. However I did go to Bingo last night with my BIL and SIL and won $200 so that was a good end to the day!

Marlene- Hope you find all that you want shopping today. Take care and be careful.

Ann- One of the reasons I go to Bingo is that it was something my Mom loved and was one of the few good connecting times we had. She would call me from Keene and have me drive the hour down and take her every Friday snow, rain or dark! Didn't matter to her. So sometimes when I go I feel a bit of connection.

Lori- I hear you! Stay out of their way when they are on a mission to complete something ! LOL Enjoy your bike ride. I am visualizing you next to a beach peddling a long with the sun in your face and the sea breeze in your hair! (and falling iguanas! LOL)

Elza- Ahhh Trader Joe's. I will have to go down to Amhurst Ma to go again soon. I love the This Fig Walked into a Bar! Dan loves the apple ones.

Well I had the guy here to give me an estimate on replacing my counter top! Whew! Sticker shock! But I knew it would be high. This is so dated here. We put it in 30 years ago when we built the house. It is ceramic tile, cobalt blue. I want to keep the backsplash and just get the top done. It is a large area and will be over $2000. I have broken several tiles over the years and it has been re-grouted about all it can be.

Well I think I will go take a nap. Maybe I will feel better later. Chris

[weebill]

Good morning. I am starting out the morning in a sweatshirt as for is only 57° but suppose to be 77°. I am getting tired of these winter clothes. I need t- shirts and capris.

There is the date festival downtown with a farmer's market so might wonder down there.

I have sausage and hash Brown in the oven for breakfast. Will make a couple of eggs also.

Have a great day.ELAINE

[tamaralynn]

Good day, friends. 

Chris, glad your day ended on a happy note.

Reading about other folks weather, I am happy to be in this part of Texas today. It is a little overcast but it's 64, with a high of 66 expected. I also saw a good chance of rain moving in later this evening.


Tasty, what a lucky buy on the jars. Too bad that store is not closer.


It sounds like you will be in the kitchen a good part of today, Ann. Is food provided where your mom lives now? Or, does she not care for some of it? We had some blueberry pancakes for breakfast. DH had to get up early and go unlock a building for someone so he stopped by the kitchen and got us 2 orders of pancakes to go.


Elza, hope you found some great buys while shopping today.


Chris, I would like new counters one of these days. These are in good shape, but they are bright white formica. I'm not crazy about them, but they are in good shape so no reason to change them out for the time being. We have blue tile back splash.


It was a good morning to sleep in. I had a call in to a lady about the pot luck Sunday. I found out they are doing turkey and dressing. Because of the seminar, there are usually extra people in attendance. I offered to do some green bean casseroles. I think I will use my extra large baking pans and make about 4 recipes. I will need to make a trip to the store at some point. Not looking forward to that but it must be done. I am going to bake frosted banana bars also. I have all the ingredients for that-am just waiting for the frozen bananas to thaw.


Supper is going to be some salmon patties. We have not had those in a while. I think I will also bake some potatoes O'Brien - Schwan's.


Have a very nice day !

[emr]

Tammy, I found 2 pairs of shoes and I had a $20 coupon so that was great. 

DH & I had lunch at Jason's Deli and really enjoyed that. I had their Club Royale -- turkey, ham, bacon & swiss on a toasted croissant with lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard. Wow, was that good. And they had free soft-serve ice cream!

Stopped at Trader Joe's after that to stock up on frozen egg rolls and green beans, and dark chocolate -- my regular items. I already had marinara sauce from my last trip. That time they were out of the "Dark Chocolate Lover's Dark Chocolate Bar" but it was back today so I am in good shape. 

Now I need to get some cleaning done! 

[tamaralynn]

That sandwich sounds awesome, Elza. I will have to remember that next time I am in Jason's.
A lady who is a resident here loves the dark chocolate bar with almonds from T.J.'s. She stocks up when she buys them and is so nice to share them with others.

I finished the cake-just need to ice it. I am putting off going to the store. I am thinking of waiting until after dark-maybe most shoppers will have gone home by that time.

I got a stack of cd's over at the resale shop for 50 cents each. I am playing them on my $1.00 bargain cd player. I plan on taking it to the resale shop and playing some music while we are open. I picked up a double cd of instrumentals, and I had DH make me an easy listening cd to play also. Right now I am listening to "Ultimate Broadway". It's all show tunes. It is supposed to be a double cd but the 2nd disc is missing.

I got both dogs bathed and blow dried and trimmed. They are so cute when clean and fluffy. We had sandwiches for lunch. Guess I will go back to working my puzzle.

[helen]

Hello Friends. This has been a sleepy day for me, too. I got up late and was in no hurry to tidy up. It's been pretty quiet which is good but then I have nothing to talk about. ;) Since it's just suppertime I'm thinking about finding something good in the freezer. I'm pretty sure there are some Stauffer's Stuffed Peppers nestled in there. So, Stuffed Peppers it is! Enjoy your evening. ((Ann))

[cfniervt]

I made a shepherds pie for supper. It tasted really good.

Chris

[redsoxmom]

Hello all. 

I went shopping with my dds today.  When we got back and before I could get in the door Sophie ( youngest )  says "Uh Uh, Dad has a problem".  I walked in to him hovering our kitchen sick that is clogged up. It wasn't when I left.  He said he tried to put coffee grinds down it. And disposal stopped.  The plumber will be here later.  I am pretty sure I walked in just before dh was going to take my sink apart.  He's not plumber.  Thinks he is though.  My oldest dd says to me call your friend quick. LOL.  I don't really use the disposal but that doesn't stop others from putting things down it.  I don't put coffee down it for instance.... :)We shall see what the issue is. 

We have dinner plans thank goodness. I think I will need wine.  

Tammy, I love your profile picture. So cute. 

Have a great night all. 

Betsy