DH and I have been grocery shopping for the past two nights. We do Aldi one night and County Market the next. I usually look at the grocery fliers from both places, plan a menu, and then make a grocery list. I think we spend a lot on groceries, but we eat a lot at home and most of our meals usually have leftovers for either another meal or for a lunch or two.

A lady I know doesn't go shopping until they are totally out of everything. It's kind of odd -- she seems proud of that fact, but then admits they go to fast food places to tide them over.

She thinks I'm rigid because we have a schedule for shopping. But, I like to know we have food in the house and plan a menu.

She has admitted they are having money problems. I wonder if her pell mell attitude to shopping and cooking is also her attitude in saving and investing.

Meals for this week include:

roasted chicken tenders
scrambled eggs and grits
sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken)
baked turkey breast
tuna cakes
turkey (left over) and couscous

The next item has nothing to do with money, but I was highly amused. A lady I work with has a small farm and horses. One horse leans on the fence and has loosened the wire to the extent he can put his head under it, stretch it out, put a leg through, then another and another and gets out of the fence without tearing up the fence or hurting itself. And you ask, where does this traveling horse wander to? The front yard because the grass is longer and hasn't been grazed. Guess he thinks the grass is truly greener (and longer) on the other side of the fence!

I knew last night that I would be arriving home a little later than usual since I was going to attend a workshop in another town about an hour away and wondered what to fix.

It was supposed to be rainy so I thought: SOUP!

We had a little pork roast leftover from the other night. And I had some tomatoes that were getting a bit squishy, some leftover mashed potatoes, some leftover green beans with their liquid...so I sauteed an onion, zucchini, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, added some tumeric, basil, and paprika, added the tomatoes and meat and green beans and some water and let it simmer for about an hour last night. A few minutes before I turned off the heat I added this small bit of elbow macaroni that was left in the jar -- not enough for a meal, but too much to throw out.

It was a good meal to heat up and service with crackers and a fruit salad and there was enough for DH's lunch tomorrow.

Yesterday we went to the library and I snagged a magazine I had not seen on the shelves before..."Mother Earth Living." It has some cool recipes and money saving articles.

One article outlined that old fashioned cooks cook with a budget in mind. The example is they serve pot roast instead of filet because you can use a cheaper cut of meat. They use what they have and try to make things stretch.

I thought this really described many of us on SA blogs.

I found a slow cooker recipe I really want to try:

Tuscan White Bean Soup
2 cups dried white beans such as great northern
6 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste
1 T chopped fresh rosemary for garnish

Rinse beans thoroughly and place them in a 7 quart slow cooker along with water, onion, garlic and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or until beans are tender. Remove bay leaf. Either with an immersion blender or put in a blender or food processor, puree until desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary.

There's something to be said about being comfortable in a rut. There's the familiar feeling of course. And, sometimes it is easier than making a chance.

I've decided my cooking is sort of in a rut. I seem to be fixing some of the same meals over and over.

Last night I fixed a vegetable fritatta and instead of regular toast, I made French toast. It was good, DH loved it, and it was different.

I think I need to pull out some recipes and try something different in the next few weeks.

Ever notice how many bottles of water are on a grocery store shelf? And now flavored waters are a big sell.

Yesterday someone posted on Facebook on making flavored waters. I decided to use one of the recipes because I had the ingredients.

10 cups of water
1 apple cut up in chunks
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks

Mix together and refrigerate overnight.

Well, I tried it and it is pretty good. And fairly reasonable.

I was thinking it would be good if I made tea with this flavored water a d probably more reasonable than fancy tea bags or mixes.

I have been grousing most of the evening. We came home from the regular grocery store to fill in its some items we couldn't get at Aldi last night,. It was $26 for bananas, raspberries, bell peppers, lactose free milk, 3 cans of tomato sauce, and whole wheat bread.

It just seems like we got so little for $26.

One of the local food pantry's reported their giving is up 17% since so many folks are coming in for food.

I can certainly see why.

I know we can afford it, but when your bring in two small bags of groceries, one wonders how families afford to eat.

We had an inservice day for the elementary schools in my district. Every teacher had to move to another school after lunch and it seemed like all of them were trying to figure out where they were eating lunch.

I took my handy lunch bag with peanut butter, crackers, apple, and a Thermos of water. I got to the location, ate my lunch, and could relax.

I am sure by the end of the week, many of these will be complaining they are running short on money. It wasn't an exciting lunch, but saving money and not having to rush made it worthwhile.

I received many positive comments on the new hardwood floors. I will say this week has been very busy trying to get the house back in order after the installer finished on Monday. We are so happy with the new flooring and now that things are starting to settle down, I have discovered a few things.

1. This made me truly go through many of our possessions and decide, do we need to keep this? Are we really using it or enjoying it? We donated a couple of pieces of furniture, plus some rugs, household items, and some clothes. This made me let go.

2. I threw away some items that should have been thrown away before. I was raised with the depression era mentality that one shouldn't throw stuff away in case we need it. Some of these items couldn't be reused by anyone else and truly needed to be pitched. It was emotional guilt keeping that from happening. Guess the new floors made me rethink the possession.

3. I washed up everything that could be washed before putting it away or up and it made me appreciate all the nice things I own and how fortunate I truly am.


I spent part of Friday night after the weekly trek to the grocery cleaning and finishing up. I like having a tidy house and that made my evening feel fulfilled.

Part of yesterday was spent fixing some things for meals for the week. I will say planning for meals while trying to put the house back together was a challenge because I was physically exhausted, but we've come so far with eating at home and saving money, I didn't want to get off track.

Our meals for this week:

Sunday:

Brunch: eggs, sausage, toast, grits, fruit salad
Supper: sloppy chicks and chips and fruit salad

Monday:
Lunch: peanut butter and saltines and an apple
Supper: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, fruit salad

Tuesday:
Lunch: leftover meatloaf and potatoes and green beans
Supper: Beef and barley vegetable soup, cottage cheese

Wednesday:
Lunch: leftover soup
Supper: chicken tenders, sweet potatoes, salad

Thursday:
Lunch: leftover chicken tenders, sweet potatoes
Supper: vegetable fritatta, cottage cheese, fruit salad

I'm not sure on Friday yet, although I'm sure lunch will be whatever is leftover in the fridge. It is usually my clean out the fridge type of lunch so I may have a smorgasboard of this and that.

We did our weekly grocery shopping. We spent around $100. We have the same things for breakfast so I didn't include them...DH has cereal and I have yogurt and take a Thermos of coffee with cream to work. I also take a piece of fruit in my lunch. Someone told me at work they are too tired to cook after school and I said I was pretty tired too, but making things ahead after figuring up a weekly menu sure helps.

Menu
Saturday night - pork loin roast, sweet potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, green beans, fruit salad
Sunday brunch - scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, cheesy grits, fruit salad
Sunday supper - Sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken), chips, cheese, fruit salad
Monday - lunch - leftover sausage and grits
Monday - supper- Yankee pot roast with carrots, mushrooms, onion, and celery, boiled potatoes, cottage cheese
Tuesday - leftover sloppy chicks
Tuesday - supper - chicken stew and crackers and cheese
Wednesday - lunch - leftover chicken stew
Wednesday - supper - leftover pork and gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, fruit salad
Thursday - lunch - leftover beef and vegetables
Thursday - supper - chicken and noodles, salad, cottage cheese, fruit salad
Friday - lunch - leftover chicken stew
Friday - supper...treat...we are going out. :-)

Fortunately DH doesn't balk too much about leftovers for lunch and if I rework something for leftovers into something else, he won't complain. And he loves eating at home.

First of all, I'm starting with a rant...I am so tired of hearing people around me griping they don't have enough money. I know so many sites suggest you find friends who share your views, it is extremely difficult to find folks who share the same views on money...I think I have two friends who are as frugal as we are. The rest...well, they say they are saving money, but rely on credit to pay for things and then whine when things get tight. I hate to lose friends, but it would be more fun if we shared the same money views. It is refreshing to communicate with the SA "friends" because we all have the same goal: use what we have to best benefit for us.

One couple in particular gripes about being short on cash, yet they eat out at least once a day. We sometimes get together to eat and I suggested we trade off and fix something at our homes and have the guests bring something to save money. After all, the real reason we get together is to socialize. We even tried it with our having the main dish and asking them to bring something, but that's as far as it got. I'm not saying one shouldn't ever eat out, but usually the stuff made at home is as good or better than what you can get in a restaurant.

I hear people I work with complain about not having enough money and feeling the squeeze, yet they go out and get something for lunch and stop and get drinks on the way to work or send someone out to get pop or tea. This happens almost every day. I'm sure they haven't added up how much they spend and although a dollar here and a couple dollars there doesn't seem like much, it all adds up.

I have been trying to think of some of the ways we save money and compiled a list of 25. There are probably more, but I can't think of them. Do you have any to add?

Ways we have been saving money:
1. Using the library for books, magazines, and DVD’s
2. Eating at home and using leftovers Cooking from scratch whenever possible (I have a Crockpot and know how to use it! 
3. Mending
4. Brew my own coffee and take in a Thermos
5. Brew our iced tea
6. Take a container of water for lunch instead of buying a bottle each day
7. Buying pre-owned things (not only good for the pocketbook, but good for the planet)
8. In the summer, DH grows herbs and tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, and green onions
9. Pay our credit cards off each month – and do not charge anything we cannot pay off
10. Save money in accounts for things like Christmas, vacation, and mad money which is whatever big project we are saving up for
11. Take care of the items we already own
12. Buy Christmas cards after Christmas for next year
13. Only run the dishwasher and washer with full loads
14. Try to fix things instead of replacing them
15. I shut off lights when I’m not in the room
16. We weather-stripped doors.
17. Grocery shop with a list
18. We do not hit the mall for entertainment. We go to the store for the things we need and leave and we try to hit sales.
19. I made a lot of our Christmas gifts…I like to cook and bake and bought cute baskets and napkins and gave these as gifts.
20. Buy staples on sale whenever possible and put in pantry…then use them!
21. We used to exchange gifts with another couple and it was getting pricey…we bit the bullet and asked if we could either set or limit or discontinue…the couple agreed to just exchange cards.
22. Reuse things like plastic bags and foil whenever possible. I try to use glass lidded dishes whenever possible so I don’t need to use as much foil.
23. I try to make some of my cleaning supplies…I have been making our own window cleaner and a friend gave me the recipe for laundry detergent. It is scary how much we pay for products that contain so much water!
24. Reuse things like the backs of envelopes we received for lists and a great way to store coupons for the grocery. This also allows us to shop more than one place and make a list for each place to find the best bargains.
25. We use the freezer…I try to keep homemade chicken broth on hand and we buy meats on sale, then “shop” the freezer.

Fun Friday Frolics you query? OK, I made it up.

Today was super busy at work and then after supper we hit the grocery store. We did not need much because we hit Aldi last night and bought most of our fruits, vegetables and some meat. Tonight was cottage cheese, bread, and raspberries since Aldi didn't have them.

DH went to the local meat market and bought a chuck roast which I am putting in the oven overnight on low heat. Makes a fabulous pot roast. We got over three meals over the last one. So much of the stuff we are buying makes more than one meal for us.

Yesterday I had a meeting and only two of us stayed in and consumed the lunches we brought from home. Mine was pretty decent considering it was leftover bits and pieces...it was different as well as cheap and I had a chance to get a lot of work done on top of it.

Another coworker was talking about weekend plans. She was amazed that we have a large breakfast after church. She seemed shocked that someone would make scrambled eggs. How difficult are scrambled eggs? Sheesh.

Menu is made up for the week and food is bought. Now if only a chef would come in and fix it so I could relax!

Last week sort of got away from me. Saturday night we received a phone call that my husband's aunt had died in the morning and the funeral was the next day at 3 with visitation at 2. What made us uneasy was the weather forecast ... freezing rain and ice in our neck of the woods.

DH wavered back and forth. He wanted to go, but the weather was frightening. We decided to wait and see and make the decision at noon since it was a two hour trip. At noon it was cloudy, precipitation had almost halted. We made the trip.

DH was glad we had the chance to go. His aunt has been a fighter the past few years, but he wanted to have the closure as well as support his uncle.

The pastor did a wonderful service. This couple had been married 67 years. And to say they were the perfect example of how to love would be an understatement. At 91, DH's uncle was always loving and kind and watched out for her. She, in turn, did many things to help him. What a love affair, even to the end.

Anyway, I'm glad we had the opportunity to go. It just made the week a blur as I caught up on other things and fought a bug. Another weekend has come and almost passed and I'm asking myself, am I ready for Monday? I certainly hope so!

I was reading the Saturday Evening Post and they had a recipe that I think I may be using this week. I have two after school meetings and one evening meeting at school, so it looks quick and easy as well as a way to use the eggs I caught on sale this week:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of fresh vegetables, chopped
4 slices of bacon, chopped
4 eggs
1/2 milk
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat broiler.
In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Set aside. In an oven proof skillet (I'm using cast iron) heat the olive oil and saute' the vegetables. Remove the vegetables when they are cooked through. Cook the bacon until crisp and then add the vegetables and make a flat layer. Pour over the egg/milk mixture. Cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until almost cooked through. Put under broiler for a minute or two until browned,and the remove, add the cheese, and put under the broiler for a minute or until cheese melts. Either cut into wedges or scoop out and serve.

Cheap and easy, don't you think?

In the Peanuts cartoon, Snoopy used to do a happy dance when it was dinner time. Well, if I danced, I would be doing one because it is Saturday. I made it through this week. I'm still fighting whatever it is, but other than returning a book to the library, there isn't anything I HAVE to do today.

I worked on data yesterday for school and two classes really made progress on the practice tests we gave. My email report had one word with the attachment: Celebrate!

I think sometimes we need to stop and celebrate the little things as well as the big things.

So, I'm celebrating it is Saturday, that my fridge and pantry are full, and life is pretty good overall!

After yesterday's pity party, I want to thank everyone who gave me words of encouragement. I think part of it was frustration and part of it is I don't feel well. Plus, I think sometimes when we get stuck in a rut, we get disgruntled.

I had a meeting today and could have gone out to lunch. During regular school days we have 30 minutes so going out during the regular lunch time would have been a problem. We had more time today due to the meetings, but I decided to pack the lunch anyway. I couldn't see spending the money and starting the car to go somewhere. I had an opportunity to eat and get some work done. When I finished, one of the ladies came back from lunch and noticed my lunch bag. She said she thought the duct tape made it look like it was thermal. Isn't it interesting how one person can see something differently than someone else. I didn't feel ashamed of it anymore.

As for the title, last night I couldn't decide what to do with leftover pork tenderloin. I really wanted something beyond sandwiches. So, I looked in the fridge and had part of a bell paper, zucchini, celery, a partial container of mushrooms, and carrots. I always try to keep an onion around. I sauted all these together, tore up the meat, added some chicken broth I had in the freezer, and then added some lentils I had in the pantry and the small wheat elbow macaroni. I didn't have much of the macaroni and the last time I used it, I had such a small portion left, but hated to throw it away. Good thing, because it made it into the pot. This simmered for two hours last night and then I stowed it in the fridge.

Tonight I heated it up, added some leftover cottage cheese in a separate dish, and used some crackers and it was a hearty supper.

Since my fridge was pretty empty by then, I cleaned the shelves and the crispers so it is tidy and sparkling.

I figured by using up all the stuff in the fridge I didn't waste food, we had a fairly nutritious supper, and I know I had plenty to eat. DH will have leftover stew for lunch tomorrow so he's a happy boy.

My fridge may be empty and my tummy full, so I guess I won't mention the overflowing dishwasher! :-)

DH made a comment that so many of our friends do not plan. I would agree.

One couple eats out at least once a day. They complain about not having enough money...hmmm...wonder why! Everything is spontaneous and they grouse because they might call and ask us to join them and we often don't because I have already begun the meal or have something defrosted and feel like I need to cook it,

Each Thursday night I figure out what the menu is going to be for the next week. I will admit we are kind of in a rut for Sunday brunch and Sunday supper, but DH is happy and we are eating at home, so there is a comfort in that, I also try to fix things for suppers so we have leftovers for lunches.

Besides meal planning, we have separate accounts beyond our checking and regular savings accounts. We have a Christmas Club, a vacation, and our mad money account that we use to save up for things. In the past we have saved up for a new stove and dishwasher. It means we try to make regular monthly deposits in these accounts,

As for shopping and running errands, we try to plan for that as well. We try to bundle our trips together so we aren't making a lot of extra trips.

We are not, by any means, perfect, but we have seen a substantial savings in the past few years with our planning. Perhaps we are considered stodgy, but I feel the ends justifies the means. I think one has to purposefully plan to succeed.

Today is clean out the fridge day around here. We eat leftovers. DH also went to Aldi so it is also fill up the fridge Friday.

Lunch was a bit different for me...I took leftover meat and had crackers and fruit with it. I hate wasting food plus I felt like I saved money.

Yesterday we had meetings to discuss English/Language Arts Common Core standards and discussing students. One staff member said she was shocked her students didn't realize cookies could be baked st home, I said that very little true cooking is taking place and the time in the kitchen with mom and grandma has become a thing of the past.

At first some registered disbelief, but then we talked about it and they said it probably is true. I know most of the people I work with rarely cook or bake. One gal said her child won't eat something unless it comes from the microwave.

So, what do you think...has cooking become a lost art?

I have our menu for Christmas figured out...it is pretty tame and doesn't differ too much from year to year:

Ham (bought at Aldi)
scalloped potatoes (potatoes, onions, and cream bought at Aldi)
green beans (Aldi)
peas (Aldi) -- hubby doesn't like peas and I do so I'll be having two vegetables
cornbread

We will have leftovers for supper and then ham for other meals. I'm not sure what we will have for dessert yet. Maybe I'll bake a cake.

We have been eating at home quite a bit and it is amazing how much money we have been saving. We used to go out for brunch after church, but since we live so close to church, decided to just come home. Fixing scrambled eggs and toast and a breakfast meat isn't difficult and since I always make a large container of fruit salad for the week, having that with the brunch, makes it reasonable and easy.

It's kind of damp and gloomy tonight so I think we are having chili tonight. DH doesn't mine routines and we've been having chili on Sundays lately since the weather turned cool. I guess that is why he likes having ham and scalloped potatoes for Christmas.

So, what's on your Christmas menu?

We were talking about food and grocery shopping at work the other day. One teacher asked me earlier this year for some easy, reasonably priced recipes. I shared them and she has had success with them.

Anyway, I was talking about how I try to use leftovers if I can go save money. For example, we have been having sausage patties on Sunday for brunch. We usually have a few leftover. Last week I took the leftover sausage and put it an egg strata. This week I will put it with macaroni and cheese. One person sort of turned up her nose and said I was cheap. Using leftovers?

Maybe I am cheap, but I like to think I am saving money and. Of wasting food.

We tried a new recipe tonight. Saw it in a magazine and I changed it to fit our needs, but it was meant to use up leftover turkey. So, I kept the name, but thought since Thanksgiving is coming up, maybe some of you would like to try it.

Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole
Preheat oven to 350.
4 cups seasoned dressing
4 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup flour
4 eggs
3 cups 2% milk
1 can (8 ¼ oz) cream style corn
½ t salt
½ t pepper
1 T butter
Layer the first 4 ingredients in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. In a large bowl whisk the flour, eggs, and milk until smooth. Add the corn, salt and pepper and mix well. Pour over stuffing mix. Dot with butter.
Bake covered 30-35 and uncover and bake 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.


The original recipe also had a can of peas and a cup of cranberries. DH likes neither.

I made this for supper tonight and DH loved it.There was plenty leftover for lunches and overall, it isn't super expensive to make and DH claimed it was very filling. I did use up some leftover turkey from the other night.

It's been a wild week so far at school. Not that it is bad, but I have come home very tired.

Tonight on my short drive home I thought, boy, a nice hot pizza sounds good for supper. Bet DH would go for that!

But, alas, I had already planned and had a chicken and dressing casserole in the fridge waiting to be baked.

Pizza sounded better to my tummy, but the casserole was better for the wallet.

We had the casserole. :-)

Like many of you, I take my lunch to work. Having read so many of the news stories, I attempt to heat my leftovers at school in glass which means my lunch is a little heavier, but I feel safer.

One of the younger teachers has been sitting next to me and comments on my lunch most days. She has been commenting on some of my containers.

Many of my containers are either Corningware or Pyrex containers and if they didn't belong to my grandmother, I bought them used.

Anyway, this teacher said she has been capitivated by my lunches because of the containers...most of the folks bring those freezer read to microwave meals. She has commented on the designs and such and finally the reveal: they remind her of her mom and her cooking and her dishes.

I know some of my cookware was my grandmother's. I often wonder if she would be pleased I'm still using and enjoying these items.

I also wonder if more people would say the same thing if they saw dishes from their childhood and if it would bring back good memories. I know that is my case.

Dear Abby in her column yesterday had a letter about the home selling parties and how the writer should just say they had other plans! So between the comments made on my previous blog and her column, I feel I have had some validation.

Weather in Central Illinois the past couple of days has been, to say the least, interesting! On Thursday we had a high of 80-82 depending on which weather forecast you listened to. It was warm, whatever the thermometer listed. Yesterday it dropped to the low 40s and we had a little shower of ice pellets. Yikes! Can't say it is boring, anyway.

One of the ladies I work with told me that the people who eat lunch with me always are interested in what I bring for lunch. I kind of laughed and said, "Really?"

She smiled and said it was because I bring such good leftovers. She said the other day I was the envy of the table for my homemade mac and cheese. I'm wondering if this could be a new business for me...making lunches ... after all, Paula Deen started this way! :-)

Our local humane society had a huge "garage" sale over the weekend. It is in an area called Progress City near our local community college. We thought it would be nice to support the humane society because the funds would go to help those folks pay for neutering if they can't afford it.

One downfall is they did not have the sale place marked clearly. There was another building that said they were having a sale. We got in there and it was basically a disappointment. Three people set up and we realized then this wasn't the humane society sale...it was individuals. But, I did score a retro spice rack that was complete.



We brought it home and I washed it and let it air dry overnight. When I was washing it, I thought it was interesting that the spices listed are not the ones I often use a lot of. We aren't into major spicy, so cayenne pepper isn't at the top of our list. Then there was cloves. In fact, there were cloves in it. Not sure how old they were and the set was pretty dirty, so I wasn't keeping them.

I wonder if cooking has changed since the 50s...that when I think this set came out. I bought it because it was alumnimum, seemed to be complete...except there were two paprika so I'm sure there is something else that should have been there...but are we using many different spices?

I know I use far more than my mom ever did. I always chuckle when I think of the things in her cabinet she had for spices...more than a year old? You betcha. So, I kind of wonder if we got a lot of flavor out of some of them...I think most things were over a decade old...it was too expensive to replace every year if you didn't use much of it.

My set set me back $2 and some elbow grease in washing it. I thought the aluminimum would go well with my stainless appliances.

After using those wonderful apples that were a gift, I thought muffins are a damp, dark, fall evening would be scrumptious. I found a recipe, tweaked it, and we had them tonight. This recipes makes a dozen.

Applesauce muffins

1 1/2 cups instant oatmeal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg white
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk

brown sugar

Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups oatmeal, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon in a mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Whisk 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg white, applesauce, and milk together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until evenly moistened; it's ok if small, dry lumps remain. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle a little more brown sugar on the top of each muffin.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

They were moist and pretty tasty. I like using things we had on hand.

I'm going to brag a little here...our house smells marvelous!

OK, notice, I said our house, not me! :-)

A gal I work with offered me a bag of apples. It came from her mother's tree. She said she was hesitant to ask me because they weren't perfect with spots and bruises here and there, but then she realized I like to cook. The first thing I said was, "I can make applesauce!" She smiled and said exactly.

So, today she wended her way in the building with my much appreciated bag of apples.

As a teacher if you need to make a doctor's appointment during the school day, you have to either take a half a day or a full day off of sick time. I had a doctor's appointment for 1:30 so it meant I had to take a half of a day off. I got home, ate a quick lunch and then remember reading someone's blog that they made applesauce in their Crockpot. So, I washed the apples, cored and peeled them and put them in with a little lemon juice, water, a little sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg.

Returning home the opening of the door was such a pleasant experience...it smelled like fall! Rich applesauce barely bubbling. I took out a potato masher and mashed them up and let them cook a little longer. Yowza!

I had put a turkey breast in another Crockpot this morning so with that also going, it almost smelled a little like Thanksgiving.

Ah. Fall Scents. Can't beat 'em.

DH has grown quite a few herbs this year. Actually, because of the mild winter, we had a pot of rosemary, a pot of sage, and a pot of oregano that made it through the winter. DH planted basil, thyme, tarragon, and dill in the ground as well as another rosemary.

I have enjoyed using these fresh herbs, but someone asked the other day if I dried them. I tried once before just tying them up, but I didn't like working with them afterwards.

So, I went to that wonderful invention called the Internet and googled drying herbs. I found a couple of sites that explained how one can dry them in the microwave. I really didn't want to put out the money for a dehydrater. So, I've been experimenting and I have a nice little stockpile for the winter.

I decided yesterday since I still have plenty left, I might dry some extra and put in small bags and label them and give them away. I have some friends who enjoy cooking and I thought it might be a nice surprise for them. Plus, I hate to see anything go to waste.

It goes without saying my dear husband loves a potato! He likes them baked, mashed, roasted, and sometimes fried. Even boiled.

When I tried this recipe he was thrilled.


Creamy potato casserole

7-8 russet potatoes peeled and sliced thin
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon nutmet
1 teaspoons flour
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 - 2 small green onions chopped (both white and green)
nonstick cooking spray

Mix flour, nutmeg, cream and milk together. Grease casserole dish. Add sliced potatoes and onions and mix together, then pour milk/cream mixture over. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour, covered, or until potatoes are done. Add shredded cheese and green onions and bake 15 minutes uncovered.

This is on our menu tonight; he's pretty excited!

"When life gives you green tomatoes, fry them!"


OK, no sage said that to my knowledge and it is loosely based on the life and lemons quote, but this is our predicament. Our tomatoes have quit ripening. We have lots of small green ones on the vines, but little red in sight.

DH was hungry for a tomato and I suggested that I fix them as fried green tomatoes.

Here's how I fixed them:

Fried Green Tomatoes

Wash and slice the tomatoes and soak in milk

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground pepper

Canola oil

I heated up the cast iron skillet and then added the oil. I dipped the milk soaked tomato slices into the flour/cornmeal mixture and cooked on both sides. DH and I do not like spicy stuff, so I'm sure you could add whatever else you wanted if you want them hot.

DH enjoyed them and felt he had his tomato quota.

One of our local grocery stores reopened as a County Market. As a result they had some great specials for "loyal" customers also received a postcard with 6 coupons..white bread for 49 cents, 12 double rolls of tp for $4.99, 4 bourbon marinated pork chops for $2, 4 lbs of sugar for $1.49, Cheerios for 99 cents. Wow, what a fun grocery trip. They also sent out their monthly coupon booklet and had other stuff on special like bananas for 39 cents.

Well, I feel a little like a hoarder because any of the items I could get 2 of, I did. I only used the store special coupons on stuff I normally would get, and I used regular coupons on some of the stuff too, so felt like I saved some money.

It was nice to feel "appreciated" with the extra savings.