Frugal Foodie

This is a snarky entry. I'm apologizing in advance.

One neighbor claims she's broke. She and hubby have full time jobs and she is selling make up on the side. I think she's taken off days from her regular job to attend functions out of state for this make up company. Their car broke down and she posted how she needs to sell things to pay for repairs.

Yet, the extravaganza is up and lit across the street. Christmas lights across the front the house as well as lit decorations and a blow up thing. She usually has three blowups in her yard.

Most of the stuff she's had, but for someone who is pleading poverty, the extra on her electric bill has to come from somewhere.

That, of course, isn't counting the decorations she's had on inside her house and showing through the windows since before Thanksgiving that are plugged in 24/7.

Am I being a humbug or being practical?

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with plenty to eat and people to love.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful; my brother and his wife joined us and we had a good meal and good fellowship. We are truly the dysfunctional family poster children. My brother is 19 years older than I am. We have the same mother, but different fathers. He was basically an adult when I came along so we didn't grow up together. When I was a little kid he and my mom got into some fight and they didn't talk to each other after that. Forty some years later my mom dies, I call him to tell him, and since then we have tried to work on building a relationship. I know that sound weird as adults, but my mom was the type of person if I had tried to be friendly to him while she was alive, she would have made my life absolutely miserable.

I did some baking yesterday. I tried a recipe I tore out of the paper a few months ago. It is a honey sweet bread and it was pretty good. Below is the recipe if you want to make it for yourself or for treats to give away for Christmas:

Honey loaf

3/4 cup coffee
3/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teapoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredients and whisk smooth.

Scrape batter into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake about 45 minutes. If the top is starting to brown too much, at this point, cover with foil and bake another 15 minutes. Cool 30 minutes in the pan, then tip out and cool completely on a wire rack.

I served it with some butter spread on it...yum!

Three days (not counting today) until Thanksgiving. We have a typical menu and rarely stray from it. DH and I enjoy what we have and why change it?

Hubby made our weekly trip to Aldi for our normal weekly stuff last Friday. He said it was crazy busy. Of course it was...people were buying for their holiday. He said he was glad he wasn't fighting for turkeys or ham. We had bought ours earlier and bought other stuff ahead of time before the big rush. For those things that aren't perishable, it is nice to buy them on sale and have them on hand instead of fighting crowds and searching for this and that?

Anyway, we have invited some family and a couple of friends and we look forward to their company. Which brings me to this next item. We haven't heard from this one couple for awhile. No emails, no phone calls. Suddenly they want to see us. One hates to always think there is a motive, but... Anyway, part way in the conversation there was a hint of they didn't know what they would do for Thanksgiving. The hint was brought up and then expanded actually. They have family, but really, they don't want to fix a meal. Part of me is sorry we didn't invite them. But, in reality, we don't have room. It isn't like they have no where else to go.

I mentioned to DH that a few years ago when my mom died, two different friends invited us to Thanksgiving because they didn't want us to be alone. Very kind and very thoughtful. These friends are not the ones who gave us this hint of wanting to join us. So, I'm just going to live with my guilt.

In other things, one of the local credit unions is offering a CD for 2% for 54 months. I don't want to tie up our money for that long for 2%, but I am hoping it means maybe interest rates are starting to go up a bit.

It is really cold here...well below the usual average. I'm happy to be home and warm...let's say I'm thankful!

Just got off the phone with a friend who is a retired teacher. She has been retired 28 years and we were discussing the pension system in Illinois and the changes in insurance.

She and her husband were savers when they were young and when they retired, they had investments that were decent. Her husband has since died and she has been careful with both her pension and her savings. We were talking about how the market in the years before she retired went up and down and although they didn't save vast amounts at one time, the compounding interest throughout the years certainly paid off.

A person we both worked with retired ten years ago. His pension is over double what she draws. And he put nothing aside all those years although he made far more money than she did because he wasn't always in the classroom.

Right now Illinois has some major pension problems. One of the things the legislators are looking at is possibly doing away with the cost of living raise. It isn't that pensioners wouldn't get one, but it wouldn't be compounded like it is now. This person is scared that they will no longer compound because he isn't sure how he can make it.

It is sad, isn't it? No, I'm not saying it is sad about his worry about the cola. It is sad that he never planned ahead to put anything away in case something came up. Although he draws a large pension, he cannot make ends meet and often gets a loan from his home equity to give him spending money.

I find that scary. Especially since this is someone who is educated. Yet he lives for the moment and buys expensive toys. He has made fun of me for being "cheap." He's usually making fun of me for something so it really doesn't bother me, but we figure he has quite a balancing act when it comes to paying bills. Yikes!

Educated yes, but lacking common sense. Wouldn't you agree?

This has been a busy and spendy weekend. The expenditures were planned so I'm not going to beat myself up over them, however. Suze Orman might disagree, though!

We went to concert and I had purchased the tickets last summer. Since it was in a town an hour away, we decided to make a day of it. We had received our Christmas Club check so we did some Christmas shopping, had a nice dinner out, and went to the concert. It was a fun time, although a late night. It made getting up for church a little difficult, but we did it.

Today was spent cleaning and fixing. DH raked leaves and cleaning gutters. I did some housework as well and then replaced our mailbox. Seems the neighbor kids liked playing with the door a few years ago and weakened it. It finally fell off on one side. We bought the new mailbox last week as well as new towel rack that would replace the other one that we had tried to fix with no success. I have that replaced and clean towels. I also put peeled and cored apples in a Crockpot to make apple juice and applesauce, so I think it was a productive day.

My comment about Suze Orman...we watch her most Saturday nights and usually agree with her, but we have noticed she seems to want people to do nothing anymore, except save money. Or maybe that is just what we are picking up on. We have savings and investments, and our house is paid off and we don't carry balances on our credit cards. But somehow, I think she would say not to buy Christmas gifts, but invest the money instead. If we were in debt, I would agree, but I guess I'm getting to be a rebel to some extent. We think if we have money in the bank, no debt, we should feel like we can splurge and go out to eat once in awhile, take in a concert, and buy gifts.

Watching certain shows just appall me at times.

I'm a sucker for those home improvement shows, especially when they are redoing the kitchen. Yet, people love to tear up cabinets, sinks, countertops, etc. Now, granted some of the cabinets are pretty bad, but many are just considered "out of date". I'm not saying they should keep them in the kitchen, but why not remove them and recycle them? Years ago when we bought new cabinets, the neighbor asked if they could have them for the garage. Our contractor was thrilled because he didn't have to figure out a way to dispose of them...so he left them in the driveway and the neighbors came and got them. When they have their garage door open, I get to "visit" my cabinets.

There's a new show on the Food Network with Robert Irvine about restaurant redos and they take a charter bus and run over tables, chairs, and such for the ad. Why are we such a destructive society?

I was contemplating the things I try not to throw out. A local food pantry asks for egg cartons because they get eggs in bulk and can then divide them up by the dozen so we save our egg cartons to donate.

A gal I know runs a small restaurant since they cannot sell food that was made that day at another day, they are always looking for plastic lidded containers. I save our cottage cheese, sour cream, and other plastic lidded containers for them. They take the leftovers home and don't have a lot of money invested in the containers. They also have chicken broth they give away from the chickens they cook for chicken salad so they use these plastic containers for the giveaways. She in turn saves the box tops and bread labels that our school saves.

Whenever we have clothes that are so stained we no longer wear or would donate, I cut off the buttons. I've been doing this for years and kept them in a fruit jar. I sold the jar of buttons at our booth for $4 last month. I keep one for us for odd buttons too so if we lose a button we hopefully won't have to purchase a new one.

On some of the cooking shows, they mix something up and have quite a bit left in the mixing bowl and just throw it out. How wasteful. My DH's aunt who grew up in the Depression couldn't get over this wastefulness.

Unfortunately society in general has become fairly wasteful. So much of everything is disposable. My brother said they just bought a new appliance and were talking about how appliances don't last. My mil had a chest freezer that was over 30 years old and still working...it was disposed of because the bottom rusted out since it was in the garage and ... well, the moisture rusted it out. But, imagine, an appliance lasting 30 years? I realize it was an energy hog, but still...30 years??????

A few years ago I happened upon some overripe bananas and I pulled some kids from a class and asked if they wanted to bake with me. They were grossed out about the bananas...I told them they were far sweeter than ripe ones. We made the bread, talked about using up what we have, and when it was baked, they certainly enjoyed it.

I'm sure there are many ways to not waste things...what are some things that come to mind?

The last couple of weeks are sort of in my memory, but...

Between attending a day workshop, working on paperwork for my job, doing lessons for classes, and then having to deal with an illness, I can say the past couple of weeks are a blur.

I am feeling better, but I seem to have taken a couple of steps backwards. But, I think with some rest this weekend, I'll be OK.

One of the ladies I work with put an offer in on a house. She said the people counter offered because they didn't want to owe money at closing. She was kind of confused. I told her it sounded like they were either underwater with their offer or they had used the house for home equity loans. She looked at me like I was an alien at first. I explained we have a friend who will never get his home paid for...every year he needs spending money so he takes out a home equity loan. She said it was crazy and I would concur, but that is what he does.

DH went to Aldi today and we went to the other grocery tonight. The store was having some incentive that if you spent $300 over a set amount of months, you get $10 off the next time you shop there. I wasn't spending money for that, but I guess I finall hit the mark because I have the coupon for the $10. Not a bad deal overall, if one isn't spending money on stuff they don't need.

If you are in the Midwest, don't forget to "fall back" tomorrow night.

Or so they say. By they, I mean the weather forecasters. It is inevitable, since today is halfway through October in the Midwest.

I had been drying herbs here and there to keep some available for the winter. DH decided we needed more so he brought in a bunch today and I spent a big share of the afternoon drying them and putting them in jars. I have more sage than I can probably use, but I was thinking of making gift baskets with biscuit mix in them for Christmas, so maybe I can add some sage in a small bag to use if they wish.

He picked all the bell peppers we still had, pulled all the carrots and onions, and picked all the ripe tomatoes. My kitchen looks similar to a root cellar. Which is OK.

Tomorrow while I'm at work, he's going to pick the green tomates and wrap them in newspaper so hopefully we will continue to have some ripening after the freeze.

The past couple of weeks have been very busy with work. Plus, I broke a tooth and had to spring for a crown. I have a temporary crown until the permanent one is made. That was an unexpected $821! However, the dentist did point out, it might have been a blessing of sorts...my tooth was also cracked right where there was a root and it hadn't broken off, but he said seeing where it was, if it had, I probably would have had to have a root canal, so maybe this saved me money in the long run. At least I wasn't in any pain other than the financial one.

I have a relative who asks to eat out with them at the spur of the moment. We usually turn this person down. Like many of you, I plan my meals for the week. Often I have taken meat out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge and I don't want to put it back in the freezer or waste it. He complains how they are having money problems, yet they eat out every day. Hmmm...wonder if there is connection there? Anyway, I have repeatedly told him we eat most of our meals at home. I don't mean to be rude or thoughtless, but I hate the thought of wasting food.

I did score a lovely suit at a thrift shop a couple of weeks ago. I had to hem the slacks and then had it dry cleaned since there was a stain on the slack and it was dry clean only. I normally do not buy dry clean stuff, but it was well made, and lined and I will wear a blouse under the jacket. It is for cold weather. So, with the cost of dry cleaning and the original purchase, I have a nice suit for $23.50.

DH brought in some cherry tomatoes...guess I better get busy making tomato sauce!

It's true, I have a love affair with Mason.

Mason jars that is!

I find these jars the handiest things. Yesterday I had the opportunity to make 2 quarts of tomato sauce. What handy creatures those jars are for storage.

I use them to make tea and store in the fridge. When I make apple juice and apple sauce, they serve me well.

I have one where I throw extra buttons to keep them so when I need a button, I can find them.

I do have Mason jar envy, though. We visited a friend Saturday and she has been canning up a storm. She has over 40 quarts of green beans and over 40 quarts of tomatoes. There's a jewel like quality of seeing all those vegetables in those shiny glass jars!

On Pinterest there are always great ideas for decorating with Mason jars.

When I was growing up, the mayonnaise jars were glass and my mom used them for canning. She thought she had hit big time when she went to a rummage sale and bought a case of "real Mason jars." I wonder if that is where my esteem for them started.

So, DH isn't jealous of my crush on Mason jars. He says he reaps the benefits of my using them. Plus, it saves us money by using and reusing.

So, the love affair continues!

There's an article about paying with cash costing Americans money.

Not the surface kind of answer, but the fact people are paying fees to pay with cash. I can't figure out if the gist of the article is to go cashless or just reporting. I don't trust media anymore because gone are the days when they just reported the facts...so many stories are so biased.

Here is the URL:

http://www.today.com/money/paying-cash-costs-americans-200-billion-year-8C11363366

This has been a nice weekend, but I have spent money. We walked around our downtown area yesterday. We have lots of small locally owned shops. I like the idea of supporting local small businesses. One place had 20% off things and I did buy quite a few things, but they were things I would have purchased anyway. Two things were presents so saving the 20% was nice. We also went to a local wine store. We aren't wine drinkers, but we were looking around for a nice bottle to give as a present and found one, I think, this person will like. We made our way to the grocery store and came home so I could begin supper.

Today we hit a flea market and an antique mall. We didn't spend much, but we had a nice time looking. We came home to get to work.

DH picked cherry tomatoes. I dried parsley and put it in a jar for this winter. After DH brought in the tomatoes, I washed them and went out and picked some of the onions we have left, some basil, and DH picked a bell pepper. I made two quarts of tomato sauce...that is a lot of cherry tomatoes for that much sauce!

We had sloppy chicks for supper (sloppy joes made with ground chicken) and I used half of a quart of sauce. The leftovers will be lunches for this week. But, I will now have 11 quarts of tomato sauce in the freezer. Not bad for those little tomatoes!

Today was "Take Out Thursday" at our house.

I'm not talking about buying take out by any means, but taking stuff out of the fridge and using it.

Supper tonight was a pork stew. The pork was leftover from last night. I had roasted some yellow squash with onions a few days ago, and I took some leftover fresh vegetables (carrot, onion, mushrooms, celery, and zucchini) out of the fridge, saute'd them, and used the chicken broth I had made earlier in the week from leftover chicken parts. As it simmered last night, I also added a pint of my homemade tomato sauce I had made earlier in the week as well. DH said it was very good and bet I could sell it if need be. I don't know about that. To go with the stew we had crackers taken out of the pantry and sliced tomatoes taken out of garden and we finished up the fruit salad taken out of the fridge. There was even enough to DH to have a hearty lunch tomorrow. Not bad with bits of this and some leftovers.

I did try a new recipe this week for chicken casserole. It was pretty easy and DH liked it.

Chicken casserole

1 cup of cooked chicken, cut up
2 eggs
2 cups of dressing (or stuffing)
1 tablespoon of fresh sage
1/2 cup of milk or half and half
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons of butter

Whip eggs, milk, and sour cream together. Put dressing in a greased baking dish. Add chicken and mix with the egg mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes (covered). Take out of oven and put butter on top. Serve. It was pretty tasty and I think there could have been different things added to it to give it different flavors. It was easy and quick. I actually used raw chicken and baked for an hour and it was great.

There's something about fall smells and kitchen aromas!

Yesterday I made applesauce in the Crockpot. Today, I am baking pumpkin bread. Although we are still a little warm temperature wise, I'm ready for fall and I noticed I had a can of pumpkin and thought, "Why not?"

So I found this recipe for pumpkin bread:


Pumpkin bread

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 inch loaf pans.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This recipe came from "My baking addiction" .com and I can tell you, it smells wonderful!

It has been a tough and tiring week. School seems to have so many pressures and deadlines. I have made it through these four days and pleased I did not cave in and decide not to fix supper and eat out. I will admit, the thought crossed my mind a couple of times.

Monday we had vegetable soup -- I made a lot and froze 2 quarts so in case we have another surprise meeting like the previous week, I won't be caught without a meal. Tuesday we had chicken stir fry. Wednesday was pork tenderloin roast, and tonight was clean out the fridge fritatta. I seem to make that most weeks, but it is different every week depending on what leftover vegetables and meat I have. DH likes eggs so he's happy as a clam (however happy clams are) when we have it.

Now onto a rant...is it just me or has society just lost all class? I'm tired of seeing people dress in what I consider inappropriate attire. I remember growing up thinking it would be horrible if someone saw my bra strap sticking out of a blouse or dress. I know it isn't the end of the world, but I am seeing more and more women dressing in tops that show their straps. Maybe I should just be happy they are wearing the undergarment.

One gal I work with was wearing such a sheer garment, there really wasn't any surprise as to what her foundation garments looked like or her skin. We were in a meeting in air conditioning that day, so heat wasn't an excuse.

I was really hoping when the media said Princess Kate was bringing back hose under dresses that it would be true. I'm not talking sundresses or casual wear, but nice dresses in regular weather, not the hot as Hades stuff. I still wear hose and slip when I wear a dress. Guess I'm an old prude. I like the finished look of the hose on legs. And it seems so many women are wearing such short dresses when they sit down, one sees far more than one cares to. I'm not talking about little girls or teenagers. I am seeing this in a professional setting. I know varicose veins are a health issue, but I don't really need to see these in one's upper thighs.

Maybe I'm just in a foul mood from being tired.

It has been a busy week. Last Sunday I felt I had things planned and under control and then on Monday morning I learned I was to attend a meeting after school.

It really angered me. The meeting had been planned the week before and the folks in charge did not bother to tell me.

Which means I not only had to attend a stressful meeting I wasn't counting on, I also did not have something ready for supper. I plan my meals and this was a week I didn't need to put stuff in the Crockpot.

So, we wound up eating out and I resented every bite. We could afford it, but it was an unexpected expense. But, I've moved on.

My goal this year is to try and save half of my take home pay from September to May. Unexpected things like this drive me crazy. Oh, well.

I had a chance to make chicken broth this week with some leftover chicken pieces so I made over a quarter and a half.

DH picked a bunch of cherry tomatoes and I made 3 quarts of tomato sauce with them. That is a lot of cherry tomatoes! I freeze it so that makes 7 quarts so far. Not a huge amount, but we only have a couple of cherry tomato plants; DH's garden space is small.

I have a meeting tomorrow after school so the Crockpot will be coming out...glad the temperatures have cooled off...we eat soup even when it is hot, but it seems more seasonable when the weather is a little cooler.

Sometimes my title writing is a bit lame. Sorry about that.

This afternoon was gathering herbs and drying them. I found an article a couple of years ago on drying herbs in the microwave. We enjoy the herbs during the summer and I try to dry some for the winter. I like the fact I know what is going into my containers and it certainly saves me money.

Today was the day for the chocolate tea.

I wasn't sure what to expect. We could have iced tea, flavored iced tea, coffee, hot tea, or water.

We were served 7 different bite size morself of dessert type items made with chocolate, both milk and white.

Yum!

We did spend $10 each for it, but we felt it was worth every penny. I haven't been making any kind of sweet desserts so it was a treat.

We pushed supper back a bit and we had leftover vegetable soup. I had made a big pot in the Crockpot the other night and what we had left over, I froze. I thawed it, heated it and served it with crackers and it hit the spot.

I enjoyed the chocolate and the tea and it truly was a pleasure...sometimes we have to spend a little money for something fun.

Now it is back to real life.

No wicked stepmother here, of course, but after work I have been cleaning and washing, and doing laundry. Made me think of Cinderella!

The last few days have been crazy at work and by the time I get home I have been very tired. The schools buildings were extremely hot the first four days of this week and I write gleefully they cooled off today so it was bearable. Staff and students alike were grumpy most of the week because of their misery

DH went to Aldi today and we went to the other store for the few items he couldn't get. Between coupons and such, we spend less than $100 at both places, probably even less than $85 if I truly figured it. I have some ideas for menus for the weekend and next week. Nothing extraordinary, but we are fed and it is usually healthy. I think my menus are getting a little predictable so I need to change things up a bit.

Back to being Cindy...Instead of a ball, we are going to a chocolate tea tomorrow afternoon at a tea room. So, I don't think I need glass slippers and a fancy gown.

And fortunately, the carriage won't be turning into a pumpkin!

Well, we have three months of having the booth under our belts.

I finished doing the paperwork today to see how we did.

One thing I learned is people around here do not buy deviled egg dishes. I sold the ones I had for what we had in them to a kind lady who was going to give them to a friend to replace the ones he lost due to divorce. I feel fortunate I didn't lose money.

Another thing I learned is to look at what everyone else has in their booths and not buy the same stuff. If it isn't selling in their booths, chances are it isn't going to sell in ours. So, we usually do a sweep every month to see what everyone has and look for different items.

In an earlier post I told my husband that we have to buy things that we ourselves might not like, but because someone else might collect it. It is difficult to do this because we usually gravitate to those items we ourselves like, but I have some things in our booth that I personally would not want. But we all have different likes.

In a previous post someone suggested to buy in such a way you can mark the price up to three times the amount. Sage advice, I might add.

I have been listening to what my friends say they buy and look for those items. One friend likes snowmen so when I find them reasonable, I pick them up and am storing most of them for more seasonable shopping, although I have a couple of things out. Another friend likes bird items and she has been a very faithful customer.

I think another thing I've learned is I have to do what I call, "hustle." I post photos on Facebook each week of stuff. I email people when I have items I think they might like. I move items around in the booth and exchange things out every few weeks so it looks different. We have seen booths that have looked the same for months. I wonder how they even make booth rent.

Our booth is small. I have it pretty packed. In all honesty, it has been fun.

So, I'm pleased to report that for the first month we broke even. The second month we made about $24. And last month we made about $36 after paying expenses.

We are using the profits to buy more items, but I think the education has been a benefit as well. I have no desire to go into business for myself, but it has been enjoyable.

Rumor has it we are to get a cold front and the oppressive heat here in the Midwest may have a break. This week was horrendous with the heat and humidity. I think yesterday was the worse and it seemed to even hurt to breathe.

DH harvested some of his carrots and we had them as part of our supper. I cleaned them, boiled them in water until soft, then drained and coated with butter and honey. Yum! It was less than two hours from soil to table.

We had meatloaf last night as well. I baked it in a toaster oven which kept the kitchen from heating up. I made a bigger loaf so we have some for sandwiches this week.

We don't have big plans for Labor Day other than appreciating the day off and the fact DH had a good job before he retired and I have a good job. What are your Labor Day plans?

Today was a strange day. I had a meeting and not to bore you, let's just say I felt like I was ganged up on by some of the folks who are my peers because I do things differently than they. Basically, it was I needed to do things in the same manner. And in my humble opinion, I'm not sure they are doing accomplishing a whole lot. My boss did validate me and told me to keep doing what I was doing. As I sat in the meeting drinking my coffee from home, I noticed all those who brought stuff from fast food places. After our meeting, some were going to stop and buy lunch. Hmmm. These are the same folks who complain they don't have money before the next payday.

Supper was basically cleaning out the fridge frittata. I had leftover sausage patties, some leftover goat cheese, a lone small zucchini, part of a bell pepper, and a small onion. I sauted all (but the cheese) this together, then beat 4 eggs with a cup of Half and Half, cooked the egg and milk mixture with the vegetables, and then added the goat cheese and put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes. DH made toast, we had sliced tomatoes and called it a meal. DH loves eggs and I love using up stuff, so we were both happy.

A friend of mine at work said she was going home to water her plants and fix dinner. She commented she was very happy to be doing that and queried whether this was strange because she had no desire to do anything like shop or go out. I told her I thought it showed a person who found satisfaction in her life. What do you think?

It's pretty darn hot here in the Midwest. And cooking isn't something I want to do a lot of, not to mention eating big meals.

But, I don't want to go out every night or eat cold cuts.

Ah, the quandry. We had pork roast the other night. Not a huge amount left, but I absolutely hate wasting good food.

So, supper tonight was onion, bell pepper, mushrooms sauted with the pork that was cut into small chunks, made a sauce with a little butter and flour and broth, and put it on bowtie pasta. Since neither of us were super hungry, there is enough for two lunches.

DH planted tomatoes and he kept telling me he didn't understand why this one plant had huge tomatoes, but they never seemed to ripen. Seems they are some other type of tomato...kind of yellowish with red streaks. We studied them and said I thought they were a different kind so we picked them, washed, them and sliced them. Inside they have a splash of red in the middle with the yellow outside. They tasted just like a red tomato. What a nice surprise!

Hope if you are in the hot temps you are staying cool!

I have not had a chance to post the past couple of weeks. School started and between school hours and trying to get things done in the evening for school, and errands and cleaning on the weekends, I haven't had the opportunity.

This is not a gripe or rant. Just had something happen locally and reminded me of my priorities.

Saturday a local well known and loved pastor was killed in an accident. He was on his motorcycle and the other vehicle was a car.

It certainly is reminded me of what is truly important. Give your loved ones an extra hug tonight!

The weather has been so good for DH's garden! We have been so fortunate to have lots of cherry tomatoes and a few larger tomatoes, and so far, two bell peppers! We have had green onions and earlier we had lettuce and radishes. Plus, we have herbs! I've been using lots of herbs in breads, and in cooking. Tonight, we are having rosemary potatoes. I baked a pan of focciatta bread yesterday using basil, rosemary, and oregano.

DH has a small space so the garden is kind of limited, but we feel so blessed in having as much as we have.

I asked DH if we could grow peppermint because I like trying different teas. He has and I've been brewing peppermint tea with a green tea bag. I have been doing this in Mason jars and then putting them in the fridge for a refreshing iced tea. The other day I took a jar with me to a workshop so I could enjoy it after lunch. The kidding I got...sheesh! One person said it looked like urine and another asked if I was drinking moonshine. I gave each of them a taste in a paper cup and they immediately were amazed that someone could brew tea like that with homegrown peppermint. We have become a society far removed from homegrown it seems.

A friend has shared green beans and we have had quite a few meals from the "mess" she shared. Another friend gave us squash and zucchini that someone gave her since her husband refuses to order. I immediately made roasted squash one night. Tonight we are having roasted zucchini with onions and bell pepper. It sure smells good!

Other than some chicken and a few potatoes, most of supper was from the garden, either ours or someone else's. Yum!

There was a story on the news the other day that people using Facebook may often find dissatisfaction with their lives.

Basically, the story said people see photos of others having fun, feel like they are missing out on life, and depression comes about.

I think there's a lot of truth to that. Maybe not full blown depression, but people feel like they aren't getting enough of what everyone else is getting.

I'm not saying people need to stop posting their vacation photos and family celebrations, but we need to stop and remember that a photograph is usually taken for one of two reasons. One is to help us remember something and two, to show someone else what we did. It is a snapshot in time.

I've been to some cool places and I've guilty of those vacation shots. But, my life isn't one big vacation, that's for sure.

But, I think human nature makes us feel like we are missing out on stuff.

One of my Facebook folks is constantly posting photos of her dream homes. Over and over, she makes comments about how she wishes she had this and that. The realistic side of me wants to say, "Get away from the computer and make your house more of what you like."

I guess that would be cruel, eh?

Last night had a couple for to join us for supper. It was a simple meal. The best part of it was the fellowship. I didn't have super fancy dishes or wine glasses and no flowers or big candlelabras. But I think we all had a nice time visiting.

And I realize how very blessed I am.

We've been busy the past week or so. Between doing major deep house cleaning, and running errands, it seems like life has been a whirlwind. School begins here August 12 for teachers, but I have a day of training next week, then a full week of training the following week, so I'm rushing to get everything finished. I'm also trying to think of the meals I need to be planning once I'm back at work.

We visited DH's uncle who is 93 yesterday. It is a two hour trip there and two hours back. We had a nice visit. He does well and still lives at home. Normally I take food to put in the freezer that he can heat up, but DH had procrastinated so much about when he was going to call, when he finally did call because my "free time" is running out, I didn't have anything prepared. I think it was OK because I think he just liked having the visit.

We hit two grocery stores today as well as some garage sales. As for the garage sales, there really wasn't much out there we couldn't live without. Some folks had just junk and others had a few nice things with equally nice prices. People walked in, looked around, and left without buying anything. I'm not sure how they made enough to even cover their ad. I wonder if they even thought about that.

We checked on our booth today and took some items to add to it. We took a couple of things that have been there for a long time and haven't sold, and moved things around. The lady at the checkout desk said we've sold more things than anyone else so far this month. I know we didn't make a huge profit because most of the things in the booth are pretty reasonably priced...we don't have a huge mark up. Our economy is pretty flat so folks don't have a lot to spend. But, last month we made booth rent and broke even on other expenses so I didn't think that was too bad for the first month.

We don't have major plans for the weekend. We have a couple of errands to run tomorrow and we are having friends for supper which should be a lot of fun. It is far more relaxing to enjoy meals at each other's houses then it is to go out and overspend and feel rushed.

Last night was Take Out Thursday. It was take leftovers out of the fridge type of supper. We had two kinds of meat: pork tenderloin roast and chicken breast, mashed potatoes and chicken gravy, zucchini casserole, and leftover homemade bread. I added some sliced cherry tomatoes from DH's garden and some cottage cheese. As hot as it is here, the last thing I wanted to do is heat up the kitchen and eating these leftovers is good for our budget as well as not wasting food.

For many of you on SA, you've had some very hot days. Well, Central Illinois is now having the heat and humidity! Can't say I'm thrilled, but it is summer in the midwest! DH mowed on Saturday when it was still in the 80s which helped.

The painter continues to work on our bathroom. He had to let things dry. So far we are pleased with what he has accomplished. If all goes well, he should finish today.

I put the ingredients to make oatmeal herb bread today. It is rising so I can bake it off. I have had homemade bread every week this summer. DH loves it and I can make it with more whole grains. Figure it helps with nutrition as well as the pocketbook.

I'm still working on reworking leftovers so we eat about everything. One of my friends put on Facebook that she refuses to go to the grocery store this week so they will eat up what is in the pantry and freezer. Hey, maybe this frugality is catching on!

We hired a painter.

I absolutely cringe typing this, but we did.

I don't mind painting, but this was a job for a pro.

DH uses the hall bathroom and loves hot showers. I told him he should not shut the door and not run the fan while showering, but he did. The steam from the shower was so intense that it blistered the paint and damaged the drywall as well as the ceiling. This didn't happen overnight, but after many, many showers.

There was also an area near the tub where water splashed on the wall and there was a large spot where it totally destroyed the drywall.

Hence, lots of repairs.

So, we hired a pro for the repairs and the painting.

He is working with DH on trying to figure out a solution for the water coming from the shower so we don't have another issue. I jokingly suggested we just hose off DH in the driveway. :-)

He fixed the spots and scraped the ceiling. It is taking a day to dry before he primes and paints, but what he has done looks great.

DH is not handy and he hates painting.

So, I figure fixing this bathroom is an investment to our home.

We have the money so that isn't the issue; I think I just hate spending money!

I created a recipe using what we had. Our sage is going gangbusters! DH gave it his seal of approval.




Sage roasted potatoes

3-4 potatoes scrubbed, peeled, dried, and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons of fresh sage, chopped
2 scallions, chopped, both white and green
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of paprika
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
9 x 14 glass baking dish
Foil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Scrub potatoes and dry. Peel and slice thinly. Put in baking dish. Chop scallions and sage, put on potatoes. Sprinkle turmeric and paprika and then drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil. Bake for an hour.

I haven't blogged much in the past week simply because I haven't had too much to say. We have worked on some chores around here and Friday and Saturday we hit some garage sales. I've cooked most meals and stretched things, but none of the recipes are anything new or exciting so nothing to share there. I made foccaicia bread last week, except I made it in glass baking dish and instead of putting the herbs on top, I mixed them in with the dough mixture. DH loved it and asked if I would make it again for this week. I think we ate it with 4 or 5 meals and since I subsituted some of the white flour with wheat, I think it was a little healthier.

July 4th has come and gone and I'm tired of the neighborhood fire crackers that have been going on for the past week. I didn't sleep well either the 3rd or the 4th because some one or ones were shooting them off late, and when I say late, I'm not talking 9 p.m. Some were still going off after midnight. This has continued for the past 3 nights.

I have decided that some of the folks that bought the most firecrackers and fireworks are probably ones who could least afford them.

In that vein, doesn't it seem like the people who can least afford it are the ones who have a zillion pets?

Doesn't it seem like the folks who can least afford it are the ones using their credit cards for rewards, bragging about what they earned, yet not paying the silly things off?

I know there are people out there who bought fireworks and are not hurting for money. Or who have pets and take good care of them without hurting their budget. I use a credit card. I buy certain things with it like groceries. I don't really use it for the rewards, although I get a paltry cash back. I use it because it is far easier at the grocery store to use the credit card than to write a check. I also use my credit card if we are buying a big ticket item in case I need some recourse. But, I pay that puppy off every month as well.

Maybe I'm just crabby from lack of sleep, but I'm a little tired of people complaining they don't have money and then buying many of these items or using their credit card.