euphrasyne

I never go shopping on black Friday. My dislike of people much outweighs my love of stuff. I am all over cyber Monday though. I broke down and bought myself a silhouette cameo 4 for Christmas this year. From dh and kids of course.

I looked through the Super Easy Pantry recipes. It had a lot of things I already make in it and was absolutely perfect companion for shelf-stable cooking. Highly recommend. Very well laid out and easy to follow.

My husband's grandmother was born on and died on Valentines Day a few years back. It does tend to take away any good mood. ::hugs to everyone::

DD19 was born in 2003 almost 8 weeks early at 3lb 11oz. There was a big concern about RSV and SARS at the time so she fell into the high risk category. We had to get 3 shots every few weeks as a precaution and were told not to take her anywhere around people. I'm not sure if they still do that vaccine for the vulnerable population or not. Most people are ok, but it does cause the shortness of breath issues Becca-Anne mentioned and agree with her advice.

I've used Z Quil and the off brand. It works, buy not as well as just taking NyQuil (without being sick.) Seriously if you are desperate for just 1 night sleep -- Nyquil.

I have been known to pass my destination, go up the next street, and make turns until I can get to where I'm going without going through a traffic circle.

I made the double layer pumpkin pie, but I made some modifications because I'm me. I wanted a pie crust, a bigger cream cheese layer, a stronger pumpkin flavor and more spices. Here is what I did: Deep Dish Double layer pumpkin pie Layer 1: Piecrust prebaked and cooled 8oz cream cheese 8oz mascarpone 2 T milk (from powder) 1/4c sugar 1 c rainy day whip topping mix mixed with 1c ice water chilled for a few hours (use half in layer 1) Mix all and layer in prebaked piecrust in a deep 9x9 pan. Layer 2: 1 pack butterscotch pudding 1/2 c milk 1 15oz can pumpkin Pumpkin pie spice, cloves, and cardamon to taste Mix all and spread over layer 1. Chill. Top with remainder of whip topping and serve. Changes I would do next time is to make it 5 layers by doing 1.2.1.2.topping. Also I'd leave out the crust entirely and add some shortbread cookies or nilla wafers like a banana pudding. It was really good! The River stole food off my plate as expected, and otherwise it was a good meal.

Its not much difference than the 664/64 interchange here. I don't have a pic from the 664 right by my neighborhood, but here is one from 464 a few miles away.

Any way you would can chicken, you can do the same with turkey. Suggestions from my old Southern Living Canning and Preserving cookbook: copyright 1972. Let me know if you want any of the recipes: Chicken a la king chicken with dumplings chicken spread for sandwiches roast turkey Also, if you can chicken soup, turkey soup can be made in the same manner exactly.

The Ecuador thread has me a bit nostalgic, so the toddler and I are watching a travel/exploration show about lost cities on National Geographic. I'm working up some menus and recipes for the week and have perfected the maple Dijon sauce to be equal amounts of maple and Dijon with garlic, salt, and pepper. Not DH's favorite, but the teen and I LOVE it. I divided the sheet pan into 2 equal pans and put the maple dijon on one sheet and did fajita seasoning on the other. It had a lot of veggies and chicken jalapeno sausages cut up. That worked out very well and everyone was happy. I have decided on a turkey pattern this year of celery, onion, garlic inside and butter, cajun seasonings, and mango chutney on the outside/ injected. My turkey's are never 'pretty', but they are always fall off the bone tender --and since we would rather eat it than look at it....that is ok. I'm starting to swing into Christmas mode, so cleaning, cookie baking, and craft making. I'm digging up things for the 2 year old to work on. She is barely 2, so skills are still in the heavily supervised /help stage and more about getting messy and giggling. I'm feeling a bit of mental overload with everything, so I am trying to carve out some peaceful downtime just for me to process and create in the evenings. Dh is very supportive.

We are not super fond of turkey, but at .68 lb and a free one from BJs I can't not make it. We much prefer ham and I have one in the freezer, but it is currently around $2 or more per pound which I'm not doing right now. Since we are few this year and I don't want a giant sea of food going bad, I'm doing sort of a thanksgiving week. Tonight I'm doing sausage, peppers, onions, brussels sprouts, carrots, mushrooms and apples on a sheet pan roasted. Side dish is sweet potato casserole with a praline topping. The leftover veggies from tonight will go into tomorrows dish of stuffing, turkey, gravy, and peas. Then the big lunch on Thursday will use leftover turkey, with the sides requested at the top of my post. Friday will be BBQ turkey, corn, baked beans. DD14 is having her twin friends over on Saturday so we are doing turkey soft tacos with leftover corn and refried beans. Sunday will be turkey soup. I figure we will be super sick of turkey after that so perhaps Butter Chicken turkey on Monday and rest in the freezer.

I have all of that on hand--I'm absolutely making that for thanksgiving. I'm going to halve the recipe though and use a baked piecrust.

I am so envious of al the wood stoves. I even gave DH puppy dog eyes and told him how much I want one. LOL. You can preheat a cast iron pan on the stove, set the lid on the stove to preheat also. Then put in your biscuits with the lid on and it will cook without flipping.

I am super jealous of that stove. Everything looks amazing! The jelly jar water glasses are a great idea that I may have to steal. Also I'd love your pumpkin pie recipe if you are willing to share.

My step dad works in a casino and my brother manages a Mazzios pizza shop down in MS. They always do holidays the day after or at least never on the day of. It is interesting what you get used to.

I've done lots with both work and church, but none recently. Delicate cookies never travel well. Someone(s) will always make delicate cookies. Be gracious and don't mention it. Bring a box of quart sized zip lock bags. Bring 2. Just in case. Tell everyone to bring a large giftbox (or basket or whatever) (flat giftboxes do great) to put it all in for them to take home or get some yourself. Decide upfront on how many cookies per person. 2.5dz is 30 so that is barely 1.5 per person on a 20 person list. You may probably need more cookies for that amount of people. Usually you want at least 1/2 dz per person or 2 at the least. So 2*20=40 or 3.25 dz per person. You may have some people making the same type of cookie and that would cut back on how many you need. When we did the huge ones, we would just group all the chocolate chip, all the sugar, etc. and people would pull out of that to cut back on having to make too many. Of course everyone doesn't get everything, but that is usually how it goes with larger swaps. I'd advise on 4-6dz per person for this size group. Of course you may just want each lady to have 1 cookie and that is ok if you do. Even if 6 people bring chocolate chip, none of them will taste the same. They never do. That sounds like a lot of fun! Enjoy your evening.

We are small but thankful this year: 2 adults, 1 Teen, and a toddler. There are budget and health constraints that are new as well as some availability concerns. This is our rough plan: Teen loves to dress up the table, so there will be a few craft projects done this weekend/ next week to help with that. We will use my 70s brown dishes and green wine glasses as she loves that. We will pull out the thankful box--it is a small box with notecards in it where everyone grabs a random one and writes something they are thankful for. I started this back around 2000, so it has over 20 years of stories. Each card has random people and years unsigned. Just statements or lists of thankfulness. I am considering stopping the randomness and doing one card per year passed around going forward. I cannot decide. Menu: We ALWAYS eat Thanksgiving for lunch at 12:00 for every year of my entire life. This isn't going to change. Cheeseball (not sure what type yet) Turkey --going to make a day ahead for dinner and remove the breast (cooked) to do something with for Thanksgiving day. Gravy (Divine Onion Sauce) Mashed Potatoes (requested by husband) Macaroni (requested by teen) Green Beans (collard style not casserole--requested by me) Cranberry Sauce--basic can jellied for baby Homemade rolls (type undecided thinking of pumpkin shape though) Pie (apple or pumpkin not sure) Apple Juice and Sweet Tea. After Lunch is made, eaten, and put away, we rest. Later that afternoon, we put away all the fall decor and dig out the Christmas boxes and put up winter decor such as the tree, various displays, wreaths, etc. Then I start wrapping presents (yes I already have some stashed.) We always have microwaved leftovers for dinner. This has been a tradition for my entire adult life and I like it. What are some other menus or traditions that may be fun to learn about or add to ours? What brings you gratitude and joy?

I've done cobbler, syrup, ingredient in smoothies, and you can add sugar and or sure jell and cook a bit longer and it will set up. Can also use with cornstarch to make a pie.

The key to keeping starter is to use it. If you go more than 5 days without using it, measure out a cup like you normally would and toss it. Then do the normal maintenance to it to keep going. It can also be dehydrated and frozen indefinitely.

MMMMM coconut pie. I'm jealous. The humidity here is horrid for making meringues. Divinity rarely turns out either. :/

The opener I had was a bit textured and I'd bought it somewhere. The one the OT gave me came off a huge roll of rubber and it sticks to itself and collects pet hair badly. It sticks to everything and just opens them beautifully --so much better than the normal grippy mats I used to buy. I wish I had known they made them like the one OT gave me sooner. If it is a disposable lid, I use the handle of a butter knife to bang around the edges to break the seal before I use the grippy thing.

My occupational therapist cut me off a large piece of rubber to open things with. It looks something like this one from amazon and it is amazing. I can open things again. I'm still having a hard time using my right hand and I'm learning to do things in new ways. Amazon.com: Chuangdi 8 Pieces Rubber Jar Gripper Pads Round Kitchen Coasters Multi-Purpose Bottle Lid Openers, Multicoloured: Home & Kitchen

Cornstarch will help with weeping or humidity issues. The sugar absorbs so much liquid and the cornstarch will help prevent that. Making the sugar syrup also helps the sugar to dissolve properly. That would probably make a nice soft meringue and be very tasty. I usually make crispy meringues for myself because that is what I like. I generally use the recipe from my General Foods Cookbook copyright 1932. "Successful meringue are fluffy, tender, and fine-textured. They do not separate from the pie filling, become watery, or shrink. For a 9 inch pie, allow 4 Tablespoons sugar to 2 egg whites. Beat egg whites until foamy throughout. Add sugar, 2 Tablespoons at a time , and beat after each addition until the sugar is thoroughly blended. When all sugar is added, continue beating until the mixture will stand in peaks. Pile lightly on filled pie and bake in a moderate oven (350F) 15 minutes. The foamy stage to which the whites are beaten, the thorough beating, and the moderate temperature are essential to a successful meringue." The other recipe I use most often doesn't get baked (I always disclose that this may have semi-raw eggs and raw eggs may not be considered safe.) 2 egg whites, 1/2 c sugar 2 T water few drops vanilla Make eggs, sugar and water. Put on a double boiler over boiling water and beat 1 minute. Remove from heat, beat 2 minutes. Add flavoring and spread over fruit pie. Sprinkle coconut if desired.

Yesterday, we picnicked at Sleepy Hole park. Pastrami on brown bread with sauerkraut for me and lettuce for the others. Pasta salad, lettuce salad, apple slices, and Oreos for the kids. 2 big thermoses of sweet tea for everyone. River had fun sliding, climbing, and swinging. My knee was acting up so we did not do the nature walk we had planned. We stopped at a shop in Suffolk on the way home and DH found some stuff he uses for less than what he usually orders it for so that was a win. I went to bed early because I wasn't feeling well, and DD14 still made stir-fry for everyone still awake. I'm blessed with that child. The weather hasn't turned yet, so we actually had to cut the AC on for a bit yesterday because it was so hot. Today, I plan to open the windows and air out the house a bit. My big plans for the day are to clean: dishes, laundry, bathrooms. I also need to decide what to make with the pound of hamburger I thawed out for tonight. Hamburgers, tacos, or poor man's steak are the top contenders at the moment.

We got a rotisserie chicken yesterday for $4.99 I cannot get raw chicken for that much so it was a good deal. We pulled it apart and got about 6-8 cups of chicken out of it plus bones and skin. 3 Dinners: Day 1: chicken enchiladas. dehydrated onions, shredded chicken, cream cheese, cheddar, green chilis, green enchilada sauce. Mix, stuff tortillas, cover in sauce and cheese and bake. 425F 30m. roasted cabbage: cut into steaks. butter both sides and sprinkle generous fajita seasoning and garlic. 425 1H. flip half way through. (so good! sometimes I eat leftovers of just this for lunch) 450F 40m if it is the only thing in the oven. Even DD14 eats a big helping of cabbage if I cook it this way. Spanish rice & refried beans. Day 2: Chicken salad on croissants. I haven't decided on a side yet. Probably salad, chips, or potato salad. Trying a new recipe made with chicken, green onion, pecans, and dried cranberries. Dressing was mayo, sour cream, honey, dijon mustard, salt, and poppyseed. it seemed good when I made it last night, but I won't be sure until tonight. It did seem a bit dry so I added extra mayo. If I keep the recipe, I'll probably double the sauce ingredients next time. Day3 I put the bones back in the package to make chicken soup on Tuesday. DD14 will be home as it is teacher work day so I can show her the proper way to make it from scratch. Well semi-scratch as it is a rotisserie. Chicken, corn, lima beans, celery, carrots, smoked sausage, onions, garlic, and seasoning to taste (bay leaf, salt, pepper, italian or cajun depending on preference) Sometimes i add green beans or peas. Make in the usual way for broth then cook remainder according to type (canned, frozen, dehydrated, fresh.) Mine is always a mixture so I'm adding various things to the pot all day. Sometimes I use bullion and canned chicken if that is what I have on hand. No one seems to notice fresh vs not fresh. Going to make bread to go with it. Not sure what type yet. I was going to leave the green onion out of the chicken salad, but my eternal green onion on the deck is still growing. DD19 started it years ago from a store one and it is still going. Sometimes it gets 2-3ft stalks that still taste good. That onion has been good to us.