euphrasyne

Zuppa Toscana freezes very well. The flavors always sit a bit better after being in the freezer. Sometimes I make it with kale, other times I use collards or spinach. French Market Soup (excellent in the freezer) Dice carrots white beans cooked chicken broth celery bell peppers diced sliced smoked sausage. onions bay leaf Make a soup in the usual fashion. Simmer long. Season to taste (I usually use cajun, but any works.) I often start off with dehydrated veg for this and then freeze it when it is done. It works out well for smaller servings too. If a loaf of fresh bread is getting old, I'll cut some slices and pre butter it with garlic and flash freeze it and then into the ziploc bag for fast garlic toast to go with soup.

Tips: Flash freeze pancakes, waffles, cookie dough, etc on a cookie sheet. Toss into a large zip lock bag and take out as needed. Boneless and prechopped meat heat easier. Go ahead and cut steak, porkchops, chicken breast, etc. into bite sized pieces. Freeze soup in wide cups or ice cube trays and then pop the cubes into a large ziplock bag. Bags of cole slaw mix freeze and heat well as the shred veg for most Asian dishes. I use it as a short cut a lot. It can also go on tacos for crunch factor. Things I typically freeze are soup of all types beef/mushroom/or chicken stroganoff with rice or noodles chili pancakes breakfast burritos English muffin sandwiches (breakfast and lunchmeat.) Whatever I made for dinner I sometimes double it and put a few 'frozen' lunches of leftovers for DH.

Dh has visited there several times in the last few years. He told me yesterday about the earthquake. I hope everyone he knew there is safe and that they will recover soon.

When you look at older sick manuals or even cookbooks you often see ways to deal with bowel issues. Rarely do you see ways to deal with mouth/nose issues. Mucus is a fact of life that must be delt with. I'm not sure why there is a predisposition against it, but it is reality, Why is it reviled into oblivion? Sickroom preps need to deal with it. Anyone who deals with the sick need to be prepped for it. It is currently a fact in our house and I will not pretend we do not exist because of it. It is my most needed prep to date. LEARN FROM ME. Everyone needs endless tissues or a bucket/bowl. The mucus must be contained and removed. Disgusting, but real. Also, What are we doing today? surviving the current situation whatever that may be. You go girl! Life is hard and you are harder.

Everyone in my house is sick. Mucus enough to support an army of slugs. It is draining and giving everyone stomach issues as it goes down the back of the throat. Headache, fever, nausea.

Leftover redo roundup between now and the New Year--whereby I try to empty my fridge and counter. Breakfast Casserole makes a 9x13 pan. Leftover croissants --a lot of mini enough to fill bottom of casserole. milk 4 1/2 c eggs 6 diced ham 8oz cheese enough to cover happily Seasoning (cajun) to taste Mix milk, eggs, seasoning. Tear up croissants into greased casserole. Place diced ham and cheese over it. Pour milk over and allow to soak for an hour on the counter. 350F 45m During last 15m, drizzle with hot sauce and avocado siracha. French Dip Subs serves 2. Leftover prime rib to cover a bun bolillo bun leftover au jus from prime rib to cover meat in pan Worcestershire sauce several splashes to taste beef bullion to taste about 2 t water 1-2c as needed. provolone 2 slices Slice prime rib thin into a pot. Add au jus, water, Worcestershire sauce, bullion to taste. Heat through. Slice bolillo bun in half and toast. Pour au jus into 2 ramekins. Put meat on bottom bun. Top with 2 slices provolone and top bun. Cult in half. Serve with leftover caramelized onion dip and veggies. Individual Collard Soup Into a large soup cup or a bowl place: 1/2 c collards 1 1/2 c water 2 t chicken bullion 1/2 cut up smoked sausage Splash of heavy cream Seasoning of choice to taste (I used cajun) Mix all and microwave 3m. Stir. Microwave another 3m. Cool a bit and enjoy.

I've clipped them before. The pressure needs to go over the top of the U for the head and clasp onto the 'hook or loop.' It stops the hook from spinning and makes it catch. The first time can be tricky, but after you get used to where it needs to go, it isn't bad. I had to help do like 1K for a wedding awhile back. We then made a grid where we glued down the closepins and ziplined a trigger to open them. We disguised the base with greenery. It looked like they flew off a trellis--too much work, but it was pretty.

So cute! "she gave me a box." That is one for the 'sayings' journal. Some of our favorites from the past are 'smells like hungry' and 'what are you, some kind of time wizard?' I keep a notebook of the fun things they say over the years. You can use a clothespin or paperclip to temporarily hold the butterflies closed until you are ready to undo them and press them into the box.

We did presents on Friday before DD15 flew out. DD3 was sick today, so we had a mostly quiet day trying to tempt her into drinking fluids and keeping anything down. Prime rib, collards, garlic toast, and scalloped potatoes for dinner with raspberry pie for dessert. There is an explosion of trains, dinosaurs, and number blocks around the house.

I like my contacts and a pair of reading glasses. If I have to wear my regular glasses, they are thicker than coke bottles even now on the 'thinner more expensive' lenses. They give me a headache to wear they are so heavy. My mom wears 2 or 3 pair of glasses at a time. It is hilarious to look at. It is always good to have a few extra pair of RX and reading for emergencies. I tend to break mine.

I'm -10 in my left eye and -12 in my right eye. I have extreme vision issues. I like the app I used because of the way the zoom works on it. I also wouldn't use it without an S pen that helps me do the finer details. I have used the computer app you posted, but I didn't like the user controls and zoom. I'm lucky all my kids have great vision and didn't take after me in that way. Thank goodness for contacts. Though I'm getting that middle age farsightedness and now I cannot see things that are either too far or too close. sighs. I cannot win.

Brunswick county is in VA. VA and GA have a dispute on if it came from there or here, but generally accepted as one of the two. I love food history. Some say that it came from Germany in the Duchy of Brunswick, but all the food items are native to North America, so that seems unlikely.

I have a phone with an s pen and I do jigsaws all the time on it. I use Just Jigsaws and it is mostly free. You can zoom in and out quite easily. Just Jigsaws:Amazon.com:Appstore for Android

1 recipe coming up: The Game Cookbook Brunswick Stew 4-5 squirrels disjointed 3 sliced onions 2 quarts tomatoes chopped Cayenne to taste 3 peeled diced potatoes 2c fresh lima beans 2c corn 2c sliced okra Brown squirrel and onions in bacon fat. Debone and add all to a pot. Cook slowly, season to taste. I prefer to disjoint squirrel and cook it like pork chops. You will need to use a good bit of fat to cook it. It smells exactly like pork chops. The lady that watched DD20 that first year after ii went back to work cooked it at least once a week.

I vote, yell 'squirrel' and keep on scrolling.

I like Terry Prachet novels. One of the worst cures in them is 'May you live in interesting times." One of the books is called Interesting Times. If you are ever in SE VA, feel free to come by.

Its hormonal. I have similar happen.

we eat split pea soup about once a month. That or lintel soup which is the same recipe( add turmeric), chunks are a plus for us, but I have pureed many things for the old/young. Texture is a thing savored by a certain age.

@littlesister your GS is going to an amazing place if he can manage it. DH was with the army then NNSY for over 30 years now (one sold to the other) and it is awesome. The perks are indescribable and amazing. The quality of life is potent. We live happily on a single income with 4 kids because of it.

Got a grocery order from Kroger today. I scored a 2# standing rib roast for $5.99lb. We're having Prime Rib for Christmas day. DD15 flies out on Saturday, so it will just be the 3 of us here until New Years. DH is done with work until the second week of January, so he will be home for all meals for awhile. He always has a bunch of use it or lose it vacation days leftover at the end of the year. Today he let me sleep in and has been watching the toddler for most of the day and picking up the groceries. It has been very quiet and relaxing so I am reading. Tonight I will wrap presents and clean DH's office where the xmas tree is.

Bay leaf adds a very nice flavor. I use it in a lot of things including marinara, and any and all broth based soups. It is hard to describe the flavor and it doesn't add much, but you can tell when it isn't there and when it is. It makes a big difference and things just meld a little bit better when using several spices. It sorta useful to get things to combine properly. You can blend the veggies if you like. I usually make the soup a tad on the thinner side with finely diced carrot, onion, and ham floating around in it. Its a texture issue that we prefer. I have pureed the whole thing before feeding older people with teeth issues. You can puree ANYTHING. Just some things taste better with a bit of texture if there are no health issues.

I love estate sales and garage sales. It is sort of date day that me and DH do every so often. We get up early, take the truck and get some snack food and wander about to the ones posted. We are always happy at the end of it. Last time, I got a 4' metal cabinet (retro 50's office and faraday cage worthy) and a GIANT cooler for $60 together.

The Southern Living The Canning and Preserving Cookbook recipe from page 72 is this: Split Pea Soup 2 c split peas 1 ham hock 1 onion chopped 2 carrots sliced 1c chopped celery salt to taste Soak peas in water to cover for 12 hours and drain. Place in a large pan with 3 quarts of water and ham hock and simmer covered for 2 hours. Add onion, carrot, and celery and simmer covered for 1 hour. Remove ham hock and cut the meat into small pieces. Pres the vegetables through a sieve and add the meat and salt. Pour into hot pint jars to 1 inch from the top. Process at 10# pressure for 50m.

I don't have that particular book, but my personal recipe is this: Split Pea soup canned: 2c split peas 8c water 1 T chicken bullion/base 1 c diced ham or pork 1 1/2 c small diced carrots 1 c small diced onion 1/2 t lemon pepper 1 bay leaf salt & pepper Cook peas, water, bullion for an hour and then puree. Add remainder. Boil. Reduce heat to low cook 30m. Season to taste. Add water if too thick. Remove bay leaf. Pack into jars and process pints at 10lbs for 75m. When it is fresh, I often add smoked sausage slices if not vegetarian.

I don't stock anything for long term that we will not use in the short term. That way I am familiar with the ingredients and using them is no stress or hardship. That being said, dehydrated celery is a convenience food for me as much as a long term plan. I have no qualms about opening up a can of dehydrated anything if I'm out of fresh anything. I just mark it on the list to be replaced. Some things, like mushrooms, actually work better as dehydrated. Many types of rehydrated mushroom take on a fleshy texture and have the mouthfeel of beef or pork. It makes great vegetarian dishes.