Tomorrow They’re Eating Leftovers

I feel like Betty Crocker today, or maybe Paula Dean because I used a lot of butter!

 

I had every intention of writing about the 3 Types of Husbands tonight but I am too, dog-gone exhausted.  In fact, I feel like my dog who is sprawled out lying in her bed (in the house, I might add, because it’s raining outside).  My brain is now on auto-pilot so my ‘husband post’ will need to wait for awhile seeing how I would have to use too many brain cells to write such a serious post.  So, instead, I figured I’d write one that is a little out of my character tonight.  One filled with recipes and resources.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

So, here’s my marathon of a day, at least my type of marathon.  I got in my jammies at 5pm because I was so exhausted.

 

This morning I made a quick and easy dished called…

 

Baby Dutch Pancakes topped with blackberries (which were on sale).  They were delicious by the way and it is nothing like a pancake.   Seeing how I am not dutch, I do not know why they call it that, but I don’t care what it’s name is as long as delicious is attached to it.  It’s a simple dish, wonderful on a cold morning.  And, it’s filled with lots of protein (eggs) that will ward off hunger for awhile.  It’s also a great brunch- type dish too.

 

Here’s the recipe:  (Sorry I don’t have a tantalizing picture for you to look at.)  Just imagine that it is a cross between a custard, a quiche without the crust, and maybe a bread pudding.  And it’s puffy.

 

Use a shallow pan,  (not more than 3 inches). I use a rectangle, glass pan that is roughly a 9 x 4.

 

Ingredients:

 

 

• • 1/3 cup of butter

 

• • 4 eggs

 

• • 1 cup milk

 

• • 1 cup all-purpose flour (or you can use gluten free flours as well but it won’t rise as high)

 

• • 1 1/2 tsp. sugar

 

 

Place butter in pan and set in a 425 degree oven.  While butter melts, mix batter quickly.  Put eggs in a blender or food processor and whirl at high speed for 1 minute.  With motor running, gradually pour in milk, then slowly add flour, then sugar; continue whirling for 30 seconds.  Remove pan from oven, pour in batter and bake until puffy and well browned (20 to 25 minutes).  Note:  It should be puffy like a popover.  Dust pancake with ground nutmeg, if desired, and serve at once with a delicious topping like….

 

 

• • whipped cream (the homemade kind is the ABSOLUTE best!)

 

• • maple syrup

 

• • fresh fruit

 

 

After breakfast off to the grocery store and then to Target I went.

 

 

She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.  Proverbs 31:14

 

 

Seeing how I make my own laundry detergent now, and not because I enjoy shopping for unusual soaps and grating soap bars, but because I can save wwaaayyy more money by making my own detergent, that is the reason why I make it.  It also allows us to eat more food, like blackberries.  Seriously.

 

Laundry Detergent Recipe  (I can’t remember where I got it from otherwise I would tell you.)

 

 

• • 12 cups borax.  I had found borax at Fresh N Easy, Walmart and Target

 

• • 8 cups of Baking Soda.  Found at Fresh N Easy, Walmart and Target

 

• • 8 cups of Washing Soda.  NOT found at Fresh N Easy or Target (The last time I bought it I found it at Walmart, so I will be there tomorrow.) lol

 

• • 8 cups of grated Kirk’s Castile Bar soap (4 bars).  You can find this at any grocery store, just NOT at Fresh N Easy, but you can use Ivory.  I threw mine in my food processor to grate.

 

• • 20-40 drops of Lavendar oil. Found at Walmart.  This is optional and it’s used to  just make your clothes smell nice.

 

 

Mix it all together.

 

Use 1/8 of a cup per load.

 

It makes A LOT!  I mixed it in a 5 gallon bucket and it was about half full and it lasted forever.  Well, really it was about 9 months for a family of four.  The ingredients roughly cost me $16.00.

 

Here’s more laundry detergent recipes.  Some mixes are liquid, some are dry and some for HE washers.  I was too lazy to make the liquid kind, plus I didn’t have a bottle to put it in, so I made the dry.  It works for me.

 

When I got home from my big shopping spree (ha ha) I made a new salsa recipe for my Beloved.  I found the original recipe from The Pioneer Woman but I altered hers just a tad …

 

The original recipe is way too spicy for this gal.  Now, my Beloved loves things to be spicy and hot, he even puts wasabi on his food!

 

For a more milder, yet still very spicy salsa, here’s my altered recipe:

 

Restaurant Style Salsa

 

1 can whole, stewed tomatoes (15 oz.)

 

2 cans MILD Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles

 

1/2 small onion, chopped

 

1 clove of garlic

 

Half a head of cilantro

 

1/4 tsp salt

 

1/4 tsp sugar

 

1/4 tsp cumin

 

Throw the stewed tomatoes along with the onions, garlic and cilantro in a food processor and chop to desired texture.  Then add in your cans of Rotel diced tomatoes, sugar, salt and cumin.  Pulse until desired consistency is reached. Done.

 

What I omitted from The Pioneer Woman’s original recipe is a jalapeno and I switched out a can of original Rotel diced tomatoes for a mild one just so I could tone down the heat.

 

The result.

 

It was fantastic!  I am even considering giving it as a gift to some friends and family for Christmas because it was that good.  And inexpensive.

 

Let’s talk about the heat.  The salsa was plenty hot for my Beloved, and my boys and I were able to enjoy it as well.  I can’t even imagine how hot it would’ve been if we put in the jalapeno and the hotter tomatoes.

 

But, I encourage you to head over to The Pioneer Woman’s site nonetheless.  She’s got lots of recipes (with pictures too, which I appreciate seeing how I am cooking challenged.)  Her site is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

 

Somewhere afterwards I made some lunch for my men then I worked out in my small 24 hour fitness gym, also known as my living room that has carpet and a computer in which I popped in Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred Workout.

 

What can I say about this DVD?

 

“She kills me”, that’s what I can say.  In fact, every time I think about the workout, that is the first thought that comes to my mind.  But, I would have to say that after 30 days, I have lost inches.  Now, I don’t know how many because I didn’t measure myself beforehand, but my jeans are looser and that is what matters to me.

 

So, why do I do Jillian’s program?  Because I am glutton for punishment?

 

No, because it is a short workout program that I can modify for my feeble body.

 

Here’s the story.  I have been a runner for over 15 years, and during those years I battled with my chronic-ill health coupled with knee issues that left me as an inconsistent runner.  The knee issues couldn’t be resolved unless I took the path of surgery, and even then there were no guarantees.

 

I was in denial, along with physical therapy, for quite some time but I wasn’t ready to give up something I enjoyed so much.  Then a few years ago I had hip issues that were resolved for awhile but then resurfaced.  I think I over compensated for my worsening right knee which caused my left hip to be twisted out of alignment.  And yes, I have been to a chiropractor.  Many times.

 

I can’t fix my body no matter how hard I try.  No new pair of shoes or knee brace will alleviate the pain long term.  They are just a quick fix, but not a solution.

 

Last month I was in severe pain every time I went running.  You should have seen me run.  I looked like Quasimodo, the hunchback from Notre Dame.  It was time for me to embrace my reality….my body couldn’t do what I wanted it to do.

 

I stopped running.

 

That’s why I do the 30 day shred.  It’s only 20 minutes.  You can modify all the moves. You can go at your own pace. There are 3 levels and each level I have done has left me dripping in sweat.     And it only cost me about $6, used.

 

Although it will never be like running.   My clothes are looser and I am consistent.  That’s a win in my book.

 

When the workout was finished I moved on to making (and eating) some Christmas cookies…

 

Mexican Wedding Cookies (or snowballs I think they are called at times)

 

Here’s the recipe from Paula Dean

 

 

I kept them in the shape of a ball rather than a crescent shape the recipe called for.  Maybe I was too sore from my workout to form the heavy dough into little moons.

 

Once I cleaned up that big, slop mess, oh I mean, kept my home like the good, God-fearing homemaker that I strive to be, I made dinner.

 

Enchiladas with Green Sauce

 

I am a lazy cook so here is my lazy recipe.

 

Ingredients:

 

 

• • 1 can of green enchilada sauce.  I use Fresh N Easy’s brand because they don’t use preservatives and artificial colors.  That stuff will kill me so I try to avoid it at all costs.

 

• • Lots of shredded cheese

 

• • Corn tortillas

 

• • Onions and cilantro (optional)

 

• • Olives (optional)

 

 

Here’s the quick and easy way.  Heat the sauce up in the microwave for 2 minutes.  Pour a little bit of sauce to coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Heat up the tortillas in the microwave as well.  Dip tortillas in the sauce and fully coat them.  Put cheese in the center of the tortilla.  Use can use cooked meat in there as well but I had cheese on hand.  My Beloved loves onions and cilantro so I added that to his.  Before you role the tortilla add more sauce to the inside.  Repeat until the pan is full.  Coat enchiladas with remaining sauce.  Top with cheese.  I usually top it with olives but I didn’t have any.

 

My pan had 14 enchiladas in it but they were stuffed in there like sardines.  Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Last 5 minutes of baking, remove foil.

 

I made some spanish rice to go with it and dinner was delicious!  I sat in my recliner as I ate it because I was too tired to sit at the table.   Plus, I could barely move my arm because I have a rib out of place.  Oh it is so good to know that I will have a new body in heaven and I won’t be the cook!

 

 

She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants. Proverbs 31:15

 

 

I hope all these recipes will be a help to you as you provide food for your family!

 

Live a poured out life for the Master,

 

 

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