Math Lessons for Dinner

We'll just start with dessert. I made Chocolate Lasagna. I couldn't resist this one, it looked easy and I made it with some lower fat and less sugar items, so it isn't absolutely the worst a person can do. 

 I simmered my chicken stock all day, thanks to lots of advice I got on Facebook. It smelled tasty by the end. I put it in a large container to cool and will separate it out tomorrow into smaller portions and freeze it.

 This was what I needed for dinner. I used one cup of my fresh stock. I made this stir fry because I thought it looked awfully tasty. Well, it was tasty and it was awful. But, Ryan liked it, so 1 out of 4 isn't bad. And, in honor of the math lesson of the day, 25% of the family liked it. That would be 0.25 in decimal. 1/4 in fraction. Glad we have an even number in our family and that math is easy.

 I recorded the steps since I was accused of not having food pictures lately. Someone thought maybe I had quit cooking. No!! I am still at it. Just less photography along the way.

 The veggies looked so good...and they weren't bad, nor was the chicken, just the flavor in general was not a favorite. I think it was the ginger that did it.

 But, presentation is important.

 Rice with a tad bit of quinoa tucked in it, I am gradually introducing it to the family.

 But, the dessert--that was amazing. Super easy to make, way easier than real lasagna and a big hit among our 100% chocolate lover family.

Thanks for reading. Sorry the stir fry wasn't more exciting.

I did make a scone this week too, lots of work to get it right, but oh, it was also very tasty. I repeated the cabbage rolls last night and tweaked the recipe a bit. I will be tweaking it back next time, per request of 33% of the family who ate last night.

I love math.
Oh, I would be remiss to not mention the other changes our family has made. We are now reading from the Bible at the end of the meal. This was a challenge by our pastor last Sunday and I decided that if I was cooking for the body, someone better be helping the soul. So, we began. Ryan chose the book--Judges. He wanted to hear the story of Samson and Delilah. So, Jim started...if you haven't read the first chapter of Judges in a while, it is a huge challenge to pronounce all of the people and cities. We got through it though. Jim read the first two nights and Ryan read the third chapter tonight. He got to read about the left handed judge and a really fat guy. I said to them all, "The Bible is not boring!" Can't wait to see what else we are going to learn from the Judges.

Thanks for reading!!

Roasting

That is not how I would explain what it feels like outside right now, although, this has been a considerably mild winter thus far...hopefully, it doesn't decide to become not so mild in March or April, but, we are in Wisconsin. Anything can happen here--except a Superbowl win!!

But anyway, on with the cooking stories. I have been a little lax in keeping up with my entries and keep forgetting to take pictures of what I have made. If I would take the pictures, I would at least remember what I had made.

Let's see what I can recall and what I can get from the few photos I have:

I decided to make granola from a recipe I had used many years ago out of my "More With Less" cookbook.  Believe it or not, I had all of the essential ingredients in my pantry. It was fun to make. The cereal is pretty tasty.

 I bought this magazine in hopes of getting some ideas of what to cook. I haven't really even had a chance to try anything out of it because of all the other recipes I have been using. It will be there when I need it!

 Finished Granola. Can you smell it?

 Tonight we had a roasted chicken. Last night we had roast beef. I did it the way Mom used to with searing it and putting it in the oven covered with potatoes and carrots. I probably roasted it a bit longer than I needed to, maybe I was trying to imitate the length of time we always had to wait to eat Sunday dinner. It was tasty nonetheless. Ryan said, "I really wish we could have mashed potatoes sometime." He is getting tired of skins on his potatoes. So, today I did a chicken and mashed potatoes, green beans and homemade bread. As you can see by this photo, the chicken was tasty. And, there are no more potatoes on the plate either. Ryan looked at me at one point and I could just tell he was so FULL!! But, he loved this meal. We all did.

Last week I made a couple of other dishes that I didn't photograph, they are on my Pinterest page. One is the Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes. Yummy!!! We had a salad with that and an unexpected guest so it was fun to share that meal with someone else.

On Sunday before the sad football game, I threw together another recipe off Pinterest. It is called Million Dollar Spaghetti. It was!! Rich, but oh so good. It was super easy and if you can modify it to make it a bit less fat, but it is not very low calorie, that is for sure.

Well, I think that is all I can tell you about this week's cooking. Not sure what is on the menu for tomorrow. I probably should go a bit "lighter" for a change.

Cooking Skepticism and Thoughts about Jacob

I thought maybe cooking lettuce would not work. I asked a couple of times about this and no one answered my specific question, so I tried it--with fear and trepidation.

I served it up and it was quite nummy. I of course added a dollop of Daisy (light). The three of us ate nearly all of it, there was enough for four. Dan came home later and warmed it in the microwave, I would not recommend that way of reheating. It made the chips soggy.

So, another cooking situation I had this week. I wanted a "roast beef like my mom made". I should have done it like I had seen her do it for 24 years (or more). I didn't, I went to the internet for help. Sometimes the internet is the right answer, sometimes Mom's ways are best. I read a couple of sites that said to preheat the oven to a very high temperature and then put the roast in for a certain amount of time and turn the temperature down, or to turn it down as soon as you put it in. I followed (kind of) one that had the vegetables (carrots and potatoes) on the bottom of the roaster and the roast on top of the vegetables. I won't do it that way again. I heated the oven to 450˚ and put the roast in. I had let the roast sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours and made several slits in the meat and stuck in some garlic cloves. Salt and pepper were added along with olive oil.

I let it be for 30 minutes and then turned the temperature down to 400˚. I cooked it there for an hour. The recipe I followed said it would be done now. I knew a bit better than that. But, I didn't really know all. I then turned it down to 225˚ and roasted it for about 2 or more hours, I am not exactly sure of the timing.

I took it out and followed several people's recommendation of letting it "rest" before slicing into it. So, while I tried to rescue the vegetables (story to follow) and make gravy, the roast rested.

The potatoes and carrots were not even close to being cooked. Potatoes can be so tricky!! I threw them into the microwave hoping to get them cooked further. I know from experience that it is not the best way to make a potato, but I had to do something to make them at least edible. I didn't want the meal to be a complete fail. But, having made bread in the bread machine, I knew I was going to have at least one redeeming factor in the meal...let them eat bread!! (They were probably thinking, "Off with her head!")

So, roast was rare--almost mooing. Potatoes were almost as hard as rocks. Carrots were shrivelled up in a way I cannot even express in my vocabulary. Gravy was good. Bread was good. BUT!!! The meat, although way more rare than I prefer, the flavor was WONDERFUL!!!

Lesson learned. Mash the potatoes, skip the carrots, cook the meat longer, and always serve bread.

Now, on to Jacob. I was reading today in Genesis the account of when Jacob decided to leave Laban--his twice father-in-law and set up a home of his own. He was leaving for several reasons, fleeing really. His brothers-in-law were grumbling about him because he was successful and his father-in-law's attitude had changed about him. The story struck me because I think of all the times the in-laws in stories just don't get along. Just like present day. Parents usually think their children don't know what they are doing (which I know is usually the case) but then you bring in another person, not really part of the family and that person really doesn't know what they are doing. I know this isn't the case in every family, but it does kind of make me chuckle that even way back then, it happened too. Jacob was so mistreated by Laban, tricked into marrying the ugly sister before he could marry the beautiful one. He endured. He endured for many more years and then God told him to go home. Thankfully, the wives (sisters) agreed and were willing to go with him. God blessed Jacob for his obedience and tomorrow's reading will tell me how things went with Jacob reuniting with his brother whom he had duped out of his birthright.

The Bible is not a boring book.

Thanks for listening.

No Smoke Alarm Tonight

Tonight I tried the chicken recipe that I saw on Facebook. It was quick and easy and very tasty. 

 I used the leftover baked potatoes and fried them up in a pan with some onion. These were tasty too. I didn't take a picture of the vegetables or the homemade bread. But, we did have green to go with this meal.

 Now, the real treat for the night, my new POPCORN popper.  As I was recording the process, you may actually hear Jim's commentary on our sorry life.

 Hey, don't you have better things to do than read my stupid blog on food?

Supper Is Ready When the Smoke Alarm Goes Off

Dinner tonight was a bit crazy. I had a good plan, for four. We had six! Ryan had two friends over. These two brothers are such good kids, I really enjoy their company, so I gladly said they could come. Now, I had to improvise dinner a bit.

The original was four bacon wrapped filet of beef. Sounds fancy but I got them at Aldi. I had potatoes in the oven that I had wrapped up and put in the oven early in the day with the auto start feature on so I would not have to "remember" to get the potatoes in soon enough. I saw a video on using pancake batter to coat food for frying. I know, frying isn't probably the best, but I wanted a more "restaurant" experience so we would eat more at home and see eating out as something a bit more special. I sliced some onions, dipped them in pancake batter that I had added paprika and garlic powder to. I had some Crisco-think-"The Help". I deep fried the onions. Not quite a success since the batter did not stick to the onion, but, the onions cooked and the batter became crunchy, so with a stretch of the imagination, they were pretty good onion rings.

I sauted mushrooms and onions to top the steaks. They were really good. That, was a success. I used butter.

So, four steaks, six people. Ryan and one friend opted to do goulash...it is officially gone now. Jake, opted for pork chops. Ryan and John ended up splitting the last steak and we had the rest of the loaf of homemade bread from last night.

Baked potato with steak and mushrooms, onion rings, and I topped mine with a salad. Vegetables never seem to be as important to others as me. So, I think I am the only one who had a salad. Oh well. We got some food eaten out of the refrigerator and Ryan shared his hot fudge with his friends by having hot fudge sundaes.

But, you know, it wouldn't have been a real meal without the smoke detector going off. Happens every time I use my broiler. I need to remember to close the bedroom door next time.

Thanks for visiting.

Christmas Ornament

I made a few of these before Christmas. It was something my arm could handle in small increments of time. I finished this one today. I have discovered that all my left hand has to do is stabilize the ball while I pin with my right. I plan on getting a few more done and then put the project away for awhile.

Anyone want one? I will be giving them away.

Cooking 2015

As promised, I am cooking more at home and sharing the experience with you, my friend!

First off, I couldn't resist the making brownies in the crock pot.  I just used a mix, Ghirardelli brand with chocolate chips. I made it following the directions on the box and poured the batter into the crock pot. I think I should wash the outside of my crock pot, my mother would be mortified!

Four hours later, we had ooey gooey chewy brownies. DELICIOUS!

In order to use up some of the ham we had left over from before Christmas, I decided to make potatoes au gratin from a box. I hate those boxed potatoes but they were on sale at Woodmans so I caved.

Ryan informed me that he does not like ham and would not be eating any of this. I had made a double batch-bad plan. The potatoes tasted kind of strange, they had some odd flavor that none of us cared for. Dan thought I put cinnamon in them. I did not. The left-overs went to the garbage, but most actually did get eaten. Ryan had left-over goulash. He has been enjoying that for many meals since that was brought in when I was ill. 

Today, I had a plan. This is the important part of the whole process. I downloaded the All Recipes' app on my phone and iPad. This should help me at least find ideas and plan meals. 

Since we were going to a movie, I opted to use the crock pot once again. As you can see, I did not clean the outside. I may or may not do that. This is a cabbage roll. I prepared them just before we went to the movie and it was pretty simple. I have never made cabbage rolls before. So, for a first time, I think I did quite well. Primarily, it is a meatloaf or meatball wrapped in cabbage. I couldn't really even taste the cabbage. 

My final fun adventure for the day is the resurrection of my bread maker. It has sat unused for more than 14 years. I am pretty sure I have never used it since we moved into this house. It was long over due. Here is the mushroom cloud loaf that ended up tasting just awesome, like any warm homemade bread should and in my book is just a mode of transportation for butter. I need to make sure I give these loaves away if I start enjoying making bread too much. I don't need the weight back. 

So, there it is, my first food entry of the year. We will see how this goes. 

By the way, I am reading my One Year Bible. Still on track in that area too. 

We Are So Blessed

I have been churning thoughts over and over in my head ever since Dad died in October, finding time to put them all in order has been difficult. So, what's been happening since October 18?
First off, the death of my dad. I had gotten a call, one that I had been anticipating for year, honestly, often times hoping for it, on Monday, October 13.

"Andy has started to pocket his food and is not swallowing. We are unable to give him his medication and he cannot eat any longer." Words I knew I would one day hear. I had said the same exact thing to Renee years ago.

I said, "He will live as long as he eats, when he stops eating, it will be the end." It sounds so cold and calculated, but having resolved my dad's demise, it was words I knew would truly be the beginning of the journey Dad had lived for.

So, having received the call, I knew I had to notify the rest of the family. Tuesday I had a meeting at work and on my way home I noticed a call I had missed. I listened to the message and it was the doctor from the nursing home. I called him back. He informed me that Dad was actively dying, he wanted me to understand this, that it was only a matter of one to two weeks. He had lost his gag reflex and they could not safely feed him. Dad and Mom had years ago agreed to not supplement him with a feeding tube in order to extend his life. So, we wait. Dan, Jim and I went to the nursing home that afternoon to spend what we knew to be our last days with Dad. He was comfortable, sleeping quietly for the most part. I thought he looked better than he had for years. It was as though the battle was coming to an end, he was done being tormented by the disease that destroyed his earthly body.

Leila, Renee, and Matt all came over on Wednesday. We hung out with each other and with Dad. He didn't appear to know we were there but I know that if there was any miniscule amount of awareness and he could have known we were there, he would have been very happy. He loved us, he loved us being together, he loved us laughing and enjoying life. He would have been fulfilled. We talked to Kathy and with the distance and expense of coming up, we encouraged her to stay put in Texas until she came for the funeral. We didn't really know how long that would be and didn't feel an extra burden of getting here when Dad was not aware of us was really not necessary. We wait...

Leila planned on going home on Thursday and returning on Friday after work. With the uncertainty of the time, she changed her plan and just stayed on to be with Dad. It was really important to all of us that Dad not be alone when he passed into the next life. He didn't give us a clear picture of when that would be, he was such a strong man, we figured he would make it well through the weekend. Michele, Tim, Mike, Oliver and Elliott came over on Thursday. Once again, chaos of all of us being together began, and I knew Dad would be so happy.

On Friday, we all just kind of hung out. Didn't really know what to do. We waited.

On Saturday morning, I headed to work. I figured there was no reason to sit around and wait. I had arrived at work and heard that a former family that I had cared for their infant last year were in the hospital with their new baby. I cared for their little girl last year who lost her battle and was laid to rest in October of 2013. I rushed down to pay them my congratulations before my care times would start with the twin girls I was caring for that day. I went back up to the patient room of the twins and a co-worker came in the room. I usually don't have my phone in my pocket at work but with the chance of getting news, I had it with me. As Sue came in and asked me how my dad was doing, my phone rang. It was 8:30. I said, "It is the nursing home, I need to answer this." Having expected this call for years and even really aware of the closeness of it, I was shocked and sad to hear the words on the other end.

"Andy's heart stopped beating at 8:26. He has passed away." REALLY?????

"We wanted someone to be with him when he went!" I spoke from my heart and disappointment.

"We were here with him, he went peacefully," the nurse explained. I realized then, yes, they had not just been there for the end, but they had been there through the absolute worst days of Dad's life. They never really got to know my dad, they didn't get to understand his heart, the heart of a man who loved people and life and who had given so much of his life for others. But they were there, they cared for him for his physical needs that we as a family could never have managed. They treated him with dignity and compassion in a time when someone aware of himself would have felt embarrassed and humiliated. They were there...they deserved to be there.

I headed home and the time between then and November 1 when we had the service is a blur of planning and figuring how it would all come together. Family were coming from all over and figuring out where people would stay and how they would be fed all fell together because of the gracious offerings of many friends.

One of the things that I feared the longer Dad lived and  the more time passed from the time he was a vibrant member of society was that no one would really care that he was gone. I feared all who knew him would be so far removed from when he was important to them, no one would really care. I was so very wrong. People showed up from years ago, people who Dad had impacted over the years of his ministry here in Janesville. Even people from other areas where Dad had ministered notified us of their condolences. Then there were those who didn't even know him, but they knew us, they loved on us like I have never been loved on before. I felt humbled and so blessed to be a part of a huge family of Christian people who really do demonstrate the heart of Christ. There were meals, there were beds, there was sympathy cards, there were monetary gifts, and there were numerous words of comfort. I was prepared for my dad to die, I was not prepared for the outpouring of love when it happened.

November seems to have just vaporized. I had been getting treatment for a sore elbow since before Dad had died. I was in the middle of physical therapy treatments when all of the events surrounding his death occurred. By early December, I had not improved and my doctor suggested an MRI and a plan to take me off work in order to heal my tennis elbow. I agreed to have something done to make it better. I didn't want to be off work but I needed a fix, I had suffered long enough. So, I was scheduled for an MRI on December 10. I didn't get the news from the doctor until the following week but she wanted to take me off work and have me treated with a tenotomy. During the doctor's appointment when we decided I needed the MRI, I got a text from Jim. He had not been feeling well, I thought he had the same bug that had hit Ryan earlier in the week. The text informed me that he had taken an nitro. I was in Middleton, at least an hour from home and was in the exam room waiting to speak to the doctor. By the time I had gotten to the car, there was a text telling me that he had taken himself to the ER. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was in a safe place.

When I arrived in Edgerton ER, there were no answers at that point in time. We waited to hear. The doctor came in and gave us the good news/bad news. There was not an elevation in cardiac enzymes, but there was a response to cardiac meds. Meaning there was something wrong and Jim was to be admitted to Meriter and be observed. Jim went by ambulance and I headed home to get things packed and Ryan settled in at home. Jim spent the weekend in the hospital and on Monday went to the cath lab and had two more stents placed. This was good news, they were able to put stents in and we didn't have to plan on bypass surgery.

Through this time, once again, I felt an outpouring of love by my Christian family. We were loved on by a visit from our growth group on Saturday night. We were surprised we didn't get kicked out of the hospital for being too loud. It was good medicine for Jim. On Monday a friend, Kris Blank, came up to Madison and took me out to lunch. She didn't call and ask, she called and told me, she knew I needed to be out of the building for a bit and I needed some air and traction. She offered that, I am so blessed. Pastor Jason came and saw Jim and Jon Christiansen came up and gave Jim a ride home on Tuesday because I had to be at work. Jenni Jensen provided taxi service for Ryan going to work. WE ARE SO BLESSED!!

Jim was home, things were getting back to "normal". We decorated the house of Christmas, really decorated. Hosted a party on the 13th for friends and family. Had a great time.

We decided to go to Michigan for the weekend before Christmas. Had a great time (short) with the Gray/Ashton gang. Came home, which ended up being a long drive home and a stop at Woodfield Mall (unplanned).

Monday, I turned 54. I started feeling a sore throat. I knew, when I get a sore throat, I am going to be sick. I had no idea. I went for my tenotomy on Tuesday, felt sickly but needed to get it done. I was already missing work. Came home and went right to bed. I didn't really get up for more than opening gifts until Saturday. I was very  sick. It was a combination of being sick, taking pain medicine, throwing up from taking pain medicine, taking more pain medicine, for the pain, being sick, a vicious cycle. On Sunday I knew there was no way I could be upright and able to function. So, once again, my Christian family came through for me and fulfilled my duties at church for me. I AM SO BLESSED!

So, today is the second day I am actually up for a full day. We did make a run down to spend some time with Kathy and Bob as they were in Bloomington to visit Bob's family. I laid pretty low through that time as I had no energy or drive. My time with Kathy was pretty boring, but valuable since it was sister time. We met with Renee and Bruce on Sunday for lunch. It took all I had in me to stay upright.

I had two friends provide meals for me during my illness, thank you so much, Susie Whitson and Jan Zoellner for "feeding" us. WE ARE SO BLESSED!

Today was celebration Sunday. Today was the day I decided I needed to get this stuff written down. I am sorry if you have made it to this part. I didn't plan on writing a novel, just lots has happened. But, today in church I realized how vitally important my dad and his influence upon my life is. That truth came so alive today. I was reminded of the promise I made when Dad died. Dad always read his Bible, every day, without fail. He set such an example and one I really haven't followed. When he died, I decided it was time for me to honor him and start reading the Bible, just reading the Bible daily. Not a study, just the WORD. I started back in November and have kept up. So, now that it is the new year, it isn't a resolution for me to read the Bible in a year, it is just a continuation of what I started in honor of my dad. I was reminded of the power of the Word today when a gentleman from church gave his testimony of finding his way to a relationship with Jesus by picking up a Bible he had gotten as a child and how he just started reading it. It is powerful, it is life giving, it is now a part of my everyday life. Thankful to my Dad, to the value he put in the Word of God and how he lived as an example.

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far, you should get a badge!!