Friday, October 1, 2010

good eating

I've been doing some on-line research on the topic of once-a-month-cooking and today I have been busy in or near my kitchen all day long! This is not the norm for me! I do like to do some cooking, but what I still struggle with is thinking of what to cook. Bob is much better at that than I am. Even after raising up those kids and living the good life in the empty nest, I still can't seem to get my act together 9 times out of 10! So even though these monthly cooking binges are more aimed at younger families with kids at home, I am applying some of those principles for the 2 of us. This is what I came up with--
Oh, that's just the detritus of my day of slaving over a hot stove! The good stuff is mostly already in the freezer: 2 pans of tater tot hotdish, 3 pans of porcupine meatballs, 2 containers of chicken pot pie filling with accompanying frozen crusts, 2 pans of apple & sausage pancakes, 2 bags of bean & ham soup, and soon 2 bags of beef stew. Whew! And a roast with potatoes and carrots in the oven for supper! It has been kind of fun, except for the dirty dishes part, and this will get me off the hook for many nights to come! A wonderful autumnal day here and I found this when I went out to the mailbox--
I love the feel of that milkweed fluff, it is like nothing else on earth. Some of the plush minkee-type fabrics do come close, I think that's why I always see people fondling those bolts in the shop!

I finished up a quilt for Donna, a friend and member of the Ham Lake Piecemakers. It is a collection of blocks with a sunflower and birdhouse theme. Very cute, and now ready for binding!

Remember back in August I told you about the closet? Well, the makeover is nearly done, and this is what it's looking like now--
I think I'm ready to put the doors back on and call it done. I feel so good about the sorting and cleaning that this involved, with quite a few things heading elsewhere to new homes. I found an alarming number of bags of all shapes and sizes, that many bags can't be healthy! So 3 bags full of bags went to my mom for a church bazaar and I have one bag of bags to give to Brita, but I am still left with 4 big bags of bags! So I will be considering what to do about that. Bob did a fabulous job putting up all those shelves with good support so my heavy boxes don't make them saggy.
Sooo--that's what I've been up to lately. And finished the Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, a spellbinder to the very end. It's the end of the stories about Lisbeth Salander, and I would love to continue reading more mysteries about her, so it's bittersweet to be done. She's the grownup version of Pippi Longstocking, one of my favorite storybook characters. I wanted to be just like Pippi! But that was the 60's, and anything seemed possible! But every now and then I think I need to get in touch with my inner Pippi, don't you?

5 comments:

Mary Frances Kaiser said...

...just wondering if you have considered doing the "once a month" meals for mail order ?!!!? yummy

MissesStitches said...

Your closet looks great, SisterStitches! Good job. It feels good, doesn't it? Wow, I guess you did have too many bags. Would any of them work as reusable grocery bags, or are they better made than that? (You know, with pockets and pretty things...) I bet your freezer is happy now, too!

Daniel said...

Wow! That's a ton of food. If you have trouble storing it all, I can store some for you in my freezer. Just mail to PO Box 8831, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546. :)

The closet looks great. Much, much different.

june said...

What to do with bags....preschools and local child development centers will gladly take the plastic type ones that seem to multiply like rabbits in our homes. They use them for soiled clothes and stinky diapers:) Target recently promoted giving a cent discount if you bring a Target bag back for packaging your purchases.

If you have grocery type brown bags, check with your local food shelf or Meals on Wheels program.

Pam said...

Mary and Dan-- Rather than sending out meals, I would much rather have you here at my table! So let's work on making that happen!