Whoa! Where did the year go?

Time flies when you're having fun...we had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the new year. The kids came over for dinner - they furnished a prime rib roast and I did all the fixings. Little Man was in very high spirits (!). We Toy Storyed him this year and he had a ball.

He got lots of stuff but the main event was a traveling Buzz Lightyear car that talked. Big Guy was too small to know what was going on, but he got a big blue frog with red feet that he kissed and hugged.

Dinner was very good - I tried to make pictures as I went, but SOMEBODY forgot to take pictures when the stuff came out of the oven. OOOOOPS! Daughter and I have a requirement for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals....stuffed mushrooms.  We have been making them for some time now, and they are improving every year. We change it a little every time, but they are always good.

Break the stems out of fresh mushrooms and chop finely.

Put the chopped stems in with a pound of raw breakfast sausage...we just use regular but you can use hot if you like.

To this, add shredded mozarella cheese and gorgonzola cheese crumbles. I usually add chopped green onions but I didn't have them, so I finely chopped regular onion and added that. Season with pepper, a little garlic powder and mix everything together.

Now. Here's where you have to use your imagination...at this point I got busy and didn't finish my pictures. I mix everything together with my hands. Use about a teaspoon or more of the filling to fill the hole in the mushroom cap. Mound it up a little so there is plenty of filling in each cap. Place the stuffed caps in a baking dish. If you have sausage mixture left after filling the caps, just make meatballs and place around the caps. Bake at 350 degrees until the sausage is done...it takes about 30 or 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain off any liquid. Grate fresh parmesean cheese over the hot mushrooms and meatballs. They are good hot or after they cool.

Last year I doubled the sausage mixture and froze the meatballs on a cookie sheet. When they were frozen solid I put them in a freezer bag. Hubby and I had them several times  - just pop however many you want in a small baking pan and bake frozen. You can use any kind of cheese, but we like the gorgonzola the best. If you don't have fresh parmesean you can sprinkle any kind of shredded cheese over them. They really are tasty.

I did manage to get a picture of my pumpkin cheesecake. I also made a pecan pie, coconut cream pie, hot rolls, greenbean bundles, corn pudding and scalloped potatoes.

The cheesecake couldn't have come out any more perfect. I had enough filling to bake the neighbor one too.

I hope everybody had a good Christmas...now we're thinking about a New Year's get together...black eyed peas, pork and turnips, greens and cornbread. It's gonna be chili tonight, it goes very well with 18 degree weather.

Have a great day!

Fried Catfish!

We wanted something a little different for supper last night...Hubby's Mom sent home some catfish steaks so I thawed them out and fried them. Boy were they good! I didn't have any coating mix, so I made my own. I put a couple of cups of yellow cornmeal in the food processer, put a good bit of Cajun seasoning in it and processed it until it turned into corn flour.

When we got ready to eat, I heated up the deep fryer, dredged the fish steaks in the seasoned corn flour and dropped them in the hot grease.

When the grease is right, the fish drop to the bottom and then start to come up to the top. I don't stir them around until they start to brown...the coating stays on the fish better. When the pieces float they are done. Remove and drain well, put on a flat pan covered with newspaper and paper towels and place in a warm (180 degree) oven. Don't crowd the pan - it needs to be done about 5 pieces at a time.

When the last of the fish was cooked, I coated cut up potatoes with the seasoned corn flour and fried them in the fish grease. SOOOOO Good!

We had slaw, onion and pickles with the fish and potatoes and pralines for dessert. Make you slap your pappy!

Looking rainy (or snowy) outside today...white Christmas maybe???

Little Man stayed with me a while yesterday so Mom could get her candy made. He took every candy cane off the tree except for the 3 he couldn't reach. He has a rider truck toy with a storage compartment as the seat. He put all the candy canes in it and rode all over the house. I thought he would probably forget about the candy canes and I would put them back on the tree when he left. When daughter came to get him they started to leave and he ran over to the truck, got all the candy canes out and put them in the bag he brought his toys in. So, my tree is naked. I should have known something as important as candy canes would not have been forgotten.

Cheater Chicken and Dumplings

Stew a whole chicken or whatever parts you want to use in water to generously cover. Put some leafy celery stalks, onion and sage leaves in the pot. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until the chicken is done - when the leg joints move easily. Remove from the broth and strain the broth . I just put the cooked chicken in a bowl to cool enough to handle. I strain the broth from the cooking pot to a clean stock pot.

When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove the bones and gristle. Add heavy cream or half and half, or even evaporated milk, about a cup. Now the cheat part....cut flour tortillas in strips and let sit out to dry a little. (These are the dumplings).

When you are ready to eat, drop a couple of strips into boiling broth and let them cook until they disintegrate. This will thicken the broth. Add the pulled chicken. This is very important....it only takes a few minutes to cook the dumplings. If they cook too long, they just "melt". I drop them in the very hot broth and move the pot off the burner.  You are now done with the dumplings.

Now for the good part - Wilted Lettuce!

Cut up lettuce, onion and tomatoes in a good sized bowl. Sprinkle with pepper, about a tablespoon of sugar and drizzle with a little vinegar. Mix the salad up and let sit until the lettuce has wilted.

In a small skillet on the stove, put a tablespoon or so of bacon drippings and heat until it is smoking.

Pour quickly over the salad, stirring as you pour. It should sizzle and pop. This needs to be made at the very last minute and served warm. Cornbread is perfect with this meal.

We ate like little piggies!

My daughter and son-in-law graduate from college this evening. She has earned 2 degrees and he has 1. What is amazing about this - to me - is that they were married 3 days and daughter left for Iraq. She served a year, during which time she could only visit her new husband by phone or mail. When she came home, she had Little Man, then son went to Iraq for a year.

When son finally got home, they started school. Both had a full college schedule, both worked full time, and both were in the National Guard. Then came Big Guy.

With two babies, college, jobs and the Guard, I don't know how they survived. Hubby and I are so proud of them both. They have struggled and worked and tried very hard to make a good future possible for their family. They have achieved much in their time together.

Have a blessed day!



Brrrrrr!

It is SO cold....I made cheapo stew with ground beef and it carried us through the weekend. It's been down in the teens early in the mornings. We worked on our kitchen all weekend so we didn't have to be out in the weather except to go to the grocery store.

We finally got the bar cleaned off (our construction catchall), turned on the fireplace and the TV and had a pan of cornbread with our stew. All I had in the freezer was ground beef and chicken, so Hubby chose the ground beef. It simmered the better part of the afternoon and really smelled good.

Before...

After....

It's beginning to look like a kitchen again. I am grouting today and now will have a place to set a hot dish and a place to prep my food. WOW it's been a long time! We still have a long, long way to go but we're getting there.

Wish us luck and have a great day!





MMMMM....Pralines!

Finally got in the kitchen and made a batch of pralines - much to Hubby's delight (and mine).

The recipe is very simple:

2 cups packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecan halves, toasted and cooled
a very small pinch of salt, just a few grains

Put the brown sugar, butter and cream and salt in a heavy saucepan.

Cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring until the mixture boils. Place a candy thermometer on the pan and cook mixture until it reaches soft ball stage...about 236 degrees.

The mixture will have a fine, even boil. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the pecans and vanilla.

Beat the mixture by hand (I use a large bamboo spoon) until lit begins to thicken and lose it's gloss. It only takes a few minutes.

Working quickly, drop by spoonfuls on buttered waxed paper or parchment paper. I used parchment paper sprayed with butter flavor no-stick spray.

The trick to this is not to beat the mixture too long. They should be creamy and delicate. If it is beaten too long, they will still taste good, but they will become a little hard. That's why I make several batches before I send the candy to the neighbors...I can get a feel of when they have been beaten enough.

This was my Dad's recipe and he could make the creamiest pralines. He worked at the courthouse and every year made huge batches of fudge and pralines to take to his co-workers. That was when the "million dollar fudge" came out - with marshmallow cream and milk chocolate. He always stuck with it every year.

Got to go get my soup started...it's very cold and Hubby requested vegetable beef stew and cornbread for supper.

Have a warm, sweet day!

Sparkleball!

This SO does not do justice to this sparkleball. I had to turn off the flash so you could see the effect...we have five of them across the front of the house. Hubby hung them up with bungee cords, so when the wind is blowing they sway. This one is about the size of a small beach ball. It's made with plastic cups, zip ties and a string of lights.

Little Man and Big Guy were with us last night and while Big Guy was sleeping Little Man wanted to go outside to see the balls. He didn't have a coat here, so I got a sweatshirt, folded the arms up and put it on him. It came down to his shoes and was a little goofy looking, but he didn't care. He said "Granny Honey it's bootiful". He really liked the tree inside too. He hasn't found the candy canes yet.

We had baked pork steak and cooked cabbage for supper last night. It was soooo good. We're going to have chili tonight in honor of the cold weather. It's about time to practice on some pralines...that may be an afternoon project. They don't last long...I should just glue them to my hips because that's where they end up anyway.

Daughter and son-in-law celebrated their anniversary yesterday and went to see the new Harry Potter at IMAX. I can't wait to see it, though I will probably have to wait until it comes out on TV. Daughter got me hooked on the books and I really enjoyed reading them. Hubby can't stand watching the movies on TV but I watch them every time they come on.

Stay warm and have a great day!

WOW! Finally...

we got started on the kitchen! This has been a slow, slow process but for the first time in a long time I have a counter to work on! This is the wall we cut out.

Hubby moved the stove and outlets and paneled.

Stove moved down and one cabinet in. We still have to trim out the opening and put in the floor. That's my job. Can;t wait to get started! We are getting one thing done at a time but after 2 years we are tickled to pieces to be able to do that.

I still have to tile the top of the cabinet and install knobs and such...that's a good daytime job for me.

We put our Christmas lights out (on the coldest day there was) and I put the tree up inside. It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate! I made 4 sparkleballs this year to hang outside. My Mother-in-law sent us one several years back and I found instructions on the internet. If you don't know what they are just Google sparkleball and have a look. At night they look like giant twinkles. I'll see if I can get a night picture and post it.

I'm starting to get the Christmas spirit! Have a great day!



Madame Crapsalot

This is Lucy. Better known now as Madame Crapsalot. She crapsalot. She peesalot too. We couldn't stand it any more...too quiet around the house. Nobody to talk to because Sally, our other Boston, sleeps all day. She rouses about time for the mail to run, gets a treat and goes back to bed. She positively does not like cold weather and stays covered up under a blanket.

Lucy thinks Sally is her new best friend. She lunges, hops, circles and gets the rips when she plays with Sally. Then she passes out until her energy is restored. I must say, she is a lot of company. Plus worth a good laugh or two.

I made a pot of chili the other day when it got so cold and last night we had killer chili dogs. Still stretching the groceries...we have a freezer full of hot dogs that were bought on sale. They come in handy occasionally.

Hubby and I made a half batch of salsa a few weeks ago - specially for his friend who likes hot stuff. I used my recipe, only replaced the jalapeno peppers with habanero peppers. While it was cooking, the fumes burned our eyes and a taste test stayed with me all afternoon. We gave a jar to son in law and the rest to Hubby's friend.  Friend thanked Hubby and later told him it was really good....just not hot enough. I nearly fell over. His mouth must be lined with asbestos.

The habanero plant was the last plant left from the garden and we picked it before it frosted. We got a three gallon bucket full of them. They ripened at different time on the cabinet so we were able to share plenty and freeze some.

It's about time to start candy making. Daughter has told me some of the stuff she's doing and it sounds wonderful. I got my praline recipe down pat last year and they are very, very good. My dear friend in Missouri sent me a gallon of native pecans (the small, very tasty ones) and 2 quarts of Mexican vanilla which I shared with Daughter. My in-laws also sent another 2 gallons, so I have plenty for lots of goodies. I have just about talked myself into making something sweet.

Have a wonderful day and count your blessings!



Been a long, long time...

Mostly I've been feeling sorry for myself...we've had so many life changes recently that it really slapped me and Hubby in the face.

I am no longer on food stamps and while I really ought to change my blog name, I still think it's kinda snappy, so we will just have to pretend. I still coupon, I still shop for sales, and I still try to live frugally.

Hubby's Grandmother passed away - it was a terrible loss for him. I was unable to make the trip "home" to be with him and the family. She was a feisty little lady who raised him and they were very close until Altzheimer's disease took over her life. She spent the last years of her 96 year long life in a nursing home, unable to recognize her own family.

The first weekend Hubby was back we had to euthanize our 14 year old Boston Terrier, Suzy...we had her since she was 8 weeks old and it was devestating to both of us. She was truly a member of the family.

I am now officially disabled - having been through a barrage of doctors and waiting patiently on Uncle Sam. It is nice to have our income stabilized, but alas, no more food stamps. I guess that's a good thing.

My grandchildren are growing like weeds...Big Guy can pull himself up now, and Little Man can hold a decent conversation on the phone. Speaking of...I found a link to a web site where you can make a video message from Santa to your child or grandchild. http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home is the site...easy to follow instructions and it's FREE! I made one for Little Man and sent it to daughter's computer. Check it out...there are no "catches". If you want a permanent copy you have to pay for that - otherwise you can view it as much as you wish.

After spending so much time trying to get my priorities straight and being down in the dumps, I decided it was time to get my act together. Soooo....we had new windows installed, painted the outside of the house, tore down the old raised garden beds, trimmed all the bushes and just spiffied things up a little. We are about to - TA DA - start on the kitchen. It has been a long time coming.

Thank you for your comments and concern. I have truly missed visiting with you....that's how I think of this. I promise to do better!

P.S. You will notice a new widget...Retail Me Not...on the right of the page. This site has super savings and coupon codes for just about anything. It is searchable and free!

First pot of stew for the season!

The cool nights called for a good old pot of vegetable beef stew and it really hit the spot! We bought a beef roast - don't buy "stew meat" as it is about twice as expensive. I prefer chuck roast, but this time we found an arm roast on sale. Cut it up in nice big chunks. I trim it pretty lean, but put a good chunk of fat in the pan so it will flavor the soup. You can remove the piece of fat when it has rendered enough to suit you.

Brown the chunks of beef...

It helps if you don't crowd the pan like I did...it will brown more quickly. I seasoned with Worcestershire sauce and pepper. I added 1 carton of beef broth and 1 carton of chicken broth when the beef was browned.

Cut up celery, onions and shave some cabbage to add. I put in a handful of barley, about 2 cups of corn, 1 can of carrots and 3 cans of stewed tomatoes.

I put in a package of fresh mushrooms and seasoned it with the basil and parsley I grew this summer. I added some Cajun seasoning and a little salt. It sure smelled good while it was simmering.

This makes a good hearty soup and you can add anything you like to it. You can also add as much of anything as you want. Hubby likes to drink the juice from a mug, so I always make sure to have plenty of liquid. I also prefer to use beef broth or bouillion or chicken broth...not those little cubes...they are way to salty. I have some beef stock base that comes in a jar and it is pretty good.

Another way to change this up is to stew a whole chicken in plenty of water and season it very well - salt, pepper, sage, celery and onion....and cook until the chicken is done. Remove the whole chicken and de-bone it. Add the veggies you want and when they are done add the boned chicken. 

This makes a lot of stew and it is so good for lunch (and another supper). We had garlic cheese bread with it - slice part of a loaf of French bread, butter it, sprinkle with garlic powder and dried parsley, top with shredded cheese and broil til the cheese is melted and the edges are browned. There's not much any better than this!

Have a great day!







This is the boy....

that spilled the paint...



that he then walked in and took off down the hall. The dog then proceeded to walk through the paint on the floor, slipped, fell down and covered herself in a lovely shade of cream. She then took off in the opposite direction from Little Man to the front door. I took her outside, got Little Man's shoes off and started cleaning up paint. Please keep in mind that while this Lucy and Ethel episode is going on, Big Guy is screaming at the top of his lungs in his playpen.

I got most of the puddle cleaned up and went and got the dog, who by this time was totally mortified to be running around in a coat of paint, put her in the tub and bathed her. I had much good help from Little Man. Got the dog out of the tub, wrapped her in towels and took her in the living room. Big Guy apparently thought that was fine because he finally quit screaming and smiled. Little Man sat down with the dog and helped dry her off. I went back down the hall to assess the damages (new flooring, remember) and stepped in a huge puddle of lemonade that my little buddy had dropped on the floor.

I wiped up footprints, pawprints and lemonade off the floor. By then, I was sweating, shaking and cursing. Big Guy had stopped screaming, the dog was getting dry, Little Man was seated and calm, so I thought I'd sit down myself. HAH! That's when I looked at my shoes - covered with paint...my sweats - covered with paint...Hubby's office chair - not quite covered with paint but painted anyway...Hubby's desk - a dash of paint here and there, and my hands - paint dried under my fingernails and on my skin. I got a dish scrubber and took care of that.

The dog still has a bit of a cream colored butt but she will just have to grin and bear it. Son-in-law came to pick them up after he got off work at 10 p.m. and the little angels were sleeping with little smiles on their faces. Son-in-law said "Awwww...aren't they sweet?" Amen.

Long time no post....

Been through some major changes in the last few days and looking for more. I'm getting the painting bug again and am really getting bored with my regular routine. Hubby and I are going to go fishing next weekend...if Granny here can get around.

We had both grandsons this weekend...we did very well except when I came in the kitchen and found Little Man with his shoes off, standing with one leg in the dogs' water bucket. I asked him what he was doing and he said "swimming". Gotta give him an E for effort.

This was the start of my goulash the other night...browned the ground beef and added onion and green pepper...seasoned with cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder. I added 3 cans of stewed tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce. After it simmered and the veggies cooked through I boiled elbow macaroni and added it to the pot.



The baked sweet potatoes were left over and I peeled them, cut them up and browned them in a little butter.  It was pretty good and filled us up. Best of all it was cheap!

Hubby finally cut the okra down and all we have left is 2 pepper plants. We were so fortunate to have such a nice garden this year. Our freezer is full and we have a bounty of canned stuff on hand. We have definitely decided to re-work the garden for next year so we can plant and harvest more easily.

Life is good!

Which season are you?

This nice cool weather means a change in our eating habits. I tend to associate summer with fresh tomatoes and fruit...grilling outside and fresh veggies. Fall means root vegetables, beans, field peas and so on. Winter is stew, chili, thick chowder type soups, gumbo....real tummy warmers. Spring is kind of the limbo area...warm days mean grilling and getting ready for the hot days while cool days still call for some of the winter stuff. Chocolate is year round.

We've been enjoying these cool late afternoons and evenings, so I got out the old electric roaster and covered the bottom with a layer of country style pork ribs. Sliced up onion and a little Worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper and a little garlic were the seasonings. I turned it on to around 250 degrees and then had to sit there and smell it for an hour. I cleaned 4 sweet potatoes and set them on top of the pork, put the lid on it and let it cook until we were ready to eat...about 3 hours. It's very easy to adjust the heat up or down, depending when you want to dine.

The meat was falling off the bone and the potatoes came out tender. The potatoes flavored the meat a little and it was really good. A pan of stewed cabbage finished off the meal. Baked or steamed sweet potatoes reheat really well. Nuke them until they are hot and slap some butter on them. YUM!

I had a request for goulash and cornbread tonight so goulash it shall be. Haven't had cornbread in a while because I try to avoid heating up the kitchen when it's so hot outside. I have 2 different electric roasters, one small and one large that I use frequently to keep from using the oven. I also have 2 different sizes of slow cookers. I debated about getting one of the new multi crock pots...but I wouldn't use it that much and they are big. Storage is a problem right now in my demolished kitchen.

Going to have Little Man and Big Guy tonight for a while...Mom and Dad both have to work. Big Guy's first tooth came in and I can't wait to see it. I had Little Man the other day and he brought out his extra sets of hands and was into everything. I told him he was going to have to settle down. Hubby came home and was carrying on about something - Little Man came through the room and said "Pawpaw you need to settle down". I couldn't have done any better than that.  Pawpaw settled down.

Have a great day!



I Never Knowed....

that biscuits explode! So here I am in the kitchen. I was about to open a can of biscuits to fry for supper. I peeled the wrapping away from the can and POW...the can blew up. I had biscuit dough on the icebox, in the floor, on the sink and on the cabinet. After a string of not nice words, a half roll of paper towels and about 15 minutes, I finally got it cleaned up. Brave and determined, I opened another can without a problem. That stuff could be used to mine gold or move rocks.

On to supper...Hubby did a spatchcock chicken on the grill and I fried new potatoes and biscuits. Looked good and tasted good.

We've been eating late because it's so nice outside in the evenings now. Cool and breezy and lots of migrating butterflies. Some of the tree spiders are coming out late to make webs and we watch them work. Sometimes we help them out by catching moths and tossing them into the nets. Interesting to watch.

Our neighbors' dogs had pups about a month ago...registered German Shepherds...and they are beautiful. They had 8 and lost 2...but the remaining 6 are healthy and feisty. This was mom's first litter and she stays close. One is a sable color - I had never seen one and she is really pretty. Same markings as the black and brown ones, just a beautiful sable color instead of black. When the owner brings them out, she puts them on an old blanket and slides them around to the front yard. They are trying very hard to motivate...some crawl and some are learning to walk. I am a sucker for puppies. It's a good thing we don't have a farm because I guess between me and Hubby we would have at least one of every kind of animal.

Have a great Monday!

Peanut Butter Pie!

Daughter called me and had the NERVE to tell me, Miss Sweet Tooth 2010, that she had just made a peanut butter pie.

She made it from the last of a batch of peanut butter cookie dough and scraped together what she had in the fridge. Her instructions:

Okay, so: peanut butter cookie dough (leftover), in the pie plate, baked at 350 for about 12 minutes. Pressed down after it came out of the oven cause it puffed up a bit. Beat 8 oz cream cheese til fluffy. Melt 12 oz milk chocolate with ½ cup peanut butter, add to cream cheese and beat til smooth. Scrape down sides til it’s all blended. Fold in 8 oz cool whip and a big fat squirt of chocolate syrup. Put in crust, chill till set. Tasty.

She measures like I do...a big fat squirt makes complete sense to me. She made her own cookie dough, but I don't see why you couldn't buy the refrigerated dough...lots of times you can get a coupon on that.

We finally got 3 and 1/2 inches of rain...and we missed the really bad part that came up through Texas.

Have a wonderful weekend!

You're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy...

But this is Oklahoma and it's not a tornado but the leftovers from the hurricane.

We finally got a little rain...been waiting and waiting. And I mean little rain. Everybody is about to float off around us and so far we've had 1/4 inch.

We had a very nice Labor Day....cooked out and had Little Man over for the night. We stayed outside until after dark. The teenage girls next door got in a rousing game of football which attracted Little Man. They accidentally knocked the ball over the chain link fence and Little Man grabbed it and ran. We could see flashlights bobbing as he ran by us with the ball in his arms. I told Hubby that he had a ball that wasn't his (Hubby had given him a small ball) and we made him take it back. The girls invited him over to play since he was obviously quarterback material. He was completely exhausted when we went in.

I fixed a big pot of spaghetti last night, it was easy and we have both been tired...guess it's due to the weather and getting up way too early. My internal clock for some reason starts screaming at me at 4:30 or 5 a.m. Rather than lay there and toss I go ahead and get up. The coffee's good, the house is quiet and I collect my thoughts and do a little farming on the computer.

                             

Speaking of farming...this okra is all that's left of our garden except for 2 pepper plants. One is a habanero and they are just starting to turn orange. WHEW! I don't see how anybody can sit there and eat them, but Hubby has a friend who loves them, so that's where they're going. When the weather turns a little cooler, we're going to re-work the garden. We have plenty of cross ties so we're going to take them up, till the entire back and remake the beds into long rectangles so we can harvest from each side. The ones we have now are square so if anything is planted in the middle you have to get up on the bed to pick it.

Maybe we'll get more rain a little later on. Hope you have a good day!

Ahhhh...groceries!

Got kinda' slim pickings there at the end...meatloaf was the finale. We decided to just go local, meaning Country Mart here in beautiful downtown Glenpool. Both of us were feeling a little punk and decided to see just how well we could do in one stop.

The good thing is that the ads were all geared to Labor Day and the bargains were plentiful. We bought the usual milk, eggs and so on...still have lots of canned goods. Eggs were $.99 a dozen and I got two. Ice cream was $.99 a half gallon, and again, I got two. Tuna was $.49 a can and I got 10 cans. Hunt's ketchup, my favorite was a whopping $.69 a bottle and to follow suit, I got two. Miracle Whip, the nectar of the Gods, was 2 for $5.00 but I only got 1. Lay's chips and Fritos were 2 for $4 - we got two of each. I bought 10 pounds of ground beef and had it packaged in 1 pound pieces...$18.79. Chicken leg quarters were $5.90 for 10 pounds, a pound of chicken livers $1.15, Farmland hot dogs $.99, bologna $1.19, pork steak $7.04 ($1.59 lb.) and two packages of petit sirloins, enough for 3 meals, $10.61, and a good bit of fresh produce including cabbage, corn, packaged salad, red new potatoes and yellow onions. We bought a few odds and ends but it was all grocery so we paid nothing out of pocket.

The total bill came to $99.01, leaving me $15.99 on my EBT card. Total discounts were $18.13 using our discount card. I used no coupons this time. I don't think we did too bad...I was able to stock up on a couple of things we use a lot of.

With the stuff I have in the freezer that should last us a while. We bought 49 items at an average of $2.02 per item. The cash register receipt had 6 coupons on the back for a free small popcorn at Riverwalk Movies. We don't go out to the movies, but our kids do, so they get to eat free on us!

In addition, the catfish we were given is gone, but another neighbor brought us over two packages of bass fillets. Free is good!

Have a good Labor Day. I mock fashion and wear sandals year round. When you are my age, people just think you're being eccentric and try not to laugh when us comfort dressers walk by. I may turn up on The People of WalMart web site.

Sammiches make you feel good

"Ice cream" sammiches that is. I posted the recipe for lemon pie earlier. I made the comment that it would also be good with chocolate and made as lime filling. It really is! Since it was so good when I froze it, I decided to make ice cream sandwiches.

The top and bottom crust is a brownie mix, baked in a jellyroll sheet pan. I used a dough roller and flattened it and cut it in half.

You should line the pan with parchment paper or tin foil so you can flip it out of the pan. While the brownie crust was cooling, I made the filling.

Looks like a sci-fy egg doesn't it? This is 1 can of evaporated milk, 2 packages of lemon instant pudding and about a tablespoon of lime zest. When this is whisked together, it becomes thick. The second part of this is to mix vanilla and two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese until it's smooth. Add a thawed 12 oz. can of limeade concentrate to the cream cheese mixture and blend thoroughly.

To this mixture add the pudding mixture and beat until it's completely incorporated, scraping the bottom of the bowl occasionally. The mixture will be semi firm. You can refrigerate it until the brownies are completely cool.

Cover a cookie sheet pan with a sheet of tinfoil and place 1/2 of the flattened brownie. Plop the lime mixture on top and even out. Place the second half of the flattened brownie on top of the lime layer. At this point the mixture will ooze out the sides a little. You can pull the edges of the tin foil up to make a wall. Place the whole thing in the freezer.

When it is completely frozen, turn the whole thing out on a flat surface, flip it over and peel off the foil. Slice it into whatever size sandwiches you want. Put the slices in freezer bags or a plastic container with a lid and store in the freezer.

This filling could be used with 2 large cookies....make the individual sandwiches and freeze before wrapping. It makes a generous amount. The lime filling was not quite as tart as the lemon. I would think just about any kind of cookie would be good - buy them or bake them yourself. It was a pretty fun project!

Have you ever tried....

a biscuit fried? You take a can of the cheapo biscuits...just plain biscuits...drop them in hot oil and cook for just a few minutes. WOW! Really good with butter and that jam you made this summer.

I saved the oil I fried my okra in the other night. Heat it to about 350 degees (I used an electric skillet).

Place the biscuits in the hot grease...see how they start to puff.

Turn a time or two.

Lookin' pretty good!

All done....less than 5 minutes. The cornmeal stuck on the biscuits. You can do these in oil that has no crunchy stuff in it...sprinkle them with sugar or eat with butter and honey. They are super with fried chicken.

I fixed a beef roast last night, covered it with mushrooms and cooked it until it fell apart. I added gravy mix to make a thick gravy and broke the meat up in chunks. I made garlic mashed new potatoes with some of the skins left on and made slaw. We had hot beef sandwiches and I served the biscuits with raspberry blackberry jam. Gosh was it good!

Happy birthday to my daughter! She's STILL my baby!