Day 3

I'm on a roll! Finally had to answer the dreaded "What's for supper" question and decided to have a meat casserole. It's easy and cheap and as usual, lots of leftovers.

This is a make as much as you need recipe depending on the size of your family and is filling and tasty. My recipe cost as I made it last night is: Potatoes ($.50), onion ($.15), cabbage ($.50), hot dogs ($.79), butter ($.20), salt, pepper and water, Parmesean cheese ($.50), for a total of $2.64. This reheats really well - we usually have it for lunch the next day.

We have decided we are going to go berry hunting this spring. My mother in law's favorite jelly in the world is elderberry. She sent me the recipe her mother used to make when she was little. I did a little research on the net and discovered that while elderberries grow wild all over the place, they don't come off until late summer around August. We thought about buying some plants, but our gardening space is very limited. SO...we have a couple of places in mind to hunt for them. A friend has a stocked catfish pond out in the boonies and generously allows us to fish it to help control the fish population. Last time we talked to him they were up around 5 - 6 pounds. I can't wait! The area is full of wild blackberries and I'm sure I've seen some elderberries. Had I known then what I know now, I would have elderberries in my freezer. I found some elderberry jelly on Ebay but is was nearly $8 a pint. Hmm. Methinks I shall hunt for them and make my own.

My daughter is a jelly maker and has turned out some really, really good products. She makes a tangerine/pomegranite jelly that is unbelievable. It's the color of an Oklahoma sunset and tastes like Heaven. She and her husband make pesto with our fresh herbs and they keep it in the freezer. They also make their own sausage...garlic and Italian...that is the best I've ever had. They use natural casings, grind their own meat and season with a delicate hand. They also have sourdough starter in the refrigerator that they have kept going for quite some time now - they call it "Boo". Boo has given us lots of good sourdough bread.

I think I need to get out of the house some. My favorite song is the theme to "Spongebob Squarepants" and I hum "ringing, the phone is ringing, there's an animal in trouble" from Pets on Nick. Hurry up spring...I need help!