Just a Little Bored Today

Today, this area of the USA is experiencing a blizzard. Juno is her name & although she took her time getting ramped up, she has arrived! Last measurement  (as best we could measure in the blowing snow) was almost 30 inches. There is still a bit more snow falling, but by dawn, this blizzard will be over. We didn't lose power as the snow was very light & fluffy. Phew! Cleaning up the roads, sidewalks & parking lots may take a day or 2 but all in all, I suffered only from boredom!

Updates: Patriots made it to the Super Bowl (they play the Seattle Seahawks on Feb 1) & while I'm happy for them, I'm not as excited as I have been the last FIVE TIMES they made it to a Super Bowl since 2000. They've been accused of deflating the footballs to somehow gain an advantage over their opponents. Science has proven that properly inflated balls in a warm environment which are then brought into a very cold environment WILL deflate but the world won't let the issue go. I know my favorite NFL team did not cheat but I'm still deflated (yes, pun was intended)

Carlotta turns 5 in a few weeks! C & I will be driving down on Thurs, prior, spending Fri & Sat w/her as well as T & M before heading back home on Sunday, because Nanny Family #1 needs me for February vacation care the next day. 

I know I don't post about Carlotta as often as I once did, but since I can't see her as much as I like, I get sad. Writing about that makes me sadder. So I'll stick w/updates like this instead. Going to visit her makes me happy! I LOVE how she has never been afraid or shy around me despite the long periods of time between visits!

OK, though I'm still bored, I'm done typing. Have a great day, all.

Warm Soup or Stew

It's been very cold here past few days. A "polar vortex" is what the weather people are calling it this year. Coldness from north of us is making an appearance here. Happens every winter to one degree or another. Lately, the media have decided to name every weather event. So, we will endure this vortex.

It does make one yearn for a warm bowl of soup or stew though. On my stove right now is a simmering pot of "Winter Stew" which will be ready in time for dinner & the Broncos vs Colts playoff game! The Pats have already advanced as have the Seahawks. M & I might get to do some trash talking to each other if our teams make it to the Super Bowl!

This recipe, if made "as is,"  makes a lot of soup. Perhaps leftovers can be frozen? The author of this recipe says his dad would make the soup, leave it simmering on the wood stove and whenever someone was hungry, they took some. Then as the soup began to dwindle, his dad would add more ingredients and continue simmering, sometimes for days! Not sure I'd try or trust that method.

 Go for freezing the leftovers!

Winter Soup (makes a lot!!) ... feel free to cut recipe in half!

What you need:

• 4 quarts V8 juice (I subbed in 2 cups of original V8 with 2 cups Spicy Hot V8, for flavor)
• 1 lbs ground beef, browned & drained (I used 1.5 lbs ground beef)
• 2 medium sweet onions, roughly chopped
• 5 peeled carrots, roughly chopped
• 4 medium sized white potatoes, peeled & chopped (I used Yukon Gold baby potatoes & left peel on)
• 3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3T chopped fresh parsley (I used dried)
• 3T butter (I used margarine because I was out of butter)
• 2T white flour
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

What to do:

• Brown ground beef & drain well. Set aside
• In same pot, melt butter
• Add the carrots, onions & celery, stir until softened (I sauteed long enough for the onions to soften)
• Sprinkle flour in & stir/cook for 1 minute
• Add in the V8, cooked ground beef, parsley, bay leaves & potatoes
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to LOW
• Cover & simmer until potatoes are soft.
• Remove the bay leaves before serving. (I remove the celery as I don't like cooked celery texture)

Ok, after testing this new recipe, I would use less V8 juice, more meat and cut the acidity with a touch of heavy cream. And stick to peeled white potatoes.

A Yummy Bacon Appetizer

The holidays are coming to a close. We were fortunate to have been able to spend several days in VA w/Carlotta & her parents, T & M, though we did miss seeing C & G as they spent their 1st Christmas together in their place. Oh well. I loved seeing how much Carlotta has grown & how much of a sense of humor she has. She starts Kindergarden in September so her availability for visits will be limited.

Ok, on to the bacon appetizers which got good reviews from a childhood mentor of mine who is a wonderful cook in her own right and bakes some of the best homemade bread in my memory! 

For years, she supplemented her husbands income by making & selling her bread in a little cabinet on her front lawn, near the street. She sold out every time! 

So, for me to get a compliment from her on how good something was that I made, well... it's a big deal!

Thank you to the Pillsbury company for this recipe!

Bacon Appetizer Crescents  (makes 16 servings)

What you need:

• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 8 slices of bacon, cooked & crumbled (I used the super thick variety)
• 1/3 cup of Kraft Parmesan cheese (the Parm/Romano blend works good too)
• 1/4 cup onions, finely chopped
• 2T fresh parsley, chopped
• 1T milk (I used skim)
• 2 cans refrigerator crescent DINNER rolls (the bigger sized ones are just too big)

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix all ingredients together EXCEPT the rolls
• Open rolls & separate into triangles
• Put 1 generous Tablespoon of the mixture on each of the triangles
• Spread the mixture to cover the triangle (doesn't have to be perfect)
• Roll up from the bottom, to the point & place, point down, on a cookie sheet (or jelly roll pan)
• Bake 12-15 minutes. Ovens vary, my try could've taken another minute
• Best served warm. 

My Simple Egg Salad Sandwich recipe

There's a gazillion ways to make egg salad!
I used to make it for the girls during summer when they were sick of PB & J or baloney & cheese.
A few hard boiled eggs (perfect recipe for hard boiled eggs follows this recipe below) mixed w mayo & a dash of mustard was really all I ever did. Sometimes I added in too much mayo making for a runny sandwich.

As I've gotten older, I want my food to taste like I want it to every time so I experimented w/some actual recipes for egg salad. C was my test subject, though she didn't know that most times!

This is the recipe we settled on, though I have forgotten where it came from, apologies to its originator.

Egg Salad   (serves 4)

What you need:

• 6 extra large hard boiled eggs, peeled & mashed (my recipe for perfect hard boiled eggs is below)
• 3T mayo (or if you like tanginess, Miracle Whip)
• 1 tsp yellow mustard or dijon mustard
• 1T dill relish (I drain on a paper towel. I don't like the extra watery-ness in my final product)
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

What you do:

• In a separate bowl, mix the mayo, mustard, relish, salt & pepper.
• Taste. Add more S&P if needed.
• Combine mixture into eggs, about 1T at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. 

 (eggs come in different sizes & may need less than of the mixture you made)

• Spread on your favorite bread. Mine? Canadian Premium White!