DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS?

 Hello, friends!  It's Friday!  The weekend is almost here.  I thought once I retired the weekend would be just like any other day, but it's not.  There is a different feel in the air.

This has been a sort of nothing day.  I still have stuff I have to do, but it's one of the days where I am too tired to do anything.  My mind says yes, but my body says no, take a nap.  Being woken up at 4:00 a.m. by a scammer phone call doesn't help either.  I made my mammogram appointment though, so I did something.  And Joe says the cat just threw up on the bed.  So whether I like it or not, the sheets have to be changed.

I have a question for all of you.  I am stumped on what to do for my YouTube channel.  I haven't posted in over a week because I can't think of anything to post.  It's different here where I can talk to you and show you a picture or two.  But I have NO IDEA what to do for a video.  Do any of you have an idea?

There are a few things I thought of.  I finished one EXCELLENT book called "The Girl in the Striped Dress" by Ellie Midwood.  I was going to review it but thought I should wait until I have a couple of more books finished.  But my reading has gone by the wayside.  I'm so tired I fall asleep with the book open in my hands.

I thought of posting a recipe, but I have done most of my good recipes.  *sigh*

I thought of a "Kathy Chat", but I don't know what to chat about.

Decor?  Forget that.  I have nothing until Easter.

Cleaning?  Do I really want people to see what a mess my house is?  Do I?  Or would that be a good idea?

So I am coming to you, dear friends, for help.  What would you like to see?  What would you definitely not watch?  I have not been having a lot of views lately and almost no comments.  Maybe it's time for me to give up the vlog and stick to the blog.  I really enjoy doing both, though.  And I have some trips coming up that would be really good to film.  Hmmm....

Please let me know what you think.  I trust all of you.  Thanks.

Kathy

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

 

Hello everyone.  Yes, I'm back again.  This is a post that I have been wanting to do for awhile and I'm finally getting around to it. I don't know about you, but I like to see what other people are having for dinner.  It gives me ideas for my own meals.  So if you are like me, you will like this post.  I'm going to show you a few of the meals I have been eating lately.  It is just too hard to take pictures of all my dinners.  I forget to do it a lot of times.  But here are some of them to show you.

One night I made one of my go-to pasta dishes -- Pasta with Peas and Bacon.  You can find the recipe on Good Morning America's page and I have it on here also.  It's under April 2020.  When Covid first began, Michael Symon was on the show (remote from his home) and did this recipe.  I copied it down and put my own little twist on it.  Basically, it is his.  I use a different cheese and instead of the Rigatoni that he used, I use whatever pasta I have in the house.  It's always good.  I should make it more often and maybe during Lent I will.  Without the bacon of course.

The next night I made stuffed peppers with two of the peppers my friend Kathy gave us.  I have made this for years and years.  It's my great-grandmother's recipe.  She learned it from a Hungarian lady she worked with.  Most people put their peppers in the oven with the sauce over them and bake them.  These peppers are boiled on top of the stove and the sauce is made separately and served separately.  Another recipe that is always good.

Another night I made fried rice.  This is always a good way to use up the bits and pieces hanging around the fridge.  I never make it the same way twice.  I add whatever I happen to have on hand.

This is a recipe that I made last week.  It is like a Sloppy Joe, but it is made with Campbell's Tomato Soup and is called a Souperburger.  I learned to make this when I was in high school.  I lost the recipe years ago, but was thinking about it and looked it up on Google.  There it was.  I like it so much better than a Sloppy Joe.  It has more flavor from the soup.  This is another one I have to remember to make more often.  I didn't have any rolls, so I just put it over a slice of bread.  But putting it on a hamburger or sandwich roll is the best way to do it.

Last night I was going to make macaroni and cheese.  I always use the Pioneer Woman's recipe.  It is the best I have ever made.  But Joe wasn't feeling well and went to bed.  By the time he got up and felt well enough to eat, it was pretty late.  So we just had grilled cheese sandwiches.

I have no idea what I am going to make tonight.  We just got an order from Shoprite yesterday.  I was almost out of meat and got a lot of it.  One of the things I bought was a ham steak and that is what I am thinking of making tonight.  I have some sweet potatoes that need to be used up so that would be perfect with it.  Let's see how that works out.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you all have a great day.

Kathy

FAT TUESDAY

 Hello, friends.  Bet you didn't expect to see me back so quickly.  But I actually have something to share with you.

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday.  You might know it as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnivale, Carnival, Donut Day, Pancake Day or many other names.  Basically it is the day before Lent begins.  This is the 40 days leading up to Easter.  While the church I am a part of is not liturgical, there are some things that Joe and I choose to do.

As I said to Joe last night at dinner, in my family all the little things I observe are more cultural than religious,  Having a German family background, a lot of things come from that.

I went to Bible Study and afterwards Debbie and I drove over to the bakery and got our Fastnacht.  I had called earlier and asked them to put 2 away for me.  I was afraid they would run out, but I really didn't have to worry.  There was a lot of them.  At study Pastor asked me to pick him up a half-dozen.

When we got there, there was quite a line to get in.  Debbie offered to go in and get the things for me.  I knew I couldn't stand in that line.

This was just the beginning of the line.  By the time Debbie came out of the bakery, there were about 12 people in line to get in.

Debbie had not just a bag for me and a box for Pastor, but she had a box for herself and her husband too.  I know they were not disappointed with them.

We drove back to church.  Pastor was on the porch of the parsonage and was so happy to get his donuts.  Then I took Debbie home, stopping at Popeye's drive through to get her lunch.

On the way home I gave Joe a call and asked if he wanted to go to Wawa's and get hoagies for lunch.  Of course he did.  So I swung by the house, picked him up, and we got sandwiches and chips for lunch.  It was so good, but we were not hungry for dinner at 6:00.  So we ended up having dinner at 8:00.  Kind of late, but that's when we got hungry.

Of course for dinner I had pancakes.  I usually have pancakes on Fat Tuesday.  After all, it is Pancake Day too.

And then we had our Fastnacht for dessert.  Fastnacht literally means "last night" or the night before the fast.  And this will be the last "treat" until Easter for us.  They were so good!  Basically it is a heavy dough (sometimes a potato dough but the bakery I go to uses a butter dough) that is deep fried and then dipped in either cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.  We got cinnamon.  They are then cut into rectangles or triangles.  The four sides of the rectangle stand for the four gospels and the three sides of the triangle stand for the Trinity.  They are never round.

These are made only once a year, so that's it until next Fat Tuesday.

Thanks for coming along with me today.  Now on to getting breakfast, feeding Jack the cat, putting in a Shoprite order, crafting, doing dishes, ironing, cleaning up the kitchen...  Mac and cheese for dinner tonight.

See you soon,

Kathy

THIS AND THAT

 

Hello, friends!  Sorry there is so much time between posts.  Life happens.  There is so much going on that posting has fallen by the wayside.  I am taking a few minutes now to catch you up.  And it's 5:00 a.m.!  I have been up since 3:00 a.m. working on my lesson for Bible study today.  The fact that my computer doesn't want to work and it took me 30 minutes to get into my file doesn't help.  But at least it is written, printed out and read over several times.  We are still working on the Beatitudes and this week it is Blessed are the Meek.  I think I have way too much data on the computer and so I am going to get an SD card this week, back up some files and remove them from the computer.  Maybe that will help things a bit.  I can only hope.

Weather around here has been so weird.  One day it is in the 40s and the next in the 60s.  On Thursday it is supposed to be up to 70*F (21*C) and then by Saturday 40*F (4*C).  Crazy!

I am hoping to get out in the yard for a bit while the weather is warmer.  It is so messed up from the winter and needs a lot of work.  But with my health issues I don't have the physical ability to do a lot for any length of time.  So I figure a few minutes here, a few minutes there, and it will all add up.

I went to the dentist for a cleaning and check up last week. It turns out I have a broken filling which can be easily fixed and a cavity under my gum which the dentist can't reach.  So I have to go to a periodontist, have part of my gum removed, and then when that heals have the cavity filled.  It is going to cost a lot of money, but at least I won't lose the tooth.  *sigh*  It's always something.

During this same time period I have to see my cardiologist who wants to do a procedure on my heart for my a-fib and I have to see my GI doctor for my yearly colonoscopy.  Yes, yearly.  I have pre-cancerous polyps which he is keeping an eye on.  What a life I lead!

But there will be some fun in there too.  Joe and I have three trips planned.  I'm looking forward to them.  And hopefully I will be able to get away with my sister this summer.

Some good news though.  I got another Farmer's Market haul from my friend Kathy.  So much this time.  I shared about half of it with Rosemary.  I didn't get to take pictures (it's too hard when I'm dividing it up with someone else) but let me share what I got.

2 heads of cauliflower, a mini loaf of zucchini bread, a mini loaf of chocolate bread, 4 huge orange bell peppers, a bag of carrots, a stalk of celery, 5 lbs. white potatoes, 5 lbs. red potatoes, 4 chocolate iced cream filled donuts, 2 cherry cheesecake danish, and a dozen mini blueberry muffins (so good!).  I am so thankful for the extra food I get.  Food is so expensive these days!

I used the cauliflower last night.  I went online to find a new and different way to make it.  And as usual I took the recipe and ran with it to make it my own.  And it was so delicious!  What I did was cut the cauliflower into pieces.  As usual, there were some bad parts and I got rid of that.  I was able to save about 2/3 of the head and that was plenty for us.  I rinsed them off, put them in a 8 x 8 pan which I had put some olive oil into.  I sprinkled them with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning.  I was looking for something to put on them.  I had this seasoning from a recipe I made once.  A whole jar left over.  But let me tell you, this turned out really good!  I put them in a 375* oven for 20 minutes, then turned it up to 390* for 10 minutes.  It turned out perfect.  I also had some flounder fillets that I put into another pan with olive oil, then topped with butter and lemon juice.  That was in at 375* for 10 minutes and then 390* for 10 minutes.  Joe loved it.  We had it with leftover Italian bread from last week.  That's almost gone now.

Wish I had taken a picture, but I was too busy eating.  *sigh*  I do have a couple of pictures for you, though.  I went to the bakery and got a couple of "high hats" decorated as eagles for Super Bowl Sunday.  They did not last until the game.  We love these, but seldom get them because they are so bad for us.  Besides, the bakery only makes them for special occasions.  It's a yellow cupcake, but the top (the high hat) is whipped cream.  Yum!

Since today is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, etc.) I plan on stopping by the bakery to get two Fastnacht.  These are a special donut made only once a year for this particular day.  I don't know if I will be successful because everyone wants them and I will be going after Bible Study.  There may not be any left.  And that will be it for my sweets until Easter.

I'm going to end here.  I have been all over the place in this post.  You got a health update, a grocery haul, a bakery run, a recipe...  My goodness!  But now I have to take my meds, take a shower and get dressed, eat breakfast, study some more and get on my way.  Hope you all have a wonderful day.  I'll be back when I can but hopefully sooner rather than later.

Kathy

VALENTINE'S DAY

 

Hello, friends!  Hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday with your loved ones.  I had a very busy day.

It started with stopping at Rite Aid on my way to Bible Study.  I wanted to get a card for Joe and a treat for the ladies at the study.  But I took a quick look down the Valentine's aisle also.  Look what I found.

Isn't it cute?  I have very few Valentine's Day decorations.  And this little heart was 75% off.  Of course it's too late to use it this year, but I will put it away until next Valentine's Day.  It will look cute in the front window.

After the study Joe and I went to Yamato's for lunch.  That was my gift to Joe rather than have something that will just add to the clutter in my house.  There were so many choices, it was hard to decide.

Finally Joe decided on a NY strip steak bento box.  It came with a salad, sashimi, sushi and rice.

I got vegetable yaki soba.  It was so good.

It was so much food that neither of us ate dinner.  We just got some snacks but even that was a bit much.

As usual Joe gave me my one red rose.  It is in a beautiful bouquet.

He also gave me a box of gourmet chocolate truffles and a beautiful card.

I fell asleep really early last night.  The only trouble is that I woke up at 12:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep.  I have to take Joe to a doctor's appointment this afternoon, but I think when I get home I will have to take a nap.

See you all later.  I'll look forward to reading about your day yesterday.

Kathy

FRIDAY'S FARMER'S MARKET

 

Hello, friends.  I'm so glad to be back with you.  Thank you for understanding that I was sick this week and didn't get any posts up.  I am doing much better now.  I think I'm entirely over being sick.  Keep your fingers crossed.

My friend Kathy goes to a Senior Center several days a week.  They do lots of things there.  But every Friday a farm brings in some things for them that they can't sell.  The produce is borderline.  Still good, but not good enough for their farmer's market.  All the people at the center are able to help themselves to whatever they want.

Kathy has been bringing things home for awhile.  But now the lady she lives with has told her she doesn't want the veggies any more.  I don't know why.  Maybe because they are "borderline" and she can't use them fast enough.  Kathy called me and asked if I would be interested.  Yes!  Of course!  Kathy picks up the produce on Friday and brings it to church for me on Sunday.

I haven't been taking pictures of it, but I am going to begin to this week.  What we can't use we share with our friend, Rosemary, who is going through a tough time these days.  She lives two blocks from us, so I go through the things and Joe takes her a bag each week.  It has been three weeks now (this Sunday will be the fourth week) and I am loving it.  Let me tell you what I have gotten.

Week 1:  sweet potatoes, white potatoes and cauliflower

There were six large sweet potatoes so I used two, gave two to Rosemary and will use the other two this week.  The white potatoes was a five pound bag and I am working my way through them although I gave three to Rosemary.  The cauliflower unfortunately did not last and I had to dump it.

Week 2:  pretzel rolls, wheat rolls, eggplant, yellow and orange peppers.

The pretzel rolls didn't last long at all.  Joe loved them.  There were six in the package.  I got one.  It is just like a soft pretzel but in roll form.

We haven't eaten the wheat rolls yet, but they are in the fridge and are doing OK.

There were two eggplants.  I gave one to Rosemary.  They looked awful on the outside and I anticipated having to cut a lot of it away.  But inside it was beautiful.  And so sweet!  Fried eggplant made us an entire dinner.  Unfortunately it was the night I began to get sick.  I had four slices and went running to the bathroom.  So Joe got almost the whole thing.  And loved it.

I gave the two orange peppers to Rosemary and kept the two yellow ones.  There was no way I was going to use four peppers.  And I was too sick to cook and freeze them.  We had stuffed peppers with them when I was feeling a bit better.  Still, Joe ate most of mine.

Week 3:  (last week) asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli and carrot packs, yellow peppers, country white bread, ciabatta

There were two bunches of asparagus.  I gave one to Rosemary.  The other I am having for dinner tonight.  There were two cellophane bags of broccoli, cauliflower and carrot pieces.  Cut sort of like you would for a salad.  I gave one to Rosemary and we will have the other soon.  There were two yellow peppers and I kept both of them so I could make stuffed peppers again now that I am feeling better.  All of the vegetables were beautiful.

There were two loaves of bread and I kept both of them.  We go through bread quickly around here.  At first I thought they were the same thing, but then I read the labels and they are different.  This will be fun to try.

Kathy also gave me a box of strawberries, but unfortunately they had gone bad before I got them.

I can't wait until her phone call this afternoon to see what we are getting this week.  This is saving us so much money on food and we really appreciate it besides enjoying the surprise of what we will get each week.

See you later.

Kathy