Susie's Notes and Pictures
Well it looks like it’s going to be a great Labor Day weekend The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny, and we have been invited to my brother’s house to hang around his pool and enjoy some grilled burgers and chicken. We plan to bring a nice grape salad to chip in with the food.
I hope that each and every one of you has a safe and happy Labor Day. Unfortunately it’s also the sign of Autumn beginning but that’s okay. All things must change!!
I found a great summer squash recipe that has become a favorite here too. It’s a New England Summer Squash casserole type dish. I thought you might like to give it a try.
Boil Squash and onion for 5 minutes and drain. Combine chicken soup and sour cream. Stir in shredded carrots. Fold in squash and onions. Combine stuffing mix and melted butter. Use a 12 x 7 casserole dish. Put half of stuffing on the bottom of the pan, then the squash mixture and top with remaining stuffing. Bake at 350 degree for 25 – 30 minutes or until heated through. Serves 6 unless they really like it and then it only serves about 4.
Winter is being a little more harsh this year than in recent years. It’s not just in this area, we are actually missing some of the snow and extreme cold (knock on wood!). Even so, the cold that we are having makes me crave comfort. The kind of food that cooks for a long time and makes the whole house smell yummy. The kind of food that tastes so good that you barely chew it – you shovel in your mouth so fast that you practically inhale it.
Some of my favorite comfort foods are chili, beef stew, and the #1 favorite, chicken and dumplings. All three of these are made from scratch and often turn out slightly different each time, depending upon what I have on hand and how hard I shake the spice jar.
I also love macaroni and cheese, but that always turns out different and I have several different recipes. I have a speedy version, my cheap version, recipes clipped from magazines over the years, and my full blown childhood memory of my mom’s version. Sometimes I use elbow macaroni, other times I uses ziti or rotini or other specialty pastas. And the kind of cheese can be anything from from shredded four state cheddar to Velveeta.
What are some of the special foods that you like to cook during the cold weather months?
Everyone has a “go to” snack. Its the food – even if junk food – that you grab when you are just a bit hungry and don’t feel like cooking a whole meal. You want something to munch on while watching TV or working on the computer, or you’ve already had dinner and you just want something crunchy or salty or sweet to put a smile on your face before going to bed.
My favorite snack is a scoop of hummus with some dried pita chips with sea salt. The hummus has some mild spices and a scattering of pine nuts. I buy the big plastic container of hummus for only about $5 at Sam’s Club and a huge bag of dried pita chips with sea salt for only about $4, also at Sam’s. If I buy the same things at the local grocery store I end up paying the same money but getting containers with only about half of the servings. So it makes more sense to go to Sam’s and stock up.
If I don’t want hummus, I usually crave something sweet, like a cookie or a slice of pie. Lately I have been craving cakes, but I think I will try cake pops instead of a full size cake. I like the smaller serving size of a cake pop and I don’t need as much self control on portion size if I just grab a cake pop and don’t allow myself a second.
I have a lot of will power. But I cannot turn this down. This is as close to heaven as you can get on a plate. I can diet tomorrow.
We bought some frozen lasagna the other day and I had forgotten how bad those things taste. To make it up to my family this week I am going to make homemade lasagna. That way we can get the horrible taste out of our mouths and get to enjoy some good tasting food. I think who ever invented frozen lasagna is nuts to say the least, it does not taste good and it is not that cheap, the good stuff does not cost much more and it is so much better. I have to make it up to my family for my mistake last week.
My neighbor came over yesterday and told me that they wanted to buy a new car. They’ve been looking into sedans and suvs. She wants something that has plenty of space, good gas mileage and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. She told me they are going to send their old car on an auto transport to their son in California.
I asked her why she was going to ship it instead of driving it across the country. Apparently with the price of gasoline car shipping is actually cheaper than driving it yourself. If she were to drive it she would not only have gas fees, but also fees for hotel stays and food. These additional costs can add up quickly.
I bet her son is going to be thrilled when he goes to pick up the car from the car transport pick up location only 5 miles from his house. He’s been without reliable transportation ever since he got laid off last fall. My neighbor, Karen, is happy to help him and she gets a new car out of the deal too!
Here it is again… Thanksgiving. I love all of the cooking and preparation and traveling when it comes to Thanksgiving. Every Thanksgiving that comes around I travel home to be with friends and family. There’s always traffic, family, and a bunch of food. I’m not sure just yet what I am going to bring but I’m sure it will be tasty. I’m thankful for my family wanting me around for turkey day! So I guess it’s time to start cooking and then hit the road again!
