Definitely no gardening today. I woke up to a severe thunderstorm warning and winds gusting over 50 mph, so this food will have to suffice for a garden post, there's a little of the garden in each one, we are quickly getting down to the bottom of our freezer and canning stash of veggies.
More bangers & mash - this is quickly becoming a staple around here, but I'm soon going to have to sub out those potatoes for salad and Guinness for water since this dinner will definitely sneak up on waistlines before we have time to even notice! Bangers & Salad?! Not sure if the Irish in me will be able to handle that. This one just has frozen onions from the garden and fresh parsley.
This bread was not as good as it looks, LOL. It was kind of doughy still in the middle but I had a feeling it would be since I waited so long to start it, then at 6:30 pm with it still trying to cool the kids were "starving" so we had to slice it! This one had fresh basil, peppercorn & parmesan. Those are my freeze-ahead stuffed shells which makes dinner prep fast, they have my canned tomato sauce in them and fresh basil (those poor basil seedlings are taking a beating!), also still trying to eat to the end of the frozen garden bean supply.
This was a nice surprise at dinner last night...
After hurriedly getting the kids ready for school this morning before we lost power, I decided that the library and sewing would be the perfect way to spend the day, since the driving sheets of rain and 40+ mph winds were expected to last all day, with temps dropping like a rock after noon. Was 80 yesterday, tonight in the 30's? A.D.D weather...
I did get to the library first thing, and this is what's on the reading agenda this week...
and then life got in the way of my sewing plans... I realized we were low on milk and a few other things so that turned into a whole grocery shopping ordeal and literally rained on my sewing parade. When I got home, I had exactly 1.5 hours left before Thing 1 and Thing 2 get home from school, and that doesn't leave me with enough time to properly get any sewing planned or started, so I decided to do some more cooking:
I made made meatballs! These are simmering in my canned tomato sauce and canned stewed tomatoes and will be dinner tonight with pasta, and also dinner for hubby to take to work tomorrow. The rest of the meatballs were quick frozen on a baking sheet and dumped into a bag for ready-use later. I'm trying really hard to always cook ahead and store things, since it helps keep us from eating out on busy nights. I'm hoping if I do this for long enough it will just become habit and I'll forget all about my favorite salad bar and sandwich place in town!
So no sewing, just cooking... think of me this way:
(I'm still so puzzled by her!)
yeah, right!
One more thing, we are resuming family reading tonight! We were working our way through the Little House series before hubby left for deployment. These were my favorite books as a child, and when I found out hubby hadn't read them, it became top priority to inflict my passion on those around me! He was enjoying them so much while we read to the kids nightly, that when he left for the Middle East I stopped at the end of 'Farmer Boy', and waited for him to return so he wouldn't miss any. So tonight we begin 'By the Shores of Silver Lake'... I can't wait! When I was a kid I loved Laura Ingalls, but now that I'm all grown up, I love reading these over again this time channeling my Ma Ingalls, now that woman knows how to homestead! :)
First off, all of your food looks so amazing that I'm drooling. I don't care if the bread is RAW in the middle, give me some butter and I could eat the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteTell Loch I'm very impressed with his eating green beans AND his developing muscles.
Isn't a library a wonderful thing? I come home with more books than I could read in 6 months each time I go. We contribute to two different local library funds and it's worth every penny.
I would be threatended cooking in that gal's outfit. I'm forever splattering hot sauce of some kind down my front. I can just picture myself with burn marks on all that exposed skin. (That's why you should never fry bacon when you're naked, you know.) ;o}
We read all the LIW books together, too. So good for all ages.
Gosh your food looks incredibly delicious! Now I'm sitting here hungry...
ReplyDeleteOur weather yesterday was the horrible, rain, some hail, tornado watch that turned into a warning... Yuck...
I used to watch little house growing up in Germany and just recently read two of the books. I gotta say I love them and like you said, Ma Ingalls new how to homestead and take care of her family!
Dont feel bad, those basil seedlings wouldn't last in my home either. To tempting, so I just direct seed. Everything looks good. It is like a game to concoct a meal out of the preserved items. I have been out of fresh onions and potatoes for a while, so my meals are...interesting.
ReplyDeleteBe safe out there!
ReplyDeleteOur neighborhood took a beating last Thursday when an f1 tornado came through. We lost 3 big sized branches off our oak tree. Just lucky it wasn't worse. A lot of people ended up with trees coming down on the houses. Lost power for the day. My girlfriend finally got hers on after 36 hours.
Your video made me laugh! Look at those muscles and all from those beans. hee hee
ReplyDeleteI really have to do more cooking cause everyone makes such yummy meals and I just am not one of life's cooks. Maybe I'll attempt a meal and show you all why I should never be let loose in a kitchen. LOL!
My favorite book series were the Ann of Green Gables books. Can you believe I haven't read the Little House series. I read Nancy Drew though and loved those. So many good books and so little time to read them all.
Wow, those bangers and mash look delicious. I think you could substitute salads from time to time. Haha. I love that video of Loch, how great that he's eating his beans! Grow big and strong.
ReplyDeleteWe're getting down to the end of our stores too and then I remember that most of the veggies don't come again for several months!
ReplyDeleteLove love LOVE the Little House books. I read them ALL. And I mean ALL. When I was younger that's all I read for years! I should try to get my hands on some and reread them.
Tell Loch I had to back UP from the computer that muscle was so big! Awesome job little man! We are all very proud of you!
ReplyDeleteErin, your reading material looks about like mine. Don't ya love it?
Well hopefully your storms have cleared! Go sit on the john and read :o)
What? You don't look like her while you're cooking? I totally do. Every minute of every day. Even while I'm scrubbing toilets.
ReplyDeleteWe had the same storm blow through here and 5 people died from trees crashing into homes and cars. Why do storms only come at night?!
You food looks fabulous!! I wish I could cook like that! I hope you get a sewing day soon!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the Laura Ingalls books! I had the entire set-though I'm not sure whatever happened to them.
ReplyDeleteI can handle crappy days-but not the wind! Looks like you made a great day out of it-we've got a pretty terrific library for such a small town (12,000 people)--3 years of going every week and I STILL manage to find an armload of books every week--hope our lousy new Governor doesn't cut funding further on that!!
That is some muscle Loch is developing ~ he'll be able to tuck a cello under his chin in no time, heehee. I think this post reflects what I like so much about your blog - a peek into your day that is so much fun. Reading, cooking, family, weather! I am with Mama Pea on that loaf of bread - hand me the butter and get out of my way!
ReplyDeleteMama Pea, I have loved the library ever since I first set foot in one as a kid! With the exception of when I was in the Navy and "kinda busy" LOL, I go about once every two weeks, more often if I just need an excuse to get out of the house :)
ReplyDeleteAnke, I'm over this weather!
Jane, I just had to go buy onions and potatoes... I just wish we could grow more and store more here!
Dani, we were under a tornado watch too, which is pretty unusual for our area, normally it's just hurricanes LOL
Sparkless, I've read the Nancy Drew series, but not Anne of Green Gables, I guess I couldn't put down the Little House Books long enough LOL - none of my cooking is too "gourmet", I tend to make familiar old school hearty dishes sometimes with a twist if I'm feeling particulary creative, which isn't often - I'm just on a kick right now cuz the weather is bad :)
meems & APG, funny how some things never change, like parents telling their kids that green beans go to the muscles, carrots make you have laser vision, etc LOL!
ReplyDeleteKaytee, I don't think I'll ever be able to grow enough to keep us stocked for the winter when it comes to things like potatoes and onions, but last year was a banner year for beans :)
Ribbit, maybe we should bedazzle our yoga pants and olive oil stained t-shirts, come on, I know you've got them :) EVERY time I buy a new "nice" tshirt I get olive oil on the front!
Patty, I don't believe it for a minute! I bet you are a great cook when you have TIME for it, I don't know how you do it managing the homeschooling, gardening and all, hat's off to you - I only get it done because I ship off my kids during the day :)
Sue, they are cutting things like music here in the schools... ridiculous!
Susan, I'm glad you like it! That's kind of what I strive for, an "all around" glimpse into what goes on here, the "whole shebang" is what makes the family, I have faults too, some people assume that since I garden my kids eat veggies all the time happily, but nope, they are just like every other kid. Plus, being so far from family I hope my parents can see through the blog that I'm not ruining their grandkids LOL