WOW! Have I been gone or what?

Where has the time gone. The last time I posted it was the beginning of the school year. Now, Christmas is behind us and the first semester is over. I have been really falling behind on the home front and keeping up on things.

Seems I need to catch up a bit on things. I have been very busy trying to figure out how to run the house, clean the house, cook and do it all after putting in a full day at work. Not to mention finding time to hit the gym. That has not been working and while I have no put all the weight back on, I have backed up a bit. I am quite determined to get myself organized and to organize this house as well.


My oldest son was married in September. A really beautiful ceremony at Morro Bay on a deck beside the ocean. It was wonderful. They make a great looking couple.

I was so thrilled that we had so much family from Texas actually make it in for the wedding as well. Living in California I only get to see my sweet little grandson, he is 5 now, once a year. This year I got to see him twice as our oldest daughter came out for the wedding.

It was a touching ceremony and for a reception we all went to the state park and grilled out and just relaxed with all the guest. I was really thankful that we had our new trailer to camp out in as it made it so easy for us to dress and stay in.

Other than the wedding, I have just been muddling along with the day to day things of life. Not successfully most times.

I have added a member to our family, the four legged furry kind that is. He was dumped out by someone out where I work. Which is the middle of farm land, so it happens often. At any rate, a co-worker rescued the little male puppy from traffic and brought him to the office. From the first sight I knew I had to have him. He came right to me so guess he felt the same way.

Now, I ask you, is this a face you could just dump out in the middle of traffic and not care if there was food, water, or protection for the little guy? I just don't see how.

He has found a place in our family's heart, each and everyone of us. He is too small to let roam outside long so has become an indoor dog. He is very spoiled, but we feel he deserves it as he shows his love for each of us as well. Here in California we have Kit Foxes which are protected or endangered, not sure which, but the kids decided he looks a lot like one so his name is Kit. Best we can figure out is that he is a toy Pomeranian.

We have also had our first blast of winter, which makes me want to curl up and just do nothing. Which I am very good at. We went to Texas to see family for Christmas. It was a very long drive, taking us 19 hours one way, but it was so nice to see family again. Now that the holidays are over though, it is time to get working around here. I didn't have any vacation time, but took off the two weeks that the kids are out of school anyway. Now this next week I am determined to make some kind of order in this world of chaos. Cleaning out, getting rid of, organizing myself as so many people resolve to do this time of year. I woke up this morning with the sore throat and flu junk that the kids have had but I did manage to get the family to take down the Christmas decorations and take the tree out. I on the other hand worked most of the day cleaning out the two freezers and defrosting the one in the garage. I threw away what was no longer good or was just too big a mystery to figure out. There was several packages of that in there. I organized it all and made an inventory of what I have. I made a spread sheet listing the item, how much of it, what it is, where it is so I can use it to create some menus for the next couple of weeks. The G tells me it is in the freezer in the garage and what shelf it is located on, or H for the freezer in the house.

This is my list:
BBQ Chicken Pizza 1 Pkg Prepared G 1
Cheese Ravioli 1 Bag Prepared G 1
Chicken Strips 1 Pkg Prepared G 1
Chicken Nuggets 1 Pkg Prepared G 1
Chicken Popcorn 1 Pkg Prepared G 1
Chicken Pot Pie 1 Box Prepared G 1
Coconut Shrimp 1 Box Prepared G 1
Cordon Blue 1 Pkg Meat G 1
Crab Rangoon 1 Box Prepared G 1
Creamy Rigatoni 1 Box Prepared G 1
Hamburgers 1/2 Bag Prepared G 1
Herb & Cheese Ravioli 1 Bag Prepared G 1
Honey Herb Chicken Picata 2 Box Prepared G 1
Imitation Crab Meat 2 Pkg Seafood G 1
Jalapeno Poppers 1/2 Pkg Snack G 1
Meatballs 1 Bag Prepared G 1
Mini Cordon Blue 1/2 Box Prepared G 1
Mini Empandas 1/2 Box Prepared G 1
Pannini - SW Chicken 2 Box Prepared G 1
Soft Pretzels 2 Box Snack G 1
Sweet Sour Chicken Bowl 2 Bowl Prepared G 1
BBQ Wings 1/2 Bag Meat G 3
Chicken - Breast Bone In 1 Pkg Meat G 3 4 in pack
Chicken - Breast Bone In 3 Pkg Meat G 3 2 in pack
Chicken - Whole 2 Meat G 3
Hot Wings 1 Bag Meat G 3
Hot Wings 1/2 Bag Meat G 3
Andoulle 1 Pkg Meat G 4
Boneless Pork Chops 1 Pkg Meat G 4 6-Chops
Chicken Spinach Sausage 1 Pkg Meat G 4
Cubed Beef Steak 1 Pkg Meat G 4 4-Pieces
Hot links 1 Pkg Meat G 4
Mini Corn Cob 1 Pkg Veg G 4 Pkg 12
Mini Corn Cob 1/2 Pkg Veg G 4 Pkg 12
Smoke Sausage 1 Pkg Meat G 4 3.5 Pounds - Sections
Turkey Drumsticks 1 Pkg Meat G 4 2-Pieces
Cooked Brisket 1 Gal. Bag Meat G 5
Ground Beef 2 Pkg Meat G 5 1.5 Packs Approx.
Marinated Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 2-Steak
Marinated Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 2-Steak
Sirloin Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 2-Steak
Sirloin Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 1-Steak
Sirloin Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 1-Steak
Sirloin Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 2-Steak
Sirloin Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 4-Steak
Sirloin Steak 1 Bag Meat G 5 2-Steak
Stew Meat 1 Pkg Meat G 5
Chopped Okra 1/2 Bag Veg G D1
Chopped Spinach 2 Box Veg G D1
Green Peas 1 Bag Veg G D1
Mixed Veg 1 Bag Veg G D1
Whole Okra 1 Bag Veg G D1
Chopped Broccoli 1 1/2 Bag Veg G D2
Whole Kernel Corn 1 1/2 Bag Veg G D2
Fr. Toast & Egg 2 Box Break H 1
Fruit Chiller - Peach 2 Ind. Cups Fruit H 1
Fruit Chiller - Strawberry 6 Ind. Cups Fruit H 1
Ham & Egg Scramble 2 Box Break H 1
Mini Choc Chips 1 Box Baking H 1
Raspberry Toaster Strudel 2 Pkg Baked H 2 Icing missing one box
Sausage & Biscuit 1/2 Box Break H 2
Eggo Cin Toast 1/2 Box Break H 3
Eggo Mini 1/2 Box Break H 3
Eggo Waffles 1 Box Break H 3
French Toast Stick 1/2 Box Break H 3
Hashbrown Potatoes 1 Bag Veg H 3
Hashbrown Potatoes - Sticks 1/2 Bag Veg H 3
Mini Pancake & Sausage Rolls 1/2 Bag Break H 3
Sausage Links 2 Box Break H 3
Tater Sticks 1/2 Bag Veg H 3
Blue Bell - Cherry Cordial 1 Gallon Dairy H 4
Blue Bell - Vanilla 2 Gallon Dairy H 4
Rainbow Sherbert 6 Ind. Cups Dairy H 4
Salami 1 Pkg Meat H 5
Salt Pork 1 Pkg Meat H 5
Strawberries 1 Bag Fruit H 5
Weiners 1 Pkg Meat H 5
Coconut - Flaked 1 1/2 Bag Baking H D1
Sausage 2 Rolls Meat H D2
Fuzzy Navel 2 Can Juice H D3
Orange Juice 1 Can Juice H D3
Almonds-whole 1 Bag Baking H D4
Blueberries - Frozen 2 Bag Fruit H D4
Raspberry - Frozen 1 Bag Fruit H D4

I was amazed at how much I actually had, amazed at the amount of money I have put in to that freezer, and how much pre-prepared stuff there is. I also informed the family that they would be eating what I prepared for the evening meals and that was all there is to it. It was just outrageous the amount of waste I found, threw away a whole pizza from a local pizza place that had been in the fridge for over a week. How many times over the last few months have I heard that there was nothing to eat so pulled through a drive up to bring home something.

Well, things are changing around here.

I now have some idea of what meat I have, so can now plan out some menu plans. Tomorrow I will work on the pantry and will then know exactly what I have. We have a terrible problem with these little brown months, and the maggot type worms they start out as, getting in to all my dry goods. So...periodically I have to just purge the majority of the cake mixes, rice, cereal, crackers even jell-o packages to get rid of them. I am actually looking forward to this as it gives me a sense of accomplishment when I clean it out. However, I am in a purge mood, just really tired of all the junk stacking up, so am really not holding back. That means that every room I can get to this week is in for some extra cleaning time since I will be home for a change.

I recently changed gyms, part of the new membership deal is two free sessions with a personal trainer and a fitness assessment and nutrition help. My appointment is 8:00 AM on Tuesday so will find out how bad I have slipped backwards and what I need to do to get moving forward again. I am tired of standing still.

So, here are my goals for the new year:
1. Organize my home and myself.
2. Go to the gym on a regular basis
3. Spend more time with the family

Okay, sounds pretty normal I know, but not as easy as one would think.

Organizing the home and myself will consist of: planning and actually executing menu plans, scheduling my time to allow not only for gym time but writing and computer time as well. As you can see from the time gap in postings for this blog I need some serious help with the whole time management thing. I also intend to change my personal style a bit as well. And in doing all this, I want to make myself get in the living room with the family a little more instead of spending time hiding out in the bedroom playing games on the computer. My writing has been sitting idle as well.

Well, now I am going to close this off and get moving on with other things but will make a concentrated effort to blog regularly.

Accomplishments

Well, I accomplished quite a bit this week end. Daughter's room is almost cleaned up and set up for the new school year which starts tomorrow morning. Have made small head way on the mountains of laundry. We bought a new little cleaner sweeper to help with the floors. I still think a swiffer type jet mop would be better, but that is on the "maybe" list. Has anyone got an opinion about the swifters? I did the shopping for the household needs and bought a huge bill of groceries today. Mostly meat and veggies, but with the prices I found, I also picked up some convenience items for breakfast. A huge box of french toast sticks were 1.99 and I cannot make half as many for that amount.

Now, as for the menu around here. Have not gotten it completely worked out yet, will post the details when I do. As for the next few days though, here it is. Only supper, no one is really home for lunch.

Sun: Steak, grilled squash packs, grilled corn, Hawaiian rolls, carrot cake.
Mon: Carne asada, spanish rice,
Tue: Crock pot herb chicken, carrots, green beans, crescent rolls
Wed: Green Chile casserole, Sweet cornbread bake, brownies
Thu: Herbed Pork Chops, scalloped potatoes, brocolli
Fri: Sausage & rice dish

The carrot cake is called Decadent Carrot Cake and is a mix (Duncan Hines I think) which I had a coupon for and it was on sale. It is way to pricey other wise, but oldest son is coming over for supper tonight and it is about the only dessert he will eat. Both of my boys are not big sweet eaters, but do love buttermilk pie and brownies. The squash packs will cook on the grill as will the corn. The corn is a new recipe I am trying. The carne asada was on sale, as was some mesquite marinade. Californians don't know what mesquite is, except as chips in the BBQ store, but we are transplanted Texans so we know the real deal. At any rate, the package was enough for two meals, so I divided and bagged the meat with the marinade up and the one for tomorrow is in the fridge, the other one is in the freezer for next month. I did this with some other meat that I bought as well. Froze the portions in various kinds of marinade or seasonings. I just forgot to label them so it will truly be suprise dinner.

I need to go pull out the bundt cake I made to take to work from the oven and check on the final progress of youngest dear daughter on her room.

Chicken Azteca

I have been a little preoccupied with some sewing projects, so have been a little lax on getting things posted here. Have not been really following the menu plan as much as I should have. For one thing, meat has disappeared out of the freezer. When I made the plan I had several packages of chicken breast, which seem to have flown the coop. I suspect my oldest DS was out of food and out of funds so went shopping at Mom's Pantry. But that is okay. I have been still making dinner and except for milk and bread, and my personal habitual fix of cola, have been making everything from the pantry. I have to hit Sam's later today for some bread, rolls, and some cheese. Also, our schedules have just really been screwed up around here so have had the attitude of just get food on table now. I won't get started ranting about the lack of even the smallest amount of help around here from anyone in this family. I kind of blew up when I realized that two day old dishes were sitting in the sink, dishwasher is full and soap loaded but no one bothered to turn it on. Then, there is the Mt. Everest size load of clothes in the laundry room, half of which are clean just not being put up. Seems it is quicker and easier to just throw them back to the wash pile.

Okay, at any rate, here is the recipe I promised for the Chicken Azteca. It was really good. I gave my mom a Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook for Christmas. I wish I had gone to Amazon.com for it, much cheaper, but it was a last minute purchase. I mean as in 30 minutes before we opened gifts. If you haven't looked at this series of cookbooks for the slowcooker, you should. I looked through the book I gave her and jotted down a few of recipes before heading home. The Chicken Azteca is from that book. NOTE: I cut the recipe in half when I made it as it was the first time to make the recipe. Next time I will make the full portions and freeze the left overs for later weeks.

Chicken Azteca
(10-12 Servings)


2 cans black beans, drained
4 cups frozen corn kernels
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups chunky salsa (I used regular)
10 skinless, boneless chicken breast
12 oz. Fat Free cream cheese, cubed


1. Combine beans, corn, garlic, cumin, and half of salsa in the slow cooker.
2. Arrange chicken breast over top. Pour remaining salsa over top.
3. Cover. Cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-6 hours.
4. Remove chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. Return to cooker.
5. Stir in cream cheese. Cook on high until cream cheese has melted.
6. Spoon over cooked rice. Top with cheese.

That is it. Very simple, very filling, pretty nutritious. I have one that won't eat rice or pasta, so he just loaded it in a flour tortilla and ate it.

I am not sure just what I will choose to make for the evening meal tonight, am being lazy and don't really want to even cook, but will have to. As I mentioned, have been side tracked a bit. I finally got my sewing area all cleaned up and organized and was able to compete a quilt top for a baby quilt that is a gift for a guy I work with, it is there first child, a little girl.

It turned out really cute. Still have to put the back on and quilt it, but hubby glued a piece of my sewing machine with "Gorilla Glue" (AWESOME GLUE) and am waiting for it to set good. I also got a crazy quilt block ready for a round robin exchange and crocheted a pot holder to send for another exchange I am in. So, still productive in the end.

Lagging Behind

Was reflecting on how good is some areas I have been doing, how bad in others. But so is the way of my life. Good days, bad days, getting by days, you know the story.

On the not so good side of things, there are only a few. I have not been as diligent as should have about keeping up with emails, blogs (reading & posting), housekeeping (although it has seen worse times) and life in general. I am still not completely over the blasted pneumonia (guess that smart alek doctor knew what he was talking about when he said it would take 5-6 weeks to actually get over) and have missed a day this week with a nasty stomach bug. At first I thought maybe it was bad food, but considering the fact that we all ate the same exact thing and no one else even belched? Not likely the cause. Top that off with the fact that after getting this fantastic menu planned out, we have hardly used it.

On the good side of things, I have been able to feed us with only what is in the pantry. I am however out of chicken, but still have lots of ground beef. The pantry is still organized and the blasted little moths are at least for the moment gone. Even from daughter's room. After spending the morning in the bathroom, I started feeling better, so since my sewing area is only a few feet from the porcelain throne, I set about on my mission to clean it up so I could sew on Wednesday. I accomplished the cleaning, but family hair cuts took priority over the sewing. So sue me, I wanted to see my daughter's beautiful eyes again, get the heavy coat of fur off my head as well. I needed a little image boost. I went to get the fabric cut for a quilt, spent a fair amount of time deciding on a block design to use, got the ironing board out to press the embroidered center of top I started a couple of years ago and found while cleaning yesterday.

Isn't it so cute? I will get a closer view of the center this weekend, it is a cute little cross stitched angel. I didn't work on the quilt, but hey, it was all set up, so ironed a shirt for work tomorrow.

I have to run, have been letting the color process on my new shorter little glam look. Okay, me and glam don't exactly so together, more like sassy style. At any rate, it is time to "Wash that gray right out of my hair" as they used to say. Don't you just miss those old commercials. Wow, who would have thought that the Ivory Soap girl would end up a porn star, the Marlboro man (still in several good dreams) would be banned from ads but we have to endure the ape shit grin of the man with his pills for male enhancement. YEAH like they really work, and his wife would let every woman at the office party sit on his lap. I am so sure that his better male function is the reason his golf and tennis game is suddenly so good. Not to be crude, but if there is a problem there, I am certain that if the golf tee stands up, the ball ain't letting it leave home for a while.

Enough of my raunchy little side tracks. I will try and get the recipe posted this week end for Chicken Azteca made in the crock pot and TOTALLY delicious. Now to get rid of the color and head to bed.

Go Figure

It never fails that when I manage to get things actually organized, as in menu plans in place, something comes along to shake it up. In this case, I had planned on a chicken noodle dish, using left over chicken from Mon. But, the plan changed, and in this case it was a really good thing.

My son, 18, surprised me by calling me at work and asking if he could make supper. Of course I am not about to turn that down. It was a hectic day anyway, first day back to work after having the holidays off (I really didn’t want to go) and then plans for starting back at the gym that evening as well. He did an AWESOME job making Chicken Cordon Blue, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Even made a salad with mushrooms and avocado. I am truly amazed.

I had also anticipated putting a few pounds back on over the holidays, so weighed in at the gym to see the damage. I actually lost two pounds over Christmas. YEAH ME. I am however paying for the lack of activity in my hips and legs today. But, that is okay too. My goal is to make it three times a week to the gym and watch my diet a little closer. Hopefully will loose much more weight this year.

I took my ham bone left over from New Year’s day, put it in the crock pot with some pinto beans, chopped onion, seasoning, and it has been cooking all day. I heated up the left over ham along with some cornbread when I got home, pulled out the left overs: tossed salad, fruit salad, pistachio salad, dinner is served. Okay, know this sounds a little crude, but the beans passed the 10 minute test. In other words, the quicker the gas is passed, the better the beans. The guys had it going in about 5, daughter and I about 10, but all agreed it was really good. I have a ton of clothes to put up in my room and hope to start sorting through the clutter on my sewing desk this evening. I really need to go to Walmart and pick up some cotton yarn for some potholders along with some fabric for a baby quilt, but am just going to put that off until the week end. Actually am thinking about hitting JoAnn's or Hancock's for that.

Okay, have to throw this out there. Now that the Iowa thing is over I just have to say this. What makes IOWA so special as to have all of this political clout. It is one state, one election. Are we the people supposed to mindlessly vote the exact way as the majority that bothers to vote. I don't think so. Actually, I think that there should be one election, all on the same day, and no coverage of the vote until after the entire time zones have completed the voting.

OH MY GOSH, would that be a democracy in action, actual reflection of the people's voices?

Another thing, our state has passed a law against cell phone use and texting while driving. This is really a no brainer, but considering the amount of drivers I encounter each day talking away, almost hitting me or some one else while they so, I must be the only one using a brain. Cell phones are great in case of emergency, but have really made a significant number of very rude people out there. For instance, it is rude to talk on the cell phone in the movies; hear cell phones go off in the middle of the congregational prayer; ringtones that go off while a key speaker is talking at a meeting; ringtones that have vulgar song lyrics; it is rude to go on and on about who is doing what to who and is getting drunk as a skunk while blocking the aisle of the store; it is both rude and dangerous to walk in the middle of the parking lot while on the cell phone never looking up (you are likely going to get ran over by the driver busy talking on his cell phone instead of watching); it is very rude to make me wait in the check out line while you talk about absolutely nothing of importance instead of paying out so I can get checked out as well; this also pertains to those idiots that pull up to the drive up window and talk on the cell phone instead of placing the order. It would what? Kill you to wait ten minutes to either pull up in a parking spot or just go home?

Okay, I am finished with my little rant. I only got started because with all the little headsets there are now the law abiding drivers will not quit talking while they drive, it will just be hands free. Now there will me mass amounts of drivers talking to themselves as they drive, totally oblivious to the world around them, of which they are the total center and will make sure they are the total center of their world. If you really think about it, your personal world is very small in relationship to everything else. Back to the point of my earlier observation. Does the single vote of the general population in the presidential election really make a bit of difference? Maybe, maybe not, I know I am a bit cynical. But one thing I am positive of, if you do not vote, you have no right to complain about the outcome.

With that, I am on to other things.

JANUARY 1, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Here I am taking a break from the kitchen for a few minutes. I am actually at a pretty good spot to do just that. I have been the busy little bee today, up since 6:30 AM but only because I couldn’t go back to sleep after hearing our DS, 18, leave with his friend to the beach for the day. I am just a little green eyed over that one. Funny thing, after doing a little work in the back yard, noticing that son has not, neither hubby nor myself actually remember giving him permission to take off for the day. How I would love to go sit and watch the waves break for a few hours. But, here I am cooking up a feast that no one is really interested in.

Today’s Menu:
Ham
Black-eye Peas
Sweet Potato Pineapple Bake *
Pistachio Salad
Fruit Salad
Deviled Eggs
Relish Tray
Tea
Rolls

I had planned on making Hawaiian bread, but cannot seem to find my recipe. The only one that I have found works well for me. Since there were so many potato rolls left from last night, will just put those on. I had promised recipes, so here goes.

Ham: We like whole ham best, so it is a nice small butt portion, bone in. I lay it flat side down in a pan, then place sliced pineapple rings on top, cut cherries in half and place in the center of the rings. Normally I use a whole clove stuck through to hold the cherry in place, which holds the pineapple ring in place, but today I found that I was out of whole cloves and having already been to the store yesterday and once again this morning, opted to use toothpicks instead of another store run. Then I sprinkle ground cloves, ground cinnamon and brown sugar over it, cover good with foil and bake. I took a picture for the blog.

This was an amusing side story, hubby found the camera sitting out and nosey Ned that he is, bugged me until I told him I took a picture of my ham. You know the story.

“Honey, why is the camera out?”

“I took a picture.” I say as I keep chopping up fruit.

“Of what?”

“Just a picture.”

“Tell me?” in a little boy whiney voice.

“Good grief, I took a picture of my ham.”

“Oh.” He is back watching football

So I am thinking to myself I have to explain what? Since he is holding the camera all he has to do is look on the menu and see all the photos taken. Guess that would be to easy. So, I ask him "I have to explain taking a photo?"

“No, I just wanted to know why the camera was out.”

A few minutes later it hits me. All that explanation because the camera is sitting out? DUH! It is out because a photo was taken. Part of me wants to really just say, “Thought I would take a few spicey shots in my sexy jamas so I can post it to MySpace.” Or maybe, “Guess it was tired of being in the case and wanted a change in scenery.

As if, please. For one, I sleep in a t-shirt and baggy pants. Two, no one would want to waste time looking at me. Three, the camera has a much nicer view in the bag than it does looking at the mess of a our room. I know, am straying down the side path, so I will pull myself back to the subject at hand, the noon meal. Which is actually the 1:30 meal.

About the recipes. Black-eye Peas, very simple. Open can, dump in bowl, place in microwave, hit button for canned vegetables. We have to eat them for good fortune the coming year. And everyone will eat at least one spoon full, it is a requirement. The Sweet Potato Pineapple Bake is a new recipe and from the Taste of Home Cooking School Quick Cooking magazine. This is a kind of special edition, not the usual Quick Cooking. Not sure if it is against copyright rules to post the recipe, but I have given credit to the source and not profiting from it, so here goes.

SWEET POTATO PINEAPPLE BAKE
1 can (29 oz) cut sweet potatoes, drained
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple
3 Tbsp. chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
¾ c. miniature marshmallows

In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Stir in pineapple, pecans, brown sugar and butter. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle top with marshmallows. Bake 5 minutes longer or until marshmallows are lightly browned. Yield: 4 servings

Side Note: I didn’t have crushed pineapple, just cans of tidbits, so mashed them with the potatoes.


PISTACHIO SALAD: 1 can of pineapple tidbits, 1 can of crushed pineapple, 1 package instant pistachio pudding, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup flaked coconut, 1 container whipped cream (like cool-whip), 1 cup mini marshmallows.

In a bowl, empty the pineapple and sprinkle the pudding on them. Let it set about 3 minutes. In another bowl, fold together pecans and coconut, then add to pineapple mixture and stir. Fold in whipped cream, add marshmallows and mix well. Cover and place in fridge for at least 2 hours. Longer it sets, better the flavor.

That is my mom’s version. For my family, we use one can of pineapple, no coconut, and I pretty much just mix it all in one bowl, less dishes.

DINNER IS SERVED.

My oldest son came over and ate with us, had to call him to see where he was, he had fallen asleep. So, noon meal turned in to 2:00 PM but was still good. He wanted to take all the left over ham, but I told him I had plans for it. He informed me that it usually goes bad in leftoverville, to which I replied I have a menu plan all written out which plans on leftover meat. He looked at me skeptically. At any rate, I did send him home a little bit, along with the one serving of sweet potato dish left. It was SO VERY GOOD. The dish would have been better if I had used crushed pineapple though. I was surprised that there wasn’t much food left since I am trying to cut down on leftovers. Except for the ham, which is already put away, the bone is in the freezer as well, even though hubby tried to give it to the dogs. It will be so good cooked in the pinto beans later this week.

Now, for the ticket.
Ham $2.74
Black-eye Peas .51
Sw. Pot. Dish 1.47
Dev. Eggs .77
Pistachio Sal. .72
Fruit Salad 1.74

Total: $6.95 served 4 at 1.74 per serving.

A little over the $1 per serving goal, but hey it is a holiday meal. I didn’t use the whole can of pineapple on the ham, so threw that in the fruit salad. The most expensive part of the fruit salad was the bag of frozen strawberries. Normally I have some in the freezer, bagging them up when they are in season, but was out. Luckily, I was given fruit over the holidays so used that for the rest. Of course the eggs were pretty outrageous at $3.09 for 18 count, but that beats the chain stores where they are going for $3.29 a dozen. But, today I was reminded of the great bargains at Save A Lot grocery store. I had quit going there when they went through remodeling, then always forget to take plastic sacks and end up having to buy some.

Was in search of a jar of Bread & Butter Jalapenos for this really AWESOME dip that we had over the holidays with family. Never found it so improvised. That whole ordeal of searching stores, even went to a Mexican market, was just borderline insane. My in-laws made this great dip when we had Christmas with them, my whole family loved it, so called up DSIL for the recipe. The unique taste of the dip comes from a special ingredient, bread & butter jalapenos. Apparently, one of her clients gave a jar to her as a gift, turns out she ordered them from somewhere. I made the dip this morning to have this evening. No time to order up a jar and get it here, improvise was the only way to go. I used chopped green chiles and the juice from bread & butter pickles. Which apparently is how the peppers are made. Pretty tasty for a first attempt at copying with out the proper ingredients.

Well, I have rattled on long enough. Need to check my email, read over some blogs, still have dishes waiting on me as well. It feels like it is ten o’clock at night, but is just barely after five. I go back to work in the morning, not really wanting to go back to work either, need the paycheck though.