Put It Away
Shopping Cart
Your Cart is Empty
Quantity:
Subtotal
Taxes
Shipping
Total
My BLog
Blog
Lots of cooking...
| Posted on January 30, 2012 at 8:38 PM |
comments (147)
|
I am teaching a computer class write now (well…they are practicing their keyboarding). This is a beginning class and they come without even knowing how to use a mouse, turn on the computer, etc. many times they haven’t even see the Internet. It is a fun class to teach, though, as we progress through Windows, Word, and the Internet. They set up a Gmail and Facebook account. They learn to copy and paste and learn the wonders of the Web. Over and over again, the light comes on, they realize what a great tool this will be in their lives, they sent emails to each other and the excitement bubbles over and is contagious. This is when teaching is incredibly fun. This was a great past week. Last week was Fito’s birthday and then our 28 Wedding anniversary. We both had night classes to teach so we still haven’t gone anywhere. We had previous commitments on the weekend. Perhaps another time we will sneak away. Friday night, I took Rebeca, Elizabeth, and Abby (a niece) to a sew-in that the senior citizen’s center holds each year. They spend 24 hours just tying quilts, making clothes to send overseas or to disaster relief. Caddy bags for wheelchairs, and so forth. We went Friday evening and had a wonderful time. A friend of mine that moved away was there and we spent the evening catching up and cutting out patterns for children’s clothes. I have cooked like crazy this week. We had company, plus cousins staying with us so a full house all week. I made beans from scratch one day, but they were a little plain, so I took some baloney and cut it up in small pieces and added it to the beans. Just right now. I also made rice two times during the week. One yellow, the other plain with onion and veggies. One meal was just scrambled eggs with beans on the side…yum. One day, I made spaghetti (I wanted lasagna, but we did not have lasagna and I did not want to go to the store. I made a lot and had two pans (aluminum disposable pans I buy at Sam’s) for give away. I put cheese on top and then baked it in the oven It was okay, but not as good as lasagna. One day, I made Ramon Noodles, and added a jar of chicken, bell peppers, and onion. On Saturday, I made Carne Guisado. It came out really well. Fito had friends coming so I made a large batch. I also added potatoes pieces to it to stretch it out for more people. We had enough left over to even eat it on Sunday. I also made bread and put in banana, sweet potatoes, and pineapple. What a great combination. Never did that before, but really good bread. Then Sunday, I made the blonde brownies with chocolate chips and peach cobbler from yellow cake mix. I hadn’t done the cobbler for a while and forgot how easy it is and how fast. Also to note: I was low on beans by now, so I just opened one of those large cans you get a Sam’s and added it to the already seasoned beans, added another Sazon packet and they were just as good. I got a jar of salsa from the pantry, added fresh cilantro and yum, yum. |
The Cooking Queen!
| Posted on January 3, 2011 at 3:23 PM |
comments (130)
|
Well, my computer is messed up big time and that is why I have not been blogging or have changed the web page. I have more recipes to add and some stories. I was able to open up Windows today and was able to transfer my word documents to two flash drives. My computer keeps turning itself off for no reason. We have tried many things, but it appears the hard drive is damaged?!? I am not worried about pics as most of those are on Face book or my website or other places. It is all my documents that I am worried about. I have so many years of work. The past week has been crazy. I have cooked as though I had a restaurant. We had an average of about 20-25 people here each day, and I suspect we had around 125-150 show up for Maria and Travis’s reception. If you remember, I had made tamales, enchiladas, and Pupusa mixture beforehand. I took all that out of the freezer Tuesday morning, but I should have taken it out sooner. By the afternoon, I realized the meat and cheese Pupusa mix was not going to be thawed out in time. I promptly filled up the sink with hot water and put the pan in that. I kept adding more hot water and it finally started to defrost the mixture. I also had made 4 cheesecakes, 19 loaves of Poppy Seed bread, and 22 loaves of Apple Coconut Bread. I also took the cinnamon bread I had made for Christmas (that was hard because I had left it in the oven too long…because I was trying to fix my computer) and tore it into pieces. I put the pieces in a glass baking dish, added sugar and enough milk to moisten the whole bit. You could see the milk…almost like a bowl of cereal. I baked this in the oven, and took it out once to squoosh the bread down into the milk. When it was brown and looked baked…I took it out…this is what the Pioneers did with leftover bread and it is called, Bread Pudding. Since it already had cinnamon in it, I did not add any, but if you just had regular bread, you need to add cinnamon, sugar…even raisins or dates. A friend of mine came from Kansas to help me. She really is from Oklahoma, but I knew her when I lived in Kansas. She called on Monday and said she was coming down with a friend of hers and her daughter. She was not able to stay for the reception, but she helped me clean and cook the whole time she was here. Her friend too was a great help and an amazing person. She had been hit by a boat when she was water skiing when she was just 15 years old and had broken her neck. She was told she would never walk again. She walks with the help of crutches and married and had children She is now in her late 50’s and has even been run over by a car, and had many other incredible trials. Her determination and faith are incredible and she is an inspiration to be around. We also had some friends drive up from Houston to help with the reception and visit us. They have an older daughter that, it appears, will come live with us in the spring. We spent Wednesday talking about the possibility and we will see how everything works out. This family helped too, with the reception and it amazed me that the people, who had come the farthest, helped the most. Friends, though, know no distances, and our family has been so blessed to have made such friends in every place where we have lived. I have never cooked so many Pupusas in one evening. Fito and I stayed in the kitchen, and I was like a robot on an assembly line just making and making Pupusas…and I could not keep up with the demand. Only when my Houston friend was helping me. Overall, it was a delightful evening. Friends and family in all parts of the house. Music and good conservation. Hugs and congratulations. Travis and Maria greeted everyone and did a good job of making the rounds and visiting with all who came. We had friends from many cultures come and it was neat to see how all mingled and tried to speak each other’s language and share with one another. Douglas, Ary, and Celeste left the next morning and the house seems dead without my sweet little grand baby here. Our friends from Houston were still here and we visited. I had forgotten how sweet and intelligent my dear friend was and delighted in becoming acquainted again. After she left, I thought, “That’s why we were such friends…she is so intelligent and I enjoy conversing with her so…” I felt the same, too, after my Kansas friend left..."Oh, what a helper she is...she is such a loyal friend!" Oh, how I wish that all such friends could remain close. I know we contact each other via email and Face book, but it just isn’t the same! Even the videos that my sweet daughter-in-law (though I love them) does not do justice to my granddaughter. Seeing her for real, holding her, watching her laugh, watching her explore the house, being chased by her aunts and uncles was so much more than seeing her in photos. I did not cook again until Friday, when I made a Turkey and rice. We still had other things leftover from the reception like beans, bread, and the potato salad (a recipe from Venezuela). Then we had cousins come from Dallas for New Year’s. Saturday, I made Pupusa’s again, but had plenty of help. I also made chocolate chip cookies and Humming Bird bread…again with lots of help. I do not even think I washed but a few of the dishes on Saturday. The toilets were having a hard time flushing and I even had to plunge one, so when another friend showed up (a hard working male)…I got him to go outside with me and start digging for the top of the septic tank. We dug while we were waiting for Fito to come home. He had gone to return the tables and chairs we had borrowed from the church. When he got back, he and the friend found the top and yes,…it was full. The company came out to empty it. I also had to have a plumber come out. One of the hot water tanks is not staying lit. We keep buying parts and doing things, but it keeps going out. In addition, when I went on the visits yesterday, we ended up helping one sister clean up her flooded bathroom. She was having water issues, as well. Cold weather and lots of company seems to tax plumbing…oh well…I guess that is the nice thing about getting older. When I was young, things like that would stress me out, but now I know they happen and happen often, and are simply part of life. Now I just seem to roll with the punches’ instead of allowing them to knock me down. Some of the cousins went home on Saturday and others, Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon, I went to do some visits and when I came home, there were just the four children, Fito, my mom, and I. It seemed too quiet with only seven people in the house. However…it is a quiet that I CAN and WILL completely enjoy! |
How can a week go by so fast!
| Posted on December 16, 2010 at 7:08 PM |
comments (253)
|
The last four days are a blur. I know I spent most of Monday working on making a brochure for work. I also started on a policy and training manual. I worked part of Wednesday, too, on work. Tuesday, I cooked for a funeral. I made a Spanish Turkey (pulled out a frozen one at 9:30 in the morning) when I found out. I also made rice and took green beans, enchiladas, and poppy seed bread. Monday evening, I had Maria take chicken and rice soup to one family and poppy seed bread to two other people. Rebeca has strep throat and stayed home Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I had to find a sitter so I could go to a meeting on Tuesday. Wednesday, I dragged her to the Driver's License Bureau and tag agency before we went to the doctor. Then I found out she had strep and now feel guilty for taking her with me. She went with me to take my mom to her hair appointment today, but we didn't get out of the car. Elizabeth and I went to get groceries yesterday afternoon, before the 3 teens went to church. On Monday, I forgot to pick up Felipe from church. Today I cleaned and did laundry and Tony, my eldest comes tonight...yea! Monday, for dinner, I found a piece of ham in the freezer that was there about one year. I cut it up into little pieces and cooked it in some oil. Then I took 5 potatoes that were in the bottom of the fridge and old. I peeled them and diced them and then cooked them with the ham in the oil. When they were soft, I added 10 eggs and scrambled them all together. We call this dish, "Green Eggs and Ham" after the Dr. Seuss book. My father would cook every Sunday evening and this was one of his dishes (although, sometimes it did not have ham). Apparently, when we were very young, we did not want to eat it. Finally, one evening, we tried it--and viola--we liked it! It is an easy, cheap dish to make and is great with ketchup on it. Tuesday, we ate the turkey that was on the bones that I had not taken to the funeral with rice and corn. Wednesday, they were on their own, and tonight I made spaghetti. I did not have Ragu sauce so I opened a can of tomato sauce from Sam's and seasoned it with onion, garlic powder, Italian seasonings (I added some more oregano). I cut some bolio bread in half, buttered it, sprinkled garlic salt on it and toasted it in the oven. |
And why do I cook?
| Posted on October 19, 2010 at 2:05 PM |
comments (144)
|
Monday, Got up at 5: 30 am. I took Felipe to his class and I went for a jog/walk. We came home, finished getting Rebeca ready for school and I took the four youngest to school. I was in a cleaning mood. I took all the chairs to other rooms and completely cleaned the kitchen and dinning room. Swept, mopped, cleaned glass, dusted, etc. Maria and Travis had started Pride and Prejudice, which was a complete temptation as I had just finished the book. I then took all the cleaning stuff and cleaned the living room while watching the rest of the movie. I then went to the computer room where I spent a couple of hours on the phone trying to get the Internet back up. It was determined that the router was dropping the Internet. They sent a guy out and he wanted me to go and get a router from the company. I told him I had specifically stated on the phone to tell the technician to bring one. Well he went to get it, but just brought it back. He didn't install it...but that's the way this small phone company operates. They have no competition so they do what they please. (yes, I already have complained to the State Corporation Commission.) I had to install it. Then it was time for supper. I just took a large bag of chickens legs (frozen) and put them in a stew pot with about 2 inches of water, about 4 Tablespoons of dehydrated onion, salt, and pepper. When the chicken was starting to get soft, I added about 1/2 cup of Ragu Traditional Sauce. I added just a touch of Tabasco Sauce and let it cook with a lid on it until the chicken was done and the sauce thickened. I still had rice and cheese sauce that we could have, too. I went with my husband to his Spanish class. It was their last class, so they went out to eat where they all had to order in Spanish. When we came home, no one had eaten the chicken. The children had made sandwiches and hard boiled eggs. |