A Proverbs 31 Kind of Day

Honestly, the Mr. and two cherubs never tire of pasta. They love it. I, on the other hand, am not so crazy about pasta. It's not a "love-hate" relationship, I would describe more of a "take or leave" relationship. If we are at an Italian restaurant, I search for something that sounds good, and it's never a surprise if I don't order a pasta dish. But let me camp there for a minute . . . pasta is so cheap to serve, but restaurants charge a fortune for it! It drives me c.R.a.Z.y!  Seriously! That really may be the root of why I don't go nuts over spaghetti! That, and it's served as "the cheap food" when you're trying to feed a crowd. Pasta -- my family loves it! Monday night, I'm staring at everything in the fridge and thinking, "what to have for dinner?" Then I remembered the homemade pesto sauce I have stored in the freezer. And the pasta noodles I just purchased. I knew my girl che...

I hate to admit it, but I will. I'm not really sure when I realized that "fig" was an actually fruit, and should be said, "a fig . . ." Rather, I grew up thinking "fig" was part of a cookie name, as in "fig newton." Now, before you rush to judgment, I'm not hating on fig newton cookies. I grew up where these cookies were kept in the cabinets. Honestly, I don't remember packages of Chips Ahoy, Peppridge Farm, or even Oreos. I remember fig newton cookies. So I like them. Which made me think, I must like figs. Because after all, it's in the cookie; right? Since those early days, I have come to learn that figs are a fruit. A fruit I have never bought. Until today. While grocery shopping, I saw some black mission figs and bought several. Having no idea what to do with them, I came home and learned. Thank goodness for google and youtube! I learned how to know when a fig is ripe, when a fig is in...

Most of the people in my tribe like oatmeal. There's only one who doesn't really prefer it. Maybe that's because I didn't train her up right? My youngest cherub doesn't really care for oatmeal, while my oldest cherub would eat it on most any morning. The Mr. grew up at his grandparents eating "hot cereal." That, for some reason, has always kind of grossed me out. I don't know why. But every time he says, "want me to make some 'hot cereal'?"  I just think to myself, "can't you just say 'oatmeal'?" Anyway . . . remember the recent trip to visit our boy cherub at college? Where we went to the breakfast place but only had two choices? One of those was baked oatmeal.  . . . or, in honor of the Mr, 'baked hot cereal'!  (insert laughing emoji!) Of course, the Mr. ordered baked oatmeal for breakfast. Being a good wife, I offered myself a bite of his breakfast. That's what ...

Since our oldest cherub has gone to college, we find ourselves traveling to his college home on many weekends in the Fall. That's because we have season tickets to the home football games. This gives us a change to see our cherub, meet his friends, secretly check in on him; all in the name of being football fans. It's awesome! When we go, of course we take him out to eat. But I also haul a small fridge worth of supplies to him. When we go out to a new place in town, I peruse the menu looking for new items to recreate. This weekend, our cherub took us to a hip place. He said there were "lots of gluten free options." Clearly, he is mis-persuaded by what "lots" means. He likes the new place, and I can certainly see why. It was fun, busy, hip, and trendy. But "lots" of gluten free options wasn't really their forte. But of the three choices, two of them were really good. Which spurred me on to look up ...

It's hot and we're on this "money saving" program with our air. Which means while the Mr. is at work, practically freezing everyone out of the office, I'm at home, conserving energy and agreeing to his "money saving plan" like a Proverbs 31 kind of wife. He comes home, and says, "Oh my word!  It's hot in here!!" Oh really?  "I thought the sweat beads on my forehead were from my fervent cleaning I was doing before you got home!" No? Hum . . . not sure! So back to it being hot in the house. The energy is cheaper after 7:00. Well, if I start cooking dinner at 7:00, my cherubs would think they weren't going to get fed. They'd be ravenous if I didn't do something speedy. Taco pizza fit the bill this week for something quick! Using your favorite pizza dough, whether pre-made or a mix, prepare the crust. Then get ready for this easy-peasy taco pizza! Taco Pizza 1 pizza crust (I used a glute...

Love New Mexican foods. Really! Red chili. Green chili. "Christmas on the side." Posole. Stuffed sopapillas. All of it! For years, we have enjoyed roasted hatch chilies during "roasting season." Sometimes, we've been in New Mexico and have brought them back with us. Other times, we've over-paid for them and purchased the roasted chilies from a local Texas grocery store. Then there are times when we buy the chilies and roast them ourselves. It's not hard. It's a little time consuming. But the end result is satisfying and tasty! This season, the Mr. purchased five pounds of hatch chilies and we did the work ourselves. Five pounds sounds like a lot. But it isn't. Sadly. We were able to fill one quart jar of roasted chopped chilies. Now, when you buy hatch chilies, you need to know if you are getting mild or hot chilies. There is a difference. Hot . . .is, well, HOT! I honestly think we have a mix. Whic...

When we lived in Texas, there was a grocery store that I loved! It kind of sounds weird, but the Mr. and I like to go to grocery stores and look around. You can find some of the most interesting things to try! This particular grocery store has a great "ready to eat" market area. One of the visits, I found this salad and just had to try it. Several times after that, every time we would go, I'd get a small amount of the salad to enjoy. One day, I thought, "why am I buying this -- it is so easy to make." So I stopped buying it and started making it. Of course, they don't list the recipe for all to see, but I merely went on what I tasted and saw. Easy Grape Salad Grapes, cleaned and stems removed (I prefer red seedless grapes for this salad) Blue cheese, crumbled chopped walnuts* Wash grapes and remove stems and toss into a bowl.  If you have time, cut some of the grapes in half and leave some whole.  This is my preference when making...