Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Hello to August - 8.13.19: Suggestions From the Loft - and Other Tidbits

August is my birthday month.
I try to celebrate it, 
somehow,
some way,
all month long.
Why?
Because I can!!!

I meant to post before this, 
really, I did.
I thought about it -
But, as you know, 
thinking and doing are two different things!

So, to make up for lost time, here I am!!

I think I will start with my weekly $5 Pantry Challenges,
where I go looking for items that 
total less than $5 to add to my pantry/fridge/freezer.
This $5 is not part of my regular food budget, 
but is spent on things to add to the pantry.
Seeing as how I'm about three weeks behind on sharing these,
let's get started.

$5 Pantry Challenge
Last  full week of July:
3 Banquet Meat Lovers Deep Dish Pot Pies
On clearance for half off: $1.50 each
I admit to being a bit of a risk taker when it comes to the clearance stuff.
Sometimes, you discover things you like.
And other times, they are nothing but mistakes.
I haven't tried these yet, 
but seeing as how I've always enjoyed Banquet's pot pies, 
these should be good!

Last few days of July-beginning of August
(crossover week):
Boneless Bottom Round Roast
Originally $11.53
Got it for $5.79
Was able to make three different meals from this!!

Last week - the first full week of August:
3 containers of Giant Eagle Beef Broth
On special at $1.49 each
I do use a lot of beef and chicken broth, 
so I was happy to add these to the pantry!!

Suggestions From the LOFT
I have to share with you what I did with that lovely roast you see posted above.
As I said, I got three different meals from it:
Meal #1:
Crockpot Roast Beef with Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions

Meal #2:
Veggie Beef Soup
using the leftovers from the Crockpot meal
(Sorry, no pics!)

Meal #3:
Roast Beef and Gravy Sandwiches
with 
Herb Buttered Potatoes

I still have leftover potatoes, carrots, and onions that I will be using in another meal.

Other little culinary delights from my pantry included:
Brown Jug Soup with Chicken
Found the recipe for this one in a Fix-It-and-Forget-It cookbook
Turned out awesome!!!
Here's the recipe (and my notes):

I also had this for a meal one day:
Simply Asia Sesame Ginger Noodles
I was in the mood for something different and this was in the pantry,
so I was adventuresome and tried them.
They were spicier than I expected,
but not in a bad way!!
I have a couple more of these in the pantry,
so I know I will have them again!

What's a girl to do when she has apples that are starting to show their age?
She makes 
Crockpot Applesauce!!
I had some Gala and Honeycrisp Apples that needed to be used up before they reached the "wrinkled" stage.
So I pared, sliced, diced up the five apples I had,
threw them in the crockpot along with a splash or two of lemon juice
and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
Let it cook down for several hours,
mashed it down and whisked it into the consistency I wanted,
and made less than a quart of fresh applesauce.
I did enjoy some of it warm over a slice or two of 
Vanilla Sliced Loaf Cake 
that I'd gotten on clearance the day before.
Tasty!!

One of my favorite things to do is to shop the clearance sections,
just to see what I can find.
I also like scratch and dent stores.
In other words,
I like to see what bang I can get for my buck.

Well, the same day I found the Vanilla Sliced Loaf Cake,
I found a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin Crunch Bread marked down as well.
And I knew exactly what I was going to do with it!!
Cinnamon Raisin Pecan Bread Pudding

And because I was in the mood to bake,
I also made these from just three ingredients:
Apple Cinnamon Pecan Muffins
(I see I forgot to take a picture of the third ingredient, the milk!)
Baked Apple Cinnamon Pecan Muffins
These little guys have been great as a quick "go-to" for breakfast!

Last, but not least, I cooked up a pound of ground beef that I also got on clearance the end of last week:
Here's what I seasoned the meat with as it cooked:
And I haven't decided yet, 
but here are my ideas of what to add the ground beef to:
Who knows?
Maybe I will split the meat three ways!
Or....I may do something completely different!! 
Never know until I get into the kitchen!!

I did do some sewing this past weekend and made a runner for my desk.
My poor desk needed to be cleaned,
straightened up,
filing done,
and everything put back.
That's when I got the idea of making a runner for the desk,
to help keep it cleaner (I hope).
I love the colors and how it turned out.
LOL - also got to love that it was all a straight stitch!

I had already been to my storage unit and brought back some drawers for holding my sewing materials and projects.
And I came across this gem:
A picture frame of me and my siblings
and our senior pictures
I cleaned it up and it's now sitting on the living room bookcase with other family pictures.

I turn 63 this weekend...
some days I feel that old...
sometimes older....
and sometimes, I'm still as young as my picture.

But, no matter what stage... or age... 
of life I'm at,
I'm
Blessed Beyond Measure!

Love and prayers,
Sue


Wednesday, July 31, 2019

7.31.19: End of July 2019 - Suggestions from My LOFT and My Pantry Challenges

We've made it through another month!!
Hello, end of July!!
You went by so quickly!!

I'm a little bit behind on posting,
about a week and a half or so.

First up:
Suggestions from the LOFT
Chicken Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, and Vidalia Pickled Onion Strips
This is from two weekends ago when it was soooooo hot and humid!
I had bought already cooked chicken from the Giant Eagle deli
on purpose for this.
A way to beat the heat!!
I further diced up the chicken, added a couple of packets of dried cranberries & pecans pieces, some pickled Vidalia onion strips, Miracle Whip, and then, to clean out the Miracle Whip jar,
I used some of the pickling liquid from the onion strip jar.
Put it in tortilla boat and called it lunch!
Also had it on bread later.
It was filling and hit the spot!

In an attempt to use up stuff from my freezer, 
I came up with the above dish:
Applewood Chicken Strips and Stouffer's Four Cheese Pasta with Bacon
This was "just OK" -
meaning will I ever try that again?
Nope.
But I will say it was easy to zap and you had supper!!
But when you end up throwing most of it out, yeah, not worth it!
Lesson learned!!

Spaghetti with Meatballs and Meat Sauce
with Mixed Veggies
I've been hungry for spaghetti for a few weeks and threw this together this past weekend.
I had some Italian meatballs in the freezer to use up and came up with this.
I like to do things differently....
so in place of spaghetti sauce, I used a can of sloppy joe sauce.
I also added a bag of frozen vegetables to the sauce to get in some vegetables
(think green beans, peas, carrots, and corn).
Add some onion and celery, too!!
And I really like leftover spaghetti!!
 I like to add a few squirts of ketchup to it before microwaving the leftovers.
It works for me!! 

I also baked!!
It was too warm last week to do it!!
Here's what I made:
Milk Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts
(to celebrate National Milk Chocolate Day)
Sour Cream Rhubarb Bar Cookies

Recipe for:
Sour Cream Rhubarb (Bar) Cookies


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, if making cookies.

Otherwise, spray a 9x13 inch cooking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

3. In a large bowl, beat together with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar

4. Add and beat to combine:
1 egg

5. Beat in, making sure all the ingredients are well combined:
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and repeat until all the ingredients are combined.

7. Stir in:
2 cups rhubarb, diced

8. For cookies: Drop rough tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies start to brown and the top of the cookies get a little color. Let cool slightly, then remove to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 40 cookies.

9. For bar cookies: Pour dough into prepared 9x13 inch cake pan. Bake approximately 25- 32 minutes, keeping an eye on it. 
I did a toothpick test at 25 minutes and it was still "wet" in one spot, but looking good. 
Gave it another 5-7 minutes to bake, toothpick test showed they were done! 
I noticed that as this cooled, it does drop some. 
Came out very moist and tasty!! 
Will make again!!!

Last creation made this weekend:
Pork Chops with a French Onion Mushroom Gravy
over
Quartered Potatoes and Diced Carrots
(done in the crockpot)
This one was completely a 
"let me throw this together with this, that, and the other thing" 
kind of dish.
Turned out pretty good.
I may attempt this again on another day,
with some tweaks.

$5 Pantry Challenge:
I'm a wee bit behind on posting what I was able to find to add to my pantry for $5 each week, that wasn't part of my grocery budget.
About 3 weeks (if you count this week) behind.
So here are the "deals" I was able to find:
5 Del Monte Super Fruits - Diced Peaches in Pomegranate Juice
$1 each
These have made for tasty snacks!

Last week:
 9 Cans of Giant Eagle Condensed Soups
@ 59 cents a can
Went over a little bit, by 31 cents, but worth it - they were on sale!
I use condensed soups in cooking!

This week:
2- 8 oz  Frozen pkgs of Dole Fruit and Veggie Orange Medley
(mangos, mandarin oranges, bananas, sweet potatoes, and pineapple)
Half price!!
So, basically, two for the price of one!!
$4 total
These will be used to make fruit smoothies...
I had one for breakfast this morning....
Yummy!!!

A fun purchase I made recently were new sheets for my bed:
They're microfiber and I really like the colors.
I can't recall the last time I bought new sheets....
At least 10 plus years?
And some of my sheets are showing it!!!
Thus, a little splurge...
and I was able to find some reasonably priced new ones!

Other fun stuff the past few weeks included two trips to the dentist for a final fitting of my new partials and then, picking them up yesterday.
I have a six month check up next week....
Too bad everything couldn't have been done all at once!
Oh, well!

I had my brakes done on the car earlier in the week.
My sister and brother-in-law have a garage and I take the car there to have it worked on.
Am very happy to have the brakes taken care of.
Next on the agenda before inspection:
Repairing a hole in my rocker panel
and replacing a wheel bearing on the front passenger side.
After that, I should be set to have it inspected!
YEA!!!

I'm feeling very
Blessed Beyond Measure!

Love and prayers,
Sue


Saturday, July 20, 2019

Suggestions from the LOFT: 7.20.19 - Keeping Cool in the Heat

Happy Saturday, all!

Trying to keep cool today in the middle of this lovely heatwave we're having here in NW PA.
I don't know about you,
but I hate the heat and humidity combo!!
Well, maybe "hate" is a strong word -
maybe "strongly dislike" would be just as accurate!!
In any case, you have to adapt!!

Suggestions from the LOFT
Since the weekend is to be so warm
(heat index is to be in the 100's),
this gal knew that there was no way, Jose,
that she was going to bake.
Nope, not gonna do it!
But that doesn't mean I can't make things using some modern conveniences- 
like my crockpot and my fridge. 

I currently have BBQ Chipped Chopped Ham in the crockpot.
Chipped Ham and Bavarian Ham that I got from the deli, 
cut up into strips, and placed in the pot.
Add one thinly sliced Vidalia onion and a bottle of Kraft Hickory Smoked BBQ Sauce, 
and let it cook for a few hours until heated through and the onions are cooked!
BBQ Ham and Onions (for sandwiches)
These will go on some nice hamburger buns,
with some chips on the side OR
some fresh fruit.

Here's what I have in the fridge to snack on
during this heat wave:
 I'm being brave, 
showing you what's in the fridge.
But at the same time, 
there are ideas that come to my mind when I look at this.
There's shredded chicken for chicken salad sandwiches
OR
chicken noodle soup (crockpot).
Leaf lettuce to go with the chicken salad.
Water, water, and more water!!!
Keeping Hydrated!

Watermelon, pineapple chunks, cantaloupe
for a potential fruit salad.
There are pork chops in the blue bag
that will be done in the crockpot -
still thinking about how I want to do those.

I love fresh fruit!! 
Pineapple and Watermelon Chunks
Cantaloupe
Shredded Chicken for Chicken Salad
Green Leaf Lettuce 

Let's not forget some cold snacks from the Freezer!!
Sorbabes Raz'n Berry Sorbet
Some Outshine Fruit Bars
Lime
Raspberry covered in Dark Chocolate
(Not shown: Banana covered in Dark Chocolate)

Sometimes, 
things just have to be easy peasy.
Easy to make
Easy to bake
Easy to create

Well, folks, LUNCH is ready!!!
BBQ Ham on a Soft Kaiser Bun
topped with some Mt Olive Simply Vidalia Pickled Onion Strips
with a side of
Rippled Potato Chips

And to finish my lunch?
Watermelon!!!

That's my creative bend for this warm and humid day!!

Feeling 
Blessed Beyond Measure
today!

Love and prayers,
Sue



Monday, July 15, 2019

Suggestions from the LOFT: 7.15.19 - and Other Stuff!

Happy Monday to one and all!!!
Hope you enjoyed your weekend!!!

Time to share with you my Suggestions from the LOFT from the past few days!
And today's suggestion is for sure a Left Over Fridge Tip!!

Sometimes, I just get cravings for certain things... like sauerkraut and potatoes.
Odd combo, I know, but I like it!

After rooting through a few crockpot cookbooks, I came across one for a Sauerkraut and Sausage Dinner.
Very easy to make!
Sauerkraut and Sausage Dinner
3 cups diced red potatoes (I left the skins on)
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
16 oz Polish sausage (recipe calls for 8 oz), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can Bavarian sauerkraut (I did not drain it)
A diced up Vidalia onion
1/4 cup water
Cooked it on high for about 4 hrs or so, until the veggies were tender

Of course, I had leftovers!
So what I did for lunch today was to spray one of my cast iron skillets with butter flavored cooking spray and put part of the leftovers in the skillet.
Seasoned with some salt and pepper.
And tossed in some real bacon bits.
Oh, I was really careful to not get too much sauerkraut juice in there... some, but not a lot!

I was aiming for the meat and veggies to get a little brown and this is what I got.
Pretty good the 2nd day!!
And I still have leftovers left over!! 
I may do this again for supper - 
we'll see!

I also made a dessert yesterday:
Triple Orange Fun Fluff
I'm calling it Triple Orange because it has Orange Tangerine Jello in it,
along with Mandarin oranges.
Fun Fluff because -
well, I added fun miniature marshmallows to it,
along with part of a container of Cool Whip, 
and some chopped walnuts - 
after it started to set up -
just because I wanted to
and because it was fun to do it!

Tastes pretty good, too!

Other Stuff
So happy to see flowers starting to bloom out in the yard:
They've just started to bloom within the past few days! 
Even the color of weeds makes me happy!! 

$5 or Less Pantry Building Challenge:
Again, the idea behind this "challenge" is to spend $5 on something to build your pantry with.
This $5 isn't part of your regular weekly food budgeting monies.
This week, I took on the challenge and was able to complete it
at the DuBois Walmart.
Look what I got!!
12 8-oz cans sliced peaches 
10 8-oz cans fruit cocktail
2 Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mixes
all for $4.06!!!

The peaches and fruit cocktail are all those smaller cans that you would put in a lunch bag.
Regularly, they're 88 cents each and I got them for 10 cents apiece!!
Their "best by" date is September 2021!!
A savings of $17.16!

The cake mixes are normally $1.24 each.
Their "best by" date is February 2020 and the only thing I can see wrong 
with them is that the boxes were a wee bit banged up.
Otherwise, no issues!
They were 93 cents apiece!!
A savings of 62 cents!!

Add those up and I saved $17.78 on those items!!

LOL - I just had a thought....
So glad for that "Consumer Math" class I took my senior year in high school!!
It comes in handy sometimes!!

Well, that it for now....
May your day be 
Blessed Beyond Measure!

Love and prayers,
Sue