Home Cooking

I finished my Louise Penny book and have started another one. I have only read a couple of chapters not sure if it is going to be a keeper.

Sunday morning, I made us some hard boil eggs. They came out perfect. The fool proof way is start them in cold water once they start to boil take them off the burner let them sit for 15 minutes then drain the hot water and put them in cold water. Perfect every time. 

I made a few extra for some deviled eggs. 

Save the shells and put them directly in the garden. This time of year, I put them right on the snow. I do crunch them up a bit but so good for the soil no need to do anything else to them. by spring I will turn them right into the soil 

I made a stuffed pork loin. I just sliced the loin to lay flat then I pounded it a bit to make it even. I sautéed some onions, spinach, and garlic. I threw in some tomatoes at the very end. Rolled it up wrapped a few sliced of bacon around it baked until the meat reaches 174. Perfect! Very very tender. 

The plan this week is to take the left-over pork and cut it up and make nachos. Husband is very picky about nachos so I will make his mild with cheese and a bit of salsa with the pork.  I will really add to mine. I love it all!

And to top it off a chocolate cake. No eggs no dairy

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I shoveled some more today. I had not done the front walkway and we do use it now and then, so I attacked it. It had a hard crust and had not been shoveled since we got all the snow.  I got it done and I was tired after. But I am not walking much right now the roads are all ice and I am not that brave, so it was good exercise.

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I see we are going to get some really cold weather. We are watching the chiefs game and they are so cold there I think we are going to get that weather. So I will tuck in and do some stuff around the house and hook a bit and wait for warmer days. 

Have a wonderful week!

I

U N C L E!!!

As a reward for all the shoveling I have done since Monday.

 I made a cobbler. I looked online since I have never made a peach cobbler. I will say next time I will use my apple cobbler recipe with oatmeal in it instead. It still was very tasty and easy I just like more texture. 

I know I wanted snow a nice big storm and then a week of great weather to enjoy it but not every couple of days it's too much! We got about 6 inches and 2 days later 15 inches! and then a day later 6 inches and then we had ice and rain to top it off. I shoveled the back deck and walkway this morning each shovel full was so heavy I had to take a lot of breaks. I have shoveled about 28 inches of snow since last Saturday! (Not all at once but still!!) I shoveled most of the day on Tuesday after the big storm I was so sore and tired I went to bed early I thought I wouldn't be able to walk the next day, but I was good!!!So I am in better shape than I thought. 

And that is my sad story for this week lol.

Have a wonderful week!

Wonderful week

I have shown this before, but this is my mother's African violet.

It blooms constantly she has been gone 15 years this year. It always makes me smile all winter.

Sat was a very big day for my grand Sweet B. She was fitted for ballet toe shoes! My daughter said they got the royal treatment fresh muffins and coffee. The owner of the shop, and her teacher on the right. Took their time with her and her best friend to make sure that the fit was just right. So proud of her. When she called, she was so excited!

I made crazy good peanut butter cookies and very simple.

1 cup of peanut butter (I used no sugar added skippy)

1/2 cup of sugar ( I used 1/4 cup of lo carb sugar (monk fruit) 1/4 cup regular sugar)

1 egg

mix and I made tablespoon balls and make the crisscross with a fork 350 for 8 to10 minutes. let them cool. 

So perfect!

My husband bought us tickets to see cirque du Soleil Corteo

The curtains were amazing while we were waiting for the show.

It was amazing and very hard to describe. These are young women doing acrobats on the chandeliers. 

This was a little person harnessed in these big balloons filled with helium she floated all over the audience. 

Angels doing all kinds of things. 

It was based on this man's funeral, and everyone was there.

I would love a funeral like this, but I don't know anyone who could pull off what they did lol. But at the end as he is peddling away, he said to live each day as it comes. So hard to do for me. I am always thinking of the future. 

We have seen the Cirque before, but it was a different story. This had a lot of magic in it. So wonderful and what a thoughtful gift. It was in NH an hour from our house, so we drove right down and right back. Ok we did pick up a takeout pizza on the way home. 

Ok another look at my witch and what the new border will look like.

I really like it better than the triangles. 

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We are waiting for another snowstorm to come in. We are not going to get that much 3 to 5 inches but the snow we got this week was good. We had two fatalities at two different ski areas before the last snow. One was a 15 year old girl and three days later other 21-year-old young man. The skiing and ice were so bad they lost control and went off the trails. It truly broke my heart just young people doing what young people should be doing being outside and enjoying the fresh air and exercise. Say an extra prayer for their families. 

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Have a wonderful week. 

There's A Storm A Coming!

I am pretty happy with my witch. But as you can see, I have a section that needs to be redone.

I am going to make the border bittersweet instead of the triangles. 

Walking has been a bit tricky. This is sheer ice, and the sand has melted into the ice so slick doesn't begin to describe it. 

So I walk on our road doing it twice is a little over 2 miles.

"Few people know how to take a walk. the qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence, and nothing too much."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are in for 5 to 8 inches, and they are not predicting rain. We may just keep this snow for a while. Time to strap on the snowshoes! yea!

Have a great week!

Germs They Are Everywhere!

I am back reading a bit a Louise Penny Inspector Gamache novel.

I have read a lot of these mysteries and had given up for a while for a few historical fictions. I do not read as much as most of you do. 

I prefer to waste my time online. Ugg when I look at how much time I spent online last week it makes me mad. I am so addicted to my phone. I need to make a true effort to set it aside more. 

We do not have a team in the playoffs so I settled in to watch the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins I thought I would root for the Buffalo Bills they have been through a very tough time with their player being so ill (He is doing so well now and visited the team this week!). But then I heard the story

about Miami's quarterback it tugged at my heartstrings but sadly they lost. He lost his mom at 6 from cancer and his dad drove 15 hours to watch his son play. 

Well husband's turn to be sick so I have been the cleaning woman for the past few days. I stripped beds and sprayed and cleaned everything in sight! While praying it doesn't find me. I am double masking, and my hands are raw from washing and hand sanitizer. 

While putting laundry away I walked by the skylight and see the sun shining off the hills behind us. Sunset tonight was 4:35pm it is slowly getting there, and I appreciate every second of light we gain. 

This week we got a bit of snow and then freezing rain, then rain that froze solid fun times. I got out and sanded everything so we could get out of driveway and at least be able to stand up without falling.

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A person in a little town in Maine won the big lottery. Our niece lives in that town. I called her and told her how much we love her lol. But sadly, not her. (Or is she just saying that hmmmm ?lol)  

Have a wonderful healthy week!!

Penny Wise, Dollar Foolish?

I met up with a friend and we took a walk around town on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Usually, this time of year this lake is frozen solid. But not this year it has been too warm. We saw two funny things first a boat being pulled from the water. That had to be one cold ride! brrrr! and 3 otters fishing and playing in the water. They were too far out to get a good picture put so fun to watch. The wind was blowing off the water, so it was a cold walk. 

After I got home, we were having leftovers so out of the freezer I pulled some biscuits that I had frozen. When I make a batch of cookies, biscuits etc I freeze at least half of them individually on a cookie sheet (not cooked) and put them in a freezer bag to cook for a later meal. It worked great leftovers don't seem like leftovers with warm biscuits. 

I am frugal in many ways. You all know that I bought expensive socks lately. (I did not pay 33.00 for them. They were 21.00 less 20%) Am I penny wise and dollar foolish?? I am not sure. I wash out the heavy-duty storage bags if they did not hold meat. My husband made the little thing to dry them on. I can get lots of uses out of some of those bags. 

Speaking of leftovers, I took all the odd crackers that were opened and gave them a spin in the food processor spread them on a cookie sheet and put it in a low oven for about 1/2 hour just to get them crispy. We had leftover chicken and rice, so I made balls coated them in the crackers and fried them. (If you have an air fryer even better)

voila another way to use leftovers!

 I would love to know if there are little ways you save or do a redo of leftovers. 

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We are pretty cold tonight going down to 5 degrees and there will be storm coming in Thursday I sure hope it stays snow but that is not what they are saying. UGG 

Have a wonderful week!!

Pure Joy

Finally, we got a bit of snow! Glorious snow!

It snowed all day, but we only got a few slippery inches...

We stopped at the crest of the hill on the way to our daughters for the family Christmas. This is the beautiful Mt Chocorua. This mountain is sheer rock at the top and has a native American legend attached to it. It is beauty in every season. But this is breath taking.

My husband's family is so close and celebrate everything together. I love this family so much. Compared to my family who is pure dysfunction. 

Cousins who make me laugh. Daughter is on the left the other two are sisters. My daughter hosted in her lovely home and did such a wonderful job so proud of her and my son in law. 

My brother-in-law once in a while cleans out old houses. He gifted me this old Santa. Does he know me or what? 

Because I have been on a binge lately of eating all the sweets and the food, I usually don't eat I thought it was time to make a nice big pot of veggie soup. I just used up all the bits and pieces in the veggie drawer and made quite a pot of soup. I will freeze some of it as husband does not like vegetables all that much. 

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That young football player is doing so well it was quite a week of recovery for him. I wish him continued success to good health.

Our patriots just lost to his team, so we are out, but they were the better team and I hope they go all the way and win the Superbowl

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Have a wonderful week!

Ending The Year Laughing

The New year and a new coffee pot. 

Makes a yummy cup of coffee. 

Don't mind the mess in the background I was taking down Christmas. 

The weather is damp and dreary mostly March weather not Jan. I am ready for some snow to play in. 

Back to working on my witch. As you can see, I have made some changes to the pattern, and I have a few more to make. But she looks happy about it lol. 

I have mostly been one that if there is cheaper version of a piece of clothing that is what I would buy. Or better yet I hit the thrift stores.

I found these socks and my feet never felt better. They are expensive for socks, but I feel like they are so worth it. I will ditch all the other socks and even if I only have a few pairs of these better than a drawer full of the other ones. 

When I went into work Dec 31 someone had done this to the little tree in front work. Why? It was a healthy sweet little tree. 

The comedian on New Year's Eve was good and it was nice to end the year laughing. 

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As you all know I love football and last night we were watching the Bills vs Bengals game and the unthinkable happened.

Damar Hamlin of the Bills after a play stood up and fell back his heart stopped.

He is in critical condition and my heartfelt prayers go out to him.

He is much too young (24) for anything like this to happen. 

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Thank you for all the good New year wishes and the same to all of you may this year be the best ever!