Give Thanks and Don't Annoy The Cook

 

What happens when you layer this in the crockpot?
(chicken or any meat of your preference, rice, (or quinoa) corn, onion,
jalapeno or sweet peppers, canned tomatoes,
 beans ( kidney, pinto or black) and cheese on top)

Filling for wraps! Serve with sour cream and salsa or spicy Thai Sauce

... a bit of thinly sliced cabbage for greenery in the wrap adds filler and cuts back on carbs!

Yes, there were raised eye-brows when I suggested this
but the fresh greens in the store are pretty pricey right now
so we just don't always have them on hand!

Give thanks where dusk has drawn dark shutters over land and sea

Where what was new this morning decks the halls of history

Give thanks where supper hour beckons us to grab a seat

As we all have in common what the cook has prepped to eat

Give thanks with humble homage to the One who grants us This

Give thanks for appetites even when something tastes amiss

Give thanks and do not grumble at your share of daily bread

*And don’t annoy the cook or you might wear it on your head

© Janet Martin

Thankfully my family does not grumble when it comes to meals.

They know better than to open the door to a pep-talk about appreciation

and the less-fortunate!😀 

 Oh! and purple room I was painting a week ago is now 'cream' room!

Grateful...(Happy American Thanksgiving Day!)

At 3:00 I was still trying to decide what I could make for supper
that could cook while I put a second coat of paint on the 'purple room'! 

When in menu limbo thaw ground beef.
so I did; 2 lbs.

 While it thawed in the microwave I scrubbed a few potatoes
 then tried to decide what next.
I chose meat-loaf, with baked potato-wedges and butternut squash
because this could bake at alike temps.
I put the meatloaf in for 45 min@325F before adding the pan of squash-potato.
I left it at 325F for an hour then reduced the heat around 6;00
because on Thursdays no one is home before 6:30.
Second coat of paint was done by 6:00
allowing time to make a spinach salad to complete the menu.

Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef thawed.

I small onion chopped

3 or 4 bread-crusts, crumbled

1 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper

2 eggs

squirt each of ketchup and mustard (according to taste)

2/3 cup milk

Mix and press in pan

Baking instructions above

 (if using a deep loaf pan bake covered for 11/2 hrs at 350 then uncover for the last 15 minutes.)

I topped this meatloaf with a BBQ sauce when I uncovered it

1/3 cup ketchup

1tbsp. br. sugar

1 tsp. chili powder

I tsp (heaping) honey mustard 

Cut clean, dry potatoes into wedges. 

Peel and slice squash into 1/2" rings

place in buttered casserole dish

 sprinkle salt and pepper to taste
as well as paprika and

parsley flakes or fresh chopped parsley

another drizzle of butter and enough water just to cover bottom of pan

Cover with foil and bake 1 hour at 325/350F

Remove foil for the last 15 min.

Spinach Salad

base of baby spinach

topped with thinly sliced red and green cabbage

celery, chopped

toasted sunflower seeds and sliced almonds

dried cranberries

Leave dressing on side

I used a soy-sauce dressing

the recipe for a full batch is;

Mississippi Salad dressing

put in blender 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

3 tbsp. soy sause

1 tbsp black pepper

blend then slowly add 3/4 cup oil

 (I use 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup canola or veg. oil)

put in glass bottle or jar.

Lightly drizzle salad

refrigerate unused dressing

Grateful for goodness that graces the table

Grateful for strength to do what I am able

Grateful for mercies renewed every morn

Fields that were laden with harvest, now shorn

Flicker of leaf-lanterns strewn ‘neath our feet

November’s embers where earth and sky meet

Grateful for love that gives heartstrings a tug

Wood fire warmth, like a welcome home hug

Seasons that stir us then startle us, oh

Swift gifted shimmer from first bud to snow

Teaching us tenderly as time goes by

To look the moment at hand in the eye

Grateful for touch, for hands still within reach

Grateful for much love’s demands seem to teach

Grateful for blessings too countless to name

(God, my forgetfulness puts me to shame)

Day made for labour and night deigned for rest

Purpose that bids us strive to give our best

Grateful that God always faithful and true

Never stops caring for me and for you

Grateful to know His ways are always good

Even when His grace is misunderstood

Grateful, when trouble and heartache assails

To know no matter what, love never fails

© Janet Martin

Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,

 do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

November's Supper Hour

Let's start with dessert since it is not the norm at our house

but guests always give a great reason for a treat, which was the case last night.

So what is a quick go-to when you suddenly realize 

there's nothing in the house and we need dessert?!

Banana Pudding!

Scald 3 cups milk

While it heats mix 1/4-1/3 cup of cornstarch with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt.

blend and add 1/3 cup COLD milk.

Add to scalded milk whisking briskly all the while.

Reduce heat to med-low and stir until mix says 'blub-blub-blub',

then add a splash of vanilla extract , stir

and pour over sliced bananas!

Serve warm or chilled and topped with fresh whipped cream.

This dish makes me feel like a little girl

on those rare nights when supper was either tapioca of cornstarch pudding.

Simple and satisfying.

The main course was a mix of Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday's meals rolled into Thursday!

How does this happen??!!

Well, it started with Sunday, coming home from church, 

anticipating a crockpot holding nicely browned potatoes and roast beef.

Alas, because all the words are worn off the settings I had turned the knob too far 

and it was not set at high but on the 'keep warm' setting, 

leaving lukewarm, still hard potatoes.

All was not lost however because they still cooked

 (though not in time for lunch)

 and turned out to be a big help during fall housecleaning midweek.

On Wednesday I shredded them, added chopped chicken 

leftover from Tuesday night's roast chicken dinner 

( plus a bit of chopped ham), sprinkled in some corn, 

made a sauce with leftover gravy, 

leftover swiss-chalet-dipping sauce 

and a can of cream of mushroom soup+water.

Toss and pour in pan

(The crumb topping under the shredded cheese is ground up rosemary-cheese scones

 which Victoria tried a while ago but they were not edible! 

I was not home when she made them

or I might have told her that 1/2 cup dried rosemary is definitely a misprint!

But ground and used sparingly these 'flopped' scones are great as a savoury topping!

I named it Chicken Cordon Blu Casserole because of its richness and ham-chicken-cheese.

It was a big batch so we had enough for last night's main dish...

 

Monday's contribution; Cabbage Rolls... 

The Cabbage Rolls take a bit of time to prepare but are well worth the effort!

An autumn highlight at our house after the winter-cabbage is gathered.

(I use green cabbage in a LARGE pot of boiling water)

Last but not least...the salad, not leftover😊

consisting of a base of mixed spring greens, topped with thinly shredded red cabbage, 

shredded red beet, chopped cucumber, crumbled feta and roasted unsalted sunflower seeds.

Drizzle with dressing of your choice. (I prefer dressings on the side)

Something about the rain lashing at windows 

and the wind rattling at loose shingles and soffits (hopefully not!) and doors

makes us feel extra-humbly blessed to have a roof over our heads

and a place to call home-sweet-home!

 

These days the dark falls early

Deep blue turns to ebony

November’s rain taps windowpanes

The wind moans like a sea

And front-porch lights hail ‘welcome’

From heav’n-on-earth’s modest dome

And heavy hearts turns lithesome

At the sight of home-sweet-home

Where it is not ‘the dressing’

That makes this place so dear

But the precious, sacred blessing

Of gathering loved ones near

And thanking God for mercies

That we could never earn

Glad, as the dark falls early

For each loved ones safe return

© Janet Martin

Sacred Gift

What was for Thursday-what's-for-supper?
Something I put in the crock-pot much earlier today because it was going to be a lively one!

 This stew is a meal on its own but bread and cheese is a nice side...

In the oven it's a four/five-hour stew but in the crock-pot it's an all-day stew.

Since the beef was pre-cooked I put it in the crock-pot at noon.

Also, because I have my own canned tomato juice
 I used it instead of the V-8 juice.(to be economical)

Not the same but still perfectly fine.
I also skipped the tapioca and sugar to keep it simple.

I love this yellow bean salad with all things beef!
This is how I preserve half of the yellow bean crop.

(I hope you can read it. I needed to retrace the faded ink of this recipe

 I brought from home 31 years ago)

Dressing for this bean salad;

A scoop of mayo

a squirt of Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. each of brown sugar and vinegar

2 tbsp light cream or milk

whisk dressing then pour over beans, chopped white or red onion and hard-boiled eggs...
(adjust amounts to bean ratio)

top with freshly ground pepper

it's such a friendly little word

a tender pick-me-upper

a warming, welcome-homeward tug

a hug. 

We call it supper

As we sit  'round to share a meal

Let's thank God for each other 

and never over look the gift

of gathering 

for supper 

Janet Martin

Subtle Lightning Bolt...(or Savoring the Simple)

I came across an old picture of suppertime recently when all of the family still lived at home...

How ordinary that sacred scene seemed at the time!

I was really planning on posting this What's-for-supper Thursday last night
(click link for previous posts) but the old engine ran out of steam...

I thought I had a supper-menu planned until I cleaned out the fridge
and realized there are too many left-overs that need using
and I could not justify my original chicken dinner plan...

so, what to do with a bunch of less than stellar looking tail-end garden-gleanings?

Roasted Vegetables;

red and green peppers, carrots, beets, squash, sweet potatoes, brussels sprout and broccoli.
(last 3 veggies from store:)

Toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar,(a few tbsp of each) cayenne pepper (1/4 tsp)

 and sprinkle of kosher salt.

Bake at 400F til tender approx. 15-20 min. 

With the leftover hamburgers and mashed potatoes I tried an invention!

When Matt and Victoria asked 'what's this?' I wasn't sure what to call them so they are still

Hamburger and Mashed Potato Thingys.

Slice the burgers in half and put in a baking dish.

I had some 'tired' kale that needed using so I made a filling by browning in olive oil

 fresh chopped garlic, red onion and kale with stems removed.

Add a splash or two of apple cider vinegar, some salt and pepper.

I'm not mentioning amounts because I didn't measure and they vary
depending on how many people are being served.

Put a glob of filling on each burger half then top with leftover mashed potato filling;

To the potatoes I added pepper, paprika, parsley, two beaten eggs
splash of light cream and shredded cheese.

Garnished with a jalapeno pepper-ring.

Bake on top rack above veggies for same amount of time!

I'm realizing how quickly the numbers at the supper table are dwindling 

so I try not to take for granted the seemingly sometimes messy and mundane..

But the messy-and-mundane could be addressed while supper baked 

making eating time extra-relaxing! 

Supper hour minutes is a little later right now due to work schedules.

When I asked Matt for a verdict on the hamburger-potato thingys he said 

he thought of this scene from the movie What About Bob...😋

Life can draw us apart

The tide that furls and breaks

Turns what seems like common-place art

Into sacred keepsakes

Ah, Time can take its toll

Much quicker than we thought

Tying the strings of heart and soul

Into a tender knot

See how the daylight dims

So swift above earth’s prow

Gathering hours into hymns

With simple here and now

Where sometimes with a jolt

We are startled anew

By what the subtle lightning bolt

Of tick and tock can do

© Janet Martin

 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12