Mercy me. It's been so hot here. I mean really hot here. Triple digits hot. When it's this hot (and mind you I do not have central a/c) it is hard to think about cooking. Yet, I still want to eat. Of course I do. I want ice-cream, ice-cream bars, hot fudge sundaes, and that sort of thing. I want salads for dinner - BUT - the parasite scare is keeping me away from doing that. Cold noodle salads maybe? Cold bean salads? Somehow, none of that is grabbing me at the moment. Geez.

I neglected to post the menus and I didn't even make a grocery list from the menus because I knew what I wanted and how I planned to make the meals, and then realized that sure wasn't helpful. So, here's the menus for this week: Triple C Soup (Cabbage, Carrots + Cannellini) Ocean SOS (Shrimp On Seashells) in a Lemon Dill Sauce w/ Sprouts Chickpea Casserole (Chickpeas, Carrots and Spinach with Chicken) Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas (using Egg Wraps instead of Tort

Every year it's the same. We don't have enough water. It's way too hot. Everything is all dried out. The fire danger is in the red zone. Then...let's set off fireworks on the dry grass and desert sage. Oh say what?? !! There's a fire? No, there's a dozen fires. Sheesh. You'd think they would do something different. You'd think that. But they don't. I know they tried. For the big fireworks show they started out with drones and that was really cool. It cut down on all the loud

Well, Virgin River on Netflix (what I was watching) ran out of episodes. I hear they will be coming out with another season, but by then, it is quite likely I will be into something else and will have forgotten all about that show. So I had to find a new thing to watch on a regular basis. Now I am watching a show called Sheriff Country, on Paramount Plus. It is closely tied to Fire Country. Seems to be a thing the networks are doing these days. I mean, look at all the Chicago

Yes, this seems to be my week for problems. I still haven't gotten my phone/camera to be able to share pictures or download pictures to my laptop. I really have to have that going on. My laptop is where I will polish up pictures, edit videos, be able to upload pictures and/or videos to websites, like this one. I never had any problems doing this in the past. It's a new thing that started with the most recent Microsoft updates. This weeks' menus has also turned out to be a bi

Yes, it's true, I am running a wee bit behind this week. The reasons why elude me. But nonetheless, I did get menus created and here they are: For Friday Fish Day - Kippered Herring Caesar Pitas Butter Chicken and Cauliflower with Potato Wedges Lentils and Rice with Spinach Orange Chicken with Leftover Rice Kale and Lentil Stew with Mashed Potatoes Weekend Leftovers As a cautionary addendum for myself I have the items and the recipes ready for these extras: Cuban Chicke

Eating healthy does not have to be expensive or complicated. With a little planning and smart choices, you can enjoy nutritious meals every day without breaking the bank. This week, focus on simple ingredients, balanced nutrition, and affordable options that keep your meals exciting and satisfying. Below, you will find a practical guide to creating a healthy and affordable menu for the week, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Healthy meal prep with grilled chicke

Finally getting back on schedule. Well, at least for the menus and shopping. Groceries coming early Thursday morning. Menus all planned out on Wednesday morning. And here they are: Butter Chicken on Brown Rice with Sweet Peas Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bowls with Lime (Caribbean Style) Teriyaki Salmon, Baked Potatoes with the fixins, and Green Beans Red Pepper and Cashew Pasta with Cauliflower Yes, I'm still making up stuff. LOL. The weather here has been all over the pl

"I'd tell you a memory loss joke, but I keep drawing a blank." I forgot a meal on the menu list that I posted for this week. So I am adding it here. It's: Homepot Chili I still haven't decided if I will walk to the fruit stand and buy a couple of sweet potatoes, which I did not receive with my grocery order that was delivered this morning. It's hard to make Sweet Potato Pizza without them. I may rig up something else instead, but the idea of using sweet potatoes was to includ

I am still making up recipes for this week. And I have one that I think will surprise you. Here's the menu list: Black Bean Burgers with the fixin's and potatoes. That Arugula Salad with this week' fish, Salmon Sweet Potato Pizza Pasta Tamahtah I am gradually getting back on schedule. Another week I think and I will have that accomplished. I am working on other projects as I go. Not going to say exactly what they are at this time. Maybe later. What's that you say? What is

Wanna hear two short jokes and a long joke? Joke, joke, joooooooooooooke. This week's menus: Orange Chicken with Brown Rice Pasta Tamahtah Corn Fish Chowder and Pitas French Toast and Fakon Bacon (Tofu made to taste like bacon) Chicken Taco Soup and Salad It annoys me when I receive a web address from a recognized establishment purported to be a free website with access to FREE stuff. (I use that word 'stuff' a lot I guess). So I get this flyer from my state pension outfit

Yes, I suppose it really is. It just seems like it's too soon because 1. I got off schedule and order groceries on Tuesdays lately instead of Thursdays and 2. Because I did not post last week's menus until late in the week. (Thanks for the reminder Josie). So now I am trying to figure out this issue. My current plan (and it's subject to change without notice) is to do a half order for Tuesday morning and another half order (the other half) on Thursday morning. This because I

Ever have one of those days? Well, I'm having one of those mornings. Hopefully it will only be the morning part of the day. I am grouchy, irritable, grumpy. I am angry with myself. I did stupid stuff. Doing stupid stuff is not a new thing with me, so I know I will get over it. Eventually. It's the getting from here to there that can be a struggle. I have had it with myself. LOL. I know how ludicrous that sounds, but that pretty much sums it up. I have shortcomings. Doesn't e

It's a little frustrating when you plan a week's worth of meals and order groceries specifically for those meals and then get a text message telling you an item is unavailable and that item is essential to one of your meals. Example: One of the meals planned for this week is 7-layer Nachos. The base for this meal are the 'lightly salted' tortilla chips. It was this item that was 'unavailable'. Argggggg. Well, anywho, here is this week's dinners menu: Thai Peanut Chicken Cass

This recipe is for me, a winter recipe because it asks for the use of the oven, which I never use in the summertime. It can be modified to be done on top the stove if you want to go ahead and make it in the summer. This week's menu has a couple of oven recipes, this is one of them. I will try to get in one recipe per week per the menu for that week from now forward. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for asking. Tuscan, White Bean Artichoke over Polenta Ingredients: 2 TB EVOO 1

It's true. I have monitored the free section on Craigslist for some time now, usually looking for some little thing I need, like free 5 gallon buckets. I check Facebook Marketplace now and then. And I also check Nextdoor freebies now and then. You really can furnish an entire home for free by picking up items, free, from nearby. I am including beds, sofas, recliners, dining tables, patio tables and chairs, kitchen tables, end tables, dressers, coffee tables, hanging macrame p

Yes it was, but I think that I am done with the taxes. It was fun for a while but then the forms would not print out correctly and that started to give me conniptions. However, got that figured out and while I am never sure that I have gotten everything right I am pretty confident that they are done correctly and can be sent off to those who like to squander my moolah in various ways. Now - on to the stuff of norm. Did I say Norm? As in Normal? LOL. Yeah. I did. Anywho, It'

I am eyeball deep in doing the taxes. That's one thing that's happening right now. I am looking at habits. Habits formed in childhood and those I purposely worked on making as a young adult, as an adult, and now as an old gal. That's another thing that's happening right now in my little world. When I was a kid my family moved around a lot. I was raised up half in the city and half on farms. We lived in Ohio - in the city, in Georgia - in the swamp, in Texas - in a dustbowl, a

Here is the last post for now on this Series. Keep in mind that the initial cost for items will make the meal cost more than it will next time you make it as well as make other meals cost less. It's up to you if you feel that meal is worth the extra expense and it's also okay to leave out some ingredients. Substitutions are always an option. This is another of my favorite meals. I don't serve this one often because it does cost a little more per serving than many of my other

Hi. This is going to sound like it's expensive, but once you purchase the initial pantry items it is actually budget friendly. What would you consider to be cost effective per serving? $4 ? $2 ? Cooking and eating at home is going to be cheaper no matter what, so start there. If you spend $4 per serving for 4 people that's $16 for one meal. If you do that three times a day that is going to turn out to be $48 per day. And that IS expensive. It's what most people spend current