Category Archives: Food
Hit and passed the 50,000 mark!
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I get to go out to dinner! To everyone who helped, thank you! A special thank you to Delaney for that 50,000th hit. I’ll think of all of you when we are sitting in a restaurant for the first time in a long time. You all twisted Dear Hubby’s arm by helping me to win the bet.
Usually, if I don’t want to cook, he’ll order delivery food. I mean that’s wonderful and I love him dearly for it but it also means I still have to do dishes afterwards. At that rate, I might as well cook too. For once, I just want to go out for dinner. Let someone else cook our meal and clean up afterwards. Let me relax and lounge over a cup of coffee without thinking about doing the dishes.
I’m a cheap date. To make me happy it doesn’t have to be fancy, expensive, or even come with drinks, though dessert is a necessary given. What’s dinner out without a dessert too? I’d be completely happy with one of several local diners that serve exceptional meals at a nominal price. Four of which have the most wonderful cheesecakes.
I’ll leave it up to him.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Doggonedmysteries Crock Pot Rueben Casserole
Posted by doggonedmysteries
- 1 can (16 ounces) sauerkraut, undrained
- 1 can (12 ounces) corned beef, sliced, or use deli or home-cooked sliced corned beef (I like to use left over home-cooked corned beef)
- 2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
- 3/4 cup to a cup of Thousand Island dressing
- 1 8oz package of noodles, cooked
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 cup soft rye bread crumbs, or pumpernickel
Preparation:
Place sauerkraut in the bottom of slow cooker. Cover with a layer of beef, then noodles, then cheese. Spread Thousand Island dressing over cheese. Cook on high 4 to 6 hours. Sauté bread crumbs in butter and sprinkle on casserole before serving.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Crock pot recipes, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, quick and easy recipes, Writer, Writing
The stats are climbing—is it dinner yet?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’m delighted to say that there were 108 hits yesterday. Only 1259 hits to go! Dear Hubby is truly sweating it.
Just so you all know, Dear Hubby happily made the bet with me, not only because I’m a cheap date. But because he thinks it’d be great if my blog gets 50,000 hits before the end of the year. This is a fun bet. A win-win sort of bet. I know he’ll be popping buttons off his shirt if this gets the hits. He always says he’s proud of me. (Even when I’ve out shot him at the range.) He’s a very secure man.
He’s supportive of my writing and is always ready to lend some expert advice when I need it. He always has my back and I have his.
A big thank you to all of you who have stopped in to boost my stats. Don’t forget to keep stopping by so I can make my goal!
On another note, R is going in for knee surgery today and here’s hoping all goes well. We are worried for him due to an underlying problem with his heart.
Posted in Food, Misc, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
I never thought tuna noodle casserole would lose its allure
Posted by doggonedmysteries
One of the reasons I look forward to Dear Hubby taking off for a week is that I can cook things for me that he doesn’t like. Two years have passed since I’ve made tuna noodle casserole. I made it tonight. It didn’t taste as good as I remember. I guess I can cross that off my list of favorite foods. My tastes have changed and that was proof.
The first night DH was gone I made a Crock pot Reuben casserole, now that was good. I’d tried to interest him in it a few months ago but he turned up his nose. After I enjoyed a good helping, I packed some (still hot) into a container and took it over to G’s house. She couldn’t wait to taste it. She grabbed a spoon, took a taste, and she loved it. Since she’d already had dinner she then stuck the rest away for her lunch the following day.
DH no longer has to worry that one day I’ll throw a tuna noodle casserole together when he’s home—he can’t stand tuna. He’ll be happy to hear this.
Posted in Food
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comfort foods, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your relatives.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Some family holiday meals are as pleasant as playing with an angry grizzly bear. We don’t do them any more. Instead, Dear Hubby and I enjoy a quiet meal at home without having to endure in laws or out laws. We don’t go away for the holidays.
For some reason, at certain of these ‘holiday meals,’ Dear Hubby and I found ourselves seated at the children’s table. Two children sat at the adult’s table because they’d raised a fuss over having to sit with their peers. We didn’t have kids, we were well over twenty one, but there we were at the kiddies’ table. (Not a smart thing to do with us.)
I guessed it was some perverse torture set up by the parents of the spoiled brats…um children. Therefore, we became the ringleaders of mischief. Do not leave us to our own devices…you WILL pay. DH’s specialty is food fights. He is very subtle and no one has any idea how these battles begin—well, I do but no one else does.
I specialize in telling bad fart jokes or engaging in other antics that will make milk come out of a child’s nose. (I warned them not to seat us there.)
Posted in Food, Holidays, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, Holiday meals, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
What foods do you crave when the seasons change?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I find my cravings change with the seasons. Right now, in the fall, I begin to crave vegetable laden soups and stews, crisp tart apples and apple cider, herb teas, pecan and pumpkin pies, and acorn squash. Dear Hubby wants slow cooked beef and pork roasts with mashed potatoes and carrots or corn. He wants apple crisp, bread pudding, and rice pudding with raisins all still warm from the oven.
My father would make a wonderful turkey soup after Thanksgiving. He’d boil down the turkey carcass, put in everything but the kitchen sink, and never wrote the darned thing down, he died in 1995. I’d almost perfected his recipe after years of trial and error when DH decided he no longer liked turkey. That was the end of that. Now I make chicken soup with a PA Dutch flair.
DH’s mother used to make one thing very well. She made an applesauce cake to die for however, she no longer bakes. No matter how often DH asks for it I won’t make her cake. Why? Because no matter how good it is, it can never compare to the memory of his mother’s.
It is fall, and I still crave Dad’s soup. DH still craves his mother’s applesauce cake. What foods do you crave when the seasons change?
Posted in Food, Holidays, Misc, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Fall, Family, Fiction, Food, Holidays, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
16 lbs of candy and a ton of smiles
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It was interesting to see which costumes were popular among the Trick or Treaters this year. We had a great many firemen and a few other super heroes among the boys. There were more pirate wenches than there were pirates. The girls that visited brought more variety, dressing as vampires, witches, fairies, fairy princesses, princesses, and the pirate wenches I mentioned before.
We seldom had a lull. At times, the line of T or T’ers stretched for a block. At other times, they came from two directions. All of the children were polite and said thank you. Wow, was that delightful.
We played music and had plenty of flashing lights, which contributed to several impromptu dance parties in the street. (It’s a good thing we’re on a side street and not a main street.) I even handed candy out to some people who drove by and commented on our display. All the smiles, children’s and adults’ that we saw Friday night were priceless.
Posted in Food, Holidays, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, fun, Halloween, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Trick or Treat, Writer, Writing
This is why I enjoy Trick or Treat night
Posted by doggonedmysteries
These pictures are only a few of the people who came by. We had so many Trick or Treaters that we finally gave up on taking pictures. We went through 16 lbs of candy this year. We all had a blast.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Candy, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, fun, Halloween, Holidays, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Trick or Treat, Writer, Writing
Doggoned Green Tomato Pie
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Doggoned Green Tomato Pie
3 ½ c. peeled and sliced green tomatoes
¼ to ½ cup of golden raisins (optional)
3 tbsp. butter or margarine
6 tbsp. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
¼ C lt. brown sugar
3 tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cloves
1 tsp instant tapioca
Sauté the tomatoes in the butter and lemon juice until just tender. Combine tomatoes with sugar, flour, salt, tapioca, and spices. Line 9″ pie pan with pastry, pour in filling, and cover with top crust. Snip a couple of vent holes in top crust. Bake at 450 degrees 10 minutes then reduce to 350 degrees and bake until crust is brown–approximately 35-40 minutes.
Posted in Food
Tags: Author, baked goods, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Desserts, Disability, Doggoned, Fall Desserts, Fall Recipes, Family, Fiction, Food, Gardening, Gardens, Green Tomato Pie, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, recipes, Writer, Writing
Chocolate is brain food
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Okay, that may not necessarily be true, but it works for me. I inherited the chocolate loving gene from my grandmother. I don’t eat so much of it as to gain weight I eat only a little each day. I can claim chocolate as part of the vegetable food group, can’t I? It comes from a bean…. Vegetable. It relaxes me, it helps me think, and I love it.
( Hey, Jennie, tonight I finished that dark chocolate bar you sent. It was yummy!)
Hmm. Therefore, if I follow that same form of logic as is found in the first paragraph, it means that coffee is vegetable juice. Oh, goody. I’ll tell that one to Dear Hubby’s doctor, it will crack him up for sure.
I drink gallons of coffee. Ask Dave he’ll tell you how I carry coffee with me at all times. When I visit the Aunts, I phone them from down the road a piece from the house and ask them if they have the coffee on. They always do.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Chocolate, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, gifts, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Friday post mortem
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I stopped in at Borders today for a little ME time. Remember yesterday’s post? Wouldn’t you know it, a mere two doors down from Borders they are opening a Spirit Halloween store. I can’t wait for it to open. They always have great props and costumes.
At the pet store, (I had to get dog food) I almost bought two Halloween hats for the pups. One was a witch’s hat with green hair attached and the other was a pirate hat with black hair. I might go back for them, the only thing stopping me is the pups,—these two don’t like to wear things, unlike previous Bull Terriers.
After the pet store, I picked up a few groceries. I’ve never had to dodge so many misguided carts and stopped in the middle of the aisle people than I did today. People who completely block an aisle and remain oblivious to the fact that other people would like to get past them make me crazy. I hate grocery shopping. I want to get in, get what I need, and get the heck outta there.
I grit my teeth, I smile, I say, ”Excuse me.”
They stare at the shelves.
I smile again and speak louder, ”Excuse me. Helloooo.” I wave my arms to get their attention. “Yoohoo.”
Finally, it sinks in they look at me and say, “Oh, am I in your way?”
“Heaven’s no. My cart has hover capabilities and I can fly it right over yours.” ACK!
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Food, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
To can or not to can
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I can’t believe it. We’re halfway through our second jar of my Cousins’ homemade jam. The first jar we finished was his raspberry jam what a heavenly delight! This one is sour cherry-raspberry and all I can say is wow. I’m sorely tempted to open all the others to taste them but I will restrain myself and go one at a time. I’m not certain as to which one we’ll try after this jar is empty.
We have a number of choices. There’s the blueberry, the strawberry, the strawberry rhubarb, and sour cherry sitting in the cupboard waiting for us to dive in. My cousin and his daughter make tons of jams for the family every year. Another cousin makes a wonderful salsa.
I’ve also been hoarding a jar of my Aunts’ tomato relish—it’s my last jar.
I’m sorry to say that I haven’t done any canning in several years. I used to make this wonderful tomato pear chutney, a port wine jelly, an apple ginger jelly, and a jalapeño jelly. Dear Hubby misses the jalapeño jelly most of all. I quit canning when my dishwasher died, it was a portable, and we never replaced it because it took up too much room. It had a sterilizing cycle that I used to sterilize all my jars, lids, and rings. It’s too time consuming and too much work without it.
Posted in Food, hobbies, Misc, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Cooking, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Doggonedmysteries 