Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[Snowysmom]

QOTD Tues August 11-- Do you all cook/bake from scratch, or from recipes , or do you take the easy way out most of the time? If you have favorite old time family recipes, could you share one of them with the rest of us?

I do both. Since I have been working from home I have found a few recipes on allrecipes.com that I like. One is for a pasta fagiola soup that is now a favorite. https://www.allrecipes.com/search/results/?wt=pasta fagioli&sort=re. the recipe is the first recipe on the left by Star Pooley. I use ditani pasta, not the spinach pasta, and I add a bit of red pepper to it to make it somewhat spicy. I usually add my own touches to recipes and sometimes they are good and sometimes not so good. I don't bake alot as I try to watch what I eat. A friend sent a recipe for a King Arthur Chocolate cake that was made alot during WW II as it does not have butter or eggs. Just google King Arthur's original cake pan cake. I made that for our anniversary and it is so rich and delicious. I made the frosting to go with it but next time I will just dust with confectioner's sugar so I can really taste the cake.

My books are not sorted by anything other than the one I am currently reading is closest to my chair. I keep my to read pile of books stacked up next to my chair. When I am done I decide whether to donate it to the used bookstore or save to read again. Then it may go into the bookshelf or go to the back of the pile. It is a neatly stacked pile of books.

@Pea-n-Me I always like to see the picture of your terrier. I hope you get to adopt the one you mentioned.

@apirateslifeforme Glad your power is back. Eversource has been in trouble before in MA too. We have them but luckily we only lost power for a couple of hours.

Today is younger DS birthday. He is 31. He is a good husband, Dad, and son. His kids love helping him celebrate his birthday.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Oh I want all of those except the Mandalorian ones!..the others are all so pretty! I won't even bother asking hubby,, -- I do plenty of surveys, get Amazon gift cards for most of them, and can buy myself a set or two, lol! But I am going to have a hard time choosing which ones are the prettiest..thanks for sharing!

There are more coming, apparently. Just so you know. /sigh

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Been reading but don’t want to spend too much time online replying.

Ocean without jellyfish today so have been spending time I the water. DGD and I built a sand city. DH and I had a 4-5 mile bike ride this morning. DD is cooking dinner tonight.

@PollyannaMom, I make those same cookies. The ingredients are the same but the instructions are a little different.

Back to having fun.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Happy Birthday to your son, Snowysmom

Keep having fun, Carol!

Tuesday (I almost typed Wednesday ) Extra Gratitude:

Phone call with a friend and messages from others
Swiffer-y smelling apartment
A milder weather day before the 100 's this weekend

 

[Kirby]

I liked the Wizard of Oz so much I finally got my own Toto after always wanting one!

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Your puppy is so cute! I loved Wizard of Oz as a kid.

I like both The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins. I remember them both being “event” movies (Sound of Music, too) when I was a kid. - When they come on TV, we would get together with a friend of my mom’s and her kids, and make a big deal out watching.

We always enjoyed watching those two musicals on tv plus Cinderella and Sound of Music. We somehow knew instinctively that were going to be on soon and made sure our parents knew too so we could watch them.


QOTD Tues August 11-- Do you all cook/bake from scratch, or from recipes , or do you take the easy way out most of the time? If you have favorite old time family recipes, could you share one of them with the rest of us? I cook mostly from recipes but have some memorized. The only old family recipe that I could share is the Chocolate No Bake Cookies that PollyannaMom has shared with us. My great aunt Gladys made them every summer when she came to visit us from Arizona.

Can you tell I'm lazy cook sometimes lol I still haven't made a meatloaf...

I've been trying to make a meatloaf like my mama's for years and still haven't gotten there, they are never quite the same. I asked her for the recipe once and she said she didn't use one but told me what she put into it. She also told me that she didn't always make it the same way twice. Maybe I'm just out of luck.

Dinner tonight was tacos.

 

[sparkle78]

I tried baking cakes from scratch and didn’t have much luck, usually too dry. Got a cookbook called....( I think). “the chocolate cake mix doctor”. You start with a boxed cakemix but then add sour cream or pudding or PB to it and it turns out moist and yummy. I am a good cookie and dessert baker. I love to have a day off work in December and bake all day. I invite girlfriends who worknpart time or from home to stop by and have a cup of tea and enjoy some cookies. It’s a great way to slow down and enjoy the holiday baking.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Adding extra pudding to a cake mix sounds tasty to me, Sparkle! Even those that claim that have pudding in the mix already are not always that moist. How fun! Can I come?

 

[violina]

QOTD Tues August 11-- Do you all cook/bake from scratch, or from recipes , or do you take the easy way out most of the time? If you have favorite old time family recipes, could you share one of them with the rest of us?

I'm not the cook, that's my husband and he does a mix of trying things from scratch or just sorta eyeballing it. He's good in that respect, but that means he stays away from baking and that's on me. I don't usually bake from scratch since I bake us muffins for breakfast every week along with cookies for myself. This link is to my fav vegan banana muffins that I used to take to work -- note that the recipe itself is vegetarian, however I substitute vegan butter and carob chips to accommodate the vegans at work.

 

[Caseheidi]

Hello Friends,

yesterday was my 50th Birthday. A nice, quiet day. I started with my first doctors appt of the week, to get a prep shot for my exam. Silly me did not realize that the Infusion clinic I had to go to for this is where patients get Chemo. It is funny for me because even though I had cancer, I really don’t think of myself as a cancer survivor. Thyroid cancer treatment is so much easier (at least for me) then all my friend who have gone through months/years of treatment. It wasn’t until a kid at DD school called me a cancer survivor that I even realized that I am. Anyway, the shot is easy - have now had both of them - and the worst part was the 45 + minute wait for it to be mixed and transported.
After you appointment, DD and I had our weekly lunch date. She chose Wendy’s this week, and we found a close park to eat in, then we took a drive in the country, did a quick shopping trip to Lane Bryant for me, and back home. DD had baked a cake for me (with only a little help from me) and they gave me presents. Overall a nice day. I do look forward to eating in a restaurant again, but I am not ready to face that in this world.

anyway, gotta go. Time for Family scriptures and prayer so we can send DD to bed. God bless you all

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Happy Birthday @Caseheidi !

Glad you had a nice day, and a nice cake baked with love!!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Happy belated birthday @Caseheidi!

 

[gwynne]

Happy birthday @Caseheidi
Best wishes!

 

[easyas123]

yesterday was my 50th Birthday

Happiest of Birthdays!

 

[Meriweather]

Hello Friends,

yesterday was my 50th Birthday.

Happy belated Birthday

 

[Kirby]

yesterday was my 50th Birthday.

Happy 50th Birthday!

 

[lynxstch]

@Caseheidi ----------------

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Happy, Happy belated birthday, Heidi! I love that you do family scripture time!

Lynxstch, the little bee is cute!

Good Morning to all

 

[apirateslifeforme]

@Caseheidi, Happy Birthday!

@KeithAndrew, welcome!

Busy day here yesterday. I didn't sit down until dinner! I had so much squash, I tried making fritters again. This time, while they tasted better than the first round - I used Tastefully Simple Rustic Herb Seasoning instead of plain salt - they fell apart in the pan. I used more eggs for binding, since there was much more squash, but I guess it still wasn't enough. Still edible, though - I guess we had squash hash browns instead! Got my ironing done as well, but I had so many interruptions that it took 3 hours to do it. Dinner was a bust - while the squash and the mozzarella/tomato salads were good, I was so frazzled that I forgot the soy sauce in the apricot chicken thighs that I made. All I could taste was the sherry DH said they were fine, though...I had put smoked paprika on the chicken and that part was good. With the leftovers, I'm wondering if I could add some soy sauce now, since it's nice and liquidy...

While we ate, we watched the Board of Education meeting on YouTube. They voted to commit to a hybrid plan through October 16th. Josh will go to school on Monday and Tuesday, then distance/online school Wednesday through Friday. There will only be 9 kids in the physical classroom at a time, plus building services is trying to buy outdoor canopies so teachers can take the kids outside (and then they can take off masks). I'm good with this. They're going to begin to revisit on October 2nd (for the week beginning October 19th, giving parents and teachers time to plan), to see if we stay the course, go completely full time, or if we have to close - and they're making it sound like they will close, because flu season will be starting! I can't even begin to think about that now. Anyway, after dinner, DH took Josh to the library to pick out some new movies. We're watching Peter Pan right now.

We pulled Indiana for our state project today, and Josh was very happy because one of his favorite singers is Michael Jackson, so I let him watch Smooth Criminal (again). Since he loves Queen so much as well, I let him watch a bonus video...Queen with Adam Lambert, doing Bohemian Rhapsody.

QOTD Tues August 11-- Do you all cook/bake from scratch, or from recipes , or do you take the easy way out most of the time? If you have favorite old time family recipes, could you share one of them with the rest of us?
Have a great day everyone!

Depends on what I'm making. Lately I've been doing a lot from scratch - my zucchini brownies were quite a hit, and those were completely from scratch/recipe. No shortcuts. Very easy, too. I've made cakes from scratch as well. I usually use a mix for cakes/cupcakes, though. I'll be making cupcakes for Josh's birthday celebration on Sunday and I already bought the mix - orange cake (with blue frosting - his 2 favorite colors )

For meals/non-desserts, I typically get out a recipe, but I don't follow it to the letter. I like to throw in my own ideas...like those squash fritters; I add chopped onion and cheese, and I switched from plain salt to a different seasoning for more flavor. Same thing with the quiches...I don't even use the proper amount of eggs; I use 5 or 6, then a couple handfuls of cheese (not just the "1 cup" of the ONE particular kind the recipe says, I use what I've got), and whatever veg and meat I have hanging around.

The one thing I discovered the hard way - you NEED to measure the water in Jello. The first time I made it, when it came time to add the cold water, I had some left in a bottle that I wanted to use up. I eyeballed it - "Yep, that looks like a quarter cup" (or whatever amount it was supposed to be) and dumped it in. That Jello never set. Had to drink it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

@Caseheidi, Happy Birthday!

@KeithAndrew, welcome!

Busy day here yesterday. I didn't sit down until dinner! I had so much squash, I tried making fritters again. This time, while they tasted better than the first round - I used Tastefully Simple Rustic Herb Seasoning instead of plain salt - they fell apart in the pan. I used more eggs for binding, since there was much more squash, but I guess it still wasn't enough. Still edible, though - I guess we had squash hash browns instead! Got my ironing done as well, but I had so many interruptions that it took 3 hours to do it. Dinner was a bust - while the squash and the mozzarella/tomato salads were good, I was so frazzled that I forgot the soy sauce in the apricot chicken thighs that I made. All I could taste was the sherry DH said they were fine, though...I had put smoked paprika on the chicken and that part was good. With the leftovers, I'm wondering if I could add some soy sauce now, since it's nice and liquidy...

While we ate, we watched the Board of Education meeting on YouTube. They voted to commit to a hybrid plan through October 16th. Josh will go to school on Monday and Tuesday, then distance/online school Wednesday through Friday. There will only be 9 kids in the physical classroom at a time, plus building services is trying to buy outdoor canopies so teachers can take the kids outside (and then they can take off masks). I'm good with this. They're going to begin to revisit on October 2nd (for the week beginning October 19th, giving parents and teachers time to plan), to see if we stay the course, go completely full time, or if we have to close - and they're making it sound like they will close, because flu season will be starting! I can't even begin to think about that now. Anyway, after dinner, DH took Josh to the library to pick out some new movies. We're watching Peter Pan right now.

We pulled Indiana for our state project today, and Josh was very happy because one of his favorite singers is Michael Jackson, so I let him watch Smooth Criminal (again). Since he loves Queen so much as well, I let him watch a bonus video...Queen with Adam Lambert, doing Bohemian Rhapsody.



Depends on what I'm making. Lately I've been doing a lot from scratch - my zucchini brownies were quite a hit, and those were completely from scratch/recipe. No shortcuts. Very easy, too. I've made cakes from scratch as well. I usually use a mix for cakes/cupcakes, though. I'll be making cupcakes for Josh's birthday celebration on Sunday and I already bought the mix - orange cake (with blue frosting - his 2 favorite colors )

For meals/non-desserts, I typically get out a recipe, but I don't follow it to the letter. I like to throw in my own ideas...like those squash fritters; I add chopped onion and cheese, and I switched from plain salt to a different seasoning for more flavor. Same thing with the quiches...I don't even use the proper amount of eggs; I use 5 or 6, then a couple handfuls of cheese (not just the "1 cup" of the ONE particular kind the recipe says, I use what I've got), and whatever veg and meat I have hanging around.

The one thing I discovered the hard way - you NEED to measure the water in Jello. The first time I made it, when it came time to add the cold water, I had some left in a bottle that I wanted to use up. I eyeballed it - "Yep, that looks like a quarter cup" (or whatever amount it was supposed to be) and dumped it in. That Jello never set. Had to drink it.

You are one busy lady! The squash fritters sound good! I can’t imagine how stressful it is having young kids today and having to deal with going back to school during the Covid era! Ugh!

We had a turkey dinner last night. Not bad. I had picked up a turkey breast already cooked and we did butternut squash, mashed, string bean/broccoli mix, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy (of course ). It’s one of our favorites so everyone liked it and DD’s boyfriend ate with us, too. He likes everything we make and is a good eater, lol.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I forgot to mention yesterday about Toto. That part in the movie where Miss Gulch takes the dog away from Dorothy? Well, that would always have me ! Like, sobbing!! I was so happy when they ran away!! (I would’ve done the same if someone tried to take my dog away!)

Animal movies get to me every time, even today! I’m not alone, though, my whole family is like that!

RUN TOTO, RUfN!!!! Rt!