Whoever thought that we would consider 40 degrees a heat wave? After two weeks of solitary confinement, with Saturday off for good behavior then back to the same old pattern, I was afraid that when I went out to church this morning I should wear a name tag! It is funny when your driveway is plugged how many things you can think of that you would like to do.
Another deterrent was the level 3 emergency warning that made me decide to just relax, work two more crossword puzzles, and fix something unhealthy to eat. I also had a couple of books that I picked up at a garage sale last summer that were beckoning me. Why is it that I never think of doing any deep cleaning that I could and should do when nothing else is pressuring me? But it seems that when the weather is bad I just want to curl up with my space heater on, a blanket and watch the snowflakes fall. Oh, well, it is my home and my life, so guess I will just live what is left of it as I please!
I finally did remove most of my Christmas decorations. Still have my nativity set in place. But I think that is a major part of our faith that should not be put out of sight on December 26th. I had some things boxed and in plastic tubs setting in the laundry room. Saturday I told myself, ”Do not be so helpless.” I had already burdened a son-in-law with several trips to the garage with recyclables, etc. My mother did not raise dumb kids. So I had the car parked right by my back door. I locked the storm door open, opened the back car door and carried four or five containers out to the back seat of my car. It took no effort to get them to the garage since I usually remember to put the car in during bad weather. So when I went out this morning it was a simple thing to remove them from the car and I bothered no one.
As for unhealthy food, I tried last week’s cheesecake recipe. Since it uses sweetened condensed milk it was kind of a no-no for me. If, or when, I make it again I am going to increase the amount of lemon juice that the recipe calls for. I am always impatient to sample new things and hate to wait for the full chilling time. If I am making something to give to someone else, especially a pie, I make a small one for me to sample just as soon as it is room temperature. This inclination raised its head and I had a small container with a little of my homemade graham cracker crust ingredients in the bottom. By waiting another day to sample the big one, I found it was much better, so do not hurry it along. I have found a place to outsource the remainder of my experiment.
After the holidays that are full of special foods, and we are relaxed from the extreme weather, I found a couple of simple recipes that shouldn’t take much effort but will fulfill the dietary requirements that our bodies need to carry us over a relaxed or maybe lazy time period. The first one is a combination that I have never heard of so that makes it challenging. Both recipes are from a sample recipe booklet.
PEACHY CHICKEN
2 pounds chicken, skinless chicken breast recommended
1 can cream of chicken soup
¼ cup of water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 can mushroom pieces
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 can drained peach halves, packed in own juice
Lightly brown chicken. Add remaining ingredients except peaches. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add peaches and cook long enough to heat peaches through. It is possible to put everything (except peaches) into a crockpot and cook on low all day. Add peaches long enough to heat through. Suggest heating them in microwave before adding to crock pot.
The last recipe would have been better before the modern term “genetically modified” came into existence. Before all of you younger cooks can remember the deliciousness found in tomatoes fresh from the garden with just a quick hand rub of removing and soil from them and eating them just as they were was a rare treat. They have lost a lot of flavor by the treatments they undergo to make them more suitable for shipping and lasting longer in the stores. But for those of you who do not know what a really good tomato is like, you won’t be disappointed.
BROILED TOMATOES
2 large tomatoes
½ cup sour cream
¼ cjup shredded Cheddar cheese
¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons sliced green onion
2 tablespoons flour
¾ teaspoon sugar
Cut tomatoes in half horizontally. Remove seeds and excess juice. Turn tomatoes upside down on continue to drain on paper towels. Combine peppers, onions, flour, sour cream and sugar. Mix well. Using a foil lined cookie sheet, place tomato halves On the sheet. Spoon one fourth of the mixture onto each tomato. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes until sour cream is bubbly and browned. Sprinkle with cheese and broil 2 minutes until cheese melts.
Hope all of your New Year’s resolutions are in full operation.
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