What I'm Reading on a Perfect Saturday

Here's the book I just picked up at the library, sitting in my lap waiting to be opened... so excited!

And, errands are done, laundry is going, dinner has been started, the MacBook is downloading new audiobooks, there's not much schoolwork to do since it's a two-day week coming up, the Village high school won the state 3-A football championship last night in a snowstorm ... Yes, is about a perfect Saturday!

Menu: 11/12 - 18/11

I'm including this weekend, since I didn't have anything planned yet for these days in my last menu post.  I have parent-teacher conferences Monday - Wednesday, so we'll be having easy CrockPot meals all three of those nights.

Saturday 11/12: Stauffer's Lasagna (on sale at Walmart; Mr. Mamie's request), green salad, bead sticks from the freezer.

Sunday, 11/13: Chile-Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican rice (from a box), green salad (enchiladas were Mr. Mamie's request).

Monday, 11/14: CrockPot Gravy Pork Chops, egg noodles, green salad.

Tuesday, 11/15: Beef stew done in the CrockPot, Freezer Dinner Rolls (made last weekend), green salad.

Wednesday, 11/16: CrockPot Lemon Chicken, Rice Pilaf with Orzo, green salad.

Thursday, 11/17: TBD - I am taking the day off of school to accompany Mr. Mamie for some minor outpatient surgery. We are hoping that things work out so that we can eat at the new Paradise Bakery that recently opened in the BigTown. It will depend on what time the surgery ends and how he feels. Otherwise, I'll pull something easy out of the freezer.

Friday, 11/18: Oven Tacos and toppings.  We had these for the first time recently and LOVED them. The filling receipe made plenty extra to freeze.

Saturday, 11/19: Taco Burgers (patties are already made and in the freezer - they can be grilled from frozen), Oven-Baked French Fries.

Sunday, 11/20: Chicken Enchilada Soup, green salad.

Don't forget to check out my yummy oatmeal cookie recipe post!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Grammie's Oatmeal Cookies

I wrote this recipe down from Grammie's files on January 1, 1993.  I love, love, love these cookies and make them often! They are easy to make on the spur of the moment, because you don't have to worry about softening butter.

Grammie's Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
•    2 eggs               
•    1 cup oil    (I use canola)           
•    1 cup sugar               
•    I cup brown sugar           
•    1 teaspoon vanilla           
•    1 1/2 cups flour
•    1 teaspoon soda
•    1 teaspoon salt
•    3 cups oats (old-fashioned or quick; NOT instant)
•    1 cup chopped nuts (pecans and walnuts both work great)


Directions:
1.    Beat eggs; add oil, sugars, and vanilla.

2.    Mix in flour, soda, salt, oatmeal and nuts.

3.    Drop by tablespoons on ungreased cookie sheets - I use my cookie scoop and then flatten the cookies out with the palm of my hand. I also use parchment paper on my cookie sheets.

4.    Bake at 375 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes until lightly browned.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is about the easiest recipe EVER. Seriously. It was told to me over the phone by a colleague in about 30 seconds. I made a batch today and will make another one Monday evening to take to my night class on Tuesday.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• One box of spice cake mix.
• One 15 ounce can of pure pumpkin (NOT "pumpkin pix mix").
• One cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350; line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine spice cake mix and pumpkin - I used my stand mixer.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto cookie sheets. I used my cookie scoop. They don;t have to be too widely-spaced, as they don't seem to spread much.
5. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Let cool on trays one minute then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.

I am quite sure that chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, could be happily substituted for the chocolate chips - I may do this on the next batch!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Menus 11/7 - 13/11

Monday: CrockPot Chicken fajitas, Spanish rice (from a box) [fajitas got bumped from last week]. We sill substitute black beans for the kidney beans in the recipe.

Tuesday: I will have pizza at class; Mr. Mamie will be headed up north and will take snacks for the road. GrandmaT will have something from the freezer.

Wednesday: Taco Soup - I don't have a link for the recipe I use, but it involves ground beef, diced tomatoes, green chilies, corn, various beans... you get the idea.  We'll have green salad and tortilla chips with the soup. Mr. Mamie will still be gone.

Thursday: Going out to dinner with my fabulous first grade team before our school's Literacy Night. Mr. Mamie will return sometime late this afternoon or evening; he and GrandmaT will have leftover soup or whatever else they want from the fridge/freezer.

Friday: Burgers on the grill, oven-baked french fries. I keep a pre-mixed container of the potato seasoning in my spice cabinet, and we use it A LOT.

Saturday and Sunday are TBD, depending on the weather and my mood!


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Getting dressed

I am so glad that it's the time of year for wearing long-sleeved shirts (especially purple ones), corduroy pants, and fleece jackets!




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Two Years

Wombat

September 30, 1942 - November 1, 2009

1945

1980

2003

2008

I am still adrift. I miss you, Mom.

Menu Plan 10/31 - 11/6, 2011

Monday, 10/31: Lemon-Herb Steak, scalloped potatoes, green beans.

Tuesday, 11/1: GrandmaT and Mr. Mamie will be having a mysterious Mexican casserole-type thing that was recently unearthed from the freezer. I can't believe I put something in there unlabelled! It has chicken and green sauce and smells good. They will make a box of Spanish rice mix, and probably have green salad.  I will be at class and we order pizza every week - $5/person for a couple of slices and soda, and keeps us going until we get out of class at 7:30 or so.

Wednesday, 11/2: Vegetable-Barley Soup from the freezer, French bread, green salad.

Thursday, 11/3: Crockpot Chicken Fajitas with lettuce and tomatoes.

 Friday, 11/4: Mixed grill, sweet potato french fries (Alexa brand, from a frozen bag).

Saturday, 11/5: Turmeric Chicken with Jasmine Rice, green salad.

Sunday, 11/6: Wombat's Pork Chop and Stuffing Bake, green salad.


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Mom's Pork Chop and Stuffing Bake

Wombat's on my mind an extra amount these days, now that we're at the two year mark of her passing.  This was one of her winter comfort food recipes, and is a taste of my childhood.

 

PORK CHOP AND STUFFING BAKE

• 2 – 2 ½ C. herb seasoned stuffing mix (do not use Stove Top)
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 C. whole kernel corn
• ½ C. Craisins (optional)
• 1 C. onion, finely chopped
• ½ C. celery, finely chopped
• 4 boneless pork chops, ¾-1” thick
• 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. Spicy brown mustard

1. Mix stuffing, soup, corn, Craisins, onion and celery.  Spoon into casserole that has been sprayed with Pam.  Top with chops.
2. Mix sugar and mustard and spoon over chops.
3. Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes or until done (165 internal temp. of pork chops).

Serves 4


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Halloween Meme

I got this from Mrs. Chili, of course.


Are you scared of bats?   Not at all.  We have tons of them where we live, and we love them - they eat the bugs that we don't love!

When you were a kid, did you go out on Mischief Night? Not familiar with this. I wouldn't have caused any "bad" mischief, anyway.

What is your favorite trick-or-treat candy? Hmmmm, perhaps Kraft caramels? This question makes me think of The Wombat, because she LOVED the mini-Tootsie Rolls, and that's the only candy that was ever given out at our house.

Have you ever seen a ghost? Only in my head, I think.

The most memorable costume you ever wore? As a kid: Pack of red Bubble-Yum gum (Igor was the purple version). GolfDad painted boxes so that they looked EXACTLY like the packs of gum. As an adult, The Wombat made me an awesome bee costume that I have worn several times over my last 15 years of teaching and "doing" Halloween at school.

Do you dress up on Halloween? Only for Halloween at school. This year I am Doc from the Seven Dwarfs. Except, there are five first grade teachers, so we are Snow White and the Four Dwarfs.




Any cooking or baking you do for Halloween? Pumpkin-related foods, because I love pumpkin!

Have you ever been to The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland or Disneyworld? Yes, hojillions of times, because LOVE the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland - especially when it is done as The Nightmare Before Christmas!

Any element of the season you don’t like? Extreme commercialism and our general culture of over-indulgence.

What is your favorite scary movie? I am not a fan of the scary movie genre.

Do you cook the pumpkin seeds from your carved jack-o-lanterns? Yes, if I carve one.

Are you intrigued with vampires? No, and I can't stand Twilight or its plethora of imitators. B00-humbug!

Have a great evening, everyone! Mr. Mamie and I will be crashed out on the couch watching Thor. 

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Sunday Stroll

Trailhead is a mile from our house. So peaceful and beautiful!














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Everyone's least favorite hobby

Putting the fuel tank back on the Igor Family van after installation of a new fuel pump.




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What I'm Reading

[I actually wrote this post last weekend, but for some reason it would not publish. Of course, now things have changed... I'll try to do an update soon!]

I read Shanghai Girls last summer...

 and finished Dreams of Joy, the sequel, last week.

The story (that runs throughout both novels) is absolutely riveting, full of detail and color and richness that draw you into the time and place. I can't vouch for the historical accuracy (and these are novels, not historical texts), but from what I do know of the era I would say that the general outlines are certainly faithful to world events.  I definitely recommend both!

A few weeks ago I reread Angel on the Square, young-adult historical fiction. Whelan evokes the time period (Russian Revolution) very well, and in a way that is accessible to younger readers.

I followed up with another Whelan novel, Listening for Lions. This book has a unique setting (colonial Africa) and a few interesting plot points, though I didn't think it was as rich as Angel on the Square.

 

Last night I read Mama's Bank Account, upon which the stage play, motion picture, and television program I Remember Mama were based.  It was a quick, entertaining read and peek into San Francisco of the 1920s.
 
There's more to come... until then, happy reading! 

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)