Salad Supper

I'm still in slow motion, so I knew if I made pasta salad this afternoon, we could eat it for the next few days. It just gets better and better. Usually I am making this by the gallon for the work camp our church hosts every summer. I've made it many times, but this may be the first time I've made a single recipe just for us. And because this is the very nicest weather we've had this year, we enjoyed our dinner on the porch. We also finished up the Apple Cole Slaw from last night. It was better than it was last night. When I make it again, I'll be sure to make it the day before—or, at least early in the day.

The only secret I know for the pasta salad to use a big assortment of vegetables. I try to get lots of color into my mix. This afternoon I chopped zucchini, carrot, celery, green pepper, onion, cucumber, grape tomatoes, broccoli and I cooked fresh corn and cut it off the cob. The corn adds a nice touch of sweetness. Another hint is to put a large pot of water on to boil before you start chopping. A big pot of water takes forever to come to a boil.

To keep from washing more pots, when the water for the pasta came to a boil, I dunked in the broccoli to blanch it for a minute. (Yep, I held it by the stem and dunked it.) Then I let the corn (on the cob) cook for five minutes and took it out. Then I cooked the bowtie pasta in the same water. Much faster clean up than usual. 

GARDEN PASTA SALAD

1 (16-oz) box of pasta -- bowtie, penne, or rotini

5 cups of chopped fresh vegetables

fresh parsley, chopped (if you have it)

1 (16-oz) bottle Italian salad dressing

3-4 tablespoons McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water. Drain well. Put pasta and vegetables and parsley into a large bowl. Add salad dressing and Salad Supreme Seasoning. Toss gently until mixed well. Cover. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or until ready to serve.

This recipe filled a 5-quart plastic container. 

One of the perks of dining on the porch is that we get to watch the creatures playing in our backyard. (It is not quite as much fun as watching Little Sister and Baby Girl, though.) Last night it was quail. Tonight we watched the rabbits hopping around and saw deer in the pasture. I'm glad we live in the country.

Looking For Rhythm

It's been an adjustment. I keep trying to change gears in my car with the windshield wiper control. It's in the place where I DID change gears on Mommy's car. I have reached over the oven three times today to get my cutting board. That's where Mommy keeps her cutting board. Mine is under the sink. I have cut the oven off while trying to set the timer because I forgot how my own oven worked.

I am waking up at a different time, too, because I switched time zones. Sometimes it feels like I'm in the twilight zone as I work my way back into the routine here. After nearly three months out there, I am trying to get re-oriented here, trying to get back into the rhythm of a two-person household.

Since I was away for so long, the groceries were at an all-time low when I got home. It was a good time to clean the pantry before I shopped. I found things I had forgotten about. I figured I'd better find ways to use up the things that were nearing the date on the label. I set out the things that needed to be used soon. A bottle of barbecue sauce and a jar of salsa that I found were the start of tonight's supper, because I had just seen a recipe for Peach Pork BBQ Sliders on the Eat At Home blog. 

PEACH PORK BBQ SLIDERS 

2-1/2 to 3 lb pork roast or pork loin

16-oz bottle barbecue sauce

16-oz jar peach salsa (I used Archer Farms Pineapple/Peach salsa)

Put the roast in crockpot. Pour barbecue sauce and salsa over the top. Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours (or HIGH for 4-5 hours.)

Remove meat to pan and shred. Return meat to sauce in crockpot.

APPLE COLE SLAW

14-oz bag cole slaw mix

handful of chopped fresh parsley

1 apple, chopped

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 

salt & pepper to taste.

Toss cole slaw mix, parsley and apple in a large bowl. Measure oil in a glass measuring cup. Add sugar and vinegar and stir until sugar is dissolve. Pour over slaw mix and stir to combine. Refrigerate for a while to let flavors blend.

Serve BBQ topped with slaw on slider rolls (I used Sara Lee Dinner Rolls.)

There was plenty for our supper, some for lunch tomorrow and I put two quart bags of pork in the freezer for later.  The slaw was delicious—a lighter, fresher taste than the typical mayonnaise version.

My knitting brain is foggy, too. So until the fog lifts, I am working on the simplest project. This morning I started a pair of socks, using a plain "vanilla" sock pattern—it's just rows and rows and rows of plain knitting. No counting. No thinking. Just keep knitting. But this one is a little more fun because I found this fantastic self-striping watermelon yarn. It's from ArtisticYarnByAbi.etsy.com. 

Surely it won't be much longer until my brain and my body get in synch. In the meantime, I'll enjoy this  slowed down way of living. 

Saying Goodbye

One last morning with Baby Girl. 

I gave her a bottle as the sun was coming up.

One last day with Little Sister.

She "helped" me pack.

Just so you know, I didn't leave Big Sister out—she left for school early and I'll be gone when she gets home. BUT I did set my clock early this morning and made chicken salad for her. (Yes, I was making chicken salad at 6:00 AM.) So her chicken salad sandwich at lunchtime today will be my goodbye to her.

It's been ten weeks. We've had blizzards and tornado threats and hot weather. We had three hospital stays (in two different hospitals) and visited an ER, an urgent care (twice) and three doctor offices. We cycled through worry, anxiety, joy, relief, fun, exhaustion, happiness, and exhaustion (again.) I've read, bathed, scolded, soothed, diapered, cooked, washed and cleaned and sung a thousand bedtime songs. I've rocked a fresh born baby girl for hours. I've slept occasionally. 

We also visited a world class museum to see paintings by Picasso and Matisse and Renoir. We ate at fun new (to us) restaurants known mostly to the locals. We watched Hallmark movies and Bachelor Father reruns in the middle of the night. Big Sister made popcorn for movie nights for just the two of us a couple of times.

It has been the ultimate grandmother gig. What a privilege. But it's time to go back to the farm and Daddy-O.

Early Morning Snuggles And Impossible Pie

Let's be honest. I am missing a lot of sleep doing this grandmother duty. It will be nice to sleep a little more when I get home. But I will miss the early morning time with Baby Girl and it's even better on the mornings that Little Sister wakes early and squeezes into the chair with us for a snuggle while we wait for Big Sister to get ready for school

My days here are winding down. I will miss having a lap full of babies every day. I will miss chatting with Big Sister while I drive her to school. But it is time to head back to the farm. I also miss Daddy-O. It has been a privilege to be here to help out for several weeks. (Or rather, a lot of weeks!) When the grandmother lives a thousand miles away from the grandchildren, the visits are few and far between, so this has been a rare time for us.

I have told Mommy that while I'm here for a few more days, she'd better take advantage of having a live-in baby sitter. So tonight she is going to her book club for the first time in months. The girls and I will have supper here.

I'm making an impossible pie tonight. I made these often when my girls where young. It is certainly not fancy food. It is just a basic good recipe that will fill up the children. I just need to put them to bed not hungry! They don't have to rave about the dinner.

If you google "impossible pie" you can find a zillion variations, both savory and sweet. I'm using the directions for the Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie. But to keep from dashing to the store for ground beef, I used a bag of Sloppy Joe meat mixture that was in the freezer. (In this house, it's made with ground turkey.) That meant I thawed instead of browning. Other than that, I've followed the directions exactly. I suppose technically that means we are having "Sloppy Joe Pie."

IMPOSSIBLY EASY CHEESEBURGER PIE

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup original Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9-inch glass pie plate with PAM.

In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until brown, breaking meat apart as you cook it. Drain. Stir in salt.

Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.

In a small bowl, stir milk, egg and Bisquick with a fork or whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate over meat and cheese.

Bake about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes and clean. Let it stand for about 10-15 minutes before cutting.

These impossibly easy pies are such fun—the recipe makes its own crust like magic! For years, a very long time ago, I was a member of the Bisquick Club and received a newsletter with recipes and tips in the mail each month. My Bisquick usage has dwindled along with the amount of real mail I get now. But it is still a time saver when you need something quick. You might want to keep a small box or pouch on hand.

PS  Both girls asked for seconds of the "sloppy joe pie" tonight. That's as good a recommendation as you'll get!

Caps And Cooking

During my extended stay here in the midwest, I did find minutes here and there to knit. For me that's a soothing activity when things get crazy. And things here did get crazy. There is a wonderful yarn shop just minutes away from Mommy's house, and I found friends there to visit with when I could slip away for a bit. It was nice to be so far from home and walk into this shop and be greeted with the words, "How's the baby?"  That made me feel not so far from home.

I knitted caps for Baby Girl and caps for Jessica's friends and co-workers. It was a chance to try lots of different yarns and needle sizes and to try a new ribbed hat pattern. My favorite yarn for these little caps was discontinued a couple of years ago. After working with Lorna's Lace Sock, Bamtastic, Spud & Cloe Sock, I think my new favorite is Rowan Wool Cotton. It was nice to have Baby Girl to model these assorted little newborn caps. I love making a cap because it's such a quick knit and new baby things are just cute.

Here is another recipe I made while Mommy was in the hospital. I was looking for fast and easy. It's a recipe from my home economist days. When I made this originally, it was a crustless and cooked in the microwave. I taught many microwave cooking classes when the microwave was a brand new appliance.

Now I make it in a pie shell and bake it in the oven. I am trying to get some of these recipes I like that are only in my head written down here, so that my girls can know how I do things.

For this quiche I used broccoli and onion—because that is what I found in Mommy's refrigerator. But you could use other vegetables. Or, you could do a ham, onion, cheese version. Or, add some crumbled bacon to this broccoli version. Change the cheese to match the other ingredients. Just use your imagination. Or, use up your leftovers! Precooking the vegetables is a good idea, too. Next time, I would saute the chopped onion.

I will be honest. I didn't really measure the vegetable part or the cheese. Just use enough to fill the pie shell. But the milk/egg mix is always the same. That's the part I can always remember—4 eggs and a "tall can of milk." That's what my mother called a 12-oz can of evaporated milk. It's the temperature and cooking time I needed to write down for future use.

EASY QUICHE

You can use meat and vegetable fillings of your choice, but here is roughly what I did. The critical part is the "custard" (the milk & egg part)—that stays the same regardless of the meat and/or vegetables you use.

1 9-inch deep dish frozen pie shell

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 12-oz can evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

black pepper to taste

Here is what I used this time--the part I didn't measure:

1 crown fresh broccoli, steamed and chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Add vegetables to the pie shell. Sprinkle cheese over. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour into pie shell over vegetables. 

Place filled pie shell on a cookie sheet and place on center rack in oven. (Put a sheet of foil under pie shell for easy clean up.) 

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until "custard" is set and top is golden brown.

While I doubt that Little Sister would ever say this was her favorite (although at Sunday School yesterday she told the teacher that her favorite food was carrots—NOT!) she did eat it and seemed to enjoy it. I always think that if a three-year-old will eat something, it will usually be liked by most other folks.

Keeping It Simple

Things here are settling down as everyone adjusts to a new routine—one that involves a new baby. (Please let the 3:30 AM feeding pass quickly.) I love watching Little Sister care for her "baby" as she watches her mommy tend to Baby Girl. My own help is being needed less and less. I actually have a date for my return to the farm. But I will miss all of the girls here. Even the Bitty Baby!

Part of my grandmother duties while here helping out this young family has been getting supper on the table. Last night Mommy pulled a Pork Tenderloin with Herb Rub from the freezer. I just needed to make side dishes. Preferably without making another trip to the store. 

When I checked the pantry, I saw a can of pineapple chunks and I though about this recipe. Although I had not made it in years, I remembered how good it was. This used to be standard at covered dish dinners. Maybe it's time for a come-back. 

My photo is not terrific because I didn't think about making one until after supper. This one little bowl full was all that was left after everyone had seconds.

BAKED PINEAPPLE

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 (20-oz) can of pineapple chunks in juice, drained (reserve some of the juice)

3 tablespoons of the reserved pineapple juice

1/2 cup crushed Ritz cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 1 quart baking dish. (Mine was 6 x 9-inches)

In a bowl, stir together sugar and flour, then stir in cheese. Add the drained pineapple chunks and stir until well mixed. Pour into baking dish.

In another bowl, combine cracker crumbs, melted butter and reserved pineapple juice. Stir gently until combined. Spread crumb mixture over pineapple mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

This can be easily doubled.

When Mommy is fully in charge of meals in a couple of weeks, she can add this easy recipe to her repertoire. She's going to need every trick in the book to get supper on the table for a while. She is already good about cooking double and freezing a meal for later. Hopefully she will find other easy recipes here on my blog. It's one way I can help from afar.

What's A Meal Train?

I have been here for eight weeks now. I'm enjoying some time with these beautiful granddaughters (Big Sister is at school) in the early morning right now. But those first weeks? Oh, my goodness. Two of those weeks involved Mommy's hospital stay before Baby Girl came. Then there was complete bed rest for another week or so. Then Baby Girl made her grand (and early) entrance—then she promptly went back into the hospital for another week.

If you're lucky, when difficult times like these hit, your friends will help out. The kind people of this midwest town brought in 15 meals over those many weeks. I was as thankful as anyone to have this wonderful outpouring of care and concern. I had my hands more than full tending to the older girls and keeping the house going while making many trips back and forth to the hospitals. Not having to think much about grocery shopping and cooking was a blessing.

In those 15 meals, no two meals were ever the same. I learned about a website called Meal Train that people here use to coordinate meal deliveries. Through this free service, we knew which days meals were coming and usually knew what food someone was bringing. The people volunteering could also look and see what other people planned to take so that we didn't end up with four lasagnas in a row. And they could see that this household doesn't like cilantro. (You can list your food preferences here.)

If you are involved in taking meals to anyone, you ought to take a look at MealTrain.com. Even if you don't use their website, there are wonderful tips there for meal deliveries.

One of the first meals that arrived was BBQ meatballs, complete with side dishes, homemade rolls and dessert. I have made this same recipe at home and have even taken it to someone who was recovering from surgery. It really is a good recipe. I was delighted when Hannah told me the recipe was from Pioneer Woman–the very same recipe that I use! The recipe name says it all. Comfort food, indeed.

BBQ COMFORT MEATBALLS

Meatballs: 

1-1/2 lbs ground beef

3/4 cup quick oats

3/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons very finely minced onion

1-1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For cooking the meatballs:

1 cup all-purpose flour

canola or vegetable oil

Sauce:

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4-6 tablespoons minced onion

dash Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

After five minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just browned. Place in a 2-quart baking dish.

Combine sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Serve with mashed potatoes or noodles.

If you need a little help with this recipe, check it out on the Pioneer Woman blog. She has step-by-step photos.