Well, everyone is back in school. The last two started on Monday.
Senior photos were taken last weekend and we received the proofs a couple nights ago. The Senior is very please. The parents are very pleased. What we like, she rarely does. Luckily, what she likes, we also like. Now it's just a matter of narrowing it down to what will go on the wall.
Last Friday I had a list of to-do's and I'm happy to say the shelves are up and that room is as finished as it's going to get. It's true their box springs and mattresses are still on the floor, but hubby is building their beds and it's all him on that front.
Two 20 pound boxes of peaches are down to just seven lonely peaches. I made jam this morning. I'll whip up a Peach Crisp for dinner tonight and use up the last of the survivors.
I didn't make it to the farmer's market or the Polish festival.
I did make some good progress on my horizontal surfaces, and happily they are still pretty clear, with the exception of one - my kitchen desk. It seems to be the ultimate collection point. I did clean out the junk drawer - one of those nobody-notices-it-but-me places. But it feels good to open the drawer and find a pen that works. Well, just finding a pen is a huge plus. That it works is just icing.
I did spend a decent amount of time in the basement, cleaning and moving and shuffling.
I purposely left off any mention of being crafty. Experience has shown that when I mention my plans, I don't get squat done. So, I went for silence, sort of reverse psychology, and it seems to have worked. I completed three layouts and pulled products for a fourth. So for that reason, alone, I will remain mum again for this weekend.
This week my menu planning came straight out of Taste of Home, however there were some pantry staples that I don't buy (or have been trying not to) and made them from scratch, thanks to Pinterest finds.
Quick Marinara Sauce - I've been trying to find a quick and easy marinara sauce for a long time. Most sauces take some simmering, or the "quick" ones don't have much flavor (which comes from the slow simmering), so I tend to grab a tested brand from the grocery shelves instead. I finally found a quick sauce that tastes great and is, indeed, fast - 15 minutes. I used tomato sauce instead whole or diced tomatoes and dried basil (because it's what I had when I first tried the recipe.) I simmered it the 15 minutes and then it just sat while I prepped the rest of the meal. All I can say is, Buh-bye canned sauce!
Granola Go To Bars - I've had this recipe pinned and printed for some time. I was looking for something quick and this recipe was certainly that, even with toasting the oats and almonds; I did other chopping and mixing while they toasted up and I think it took me 20-25 minutes start to cooling. I didn't have dried apples (can't find them. . .who knew dried apples were the holy grail of dried fruit?), so I opted to go for cherries and mini chocolate chips. NOTE: if you opt to include chips wait for the oat mixture to cool or the chips melt. Though now I'm wondering if they'd melt when you bake the bars, too. Someone ate all my sunflower seeds, so those weren't in there either. But they're good and they're easy and switching up fruits would to totally easy. I'll just need to find a different recipe for chippy granola bars.
Homemade Chili Mix - I have never purchased Chili Mix. My go-to chili recipe doesn't use it, so I've never had a reason to have it on hand, until today. I needed it to make my brisket. This particular recipe I halved. I may need to find a recipe for chili that calls for a mix, because the mix alone smells really good. With a couple adjustments it can also be a taco meat seasoning or a blackened seasoning.
Butter Dip Biscuits - Now, I've made these before and they have become my go-to biscuit. Their buttery and crispy on top and chewy. With the start of school I decided to make a batch and split them to fill with eggs and sausage for my High Schoolers to grab-and-go. I had one today and . . . yum.
We have no plans for the extended weekend so that means everything is possible!
Happy Friday,
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