Things That Happened At My House This Past Week

My goodness, it's hard to believe that a week has passed since I returned from Tennessee. The stiffness in my muscles let me know that I'd made a long car journey. It affected my energy this past week, and apparently my ability to cook a decent meal.

Did you ever see The Dick Van Dyke Show's episode when Laura Petrie left the mustard out of the dip recipe she gave Millie, on purpose, so that her dip wouldn't be as good? Well, I'm suspecting, but not positive, that The Loveless Cafe has done the same thing with their cookbook I bought:



I made their Supreme Chicken Casserole, and their Stay Up All Night Coffeecake. I didn't even take pics. The casserole was very unappetizing looking, and not much in the taste department. The coffee cake almost burned the house down. So, not making final judgements here, I'll give them another try, but so far, I'm disappointed.

To help revive my energy this week I would drink this every morning for breakfast. I know it looks impossible, but it really does taste good! It is 1 cup of Kefir, 1 apple, half an orange, 1/2 cup of cranberries, 1/2 cup of baby carrots, 1 tblsp. of whole flaxseed, 1-2 cups of fresh spinach, 1 small banana, 2 Truvia sweetners and 1 cup of ice. Blend in the Vitamix until smooth. I started feeling healthier and more energetic the first day!





I followed another recipe for bean and ham soup, that ended up with us going out to dinner (It wasn't ready till 10:00pm). The following evening Bill wanted the soup, but the thought of it made me sick. So I made a stromboli. After making a pepperoni and cheese one, I decided to try something different.

I rolled out a rectangle of dough about 1/4 inch thick. (It was a baseball size amount of dough).



I seasoned it with garlic/onion powder, and italian seasoning. Then I used a small amount of pizza sauce, then I layered it with cheese, peppers, onions, pepperoni, and mushrooms.



Starting at the short end, roll it like a bread loaf, pinching the sides closed as you go.



Then place it on a lightly oiled and cornmeal dusted stone. Brush with olive oil, slit top several times, then sprinkle with italian seasoning and parmesean cheese.



Hot out of the oven!



Supreme Chicken Casserole and Bean and Ham soup forgiven!!



On Sunday, I wanted to do something very easy in the crockpot: Put fresh italian sausage links, a bag of frozen peppers and onions in the crockpot.



Add a large jar of spaghetti sauce and mix it all together. Turn on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.



When the crockpot meal is just about ready, cook your spaghetti noodles. That's it! Just add a green salad and garlic bread, and dinner is served! You can also do this same meal with frozen italian seasoned meatballs.



My daughter Susan has been in San Francisco, CA for 9 days on business. She just got back today, and has decided she is a true west coaster. How does that saying go: Live in New York, but leave before you get too hard, live in California, but leave before you get too soft....She found the people to be so laid back and the atmosphere less frantic and hurried than where we live.

Here is Susan, massaging her scalp with a contraption her boss gave her to reduce tension. She thought it was funny, but I think it works great!



Finally, this is the "Welcome to my shame" pic. This is an empty bedroom that has been a "catch all" for things all over the house that have no home. Even though it took me till January 9th this year to remove all my Christmas decorations, I went one step further and decluttered this entire room. Now I have to figure out what to do with the room...



Actually the pic isn't as panoramic as I'd hoped, but here is Miss Cassidy in the empty room. She was excited to help me get it cleaned up. Don't you just love grandkids...they make any project fun!



Hope you have a healthy and blessed week!