Exceedingly Mundane

It’s that time of the week again, to post our menus and check out the other ones at OrgJunkie ‘s blog. My menu is going to be really up in the air this week, with the Thanksgiving holiday, and the fact that my husband wants to go hunting, but he’s not sure when and which days. Hunting season always throws a kink in my menu planning 🙂

Here’s the general idea for the week, but a lot of these may not make it on the table this week and will be pushed to next week.

Have a great week everyone, and a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Monday – new recipe for a Crockpot Butternut Squash soup, salad, bread

Tuesday – Chicken Soft Tacos (using this recipe for doing the meat in the crockpot), refried beans

Wednesday – this may or may not happen! I have to make my Broccoli Casserole to take to our family get-together, and my dad may or may not be here. Anyway, the plan is to make Golden Potato Soup for supper

Thursday – Thanksgiving get-together with my husband’s extended family. Probably 60-80 people will be there!

Friday – not sure, if hunting is involved, I probably won’t be here to cook. Otherwise, I’ll make Taco Soup

Saturday – TBD / Spaghetti

Sunday – Game Day food – buffalo wings, blue cheese dip, chips and dip

Well, it finally feels like fall here! The temps have been getting lower at night, and I’ve finally turned our heat on. Tim lit a fire a couple of days ago (mostly to burn out the dust!), which is always more for atmosphere than actual heat.

We have been taking Beau for his long walks in the morning, and the temps have been in the 30’s (which is cold for us!) and this morning, the wind chill was below freezing. BRRR!!!

I think it’s time to take our “regular” sheets off the bed and put on my “winter” sheets. I would love to be able to put flannel sheets on there, but Tim despises them. He grudgingly agrees to have some jersey ones on our bed in the winter. I would prefer to have an electric blanket (since I’m so cold- natured), but Tim also does not like those. He likens it to sleeping with a microwave emitting stuff on you all night. Whatever 🙂 We keep our regular comforter on our bed, the one that stays on there year-round, and just add a quilt when it gets cold at night. I would like to have two sets of bedding, one for summer and one for winter, but I’ve not ever bought two sets. I do love adding the quilts though – we have two quilts we use on our bed in the winter. One is a handmade one that Tim’s grandmother made him when he was younger, and we both love that one. We have a really big, thick one that he got overseas when he was in the military that we use when it’s really really cold. I love nights like that, when we pile on the quilts and I get to snuggle up into a nice warm bed. 😀

So, that brings up today’s Question of the Day:

Do you change your bedding in the fall and winter? Do you go to flannel or other sheets? Do you change out your comforter or bedspread? Leave me a comment and let me know what you do at your house. 🙂

I’m always a bit sad today. Today would have been my mom’s birthday. She died four years ago and I still miss her every day. But certain times of the year, I miss her more and wish that she were still with us. This is one of those times. Mother’s Day and the time of the year when she was in the hospital and then passed away (June) are also really hard. But, her birthday in November, then Thanksgiving and Christmas are probably the hardest. I miss you, Dodie. 😥

I saw this fun meme posted over at Stacy‘s blog (here). It’s called a “Get to Know Your Friends” meme/quiz, but it seems pretty holiday oriented, so I was really excited about doing it. Thanks for letting me swipe it, Stacy!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, definitely.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa just sits them under the tree. He has so many kids to visit, all over the world, on just one night, that he doesn’t have time to wrap them all.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Well, funny you should ask! We had colored lights on our tree growing up, both of us. But when I got to be an adult and got my own tree, I wanted white lights. We still have white lights for our tree, and we hang white icicle lights outside, but both of us are thinking about getting colored lights for our inside tree. We saw some the other day we both liked, but we both hate to spend the money to replace the white ones (since we have so many!).

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes, if Tim will shoot some down for me while he’s out hunting. I love mistletoe! He used to bring some home every year when we were first married, and I loved it. But, sadly, those romantic newlywed days are gone, so I haven’t gotten mistletoe in a long time. 🙁

5. When do you put your decorations up? Sometime after Thanksgiving. I have to beg Tim to get up in the attic and start dragging everything down. He has to get up on the ladder and extension ladder and do all the outside lights (I’m scared of heights). He helps me put up the tree and the lights, and then I do all the rest of the decorating of the tree, put up my Snow Village and all of the other inside decorations.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Wow, that’s a toughie! I love turkey, because we only have it once or twice a year. Love cranberry sauce (just the canned kind!) and sweet potatoes, but probably my favorite would have to be my broccoli casserole. 🙂

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Sigh, here we go again, I wish I had memories from my childhood! I do remember one memorable Christmas, because I was very sick. I had to stay in bed and so my parents brought my presents in my bedroom. Daddy hauled in this big blue footlocker with a bow on it (I must have been a pre-teen), and I was so excited! I got something to put all my stuff in, and it LOCKED! And you know, I still have that footlocker in my attic, locked, with things from my life before I met Tim. 🙂

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? At school, probably in the first grade, but maybe in the second. Scott and Greg were talking and I didn’t believe them. So, after school, I asked my mom at home, expecting her to say they were Silly and of course there’s a Santa Claus. My mom sighed and said, yes, there’s no Santa, your father and I just give you the gifts. I was horribly, terribly and irrevocably disappointed. 😥

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? That would depend on where we are. We split our Christmas Eve and Day between Tim’s family and mine. It rotates year to year with custody of our niece and nephew. If we’re at Tim’s family on Christmas Eve, we open all of our presents then. If we’re at home or at my sister’s house, we don’t open on Christmas Eve, we open everything on Christmas morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? The word would be eclectic! I have ornaments that are very sentimental to me, and opening up my boxes each year and unwrapping them and hanging them on the tree is like opening a box of goodies over and over, remembering each one and the memories associated with it. I have ornaments from when I was growing up (my mom was going to throw them away, and I asked to have them), ornaments from when I first got out of college and had my own apartment and tree, ornaments that I have bought places (I love snowmen and have a lot of those!) and loved. But, the best ones, my favorite ones, are all of the ornaments we have collected while we’re on vacation and gone places. We try to buy an ornament to commemorate each year and vacation. I love all of those, they are my most favorite. 🙂

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it! But then again, we only get snow once or twice a decade here, and it’s a big deal! I won’t drive in it though. 🙂

12. Can you ice skate? No way Jose. (Bonus, I can’t roller skate or roller blade either).

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No huge favorites stick out, but Tim and I got engaged at Christmas, so that’s probably my best gift/memory.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with family and remembering the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Fudge or my Reindeer Food I make

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We don’t have any traditions of our own. We spend the holidays on the road, going to see everyone else. One of the big downfalls of not being able to have children. I would have liked to have had kids and stayed at home and developed our own traditions and rituals over the years.

17. What tops your tree? An Angel. I’ve had her a long time and she’s looking a little worn, so I probably need to get a new one.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?I love We Three Kings because it’s in my range. But I love all holiday music, hymns and songs. I have to start playing it soon, I love it all 🙂

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?? Yuck, unless they’re the chocolate ones! I buy them to hang on the tree though, because Tim loves them and that was a thing he grew up with.

P.S. I won’t tag anyone, but please feel free to play along at your blog, or answer any of the questions here in the comments. 🙂

Sandra, over at Diary of a SAHM mom, sponsors this great recipe meme each week. Be sure to go over and check out Sandra’s lovely blog, and also check out this week’s entries… I love seeing the recipes and getting ideas for new things to try in my crockpot! Click here for this week’s entries.

My entry this week is something I have made once before in my West Bend Slow Cooker. The West Bend is something my mom gave me before she passed away and I use it often, because it’s a good size for the two of us. I often use it instead of my crockpot, but I also use them interchangeably. This is a recipe I sort of threw together, and combined ideas from other recipes I had seen. We love bratwurst this time of year, on Game Days, and we always have sauerkraut with it. I had some sauerkraut left over one Monday and decided to try it with two pork chops for us. It came out pretty well. I made this last fall and I probably need to make it again soon 🙂

Stacy’s Crockpot Pork Chops & Sauerkraut

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
2 bone-in pork chops
1 – 32 oz bag sauerkraut — squeezed dry
1/2 medium onion — thinly sliced
caraway, thyme — to taste
1/2 cup apple juice (see notes)
1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions:
Brown chops in olive oil in a skillet (I seasoned mine with salt, pepper, dash Tony’s and garlic powder). Transfer to sprayed West Bend slow cooker. Lay thinly sliced onions on top of chops, then cover with sauerkraut. Sprinkle with a dash of caraway (we don’t like much) and thyme. Add a dash of refrigerated minced garlic. Pour chicken broth and apple juice (1/2 to 3/4 cup) over all. Cook on setting 3.5 for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

NOTE: About half way through cooking, I thought it was getting dry and so I added a little more apple juice. Tim commented that, although it tasted really good as it was, he would like a little less apple flavor. So, next time don’t add more apple juice, maybe try a bit more chicken broth instead.

Stacy’s Notes: Made this from 3 different recipes that I combined. Cooked in the West Bend all afternoon and served with boiled potatoes and wheat rolls. Really good and it filled us up! 🙂

P.S. I’m sure you could easily double this, but since I only cook for two, I have never tried 🙂

Reading Lists, Part Two

1. So, last week we asked you if you kept a list of books that you’re interested in, wanting to read, wanting to buy, etc. This week, we want to know–do you keep a list of the books you’ve READ? Yes, being a list-maker extraordinaire, you know I have a list of this too :mrgreen:. I’ve been doing this for several years now.

2. If so, how? In a journal? A notebook? On the computer? On the computer. Before I started my blog, I used to make a Word document for each year. I still do, but now, I transfer that to my blog regularly. My 2005 Reading List is here and my 2006 Reading List (so far) is here. 🙂

P.S. My answers to last week’s questions, Part 1, are here.

Yeah, I am still so excited that Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke won Dancing with the Stars! Yeah, Emmitt! I have been rooting for him all season and voting up a storm and I’m so glad he won. I think that probably Mario and Joey were both better dancers, but they both were to begin with, and I think Emmitt has come a lot further. Plus, he just has so much charisma and his smile just lights everything up. I really like him and it’s a huge plus for me that he’s a football player. Yeah, I’m still so excited he won!

Yes, this is a blog entry about a vacuum cleaner.

Background: There’s a joke in our house about the time that Tim bought me a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. Yes, a vacuum cleaner. I even made a scrapbook page about it 🙂 Tim took pictures of my face when I tore the wrapping paper off the box and saw that it was a vacuum. It was not a pretty sight. Never mind that he had gotten me some other nice things, and never mind that I didn’t notice that he had put a bracelet in the vacuum bagless canister. I was just appalled that he would give me an appliance for Christmas. We hadn’t been married long and back then, I didn’t want household appliances for my birthday or Christmas. Thankfully, those days are behind us and now I don’t mind it. Well, most of the time.

I pulled out that same vacuum cleaner last week to clean up the carpets, and it ran for about 20 seconds, then made the most horrible noise I had ever heard. Even Beau was scared, and he’s not normally bothered by sounds or loud noises. I turned it off, and it continued to make the noise for another 15 or 20 seconds, after the power was off. The thing was possessed! I showed it to Tim that night when he got in from work and he said it was the bearings, and we would be better off to buy a new one. So, we went this weekend to look for vacuums.

Any of you that know my husband in person probably realize one thing – the man does not like to shop. He doesn’t like to look around, he doesn’t like to comparison shop and he doesn’t have a problem with walking in the first store, seeing something, buying it on the spot and never looking back. No going to multiple stores, no looking at different models. We bought the first vacuum he spotted. To be fair, I had read a little online and this one seemed like a decent one. We got a Hoover Fusion Plus. Apparently, Hoover makes the Fusion line exclusively for Walmart, and we found this “Plus” version at Sam’s. I think it will be an ok vacuum, and if it lasts a few years, then we’ll just replace the thing (it was only $110). Originally, I had thought I wanted to go “all out” and get a Dyson. But, then I realized that when we replace our carpet in the den and dining room with hardwood or laminate (which we hope to do soon, maybe in the next year), then there really won’t be hardly any carpet left in the house. Just the bedrooms, which are small and full of furniture, so very little open area to vacuum. So, I bypassed the Dyson because of the cost, and went with this one. Here it is, in all its glory 😀

The pluses to this vacuum are that it has a cyclonic action, like a Dyson, and it has a permanent filter that can be taken out and cleaned and washed, so no extra money to buy replacement filters (our last vacuum did, and they were 20 bucks apiece). The bad news is that it is NOT self-propelled, like my other one was. Conversely, the good news is that it is NOT self-propelled, so I get more of a workout when vacuuming, hehehe! Plus, the self-propelled tended to have a life of its own and half the time I would end up banging the bottom of the coffee table and nightstands with the vacuum, so maybe I’ll dent the furniture less with this one!

OK, that was a lot to blab about a vacuum. Time for a Question of the Day:

What kind of vacuum cleaner do you have? Upright or canister? How old is it and how often do you use it? Do you use it on just carpet or all floor surfaces? What do you use to clean your other floors, like tile or hardwood?

Can you believe I would actually ask about a vacuum cleaner?! This blog ain’t named “Exceedingly Mundane” for nothing, folks

I finished another book last night (“At First Sight” by Nicholas Sparks), one that I got for Christmas last year (gasp!). Yes, I tend to buy books or receive them as gifts and then hold on to them, savoring them and basically “saving them for a rainy day”. It’s a sickness, I tell you, a sickness. 🙂 Anyway, I added this book to my Fall Reading Challenge so that I would go ahead and read it before Christmas this year!

I really love Nicholas Sparks, I always have. I have read every book he has ever come out with, and loved some, and liked all the others. This one was a follow-up to a book I own and have read, “True Believer”. I enjoyed both of these books, but I didn’t just love this one. It was a bit sad, and for me personally, a bit hard to read. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, so I won’t go into specifics, but I will say that books that involve infertility and pregnancy are hard for me, just because of my situation. We couldn’t conceive, so reading books about people who have trouble and then can are often hard for me to read. This book was a bit sad, but I’m proud to say that I didn’t cry like I did with “The Notebook”. I bawled when I read that one! I did like it though, and am glad I read it. I really love the way Nicholas Sparks writes, and I loved what he wrote in this fiction book about marriage, relationships, trust and commitment.

For the record, that makes 64 books read so far this year, with a total of 22,520 pages read. Up next is another book on my Challenge list, another one I own. I’m going to read the next book in the Stephanie Plum series for me, “To The Nines”. I am really trying hard not to plow through these books. I love them and they are so light and entertaining. I’m trying to hold back and pace myself! I’m actually really glad I planned this one next. I need something lighter and funny after the book I just finished. 🙂

I checked this new cookbook out of my local library, and ended up renewing it, because it was such fun to look at, and had so many recipes I wanted to copy out of it. I had it six weeks and I must say that the procrastinator in me won out. I had so many recipes I wanted to enter into my Mastercook. I only entered 25 of them, but I did make copies of an additional 8 or 9 recipes, that I just need to sit down and enter later.

This seemed to be a really good all-around cookbook, although its main focus is Christmas (obviously!). The sections include: Glorious Appetizers and Holiday Cheer, The Main Event (entrees), Candy Cane Lane (candies and cookies), Holiday Breads, Joyful Desserts, Gifts to Give and Santa’s Workshop. The Gifts to Give section contained a lot of extra sweet recipes like fudge, toffee, truffles, caramels, nut brittles, caramel corn, rum balls, as well as traditional jar and mix type gifts (sauces, jams, cookie and drink mixes and a soup mix). The Santa’s Workshop section contains more fun things like snack mixes, sandwich cookies, peppermint wands, marshmallow dip, fondue, smoothies, and all kinds of cute cookies to cut out or decorate, to leave for Santa. I didn’t even copy down any of the recipes from these last two sections, but I got several appetizer, entree and dessert recipes. I’ll list the ones I saved, and if you’re interested in one, you can just email me and I’ll be glad to send it to you. Just remember, I have not tried any of these recipes yet, so I can’t vouch for them!

I hated to return it to the library, but my “double” check-out time had come to an end. They were gracious enough to renew my initial check-out, and I kept it twice as long as I should have. I’m sure other people will be glad to see it back on the “New Books” shelf at my local library 🙂

Click on the extended entry to see a listing of the recipes I copied for my own use…

Read the rest of this entry »

Last night’s dinner was really good! I was in a picture-taking mood, so I took pictures 🙄 I took a bunch of Beau too, and I might post those later. I know everybody wants to see more doggie pictures!

As posted on the weekly menu, last night we had Beef and Barley Soup and I made half a batch of Parmesan Cheese Muffins:

I’m looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today!

OK, thought it was time to do a Question of the Day again. 🙂

We went down to see my dad and sister Suzanne this weekend, along with my sister Gail, her husband, and our dog Beau. We learned the hard way not to feed Beau a couple of hours before putting him in the kennel to ride in the back of our Explorer. Poor baby gets car sick 😥 Anyway, I brought my book, and was hoping to read in the car. I wasn’t really able to concentrate though, since the guys were talking or the radio was on.

So, that’s today’s Question of the Day – can you read a book or magazine while there’s noise and commotion? Or are you like me and you prefer to have it quiet while you are trying to read? Can you read while the TV or radio is on, and while people are talking? Leave me a comment and let me know!

It’s that time of the week again, to post our menus and check out the other ones at OrgJunkie ‘s blog. Doing a weekly plan really helps me, especially when it’s time to go grocery shopping. So, I really love doing this, and I really enjoy checking out everyone else’s menu and recipe ideas. 🙂

Sunday – we had leftover pizza at lunch and breakfast for dinner

Monday – Hearty Beef and Barley Soup, Parmesan Cheese Muffins, salad

Tuesday – Grilled Pork Chops, potato mix (from the pantry), green beans. Note – if it’s raining or not great grilling weather, I will throw the pork chops in the crockpot with some Italian dressing.

Wednesday – Eggs, Skiier’s Swiss Cereal, toast

Thursday – recipe from the Taste of Home website, I think someone else posted it on their menu previously, probably Laura herself!! Golden Chicken and Noodles, shoepeg corn

Friday – Date Night

Saturday – out of town either for hunting or a birthday party probably; TBD

Sunday – Game Day Food – Frito Chili Pie

I usually do the Friday Feast meme on Fridays, but they’re still on a much deserved vacation. I wish that I had time to blog about other things (yes, I actually have a couple of things to say!), but I don’t have a lot of time. We’re going to be very busy today and tomorrow. We have family coming in, and are also going to see other family, and we’re going to be running pretty much non-stop. I’ll try to catch up on all that later, for anyone who is interested.

In the mean time, I saw over at Stacy’s blog, Vader’s Mom that she did the “Booking Through Thursday” meme yesterday, and I liked the questions. So, a day late, I do believe I’ll play along. 😆

Mary wants to know…

Do you keep a list of books to read? YES! Most definitely yes. I have several lists. I have a list of books I want to check out at the library and a list of books that I want to look for at the bookstore. I get lots of great book ideas from message boards, and mostly from other people’s blogs. I have read several books that I have seen reviewed or recommended at blogs that I would have never known to read, and I love that!

Where do you keep your list (computer, PDA, paper, etc.)? These days, on my PDA. I love this thing and use it for every kind of list imaginable. I used to keep a little notebook back by my computer, where I would write down books that I saw that piqued my interest. When I got my PDA, I sat down and typed that list into my PDA, and now I update that as I find new books I want to read, and remove them from my list once I’ve bought them or checked them out of the library.

How often do you refer to your list? Every time you go for a new book to read? When book shopping? Or? I refer to my list often. Just to see what books I have on there. I use it every time I go to the library or bookstore. I use it when I want to check online at my library’s website and see if they have a book available.

Many thanks to Sandra, over at Diary of a SAHM mom, for sponsoring this each week. Be sure to go over and check out Sandra’s lovely blog, and also check out this week’s entries… everyone has been posting lots of yummy sounding recipes lately! Click here for this week’s entries.

My entry this week is a wintertime meal I love to make in my crockpot. I hope to make it soon, I just need to work it into my menu. We love this stew! (As always, be sure to read my notes, I often make changes and try to note what I did)

Chicken Stew Over Biscuits

2 envelopes chicken gravy mix
2 cups water
3/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
2 garlic cloves — minced
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules — (1 to 2)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 medium carrots — cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion — cut into eight wedges
1 boiler/fryer chicken (3-4 pounds) cut up (see notes)
3 Tablespoons flour
1/3 cup cold water
1 tube refrigerated biscuits
potatoes — if desired (see notes)

In a slow cooker, combine gravy mix, water, wine or broth, garlic, parsley, bouillon and pepper until blended. Add the carrots, onion and chicken. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Increase heat to high. In a small bowl, combine the flour and cold water until smooth: gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook for 1 hour. Meanwhile, bake biscuits according to package directions. Place biscuits in soup bowls, top with stew.

Stacy’s Notes: I used a “Pick of the Chick” – assorted skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces, chicken broth, diced & peeled red potatoes, and cornstarch instead of the flour. I put in the diced potatoes after about 6-7 hours. I took the chicken pieces out after about 7-8 hours, took off the skin and meat off the bone, then added it back with the cornstarch mixture. Cooked about 45 min – 1 hr on high while I made bisquick biscuits in the toaster oven. We really liked this! 🙂

Source: adapted from Quick Cooking magazine