Bacon, scrambled eggs and toast

Jaime and Aaron on their way to the Blackwater Music Festival

A simple Sunday supper that never fails to please my husband. Bacon, scrambled eggs and toast. We finished with a glass of Merlot on the steamy porch watching a rainstorm. We did make some great Reuben sandwiches earlier this week. A loaf of rye bread, some Provolone cheese, a package of corned beef and a can of sauerkraut along with some Dijon mustard and coleslaw and dill pickles on the side. For the price of one or two fancy deli sandwiches we can make 8 grilled sandwiches. If you haven't tried this at home it is worth the effort. Thanks to my followers and good friends. I promise to try some new recipes and try to get more vegetables and less cholesterol in our diet. We had a happy Sunday watching preseason football and golf (and some old movies for me.) The grandchildren were farmed out to various relatives while Jaime and Aaron went to the Blackwater Music Festival in Live Oak, Florida. They camped out and listened to music for three days. Everyone is back home ready for school tomorrow. Next Sunday is the bridal shower for my son's fiance. Happy Sunday.

My New House - Magpie Tales #29

Writing prompt from Magpie Tales. Check out the other entries.

email from Kentucky:

I bought it! It's mine. This is the picture from the real estate site. It is the best view, believe me. It is small and shabby on the inside. Good roof and the fireplace works, but the drains are sluggish and the water is a funny color. You can't see the STEEPLY sloping lawn in the back which leads down to the lake and a rickety little boat house and pier. There is a damp little basement down some slippery stone steps with an ancient washing machine (no dryer). I'm afraid all my clothes will soon be the same color as the water.

There was some furniture when I got here and you know I didn't bring much with me. My daughter took over the house in Florida. They needed the room and she always expected it to be hers someday. I took a few personal items and the money from the house and here I am. Let them do what they like with the rest. I was ready for a change.

I just threw slipcovers over the old couch. It looks fine. There is a very nice wicker rocker that I put in front of the fireplace. I am getting pretty good at building a fire now. Not just for looks but I will need it for survival next winter. It gets pretty cold here. My bedroom is all white and virginal (HA HA) and kind of charming with all the old, mismatched furniture.

There are a lot of flowering plants here. I only know the names of some of them. There is a hardy old gardenia covered with blooms and such a strong sweet scent. There are some remains of a vegetable garden. I am going to try my hand at that. Found some onions and small potatoes and some beets. I have been making lots of vegetable soup and sweet tea. It is all I want right now. I have been reading a lot. I am working up the nerve to take out the little rowboat on my own. Maybe I will learn to fish. I am looking forward to the leaves changing. Please come up and see me. I know I will be ready for company by the time you can get here. The kids and grandkids will be coming up next summer. For now, I am happy.

Subway

Jonah is back home today from visiting his Dad in Tennessee. We just went around the corner and got Subway for supper. Meatball sub for the Jonah and Mia and split a foot long Sweet Onion Chicken Teriaki for me and Roger. Plus 3 homemade style cookies. Very satisfying and convenient.

Pot Roast = Love

I took my two granddaughters to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese today. They had a blast but I was worn out when I got home. Thank goodness I had put on a pot roast before I left. If you could put love on a plate, for me, it would be pot roast or beef stew. It was always my favorite. My mother made both - mostly beef stew - in a pressure cooker. When my daughter was born prematurely and had to stay in the hospital for a while, my mother came up to visit and take care of me. The first thing my mother did was to buy a pressure cooker and a rocking chair for me and then she made beef stew.

I was in a hurry this morning so I put a large piece of chuck roast in my dutch oven. It was only partially thawed and it covered the whole bottom of the pan. I poured in a can of beef broth, a bag of baby carrots, a large onion cut in wedges and as many yukon gold potatoes as I felt like peeling. I added some water and salt and pepper, and put the covered pot in a 300 degree oven. Five hours later, I got home a little worried, but the roast was perfect - rich, brown and tender.

Pork Chops and Home Fries

Boneless pork chops baked in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and home fries. It took me a long time to learn how to make great home fries. Now I start with baked potatos (5 minutes in the microwave). I slice the potatos peel and all, add sliced onion and cook them in olive oil and a little bacon grease until the onion is tender and the potatoes are brown and crisp. So good.

Leftovers - Pork Fried Rice

Pork fried rice for dinner. Onion and green pepper, chunks of leftover boneless pork chops, cooked rice, two scrambled eggs, soy sauce and a little pork gravy from a dry seasoning packet. Egg rolls on the side and cole slaw with Ken's light Asian Sesame dressing. Roger says he would definately eat it again.

Chicken Marsala

Karin and Alan came over for dinner last night. They just had a new grandchild and Karin's birthday is next week. Also, they were willing to help me with this new blog attempt. The menu was Chicken Marsala, Brushetta with roasted garlic and tomato, salad, white sangria and homemade cannoli for desert.

It all started off well enough. I got the right ingredients. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs and chicken breast, French bread, a bottle of Pinot Grigio for white Sangria and a bottle of Marsala for the chicken. Oh, I also got ricotta cheese, mini chocolate chips and cannoli shells and lemons and limes for the sangria.

I returned from the store at 3:00 and immediately put the chicken into roast with olive oil and seasoning. I thought it would be faster that way and I was worried about not having a large enough skillet. I also put in a head of garlic to roast and a Roma tomato. I was hoping that wrapping in foil would keep the garlic odor shielded from my garlic-hating husband.

By the time my guests arrived at 5:00, everything was ready and I ran to freshen up and serve the sangria. I had Alan add his own garlic and tomato to the brushetta. He and Karin declared that successful. We had a great time and while he was here, Alan fixed my printer driver problem on my computer. (Thanks, Alan!)

Lessons learned:
1. Roasting chicken is good for the chicken but not so much for the sauce and chicken Marsala is all about the sauce. The sauce tasted good but was too thin. I think browning the chicken and cooking it in the same pan would have made for much better sauce.

2. I wish I wouldn't have broken up the chicken into pieces. By the time I stirred it and added more (too much) Marsala to give it flavor, the chicken was a shredded (but tasty) mess.

3. The new sangria pitcher works great but makes one big bottle of wine look like a few drops in the bottom. Seriously, it looked kind of funny. Need at least two big bottles next time.

4. Leftover fruit soaked with wine makes great lemonade the next day.