Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

re-purposing

 These photos show some of our re-purposed  projects this week.
(The buffet and green desk shown in my last post sold, by the way!)
My husband picked up some free lumber and a unique work bench
from a Craig's List post.
 
I saw a kitchen island waiting to be fashioned in that work bench!
So we put it on casters, I primed it, and Gary painted it a bright blue.
 Meanwhile, I worked on the smaller table (below).
I want to stencil a bit on the front yet.
These projects bring in a little extra income in addition to the
pleasure we experience in re-purposing them...
In the food department, I altered a crockpot recipe to use some garden produce
we'd been given.  This is the way I made it:

Polish Sausage and Cabbage Soup
2 cups potatoes, cubed and peeled
4 cups cabbage, shredded it fine
1 carrot, shredded it fine
1 large onion, chopped
2 servings of turkey sausage, sliced
4 cups water with chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in it
black pepper and salt to taste
Directions:  Place potatoes, cabbage, carrot, onion, , sausage, pepper and salt in crock pot. 
Pour broth over all. Cover, cook on high for 5 - 6 hours.

A couple days later, I re-purposed the leftovers 
and added a few extra potatoes and some more turkey sausage
and we enjoyed the leftovers. 
Finally, me wearing a re-purposed dress for church this morning
standing surrounded by re-purposed treasures of various sorts.

other peoples' gardens



Today, the Thrifty Lifestyle means making sure these apples don't go to waste!  They were given to us by generous friends last night.  I promptly picked out some of the best to share with a couple of friends who I thought would appreciate them.  Then I cored and sliced two crockpots' worth and cooked them slowly overnight.  This morning I popped them into the blender and ended up with three full quarts of applesauce to freeze.  Another crockpot is full again this morning for the same purpose...and I'm thinking about making some apple dumplings and an apple cake later today.  At times like this I wish I had a freezer besides the one in our refrigerator. 
The chard quiche I made yesterday was absolutely delicious!  I'm thinking I could make a similar one with the zucchini we've been given.
I'm blessed and thankful to have the time and leisure to work up the harvest of other peoples' gardens. 

pie time

 I went to my cabinet to find a pie plate this morning.
It was then that I realized I don't just have a pie plate--
I have a collection of pie plates!
 Besides a couple of metal ones, I have at least 7 glass ones varying in size from 10"
 to a couple of what must be individual ones...
 Then I went to my recipe file and found the press-in-pie-crust recipe
that is a GREAT one for a single crust pie!
And here it is.  Ready for the oven.
Later today, I'll fill it with quiche featuring some chard given us by friends.
Mmmm.  Mmmmmm!  
I can't wait.

(Did you guess that I once found it hard to pass up a glass pie plate
in thrift stores?)

favorite finds from the past few days


 ...and inside, these beautiful illustrations...

I'm also enjoying a bunch of wonderful gourds - decorative;
and a couple of butternut squash - edible - and currently in the crock pot
with onions, an apple, and some turkey sausage.
A simple and tasty autumn meal...
 and this ENORMOUS sweet potato!
 It will provide meals for several days.
The sweet potato, gourds and squash were all gifts from friends.
We are blessed, and we know it.

a perfect and simple autumn pleasure

I'm still working on the "presentation" part...
but I've got the "basics" mastered!
I enjoy serving our "dumplings" in these thrifted blue and white bowls.
Years ago when I asked my grandmother her recipe for DELICIOUS apple dumplings,
her eyes twinkled and she shared her "secret"--the  Better Homes and Garden Cookbook.
Page 171 in my old copy*...
They're economical,
delicious,
and a simple autumn meal.  
We enjoy ours with with milk.
A few slices of cheddar cheese and a cup of decaf coffe
and we're good to go!
*I substitute brown sugar for white sugar, leave the peel on the sliced apples,
and recently have been rolling out the dough
and constructing our dumplings like a cinnamon roll.
This particular batch was made with whole wheat flour.
(I had it measured out before I remembered
I'd filled the flour canister with whole wheat flour.)
Be kind.
 Remember - this is a 40 year old page!!!
Click on either to enlarge.

let there be books

This is a book I bought at the thrift store some time ago.  It's one of a few special books that I buy when I see them...I enjoy having extras to give away to those I think might enjoy them or who have expressed an interest in the topic.  I just started attending a discussion group that is studying Celebration of Discipline, so I pulled this second edition copy off my bookshelf to use.

We actually visited a thrift store this afternoon.  It's been months since I've been there!  Mainly I bought books.  Three children's Golden Books and a Field Guide to Birds.  Total spent: $1.10!
I'd picked up THIS book at the library earlier this morning.  Having visited a monastery last spring, I was curious when I saw this on the shelf of recent additions to our library.  I was happy to find some interesting, healthy, and relatively easy recipes.  I've noted several of the soup recipes that I hope to try.  The "soup" section began with this verse:
Soup as a main course,
Soup to begin the meal,
And when it is homemade,
It is soup to nourish the soul.  
-Julia Child, The French Chef Cookbook
This is a big roaster full of the Hearty Hamburger soup
I made earlier this week.  We had a  combined celebration of
a 64th wedding anniversary and 50th birthday.
I served it with an apple salad, crackers and cheese spread and Red Velvet Cake for dessert.

you asked for it, susan

I googled crockpot potatoes and came up with this Cream Cheese Scalloped Potato recipe (click to see).

I filled my crockpot with sliced potatoes (kept the skins on), peeled and sliced zucchini and 1 sliced onion.  I used Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning - found at Walmart - in place of salt, minced onions and garlic in the recipe.

Otherwise, I followed the recipe.  I came home with an empty crockpot and lots of compliments.

See the previous post for the story of the blue replacement "crock" (thrifted)  for my appliance & a peek at the potatoes through the lid.  The Oriental Cabbage Slaw recipe can be found on my main blog  filed under the "Recipe" tab.  It's a great one for carry-in dinner, too!