Saturday, June 9, 2012 (Meat Loaf and Cobbler Recipes)

Good intentions went out the door. I slept late - 10 o'clock when I woke up. Fortunately Ken had things done by the time I woke up -- he had taken the rug out of his room to the driveway, soaped it down, rinsed it, and had it out to dry. After I got up he did a first vacuum of his room. I was supposed to do a second "good" vaccuum and then shampoo the room. Hasn't happened. Maybe tomorrow. I checked email, worked the shockwave jigsaw puzzle, checked out Facebook.

Ken has needed a new blind for the longest in the window in the front room we use as his office. The blind has to be cheap - we are penniless. Friend had told us she bought blinds for the entire house for about $5.00 each at Lowes. So we went there. Wasted gasoline, and we had only put in $10 (3 gallons) of gas in the car. The gal at Lowes didn't understand when I said I wanted a CHEAP blind...she wanted to show me all the expensive things...I said no, I wanted to see the cheap blinds. Turns out the cheap blinds at Lowes don't come in the size we need. If we bought a larger (wider) blind they would not cut it down unless it was a Levalor. What the HHHH? Home Depot doesn't treat us this way! So, we went to Home Depot.

At Home Depot we looked around but no one was available - person who works blinds was out to lunch. We didn't see anything we could use at a price we could afford. Finally I asked the youngish lady working the paint counter if there was someone who could help. She asked me what I was looking for and immediately told me they had some discontinued blinds they were selling for cheap. She found one - but it was a 47"x72" and we needed a 42.25"x72". Her response? We can cut it down to whatever ou need!!! She cut it down for us and we went on our way for $20. The difference in customer service is amazing.

Came home, piddled, and then I made meatloaf. I've been making meatloaf the same way since I was a teenager...following the recipe that Mrs. Agnes Wiggins taught me long ago! One lb of ground beef, one sleeve of crushed saltine crackers (NOT oatmeal), chopped onions (and bell peppers when I have them), one can of tomato sauce, one egg, salt and pepper. Put in loaf pan, cover with ketchup, cover with foil, cook at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes. Turns out the crackers we had were not salted crackers but I crushed a sleeve of them and used them anyway. And I had purchased a can of tomato stuff that was supposed to be for meatloaf. I mixed everything up, it looked pretty, I cooked it the appropriate amount of time.

Came time to eat I tasted the meatloaf -- YUCKO, nasty! Those crackers must have been OLD, and that meatloaf sauce was nasty. We ate it anyway - couldn't waste it...and the dogs liked it, that's for sure.

I had also boiled new potatoes and heated up blackeye peas, one of my personal favorites. Ken not so much. He's lucky - I could have fixed butter beans!

While everything was cooking I made a strawberry cobbler...used a recipe I found on line...like my old one better. This one is too juicy and the "dough" didn't cook all the way as it should. I'll do better next time.

I'm assuming Ken got the blind up -- he upset me and I left the room and would not help him with it. Too bad. I am sick of his nastiness to me while he lives here for free without contributing to anything. He has to get a job so that he can pay his way. I've been telling him that for 3 years now...I didn't sign on to support him. Never did. Told him that from the beginning. And now that I'm retired he is bleeding me dry. He needs to man up - I don't care if he works sacking groceries, he's got to do something.

Tonight I finished the last section of PowerPoint training. I already know PowerPoint and the rest of Microsoft Office Suite, because I've been earning a living with software for YEARS as a software engineer. But every potential employer I talk to wants to know if I have certifications!!! So, I'm having to do tutorials and take tests so I can get a piece of paper that says I'm certified. Ridiculous. I don't know what I'm going to do about Access - for some reason it is not loaded on my computer. And of course "no one" knows where the Microsoft Office disk is - because NOTHING is ever put back in the sleeve and put up. At least I've completed Excel, Word, and almost have PowerPoint completed. I've just been watching the videos, taking the quizzes, and doing the required assignments and turning them in. Thus far I've missed 2 questions out of 10 tests. Hopefully I'll find Access soon.

So that's about it for our big Saturday night. Not making any promises, but with any luck I'll get up in time to go to church tomorrow. We'll see. Thinking about going to Everman Baptist. Just going to start visiting churches to see where I think I fit in.

Take care, be blessed. Have a wonderful Sunday.

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Meat Loaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 lb ground beef
1 small can tomato sauce
1 sleeve saltine crackers crushed fine
1 egg
1/2 to 1 onion chopped in small pieces
1 bell pepper (I use green) chopped into small pieces
(my secret: I buy frozen packages of chopped onions and peppers)
Garlic or garlic powder (I buy garlic powder to have on hand and buy jars of minced garlic...fresh produce goes bad on me)
Salt
Pepper
Ketchup

Grease or spray a loaf pan...I keep spray on hand

Take off all rings and make sure hands are clean. Put everything into a big bowl and with both hands mix thoroughly. Place in loaf pan, pat down. Wash hands thoroughly with soap. Cover top of meatloaf with ketchup. Cover loaf pan with foil. Place on cookie pan and in oven. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove foil, place back in oven for 5-10 minutes to brown.

Cobbler - Any fruit flavor

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Equivalent of 4 cups of fruit - I use frozen or canned. I also mix fruits.
1-1/2 cups Jiffy or Bisquik baking mix
1 egg
2 tbs butter (salted)
3 tbs butter - melted
1/2 cup granualted sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
Pecans or Walnuts if wanted

In 9x13 oblong pan, place 2 tbs of butter and place in oven until melted. Mix fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, granulated sugar, nuts if using, water, and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar together. When butter is melted, move pan around until butter covers bottom of pan. Place fruit mixture in pan on top of the butter. Set aside (not back in oven).

In bowl place the Jiffy (or Bisquik) with the egg, milk, 3 tbs melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix and pour or spoon over the fruit in the pan/oven proof dish.

Place uncovered in oven (at 400) for 15 minutes. Turn down to 350 and cook for additional 10 minutes. Cobbler is best if allowed to rest for a while after baking. Otherwise the "dough" will taste doughey.

Monday, May 7, 2012

No exciting news today. Felt pretty good when I got up, put stew fixings in the crockpot(how is it that we have no cans of green beans?), checked emails and job opportunities, worked the free online jigsaw puzzle (shockwave.com), told Ken the burgundy rug is getting washed today.

While I was getting the stew put on I asked Ken to take the things out of the dryer so that the mattress pad in the washer could be put in the dryer. On the way though the utility room to the garage I noted that indeed he had taken the clean clothes out of the dryer - and thrown them right down in the dirty nasty basket with all the wet towels, dish rags, dish towels, dirt in the basket, etc. I came unglued. It is not possible for this man to be this stupid!!! All of it had to be completely rewashed, wasting time I needed for a million other loads, wasting electricity, etc. I really am at my rope's end with this man. What the hell could cause him to do something this stupid!!! I think he does this chit intentionally. Be that as it may, I reminded him to call his doctor, because he cannot live here acting crazy and doing the crazy chit he's doing. It's affecting my own health. And it really bothers me because sometimes he acts perfectly intelligent, but so much of the time he's living in the land of the lost.

So, I take the nasty burgundy oriental rug out of the garage, place it on the driveway, put the dawn dishwashing liquid and water in the sprayer container, turn on the water to wash the hose, wse finally get it all adjusted so that it flows correctly, and then Ken asks me where the rug came from!!! It's like he's never seen it before. Ken, this is the rug that was under the dining table when the table was in the den in front of the big windows. Oh. He pretends to remember, but he doesn't.

Fortunately the sun was bright and it was hot today. After both sides of the rug were washed and rinsed we left it in the sun to dry (upside down so the front would not fade so much). It was almost dry by 5 or so; we moved it into the garage for overnight. I want to move it outside again tomorrow so that it airs out well. I may redo it with vinegar just to make sure all the odors are out of it. With two dogs and two cats (been in the garage since we got Luci), the rug has seen days of animals all over it.

Hopefully later this week we'll get the navy oriental rug done as well. After that we still have a green one from our bedroom to do as well as the one on the back porch.

After doing the rug I felt pretty bad - no idea what happened unless it was being out in the sun and heat. I was zapped, fainty, upset stomach. I had promised the sewing machine shop that the vintage Brother 651 would be picked up today, so Ken very kindly went to pick it up (see, sometimes he's perfectly normal!). I elected not to keep the cabinet it had been in because it was too lightweight for this machine and had been rigged to hold this machine, and not rigged very well. Machine still has to be cleaned (externally), spit shined, but it is a good looking sewing machine that does zig zag, etc. I was planning to give this one to cousin Mason for his wife, but may get them a newer one - I have a feeling A. prefers a more modern machine.

Anyway, I konked out in the recliner - woke up drooling all over myself. Ken actually had to go to bed for a while because he, too, wasn't feeling so great.

Did some more job searching today, posted resume at some job sites, exchanged emails with my former manager, may end up going back to work for him or else doing consulting work for him (he formerly owned a consulting firm and would like to again).

Other than that, I made cornbread, we had stew for dinner. Ken went to his room and watched the ball game (Rangers), and I watched Dancing With The Stars. Have NO idea why I watched it - I don't usually. I wanted to see how well Melissa Gilbert did. Not bad considering she's an "old" broad now.

Much later, after Ken went to bed I fixed some popcorn, checked emails and Facebook, and jotted down the boring nonsense on this post.

Just had a text message from Tamara checking on us. Nice to have at least one kid who gives a DDDD whether I live or die.

Tomorrow is doc day again (eyes, Dr. Matthews), then a resume workshop at Texas Workforce Commission, then tomorrow night a meeting with the Volks Folks. Busy day, won't get much done. So, take care - 'til next time.