Cooking Again?

It has been 5 months since the child has left the house for college. The animals and I have adjusted well.... except for the cooking. Earlier, I had posted that I was going to think about what to do for freezer cooking. What I did was nothing. Instead, I chose to buy tv dinners from the store or instead snack when I got home. I've noticed that I'm really not liking this plan. I just don't feel well. So, I've been planning this morning and will soon head out to the store. I'm going to cook some meatballs that I can easily heat up, some chicken stir fry and beef and peppers. I'm going to stay away from pastas as much as possible. I'm also going to make some breakfast items since often I'm skipping breakfast and starving by lunch! Wish me luck! Cooking for 1 is creating quite a challenge. Its the thought of cooking all that food for 1and becoming bored with what I've made.

The Single Life and Cooking

As I reported in June, my son recently graduated from high school. As we both prepare for his departure to college, I'll begin the transition to 'single' again. With the summer off, I'm beginning to plan for my freezer cooking. I honestly can say that I'm stumped. This is going to be an entirely new way of thinking. As it is, I've cooked for two for so long by adapting and dividing recipes that I'm not sure how to cook for one. For example, I've done pretty well portioning recipes to fit our needs. I usually fix 3 servings. One serving for me and 2 for my son. Now, I'll have to portion for one. It is going to be a completely different way of thinking but one I'm sure that I can easily get used to. Besides, I can always send back meals with my son......maybe!!!!

Graduation

We (my mother, myself and my son) reached a milestone this weekend. My son graduated from high school. I am very proud of him. It has been a tough year for the seniors at his high school. They have faced many trying situations and have risen above them all. There was hardly a dry eye in the auditorium from staff and parents alike. This was truly a remarkable class!

Getting ready for graduation was no small feat. My son and I cleaned inside and out for about 3 weekends . It sounds as if my house is a wreck but honestly; it isn't. When you have family coming whom you haven't seen in years, you want to make the right impression.

I made my "not-so-famous" carrot cake cupcakes but this time, I cut the calories and fat by half. I substituted 4 eggs with egg product, sugar for "Splenda" and brown sugar with the 1/2 and 1/2 "Splenda" mix. I don't know how to cut down on the oil. The recipe called for 3/4 cup of oil. I know that I'm supposed to increase the apple sauce but I don't know what proportions. I also know of no way to substituted the cream cheese frosting. I did use the fat free cream cheese but how do you substitute the butter and powder sugar? In all, people could not tell the difference. I even bought a cupcake stand and proudly displayed them! In all they were a big hit.

After graduation, everyone came over to the house for sandwiches. I am fortunate that our farmer's market is open and I was able to buy fresh homemade bread from a local Mennonite lady. It was fantastic!

All in all....a bittersweet day but filled with family and good food!

Relaxation?

This past Friday, I finally had a day off from school. It was a nice break and one I'm sure everyone enjoyed. I find it funny that many people will tell you, "Enjoy your weekend. Rest and relax." That is so far from the truth! I don't know any of my co-workers who rest and relax when we don't have school. Quite the contrary. Most school employees use this needed time to catch on things we've been neglecting. For me, I did my monthly cooking. This time, I did another mini-session. I cooked sweet and sour chicken, lasagna, spaghetti pie, flank steak, kabobs, mashed potatoes, Italian sausage soup and breakfast muffins. I've really gotten the 'hang' of cooking and freezing that I now feel guilty if I don't. What on earth will I do next year when the child is away at college? I guess I will still cook and freeze.

Just a little sample of my freezer. It is full!

I found a fantastic blog a while ago. This is where I got the Italian sausage soup recipe. This past December, I tried this type of soup at a chain restaurant and LOVED it. I was determined that I was going to make it. I was surfing the net and stumbled upon the Loco Diner. They had a knock-off recipe of the soup. Fantastic is all I can say. Since then, I've really taken a closer look at the blog and really like what I see. In cooking and freezing, I limit the use of preservatives, fat and salt. This blog cooks everything from scratch, which I'm finding to be a lost art. It is really sad that there are blogs and how-to sites showing people how to cook. We are all so busy. Work and after school activities prevent us all from good home cooked meals. Coming home after a long day at work and thinking about cooking makes me want to cry. This is why I make a conservative effort to cook food that is good for us. I do not have the time to cook from scratch every day but I can cook and freeze.

Happy New Year....oops

Happy New Year! Oh...yeah...it is February!!! Better late than never! Much has happened since the last post: A fantastic Christmas, a trip to San Diego, a big birthday and a new member of the family.

Let me start with Christmas. Christmas was great. The child was home for the first time in years. I actually enjoyed Christmas...even though I didn't get of school until the 22nd! Having just mom, the child and I at home was quaint and nice. Quiet and low key. The child was pleasantly surprised by his gift from mom and me. I got the best gifts....a picture of my child. A dear friend of mine took the pictures and had one framed. I almost started to cry. I also got a very beautiful bracelet that I'm finding that I wear most of the time!

In January, I surprised the child with a 18th birthday party. Thanks to his girlfriend and some really good friends, we were able to pull off a very nice surprise party. I got a hug, a thank you and an "I love you." Worth it all!!!! I was impressed with his friends. They were respectful of my house and my rules...which I reviewed with them before. It even became comical... every time I went down stairs to do my 'walk through', they would say in unison, "No sex, no drugs, no alcohol!" Gotta love a good group of teenagers.

Mother added a new addition to her family....a Scottie puppy. We picked him up the 2nd week of January. His name is Brodie and he is almost as cute as my Gus was at the same age. They are brothers but not liter mates. It is funny, I have a puppy from the first liter and mom has a puppy from the last liter. Dana will not breed the momma again. Mom is smitten. I don't think she ever thought she could become so attached to her own puppy. This is technically the first dog she has ever owned. Oh, we always had dogs but they were dad's.

We ended January with a trip to San Diego. Yep....it was school related but FANTASTIC. I could do an entire post on this trip. First time to California and it is definitely different. As the child told me, "Mom, it is a culture." California really is. Things move a lot slower and are more laid back. The east coast people are always on the go, go, go. In California people seem to try to stop and smell the roses and enjoy life more. Loved the weather. It felt like spring does here but I wasn't that impressed with San Diego.

So here we are in February. We finally had a significant snow storm yesterday with 8 inches. We've been having some really freaky weather. VERY warm. On Saturday, the temp was close to 60. Yesterday, the temp didn't reach above freezing. Just saw the forecast and on Wednesday the temp. will reach the low 60's. Flowers are popping up and have been since January.  And those Republicans don't believe in climate change???? Don't get me started with that!  Take care and enjoy the pictures!

Gus on Christmas Day...he enjoyed 'unwrapping' gifts. Tired boy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brodie's first day in his new home

Since my last post, so much has been happening. We've made it through the marching band season. It was really a hard season for the members. Some things occurred that had a negative impact on the band. They triumphantly put on their best faces and 'marched' on through the issues and came out as better people.

"I" made it through Senior night at the last home game. It was a very bitter-sweet time for me and my mother. It really is difficult to see my son become a man. When you have a child; you can never imagine them growing up. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined 18 years ago that I would be getting prepared to send my son out in the world.

Gus' natural diet was a failure. He would get better for a short period of time and then begin scratching again. The scratching and welts and sores became so bad that a trip to the vet was warranted. A round of steroids, antibiotics and antihistamines and specialized, hypoallergenic dog food and Gus is doing much better. He is still on the antihistamines but is down to one pill a day. I'm monitoring to see if that is sufficient. I have noticed more scratching but it could be my paranoia.

Work has its ups and downs. There are days that are more challenging than others. I'm learning to not sweat the small stuff but that doesn't always work. I do a lot of self talk. I have to remind myself that there are some things I just cannot change and that I have to accept. That is tough for a control freak like me. I'm looking more for the positive things and not the negative. This is really helping keep things in perspective.

The child and I have begun visiting colleges. We went to our first, VA Tech. He loved it. I keep having to tell him to keep things in perspective. He has only visited one college. There are many more to see.

Thanksgiving was really nice. We had just the three of us plus a friend from Alabama. Very small and nice.

We are slowly beginning to prepare for Christmas. My list keeps longer and longer and I'm getting a little overwhelmed. I can do an entire post on Christmas but will save my thoughts for another day.

Until next time...take care.

As Expected

As expected, once school started back the entries in the blog would become less and less. I'm doing good to get in one a week. It will probably keep going down from there.

With the start of the new year, I've tried to set personal goals for myself. Sure, most people set goals in January, but for teachers, our year 'begins' in August and is finished in June. My goals for this year are to pray often, temper my tongue, think first before I speak and be more compassionate yet firm. I don't think these are unrealistic and I honestly try to do these everyday anyway. I'm just going to make more effort in achieving them.