Hello Again

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Hello Again

I know its been too long since I’ve posted but it seems time just gets away from me. That’s a weak excuse since I’m retired and should have lots of time on my hands but it just seems like there’s never enough.  Lets see if I can catch you up.

February

Hello February! For a short month February always seems like the longest even if it is my birthday month. Winter has been rainy but not much snow until the week of my birthday. As is tradition we got a snow storm that week. Still nothing major but then it got real cold so what snow we got froze into icy lumps. All in all a miserable month.

Add to that it was a leap year and on the 29th of February I got a call from the Chevy dealership. They wanted me to turn in the Equinox. I agreed to talk to them as long as the new car was 4 wheel drive and the payment was less than what I was currently paying. I went in at 2 pm and didn’t leave until 7 pm but when I drove off the lot it was in a 2024 trailblazer and a lower monthly payment. 

 

TrailBlazer

March

And Then It was March. Hello again March.

When I left the dealership it was too late to call the bank about my next payment for the Equinox. I was told not to make that so I tried to cancel it online. According to my bill pay the payment was already in progress. On March 1 I called the bank to see if they could manually cancel the payment but they said no. I immediately called the dealership thinking I’d need to do new paperwork to reflect a lower payoff but I was assured that GM would send me a refund. Thus began a month long battle back and forth between the dealership. GM and me with everyone telling me I was wrong. Hey people this isn’t calculus. Any 5th grader should be able to understand.  I made an extra payment. Give it back.

Anyway, without dragging the story out too much, I finally got someone who took the extra step and found where the mistake was made. They stopped looking at the paperwork and looked up the actual amount the dealership sent to GM. Guess what, the dealership had called for a new payoff before they sent any money which was why GM didn’t have my extra payment.  2 days after that I had my refund. Yay!

The other thing I did in March was start looking for a part time job. Nothing was coming along that seemed to suit so I finally applied to be a Door Dash delivery person. I was attracted to this because I can make my own hours. I am more interested in flexibility than in the amount of money.  By April the background check was done and I was on board. Now I just needed to do a “Dash”.

April

Home warranty

 

In April I started “dashing”. So far opportunities have been limited as Taunton seems to be a quiet area. I’m hoping things pick up with nicer weather. We also had the HVAC inspections to do in the condo before May 1.  My news wasn’t good. The heat exchanger was cracked and the whole unit needed to be replaced.

I have a Home Warranty but when I submitted my claim it was turned down flat. So much for the promises the Home Warranty companies make.  I was back and forth on that for the rest of April.

May

And that brings us to May. I finally got the new furnace/ AC installed yesterday. So nice to have heat when I get out of the shower! It only cost me $7000.  The installers were nice guys too. Both are cat lovers so tolerated Banner & Balboa and made sure neither got locked in the utility closet. So as you can see I haven’t been terribly busy but the things I have been dealing with could be called “Big Ticket”. It feels like its been a lot but fingers crossed , things will be back to my dull normal now

 

 

 

Rainbows and Leprechauns

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Happy Belated St Paddy’s Day- All Rainbows and Leprechauns

3,800+ Leprechaun Rainbow Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty ...

Leprechaun Rainbow Stock Photos

I hope your day was filled with Rainbows, pots of gold and Leprechauns. Did you do anything to celebrate? A pint of Guinness or just a green beer?. I made beef stew. Its not quite Irish stew but close. What is the difference between classic beef stew and Irish stew?  According to the internet its all in the meat.  Traditional Irish Stew uses  lamb (mutton) while beef uses, well, beef. 

a very cute and adorable few day old lamb

Lamb stock photo

59,500+ Beef Cattle Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free ...

Beef Cattle Stock Photos,

I love making stew since we have slow cookers now and I confess, I often cheat by using the McCormick Slow Cooker Beef  Stew seasoning packets.  I’ve found it keeps the prep simple and the flavor consistent. But whether I make it from scratch with beef broth and seasonings or use the packets one step I never skip is browning the stew meat.

I dump all those little meat cubes in a plastic bag with flour, salt and pepper and give them a good shake to coat. Then I toss them into a hot cast iron pan and brown the sides.  Once they are all browned up into the crock pot they go.  (By the way, I started using a liner and it makes clean up a breeze. )

My mom used to add a can of Veg All but I just chop up celery, carrots and onions and lots of potatoes. Any kind will do but I like the Yukon gold the best for my stew.

Beef Stew- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Basic Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 lbs beef stew meat , cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teas. salt
  • 1/2 teas ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 Cups beef broth
  • 4 medium carrots, sliced
  • 3 medium potatoes, diced
  • 1 medium onion , chopped
  • 1 stalk of celery, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Place the meat in a plastic bag or large bowl and coat with flour, salt and pepper
  2.  Brown the floured meat and place in your crock pot/ slow cooker
  3.  Add Broth, Vegetables and bay leaf to the slow cooker.  Stir to combine.
  4.  Set Slow Cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours or high for 4-6 hours. 

NOTES

  1. You can add other seasonings to taste like garlic, paprika, a dash of Worcestershire sauce for example. Like I mentioned above, My mom always added a can of Veg-All. 
  2.  I’ve used the low setting and the high settings and I have the best luck for tender, fall apart meat with the low setting. Long and slow wins in my house every time but when time is an issue I’d rather use high and a shorter cook time than go without.
  3.   AS mentioned above, the McCormick Slow Cooker Beef Stew Seasoning packets produce a consistently flavored stew and are easy to use and you don’t need the beef broth when you use them. Just water

 

Hope You all Had a great day!

A Pot of Gold Articles - Analyzing Metals

A Pot of Gold- Internet

 

Chicken Schnitzel

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Schnitzel

Once upon a time I made Weiner Schnitzel quite often. It was one of my favorite “Go to” recipes. Somehow I drifted away from it. Maybe veal became hard to find in the butcher case. I’m not sure. I just stopped making it.  Schnitzel is just a German word for cut or cutlet usually from a small slice of meat (mutton, veal, pork) on a rib or other bone. lamb cutlets.  I never really gave any thought to other cutlets like chicken or turkey but I recently came across a recipe for chicken schnitzel and fell in love.

Chicken Schnitzel

Chicken Schnitzel as the name states uses chicken instead of veal. I had some chicken tenders in the freezer so I used those. Once the tenders were thawed I used a meat mallet to pound them to flattened filets. Then followed the recipe below. I used the Panko bread crumbs with some hesitation. I used panko before and didn’t like them but I must say in this recipe they were perfect. So lets leave Italian red sauce behind and take a quick trip to Germany for Chicken Schnitzel.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  •  2 Cups water
  •  2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
  •  2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/3 Cops Panko breadcrumbs
  •  1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  •  1/2 teaspoon table salt
  •  3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  •  3/4 teaspoon paprika
  •  2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  •  1/2 cup all purpose flour
  •  2 large eggs
  •  vegetable oil for cooking
  •  Lemon Wedges for serving

Photo credit from Once upon a chef

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to form flat fillets. Place a fillet in a resealable freezer bag and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound to a even thickness between 1/8- 1/4  in thick. Remove the pounded cutlet and set aside. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.

2.  Make Brine: In a medium bowl, combine water, kosher salt, and sugar. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the pounded chicken to the brine and let sit 30-45 minutes (no longer or chicken may be too salty) Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

3. In a large shallow bowl mix panko, pepper, table salt, garlic powder, paprika, and sesame seeds. Place flour in another shallow bowl. Beat eggs in a 3rd bowl. Set up a breading station in this order: flour, eggs, panko.

4, Dredge the chicken in flour, coating evenly on both sides; dip in the eggs, letting any excess drip off; then dredge in panko mixture, turning and patting to adhere. Place breaded chicken on a plate and repeat until all the chicken is breaded. 

5. Line a 13×18 inch baking sheet with paper towels. In a large non stick skillet heat about 1/8 inch of oil over medium heat until oil is hot and shimmering. Place 2 pieces of chicken in the pan and cook until the first side is golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken and cook another 2-3 minutes. Cook the remaining chicken in the same manner. You shouldn’t need more oil. Transfer to serving plates and garnish with lemon wedges.

photo credit Deb Neumann

Enjoy tender, juicy fried chicken. The lemon adds just a touch of flavor. 

 

Thick and Easy Pasta Sauce

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Pasta Meat Sauce

I was recently on a group text that was talking about cooking. My phone was not cooperating so I wasn’t getting all of the texts. The last one said “Deb may have another recipe”.  The problem is that I don’t know what dish they were talking about.  Anyway I wandered into the kitchen and took stock of my pantry. I had some hamburger that I’d thawed out and needed to use up. What to make? Meatloaf? No not in the mood. Meat balls? No I don’t have everything I need. I know. I’ll make a meat pasta sauce. I have one I like because it doesn’t separate. It stays nice and thick. I don’t make it often but it’s pretty easy.  So here it is.

Thick and Easy Pasta Sauce

photo credit Deb Neumann

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
  • 6 oz. water
  • 1  24 oz.  jar tomato puree
  • 5-6 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • Pinch of dried oregano
  • Pinch of onion powder
  • Pinch of garlic powder
  • handful of fresh basil ( chopped)
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a large Stockpot, sauté garlic until soft in 2 tbsp. of oil ( Recipe calls for olive oil but I use veg. oil just fine)
  2.  Add meat to the garlic and brown until meat is cooked through crumbling the meat as it cooks. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
  3.  Pour in tomato paste, tomato puree and seasonings, including fresh basil. Stir to mix well. Fill 6 oz. can from tomato paste with water and add to stockpot. 
  4.  (This step is important- don’t skip!) Let mixture simmer, uncovered, for 2 or more hours. (longer is better, but minimum 2 hours!) Stir occasionally. 
  5.  Ready to serve over your favorite pasta.

photo credit Deb Neumann

Notes

The long simmer mellows out the sauce flavors. Shorter than 2 hours and the sauce has a raw tomato taste

I almost never have fresh basil on hand so I don’t usually add that. 

If I don’t have a head of garlic I just increase the amount of garlic powder I use