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This has been a tough week for me. I worked over thirty hours and all in the evening. You may say, "Great, you had the whole morning and early afternoon for yourself." However, I work at home i.e. laundry, vacuuming etc. you get the picture, no maid here. I also got to the gym most mornings too. By the time I return from the gym, it's time to start cooking supper so that I can have my big meal midday and my husband just has to reheat his. 

My sister's mother-in-law had a garden at her beach house again this summer. When I went to check on her house the other day, there was one lone, small ripe eggplant on the vine. I broke it off and brought it home. What to do with that small eggplant? I dug through my recipe box and found a recipe for eggplant and macaroni casserole. I got this from my friend Marlene over thirty years ago. 
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Another day of working the late day shift at work. Again, I need a meal that can be prepared ahead to make my life easier and quick for my husband.

During this time of the year, I like to make beef brisket. The recipe I use comes from my dear friend Bernice, whom I met back in 1974. I love this recipe as it has to be done head and contains your protein and veggies. I made my brisket early Sunday morning, and will cook it another hour before I have my midday meal.


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This week I'm been assigned to the last shift of the day. What this means is, by late morning, I have to have a microwaveable meal prepared for my husband to heat and eat. What fits the bill for this type of meal is a stir fry which includes your protein and veggies. The only other thing I have to make is a pot of white rice. 
For this meal, I turned to a favorite that I found in a weekly flyer that Wegmans use to send out when they first opened their store in Ocean.
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Last evening for supper I prepared the Bell & Evans Air-Chilled Whole Chickens. I roasted it in the oven seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and poultry seasoning. I melted a half of stick of butter to get a nice golden skin. Using the convection oven setting on my stove, the small chicken was done in about an hour. 

To go along with the chicken, I prepared a butternut and apple side dish recipe that I picked up at Delicious Orchards many years ago. The fragrance of the apples baking in the oven filled the kitchen with the scent of autumn. For the apples that the recipe calls for, I use Granny Smith. In fact, last November my husband and I were invited to a turkey fry and I brought this side dish along as something different and it was well received.

There was a bit of chicken left and some baked squash and apple casserole. I have a small supply of take out containers in which I put leftovers for my very grateful aunt. I'm sure she'll enjoy this meal. 

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Recently my son-in-law  had an opportunity to go to New Orleans for a friend's bachelor party. While the rest of the group was recuperating from the previous evening, my son-in-law strolled through town to sample what New Orlean's is famous for....beignets. So in exchange for a batch of my homemade chocolate chips, I received beignets.

My package was delivered on Sunday afternoon and immediately I had to dip into the bag to try them. They were heaven, a richer version of Italian zeppoles. On Monday, when the photo was taken, the beignets were already a day old. Not knowing what they would look like after I zapped them in the microwave, I took the picture above. I don't know if I'll ever make them, but I certainly enjoyed them while they lasted. Southern Living Magazine provides step by step instructions on how to make beignets. 
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In my earlier post, I told you about the sale ending today at Whole Foods on  boneless beef sirloin steaks. The butcher today was very nice when I asked him where I could find the steak. He told me he was cutting them right now and to come over to the glass (the cutting room is glass enclosed) and select the steak I wanted. I told him it was just for two people. He sliced a nice portion of beef that was perfect for two people.
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Note: I had a technical problem in tweaking the recipe index. I'm in the process of redoing it, so please be patient. If there is a recipe you can't find, email me and I'll pass it along to you.

I was feeling rather ambitious when I decided to cook 25 pounds of plum tomatoes for fresh tomato sauce for future use. I started making the sauce Monday afternoon after work. Using an old scale that my late mother-in-law gave us, I weighed off 6 pounds of tomatoes per batch in which to make a double batch of tomato sauce. I used both a in a six and eight quart pot. I was able to make six, half gallon containers, which I'm storing in a friend's freezer.

Needless to say Monday's night's dinner was spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce. 
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Recently, my daughter gave me a small head of cauliflower as she was going away and didn't want it to go to waste. I've done roasted cauliflower, but I wasn't in the mood for that. What I was craving, was a creamy soup. In my recipe folders I have a recipe for Cream of Cauliflower Soup that I picked up years ago at Delicious Orchards. It's basically a two pot recipe. However, I goofed and did it all in one pot, but it worked out perfectly fine.
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I apologize for being behind  in posting to my daily blog. However, life just gets in the way sometimes. It's not for a lack of cooking, that's been going on. 

Ending tonight are Whole Foods weekly specials. I was able to take advantage of them. There were three great items that got my attention for purchase; they were the BELL & EVANS Air-Chilled Whole Chickens, which are regularly $3.29/lb. on sale for $1.99/lb. and U.S.A. Boneless Beef Sirloin Steaks at $8.99/lb. for a savings of $5/lb. In reviewing the Whole Foods app this afternoon, I noticed that they no longer had on sale the USA wild caught shrimp at $8.99/lb. However, I did purchase some last week when the sale began as I had a craving for cheesy grits. 
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I received a text message from my daughter the other evening that a friend of her and her husband's needed my waffle recipe. It seems that when he makes his waffles, the waffle is splitting when he opens the machine.

It just so happened that I had buttermilk in the refrigerator and to save this poor guy from having to have unsightly waffles, I made waffles for breakfast this morning. 


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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