SUPPER CLUB - Wed, Nov 20th

[purrfect-lady]

Good morning!

We are clear and chilly this morning - 39*. And I get to go walking in a few hours! Brrrrrr!!

Yesterday I deep cleaned the living/dining/kitchen. Then we went for our financial appt, ran a few other errands, came home, cleaned the garage, and finally I came in, warmed up, and put out all my Christmas quilts. (13 in all). I didn't realize I had so many! Five are from QIAD swaps. And Bill finished my attic window so I'll bind that one this morning and drape it over my wooden rocker. And I can't help it - I'm feeling another Christmas quilt starting to bubble up in my brain! Maybe a triple Irish Chain? I could put it on our bed . . .

Today, besides binding that little quilt, I will clean both bathrooms and the downstairs. And then hang some of my Christmas wall hangings. I also have five X-stitched Christmas scenes and 2 woolie pictures on the walls. Later the X-stitched stockings will come out and all the handmade tree ornaments. I have to say, I love that so much of our Christmas is done by my own hands. I have yards and yards of garland made from Christmas yo yo's. And my ceramic Nativity Scene is 19 pieces. I made it in ceramics class when I was 18. It took me 8 months to paint it all. Right down to the eyelashes on the figures.

BECCA - We're all so happy to read of all the positive strides your twins are making. thanks for posting their photo in PHOTOS! such precious cuties! Hope your dental appt went well yesterday and you enjoyed your visit with your friend.

TINA - glad Dad is doing so much better! And you have a good plan! Sew early, sew often! If I have a lot of Christmas sewing to do and haven't started it by October I go into a panic. Though I have to say, I don't much care for storing finished quilts for long periods of time either! So it's a dance to start early enough but not too early! lol!

JANA - congrats to your Matt on his BSA award! And sneaky you! Hope you are feeling better today. What did you finally get for supper? Bill is willing to cook, and thinks he can. But he really can't. He told me, in his past life he did all the cooking. And when we got married he had a list of things he said he didn't like - stew, split pea soup, pork chops, etc. But he likes mine, so I think the proof of my statement was in his own 'pudding'! lol!

I made the chili relleno torte last night - so good and so easy. Really, it's like a cheese souffle with chilies and salsa sprinkled on top before baking. And there's enough left for tonite. Along with a salad and maybe some cottage cheese.

[gershwin64]

Good morning!
We only got down to about 50 last night and Mary was kind enough to send rain! We had rain from 4pm till sometime in the wee hours and sometimes it really came down to the point I had to cover my ears so I could sleep!
Mary, I have a ceramic Indian nativity scene that I painted when we first got married, it took me 2 years working on it off and on. It was using techniques I had never done before like dry brushing and layering and things, it's 34 years old and I love it! Your house sounds like Santa and Mrs. Clause live there with all your handmade quilts and decorations, perfect!
I have to run to town this morning, nobody was stopping anywhere in the rain last night and we ran out of milk with Jazmyne's afterschool snack so Preston has to have his milk this morning.
Sewing and cleaning is my plans for today.
We might have grilled cheese and tomato soup for supper.
Tina

[Becca]

Hello everyone,
A beautiful day here.Got my Laundry done,Bathrooms Cleaned,Floors done & partly finished the dusting.Always Glad When that’s done.

Maryz Your House must be Christmas Town.Sure it’s lovely.I always wait until December.Of course I don’t do near as much as I used to
Enjoy your company.

Tina I had a beautiful nativity scene my DDIL made me .It was white painted with gold accents.I gave it to my Son after she got killed.I felt they should have it.She was killed in a wreck.

I did have a good visit with my friend.And Everything was good at DDS.I love knowing my teeth are clean.
Must get going on walk.have a great day.We have some soup I froze.Im having that. Becca

[auntjana]

Good morning!

Well, I thought I was much better, but you know what thought got!

Michael's cooking ability is adding water to a package of Lipton Chicken noodle soup. And maybe a piece of toast with peanut butter.

So dinner is another unknown. Sarah is experimenting with baking stuffing so it is moist, like it was cooked in the turkey. We are not fans of baked stuffing, not in the bird. So she is using turkey stock and baking the stuffing in a oven bag. Sandee is gluten in tolerant, so we need to bake the turkey so it is gluten free. But Matt is being a pill, so Mom needs to step in and straighten him out. Sarah will bring down part of the experiment for us to try.

Mary - canning pizza sauce - Sarah says, nchfp.uga.edu - they have recipes that are tried and tested for home canning. Sarah says use their spaghetti sauce without meat . Look for recipes in their sauces that can be water bathed. Also the Ball website - freshpreserving.com has a pizza sauce recipe. The only things you can change in the recipes is the amount of spices, mixing the quanities, never exceeding what the original recipe calls for. Example 2 teaspoons garlic, can be divided into 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp oregano. Or combinations that you like in your pizza sauce. You can water bath as long as you add a acid, like lemon juice, vinegar etc. Sarah also said that you need to watch and use less juicy tomatoes, as they make a more watery sauce. She likes to use plum tomatoes. Hopefully this helps and if you need more, ask, she will answer. Sarah was looking and found more recipes for pizza sauce in the Ball website.

Well, need to go,

Enjoy,
Jana

[Irishgram]

Good afternoon from a chilly, very dreary, SW. Pa...Another good day to stay inside with the drapes pulled.....
Mary, I agree, your place must be Santa's home away from home...I remember, years ago, you had posted pictures of your outside lighting and decorations, wellllll, we need to see the inside ones this year...Not sure if my stuff will make it out of the shed this year or not...Might only be the tree, just because most of the family will be here...But, will needs lots of help even with the tree, lol.....I have a friend who packs up little bags of her stuff and when her guests are leaving, she makes sure they take a bag...Just might have to start doing that.....

Jana, you really did sneak one in on us, didn't you? Are you feeling better? Maybe this was just a way to get you to take it easy, not a nice way but.....At our house, Jim was very handy in the kitchen, sometimes more so than me.....Take care, feel better soon.....

Becca, the babies are absolutely gorgeous....Precious little bundles from heaven....I can imagine how excited everyone is to get them home....

Today is kind of a laid back day, as a lot of mine are, lol...I find myself honing in on 1 thing and then the whole day is gone...Today was cooking, yep, you heard right, cooking...I only intended on making a small meat loaf but also ended up making stuffed cabbage...I'll be stopping at Kevin's tomorrow and I know he likes stuffed cabbage so it sure won't go to waste....
While all that's in the oven, I'm headed upstairs to play with the machine....

Today is also a big day in the family...Both Kathy and Kevin are retiring today...Kevin laughed because him being on the east coast will be 1st...They both have so many plans for their "idle" time and I just laugh and shake my head...They'll both be soon wondering how they ever had time to work......But, I am so happy for both of them, of course just wish Cindy could be here to enjoy it.....

And for my dinner, meatloaf, baked potato and fresh cauliflower....Haven't baked anything, sure don't need it....Tomorrow, is bingo with my sister, then dinner and then visiting with Kevin and getting my baby Emma fix.....

You all have a great rest of the day....

Happy eating.................

[auntjana]

OK - learned a good trick for stuffing - Sarah's experiment worked beautifully! She did our family standby stuffing recipe - saute celery and onions in butter, then add that to dry bread cubes - then poultry seasoning, salt , and stock. Moisten to what you like. Our taste is not wet, but medium wetness. Then put in a oven roasting bag, seal and bake for about 45 minutes. Looks and tastes like it came out of a stuffed turkey! A bonus - our family loves stuffing and there are quite a few of us, so the bird stuffing goes first - this way you get more bird type stuffing! I think she baked it at 350.

A new way after more than 45 years of cooking Thanksgiving dinner!

Jana