We just finished a rather late breakfast, but it sure was delicious. I don’t have to work today, but Son does, so I thought I’d send him off with a fully tummy.

I cubed some scrubbed, unpeeled redskin potatoes and started them cooking in the electric skillet. Then, I cut up a whole onion and half a large bell pepper into large bites and tossed them into the skillet. I added half a pound of bacon, cut in half, then fried it all together until everything was done to a turn.

I mixed 5 eggs in a bowl with 1/4 cup of milk. After removing the vegetable and bacon mix from the skillet, I put the eggs in and scrambled them. They took in all the flavors left in the skillet, which made them delicious. See, I’m not a big fan of eggs, but if they have enough other flavors added, I will eat them.

To keep the potatoes from sticking in the pan, I never add salt while cooking. It seems like salting the potatoes causes them to stick very badly. I always wait and salt them when I remove them from the skillet.

Anyway, this made a hearty breakfast that will energize us both for the tasks at hand the rest of the morning.

Technorati Tags: breakfast, redskin potatoes, electric skillet, bacon

My kitchen only has one window and that’s over the sink. I like the location, but the window treatment that’s here lacks something. It’s a lace topper over mini-blinds. So, I’ve decided to go a whole different route. I’m going to move the curtains out of the kitchen and use them in another room. In the meantime, I’ve got three of my hand painted, clear plates in the window to offer some privacy from the neighbor’s point of view when they’re outside. These plates effectively screen a full view while allowing light in.

Eventually, I’m going to suspend several of these plates in the window. They are beautiful when the light comes through them and they are very pretty from the outside, too. I’ve got some plate hangers and some lightweight copper colored chain. So, I’ll put long hooks over the window and just hang the plates with various lengths of chain so the whole window is covered.

I actually took a picture of what’s there so far. I just have to get it out of my phone and into the computer! I’ve misplaced my card reader, so as soon as I find that again, I’ll do the picture transfers and show you how things are progressing.

Technorati Tags: kitchen, window, window treatment

With gas prices on the rise (what else is new?), it looks like I’m going to have to juggle my bank accounts and do a balance transfer from one to the other just to be able to get a few groceries this week. I won’t be buying much - just the basics. I’ll also put in an order for an Angel Food Ministries box of food, which I can pick up in a couple of weeks.

Right now, though, it’ll just be things like detergent, dish liquid, shampoo, and a few groceries for the fridge and cabinets so I can create meals at home. It’s important to be able to do as much home cooking as possible when prices are soaring, as they are currently. Eating out should be a rare treat, not a daily occurrence. This means planning menus very carefully so that I get the most “bang for my buck” at the store. It also means planning what to do with leftovers so that nothing goes to waste.

With so many summer vegetables and fruits showing up at the farmers’ markets, having healthful meals shouldn’t be a problem and the prices should be low enough so that they fit nicely into the grocery budget.

Technorati Tags: groceries, menus

It looks like I’m going to have to go to the storage unit some time today to pick up some more of my stuff. In particular, more kitchen stuff. I’ve got only a few little sauce pans, a Dutch oven, and a couple of knives here now, and I really want my cast iron cookware along with all my regular dishes and silverware here. I’m currently serving everything out of pans and on paper plates, and eating with plastic forks!

I only have limited room in my car to haul stuff, which means I’ll still have to leave my leather desk chair and other office furniture in storage until I can find someone with a truck to bring that stuff for me. But if I could just get my kitchen stuff here to my new home, I’d be pretty satisfied for awhile, I think.

Technorati Tags: storage unit, cookware, dishes

In the south, where I live, there is a wild green that grows along almost every fence row or where ever the ground has been disturbed at home sites or along roadways. It’s called “poke salad”, and has been a favorite of mine since I was very young. The taste is similar to spinach but it doesn’t have that slick feel in the mouth that canned spinach does.

You do have to cook the poke salad a special way to avoid the toxins that can be found in the leaves, but once done, it’s perfectly safe and delicious. The toxins can make you very sick. There’s a large stand of this wild green where I’m living now, so I’ll be going out to pick it later today to have for my dinner tonight and tomorrow.

To cook it properly and render it harmless, the first thing that needs to be done is to wash and look over the leaves, as you would with any fresh greens. Next, you put them into a large pot of water and boil them until they are very limp. Then, drain, rinse, and squeeze the water out of the greens and boil them again, until they are tender. Season them during the second boil with salt, pepper, bacon, or any way you like greens seasoned.

It’s the first boil that removes the toxins, so the second time renders the tasty, free food to add to a soul warming, home cooked meal. I like to serve these greens with pinto beans, corn bread, and fried potatoes.

Technorati Tags: poke salad, fresh greens

I love to cook and I love to collect recipes. I have a box full of cook books in the storage unit right now that I need to retrieve and display in my kitchen. However, I really rarely use them. Mostly, I find and share recipes on the internet. Since you’re here reading, I bet you do the same.

See, the internet is an almost limitless source of recipes, food information, nutrition information, and shopping tips that we can all access these days. I’ve got a laptop, which makes accessing all the great information even easier. I can just pack up my laptop and take it with me where ever I go. And I do!

The laptop case I’ve got now is sufficient, I suppose, but it’s really not a laptop case. It just happens that my computer will fit into it. It’s actually a large document bag. Since I take my laptop with me so often, I’m thinking it would be a good idea to browse around at http://www.xoxide.com/allcases.html to see if there’s one that’s more suitable for the purpose. A real computer case would give my laptop more protection from heat and jarring. I’m always very careful with my laptop, but I still often wonder if the case I carry it in is really enough.

I really don’t want to take my laptop with me to show Mom recipes or share pictures with my Sis, like I did this past weekend, and have it be damaged. It’s too expensive to think about that and I’d sure hate to lose the pictures and other data that are on it.

Technorati Tags: recipes, cook books, laptop, laptop case, computer, computer case

If you don’t already know how to cook, then you’re really missing out on great tasting food as well as a big budget helper. Cooking at home is far less expensive than eating out, and you remain in control of all the ingredients so you know exactly what’s in the food you’re consuming.

Learning to cook can also lead to new avenues of income, if you’re good at it and creative. You won’t know until you try it, though, and there are lots of sites on the Web that give you lessons and definitions of cooking terms. If you want cooking as a career, then you’ve got to be head-and-shoulders above everyone who is competing against you in this field.

Get good enough at it, and you could be answering ads for Philadelphia jobs where a chef or top cook is needed. You may just begin a whole new career for yourself that’s both fun and satisfying.

Technorati Tags: cook, food

I was getting hungry a little while ago. All I’d had this morning was coffee, so I decided to throw together a coffee cake. It turned out really tasty so I thought I’d share here what I did.

CHOCOLATE PECAN COFFEE CAKE

Ingredients

• >1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• >1/4 cup white sugar
• >1 egg
• >1 cup milk
• >1/2 cup chocolate chips
• >1/2 cup chopped pecans
• >1 stick butter
• >1 cup brown sugar

METHOD

Mix flour, white sugar, egg, and milk together, Set aside. In a greased 9 by 13 by 2 inch cake pan, layer butter, chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and brown sugar. Drizzle the batter over the top, getting it to cover everything right to the edges. Bake at 350 until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve piping hot with coffee or cold milk. Yield: 12 servings.

This coffee cake seemed to perk me up and give me enough energy to get some work done around here. Maybe it will help you, too, whether you are washing dishes or auto insurance comparison shopping online.

Technorati Tags: coffee, coffee cake

One of the things that we served for Memorial Day was a beautiful and decadent tasting dessert made by my Younger Daughter. The real beauty of the dessert is that it was entirely fat free, but you’d never guess that when you tasted it.

I’m not sure what the recipe was called, so I’ll just call it

Chocolate Layered Deliciousness

Ingredients

• Chocolate cake mix
• Canned pumpkin
• Fat free whipped topping, large tub
• Fat free pudding mix, can be instant. Two packages

Method

Make the cake mix by adding only the canned pumpkin. No eggs, oil, or water. Bake as usual. Let cool.

Make the pudding mix as directed, using fat free milk. Let cool.

Using a large, clear bowl with fairly straight sides, layer chocolate pudding, crumbled cake, and whipped topping. Make three layers. End by putting pudding and sprinkling chocolate cake crumbles on top. Chill several hours or overnight.

This makes a beautiful presentation. You can’t tell there is pumpkin in the cake mix at all, but it’s extremely moist and delicious. The dessert will need to be spooned out onto plates.

I think this could also be prepared in individual stemware for a beautiful dessert to give to your family or guests.

Technorati Tags: Memorial Day, dessert, chocolate

The cost of groceries is going up right along with the cost of fuel for the car. This makes it even more challenging to feed a family without having to dip into our savings accounts just to buy groceries.

One way to save is to reassess what you normally purchase to see if there is anything that can be reduced or eliminated. I find that reducing the amount of meat I purchase helps a lot on my grocery budget. Buying more in-season fresh vegetables and fruits, more grains, and learning to cook in more frugal ways will save a lot. These are the foods that bring appetite satisfaction more than meat anyway. Loading the plate with vegetables and grains, with just a smidgen of meat or none at all, will give you a filling, hearty, healthful meal that also saves you some money.

Utilizing leftovers is another way to save. If you have only a spoonful or so of a vegetable left, put it into a container in the freezer, It only has to be a quart container. When it’s full, add some chopped onion and tomato juice and you have an economical and healthful soup to serve your family. And, you can feel good about it knowing that you’ve helped to reduce your grocery bill through this very simple measure.

Technorati Tags: groceries, budget, freezer