So I Was Just Thinking

This summer found me being a bit lazy, especially because I was on vacation for three weeks and my youngest was away for three weeks. So imagine six weeks of not cooking when the little one asks, "What's for dinner?" James's favorite dinner is spaghetti. I usually keep ground beef, pasta and sauce on hand as a go-to because I know it is something he will he eat. The other day Cait and I went to Sam's Club and bought a big box of spaghetti and a four pound package of ground beef, but I didn't bring home any sauce. My go to is Hunt's Traditional spaghetti sauce. It's inexpensive. It can be used for pasta, lasagna, meatball subs and many other things. However, when James said, "Spaghetti," my mind did a mental inventory and realized I had none. So what's a mom to do? Improvise. I have never made spaghetti sauce from scratch but could imagine what would go in it. Here's what I came up with. I found two small cans of tomato sauce (...

While web surfing, James saw a dinner he wanted me to try. He was very persistent, reminding me daily that we had to try it, so today was the day. Pizza dogs. I used Betty Crocker's Pizza Dough Mix....very simple - only requires 1/2 cup water, a little mixing and waiting for 5 minutes to allow the dough to set. I preheated the oven to 450F (230C.) I then divided the dough into 8 balls and then stretched them into long strips. (Put a little flour on your fingers to prevent sticking.) I wrapped each hot dog with a strip of dough and set it on a baking stone. I left some plain and sprinkled some with Salt Free Garlic & Herb seasoning from McCormick's. Although the dough says cook for 12-14 minutes, I only set it for 10 minutes which was the perfect time for my oven. Cooking times will vary based on your oven. We ate them plain, but I suppose you could have some pizza/marina dipping sauce or whatever the kids (you) like. James liked it so much he went back for 3rds.

Since school started, I have made James a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toaster waffles everyday. This morning I thought I would make the real thing. I had trouble finding the waffle maker at first. Then Gary said, is that it? I was standing right in front of it. Everyone got one of these: They couldn't make up their mind to be round or square. I turned mine into: Yummy! Later in the day, we all went to see the re-release of Avatar in 3D. My mother even came. James sportin' the glasses & Cait passing time 'til the flick starts It was just as good as the first time. My husband hadn't seen it before. I think the 3D business gave him a headache. When we got home, I made dinner of smoked sausage, potatoes & onions and peas & carrots. It was delicious and easy to make. You just need polish or smoked sausage, red potatoes and a Vidalia onion. I put the sausage in a large skillet first. While the sausages were defrosting, I sliced the potatoes thinly....

Hello, Annemarie. It has been so long since you have visited. We were wondering what we had done to prevent you from returning. What ever it is, we would like to make it up to you. We know we aren't the latest in kitchen trends. Sometimes we burn your food or don't cook them fast enough. But that is no reason to completely turn your back on us for going on six months now. Stop on by. We will give you a refresher course. In fact we can start right now. You see this? This is called a STOVE. You use him to boil water, cook eggs, and bake cookies. Yes he did come with the house when it was built in the 1980s. Shoot! You could almost call him vintage. These are POTS and PANS. You put the food in them so that they don't fall through the burners when you go to cook them. Don't you remember when you got them? You had just moved out of your childhood friend's apartment when she decided she needed a permanent male roommate. She bought them maybe as a consolation prize/apartm...