Sausage Potato Chowder

 

Good morning!

Sometimes in January, it looks like the scene above when I look out the window.  But this year, so far, we have had temps in the 50's!  Rain and pretty warm for January!  I see on the forecast, though, that this will change by the end of the week.  So maybe it will look more like this picture by Saturday - we shall see!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Day, and you're all off to a great start for the new year.  Yesterday, I didn't do much.  It was a total relaxing day for me.  I did some odds and ends, changed the calendars around the house, and made dinner.  

I tried making Virgin Bloody Mary cocktails, and we wound up tossing them down the drain.  The best part was the celery!  :)  I try, every now and then, to like tomato juice.  But it's not gonna happen, folks.  Just not gonna happen.  I thought my husband might like the cocktails better, but he took two sips and handed his glass back to me and said, "Thanks, but I don't like tomato juice."  So that was that.  Down the drain they went.

Luckily, the soup was much better!  I really enjoy this soup.  It's pretty thick, and very tasty.  The flavors really go well together, and it really warms you up.  I was glad to have enough leftover soup for today's lunch.  Here's the recipe:

It's so easy to throw together, and it's ready in about 30-45 minutes, depending on how long you let it simmer to get hot.  It was really yummy!  

Have a great Monday!  Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Weekly Menu Plan 1-1 to 1-7, 2023

 

It's the New Year!  So much to look forward to this coming year!  My hope is, rather than asking FOR blessings, that I can BE a blessing as much as possible, to others.  Focus outward, not inward.  That's my prayer for 2023.

I kind of fell off the menu bandwagon there at the end of 2022.  I just ran out of time and energy to get everything done.  I'm sure a lot of you felt the same way.  Good intentions, but not enough oomph to get it all done.

So I'm kind of winging it this year.  I changed the name of the blog to The Life Of Grammy, because I think the word 'spirited' sounded like I was either drinking or thinking I was mystical, neither of which is true.  Originally I meant it to reflect the fruits of the spirit, but somehow it wasn't working for me.  So I dropped it!

Then, in addition to that, I decided I don't want to spend as much time in the kitchen anymore.  I was struggling last year to keep up with my menu plans, and often I just didn't get 'er done.  I meant to, but my plans were a bit unrealistic for the time I have to spend making them.  I still go over to my daughter's house to stay with my granddaughter after school.  Now, she'll be 12 in a couple months, and doesn't really NEED me there.  But I just feel better going over there and having someone home with her.  The older two are away at college, and I hate her coming home to an empty house.  Also, my daughter is starting a new job that has about an hour commute both ways.  She won't get home until 6:00.  So I will be over there from 3:00 to 6:00 every day, and will start taking my granddaughter to all her evening practices and whatever else she has going on.  That should be my prep time starting dinner at home.  So what I do is, I prep everything in the morning or early afternoon so it's ready when I get home.  But if I have a doctor appt or meet a friend for breakfast or lunch, or have shopping to do, I usually don't have time to prep.  Then it's either go out or make a sandwich.  So I am making my menu plans a bit more flexible and not so time consuming.  

I am also including leftovers days.  Sometimes, when I stuck to my menu plan, we had so much food left at the end of the week it was crazy!  It was too much waste, and things are too expensive these days to pitch stuff because I made too much.  I am trying to be more economical, as well as spend less time in the kitchen so I have more time to sew and read.  So my plans will be much less intensive than before.  

The last change I plan on making is to share the recipes I use, instead of just providing links.  I often link to recipes, and then change ingredients or recipes at the last minute.  On top of that, sometimes I use the link to the recipe I posted, and it doesn't turn out or we don't like it after I make it!  So, my plan right now is to post the menu plan on Sunday, and then during the week post the recipes I used with any changes I made.  I will also be using my cookbooks more, and online recipes less.  That will give me more recipes to share, but less links for you to click.  If you don't want to wait for my recipes, just google the name of the recipe, and I'm sure you'll find a ton of links to choose from!

So let's see how this goes!  I'm sure I'll be changing things as the year progresses, making it work better for me and hopefully for you!

Here's the first week of the year's menu plan, and what I'll be making this week!  If you have any ideas or comments, please leave them below so I can incorporate what you like into my plans.

So there you go!  I hope the changes don't bother you too much!  As it is, I am feeling pretty comfortable with it!  

I hope you all have a wonderful week, full of good food and fellowship!  I'll be back tomorrow with a recipe for the soup!  See you then!

Menu Plan

 

Just a quick note to say I didn't have time to plan out this week's meals.  I am flying by the seat of my pants this week.  I have a ton of food in the freezer, and I need to use it up so I can have the freezer space.

I am feeling the stress of the holidays - not in a bad way, but constantly being busy.  Like everyone else, I have shopping, wrapping, baking, sewing, cooking, and all kinds of social events like Christmas programs and dinner parties and get-togethers.  

So for this week, it will be food from the freezer, or grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.  In the freezer, I have pot pies, chicken soup, a ham (which I may save for Christmas Eve), frozen fish, and pre-formed hamburgers.  So we will be eating off of that for the week!

I hope to have time this week to plan for next week.  Also, I have everyone over for Christmas Eve brunch, so I have to plan and shop and bake for that.  I'll post my menu for that, coming up.

Until then, stay warm (although here it's all 40's and 50's for the next week) and enjoy the season!

Hugs!

Cranberry Orange Bread

 

I'm going to try and keep my recipes for Christmas baking at my other blog, What Happens At Grammy's...

The recipe I use for Cranberry Orange Bread can be found HERE.

In a day or two I will post my pumpkin bread recipe.  There are lots of great recipes out there, these are just the ones I use!

Weekly Menu Plan

 

Well, here we are again!  Back to the BUSY time of year!  It always seems to me that for most of the year, Christmas is way off in the future, then WHAM!  It's here!  And it seems to come faster and faster each year!  You would think that, by now, I would be more prepared, but no.  It always seems to surprise me!

This year, for me, December is full of meeting friends for breakfast and lunch, doctor appointments, school concerts and programs, shopping, wrapping, sewing, and baking.  I enjoy it all, but at the same time I am always glad when January comes and it's all over for another year.  But it's always fun at the same time!

This week, for meals, I relied solely on Taste of Home, my old go-to recipe site.  I subscribed to that magazine for years and years, and I have the entire collection.  I stopped my subscription a couple years ago because, mostly, I don't like the new magazine.  The old ones are my favorites!  But anymore, they include mostly recipes I would never make.  It's just not my kind of magazine anymore.  The old ones, though - that's a different story!  I use them all the time!  They are the best!  And the pages on the new magazine are like tissue paper.  I wish they made them like they used to!

So here's this week's plan.  It's pretty simple, because I've got lots of other things to do this month besides cook.  This week I am making some breads.  I can freeze them to give away later, but some of them I will give away this week.  I am seeing some friends I probably won't see again until after Christmas, so they will get their loaves early.  

Most of the recipes are easily adapted to gluten free, but if they're not, I have a ton of frozen gluten free meals I can use up.  For Christmas baking, I don't bake gluten free unless it's for my sister or something that I really want to eat.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  See you next week with another meal plan!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Due to the holiday this week, I am busy prepping food and getting ready for Thanksgiving.  I am trying to keep the fridge as empty as I can so I have room for the salads and desserts I am making.

I am making a Cauliflower Salad, Lime Jello Salad, a Crustless Pumpkin Pie, and an Apple Pie Cake.

For the rest of the week, we are having some leftover Hamburger Vegetable Soup, Breakfast for Dinner,  Marie Callendar's Chicken Pot Pies, and a rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club.  Easy peasy for me!  And lots of room in the fridge to keep salads cold!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I'll be back next week with a new menu plan!  Blessings to you!

Weekly Menu Plan Nov 13-19, 2022

 

I wish it looked like this when I look out my window!  Instead I see snow and and the temps are barely in the 30's!  We definitely got a glimpse of winter this weekend!

I went Christmas shopping with my daughter yesterday, and it snowed the whole time we were out.  At least it put everyone in the Christmas spirit!  I can't believe a couple days ago we were out without coats, and it was actually warm!

Another week's meal plan is finished.  I am not hosting Thanksgiving, but I have several dishes I am taking over to my daughter's house.  But at least I don't have to do all that grocery shopping!  She is also hosting Christmas, so that really eases up my workload.  And I'm all for that!

Here is my menu plan for the week.  I don't have too much going on this week, so I hope to have time to stick to my plan.  

I hope you all have a great week before Thanksgiving!  I know everything seems to start getting rushed now, with the holidays fast approaching.  It's kind of nice to slow down and be able to appreciate everyone!  Blessings to you all!