Chicken Bruschetta

 

I know what bruschetta is, a tomato-y topping for bread. I found Trader Joe’s bruschetta topping, and saw that it had no peppers. Peppers and I are not friends.

I started to see posts about using chicken instead of bread and putting the toppings on top.

I knew we would try this.  I looked up recipes and found one that I knew I could do.

Italian Herb Bruschetta Chicken

Italian herbs are ok by me.  I did two shortcuts that made preparation easy.

First of all, I used Trader Joe’s Bruschetta topping. Then I used Trader Joe’s balsamic glaze.

I followed the recipe and sliced the chicken in half horizontally.  I seasoned as instructed, and cooked as the recipe stated.

Once they chicken is cooked, top with a spoonful of bruschetta topping, sprinkle with parmesan and topped with balsamic glaze.  I think I goofed, maybe the glaze goes before the parmesan?

My plate, with salad, and Brussels sprouts halved with balsamic vinegar.  The chicken is upper left.

This was a keeper!  Enjoyed by both SpecialK and I, we have a new recipe to add to our repertoire.

What have your dinner successes been!

 

 

 

 

 

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Closets redone

 

I have been asking since we moved here, (18 months ago) to make my closets usable.

My dream finally came true! I have the two bedroom closets, and SpecialK has the guest room closet, so that he can pack and leave at all sorts of hours.

So the before picture:

The two closets were identical. I hung my sweaters up, because I had more hanging space than drawer space. I was looking for my sweaters in the spring, and I couldn’t find them!

The closest lights came with the home.

Above is my right side closet.  Double hanging bars!

And my left side closet:

Long hanging dresses to the right, shorter ones on the left.

Shelf space for sweaters, purses, shoes.  Oh, the trouble I will get into!

Have you been dreaming of a change to your housing?

Sweet Potato Tot casserole

So I decided to make a tater tots casserole.

SpecialK had been loving his sweet potato fries. So when I saw Sweet Potato Tots, I bought a bag for him.

Of course the idea of using them in a tater tots casserole was bon,

I cooked a package of ground beef, added chopped onion and garlic.  I chopped a pound of sliced mushrooms, chopped up.  I added a can of gluten free cream of mushroom soup and following the directions, added a can of water.  I topped the casserole with the sweet potato tots.

SpecialK felt it was too soupy (my bad) and too many mushrooms!  Darn, I tried make something more nutritious!

The tater tots didnt get crunchy, so two thumbs down.  Discard pile.

On to our next culinary adventure! What will you try next?

Fruit on the Bottom

Who else remembers Dannon’s big yogurt campaign, Fruit on the Bottom?

It’s not just a good idea for yogurt. Cereal, whichever flake you like, tastes crispy.

I can’t believe I was today’s year old before I figured that out!  If you put fruit on the bottom, pour milk in on a side, the flakes stay crispy, while you put the milk back in the fridge.

Facepalm.  🤭

 

What’s your favorite fruit to add to cereal?

Taste Test – Walmart gluten free Macaroni and Cheese

For Macaroni and Cheese, I particularly like Annie’s gluten free shells and white cheddar.  When I saw that Walmart had their own version, for half the price, I knew I wanted to try it.

Doesn’t that look good and cheesy?

I boiled water, added pasta, so far so good.

I put in a good sized chunk of our version of butter, and added a good glug of milk.

Here’s where I started to think unwell of my choice to purchase.

The color was not so much orange, but rather pink.

i stirred it in.

It looks more cheesy here than it did in my bowl.

I had a serving. The cheese flavor was missing.  I added some cottage cheese. (Don’t judge).

i poured the rest into a container and placed it in the fridge.

SpecialK came home and tasted it.  His comment was that I added too much milk.  He didn’t want to eat it.

I ended up finishing it off, after rinsing off whatever sauce there was.

Walmart, you did well on the pasta.  White rice flour, Brown Rice Flour, Corn Flour, and Quinoa flour, all contributed to pasta that held up, and had a decent taste.

The cheese sauce needs more flavor!  Perhaps more of the color orange?

I’m back to Annie’s shells and white cheddar.  What have you tried recently?

Labor Day Weekend, 2019

Our Labor Day Weekend was the perfect ending to a crazy summer.

We left home on Saturday, driving up to Shelburne Falls to visit The Bridge of Flowers. I don’t want to overwhelm anyone, so big will post a few of my favorite pictures.  You may notice I like to get up close and personal with the flowers.

 

From Shelburne Falls, we drove up into VT.

We started our day on Sunday by hiking into Quechee Gorge.

 

It was a visually delightful walk.  After, we have headed to the King Arthur Store, where we looked at everything and bought nothing.

From there, we drove home.  Monday afternoon was a rainy kind of day.  We went to the movies, to see Blinded By The Light.  We both enjoyed.

Isnt it still summer?

Sewing Days

After spending big money for alterations, repeatedly, I finally decided I needed to learn how to sew.  I sat down yesterday, in front of the appropriate machine, and with my nerves floating around everywhere, I completed my first sewing project.

I had a houseguest Monday night.  She noticed the large trashbags that SpecialK had unceremoniously dumped on our bedroom floor.  Contents of the trashbags were gifted to me by a very nice lady who was cleaning out her sewing room.  I gave my guest her choice of materials, and while she was picking out her favorites, I asked her for a first and second choice.

I advised my houseguest that I was growing a list of projects, and that the first thing that I was going to do was make a bookmark from an appropriate sized piece of material.

When it was time to sit and sew, the piece of material that was to become a bookmark was no where to be seen.  So I made an instant decision, and made a hair scrunchie for said guest.  Then I sat down, and made another.

My first sewing project

Her second choice.

The angle of the pictures are different, but in truth, the white lace one on the right, is larger.  No concerns, Rachel needs a large hair scrunchie, for her thick hair.

Do you sew?  What are some of your favorite things to sew?

Breakfast, August 2019

I went shopping with a friend, and discovered Nature Path’s Mega Sunrise cereal.

It was love at first bite.  Oh, the banana is a good fruit for cereal bowls,

 

So far, I have had this more days than I could count.

Your favorite cereal?

Summer, 2019

Kids are heading back to school.  Does that mean summer is over?

A friend told me yesterday, that it is dark at 8:15 pm.  To her, that means summer is over.

I know that summer isn’t over until September.  Living in New England, when temperatures drop from the 90’s into the 60’s, that’s when I feel summer is over.

Our summer was filled with travel. Weddings, trips, busy.

The first event for this summer, the first weekend in June, was the marriage of SpecialK’s son. Aren’t they a good looking couple?

Next up was July’s adventure.  We left home on July 4th and headed to Boston.  Early the next morning, SpecialK’s son dropped off his sons ( aka “The Grandsons”).

We headed west with these two lads, only stopping once we got to AZ.

After a week full of non stop activities, we returned these two to their parents.

We returned home, for 2 1/2 weeks, before heading out again.

The first weekend in August found us traveling again, this time to CO. We went west again for SpecialK’s nephews wedding, Here’s a picture of us with the newlyweds.

I am happily home, and expect to stay here for a while.  ‘Til our next journey!

Which trip would you like to have joined us?

Why I will never buy another cookbook

 

In a simple term, the internet.  But more importantly, as we age, our diets become more restrictive.

SpecialK had to go see a nutritionist.  All those fats the he wanted to consume?  No.  Sugar is a no for me. We both eat gluten free. I have been eating gluten free for a decade!

Coconut is high in saturated fats.  No, for both of us. The list goes on.

From any cookbook out there, there will be one or two that have recipes I might make. The price per recipe is prohibitive!

So, how do I find new ideas for us?  My Pinterest boards overflow. I look at recipes every day, on Facebook, by email, on Pinterest some days.

So of you want to see what might be next on our plates, Pinterest is my cookbook of “things to try”.  When I find something online that we like, I print it off and add it to my binder.

What’s  your latest culinary fix?