Meandering Monday Our Daily Dinner

Meandering Monday

MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago
Keurig is my friend. LOL. I may be humanoid by the time I finish the cup of coffee.

I decided to stretch out on the sun room couch last night, and came to at 5:15 A.M. My right hip feels like someone pounded on it with a hammer. A.C. bolted into the room the minute I opened the door. Fortunately, he stopped to sniff the couch and was apprehended. He is now roaming the living room in search of who-knows-what, leaping on the couch and glaring out the window at Geezer. The little bully is spoiling for a fight.

Mel is holding down my left arm. Homer went out, returned and is asleep by the couch. He knows he is not allowed on it, but in his younger years we would come home to find him asleep on it. Hmmm. As I think about it, his hearing was probably going then so he did not hear us drive up. Aussies are not only intelligent, but sneaky. He can’t get on the couch any more - arthritis in the back legs.

I heard a scream last night and thought it might be an outdoor cat in trouble, but did not see anything. All except Ezra are accounted for. It was probably some sort of bird, but I will feel better when he shows up or at least is sighted. He is a 19 pound elephant of a cat, black, cowardly, and friendly when he is fed - runs if you try to approach him directly. He showed up several years ago, intact, with a collar choking him. It took a lot of persuasion for him to let me remove the collar. Then he purred - probably saying thank you for enabling him to eat / breathe. Both he and Geezer are in a weird sort of mood - skittish and show up to eat after the others are fed.

Since I was lazy yesterday the house work is still waiting. Wayne will be back this afternoon so I would like to get the house picked up and kitchen cleaned. I think I will have leftover Quick And Easy Meatloaf. for supper - did not freeze the other loaf and the flavors should have melded nicely. Maybe some Garlic Potato Slices to go with it.

Wayne’s buddy should be able to move around a bit by midweek. If he is going stir crazy, we will have him over and he can do some “sitting still work” - cleaning guns, etc. He wants the work, and the rifles are screaming for attention. He is very picky and wants everything perfect. I did let him know the one wall was not getting a third coat of paint -- the invisible-except-for-him dull area will have to remain unchanged. I am NOT repainting again.

The 2 pictures on the right are a reminder that even in central MO we do get SNOW. The kitty is our 19 1/2 year old (probably 17 then). The truck now has a garage, but at the time was at the mercy of the blizzard! The third one is self explanatory - LOL.

O.K. it is past time to get up and get going. Two more sips and the coffee is gone. Unless I make another cup? Heeheehee!
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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Morning Karen! Ouch on your hip. Those Garlic Potato slices look yummy. Love the picture of your cat in the snow. Beautiful!
I've just seen Jim off to work. Today's priority is getting on top of my tomato crop. I'm thinking guacamole, maybe pico de gallo or salsa and maybe a soup. Also have the ingredients to make a Corn soup with Manchego cheese. Have a girlfriend coming over for lunch Friday so need to make up a menu. And...then there's the big stack of firewood that still needs to be moved into the garage. (Can't I just wiggle my nose like "Bewitched" and have it all done?)
I'm thinking of making Chicken Fajitas for dinner tonight.
It's the "Moon Festival" in Taiwan today. A holiday. Benjamin says everyone BBQ's and watches the moon in the evening. :)
Hope everyone is feeling good today. Have a lovely day.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Oh Michelle...I saw this Paleo friendly soup and thought of you. It looks nummy.
http://againstallgrain.com/2013/01/30/leftover-roast-chicken-soup-with-roasted-vegetables/

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

All except A.C. are being good. Well, I have to get dressed and feed horses yet so that remains to be seen. Outdoor cats still have food so evidently no raccoons visited. Corn soup sounds wonderful. I think Japan has a "moon festival" of some sort also - have a vague recollection of Iron Chef Morimoto saying something about it on one of the shows. That sums up my knowledge of the subject.

I must go or else Wayne will be home and nothing done. That second cup of coffee is calling but it has to wait until outdoor chores are finished.

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

Good morning. I love your kitty. LOL on the bluebird. I'm on my second cup of coffee myself.

We have all the chores that didn't get done yesterday to do today. Procrastination is my middle name.

The phone has begun ringing. I'll catch up later.

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Tina - Horses and outdoor cats are fed. Geezer showed up and even let me pick him up and pet him and sing his name to him (don't ask - it seems to sooth him and he needs all the calming influence he can get). None of them ate much but that is the way it has been. No sign of Ezra the missing cat. I am concerned. he roams about at night so may have gotten in the way of a predator.

A.C. is prowling in his panther-imitation way. He meowed to me but I refuse to translate. Mel just strolled over when I said his name, and deposited his weary body on the couch. Rough life.

Two loaves of banana bread are in the oven. Counters are semi wiped down. Potatoes are simmering and waiting for my decision of potato salad or garlic potato slices or whatever to go with meatloaf tonight. Wayne likes potato salad so I will either follow my recipe or concoct one, as the spirit moves.

Best of all, Coffee cup # 2 is on the table beside me. Joy, joy, joy. Great minds think alike!

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Cosmicmother 9 years ago said:

Hey everyone!!!! Miss you all!!
We moved into our new house last week, and got the kids off to their new school too! Been super crazy busy around here as you could imagine I'm sure. I awoke today to two sick kids :( I guess all the stress and excitement has got to them too. It ruined my plans a little as I needed to go to town and pick up some grocery's, so hopefully I'll be able to scrounge around for something tonight!
Lastnight I made these Chicken Tacos in the slow cooker, super easy! Out of the Kraft Whats Cooking magazine. You take a large jar of salsa, a pkg of taco seasoning mix it in the slow cooker, add 2lbs of chicken breast and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8. Shred the chicken and mix it all up, voila! These quick dinners are a life saver around here this past week! Here's a link, it seems to be the half version of what the magazine had though: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chicken-tacos-161949.aspx
It's snowing here today, YES, SNOWING! This is the earliest I have ever seen snow here! The last two years we got snow at the end of October, but this is crazy! They are predicting another frigid winter with the polar vortex, not looking forward to this but at least after last year's winter I know what to expect now, lol ;)
I hope everyone is doing well. Is there any major news or health problems I need catching up on? I hope you are all in good health, heart and mind! I really need to catch up!
Have a great day everybody!!! ((hugs))

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Good morning!

Hope the kids feel better soon. Of course this happens when you are low on groceries! I think it is the fine print of "Parenting 101" or something! LOL. If the pantry / refrigerator is full, no one gets sick - but if the freezer is full, the electricity goes out - something like that.

When we lived in Michigan, it snowed anywhere from September to early June. MO, according to current predictions, should be COLD this winter. Am not sure if snowfall is supposed to be average or higher. I'm hoping for higher amounts as this was a dry year. And we don't have to drive on it except on Sunday, unless they cancel church!

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mommyluvs2cook 9 years ago said:

Hi! You have some busy cats Karen (besides the one sleeping on the couch) lol!! Leftover meatloaf sounds yummy! Uugh on your hip, I always wake up achy when I sleep somewhere besides my bed. That's a lot of snow!

Yum on all the food your making today Janet! Are you starting to get a lot of tomatoes? I'm sure you will figure out something delicious for you and your friend. Good luck at moving that firewood, cool on the Moon Festival, wish we had something like that here! Lol that soup does look good, and I already have it pinned!

Hi Tina. We procrastinated yesterday too. Like I had said we did nothing and now I have a ton of stuff to do today. Oh well!

Hey Shona! So glad your all moved and set up in your new house! Too bad the kids got sick. Sometimes those kind of things just happen at the worst times. That chicken taco recipe sounds great, and easy, which is what I'm on the prowl for these days. I could put that taco mix into lettuce wraps. That is CRAZY that it's snowing! I couldn't even imagine! Well, thanks for stopping in, hope to talk to you soon!

Caiden woke up at 4:30 in the morning screaming. He said he had a bad dream so I let him come get into bed with me. 15 minutes later he was giggling in his sleep. LOL weird! Kids! I was given the okay by my eye doctor that I can finally work out, so I did a quick easy work out this morning to get me back into the swing of things. Made a much needed grocery store run. I had forgotten that we had a patty left over from those burgers I made of Keni's so now I can just get all the toppings ready and NOT forget the fried egg and get a proper picture! Yay! I'll have that for lunch. Dinner tonight is I don't know lol! I pulled out hamburger meat, so we'll see :) Have a great day everyone!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

It sounds to me like the Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival in Taiwan is very similar to many other Harvest festivals in the world. It is giving thanks to the harvest and it's always celebrated before the big Harvest Moon.
The Corn soup is smelling amazing! Just gave it a pre-taste test as well and I'm lovin' it!
Creamy Corn Soup With Manchego Cheese
Morning Tina. Good luck with all your chores.
I can smell your Banana bread from here and would totally like a slice please Karen! :) I adore potato salad myself. Either would go great with the meatloaf.
SHONA! So nice to see you! Congrats on your new house! Ah-dorable picture of the kids in your Avatar. Sorry to hear they're both sick! Those Chicken tacos sound really yummy. And..... shaking head....so sorry to hear you're getting snow. Ugh. It's just too early. I think everything is pretty much same old, same old in here although Tina is off on short term leave (and hopefully long term) from work as she's been having all sorts of health issues but we hope her Dr.'s can sort her out soon and make her feel better. And can't remember exactly when you were last on here regularly but Michelle and Michael bought a pc. of property where they hope to build in the next few years. Michelle also had Lasik surgery on her eyes and Joce had an eye tuck. :) Marie's busy busy as ever with Rick's business. Laurie's busy as always as well, holding down two? jobs and running around with the girls. Not sure if you properly met Karen, our newest addition from Missouri. She has a TON of cats and raccoons, dogs and horses. :) Everyone will have to pop in and correct me or update this if I've forgotten anything. :)
Michelle, I am getting so many tomatoes that I am worried I can't keep up with them. :) Not a bad problem though I know. When's that wedding you were talking about going to quite awhile ago? Did it already happen? Ugh on Caiden's nightmare. Benjamin used to freak me out a lot growing up with night mares and such. Glad to hear the Eye Dr. thinks everything is coming along wonderfully.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Finished the soup. Will serve it up for dinner tomorrow night with Bruschetta on the side. Did a write up in IMI. :)

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Janet - I am not sure if I claim ownership of the raccoons. They are more of a curiosity / trespasser / nuisance but tolerated as long as they do not harm any of my critters. We plan on getting chickens sometime soon so there may be another war between us and the obnoxious little raccoons if they break into the coop.
Still no sign of the missing cat. Ezra seems to have disappeared. I Googled animal sounds and either it is a fox (highly likely) or a very unusual bobcat sound that I only heard on one site (McCauley Library I think). Foxes will kill cats in a heartbeat. Bobcats - not too trusting of them and have had them hang out in the hay field, plus they do hunt at night as well as during the daytime, so it is possible, but I'm leaning toward the fox.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

I'm sorry Ezra hasn't shown up Karen. I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed.

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mommyluvs2cook 9 years ago said:

Janet Creamy Corn Soup With Manchego Cheese looks SO GOOD! I saved it for one of my cheat days :) Lol that wedding was back in April but I ended up not being able to go. It was no kids allowed and Michael was working so I got out of it :P

Aw sad to hear Ezra is missing and it may be a fox :( Hopefully she will show up soon...

Got the leftover burger made for lunch and it was even better with the egg on top! Will do an IMI review now :)

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

It has been a long time since we lost an outdoor kitty. Actually 2 6 mos. old kittens disappeared. They were Mary's offspring - found home for 2 and they are spoiled beyond belief. I think one was run off by the other cats and the other probably coyote or owl prey. Which is why we don't add kittens to our outside cats. The older ones who appear out of nowhere and are street savvy and survive the trek usually work out pretty well. (For a while I'd swear someone was handing out maps to our place to stray cats, we had so many.) The neighbors at the beginning of the road do not spay or neuter, but the coyotes pick off a lot of their kitties, so the number stays down.

A.C. is determined to be an outdoor kitty, so when the time comes I will cross my fingers and hope for the best. Hope he learns fast. He came from the outside so hopefully did learn some street smarts.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Michelle, I think the anti-Paleo things in the Corn soup is the half and half and the cheese am I right? I'm sure that the soup would taste almost as good without both of those items. Jus' sayin'. Your burger in IMI looks so good it's making my stomach growl and it's still over two hours 'til dinner time. :(
Okay Karen....What's the story with the beautiful little fawn in your avatar? Wow. That is totally cool.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Well....I decided to cook the chicken on the BBQ and then I'll cut it and warm it up in the microwave when we're ready to eat rather than running outside to BBQ once Jim's home. The Pico de Gallo turned out okay. I did something bad with the Guac. First I added too much lime so added a bit of sugar to counter the tartness but added too much and then added too much salt as well so there's a sweet salty thing going on it it that shouldn't be. Oh well.
Brought in another crop of tomatoes from the garden. May make some home made salsa tomorrow. If anyone has a favourite recipe please share it! :)
It was a lovely day outside. Cooling down now though. Benjamin says it was 36C/96F in Taipei today. Ugh.

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laurieg 9 years ago said:

we had Real Life Lasagna for dinner
I've been running around like crazy today! Ugh picked up Rachel after I got home from work to take her for a haircut and brow wax. While waiting for her went to get school list supplies for rebecca. Returned to salon and they were running late so I drove back home to pick up Becca because she needed to be back at the school by 4;45 for a bus that was leaving to take all the freshman on a little cruise to get to know each other (how cool is that?). Then back to get Rachel come home start dinner but Rachel had to be driven back to her school for a field hockey game. She was made official team manager. It was in the local paper lol. Came home finished dinner but still have to go get the kids from their respective places tonight.

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

I hope Ezra will show. Karen, there is a kitty network. They let each other know when there is a hospitable home around. I envision something like in 101 Dalmations with the dog network. I had a kitty adopt us...the TV repair man said, "I let your cat in." I said: "I don't have a cat, but I guess I do now."

Just finished a snack of goat cheese on crackers. We ran around so much and got the last of the supplies (I hope). I'm not in the mood to cook. Fred said peanut butter is fine with him. Or I can add a can of tuna to the veggie pasta and call it dinner.

Shona, oh dear on the kids getting sick. Oh DEAR on the snow already. Congrats on the house and the move. Good for you. It will get better. The taco slow cooker meal is a good deal.

Michelle, I shouldn't have put all of the chores off. I'm beat. Remind me next time I want to be so lazy, I'll be paying for it. LOL I need a kick in the butt buddy.

Laurie, sorry the pool got shut down for the season. Fred was still swimming yesterday. He just loves to float, beer in one hand, hat on the head.

The moon festivals sound wonderful. Amazing all the holidays we learn about through Benjamin. Janet, he is expanding my world. (As long as I don't see two moons, I'm okay).
Chicken on the grill is always a good thing. Sorry the guac didn't work out. I'm not sure I would have gone with sugar to counteract the lime. I might have done a bit of sour cream, or amped up the cumin, or even a teaspoon of chipotle in adobo.

Are your tomatoes, grape or cherry or are they full size? As much as I like salsa, I like my fresh tomatoes in Greek salads with feta, cukes and olives. I kind of wing it when I make salsa...chopped tomatoes, minced green onion, minced garlic, lime juice, diced jalapeno, and cilantro (cumin too). Of course, the country girl in me likes tomato sandwiches with mayonnaise on good white bread, tons of salt and pepper.

Okay, the Pier 1 advertisement with all the pumpkin table ornaments was gorgeous. So pretty. Time to head to Pinterest and look at all the stuff I won't buy. LOL

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Janet - second try to post this answer.

The fawn was found by a local farmer, who guessed her age at 1 or 2 days, standing in the rain on the road. Mama killed by a car or dogs. They followed MO law and let her be free to come and go, and fed her special milk. We were invited to see her - she was very lovey and wanted petting and liked being held. It was amazing. She was probably 2 weeks or thereabouts. Sadly, she died of parasites at about 5 or 6 months.

Others have fostered fawns - it is difficult but there are not enough wildlife sanctuaries to deal with them. One I know of grew to adulthood and left to join other deer. She returned every year for 5 years to show off her fawn, although they could not get close to it. Then she stopped coming, probably shot or died of old age ???? They are not easy to raise and the horror of them strolling up to a human during hunting season is always a possibility.

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laurieg 9 years ago said:

Tina your cat story reminded me of a funny dog story. Growing up we had this husky that loved to go in cars. Didn't matter who's. She would just hop right in the dog catchers van over and over again (back when they had dog catchers lol). Well one day she got into a stolen car.. The next day when the police found the car and called the owner the officer was ecstatic to tell him that not only had they recovered his car but his dog was safe and sound. To which he replied of course. I don't have a dog? But he took her home when he picked up the car and gave her treats and we got her back. Unfortunately for him she remembered where she got those treats and came back to his house every day and he would call my mom to pick her up. My mother finally said stop giving her treats when she shows up!

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Tina - I am convince the kitty network exists and there is an invisible sign (to humans, not cats) at the end of our road that says "Sucker lives here - free food."

Laurie - Our daughter had a Shelty that would ride with anyone. When we kept him while she traveled, I just opened the car door and he climbed in on the floor. When I got home he strolled on inside, greeted our dog and cats, and settled in until we took him back home.

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