What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Tuesday Four ~ All About Food!


Welcome to Tuesday 4 in honor of  Toni Taddeo. Thank you to Annie over at Cottage by the Sea for putting this together each week. I may not always participate, but I look forward to seeing what others are sharing.  You can check HERE to see what others are sharing.

Food!
1.  What do you have at breakfast? What can you recommend?
Breakfast at our house is pretty simple. Depends on our mood for the day. Some days we have eggs, grits, and toast. Other days we have waffles (toaster!!), sausage and eggs. At least once a week I am baking some variety of Bran Muffins, depending upon what fruit I have available. I add blueberries, or diced apples, or even canned pears or peaches to the mixture to add moisture and goodness. I've shared the recipe HERE BEFORE. They are very good and keep well for a few days until all eaten up!


Other mornings we may just have toast with peanut butter and jelly on it. I prefer cinnamon raisin toast with peanut butter and apple butter on mine.  Once in a while I bake biscuits and make home-made applesauce to put over the biscuits. That is usually a fall treat that we enjoy when the weather gets a little cooler and especially if someone brings us some fresh apples from up north when they travel! Click HERE for a story about that!  


2. What is your favorite meal of the day and why?
Hmm, that is hard to tell. My favorite meal is when we have someone to share it with! Sundays we have been meeting friends from our church at our local restaurant after church for brunch. Some eat breakfast, some eat lunch. No matter...it's the company that makes it good!  Also we usually try to have our "kids" over one night a week for pizza or whatever else is easy or fun to do.  Again, it's the company that makes it good no matter what the food is. Before the pandemic we would have family gatherings of the extended family at our house for birthday celebrations and holidays. We haven't been able to do much of that these past several months, and I truly miss it.  We didn't get to have our annual 4th of July picnic with homemade ice-cream either! 


3.  Tell us about your typical lunch or dinner.
Lunch for me is usually a salad. I like to make a spinach and lettuce salad, with shredded cheese, craisins, and sometimes walnuts or pecans, or slices of apple. I use Marie's Cole Slaw Dressing on top. It is a creamy dressing with celery seed in it, and is my favorite.  If I have any hard boiled eggs or cucumber or bacon, I add that too. 

Dinner seems to run a cycle each week, depending on the season and what's on special at the store. I normally cook a hot meal as there are three of us for "supper" usually. Our youngest adult son lives here with us and so we eat when he gets home from work. Sometimes he grills chicken or hamburgers for us. He's also a great quesadilla cook, and manages to use up leftovers in creative ways for himself. (He used to work as a cook in restaurants for many years, so he can pretty well cook anything).  Anyway, some of our routine meals are:
Boneless Chicken breasts or thighs, or whole chicken cooked the "spatchcock chicken" method in an iron skillet in the oven.  (you can find recipes online).  Meatloaf, salisbury steaks with gravy and mashed potatoes, pork loin roast, burritos or tacos and refried beans, taco salad made with chili...I like mine as a salad, and hubby prefers the chili, so it is a win-win. Of course, good old spaghetti and a salad.  These are just a few favorites.
If we go out to eat, I like to get seafood, as I do not cook it at home. During winter months we do a lot of "one-pot meals", like hobo stew (recipe can be found HERE)... and cornbread.

4.  Were meals different growing up or do you continue much as your mother did? 

My mother was an excellent cook, and even though she worked full time and often had to pick up something to cook at the grocery store on her way home from work, she managed to always cook a nutritious and delicious meal.  I learned a lot watching her cook.  Once when she went up north to visit her mother who was ill, I was left in charge of cooking for my dad and myself. (everyone else had already left home).  I remember especially making him pork chops, and he bragged and bragged on my cooking to mom when she came home. So I guess I did okay. LOL.  My mother was also a wonderful pie baker. I've shared that before HERE, in  "The Pie Legacy"I don't claim to bake or cook as well as she did, but she definitely set a good example...and set a good table.  She was a stickler for using real dishes, glasses, and setting the table correctly for all meals. (and we didn't have a dishwasher...well, except for my sister and me.)   I do the same thing, unless we have a huge crowd and then we use paper products, but I still decorate the table somehow with a centerpiece and candles. And we light the candles when we have guests, and sometimes when we don't have guests. Especially in winter when it is darker earlier.

Christmas Dinner 2019

So that pretty well sums up meals at our house. And most importantly, we always give thanks before every meal. Even with the one family gathering we had for Memorial Day, since we weren't supposed hold hands due to "social distancing", we bumped elbows when asking the blessing. And we thank the Lord for His blessings upon our home and family and friends. We are very thankful indeed.

I hope you enjoyed this rendition of "Tuesday Four" questions and answers. Be sure to go to the Tuesday Four LINKUP to see what others have shared. Thank you, Annie, for making this possible today.

20 comments:

  1. Glad to you participating in the Meme and I had to chuckle, Pamela...I think its ok to link hands when praying in ones own home, wink. {{{Big smiles}}}

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    1. I do too, but my sister and her hubby and daughter came from a little distance and the big city to be with us, and so we were being 'careful'. But that was the last time we have been together. They are not comfortable traveling, etc., and since they do live and work in a city where there is a lot more exposure, it probably is just as well at this time. I just hope we can get together either for Labor Day or my birthday in Sept. That's my goal!

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  2. I loved your reading about your meals. It doesn't sound like you are in a rut to me. I'm glad you had a mom who cooked and taught you to cook as well as a dad that praised your cooking. I totally agree that the company is more important than the food we are eating. I bet you enjoy having your youngest son living with you right now. My youngest had moved back in with us for about two years, just moved out the first of June this year. I loved having him back home during that time. When you mentioned the table I thought about my mom again, she always set such a beautiful formal table for the holidays. I thought she was going to have a heart attack when I hosted my first large Thanksgiving gathering, served buffet style complete with cute Turkey paper plates. Let's just say she was definitely not a fan and thought I was downright tacky lol. I still usually serve buffet style but like you I set a pretty table. I love the photo from your social distance blessing and the photo of you with the big spoon, both adorable! Have a great day Pamela :)

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    1. Thank you Martha. We usually serve buffet style also for our large gatherings. It just makes it simpler than trying to fit everything on the table. As my mother got older she let up a little on the paper plate issue, but only for big crowds. The important thing to me is to be together and be happy. The plates and silverware really aren't that important. It's the fellowship and love that matters most.

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  3. Loved hearing about what you all enjoy for the different meals of the day, Pamela. My son, who is currently living with us, too, was a cook for years before deciding to go back to school, so he is perfect at giving Danny a hand in the kitchen. I'm glad that John and you feel comfortable with your son working outside the home, i.e. cocoon, and coming home to be around you. I'm sure he's keeping those hands washed and wearing a mask! :) Loved the photo of your family gathered around the table, too!
    Blessings!

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    1. Well, actually our son works outside at a golf course and therefore does not need to wear a mask, and his hands are in dirt and grass and mulch, etc., all day, so they get washed, but they have good honest dirt in the grooves. We've all been together, including our other son and his wife in and out throughout the week, throughout this whole ordeal, and have no fear of spreading covid among us. But thankfully we are in good health with no underlying conditions except for being well over 65. We are very thankful. I am glad you have an extra cook at your house as well! It's nice to let them take over now and then.

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  4. Pamela, I really, honestly, enjoyed reading this post. Especially about your family meals & learning to cook by watching your mother. Those tidbits brought back good memories of better times before the pandemic! Also, loved seeing your holiday table setting.

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    1. Thank you, Anni. Those better times will be back, and hopefully soon. I am not accepting any idea that this pandemic is here to stay. I am looking forward to setting that holiday table again this year,Lord willing! Thank you for visiting here today. I enjoyed your light bulb story so much!!

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  5. Sounds to me like you are a great cook. I try to make some full meals, but frequently use shortcuts.

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    1. OH, I take plenty of shortcuts, believe me. And it is hard to cook for smaller numbers than for large groups, I think. I always end up with too many leftovers.

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  6. There is nothing like a good salad and we like some BIG salads here in sw PA. We like to put some steak or grilled chicken or shrimp or even salmon on them, add tomato, cucumber, pickled eggs and beets, maybe onion, cheese, and the best part...French fries! I like Marzetti's sweet and sour dressing. It's creamy and has celery seeds, too.

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    1. Yes, I add meat if I have some good grilled meat left over. I love beets too. I only like tomatoes if they are fresh home grown, not store bought. Your Marzetti's dressing sounds very similar to mine. That's what I love, the creamy sweet and sour bit...

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  7. Pam, thanks for sharing a glimpse into your life. Food is important, it seems, to LIVE. :)

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    1. Yes, we need food for sure, and it can be fun or it can be drudgery. Sometimes it is both for me. LOL>

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  8. I thoroughly enjoyed this post. My mother always cooked supper and had it ready when dad arrived home from Atlanta each evening. We always prayed before our meals and enjoyed sharing what each of us had accomplished during the day. The Silver Comet trail is near my brother's in Smyrna, GA.

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    1. You had a good Mother! And a good family. Yes, we do that at the table too...we pray and then we talk. I prefer not to have the TV on while we eat, but lately it seems to be on because it is news time. Sometimes it is nice to just leave it OFF and not have so much stress at meal time. That trail is beautiful. I love to see when cities/places do that with old RR tracks, etc. Great idea. (((hugs)))

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  9. Oh, I so agree with you about sharing a meal with family and/or friends! It always tastes better when the table is surrounded by loved ones!! I am SO hungry after reading about your good food!! Whew!! I need a snack now!

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    1. Ha Ha! Terri...I'll have to make a "fruitcake" for you! LOL. Remember? That's the first and only fruitcake I've ever made. It was my MIL's recipe (except I think I used butter instead of shortening) and I took some to her at the nursing home and she didn't like it. I didn't slice the fruits up fine enough! Typical mother in law remark. LOL. Have a blessed and wonderful day!

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  10. Raisin toast with peanut butter sounds really good! I like your family picture and the elbow bumps cute! I don't remember my mom baking pies. But she did make other simple deserts like chocolate pudding, tapioca pudding and baked apple with cinnamon and warm maple syrup. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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    1. Oh, thank you, Susan, for visiting here with me today! Oh, that baked apple sounds delicious! I remember my mother making those too, but I don't recall the maple syrup part...that would be good! And I do love tapioca pudding too. Haven't had any in ages. Now I want some! Have a blessed day!

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