St. Patrick's Day: Hungarian Style

It’s St Patrick’s Day!!  Are you wearing green?? I actually forgot my green until I started this post --- and went ARRRGGGHHHH!!  I quickly ran upstairs for something with a little touch of the Irish in it. 

No, we’re not Irish ourselves, but isn’t everyone Irish today??? That’s what my favorite Irishman tells me anyway. 

I’ve moved my menu plan around a little bit (I didn’t factor in St. Patrick’s Day when I made the plan) so we’re having broiled fish and Hungarian cabbage and noodles for supper (sorry Sean, that’s as close to and Irish meal as we’re going to come – it does have cabbage!!)

For those of you looking for a way to serve the super-cheap cabbage this week (especially those of you not overly fond of the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage – that would be us) I thought I’d share my friend Esther’s Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles with you:   

Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles

Ingredients:

1 large head of cabbage cored and sliced into thin ribbons

1 tsp salt

3 tbs oil (she said vegetable oil, I used olive oil)

1 tbs sugar (I cut this down a little bit)

1 onion, diced

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 package of egg noodles (get the good ones for this recipe)

Salt the cabbage and let it rest for a half an hour --- this will help to drain some of the excess water out of it.  Blot it with paper towels to get the drained water. 

Heat the oil in a skillet and add the sugar --- gently brown the sugar.  Add the onions and the cabbage and sauté gently for about 20 minutes.  Be sure to stir them frequently – we don’t want charred onions. 

Season with the pepper to taste.

Transfer all of this to a large bowl and keep warm.

Follow the directions on the package to cook the egg noodles – you’ll want to undercook them just a tiny bit --- al dente sort of . 

Add the noodles and the cabbage mixture together.

Serve with fish or pork or chicken (Esther says beef too, but I like it better with a white meat or fish)

Happy Birthday on a Budget

So, how do you celebrate your husband's birthday without blowing the gazelle intense budget that you've both agreed to??? You get mighty creative --- that's how.

First, I started the morning by sneaking "Happy Birthday" into every snippet of our morning phone chat that I could --- I probably said "Happy Birthday" seventy-five times in a ten minute chat.  It was obnoxious, but cute.   It also made it really, really clear that I was onto his birthday and it wasn't going to pass by without notice!!

Dinnertime!!  Using my free shopping techniques, I scored some cheese, baking potatoes, and cake mix at super low prices (nearly free!!) and used some of the savings in my shopping budget to score an inexpensive steak and some asparagus.  The menu??

• broiled steak
• potatoes au gratin in little french au gratin dishes (pretty and a little bit fancy)
• roasted asparagus
• homemade birthday cupcakes in flower cake molds with buttercream frosting YUM
• Champagne (someone had given a small bottle to me around Christmas time -- this seemed the perfect time to use it)

I picked up a card using ECBs at CVS (don't you love a sentence with more acronyms than actual words??)  and a small present (I'm not giving away ALL of my secrets!!)  Voila -- a fun and celebratory birthday without blowing the gazelle budget!!  

I'm happy.  He's happy ---- Happy Birthday!!

Christmas Comes to an End

We had our final hurrah for the Christmas season this weekend.  I know, its late, but its tradition.  The Christmas decorations around here stay up until Martin Luther King Day.  (We both have the day off and can do the work of un-decorating the house and get it all done and cleaned up at once.)

So -- MLK weekend is traditionally the last holiday party at our house.  Always with the same friends -- and its always wonderful.  There was snow on the ground, a fire in the fireplace, and laughter throughout the house.  We rocked the Christmas CD collection one last time.  And we ate and talked and ate some more.
I wasn't feeling all that energetic (been fighting off some kind of respiratory thing) -- so I wanted a menu that was festive, simple, and that I could make in stages throughout the day.  Thank you Pioneer Woman!!  Seriously -- this lady ROCKS.
I used her Pork Loin menu here --- I even made the homemade cranberry sauce (I may never eat canned again!!)  This was the most amazing cranberry sauce I have ever tasted (and I made it myself!!).  The second part of the recipe -- where you take the cranberry sauce and jazz it up more --- I could have skipped.  I didn't skip it -- I made it..... but truly the cranberry sauce itself was so amazing, that the jazzed up version just paled.
So -- here was my lazy cooking plan (with a couple of menu adjustments from Pioneer Woman's menu)
Saturday --- make an Apple Pie --- these are seriously easy --- I got the apples from the orchard down the road (yep, they still had apples --- Got to love them -- I sent my husband to the shop.  He tells them "My wife is making an apple pie".  They pack a bag for him with a mix of apples perfect for pie.  All I do is peel and assemble the pie --- Easy, peasy)
Sunday after church --- make the mashed potatoes --- I used Pioneer Woman's recipe to the T.  Then I piled them all into my crockpot, set it to warm and left it sitting on the counter until dinner time.  I made the Cranberry Sauce at the same time.  Let it sit in a glass dish -- with the measure pulled out that I needed for the jazzed up sauce.
Took a nap (I told you I didn't feel like myself)
Around 2:00 Threw some greens and other veggies in the salad bowl and set it in the fridge.  Salad -- done.
Around 4:00 --- cranked up the Christmas music --- started the Pork Loin.  Mixed up a batch of popover batter (another tradition for this party) and let it sit on the counter.  Pork Loin and Popovers went into the oven together --- my pork loin took a lot longer than Pioneer Woman's --- that was good, because it worked out perfectly with the popovers.  Yay.
Around 4:30 (by now all of the guests are in the door and the wine is flowing)  Zapped some spinach in the microwave while we ate a salad.  Dinner is served.
Mine didn't look as pretty as Pioneer Woman's ---- but it tasted pretty darn good.

New Year's Eve

The new year is nearly upon us --- again.
New Year's Eve is a holiday that we celebrate in our household -- more than usual.  Its our anniversary!!  Yes, you heard that right.  We got married on New Year's Eve.  We figured it was a fun date, we'd never forget it, and we'd always have something special to do on that date.  We were right!
This year we have the privilege of spending it in Seoul Korea with my husband's daughter (she lives here --- and yes, you read that part right too --- I'm sitting on the floor in Seoul, posting on my blog.  Crazy eh??)  So this year, the celebration is a little bit different.  We spent the day touring a palace (in the freezing cold) and having our first taste of BiBimBap (wonderful!) and tonight we're snuggled up enjoying Korean home cooking and the grandson's attempt to fly his new remote control helicopter.
Usually we spend the early part of the evening with friends --- hors d'oeuvres are the standard.  Then we all head out to a black tie gala with our ballroom dance group.  Its an elegant and fun evening --- and quite the way to celebrate both the New Year and our anniversary.
Our standard contribution to the hors d'oeuvre menu is beef and pepper dip.
I know some of you (Shaw's shoppers!!) have a ton of free sour cream and cream cheese you're dying to use up --- here's the way to go.

Beef and Pepper Dip 

1 package cream cheese
1 container sour cream
1 jar of dried beef (in the tuna aisle, please)
1 bell pepper (pick your favorite color)
paprika

Take the dried beef out of the jar and snip it into tiny little strips using kitchen shears.
Cut the bell pepper into thin strips.  Cut each strip into half or thirds to make dipping easier.
Mix the sour cream and cream cheese together in a small casserole or small crockpot (the easier method)
Mix in the beef and the pepper.
Heat until bubbly
Sprinkle the top with paprika (until it looks terrific)
Serve with Triscuits or some other substantial cracker.

Christmas in the Kitchen and Dining Room

I'll just admit it:  I have way too much Christmas and holiday stuff in the form of dishes, glassware, and the like.  But don't go signing me up for Holiday Dishware Anonymous --- I love it.  I change out all of the dishes, the candles, the glasses.  For the two months of Christmas at our house the whole atmosphere is festive from Breakfast to Bedtime Snack ----
Dishware is cheap --- and its fun, festive and fancy.  No one ever needs to know what you did or didn't pay for holiday dishes and glasses.  They always look more impressive than they are.
Now the Coattails Way means searching out classy, chic dishes and glasses --- cute is fine -- CUTESY is not.  I don't do teddybears, geese or silly things.... I do DO whimsical, wistful, and wonderful!!
My dishes are an old CVS find --- during the 90% off clearance after Christmas one year (and that was before I learned to CVS like a pro)  Most of my glassware is either freebies from Arby's (or somewhere like that) or from Dollar Tree.  The rest are gifts and clearance finds ---- they still look wonderful and make the holiday merry and bright
See what you think

Christmas Mantle

Christmas gets a little nutty around here.  We go all out with the decorating.  Two trees enter the house (confuses the heck out of the dog).  The fireplace mantle gets a full makeover.  Dishes get switched out in the kitchen, the dining room gets new linens, candles etc --- even the bathroom gets holiday towels and and a holiday candle.

But first  -- our mantle.  I've been collecting things for many years --- they all get switched around and used in some different way every year.  This is the mantle this year.  

I created a forest of little trees along the line of the mantle.  One end is anchored by my adorable Snowman and an old Norwegian horse that I love.

The center of the mantle is two giant pinecone ornaments that I found a few years ago.  I love these things. They're dramatic and wonderful and showy and Christmassy --- and I love them in the center of the mantle.

Faux Jewelry

I’m gearing up for the holiday party whirlwind (it starts next week for us).  I love getting dressed up and feeling glamorous --- its very much part of the “on the coattails” thing.  But I’m not spending a fortune doing it.  Part of what takes a simple classy outfit (like my tuxedo) up the notch to positively glamorous is the jewelry.  Nearly all of my jewelry is costume stuff from high-end stores like Claires, Target, and the Icing (yeah – high end!!)  So I got some advice from a friend of ours who runs a jewelry store (the real kind – the kind I can’t afford) on choosing costume stuff that doesn’t scream “cheap”. 

·       Watch the stones.  Cheap costume jewelry often has brightly colored stones that simply could never occur in nature.  Go for the flatter, duller stones when you’re looking at colored “gems”.

·       Buy something big enough to be impressive, but small enough that no one looks at it and “knows” that you could NEVER possibly afford a real stone that size.  My faux diamond earrings do this terrifically for me.  Where I work, a lot of the women have much, much larger (gaudy, almost) diamond studs in their ears.  Mine are large enough to look great.  But if I had studs as large as some of the ones I see, everyone would instantly know they were fake. 

·       Watch the setting.  You want to see prongs around the “gem”.  A lot of cheap jewelry is glued together and that’s it.  Good jewelry is held into the setting using prongs to hold the stone. No prongs announces FAKE, FAKE, FAKE from 10 feet away.  (or however close you can see the missing prongs)

·       Shiny fake gold looks fake.  Brushed fake gold and matte fake gold can often pull it off.  Watch the super shiny stuff.

·       Take super good care of it.  The fake stuff scratches like crazy which is a dead giveaway that its cheap.  Watch that it doesn’t wear away over time and show the base that’s underneath the coating of fake gold.  

Countdown to Thanksgiving: The End

Last week --- If you’re working alongside me, hopefully you’re experiencing a deeper awareness of why we celebrate this holiday  (no, its not about the turkey!!) 

As I move this close to Thanksgiving, its time for me to explain about a quirky holiday tradition in our household.  Each Thanksgiivng, I select a couple of people for whom I am especially grateful this year.  It can be for any reason --- just people who have made that quiet difference for me – and who deserve to know that – and to feel my appreciation.  I spend some quiet time – with a pen and some nice stationary --- and write them a letter explaining why I am so grateful for them in my life right now.  I generally mail them right before Thanksgiving. 

So the first item on my to-do list this week is to write my Thanksgiving letters.  My first one is going to our dog school teacher – without her, our dog would still be a complete and total wild child – she and we would be much less happy together.  Without Leea and her work with us, this  might not have been a successful rescue of a beautiful animal.  Whether Ginger knows it or not, she owes Leea her life --- she’s one happy dog because of the work that Leea does. 

My second Thanksgiving letter this year is going to a colleague at work.  She is the person who checks on me when things are stressy.  She leaves me little notes to cheer me up.  She always has something positive to say – even after an awful meeting.  She just makes life at work better.  And she’s not even aware of how much she does this – and how huge a difference it makes for everyone (not just me).  So she gets a letter this year. 

The rest of my list for the week looks like this:

·       Finish up the shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.

·       Pick up a bouquet from Double Decker Farm --- I so love their vegetables and flowers – there won’t be all that much left – the season is really over – but Deb does such a terrific job with bouquet wrangling that it will be beautiful – and certainly more elegant and lovely than anything from the supermarket or florist. 

·       Pick up a bag of ice --- I want cold drinks for Thanksgiving!!

·       Set up the timeline for cooking --- if I don’t plan this out like a military operation, we’ll be eating Thanksgiving dinner in six courses – based on what’s done when.  Not fun.  I take the time to back everything up from T-Time to know when to start what.

·       Set out all of the necessary pots and pans with sticky notes about what gets cooked in each one.  There’s nothing more frustrating than going to cook the potatoes and realizing that you already used the only pot they’ll fit in --- Plan ahead and label everything.

·       Set out and label all of the serving dishes --- Need I repeat?  It also makes it so someone else can actually be helpful in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day – not just in the kitchen and in the way.

·       Tuesday, I’ll do the baking – all the pies and quick breads.  The bread can wait until Thursday itself since it bakes in the bread machine and doesn’t tie up my oven.

·       Wednesday night, I’ll set the table.  Its nice to get up in the morning and be greeted by a lovely table all ready for Thanksgiving.  We’ll eat breakfast at the kitchen counter….. that’s why I got those stools anyway, isn’t it??

Countdown to Thanksgiving

 I’m moving into week three of the Thanksgiving countdown – and I’m more in the spirit of  Thankfulness than ever.  I’m feeling like the holiday will run smoothly this year (that might be wishful thinking – but the planning and preparation are at least good mental energy).  I’m continuing this week to focus myself on being aware of my blessings.  I remember a hymn from my childhood – count your blessings, see what God has done.  That’s the biggest part of the plan this week. 

·       Wash the tablecloth and the cloth napkins we use for Thanksgiving (they definitely haven’t been used since last year ) Make sure there are no stains or tears that will make me not want to use them. 

·       Beg my husband to sharpen the carving knife for the turkey.  I cannot stand that every man in my family seems to believe that five minutes before Thanksgiving dinner is the perfect time for this chore.  I remember watching my grandfather do this every year.  It was so predictable that it became a family joke.  My husband is in serious danger of carrying on the family tradition on this one.  And this is one tradition I could do without.

·       Clean out the fridge.  As I keep shopping, I’ll need the room—Its no fun to try to clean out the sticky gunk with one hand while balancing the fresh groceries with the other hand. I want to get the jump on this one before the fridge starts filling up too much.

·       Check the stores again – new week – new sale.  See what from my grocery list is on sale or free this week.

·       Burn a CD of gratitude music.  Yes, I’m really serious.  This is something I’ve wanted to do for years.  There are so many wonderful pieces of music that remind us to be thankful.  I want to gather a collection of some of my favorites and burn them to a CD as music for Thanksgiving dinner.  If you have ideas for me --- leave me a comment – I’m open to ideas.

·       Gather up my plastic leftover containers and match the lids to the containers.  My stash of plasticware is a mess.  Actually, it is well beyond a mess and has moved into complete chaos.  If I wait until I’m packing leftovers for the gang, I will never be able find lids to go with containers and I will end up frustrated and tense.  I prefer to feel grateful and appreciative --- matched lids and containers will move me in that direction (and will push my dear husband right over the edge into singing praises of thanksgiving – this is a bugaboo of his)

Countdown to Thanksgiving

 So – I survived last week’s start at getting ready for Thanksgiving.  Its amazing how just starting the process increases my sense of gratitude and awareness of just how much I am blessed.  So – as I continue my getting ready this week – I want to be very mindful and intentional about my preparation.  I want to focus on being thankful as a mental preparation while I’m going about the physical preparations.

·       Run the platters and special fall dishes through the dishwasher (some of them haven’t been out since last Thanksgiving – yuck)

·       Do a real serious cleaning of the house --- that way the next two weeks can be just minor cleaning to maintain that….

·       Call the salon and make an appointment for next week – I need a haircut before the holiday and if I don’t do it now, I’ll be cooking my turkey with a ratty hairband because my hair will be completely unworkable. 

·       Check out the stores for things on my grocery list that might be on sale this week. 

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Its time for my countdown to Thanksgiving!!  I love this holiday.  I love the fall and the decorating that goes with it.  I love the colored leaves, the pumpkins, and the nuts.  I love the spices and smells that go with Thanksgiivng.  I love the togetherness of family and friends.  And most of all, I love the awareness of gratitude that Thanksgiving gifts to us. 

So – its time to begin planning and getting ready.  Here’s my plan for this week:

·       Pick up some decorative pumpkins for the table (just little ones)

·       Grab one or two more potted mums – not sure where they’ll end up yet – but they always look terrific at Thanksgiving.

·       Count up who is coming --- and invite anyone I can think of who might not have a place to spend Thanksgiivng (I’m a believer that “the more the merrier” was meant for Thanksgiving.  I also believe that one of the ways in which we demonstrate our gratitude for our good fortune is sharing that with others – especially those who don’t have family and friends nearby with whom to celebrate)

·       Write down the menu and an accompanying shopping list.  A lot of the list will be on sale in the  next couple of weeks – and much of it will be free with coupons and rebates – I need to know what I need to take advantage of that. 

·       Check the spice cabinet – there’s nothing worse than going to make apple pie and discovering that you’re short on cinnamon.  I want to know NOW while I can still do something about it.

·       Make a list of what needs to be thoroughly cleaned or repaired around our house in order to be company ready --- this way we still have four weeks to get it done!

Stone Soup

We’re having a Stone Soup party at church this weekend. I’m really looking forward to it.  The menu is simple:  Stone Soup, bread, apple pie, and cheddar cheese.  Everyone is bringing something --- I’m just responsible to keep the broth boiling.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story of Stone Soup, here’s Wikipedia’s version of it: 

A kindly, old stranger was walking through the land when he came upon a village. As he entered, the villagers moved towards their homes locking doors and windows. The stranger smiled and asked, why are you all so frightened. I am a simple traveler, looking for a soft place to stay for the night and a warm place for a meal. "There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "We are weak and our children are starving. Better keep moving on." "Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you." He pulled an iron cauldron from his cloak, filled it with water, and began to build a fire under it. Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a silken bag and dropped it into the water. By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come out of their homes or watched from their windows. As the stranger sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips in anticipation, hunger began to overcome their fear. "Ahh," the stranger said to himself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage -- that's hard to beat." Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a small cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and added it to the pot. "Wonderful!!" cried the stranger. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king." The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . and so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for everyone in the village to share. The villager elder offered the stranger a great deal of money for the stone, but he refused to sell it and traveled on the next day. As he left, the stranger came upon a group of village children standing near the road. He gave the silken bag containing the stone to the youngest child, whispering to a group, that it was not the stone, but the villagers that had performed the magic."

As we thought about starting the season of harvest and Thanksgiving, this seemed to express the sentiments well.  We each bring the little we have, and together we can produce something wonderful and nourishing (for the body or the soul) 

Each person coming to the party is bringing something --- we won’t know what until they get there.  A carrot, a potato, some leeks, a few green beans.  Add it all to the boiling broth and bouquet garni and we should have a glorious vegetable soup to share.