G H I

Good Day!  It's time to work on our evening meal---let's take these letters of the alphabet to plan our eats.

G = Grits!  Yes, It's time for some Southern grits!  Grits with Shrimp!  Definitely, a delicious dish for brunch or dinner.  What are grits?  Grits is nothing but corn; corn ground into grits; doesn't matter if it's white or yellow--you can purchase grits either instant, regular or old fashion.  I prefer regular grits cooked with cream.  I begin the grits with water, stir, stir, stir, stir continuously!  adding cream as needed.  This makes the grits smooth and creamy!  

Okay, now, add cheese, bacon and anything else that would add to the grits tastiness. 

H = Havati Cheese will be the one I add to my grits.  Havarti has a mild flavor similar to a Monterey Jack. Slightly acidic, the taste is buttery and ranges from somewhat sweet to very sweet. It often appears on sandwiches, in fondue and on salads.

I = Iced Tea  Yes!  That's a good meal!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth divided
• 2 cups whole milk or cream
• 4 tablespoons butter divided
• 3/4 cup stone-ground grits
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
• 4 strips bacon (or 2-3 thick-cut slices)
• 1 lb. jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
• kosher salt to taste

FINISHED!!

FINISHED!! Completed!  Ended! Terminated!! Closed!!

Fulfilled!! Stuck it out!  Polished it off!!

There are some times, finished just doesn’t mean what you want it to mean!  Yes!!  Finally, these socks were cast off the needles.  Why didn’t it feel like a winner?  Loved the pattern—yes!  Didn’t love the yarn.  It was what was on hand, had to be used though. 

It is what it is.

Close up view—

Here is whole top, quilted and bound.  It lingered for many moons before it found its way to completeness.  All the turkey pin feathers were donation from friend.  She didn’t know what to do with them so they became her orphans in my top. 

Another bobbin filled with plied cotton.  If only this bobbin could be self wound into a ball without my interference 

And, to the Lent scarf—thank you!  For bringing my hands and mind to several prayers of penance.  

F=fortified 

Eclipse

Our little town was on the path of totality!  Warnings of crowds swelling in our vicinity have been on going for weeks.  

How did we prepare?

We planned a block party—not traveling anywhere.  We gathered food week before, neighbors brought their favorite dishes—eclipse worthy!  

I made midnight pasta salad, funeral potatoes, blinded deviled eggs—and chicken rolled in darkness for the grill. 

For the fun part—we did wine pairing!!

 

Dash Away

Were you one of many that jumped on the Chaffee craze?  I admit—I was one!!  I had one (now,  I have 3) of those little Chaffee makers—it was a quick way to make a low carb breakfast or snack.  And recipes!! Oh my!! So many things you could add to make your little Chaffee!!!

Awhile back, Costco had this Dash maker—I couldn’t miss out on this!!  

Just look!! How many interchangeable plates are included—WOW!  Such cool designs! And—it would be easy to put in dishwasher or hand wash!

Love it!! Dashed to Costco to purchase the super duper Dash!  Of course, you don’t need one of these little makers to satisfy your Chaffee cravings.  The recipes work just as well in a regular waffle maker or even as pancakes. 

Need recipes to make on your Dash?  Here goes…………

But, doesn’t the Dash make such cute chaffles! 

 

Crusty Hot Cuban—Sandwich!!

 The Cuban sandwich, better known as a Cubano, begins with soft, slightly sweet Cuban bread. Heaps of heavily seasoned pork roast and sliced ham alternating between layers of Swiss cheese and sour pickles. The sandwich is cemented together with yellow mustard and a garlic butter schmear.

So, there was leftover roasted pork; decided to make something different with leftovers!  We don’t need to do bbq pork or pulled pork sandwiches, Brilliant idea, my brain said!  The ingredients, as listed above, were not so much in my brain when I went grocery shopping—

Our Cuban contained roast pork, ham, cheese (not Swiss but jalapeño cheese), Famous Dave’s pickles( not sour pickles), spread of yellow mustard, forgot the garlicky butter spread, not on sweet Cuban bread but small crusty bread, heated in oven instead of paninis maker.

So, is it still a Cuban sandwich?

Tasted good anyways! 

Books, Booze, Bluebonnets

 Books, books, books!  Oh how I love books!!  Any genre! Oh yes, I have some favorite authors!  But, give me a good book and I’m happy! 

Interesting read!  Only read in afternoon—not a night time, before bed kind of book.  Descriptive of brutal killings and harsh treatment of people.  But, that’s the way it was.

Okay read

I’ve read several of her books—The Housemaid, Housemaid’s Secret—all have interesting twists

Supernatural ghost story, if you like that kind of story

Just recently received these two books from brown headed daughter—given her stamp of approval!  

I love her notes!!

The only problem with these thick heavy books, while reading in bed, if you happen to fall asleep while reading, that heavy book falls on your face and scares the dickens out of you!!

We sip on our booze as we read.  On our recent trip, we passed thru Kentucky bourbon country.  Well, of course, we had to make a few stops—sipping bourbon is a “thing”!  

Now, admire bluebonnets!

Apps, Apples, Alphabets

 

Today begins bloggers’ month long challenge—A to Z.  What does this mean?  Bloggers can take the challenge anyway they mean.  It could be taking one topic and dissecting it piece by piece to write about it.  Or it can mean to take one subject at a time. 

I really don’t have a certain topic to dissect each day—I’m taking the challenge to blog about letters of alphabet.  Thus begins this day with letter of A. 

It is after all April Fool’s! Which fits perfectly beginning with A. 

The last few days, I’ve been experimenting with Apps—some are good, while some are costly, others pop with ads, hence making them free.  I highly recommend this app—Merlin Bird ID.

I was amazed how the app picked up the bird song amongst all outside sounds and identified the bird!  A walk in the woods would be great with this app—it picks up every bird it hears. 

Ohh, so many apps!  There is the Star gazing app—Up Ahead app, audio tour through various national parks; song apps, knitting apps, game apps, book apps—how did we ever live our lives without apps? 

Now, let’s discuss apples!

Take your pick!  Such a variety all year long.  My mother-in-law always said “an apple a day keeps the doctor away!”   

She would buy a bushel of apples in the fall, keep them in the basement to have her apple a day!  She lived to be 95!  

There you have today’s A—see you later for B