Tasty Tuesday - Menus - Salmon Loaf Recipe

Most homemaking and Mom blogs have Menu Mondays. I'm always a day late and a dollar short so I am having Tasty Tuesdays - at least I'm hoping the meals will be tasty. (:-) Usually I can get by with planning only 3 or 4 menus for the week as there are just my husband and myself here.  This week my daughter and granddaughter are here so things are a little different.
Here is the plan..........

Tonight:  Salmon Loaf with Bechamel Sauce/Rice/Orange-Glazed Carrots/Tossed Salad

Wednesday:  We're eating out.

Thursday:  Beef and Potato Casserole/Sauteed Cabbage
         
Friday:  Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole/Broccoli

Saturday:  Sauer Kraut/Pork Chops/Baked Sweet Potatoes

Sunday:   Baked Beans for Square Dance Club picnic

Monday:  I'm winging it!

Salmon Loaf with Bechamel Sauce
1 can (12 oz) salmon ; drained with bones crushed and skin removed
6 oz. buttermilk (see below for substitution)
1/2 cup cracker crumbs  (12 saltine cracker squares)
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons parsley flakes

Bechamel Sauce
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons margarine or butter

I usually start by draining the salmon, putting it in the bowl, removing the black skin, and crushing the bones with my fingers. They are a good source of calcium. Then I add the other ingredients, mix them well and pour it all into a greased loaf pan or corningware.  Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Béchamel Sauce:  Combine milk, flour, salt, pepper, mustard, and brown sugar. Beat with wire whip until smooth.  Add 3 Tbsp. margarine. (Actually, I only add 1 1/2 Tbsp.) Cook, stirring, until thickened. Serve over the salmon loaf.

This is an old recipe that I have made for years.  It's good and inexpensive. If you do not keep buttermilk on hand, here is a good substitution .

My Sewing Closet

In the early years of my marriage, I had a sewing machine set in a simple cabinet. Over the years I sewed with that machine in our family room, in the dining room, or in our bedroom in the various houses where we lived.  There was always a sewing mess in those rooms.

After my last child left home, we decided to use one of our bedrooms as a computer and sewing room.  My husband has a long desk and several file cabinets on one side of the room, and I have a smaller desk on the other side.  Not much room was left for sewing.

My husband bought a new, computerized, portable sewing machine for me, and after seeing in a magazine an idea for converting a closet into a sewing space, I decided to have a shelf with a fold out extension built in the closet in that room.  My handy husband put up other shelves and lights inside the closet. It works pretty good - not as much room as I would love to have but at least I can fold up the extension and close off the mess.

Now.........if I could just figure out what to do with all the mess important stuff my husband leaves needs to keep around his computer!

 

Closet closed

 

Closet with the extension folded up

Extension down with machine set up for sewing

Fabric shelves at the top of closet

Thrifting and Firefox

I had always used Internet Explorer for my browser.  Recently, mostly from curiosity, I switched to Firefox after reading a little about it on the internet.  I had been having trouble with my internet connection flipping in and out.  My husband and I could not figure out the cause - especially since he was not having any problems with his computer.  Surprisingly, after I switched to Firefox I had no more problems...........Don't know if that information will be useful to anyone.  Probably everyone else already knows it!

This post needs some photos so here are the last of my recent thrifting at estate sales
.

A pretty little basket for $1.00

A bowl with a rose pattern for 50 cents. 

And a turkey basket for 50 cents.

Did I need them?  No, but they were cute and a bargain!

Website for Wednesday

I have noticed that a lot of bloggers have a "Wordless Wednesday" on which they usually post a photograph or something.  I have decided to have a "Website Wednesday".

I love to surf the web and this will give me an opportunity to share some of my finds.   Sooo------today's Website Wednesday is a tutorial for making a reusable Swiffer duster on the blog "Sew Much Ado".

I like to use those dusters, but I hate buying disposable refills. I hope you find this useful.

Menus and Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Well, today is Tuesday and though I am feeling unenthusiastic about it, I do need to figure out what we are going to eat for the next few days. Here is my list:

Tuesday 

1. Fried Catfish ( which my husband loves - I try not to use much oil)
2. Grits (a good southern dish)
3. Cole Slaw ( to use up cabbage left after last week's stir fry and sauteed cabbage)

Wednesday

Out with friends 

 Thursday and Friday

1. Taco Soup (something new - should be enough to feed 2 people 2 days)
2. Tossed Salad (if I am feeling ambitious)

Saturday 

1. Pot Roast/Carrots/Potatoes (I think I have had this Pot Roast on the last two week's menu, but somehow I haven't cooked it yet - maybe this week??)
2. Green Veggie (whatever I decide from the freezer)

Sunday

Easter Dinner at My Son's and Daughter-in-law's House (Thank Heavens! :)

1. Sour Cream Pound Cake 
2. Strawberries and Cool Whip
3. Brownies (or some kind of cookies for the small grandchildren)

Now off to the grocery store......What fun!! :(

Though I don't like grocery shopping, I don't mind cooking too much.  Here is an easy and inexpensive recipe that I used last week.  This one is on my favorites list and it serves 5-6 people.

Chicken Stir Fry    
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 whole chicken breast boned, skinned, and cut into 3/4 in. cubes
4 carrots, sliced
2 cups chopped broccoli
     (I use frozen broccoli florets)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 med. onion sliced
2 clove garlic minced (opt.)
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 cup coarsely chopped cabbage
2 cup water
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sliced celery (about 2 stalks)

I usually chop everything first. That takes the most time.  Everything else is quick and easy.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry till pieces turn white. Remove from pan. Add 1 Tbsp. oil to wok and stir fry carrots 3 min. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, broccoli, celery, onion, garlic, and ginger. Stir fry 3-4 min. until vegetables are crisp tender. Add chicken and cabbage. Stir-fry until cabbage softens slightly.

Mix water, cornstarch, soy sauce, and bouillon cube and add to wok. Actually, the original recipe called for less water and cornstarch than I use, but we like a lot of sauce with it.Bring to a boil and simmer 1 min. You may add peanuts or cashews (opt.). These really add to it, but I don't always have them. 

We like extra soy sauce with it, and I usually just serve it with chilled Mandarin Oranges from a can.  Cucumbers and Tomatoes with Vinegar and Oil would be nice also.

Starting Another Scrapbook

I have changed my template.  I need to get some graphics..............

My husband was 3 years old when his father died of a ruptured appendix and peritonitis. We have a couple of old scrapbooks that he kept.  He had a good voice and sang in the Atlanta Light Opera for a few seasons.  He also sang in a chorus in the Metropolitan Opera in New York.  In one scrapbook are programs and newspaper clippings about the performances including pictures of him.  In the other scrapbook are pages of photos of girls he knew (I don't know why my mother-in-law let him keep those though probably most of them were in the productions he sang in). 

I have been planning some time to make a scrapbook of these things, some letters that he wrote, some old photos, etc.  I finally got started yesterday.

The things that he had saved were just glued into the old scrapbook.  Some were already loose, but many were not.  My husband gently ran warm water over them and most of them came off pretty well.  A few had some tears.  I plan to scan them all.  This is going to take some time


He was a handsome man.

 

You can see what I have to work with.

The photo in the middle is Irene Dunn.  I don't know for sure if she is the famous Irene Dunne, but after checking her biography on the net, I believe she was. She was born a Dunn but later added the "e" to her name. She was in several of the operas that he was in.

Blog Reading

I've been sitting at this computer for two hours this morning. My mind feels over whelmed.  I've been blog reading - mainly reseaching info on writing blogs.  Or at least that is how I started out.  There is so much information.  I bounce from one site to another......and get further and further lost in internet land.  I have got to find a better way to spend less time looking for what I want.  I do have my booksmarks categorized in folders, but there are so many of them.

Recently, I have started using Stumble Upon (just for entertainment - not for searching - well, maybe for searching what other blogs look like).  I highly recommend this if you are looking for interesting sites to read.  There are really some unusual blogs out there.

I said all that to say this:  Here is a good article about how to find a niche in blogging that I ran across in my wanderings around the internet this morning.  You need to scroll down the page to find it.

Have a great day!

Recipe Book - And A New Follower

I have a new follower!! Thanks very much to The Older Geek.  She sounds like an amazing woman.  A mother of 4 teenagers, she writes a LONG list of blogs with current and very interesting content - one of which is about how she did the electrical wiring in her home. Her posts on blogging are written very clearly and are most helpful.

I seem to be thinking about things in the kitchen a lot this week - especially my recipes.  I have this idea that I want to make a "Mama"s Recipe Book using all of my old recipes.  I'm talking about sort of a Heritage Cookbook, I guess, with pictures and a few stories here and there.

I have all of my recipes organized on my computer.  I've used different formats for them over the years - made a couple of notebooks for them.  A few years back I decided I wanted to go back to 4x6 cards.  Now I have decided to print them and put them back into a notebook - mainly to organize them better.  I can use the pictures of them that I am using on this blog.

I have a recipe program called Big Oven that I have used for a long time.  It is very easy to import recipes from the web into this program.  It makes shopping lists and has menu planning capbilities.

How to really go about this is not really clear to me yet. Maybe as a scrapbook??

Does anyone out there have any suggestions??

Kitchen Tips

I would like to share with you my very best kitchen tip.

Before beginning any meal preparation, always fill the sink with hot, soapy water - yes, even if you have a dishwasher! You can rinse your hands off quickly, wash a bowl or utensil if you need it again, and put cooking equipment in to soak until clean-up time. I'm sure nobody ever thought of this except me. :) 

Also, here is an organizing idea I use in my kitchen for my spices.  I place them in alphbetical order in plastic trays (the kind that are usually used in drawers, but any will do).

Then I use my trusty labler to put labels on the top so that when I take them off the shelf I can see immediately what is in each container.When I empty a container, the label peels off easily and usually has enough stickum to use on the new spice top.

Here is my labeler.  I really like it - use it for all kinds   of things.  Of course, any label method will work.