My husband Doug left for a business trip Sunday, and he’s dining at ritzy restaurants in Vegas, Facebragging about his expensive dinners, some plated up by Gordon Ramsey’s chefs.
For me, this is the year of the stuffed vegetable for the freezer. I’ve made stuffed eggplant, red bell pepper, zucchini, and spaghetti squash. After buying a 42 pound box of Russet potatoes, I decided potatoes were next.
With all these potatoes (not including the 50 pound bag of smaller potatoes I bought) there was the usual freezing of the fries and mashed potatoes, making hash browns for the freezer/dehydrator, canning potatoes, and making baked potato soup. I also freeze potatoes in chunks and diced. I branched out this time and made stuffed baked potatoes, but with a twist.
Has your kitchen been a mess this week with wayward ribbions of cabbage flying through the air? I bought seven heads of cabbage because, at 79 cents a head, it’s stock-up time. I dehydrated two heads, made sauerkraut with three more, and freezer slaw with another. With the seventh head, I made this tasty casserole that your kids will love.
So, I’m still stuck in a wheelchair for another month, and we have many dinners being brought to our house by friends and church family. On the weekends, I have my husband to help at dinnertime, so I’ve made a few things. The easiest thing I’ve made so far, and the most delicious, has been a slow cooker French dip roast, smothered in soft, sweet onions and swimming in a savory juice. Seriously, if I can put this together balancing on one leg, you can do it even faster on two.
Shepherd’s Pie
My adrenaline was rushing. I charged in with a mission, my eyes darting around to find my prize. With my luck, there would have been a run on what I so desperately wanted. But there they were – – a beautiful stack of 10 pound bags of potatoes. The stock clerk was even there piling on more and more, making a glorious tower. These weren’t your average bags of russets – – they were 10 pound bags of russets for 69 cents each. I snatched two bags and a 1 1/2 pounds of green beans on a major sale too. I go to check out and the cashier said, “That will be $2.33.” That was for 20 pounds of potatoes and 1 1/2 pounds of green beans. I came. I conquered. Oh, yeah. [click to continue…]
