A New Ingredient

Yummy herb!

I discovered a new ingredient today. Not that I have not used this spice in the past (usually in tuna!) but today I was told how good it is with beef. I had never imagined putting it on beef!

So, what is this new ingredient? Why, it’s dill, sometimes known as dill weed. I noticed one of our good cooks making a beef roast, and he had liberally sprinkled dill on it. Hmmmmm…not my usual spice, but interesting.

He also salted, peppered, onioned, and garliced the roast. Then, when he has browned it in the oven, stuck three cloves of garlic down into it. He promised me a piece, but I had to leave before it was done cooking. I’m kind of hoping that he saves me a piece for lunch tomorrow! Oh, who am I kidding? It will be breakfast!!!

Not the roast, but you get the idea!

I then talked to a coworker of mine, who told me of a pot roast that he made with dill. It also called for sour cream to make a gravy. Um, a napkin please for the drool?!!! I can see I’m going to have to try this out, and not just in tuna!

What do you think? For what do you use dill? Do you use it in beef dishes? Am I the only one living under a rock?! 😊. Please tell me I’m not in the comments below!

Deeeeep Thoughts

Deep Thoughts

Does anyone else remember the segment on Saturday Night Live entitled “Deep Thoughts”? I remember this segment fondly, though it seems few others do.

It was a nonsensical segment with quotes from Jack Handy (Oh my goodness! I just got that joke!!!) relating to life in all its strangeness.

The one that’s coming to mind tonight was about how parents should talk nonsense to their children so that they have no idea how to speak the English language! As a teen I thought this was hysterically funny! As an adult, I can see the mean side of it, and though I would never do that to my kids (they’re too old for it anyway! 😁) it is slightly less funny now.

I struggle to see humor in many things that I used to think were great. Is this a normal part of aging? Am I destined to be a stick in the mud?

I find it harder and harder to get a huge belly laugh from the world around me. When did everything get so serious? When did I get (horrors!)…old?

Maybe I’m just in a funk. My doctor has been adjusting a med for me and it did not go well. So, here I am, bellylaughless, feeling ill, not to mention sad. Oh, yeah, I have a funeral to go to tomorrow! And one of my favorite people from work got a new job. 😭😭😭. What can I say? It’s been a crappy week. Here’s hoping next week is much better!

Spring is here!

At least spring has finally sprung and the flowers are budding. Yay!

A Funny Thing Happened in the Living Room

Hi! I’m Delilah and super cute. I’m not weird at all, just always on the move as you can tell from my blurry picture!

I just had to blog about what happened in our living room earlier this evening. If you don’t know us well, I will tell you a little secret…we are all funny and we tend to bounce off each other.

So, Child #2 is sitting in the living room chair with my pup, Delilah. Child #4 is sitting at one end of the sofa with her pup, Lulu. I am at the other end of the sofa with Ducky sitting up next to me. Child #3 is around the corner on the computer.

Hi! I’m Lulu. I’m adorable and I run this place!

Child #2 comments that Delilah is such a weird dog, just as I look up to see what she’s talking about, Ducky starts snapping at the air and trying to eat it! I burst out laughing, as Duck tends to make us do. I’m like “Really? Delilah’s the weird one when Child #4’s dog is trying to eat the air?”

Hi! I’m Ducky and I like to eat strange things – even ones that aren’t really there!

We all burst out laughing as Ducky continued his air-eating quest. No wonder we call him our court jester!!!

Chicken Ooh La La!

Looks yummy, right? No leftovers here!

We had this for dinner tonight. It was so delicious. Everyone agreed! If you are familiar with us, you know that is quite a feat! Though I do have a heads up: you will need some time for your chicken to marinate, so you might want to do that part the night before, like I did. You could also do it the morning of.

It started with a bottle of Italian salad dressing that I found on clearance. It was Newman’s Own, which is a brand that I like. I decided to buy it to marinate some chicken breast. Yum!

Here is what you will need:

Gf nonstick cooking spray

One bottle of your favorite gf Italian dressing

4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast

7 medium red potatoes

1, 12 oz. bag of frozen green beans

1 stick butter, sliced into 16 or so pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Take the packages of chicken breast, totalling about 4 pounds, and place them in a gallon storage bag. Pour in the dressing. Place in the fridge to marinate overnight, or morning thereof to be cooked that night.

In the late afternoon of the day you are cooking this meal, wash your red potatoes and dice them into 1/2 inch by 1 inch chunks. Place them on your foiled and gf nonstick cooking sprayed pan. Then add the package of frozen green beans. Top this with butter, salt, and pepper.

Potatoes and beans with salt, pepper, and butter. Yum! Can’t wait!

Place the marinated chicken breasts on top of the potatoes and beans and pour the extra marinade on top. Seal the foil over the chicken, potatoes, and beans and cook for one hour and ten minutes at 350° F. Enjoy!

Does Your Pepper Like Steak?

The ultimate comfort food!

Ah, pepper steak, that good old standby. What? I’ve never shared the recipe with you? Well, forty lashes with uncooked rice! I’d use a wet noodle, but this recipe doesn’t call for any!!!!

So, what will you need? Here’s the list:

1.5 lbs lean round steak

2 tsp. granulated onion

1, 12 oz. bag of frozen peppers and onions (You could use fresh if you’d like, but I was putting this together at 8:15 am before I left for work at the shelter. Child #2 put it in the oven for me so that we could eat at a reasonable hour!)

1.5 cups of white regular rice (such as basmati or jasmine)

1, 30 oz. can of tomato sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Your favorite gf non-stick cooking spray

9″ x 13″ pan, with a sheet of foil to protect it and come up over the sides to cover the dish.

Spray your foil-wrapped 9″ x 13″ pan. Place round steak in pan. Sprinkle with granulated onion and salt and pepper to taste. Add rice and peppers on top of the steak and top with tomato sauce. Add 1/2 cup water to tomato sauce can to rinse out remnants of the sauce and dump in with the steak. Sprinkle red wine vinegar over the top.

Almost ready for the oven! Just need the tomato sauce and red wine vinegar! Yum!!

Seal the foil and bake at 350°F for 2 – 2.5 hours until meat can easily be pulled apart. Enjoy!

Mmmmhmmmm…

I Walked Along a Winding Road

I walk along the winding road

I cannot see the end

This road is like my life, I think,

I can’t see ’round the bend.

Life is like that winding road,

All valleys, rocks, and hills.

Who are we to know the path

That leads ’round the wondering rills?

Some day our roads will come to end

And what will we have seen?

A million views, a passing cruise,

Of what really might have been.

It Sucks to be Sick

Nooooooooooo!

It sucks to be sick,

Here on the couch

Sniffling, sneezing

Like a tossed away pouch.

My head gets to aching

And I feel as I’m breaking

Spinning, spinning the room goes round

Who put me on this merry-go-round?

It could be much worse

I could be out in the cold

Suffering suffering

Surrounded by mold

I am warm in my bed

Though be it a couch

Softness surrounds me

A place for my head.

I don’t feel so good. Can I stay home? YES!

This is a tribute to all the people who keep their kids home from school when they are sick. Apparently, some parent didn’t feel the need for such precautions at my kid’s school and so she brought it home to us. Thank you for that.

Please be considerate of those around you and if you don’t feel well, stay home! Did COVID teach us nothing?!!! Thanks for listening to my rant!