Shelby

I was able to buy these online a few years ago. SO good. They were expensive and not many came in the package but still. I ate them plain just as a snack and added some to a salad.

Is that a cloud berry on the dessert? YUM

Ok, it's time that YOU get to pick where to eat! Don't make me come over there and yell at everyone!

Grocery store had gigantic bins of Hatch Chiles the other day. I sent Ronnie back to get a few pounds. I want more lol. Did a batch of pickled okra. I'll probably do one or two more batches. Our hunter friend loves this stuff.

I can't believe it's the middle of August already. It'll be dove season soon! I feel like hunting season just ended 🙃 These first several meals are during the era of Ronnie needing soft foods. He wanted a pork roast done in the slow cooker. It was like 108 F outside and smelling that roast all day was so off-putting to me. The things we do for love. I think I ate a carrot or two and that was it. Breakfast once again. I turned the pork into enchiladas --that's my plate with the chips. Hallelujah the last soft meal. He informed me that for the next two weeks we would be eating nothing but meat so I better get my spaghetti fix in now lol. BLT's--I was canning okra that day or else I would have baked bread. That is on the docket for today. The first meal with teeth Ronnie wanted steak. Neglected to get a picture but I also had him grill a couple of chicken breasts to use for a big salad so that was last night along with Vivian Howards' corn/okra/zucchini fritters Chocolate ice cream done in the ninja for dessert. Must make more today that's good stuff.

I'm not sure I could have passed up the root beer float for dessert!

Continuing to live on the sun--as are a lot of us this summer--and continuing to have problems with Ronnie's teeth. Hopefully after this appt. this morning and one more next week he will be all fixed up. It's getting challenging to come up with a variety of softish stuff he can eat. Fried fish and okra with Mac and cheese. I was lazy and just fried the okra whole rather than mess around with the smaller pieces. Spaghetti and meatballs with a salad. We usually eat a ton of salads this year and I hoped if I chopped everything up tiny that he could eat it, but he couldn't. Ribs that I did in the IP so the meat was very tender and our corn cut off the cob. Stuffed mushrooms and squash also. I skipped taking pictures of a few meals--our fridge died as some of you know and I was living out of a cooler in the living room. I am grateful that we could do that but it made cooking a challenge. Here is one, though. I had bought a bag of some kind of chicken curry from Misfits. Seemed like a good time to try it out. I was surprised at how good it was. Bok choy, rice and the ever present this time of year tomatoes (can't get enough of them) This meal was eaten about 9:30 pm after the wonderful fridge installers came. I quickly pan roasted a chicken breast, made fries and cut up a tomato. Used the leftover chicken to make enchiladas. Deconstructed Mexican street corn and beans on the side. Peach/cherry/strawberry galette for dessert Spaghetti red with steamed tamales from the IP More roasted chicken with @Mmmpompspotatoes and corn/okra/squash fritters from Deep Run Roots And finally I've been craving pizza but Ronnie can't do that so I got creative and made sort of a calzone thing with puff pastry. I was wary but it was pretty good. Even the leftovers weren't bad. Tuna ranch pasta salad to go with.

Well you showed him! 🤣 Glad to see you!

I did. I have two on my countertop and a new one in the box in the basement. I love my CSOs.

I agree about the Anova....I feel like the simpler the machine, the less that can go wrong.

I've not had that happen but Amazon does still sell them

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday: bribery works. In a last desperate act I called the appliance store yesterday morning. I felt really weird about doing it....nervous actually...but I did it. I told the woman that answered that I felt like a criminal asking this which started her laughing. I offered $100 each to the two people who would be delivering the fridge if they wanted to deliver before or after hours or over the weekend as long as it was before Monday. She said her son (who is 17 and works there) would probably jump at that and told me she'd call back. An hour later I got the wonderful call that they would be out yesterday evening!!!! REALLY nice guys. Knew exactly what they were doing, polite, personable. It was so hot and I knew they were tired but they acted like I was their first customer of the day. Took my old piece of crap out and got the new one all set up. Got here about 5:30 and were done by about 7:30. We have a fridge!!! And it works!!! (so far) Save a bit by buying a scratch and dent. I don't care as long as it works! Look now because even though I want to try, I bet it doesn't stay this organized lol. I have more to transfer to the freezer but seeing how it feels like 108F right now, that's not happening.

All I can say is that the skin messes with the perfectness of homegrown tomatoes. My great gramma, my grammy and my mom peel (ed) them and thus, so do I. I don't like wads of skin. UGH.

We thought about that but it's very hard to find around here and the regular ice is closer.

Absolutely. I was just trying to be fake positive 🤣

UGH I feel your pain. No, we have to go to a gas station and keep buying bags every day.

It sure does 😳 There is a gas station about 10 mins away. We've done 4 huge bags so far. Makes me wish we had a free standing ice maker of some sort but it probably wouldn't make enough......

If only you sold fridges!!! 🤣 It's been a really good work-out trying to fit all of the freezer stuff in the other freezers and then into my new, awesome fridge lol. I shouldn't complain. I'm blessed to have more freezers and this big ass cooler.

Wine helps. It's been so much work. I'm thrilled it decided to fail in late July. Perfect timing. I tried everything to get someone out here to look at it (after spending most of yesterday doing all the things that the internet suggested and becoming completely sweaty and filled with dirt). Talked to the guy that we buy all of our appliances from today and he thinks it's a freon leak which isn't worth trying to fix. I bought a fridge from him sight unseen (I've done that twice with freezers from him). It sounds very similar to the one I have now except it works. It's a scratch and dent so I feel like I got a good deal. One year parts and labor warranty. It's been plugged in and running at his showroom. He delivers and takes the old one away which is a blessing out here. But, as hard as I tried, begged, offered him most anything, they can't deliver and install until sometime on Monday. *pouring more wine*

Just think if you knew me in person.

Behold my new fridge It's the newest thing. Minimalistic, rustic, saves energy (although not the human kind). I need to make an Instagram account. I'm sure I'll go viral. Boho chic living in the country. Look how just this throw makes it even chicer.

BUT FIRST YOU MUST PEEL THE TOMATOES

It makes me sad because it means you guys were a hell of a lot smarter than I was with the under the plate method

My dreaded foods were roast and steak. I once hid all of my bites of steak under the rim of my plate. What a dumb thing to do--what did I think was going to happen when the table was cleared.🤣

I pan roasted a couple of chicken breasts a few days ago so I'd have something to make a few meals out of. One was chicken sandwiches The next night was chicken enchiladas and our first pick of garden corn. SO good. Ronnie said he's never seen anyone eat an ear of corn as fast as I did🙃. I probably shouldn't have shared that. Peach and cherry galette for dessert As of yesterday we are back to Ronnie having mouth problems again so I have to get creative with softer type meals. Breakfast is an easy one. I am biscuit making challenged as you all know and I didn't have any frozen ones. I remembered a recipe I wanted to try--maybe everyone here has already heard of it but it's new to me. It's one of those that you think "this might be an epic failure or the greatest thing ever" lol. Butter Swim Biscuits OMG so easy. They aren't exactly like regular biscuits but they are good and close enough for me! So breakfast with biscuits and gravy it was.