Week-End Wrap Up

I'm sick. 

We're off track, but not that far.

Hope your weekend looks better than mine.

Mid-Week Update (TPE)

Items used from pantry – week of 12/31

·         1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

·         2 cans cream of chicken soup, Hashbrown Casserole

·         White onions gone, black eyed peas

·         The rest of the bag of Tortilla chips

Mid-week update:  Well, it the official third day of “The Pantry Experiment”, and so far, we’re doing ok!  No complaining – from me or anyone else…so far!  In fact, I was even able to make a bonus item – a Hashbrown Casserole.   One for breakfast on New Year’s Day, and one for the freezer!  I EVEN got a little creative with one ingredient – the sour cream.  I only had about ¾ of a 16 oz. container, so I substituted the other ¼ portion with plain yogurt…and, it was good!  Check me out!

In addition to the bonus item, I also shared a portion of our NYE black eyed peas with a neighbor.   So that’s a bonus on top of a bonus!   I suppose I should also probably tell you that we spent part of New Year’s Day among friends at a Bowl Game watching party, so I did get a pass on last night’s dinner.  So, it looks, in the grand scheme of things, that I’m about even at this point – I didn’t get a dinner out of our pantry last night…but…I did get a breakfast out of the Hashbrown Casserole.

On revised menu for dinner tonight, Turkey Bacon Ranch Wraps (doing last night’s dinner tonight).  I even had some tortilla chips in the pantry that we ate with our wraps.  We finished the bag off!  Overall, it was really good – AND – J even ate ¾ of his wrap and liked it!  AM had her own thing going tonight…which, you will come to learn is about par for the course with her.

I’ll have to revise the week’s menu list – I’m probably going to take the Southwest chili out of the rotation.  It can wait until later…and who knows what will happen later on.  I think I’ll just save it in case I need it in a pinch!

Also, I posted this the other day Southern States Translations, A Reference Guide.  I will continue to write additional content as we go along.  It is my hope that, once I am finished with The Pantry Experiment, I will continue to provide you with content about …well….whatever I want.   I find writing to be quite cathartic – the perfect antidote to the thoughts that ping around in my head…all the time!  The easiest topic for me to write about is my family – they really do provide plenty of color to my life.  And, I love it!

So, stick with me – I hope I say something, at some point that resonates with you.  And, until next time, I hope all goes well!

Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients

·         1 lb frozen hash browns, thawed

·         4 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

·         16 oz container sour cream

·         1 cup frozen onions

·         2 10.5 oz cans cream of chicken soup

·         1 tsp black pepper

·         Potato chips, plain

·         Half a stick of butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, add thawed hash browns, cheddar cheese, sour cream, onions, cream of chicken soup and black pepper.  Mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated.

Transfer ingredients into a casserole dish.  I use (2) 8 X 8 disposable foil pans because I know that I will probably use one immediately, and freeze one for later*.

Topping:
Add potato chips to large plastic food storage bag.  Crunch.  You will want to get about 2 cups of crunched chips. 

Melt butter in a microwave safe container.

Add butter to chips in food storage bag.  Mix to coat chips.

Set topping aside.

Place your casserole in the preheated oven.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Carefully add the topping to the casserole and finish baking;  about 15 more minutes.

Check casserole – your oven may cook differently, and you don’t want to burn the chips.

Serve and enjoy!

*If you are freezing your casserole(s) – do not add topping.  Cover your pans with aluminum foil, and label.  Don’t forget to add the date.

Southern States Translations, A Reference Guide

I love living in the South.   We have our own way of life down here accented by hospitality and a slow, deliberate way of enjoying life.   The classic images of moonlight and magnolias, wisteria and jasmine….they are all perfectly fitting.   Add a front porch, a hot summer day, and some sweet tea to the equation, and you have the perfect mix of “Southernology”. 

We also have our very own special way of speaking and interacting with each other, too.  In case you need a little help understanding us, here is a general reference guide:

·         “Goodness Gracious”! – awww, that’s too bad (…for you…).

·         “Goodness Graaycious”! – you really should have known better

·         “Bless your heart” – when combined with “goodness graaycious” this means you really should have known better, but obviously you don’t.  “Bless your heart” = pity.  Sometimes this is sincere, sometimes it’s not.  If you ever receive an insincere “bless your heart” (and, yes, you will know), it's bad news.  And, sincerely, bless your heart. (see what I did there?)

·         “Ohhhhh, that’s so cuuuute”- no it’s not - the key is to listen for the exaggerated vowels.  You should go home and re-think your entire life philosophy starting with your wardrobe.  Don’t leave the house until you’re done thinking everything through.  It may also help if you make a list of all of your questionable choices.  Start with college.

·         “I swear to God”! – get out of the way because stuff is about to get REAL.  You may even want to say a quick prayer for yourself because God has, indeed, been summoned.

·         A conversation between two women:  Woman 1: “Did you hear…?”  Woman 2:  Nods head and purses lips, “I sure did…” – someone did something that is too heinous to even say out loud.  These women just had an entire conversation - non-verbally, in a split second - about someone (probably another woman) in which they fully discussed the understood transgression, judged “the culprit” two ways to Sunday, while simultaneously deciding to remove said culprit from their Christmas card list…permanently…

·         Speaking of “heinous” – this can be interchanged with “hideous”.  If your name is ever mentioned in the same sentence as either “heinous” or “hideous”, you should move.  I hear San Diego has beautiful year-round weather.

·         “Isn’t that sweet”? – this can either be sincere, or it can be a passive-aggressive verbal assault.  Either way, you’re on your own with this one.  Good luck.

·         “DAMN IT!” – if you got a Southern woman to cuss – move.  Out of state. Immediately.  I also hear San Diego has pretty beaches.  Be sure to take your sun screen.

·         “Heyyallhowyadoin?” – this needs interpretation?