Showing posts with label broccoli soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broccoli soup. Show all posts

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Weekend Hijinks....Not Very Hijinky


Is hijinky even a word? lol


My weekend has been low key and not fully what I had planned it to be.
Saturday was filled and we had ourselves an adventure, Hubs and I.


First off, we went to the Annual Church Auction down the road from us.  We go to this every year.
Besides the items you see(well you can see about 75% of the items)that people donate for this event, they auction off business donated gift certificates.  The gift certs. are mostly what I go for.  I bid on(and hopefully win!)certs. for local eateries & entertainment we go to, and services we use anyway(like car oil changes, pet boarding, etc.).  Spending some money now on gift certificates at less than full price, instead of paying full retail when we obtain the goods and services later, saves us a big chunk of change in the long run.

Here's a little video I made with all the certificates I won on Saturday.  I got quite a lot more certs this year than I usually win the bids on.
And forgive me when I keep saying this was FREE in the video.....I KNOW they weren't free as I did pay for them.  I just paid less now than I would have to pay otherwise at the store/business.
And the money goes to the church which makes me feel good.



I had a savings rate of 43% overall on what I spent vs. what I got.

*I really wanted that lamp in the photo for my new living room, but it went for something like $50(still less than retail at that)which was way over what I was willing to shell out of my pocket. ;-)

Then we headed over to KMart.
I had bought a folding camping table Saturday morning online before we left for the auction.
I need one for my shipping HQ(my online packages for eBay/Etsy) and for sewing(to cut fabric on)
since I no longer have a dining room table to do these things on.  And once I get a dining room table, we can always use a good portable banquet type table.
So I waited to get one that didn't fold in the middle at a sale price.


It was $39.99, $10 off.
I bought it online because I had a Get $5 off a $40 order coupon code so if I bought $45 in goods I got $5 off.
So I needed to add $5.01 in goods, which ended up being FREE with the coupon code.
I got diet fruity sodas for me and grape sodas for #2 Son.


Then we hit Weis PMITA Markets for some chicken deli meat for lunch sandwiches for me for the coming week and 2 Di Giorno's pizzas on sale for $5 and I had a $2/2 IPQ, making the pies $4 each.
Hubs made one for dinner Saturday and the other is for #2 Son to have some time this coming week for dinner or lunch, depending on his schedule.

Sunday isn't going nearly as well or as planned.
Judy and I were suppose to meet for lunch but she is too sick to make the trip to her sister's this weekend.
I guess it's all for the best since I woke up to my foot.....the good foot that didn't have the blood clot....very sore and not being able to put much weight on it.
Ugh.
If it isn't one thing, it's another, isn't it? 8-(

So we'll do the meet up/lunch date in a couple of weeks.
And no Judy, I am not bringing the giant zebra's ass with me to Denny's, just my own giant ass......



I think I strained a muscle on the right side of my foot because while the pizza was heating up Saturday evening, I went out into the yard to pick broccoli so I could make more Broccoli Soup.  The yard is sloped where I had to stand to cut the broccoli and I must have hurt my foot standing on that uneven ground.
Ugh again.
So there was no way I was getting into the car and driving to meet Judy today.
I've been hobbling around the house today trying to make that blasted Broccoli Soup and straighten things up a bit.  I've got to be well enough tomorrow since I have a 4 month checkup with my primary doctor Monday morning.  So after the soup is finished I am off the foot for the rest of the day.

So that's my thrilling weekend.
How has yours been?

Sluggy

Sunday, August 25, 2013

When Life Gives You Broccoli.......

....Cook it!

We came home from the Great Summer Road Trip of 2013 to find that our son had NOT even LOOKED at the Garden, let alone gone out into it and picked what had ripened.
In addition, our 4 little Broccoli plants had gone into production overdrive!
How nice......

If you watched my little garden tour video from Friday you saw all the broccoli that is coming in fast and furiously.

So Hubs took a really big knife and went out to hack off heads of broccoli Friday afternoon.  I came into the kitchen and found this camouflaging sitting on the stove......


3 large heads of broccoli.

Ok, genius Hubs, now that you've picked it, "I" have to come up with some ways to use this up before it goes bad.
Thanks babe!

And freezing it is not an option, with the little freezer space I still have since the new upright freezer died before I had it a month.....but let's not go there right now, ok?

So Friday night, along with the burgers we had steamed broccoli.

Saturday night we took a break from broccoli and used up the meat sauce I still had in the fridge from when Tanner was here, I had made to go with the ravioli.  We had tossed salad with garden cukes and toms with the rigatoni and meat sauce.

Today, Sunday, I took a package of rolled pie crusts that has been sitting in the fridge since July 4th week(Oldest had been sent to the store to buy 2 crusts and bought 2 PACKAGES instead)which needed to be used up.  I defrosted 1 full chicken breast as well.  Hubs went out this morning and bought me some Swiss cheese and half & half so I could make a couple of quiches.

I finely chopped an onion and sautéd it and 3 cups of broccoli in a pan with olive oil.....


Beat 8 eggs together.....


Sautéd the chicken breast in a little more olive oil, then sliced/chopped it up....


Put 4 cups of milk(or half & half) into a pot.  Added a double pinch each of sugar, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Then add 1/4 tsp. of pepper. 
Heated the milk mixture on medium low and slowly beat in the eggs, continuing to stir so it didn't  scald and stick to the bottom of the pot.


I grated Swiss Cheese(I also used a bit of Cheddar Cheese).....


Unrolled the pie crusts into pie pans and crimped the edges....


Added the broccoli/onion mixture....


Added the cooked chicken pieces.....


Arranged the cheese(s) ever so artfully in the pie pan.....


Ladled the egg/milk mixture into each pie pan until full and popped them into a 325 degree oven for 50 minutes.
I always use a cookie sheet or pizza pan under my quiche in case the liquid spills out so it doesn't coat the bottom of my oven and make my smoke detectors go off.....trust me, I know this......


Then when it's firm and done, I removed the quiches from the oven, cool and slice up and eat it.
If you let it sit a couple hours(or refrigerate it after cooling and then slice and reheat it)it will hold together better than if you try to cut it and serve it right out of the oven.
Trust me, I know this too......


I still have a mountain of Broccoli to use after 2 broccoli meals.
Monday I'll be making a Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

After that?
I'm thinking more steamed Broccoli, some raw Broccoli and dip and then I need to get my friend Marsha's Broccoli/Cheese Casserole recipe.

Because I looked out in the garden this afternoon and there are 6 MORE heads coming to a table near me soon!

Broccoli here has become what the Zucchini usually is.....the vegetable that just won't stop giving!

Do you have any awesome recipes using Broccoli?
Please share.....NOW!!! ;-)

Sluggy