In My Home This Week: January 17-23

This week in my home...

I've just finished flipping through a magazine from January 1937.  Lots of advertisements for Canned Pineapple and lots of suggestions on how to use it.  One author suggested taking spears of pineapple (saw an advertisement so you could certainly buy them cut in that way) rolled in brown sugar and then tucked into pie crust and sealed well, then baked.  Or what about doing a twice baked Sweet Potato and adding crushed pineapple to the mashed filling?  They topped pork chops with pineapple and served it with ham. Pineapple rings placed in a pan and meatloaf packed in on top?  I think this one would be really good with a ham loaf!  Another dessert suggestion is to put ice cream between angel food cake slices (or a cut cupcake) and then top with crushed pineapple.  A Pineapple Egg Nog is suggested, too, using chilled pineapple juice mixed with a raw egg yolk then mixing in whipped meringue from the egg white. And last but not least, another entree idea, this time of broiling pineapple rings alongside pork sausage patties and piling the sausages in the middle of a ring of the broiled slices to serve.

I suppose this was a great month for Pineapple back in 1937 and I don't know if that is because it was seasonal or if it was the lack of fresh fruit available and the need of Vitamin C in winter diets.  Still, it all sounds pretty good...except maybe the egg nog.  I'll have to think on that one.


...I plan meals:



Broiled Chicken Livers, Rice, Oriental style Green Beans, Fresh Pears
John is not fond of liver and completely turns his nose up at the idea of chicken livers.  I like them so well that when we bought dinner out the day we were married...I chose a chicken liver platter!   In my first marriage, I often bought a pound of livers to fry, pan saute with mushrooms and sour cream gravy or make into liver spread which was as close as I ever came to pate...Delicious spread on crackers, delicate and nice on a canape sized sandwich of toasted bread with  a lettuce leaf, and pretty darn good for a lunchbox sandwich too, since it was hearty.  The first time I made the liver spread, Granny came to visit and we ate it all...and then she asked if I'd make more!  So I did and we ate all that batch, too.

So yes, I'm fond of liver and yes, this was a solo meal but some of you may like liver nd be looking for good ideas to serve it up.  I won't claim the idea of broiling was all my own.  Mama and I ate out at a fancy cafeteria type place which is patronized by elder Southerners and they had the liers on teh menu.  I opted for chicken that day but I tucked that idea away to use here at home.

Economical meal, too,  because I set the livers aside when I bought all those whole chickens in bulk back in September and I salvMaged those which looked best, a sort of bonus meal for me that was super delicious.  I seasoned with lemon pepper, drizzled with olive oil (lightly) and added a mere dab of buter to the pan before broiling.

Franks with Sauerkraut,  Potato Salad, Rye Bread, Baked Apples
Leftovers from supper one night, with the addition of canned sauerkraut.

Meatball Calzone, Green Salad, Tangelos
The cup of leftover tomato sauce was poured over some meatballs I found in the freezer, made up back in October when we last purchased beef and all roasted in the oven together.  I'll add in a da of cream cheese and mozzarella when I wrap them in whole wheat pizza dough.  I expect I'll have pizza dough leftover for a supper pizza one night as well.

Roast Chicken, Pan Roasted Butternut Squash with Brussels Sprouts and Pecans, Fresh Pear Salad
The last of the chicken breasts I bought back in late September.  I've had the butternut squash on the counter for weeks now.  Time to use it up and so I'll toss it with some frozen Brussels Sprouts and some whole pecan halves to bake.

on my own 

grocery day: Grab and Go at the deli

??????

...I plan my week at home:


Grocery day for sure, but bills have been paid early, since there's a holiday in the offing on Monday and post office and bank will both be closed.   It's usually our short pay week and despite having extra cash this pay period, I mean to stick to my grocery budget and purchase lightly.  I'll set aside a portion of money to restock our beef and chicken.

Make necessary returns and run errands.  I could use that money back in my account to use for other needs.

Continue working on the clutter.  I can't believe that this past week I sent out from my house, a big box of stuff for donation, two bags for trash and set aside a few items to give to the girls.  Seriously?  I thought I'd been on top of my house but I guess this is just proof that it is an ongoing process.  Just because it's tamed doesn't mean I don't need to continually check it over now and then.  This week I hope to go through the family photos and meorabilia and the paperwork that clogs up our files.

I need a couple of photos and the short and sweet "Winter Wardrobe" post will be ready to go up on the blog.  Now the weather is sunny once more, I can take advantage of the lovely light and take better shots.

I need to go buy some mulch so I can get to work on the rose bed once more.  I've plenty of landscape cloth in the shed (found as I organized it two weeks ago) and begin work on the next area.

Continue to put it that solid hour each day on Swagbucks, along with whatever other time I'm on the computer playing about.  I've just earned another gift card and now it's time to start on the next one, so yes, it's paying off, if it is tedious at times.

The weather is to be cold mid-week, too cold to paint but I may get a few projects done in the early part  of the week if I make wise use of my time.

I am absolutely going to go into town and add some new items to my booth.  I got sidetracked by weather and lack of car last week.  I've got things tagged and ready to go.  I'll combine it with a visit into town to the library since the store is just across the street.

I plan my fun:

I've got a library book and mean to read it so I can finish it up before the next review book arrives.

I hope to spend a few hours at the library this coming week on my 'free' day and go through the genealogy material they have on hand.

I want to visit an antique store/thrift shop or two.  I'm thinking this would be a great morning trip for me on my free day.  I'm specifically looking for a vanity or dressing table to use in my guest bedroom area.

4 comments:

Lana said...

When my husband and I were dating and I was in high school and he at Florida State his Mom always sent him off from a weekend at home with a paper bag of fried chicken livers. I can still picture her flying out the screen door and running up the yard to hand them in the car window as he and his friend Art were pulling out for the five hour drive back to college. Many years later he told me that he never liked them but ate them because his Mom made them for him as a treat. She never knew and I have never cooked liver of any kind in almost 38 years.

I am thankful that I have a usable kitchen this week! We will have a pork roast for Sunday dinner and then work the leftovers into meals for the next couple of days. I will make a bowl of KFC coleslaw which keeps for several days and will our salad.

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

Pineapple always tastes good to me, but especially at this time of year. Maybe I am needing some Vitamin C. I thought those were some good suggestions for pineapple from your 1937 magazine. Agreeing with you on not being too sure of the Pineapple egg nog. Sounds like a bit of a stretch to me. So many years of warnings about only eating thoroughly cooked eggs make me a little wary about that recipe, though when I make fried eggs, I like the yolk runny. I cook it just long enough for there to be no clear egg white hanging around the yolk. And then there are the thousands of times I have scraped that last bit of batter out of the bowl and licked it off the spoon. I hope I didn't just jinx myself for my next un-or-under-cooked egg trespass.

You made me so hungry for fried chicken livers, that if I had read your post earlier in the day, I may have gone to the store and bought chicken livers to fry up. My husband won't eat them, but me and my little dog would have had a feast. You gave me a "crave".

Hope you get your outside work done before the cold swoops down in your area. We are due for 4 degrees tomorrow night. Today I raked up some more leaves to put around the bases of my crepe myrtles and David Austin roses, the leaves that I already had around them just didn't seem like enough insulation.

Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

Love chicken and beef liver! I suspect the pineapple recipes may have because canned pineapple may have been a fairly recent addition to the canned market. I make a very diabetic cake with a pkg of one step angel food cake is in a large bowl, then add a can of unsweetened, undrained crushed pineapple, mis, place in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 until done. Very good for a dessert for us diabetics.Gramma D

Lana said...

Gramma D-Our daughter in law made that cake and it is delicious! Crushed pineapple is really good over vanilla ice cream, too! That cake and vanilla ice cream and crushed pineapple over top sure would be good!