[chocomouse]

That sounds really good, BakerAunt. And it gives me an idea to make my vegetarian white lasagna in spaghetti squash instead of pasta. I've been craving that white sauce lasagna for a couple of months now.

Our dinner tonight was from the freezer: chicken-broccoli braid, with broccoli soup for me and baked beans for husband.

[chocomouse]

I made pie crust using Mrs M's recipe from the old baking circle; it is my go-to, never fail recipe, although it seems to be pretty basic and just like all the others. I'll make it into a cream pie, an old recipe from my husband's family, for Thanksgiving dinner.

I also made KAF's recipe for blitz puff pastry for the first time. It was a bit dry, but I think it will hydrate a little in the refrigerator. I plan to use it for cookies filled with cherry pastry cream and nuts, similar to rugelach or kolache.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by chocomouse.

[chocomouse]

Dinner Wednesday night was brats with peppers and onions, wrapped in a whole wheat sandwich thin sliced horizontally, with spicy hot mustard.

[chocomouse]

I was wondering how far most of you have to drive to buy groceries. When I moved here, from the suburbs of Chicago, it was a real hardship to have to drive 30 minutes to a typical grocery store. I've adjusted, learned to plan ahead, now have an empty nest (a huge help!) and shop only about every 2-3 weeks. The receipt for a typical trip runs about $60-70. And, I shop at only one store, although there are two others choices of major grocery stores in that area. Of course, it helps a lot that I garden and have two freezers full at this time of the year. I do make an occasional trip to BJs, maybe once a month, for a few certain items. We have a gas station/quick shop to get my husband's gallon of milk when he runs out. There is a tiny so-called grocery store about 7 miles away, but I gave up on that long ago - the produce they have for sale would be in the compost pile at my house.

[chocomouse]

We had chicken thighs with Penzey's Greek seasoning, and roasted brussels sprouts and squash.

[chocomouse]

Chocolate Chip cookies!

[chocomouse]

I made two loaves of whole wheat bread with buttermilk, honey, oatmeal, harvest grains and wheat germ.

[chocomouse]

Leftovers at my house, too! Pasta with meat sauce, risotto with mushrooms and asparagus, roasted squash, carrots, potato and onion, and a green salad.

[chocomouse]

I had the night off from cooking, as my husband made ham and veggie omelets. All I had to do was toast the English muffins. Thermometer says 10* and going down!

[chocomouse]

When we built, I ordered custom-designed kitchen cabinets. My mother had a special lower cabinet for pans/trays, similar to yours, Baker Aunt; and I couldn't imagine living without one! She had thin vertical boards as dividers, but I omitted those. My only regret is the cabinet is only about 15 inches wide, and since I cannot pass up a cute new pan, I need it to be much wider.

[chocomouse]

I made hamburger "steaks", with Italian salad dressing mixed into the meat. I reheated leftover roasted squash in the toaster oven, on bake at 400*, and it was almost as good as freshly roasted. I also fixed risotto with onions, garlic, mushrooms and broccoli.

[chocomouse]

We had a simple pasta with meat sauce for dinner tonight.

[chocomouse]

I made a maple-apple upside down cake in my 14" cast iron skillet, using bourbon barrel aged maple syrup. It is delicious and made the whole house smell great. I also made gruyere-olive rolls, preparing them as you would cinnamon buns. They went into the freezer to have with soups for the next month or so.

[chocomouse]

Today I made corn chowder, for my husband, and I had mushroom soup that I made a few days ago. With the buns I made today it was the perfect meal for our snowy evening, the first of the season.

[chocomouse]

Today I baked KAF's recipe for pull-apart buns, but used whole wheat instead of the AP flour.

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