Cooking Marathon

 Thursday, at 6:15 pm, we cooked meat. I had three package of chicken tenders from Publix, a total of about 5 lbs. and a package of six huge drumsticks, also from Publix. I used garlic powder on all the chicken. I put all four packages into one cooking bag that cost 60 cents. They went into the oven. 

Garlic powder tastes nothing like garlic to me. I like both, but it is so easy to sprinkle the powder over all the chicken. Plus, there is no salt. I never use garlic salt. Garlic is delicious. By using garlic initially, we can put any kind of spin on the cooked chicken.

Then, I put the pork loin, a small one, into the crockpot. I had left it frozen solid on the counter in front of the microwave which is next to the freezer. I use this bit of space to place things as I work things into the crowded freezer space. Well, four hours later it was sitting there still, limp and fully thawed. So, two days later I am cooking it. No, I don't think it spoiled. Tommy sees how dark it is in the kitchen although he swears he can see just fine. grr. So, he got the crockpot on high. Oh, I washed the teriyaki flavor off, so we can eat it. There is enough flavor left. It is in the freezer for Easter. 

While I was unpackaging the chicken, He cooked and chopped 1.75 lbs. of ground beef. Lots of it will go into two packages for the freezer since he is done. 

The rest of the ground beef will be made into a meatloaf and cooked after the chicken comes out of the oven.  Okay, meatloaf done and in two packages in the freezer. I did not have bell pepper, so I will somehow get it incorporated into the meatloaf later.

This makes over 30 helpings of proteins for meals from what we prepared in thirty minutes. His help is immeasurable! 

Now, for the vegetable front. I sit in my chair and put the month and year on top and front of cans so I will know which to eat first, not when they will kill me. After I got up from a long nap Thursday, Tommy told me what he found. There was a can of black beans under the edge of my chair. It was crushed almost in half! That can will be eaten in the next few days unless I find it was crushed and opened. I cannot believe I did that. 

Tommy asked what we will have of those meats for dinner. I told him--your choice. So, he chose chicken and a salad. I know I will have chicken and tomato, not sure what else. 

At this point, I still need to make the meatloaf. Okay, meatloaf done. I used one of the cheap cans of tomato paste. I might use a smidgen of catsup on top. I had no bell pepper, so I will cook it without bell pepper, find or buy some before we eat it and poke little pieces into the done meatloaf. We both love bell pepper in meatloaf. I used the last tablespoon of catsup in the bottle for the top of the meatloaf. 

Oh, and I finally made the hummingbird food! 

While I napped, he washed the rugs from the bathroom and hung them on the ramp railing to dry. I asked or he would never have done it. 

Friday morning

I had saved the juice from the crockpot pork loin. I used it with water to cook navy beans. Plus, I shredded the cabbage for slaw. It will be a coarse slaw since I cannot use the grater like I did before hand injuries.  I may use some of the cut cabbage for colcannon or for soup, and will definitely freeze some. 

That cooking marathon was fun but tiring. Do you having cooking marathons? 

Saturday Haul and Meatloaf

 Saturday was exciting. We went to Sam's Club! I have only been three times. Plus, we were getting things we needed. Friday night, Tommy came through the living room with his coffee maker. It died. So, we needed that. We ran out of plastic spoons and Tommy said just to get forks, too. I needed guaifenesin, but the Mucinex version is soooo expensive. 

Well, there were no coffeemakers and no plastic spoons.I wanted to get a new TV, so we wandered by and he said we have one. His 50" lost the picture and he pulled out his old 32" TV. It seems so small now, plus the screen seems dark and he does not know how to fix it. 

When he first went in, he stood in line and collected his Sam's rewards. It would have made a 50" TV almost free. 

We did get a two-foot stack of paper plates, a ton of plastic cups/glasses, I could barely lift the package. Then, I spied these little 5" plates at less than half the price per plate of the larger ones. So, we got those, too. Sometimes, we waste a plate for a tiny amount of some food. We bought 300 forks! 

I had him drag a table into the cart. It's like a huge TV tray. I need one for several things. Of course, this will work for one activity. He can run things through the self-checkouts, so the checkout was quick. Lines were so long and some people had one of the flatbed carts with so much merchandise. 

Coming out of Sam's, I squealed when I saw the Girl Scout cookie display. Of course, I got Thin Mints. Tommy chose the new cookie--adventurefuls. I did not like it after I tasted it when he bought it. I still did not like it later when I had my second and last one ever. 

When we came home, I ordered a coffeemaker--Black and Decker 12-cup Programable  and the med from Amazon. The med is made in the USA and Mucinex is made in England. I bought 200 for the price of 20 from Mucinex. Of course, Mucinex last 10 days whereas, the brand from the US will last 50 days. It is a win. I do not have good luck with time-release meds. So, I try to avoid them. 

Making the meatloaf was a fiasco. I used a can of the Hunt's Petite Diced Tomatoes. The result was a watery can of tomatoes, and big chunks of tomatoes instead of a tomato-y sauce. I did not have bell pepper, a must for my meatloaf. So, I took a chunk of meatloaf mixture and baked it on a pan in the over. I put the rest in a pan, thinking I could dice up bell pepper and press it down the next night. 

(There is no problem with the tomatoes being watery as the can was chock full of chunks of tomatoes! )

Pressig down the bell pepper into the meatloaf worked well until I realized that I had not put PAM in the dish for the meatloaf. Sooo, I sprayed another casserole and emptied the meatloaf into that pan. When it was cooked, it was too loose even with eggs and oatmeal. That was okay, but it desperately needed salt. I salted mine on the plate, something I never do. 

I said to Tommy, "That is not the best meatloaf I ever made, right?" He very solemnly said, "No." It is the worst I ever made. sigh Well, there is a third night of meatloaf left. I think I will remake it by mixing it up and reseasoning it before I freeze it. I know that is weird, but now I don't like it. 

A can of the cheap tomato paste I bought last year is what I will use from now on. I had used catsup in the meatloaf and on top for years.  When I used a can of tomato paste with less sodium, I love the taste of the meatloaf. 

That was my Saturday, tiring and productive. Have you bought your Girl Scout Cookies? Will you? Have you ever tried to experiment with a recipe that was delicious and made it almost inedible? Do you ever go to Sam's Club?