Back to the basics...

Everyone in the free world should know by now that my dryer is broken. Although a major inconvenience, it has not really been that bad. Now, when the washer broke - THAT was the end of the world! There is no way (in this day and time) that a family of 10 (at the time) could live without a washer. Well, thank goodness for my Dialysis Nursing background - because I was able to fix the washer. I can do plumbing. It's not that hard, really. The dryer on the other hand does not have any plumbing. It has electricity. Electricity scares me. I am in awe of it, but I have a very healthy fear of it. It can hurt you! I did try to change out the ballast on my laundry room light, but ended up having to call a dear friend, electrician, to fix it. Come to find out it was not an easy job for him, either. Something was wrong with the way it was wired. Thank goodness - I was afraid I was crazy!

Back to the dryer - My father in law and Rocky have been looking at it for 2 days now. After some much needed sleep, John came back over today and said it all made more sense to him (than at midnight the night before). It is a simple $14 part. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have a working dryer again. Then I have to go about loading up the top of the dryer with all that crap that gets stacked up on it, that is now all over my dining room table.

I have somewhat enjoyed hanging up my clothes on the line. I don't especially LOVE the smell of clothes dried outside - like so many other people, and I REALLY don't like crunchy towels. I guess there is something to the fact I am saving energy - and more important to me - saving $$$ by drying the clothes outside. I may continue to do so for a bit - except for the towels. Especially after I get the water bill - I discovered the hose on at full blast, towards the back fence, watering Summercrest Blvd., ALL DAY from the best we can discern. I may need to be saving a little extra on the Electric to pay for the water. Unless the City of Burleson will let me call and say "my kids did it" and take the usage off my bill - I don't think so...

What's for Dinner?

Rocky and I have spent the last two days cooking to save up for probably the next two months. I have been asked to share. Here is a list of what we made. I will probably post recipes a few as a time. I need to type them all up and put them in a word document so I can reproduce them more easily, and then remove the ones that we didn't like.

Here is what we did:

7 Can Soup

Honey Baked Pork Chops

Teriyaki Chicken

Wine and Herb Chicken

Lemon Parsley Chicken

Grilled Marinated Steak

Too-Good Baked Pork Chops

Lemon Chicken

Sticky Chicken

Citrus Pork Chops

Chicken Spaghetti

Candy's Chicken

Chicken Packets

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Paprakash

Chicken Pie

King Ranch Chicken

Chicken Quesadillas

Magnificent Casserole

Tater Tot Casserole (x2)

Sloppy Joes

BBQ Pork

Quiche (x2)

Pork Enchiladas (x2)

Chicken Pot Pie

Rigatoni Bake (x2)

Colorful Chicken Casserole (x2)

Fajitas

Poulet De France

Baked Mac and Cheese with Ham

Crescent Chicken

Meatballs

Chicken Manicotti

Taco Pie

Meatloaf (x2) - had this for dinner tonight!

Here is the Meatloaf recipe. I did some changes - used bread crumbs instead of bread - soggy bread and me don't always get along... I made this knowing two of my eaters are on mission trip, so I left all the green things in it. I also usually don't put anything red in my meatloaf. Typically I'm a ground beef and lipton onion soup meatloaf girl, but this one was really good!

1/2 cup milk

4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces

1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin

1 1/2 lbsw ground pork

2 small onions, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chili sauce, plus 1/4 cup for glaze

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large bowl, pour milk over bread; let soak for about 30 seconds. Add sirloin, pork, onion , garlic 1/2 cup chili sauce, parsley, parmesan, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using your hands, mix well until combined; do not over mix or meatloaf will be dense.

Divide mixture in half. Gently pat each half into a log and place each log into an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Do not press down or into corners. I use disposable foil ones. Cover with two layers of foil and label. Freeze.

On serving day, thaw in fridge and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Brush tops of loaves with remaining 1/4 cup chili sauce and continue cooking until juices run clear (160 degrees internally if you want to check).

Now - to finish cleaning up and go to bed! I'm whipped!