WFMW - Stretching that pot roast for 3 (or more) meals

Sometimes I like to cook, sometimes I don't. When in the midst of a big project it's a pain to have to stop and make something for dinner. These days we have a few big projects going on.

So I've fallen back into the habit of planning several meals around one piece of meat. Take a pot roast, for instance. AT LEAST three meals out of that baby. Buy a big one, stick it in the crockpot with onions, garlic, a bay leaf, lots of chopped carrots, 2 cups water, salt & pepper and let it slow cook all day long. While you're working on that big project.

Just before supper throw some potatoes in a pot to boil for mashed potatoes. When those are done, take the pot roast and carrots out of the crockpot, thicken the resulting juice into a nice gravy and serve up 1/3 the roast with half the carrots and potatoes and some of the gravy for a delicious dinner. Add salad and rolls to complete. [For those saying you wouldn't have any meat left, my answer is: Buy a REALLY BIG roast and only serve 1/3. There is enough in this meal that your family doesn't have to pork out on the meat to be satisfied! Before they ever come to the table, put away the meat you're saving for the following two meals.]

Now take 1/3 of the remaining roast and chop into bite size pieces. Mix with remaining carrots and gravy and spread in casserole dish. Spread remaining mashed potatoes over all. Shred some cheese (your choice) on top, cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate until two days hence. At which point you will remove plastic wrap and bake at 350° for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes (until heated through and bubbly around the edges) and present your family with an amazing Shepherd's Pie for dinner.

That other 1/3 of roast you can shred and refridgerate to use at lunch when you'll create the most awesomest roast beef sandwich EVER. Start with some goody chewy French bread (but it can be whatever bread your family prefers and you have on hand) and spread on mayonnaise, a little horseradish (it adds a little zing and heat without being overpowering -- trust me!), lettuce, tomatoes and the shredded beef. Muy delicioso!

I do something similar with chicken. Roast a big old chicken (or two, depending on your family size) and save some of the meat for sandwiches the next day and some for a creamed chicken over cornbread and you can even use that carcass to make some mighty fine chicken broth as a base for soup.

Aside from the whole stopping-the-big-project-to-cook issue, with food prices what they are these days, it's always a good plan to stretch your meat a little. Why not stretch it a lot? ☺

You know you can find a lot more great Works For Me Wednesday ideas over at Shannon's today.

I have a new kitchen sink cupboard! Hallelujah!

This was what was left of the old kitchen sink cupboard. I kid you not, once we took the countertop off, there was nothing left to hold the soggy, mildewy mess together and it just sort of disintegrated. YUCK!

I didn't think there could be anything nastier than the stove that was here when we moved in, which required HOURS of cleaning. I was wrong. This was so much worse I cannot begin to tell you...we even found a mushroom growing on the back of the cabinet! DOUBLE YUCK! I am definitely not showing you photos of the interior of the cupboard before we took it apart. After all, this is a family friendly blog, not some sci-fi horror freak show.

I scrubbed the wall, the floor, the sink and granite countertop (which we re-used) while the hubby finished building the base and cabinets, and voila! A thing of beauty!

The cleaning supplies are now put away in the cupboard on the right and all of yesterday's dirty dishes soaking in the sinks. The hubby replaced all the pipe thingies and drains so now I can use the sinks and not have to haul basins back and forth. Hallelujah! I might even come to enjoy doing dishes.

Nah.

Last night my Spanish tutor picked us up at 10 p.m. and we took our weary bodies downtown to enjoy a little free entertainment. During the summer the municipalidad sponsors a myriad of shows. Under the direction of world famous ballet master Julio Bocca, a group from Ballet Argentina performed Perfumes (pronounced "pair-foo-mess"), an hour and a half of "escencias de tango, vals, jazz y bolero" which is just a fancy Spanish way of saying tango, jazz and modern dance numbers.

Perhaps most shocking of all, it started ON TIME. LOL You can only appreciate that if you're familiar with the culture here. It wasn't easy finding a place to park ourselves. The gently sloping lawn was crowded with people sitting, standing, sprawling on the ground... Vendors, weaving in and out hawking their wares, distracted and annoyed as they kept blocking our line of sight. As more and more people arrived (I think the bulk of the crowd arrived late because they never expected it to, you know, start ON TIME) and encroached on our space (i.e., standing right in front of where we were sitting, thereby totally obstructing our view), we kept moving in an attempt to see the stage. The folks behind us were even more aggravated and kept shouting to those standing, "Sientese!" (Sit down!) Which those standing just completely ignored in true Argentine fashion. Watching the crowd was entertaining in and of itself ☺

Having worked on the sink cupboard right up until we had to get ready to leave for the show, we were hungry and stopped for pizza afterward. We managed to pick the one pizza place that was low on wait staff. I don't know how many pizzerias there are in Carlos Paz, but I would hazard a guess that there are dozens -- pizza is a favorite of the tourists and the locals. Anyway, we sat there for over half an hour without anyone coming to clean the table or take our order. Finally my tutor saw one of the owners and gave a shout out and he personally came and took care of us. The pizza was very good, the best I've had in Carlos Paz (I had some truly amazing pizza in Buenos Aires in November) with the crust thin and crispy the way I like it.

Pizza here is not at all like pizza in the U.S. There's little or no sauce and they layer on slices of lunchmeat and cheese and whole olives (with the pit). Or whatever you order for toppings. There are some things I just don't think should go on pizza but that's a personal preference kind of thing. I am no longer shocked that eggs go on almost everything, from hamburgers to pizza. Can I just say TRIPLE YUCK?! And yet they think we're nuts to eat eggs for breakfast!

So we didn't get home until 1:15 this morning. I'm just getting to be a regular late night party animal. LOL But it was fun and I'm glad we went. We missed the big folk festival in Cosquin last week; there just wasn't time. I think I enjoyed this more anyway. Next year we hope to get to Cosquin, though, so I'll let you know then how it compares.

Update: My FIL was transferred to Grace Village yesterday and he'll be there several weeks for physical therapy before he's ready to go home. We're hoping all the moving around doesn't confuse him too much. They live just down the block from G.V. so now mom can be home and yet close at hand.

On the ability to stay up late

By staying up until 11 p.m. to midnight every night for a while, we've been "in training" to prepare for the late night get-togethers so typical here in Argentina. That's been almost as hard as learning Spanish. LOL Seriously, for this southern girl who has never liked staying up too late, it's been a struggle.

Friday night we had dinner with our co-workers and another family. I was quite proud of myself by making it to 2:30 a.m. without falling asleep and off my chair, thereby avoiding embarrassment for my hubby and co-workers ☺ I was even able to participate in the conversation somewhat coherently until shortly after midnight (when we finally sat down to eat). Accomplishing such a feat is huge, considering my brain normally shuts down sometime around 9 p.m. I may look awake but the brain has gone into sleep mode.

Then last night we had a wonderful visit with a lady until 10 o'clock, and I stayed tuned in and able to concentrate right up until the end. Yay! Having known this woman for a while I've gotten used to her speech pattern and cadence which helps immeasurably! I followed the conversation closely and joined in when I had something to say (rather a new experience for me here).

Don't know that I'll ever get to the place of being able to "half listen" as it requires constant concentration with the Spanish. But it's early days and there may yet come a time when it's possible do something else while listening and speaking -- like maybe the dishes ☺

On the way home from our co-workers in the wee hours of Saturday morning, it was surprising the number of people still out and about, especially at restaurants. This morning while it was still dark out (that time just before the sun starts rising) our neighbors began singing 'Que lo cumplas feliz' (happy birthday) rather loudly. They were apparently just winding down their all-night party. Even with the training, don't know that I'll EVER be able to stay up all night!

But our Indiana relatives are doing just that. My father-in-law will be in the hospital another day or two (or three?) and those living nearby are taking turns staying nights with him because he keeps trying to get out of bed to go to the bathroom and just isn't physically able to do that on his own yet. My SIL shared that when she stayed Saturday night, it was a LONG night with dad trying to get up every hour. The daughter stayed last night and we haven't heard yet if things were any better. It was taking two nurses to help dad in and out of the bathroom. We just don't know how mom has managed all these months! Because although the stroke made his right side even weaker, he's had difficulty getting around for some time.

When he's released from the hospital, he'll be transferred to Grace Village for rehab. Since the in-laws live sort of kittie-corner from G.V., it's is a perfect set up for this difficult time. Because of the Alzheimer's, dad doesn't understand where he's at or why he's there. He's apparently very confused if mom is not there and obviously, she can't be there all the time. She's 87, just like him, and needs some rest as well.

The good news is that dad was able to do all the exercises with the physical therapist yesterday. And he's feeding himself, with the right hand and arm again working properly. We'll take every small victory we can get!

Again, thanks to all who have been praying!

Week 5, Project 365

I have only taken four photos all week. I'm just so frustrated with this cell phone camera! Trying to get a decent picture is so hard and I just threw a little tantrum and didn't go near it all week except to document our little art project on Thursday.

So. Technically I have dropped the ball with Project 365 hosted by Sara at ...Make Music From Your Heart To The Lord.

Then I had a little brainstorm this morning. Since I didn't have any photos to look at from this week, I began browsing through my old photos.

And became quite nostalgic.

I must stop and confess that I am a very weird person. Although I love my family and friends and quite enjoy looking at their pictures...it's the places that move me most. When we moved from Indiana to Florida many years ago I was homesick. But when I started looking through my photo album, it wasn't the people who elicited emotion. It was my house. Now in my defense, it was my first house (actually only house as we've never owned since then) so of course I had feelings for it.

That's when I realized I'm a little different than most people.

Anyway, as I was looking at photos this morning I once again found myself drawn to places. But you know what? I'm also realizing that it's because the PLACES remind me of PEOPLE and the memories associated with them. Now I don't feel so bad. Weird, yes. Bad, no.

And I decided to share a few photos of my favorite places, starting with the parsonage where we lived for ten years. I have a lot of photos of this place, mostly close-ups but I chose this shot to share with you because I loved, loved, loved my trees which can be seen in all their glory here. Obviously, having lived there for ten years we have many, many, MANY memories tied to it! The last years of our kids living at home, sharing the house with the other associate pastor for six of the ten years, hosting countless youth activities and small group meetings and parties and sewing days and... It's simply my favorite house.

Before we lived in the parsonage, we spent nine years as houseparents within easy walking distance of the Hillsdale College Arboretum. In the early years on nice days we'd pack up our schoolbooks and a blanket to sit on and go have school there. It's always been our first choice for picnics. Or just to get away and take walks along the many paths, to one of the old stone pavilions or around the lake. Actually the whole campus was a favorite place. We spent many happy hours in the library and often attended concerts, plays or free lectures by visiting guests. My favorite was Dave Thomas of Wendy's fame. But we also heard Margaret Thatcher, Dan Quayle and many others over the years.

Dear friends who own a cottage in Ludington, Michigan, were always generous with it. The initial use of the cottage actually led to our spending a year in Africa, a story for another time. But I can't begin to tell you what joy this place brings! Just the thought of Epworth makes us smile ☺ Do you have places like that in your life? I hope so! Here's a photo taken from the porch, looking out over the rooftops of other cottages and Lake Michigan during one of its stunning sunsets.

From my blog title you can infer I'm from the south. I was born in Kentucky, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. As the saying goes, You can take the girl out of the mountains but you'll never take the mountains out of the girl. How true! I love my mountains with a passion that cannot be adequately communicated but only felt by fellow southerners. Amen? Amen!

While I love the place of my birth, I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to travel! And when I married my hubby I guaranteed a lifetime of travel ☺ We can frequently be found in airports, often looking just as tired as when this photo was taken. (this was at the end of a short-term mission trip and one of the youth grabbed our camera and took this photo -- and I'm glad they did!)

The very first overseas trip I took was to Argentina. Shocking, isn't it? LOL My hubby wanted his wife and kids to see where he'd grown up. We came for a month, from mid-December 1996 through mid-January 1997. We had a blast visiting the different places he lived (his parents were church planters so they moved every few years) but our favorite was the last place. My hubby went to high school in Santa Rosa de Calamuchita which was a little pueblo of around 3,500 then (it's up to around 13,000 now). The family still owns the house, just two hours from where we currently live, so it's still a favorite place to get away to and enjoy a little country. Located 4 km from Santa Rosa, it sits about a city-block-walk from the river, along a dirt road lined with eucalyptus trees. My hubby helped his family build the house and stone fence so of course it's very special to him.

And that brings us to where we live now: Carlos Paz, Argentina. Population: around 80,000. Located at the end of a valley, spreading out beside a lake and up the mountains. Destination for many Argentines on vacation so in the summer a crowded, noisy, busy place with about a million visiters. Much more tranquilo the rest of the year ☺ But summer or winter, it's the place where God has called us. And that's reason enough to love it! Can't possibly get the entire city in a shot because it's so spread out, but here's a little slice of it.
Thank you for indulging my walk down memory lane. I hope I don't get kicked off Project 365 for deviating from the stated purpose! Our camera is supposed to travel from Buenos Aires to the interior week after this so hopefully -- and thankfully -- I will soon be able to post lots and lots of happy photos ☺ Meanwhile I promise to go back to using the cell phone camera this week so next Sunday I won't have to cheat.