An Easy, Tasty Family Meal

Take it from this married mom of three: Anything that can make your life a little easier is worth trying.

 

There are plenty of websites that show you simple crockpot meals or one bake dishes that can feed the family but not all of them come out as good as the pictures. I am one of those people that follow everything to a T. If you say to put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees… I put it in for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. If you want eggs boiled for 20 minutes…I’m going to do it because that’s what the directions say. I’m not very good at adjusting when things don’t work out right.

 

I have checked my oven with thermometers and everything is the way it should be. So when I see a recipe that looks delicious I, of course, would love to try it. But do I dare?

 

I did with this recipe.

 

My kids are very hesitant to eat anything new. My youngest son said he didn’t like pork chops. In my house, they eat what’s put on the table. It’s the way I was raised and how I am raising them, too. You’d be surprised on how many things they have come to like. All they needed to do was give it a chance.

 

This recipe I found on a page called The Salty Marshmallow. The pictures looked delicious and I, personally, love pork chops. The recipe is below. You can also CLICK HERE for the recipe on the website. The recipe goes as follows:

1 pound pork chops, bone in and out
1 envelope of ranch dressing mix
½ tsp garlic powder
½ teaspoon pepper
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 10 ½ ounce can of cream of chicken soup
1 ½ cups beef broth
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
 

Instructions:

Season both sides of the pork chops with ranch dressing mix, garlic powder and pepper


In a large slow cooker, whisk together the brown gravy mix, cream of chicken soup and beef broth


Add the seasoned pork chops to the slow cooker


Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours


Remove the pork chops carefully from the slow cooker onto a plate


In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the crockpot to thicken the gravy


Serve over mashed potatoes or rice and garnish with parsley if desired

This is a recipe that comes out exactly like it is supposed to. Juicy, delicious and liked by all in our household. It’s nice to hear "Are you making pork chops tonight?" and when you answer yes…they smile.

 

 

 

 

The Old Mainer

The temperatures in Maine in the month of January are frigid. That’s the best way to describe bone-chilling cold that seeps through the layers that we throw on to keep it away from our bodies. Winter in Maine is not for the faint of heart but it is for the Old Mainer.

I met him at the Irving rest stop in Augusta on my way to work when I stopped to fill my tank. It was three below zero and the wind was whipping at a good fifteen miles an hour. I had on my knitted hat, my LL Bean mittens and winter boots because it had snowed almost two feet the night before. Under my heavy fleece jacket were the layers of long sleeve shirt and bulky sweater. I was warm but it was one of those mornings where the wind pushed through everything and you just felt cold.

He pulled up a few pumps away in an older white Mercury sedan about the same time. I watched him get out. My guess was he was at least eighty years old. His skin sunk in a little around his cheeks and was wrinkled. He wore a clean pair of Levi’s, LL Bean duck boots, a white t-shirt and a buttoned blue flannel shirt. He had on his weathered brown Carhartt jacket and a baseball cap covered what little white hair remained on his head. He walked into the store at a leisurely gait with cash in his hand to prepay for his gas.

When I started to fill my car, a newer, black Ford F-150 pulled in a few pumps away on the other side. The man in his thirties jumped down from the lifted truck, pulled out his debit card and started pumping gas. He looked at me and said “Man, it’s cold this morning.” I replied that was pretty chilly. He left the truck and the pump running, did a big shiver, pulled his knit cap a little lower over his ears, shoved his gloved hands into the pocket of his puffy coat and hurried to the store.

The old Mainer was on his way out and held the door open for the young man as he rushed over the threshold.  He walked to his car and proceeded to fill his tank. While it was going, he used the squeegee brush to clean his windshield and his headlights. I notice his hands had no gloves. There was no protection from the wind on his ears.  

The younger man rushed back to his truck, took care of the nozzle and drove away.

The wind picked up and I started to shiver as the handled clicked and told me my tank was full. As I got into my car and prepared to leave, I decided to sit and watch him. He saw me and he gave me a small wave and I waved back and smiled. He finished with the gas cap, got in his car and proceeded to drive away. His license plate was in support of agriculture.

The cold didn’t faze him. He wasn’t in a hurry. He was like many of his generation that adapted to the unpredictable weather in Maine. Two feet of snow? It’s just a dusting. Three below zero? It’s a bit chilly. Here was one of the last of a dying breed of men and women who went about their business, minded their own and complained not of the temperature but adapted to the situation around them and carried on. Here was a man who was helpful to the next generation and polite to those around him. All good lessons you can learn from an Old Mainer.

3 Fire Starters For Your Wood Stove

You’ve worked all day and all you can think about is coming home and starting a fire in the wood stove and curling up next to it with a cup of hot chocolate.

You bring in wood from the wood box only to find you ran out of newspaper to help start the fire. You forgot to buy fire starters at Home Depot last week and the last thing you want is to head out to the store.

If you have any of these things hanging around your house, you won’t have to venture out into the cold until the next day.

Believe it or not, dryer lint is an excellent fire starter. In my laundry room, I keep a plastic bag to collect it as I clean out the lint tray for the next load. When I’ve run out of newspaper, I’ve set it at the bottom of the stove (minus the bag), piled the wood like I taught my son in Cub Scouts and lit it. The only drawback to using dryer lint is the smell. I have dogs and cats and I wash their blankets once a week. The smell of burning animal hair isn’t exactly pleasant but it gets the job done. Light your favorite candle and the scent won’t stay around for long.

Do you make big meals on the weekend for your family? Well, save that bacon grease! When I’ve been in a bind for a fire starter, I take a paper towel and rub the grease that has gelled over a few days on the wood itself. Put a few paper towels along with the one covered in grease and light it up! There’s no creosote buildup in your chimney and the fire will be roaring in no time.

Speaking of greasy things, get out that bag of chips. Cut the calories! Your waistline will thank you for emptying a bag of potato or corn chips into the stove. Try it. If you set fire to corn chip, it acts just like a match. Now think of a bag of little matches going up in flames all at once.  It’s a cheap and easy way to start a fire when you need to.

It also never hurts to visit the neighbors. You can always go next door and ask them for their old newspapers or cardboard boxes that they would be recycling. I wouldn’t try just anything you have hanging around the house to start a fire however, these ways are proven to work. Always remember to stay safe when playing with fire. Stay warm, my chilly friends!