Shepherd's Pie from Leftovers

Don’t you hate to go into your refrigerator and find small amounts of vegetables left over from previous meals? Not enough for a side dish but throwing them away is just such a waste. And how about those vegetables you made to share with someone else because they liked them but you didn’t? What can you do? How about something like a Shepherd’s Pie.

A Shepherd’s Pie or Potato Pie as it is sometimes called can be made from fresh ingredients and with a more formal recipe but it can also be a catch all for leftovers before they are wasted. Just use up those peas, corn, green beans, pepper, tomato sauce, sour cream, catsup, milk, onion, mashed potatoes, cheese, celery, etc. before they go bad, it is pretty ease to make and can be reheated on days when you just don’t have time to fix a big meal.

Now I have a Shepherd’s Pie recipe on my other blog that you can try. Remember though, food has an expiration date so don’t use anything that is turning green or moldy or went bad already. You will not enjoy the pain that comes with food poisoning.

Breakfast

OK, Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day but who has the time to fix a “meal” early in the morning?  Besides wouldn’t the 20 or 30 minutes be better spent in bed?  That is the normal opinion of people especially those on the go and singles who are on their own.  Of course that is the line of thought that has us paying $3 for coffee and $5 for a sausage biscuit.  Well as far as I am concerned a poor breakfast is a challenge I can beat but I’m still not trading in my sleep time.

During the weekend I make one or two things that can be frozen and later zapped (microwave).  The trick is to make a casserole or to double or triple a recipe because that doesn’t usually triple the time required.  In the morning during the week I zap some of what I made, let the heat spread, and eat.  A decent meal in a little time and I save quite a bit of money.

I mentioned casseroles but a few other ideas are pancakes, French toast, and sausage gravy.  I’m putting a few suggestions on my other blog, Cooking With Ed at Boyle-Over.blogspot.com and would appreciate hearing suggestions from you on the subject.  Maybe even a recipe or two.

Instant Oatmeal?

Something I don’t understand is why people buy boxes containing eight or ten packages of flavored oatmeal.  Oatmeal is a great breakfast and even better when fruit, brown sugar, and/or maple syrup is added but it can be made just as quickly and for a lot less money if you do it yourself.

A ten pack box of instant oatmeal contains about 11 oz. of oatmeal, flavoring, sugar, and dried fruit while a box, usually a cylinder, of oatmeal contains 18 oz of pure oatmeal and costs less.  You have to add water or milk to both, both can be zapped in about the same amount of time, and you can flavor the oatmeal with whatever you want and have on hand including coffee creamer, mixed fruit, brown sugar, maple syrup, fresh fruit, etc.

Besides, you can make cookies from the oatmeal and that is a major plus.

Household Tips – Bathroom Sink Drains

Bathroom drains tend to clog from hair and should be cleaned periodically.  What period?  That depends on your use.  If you have four people with long hair using one sink then you should look at doing this often. 

If the drain plug is in the drain pipe, as they usually are (there is a stick shaped handle that you press or pull) look under the sink and see how it connects.  Normally the stick pushes down on a lever that enters the drain.  I normally

1.            pull everything out from under the sink

2.            put a small pan under the drain

3.            disconnect the lever from where it enters the drain (usually this is easy to unscrew)

4.            pull out the lever

5.            go to the basin and pull out the drain plug

6.            clean the plug (don’t run water in that sink for this, you now have a hole in your drain)

7.            replace the plug.  It is probably circular at the bottom.  Make sure the hole in the circle is facing the same direction as where the lever enters the drain.  Normally this means the hole should face front and back, not side to side

8.            insert the lever into the drain and into the drain plug and screw it in

9.            reattach the stick

10.        run water down the drain to make sure it doesn’t leak

Want some more information?  Why not look at http://www.mrrooteronline.com/plumber/sinks-faucets.html

Watch What You Say

There was a time when people listened to public officials, took their bearings from what was said, and trusted the person.  That was then, this is now.  Today public officials, especially when they are campaigning, make their speeches based on polls.  What they said yesterday is not a basis for what they will say today and may well be diametrically opposite.  A case in point is Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee is the former Governor of Arkansas, leading Republican speaker, and candidate for President in 2012.  I believe he is also a minister.  Anyway, back in early March 2011 he blasted Oscar winner Natalie Portman for publicizing unwed pregnancies.  That would be fine if it was his opinion but apparently it wasn’t.  You see Bristol Palin was pregnant and unwed while her Mother was running for Vice President in Huckabee’s own Party.  He had nothing against that.  This is a little inconsistent that tells a lot about him.  Couple this with the fact that Huckabee is a Christian Minister who we must think has a strong belief in the Blessed Mother.  The New Testament has been publicizing her unwed pregnancy for two thousand years.

Think what you want about unwed pregnancies, that isn’t my point, my point is “be consistent with what you say and write.”  You are entitled to change your mind but have the courage to say so.  If the example you are using is not consistent with what you have advocated before, demonstrate why they are different.

Please don’t respond to my words with the worn out “the Democrats do it also” because that is worse.  The fact that someone does something wrong does not give you license to also do it wrong.  But that is a subject for another day.