January 7, 2014

Brrrrrr…Baby, it’s cold outside!

Last night when we went to bed the temperature outside was 7 degrees. The wind was gusting hard when I let our dog, Max, outside. Needless to say, he stayed outside for only about one minute. Right now at 9:20 a.m. and it’s 5 degrees out there! I woke up at 3:30 this morning (my “used-to-be” normal time of the morning to get up and go to work). I was so thankful that I could get back in bed and burrow into the crease between Charming’s back and the mattress. I think quitting work is going to be a great thing after all.

Here’s a picture of my pup, Max. We got him from the local animal shelter and he’s been a wonderful addition to our lives. He is so protective of me that Charming can’t even pretend to come at me in a menacing way without Max jumping in front of me and barking at him. (Good dog, good dog.)

I’m now cooking all of our meals at home and making them from scratch as much as possible. Last night we had stir-fried chicken and onions, with fried rice on the side. I think it’s yummy…and Charming says it’s “awesome”. It’s gluten-free, fairly quick to make, healthy and tastes good. In my book, it doesn’t get any better than that. Below is the loose and easy recipe that I made up. You can tweak the salt and spice content to your personal taste.

For onions:
2 T. olive oil or canola oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 t. butcher’s pepper (this is just a very coarse grind of black pepper)
1/2 t. salt
3 lbs large sweet onions (Vidalia works well), sliced with the grain
1/8 t. crushed red pepper
1/4 t. crushed garlic

For fried rice:
2 t. olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup peas and carrots
1 egg, beaten
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. crushed red pepper
1/4 t. crushed garlic
1 ½ cups brown or white rice, cooked according to package directions

Heat a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive/canola oil. Add chicken breast pieces, butcher’s pepper and salt. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add onions and crushed red pepper then stir; turn heat back to medium. Cover and let the onions cook down for approximately 7 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add garlic to onion mixture and stir. Cover and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in another heated skillet, add the 2 teaspoons olive/canola oil. Add chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add peas and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Push onions, peas, and carrots to the side of the pan. (At this point, you may need to add just a bit more oil so that the egg doesn’t stick and make a mess in your pan.) Add beaten egg and stir. Quickly chop up the egg into little bits as it cooks. Add salt, crushed red pepper, and garlic. Add rice and stir until thoroughly mixed. Serve immediately alongside of onions.

Yesterday was “laundry day”. That was done without difficulty. I make my own liquid laundry detergent, using “the Dugger’s” recipe (check out the Dugger’s website for the instructions at http://duggarsblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/duggar-recipe-liquid-laundry-soap.html. It gets the job done and the clothes seem to be softer when I bring them in from the clothesline). You may want to cut the recipe in half as it makes a lot!

Since we made the decision for me to quit work, we found many items to cut from our expenses in an effort to try to minimize the impact of the loss of my salary. Unfortunately, one of these cuts included letting the cleaning lady go. (I miss you, Linda!) Today is “cleaning the bathrooms” day….uggghhhhh. I normally try to use “natural” cleaning products and make my own stuff as much as possible, but because I hate waste and am trying to spend wisely, I will use up the store-bought stuff that we already have on hand. (If I toss it in the trash, it’ll still end up polluting the environment in the landfill, so I might as well try to use it.) After the harsh stuff is gone, I will share my cleaning product “recipes” with you.

I found information on the internet that suggests cleaning a bathroom starting with the sink and removing all items that normally sit on top of it. I am then instructed to work in a clockwise manner around the room and spray each item that needs to be cleaned (sink, toilet, and shower/tub). The idea is that by the time you’ve cleaned the sink, then the toilet cleaner will have had enough time to work its magic and it will be easier to clean. By the time you finish the toilet, then the shower/tub cleaner will have had time to do its thing and that will be easier to clean. I’ve got my new cleaning caddy in tow and am going to give it a try, but I must confess that this feels eerily like the “I Love Lucy” episode where she gets a job at the candy factory, making chocolates. Theoretically, the circular bathroom cleaning advice should work, but I have “that Lucy feeling” that I may end up spinning around in circles like a spinning top and pass out on the floor from all the cleaning fumes. (I miss you, Linda!)

If I live through the bathroom cleaning episode, I’ll post again later in the week.