ALL THE FALL FEELS, RECIPES, & HAPPY ESSENTIAL "ME" FINDS

Happy fall days, friends.  This is a pic of the bay from last winter.  As you know my last visit was cut short due to my clumsy fall on the steps and this is the view I wanted to savor for awhile.  Nevertheless, here in Chicago I have a carpet of leaves on the front lawn and in the backyard and I'm going to have a slow go at raking. I'm still in a lightweight brace but I'm able to pull a loose boot over my foot and it gives me a lot of stability.  I'm having guilty feelings over Poppy not having more fun outdoors and I also really need the exercise.  Today I was tempted to take a slow stroll around the block with her and then I got distracted by something else~and she would have probably dragged me down the sidewalk!  But still, our weather has been ridiculously gorgeous!  Yesterday I sat on the back steps just to get fifteen minutes of sunshine.  Mmmmmm... 

Taco Style Baked Potatoes

Moving on to recipes a little earlier than usual, I am loving these potatoes, created and photographed by moi!

First up, the pairing of the much loved baked potato with a taco style filling/topping.  You can totally do whatever you want with this but I'll give you a simple recipe for mine, which very much consisted of what I had in my freezer and fridge.

2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and washed

1/2 lb. ground beef

I/2  package taco seasoning mix

1 c chopped iceberg lettuce

2 scallions, thinly sliced

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 c sour cream

Prick the potatoes several times with a sharp knife.  Bake at 375 approximately 1 hour (depending on the size). Insert the knife until it slides easily into potato.  Turn off the oven and let the potatoes stay warm until assembling.  

Meanwhile, add the ground beef to a medium size skillet and brown over medium heat, stirring often.

Drain and return to skillet.  Mix in the taco seasoning packet as per the directions but halved, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often until all of the liquid has absorbed.  

Slice the baked potatoes in half, smoosh with a fork, and then remove about a tablespoon or so of the potato in the center to form a well (you can save this to fry up with your eggs in the morning).  Prepare your toppings.  I assembled the potatoes and then finished them up.  First goes the seasoned ground beef into the center.  Then top with the lettuce, scallions and tomatoes.  Follow up with the cheese and sour cream. You can keep extra sour cream and cheese at the table.  Fair warning: you will need a fork and knife to eat this!  Serves 2. 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I think you guys know that I love making my own pizzas for a simple and quick meal after a busy day.  I like to use mostly veggies, sometimes zero meat, and just a brush of olive oil on the crust rather than a tomato based pizza sauce.  The toppings just shine this way.  I buy thin pre-made crusts sold in the Italian section of my grocery store, no need to refrigerate and a long shelf life to boot.  A tip here for thin crust pizza, don't forego the cornmeal on your pizza pan; a thin pizza can get mushy in the middle before it's done in the oven and it also prevents sticking as the cornmeal soaks up the liquid.  As always, use the topping you like in addition to the chicken.

1 lb. chicken tenders

3-4 T Frank's Hot Wings Sauce

8 T butter, melted

1 1/2 T olive oil, divided

1 thin crust fresh pizza

1 T cornmeal

2 c of assorted veggies you have on hand such as sweet peppers, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, etc., thinly sliced

2 c Mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 c crumbled, feta, goat, or bleu cheese

1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Dry mix~ 1/2 t each: Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, salt, fresh ground pepper, and a pinch of red chili flakes

Slice the chicken tenders in half.  Simmer in a saucepan of water  to cover until cooked through and can be flaked with a fork and knife, about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix together the sauce and melted butter.  Drain the chicken in a colander and place in a  medium size bowl.  Slowly add the hot wing sauce and melted butter.  Set aside.

Place the pizza crust on a baling sheet, preferably round and sprinkled with cornmeal.  In a large bowl toss your veggies with the remainder of olive oil. Begin to layer the ingredients.  Start with half the Mozzarella to form the 'glue' to hold the veggies.  Next add the chicken evenly around the pie and sprinkle the mix of dry spices over that.  The grand finale is the remaining Mozzarella, your choice of cheese crumbles and the Parmesan.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper at the end.  Bake in a 400 degree oven to ensure the crispiness, for about 10 to 15 minutes.  We like our pizza well done so we leave it in longer or turn on the broiler for a few minutes.  Let the cooked pizza sit for about five minutes and then slice by pressing down with a large carving knife as opposed to a rolling pizza cutter or serrated  knife, a perfect way to keep the toppings from sliding willy nilly.   

If you have any questions, and especially if I made any mistakes in proportions, gulp, send me an email or mention in your comments. 

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Don't you just love when you find something new and you want to tell everyone about it?  I came across these water bottles and I was quickly drawn in by the various features that come together in making me reach for it every morning.  It's just that fantastic.

Hydracy.com

I bought one each for The Husband an myself.   First off, this is a 32 ounce container made of strong plastic with sides grips that help when regular bottles sweat.  Or you and your hand sweat~like after a workout. The bottle is  marked in increments of time and ounces consumed. Starting at 8:00 a.m. with a full bottle, you can see that you will need to consume 8 ounces in an hour, and so on and so forth.  By noon you will have had 32 ounces of water.  Now it's time to refill the bottle and continue to drink eight ounces per hours until 5:00 p.m.  And voila, you have had 64 ounces of hydration which is recommended by most health providers.  And finally... the bottle has an insert infuser in which you can add fruit or whatever you like to favor your water.  I love citrus fruit but but I once added a knob of ginger and that was really good. My favorite is pineapple.  

I probably wore you out with this but I swear, there are a lot peeps on my Christmas gift who will be getting one of these! Check out the website.

Yankee Candle:  A Calm and

 Quiet Place

I found this candle while sniffing around a floral and gift shop in the lake's downtown area.  It was smell at first sight!  When you've had enough of sweet summer scents, fall's pumpkin and spice wafting through the house, and evergreen everywhere, this candle is a nice respite.  It's a wonderful mix of jasmine, patchouli, and warm amber musk,  I have had a large candle burning in my kitchen right now, and usually a smaller version in my bedroom where I spend sone time reading and relaxing. 

I know that Yankee Candles are very pricey, most candles have seemed to up their prices.  I get my candles on Amazon now that I can't/won't venture into TJMaxx.  Give it a shot.

Clean Classic Reserve, Sephora

This perfume has been on the glass tray on my dresser for the past four years (not the same bottle of course).  It's very crisp and clean. You feel like you just stepped out of the shower and the scent of pure cleanliness stays with you all day. I wear this as my everyday perfume and get a lot of comments.  You can find it at Sephora. 

 I'm someone who has worn perfume since I was a teen.  I was fascinated by my mother's bottles on her own glass tray and I would sneak into her room quite a bit and spritz on a little White Shoulders or Youth Dew.  I felt so sophisticated!  And it became a lasting love and ritual.  Before I leave to go out of the house, I give myself a little mist of whatever fragrance is my fancy. My daughters have followed in their grandmother and mother's footsteps, they have their own favorite scents and I often gift them with a bottle on birthdays and at Christmas.

Made for Living by Amber Moore

I have way too many decorating books (much like my overflow of cookbooks). My interest ebbs and flows but lately I'm tiring of decorating websites which feature homes and apartments that all look alike with current trends. 

 Finding an author who compiles decorating ideas and knowledge and creativeness along with gorgeous photos and generous descriptions and tips is something you want to pore through.  This book had me at Hello!  Thus, it's on my bedside table, a little worn for being new, pages earmarked.  It's quite diverse, a little something for everyone.  I find the placement of furniture quite interesting, and ways to keep a room from feeling cluttered yet displaying your treasures in a seamless way.  Does everyone wonder if they will ever balance that frustration.  This is a great book and since again, I found it at Amazon.

A Place To Call Home by Gil Schafer

This designer comes right out of the pages of Traditional  Home and Town and Country.  His style is a mix of classic and cottage.  And I love a mix as I can't define my style other than that.  What I lack, and hope to achieve as I update and decorate the last bit of our home, is to add some antique pieces.  My family room is freshly painted and the original hardwood floor will be refinished next month.  The only furniture is a white slipcovered sofa, loveseat, and chair, and one side table which I need to share to describe, it's so beautiful.  So I clearly have some space and I'm thinking along the lines of a few antique pieces of furniture and perhaps a vintage mirror and a painting.  I may do a Turkish or Oriental rug on another side of the room where we used to have a round table and chairs for the kids to do homework. Not sure what to use that space for.  Maybe a desk and a traditional chair to do my writing? 

There is so much sadness and tragedy all around us and the Covid is shattering records.  I have many family members, immediate and extended who have had the virus and luckily pulled through without a lot of medical issues.  The Husband and I have completely isolated ourselves other than our doctor visits.  The kids want to get together outdoors on Thanksgiving morning in our backyard, dressed warmly with the fire pit burning logs.  And of course our traditional mimosas.  I think it's a lovely and thoughtful idea but it really goes against the guidelines and the current spike.  Patience. I heard somewhere that we can celebrate Thanksgiving in July, when the very hopeful vaccines have been approved and put to use.  

I decided to go with the flow of hunkering down in my house, somedays not changing out of the p.j's.  Who's going to drop in?  And I decided to stop damaging my hair with heat appliances, like my handy flat iron to straighten out my natural curls.  So I took a picture.  It looks pretty here but once I sleep on it or get caught in the wind, I have to mist it with water to spring the curls back up, and after three days I have horrific knots from not being able to brush it.  What's a girl to do?

I also started to take better care of my nails, skin, and diet.  Boredom can make you do that.  I'm not a "self care person".  I get bored very quickly while taking a bath and the water gets cold I'm out!  I'm trying to listen to soothing podcasts but always feel I need to be doing something productive~ definitely not what they are used to achieve. I've been doing yoga via streamed classes on the T.V, but I spend the first two minutes fighting off Poppy who thinks I'm on the floor to play with her.  Sometimes I think I'm more content cleaning the stove.    

I pray all of you are healthy as well as your family and friends. Hang tight.  Know family love is in the heart as well as in person.  FaceTime, Zoom.  I started Christmas cards early so I could add a little note to each, something I've hadn't had time to do in years.  We need that expression of love and kindness and who doesn't like something beautiful in the mail?❤️❤️❤️ 

Sending love and prayers 🙏

Jane

ALL THE BEST OF FALL IN CHICAGO & MICHIGAN

 

A-mazing Acres, Edwardsburg, MI

 

Well, hello!  Where have you been?  Last time we met up it was August!  Let's forget about that, summer has ended, I had a last hurrah at the lake for five straight weeks.  Total solitude and visits from The Husband most weekends.  I think it made up for getting up there and rolling so late in the season due to our quarantine and then hesitation to venture out.  Everything outdoors is now stored away, the house is spiffed up and there is no sign of crumbs or sand.  I'm not sure if our January sledding weekend will take place, we aren't going to take any chances of catching a cold, the flu, or the virus.  

We celebrated fall and all things fall not only in the city, but at the lake.  Emily, our designer daughter, had a "Special" in her business for fall porch styling.  She had a good number of requests and jobs.  Each and every one of the porches, of all size and shape turned out fun, festive, and reflective of the homeowner's taste.  She worked her bum off!  You can visit her website, Curate Design Studio to get a peek at what they do.  She does virtual design consultations for those who are outside Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. She's also on Instagram at Curate.Studio.Chicsgo.  I may be partial but I love her Stories!  Informative, fun, and full of hands on advice and tips anywhere from styling a shelf to creating a gallery wall.   

Diamond Lake, MI

I have never grown zinnias myself but I have memories of being very young and my grandfather leading my sisters and I around the backyard where he grew them all along a picket fence as a tall border.  

One day in early September I was taking Poppy for a walk at the lake.  I was admiring the zinnias growing around a mailbox near the road.  It may have been serendipity, but the lady who lived there happened to pull in her driveway and walked over for a meet and greet (and have Poppy maul her with sloppy kisses and tail wags!).  We chatted about the zinnias.  She told me that she let the seeds fall and they came up again the following spring.  She also kept a few seed heads to scratch into the soil and then lets  nature take its cue.  This is going to be one of my many new projects in the garden next spring- growing tall, blowzy zinnias.  And I'm going to do a raised bed for tomatoes.  We were gifted with so many tomatoes this summer that we were eating them every way possible and there was not one tomato forgotten, they were that good!  Any new ideas for your gardens next spring?

Our little Madelyn is quite the little dancer and loves to pose for the camera.  She really has a gift.  She's been modeling for a children's clothing line, Sprout and Berry.  If you have kids or grandkids, have a peek. Such cute clothing!

Sprout and Berry

This dress is so, so cute.  Mad has the modeling moves down, although this could be her reaction to being told to sit still! 😒

Fall Decorating

City House Porch, Chicago, IL

My porch, courtesy Curate Design Studio

Fall Fun!

Diamond Lake, MI

So many pumpkins, so many choices.  Pansies are my choice of flowers in the fall, they can make it past a frost or two.  I've heard they are actually called pansies because they can't stand the heat of summer!  Mums are spectacular but need a good watering every few days, if not everyday. As rainy as it might be in October, the flowers are so dense they don't get the hydration down to the roots, hence the watering. In the Midwest we simply can't grow anything until the spring bulbs pop up so there's none of those relaxing days in the garden.  Living here all my life, I'm envious of those of you in warm weather areas, but I'm very much emotionally attached to Chicago and appreciate the evergreens and the haven they provide for those bright red birds, the cardinals!

  

Cousins:  Madelyn, Elsie & Patsy

The grand girls were up for our "Fallin" weekend.  Little Lucy didn't make the cut for some of the action pics.  My daughters dressed the girls in these matching outfits and the colors really made it easy to watch them when we went to the pumpkin patch, which was  pretty much like a small county fair.  They also had cute little silk pajamas and after their bath in our big free standing tub (they used a green bath bomb and claimed they were bathing in a swamp!), Emily and Abby brushed and braided their hair and they fell into bed exhausted.  Such a memorable weekend.

                                                    Recipes

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

  I usually make these after Thanksgiving with leftover meat and there's always leftover meat!  But I recently made a whole chicken and thought I'd used the light and dark meat for these.  Puff pastry makes it super easy and fast.  Ramekins can be too small, so these crocks worked well.  Just use any type of oven proof bowl or crock you have.

2 c cooked shredded chicken

2 T butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 medium red or yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed small

1 1/2 c frozen peas and carrots

1/3 c flour

1 c chicken broth

3/4 c milk or cream

1 T dried thyme

1 T dried tarragon

S & P

1 sheet of puff pastry*

1 egg, beaten

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the onion.  Cook over medium heat until softened and translucent, stirring often.  Add the chopped garlic and continue to cook an additional 2 minutes.  Turn up the heat and add the flour, whisking until you have a thick roux.  Slowly add the broth and milk, stirring until bubbly.  Add the chicken, potatoes, peas and carrots, and dried herbs, and let simmer about 5 minutes.  Taste a spoonful of the mixture and add salt and pepper if needed.  While this is going on, lay out your sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface and gently roll out about an inch or so on all sides.  Using a knife or pastry wheel, cut the pastry so you have four even squares.  Ladle the chicken mixture evenly in your oven proof bowls and gently press a piece of pastry on each one, pressing down along the edges with a fork to secure in place.  Brush each one with the beaten egg and make an X with a knife in the center fo the steam to escape.  Place the bowls on a sheet pan and place in a 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is a pretty golden brown.  Enjoy!

*Please note that you need to take the puff pastry out of your freezer about 30 minutes before using.  If it's too soft it will be sticky and difficult to work with. 

 With my thoughts leaping ahead to cooler days with all the cozy scents of fall in the air, I'm dreaming of pies, muffins, chunky cookies, and quick breads, I decided I had to give you one of my favorite cookie recipes that is definitely for grownups.  I love these in the afternoon with a cup of Joe or tea, or maybe a few after dinner just for that last sweet bite for the day.  Of course you can keep them in your cookie jar for the kiddos, but if you know they're there, they might not be around long!  

This recipe comes from longtime favorite blogger, Julie Blanner, and credit for this photo goes to her as well.  I did write it out myself rather than provide a link.

Caramel Cheesecake Cookies

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 1/2 c sugar

1 t vanilla

2 c flour

1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

1 bag of caramels

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Combine  cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla.  Beat in mixer until fluffy.

Gradually add the flour and graham cracker crumbs.

Roll a somewhat large ball of dough, about the size of two cookie scoops.  Make a hole into the center with your thumb and insert a caramel.  Gently roll back into a ball.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and continue with the rest of the dough.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and press each cookie with the bottom of a glass that has been buttered.  Press gently and give it a bit of a turn.  Return the pan to the oven for an additional 3 minutes.  

You can serve these warm but if you can't, 10 seconds in the microwave will work.  Yields 24 cookies.  

Happenings...  

So other than  running around pumpkin patches with the kiddo's and enjoying fall and some cozy time in the kitchen, much more goes on behind the blog.  Lots of ups and downs, but I really don't do a lot of, 

"Why me?" Not because I'm a Martyr or comparing myself constantly to others who are much more worse off, its more because I'm used to the barest of normalcy in my life--I say this with a little giggle but if we had a timeline going for the past few years, and my blog is proof positive, I'm always an accident not ready to happen--but happening!😂

In mid September I was happily plugging along, giving the lakehouse a good end-of-year cleaning, doing some additional planting and mulching in the yard, and just soaking in this pause in time, a sort of yawn if you will.  Most people leave the lake for the winter just after Labor Day, even those with year round homes so everything seems to slow down and become mellow.  I felt so much more content in enjoying my morning  coffee on the front porch with Poppy and Layla.  We took long slow walks down the quiet roads and I started making fires inside in the evenings. The three of us just sat on the couch hypnotized and peaceful.

And then one afternoon (drumroll) I walked out the service door to the garage, arms full with a dozen things, and missed the bottom step.  Down I went, it felt like slow motion.  I felt like a pretzel when I landed on the garage floor, my legs all twisted under me.  I could feel the pain in my right leg and instinct told me to get it out from under my bum and it was excruciating as I maneuvered this.  Whew!  I sat and thought for awhile, Layla was scurrying around under the boat and trailer (she was one of the things I was carrying as I was on the way to  a last minute appointment getting her into a vet).  I knew I had to get back in the house and I also knew my right leg was messed up and the pain was getting worse.  Well, I won't make this any longer...I hope.  I bumped my way up the steps on my rear end, was able to open the door, and then crawled into the kitchen.  Oh, and my good ten minutes of thinking was crucial, I dragged my purse, with my phone in with me.  I mean, I actually had a plan.  But there was no one to call, the lake people had gone home.  It was just me and the dogs.  This is beginning to sound like a screenplay for a movie.  Okay, I crawled to the fridge to get an icepack, then realized I could pull myself up by using the drawer of the freezer and the countertop just across from it.  No small feat as I couldn't put weight on my right leg. And then I thought another five minutes or so--these things need to be multi-tasked. I needed to get into the great room and then I would not be able to get anywhere else.  I grabbed the icepack, my phone, a water bottle, and a bottle of wine, and then did a hop until I could reach a dining room chair and then used that to get to the couch and collapse.  The ice pack numbed my lower leg which was like a balloon, and the wine went down really well, too. The dogs and I were able to get through the night other than me and the chair making a run to the powder room.  

 

The Husband was up the next morning.  This man has saved my butt more times than I can count.  He once had to rescue me when I was down in Key West and had a little trouble with...er, the law.  He drove form Michigan to Chicago, caught a flight to Miami, and drove two hours to Key West to bring me back home.  But that's a story for another blog post.  

So, I have a fractured tibia.  I'm growing new bone as we speak.  I am following doctor's orders to the letter, I want to dance again. And I mean that.  And run.  And play hopscotch with my grandkids.  This party ain't over yet! 🥳🥳🥳.  Oh, Layla finally made it to the vet, she had to have nine teeth pulled (and not from being flung across the garage), and to the tune of what would amount to a down payment on a new car.  

In other news, we are getting new wood floors in part of our house, this will be a fine mess.  The Husband has one more case yet to bring to a closure and he will really and truly be retired.  I consider him reeeeeeeally retired because he is underfoot every single day.  He spends most of his time researching the Civil War, just when you think there was nothing left he didn't know, his coin collection, which takes up a lot of room and seems useless to me since I can't use it as actual currency, and new properties to invest in, preferably in Tennessee where you don't have to pay property taxes and we would most likely have to take up full residency.  But he's still underfoot.

I actually deleted the last part of this post which makes for a whole new post coming soon.  I promise it won't be "all about me."  

I hope all of you are well, physically and mentally.  It's going to be a long winter, hard on those of us who want to be near family and friends but risk too much health wise.  I have been managing to get out to do my grocery shopping, the pharmacy, doctor appointments 🙄, but I sure would love a trip to Target or TJ Maxx!  That's a thing of the past with this new wave of the virus on top of flu season.  I feel my life with The Husband hasn't changed too drastically In this pandemic.  Other than family parties, get-togethers, and holidays, we have always pretty much stayed at home and chilled doing our familiar comfortable things.  We actually make popcorn and watch a movie once in awhile on a Saturday night.  I love to cook so we sit down for dinner every evening, we may order out once or twice a month.  I like to do my online shopping, in fact I'm working on Christmas already and that's a rarity!  But we have a tight budget with him retiring.  we both enjoy reading and watching the news together.  He does his thing on his iPad and I do blogging, Instagram, shopping, and Googling all my medical issues on my laptop.  We play with the dogs a lot.  

This has been a lot to read, my friends, I know.  If you made it this far you deserve a medal!  I promise to catch up on your blogs.  I reached a point after being non existent here for two months, that it would be odd to pop in on you and then you'd come back here to something you read way back when.  

I leave you with this...

Our Lucy June and her dog Rusty~~

Yuck!!!!!

Jane xxx

DECOR AT THE LAKE & RECIPES GALORE AS SUMMER WINDS DOWN

It's good to be back, friends.  I'm trying to navigate the new Legacy blogger.  It's hard to find answers, but if you fiddle around with it long enough, sometimes you find that the whole blogger thing has indeed improved.  My most latest problem is with changing the size of photos once loaded.  Any answers out there?

Jumping in here, this is my new baby(not the cabinet), an elephant bush, or known as Portulacaria afra.  I love that I'm finding so many "new to me" plants at the nursery in Michigan.  I need to find the right pot, but it looks pretty on my Hoosier cabinet.  All of my plants will be coming home with me in late fall, they need my love...☺️, and some H20. The monster jade plant will stay.  The Husband and I took it outdoors--and yes, it took both of us, for an overnight stay.  I overflowed it with water and sprayed all the leaves. I think I heard it sigh.  

I like this view from the great room at the harvest table where we share so many family and company meals.  I also fold the clothes here, use it as a desk and major clutter center, a flat and safe surface to change baby diapers, and a spot to keep Layla's basket where she can sleep peacefully away from Poppy.  Getting back to the plants, I have a topiary olive plant on the left, and a foxtail fern in the center.  I'm missing my babies.  I have a neighbor giving them love...and water, while I'm away.

 

The kids were up two weeks ago.  I should say kids and kidlets.  Always a good time.  My daughter Emily loves to fuss with everyone's decor, but seriously, she grew up in this house on the lake so as I watched TV in the loft one night, I could hear her moving things around.  And--she takes such beautiful photos, these and the following picture are hers.  Above, the foyer.  More about my favorite designer follows later.  

My shelving in the kitchen, which she rearranged gave a more minimalist feel.  I've often said that my shelves are not there to display pieces (except for perhaps that top shelf I can't reach). They take up space where cabinets could be so I have our everyday dishes and such here.  A nice thing about this is that everything gets washed frequently and I really only have to do a good cleaning a few times a year.  

The main floor powder room may not be anything I've shared before.  In a room so small it's hard to get a good shot.  But this is it!  I keep it simple, I don't like to clean bathrooms and this gets the major amount of use in a given day.

I tried to get more photos of our little guest house.  The sun wasn't cooperating. 🙄. So I have a peek of one corner.  This is the way I used to style so many spaces, sort of rustic and simple, letting the pieces speak for themselves.  I'll get more shots soon.  You have to love the screened windows, seven in all!

When we had company at the lake a few weeks ago, I really tried to stay on top of my game.  That means having delicious, easy, and casual food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  No--I never pull all of this off.  Nev-ahh!!  The best I can do is make what I can ahead of time, and keep everything fresh and ready to assemble (as in chop up those onions or the lettuce.  Do Not think it's simple and you can do it later).  Take the shortcuts.  

So this is my pulled pork for sandwiches.  I make it in the slow cooker in about 4 hours.  I refrigerate it and remove it to come to room temp about a half hour before serving.  Then it just needs to be heated up in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.  

So this is how simple it is to make.  You probably have your own recipe but this has won rave reviews.  I also make extra so I can save it in a jelly jar in the fridge for other uses. Please note my measurements are approximate.  Add or subtract and keep rating.  I find these ingredients perfect for making a sweet and spicy compliment to your pork.

Jane's Pulled Pork

2 lb. pork shoulder, trimmed of fat

1 bottle barbecue sauce of your choice

1 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T soy sauce

3 T brown sugar

1 T garlic powder

1 T onion powder

Optional:  Pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste

Place pork shoulder in slow cooker and set for 4-8 hours.  An hour before it's done, mix all of the sauce ingredients together and pour over the meat.  Begin to spread the pork with 2 large forks.  Mix the sauce in as you go along.  Let cook until all of the flavors meld.  Adjust seasonings.  I like to load the meat on Italian rolls, preferably toasted in the oven.  Serves 8

I wanted something different this summer as a side dish other than the usual potato salad.  But it's a classic and the family wouldn't hear of it.  I came up with this after tasting the great combo of sour cream and dried ranch dressing mix.  The beauty of my recipe is that you don't have to peel the potatoes, which is half the work of making potato salad.  Feel free to use fingerling potatoes, super creamy and colorful.  Also, you may want to double the recipe for a larger group.

Creamy Ranch Potato Salad

3 lbs. red potatoes 

8 oz. sour cream

2 T ranch dressing mix*

1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 stalks celery, trimmed and diced

1 red pepper, diced

Fill and large pot with water and add a good tablespoon of salt.  Add the potatoes, whole and unpeeled.  Boil until just tender and you can insert a sharp knife through to the center.  Strain and let cool.

In a medium bowl stir the ranch dressing mix together with the sour cream.  Fold in the onions and celery, and peppers.  

Cut the cooled potatoes into 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a large bowl.  Gently mix in the sour cream mixture to coat.  Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate at minimum 1 hour, but this salad deserves to have the flavors meld together for a few hours or overnight.  Serves 4-6

*You can use the reaming packet of ranch dressing mix to jazz up salads and soups, use in place of garlic on toasted bread, so, so many ways.  Seal the packet and keep it in your fridge.  

This is probably a little ridiculous to even share, but I love to invent my own pizzas.  Doesn't this look great?  It takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to bake.  I have learned to simplify by taking the hard work out of making dough, stretching it and flipping out over holes.  It takes a lot of experience to toss that dough and stretch it out to perfection.  Maybe one day I'll check out a few You Tube videos.  So--I buy pizzas on sale from the grocery store, thin crust with just cheese.  Contrary to popular belief, Chicagoan's love the thin crust and although deep dish is great, not so much traditional, at least on the Southside. 🥳. 

So get yourself a thin crust frozen pizza.  Take out every veggie you have leftover in your fridge, or an over abundance of, and start chopping.  If you have any fresh herbs, chop those up.  In a small bowl mix up some delicious dried spices like garlic, onion, cayenne pepper and Italian herbs (and mix all dried ingredients together before topping the pizza so it's all an even deal).  Next, choose some meats if you like, I don't always find it necessary, but you can add leftovers, luncheon meats like ham, salami, turkey, pepperoni, prosciutto, pancetta, or bacon crumbles.  Then add cheeses, whatever you have on hand.  I like to use up the remainder of the shredded cheeses I have in my fridge drawers.  Or grate your own. Fun and unlikely additions are feta, fresh mozzarella, and cream cheese just to name a few.  You need to only plop down tablespoon sizes of these cheeses on the pizza as they really don't melt and spread.  Finally, bake at 425 degrees until the crust is super crispy, I actually like to see the edges a little burnt!!!

Oh, jeez, this was longer than a regular ol recipe!  Do try and let me know how everything turns out.  

I'm always trying to keep you up to par with my little grandkids.  I hope you don't get tired of this!  Daughter Emily is such the picture taker and she also has family albums done quite a bit by a professional photographer friend.  So here is Madelyn, as you all know very well, and little Lucy, now 9 months old.  They are so adorably good together.  They really bring me such joy!

And in ending, I wanted to share this one of Madelyn, just doing her own thing and being captured by the camera.  Please believe that one day we will all feel this way once again.  Looking out on the horizon I really feel changes are coming.  Dancing in the leaves as the sun goes down has to be God given.  Let's trust.

As a very last side note, Emily is full force back into Interior Design which makes me a happy Mama.  Those 4 years of college amounted to a lot of talent and drive.  She has started her own business and although it's Chicago based. a good part of her work is visual and online.  If you need evidence of her creative and hard work, just take a look at my home!  She has been a huge part of what I've done.  Her website is Curate Design Studio She's also on Instagram and Facebook.  Please stop by!  She's been having some giveaways for new followers.  Tell her that her mother sent you!!❤️

Stay safe and healthy.  Wash your hands and pray a lot.  

Jane x