So...whats for dinner?

I too had a cleaning lady when I was working full time w/children, but I'm so well indoctrinated to being frugal that was only every ever other week. Towards the end I had a guy who cleaned office buildings in the middle of the night and cleaned houses for only a few select people in the morning. Once I quit working, I couldn't justify the expense - so nobody cleans, including me unless company is coming. Well, I do keep up with kitchens & bathrooms, but can't get excited about dusting & vacuuming. I agree w/Lacey, having someone come to clean made me spend time picking up the clutter - mostly paper related. Now it's everywhere.

Has anyone tried Agave for sweetener? I bought a small bottle of pure Organic Agave Necter - low glycemic index, no additives or preservatives & suitable for a vegan diet. My intentions were good but I haven't opened it yet. I just never gave up real sugar (or real butter either).

Last night I didn't get home from a Civic Club meeting until 9:30 so dinner was one gin & tonic and a handful of cashew nuts. Tonight will be a baked potato with the last of the rare roast as a topper.

Agave is almost all fructose and often has more than corn syrup - even though low glycemic indexed it can raise blood fats and cause inflammation. In the plan I follow I try to not get more than 5g of sugar, regardless of the source, and avoid processed foods like Susan and try to eat foods in their most whole form ifpossible.

Special, just an idea for when you are not in excruciating pain with your back....a foam roller, which really keeps muscles from tightening up. Our trainer and former PTs use them regularly, and DH has benefitted lately from using it regularly since his back was acting up after all of his limping, post hip repair. Our trainer includes a lot of foam roller use in our stretching class, (on backs, hips, legs) and I have found that my back has been happier than its been in years. Hope you can find the best combo of rest and movement for it to get some relief

My PT actually encouraged me to order a foam roller, which I did. But have I ever used it? Thanks Lacey, I'll give it a chance.

I love the ironing discussion. My son was in high school when Polo shirts became the rage. 100% cotton & quite expensive. I said: a) I would buy one for him; b) he would have to figure out how to afford more; c) I would not iron said shirt. He only ever had that one, but he did learn how to iron. The girls in his college came up with lots of innovative trades if he would please iron their shirts & blouses - so he never lacked for brownies or free dinners.

I'll give Stevia another try but I didn't find it very sweet, especially in the form of Truvia.

SpecialK, I hope you get relief from the back misery.

We're having warmed up turnip greens and maybe warmed up chili. Do not know how much there is of the latter. DH made his Mexican cornbread today at my suggestion. It's baked in the cast iron skillet and is very pretty.

lacey - I find ironing relaxing, but tend to iron what we need piece by piece rather than a whole basket at a time.  My DS is better with an iron than DD is - but both kids tend to "iron" with the dryer, lol!  DH can iron very well - he used to press shirts in a men's clothing store when he was in high school and my MIL made sure all her kids did a full and regular rotation through the household chores.  He will sometimes do a shirt if I am not home to be ready for the next day.  I usually set up the coffee, pack him a breakfast and lunch - usually oatmeal with fruit and whatever is leftover form the previous night's dinner, iron him a shirt and pick out a sport coat and slacks, and socks (he is a bit color blind) so that he can just get up and go.  He leaves the house before 6 am, and doesn't come home before 7 pm - so this is the least I can do.  The ironing thing also comes from ironing his military uniform shirts for so many years - same thing as the sport uniform plan - I could never get the uniform shirts back from the cleaner fast enough due to the massive demand. You had to have way too many shirts to keep up!  I was always happy when he was in a flying job - that way they wore flightsuits more frequently - no ironing.  He worked at the Pentagon during 9/11 and even though they were staff they wore "combat" uniforms after that day - so a flightsuit for him.  When I did the Livestrong program at the Y my trainer used foam rollers - I should go over there and roll around a bit - they stretch hard to reach stuff - and I think with the one sided expander situation that might be helpful!

I have degenerated disks in my back and have lumbar discomfort from time to time, but the last couple of days there was a flare up that was quite intense!  This evening it seems a bit better, so I am hoping it goes away.  My PT wants me to see the ortho though - the thought is that all of the surgery in a short time has deconditioned me and that weakness has made my spine unstable due to the degeneration. To start that ball rolling I have to go see my PCP on the base and get a new MRI, then go see the ortho. Insurance hoops!

i too seem to be house keeping challenged! LOL. I say it's because I'm Artistic..... that's my story and I'm sticking with it. LOL

Stevie is not sweet at all to me. I use real sugar and honey. Also real butter. Not margerine.

Specialk sorry about your back. Not good. But hope it gets better.

Susan I can't believe your baking lists. Wow you keep busy. I think popping a beer bread mix in the oven is fancy. LOL.

And, since I, too, iron with my dryer, not even sure I'd find the ironing board if it wasn't attached to my bathroom closet door. LOL Since I have a Steam dryer it does a pretty good job. Not to mention refreshing my down comforter.

Eric our kids I'd that in high school for biology class. Sad. LOL

Bedo, i like the robot vacuum idea. Not so sure the cats would though.

Nance hugs on the parent issues. I no longer have mine or my inlaws. I miss them a lot.

To all, much love.

Just add brandy to the sauce. I used apple jack with chicken and mushrooms once. Yummy.

Specialk, how is your back today? I hope you are feeling better.

auntienance, how is your father?

Carole, I find Truvia to have an odd taste. I know I'm repeating myself, but if you go the stevia route, I would go with the Sweet Leaf manufacturer.

I made teriyaki sauce this morning. Recipe by chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Food and Wine magazine. My dad, with his respiratory infection isn't really eating, but I hope he'll eat a little bit of steamed chicken breasts with the sauce, and some mashed potatoes.

Something I have learned recently, if you don't have wine, vodka works extremely well too. Nothing like sautéed shallots with alcohol, reduced. Mr 02143 wants a burger. He wants cole slaw. The temperatures are balmy so that is what we will eat. I will defer the merguez sausage in ragu for another night.

*susan*

Ah... you can do a reduction and have a cocktail! Dinnertime is looking better and better. :-)

*susan*

Hsant Hi hope your Dad feels better soon

Special add me to the happy about back wishers and hope you are healing from surgery too.

This weekend my presence has been requested at a Pirate Party at the school by my friend's grandsons. I am so honored. We go on outings as GM (my friend) has custody. Special, you know I am good at pirate talk.

On our next outing we will bake cookies and take them to the Firehouse and look at the Firemen I mean Firetrucks, I hope we can dance I mean slide, down the pole. Then pigout, I mean have lunch at the pizzeria. Finally we will go to the park where I will make up things, I mean educate them on the local animals and plants.

"Aunt" Sally is such a good influence.

Tonight for dinner sauteed fresh calamari rings and hangy things in EVO salt and pepper and hot pepper flakes. Ruby the cat will cry for leftovers. I will save some without hot pepper for her

Special - can't remember, do you have LE? If not, I bet your back would love a steamy hot tub.

Dinner turned out to be Vodka Cream sauce w/fresh mushrooms, shallots & dill that I poured over sauteed shrimp & some noodles. I have half the sauce left for a chicken or pork dish this weekend, and half the shrimp left to toss into a big green salad tomorrow. As for drinking half of the ingredients, I ate at 3pm so I postponed my cocktail hour until 6pm. I have a lovely Shiraz waiting.

DH cooked dry baby lima beans with the ham bone today. The beans were delicious. I made him a green salad and he warmed up Mexican cornbread that he made yesterday. I just had a bowl of beans and brown rice because my cousin served my mother and me a heavy lunch.

Winn Dixie had smoked shoulder picnic hams for 99 cents a lb. so I bought a couple and put them in the freezer for future Sunday dinners. I bought chicken thighs, skin on bone in, for $1.39 a lb. for this Sunday. I'll cook them in a Dutch oven with barbecue sauce. The Zatarain's jambalaya mix was on sale, too. I bought a couple of boxes of reduced sodium and some smoked sausage.

It's ok to cook with vodka as long as it's not the good stuff, like Grey Goose, which really should go into a cocktail.

That vodka cream sauce sounds fabulous.

I'm thinking about making Ina Garten's chicken with 40 cloves of garlic this weekend. I'm trying to like chicken more and I figure anything with Cognac and heavy cream should have pretty good odds of pleasing me.