Three Dozen Movies for Winter Watching

As it is winter, and many of us are spending more hours indoors each weekend than in other seasons, I thought I'd share some of my family's favorite movies from this past year's watching. Every Friday night we choose a different movie to watch. We take turns each week coming up with a slate of 4 or 5 movies to vote on. 

For group watching, we opt for light-hearted movies, with a G or PG rating. Before the current rating system, movies that were deemed morally acceptable for all audiences were granted "approved" (as opposed to " not approved"). All quoted description are from the individual movie's IMDb page. 

I recommend reading the Parents Guide (link near the bottom of the IMDb page for each movie). Other viewers leave specific comments about the movie's content, listed under topics with which one may be concerned.

Free streaming sites: Internet Archive (especially good for old movies), Classic Comedy Channel, Tubi, Pluto, Kanopy (library access), Hoopla (library access)

Here are 3 dozen good ones.

1. Operation Petticoat, 1959, Approved, comedy. "During World War II, a lieutenant commander finds himself saddled with a decrepit pink-colored submarine, a con-man executive officer, and a gaggle of army nurses making life aboard difficult for everyone."
2. My Favorite Wife, 1940, Approved, comedy. "Missing for seven years and presumed dead, a woman returns home on the very day that her husband remarries."
3. Harvey, 1950, Approved, comedy. "A whimsical man is thought to be insane due to his insistence that he is best friends with an invisible, humanoid rabbit, but he may be wiser than anyone knows."
4. Forty Pounds of Trouble, 1962, Approved, comedy. "Hilarity ensues when a casino manager spends a day at Disneyland with a cute but troublesome little girl."
5. Marty, 1955, Approved, drama. "A middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other."
6. The Major and the Minor, 1942, Approved, comedy. "A frustrated city girl disguises herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with a handsome Major."
7. Yours, Mine, and Ours, 1968, Unrated, comedy. "A widower with ten children falls for a widow with eight, and they must decide about forming a huge, unconventional family."
8. Mr Smith Goes to Washington, 1939, Approved, drama. "A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character."
9. Monkey Business, 1952, Approved, comedy. "A chemist finds his personal and professional life turned upside down when one of his chimpanzees finds the fountain of youth."
10. The Secret :Life of Walter Mitty, 1947, Approved, comedy. "A clumsy daydreamer gets caught up in a sinister conspiracy."
11. A Night at the Opera, 1935, Approved, comedy. "A sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies."
12. Larger Than Life, 1996, PG, comedy. "A motivational speaker discovers that the inheritance his father left for him is in the form of an elephant."
13. Mrs. Miniver, 1942, Approved, drama. "A British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II."
14. The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946, Approved, drama/romance. "Three traumatized or physically disabled World War II veterans return home to the American Midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed making readjustment difficult."
15. Bringing Up Baby, 1938, Approved, comedy. "While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby."
16. My Man Godfrey, 1936, Approved, comedy. "A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye."
17. It Happened on 5th Avenue, 1947, Approved, comedy. "Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South."
18. The Bells of St. Mary's, 1945, Approved, drama. "At a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building."
19. For Pete's Sake, 1974, PG, comedy. "A housewife tries to finance her cab-driving husband's education."
20. The Spanish Prisoner, 1997, PG, drama/mystery. "A corporate engineer develops a lucrative secret process for a company but doesn't know who to trust when the higher-ups seemingly want to steal it from him."
21. Miss Potter, 2006, PG, period drama. "The story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness, and success."
22. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, 1949, Approved, Western. "Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled."
23. Hook, 1991, PG, comedy/fantasy. "When Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy."
24. Charade, 1963, Approved, comedy/mystery. Romance and intrigue ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want to get their hands on a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. She soon loses trust in those who claim they want to help her.
25. Snowball Express, 1972, G, comedy. "When John Baxter inherits a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains, he quits his job in New York and moves west to run it--only to find his "estate" in a state of total dilapidation."
26. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. 1962, Approved, Western. "A senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins."
27. Father Goose, 1964, Approved, comedy. "During World War II, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female."
28. Frank and Ollie, 1995, PG, documentary. "A study of the personal and professional relationship of Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, who started at the studio in the 1930s and worked on 23 films together."
29. The Biggest Little Farm, 2018, PG, documentary. "Documentarian John Chester and his wife Molly work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles."
30. Sabrina, 1954, Approved, drama/comedy/romance. "After her return from school in Paris, a playboy finally takes notice of his family's chauffeur's daughter, who's long had a crush on him, but he questions his more serious brother's motives when he warns against getting involved with her."
31. Christmas in Connecticut, 1945, Approved, holiday comedy/romance. "A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas."
32. To Catch a Thief, 1955, PG, romance/mystery. "A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation." 
33. Maverick, 1994, PG, Western/comedy/action. "Bret Maverick, needing money for a poker tournament, faces various comic mishaps and challenges, including a charming woman thief."
34. Roman Holiday, 1953, Approved, comedy/romance. "A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome."
35. A New Leaf, 1971, G, comedy. "When Henry Graham's lawyer informs him that his playboy lifestyle has consumed all of his funds, he must avoid sliding down the social ladder. He plans to marry wealthy scientist Henrietta Lowell--and kill her."
36. The Bishop's Wife, 1947, Approved, holiday comedy. "A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church."

We are always looking for recommendations for movies to watch. Do you have any favorite movies? What free streaming sites do you use?

Don't you love it when you solve a problem and save money while doing so?

About 10 years ago, I picked up this floor mat for the door to the garage at Kohl's for basically free. I had a $10 off coupon (back when that was a thing) and the mat was $9.99. I had to buy one small clearance gift wrap bag to make the purchase $10 or over. I spent 25 cents on the gift wrap bag at the time. Anyway, we've now had this mat at our door to the garage for 10 years. It has served us very well.

Recently, however, the backside rubberized surface began to deteriorate, making the mat slide around on the vinyl floor. It's become something of a hazard for all of us. I've washed the backing, tried to brush off deteriorated bits, and air-dried to no avail. The mat still slipped around.

After some research to determine the best way to restore a non-slip surface, I decided on some Mohawk Rug Griper tape. I compared prices around the internet and found it at Target for less than other retailers (including Amazon). I added a roll ($7.69) to an order I was already placing. In the meantime, I cleaned both the floor and the back of the rug one more time.

When I opened the roll of Rug Gripper and peeled the backing off of a corner, I was really unsure if this would work. It didn't feel sticky enough to adhere to the rug back. I cut 3 strips and tried to apply them to the back side of the rug, as the instructions advised, only to have the tape keep peeling off. I finally just decided to place the tape onto the floor, matching up to where I had intended it to be on the rug. I pressed the rug down firmly, and just like that our slip-and-slide rug remained in one space no matter how I tried to walk, hop, skip, or jump on it.

Anyway, a "repaired" rug backing saved me the cost of buying a new door mat. It's unlikely that I'll get another $10 off coupon to a store that sells inexpensive floor mats or rugs. I could perhaps buy a second hand one at Value Village or Goodwill for $6 to $8. But those would also be older and would lose their non-slip backing at some point int time. It's more likely I would spend $20 or more for a new entry mat. So for $7.69 plus tax, my rug now stays in place again. And I have some rug gripper tape leftover to use on another rug at some point.

I am trying to solve a variety of household problems this month. This is so satisfying. They're all small problems, but very satisfying nonetheless.

Are there small household problems that you've been working on lately? What have you tried and what has worked?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the First Full Week of January

Thursday's salad -- Citrus-Cabbage Slaw

Friday

• olive pizza (we ran out of pepperoni)
• steamed carrots
• roasted frozen broccoli cuts
• leftover Christmas cookies

Saturday

• leftover shredded beef (from New Year's Day) and potato hash
• pumpkin soufflé (made with pumpkin that I processed in November)
• frozen peas, microwaved
• fresh tomato wedges (a very mediocre tomato, very disappointing. What did I expect from a tomato in January?)

Sunday

• bean and cheese burritos in homemade tortillas, homemade salsa
• canned green beans
• Cole slaw

Monday

• spaghetti casserole
• steamed frozen cauliflower
• fig-applesauce

Tuesday

snacky dinner  -- Epiphany

We take our tree down on Epiphany every year. But before we do, we have a snacky sort of dinner in the living room next to the tree.

deviled eggs, crackers, sliced cheese, sliced chicken, dried fruit, tangerines, pickles, celery sticks, green pepper strips, gold foil wrapped chocolates -- I looked through the pantry, fridge, and freezer for odds and ends, and this is what I came up with.

Wednesday (my easy night. Tuna melts are an easy and somewhat hot meal. I try to do one easy night a week.)

• tuna-avocado melts (on fresh home-baked ww bread)
• smashed purple potatoes with rosemary, garlic, olive oil, butter
• frozen mixed vegetables, steamed
• apple wedges

Thursday

• beef and vegetable stir fry, with frozen broccoli cuts plus fresh mushrooms, celery, and carrots. (Before slicing the beef, I trimmed the fat off of it then diced and rendered the fat to save for cooking fat later.) 
• brown rice
• citrus cabbage slaw -- shredded cabbage, thin-sliced celery, chopped orange segments, sesame oil, soy sauce, chive blossom vinegar, ground ginger, crunchy chow mein noodles
• gingered pears (these are the Asian pears from my neighbor that we chopped and froze in late September. We still have a lot of frozen fruit to use this winter and hopefully into early spring.) 

Thursday's salad is a winter staple in our house. It's inexpensive, seasonal, and easy, but it's also very flexible. I shred or finely chop cabbage, slice a stalk of celery thin, and segment 1 orange then cut each segment into bites. The dressing is a mixture of toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and vinegar to taste. Just before serving I toss with either chow mein noodles, sesame snack sticks, or sliced almonds. To turn this into a main dish salad, I add some diced cooked chicken. If what I have is tangerines and not oranges, I use two small tangerines. This salad also works with canned mandarin oranges. It's a delicious salad and a nice alternative to traditional Cole slaw.

I don't do a full menu plan a week in advance. Instead, I plan two to three days of dinners as the week progresses. I look over the previous few days and see what foods we should add in for the next two or three. It helps me round out the nutritional value of our meals across the week without having to sit down and plan for all seven days at a time. 

What was on your menu this past week? Do you plan meals as you go, a week at a time, or a few days at a time? What has worked best for you and your situation?

Did the power scrubber clean the baked-on grease on my oven window?

And the answer is . . .just about.

Yesterday afternoon I had an hour to spare. I thought this would be a great time to "quickly" clean the oven door window, using Mrs. Meyers spray and the power scrubber.

before

I first tried the scouring sponge (yellow sponge with green scrubbing side). It didn't work as quickly as I wanted. I next tried the flat brush attachment. I could tell it was getting grime off as it turned the cleaning solution into a gray foam. But even so, it wasn't working as quickly as I had wanted. So I went for the stainless steel mesh brush. (It's under the microfiber flat polishing attachment in the photo below.)

The instructions say that this attachment is for the toughest jobs, like BBQ grills, oven racks, and range hoods. I was a little worried it might be too harsh on the glass surface. My worries were quickly allayed. It did just fine on the glass and the enameled steel parts of the door.

I worked for about 35 to 40 minutes on the inside of the window. It wasn't hard work, but it was slow going. Near the end, it seemed like I needed a less coarse tool to use on the glass to get those last tiny splatters of grease. I set the power scrubber down, donned some gloves, and grabbed a piece of steel wool. I spent 4-5 minutes with steel wool, putting some muscle into getting the splatters off, and voila a clean oven door. 

It was hard to get a photo of the how clean it is. That's the power scrubber on the floor beneath the open oven door in the photo below. The glass is so clean you can see through it again.

after

With the power scrubber and a little muscle to use a bit of steel wool at the end, I can get stubborn oven grease off of glass and enameled surfaces with somewhat ease. Could I have scrubbed with steel wool alone? Yes, but I think I would have needed several breaks. The 4 to 5 minutes of scrubbing I did at the end did tire my arm a little. 

The power scrubber is not a magic tool that will make every chore super fast and easy. But it does cut the work time by as much as half and effort by a whole lot compared to manual scrubbing. I'll be trying this tool on the stove top surface next. There's some stubborn carbon around the gas rings that I'd like to get rid of.

Sara, I also scrubbed the bottom of a stainless steel skillet. I did this in the sink. The scrubber did throw off dirty, carbon stained water in spatters onto the insides of the sink. However, no spatters ended up on the backsplash above the sink or on me. 

A few of my favorite things: kitchen edition

More gifts that I received for Christmas.

What can I say, I like the practical, especially when it comes to gifts. Here a few of those very wanted practical kitchen-related gifts.

My two daughters listen closely when I say I would like something or want something. They bought me a box of new freezer bags. Yes, I said freezer bags. And yes, I did say to them that I wish someone would buy me a box of freezer bags. I am thrilled to be the owner of a bunch of brand new, untorn, no-leak, uncloudy freezer bags! 

My daughters also bought me dates and unsweetened chocolate. I've mentioned before that I make unsweetened chocolate-covered dates as a sweet treat for myself. Those are the only two ingredients needed, unsweetened chocolate and pitted dates. 2 squares of chocolate will cover 8 dates. I melt the chocolate in the microwave and dip the dates into it one by one, then scraping the bowl with a rubber scraper to coat that final date. I wrote about this vintage confection a couple of years ago, here. One of my intentions or priorities in this coming year is to eat less refined sugar. As I still want to have sweet treats, these dates fit the bill, and to me are like candy. My daughters bought me the ingredients to make more of these for myself. And as I'm the only big fan of these in the house, they're all mine!

My last kitchen-edition practical gift came from my son and daughter-in-law. The price of real vanilla extract is insane at grocery stores. Costco has their own brand, however, that has been highly rated for price by many consumers. So, I suggested my son and daughter-in-law could use their membership to buy a bottle for me. For the past several years I've used imitation vanilla flavoring, and I just wanted to return to the natural version. I costed out the difference in price between homemade vanilla (using alcohol and beans) and commercial pure vanilla at Costco, and Costco's was the winner. As far as I can tell so far, this vanilla is very good.

I have to say, I am so grateful to have family that understands me and listens. I don't need expensive gifts or luxury items. I'm really very happy with small items that I can really use. (And you may have noticed in the top photo, I'd already opened the box of freezer bags. I think those were the first gift that I used this year.)

First Week of January Grocery Haul

I did a big grocery shop this morning. Monday morning, schools are back in session, we just had a holiday -- I thought early today would be a great time to grocery shop. I was right. The produce section was pleasant. Aisles were barely populated. And the line for checkout was short.

It had been several weeks since I bought much in the way of produce. You could really title this post "Fruit and Vegetable Haul." I did buy a couple of other foods, but as you can see, this is mostly fruits and veggies.

From left to right, front to back, this is what I bought.

1/2 lb sliced pepperoni (for pizzas, enough for 3 large)

4 Granny Smith apples, 98 cents/lb

1/2 lb mushrooms, 3.98/lb (Canada)

4 d'anjou pears, 98 cents/lb

8 navel oranges. 98 cents/lb

2 large green bell peppers, 68 cents ea (Mexico)

2 dozen eggs, 1.97/doz

2 bottles ketchup, 1.18 ea (smaller bottles were less expensive/oz than larger bottle)

8 cans tuna, 78 cents ea (tuna cans are shrinking, these were 4 oz, but still less per oz than the 5 oz cans -- **Edit: 4 oz is drained weight)

box black tea, 1.93

Roma tomatoes, 92 cents/lb

8 Cosmic Crisp apples, 1.28/lb

bananas, 50 cents/lb (Ecuador)

2 lb bag mandarins, 2.98 (we're near the end of peak tangerine season/best quality in my area)

8 avocados, 56 cents/ea (Mexico)

2 lb block cheddar, 6.48

1 gallon milk, 3.39

2 bundles celery, 1.27 ea

2 heads green cabbage, 78 cents/lb

large bag breakfast sausage, 6.71

10 lb bag carrots, 6.98

2 lb bag frozen broccoli cuts, 2.55

2 one-lb bags frozen cauliflower, 1.28 ea

2 one-lb bags mixed vegetables, 1.28 ea

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate, 2.82

2 five-lb bags organic flour, 6.63 ea

small bulk bag almond flour, 4.78/lb

tiny bulk bag nutmeg, 9.59/lb (I refilled McCormick small canister and had some leftover. I spent 86 cents for 1.44 ounces. Comparable amount in container at Walmart -- $2.46.)

large bulk bag rotini pasta, 74 cents/lb

large bulk bag shell pasta, 74 cents/lb

large bulk bag peanut butter powder PBFit brand, 6.08/lb

large bulk bag raisins, 2.48/lb

pint fresh ground peanut butter, 2.18/lb

Total spent today -- $114.80

If you buy canned tuna at the grocery store, check the ounces and unit price. I was shocked to see "regular" cans now 4 ounces. I remember when a standard can was 7 ounces, then 5 ounces, and now 4 ounces. Just how small will the cans eventually get? Despite the shrinking can size, canned tuna is still a good buy for seafood, at now $3.12/lb for me at WinCo. **Edit -- 4 oz is drained weight. Still, not a great thing.

I don't know what your produce prices look like these days. By buying just the lower-priced fresh fruits and veggies and the marked down price on select, store-brand frozen veggies, I was able to keep my arm and my leg this grocery trip. 

As it is now January, and the Visa bill covering Christmas is now due, I worked hard to shop smart today. I checked unit prices on all packaged foods. I took a look at the end caps in the produce section to find the better deals. And I bought select pantry staples from bulk bins. 

I hadn't planned on buying pears for us this week. But when I saw the price was as low as the least expensive apples, I bought one for each of us. I also hadn't planned on buying green peppers. At 68 cents each, it was a no-brainer to add a couple to my cart. And on those avocados, at 56 cents each, I wound up buying twice the amount I had wanted. We all love avocados here. You may wonder if we'll eat the Granny Smith apples fresh or baked into something. My daughter has promised to make another batch of caramel sauce/dip for these apples. Tart apples and sweet dip sounds like a wonderful winter treat to me.

In the freezer aisle, my plan had been to buy more petite peas and frozen spinach (if they had any). No frozen spinach, and the peas were no longer marked down to $1.28/package. So I wandered down that aisle to see what was marked down. Cauliflower and mixed veggies were. I added the broccoli cuts for variety. And -- the frozen broccoli cuts were less expensive than the fresh broccoli this week.

How long will all of this last us? 

The fresh produce will last two to three weeks, with carrots, cabbage, celery, and oranges lasting the longest for us. I'll keep the bulk of the avocados and tomatoes in the fridge until a few days before we want them. This will prolong the time we have variety in our fresh produce. I'll want bananas again late next week. Walmart's price on bananas is close to WinCo's, and Walmart is right around the corner from us. 

The pantry items will last one to three months (nutmeg even longer). We eat one large pizza per week, so the pepperoni will last 3 weeks. The bag of breakfast sausage will last about 3 weeks. The milk and eggs will last 1 1/2 to 2 weeks and will be the driving items prompting another grocery trip.

Our fruit bowl has looked pathetic for the last couple of weeks.
It finally looks respectable again.

Most of the fresh produce was USA. The peppers and avocados were produced in Mexico. And the bananas were from Ecuador. I don't know about the tomatoes. I forgot to check the bin and they don't have stickers. My guess they would be Mexico or possibly Florida. And the mushrooms are from Canada.

I thought these were all good to great prices for fresh produce in January, the month when I don't expect to find any deals. Of course, some of the fall produce deals are now gone. I didn't even see fresh cranberries and sweet potatoes this shopping trip. And celery was up from 97 cents/bundle to $1.27/bundle. 

Has your area had any good deals on produce since Christmas? How do my produce prices compare to your area? Are you seeing a lot of imported fruits and vegetables, or just a handful, as I did today?

A few of my favorite things . . .

I received several very nice gifts from family members this Christmas. I thought I'd share and tell one of them today.

My husband gave me a rechargeable handheld automatic scrubber set. And you may not have guessed it, but I specifically asked for this. Could I clean without a tool like this? I most certainly could. But this tool makes the work easy enough that I can "scrub" for more than an hour without needing breaks.

I put it to good use last weekend and did a thorough job on the tub and separate shower. It cleaned off soap scum, water and hair product residue, and basic oil-based dirt. The tub is acrylic and has a pebbled bottom. The bottom surface has been difficult to get thoroughly clean without using heavy chemicals. 

The pluses

The scrubber with a brush followed by scrubbing pad took care of that. The separate shower is tile and glass with an acrylic textured floor. The scrubber brush and scouring pad cleaned up the glass, and the scrubbing brush alone cleaned grout and the textured floor. The tool came with a crack and crevice brush which worked well in the corners. I even had time on the charge to do good detail work on the shower exterior. This is the cleanest all-in-one-go that the shower has looked since it was new. In the past, I've been able to scrub with brushes and pads for an hour or two on one specific area (like glass walls and doors), and then would work on another area the next week. I prefer having it all clean at one time.

I'm able to use less toxic cleaning solutions, like Mrs. Meyers, or even watered down vinegar. As I cleaned last weekend, I periodically rinsed surfaces with a spray bottle of just water. And I really used very little cleaning solution in total. 

It stores compactly and doesn't take up much space.

And, it will be useful in the kitchen for cleaning the stove top and scouring the bottoms of pots and pans.

The drawbacks

The charge lasts a little over an hour of continuous run time and takes a few hours to recharge. We all know that rechargeable batteries in appliances lose the ability to hold maximum power over time. The tool was inexpensive enough that I don't think it would be worthwhile to replace the battery when it no longer holds enough power for a cleaning session. But I could use it plugged in. Also, it requires a charging block, the kind that converts standard electrical outlets into USB charging ports. We have a couple of those around the house, so I simply used one of those.

Gifts that make my work easier or more pleasant are always welcomed by me. This was a great one.

Do you use powered equipment for cleaning surfaces? What's been your opinion?

Mostly Cheap & Always Cheerful Suppers for the Week After Christmas

"Are not flowers the stars of the earth?" --Clara Lucas Balfour

This was the quote on my tea bag tag today.

Mostly cheap because I did use some frozen prepared foods this week, the Chinese entrees, the egg rolls, the chopped peppers and onions, plus I splurged on broccoli florets instead of broccoli cuts for New Year's Day. Otherwise, everything else used my ordinary ingredients for this time of year.

I feel like we've been eating non-stop since Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to more humble meals beginning next week. But it's been a great feasting season.

Tuesday's salad -- we're still harvesting kale

Here are our menus for this past week.

Friday
scratch pepperoni pizza
cabbage, turnip green, and carrot slaw
tangerines
leftover cherry pie

Saturday
beef and vegetable soup
leftover dinner rolls from Christmas
tangerines
cookies

Sunday
scrambled eggs with avocado wedges and salsa
frozen broccoli
brown rice
tangerines
cookies

Monday
ground beef stroganoff, using a combo of leftover Greek yogurt, soy milk, cornstarch and lemon juice to stand in for sour cream
leftover brown and white rice
peas and carrots
cabbage slaw
stewed prunes

Tuesday
tuna-avocado melts (a great way to use up aging avocados, as they're hidden beneath the cheese)
canned green beans
kale, dried cranberry and orange salad
gingered pears

Wednesday
frozen Chinese entrees (one beef, one chicken, both with veggies)
leftover egg rolls (from Christmas Eve)
white rice
tangerines

Thursday (Happy New Year!)

beef pot roast with mushroom gravy (using dried mushrooms gift from Christmas 2024)

black-eyed peas with onions and peppers

oven-roasted broccoli florets

oven-roasted sweet potato cubes

spiced apples and cranberries

What was on your menu this past week? Are you back to normal meals, or do you still have more festive foods to use up?

What's on your New Year's Eve and New Year's Day menu?

This is what I have planned.

New Year's Eve

Homemade Chinese food 

By homemade I mean from two frozen bagged entrees -- P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef and Orange Chicken, supplemented with additional veggies.

Steamed rice

Tangerines

New Year's Day

Everyone is on their own for breakfast and lunch. 

For dinner:

Pot-roasted beef Heel Roast and gravy

Black-eyed peas, peppers, and onions

Oven-roasted sweet potato cubes

Oven-roasted broccoli florets

Spiced apples and cranberries

Either a pumpkin pie or Christmas cookies (Dessert depends on if my son and daughter-in-law come over. Cookies if just us, a pie if they join us.)

Perhaps you're wondering what a heel roast is. Since I've been buying beef directly from a rancher, I've learned a lot about many cuts of beef. A heel roast is also known as Heel of Round. It's a tougher cut, needing slow-cooking, like braising or pot-roasting. It also works well for stew meat. It's lean, flavorful, and an economical cut, when you can find them. Here's another name for a cut you may not be familiar with -- English Roast. An English Roast is cut from the shoulder, like a Chuck Roast, but the English is leaner than the Chuck Roast. Both require low and slow cooking. Anyway, I'll be pot-roasting the Heel Roast tomorrow.

What's on your menu for tonight and tomorrow?

Wishing you a very joyful celebration and happy year ahead! 2026, we''re expecting great things from you.

Organizing Gift Wrapping Supplies

I mentioned in yesterday's post how last Friday my daughters and I spent some time organizing all of our gift wrapping supplies. I already had a thrifted under-the-bed plastic bin with lid, and my daughter was about to donate to GW another under-the-bed identical plastic bin. I told her we could use that one for organizing the gift wrap and gift bags. Her bin was also second hand to her. I don't remember how much she paid, but I think I paid about $4 for mine. These retail for about $8 at our local stores like Fred Meyer.

Previous to Friday we'd just put gift wrap and gift bags into my bin. You may already know this, gift bags tend to be heavier than gift wrap paper. When a bunch of gift bags get tossed onto rolls and sheets of gift wrap paper, the paper is weighted down and crushed a bit. Anyway, it wasn't an ideal solution. Besides, we have now accumulated so many gift bags that there wasn't enough space in the one bin for paper and bags.

So heres, what we did.

I should mention, we reuse most of our gift wrapping supplies, paper, bags, tissue, bows, ribbons, etc.

We folded all of the tissue into squares and piled them in a square fabric basket. Even used and slightly wrinkled tissue can be reused as top stuffing for a gift bag.

We sorted all of the ribbons into two separate plastic clamshells, one for Christmas and one for all-occasion. One of my daughters made labels for each clamshell so we would keep them separated by occasion.

In my seed starting supplies I found a smaller berry clamshell. I used this for all of our holiday stickers and gift tags. Most of these gift tags came free in the mail with requests for donations.

We have two gallon ziploc bags filled with shredded paper bag and basket filler. The bags themselves are worn and have leaks. But they work great for holding dry items.

I said we reuse our gift wrap supplies. That includes wrapping paper that is in good shape and large in size. Even if the paper has a small tear or a gift tag sticker, those spots can be cut out and the paper can still be used for another package. Under all of these Christmas rolls are one roll of royal blue solid and another of silver solid. We use the blue and silver for non-holiday packages, like birthdays and weddings.

And finally, the bottom plastic bin -- the gift bags. I save even store gift bags, as those can be spray painted to camouflage store logos, if the size is perfect in every other way.

I'm guessing we won't really need to pay retail prices for gift wrapping supplies for many years. I do keep me eyes open for gift wrap at yard sales and have found some great deals. Three of the rolls of paper in the gift wrap paper bin came from a yard sale, paying 25 cents per almost full roll.

All of these bins and containers live in a closet in the upstairs hall, out of the way of other things we need to store. It's really nice to think that the next time I have to wrap a gift I'll be able to find everything I need.

Immediately post-Christmas Day is the best time of year for me to organize our belongings and do a solid housecleaning job. I have this window of time where nothing is really pressing. It's too early to start garden seeds indoors, too cold to work outdoors in the garden, too soon to start planning spring birthday celebrations, and too soon to begin taxes. So, I spend a little time cleaning and organizing almost everyday from about the 26th of December through the month of January.

How about you? What do you do with the post-Christmas winter weeks?

Where were we?

Oh, yes. We were baking lots of cookies, filling tins and holiday plates, wrapping gifts, cooking and cleaning for Christmas, and making origami and planning a Christmas game.

Crack, sometimes called Christmas Crack

Cookies

I baked 10 batches of cookies, made 2 batches of spiced nuts, dipped 1 batch of dried apricots into melted dark chocolate, and made a batch of instant cocoa cones to give to my family members. The 10 batches were as follows: 2 batches of shortbread, 1 batch of chocolate-vanilla ribbon cookies, 1 batch of peppermint swirl cookies, 1 batch of peanut bars, 1 batch of mixed nut bars, 1 batch of chocolate-chocolate chip meringues, 1 batch of gingerbread men and women, 1 batch of speculaas, and 1 batch of double chocolate-peppermint drop cookies. My daughters baked 3 batches of cookies (their own speculaas using a different recipe, the star cookies from the magazine, and a batch of oatmeal toffee bars from an ad for Quaker Oats in a 1980s magazine) and made 2 batches of crack (a cross between English toffee and cookies). We gave away at least 2/3 of all of the treats. And I still have some in the freezer. Baking lots of different Christmas cookies is a favorite December thing for me. And giving them away is the joy of all of the baking.

Filling tins

On the 23rd, I got out the tins and holiday paper plates (bought at Dollar Tree) and about 2/3 to 3/4 of the treats out of the freezer. We packed the tins and plates heaping full of goodies and then delivered many to our neighbors. 

I also packed the tower of tins for our son and daughter-in-law. I packed so many cookies, dipped dried fruit, spiced nuts, and commercial candy into our son and daughter-in-law's tins that the cocoa cones had to be placed on top of the tower under the ribbon instead of inside one of the tins. 

The treat tower turned out nice. I loved seeing the smiles of appreciation as they opened each tin.

Wrapping

The gift wrapping was a bit chaotic this year. We've accumulated so many nice gift bags and have multiple partial rolls of gift wrap (some picked up at yard sales in summer), it's to the point that not all of the gift bags and wrapping paper fit into the same storage container. I've been using one of the under-the-bed gift wrap plastic bins (thrifted) to store both bags and wrap. I use plastic salad clamshells for bows and ribbons. As good luck would have it, one of my daughters had bought a similar under-the-bed storage bin at a yard sale that she was now going to give away (didn't fit under her bed). I told her that I could definitely use it. The day after Christmas, my two daughters and I organized all of the gift wrap, gift bags, bows, ribbons, and gift tags neatly into the two large under-the-bed bins and a few plastic clamshells. Going forward, I think we'll be able to keep our supplies tidier and find what we need more quickly.

Cooking and cleaning

I had a lot of help from all of my family in this area. On the 24th we went to an early Christmas Eve service then came home to make Chinese food for dinner. We watched It's a Wonderful Life as we dined on our home-cooked Chinese. Christmas Day meals turned out well. My daughters did an egg bake, adding shredded beet greens, halved cherry tomatoes, and shredded cheese to the eggs, then baked in a 9 X 12 Pyrex casserole. I skipped the parchment paper and simply greased the baking dish extra well. I decided to make a last-minute half-batch of eggnog for brunch and dinner. I didn't taste it, as it had dairy, but it must've been tasty as it was finished off by the end of dinner. The yogurt bar was a hit. I added sliced almonds, pepita seeds, frozen raspberries, frozen blueberries, dried apricots, dried cranberries, honey, and maple syrup to the toppings bar. I didn't bake the sausages, but did those in a skillet. They turned out fine and didn't take much extra time. For fruit we had tangerines and orange juice. While the three of us were cooking, my husband took over the cleaning chores. The bathroom was left spotless and freshened with pine scent (thank you Mrs. Meyer's cleaning spray). That man washed more dishes on Christmas Day than I think he washes in a month. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole

For dinner, you know I said we would be roasting a whole chicken with an orange glaze? Do you also remember the problem with the small freezer where we store all of our meat? Well, one of the meats in the freezer that I pulled out (not because it thawed, but because I think it was keeping the door from closing tightly) was a whole chicken. Anyway, I roasted that chicken that very week, then cut off the breast and thigh portions, wrapped and froze. As our main dish on Christmas I made a Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole. I assume other people make this. I just made up my version as I went. It was delicious! I'll give you more details how I did this later this week. I took photos as I went. 

To go with the dinner, I used the rest of the refrigerator dinner roll dough from making the almond filled bread (had with Christmas brunch) to make 16 crescent dinner rolls. My daughters each made a vegetable side dish (roasted Brussel sprouts and garlic green beans) while I made gingered pears (using Asian pears I had chopped and frozen in early fall). For dessert, I baked a cherry pie the day before. I think it all turned out pretty good. Christmas dinner is always a more difficult meal for me to cook, as we always have guests in the house during the hours I need to cook. I am easily distracted, so carrying on a conversation while I'm cooking is often disastrous for the meal. To counter this, I prepared much of Christmas dinner in advance. The casserole was assembled on the 24th, then refrigerated until baking on the 25th. The dinner rolls were baked a few days in advance and stored in the freezer until the morning of the 25th. I toasted them wrapped in foil in the oven shortly before dinner. The pie was ready and waiting for us. And the gingered pears are a no-brainer side dish. My daughters completely handled the green vegetables, so I didn't need to even think about those. I think for people like me who can't carry on a conversation while measuring and mixing ingredients, preparing as much as possible in advance is key.

Christmas origami and the game

One of the more challenging activities I did during the days leading up to Christmas was making dollar bill origami in holiday shapes. I used a mix of $1s and $5s. Some were easier than others. I gave up in frustration on a couple of designs. In the end I had 2 different versions of Christmas trees, 1 angel, 1 Santa hat, and 1 star. The most satisfying of all were the star and the more elaborate of the Christmas trees. The money origami were some of the prizes in a game we played after dinner. A couple of years ago I told you about the cup game we played after Christmas dinner, where I placed small prizes under upturned Solo cups on the table. Everyone took turns choosing a cup and finding different prizes. In this year's version, we added a layer of fun to the game. We combined the cup game with Nativity trivia. Before choosing a cup to win a prize, each family member had to correctly answer a trivia question about the Nativity, its prophecy, and the various people, places, songs, and things involved. For each question, the player got 3 guesses, and they could get assistance if they didn't know. They could "phone" a friend (ask someone else if they knew the answer) or have 3 minutes on their phone to find the answer. Like I said, everyone had 3 guesses, so each person was able to correctly answer their trivia questions. We had 40 prizes in total, with items like travel-size toiletries, small games, bath items, wrapped candies, interesting pieces of fruit, baggies of nuts, tea bags, air fresheners, hand warmers, a potholder, interesting small jars of food, spice mixes, and more -- all from the grocery store. To these prizes I added the 5 money origami shapes, because everyone likes to win money, right?

Our son and daughter-in-law left late Christmas night. I did a little cleaning up, then hit the hay around midnight. Such a busy couple of days. But such wonderful days they were.

I have so much more to say, but I need to get myself some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow.

How was your Christmas Eve and Christmas? Did everything go as planned? What were your special meals? Did you play any games on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Please share. 

Be back tomorrow!

The Last Batch of Cookies -- Striped Ones

This is another of my mother's recipes. They're a refrigerator cookie. You mix the dough, form it into a long shape like a log or in this case, rolled out and stacked in layers (alternating flavors) inside a narrow box, and then refrigerate until firm.

With the layered dough, after chilling, I unbox and trim up the edges a little.

Then I slice the dough thinly and

place on a buttered baking sheet.

They bake up nicely and look pretty appealing. 

I hadn't planned on baking these cookies for Christmas. But, I made spiced nuts over the weekend, and those use egg whites. The chocolate-vanilla refrigerator cookies use an egg yolk. I was able to use the leftover yolk in these cookies after making the nuts.

Our freezer is now very full of baked cookies. I'll begin thawing some tomorrow as I put together plates of cookies for some of our neighbors. On Wednesday I'll pack tins of baked goodies for my son and daughter-in-law, which I will stack as a treat tower for one of their gifts. 

I've made my work list for the next three days. Everything is beginning to come together, but there is still plenty of work to do. I hope all of your work is wrapping up, leaving you to relax and enjoy Christmas with your loved ones.

This is my last post until Dec. 29. Wishing you and those you hold dear a very merry Christmas.

How will you pass your family holiday recipes on to the next generation?

I've mentioned my holiday book before. It's a lined journal that I am in the process of adding all of the holiday recipes I've cooked over the years. I've also added a couple of pages of memorable family moments, some how-tos for our family Christmas crafts and decorating, the games that we played on holidays, as well as some pages of menus. Some day, my kids will have my recipes and be able to recreate their own favorites. And you know, I would like to leave some pages blank so they can add new ones, too.

What made me think about this today is that I've felt a need to get this done now. My rush isn't based on anything in my own life, but in the life of a good friend. My friend had planned to make a couple of books for the future generations of her own family. Only, life circumstances now prevent that from happening. 

We never know when we will no longer be able to do those things that we feel will matter. This year my mind is still clear and I have decent energy to accomplish finishing a large portion of my holiday book. Next year, life could be different. I don't want to put off doing this. I have a fair amount of time to myself each day. I could be vacuuming or washing windows with that time. But I'd rather do something that I hope at least one of my kids values when I'm no longer here. I can guarantee you this, not one of my kids will think back and wish the windows had been cleaner.

Many years ago, I read a short story in a magazine. A mother was ill at the holidays. Her two daughters decided they would do all of the holiday work and cook and bake all the foods their mother had always made. This mother kept a personal cookbook that contained all of these family favorite recipes. The daughters were able to pull Christmas together when their mother couldn't. That story is what made me think I'd like to have a holiday book for my own daughters, son, daughter-in-law to consult and find those recipes.

My mother had a recipe card file, which I now have. I love going through her file and finding her recipes, most written in her own handwriting. Many recipes are indicative of the times she was a young mother, recipes from the 1960s and early 1970s. It's fun to thumb through her card file and see those foods that I remember and some that I don't. It's a piece of her that I have with me today. And I do make a couple of her signature holiday dishes from time to time.

I want my holiday recipe book to fill a place in my kids' lives when they want to remember their years with me at the helm of the kitchen.

As I've baked and cooked this Thanksgiving and Christmas, I've taken a few moments to copy my recipes into the book. Once I have the book mostly filled, I'll make an index for everything. I don't expect my kids will cook exactly as I do. But I do think they'll want to read the holiday book some day and have those warm feelings of remembrance.

Have you thought about how you will pass your family's favorite recipes on to the next generation? Do you keep a recipe card file that a grown child might want? Is your method of passing on your recipes just giving them to your grown kids as they request now? How will you pass those family favorite recipes on to your kids or grandkids?

The afternoon did not turn out how I planned, but it worked out for the best anyway

Unbeknownst to me, when my husband went out to the small freezer to bring in a new package of butter this morning, some of the contents of the freezer shifted and prevented the freezer door from closing all the way. This is our small upright freezer that we use to keep all of our meat, our butter, and various stocks. With an upright, if something prevents the door from fully closing, one might not notice. That's what happened with my husband.

This afternoon I went out to the fridge/freezer right next to the small upright one, in order to get another container of applesauce. I noticed the door was ajar. When I went to close the door, it wouldn't hold shut. I opened it to find a bunch of frost on some of the items. I checked every item, moved some to the chest freezer to make room for the door to close, and came across 3 packages of meat that felt squishy, but cold. Those three were nearest the opening where the door was ajar. Fortunately, everything else was okay. But it alarmed me

I brought the three packages of meat into the kitchen and took the temperature of each using a digital thermometer. They were about 32 degrees F. Two packages were ground beef and one was a steak. I decided just to play it safe and cook all three packs of meat this afternoon.

Today was supposed to be one of my easy cooking nights. I cook 4 nights a week. My husband cooks with me one night (I do some of the sides and he does the main). And my two daughters each take a night. This week of all weeks I am super busy with Christmas work. So I had planned for tonight to be tuna melts, a quick and easy dinner. I was forced into changing plans, and instead I combined the two packs of ground beef and made an extra large meatloaf. In addition, I turned the steak into a pot of stew. I'm wiped out. Not because I cooked a lot. But because I hustled and worked all morning and into early afternoon, and then cooked for the rest of the day.

But here's the good part. When I decided to just bake a huge meatloaf, I also decided to make double the side dishes for tonight. So, I have dinner made for tomorrow and ready to reheat,.And I have a pot of stew for lunches for tomorrow and maybe Friday.

You know how the saying goes "necessity is the mother of invention?" Well, in this case, necessity was the mother of productivity. I'm now far enough ahead in cooking daily meals that I can use my time to be more productive in other areas. It all worked out for the best.

Do you want to know what ChatGPT suggested for my family's Christmas Breakfast/Brunch?

So I asked AI (ChatGPT) for suggestions for our Christmas brunch, looking for a menu that is high in protein, limited sugar, and with fruits and vegetables. It initially gave me a couple of good suggestions, but it still sounded like a lot of work. So I asked it to refine its answer and reduce my work even further. 

I thought I'd share its answer, for one, perhaps you can see problems with a suggestion, and two, some items actually sounded good and do-able for many people.

Here's its reply:

15-Minute Christmas Brunch (Minimal Prep)

Main (10 minutes active prep)

Sheet-Pan Scrambled Eggs with Veggies

(no chopping required)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (or use stovetop if preferred).

2. Whisk together:

10–12 eggs, ½ cup cottage cheese (optional but boosts protein), salt & pepper

3. Spread on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

4. Sprinkle on:

Frozen spinach (thawed & squeezed) or fresh baby spinach, pre-sliced mushrooms, jarred roasted red peppers (drained)

5. Bake 12-15 minutes while you prep everything else.

Protein Side (2 minutes prep)

Fully Cooked Chicken Sausage or Turkey Bacon

1. Toss on a second sheet pan

2. Heat in the oven alongside eggs (5–8 minutes)

Cold Protein Option (3 minutes)

Plain Greek Yogurt Bowls

1. Scoop yogurt into bowls

2. Top with:

Fresh berries, nuts or seeds

Veggie Plus Healthy Fat (2 minutes)

Avocado Plate

1. Slice avocado

2. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper

optional: toss on cherry tomatoes straight from the container

Fruit

Grab-and-Go-Fruit

Berries, kiwi, or grapefruit—washed, no cutting if you keep it simple

Drinks

Coffee, tea, sparkling water with lemon

Total Active Time  12 to 15 minutes

So, what did I think? Overall, it had some good suggestions. I'm not sure how sheet pan eggs on parchment would work out. Wouldn't the eggs, when uncooked, run on the parchment? It sounds liquidy and messy to start. If it worked, the eggs would obviously set and no longer be a mess possibility. Have you ever done a sheet-pan meal that was on the runny side to start? Do you think eggs on parchment on a jelly roll pan would work? I may want to do something else for an egg and vegetable dish. I can't have cottage cheese (lactose), and frozen spinach is hard to source in my area, still (recall earlier this fall). I could do a garden kale, cherry tomato, eggs, and cheddar cheese dish, only needing to buy cherry tomatoes. I don't think the eggs would bake thoroughly in 12-15 minutes. AI can be wrong about details like this.

The fully cooked sausages would work well in the oven, as suggested. As it would happen, I have several of those small boxes of pre-cooked turkey breakfast sausage that I could use. And this would be easy.

I love the idea for yogurt bowls. I would do this as a yogurt bar, and let everyone help themselves. I could add several small bowls of toppings, such as roasted and chopped nuts, dried fruit (I have cranberries, prunes, apples, pears), banana slices, frozen raspberries and blueberries (I'd put them out still frozen for better texture), honey, and maple syrup. I have everything except the Greek yogurt. Do I think my family would enjoy this? Yes, I do!

I don't think we would need the avocado plate. But I would like some fresh fruit. I bought 3 bags of tangerines the other day. If they still look good on Christmas Day, I could put out tangerines. 

I will be baking our almond-filled bread. I'm both Swedish and Danish, and both countries have almond-filled pastries common for the holidays. My family looks forward to this every year. And as it would happen, I have almond paste in the freezer. Since my daughter-in-law has a nut allergy, I will also bake cranberry-orange muffins, using fresh cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving. I can do both breads in advance and freeze.

We have coffee, tea, and sparkling water. I would want to buy some orange juice.

I could do this menu, especially if the eggs-on-a-sheet-pan idea was really do-able. 

What are your thoughts on ChatGPT's menu suggestions? What do you think of the egg dish? Do you see any problems with its other suggestions? Would you (or have you) consult AI for menu suggestions?

Christmas Day Breakfast/Brunch: What do you typically do?

I should be further along in this plan, but I am right now making plans for our Christmas Day brunch. The only food for certain that I'll make is an almond-filled pastry that I make every year. Otherwise I have no plans.

So what do you usually do for Christmas Day breakfast or brunch? If you used to make a big breakfast or brunch, what did you do then? Does anyone have a make-ahead recipe for a breakfast casserole? Two of us go light on bread products and other starches. Any suggestions for low-carb breakfast dishes? Will you serve any fresh fruit? Who here uses their crockpots to do overnight breakfast dishes?

Even if you can't offer suggestions that would meet my needs, I do want to hear what you all are planning or have often done in the past for Christmas breakfast or brunch. Don't we all like to hear what others have on their holiday menus?

I can't wait to read your breakfast and brunch menus.