September, 2014..What's Cooking For Dinner??

Niagara Visitor wrote: How did I get to be that old, to have a 48 year old son when I can't possibly be older than maybe 45??????

Sons will supply and fry the fish, I have said that for everyone else it is pot luck and BYOB.  We have been here for almost 39 years, our/my children grew up here, and many of their school friends spent a lot of time here, not only as teenagers but later.  It was always so nice for my hubby and me to see their friends coming with their families as they got older, so this fish fry will be very special.  Too bad Dieter won't be here, but he'll be here in spirit.

So, it's onward and upward.  I am soooooo looking forward to condo living, no snow removal, indoor parking Indoor pool, party room. gym, garbage disposal, everything.

I am convinced that children somehow advance in age much faster than their parents. It just amazes me that our daughters suddenly became 39 & 40 when, last time I checked, they were just 29 & 30!

Having an opportunity to have that one, final fish fry is wonderful, Lore. You will all have a chance to say 'good-bye' and toast to thank the place for so many good memories. Every time the fire flickers you will know it's Dieter laughing into the flames!

I know you are going to love the condo living, especially since you know the farm will be well cared for by a couple who are falling in love with it. Won't it be great for the place to have the laughter of small children again?

And now that you have their $$, you can laugh all the way to the bank!

But the best has got to come for you. Can you imagine how wonderful it will be to see the snow falling, falling, falling on the city below and all you have to do is snuggle down into your chair and hold your mug of tea? No worry about having to go out. All you'll have to do is enjoy the view!

My son turned 40 this year,He said his life is half over He is also going to do 40 things this year that he has never done. kinda like a bucket list lol lol. I said ghezz what you gonna do when you reach 50 then 60 god forbid 70? He is still a kid if you ask me..

Condo life would not be for me.Good luck & be happy with your new adventure..

Beth your dinner prep made tired. I used to do all that too.Took all day or days to fix a meal.Then out of sight, out of mind.Seems folks either do not care what you did to make it nice,or just have no clue.Been there done that so many times.I feel depressed even thinking about it.Guess that is why I have lost interest in entertaining.Even for family.DD is busy . Grands are busy.DS is busy ,,course he lives in Delaware.I am lazy & bored..I still love to cook & bake so I do.....

getting cooler here still in the high 80. man oh man. I will do happy dance when it gets down in the 70. I miss my grilling.I can go outside & rip out the weeds & dead flowers in the front ,get some new fall stuff to plant.Cool weather renews me..

Barbara101 wrote:Condo life would not be for me.Good luck & be happy with your new adventure..

Chances are that if you had two long driveways to clear of three foot snowdrifts in February, 3 acres of grass to cut, and a 15 minute drive to the closest grocery store, gas station, etc., you would look differently at the thought of having someone else looking after all that. Not needing to put on a winter coat, boots, and driving a half hour to go for a swim in the winter sounds pretty nice. Also, just saying to yourself "I think I want to go away for a few days", and then just having to turn off the lights, lock the door and leave, right now sounds pretty good to me.

I am very, very fortunate that I had 50+ years with a man who was Mr. Fix it (also Mr. Don't throw anything away) but that is gone, and unfortunately is not coming back. I told my son the other day that I am getting a bumper sticker that says "Spending my children's inheritance" He said that he hopes I have a great time doing it, but just not to put a mortgage on the condo!

39 years on a farm was wonderful and I will miss it. But we all know stuff happens, people get old and some are not willing to look at that the inevitable (old age) is right there before our eyes when our children have to make choices. I am stubborn enough to want to make those decisions still. Once I am settled into the condo, I will also look into the next step, which will be retirement living in an assisted living situation. There are very long waiting lists for some here. 10 years is not unusual!

Today my sons and my neighbour are coming to do the last of the outside clean up here. They filled two 12 cubic yard bins earlier in the year, and there is an 18 yard standing by my barn. It boggles the mind what can be collected through the years.

I have sold some things, donated a lot of things and am having fun decorating a new space. I can only hope that condo living will be as much fun as I expect. I have met several of my neighbours who all say they are happy in the building.

Sorry, I didn't expect this to become so long.

Lore, you will have a ball! You knew what you were looking for and you went for it. Just as our 1,100 sq. foot villa would not be for some others, it is just right for Dane and me. Life at this stage of life is what you make of it and you have a wonderful attitude. I don't regret the things in the past, just remember some of the wonderful times and smile.

And you are absolutely correct about it being terrific to just turn off the lights and lock the door when you want to go off for a few days.

I have looked in my freezer & fridge a dozen times. So brisket? Or pot roast? Or not Manicotti but some sort of pasta dish..

And you are absolutely correct about it being terrific to just turn off the lights and lock the door when you want to go off for a few days.


I did that when I lived in Western NC. I only had Ms.cat & could leave her a few days. Now I have 2 puppers & her. So leaving is not on my mind. Funny but when I would leave up there I never ever locked my doors or heck even closed the windows, when I went out or came down here .. when I sold it , I had to find the door keys.I did not even carry them with me. I also could leave my auto unlocked & windows down,course closed them after I found muddy prints on the hood. Living down here no such thing will happen.My bills tripled too.

Checked my freezer also a couple of times. I found a smoked pork hock, it is defrosting, I am going to make a big pot of pea soup with it later. Weather is cool here, only 13 C. That's what, about 50 F? Time for soup, in my opinion.

We're going out with friends tonight. One of them wants the prime rib special. I'll see what sounds good on the menu.

I just bought a slow cooker and am doing Beth's pot roast in it.. The one with the packages of Italian and Ranch dressings and a packet of brown gravy. I am doing a 4 lb. chuck roast with some carrots and turnips added. I also am going to have some mushrooms and creamed corn.

NormM wrote:I just bought a slow cooker and am doing Beth's pot roast in it.. The one with the packages of Italian and Ranch dressings and a packet of brown gravy.  I am doing a 4 lb. chuck roast with some carrots and turnips added. I also am going to have some mushrooms and creamed corn.

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LOL I made it too. Altho I did not know it was Beths ..Doing mashed on the side . Not in the slow cooker.

Good stuff, Maynard!

And the recipe started (for me, anyway) on the old Cooking.com forum ~ a lady named Bev.

But she was only around a short time so I just started telling everyone it was MY idea.....LOL

Here is mine.

Went out with my sis for dinner. We went to a German/Bavarian restaurant that has been around for a very long time. They have two pages of variations of Schnitzels. I can't believe how big their portions have become. The meat was larger than the dinner plate. Delicious, very thin and crisped to perfection, wonderfully made home fries, I had sauerkraut, she had a Hungarian Goulash soup. We both took half the schitzel home. No wonder our waistlines are getting bigger all over the place.

Too bad I forgot that they put a lot of caraway in the sauerkraut, though. I don't like that, it is common in Germany, helps to keep the burpies away after eating it.

The pot roast dinners look FANTASTIC !! I love the way it comes out with that recipe, all falling apart and juicy.

Niagarahost - I know what you mean about the caraway. I'm with you. I much prefer my kraut without the seeds. When I was in school (back when schools had "REAL" cooks in the kitchen....) we would very occasionally have hot dogs and sauerkraut, their take on German sausage and kraut with mashed potatoes. I always looked forward to that meal. Then, to get more of the kids to eat it one of the cooks decided it would be better if they added sugar to the kraut to get rid of the sour part.

RUINED a perfectly good meal. And the ones who didn't like sauerkraut STILL didn't eat it.

I was watching an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives recently - at a German restaurant. They made beef roulade (sp?) that sounded just divine. Pounded out beef cutlets, spread with some mustard, a layer of very thinly sliced onion and then a dill pickle....rolled up and secured, then roasted with gravy for a few hours until falling apart tender. It sure sounds good to me.

I make beef rouladen (German spelling) quite often. Generally you also add a small piced of bacon to the filling. Brown in a skillet first, then add some water and finish in the oven in a covered dish. Generally served with plain boiled potatoes and red cabbage.

Why on earth would someone add sugar to sauerkraut? Silly idea.

I add brown sugar to kraut all the time. Along with pears or apples with some sort of pork.Love love love it..

Well, who am I to tell anyone what is good to eat? I understand that there are even people on earth who like mustard! LOL

Hahahahahaha!

Agreed !

And as far as I'm concerned, if you like it, EAT IT. Life is too short to accept what others say you 'should' or 'should not' eat.

What is really strange to me ~ and I have a billion 'quirks' ~ is that most of the things I grew up eating, like cucumber/onion salad, had sugar in it. Others make theirs with just sour cream and vinegar.

But our sauerkraut was always 'sour'....and none of that rinsing to remove the salt.

Gee, maybe that's why everyone in my family is on blood pressure lowering meds.....

LOL