After spending the first week in our new house, I realize that homes have their own personality and what I like to call “house sounds.” First of all, our ice maker has got to be the loudest ice maker in the world. It dumps ice out at all hours of the night, never during the day.
We live closer to the railroad than we did before, and I would swear that the train track actually goes through our bedroom just on the other side of the end of the bed, if I didn’t know better. I can’t figure out the need to blow the whistle at 2 in the morning when the gates are down and the lights are flashing, but apparently they feel the need to do so. I haven’t slept through a train yet, and at least three come through town every night.
My cats haven’t adjusted very well to our move. We let them out in the morning, and they return to our old house, where we have to go and retrieve them the next day. They are getting a little better. We only have to go get them once a day as opposed to several times a day. I remembered that God took a week to make the universe, so maybe after a week the cats can adjust to their new home.
The day we moved in the electricity went off at about 3 in the afternoon and stayed off until the next day. Twenty-four hours without electricity can be brutal — especially in July. I hoped that wasn’t a bad omen. The next day my sister-in-law came over to help me cover the bottoms of my dining room chairs with new fabric. We had finished two of the six chairs when I realized we were using the wrong side of the fabric. Oops!
Looking for the simplest items can be quite challenging. Steve almost bled to death yesterday while I searched for Band-Aids. I am learning to live with stairs, the hard way. Today, I went through the carport to the laundry room to avoid climbing the stairs. My knees and ankles are feeling the steps in the worst way.
We are still a work in progress. Slowly, but surely, things are getting moved over and we have a new normal. I’m just trying to convince my cats.
I hope you will give this week’s recipes a try. Thanks for reading.
BAKED GREEK SQUASH AND FETA
2 medium zucchini squash
2 medium yellow squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Greek seasoning
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut squash in slices and toss with olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with Greek seasoning and cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
PEANUT BUSTER BAR DESSERT
Crust:
1 stick butter, melted
1 (15-ounce) package Oreo cookies, crushed
½ gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1½ cup chopped peanuts
Mix butter and crumbs together, and spread into a 13-by-9-inch pan. Spread ice cream on crust, and sprinkle peanuts on top. Put in freezer to set.
Topping:
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 stick butter
2/3 cup chocolate chips
2 cups powdered sugar
Combine all ingredients, and boil for four minutes, stirring constantly. Cool and pour over peanuts and ice cream. Freeze before serving.
RO-TEL POTATOES
1 onion, chopped
8 medium potatoes, boiled
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can chopped Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 pound Velveeta cheese, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
Brown onion and bell pepper in butter. Add mushrooms, cheese and Ro-Tel tomatoes. Stir over low heat until cheese has melted. Slice cooled boiled potatoes and place in a greased casserole dish. Pour cheese mixture over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until heated through.
• Contact Lee Ann Flemming at lafkitchen@hughes.net.
