Off-topic--Meal Planning for extras!

 Leftovers, again?

Are you having leftovers for a meal, multiple times during the same week? Is someone complaining? Perhaps, you need a multiple-use, leftover planning solution.

If you have someone who will eat the leftovers from a meal one time, but not a second time, you should consider freezing the leftovers from your meals.

A shallow 3-cup container by Glad can contain one of the following combinations.

• 4-servings of a vegetable or dessert
• A TV dinner for one
• one serving of a low-calorie soup
• the base ingredient for another dish

Raw hamburger (when freezing it, divide it with a doubled separator of waxed paper) can make any of the following meals.

• hamburgers
• hamburger steaks
• hamburger steak and gravy
• beef for soups
• chili
• spaghetti sauce

Leftover chili has a variety of uses

• chili for hamburgers or hot dogs
• chili for beans
• chili with cheese for dips
• chili beans can be served over rice/potatoes/bread

Stewed chicken breasts are a staple for many different meals. Try putting the basic stewed chicken with broth in the 3-cup containers for quick meals.

• make chicken salad
• chicken and rice
• chicken and noodles
• chicken and gravy
• chicken sandwiches
• lightly floured and fried chicken breasts

Change up your meals by freezing leftovers or portioning your base meats for different menu choices. If you vary the vegetables and spices that you use, you can give meals a lift from the tedious regularity. Getting into the habit of fixing meals using base ingredients for different types of meals is awesome.

Who wants the same leftovers twice in one week?

Have you considered freezing the leftovers for later use?

Prepare different meals instead of serving the same leftovers back-to-back. If you think ahead, you can repurpose the leftovers into a brand new dish.

Consider fixing breakfast menu choices for your supper. Here are great mix-and-match menu choices for a novice cook.

• eggs
• bacon/ham
• grits/rice
• toast/bun/biscuit
• pancakes/waffles
• oatmeal with jelly or jelly/peanut butter

Do the above solutions offer sufficient alternatives to address the “what again” reactions to your menu choices?

Let the person who is complaining about the leftovers fix a meal to break the perceived monotony. He or she does not get to purchase take-out, order a meal delivery, or buy junk food for alternative meals. The available ingredients are limited to those in the house.

Off topic--Bugs

 When you have brought in bugs with your groceries 

and they multiply, what steps can you take?

• Have a covered trash can.

• Put all debris into the trash can.

• Use smaller trash bags and take out the trash more frequently.

• Get rid of cardboard boxes.

• Incoming food in cardboard boxes?

                Check any food boxes as you bring them into the home.

                Remove contents to shelves or plastic airtight containers

                Immediately take the cardboard boxes out of the house to 

                            the trash/recycle covered trashcan.

• Establish a rule that all food must be eaten in the kitchen.

• Clean up after each food, beverage, and snack activity.

• Keep windows and doors closed unless screened.

• Clean furniture of all debris.

• Vacuum or sweep and mop floors.

• Clean outside of cabinets and appliances.

• Use “no-bug” shelf liners.

• Keep floors and furniture clear of boxes, bags, clothing.

• Wash and put away dirty clothing promptly if the clothing is not in hampers.

• Remove shoes before entering the house.

• Use flea and tick collars on pets.

• Check clothing for insects before entering the home, especially if you went into a wooded area.

• Use sticky traps.

• Use appropriate bug killers and poisons. Repeat their use as necessary.

Off topic--Party Appetizers

Someone on another site asked me this question, "How can one create a cheese board that offers something for everyone, including the pickiest eaters?"

Since hopefully, we'll soon be able to get back to going to visit (or host) our friends and loved ones, here's my answer.

I think what you want to know is what items do you need to put on a cheese or appetizer board?

How many tray varieties or the amount or the variety of trays depends on your guests.

I have a few divided serving trays that will keep each section separate. I prefer to make small trays over large ones so they can be held in the fridge longer.

On a toothpick, my top choice—different types of cheese cubes, ham cubes, pineapple chunks, maraschino cherries—plain no crackers. You can do ham/cheese, cheese/pineapple, pineapple/cherry, along with the other choices. You will need 8-ounces to 1-pound of solid or cubed cheese choice; one 1-lb can of pineapple chunks or rings, two 8-ounce jars of cherries, and 4 -8 slices of ham as thick as your thumb. This combination makes a decent size tray to take to a party or serve to family and friends.

Add none, any, or all of the following, or make a separate tray—display prettily:

   Loose—strawberries, small bunches of grapes, melon balls, or cubes.

   Loose—peeled orange segments from 3 navel oranges placed in a ring around a strawberry/banana yogurt (9-inch round plate.)

   Vegetables cut as fancy as you like—carrot sticks, celery scoops, celery sticks zucchini chips, sweet pepper strips, snow peas, pear tomatoes. I marinate them in a vinegarette and serve them with a dip.

   Dips or dressings—standby onion dip or why not try a raspberry vinaigrette, Thousand Islands dressing with bacon (thicken with mayo), Ranch dip, horseradish with cream cheese, fresh salsa, yogurt dip, cream chess with whipped cream, oil & vinegar, Italian spices in cream cheese whip. (I used the fresh salsa and the horseradish/cream cheese dips with a zucchini and cracker tray.)

   Any purchased Cheese ball plus various—multi-grained crackers.

   Chicken salad wraps—salad in a cut slice of chicken, cigarillo style leafy lettuce outer wrap—or that Hawaiian dinner roll, or place in a clear bowl with crackers around it. (I add slivers of carrots and colorful sweet raw peppers, some tiny celery cubes in the last option. Display in a lovely clear bowl on a pedestal—use a small bowl long-handled serving spoon.)

   Deviled eggs—mayo, salt, yellow vinegar, fresh ground pepper—turn it into a boat with a cheese triangle sail on a toothpick.

   Homemade pimento cheese using a cheese mixture, serve with celery scoops or on Hawaiian rolls, or with crackers. My shredded Mexican taco blend was a huge success.

   Toothpick cubes of layered dark bread with a cream cheese spread and hot pepper jam.

I don’t generally serve any nuts unless I do a fruit bowl: toasted pecans, angel flake coconut, maraschino cherries, and mandarin oranges with canned fruit cocktail spiced with cinnamon.

Add a low-calorie vegan soup and a hearty creamy chicken and rice soup/stew—you have a full meal. I know, I hosted a 4-hour brunch for 50. 

Are you stuck with your clutter?

 How to overcome the inability to declutter.

Inaction, apathy, disability, exhaustion, resistance, and lack of time contribute to clutter blindness and the failure to declutter.

Change comes from within.

• You have to decide you deserve better.
• You have to decide you need change.
• You have to take action.

Have a vision. Set goals.

• Break down the steps to reach the goals.
• Schedule time to reach the goals.
• Get help.

Get household members in on the action.

• Give them specific tasks.
• Teach them how to do tasks.
• Set consequences for non-compliance or resistance.

Take action.

• Go for it.
• Repeat the steps until goals are reached.
• Maintain daily goals.

Pay for professions, if you cannot do the job yourself.

Notes

• Use music to “swing” the mind into action.
• Reward yourself for reaching the goals—not with more stuff.
• Organize after decluttering.

Do you like the minimalist trend? Why or why not?

 My home is becoming minimalist by necessity.

Reasons?

I’m staying at home—familiarity breeds contempt. You can only dust something so many times before you have to decide if it is worth keeping.

My physical abilities have diminished—as I’ve gotten older, I find it takes me longer to clean rooms, which I used to breeze through when cleaning.

We need more open space—for visiting disabled family and friends, using canes, walkers, or wheelchairs. That side table needs to be clear for the beverage and dessert I will offer them when they are visiting.

Our lives frequently change. Our homes should reflect our needs. Our houses don’t need to be “perfect.” However, don’t let the goal of “perfect” interfere with pursuing “good enough”—it is easier to obtain and makes you an easier-to-live-with housemate!