Shining Example of My Own Pet Peeve

Alack and alas, I have become a shining example of my own pet peeve--I haven't updated my blog in ages.  I have tons of great excuses and I'd shower you with all of them (and they are very plausible, trust me), but I'm afraid I would scare away the two people who actually read my blog, so I better be careful.

I've been working very hard on my food storage plan.  However, I hit a roadblock in the form of SE.  He said he won't cook any of the stuff I have planned because he doesn't know the recipe or which book it's in.  This is standard excuse #1 why he doesn't feel like he should have to cook dinner. The funny thing is, he knows it's lame, but he still uses it anyway.  I actually made a recipe book with all the recipes in it, bound it, and put it in a very obvious place in my kitchen.  Let's see what excuses he comes up with now!  I may also have to tweek some of the recipes which aren't being well received by the family.  SE says tamale pie is one of them--it's too tomatoey.  I made one up Sunday night that was a huge hit.  Here's how it goes:

1 lb of ground beef
3 c. Botan rice, cooked (measurement is for raw, I don't know how much it makes cooked--maybe six cups?)
1/2 c. soy sauce (and then to taste)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can full of water
1 can of mushrooms

I browned the beef, and then added the cooked rice, soy sauce, soup, water and mushrooms and warmed through.  It was fast and the kids totally chowed down.  It even made great leftovers for lunch the next day.  (It has the consistency of a sort of hamburger helper, only not that greasy.)

I also found a recipe for oatmeal waffles, and those were a huge hit as well--they are definintely going into the rotation.  They were surprisingly fluffy, and didn't taste grainy at all.  The recipe can be found here:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Oatmeal-Waffles-2.

SIT1 and SIT2 had a great Halloween.  We carved pumpkins and went to the ward trunk-or-treat, which thankfully was inside and kept us from having to be outside in the cold wind and rain.  After, we went to my parents' house for treats.  We told the kids they could trick-or-treat by themselves around the circle on which my parents left.  They took off in great excitement, only to come back about two minutes later complaining it was too cold.  I could hardly believe that the temperature trumped their desire for candy. Things were sure different when I was a kid!

The garden is all wrapped up for this year.  I may try to can some chicken later on, if it goes on sale, but other than that, I'm all done canning this year.  I can hardly believe it's November already.  My favorite time of year, because I'm reminded of all the blessings which I enjoy.  What are you thankful for?