Princess Penny Pincher

Simple Blessings

 
 Today is one of "those days", and it is a bit of an effort to remain focused on the positive. Nothing significant has happened, and in fact the same personal and economic challenges remain.  But sometimes it can just grind on us, and before we know it slipping into a funk can happen in an instant. 

Life has a way of throwing a lot at us, and right now I would be willing to turn in my "grown-up card" if I could. Sans that option, I think it is time to nurture my soul by counting my blessings.

As I sit here introspectively, gazing outside I find comfort, and I am reminded that it is a glorious day. We had a bit of rain, and the sun is glimmeringly golden in that way that only happens here in Fall.  It is soothing to my soul to take in the beauty. For me, this is a favorite time of the year.

The cycle of seasons reminds me that there is a season and a time under heaven, and just as the seasons change, so too will the things that are burdensome, and a time is ahead for them to pass away. I just need to hold on, to weather thru.

I need to remain grateful for that which is good, to face that which attempts to take me down, to each day get up, to choose to look up, and just as the seasons change..... "this too shall pass," and "note to self", greater blessings are ahead.  

 

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." ~ Psalm 30:5

 

A Guest In Your Own Home

 
Last year as I prepared to move, I did a cursory inventory of my belongings, sorting thru every closet and cupboard to strategize for packing.  Admist the quiet and tedium, a still small voice rose up within my heart. "Why are you saving so many things for "special"? The thought gave me great pause and switched my perspective.

Having always been pretty good about making use of things that I own, I am not one to collect a lot of clutter. Purging constantly, I give things away, and my grown kids continue to "shop" in my cupboards, often taking something home that they have had their eye on for quite some time.

Yet still, I keep many things for "company". A few dozen sets of towels, fine crystal wine glasses that each are works of art, a hand-painted tea set, lovely table linens and more, all "on the ready" for "company".

Most of us who were raised to view entertaining company as a special occasion are conditioned to make the most of it with extra fussing, house-cleaning end to end, a lovely meal, and perhaps a table beautifully set. Special items are taken out to welcome our guests.

Yet how often we forget our other more special guests. How often do we fuss and celebrate the "company" of family or even just oneself?

When was the last time you wrapped yourself up in a treasured new towel or dined on special china and allowed yourself to be "company"? Why shouldn't you nestle into your best sheets at night, or enjoy that amazing bottle of  stashed-away wine "just because"?

Why not savor a fabulous wine  or a "three buck chuck" in that crystal goblet that normally "stands ready" awaiting company that never quite comes? Proudly plate that grilled cheese sandwich on grandma's china.  

Life can be so wonderful and yet so burdensome sometimes. Special moments and "someday" never quite come, unless we make them happen. 

There is always a reason to rejoice, to celebrate, to count one's blessings. As we honor our most special "guests" in our home, life is just a bit richer.

So, let's celebrate "Happy Tuesday" "Glad I lost one pound Thursday" "Not going to mow the lawn Saturday". It's time to pull out those special towels or linens. Time to reach for that special goblet to fill it with a drink of choice, to raise it to the moment, take a deep breath and savor this moment and every one of our blessings.

 

Roasted Chicken Dinner ~ A Touch of Heaven

Last year during one of my "Julia Child" moments, I surfed the net for a vertical chicken roaster. I had always been fascinated by them, and curious if they really made the fabulous chicken that people swore. I didn't want one of those flimsy beer can holding gizmos, so I began a search for something more substantial and esthetically pleasing. Yes, I am very visual and fixate on things like that.

I found one on Emeril's site that was made of cast iron. It looked well-made, substantial, and I knew that cast iron is awesome to cook with. So, debt card in hand and fast forward, the roaster arrived.

Since using this fabulous roaster I have found a little bit of heaven. This roaster makes the most amazingly moist chicken. It is fail-proof. I love it so much that I have ordered it as a gift and plan to do so again this Christmas. It can be used in the oven and on the grill for chicken, a small duck, and you can also lean ribs standing up in it and cook them.

I have cooked the chicken alone but I usually cook veggies in the outer well, which saves time and utilities. I have added beer, wine, malt liquor or broth to the inner well. The flavor really does permeate the chicken, and the kitchen smells like a chef stopped by.

This chicken is so nutritious and lavish, it's fit for company, and yet it is budget-friendly since whole chicken is a much better buy than cut-up . Come on, I bet you want to peek at the roaster too.  Emeril Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Vertical Poultry Roaster

Now that I have bragged regarding my prized cookware, how about I share my most recent concoction with you. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.

 

• One 3 1/2 - 4lb whole chicken, well-rinsed inside and out and patted dry
• 8 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/2 cup Marsala cooking wine
• 1 tsp Lawry's garlic powder
• 1 tbl Emeril's Chicken Rub, 3.7-Ounces (Pack of 6)
• 4 tbl extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup chicken stock (or water with one bouillon cube, or low-sodium canned broth)
• 2 small potatoes peeled and halved or leave whole if very small (or un-peeled red potatoes)
• 2 cups onions cut in fourths
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut in fourths
• fresh rosemary on the stem
• meat thermometer
• Chicken roaster

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

While the oven heats, lightly oil the inside of the roaster with a little olive oil. Fill the center well with the marsala wine and add 4 cloves garlic.

In a bowl, mix vegetables and fresh rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. Toss with 2 tbl olive oil and set aside.

Salt the inside of the chicken and carefully place on roaster. Cut the other 4 garlic cloves in half, and gently slide the pieces under the skin of the chicken in various places. If you are patient, you can even slip some down in the crevice of the leg joint without tearing the skin.

With olive oil, brush the outside of the chicken and follow by patting the outside with a mixture of the chicken rub and garlic powder.

Fill the outer well with the vegetable mix, and slowly pour the broth on top of the mix.

Place roaster in the center of the oven rack and cook for one hour undisturbed until chicken is golden brown, skin is crispy and a thermometer inserted into the deepest portion registers 180 degrees, approx 60 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before carving. Carve, place on a platter with vegetables and drizzle a bit of the pan juices over the platter.

Get your "gourmet on" and give it a try.  Enjoy a little bit of heaven!

 

 

Backyard Gardens: The "Secret Stash"

 

In looking over weekly grocery receipts we all know that certain items eat up our shopping dollars and one major culprit can be herbs and spices.

 

Quality herbs and spices deliver lavish overtones to our meals and make or break our recipes; but they can also push our grocery budget off the charts.

 

Enter the “secret stash”. The backyard garden.  

 

Have you ever grown a garden? If you haven’t, then you have missed one of the great joys of living. There is nothing more medicinal, more rewarding than digging in the soil, raising up seedlings and harvesting a crop, albeit that first “garden” of yours may start out as a tiny pot of herbs.

 

Price out fresh herbs and you can easily drop $3.00 for a small handful that won’t even keep but a day or two. Raise a small pot, buying a few small seedlings for that same few dollars and you have unlimited herbs or spices to use fresh, or you can freeze or dry.

 

Enter my beloved basil plant. For a whopping $2.00 I now have a pot-full of the most amazing basil which I use in recipes many times weekly. I “get my Julia Child on” when I go out to the patio and pick a few sprigs for the recipe I am preparing.

 

The aroma and flavor and health benefit it adds to my recipes is incredible. For a miniscule amount I have fresh herbs at my fingertips, and I can lavishly use it without guilt. 

 

I can freeze basil pesto, freeze minced basil and I plan to try to dry a small stash soon.

 

So you think you have a “brown thumb”? Trust me, you can easily learn to grow a few herbs and spices and basil is an easy one to start with. You really can “get your gourmet on”.

 

 

Enjoy one of my favorite recipes using this fresh herb:

 

ONION-BASIL PASTA

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1/3 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried basil

5-6 very large yellow onions (peeled, sliced into thick rings)

Minced garlic to taste (recommend 3-4 cloves)

½ cup water

4-5 chicken bouillon cubes (preference: 5 cubes) 

1 pound uncooked linguini (Ronzoni)

Fresh basil ½ cup

Marsala cooking wine

Fresh parmesan (grated)

 

In a large skillet add oil, butter, fresh onions and begin to cook down until golden brown. Continue to turn the onion mixture carefully to cook evenly and to prevent scorching.

 

Once the onions are cooked down, add pepper, minced garlic water, bouillon and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

 

Add marsala cooking wine to taste and cook another 10 minutes (recommend ¼ cup)

 

During last 15 minutes of onion mixture cooking, cook the linguini.

 

When preparing to serve, chop and add the fresh basil to the onion mixture, retaining a small amount to garnish the dish.

 

Ladle the onion/ basil mixture over the linguini, sprinkle with grated parmesan, or serve the grated cheese to the side for those who prefer to abstain from or limit the cheese in their meal.

 

Garnish the dish with the balance of the basil.

 

Suggestions as additions to the recipe:

 

Chopped pancetta or artichoke hearts or enjoy sun-dried tomatoes

  

A luxurious and inexpensive meal, using fresh basil from your secret stash!!

 

 

Buon Apetito  

 

 

 

Living Lavishly

Ok, hoping to win the lottery as a plan B for financial freedom probably isn’t the most practical plan, but it doesn't hurt to hope!! However, life dictates that we make a plan or it will make one for us.

  

Can't resist, so I have to tell you that I did once meet a couple who won $16.6 million in the California lottery.  Yep, they really did, and they owe their good fortune to the wife who nagged her husband relentlessly all weekend-long until he acquiesced and ran to a mini-mart to buy milk and bread. While shopping, he bought a one-dollar lottery ticket, and of course "the rest is history".

 

  

So, it really can happen, but I suppose I do need to be practical and develop a better plan B, although it never hurts if someone would remember to buy a few tickets. Just  sayin’.

 

  

Most of us don’t need $16.6 million. We just want to live well, to have enough, to be blessed and to be a blessing, to be able to afford to fuss during life’s most momentous occasions.

 

  

So how do we live well as we work our plan, or until those millions roll in??

 

  

Living lavishly and managing a budget just isn’t that hard. It's not about meager living, but rather making the most of what you have. It takes creativity, some organization, knowing what's truly important and just remembering the “why” of love and family. 

 

  

I am on the road to living lavishly, and I hope that you will come along and share my journey.