Reflections of My Life

Life is funny at times. One day I am living in the country with no neighbors and now I live downtown in a city. A small city, but a city for sure. And I really like it. Of course, over the years, I have lived in many places and mostly in cities. But the longest period of living in one place was almost 20 years at my last house. Maybe I would have been happier there if the house had been grid tied but it wasn't. That was not the only problem with it though, so no, I did the right thing by leaving.

Lately I have been cutting up my salad vegetables and making a large salad that I keep in the refrigerator in a glass Pyrex bowl that has a cover. The salad stays fresh and I can just grab a small bowl of it without the fuss of having to prepare the whole thing every time. Having food halfway prepared works good for me, otherwise, I just grab a can of salmon or tuna. I like homemade food best but when I am hungry I want it NOW. So I am going to make some foods that I can freeze with that purpose in mind. I like my chicken freshly cooked though. I don't want to cook it and freeze it unless it is chicken breast chunks for certain dishes or chicken salad.
 

As much as I love my Instant Pot, I started wishing I had a crock pot/slow cooker. I had one years and years ago and used it all the time. Somewhere along the line, I didn't have it anymore. Probably due to moving to the house since I knew we would not have electric. I mentioned to Sonny that I was looking at them on Amazon and not fifteen minutes later he calls me back to tell me he bought me one and it would be delivered on Saturday! I did not expect that. Good thing I told him the kind I wanted........a smaller size one but not a tiny one.

The slow cook function on the Instant Pot is not real popular in my IP group. The reason is that the heating element is on the bottom and the crock pot's element is along the sides, I believe. It cooks differently. Well anyway, I have one coming and I was watching videos on YouTube about doing the dump and go recipes. This young woman's channel, Kelly's Korner, has a ton of them and I have been writing some down. She has a lot of good ideas even though she does use a lot of convenient foods to make preparation easier. I can still use her recipes but will make my own changes to it by cutting fresh vegetables instead of frozen or making seasoning mixes from my spice pantry instead of buying the packets of them. I can adapt.

I am wondering if anyone here has used the crock pot liners and if so, how did you like them? Are they worth it to save the dreaded job of cleaning the inner pot? I saw where someone said (not here) they used the turkey oven bags instead because they are cheaper. Long ago with my first crockpot they didn't have those things yet. So just wondering about buying a package of those to see how they work.
 

I have become addicted to the series on Prime Video, Downtown Abbey. I love it and look forward to it every night. I especially love Maggie Smith! She is playing a part I know, but she plays it so well. I love those remarks she makes about "Americans" just tickles me so much. The writers did such a good job...........until Matthew was killed. I saw that last night and he was my favorite male in the show. I was heartbroken to say the least. I did research today and saw he left of his own accord and it had to be that way. But still sad when a favorite one is killed off and that makes two in a short while. Matthew and Sybil.
 
katlupe said:
As much as I love my Instant Pot, I started wishing I had a crock pot/slow cooker. I had one years and years ago and used it all the time. Somewhere along the line, I didn't have it anymore. Probably due to moving to the house since I knew we would not have electric. I mentioned to Sonny that I was looking at them on Amazon and not fifteen minutes later he calls me back to tell me he bought me one and it would be delivered on Saturday! I did not expect that. Good thing I told him the kind I wanted........a smaller size one but not a tiny one.

The slow cook function on the Instant Pot is not real popular in my IP group. The reason is that the heating element is on the bottom and the crock pot's element is along the sides, I believe. It cooks differently. Well anyway, I have one coming and I was watching videos on YouTube about doing the dump and go recipes. This young woman's channel, Kelly's Korner, has a ton of them and I have been writing some down. She has a lot of good ideas even though she does use a lot of convenient foods to make preparation easier. I can still use her recipes but will make my own changes to it by cutting fresh vegetables instead of frozen or making seasoning mixes from my spice pantry instead of buying the packets of them. I can adapt.

I am wondering if anyone here has used the crock pot liners and if so, how did you like them? Are they worth it to save the dreaded job of cleaning the inner pot? I saw where someone said (not here) they used the turkey oven bags instead because they are cheaper. Long ago with my first crockpot they didn't have those things yet. So just wondering about buying a package of those to see how they work.
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crockpot liners? like a cook in the bag sort of thing? if so it might help with the mess after but not sure if those leak or not. i've never used them. at least not in a crock pot anyway. you might google some reviews on that. i sometimes do that.

glad you're enjoying yourself. :)
 
Well, my new slow cooker arrived yesterday. Now I need to buy some ingredients to start using it. I have a sneaky suspicion that Sonny might come up today to take me to the store. So I will be making a list of ingredients for a couple different recipes. I like this one better than the old ones I had. It is lighter and smaller. 4 quarts. I wanted it to be smaller. I watched a video of a woman using a mini crock pot for some recipes since she lived alone. I think those are too small and could imagine trying to put too much in it and having a mess. I do not do anything if I can help it that will make a mess for me to clean up later.
 
Sonny took me shopping yesterday and then we got some take out food and came back to my apartment. We watched Downton Abbey and of course, he had never seen it so I was explaining to him who everyone was. This is a series I will probably watch again. I love it so much. He left later than usual, after nine. But we had a wonderful day. Rabbit loves Sonny as much as I do and stays right beside him for petting. If Sonny was watching the show and not paying attention, Rabbit would stand on his hind legs with his front ones on Sonny's knee and one time he grabbed hold of Sonny's sock with his mouth and pinched Sonny's foot......Uh Oh, no biting allowed!

Today I have a lot of meat to vacuum pack. I am going to cook up the ground beef and divide it into smaller packages. Actually this one of those jobs I am eager to get started on. I like doing it. Doing chicken also but not cooking that. I think I might cube the skinless chicken breast though.

Right now I am working on a beef stew to cook in the slow cooker. I am excited to be using it for the first time. It is a small one which is what I needed.

Have a great day if you are reading this! Thank you for doing so!
 
When Downton Abbey first came out, I became a huge fan like you, Kat.

My favorite characters were the Earl's valet; John Bates, the cook Mrs. Patmore, and Lady Grantham.

My least favorites were the Earl of Grantham, his daughter Lady Mary and Thomas Barrow. I think Barrow was a footman, but I can't remember.

Someone sent me a 2-Part parody of this show that the cast filmed for a charity benefit around Christmas time, years ago. It was hilarious. If I can find it, I'll post it for you.

​

 
Sliverfox said:
katlupe,, If you like reading,, here's novel I read about watching Downtown Abby.

While We Were Watching Downtown Abby by Wendy Wax.

She has several books out in which group of women become carpenters,, restoring older homes.
Light hearted reading.
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They have it in the Kindle shop so I am going to order it. Thank you!
 
Yesterday, I made beef stew and it came out very good. That is my food for today. The slow cooker was easy to use and worked perfectly. Next time I will add a bit more liquid. Since I watched videos on using one and read the instruction book I used less liquid because that is what they said to do. I think my stew meat though was a pretty lean cut so not much liquid came from that. The meat was soft and easy to eat for me (due to my dental problems). The carrots and potatoes were firm and not mushy.

The stew should be better today since everything is better the next day (kind of like life). I do not refrigerate the leftovers in the crock of the slow cooker since I read that is not really a safe practice. So I will warm up the amount I want to eat. Of course, stew made with potatoes and carrot is not low carbs and I know I should have substituted other vegetables but I didn't.

stew.JPG

What I really like about this slow cooker is that it is really light. Easy for me to handle. I don't know how I got so weak but I have a hard time with heavy items. Especially in the kitchen.
 
Sliverfox said:
Glad your stew turned out so good.
When I put piece of meat in my insta pot ,, I add a can of beef broth.

Hope you enjoy that novel.
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I used beef broth in the stew along with some other ingredients.

I ordered that book and it is on my Kindle now, I will start reading it later. Thank you!
 
Sonny had an appointment this morning to get a monitor put on (for his heart) and then getting a hitch put on his new to him car (he has two now). So I have been pretty much doing stuff I keep putting off. I need to organize my cupboards (for the millionth time) so the items I use the most are easier to get to. I am too short and can't reach past the bottom shelf. I will see if I can get some other chores done too.
 
I think when the maintenance man is mowing the lawn it must be a good sign. A sign that spring is actually here. I must vacuum pack two packages of chicken this morning, then maybe laundry. I might try to take a ride on Jazzy to Tops to get more spring mix for my little bunny boy.

Yesterday, I managed to cut three of Rabbit's nails. Instead of bending down and doing it like I used to.........bending is not my best position. I put him on the window sill and could do it at a very easy level for me. He was curious about the window but could not walk on the sill because for some reason he refuses to walk on hard surfaces right now. I think it may be due to his nails getting too long. My prior home had a large hearth for the wood stove and had very hard ceramic tile on it. He spent a lot of time on it and it did not bother him at all. Of course, he did not have the option of carpet there.

I consider myself lucky because I have not really been affected too much with this virus quarantine. I don't mind wearing a mask because I have not been able to wear my dentures at all (go to the dentist on the 5th so will be working on more extractions and new dentures). The only thing I have missed is the activities in our community room here and the various outdoor festivals in the parks. I had planned on joining the YMCA so I could start swimming and maybe use the exercise machines. Now you can use the pool but it is limited use. So I will wait on doing that. And the art council (which is in the other half of our building) has not had any shows (they have plays, musicals, concerts & classes there) or movies in the theater there. I liked going to the movies. Of course, our vintage movie theater closed and I am hoping they will be able to open up again in the future. But I think they were put out of business for good.
 
Taking a break now. My air conditioner is on. It is 77 outside right now and as I always say, I am a hot person. I came back from the store and was really hot. I didn't realize it was so warm when I got dressed to go and wore sweatpants of all things. Well anyway, I got spring mix for Rabbit, which is at least a dollar more there than Walmart. I bought him some parsley and for myself, I got vanilla bean ice cream and a cantaloupe. Cooling off now.

My freezer is packed! I vacuum packed the chicken and said to myself, "Now remember there is no room for ice cream when you go to the store." That went right out of my head when I got in the store! I squeezed it in.

I am waiting to hear from Sonny as he had to get a brain scan today. Not sure what they are looking for as he didn't seem too clear about it (unless he is not telling me).
 
I have to figure out what to do since I am always bumping my head on the handle to the freezer. I know it is there but I seem to forget. I cannot not remember how many times I have done this and my poor head can't take much more..........
 
katlupe said:
Thank you. Not sure what the doctor is looking for but has something to do with why his leg hurts him. Now I complained about my calves hurting me and they did a ultrasound of my heart.
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Well luckily you have professionals working for you. They will let you know. Hopefully everything is fine. I wish you well. Don’t you have a bunny rabbit?
 
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