Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The best laid plans...


It’s been a while since I blogged.  Sorry about that!  Life has been pretty hectic for me the past few weeks.  Not that it isn’t usually hectic, but for some reason lately it’s been worse. 

I had to go to Biloxi, MS, over the weekend, minor emergency but it’s all taken care of now, thanks for asking.  I’d been wanting to visit Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, AL, for quite a while so I decided on my way home from Biloxi to make an impromptu stop in Mobile, get a room for the night, and tour the Gardens on Sunday.  Granted, the $90 or so that it set me back (hotel, food, entrance into the Gardens) is money I won’t be adding to my savings account, but it was worth it.  I had a wonderful time, and it’s not like I had to spend gas money to get there, I was already passing thru! Unfortunately I didn’t get many pictures, my phone and tablet were nearly dead.  This being an impromptu stop, I didn’t have all the necessary cordage needed to keep things charged as I would have liked.  Just take my word for it, it was beautiful.

Then Monday I woke up having a massive dizzy spell.  This happens about once a year, nobody knows why.  At least it only lasts for a day, occasionally a little longer.  Again, all is well, thanks for asking.  I did have to stay home from work Monday which contributed to how busy I’ve been this week, thereby neglecting my  blogging duties!     

After work yesterday I wasn’t feeling my best.  Residual yuckiness from the dizzy spell, I’m sure.  So when I got home I asked Ayla and Shane to help with supper.  While rice was cooking in the rice cooker (my second favorite household appliance), Ayla took a baggie of beef and broth and bits of veggies left over from the last time I made a roast in the crockpot.  She nuked it til she could remove it from the baggie, then dumped it into a saucepan, along with about a cup each of frozen corn and peas.  When that was all heated thru, I showed her how to thicken it with cornstarch.  Meanwhile, I walked Shane thru making homemade honey mustard dressing.  I didn’t realize he doesn’t particularly like honey mustard dressing, but now he knows how to make it! 

So after walking them thru the basics of this meal while doing very little actual work myself, we had a lovely supper of beef and gravy over rice, with spinach salad.  And nobody had to resort to a pizza or burger run.       

If you’re interested in making honey mustard dressing yourself, it couldn’t be easier.  In a food processor or blender, combine one part honey and one part mustard.  I use plain yellow mustard but I guess you could use a fancy gourmet mustard and get a fancy gourmet dressing for the same effort.  Anyway, once those two items are blended together, drizzle two parts vegetable oil into the mixture while the blender or food processor is on.  That’s it!  By one part/two parts, I simply mean this.  If you use one cup of honey and one cup of mustard, you will use two cups of oil.  Adjust those measurements up or down to fit your needs but always keep that ratio and you’ll never go wrong.  It’s also a fantabulous dip for chicken nuggets.

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