Tuesday Mindless Chatter

glenmar

hey, even those of us who enjoy cooking need our little cheats!

 And those of us who don't need them even more!  Paige, thanks for the Zat's info.  I think I could handle slicing up a kielbasa and tossing it into that frozen one.

Our Trader Joe's opens this Friday!  I'm sure there will be  no parking within a mile since there's hardly any space to park in that lot now what with World Market being right there too.  Maybe I can get in sometime over the weekend.

I noticed I've had an e-mail from Schwan's for a couple of days reminding me that my delivery date is Friday, so I suppose I should flip through the catalog and pick some stuff out.

Joyce

Glenda, would you share your chicken picatta 'recipe'? There is a box one from Macaroni Grill that is good, but I'm sure it's full of preservatives and junk so I've been looking for a good recipe.

Anyone know how to de-stink those ballerina flats that are so popular? My favorite pair (they're Clarks - super comfy) smell really, really bad. I think I just need to start wearing those no-show socks with them. They STINK, lol.

We're going for pizza so I'm off of cooking duty, whoop!!

sl2crmeg

Anyone know how to de-stink those ballerina flats that are so popular?

Don't wear them every single day, give them at least 24 hours to air out; powder your bare feet before putting them on; wear socks.  Last week my DS had his slippers on all day without socks and they were ripe, so I put baking soda in them for a day then emptied them.  Seemed to help. 

For all the folks that don't have kids, do you decorate for Halloween? I don't even have a pumpkin out and most of my neighbors have done up their yards in a big way. I just really don't want to buy a bunch of stuff that I have to store in the garage but I guess we should at least get a pumpkin. DH's mom usually grows them and gives us a few humongous ones but she didn't grow any this year. I feel like a sour puss but I don't really feel like buying one let alone carving one up :(

Cathy, I do not.  I took the Red Sox banner off the front door and hung a scare crow and that's all that's going to be done.  My treats this year are individual packets of pretzels and I'm hoping as country as we are, there are very few kids.

Sure Meg......you simply beat the living tar out of two boneless/skinless chicken breasts so they are well flattened, then drag them through 1) a beaten egg white with a bit of water 2) a bit of flour with sea salt and fresh ground pepper 3) bread crumbs seasoned with italian seasoning.  Heat about a tablespoon of good EVOO and cook on each side for about 2 minutes.  After that, transfer to a baking sheet and pop into a 400 degree oven.

In the same sautee pan (just wipe it out with a paper towel) melt a tbsp of butter with a bit of sea salt and more fresh ground pepper.  Add the juice of two lemons, 1/2 C of white dry wine or chicken broth and bring to a boil.....let it boil for about 2 minutes until reduced in half, then add two more tbsp of butter and just swirl it around to melt.  Serve the sauce over the chicken....add a sliced lemon and fresh parsley for color if you like.  I usually serve with rice pilaf, and the mod version of mixed veggies...carrots, zuc and green beans. 

Pretty simple to make, but they guys really rave about it. 

Wow Glenda, that sounds easy and yummy!! I'm definitely going to give it a try. I froze a bunch of lemon juice too so I don't even have to use the fakey kind. :)

Is it fri yet? This week feels like a year.

Has anyone ever hired a house cleaner? Not on a regular basis but more for like a 1 time deal? How did it work out?

Jewlieee

Has anyone ever hired a house cleaner? Not on a regular basis but more for like a 1 time deal? How did it work out?

I haven't yet but I've sure thought about it. If I was going for a one time thing, I'd probably use one of those services like Merry Maids. I'm still not sure I'd feel comfortable handing over my keys and leaving though.

 No check from the FDIC yet. They claimed they would be mailing out yesterday..so I'm hopeful that it will be tomorrow.  I think I'll have to put $5 in the gas tank..which is just pitiful.

 No way, Cathy!  I have a couple (2) cute things bought at a craft fair that I might get up by Halloween.  The only pumpkins I buy are pie pumpkins for Thanksgiving pie.  Not interested in dealing with the mess of pumpkin carving and rotting on the front porch if a kid doesn't smash it in the street first!  Call me Grinch...errr...Witch!  Nah, just been there, done that, someone else's turn!

House cleaning:  professionally done, maybe once a year.  I picked someone who left an ad on the front porch and she sends a crew of two and they do a great job.  It always smells nice and lemony when they're finished.  However, they don't do windows.  I had to call *window washers* for that.  I think the price ($85 for a 3 bdm., 2 bath) is pretty reasonable and they do a super job on tubs/showers etc.

Halloween decorations:  Can't resist them.  I have a huge metal jack-o-lantern that I got at Michael's a few years ago and I put that on the porch.  My big spiders are in the  two plants on the porch and a row of bats are hanging from a plant hanger out there.  I have lots of smaller jack-o-lanterns sitting around inside that I put tea-light candles in.  It all packs up into one storage box, so I only have to deal with it once a year. After Halloween, the jack-o-lanterns will go away and the Lenox pumpkins will come out.  After November, all the Christmas stuff comes out. By the time mid-January rolls around, I haven't seen my regular stuff for so long, I feel like I've gotten all new stuff.

Joyce

sharismom

Jen, you can wear just about anything with navy blue pants.

Just about, but not black. If you pair navy blue and black, it looks like you can't tell the colors apart (which is true in my case). My friend came over and confirmed that the stripe in the shirts is navy blue, and not black, so they do match. She suggested I take them outside to look, but I can't do that at the store, and I don't think it would have helped me much. Either, I wouldn't have minded if I had been forced to go buy another shirt to match.