Food | A Thankfully Imperfect Woman

Feb 28

Sicilian Meatloaf

See this sad little piece of meatloaf?

I really did plan on taking a picture of the process and the final product.

However…

I forgot during the process.

And my family devoured it before I could get a picture of it fresh from the oven.

It really was fantastic…

Much better than this little end piece looks.

If the way to your families heart is through their stomachs, they LOVE me and this meatloaf!

Here’s the recipe… Read more

Dec 24

And Now, the Pièce de Résistance…My Dining Room

By now, you’ve seen most of my house, all decorated for Christmas…

The bedrooms, dressing room, and bathrooms only get a few touches of Christmas, so they really don’t need their own post.

But the dining room…now the dining room is another story.

For a couple of years now, I’ve wanted to put a (faux) Christmas tree in there.

I’ve had the perfect plan.

I’d collected ornaments from Goodwill and garage sales.

I’d picked up a Christmas tree from a friend who had decided to give it away.

But last year, sadly, I was just too sick to get all my decorations up, and that tree stayed in the basement.

But this year…

This year is different.

Without further ado, take a look at my dining room Christmas. A moment of silence to appreciate the beauty…

I could stand here and look at it all day. Especially from this view…

Mom’s AMAZING Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Today is your lucky day!

Mark it on your calendar!

You’ll want to remember this day forever…

And remember the anniversary…

Of the day you received a coveted gift!

Seriously!

Do you have your pen ready?

Now…

Get to your printer…

Get your paper ready…

Make sure you have enough ink…

Because you’re going to want to hold this in your hand, not just look at it on your screen…

Have I dragged the anticipation out long enough?…

Are the …’s and !’s driving you crazy?

🙂

Trust me, when you make these you’ll understand why this needed such an intense build-up!

Here it is:

Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

(Insert the crowd saying: OooooOOOOOOOOooooooo!) Read more

Jan 30

2 Comments

I found Jambalaya on My Way to the Banana Bread

Sunday afternoon I found myself scoping out Allrecipes.com, trying to find a new Banana Bread recipe. I didn’t care for the one I had and I’d just cleaned out our freezer and found oodles of overripe bananas in a drawer. (I admit, some had been in there way too long so they went right into the garbage. I honestly didn’t think ripe bananas could get any worse…wrong!)

I still wound up with enough bananas to make 4 batches of Banana Bread. I did find one to try which included Sour Cream in the recipe and my family liked it! Here’s the link if you’d like to try it: Cathy’s Banana Bread . I do wish I would have put some roasted walnuts or chocolate chips (or both) in a loaf or two, but I’m sure we’ll collect more overripe bananas soon!

Actually that’s the side story… Read more

Oct 5

4 Comments

Just a Bit of Schmutz

I keep writing blogs saying “I’m back!”…and then I stall.

Partly because I get busy with projects at home and when I do sit down, my brain feels like that bit of schmutz your Mother used to clean off your face when you were a child. (Oh what I wouldn’t give for a ‘spit-shine’!) And partly because I feel like I’ve lost my writing mojo.

I’ve had plenty of opportunities to write funny stories. I’ve even taken pictures with the intention of using them for a story…and then, something else comes up and when I finally get to it, I have brain schmutz again.

Sigh.

I tell you what…

I’m not going to promise that I’m back.

I’m not going to tell myself – or you – that I’ll write a post every day.

I’ll just write when I feel I can…

Whenever the schmutz clears.

Have a good week everyone!

Patty O

ps…that cute little schmutz-faced kid in the picture is my youngest, Gabi, who turns 14 on Tuesday! Happy early Birthday sweetie! I love you!

pps…in case you’re not familiar with the term, ‘schmutz’…it’s a spot of dirt, leftover ketchup, chocolate, or whatever you’ve eaten that’s left on your face when you’re done eating. And a ‘spit-shine’ is when your Mom would spit on a napkin or her thumb and wipe the ‘schmutz’ off your face. Of course this is done when there’s nowhere to get water. But trust me…nothing is as sanitary as Mom spit. My three girls can attest to the spit-shine method. They loved it! (I foresee some major eye rolling when they read this.)