Leftover Wednesday - Impossible Bacon Cheese Pie & Salad

We have 2 trash pickups per week - Mondays and Thursdays.  On Wednesday nights, we clean out the fridge.  We used to toss any leftovers that had not been eaten by Wednesday, but I am getting better and better at using them up.  So, I am challenging myself to start a new series - Leftover Wednesday - where I will post what I made for dinner that night, using up leftovers in the fridge.  Tonight, we had Impossible Bacon Cheese Pie and Salad.

Have you ever had one of Bisquick's Impossible Pies?  If not, than I am happy to introduce you to them!  And if you don't eat gluten, there are GF baking mixes out there you can substitute for the Bisquick, store brand or homemade baking mix of your choice.  I know what your thinking - what is an "impossible" pie?!  It's crustless.  You are making a "pie", or more accurately a quiche, without a bottom crust.  You put your pie "filling" into your dish and then pour over it a mixture of beaten egg, milk and Bisquick.  It's the addition of the Bisquick that allows your pie to stay together.

My Wonderful Brother

I have an awesome family.  They are very supportive and only love unconditionally.  I have one sibling, my older brother, and he is the best.  He's the strong, silent type who likes to stay in the background but pays attention to everything.  He's also a very faithful reader of my blog.

He read my post earlier this month about checking "I Don't Know How She Does It" by Allison Pearson out of the library.  I got a box from Amazon in the mail today.  Inside was my very own copy of the book with a message from my brother that now I could highlight whatever I want to.  *sniff, sniff*  I love that big lug!

PS - he's single, has a solid job, owns his own home and is great with kids!

What did we do with all those strawberries?

Why, we made jam, cake topping, a smoothie ingredient and attempted drying them!

First of all, we made strawberry jam.  I've made this the past few years with strawberries and blueberries and it's easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.  But this year, B made the jam!  OK, not completely, but I did not do it all myself, so I am happy to give him props.  I love freezer jam because it is fast - it involves no cooking!  I hulled the strawberries and then B crushed them with a potato masher, added a Ball's freezer jam packet of pectin and some sugar and then stirred for 3 minutes.  That's it!  Then B ladled the jam into the Ball jars that my Nana and Papa used to can their own garden's bounty, I put the lids on them and off they went to the freezer.  They last 12 months in the freezer and 3 weeks once you move them to the fridge.

A year and a half old video I took of B finding out that he was going to DisneyWorld for the 1st time aired on America's Funniest Videos last night.  We had a "viewing party" - invited my parents and my brother over to eat dinner and watch B cross something off his Bucket List at 9 years of age.  My mom made a pound cake for dessert.  I hulled some more of the strawberries we'd picked and just mashed them up with my potato masher.  We served it over the pound cake, vanilla ice cream and pound cake topped with vanilla ice cream.  Did I mention my mom brought a can of whipped topping, too?

Strawberries, Strawberries, Strawberries

B and I were invited to go strawberry picking last Thursday morning with 2 other homeschool moms and their children.  When we arrived, we met some other homeschool moms that we knew who had just finished picking and a few more showed up after us.  It was like a homeschool convention, one mom said!  :o)  We went to Wegmeyer Farms and I have not seen better strawberries than at this place.  We have picked at other farms in the Washington, DC area, but this has now become our favorite!  There were so many beautiful, ripe, delicious strawberries.  We picked 2 buckets and it was hard to stop picking because there were so many to choose from!

Review and Giveaway - lilla rose

My hair is naturally curly and has been long most of my life.  The hubs fell in love with my hair.  Not just my hair!  Believe it or not, I have many other wonderful qualities, both inside and out, that made that stud fall in love with me.  But he loved my hair.  I say "loved" because I cut it all off last Fall.  And although he was less than thrilled, I loved it.  I hate things touching my face, including my hair.  So when my hair was long and I left it down, I was constantly pulling it off my face or tucking it behind my ears.  If you've ever seen an interview with Kirstie Alley, you know what I mean.  If you haven't, by golly go to YouTube and find one!  It is totally distracting and drives me crazy to watch!  In my defense though, I was not as bad as her.  I don't think she can keep her hands off her hair for more than 23 seconds.  I've found myself yelling at the TV several times, "Just put it UP, already!"

And that's what I did with my hair most of the time - put it up.  A headband, a ponytail with a twisty or a scrunchii or using a hair claw or banana clip (I'm dating myself with that one).  They all accomplished keeping my hair off my face, but most of them made my head hurt.  So, I thought, If I just have my hair up all the time, why not cut it off?  It would be up without the pain.  And I loved it!  For a time.  Now I'm ready to grow it back out but am in that awkward and ugly "growing it out" stage.  When I first got it cut, I looked like Jamie Lee Curtis. :o)  Then it grew out some and I looked like Halle Berry. :o)  Now that it's grown out some more, I look like Blanch Devereaux or Dorothy Zbornak (once again, dating myself). :o( Not only is my hair unattractive, but it's also touching my face - falling on my forehead and cheeks.

So, when my friend, Bahar @ The Persian Tangent, asked me if I would be willing to try and review a couple of her lilla rose hair accessories, I jumped at the chance.  She gave me this Lovely Circle Stone-set of bobby pins and a Sparkling Silver Headband.  The bobby pins excited me, the headband...not so much.  I've never met one that didn't squeeze my head.  Well, I was pleasantly surprised.  The "adjustable comfort band" was great.  I was able to adjust the band so that it would not come off but was comfortable for me.  Once I gain more hair length in the back to hide the headband from view, I'll be wearing it outside of the house (I've been wearing it in the house).

The bobby pins are not my grandmother's bobby pins.  They are very tight and I like that.  They stay in place, no sliding down or out during the day, no required adjustments.  Just as important as being functional and comfortable, they're pretty; I have bling in my hair!  Which made me want to put a little bling on my earlobes and around my neck.  Once again, Bahar has effortlessly transformed Mrs. Schlumpadump and I'm so grateful she has.  :o)  I can't wait for my hair to be long enough to use the Flexi Clips (shown below)!

Now to the best part - a giveaway!  Bahar has graciously offered any catalog item, up to $15, to one of my readers.  $15 might not sound like a lot, but over half of the items in the catalog fall within that amount.  Here's how to enter:

1. Explore Bahar's lilla rose site and then leave me a comment here, telling me which item you'd choose if you won the giveaway,
2. Share this blog post on Facebook and leave a comment here, stating that you did so, or
3. "Like" The Persian Tangent on Facebook and leave a comment here, stating that you did so.

You may enter one, two or all three ways, but you need to leave a separate comment for each entry after you have accomplished them, in order to get credit for each entry.  Don't forget to leave me information so I can contact the winner: your email address, your Facebook link, link to your own blog, whatever you are comfortable with.  Entries must be received by 11:59pm ET, Thursday, May 24, 2012.  Winner will be randomly selected and announced on Friday, May 25, 2012.  Good luck!

Roasted Corn for Cheaters

Do you like the taste and look of shucked corn on the cob roasted on the grill?  Well, corn on the cob is not available all year round, or it's available but you don't have any on hand or you just may want some in a quicker and easier way.  I have a solution!  This corn is a great addition to salsas, guacamoles, salads and tacos.

Pour some frozen corn into a strainer and rinse with cool tap water for a minute to thaw.

Put a non-stick pan over medium heat and let it get hot.

Empty corn from strainer onto paper towels and spread out to a single layer. Then roll the corn up in the paper towels to dry them.  You need to get the moisture off the corn.

Recipe: Chicken Stir-Fry

Not the best photo! I totally forgot to take a picture of the wok or a plate before we dug in. So, this is what was left in the wok after we had devoured our shares.  Sorry!

The hubs made a double batch of rice last night to go with our Quick and Tasty Tilapia and I wanted to incorporate it with dinner tonight.  I was not in the mood to make the labor intensive Benihana Attempt, so I just made my simple Chicken Stir-Fry.  Stir-fries, like soups, are a great way to use up leftover or near-their-expiration-date veggies.  Tomorrow is our major, once-every-2-weeks shopping trip.  I had the following in the fridge left over from the last trip:

• one broccoli crown, 
• one-third of a bag of baby carrots and 
• baby bella mushrooms.

To those I added:

• half a sweet onion, 
• garlic, 
• ginger, 
• chicken breasts and
• Wegmans Stir-Fry Sauce, all of which I always have on hand. The Stir-Fry Sauce is not only flavorful, it's gluten-free, lactose-free, fat-free and vegan!