Debbie Delozier :: A Casual Affair

Because it’s National Pie Day I felt compelled to make a pie.  I had 1/2 pound of hamburger in the refrigerator (every since we became Empty Nesters I split the hamburger packages in half when I bring them home) and had told J I would make a small 2 person meatloaf for supper.  But my mind began to imagine things far greater than meatloaf when it came time to start supper.

A while back a group of our friends went to Kilkenny’s Irish Pub for supper and one of my friends ordered Cottage Pie for her dinner.  She totally enjoyed it.  So, I decided, because it was Pie Day, I would try my hand at Cottage Pie.

A little history lesson:  Cottage pie is said to have originated in the 1700′s when potatoes were being introduced as an edible crop for the poor.  The term ‘cottage’ was used because of the dwelling places of the farmers and workers.  The difference in Cottage Pie and Shepard’s Pie is the meat used.  Cottage pie is made with beef and Shepard’s pie is made with lamb or mutton.

Now, on to the pie.  I found a recipe that sounded scrumptious but, as you know, most recipes serve 4-6 people and I only had 1/2 pound of beef.  I used the recipe as a guide but used my eye when it came to measurements.

I began by peeling and dicing 2 medium sized potatoes and starting them to boil.  When they were done I mashed them as I normally would for mashed potatoes.

I diced 1/2 an onion and pressed 2 cloves of garlic (the garlic is not in the original recipe as you will see below).  I put a few swirls of truffle oil in my skillet and when it was hot threw in the onions and garlic to saute.  I then threw in 2 hands of sliced mushrooms (also not in the original recipe) and continued to saute until all their moisture was gone. I then threw in about a handful of sliced carrots.  I let this cook for a bit.  Here is where I crumbled in the 1/2 pound lean hamburger and begin to let it brown.

Now, because I love peas and J doesn’t I decided to make separate dishes for each of us.  I threw about 1/4 cup of frozen peas and 1/4 cup of frozen corn in my dish and 1/2 cup of frozen corn in J’s dish.  I microwaved both of the dishes and set them aside while my attentions were drawn back to the skillet.

Once the hamburger is crumbled and brown and the carrots are beginning to soften I squeezed in a bit of tomato paste and stirred that into the beef mixture.  This is not in the original recipe but it adds another layer of flavor to the dish.  I then stirred in about a teaspoon of the Worcestershire sauce.

I stray from the recipe again and toss in about a tablespoon of flour to help pull it all together and thicken it.  I poured in the 1/2 cup beef broth to make a nice sauce although I must tell you, if I had had some red wine on hand I would have poured some of that in too.

Once the sauce had thickened I mixed it with the waiting corn/peas in the prepared dishes.

  Mine        J’s   Doesn’t mine look so much prettier with the green peas added?

The potatoes were done and once I mashed them I spread them over the beef mixture and baked it for 30 minutes.

For a Poor Man’s dish the is very tasty and I will be serving it again.  Who knows, maybe it will become a National Pie Day tradition.

YUM!  

COTTAGE PIE      serves 6

1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables – chopped celery, carrots, corn, peas, green beans,
1 1/2 – 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.
3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add Worcestershire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.
6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown

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I’ve been breathing in and breathing in but it seems today I exhaled.  When you’re going through things it seems like you’re breathing in and out and everything is good.  Then you are able to really exhale and finally let it all out and realize you’ve been holding your breath for far too long.

The last 5 or 6 months have been stressful for our whole family.  We’ve trudged on and on, doing what we’ve had to do to get things done.  It’s life.  There has been a house to locate, a house to remodel, a house to clean out, things to sort through, things to move, things to store, things to throw away.  There were hospital stays, procedures, and then, death.  Then there is just trying to stand up without your legs falling out from under you.  Trying to sleep with so much going through your mind.  Remembering to eat.   Trying to be supportive.  Trying to pick up loose ends and keep other things from raveling apart.  Trying to keep up with a very full schedule of class, catering, delivering meals, family, home, etc., etc..   Then the holidays arrive.   Trying to breathe in and forgetting to breathe out.

And, in the midst of it all, you find out the love of your life has had a stroke because of the emotional and physical pressures he has been under.  And your own heart stops for a moment.  And you breathe in and in and in some more.  You schedule more doctor’s appointments and tests and you try not to let your love out of your sight because you know if it happened once it could happen again.

The next tests come back abnormal and you breathe in and trudge on until you find out what the next hurdle is.  There is no use in worrying because right now we don’t know what to worry about so we breathe in and keep up with our schedules.  You schedule more test.

Finally a test comes back good and the outlook is good and even though in my talks with the Lord He assured me it would be good, it was such a relief to hear it in the doctor’s “worldly” voice.

I breathed in and out and tears I didn’t know I was holding in fell down my cheeks.   My heart’s mate will be here to let me pamper him, love him and appreciate him for a long, long time.

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Or, in English A Cup of Tea.  My tea was steeped in my newest little teapot which, as you can tell by the design, is Polish.  It is a hot tea kinda morning here in NE Oklahoma.  J’s temperature gadget shows 27 degrees outdoors which caused me to lift all those without any type of warmth up to our Lord this morning.

The northern wind picked up heavily early last evening while my dear friend, Sarah, and I were delivering meals with one of our local churches.  Sarah and I picked up 2 routes besides our own (1 of which we’ll be adding to our regular Wednesday route) which means we delivered somewhere between 60-70 meals yesterday (I lost count).  I can not tell you what this ministry does for our town and the recipients of the meals,  let alone for those of us who cook and deliver the food.

Last night as J and I were cuddled up on the couch the snow began to blow in on that northern wind.  My dad, who lives 6 miles south of us, called and asked if we had electricity which we did.  But, they did not.  I invited them up to our place and told them to tell my brother who lives near them to come too.  They all insisted they had heat and would just be turning in for the night and didn’t think they would come.  I called them first thing this morning and Mom said the electric had come back on somewhere around 1 am for which they were thankful.

I’m thinking after I finish this 2nd cup of tea I will make some chili for supper tonight.  I think it will be just the right type of supper for this cold and chilly day.

Blessings!

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It was Monday morning about 10 am  when I realized it.  No one else was in the house.  No one was here except me.  I was alone.  There wasn’t a television on, no music was streaming from somewhere else in the house.  No one was here helping with my day to day tasks.  There was no one here to say “I need to run and do this and I’d love for you to come with me”, which was the only excuse I needed to drop everything and go with them.  Everyone else had gone back to school or work.

Was I alone?  Really!  Totally on my own for more than an hour?  Yes!  There it is.  The quiet.  The stillness.  Time on my hands.  It’s been . . .  Months?  Really?  I think sometime in October would have been the last time I had more than an hour to/by myself.

I didn’t have long to relish in this knowledge however.  My days were returning to normal (or what I call normal) and I had a schedule to keep.  So, after preparing a dessert for Tuesday’s Rotary Club lunch, cleaning the kitchen, getting a quick shower and dressing I was off to a Club meeting in town.

After my quiet, peaceful morning I spent the whole afternoon laughing and playing Team Farkle with a wonderful group of ladies.  Following the fun and games I met Jim at the hospital for a sonogram test he was scheduled for.  Then we grabbed a bite at Tumbleweed’s before heading home.  Jim had to make an overnight trip so we packed his bag and he was off.  Even though I appreciate my few hours here and there of quiet time I do not like that time to come in this way.  After 33 + years together neither one of us sleep well without the other one snoring beside the other.

My life is a wonderful mix of quiet and clamor;  alone time and companionship;  solitude and togetherness;  peace and chaos.  I am grateful.

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Ah, the 27 (or so) year old butterfly wallpaper in our bedroom at the cabin.  I was about 25 when I picked this paper out for our room at the lake.  It covered all four walls.  I really can’t imagine all these years later why I would have picked out that wallpaper for a WHOLE room.

Dad D helped me put it up.   Actually, I probably helped him put it up because Dad always took the lead position on any job.   Considering that neither one of us had ever put up wallpaper before I’m just a bit surprised it lasted as long as it did.  This is all that is left of the wallpaper.  And, after a few days of painting and shopping, here is a look at our new bedroom. 

Thanks to my loving J for helping me with it this time around.

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The weather has been so beautiful here.  You most certainly wouldn’t think it was January 2 anyway.  A few weeks ago, I filled a couple of my birdfeeders and hung a finch sock out to beckon to all the winged cuties around.  As you can see the coaxing worked.  It worked so well I need to refill the peanut butter nugget feeder and my large seed feeder.  It is such a joy to watch out my windows see the birds feeding and I absolutely love to hear them singing for their supper.

Today was J’s last day at home due to the holidays.  We decided to take a drive to see the countryside.  Taking long drives is a custom we’ve had dating back to the beginning of our days together.  Back when gas was cheap and it was a good thing because it was about all we could afford.  We’d ice down a 6 pack of Pepsi and make a couple of sandwiches and off we’d go for the day.  We loved it then and we love it now.

We decided to call J’s mom to see how she was spending the day and if she’d like to go with us.  She quickly accepted the invitation, so off we were.  We headed east to the cabin just to check in and see how winter was treating our family retreat.  Our time there included tearing off some of the wallpaper in our bedroom (our idea is to paint and update the room a bit) and discussing the 3 of us returning Tuesday afternoon, after taking care of a few obligations in town, and spending a few days there.  J will be driving back and forth to work or to customer’s locations while Mom and I just enjoy a few days reading, walking, or doing whatever brings a smile to a faces.

Leaving the cabin we had lunch in Langley before driving over to Spavinaw so Mom could show us where she and Dad used to go swimming in the good ol’ days.  It was a bit chilly to do any swimming but we snapped a few pictures before making our way back to Nowata.

It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed every single second of it.  Hope you enjoyed your day too.

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“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce

A new year awaits us.  New opportunities to serve, to love, to learn, to experience, to lend a helping hand, to give, to . . .

What will you write upon your blank pages?  What will I write on mine?

As I mentioned in the yesterday’s post, I am steering the blog in a new direction;  one that fits more with my life, my heart.  I know over the past year my writings have gotten further and further apart.   I hope to share with you the little joys, daily gratitudes,  the simpleness of taking pleasure in the little things.  I am hoping this change will inspire me to write more often.

Today’s joy (and it is early yet so I’m sure there will be more) was being in church services this morning and the knowledge of the spirit of love.

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Today is the last day of the year 2011.  I can tell you it’s been one heck of a year.  As a state, Oklahoma has set many records this year.  Closer to heart, as a family, we’ve shared many, many joys and a few sorrows.

Oklahoma has set records for cold and heat, snow and drought, tornadoes and, believe it or not, earthquakes.  February 8 and 9th brought record snowfalls in this part of the state.  Spavinaw, an area just 50 (or so) miles east of us, set the record for snowfall with 27″.  So unheard of here in Oklahoma that we refer to it as Snowmageddon. One day later, February 10th, we set the record cold with -31 degrees here in Nowata.  Yes, that is minus 31.  Just one week later we hit temperatures in the 70s which also set the record for the largest swing in weather.

On April 14th Oklahoma endured 25 tornadoes.  Within a 12 day span there were 42 tornadoes all together.  The most disastrous tornado hitting Joplin, Missouri which is about 90 miles from us.

During the summer we went 51 days with temperatures over 100 degrees.  As you can expect the state of Oklahoma has spent most of the year in drought conditions.

The beginning of November brought earthquakes to our area of Oklahoma.  The strongest earthquake was a magnitude of 5.6.  I was in bed with strep throat, a sinus infection and a double ear infection and can still remember the whole bed shaking.

As a family we suffered an immeasurable sorrow with the loss of J’s dad on October 29th.  We have struggled through the last few months of the year without him but will head into the coming year with many wonderful memories.

This year I am wanting to set a slightly different air to the ol’ blog.  I am steering it more toward a Joyful, Joyful, Joyful tone.  We will still have the occasional recipe; after-all new foods and cooking have always brought me joy.  Some days I might share a large joy and some days it might be a small or hidden joy that popped up as a surprise in my day.  I am hoping this change in direction will spur me to posting more often than I have in the last year.  We shall see.

Here is to hoping we all share a Joyful 2012.

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Depending on what (or who) you read, there are 5 to 7 stages of grief.  I am muddling my way through those stages.

Love and Memories;

D

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