A Gorgeous Summer Day!

Today was simply perfect weather!  I love Sunday’s where we don’t have anything planned and the day just flows along!  Hannah had to work all day today – she’s tired and tomorrow is her first day of school!

It is our tradition for me to take her picture on the first day of school – and tomorrow will be my last picture as she starts her senior year!  I really don’t know where the time went!

Breakfast was ham and cheese omelets with black sesame bread and apples.  I did a deep clean of the fridge and freezer and found ham that is probably left over from Easter?  I thawed it in the fridge overnight.

I used two eggs from my CSA – I get 1/2 dozen and 3 were tiny and 3 were big!

So the tiny one has a much more yellow yolk – not sure what that means though?!

My plate comes in at 411 calories, 21 fat and 24 carbs.  There may have been Tabasco added! 😀

Then while Tony took care of the outside by mowing the lawn and edging the grass, I cleaned the inside: kitchen, bedroom, vacuum and dusted.  By the time we were both done it was almost 1:30!   We took grocery list in hand but hit up our local wings place for a quick bite to eat.  We enjoyed watching the White Sox (even though they lost) and the Little League World Series.  Um, I may have had a beer!

I got the grilled chicken sandwich and Cajun curly fries – I only ate about 1/4 of the fries, but all of the sammie – I was hungry!  My guess is lunch was around 655 calories, 24 fat and 78 carbs.

A couple good finds at the store!  OMG, these chips are amazing! Think Fritos with flaxseed!

And lots of pickling cucumbers!   I got the whole package on the $1 rack!

I still plan on making refrigerator pickles, but today was all about pickled jalapenos!  My store had jalapenos on sale for .49 cents a pound – I couldn’t help it!

PICKLED JALAPENOS WITH CARROTS AND GARLIC

• 1 pound of jalapenos, stems removed
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 medium carrots cut into thick slices
• 15 cloves of garlic
• 4 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 4 generous sprigs of fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Heat oil in large frying pan.  Add the jalapenos, carrots and garlic cloves and pan fry until everything is tender – about 20 minutes. 

In a separate pan, add the vinegar, salt, herbs and sugar and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Pack pint-sized sterilized jars with the jalapenos, carrots and garlic.  I pulled out the dill and evenly disbursed it among the jars, then poured the vinegar mixture just to the top of each can.  Boil in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove and let cool.  I usually let them sit on the counter overnight, and check to make sure they sealed the next day – you shouldn’t hear any popping when you press down on the lid.  When working with jalapenos, be sure to wear gloves or put your hands into plastic bags to protect your hands!  Sadly one time I decided to skip that step, and my hands burned so bad I had to sleep with bags of ice on my hands!

Stuff the jars – I used tongs to transfer from skillet to the jars.

Pour the vinegar just until it reaches the brim.  Cover with lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

I have these rubber tongs to transfer to the hot water – I lucked out a few years ago and bought a woman’s TOTAL canning kit (including about 4 dozen jars) for $20 bucks!

Make sure your water covers the jars by at least two inches. 

Done!  This batch made 6 pints.

We ate such a late lunch, I am not even hungry yet!  We planned on beer can chicken so we’ll see if that still happens!  Hope everyone had a great weekend – I’ve got some interesting recipes coming up this week!  Here are a few!

• quinoa bean burgers with spicy avocado spread
• sweet potato and peanut soup
• macaroni and cheese with carrot puree
• Filet Mignon on Texas Toast with Shrimp Scampi Butter
• Chili roasted carrots
• Chicken Divan
• Ultimate Beef Chili Three Ways

See you tomorrow night!