Dinner And The Movies

Happy Sunday everyone!

This weeks Backyard Photo, of Nathan enjoying a lazy afternoon, after working so hard at trailblazing earlier in the day, was taken by Pa.

Last Monday, The Hillbilly Housewife, began a weekly frugal challenge blog post. Since our shopping trip is on Thursdays, I waited until yesterday to begin. This last weeks challenge was to incorporate a bean based meal one day a week. I jumped on this one, as it was something I had mentioned to Pa awhile back that I wanted to do. Somehow it got placed on the back burner, so this was a good reminder for me.

Last night we had baked beans for supper, utilizing white beans we'd purchased at the Grocery Outlet, so it was even more frugal than it might have been otherwise ;-) The Hillbilly House Wife provided the recipe, which I did cut in half just to make sure my family liked it. It went over great, with just enough left over to freeze for incorporating into another meal next week. Next time I make it, I'll make the full recipe so I have more to freeze.

Of course you can't have beans for supper without cornbread on the side. This presented a bit of a problem for me, as we are currently without a conventional oven. I was determined though, and thought there must be a way to make cornbread on the stovetop. Google to the rescue! I found this recipe at Mother Earth News, pulled out the cast iron dutch oven, and set to work. It was a bit brown in spots on the bottom, but not really burned. I expect some practice/experience would rectify that problem. I did substitute white flour for the whole wheat, as we were out of the latter, and I think it would've been better with the WW, but it was good just the same. A great alternative to heating up the oven on a hot summer day!

As well as being frugal, this simple, yet satisfying supper was quite filling. Not one member of my family mentioned dessert last night!

Saturday Night At The Movies

This week the kids chose The Last Mimzy, for their viewing pleasure. A Sci Fi/Fantasy for younger folks, who are at that age where they may be yearning for something a bit beyond children's fare, but not yet ready for more adult themes, this was a great movie, enjoyed by all 4 of us. It is rated PG, which I feel is a good rating as it may be a bit too intense (perhaps even scary in places) for younger children. My 9 and 11 year old children enjoyed it immensely, and headed to bed talking about magical bunnies and levitation. It took awhile to get them calmed down enough to go to sleep.

Pa and I had a difficult time choosing a film for our later night viewing. Netflix had experienced some problems (which they credited us for) so our choices from them didn't arrive in time. Therefore, we found ourselves scanning the selection at the library. We were looking for a comedy, which from the looks of things, was what every other patron of the library had in mind as well. Finally, we settled on one that looked to be pretty durn stupid, but we thought it might contain enough chuckles to get us through. As it turned out, Encino Man (not sure why it's showing a different title, but the write up is of the correct film), starring Pauly Shore was, as expected, pretty stupid. The story line was totally unbelievable, and there were numerous problems with continuity. However, it was stupid in a goofy enough way that it somehow worked. It also contained a few chuckles. But, in between the chuckles were plenty of laughs. I would not rate this as a "must see". I am not suggesting you all rush out to rent this one. However, if you're looking for a lighthearted comedy, and nothing is presenting itself to you, this one just might get you by.

This morning I slept in a bit. It felt good, but it has left me feeling like I started out behind schedule. I have plenty on my list of things to do for the day, but am hoping to find a little time in between chores to sit back, breathe deep, and just enjoy being who I am, where I am, and most importantly, who I am with. Life is good :o)