Shopping Around the World

Welcome my friends to a new year of adventure and great food!

July we are highlighting great sandwiches of any kind.  In the summer months, it is way too hot to bake or cook on the oven.  For that reason, we are doing sandwiches that require little to no cooking.

For this month, I’m letting my mom take it away

❤

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What you will need:  Dinner rolls (we got the new Sara Lee Artesano which comes 12 rolls to the package for $3.69 – you will need six rolls); Ham of your choice (you could use any kind of deli meat – this is our favorite – don’t tell Bacon.  The package costs $4.07, you will need a third of it); and shredded cheese (a block of cheese cost us $1.99 – use whatever type.  We use medium cheddar and about a quarter of the block).  Total price $3.71

 

How to prepare:  Turn your over on just long enough to get a little hot.  Cut the tops off of he dinner rolls trying to keep them all together.  Put the shredded cheddar cheese on the bottom dinner rolls.  Then top with slices of ham and more shredded cheddar cheese.  Place the top back on the dinner rolls and put on a baking sheet.  Put in the oven just long enough to get the cheese to melt.  Take out and cut into little sliders for dinner.  Trust me, they go FAST!

 

Shopping Around the World

This month we are highlighting easy dinner ideas for the summer months. Summer months are way too hot to be cooking in the kitchen making the house even hotter.

During these months, mom likes to go for ‘light’ foods that really don’t require a lot of cooking.  When mom/dad went to Chicago in May, my Aunt Tina got this salad in the picture below at Richard Walker’s Pancake House.  Mom was so amazed about the beauty of it and knew that she could do the same when she got home and she did!  So although this picture is not one of hers, she replicated it perfectly and has many times in the past couple of weeks.  It’s very feeling and I know that first hoof because mom has fixed me some too.  I’m a lucky pig, right?  So without further ado, mom will give you the breakdown below.  Enjoy my friends… I know I do!

Grilled or shredded chicken.  I buy a rotisserie chicken at our local Sam’s Warehouse on Sundays.  It costs $5.00 and I break it up into three different meals for two people each.  Part of the shredded chicken goes into this this salad.  Breaking it into three different meals makes it cost $1.67 for two people on this salad.

A head of lettuce costs $0.99 and again breaks it up into three different meals.  That makes this part $0.33 for two people on this salad.

Shredded cheese.  I buy medium block cheese and got a block on special for $0.99 a block.  It’s really hard to ‘cost’ how much it would be for this salad.  I use it on a lot of different things and shred some for this salad.  I’m going to assume I cut the cheese block up into four sections.  With that being said, this part in the salad would be $0.25 for two people.

Boiled egg.  A dozen eggs cost me $1.29.  If I know we will be doing several salads in the week, I will go ahead and boil 6 of them at a time.  That way I’m ahead of the game.  Two eggs (for two people) for this salad cost $0.11,

Avocado.  I love slice avocado but the hub doesn’t.  I buy one avocado and split it into two meals.  Avocados were on sale for $1.00 so the salad part is $0.50.

Tomatoes.  I bought six medium sized Roma tomatoes at the market for $1.39 – that’s $0.24 per tomato and we use one per meal for two people.

Broccoli – a head of broccoli was $1.59.  Again, we break it up into many different snacks/meals.  It probably ranged $0.40 per meal for two people.

Dressing for the salad – the hub uses 1000 Island and I use Italian.  We pay $1.50 per bottle and it breaks down to about $0.25 per salad for two people.

Now the fun part – putting the salad together.  The only thing I didn’t put in the salad was shredded carrots.  Jim is not a huge fan so we left them out.  To build the ‘salad’, we put shredded lettuce on the bottom.  And when you do this, I make sure all of it is ‘bite sized’.  I hate it when you order a salad in a restaurant and you have to use a knife to cut it up because everything is cut too big.  Don’t you?  After the lettuce, I then place the items above on top like the picture. I add the salad dressing and then toss to get everything coated with the dressing.  Then it’s time to jump into that delicious salad and enjoy.  Final cost $3.64 for two people.

 

Shopping Around the World – Reminder

REMINDER Friends!

Shopping around the World will be hosted on Friday, June 29th.  This month we will be highlighting easy dinner ideas for the summer months.  Summer brings heat and who wants to be in the kitchen cooking, right?  So this month, let’s concentrate on what you prepare for dinner in the summer months.

Post your meals and prices on Friday, June 29th and link back to my blog so everyone has a way to your blog to check out your menu’s.

Hope to see you here!

 

 

 

Shopping Around the World

Mark Your Calendars Friends!

Shopping around the World will be hosted on Friday, June 29th.  This month we will be highlighting easy dinner ideas for the summer months.  Summer brings heat and who wants to be in the kitchen cooking, right?  So this month, let’s concentrate on what you prepare for dinner in the summer months.

Post your meals and prices on Friday, June 29th and link back to my blog so everyone has a way to your blog to check out your menu’s.

Hope to see you here!

 

 

 

Shopping Around the World

This month for Shopping Around the World, we are going to focus on go to desserts/treats.

You know for those days when you need a pick me up or you are feeling down, what is the one thing you go to for comfort?

I know we shouldn’t but we do.  We can all admit that from time to time, right?

Well this month is an easy one for mom.  Wait until you see!  Take it away mom –

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When I think of go to comfort food as in dessert, I think of one thing.  Pepperidge Farm cakes.  I was introduced to Pepperidge Farm cakes when I was a young child.  It was something that we always kept in the freezer.  You know back in the day when you wanted people to drop in for visits  and they did unexpectedly – LOL.  These days, we don’t want anyone coming by unless you call weeks in advance and make an appointment.  Times have changed, right?  Well in the day, when unexpected friends dropped by my mom would get out the Pepperidge Farm cake, make a pot of coffee and visit.

These days, I still try to keep these in the freezer if not for just the memories they once brought to me.  Anytime you need some sugar comfort, cut you a slice off of the cake and enjoy a little time just being.  These Pepperidge Farm cakes come in a different variety – vanilla layer cake, red velvet cake, lemon layer cake, key lime cake, coconut layer cake, chocolate fudge layer cake and this one – rich golden layer cake.  And personally, the golden layer and key lime cakes are my all time favorites – LOL.

And the best thing about these cakes – they are cheap.  Really on average they are about $4.00 a cake.  BUT you can find them on sale two for $5.00!  Now can you make two cakes that cheap?  So pardon me my friends, this cake in the picture was opened last weekend.  It’s calling my name to be finished.  The next time you are in your local market, see if you can find one of these and try them.  You won’t regret it.

 

 

Shopping Around the World – Mark Your Calendar

Did you have fun last month my friends?  Well this month for Shopping Around the World, we are going to focus on go to desserts/treats.  You know for those days when you need a pick me up or you are feeling down, what is the one thing you go to for comfort?  I know we shouldn’t but we do.  We can all admit that from time to time, right?

Shopping Around the World will be on Friday, April 27th.  Be sure to write down your ingredients, costs and link back to my blog so we can all drool over your go to dessert/treats.

 

Shopping Around the World – Mark Your Calendars

Hello friends!!  Wasn’t all of the sandwiches from last month mouth watering?  We got so many ideas here at the Hotel Thompson.  What a blast!  This month we are going to throw a little twist to the Shopping Around the World.

We always concentrate on food but here’s the twist.  For February’s Shopping Around the World, we want a drink and snack food that you love.  Recipes, pictures are awesome and prices to be posted on:

Friday, February 23, 2018.

So mark your calendars and put on your thinking hats.  Is there a nightly ritual that you partake in before bedtime?  Maybe it’s something that you only do on the weekends.  Share with us in February ❤

 

Shopping Around the World

This month we are focusing on desserts/cookies or other yummy treats that you create or love to eat this time of the year.  This holiday season has been a little challenged here at the Hotel Thompson – with mom’s surgery, recuperation and other trying things that showed their ugly head.  Usually mom fixes this dessert, boxes them up in little Chinese containers that are decorated with pictures of us anipals and hands them out.  This year, she just didn’t get a chance to play around and have fun.  BUT she wanted to share this recipe because it’s fun and the treats are delicious!

So here is mom –

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What you will need:  bag of shelled pecan halves ($7.00); bag of Rolo candies ($4.00); and a bag of square pretzels ($3.00) = total cost $14.00

The most time consuming part of this recipe is unwrapping all of the Rolo’s.  Usually I will sit in front of the television with a two bowls – one for wrappers and one for the unwrapped Rolo’s.  Watch some television and start unwrapping.  It makes it go faster.  Trust me, this is the annoying part.

After you are done, get out a cookie sheet and wrap it with aluminum wrap.  Put your square pretzels on it and put one Rolo on top of all of the pretzels.  Your oven needs to be set at like 200 degrees.  Place the pan in the oven for about 2-3 minutes, until you see the Rolo’s getting soft.  Take them out and immediately push a pecan half on top of the pretzel.  We call these Reindeer noses.  Cute huh?

Now make a mental note.  Don’t put so many pretzels on the tray with Rolo’s that when you take them out of the oven they soften before you can put the pecan half on them.  I can usually do about three trays with the ingredients above.  Happy eats!

 

Shopping Around the World

Sorry for the delay dear friends.  December is always a challenge for finding time to do anything, isn’t it?  Well this month for Shopping Around the World, we are going to focus on desserts/cookies or other yummy treats that you create or love to eat this time of the year.  What snack desserts do you give out or put out for guests that come over?  It can be something simple or something elaborate.

Shopping Around the World will be on Friday, December 29th.  Be sure to write down your ingredients, costs and link back to my blog so we can all drool over your dessert ❤

 

Happy Birthday Bacon!

 Hey Bacon’s friends.  This is Bacon’s mom and dad here.  We are hi-jacking the little guy’s blog this afternoon for an important announcement.  Today is also our pig-son’s birthday.  Our baby Bacon turns the big 6 today!  Can you believe he was born on our anniversary?  Just one more little sign that his adoption was meant to be with us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BACON!

Bacon has brought so much joy here at the Hotel Thompson.  When I tell you there is *never* a dull moment, that is certainly the truth.  Bacon is like the little child we never had.  He’s very smart – as you all know from him writing his blog here – cough cough.  It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’ve had, how much stress you encounter in the world – he is always here waiting for you with a snort and oink.  I’m not sure what me or Jim would do without Bacon and our other ‘children’: Houdini, Hemi and Mouse Girl in our lives. They bless us beyond our imagination.

So today, we raise our glass with you our friends to send out a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best pig-son we could ever have.  And here’s to years and years of more happiness and adventures!  Help us out our friends in wishing Bacon the best of all birthdays!

Bacon – may all your dreams come true.  May you have more delights today than ever before.  We love you our boy!

And thanks to my bro across the pond – Phenny – for these awesome presents.  That card was almost as big as me!  I loved it.  Thanks bro ❤