Springing Into MARCH CHAT

[1940fc]

March is here...FINALLY!

I was asked  just this morning:

[flipping_treasures]

Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'

Nice new digs!  Thanks Sarah!

[retro-charm]

Yep, Happy March everyone! In like a lion.........

[the_jeweled_feline]

And, please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top, let it go out like a lamb!  And it can start lamb practice any time soon!

[1940fc]

[peachstategal]

Good Monday morning to all!

Thanks for starting the chat, Sarah.  Love all the pictures that are making us all long for Spring.

Quiet weekend here.  Only left the house to take DS's family to a favorite Mexican restaurant.  Blew my diet but loved everything I ate.

Everyone have a great day. 

[flipping_treasures]

Good morning all.  It is cold a wet here in Texas.  Which means it is heading for the east coast.  YUCK!  

Chuck and I want to take our first camping trip this year to Alexandria, Louisiana.  That is where they film Cajun Pawn and I have wanted to take a day and just explore that shop for a while.  But the weather has just been too unpredictable and since I have camped at least once in the snow and didn't like it, guess we will have to wait a little longer.  Le sigh.

I just can't get into listing new things.  It has been so slow everywhere.  And I have been have been really slow with updating the items I do have done.  Guess I really need to put my nose to the grindstone.  

Hope March is kind and gentle for all.

[1940fc]

Ok..so I still dopn`t have my new stove yet..hopefully it will be delivered this week.  

In the meantime I was missing my oven so bad I bought a countertop  toaster/convection oven Saturday. Have never used one before and the booklet that cam with it has slim to NO instructions for cooking things.

Anyone here have one & can give me some tips on using? 

[flipping_treasures]

Sorry.  I bought a microwave/convection oven for the camper because it doesn't have an oven ... unfortunately I have the same problem and have only used it for the microwave.  Maybe we can both get some help.

[fredi*frogi]

Sarah, it depends on what you want to cook with the toaster oven. I just have the toaster oven, not the convection, tho i did look into those. I liked it because I could things like pot pies in the middle of summer without turning on my big oven. It was also fantastic for reheating things like pizza and chicken strips, anything fried really too, much better than the microwave! Hubby always uses it to make his pizza rolls. His kids use it when they come over too (that or the pizza oven! LOL). You just pop something in there and walk away tho, not with mine some things had to be turned all the time or they'd burn. I had a fairly cheap toaster oven and so maybe that was why. I think you can google toster oven recipes and find a lot of good stuff!

Snot is s'not fun. Ugh. My luck finally ran out, sigh, and I have this cold crud that everyone else has got. I do not like it at all. I started feeling off friday afternoon, and then by friday nite I had a monster headache. Went to Jo-Ann's on Saturday with my momma and by Saturday evening I was full of snot and sneezing. I am not coughing, which is good, it's staying in my nose so far, fingers crossed it doesn't head on down to my chest!

We got about 8 inches of snow Saturday evening/Sunday morning. I went ahead and made tater soup on sunday, even tho I did not feel very good at all. I have no idea what it tasted like...lol...I can't taste! My tater soup is more like chowder, then soup, I like it thick, the thicker the better!

Here's the recipe:

about 3 lbs of taters (i used yukon gold this time, you can use whatever kind you like, or have!) washed and cubed.

1 package bacon, chopped

1 onion chopped

3 to 4 ribs celery, chopped

Garlic powder

Salt & pepper

3 cans evaporated milk

1/3 to 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes OR 2 potatoes boiled and mashed*

1/2 milk

1 c water

1 chicken bullion cube

1 package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Chop the bacon, onion and celery and fry until bacon is the doness you want add garlic salt, salt & pepper. I like my bacon limp, some like theirs crispy, either or is fine.

Put the water & evap. milk & chicken bullion cube into your crock pot and turn it on low, stiring. When the bullion cube has disolved add the instant mashed taters or the boiled and mashed tater and whisk. 

Add the cubed taters to this mixture and stir. Add bacon mixture to taters and stir well. 

When the taters are done, and about an hourish before eating, mix in the package of sharp cheddar cheese. Makes it even thicker and taste more like a twice baked potatoes.

serve with crackers and I usually make grilled cheese to make hubby happy, lol

[1940fc]

So basically about whatever can be baked in the oven can be done in a convection oven..any adjustments needed to temps called for in recipes?

How about convenience items..like canned biscuits. Just bake as normal?  I`ve been wanting some sausage gravy & biscuits, so think I will try tonite.  I have some Pillsbury Grands I`ll use.  Sounds kinda like a 'trial & error' thing...lol   Will let ya know how they turn out

But I imagine it will be nice when summer arrives..to keep from really heating up the kitchen.  I love my kitchen electronics..still plan on getting one of the new Rival Slow Cooker Casserole dishes 

[peachstategal]

Sarah, I have a convection range and a convection toaster/oven.  When using the convection setting, it usually advises to keep the temperature about 25 degrees less that when just baking.  I really don't see much difference.  I would never bake a cake or biscuits using the convection settings.

Freddi, that potato soup recipe sounds scrumputious (spelling???).

I recently found a Swanson product that is the white creamy part you get when you make a white sauce.  When I used this to make soup the thickness came out really good (I did add some milk).  Rich without all the fat calories.

[peachstategal]

On a side note!  My husband recently decided he would make himself a toasted sandwich.  He could not figure out how to turn the toaster on.  I keep telling him if I die, he will have to get remarried just to be fed.

[1940fc]

Well, I got the biscuits baked without burning them!  LOL  

Was Pillsbury Grands..can directions said 350 for 14-17 minutes.  So I just kinda winged it..set the temp at 350..figured I didn`t need the convection setting with that fan..so I just set it on the pizza setting..and then set  timer for about 15 minutes. They were done in about 6 minutes!  Glad I was in the kitchen or they would have burned for sure!  LOL   So big I could only bake 4 at a time..but I can see once I get the hang of it..how handy it will be for many things.  

[fredi*frogi]

How is a convection oven different then a regular oven? 

My toaster oven does come in handy since it's just the two of us! During the winter tho, I use the big oven, so it helps warm the house too! LOL

My momma picked me up some generic sudafed last nite, oh wow, this stuff is the bomb!! I'm feeling so much better, I'm amazed! I'm doing both it and the mucinex, but mom says you can get mucinex with sudafed in it, which i'll try the next time i've got this snotty stuffs!!!