#green bean casserole too? like made with canned soup and frozen or canned green beans? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wanderingcas · 2 years

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hey so like, i hope this is okay to send? but feel free to ignore it if you don't want to answer. i hope this isn't tmi but recently my mom became a single mom and i've been trying to help out more as the oldest, and that includes meals from time to time. my mom usually doesn't have time / energy to try out new things(frozen meals is the usual) and we're definitely on a budget- i found your post from like. two years ago lmao, saying to message if anyone needed any recipes. i don't even follow you or know you but if you had any ideas for stuff i'd really appreciate it! currently we have a lot of beans but tbh take that with a grain of salt because we can totally go out and get other ingredients, its just a matter of 1. making sure it doesn't cost much and 2. her not having to go to the store super often. do you have anything in general you'd suggest? especially with the fact that i'm a beginner in mind? it's also worth mentioning my mom likes to keep a low amount of meat in the house(but it isn't off-limits, just preferred to not be in everything). i dunno it feels super silly but i don't even feel like i know where to start. thanks in advance!

absolutely it's okay to send!' i answered the best i could, but obviously there's SO much more to go into specifically, so please feel free to message me if you have specific questions

but for every meal, i think it's best to keep it simple: protein, carb, vegetable. everything else on top of that is just extra, but at the base, the meal should consist of that. now, breaking it down into those parts:

vegetables

-frozen vegetables - peas, carrots, corn. you can’t tell these even were frozen when you put them in a soup or a casserole

-potatoes are usually cheap, depending on where you are in the world especially russet potatoes, and they can be baked alongside any protein you make.

-this isn’t necessarily on a budget, but ready-to-mix salads are a great option if you’re looking for something healthy and also fast. but those can be a couple dollars a bag. if that’s not an option, a really good idea is buying spinach (it can last at least a week in the fridge if you keep it good and sealed), buy a favorite dressing, and eat that combo for an iron kick. not the most fun thing in the world, but it’s very nutritious. you can even throw a few croutons or dried fruit in there if you can. plus, spinach can be thrown into any canned pasta sauce you get for an extra vegetable - just let it simmer on the stove for a few minutes until the spinach breaks down and gets soft. it’s a pretty versatile green!

-onions are usually affordable and always elevate a dish - just buy the cheapest your grocery store has, and don’t worry if a recipe says a certain kind (like yellow onion vs. red onion). most of the time, in a pinch, it truly doesn’t matter. we’re not aiming for a michelin star here lol

-celery: you can wrap it in tin foil and it'll last a few weeks in the crisper drawer

protein

-you mentioned you have a lot of beans, which is great, because if you don’t want a lot of meat this will provide you with a lot of protein! some ideas are chili (with those frozen veggies), vegetable soup, tacos, simply just rice and beans... they're really versatile!

-chicken thighs, bone-in, is harder to eat but always cheaper. thighs in general are cheaper than chicken breasts, too. if you can swing it, ready-made rotisserie chickens at the grocery store are the easiest to work with - simply cut and serve with rice, pasta, salad... literally anything!

-somtimes you can find discount meats that are about to expire at the grocery store. your freezer is your friend in this case - buy on sale, then freeze for up to 3 months until needed

carb

-rice is THE cheapest carb and can be used with literally anything. there's a variety of rice, all have their own personality, but get whatever is cheapest - you won't notice the difference in recipes, generally

-bread is obviously yum for any dish, especially garlic bread with pasta - cut a baguette or any thick loaf in half and spread some butter and garlic powder on it before throwing it in the oven wrapped in some foil

-pasta pasta pasta!! buy any shapes or sizes. can work with hundreds of dishes

now for random recipes that you can google for the steps or improvise - they're hopefully not too crazy complicated! obviously not a complete list, but enough to hopefully inspire you. they can all be theoretically cooked in under an hour, too.

-chili, potato soup, any baked chicken dish with veggies + a carb, fried rice, pasta with marinara sauce from an jar + side salad, tacos, quesadillas, beans + rice.

-googling "cheap dinners in 30 minutes" will also get you a crazy amount of results!

in terms of grocery shopping, i'd look up the recipes in advance, then make a list. then you can substitute any veggie or protein you want depending on price.

i hope this helps!! good luck:) and feel free to message me again with any specific questions or if you want specific recipes!! i'd be happy to provide links/steps but i didn't want this ask to get too crazy long <3

#anon ask #answered ask #sorry this took so long to ask!!#i have a newborn and time is no longer linear

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notbecauseofvictories · 2 years

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weird q but do you have any advice on how to grocery shop healthily when you can only do it after work+classes and post-8pm because i always end up wandering around vaguely depressing and more tired than hungry so i just grab easy junk :/

Get yourself some frozen fruits and vegetables!

Fresh fruits and vegetables come with an expiration date, and the promise of work---chopping, storing, being mindful of using them up before they go bad. Frozen fruits and vegetables eliminate all that! A bag of chopped frozen spinach will last forever, and it's easy to stir together with boxed pasta and a light lemon butter sauce. After a long shift, you can put frozen fruit, yogurt, and milk (maybe some kale!) in a blender for a delicious smoothie, rather than peel kiwis.

I don't know if you've been in the frozen aisle lately, but they're getting really creative---riced cauliflower, stir-fry starter packs, mixed vegetables in pre-made sauces. Just avoid anything in a cheese sauce and/or high in sodium.

You can look for similar short cuts for other healthy staples too. If the idea of making rice or beans sounds exhausting after studying for a test---don't. Canned black beans can be a great source of protein; diced, canned tomatoes make for great additions to lasagna or enchiladas. They make single-serving packs of rice you can microwave! There's no need to make something harder on yourself than it needs to be.

(Personally, I like making a big batch of couscous or quinoa---it's shelf stable, and fresh-made it lasts about 2 weeks in a tupperware container. You can use it as a base for just about anything: quinoa and kale power bowl, couscous with tomatoes and basil, couscous with green beans, quinoa broccoli skillet, etc. etc.)

For meat, I highly recommend chicken breasts (cheap in bulk, take them out of the original package and freeze in individual ziplock bags!) or canned tuna.

Store your leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge. You can use these for an easy crust-less quiche, pasta salad, or casserole. Leftovers are why Midwestern America invented the casserole, tbh---all you need to do is make some potatoes or pasta, and toss with whatever sauce/vegetables you have; cover with a cheese (any cheese) and bake at 350 F until warm through and the cheese is bubbly.

As a final note, canned soup can be a wonderfully easy way to get the nutrition you need! Check for low- or no-sodium options, since (as with all of these options) a lot of salt gets added to canned soup to preserve flavor.

#tw food #no love sincerer than the love of food

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love-takes-work · 4 years

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THE “OH MY GOD I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE ACTUALLY WENT THERE” COLLECTION

These are the recipes that I had to invent something weird, come up with a bizarre solution, or go to unusual lengths to make a Steven Universe dish. Photo evidence of kitchen weirdness after the jump. List of recipes:

Three-Way Sub from “Say Uncle”

Clams, Peanut Butter, and a Side of Fresh-Cut Grass from “Bluebird”

Crystal Lizards from “Lion 2: The Movie”

Donut Box from “Sadie Killer”

Everything Pizza from “What’s Your Problem”

Pizza Bagel & Fantastic Fries from “Restaurant Wars”

Gem Harvest from “Gem Harvest,” including 3-tier Wedding Cake

Off Colors Graduation Cake from “Little Graduation”

Alien Thorax from “Jungle Moon”

Jungle Moon Fruit from “Jungle Moon”

Korean Lunch from “Steven’s Dream”

Pizza Burrito from “Bismuth”

Cool Kids Potluck from “The Good Lars”

Giant Strawberry from the strawberry battlefields seen in “Serious Steven”

Together Forever cake from “Together Forever”

Zoo Fruit from “The Zoo”

Three-Way Sub from “Say Uncle”: I baked an actual three-prong bread that didn’t even properly fit in my oven. It is all one piece and homemade from yeast rise to egg wash.

Clams, Peanut Butter, and a Side of Fresh-Cut Grass from “Bluebird”: I don’t eat clams (or any seafood) so I made clam-shaped CANDY. The shells are banded white chocolate painted on the inside with white chocolate, made from a mold, and the insides are homemade vanilla cremes. I also bought edible easter grass. (It exists.)

Crystal Lizards from “Lion 2: The Movie”: These are homemade from scratch white chocolate lizards dusted with sprinkles and green rock candy for the crystals!

Donut Box for the Cool Kids from “Sadie Killer”: Yes, I made multiple different donut recipes (plus jelly donuts) and even a Dog-Nut to put this box together. Donuts are from scratch, all of them.

Everything Pizza from “What’s Your Problem”: Since (again) I don’t eat fish, I made a fish out of BREAD in a special fish-shaped pan and also made fake sardines and fake shrimp from tofu cut into shapes, in addition to all those other ridiculous toppings. The pizza is also made from scratch--the dough is homemade.

Restaurant Wars food from “Restaurant Wars”: Yes, I got ketchup inside the fries. Yes, it was super messy. No, I don’t recommend it.

The entire Gem Harvest from “Gem Harvest”: My friends helped me make the whole feast, and it’s a homemade chicken, corn on the cob, homemade mashed potatoes, homemade bean casserole, homemade yeast rolls from scratch, and I made an entire three-tier wedding cake from scratch including frosting and white chocolate spouses, because of course I did. The cake was chocolate on the bottom tier, lemon in the middle, vanilla on the top.

Four-tier Graduation Cake from “Little Graduation”: Yep, four chocolate cakes with three layers and three kinds of homemade frosting, plus fondant models I made of the Off Colors and cake accents made of fondant or specialty paper.

Alien Thorax from “Jungle Moon”: Made of a Tofurky Roast and legs made of plantains, with a pretty disgusting purple gravy.

Jungle Moon Fruit from “Jungle Moon”: This giant pear thing is a complicated cake flavored with ube flavoring and sugar plum extract. I made it in a sports ball cake pan and created my own vegetarian mirror glaze for the frosting. The stem is a stick of licorice candy.

Korean Lunch from “Steven’s Dream”: This consisted of Korean sushi (gimbap), noodle soup (naengmyeon), dumplings (mandu), and pickled radish (danmuji). I made the gimbap from scratch and bought all the ingredients from a local Asian market, but I must admit the naengmyeon was from a noodle pack (which I added my own ingredients to, like the egg, the fake bacon for beef, and the korean pear), and the dumplings were frozen and steamed to softness.

Pizza Burrito from “Bismuth”: Pizza was made from scratch, and burrito was added with potato chips sprinkled on top. Rolled into large burrito and later eaten in slices because I cannot eat it baby bird style like Amethyst.

Cool Kids Potluck from “The Good Lars”: I made the Snack Sushi (avocado and cheese puff sushi), which itself was an endeavor, and then on top of that I customized my soda, made Fish Stew Pizza boxes for pizza (I used frozen pizza this time), and managed to gather the exotic fruit--no small task considering one of them was the famously smelly durian. (The others are a pineapple and a dragonfruit.) The episode does not include them actually preparing and eating the fruit but I did that too.

Giant Strawberry from “Serious Steven” and others: I made a strawberry cake from real strawberries and made it look like a giant strawberry from the fields. The frosting and the chocolate seeds were all homemade too, with mint leaves grown in my kitchen.

Together Forever cake from “Together Forever”: Made with real strawberry batter swirled into vanilla batter, and homemade frosting in three colors. I’m not very good at piping so this was a big deal for me to make a replica of Steven’s ill-fated proposal cake.

Zoo Fruit from “The Zoo”: This is a vegetarian recipe that isn’t jello. Made with agar-agar, water, and juice, they turn firm after several hours of refrigeration.

(Some not-pictured honorable mentions that were weird and required creativity but weren’t particularly difficult or impressive include Guacola from “Drop Beat Dad,” birthday cakes and a pie for the Gems from “So Many Birthdays,” the pizzas Bixbite prepared in “Guidance,” homemade cereal I created for cereal dust in “Greg the Babysitter” and fruit loops in “In Dreams,” homemade Chaaaaps from “Monster Buddies,” a cloud made of meringues because Amethyst ate some cloud in “Steven the Sword Fighter,” good old Cookie Cats from “Gem Glow,” corndogs from “Too Short to Ride,” marshmallows from several episodes, durian juice, Fish Stew Pizza, the breadsticks and shrimp appetizer from “Fusion Cuisine,” Lion Lickers, mooncakes mentioned in “Little Graduation,” homemade onion rings from “Garnet’s Universe,” homemade oyster crackers for Sadie, Amethyst’s pile of food from “Reformed,” protein bars and pine tea from “Gem Hunt,” pumpkin bread shaped like a pumpkin and the ube roll from “The Good Lars,” and Amethyst’s gross tuna burrito from “So Many Birthdays.”)

This kind of crap is why no one can think of something I haven’t made

#steven universe #food #long post #steven universe recipes #myblog

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behealthay · 3 years

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10 Healthy Comfort Foods near me that i should eat everyday

Over the last 2 decades, we’ve piled on a great deal of exceptionally great healthy comfort foods. We love sharing these top 10 best healthy comfort foods, as they’re currently family top choices in a wide range of homes over the world. These comfort foods are what home-cooking is all about. These foods have moved towards becoming the healthy choice throughout the world in the recent years.

#10 Chicken Potpie Tartines

Chicken potpie tartines is one of the best healthy comfort foods for you. It has a blend of mushrooms, frozen peas, matchstick cut carrots and some chicken. Chicken potpie tartines is an easy to cook food, keeping up your health-consciousness. This would spare your times and save you from consuming unhealthy foods. You can give it the extra touch by serving it with some sauce according to your taste.

#9 White Bean and Vegetable Bowl with Frizzled Eggs:

This simple bowl of brothy goodness is stacked with two veggies and umami juicy taste. It’s additionally incredible for times when you’re short on money, as it costs just about a few dollars for around 4 servings. This would be a great blend with the vegetables and eggs providing vitamins with proteins.

#8 Shortcut Risotto with Brussels Sprouts:

Our basic method produces exemplary risotto in a short time. Pre-cooked, dark colored rice stews with a flour-thickened blend of dairy and chicken stock, supported with a pinch of cream cheddar for additional extravagance. This is the mouthwatering recipe providing all the health nutrients being a great addition to the healthy comfort foods.

#7 Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies:

You likely have everything close by to make these chewy, chocolate nutty spread treats. To fit the treats on a solitary sheet container, isolate these cookies into columns. Squeezing the cookies help you to prepare them more rapidly and get flawless fresh edges, else they’ll be excessively round and half-cooked. This would give a great booted edge to your list of healthy comfort foods. These are great for controlling your hunger and sweet tooth.

#6 Sirloin Steaks with Mushroom Sauce and Chive-Garlic Potatoes:

It won’t become more special than a major bit of steak finished with exquisite sauce and matched with rich pureed potatoes. Furthermore, our adaptation figures out how to hold calories under control. The entire dinner has only 300 calories, with simply 3 to 4 grams of immersed fat. To get the full steak house taste, include this with around 80 calories for every serving. You will get obsessed with this healthy comfort food providing a great treat.

#5 Hot and Sour Soup with Noodles:

Some people move towards progressively balanced tastes, while others have cravings for extreme chili to fulfill their appetite. This hot and harsh soup is a take-out essential, but it also can be cooked at home. This winter supper is perfect when you’re sick, yet want to try something according to your taste. This healthy comfort food is great for those who have cravings for spice.

#4 Extra Vegetable Fried Rice:

This is the perfect healthy comfort food when you invite over some friends to your house. You would just need frozen peas and a blend of some vegetables with red pepper. This extra vegetable fried rice won’t feel heavy on your stomach and it provides you with the perfect mix of healthy nutrients. It’s an easy to make comfort food which your guests will love and won’t get over it in one serving.

#3 Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto:

This is possibly the best healthy comfort food you’ll made for this year. You can have this for breakfast, lunch or supper, too. You can serve it with white wine and include a little bit of spinach with the butternut squash towards the end. The shriveled greens, velvety rice, and nutty squash would make irrefutably the ideal dinner. You won’t get over its taste after having one bowl of this.

#2 High Protein Mac and Cheese:

Here and there our most loved healthy comfort foods simply require a little dietary lift. This macaroni and cheese is made with protein-enhanced pasta, at that point makes a sauce from lightly sliced cheddar and without fat cheese, so you get a huge amount of protein and flavor, with less fat and calories. This is a perfect boost for your body as it is one of the comfort foods providing huge amount of proteins with taste.

#1 Sweet Potato and Kale Brown Rice Casserole:

Considerable a lot of us experienced their childhood with mushy rice meals, and this healthy comfort food presents a more beneficial take with a different blend in it. You would require dietary boost like brown colored rice, sweet potato and kale to make it. This sweet potato and kale brown rice casserole is an incredible meal for those who are health-conscious. It would be a protein power pack if you are into athletics.

#health food #health & fitness #health

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jaybug-jabbers · 3 years

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Meal Ideas for College Students

Ok, so. As a college student, I’m compiling my own list of easy meal ideas. I have a bad habit of skipping meals, like many students do. A list of ideas helps a lot when you’re busy, stressed, tired, and/or not feeling up for much.

This post will prioritize quick/easy meals, ideas for relieving meal monotony, food that gives energy that sticks with you throughout the day, and meals that are generally healthy and balanced.

Note: This list of ideas was made with myself in mind. Everyone has their own dietary needs and/or preferences to keep in mind! Still, you might find something useful here. :) Also, check out my other post of recipes for more specific ideas.

Lunch/Dinner Ideas

1.) Soup/Salad/Sandwich.

-Not many canned soups are worth eating in my opinion, but a few taste acceptable (split pea’s pretty good), and sometimes grocery stores have containers of fresh soup. Those are almost always better tasting then canned!

-Salads ideally are more then just plain romaine lettuce and croutons/salad dressing. They can have all kinds of crap thrown on: nuts, seeds, tortilla strips, dried fruit, fresh sliced fruit, cheese, chicken, even some pasta noodles.

-It’s better to buy heads of greens and wash them yourself, as the already-washed bags of greens go bad quickly and have been prone to e. coli outbreaks. A little salad washing bowl speeds up cleaning greens. In either case, try to get a mix of darker, vitamin-rich greens.

-Sandwiches can use the healthier lunch meats but also leftover cooked chicken, or just a grilled cheese sandwich. (Use different kinds of sliced cheese.) Fancy mustard, pesto and horseradish can really punch up a sandwich; so can bread that actually tastes good.

2.) Pasta.

There are a lot of options of what to put on top of pasta; just adding some marinara sauce to spaghetti noodles is only the beginning.

-If you do use red sauce, I suggest adding mushrooms, sliced sausage or ground meat, or lots of cheese on top to bump up the protein.

-If you do something else, stir-frying some veggies (fresh– zuccini, mushroom, celery, carrot, snappeas, etc. frozen– frozen stir-fry veggie mix) and adding a light sauce is good; even dumping vinegarette salad dressing on it can be tasty.

-Other options include frozen shrimp, meatballs, leftover chicken, tofu or a cheese casserole.

-Try other kinds of pasta noodles, because even that can relieve some food monotomy. You can even use cheap ramen noodles, because why not? Just skip the spice pack they come with and add other things instead.

-Raviolis or tortillinis are also great for a light dinner or lunch.

-Sides for pasta include bread/garlic bread, salad, and fruit.

3.) Tacos/Burritos/Tostadas.

Canned beans, cheese, a bit of shredded lettuce, some jarred salsa, a tortilla, presto. Also great for using leftover ground meat or baked chicken. If you are lucky enough to own an avacado, please use it for this.

4.) Nachos.

This is basically when you have canned beans but you ran out of tortillas. Dump everything on top of corn chips instead.

5.) Enchilada Casserole.

Ground meat (or shredded chicken), canned black beans/red kidney beans, shredded cheese, canned enchilada sauce, corn tortillas, and a casserole dish. Dense and lasts you for a long time. Freezes well, too.

6.) Baked chicken.

There’s about a million different ways to prepare chicken. What’s more, the leftovers are so useful for so many things.

7.) Homemade pizza.

-They sell those kits at the store with the shell and the pizza sauce all ready. Just add your desired toppings and cook. A million times better then frozen pizza and worth the five extra minutes of work. You’ll need to invest in a large cutting-board and a pizza cutter or a large knife, but that’s it.

-If you want emergency personal pizzas, you can even use English Muffins for the task.

8.) Hamburger.

If you don’t care for ground beef, ground turkey or chicken works just as well; you can cook them insanely fast and easily on a Foreman grill, but still cooks pretty fast in a regular pan too. Adding some fixings goes a long way: pickles, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pineapple rings, etc. Good sides: salad, fries/potato, peas or beans.

9.) Baked frozen fish/salmon.

Again, you’re unlikey to have the time to buy and prepare fresh fish, which needs to be cooked and eaten quickly, but you can buy a filet of frozen fish. Good sides: rice, easy risotto, boxed couscous, broccoli, bread, etc.

10.) Fajuitas.

Steak strips/chicken strips that are pan-fried, plus stir-fried mushrooms, asparagus, zuccini, etc. Lime juice and avacado add a lot of flavor.

11.) Chicken, mustard, mushroom, garlic, spinach and swiss hot sandwiches.

Bake ‘em after assembling them for melty goodness.

12.) Smoothies/shakes.

This is a great addition to breakfast or lunch if you’re not very hungry or running low on food supplies; only if you have a blender, of course. Ice cubes, plain yogurt, fruit (fresh or frozen), shredded coconut, honey, fruit juice or ice cream, and blend. Experiment to find what works best.

Breakfast Ideas

Bulk up on breakfast if your schedule demands it!

1.) Oatmeal loaded with nuts, dried fruit, powdered proteins, flaxseed, and a dash of maple syrup/honey

2.) A plain yogurt parfait loaded up in a similar manner, plus granola

3.) Bagels or toast with cream cheese, nut butters, jam/honey, or avacado

4.) Stir-fried potatoes, potato pancakes, hashbrowns

5.) Low-sugar muffins

6.) Breakfast burritos

7.) Omlettes

8.) See above for smoothies!

General Tips

1.) Always make large portions when you cook so there are leftovers. When you bake chicken for dinner, you can use the leftovers the next day or make a sandwich or a taco or whatever. If you’re going to invest your precious time and energy into cooking, get the most out of it. If you have TONS of leftovers, freeze them in portions that are easily taken out, bit by bit, to use later on.

2.) See if you can locate a microwave on campus. This expands your options for what to pack for food, in case sandwiches a million times a month gets tiring. Pack things into microwavable tupperware or bring little paper plates and plastic utensils. Plastic bento boxes are also handy ways to pack things other than sandwiches. You can even bring soup, pasta, or ramen with you in a thermos.

3.) Frozen vegetables help a lot. You may not have the time to buy, clean and cook fresh veg, but grabbing a bag of something frozen is easy to make sure you have balanced meals. Steam them in the microwave easily in a bowl with a plate on top; avoid the ‘steamer’ plastic bags if you can, which tend to taste gross imo and may not be super healthy. (zapping plastic may create toxins.)

4.) See what’s in season for fruit. That way you can buy cheaper organic fresh fruit such as grapes, melons, berries or even exotics like kiwi. If you get them in bulk and need to use fresh fruit up before it spoils, try smoothies or put them on cereal/oatmeal or even make a fruit salad.

5.) Consider investing in a crock pot or insta-pot cooker. This opens up options for a lot of low-effort recipes, where you can just toss crap in and come back later and it’s done.

6.) Invest in spices. It’s worth the money and effort to get a variety. Get in the habit of tossing them into things. It can punch up just about anything and is way better then just salt. Even scrambled eggs can be punched up with some Sriracha sauce or some spices, or a little bit of shredded cheese.

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Nov 4, 2019.

#mycontent #college survival

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i-am-too-sick · 6 years

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Hi! You're the first emeto blog I ever found (like 2 years ago) and I love your work! If you're up for it (but no pressure, by any means) i would love to see a Fic where Quinn has been feeling kind of off all day, and Toby hasn't realized, but then Quinn whips around and pukes in the sink while they're making dinner and Toby kind of freaks out and comforts him. If you don't want to write this, I won't hold it against you at all.

2N for the Holiday Prompts for Toby/Quinn pls??

What better time than Thanksgiving to introduce y’all to Toby’s familia! Feverish + While cooking Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years dinner.

“And that’s the story of how we met.”

The end of Quinn’s tale was met with varying degrees of amusement, but none seemed quite as happy to hear it as Toby. He was positively beaming, as though his boyfriend’s retelling had him living in the moment again.

“But now you kiss and stuff, right? Like, all the time?”

It was Toby’s youngest sister, Beatrice, who spoke up from her spot on the floor. She had a strong likeness to Toby, aside from being only seven and having long, braided hair. Of everyone in the room, she looked the least impressed.

Quinn smiled. Since arriving at the de Jesus home last night, he’d quickly learned that Bea questioned everything. She was very much like her brother in that sense too.

“Why don’t we get ready for dinner?” Mrs.de Jesus suggested, effectively putting a stop to her youngest’s prying. “Quinn, you wanted to peel the potatoes?”

Quinn nodded, standing from the couch and stretching. His muscles had felt unusually achy all day and he was beyond tired, despite sleeping soundly the night before. He really didn’t feel that great to begin with, but he powered through for the feast waiting for him at the end of the evening.

Toby stood with him, draping an arm around Quinn’s shoulders. He was drunk already, and he tasted like beer when they kissed.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “Mama loves you. Bea can’t get enough of you—“

“Tobias!”

Quinn chuckled. “That’s our cue. Come on, lover boy.”

In the kitchen, they were greeted by Toby’s other sister, Rosalie. She was working on green beans, or a casserole of some sort. Whatever it was, it made Quinn’s stomach turn.

In fact, everything made his stomach turn. The smell of the turkey baking in the oven, the smoke from the candles burning in the windowsill, even the smell of alcohol permeating off his boyfriend—it all made Quinn suddenly feel very nauseous.

“Where’s Dad?” Toby asked. He’d wandered away to check the turkey when Quinn had started toward the sink to begin peeling potatoes.

“He went to go buy the newspaper. Me and Mama want to look at the ads.” Rosalie turned around, wiping her hands on her apron. She was pretty, tall and thin, with curly hair. It was obvious from how she’d fixed herself up that she cared far more about appearances than her twin brother Toby.

Quinn started peeling over the sink, his strokes heavy and sluggish. The potatoes felt slippery and slimy in his hands, and he had to keep swallowing down his nausea. Goosebumps raised up along his arms and for just a moment, he missed Toby’s arm around his shoulders.

It was several minutes and peeled potatoes later when Quinn was finally finished. It hadn’t taken him long to realize that something was wrong, but he hadn’t said anything for fear of ruining everyone’s dinner plans.

“All done there, Q?” Toby asked. Since last checking the turkey, he’d been juggling kitchen duties and keeping Beatrice occupied when she got bored. He’d hardly noticed the change in his boyfriend at all.

Quinn nodded, rinsing off the last of the potatoes and setting them on the counter. He felt cold, though his hands were warm and clammy. “Hey,” he started, swallowing thickly, “Toby…”

At the distressed sound of his name, Toby leaned over to get a good look at his face. Quinn’s face was pale and his shoulders were shaking. “Whoa, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Quinn said miserably. He hung his head over the sink, letting a trickle of saliva fall down toward the drain.

“Oh shit, Quinn! Not in here!”

Toby grabbed his boyfriend by the shoulders and tried to steer him toward the bathroom, but Quinn stayed rooted to the spot, frozen by swelling nausea. His stomach made an audible gurgling sound, and then he was heaving.

Quinn heard Toby start swearing, something he likely wouldn’t have done with his mother present, but Quinn was hyper focused on the feeling of sick working itself way up his throat. He retched hard, a tidal wave of vomit splattering into the sink. He barely had a chance to take a breath before his stomach lurched again, bringing up another river of sick.

He felt awful. Not only was his stomach trying to claw its way out of him, but as he stood with his back hunched over the sink, he could feel several pairs of eyes on him and he just knew he had ruined Thanksgiving.

Toby’s hand was on his back, rubbing quick, anxious circles across his shoulders, coaxing out another productive heave.

By the time he’d dissolved into unproductive queasy hiccups, Quinn was an absolute mess. Ribbons of saliva and bile clung to his lips, and his chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath.

He felt a hand on his cheek, too small and not callused enough to be Toby’s. “Pobrecito, mijo. You’re burning up. Toby, take him upstairs and get him into bed.”

Mrs. de Jesus muttered something else, but Quinn was already wiping his mouth on his sleeve and being led out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Quinn didn’t remember much after that. He was taken to Toby’s room, changed into his pajamas, and tucked snuggly into bed, a trash can on the floor in case of another emergency.

His stomach was still upset and rumbly, but he didn’t think he was in any danger of being sick again for a while. He leaned into Toby’s hand as he stroked along his cheek, humming a quiet word of gratitude.

“Dude, your skin is on fire. You should have said something, and don’t give me that bullshit about disappointing anyone.”

Quinn shrugged. “You got me. I’m sorry, T.”

Toby rolled his eyes. “I should have known. Well, whatever, Thanksgiving’s overrated anyway. You’re not missing anything special.” He grinned, lightly ruffling Quinn’s hair. “I mean, Mama’s mashed potatoes are to die for, but I guess no one’s getting those this year.”

Quinn punched him from underneath the covers. “You’re a jerk.”

Toby laughed, pressing a kiss to Quinn’s fevered brow. “Get some sleep, Quinn. Mama said she was going to make you some soup. Trust me, that’s even better than mashed potatoes.”

#sickfic #emetophilia #fever #request #my ocs #quinn #my writing

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benjamingarden · 4 years

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This Month On The Farm: September 2020

September officially marks the end of summer and I am tomato'd out! As noted in previous posts, it was a toasty one here this year, as it was for so much of the country, so I am very much ready to move on to the next season. Bring on the pumpkin spice everything (yes, I am THAT person).

Starting last week our walks around the yard consist of a crisp crunching under our feet. Our trees are not only changing to their fall colors but are also shedding them quite quickly thanks to some much needed rain. And so, leaf raking season begins.

I am still toggling between hot and iced coffee, depending on the day. We've two had days of almost frost and more opportunities are on their way. I celebrated fall by ordering two new sets of our very favorite flannel sheets from LL Bean. We replace our well used sheets every few years. They are expensive but honestly the BEST flannel sheets we've tried. With the bitter cold winter temps we receive for 5 months of the year, it's well worth it.

Jay also finished building both a food storage pantry space in our basement plus and large pantry shelving unit to go behind the door that leads to the basement. This has really allowed us to stock up nicely.

Putting Food Up

With the summer garden completed the fall garden is focused on winter squash, green beans, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, greens, and beets. Food preservation is mostly complete. I planted way too much cabbage so I was able to shred quite a few heads, blanch and then freeze them. It will be perfect for soups, stir fry's, and unstuffed cabbage casserole. I've left a few heads in the garden to use up before the first freeze is on the horizon.

I was successful in getting enough green beans for plenty of fresh eating and enough leftover for the freezer. My goal was a minimum of 20 servings in the freezer and I believe I will make it. Good thing I planted more late summer! I was also successful in keeping up with the tomatoes. I think I only lost 4 or 5 to rot, getting the others either tossed in the freezer for future processing or processed on the date of picking. We have a ton of tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, and oven-roasted cherry tomatoes for sauce, pizza, pasta dishes, etc. I'm planning to grow greens into the winter so I haven't worried about getting those put in the freezer. I've already roasted and froze some pie pumpkins and winter squash. My husband's favorite stuffed jalapenos are in the freezer along with 10 bags of sliced bell peppers and 4 bags of roasted poblano peppers ready to stuff or use in soups or enchiladas.

Also in the freezer I have some bags of corn, mixed vegetables (green beans, carrots, corn and onions), corn salsa (corn, poblano peppers, and onions) as well as mirepoix (celery, onion, carrots) for soup making. We have 6 bags of frozen strawberries, 4 bags of frozen blackberries, and 6 bags of frozen shredded zucchini for future baking. Speaking of baking, we have many loaves of zucchini quick bread, a couple batches of chocolate zucchini cake baked as cupcakes, and quite a few batches of chocolate chip zucchini muffins and zucchini crumble muffins all in the freezer. Those recipes are so moist that they freeze perfectly. I've also been making a ton of homemade chicken stock. We buy whole chickens from a local farmer friend and I cut them up and make stock with the carcass. I freeze the stock in mason jars for use during soup and stew season.

Good thing we now have 3 stand-alone freezers!

In the cupboard we have canned pickled jalapeno slices, cucumber relish, salsa, tomato jam, and enchilada sauce. We dried garlic, onions, elderberries, herbs, and pumpkin seeds, and harvested over 20 pounds of sweet potatoes that are cured and stored away.

In The Coop

Feathers. Feathers everywhere. That's what you'll find in the coop. We have hit molting season so every morning it looks like the Coop Girls had a pillow fight the previous night. Unfortunately this also means they are laying very few eggs. In the years past we would have added new girls in spring so they would be laying while the older girls are molting but not this year. Because we're working on reducing our flock size we won't have younger girls laying during molt season for a few more years. So, we've increased their protein to help their aging bodies with the change and wait for their new feathers to emerge.

Oliver

Oliver is acting a lot more like Emerson now. We noticed this about 6 months after Emerson, Ollie's brother/litter mate, passed away almost 2 years ago. He never used to be interested in food much at all whereas Emerson was obsessed with food. Well, Oliver is now obsessed with food. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily, because at least he eats without much effort now. It's just very funny to see the transition. Despite him taking on Emerson's food obsession, he's still sensitive and quirky Oliver who requires sticking right by my side, has a dislike of trash cans, shakes when the vacuum cleaner is running, and absolutely detests all white trucks and minivans (both of which the only neighbor that he can see has).

I am taking full advantage of the last of the nice days to keep my sensitive little man preoccupied. Because he is truly glued to my side all day, I can keep him (somewhat) happy if the temps are relatively warm and there is sunshine on the deck. So, I lure him outside whenever I can and race to get as much accomplished indoors as possible before the barking to be let in begins.

What I've Been Reading

I've actually had time to read! I'm so happy since I absolutely adore getting lost in a book. So my evenings and early mornings were spent with a cup of (herbal) coffee and a book. The first few books I've read are memoirs about country living or homesteading and I've thoroughly enjoyed each of them.

So far I've read (affiliate links): Follow Me To Alaska, by Ann Parker, Woodswoman: Living Alone In The Adirondack Wilderness by Anne LaBastille, Homestead, by Jane Kirkpatrick, Good Husbandry, by Kristin Kimball, Mud Season, by Ellen Stimson, Winds Of Skilak, by Bonnie Rose Ward, The Feast Nearby: How I Lost My Job, Buried A Marriage, And Found My Way By Keeping Chickens, Foraging, Preserving, Bartering, And Eating Locally On $40.00/Week, by Robin Mather, and Flat Broke With Two Goats, by Jennifer McGaha.

My favorites were Good Husbandry, Follow Me To Alaska, and The Winds Of Skilak (and the follow-up book).

I also read a few fiction books in September. My favorites have been (affiliate links): The Tourist Attraction, by Sarah Morgenthaler, The Year Of Pleasures, by Elizabeth Berg, and The City Bakers Guide To Country Living: A Novel, by Louise Miller. I thoroughly enjoyed each of these - the writing styles, the fluidity, the characters and how they were developed, and the stories themselves.

Jackson, my meal planning assistant....

Stews, Soups, And Casseroles, Oh My!

I adore the change of season not only because of the weather but also because of food. I've started to put soups, stews, and casseroles on the menu and am back to making bread. These are all comfort foods for me and I happily anticipate making them every year. Fresh corn soup, roasted tomato soup, veggie stew with biscuits (chicken added to Jay's), chili and cornbread, and oatmeal honey bread for breakfast have all made their way to our table.

Speaking of meals, I've settled into monthly menu planning which is easiest for me since we are so well stocked up. You can see October's meal plan (dinner only) in the photo above. If there are 2 listed then I'm making something different for Jay and I. You'll also see that I don't mind eating the same thing more then one day a week which also saves me time at dinner prep. Jay is not a fan so he eats his leftovers at lunch.

What We've Been Making

Our farmer's market has remained somewhat busy as we're still getting quite an influx of locals and tourists. So many things have changed this year that we have no idea what to expect from one week to the next. One thing that does stay the same though are our seasonal products, and our fall line is finally out! It's my absolute favorite group of soaps: Pumpkin Crunch Cake, Apple & Sage, Cinnamon & Raw Honey, Chai Tea Latte, and Pumpkin Cheesecake smell soooo delicious. We've just made the winter soaps as well which will be available the beginning of November.

That's September around the homestead!

This Month On The Farm: September 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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