There is one thing that women can tell
you about Boys, that after you eat
out long enough and enough times,
it becomes apparent to you that you
are either paying a lot of money for
stuff that you could easily make
at home or that you can even make
better than the diner place makes.

Over time you come to appreciate the
finer points of these 2 arguments
and it is here that women decide,
much faster than men, that self
sufficiency is a better deal than
eating out as in "all the time".

Men will do anything at all in the
name of lazy, but over time they
too can figure out they are getting
stiffed at the cash register
for small stuff that takes nothing
at all to make at home.

To those who live alone, there is
a great sense of empowerment to
be able to run your own house
and airspace, and buy groceries
and cook for yourselves. Going
out every single day just for
this or that to eat, gets old
really, really fast. There are
times, when ya just wanna hunker
down in your favorite slouch clothes
and not have to dress up or go
anywhere and maybe eat in bed
in front of your TV or in your
back yard in the peace and quiet
of your own airspace.

We will talk today on 2 popular
food items at home, to help our
not so experienced cooks get the
confidence they need to manage
a home on their own in spite of
what the VA deals to them.

There really is a safe way to have
mashed potatos and gravy with a
meal, and sometimes just having
that with a vegetable or salad
can suppress your craving for meat.

We are all caught up in our heads
sometimes that just because we
have potatos and gravy, that this
also mandates that we have meat
too but at home, there are no rules.

There really is a safe way to have
gravy and there is only one answer
for it, but if you can make this
important change in your life,
then you are on your way to good
eating without all the guilt of
health risks.

In the supermarket there is an
entire section of powdered gravy
mixes by McCormick brand, and sometimes
the store brand such as WalMart also
has their brands in the very same
place. These powdered gravy packets
are mixed with 1 cup of water in
a small saucepan, heat it up until
it thickens and then you are good
to go.

It is safe and not a grease-based
gravy recipe that will usher in
your new heart disease. You can
add a handful of mixed vegetables
to the gravy while it's cooking,
and put it on a slice of bread or
biscuit. Or just regular on mashed
potatos or stuffing or some frozen
squash which you can buy in the
freezer section.

McCormick gravy packs (there are
several flavors: I happen to like
the Onion gravy myself) may very
well be available at the food
pantry where you do pickups for
your monthly supply. They run
a little over $1.00 a pack so
what I do is pick up about 4 of
them each time I do major shopping
and then just accumulate a mix
on hand of different flavors.

Mashed potatos are also an item
of interest. Instant mashed potatos
are only mixed with a small amount
of milk, water, and a spoon of
margerine. Easy and easy and this
too might be available through
your Food Pantry pickup place.

REAL mashed potatos is a whole other
matter. Buy 3 or 4 good sized potatos,
bring them home and peel them. Cut
them into 4 quarters and put them
into a sauce pan. Cover the potatos
with cold water.

Bring the pan to a boil and then
lower the heat to keep the boil
going. Boil these for about 15
to 20 minutes until you can stick
a fork in the potatos and they
are tender all the way through.

Remove the pan shut off the heat.
Drain off the water from the potatos,
either dump them into a strainer
(collander) or use a pan lid slightly
off center and let the water pass
out into the sink leaving the potatos
left in the pan.

What happens next is determined
by how well your kitchen is set up.

There is a manual, hand version of
a potato masher that you can get
in any store or supermarket in the
Kitchen Utensils aisle. Let's start
with that.

Take your masher and start pushing
down on the potatos to break them
up and mash them up. After a couple
of pushes, add in salt, pepper,
and a large spoon ful of margerine.
Keep mashing and mix it up.

If you have an electric mixer at
home, get that out for best results.
These only cost about $10 at the
store. You can find them at dollar
stores such as Family Dollar or at
regular stores like WalMart.
Just get the mixer out and insert the
2 spinning beaters so they lock into
place. Plug it in and turn the mixer
on to make sure it works okay.

Going back to the potatos, add in
just a splash of milk to the potatos.
Then insert the rotary mixer and
turn it onto HIGH and then mix
up the potatos. Move the beater
all around the pan to include the
entire dish of potatos. This is
how mashed potatos are whipped.

You can add in some chives from
your baked potato supplies or
maybe some onion powder or garlic
powder if you are looking for
something slightly different for
your potatos.

If you don't own the mixer, continue
using the hand masher and just very
quickly (like mixing up a cake mix)
move the masher around in the pan
to mix up the milk and potatos.
This is what gives the mashed potatos
a very fluffy look to it when it is
done. Do this for a couple of minutes
until you notice the texture change
in the potatos and have all of the
lumps removed and mashed down.

You are done.

Serve the mashed potatos on a plate
and put the powdered gravy mix that
you made on top.

_________________________________
Pizza is another popular home food
item.

The best frozen version of Pizza
I have found in the market is
DiGiorno's. So frozen pizza is
a first good choice. If you tend
to like only small amounts of pizza,
say a slice at a time and not much
else, there is a better way.

In the spagetti sauce aisle of the
supermarket, you will also find
Ragu brand PIZZA SAUCE in a jar.
Look around for it because it is
there.

You may also be able to get this
in your Food Pantry pickup place.

Get the Pizza sauce, a package of
sliced pepperoni over in the balony
section of the store, and a bag
of shredded mozerella cheese. Also
pick up some English muffins in
the bread section. And pick up the
seasoning called OREGANO in the
seasoning aisle.

Remember that seasonings are cheaper
in most franchised drugstores
than they are in the main supermarkets.
But check over the prices and get
what you can for your Oregano.

Take 1 or 2 English muffins out
of the package and slice and open
them up into halves.

Take a small flat pan and place
aluminum foil over it to keep
the food from sticking to the
pan.

Make these up on a plate and then
transfer them over to your pan.

Take the English muffin halves
and put Pizza Sauce on top of
each one. Then sprinkle with
the Oregano, not a lot, but
put on as much as if you were
using salt (for example).

Close the jar and put the rest
of the Pizza Sauce in the refrigerator
until the next time you want a little
pizza muffin.

Take a handful of the mozerella
cheese and sprinkle that over
the top of the English Muffin
halves and then put a few slices
of the pepperoni's on top.

Use the broiler part of your
oven, OR your toaster oven on
the counter. Line up the English
Muffin halves on the baking pan
covered with foil and put it
under the broiler or in the
toaster oven, say around 350
degrees or so and leave it in
there until the English Muffins
start to toast and the cheese
is melted.

Around 10 minutes or so I would
say, just keep checking them
to make sure they do not overcook.

If you want crispier little
pizza's, you can lightly pre-toast
the English muffin in a toaster
not quite light brown. Remove
them early and then add the sauce
and ingredients otherwise they
will be TOO crispy when you
are done in the oven.

These make nice little homemade
snacks or TV food, they don't cost
a lot, and it gives you the freedom
to add as much or as little cheese
and toppings that you like for
your pizza slice.

Some of you men will begin to
appreciate the convenience of being
able to do these at home, say
in the middle of the night when
ya really just don't want to go
out anyway and just want a little
snack or so before topping off the
night.

Men Vets you can do this. You can
run a house and manage a kitchen
and do it all and have a quality
of life that you deserve. You
sacrificed in a barracks type
environment, and then went the
distance in rain and mud and
foxholes, so now it's time to
enjoy the fruits of your very
own home life and the peace
and safety that it offers.

You have the time and you are
home now, so discover the rewards
of your kitchen and make a life
for yourself like the rest of
us. We are all getting it done
out here and you can too.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: McClellanVet,