Target chit chat

I might change my siggy line to say that I'm ISO a time machine. I crack myself up! With all the new updates I think I'm going to have some free time to pick up another hobby. Now I just need to decide on what it is.

Ok - on sad and totally unrelated to Target topics -

Anyone else sad for Edwards cancer ridden ex-wife? I am so sad for her! The brain cancer has spread to her spine & her biggest hope is that she can survive to see their 10 year old finish high school. I am so sad for her!

I overslept by an hour and had to do the mad dash to get to work, so I'm just now having coffee and trying to wake up. I feel discombobulated :h uh:

I might try the cantelope as well if I can find a reasonable price on some ... I don't really like watermelon -- fresh or frozen -- but maybe the kids would? Like popsicles? Maybe? I can't eat grapes ... I know it sounds weird but I have washed/scrubbed/soaked grapes and whenever I eat them my throat swells, I get itching in the back of my throat & ears, and I get rashes. But I can't really be allergic to grapes because the juice of grapes is used in juice that I sometimes drink. I don't know what it is ....

DH had something similar with carrots when he eats them raw. He says his mouth and throat get itchy and he said it feels like his throat is swelling. The Dr said that he does not have a allergy to carrots but he does have seasonal allergies. The protiens (IIRC could have been enzymes or something) in carrots are very similar to the 'protiens' in what he is allergic too so his body reacts in a similar way. Crazy, but it sounded right and don't know what else it could be. There is actually a medical term for it but I can not remember for the life of me... something with sensitivity at the end, I think. Oh kick in frappuccino, get my brain out of the fog. I need to get my T run organized!

Regular non-stick with a splash of oil. Seasoned Cast Iron would be better but DH took them camping, it rained, then he left the tent and supplies in truck for a couple weeks and everything was covered in mildew or rust. He was so disgusted he threw it all out before I got a chance to try to salvage any of it. Needless to say he was in the dog house over that for a while.

What kind of pans are ya'll cooking them in? I use seasoned cast iron and haven't noticed a problem like that with pancakes.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I thought I was weird.

I can tolerate a few shreds of raw carrots in salads just fine. I can eat cooked carrots, no problem at all.

But if I eat a raw carrot or too many shreds- ummm, not sure exactly how to describe it, but I guess it's my nasal passages that swell up and I can't breathe. It gives me a very uncomfortable strangling sensation.

More than ever, I feel like the walls have ears (or eyes, in this case) We need some mojo...

Darn it, I didnt even do 1 yet...Anyone want to friends with me

hope everyone has a good day. I would say WW, but...

That first one usually goes to the dog for a treat... *laugh*

What kind of pans are ya'll cooking them in? I use seasoned cast iron and haven't noticed a problem like that with pancakes.

Me neither on the sugar.... DD also LOVES mangoes and I have frozen these in the same manner that I do strawberries.

Freezer Jam recipe: it's on of those that's kind of 'passed down' so here goes....

Cut up strawberries, place in large saucepan with sugar and lemon juice. Heat to rolling boil, let boil for at least 5-10 min. then let simmer for another 30-45 min. or so on low heat.

:Rusty cast iron isn't hard to salvage. You can either sand blast it, or put it in the oven, and put the oven through a cleaning cycle.

The cast iron I use has been passed down in the family for several generations. It's OLD. The oldest pieces are probably 150 years old. It's still as good as new. You can tell the difference, though; it's a lot heavier than the newer stuff.

I have many sizes of skillets, pans, a dutch oven, griddles- you name it.

Food tastes best when it's cooked in cast iron.

I'm sitting here organizing my tou-pons, getting a few stacks ready for some potential runs this weekend, and singing "a whole new world".

Your comment about beating him and the age of your pans reminds me of my childhood. ... You know thinking back its a bit scary what all the parents we letting us do. For pity sake I was 8 years old and throwing bone handle hunting knives and large tomahawks at tree trunks. Can you imagine the damage we could have done if one had accidentally flown backwards like my son does occasionally at the bowling alley with his bowling ball?

I'm going to do a few runs tomorrow too. that is unless I get lazy on my day off and decided to be a couch potato.

I might change my siggy line to say that I'm ISO a time machine. I crack myself up! With all the new updates I think I'm going to have some free time to pick up another hobby. Now I just need to decide on what it is.

Just wanted to post the front page deal for BOGO Flip Flops at Payless.com

There are some really cute ones and there seems to be a lot of sizes left. I got 2 pairs for $5 shipped to store. HTH

https://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2106062

I can't eat grapes ... I know it sounds weird but I have washed/scrubbed/soaked grapes and whenever I eat them my throat swells, I get itching in the back of my throat & ears, and I get rashes. But I can't really be allergic to grapes because the juice of grapes is used in juice that I sometimes drink. I don't know what it is ....

Not necessarily...google oral allergy syndrome. Here is a good link:

http://www.foodallergy.org/page/o...-syndrome1

Also, sometimes people also have allergies to particular food raw but then when they are cooked they are no longer a problem because the proteins cook out. Not always the case.

As dd has gotten older I make sure she is ALWAYS in the cart when we go shopping, no getting out to walk....because at that age they want to touch everything and out of sheer curiousity she is particularly interested in bananas since we have never had them in our home. She almost lost her mommy to this when she was 6 mos. old so we don't take any chances!

•Preheat the oven and prepare the skillet. Different people will tell you different temperatures for proper seasoning, ranging from 250 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the main point of seasoning is to bake the oil or grease into the pores of the skillet, a preheating temperature of 350 degrees or higher seems reasonable. As the oven heats, wipe a generous amount of your chosen oil or grease around the inside of the skillet. Wipe out any obvious excesses, but remain generous with the coating.
•Place the cast iron skillet upside down on the top rack of the hot oven. To prevent the grease or oil from dripping onto the bottom burners, place a cookie sheet or other oven-proof tray on the lowest rack. Allow the pan to remain in the oven for at least an hour. Do not be alarmed if you see or smell smoke -- this is a normal part of the seasoning process. The oil or grease is filling up all of the pores of the cast iron, creating fewer crevices for food to become trapped.
•After an hour or more has elapsed, use oven mitts to remove the cast iron skillet from the oven. Place on a heat-resistant surface (right side up) and allow the skillet to cool. The cast iron skillet is now seasoned, but some foods such as eggs may still stick to the bottom without additional oils or grease. The seasoning process needs to be repeated several times before a sufficient layer of charring has built up in the bottom of the pan. Ideally, a cast iron skillet should be wiped out completely after cooking, and then put through the seasoning process again. It may take several years for a cast iron skillet to reach the non-stick level of your Grandmother's prized frying pan, but the results should be worth the effort.

Whether you're making a grilled cheese sandwich or whipping up a four-star restaurant recipe, you'll want to make sure you're using the best possible cookware - and for lots of chefs, this means a cast iron skillet.

Even in an age where non-stick cookware appears to reign supreme, many cooks still keep a cast iron skillet in their kitchen arsenal. Few modern frying pans can match the even cooking temperatures and natural non-stick coating of well-seasoned cast iron cookware. In fact, many professional chefs prefer to use cast iron skillets over chemically-coated modern non-stick pans. Cast iron skillets only require minimal maintenance, and often last over a hundred years or more. Making cast iron pans and skillets an essential piece to include in your kitchen cookware.

Food tastes best when it's cooked in cast iron.

Hey when you use the frozen fruit to cook with it - in muffins or breads or whatnot ... do you decrease the amount of liquid you put in to take into account the frozen fruit?

YEAH - almost 33 weeks!!!!!!

Do any of you have kiddos who get in fights and hit one another - SIGH - we are on time out number I don't know what today .......

You know thinking back its a bit scary what all the parents we letting us do. For pity sake I was 8 years old and throwing bone handle hunting knives and large tomahawks at tree trunks. Can you imagine the damage we could have done if one had accidentally flown backwards like my son does occasionally at the bowling alley with his bowling ball?

I have a question - if I cooked the strawberries longer would they get thicker? Less liquidy?

Do they work well on flat top cooking tops? How do you clean them? How do you season them? Any disadvantage to them? I currently have cheap teflon pans for the most part and a couple of Calphalon pots where the teflon on the inside is all peeling off Those were supposed to be my really nice pans!

BTW - for those of you who freeze bananas --- can you freeze them without them turning brown? I mean if you slice them up -- so that you could use them for baking or in smoothies or whatever? My oldest son LOVES smoothies - so I am thinking how to best freeze fruit for yummy smoothies for him. (Well and blueberries for me )

I love my hubby... I love my hubby... I love my hubby...

even though he took my 34000 to work to share with his co-workers...

*sigh*

That man owes me some chips!




You can also use some steel wool and rub with veggie oil if it's not too bad.



For the most part, I don't adjust for liquids - I like the extra moistness in most cases. The only time I do is if I'm using the bananas for a cheesecake - then I add a little bit of flour to the batter to compensate.



It's amazing we ever survived childhood...



They might, but you run the risk of scorching them. Adding sugar will thicken it a bit - or maybe a little corn starch or unflavored gelatin. You may need to experiment with quantity.

The main disadvantage of cast iron is the weight. I have very weak wrists (active child/adult who's broken each wrist 4 times... *sigh*) and it can be a challenge lifting the pans. I *love* my cast iron though. I often will brown my chicken in it, then pop the whole pan in the oven to finish cooking. I love the dual purposeness of it. Plus, there's just something about cornbread cooked in cast iron. For cleaning, I generally wipe with a paper towel and leave it. Occasionally, I'll "wash" it - but little to no soap and use a scrubby pad. You have to re-season it though, and that is a longish process. Basically, you oil and bake it - cool down, and oil and bake it at least once more. You can also do some deep frying in it to help season it (i.e. frying green tomatoes, home made french fries, etc...)

I don't know how it would work on a flat cooktop. I don't know if it would scratch glass. I would think it *should* be okay, but you may want to do some looking up to see.

Bananas will freeze and look normal if you freeze them in the peel. The peel will get dark brown/black though - but it doesn't affect the actual banana. However, if the banana defrosts and sits for a little bit, the color will change. Also, it's very mushy when defrosted - especially if it was really ripe when you threw it in the freezer.

You should see when I buy bananas... lol. Oldest dd and dh like them fairly ripe, so I get 2-3 with spots on them. Because I dont' want to shop again in a day or two, I also get some that are yellowed all the way through, but no spots yet. Then, I get some that are yellow with green on the spines - that's the way I like them - not too sweet, but not bitter. Then I get some totally green (mainly because of the whole not wanting to shop/buy them again soon...) My toddler doesn't seem to care what they taste like yet - she just wants a banana.