Maxwell 18: Creating at Least One Mini-Steve

[CyborgKin]

2 hours ago, Granwych said:

My grandmother passed away in 1996.  When I cleaned out her apartment, there was a container of spaghetti in the fridge dated 1992.  Gramma saved everything from stockings to scrap paper, so food was fair game.

We were cleaning out my granny's kitchen (she still lives) a couple of weeks ago and there were spice jars with use-by dates in the 90s.  Not that spices really spoil, but still, 20 years is a long time to keep something in your pantry.  (Grandad's computer manuals were a lot older though.)

[meowfundiecatz]

58 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

I'll see your creamed tomatoes over bread and raise you lard sandwiches with a sprinkling of brown sugar. North Dakota Dust Bowl cuisine at its finest.

My grandparents loved margarine on saltines. Both grew up in ND during the depression.

[Black Aliss]

2 hours ago, Lady Grass Lake said:

Seeing all the old family meals is entertaining, I can remember a typical lunch was rice with cinnamon, sugar, and butter, or cooked macaroni with butter, salt and pepper, or cooked macaroni with a quart jar of home canned stewed tomatoes for flavor.     The meal I hated was about half a pound of pork cut into 1/4 inch cubes, boiled in water with soy sauce, then thickened with cornstarch, throw in 2 or 3 cans of LaChoy bean sprouts and served over rice.  We kids called it Slop Suey.    The bean sprouts made me think of worms and I refused to eat them, so I had slightly flavored gravy over white rice.  In the 60's my mother bought a weeks worth of groceries for a family of 8, and spent a whole $20.   We always had a big garden and canned enough produce to use for meals all winter.  

 

Um. You must be one of my siblings! Which one, though?

[SPHASH]

New post up.  Benji's birthday is today.  No word on how he likes his coffee.

[albanuadh_1]

Yes, Benji's birthday and a hint that Anna Marie is due any day now...

[bluelady]

New post? Geez those people get up early! I'm on Atlantic time and it's barely 7 am here!

[meee]

That actually sounds like either Anna Marie or Elissa might be in labor now. "Maybe he'll have a new cousin born on his birthday" and "no news yet, but the day has just begun" - maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that sounds like contractions or heading to the hospital.  Or maybe Sarah is just being her usual self and I'm reading into this the same way I read into it and get excited when she talks about herself getting married and having children

Edit, because I've just gone back and read a few entries. That casserole looks disgusting, but then I would say that about anything that contains ham or pork. And, I'm sure this isn't the first time they've signed off this way, but what does this "Trusting in jesus" thing mean? I mean I trust, say, my husband, but I don't have to write to the whole world about it.  And trusting in jesus to do what exactly?

[molecule]

If a title asks readers to guess who's turning 1, the actual post should tell us who it is. The pictures are cute, but I don't see the child's name or parents mentioned in the post.

[nomoxian]

For people interested in Great Depression Cooking, there's a Youtube channel that literally is that name. There aren't any new videos since the lady who hosted them has passed away, but the videos are really enjoyable to watch.

My grandma just "cooked" canned stuff or heated up Janes Chicken Nuggets and made a Dunken Heinz cake for a special treat. My parents were (and are) the same way. To them, Shakenbake style was actual cooking, and I didn't learn any better until I was out of the house even though I had been making my own food since middle school.

[Captain Obvious]

It probably isn’t, but I’m going to take the latest Bontrager post that featured Chelsy’s cooking to be an FU to the Maxwells’ efforts.

Of course, the Maxwells WOULD serve these meals, they’d just pour everything on top of the pizza, including the sparkling grape juice, then leave it in the fridge for 2 weeks, then divide it among 37 people. A veritable feast!

[elliha]

The casserole looks bland and boring and I would personally not leave it in the fridge that long but the Maxwells would be safe with regards to the recommendations here. 4-7 days is the listed time for food like this and it sounds like it was about 5 days old. I personally have 5 days as my general rule for meat, of course I also use my eyes and sense of smell when judging if I will eat it or not but as a general rule. I rarely make anything new from leftovers, I just re-heat them and eat the same thing again, maybe I will make a different salad or add more vegetables but usually not change that much really. If I have only meat leftovers I might make a different dish to go with that but rarely a fully new dish. If it happens it is often with chicken like I make a whole chicken in the oven and we eat that with potatoes and a salad the first day and the next day we might have the leftovers in a soup or eat chicken salad. 

[FloraKitty35]

8 hours ago, Black Aliss said:

lard sandwiches with a sprinkling of brown sugar

My dad loved lard sandwiches  (no brown sugar) to be exact, lard on toast. 

[LilMissMetaphor]

7 hours ago, Black Aliss said:

Um. You must be one of my siblings! Which one, though?

Hello, sisters! I too remember our family meals growing up.  What about the salmon and tuna straight from the can, the stale Ryvita crackers, the shredded wheat rounds with no sugar and VERY skim milk? No? Was that just me?

[petrushka]

Is it my imagination or is John looking less gaunt than before the wedding? Must be all that appetizing food and sweet fellowship. Good for him! Much as I dislike their religious and political views, I have to give the Bontragers credit for their work ethic and appreciation for healthy and enjoyable cooking.  And what is this?? Chelsy and John being on the road more than being at home??  Not in keeping with the Maxwell borg at all--for shame--although we'll see how that goes when the babies arrive.

[Coconutwater]

John looks healthier and has a light in his eyes. They are traveling a lot for work and eating well, he seems truly happy and able to do as he pleases. 

[sableduck]

John has the look in his eyes of someone who just was released from prison after his innocence was finally proven.  The “I’m still finding my footing and struggling to believe it’s really over” look.

Sadly, it’s probably an accurate description of his life.

[Bajovane]

11 hours ago, danvillebelle said:

I always think when I look at what some might call a meal at Chez Maxwell - WHERE ARE THE VEGETABLLLLEEEESSS??? (screaming like Michael Scott in the Office episode where he gives gift baskets - WHERE ARE THE TURTTLLLLEEES?)

I mean seriously - where are they?  They don't even have to be that exotic - make some frozen peas for christ's sake to get some GREEN going!  Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, red and green peppers -  le sigh.  

In their defense, I can relate - my husband is super picky about vegetables and I am so sick and tired of peas and corn and green beans out of a can.  Blech!  I prefer to use frozen, if not fresh but he hates it.  Refuses to eat cooked carrots and only tolerates broccoli.  He will eat a salad, but only if I put it on his plate - if he serves himself, he'll skip right over it.  It is frustrating.

There's a lot of recipes I'd love to try but if they have vegetables in them that Mr. Bajovane doesn't like - it's out of the question.

[elliha]

Has John made a slight update to his hair in that last picture or have I just never seen him with a fresh hair cut? Don't know but he looks better with shorter sides than what he has in his other pictures. 

[Granwych]

13 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@Granwych, I hate to think of what had grown in that old spaghetti in your grandma's fridge!

I'm surprised it wasn't green!

[PennySycamore]

I see that Cheesy put avocados on the salad and what kind of peppers are on that plate of vegetables?  Could they be hot peppers and not sweet peppers? I love all kinds of peppers, but chilis are pretty adventurous!

[JermajestyDuggar]

24 minutes ago, elliha said:

Has John made a slight update to his hair in that last picture or have I just never seen him with a fresh hair cut? Don't know but he looks better with shorter sides than what he has in his other pictures. 

I bet Chelsy is cutting his hair now. There is probably a bit of a learning curve.

[mango_fandango]

They actually did a birthday post for an extended family birthday?!?! They did one for Tina once, only saying “look who had a birthday!” but not much else. They don’t do one for the others. I don’t hold out much hope that Abby will get a 10th birthday one. 

I had a dream the other day that Elissa had had a girl. It was a brief dream, no name mentioned or anything. I guess my mind was so traumatised by a Maxwell dream that it quickly moved onto something else.

[Granwych]

9 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

They actually did a birthday post for an extended family birthday?!?! They did one for Tina once, only saying “look who had a birthday!” but not much else. They don’t do one for the others. I don’t hold out much hope that Abby will get a 10th birthday one. 

I had a dream the other day that Elissa had had a girl. It was a brief dream, no name mentioned or anything. I guess my mind was so traumatised by a Maxwell dream that it quickly moved onto something else.

Hell, they didn't even put the kid's name in. 

[Black Aliss]

8 hours ago, SPHASH said:

New post up.  Benji's birthday is today.  No word on how he likes his coffee.

But he does have a heart for the unpreborn, right?

[SPHASH]

43 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

They actually did a birthday post for an extended family birthday?!?! They did one for Tina once, only saying “look who had a birthday!” but not much else. They don’t do one for the others. I don’t hold out much hope that Abby will get a 10th birthday one. 

I had a dream the other day that Elissa had had a girl. It was a brief dream, no name mentioned or anything. I guess my mind was so traumatised by a Maxwell dream that it quickly moved onto something else.

Ruthie's birthday was on the 18th, where's her post or was she too self centered and they cancelled it.  I remember Josh getting a post about his birthday party.