Creamed Chipped Beef

Since moving South, I have found there are only a few foods that I cannot buy regionally: UTZ chips, Rapa scrapple, Esskay products, Berger Cookies. It's when I get a craving for one of these foods that I start to wish I had a Giant I could run to. Instead, I head to the local grocers. Believe me when I say I am serious about my cravings. Without hesitation I will go from one grocery to the next. Last night, my search for Esskay Chipped Beef meant bouncing to four different stores. Ultimately, I ended up buying Amour Dried Beef.

The Dried Beef wound up being a suitable alternative. I sliced the beef, cooked it in some butter and Worcestershire then added a bit of pepper for flavor. While that was cooking, in a separate saucepan, I mixed 3 tablespoons of melted butter with 3 tablespoons of flour. I whisked the two creating a roux. I added a cup and a half of milk and continued whisking. Once that had thickened I added the beef and a bit more Worcestershire then I put some bread in the toaster.

All in all dinner was pretty great. All of the ingredients, save the dried beef, were in my pantry (or fridge) and fortunately the dried beef only cost $1.83. *For those of you wondering: Yes, it tastes much better than it looks!

Bedroom Blues

Blue and I have a long history together. In choosing a color scheme for our bedroom Peter and I opted for blues, grays, and orange. Seeing as how we are in the very early stages of our design process, Step 1 was to paint the walls. Peter is quite skilled with painting, and for that matter sanding, taping, and cutting in. So, one Saturday while I was babysitting Peter agreed to paint the room. Like I said, I was babysitting all day, when my blue-green deficient husband went to work painting our room. (Note: Blue-green deficient means Peter has a hard time distinguishing shades of blues and greens.) 10 hours later, when I got home from babysitting, the room was 3/4 painted and fully cut in. The work was impeccable. All the walls were flawless and smooth; unfortunately, the color was off. Peter mentioned that after painting two walls he thought the color may be wrong but figured he was just seeing it incorrectly. The room looked more like a nursery than a master.

The next day I headed to Lowe's to pick out a better shade of blue. My dear husband willingly repainted the room a lighter, hopefully more sophisticated, shade. The picture above shows the color our room used to be, the wrong blue, and in top left corner, the correct blue.

I'm Curious....

What time do you eat dinner?

Frequently, I find that Peter and I are eating dinner at 9:15, 9:45 and even after 10:00. It isn't intentional, we just don't let dinner get in the way of our other plans. When Peter gets home from work we treasure the precious daylight to walk the dogs or go for a run. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights we have standing plans that begin at 6:00 or 7:00 and don't end until after 8:00 or 9:00. The time required to make a healthy meal is often what sets us up for late night eating. Currently, I am waiting for our chicken to cook; our veggies are done, but the chicken needs another 15 minutes. Looks like we're headed for our third dinner this week after 10:00.

So again I ask, what time do you eat dinner? Feel free to post answers below.