It's Not All Fun And Games

Why is it that on days there is nothing going on, time slows to a snails pace.  Yesterday was one of those days.  Since retiring, I've found it's not all fun and games after all.  Had I gotten married and had children, I would probably have a house full, keeping me occupied enough not to have these days where I check out the refrigerator twenty times.   No motivation equals couch potato.

Unfortunately, that marriage thing didn't work out so well for me, so sometimes I find myself floundering around wondering what I should or COULD do.  Yesterday was another one of THOSE days.  With no one to talk to except my puppies and Jonathan, I have a tendency to go stir crazy!!

I'm still working on my Halloween quilt.  In fact, I only have three squares to go before I spend hours staring at the wall trying to decide if I want borders in between each row.  It's funny how I thought I was so decisive all my life, and now it's even hard to decide what's for lunch!  I'm taking at least two days to complete each remaining square so I don't have to think about making that "border" decision.

Dinner on the other hand, was a snap.  This instant pot is the best appliance I think I've ever purchased.  Too bad there isn't a really good cookbook out there.  It seems all the recipes come from bloggers and stay-at-home Mom's, meaning you have to print them out from the internet.  I take screen shots of the ones posted on Facebook, but of course it takes me thirty minutes to scan through all of them and pick one.

Yesterday it was chicken cacciatore, since I had these boneless thighs that needed to be cooked.  I think this pot is going to save a LOT of cemetery space!!

I set the pot on sauté and browned the chicken.  I didn't wait long enough because it didn't really brown and stuck nicely to the bottom, in spite of the oil.  I'll try to do better next time.  Then I sautéed the onions and garlic, dumped in a can of tomatoes, some apple cider vinegar and a slew of spices.  It didn't look very impressive.

Next I covered it with the chicken, cut up mushrooms, a load of carrots because I'm on a diet and one can of broth (I should have only used 3/4 cup like it said).  Carrots were NOT in the recipe.  I set it on high pressure for 8 minutes.  It probably took 8-9 minutes to reach pressure, whereupon the little valve closed.  After 8 minutes and lots of beeping, I let it sit for 5 minutes before releasing the steam (don't do this underneath your cupboards .. it will totally ruin the wood).  

Total time including prep ... 30 minutes.  I stirred in a small can of olives just for a little more Italian flavor.  Time for a taste test.  It tasted like I cooked it all day long.  I don't know why this method works so well, but I'm 2 for 2.  It was DELICIOUS!!  Can you imagine this at an RV Rally?  No more worrying about getting back to the rig to prepare your potluck dish!!  I admit the unit is a little larger than a toaster, but I'm definitely finding a place for it, even if it rides on the passenger seat.

It rained most of the night ... I know because the downspout at the corner of my bedroom dripped all night like steel ball bearings hitting a tin roof.  I kid you not!!  Today I'll check to see if something is partially blocking the hole and causing that.  If not, I'm plugging it up completely!!!

Rain is forecast for the rest of this week.  No big downpours, just a nice rain, which suits me fine.  It's Magic Kingdom night, so today should go by a little faster.  I'm sure getting out and about will improve my mood.