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Yorkshire Pudding, anyone? Vanity Post #135

I just discovered that today (October 13th) is National Yorkshire Pudding Day, which actually makes me happy! You see, I grew up enjoying Yorkshire Pudding.

Whenever we had roast beef and oven-roasted vegetables (made with a packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix) for dinner, Dad would always make a batch of Yorkshire Pudding, using drippings siphoned out of the pan in which the roast was baking. I remember being allowed to use a big, plastic baster to suck out at least one baster, full of the drippings and then squirting its contents into a loaf pan, which Dad would then stick into the oven to get hot while he made the Yorkshire Pudding batter. Once it was made, Dad poured the batter into the loaf pan with the heated drippings. I loved to watch as the drippings would come up and over the batter, and I also loved to see the Yorkshire Pudding all puffed up when it came out of the oven.

Through the years, I’ve enjoyed making Yorkshire Pudding for my family and I, but nothing I’ve made has ever compared to Dad’s Yorkshire Pudding. However, I’ll keep trying…

STARTING TODAY!

After all, I can’t think of any better reason to make it than National Yorkshire Pudding Day!

I’ll be using a recipe from my beloved (and well-used) Betty Crocker Cookbook, which is as follows:

Yorkshire Pudding With Beef

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour*

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Thirty minutes before beef rib roast or boneless rib roast is done, mix all ingredients with hand beater just until smooth. Heat square pan, 9x9x2 inches, in oven. Remove beef from oven; spoon off drippings and add enough melted shortening, if necessary, to measure 1/2 cup.

Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Return beef to oven. Place hot drippings in heated square pan; pour in pudding batter. Bake 10 minutes. Remove beef; continue baking pudding until deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes longer. Cut pudding into squares; serve with beef.

6-9 servings

  • Do not use self-rising flour in this recipe.

Notes:

To make the Yorkshire Pudding WITHOUT cooking a roast at the same time, I tend to use 1/2 cup of oil instead of the drippings and melted shortening AND bake it for 35 to 40 minutes.

Hmmm… I think I might have just figured out why my Yorkshire Pudding hasn’t ever lived up to my own Yorkshire Pudding: I’m usually making it WITHOUT cooking the roast beef with it, so… I’m not using the drippings or the melted shortening! Will have to purchase a small roast and some Crisco the next time I go grocery shopping, so I can test out my hypothesis.

Anyway… I’d love to hear about any experiences you’ve ever had with Yorkshire Pudding and/or cooking with a family member during your childhood, so please take a few minutes to leave me a comment!

By the way… Happy “Tasty Tuesday”!

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The aftermath… Vanity Post #134

On Tuesday of last week, something happened that would affect me this weekend: a tropical storm started to develop as it reached the open waters in the Gulf of Mexico. It eventually developed into Hurricane Isaias! Here’s more information about Isaias:

“Hurricane Isaias was the first hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, developing unusually late due to a strong El Niño.

  • Formation and Intensification: The storm formed on October 6, 2026, and rapidly intensified, becoming a Category 3 major hurricane with 120 mph winds on October 9.
  • Landfall: It made landfall near Destin, Florida, on the evening of October 9, 2026, as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 105 mph.
  • Impact: The storm caused at least 4 deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power across Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. It brought extreme winds, storm surges, and heavy rainfall, with some areas recording over a foot of rain.
  • Aftermath: By October 10, Isaias weakened to a post-tropical cyclone as it moved north across the Southeastern U.S., bringing continued threats of flooding and tornadoes.

Sweet Thing told me that strong winds were forecast for this area as Isaias made its way “north across the Southeastern U.S.”, the holler was spared — though we did receive LOTS of rain — as part of the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias.

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It’s now history… Vanity Post #133

Since that milestone event I mentioned in yesterday’s vanity post (#132) is now history, I thought I’d share the history of my first alma mater (San Juan High School) that I found on the school district’s Web site. Here goes…

“The History of San Juan High School

In 1911 the need for a four-year high school was recognized. The original school was convened in a building in Fair Oaks with the Grammar School. That building is the Community Clubhouse now. The San Juan Union High School District was organized by 1913. It was composed of Sylvan, Orangevale, Fair Oaks, Roberts, and San Juan Districts. In 1913-1914 when the first classes were being held in the Grammar School, there were 46 students of whom 41 were freshmen. In June 1914, the first student graduated (Dorothy Gertrude Jerauld).

By 1915, the decision was made to locate at the present site on Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights. The land for the school was donated by Walter Trainor (the man who named Citrus Heights). In the summer of 1915 work was begun on the building. Enrollment swelled to 92 with a large group coming from Folsom (Folsom High School was not built until 1922). The original building was a two-story school with a frame construction and a tile roof. This structure remained until the late 1950s (since 1938 it was hidden behind the auditorium and the “A” and “B” wings of the present structure). At its inception, San Juan served all students living east of Fulton Ave., south of the Placer County line and north of the American River. Boys rode in a Tally Ho Mac Truck and girls in Pierce Arrow Stages. Some farm families transported students to the old Railroad Station south of Fair Oaks Village, where the bus met them.

By 1940, two years after the “A” and “B” wings were built, the school enrollment totaled about 400. The old school building, which had been nearly abandoned in the 1930s, was reoccupied room after room until it was in full use again. Following the end of World War II, it became possible to add the “H” wing (music) west of the auditorium. A gradual program of building shops, a gymnasium, and classroom wings was begun, which culminated in the late 1950s with razing of the original building and the construction of the “C” and “D” wings on its former site. The present enrollment at San Juan is approximately 600.

We are indebted to Phoebe Cale, San Juan High School Librarian for 37 years before her retirement in 1977. No one person knew more about San Juan and its history.

Drawing from our rich history of academic excellence, San Juan High School is preparing for a dramatic new change to give students an excellent foundation in career and technical education as we enter the next 100 years of San Juan High School.”

So, there you have it: the history of my first alma mater: San Juan High School! Don’t ya just love history? I know I do!!

Once again, you’ll notice that I highlighted a couple of things in this article. This is because they brought back memories of the four years I spent at San Juan High School. The first of these (the “H” wing (music) was where I spent a great deal of time. No, I wasn’t musically inclined back then (nor am I now), but my best friend in high school (Hi, Daina!) was! Consequently, she’d often ask me to meet her at one of the practice rooms in the “H” wing before school, between classes, during lunch, or after school since we didn’t have very many classes together. So, yeah… During those four years, I became very familiar with the “H” wing… and the auditorium, for that matter.

In addition, I highlighted the name Phoebe Cale because I also spent LOTS of time in the library at San Juan High School — for studying AND attending IMC Club meetings. The “Instructional Media Center” was Phoebe Cale’s name for the library, and the IMC Club members (including me) could often be found in the library — doing a variety of “literary activities” (most of which I don’t remember anymore). I always enjoyed talking with Phoebe Cale, probably because I loved soaking up all the history she knew, especially about the history of my/our high school. I’m glad she decided to retire AFTER I graduated from San Juan High School!

I’d love to hear about any memories you have of your years in high school (and/or attending any of your high school class reunions), so please take a moment to leave me a comment.

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A milestone in my life… Vanity Post #132

This evening, people will be gathering at a fancy country club to enjoy a (catered) dinner AND to celebrate a milestone for students in San Juan High School’s “Class of 1976”: Our 50th high school class reunion. Sadly, I’ll be with them in spirit only, but I’ll be celebrating (at my holler in Kentucky) with a fancy (home-cooked) dinner of my own.

In a recent San Juan Alumni Association newsletter, I found the following article that I thought was interesting (and, of course, brought back memories), so I thought I’d share it with y’all. Here goes…

“Fifty Years Ago At San Juan High School

Spartans celebrate the Bicentennial of the USA. Two new companies are incorporated — Apple and Microsoft, maybe they will do well. Jimmy Carter defeats Gerald Ford for the US Presidency.

The musical group ABBA has a breakout hit with “Dancing Queen”. Men and boys sport long hair and polyester bell-bottoms.

The Greenback Notes for ’76 is dedicated to Mr. George Sakamoto. George had been forcibly interned at a camp for Japanese Americans at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, with his mother, father, brother, and two sisters from 1942 to 1945.

The Wrestling Team are CVC Champions. Don Phipps and Glen Cooper are stars.

A foreign exchange student from Costa Rica, Orlando Pacheco attends San Juan as does Eva Renning from Norway.

Sports teams include water polo and women’s gymnastics, bowling, and badminton.

San Juan activities include the Cadet Corps and a Black Student Union. The marching band has fancy uniforms; the drum major is David Haigh.”

So, there you have it: some information about what was happening in my high school way back when!

Note: I highlighted “bowling” above because I was actually on San Juan High School’s bowling team, and I’ve even still got a miniature wooden bowling pin with my high score (of 123, if I remember correctly) on it! Finding that relic from my past in the reliquary really brought back memories — as did finding this article from the alumni association’s recent newsletter.

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Something intriguing… Vanity Post #129

After discovering the recipes I featured in yesterday’s “Tasty Tuesdays” post (Vanity Post #128), I discovered something intriguing on muydelish.com… A recipe for “Authentic Sonoran Hot Dogs”. I don’t normally think anything of hot dogs, but this recipe sounded like something I’d like to try. I think you’ll see why when I share the afore-mentioned recipe with you. Here goes…

Authentic Sonoran Hot Dogs

Sonoran Hot Dogs are taken to a higher level! With a soft bun, hot dog wrapped in bacon and topped with sautéd onions, chopped tomatoes plus your favorite condiments.

Ingredients

  • 4 large hot dog buns
  • 4 large all-beef hot dogs
  • 4 slices thin bacon
  • 1/2 large white or yellow onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 Roma tomato, chopped into small cubes
  • Mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, to taste

Optional toppings: raw onions (chopped), avocados, whole pinto beans.

Directions

  1. Start placing the edge of the bacon on the top of the hot dog and wrap it by overlapping the bacon while going down. This will keep the bacon from opening while you cook it.
  2. At the bottom of the hot dog, using you finger, tuck in the end of the bacon inside of the bacon itself to secure that edge. If this fails, then you can secure it with a toothpick until you get better at this.
  3. Cook the onions and hot dogs in a large skillet. Keep rotating the hot dogs until all sides are evenly crispy.
  4. Right before assembling the hot dog, steam the buns by loosely wrapping them in paper towels and microwave them for about 7 to 20 seconds. Just enough to get them soft and warm.
  5. Place the hot dog in the bun.
  6. Add about 1 Tablespoon of cooked or raw onions.
  7. Add about 2 Tablespoons of chopped tomato.
  8. Spread some mayonnaise over the tomatoes and press lightly to blend the tomatoes with the mayo. Add mustard, ketchup and hot sauce if you like.

Note on the mayo: The mayo over the tomato acts as a binder of the ingredients so that the veggies stay in place when eating the hot dog.

Storing:

  • Fridge: If you have the option, it is best to store all of the ingredients in their small containers, and then assemble the hot dogs when ready to eat. If you have extra already made dogs, then wrap them up in plastic wrap.

Reheating:

  • Microwave: Reheat in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds or until heated through. The bun will become soft and a little soggy.

Now, don’t these Sonoran Hot Dogs look “muydelish”?

And in case you haven’t figured out what I found so intriguing about these “Authentic Sonoran Hot Dogs”, it was the…

“wrapped in bacon”

part that got me as soon as I read it, and it was then that I knew I had to share it with y’all!

Important Notice:

Thanks to the intriguing “Authentic Sonoran Hot Dogs”, October 2026’s “7th of the month” post will be delayed. Please stay tuned for Part 1, which will be coming soon!

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National Taco Day… Vanity Post #128

In honor of National Taco Day, which just happens to be today, I’ll be sharing not one… not two… but THREE recipes that can be made to celebrate this tasty “holiday”! First, I’ll be sharing a recipe for homemade taco seasoning that should prove to be tastier than those store-bought packets. Then, I’ll be sharing a recipe for “Easy Mexican Picadillo”, favorite dish in many Mexican homes, and lastly, I’ll be sharing a “Baked Tacos” recipes, which uses the “Easy Mexican Picadillo”. Lots to share, so let’s get this TACO party started!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

(from Little House Living)

Ingredients

1/4 cup minced onion

2 Tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1 Tablespoon salt (which can be adjusted to suit your particular taste)

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 Tablespoon minced garlic (or garlic powder)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

  1. Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
  2. Use 2 Tablespoons of mix per pound of beef, chicken, or anything else!
  3. This recipe makes enough to use 6 times (when using 2 Tablespoons per pound of beef.

*******

Healthy Mexican Picadillo Recipe

(from muydelish.com)

Ingredients

1 large russet potato, chopped in small cubes

2-3 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1 lb 96% ground beef

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 cup chopped onion (1/2 medium onion)

1 medium poblano pepper, jalapeno, 1 Anaheim chile or green pepper, chopped

1 large tomato or 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

4 oz tomato sauce

1/2 cup broth (chicken, beef or vegetable. Anything works. Add more for a juicier dish.)

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 roasted or regular corn kernels

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

  1. Cook the cubed potatoes in 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet on medium heat. Keep stirring to ensure that the potatoes are cooked even.
  2. Cook the potatoes first or do this while the potatoes are cooking: Cook the ground beef in a medium sauce pan on medium high heat. Add the garlic salt.
  3. Break the beef with a spoon into small pieces while you stir.
  4. When the meat is 3/4 cooked, add the onions and poblano pepper (or Anaheim Chile) and cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Add the chopped tomato, tomato sauce, broth, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion becomes clear and meat is completely cooked.
  6. Add the frozen peas, corn kernels and potatoes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on low heat to incorporate all the flavors. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper according to taste if necessary.
  7. Remove from heat and serve while it is hot.

Notes

  • Fridge: Allow the meat to cool down to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
  • Freezer: If you want to store picadillo for a longer period, freezing is a great option. Place the cooled meat in a freezer-safe container or freezer bags, removing as much air as possible. Seal it tightly and free for up to 3 months.
  • Don’t forget to label the container with the date and contents!

Reheating

  • Stovetop: Heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally to ensure even reheating. Once the meat is heated through, it’s ready to be enjoyed.
  • Microwave: If you prefer a quicker method, the microwave is a convenient option. Place the meat in a microwave-safe dish, cover it loosely to prevent splatters, and heat it in short intervals, stirring in between. Be cautious not to overheat to avoid drying out the dish.

*******

Baked Tacos with Beef Picadillo

(from muydelish.com)

Ingredients

3 cups prepared beef picadillo

12 corn tortillas (homemade or store-bought)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded cheese

1/2 cup Habanero mayonnaise

1 1/2 cups prepared salsa Mexicana and/or Pico De Gallo salsa

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Heat a small or medium skillet over medium=high heat.
  2. Lightly brush the tortillas on both sides with the oil. Fry the tortillas very lightly on both sides making sure they stay pliable. Then add 1/4 cup of the beef picadillo to one side of the tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese on top of the meat then fold them gently and place them in a baking tray or dish, side by side.
  3. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tacos are golden and crispy. You may need to flip the tacos halfway through to ensure both sides are crispy.
  4. Garnish & Serve — Drizzle with Habanero Mayonnaise, top with Mexican Pickled Onions, and spoon on some Salsa Mexicana and fresh Pico de Gallo Salsa

*******

And there you have’em: THREE recipes to help you celebrate National Taco Day, which just happens to be a “Taco Tuesdays” AND a “Tasty Tuesday”!

Que aproveche!

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LOTS of rocks… Vanity Post #122

Today, I spent some time (a Pomodoro session’s worth) helping Sweet Thing with the replacement of the front yard faucet. Earlier today, he had dug the hole bigger, but he was a bit hampered by all of the gravel that was in the hole. So, he asked me to do what I could to remove the gravel.

Even though it was Task #3 on “the three tasks” for today, it was the first task that I tackled, and I’m glad I did it first! The Pomodoro timer proved to be just the right amount of time to get ‘er done before the mosquitoes made an appearance and started eating me alive!

Anyway… Here’s a “before” pic of the task at hand:

Rocks to remove…

Here’s an “after” pic of the task:

All gone…

Yay! I was successfully able to remove all of the rocks from the bottom on the hole that Sweet Thing dug,

AND…

I managed to add the “Before” and “After” pics ALL BY MYSELF, which is quite a feat in and of itself for the “technology-challenged” author!

Whew! I just hope I can remember what I actually did to add the pics to this vanity post, so I can continue adding ’em to future posts! Wish me luck ‘cuz I’m gonna need it!

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Some words of wisdom… Vanity Post #121

The words of wisdom that I’ll be featuring in this vanity post are from a recent e-newsletter from Maria Gracia, the founder of the Get Organized Now! Web site. Maria is a wonderful “fountain of information”, and I really enjoy reading her daily newsletters because I invariably pick up lots of tips and tricks related to organizing as well as words of wisdom, which often arrive in my inbox in a timely manner.

Today’s words of wisdom are about confidence — as it (of course) relates to organizing. So… Without further ado, here they are:

Confidence is …

“I may not finish this today, but I can make it better.”

“You do not need to feel completely confident before you start. Confidence grows through action. Every small decision gives it a little more strength.”

“I can make decisions. I can improve my surroundings. I can trust myself to follow through.”

“The more often you act on that message, the more confident you become. This is why small organizing projects can be so powerful.”

So, yeah… Those are some encouraging words of wisdom that I definitely needed to “hear” right now, and tomorrow, I’m going to work on making things better around here, knowing that I probably won’t finish everything that needs to be done today. And the next day, I’m going to do the same things: making things better by making small decisions to improve my surroundings — though, my “following through” may need some work.

If you’ve got any words of wisdom about confidence (or anything else that you’d like to share with me), please leave a comment below.

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Chicken and potatoes… Vanity Post #120

Since tomorrow is a “Tasty Tuesdays” day, I did a quick search on the National Day Calendar Web site to find out whether there were any food-related national days on 29 September. I was looking for a recipe to feature in “Tasty Tuesdays” vanity post for tomorrow. Sadly, there weren’t any, so I decided to honor not one, but TWO of the National Months (National Chicken Month and National Potato Month) in a single recipe!

After searching for “recipes using both chicken and potatoes, I got LOTS of results, but I wasn’t in the mood to go through all of them. So… I used one of my tried-and-true ways to narrow down the results: Counting by sevens! I counted down to the 7th result, which was a Web site that featured LOTS of chicken and potatoes! Once on that Web site (delish.com), I counted down to the 7th recipe (which was easy because they were numbered!), and that 7th recipe is the one I’m going to feature in the “Tasty Tuesdays” vanity post for tomorrow! Without further ado, here’s #7:

Greek Chicken Potato Salad

Ingredients

FOR THE DRESSING

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE POTATO SALAD

3 cups chicken breast strips (See notes below)

2 pounds mixed baby potatoes, halved

2 cucumbers, thinly sliced into half moons (See notes below)

1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved (See notes below)

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill sprigs, plus more for serving

1 cup firm feta cheese, crumbled, plus more for serving (See notes below)

Directions

  1. Make dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice and mustard. While whisking, slowly add oil until fully combined. Stir in red onion, then season with salt and pepper. Let sit while making potato salad.
  2. Make potato salad: Arrange chicken breast strips in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate and heat covered with a paper towel on high until warm, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly and then transfer to a work surface and slice into bite-sized pieces.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large pot, cover potatoes with water and season generously with salt. Bring water to a boil and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool potatoes.
  4. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and add sliced chicken breast, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and dill. Drizzle with dressing and gently toss to combine. Gently fold in the feta.
  5. Serve garnished with more dill and more feta.

NOTES:

  1. This recipe originally featured “Tyson Grilled & Ready Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strips”, but I have issues with the Tyson brand. Consequently, I used a different brand of chicken breast strips in this recipe.
  2. Originally, this recipe called for “Persian cucumbers”, but since I don’t think my local grocery store carries anything but regular ol’ cucumbers, that’s what I used.
  3. Again, this recipe called for Kalamata olives, but my local grocery store only had black olives or the green (pimiento-stuffed) olives. I used the green (pimiento-stuffed) olives since that’s what I had on hand AND because this recipe reminds me of my favorite kind of potato salad: Italian Potato Salad.
  4. Because I’ve never eaten/made anything with feta cheese, I substituted what I had on hand: Parmesan cheese, which is the kind of cheese called for in my Italian Potato Salad recipe.

So, there you have it: this week’s “Tasty Tuesdays” recipe for Greek Chicken Potato Salad in honor of both National Chicken Month AND National Potato Month!

I know that summer is long gone, but I hope you’ll give this Greek Chicken Potato Salad a try like I did! I’d love to find out whether you followed the recipe exactly OR made changes like I did, so please take a moment to leave a comment below.

In the meantime… I know I’ll be making another batch because I love the addition of the chicken breast strips! Turns a simple side into a complete meal (with a carb, a protein, and two veggies), especially with the addition of some kind of fruit (Apple Crisp, anyone?) for dessert.

Bon Appétit!

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Nothing worth and/or no time… Vanity Post #14 (#118)

Nothing worth and/or no time… Vanity Post #14

This is my official “I have nothing worth writing about and/or no time to write it” vanity post. From now on, whenever my schedule is so busy that I don’t feel I have time to come up with something interesting in a timely manner, I’ll publish “Vanity Post #14” — my version of Chuck Lorre’s vanity card #111.

NOTE: your “regularly scheduled” posting will resume shortly — barring no more trips to the ER or feeling overwhelmed in the aftermath — even if I have to pre-schedule a darned post!