Author Archives: cathyboettner

When we bought the house, it had white gutters on it. The downspouts on the back deck were on the front face of the posts, which made the outside posts of the deck look really narrow (almost non-existent) once we stained the deck dark brown, and limewashed the house. So, when we did all theContinue reading “The Glamorous Drainage Project”

Warm-Up 30 Split Lunge Jumps 30 Jump Squats 30 Side Skaters Set One X 3 10 Sumo Squats with weights 10 Plie Squats with weights 10 Goblet Squats with weights 10 Chair Touches Set Two X 3 10 Lateral Steps (each side) with band 10 Fire Hydrants (each side) with band 10 Glute Bridge 10Continue reading “Pandemic Physical Fitness–30 Minute Lower Body Workout”

Peaches and Cream Layer 4 cups frozen peach slices (measured when still mostly frozen 8 oz cream cheese 2 eggs 1 can sweetened condensed milk 2 tsp vanilla extract Cook the peaches over medium low heat (breaking them up as you go) until they have been reduced by half (measuring 2 cups). Set aside toContinue reading “Layered Peaches and Cream Slab Pie”

I wrote a couple of months ago about how Mike and I had added on to our garden shed so that we could store all the lumber that Mike has collected over the years. When we were putting boards away, we found a BUNCH of little boards that are really only big enough to makeContinue reading “Making Charcuterie Boards”

A couple of weeks ago, Jackson helped me dig out the stump of the Japanese Maple that had died in the front garden. That left a big hole, but not to fear, I have wanted to build a stone pad for my copper birdbath to sit on to keep it level and out of theContinue reading “Front Garden Project–Stone Pad for the Birdbath”

We have been eating a lot less meat lately. I have found that the Indian inspired jarred sauces from Aldi are a good jumping off point if you need a quick meatless dinner made from pantry/freezer ingredients. Trader Joe’s (also owned by Aldi) has similar sauces that are really good. The Sauce: We grew sweetContinue reading “Meatless Monday–Freestyle”

Warm-Up 40 Mountain Climbers 30 Plank Jacks 30 Bicycle Crunches Set One (Shoulders) x 3: 20 Front to Lateral Raise 15 Shoulder Press 15 Upright Row Set Two (Core) x 3: 10 Torso Twists/side 15 Side Bends w/weight (heavy)/side 15 Wood Chops w/weight (medium)/side Set Three (Chest and Lats) x 3: 15 Chest Press (heavy)Continue reading “Pandemic Physical Fitness–Upper Body Workout”

My college friend Bitsy posted her family’s meatloaf recipe in the comments on the Mike’s meatloaf dinner post. It substitutes pepperidge farms stuffing mix for the typical bread crumbs. That got me thinking about how to make that tweak a full-on new recipe. Here we go: 1 lb. ground chicken 1 lb. ground pork 1/2Continue reading “Thanksgiving Salisbury Steak–inspired by Bitsy’s meatloaf recipe”

My grandmother used to make broccoli rice casserole a lot. I have updated it here to make it more flavorful with a better broccoli to rice ratio. Broccoli Rice Casserole: 2 lbs. frozen broccoli florets–thawed, drained, and cut into bite sized pieces 1 1/2 cups of water 3/4 cup long grain rice 2 cans creamContinue reading “Just like Grandma used to make–pantry/freezer side dish”

Warm-up 5 Burpees 15 Jumping Jacks 20 High knees Set One 15 Curtsy Squats w/lateral raise/side 15 Reverse Lunge w/upright row/side 15 Alternating Lunges w/shoulder press/side 20 Mountain Climbers Set Two 20 Chest Fly (heavy) 20 Chest Press (heavy) 20 Lat pullovers (heavy) Don’t let the weight hit the mat 30 Bicycle Crunches (total) SetContinue reading “Pandemic Physical Fitness–30 minute total body workout”