The Howell Blessings

Welcome to the 5th installment of Meatless Monday with Mindy! Today I'll share with you a wonderful, easy to make Pot Pie that hits the spot for comfort food.  The ingredient list is lengthy, but bear it out, it's mostly the veggies and seasonings.   This is one of those recipes that is easily tweaked to whatever you have on hand, want to use up, or otherwise want to try when it comes to the veggies.  This recipe makes two 9-inch pies, but you can freeze these for up to 6 months! I have made this recipe a couple of times and I think I make it slightly different each time, but each one has been yummy and so satisfying. This is the inspiration recipe by plant based chef David Sterkel, with my notes. Pot Pie Ingredients: 10 medium red potatoes (give or take and I've used all types of potatoes successfully) 1 large sweet potato 2 TB extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 TBS minced garlic 6 cups of vegetables of your choice (*take note here, choo...

Ever have one of those days where you feel like everything you said or did needed a big “do-over”?  I have found myself annoyed most days recently.  I’ve been annoyed with the dirty dishes, having to cook, my husband, but mostly annoyed with myself. I’ve been doing, or rather not doing,….much of anything, and that really annoys me. What is the matter with me???  I have been blessed with the opportunity that most women are still dreaming about.  I am able to stay at home and figure out what it is I want to do, if anything, and just do it.  When I was in the corporate world, not that long ago, I was an organized, task list-making freak.  A friend and I would meet over the phone frequently each week to discuss and strategize our daily task lists and project "to do" list, then hold each other accountable to get them done.  We had Excel spreadsheet workbooks that, over the years, had tweaked to make it work for us and by golly, it did!...

This is the 4th installment of Meatless Monday with Mindy. I didn't think anyone would notice that I hadn't posted the last two Monday's but I was caught watching the pot ( a watched pot never boils...). I have pictures and recipes for the last couple of weeks but because I want to get this up while it's still at least close to Monday the 18th, I thought I'd share what we ate for Meatless Monday yesterday.  No recipe's required... I boiled some Buitoni's Wild Mushroom Agnolotti Ravioli Once the water for the pasta started to boil, I heated up some Prego Marinara sauce. When it started to "pop" I added some chopped spinach I already had in the fridge. I had stopped by the grocers and put together a salad at the salad bar full of good for you, low fat veggies and legumes And the bakery department had some lovely whole grain loaves of fresh baked bread. I had been out most of the day working and the thought of trying to ...

I wrote and posted this  poem  2 years ago and thought it was worth sharing again.  Happy Valentines Day to my husband of almost 30 years. I'm glad we stuck it out. Here's to love and commitment. Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Many years have passed since we said “I do”, We sealed that day with a kiss. I never once gave up on you  As we traveled through heartache and bliss. Those early years were certainly rough As we played at love like little ones. Our trials made us both too tough And we considered calling it done. We grew apart and became disenchanted Even though we stayed together Our love for each other we took for granted But to each other we stayed tethered. We both matured along with our years And something began to blossom. We traveled forward to new frontiers And our journey has proved to be awesome. I remember not what day it appeared  It snuck up on me like twilight I realized at once that we had cohered And that somehow we’d be alright. Fast f...

Valentines Day is approaching very quickly. Typically this holiday comes and goes in our household with nary a nod from my husband as he doesn't "do" what he calls Hallmark holidays.  When our kids were little I would give them little gifts with lots of hearts and stuffed animals and of course sweets. Later when they were in college I would send care packages to them with a more grown up version of the same. I have also given my husband cards, chocolates and yes, even once, a stuffed bear.  But now that the kids are in their own homes, with their own sweeties, the excitement of a one-sided holiday has lost it zing. Or has it? This year I decided to decorate the table in a romantic theme for this soon to be neglected day.   In truth, I was demonstrating a PartyLite party at my house and instead of a typical demonstration, the hostess and I opted to show our guests how to decorate using PartyLite products. I loved that she decided toward a Valentines Day t...

Welcome to the third Meatless Monday with Mindy. My apologies for last weeks faux pas. I thought I had the link system figured out, but alas I still don't have a clue.  So I will continue to try and figure out the link system, but in the interim, I won't leave you hanging.  I have to confess something before we go any farther....  I go meatless every day.   I know...right??   Although I'm not new to the idea of meatless, I decided to take the plunge just this year.  For many reasons which I will eventually share on Meatless Monday posts, I have decided to try and cut out all animal protein from my diet.  Forgoing meat wasn't as difficult for me as I imagined it would be.  After all, I helped my daughter understand how to become a vegetarian when she was a teenager. Not that I had any desire at that time to become one myself, I just wanted to make sure that if she was going to become a veggie, she was going to do it...