Old Mother Hubbard

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
To get her poor doggie a bone,
When she got there
The cupboard was bare
So the poor little doggie had none.

I had this idea to compare myelf to Old Mother Hubbard tonight, really in order to brag But when doing a bit of Googling I came across the history of this nursery rhyme, did you know:

The Old Mother Hubbard referred to in these nursery rhyme words and lyrics allude to the famous Cardinal Wolsey. Cardinal Wolsey was the most important politician and churchman of the Tudor history period in 16th century England. Cardinal Wolsey  proved to be a faithful servant but displeased the King, Henry VIII, by failing to arrange the King’s divorce from Queen Katherine of Aragon which would enable him to marry Anne Boleyn. The King was the “doggie” and the “bone” alludes to the divorce (and not money as many believe) The cupboard relates to the Catholic Church.

Thanks to Phillipa Gregory I now find that absolutely fascinating. But that is not what I really wanted to talk about. So… getting back to my original point. Guess what? My refrigerator is basically bare (with the exception of the side stocked w/ every kind of sauce, salad dressing, and whatever else available. Is it just me or does anyone else also have four bottles of soy sauce and three bottles of hot sauce in the fridge? It’s like we forget everytime we go to the store). My cupboards are close to it. I can see the back of my freezer.

This is a good thing. Why you ask? Because we are sticking with our plan and goals to EAT IN. Yep, that’s right. We have cooked in for the past two weeks INCLUDING LUNCH! I’m so proud of myself. My goal is to only go grocery shopping 2x/month and try to plan and buy enough for two weeks. I have had to run there a few times for veggies and bread, but other than that I’ve been great at it! The best is to look at what we’re spending and realize that it’s not an insane amount on Chipotle, McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, Old Chicago… you name it. You know, we’re still in debt, we’re not where we want to be in the slightest. But we’re on a plan and it feels good.

I thought I’d share a couple of recipes from the week. They’re pretty good.

Maple Country Ribs (Best ribs EVAH!)

• 3 lbs country style ribs
• 1 c pure maple syrup
• 1/2 c ketchup
• 3 T lemon juice
• 1/4 t each: salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, ground cinnamon

1. Place ribs in kettle. Cover with water and bring to boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 min.
3. Drain.
4. Place ribs in greatsed 13 x 9 x 2 pan. Combine ingredients, pour 1/2 over ribs. Bake uncovered at 325 for 1 and 1/2 hours. Baste often with remaining sauce. *** I do not have 90 minutes to bake anything by the time I go to work, so I threw it all in the crock pot (it’s what I do) and was still INCREDIBLE when I got home.

Oven Fish ‘N Chips

(I used catfish for this because it was what we had in the freezer. I’m not really a fan of catfish, next time I’ll be using cod or something similar, but it was still pretty good)

• 2 T olive oil
• 1/4 t pepper
• 4 medium potatoes peeled

• 1/3 c flour
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 T water
• 2/3 c crushed cornflakes
• 1/8 t cayenne pepper
• 1 lb thawed fish

Combine oil and pepper, cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/2″ strips. Bake at 425. 25 – 30 minutes.

• 1st Dish – combine floud and pper
• 2nd Dish – beat egg and water
• 3rd Dish – Combine cornflakes and cayenne pepper

Put fish in sequential dish order. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes (I found it took well over 20, but the pieces of fish were also pretty big).

I’m not sure, but this may win some sort of award for the most random – tangent driven post ever.