Lunch-sparked memories

My Dad with my oldest at her first birthday party in 2004

Most of the years I was growing up, my dad worked at a local television station (behind the scenes).  It was one of our favorite activities to go to work with Dad.  We would take turns, and it was a guaranteed argument if you went two times in a row before one of the other two went.  A normal day with Dad usually meant riding behind him on the motorcycle for 45-60 minutes to get to work, arriving about 3 pm.  We could explore the station within reason, which included sitting at the anchor desk pretending to give the news.  The station also had a swimming pool for employees and their families to use during the summer.  Mom would occasionally bring us in to swim and then we'd all go visit Dad.  Those visits would mean all 3 of us at the anchor desk, or playing with the "invisibility blanket" used to do the weather forecast.  Great memories!

One visit I made with Dad there was a huge buffet of pizza in the employee breakroom.   I think it must have been a telethon or some big event because the station didn't normally provide meals.  Being a picky kid, I only ate cheese pizza.  Being a lunch for adults, there wasn't any cheese pizza.  So I gave in and tried a piece of sausage and mushroom pizza.  It immediately became my favorite pizza (until I discovered Hawaiian pizza in college).

Today's sausage and mushroom pizza

So why am I going down memory lane today?  As I prepped my lunch today, I was thinking how wonderful it is that I never run out of mushrooms and I'm not dealing with mushrooms going bad in my fridge.  That is thanks to Thrive FD Mushrooms.  I decided to add some FD Sausage because it's so easy to to just sprinkle the amount I want on my pizza and then put the can back in the cupboard.  As the sausage was added, I was reminded of that first slice of sausage and mushroom pizza, and times with my Dad.  Dad died in 2009  and I find so many foods that trigger memories of him.  Today I get to thank Thrive for triggering one.

What foods trigger memories for you?

October Specials - Vegetarian style

I LOVE when the specials for the month go so well with the things that I feel I need to stock up on today.  So my Q order for this month definitely includes some FD Mozzarella and more FD Sliced Mushrooms.  Looking at the new Fall Price List (which is effective Oct 2, 2012), I realized that by ordering these needed items in October I'm saving over $2 per #10 can of mushrooms, and $4 per #10 can on the Mozzarella Cheese over my normal Q Club/Home Party pricing.

Why do I buy THRIVE freeze dried mushrooms?  This is one of those items that generally no one else in my family will eat.  So when I buy a small can to have mushrooms on my portion of homemade pizza, I don't use the whole can and end up throwing half of it away when it goes bad.  But I have found one way my whole family eats mushrooms and I shared about it recently on the blog, here.  That blog post also shares my success story in sauteeing reconstituted Freeze dried mushrooms.

Why is Mozzarella a priority for me?  Sometimes I think my family would live on cheese alone if I let them.  So when I try to imagine us having to live off our home store, I KNOW that I need to have cheese.  Since I don't know if the reason for living off our home store will involve electricity or not, I don't want to depend upon stocking my freezer with cheese (although I keep some in there too).  If you haven't tried THRIVE Freeze dried cheeses, come to a home event/party (or host one yourself) and sample some.  You will be amazed.  Once reconsituted, the cheese melts amazingly.  And even while still freeze dried, the cheddar cheese is dangerously delicious (I'd recommend NOT letting your kids try it otherwise, you might not have any around to rehydrate).

I also have to point out the great Q-Pon this month on the Green Chili Peppers.  Except for my husband, my family doesn't like a lot of heat to their food so when I buy canned green chili peppers, I don't use even half of the can.  The THRIVE Freeze dried version lets me add just the amount of heat for flavor without wasting the rest.

There are times like this that I really wish I knew advance what is going to go on sale the following month.  I bought a Pantry can of Green Chili Peppers in September, and for not much less than the Q-Pon in October on the #10 can!  The Q-Pon saves you almost $4 per #10 can over my BEST current price.  If you have been thinking about getting your Q started, October is a great month to do it because this Q-Pon is ONLY available to Q Club members.

Mushroom Swiss Burger - Success story

I have so much to share on the blog but I keep getting distracted and sharing what I'm experiencing now.  Last time it was how keeping up on the dishes and laundry help me be better prepared for emergencies.  And guess what, the next day, I had a family emergency and was gone all day at the hospital.  It was so nice knowing I was mostly caught up on laundry and dishes.  But now I need to get to work again so that I can be prepared for the next one.

Today's adventure was lunch.  I cooked hamburgers for lunch and Princess Naked Toes asked for cheese on her's.  As I put a slice of colby jack on her hamburger, I thought too bad I can't make a mushroom swiss burger for me.  And then I wondered why not?  I have swiss cheese slices AND I have THRIVE freeze dried mushrooms.  Now I've put the mushrooms on my portion of homemade pizza tons of times with great success but I've always hesitated to saute them.  I must have been feeling brave or adventurous because today I decided to give it a go (maybe because I knew I had swiss cheese ready).

What did I do?  I scooped some of the mushrooms out of my #10 can into a mini-strainer.  I sprayed water from the sink over the strainer for a few seconds, let them drain for a moment and then tossed them into my frying pan in the hamburger grease.  Yes, I know it's not the healthiest way to saute.  After a few minutes sauteing the mushrooms, I threw them on the hamburger bun with the swiss cheese.

Results: Delicious!  I ate it so fast, I didn't even think to take a picture.  As long as I have swiss cheese in the house, I don't think I'll be eating a hamburger without the sauteed mushrooms again.  AND it took just moments to prepare those mushrooms!  From thought to mushrooms on my hamburger was just about 2 minutes.  Having the mushrooms pre-washed and sliced made this super quick and easy.

And while we're talking hamburgers, have I told you about my secret ingredient in my hamburger recipe (yes, I have learned to use a recipe to make my burgers and it has completed changed my family's viewpoint on hamburgers to yeah to why can't we have these everyday).  I use this recipe and chop up mushrooms to mix in with the ground beef.  The first time I did this, I told no one and they all claimed they were the best hamburgers they've ever eaten.  So I told them I'd added mushrooms.  Now, when I make hamburgers, Princess Smiles A Lot who grosses out at just the thought of eating a mushroom, demands that I add the mushrooms.  Sometimes I have fresh, but I ALWAYS have THRIVE freeze dried mushrooms.  So we're happy campers!

And guess what?!  Mushrooms are on sale starting Oct 2nd!