MaryAnn, somehow I thought that Jiffy mix was more yellow as if made with corn? I'm probably wrong as it has been years since I first saw and used it in Florida in the seventies. I know it has been awhile as I recently learned that my then husband's ship, the Saratoga has long been decommissioned and mothballed.

I'm sure we have Jiffy mix here in the groceries. I'll have to look for it. I tend to use flour as a cheaper, more plentiful alternative and since I make biscuits, pancakes, pie crusts from scratch I never actually use it, Bisquick or Jiffy mix. I take that back. I remembered making those impossible cheeseburger and hamburger pies a time ago with Bisquick. I no longer make crusts, I buy them or do without these days.And pancakes, etc. are a no-no while I'm dieting. Thirty-three pounds since last August and twenty-five more to go.

Patricia, I don't think Jiffy Mix is yellow.  To me it is the same as Bisquick.  It used to be much less expensive than Bisquick and still is cheaper, but the difference is not so great.  I used to make a dessert with canned cherries, then put half of the Jiffy cake mix dry ingredients on it, then spread with butter slices of melted butter.  It made a great dessert.

Mary Ann

Could there be some confusion here between the Jiffy Mix baking mix and the Jiffy Mix cake mix and/or cornbread mix?     The baking mix is similar to bisquick for pancakes, biscuits and such.   I haven't found the Jiffy Mix cake mixes in a while and recently wanted to make  an upside down cake in just a round layer pan....not too big.    I divided a regular yellow cake mix in two parts and it was perfect for a small cake.

I think Different Company's . Bisquick is one Co. Under Betty Crocker Co.  Jiffy mix is just a cheaper brand. Under  The Jiffy name sells a lot of things.
Only time I will make a quick 6 cupcakes in my Toaster oven. I keep packets of Believe called Martha White Cup cake mix. They turn out good. I am just not into Eating cake. Pies my thing.

Don't know what I can call this that I am fixing for a late lunch/dinner today.
I am getting low in the freezer. had nothing defrosted and so.  Making some kind of a Goulash.  Had some cabbage. Carrots. Potatoes Onions all chopped up together in a bag. found 2 Sausages. Some Butter beans from yesterday.
Put some tomato sauce in. Think that is about it. Just tasted it. Pretty good. Will have to do. I ate a healthy breakfast and will snack a little tonight.

maryc, I think you're right as I hadn't heard of the Jiffy baking mix, just the cornbread. I saw the Martha White brand name in the South, but I never saw it here or in the Western states.

I tend to frequent the farmers markets or the ethnic groceries. Walmart and Fred Meyers tend to be the same in prices and content while Safeway, has higher quality and higher prices.

I do enjoy the smaller versions and spice mixes of different ethnic markets as well as the food and good conversation. I was in at the Hmong store last week and saw something that intrigued me. However, I was walking and had to pass regrettably.

The clerk saw me looking and explained the mix to me, and when I told her why I was passing it up, she called her son and said he would give me a ride and he carried it up to my apartment as well as refusing a tip! You would not see that in Walmart or Safeway!

MaryC - There is the Jiffy Mix like Bisquick, there also are Jiffy cake mixes, Jiffy biscuit mixes, Jiffy frosting mixes, Jiffy cornbread mix.  All are made by the same company in Chelsea MI.  Except for the Jiffy Mix, the rest come in small boxes.  I just made a shortcake with the biscuit mix.  If I had made biscuits, it would have made 10-12 biscuits, either rolled or dropped.  I have used their products for years and they're good.

Mary Ann

I've used Jiffy cornbread mix and it is good.  I occasionally use Bisquik for pancakes, biscuits and have also used the Bisquik recipe for making oven fried chicken.  I was tired today so it was just sandwiches for us.  They were filling and an easy clean up.

Angel, that was really nice to have that delivery help.  No, I'm sure that wouldn't happen at one of these big box stores.  Read in the local paper that some of the Walmarts here are starting a new service.  You can call in and give your grocery order and they will bag and bring to your car and you can pay from your car.  The service is FREE.  I'm just wondering if they are running a marketing ploy and if it works they will start to charge.  Of course, it wouldn't help people who don't drive.

I have used the Jiffy cornbread mix but tend to prefer the smaller individual packages of Martha Washington cornbread.  They have one with no sugar and that is what we like.

I have used the Jiffy cake mix in the past for a hurry up, small cake or with a canned pie filling for those Pudding Cakes.  But, mostly for biscuits, pancakes, etc.  I use Bisquick simply because that is what my mother used so I grew up with it.  I didn't see the need to change.

Tonight's dinner will be left overs from yesterday....YAY!  I made a nice beef roast yesterday with Yukon potatoes and stewed tomatoes and zucchini with a, new-to-me, mix for Salty/Caramel Lava cupcakes for dessert.  They were OK but not real good so doubt that I'll buy them again.

Speaking of delivery for groceries, etc...... I met a young woman a couple years ago who has several young children.    She told me that she orders all of her groceries except fresh meat and produce from Walmart.com.    It is delivered to her door and orders over $50. are shipped free.   I have placed orders for things that I used routinely and liked the system.    It is nice especially in the cold and snowy months to have heavy items delivered.   I know that such things as paper towel, toilet tissue and laundry detergent often are better buys at the local grocery (loss leaders) but in some cases it is well worth the extra cost to have it at your door.

  It is strange isn't it that groceries delivered to the home was pretty common in days gone by and after many moons it is becoming more available again.  Back in the '50s we had friends whose husbands formed a small company that made home delivery for Loblaw stores in our community available for a small fee.  They were quite busy just working that along with their regular jobs.  Our local grocery offers delivery for a small charge which is quite nice for persons who don't drive.    They have a clerk who takes the telephone orders and fills them for the delivery.   I often see her around the store filling the orders.

You are right, Mary, about grocery delivery in years past.  When I was small my mother had deliveries made by our local grocer.  His son did the deliveries on a bicycle with a big basket on front.  I had forgotten about that.

Here we have locally driven in prescriptions only. All the stores do have to order for Bush communities, but they add in the cost of groceries, cost of freight with the mail plane and then add an extra 15 or more percentage overall.

There are also small startups that will pick up groceries or other items for you, but they seldom last as their prices are also prohibitive!

Cleaning services are the same. One flier came in the mail last week offering cleaning for 15.00 dollars an hour with your cleaning supplies only!

Patricia, I checked our two local chains re delivery and neither has that service.  The largest (Meijer) has a service where you can call in your order and they will put it up then you pick it up from one store only.  If I want the service, fortunately the store is only a couple miles from me.  I have my own delivery service - Tom - so I don't need it now.  I think we have some local stores that will deliver, but they're limited in what they carry.

Mary Ann

Now I have always liked going grocery shopping. More than I like going to malls.  3 Big grocery stores are withing 5 min. of me. Meijer is one of them.

Would you believe it. this morning I stopped by "Dollar tree" and spent $31. Which means 31 things I bought.  I like those stores also.  They were things I needed.

MaryAnn, it would be nice to have a grocery delivery here such as  June and GloriaZ. have spoken of. I also would love to have an affordable housecleaning service. Both seem like pipe dreams now although I too remember grocery deliveries long ago.

I make just enough to get by but am told I make too much for any assistance. However, I went with a friend to help her with her bimonthly food box. I was shocked as it had one large box of raisins, 2 packages of three small boxes of raisins and one small jar of peanut butter, one bag of dried cranberries, one bag of walnuts and one tuna sized can of chicken. That was it for two weeks!

I called the food bank and learned people don't donate in the summer, the holiday season is better and for 5.00 they can have lunch at the Senior center. Really!?  Meals on Wheels, who I called next for her only delivers if you are incapacitated or housebound I ended up giving her some of my food and wondered if it is a couple, do they get two large boxes of raisins?

I am lucky to not only have SS but also friends who continue to pass along their surplus game when cleaning out their fridge.

Jeanne, we do not have a dollar store here but there is one called, a dollar fifty store! 

Patricia, I'm amazed, maybe shocked, at what was in your friend's food box.  I guess she could make a chicken salad, kind of, but what would she do with all of the raisins left over.  I think our Meals on Wheels delivers to more than just handicapped people.  I am fortunate that my pension and SS cover most of my expenses and now that Tom has a decent paying job, he often foots the bill when we eat out.  When he first came here, he had no job, nor did Annie.  She doesn't live here any more but does come to do things for me when she has time.  She works for her boyfriend and is "on call" almost all day long. 

I think we're in for another warm day today, but then I think we'll be in the 70s which will be good sleeping weather.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn, what we deliver and donate is on us, but many of the mall stores here no longer give as they used too. Most of the Scandinavian countries and France have made it a law for groceries to donate their old foods, why not here? I don't know why they're now throwing food out here.

There are day-old bread and bakery outlets here, but they also cost just a little less. There are also many shelters, but since they've lost grants, they have initiated programs to get people back on their feet and out again. One shelter calls it the 30-90 day plan where you pay 12.00 a day if you have any money coming in or do four hours of labor daily.

I called for my friend, but she is adamant in staying in the home her husband bought them when she was first married and raising their family. The shelters have free meals at certain times but she, like me, doesn't drive, and the bus only goes to a block away, and neither of us is comfortable walking, and she wouldn't go alone. So I'll continue to bring her food and see what I can drum up among people I know. The sorrowful part is she's not an exception but the rule.

Our days are now colder with nights in the lower fifties and just reaching seventy before it begins to cool off again. It's time to think about bringing my plants back in from the balcony.

I have been eating out more often than I should and at home tend to have one large meal in the late afternoon. I am bored with what I have been eating, and that is a sad state of affairs when I think of my friend and all those like her. She is not old enough, in her early fifties, for senior assistance, nor is she disabled other than just growing older but she has never worked or spent that much time away from home.

A easy on to start out children wanted to cook

BUTTER BRICKLE BARS.

SALTINE CRACKERS
1 CUP BUTTER
1 CUP BROWN SUGAR
1 1/2 CUPS CHOCOLATE CHIPS
Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Place a single layer of saltine crackers on the sheet. Cook butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes( but if doing  in Microwave.  Watch it.) Pour on Crackers
Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees
Remover from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Wait 2 minutes then spread chocolate chips evenly over butter and sugar layer. Let cool and cut into pieces
You can also use Ritz crackers and Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits, for example

Palmer, a town not too far from Anchorage, just had their fair and a new pumpkin winner. The winning pumpkin was 1,469 pounds.It is quite a pumpkin growing contest there and has been for many years.

Want to see old friends, go down memory lane? 

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=234.msg43347#msg43347

With the big storm on this morning it got cool enough for me to make a Shepherds pie. Made a big size so will do 4 meals. Not done one all summer as it was so hot.
Got all the filling done  on top of stove and so could just put it under the broiler for 10 minutes. No oven.
Rain gone now and it is getting up to high 80s again. Will have to put A/C on but at least the house got a good airing out.

Wish I had one right now..



   CHOCOLATE CARAMEL BARS

Have nothing sweet to eat in the house. Should have made some when I was browning the Shepherds Pie




ngredients
For the Crust

    4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for parchment
    1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    1/4 teaspoon table salt

For the Chocolate Caramel

    10 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (2 cups)
    1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
    1/4 cup water
    3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
    1 cup heavy cream
    1/2 teaspoon table salt
    1 tablespoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

Directions

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter parchment, excluding overhang. Beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and table salt, and beat until just combined.

    Press dough evenly into pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

    Make the chocolate caramel: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, cream, and table salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Stir to combine, and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.

    Pour mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Run a knife around edges; lift parchment to remove whole bar from pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Trim edges, and cut into 16 bars.

   We will be entertaining some English/Canadian friends soon for a coffee.....not tea but coffee drinkers!      I decided that scones would be good for a light refreshment.    My late MIL spoke longingly about scones many times over the years.   She was from Scotland and I'm sure that her memory of scones was quite special though she never attempted to make them.....that I know of.   Now with the Internet and the huge resource for recipes I felt sure that we could turn out a decent scone.     What could be so hard about it.     I did a trial batch this afternoon and it was a failure.......dense and heavy.   In days gone by I could make a really good baking powder biscuit but that knack has gone from the lack of practice.   I ran across an interesting article today about making scones that I will share here with you all and perhaps someone like our true English gal JeanneP can share a secret or two with me.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/apr/22/how-to-make-perfect-scones

First Bring up Baking with Martha Stewart.  She has a good one.  I have not made any for a long time.  Will look in my old British Baking book if you don't like hers. I did use hers awhile back.  I think you can bring her up on You Tube making them also
The thing is not to handle the dough with hands. Just bring it together with a fork. roll out gentle.
http://www.marthastewart.com/874310/rich-cream-sconeshttp:

Scones, like our American biscuits, are better, IMO, if they are made with All purpose flour and fresh baking soda.  I don't like using self-rising flour because I'm never sure how fresh it is.  And, just as the article writer said (and Jeanne, also) don't handle it too much and don't roll it too thin.  Unlike Jeanne, I do use my hands to lightly knead the dough before I roll it out.  And I prefer dried cranberries in my scones rather than currents.  We had wonderful fresh scones in Scotland but my all-time favorite breakfast roll was the Scottish bap.  I've tried to make them here with American flour and ingredients but they never turned out as good as those in Scotland.

Phyllis, I have heard of scones before, had them for afternoon tea a few times at church, made by a British friend But I hadn't heard of baps so I turned to Google.

"Scottish Baps also called buns when homemade are fresh soft pockets of bread that are perfect for a sandwich.
Just recently I started making buns again because the numbers in our budget were just getting too high.
As you all know I love to be busy in the kitchen and looking for ways to help lower our grocery budget.

What are flour baps and how long do they keep for?
In Scotland we call buns flour baps as mentioned and to be honest they are so easy to make you won’t ever buy buns again.
The small round buns or baps are fluffy inside and keep really well, up to 5 days without going hard. The freshness factor is great because my family loves to have toasted buns on the weekend with my homemade jam or carrot marmalade.
We also like to stuff them with luncheon meats and cheese or butter and eat with homemade chili, stew or soups.  You can have these hot fluffy flour baps ready to eat with-in a couple of hours. If you are anything like us we love to enjoy buns hot out of the oven too."

http://canadianbudgetbinder.com/2015/05/24/traditional-scottish-baps-or-buns/

No matter how hard I try to follow my British Recipes they never turn our like what one gets in the U.K . My aunt passed away few years ago and she was a professional Pasty Chef for 40 years there. Made me things to eat all the time I ws there. Showed me how. Give me recipes.  Just dont turn out the same.
One thing is their Flour, Butter etc. Every where in UK is lot different than In USA. Same with Europe.
Now Baps or more or less just like what we call Hamburger Buns here.  I alway use them if I make hamburgers in UK.  Sort of a little bit lighter then HBs here I think. Again it the flour and butter.
Now in US you can find lots of things with the UK names on. NOne taste the same as the ones in U.K.  Tea is a lot different even though will use the same name. Even the Cadbury  Choc. bars and different biscuits (Cookies) same thing. I notice lots of it show. Made In Canada

I think it is the flour, Jeanne.  Not the same as our All Purpose flour here in the states.  The baps we had in Scotland were not as soft on the outside as hamburger buns and were round, not square.  Not hard but a little firm and when you broke them open they were the lightest, airiest texture on the inside.  The small hotels that we stayed at in Scotland always served them as a breakfast bread.  So much better than that cold, hard thing they called toast and served in a toast rack.  Sorry, Jeanne, but that wasn't toast as far as Tom and I were concerned.

Angel, that is close to the recipe that I tried here when we got home.  Just wasn't the same and I think it is the difference in the flour.  The same thing for British tea.  I love the tea that we got in tea rooms..so much better than we have here.  I think it is the difference in the water.  Now, as for coffee, American coffee is a whole lot better than British coffee.  Sorry again, Jeanne.

Phyllis, I certainly agree with that. Here in Alaska, our water is pure. So much so that we export it to Asia, and we hold world championship ice carvings each March that includes worldwide carvers because our ice is so pure, it's like glass.

In the states, even Seattle, it doesn't have that purity of taste. So I can see where flour or butter or other items would not be the same.

Yes. A lot has to do the the Water in the US.  After all these years it still bothers my skin. Have to watch the soap I use also in Laundry. showering. etc.  I go back to UK ind in a week I get the clearest skin.   I just never use it to drink or make tea , Cook Veg. etc.  Use bottle water and also fill Gal. containers out of the machines that supply pure water.  They just put to much stuff into the water here before it comes through the pipes.   And we in Illinois suppose to have good water but it still taste awful about 4 times a year its like has bleach in it. Can smell it.
People tell me it is because I was not raised using it. If from a baby would be fine.
Now my daughter was very young when we came and it was hard on her for about a year and now she is O.K. with using it.