Raige Creations

Who would have thought I would find my spirit animal on a walk? Is it really my spirit animal, or just a chance sighting I thoroughly enjoyed? We have been doing well getting our walks in. Oh yes, I have a walking partner now! I finally got hubby to start exercising. Even if i go a slower pace than when I am alone, it is great to have some company. Our walks bring us to the North Sound. If you follow me , you should recognize the views. I try to take a picture every day, thinking it would be interesting to see the slight differences each day. Honestly I think some days are just so beautiful, other are more subdued. A different view each time really. But perhaps I am the only one that finds it that way, as the moods often highly affect my interpretation of the views. And I may be the only one who never tires of these same place views. As we are still on  lock-down , and the beaches are still closed, I must find interest with what is in walking distance as we are not t...

As has been the common popular birthday present for me, this year again I got new running shoes. Yes, I have gone on about new running shoes before.... here .....and here ....to share just a couple.... I am doing more walking instead of running these days, as my legs keep hurting when I tried to run lately, probably from my worn out shoes. So, that is the reason this year I was absolutely thrilled with these new shoes. They hug my heels so nicely and offer some great support for my overpronation and thus will help my sketchy knees and achy legs. My awesome new shoes My double excitement that we could find these shoes on island, where I could try them on and see that they fit nicely. I won't mention the price I had to pay for this convenience, as it was my birthday and I reasoned it was okay to overpay for such wonderful convenience and totally enjoy the instant gratification of getting these shoes. No more waiting for a 'mule' to bring them down to me after ordering...

My daughter had been asking for meatloaf for days (!), as we all get so tired of the same old meals, and we hadn't had meatloaf in forever! So meatloaf it was. (I just said meatloaf way too many times.....) As you know, hubby can't have any dairy, so milk was not an option. So here the easiest, milk free, recipe for a great meatloaf. Ingredients: 2 lbs Meat - I used a mixture of ground chicken and ground pork 4 Green Onions - or one regular would do just fine 1 heaping tsp Garlic - I used jarred, but fresh or powdered is fine Ketchup - a squirt - then about 1/4 cup for topping 2 tsp Pickapepper Sauce - then 2 tsp more for topping 1 Egg 1/4 cup Breadcrumbs Salt and Pepper Dried Basil and Parsley to taste Crushed Red Pepper to taste Olive Oil cooking spray Instructions: One reason I love meatloaf is that it is so easy! Just throw everything in the bowl and mix. That is basically it. But I took pictures so you can see the progression. Slice the green onions...

For me, it is hard to find a good recipe I can follow directly. I scoured the internet for chicken and dumpling recipes, but wasn't satisfied with any I found. For one, hubby can't have milk or cream, so that ruled out half of them. Second, I didn't happen to have any biscuit mix and I wasn't about to go to the store at 7:30am to get some. Besides, growing up in the 1970's I have had my fill of Bisquick . (my mother didn't use flour at all that I can remember, only Bisquick .) So I found if I took ideas from these recipes, and tweaked them to suit our needs and tastes, I could create my own perfect homestyle meal, and make my own comfort food recipe.  I love slow cooker meals ( I have raved about them before ). There is nothing better than coming home from work with dinner ready. No stress for me and a wonderful meal to enjoy with the family.  For this meal you will need: Big Ass Chicken One whole Chicken (I got a big ass chicken from Sams Club) salt ...

I always wish I could cook ahead, make several meals to either freeze or put in the fridge to just heat up on the days we are strapped for dinner. I am known for stressing about dinner, so this would make things so much easier on me, and thus everyone. But I rarely have the time or ambition to make more than the meal for that night. Often we eat dinner late because it takes me a long time to find the motivation to cook at all. Hubby complains that I don't cook all the time, and all I can say is, "Well, you married an American Girl hun. You knew what you were getting into!" But now, this girl is fully embracing her Crock-Pot ! Well, I am proud to say that last week I cooked 3 days meals in one day! Thanks to my Crock-Pot , I was ambitious enough to clean and season chicken enough to throw in there for the next two days. That day, I relied on an updated, clearly fast-cut American style, recipe of Chicken and Noodles.  It is an "American Busy and Unmotivated Mom...

Having little time to do much of anything but work, dinners at our house have been a little lacking. If we don't order out, or I don't pick up things from the deli at the grocery store, I revert to 'Get Your Own' night and everyone makes their own dinner. This is hardly the tastiest or healthiest ways to go about having family dinner.  if only it were that easy   I suspect that I am not alone in this dilemma of trying to get dinner on the table the fastest and easiest way. I am one to really value a family dinner time, and insist that we all eat together whenever possible. But since I opened the shop and have been working all open hours myself, with few exceptions, home made dinners eaten as a family are becoming few and far between.  these 2 ingredients make it YUMMY Then my youngest asked for a dinner I haven't cooked in ages. It is a dinner I learned from hubby's family - a staple of Caribbean cooking - Stewed Chicken and Rice and Beans. It taste...