-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

 DD> Used to be easy when I was a kidlet and the freezer at the time held
 DD> only a pair of ice cube trays and maybe a package of hamburger. Open

 RH> One rental house we had, the freezer had the ice cube tray (singular)
 RH> underneath the food compartment. That couldn't hold much more than a 12
 RH> oz can of frozen orange juice, The door had no shelves. The owner of
 RH> the house let us replace the fridge (took it with us when we moved) so
 RH> we found a $50. "wonder" fridge at a yard sale. Wondered about age,
 RH> brand, how well it would hold up, etc. Still running about 6 years
 RH> later when we sold the place we were living in as Steve joined the
 RH> Army.

Did that first one have the compressor and "works" on top? Or hidden 
underneath? My grandmother's was a Frigidaire w/the compressor and its
other necessaries in a round thing the size of a large hat box perched
on the top. Sure gave off a lot of heat when it was running.

 RH> My mom used to heat a pot of water to boiling, then put it in the
 RH> freezer. After a bit, she would take it out and chip away at the ice. I
 RH> started with a pot of boiling water, then when it had cooled, took it
 RH> out and aimed a hair blow dryer at the ice. Much faster than mom's
 RH> method. (G)

I have a heat gun I got at AutoZone which speeds things along at a nice
clip. It won't get so much use when the new self-defroster arrived and 
the current unit moved to the garage for long-term warehousing.  The more
the door is opened, letting in moist ait, the quicker it frosts up.  Bv)=

 DD> Too bad it's not that easy today. I scored a nice 12.6 cu. ft. self-
 DD> defroster at Best Buy for U$500 delivered and the current box moved to
 DD> the garage.

 RH> Nice! We bought a new fridge around this time in 2018, donated the old
 RH> one to our church. Still running, we just wanted more fridge room.
 RH> Replaced a chest freezer (about 10 c/f) with an upright a couple of
 RH> years ago, gave the chest one to a friend who had the need for one.

I find the uprights more convenient than the older chest freezers. And
easier in the floor space, too.

     88
 
 DD> special for under U$3 ea. Great price and good (also convenient) food.

 RH> I've tried some of the different pre made things from Wegman's when
 RH> Steve has a supper meal. A bit more on the pricey side but they're made
 RH> up fresh and are generous enough to make 2 meals of it.

 DD> I have a number of different deli-departments to choose from for take
 DD> away pre-made meals. Some are great and some are ..... But I like the
 DD> convenience of the frozen Healthy Choice of Stouffer's. Or even good
 DD> ol' Banquet pot pies. No Marie Callender though. I've been burnt too
 DD> often. Can't imagine how that brand got so popular.

 DD> My favourite "hot-deli" take home is a half-pound of Humphrey's
 DD> breaded chicken livers and a pint container of melon chunks - either
 DD> honey-dew
 DD> or muskmelon. A nice lunch that doesn't carb load me so I'm able to
 DD> get things done in the afternoon without a nap.  Bv)=

 RH> Steve likes the chicken livers, I'll eat them but not my favorite meat.
 RH> We'd more than likely have them for supper, with brown rice and a
 RH> salad.

Sometimes a gizzard sneaks in to the kivers - the trays are next to one
another in the hot case. Then Jaspers, the old super-mooch, gets a treat.
I find gizzards to be tough, chewy, and low in flavour. Best use I've
found for them is making dirty rice.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Dirty Dave's Dirty Rice
 Categories: Cajun, Rice, Poultry, Offal, Chilies
      Yield: 4 Servings
 
  1 1/2 c  Louisiana long grain rice;
           - or basmati/Texmati rice
      2 c  Chicken broth
      2 c  Water
      3 tb Oil
    1/2 lb Ground pork
           +=AND=+
    1/2 lb Ground chicken gizzards
           +=OR=+
      1 lb Ground chicken gizzards
      3 sl Bacon; chopped
    1/2 lg Onion; chopped
      2    Celery ribs; chopped
      1    (to 3) jalapenos; seeded,
           - chopped
      1 tb Cajun seasoning *
      2    Green onions; chopped
 
  * I switch back & forth between Louisiana Fish Fry
  (orange container) Products and Tony Chachere's (green
  container) Creole Seasoning - whichever I find in the
  cabinet first.
  
  Cook the rice according to the package instructions,
  but use chicken broth for one third of the cooking
  liquid. So, for example, if the package says to use 3
  cups of water for 1 1/2 cups of rice, use 2 cups of
  water and 1 cup of chicken broth.
  
  Once the rice has finished cooking, remove from heat
  and let sit for 5 minutes. Turn the rice out onto a
  sheet pan and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over it.
  Mix to combine and let cool.
  
  While the rice is cooking, finely chop the chicken
  gizzards, or puree briefly in a blender. In a large pan
  that can eventually hold the rice plus everything else,
  put 1 tb of oil plus the bacon in and cook over medium-
  low heat until the bacon is crispy.
  
  Add the ground pork (if using) and increase the heat to
  high. Allow the meat to brown before stirring. As soon
  as the pork starts to brown, add the final tablespoon
  of oil and add the celery, jalapenos, and onions.
  
  Brown them all over medium-high heat.
  
  You will notice the bottom of the pan is getting crusty.
  Keep it from burning by lowering the heat if needed. Add
  the minced gizzards and cook for a few minutes more.
  
  Add the remaining cup of chicken broth and deglaze the
  pan by scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden
  spoon. Add the Cajun seasoning and turn the heat to high.
  Boil away most of the chicken stock and then add the
  cooked rice. Toss to combine.
  
  Turn off the heat and add the green onions. Toss once
  more to combine and serve hot.
  
  Serves 4.
  
  From: Dirty Dave's adaptive mind - which will file the
  serial numbers off of any recipe and call it his own.
  
  Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen
 
MMMMM

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