February Instant Pot Extravaganza

This February I decided to do an entire month of Instant Pot meals, minus the weekends and Deadpool Day (February 14th) because February is the shortest month.  I needed to find 19 meals to make.   I looked through my Instant Pot books I got from Barnes and Nobel and the Goodwill.  I needed to use the Instant Pot that's been sitting in my garage unopened since Christmas 2017.  Doug and Jenn had bought it for Mom for Christmas that year.  She gave it to me and told me to figure it out.  I decided that I would figure it out.

I went grocery shopping weekly, so I had the ingredients I needed for each meal.  I tried to make a variety of things just so we weren't eating chicken every night.  I even stepped out of my comfort zone to try new things.  I even added some new spices to spice collection.

Wednesday, February 1 (Asian-Style Fish & Vegetables)

I chose to use tilapia because it's a cheap fish and easy to cook with.  I took those out of the freezer around 3 so they could thaw out by dinner time.  Cutting the veggies and getting the liquids mixed up took up the most time for this recipe.  I have never eaten bok choy, so that was different. 

I've never used an Instant Pot before so learning how to use it was interesting.  I had forgotten that it takes time for it to pressurize, cook and then depressurize, so I thought my food was going to be overcooked, lol.  

Turns out, I read the instructions correctly and nothing exploded, nothing got overcooked and nothing burned.  Win!

I cooked the rice separately in a rice cooker so everything would get done at the same time. 

Ben gave the meal a 6 and Doug gave it a 4 because he isn't a huge fan of tilapia. 

Thursday, February 2 (Sausage and Corn Bread Stuffed Peppers)

I chose this recipe for a Thursday because it was quick and easy due to Ben's training after work in Tenino.  There were a couple things I had to chop up, but it was a pretty easy recipe.  I picked three green and one red pepper just in case someone wanted one or the other, I am not sure what the yellow and orange ones taste like when you cook them because I've never had to eat or cook them before.  Maybe we will try them out in another recipe some day?  I used turkey kielbasa as the sausage component.  

This was my second time using the Instant Pot and I felt a little better about using it because this time I used a different setting, so I put my trust in those instructions and hope that it will turn out how it was supposed to.  I did it right!

Believe it or not, this was my first time having stuffed peppers and they really weren't that bad.  It sure made the house smell good, even hours later, lol.

Ben gave the meal a 4 because of the conflicting flavors and textures and Doug said it was good but never have eaten them with that kind of sausage in it before. 

Friday, February 3 (Salsa Verde Chicken Stew)

I chose this recipe out of my Instant Pot book I got at Barnes and Nobel for $10 several months ago because the corresponding picture of the recipe looked good.  I am a visual food person, I guess.

This was a five-ingredient meal:  black beans, cut up chicken, salsa verde, frozen corn and chopped cilantro.  Six-ingredients if you count the optional avocado as a garnish. 

I've never purchased an avocado, nor did I know if it was ripe or not, (we did keep it in a paper bag for a few days) and I've never had to cut one and serve it with food before.  This was another learning opportunity.

As far as the Instant Pot part, I felt a little more comfortable now that I've done it for the past three day.  It still makes me giggle when it sings to you when you take the lid off. 

Ben gave the meal a 9.5 because he said he didn't know or never has had food before that was a 10.  Doug said he would give it a 7 or an 8.  It reminded hm of the inside of a burrito and is not a fan of the avocado garnish.  I thought the meal was delicious.  We served it with tortilla chips. 

Monday, February 6 (Honey Ginger Ribs)

I picked this recipe because the picture looked good, and we haven't had ribs in a while.  It was a good break from chicken and beef. 

During my afternoon break, I got the marinade put together and the ribs cut up so they could sit in the marinade in the fridge for a few hours.  The marinade was a mixture of green onions, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and some Chinese five-spice.  I've never used hoisin sauce or Chinese five-spice in any of my cooking before. 

I got the beef broth dumped into and piled the ribs inside the Instant Pot and cook it with its directions.  When it was done, I took the ribs out and mixed in some corn starch with the drippings until it thickened.  I added some more hoisin sauce as it finished up. 

I dished them up in our "ramen" bowls and served it with Basmati rice and slices of oranges. 

Ben gave the meal a perfect 10 because the meat was super tender, and the flavors paired well together.  Doug said he would give it an 8 because he thought the pork could have uses something more. 

Tuesday, February 7 (Italian Sausage and Penne Pasta)

This recipe's picture looked really good, and I knew I needed to make a pasta dish soon, so this was the first pasta dish on the docket. 

Around 5ish, I started cutting up the head of broccoli and the onion while Mom called to complain about the car accident on 507 on her way home.  I guess the car hit some sleet and flipped over on its top into the ditch. 

I browned the Italian sausage on sauté mode, added the onions, garlic, dry spices and mixed it until it was well blended.  I dumped in the two cans of diced tomatoes, water and pasta and mixed those together well.  I put the lid on, secured it, made sure the valve was in the correct spot and let it do its thang.

Then came the tricky part, once it was done cooking, I had to quick release it, wait for the pressure to subside, take the lid off, dump in the broccoli in, secure the lid and restart it again to get it up to pressure.  I have not had to do that with the Instant Pot before on any recipe. 

I dumped it into some normal bowls, sprinkled a Parmesan/Romano blend on top and ate it.  Om nom nom!

Ben gave the meal an 8 because the sausage gives the pasta, the veggies and the tomatoes a bold flavor and he likes pasta.   Doug said he would give it an 8.5 because he enjoys pasta, tomatoes, the sausage and the spice mixture. 

Wednesday, February 8 (Chicken Adobo)

Ben came home early due to an appointment, so I made him come with me to the post office and the store to pick up some stuff for hosting the Superbowl.  He said we were in Winco too long.

We got home around 6ish, and I started dumping the liquids and spices into the Instant Pot, got the chicken out, coated both sides and places the chicken skin side down into the liquid. I let it cook for 13 minutes.  After it was done, I let it natural release for 10 minutes and when that was done, I plucked the chicken out and set it on a foil covered sheet pan to broil for 5 minutes in the oven.

I served it in our "ramen" bowls and layered the chicken and sauce over a bed of rice.  I added green onions as a garnish that I sliced up the night before to save some time. 

Ben gave the meal a 7 because he thought the meal would be saucier.  He didn't really enjoy the bon0in chicken as well.  Doug said he would give it an 8.5-9 because he thought it was a pretty good dish and it had a lot of flavors. 

Thursday, February 9 (Classic Macaroni and Cheese)

I chose this one because I needed a quick meal due to Ben's training in Tenino.  He call on his way home from work to let me know he was getting gas so that prompted me to get the stuff started in the Instant Pot.

I threw in the noodles, water and salt, put the lid on, set it to seal and pressed manual at three minutes and off it went.  Once it was done, I quick released it, added the evaporated milk, cheese and the rest of the salt and pepper.  I mixed all of it together on sauté mode and then scooped it into three normal bowls. 

This was pretty tasty but waaaaaaaay too much cheese for me.  Ben gave it a 6 for the same reason.  Doug loves eating mac n cheese and doesn't care how cheesy it is, so he gave it an 8.  I had to go on a dog walk with Doug just to walk off the amount of cheese I ate.

Friday, February 10 (Farrelli's Pizza)

We ended up being talked into going to Farrelli's with Erika, Zac and Doug.  I did not make a Instant Pot meal on this evening.  I did make up for it later on during the month.

Monday, February 13 (Chicken Piccata)

This one looked good in the picture and it was easy to make.  I had to take the kitties to the vet again for their follow-up appointment around 5 p.m., so a quick recipe was welcomed.

I salt and peppered the chicken, browned it on sauté mode, dumped in some chicken broth, closed it up, and adjusted the pressure release valve.  I set it to manual and cooked it on high pressure for three minutes.  Meanwhile, I got the lemon juice squeezed, capers drained and parsley tablespooned out.

Fun fact:  I have never used or have eaten capers in or on any meal before tonight.

I enjoyed the sauce a lot and the chicken was perfectly cooked through.  I think I now prefer cooking chicken in the Instant Pot rather than guessing when it's done in the oven.  Ben gave it an 8 because he thought the meat should have been fish, but liked how the sauce was absorbed into the rice.  The lemon and capers paired well but would have paired better with fish.  I told him I would have to make this recipe someday with fish so we can compare the two.  Doug gave it a 7 because it was way too lemony for his taste, but other than that, he said it was good. 

Tuesday, February 14 (Deadpool Day, Chimichangas and Lava Cake)

Ben picked up the chimichangas from Don Garcia on the way home from work, while I tried my hand at making lava cake for the first time.  It actually turned out well!  I had to find some glass ramakins from Value Village this past weekend and was lucky to find two.

We watched the first Deadpool movie while we ate dinner.  Ben opened up his Don Julio 1942 because it was his birthday month.  Good times!

Wednesday, February 15 (Italian White Bean Soup)

This was the meal we were supposed to have on Friday, but Erika and Zac decided they wanted to invite us to pizza.

I turned the Instant Pot onto sauté mode and then added oil, minced garlic and crushed red pepper and mixed those together for about a minute.  I turned off sauté mode and added the white beans, a bay leaf and broth.  I secured the lid, closed the pressure valve and cooked it on soup/broth mode.

Once it was done, I let it natural release to depressurize.  I added the kale and cheese and served it in normal bowls.  As an addition, I broiled some sliced crostini bread with some olive oil sprayed on it.

I thought it had good taste, but the beans could have been cooked a little longer than they were.  Ben gave it a 5 because it thought it was bland in taste but liked the beans and kale together.  Doug gave it an 8 and didn't really elaborate on why he gave it that rating. 

Thursday, February 16 (Herbed Lemon Salmon and Lemon Infused Risotto)

The salmon in this dish came from Bob and Bev's house.  Bob caught the fish last year and Bev shared some of it with us because they had plenty and didn't think they would eat it fast enough.  I thanked them for sharing two different types of fish with us.

I got the rice started since it was going to take longer to cook than the fish in the Instant Pot would. Unfortunately, I had the oil on too hot, so my shallots got super crispy really fast, making them super brown.  I dumped in the garlic and risotto and added the chicken broth as it was absorbed.  Sadly, the rice was going to be brown too.  Once it as done, I added the pepper and grated lemon zest.

I prepared the salmon with some salt and pepper, added some butter, rosemary, parsley and basil, placed it on some foiled and curled the edges so the flavors didn't escape.  I topped it with slices of lemon.  I got the Instant Pot ready with the water and fresh dill at the bottom, put the trivet in and set the salmon on top.  I closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on high for three minutes to cook.

I plated the rice and then set the salmon on top and served it to everyone to enjoy.

I am sad that I fried the crap out of the shallots to where it turned the risotto brown, but both had really good flavor and didn't taste burnt at all.  Ben gave it a 7 but had to eat it fast because his training was a little earlier than anticipated.  Doug gave it an 8 and said it was pretty good.  He said next time I should make white risotto instead of brown.  I told him why it was brown, and he said, oh!

Friday, February 17 (Chicken Curry)

I've never made nor consumed curry of any kind or cooked with coconut oil and coconut milk.  A few weeks ago, Doug asked if I could find a curry dish and make it.  I told him I would look and actually found one that didn't seem too hard to make. 

I got all of the ingredients out and started cutting up the onions and chicken and putting the spices in little bowls so all I had to do was just dump everything in when it called for it.  I turned it on sauté mode and put in the coconut oil inside of the pot, added the onions, cinnamon stick, cloves and mix it together very well for about five minutes.  Turned off sauté mode, added in the spices, chopped tomatoes, the coconut milk, salt and mixed it all up.  I closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on high for five minutes to cook. 

Meanwhile, I added the Jasmine Rice to the rice cooker (to save us some time and cleaning), added some coconut milk to it, a little bit of sugar and started the rice cooker. 

I put some coconut milk Jasmine Rice into our "ramen" bowls and added some curry on top of it.  We were hoping that the curry thickened up a bit, but it never did.  We ate it anyway.

I thought it was pretty good.  I could taste the coconut milk and the cloves.  It was a sweet curry rather than a savory/spicy curry.  I just followed the recipe.  Ben gave it a 6.5 because he thought it could have used some spice or something to give it a kick.  Doug didn't come home until 9:00 because he was helping Erika with her car...the oil leak was back, and it stranded her and had to wait for a tow truck.  He did eat some of it later and said it was pretty good for a first-time homemade curry. 

Monday, February 20 (Balsamic Pork Tenderloin and Ben's Birthday)

I found this recipe online.  We haven't had pork for a while so this sounded good to try.  I didn't have any balsamic vinegar though so that was the only thing I had to buy since I purchased a pork tenderloin last month when I was at Winco...I just had to thaw it out. 

I got all of the ingredients out and mixed the brown sugar, water, vinegar, rosemary, garlic and soy sauce and set them aside for now.  I turned on the Instant Pot onto sauté mode and browned the pork.  I turned sauté mode off, dumped in the ingredients, closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on high for 20 minutes to cook. 

Meanwhile, I added the broccoli to the steamer and waited to turn it on because that would get done before the pork.  I asked Ben to get his new air fryer out while I cut up a potato into "chips".  We threw the "chips" into a bowl, threw in some oil and Johnny's and waited until the meat in the Instant Pot was actually cooking.  I turned the broccoli and the potatoes on to cook.  Everything peeped roughly at the same time, and I let the Instant Pot come to a natural release.  I added some cornstarch to the drippings and once that thickened up, I drizzled some over the pork before I served it.  

I added the food to a plate with a side of ketchup for the "chips" and served it to everyone. 

I enjoyed the flavors of the meat.  You could taste the rosemary, the vinegar and the brown sugar.  I would give the entire meal an 8 because it was all tasty.  Ben gave it an 8 as well because he liked the sweet and savory flavors, they paired well together, and that the meat was tender.  Doug gave it an 8.5 because he liked the spices...it went well with the pork. 

Tuesday, February 21 (Crack Chicken)

I found this recipe online while looking for something different to make.  This one seemed like it would be fun to try.  I had most of the ingredients already but had to go get some chicken this afternoon because we ran out of chicken, and I am glad I looked to make sure.

This recipe came in two parts, the "cooking chicken" and the "finishing chicken".  I threw some chicken breasts into the instant pot, added the plethora of spices, the chicken broth, cream cheese and closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on high for 15 minutes to cook, with a 10-minute natural release. 

Meanwhile, I got the bacon bits ready and cut up the green onions.  Next, I added mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, shredded cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce together in a bowl and waited for the Instant Pot to beep and depressurize.  Once it was done with its process, I added the rest of the ingredients to the Instant Pot and mixed together thoroughly. 

I chose to put the mixture on pitas (these were supposed to be the pocket pits, but I was rushed while buying them) instead I had the flatbread version of them, so we had to eat them like tacos. 

I added the food to a plate with a toothpick and served them to everyone. 

I thought the chicken crack worked together great.  The pita wasn't that bad but wished it would been a pocket pita.  Bean gave it a 9 because he really liked the chicken crack and thought it might also be good in a lettuce wrap.  I asked Doug what he thought of it, and he was half asleep with just a couple bites out of his pita.  He did muster up that it was good and was still working on it.

Wednesday, February 22 (Mojo-Marinated Cuban-Style Pork)

I found this recipe in the Instant Pot book I got at the Goodwill.  While I was flipping through recipes, this one looked interesting to try because of the mixture of ingredients.

I actually had to get this one ready the night before.  After last night's dinner, I started getting this one ready to go.  I had taken the pork out to defrost earlier that day.  I made the marinade which consisted of cilantro, orange juice, orange zest, lime juice, mint leaves, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and oil.  I stabbed some holes in the meat, dumped in the mixture into a large container with a lid, placed the meat inside after slooshing it around and put it in the fridge to marinade over night. The next morning, I flipped the meat over and put it back into the fridge. 

I pulled it out of the fridge just before 5, placed the slab of marinated meat into the Instant Pot, closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on the meat/stew mode for 45 minutes to cook, with a 10-mintue natural release. 

Meanwhile, I cooked up some Basmati rice in the rice cooker and boiled some corn on the cob in some butter water.

Once the meat was done, I took it out and let it rest for a few minutes and then served it, rice and the cob or corn in our "ramen" bowls because it looked nice. 

I thought this meal was delicious and even invited Erika and Zac over, but they didn't want to drive over so now we have a ton of leftovers.  Ben gave it a 9 because he thought the flavors were delicious and loved how the meat was so tender.  Doug decided he wasn't hungry, so he put his in the fridge for later.  He ended up eating his food the next day but accidentally threw it on the floor.  Only some of the rice survived.  Lame.

Thursday, February 23 (Chunky Ranch Potatoes)

This recipe intrigued me because it was simple and looked like a great one for a Thursday for when Ben goes to training. 

I got the potatoes out and washed them really well and cut them into quarters.  I had Ben put some water and salt into the Instant Pot, we tossed the potatoes in and mixed it all together.  I closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on manual for 5 minutes to cook, with a quick release. 

I got out the grated Parmesan cheese, the ranch dressing and I added bacon bit to the mix even though it didn't call for it.  I thought potatoes...bacon bits please!

Once it was done, I dumped everything together and served it in a normal bowl with some cut up chives on top. 

This meal was simple and delicious.  In know it's more of a side, but we've been having full meals this week and I wanted a different kind of dish that didn't yield leftovers.  Ben gave it an 8 because he liked it and was simple as well as he loves potatoes.  Doug also gave it an 8 because he liked the combo of flavors. 

Friday, February 24 (Asian Chicken and Noodles (aka Pad Thai))

This recipe I took out of the book I got from Barnes and Nobel for $10.  I saw what the food was supposed to look like in the photo and was intrigued.  It looked really good.  I can tell you I've ever had Pad Thai because I really don't frequent Asian food restaurants very much.  When I do, I usually order orange chicken and fried rice or something like that.  

I took the chicken out of the fridge; I had left it over night to thaw out.  I cut it up into 1-inch cubes, threw in some oil in the Instant Pot, pressed sauté mode and browned the chicken for a few minutes.

I added the chicken broth and the stir fry sauce and mixed it up as best I could, I added the uncooked Pad Thai rice noodles on top, followed by the frozen stir fry veggie mix.  I closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on manual for 2 minutes to cook, with a quick release.  

I served them in our "ramen" bowls. 

I thought it could have used less salt, it was a bit salty for my taste...so probably next time find a jar of less salty stir fry sauce and maybe add in raw veggies at the end because I like crunch and not cooked veggies.  Ben gave this meal an 8 because it's Asian and he likes Asian food.  On a serious note, he like the combo of all the ingredients together. 

Sunday, February 26 (Apple Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal)

Yes, I know it isn't a dinner meal, but I thought I would make up for the day Erika and Zac asked us to pizza earlier in February.  I found this recipe online and it sounded tasty.

I took out all of the ingredients the night before and made sure I had everything before I committed to it.  Ben came home from shift that morning and was really excited to eat what I was going to make (I told him not to eat anything when he got home).

I added the water, steel cut oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  I mixed it up really good in the Instant Pot.  I closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on manual for 5 minutes to cook, with a natural release, followed by a 10-minute cool down period. 

I peeled and cut up a large apple and threw that in and stirred it during the cool down period.  I served them up in normal bowls to everyone. 

I like oatmeal so I enjoyed this breakfast meal.  I would give it an 8 because it's not too sweet, not too salty but just right with the apples and other ingredients.  I could see that it wouldn't be sweet enough for some people. Ben said it was good and gave it a 6 because there's too much oat/water ratio for his liking.  I told him it thickens up as it cools down.  Doug also gave it a 6 because he is not really a fan of oatmeal in general, but he at least tried something new.  He did say he liked the chopped up apple and he had no idea it was steel cut oatmeal. 

Monday, February 27 (Memphis-Style Ribs)

I've always wanted to try different BBQ sauces, spice rubs and ways to make our food less bland and have some pop to it.  So far, we've tried Texas-style, Asian-stye and now Memphis-style.  Maybe one day we will try Kansas City-style. 

I took out the ribs the night before so they could thaw and thew them into the fridge that morning to keep them cold.  I debated what to have with them besides your normal baked beans, potato salad, corn bread, etc.  Then I remembered the smashed potatoes and bought some little reds at the store the other day.  I found a quick recipe online and prepared them as such. 

I got all the ingredients together...most of it was spices--paprika, brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, ground mustard, thyme, oregano, celery salt and cayenne pepper and mixed them all up.  I got a mixture of white vinegar and water together, brushed that over the ribs and then rubbed the spices on the from and back of the ribs.  I cut them into sections and put them into the Instant Pot.  I closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on manual for 20 minutes to cook, with a 10-minute natural release. 

I got my little reds boiled, threw them into the colander, prepared a baking sheet with oil, put the potatoes on it and smashed them with a bottom of a pint glass.  I added a little bit of salt, garlic and onion salt to them and put them in the oven to bake.  Once they were done, I put some chives on top.  I served them with the ribs on a plate with ketchup and sour cream to those who wanted some.

I enjoyed the dry rub a lot so I will give this meal an 8.  Ben also gave it an 8 because the ribs were not messy, the rub was flavorful, the meat was tender, and he enjoyed the potatoes with chives and the sour cream.  Doug gave it a 9 because he liked how the meat fell off the bones. 

Tuesday, February 28 (Barbecue Beef Sandwiches)

As the finale of the Instant Pot meals, I chose a beef dish that sounded easy to make and looked good in the cookbook pictures.  I took out the beef hunk the night before so it could thaw out.  I put it in the fridge as soon as I got up the next morning.  I already had the potato chips, cole slaw and the pickle spears so I knew that's what we were going to have with it.  Something easy peasy.  I could have made baked beans to go with it but decided not to.

I got all the ingredients together.  The oil, BBQ sauce and the beef broth.  The rest of it was spices.  It called for two tablespoons of southwest seasoning, but I had nothing of the sort.  I looked to see what was in southwest seasoning and made my own.  That included, chili powder, paprika, ground coriander, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper...I added some chipotle spice just for fun.  I rubbed that on both sides of the beef hunk.  

I cut the beef hunk into two pieces and put them into the Instant Pot with the oil.  I browned both sides on sauté mode and then placed it on a plate.  I added beef broth and BBQ sauce to put in the pot and mixed it together.  I put the beef hunks back into the pot, covered them up with the "sauce".  I closed the lid, made sure the pressure valve was in the right spot, turned it on manual for 60 minutes to cook, with a 15-minute natural release.  

I got the buns and cole slaw out and when the Instant Pot was done with its natural release, I threw the hunks of beef into a bowl and shredded them with my wolverine claws.  Once, shredded, I added a cup of BBQ sauce and mixed it together.  I slapped it on some brown hamburger buns and served everyone some cole slaw, dill pickle spears and a handful of Wavy Lays on a dinner plate. 

I am not a fan of cole slaw, so I opted for a slice of cheddar cheese on mine.  Overall, I gave the meal a 7.5.  Ben gave the meal a 7, thought it was reminiscent of our pulled pork adventures, he really liked the bun, he said it gave it a fancy touch with the oats on top.  Doug said it was good and gave it an 8.  He also said the bun was interesting.  I told both of them that it was just old-fashioned brown bread.  It is a tad bit sweeter than normal brad because of the molasses. 

I had a great time learning how to use the Instant Pot.  It cut cooking time in half with traditional meals you put in the oven or the crockpot.  I tried a lot of different foods and spices...some I've never had before.  Being able to work from home has giving me a lot more time to make better dinners due to no commute and more time to be creative.  At this point, I am not sure what I will be doing next February.  Ben and I did get an air fryer so we will be using that and the Instant Pot throughout the year.  I will have to come up with some ideas.

Until next time!

Next Adventure:  South Thurston Crab Feed and Grandma Karen's St. Patrick's Day Birthday Party

Celebration of Life: Remembering Jean Fitzgerald

Since the spring/summer of 2021, Megan had been going back and forth from Colorado to spend time with her mom, Jean, months at a time.  She was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer, which meant, the outlook wasn't very good, but we all had hope.  At first, I wasn't aware of this but saw Megan's truck in her mom's driveway one day while I was headed home from Rainier.  I was curious on why she wouldn't tell me she was here but there must have been a really good reason why.

I texted her that I saw her truck in Rainier and she said she had been there for a few weeks. She told me the situation and to keep it to myself for a while.  Jean wasn't ready to tell people. I agreed and asked if she was going to be there for a while.  She said yes and could possibly hang out every now and then...probably in Rainier though.  I told her that would be fine.  We could go on walks and rollerblade.  She said she would love that distraction. 

I went out there a few times over the course of four months to walk, rollerblade, and get updates on how Jean is doing and what the next steps were.  It was going to be a rough go, but Jean was determined and so were her daughters.  

Megan went back to Colorado in late August/early September and Kelsey moved up from Texas, stationed herself at JBLM and lived with Jean in Rainier for a while.  Later on, they moved into a house in Lacey while Jean finished up the 2021-2022 school year.  Then it didn't go so well during the late summer of 2022.  Megan and Chaise moved from Colorado to Spokane which made the drive over to Lacey not as bad.  Megan came over a few times to stay with Jean and Kelsey and then that fall she stayed up through into December.

Jean decided she was tired and that it was time to go.  Megan and Kelsey were sitting by her side when she told them that.  I can't imagine hearing a loved one tell me that.  Megan asked her if she could hold on just one more day because it was Kelsey's birthday on the 27th.  She said she would.  The next day, Monday, November 28th, she slipped away while sleeping and both girls were next to her, holding her hand.  Again, I can't imagine how they felt or what they experienced when their mom took her last breath.  She didn't want to leave, especially on her youngest daughter's birthday. 

I read Megan's post and was heartbroken for them.  I knew Jean was Megan's best friend and they talked just about every day.  Megan told me that was going to be the hardest part...not being able to talk to her again.  I understood the pain not being able to talk to my grandmother Eileen anymore.

I met up with Megan in early December to visit for a bit.  She was overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork there was when someone passed away.  She said there was so much to do.  I've never lost a parent before, so I imagine there is a lot of stuff you gotta do as the beneficiaries. We chatted for about an hour before she had to go do some other stuff before heading back to Spokane.  I thanked her for setting aside time to hang out.  She said that they were going to try and have a memorial for Jean sometime in January or February.  I told her to let me know if she needs any help.  We gave each other a hug (we're not really huggers) just because I think she needed one.

I didn't hear from her for a little bit and then she made a Facebook event for her mom's celebration, and I promptly shared it.  I wrote the date on the calendar and immediately started looking for the scarf Jean made me in high school.  I am so thankful I found it after searching through everything. 

The day of the celebration I picked Mom up and we drove to the high school gym.  It was nice to see all the people who came to celebrate Jean.  Megan and Kelsey provided snacks, extra scarfs and cowls available for people to have.  They had a computer set up for a picture slideshow and greeted everyone as they found a place to sit down.  Both Megan and Kelsey had speeches prepared and it was interesting to hear what they had to say about their mom.  They were similar but different.  Megan had a few moments where she had to compose herself.  I don't know how anyone can get through a speech about their loved ones without breaking down. 

A few of Jean's friends from the school stood up there and read kind words and memories they all shared with Jean.  It was nice to hear some of their funny stories.  We concluded the celebration with a short slide show.  Megan and Kelsey thanked everyone for coming and we all got up and mingled around the gym.  I shared some of my stories about Jean with people who would listen. 

This is what I wrote on Facebook later on that evening.  I wanted everyone to know how amazing of a person Jean was to everyone around her:

"This afternoon we had to say goodbye to another person who impacted our little community of Rainier, especially in the school district. There was a great turn out of people which made Megan and Kelsey smile a little more.

I met Jean Fitzgerald through her oldest daughter, Megan back in 1993, while we were in elementary school, I believe it was through Girl Scouts. I was a super shy kid but for some reason we were supposed to be friends. It came easily for us. From then until we could drive, she was our taxi to and from countless events such as various sporting games, practices, away football games, hanging out at friends' houses, -- all while we listened to awful music in that van...that poor van...the literal crap was driven out of it. She juggled many things, work, school, raising two daughters through some tough times and still finding some time for adventures.

I spent a lot of time over at their house when they lived in Rainier. I was always welcomed over there. It was like a second home. Jean always seemed to have food available to whatever group of kids were there at the time, including snacks. The first time I got on the internet was at her house. I remember sitting with Megan at the computer desk listening to that horrible dial up AOL sound followed by the "you've got mail!"

She always had pets around, whether it was a couple of dogs (which you probably saw her waking them around town often), or a bird named Tiki. Speaking of Tiki, let me tell you a story about that Cockatiel and Jean. Back when I was still in high school and Megan was at her first year at WSU, I was asked if I wanted to go with them to McCall for some sort of break, I'm pretty sure it was spring break, and I told them it would be fun, and we hammered out all the details. I was in the back of the van; Kelsey was in the middle section and Jean drove. We were going to stop in Pullman on the way over and pick up Megan. I had never been to Pullman at that point and didn't realize how long of a drive it was. Next to me, nearby, was a box and I didn't want to be super nosey, so I didn't ask what was in it. I was going to wait until Megan joined us. We finally got to Pullman, picked up Megan and finished driving the almost 4 hours to McCall, Idaho. I finally got the nerve to ask what was in the box and Jean said, almost deadpan like, "oh, that's our dead bird Tiki, we're going to bury Tiki in McCall." I said, "so I sat next to a dead bird for like 10 hours?!" Then there was a lot of laughing. (We had a great time in McCall visiting Megan's grandparents,)

I knew she was in the military, but she never talked about it very much. I knew her as Mrs. Fitz the paraeducator. She would tell us stories about her students, their struggles and how she was able to get the information across to them to where they understood it. It does take a special kind of person, with lots of patience, to teach kids with different needs. Jean put in the time to change the lives of these kids. Today, I met one of those kids who needed a little more attention in school to become successful and talked to her a little bit. She said that Mrs. Fitz was her favorite teacher and will miss her dearly.

I've always known Jean to be crafty. She was always working on some sort of project...mostly with yarn. I wore, what I consider an antique now, my orange, black and white scarf she knitted for me while I was in high school. As of this year, that scarf is 25 years old. I tore the house and the garage a part last weekend looking for that scarf before today's celebration of life. It was important to me that I wore that scarf that she made me all those years ago. That was my piece of Jean and my piece of a homemade gift she put time into because she loved doing it. I will keep that scarf forever.

She was surrounded by many friends and family over the years, most of them were co-workers at the school. A lot of those adventures were with them. Lots of brisk walks were had with the reward of a nice, shared lunch or dinner afterwards, some kayaking, horseback riding, hiking Mount Rainier and numerous craft field trips. Jean had many boxes and containers of yarn and fabric, and it blew my mind when I saw them. Megan told us today that her mom had an entire quilt ready to sew together but never got to finish it. My mom said she would put it together for her and Kelsey to keep.

There are never enough words or stories to best remember someone who touched your life whether it was briefly or for many years. It is important to continue telling those stories about those people we lost, some way too soon. Jean touched many lives, donated her time to better others, loved her family and enjoyed being rowdy with her friends.

To Megan and Kelsey, you had a great mom. I will miss her."

Next Adventure:  February Instant Pot Extravaganza 

Ben's Birthday Weekend

Friday, February 17th 

It was going to be another busy weekend and it was Ben's birthday weekend.  He had set up a poker night with his friends at Del's house for Saturday night.  He was excited. On Friday, he decided to take it off because he could since it was his birthday weekend.  He slept in while I was out in the living room working.  The reviews were about an hour and a half late, so it made the morning frustrating.  Ben eventually got up, ate a late breakfast and spent the rest of the day on his game.  After I logged off, I went to the store, took care of a few things and then came home to make chicken curry in the Instant Pot. 

We spent the rest of the night eating food, hanging out and of course going to bed too late.  This weekend is going to be busy!  I am so glad we have a three-day weekend ahead of us!

Saturday, February 18th

I got up, ate some food, started a load of laundry and got ready for Manley's celebration of life. See previous post about that experience.  Ben got ready for his evening at Del's.  Ben wanted to do something fun for his birthday with a bunch of his friends from here and up north.  He also wanted to finalize his groomsmen choices as well.  He put together a group on Facebook and organized it through that.  The breakdown was to hold a poker night at Del's house (he has a professional game table), eat steak and potatoes, beer, liquor, snacks and dude time. 

As I got ready to leave is when Michael and Sven came over to go with Ben to play some disc golf at Woodland Creek, before they went over to Del's house.  After Manley's celebration, I took Dad to TK to pick up Erika's car.  Earlier this week, some of her hoses split and got oil everywhere.  It also stranded her in Westside Olympia on her way to an appointment.  She was pretty mad.  Dad took the car back to his house and I went home. 

I spent the evening cleaning up the house and making cupcakes for Ben's birthday party the next day.

I watched the Kraken beat the Redwings.  Ben and his friends had a great time and Michael was the one who won and cleaned them out.  He and Michael came home around 1:30, we stayed up until 2:30 chatting before going to bed.

Sunday, February 19th

We got up around 9:30, fed Michael and I started the crock pot salsa chicken Ben asked me to make for his birthday "dinner" and put some stuff away.  We thanked Michael for coming and he headed back to Mount Vernon.  I frosted the cupcakes, cut limes, put things into bowls, went and got Erika around 12:15 because she didn't have her car.  Dad was going to drive it over to our house for the party so she could drive it home.  Zac went to Vancouver with his brother and Linda, so he wasn't going to be at the birthday party.  We got back and she helped me decorate the living room and we brought in chairs. 

The crock pot chicken salsa was pretty much done so after we decorated, I got the rest of the toppings taken care of and set everything out on the dining room table.  Everyone arrived around or near 1 p.m.  We dished up, ate, complained that I didn't cook the corn tortillas, so they crumbled when we ate them, ate, talked about funny things and of course, they all lead to poop or poop related things.

We cleaned up the table and I went and got the cupcakes, we sang happy birthday to Ben, ate cupcakes and Ben went over to the couch to open presents.  I got Ben two Dragon Ball Z energy sodas, mostly for the collection aspect of them and a new video game headset that he also could use to listen to music or videos on his phone.  Grandma Karen got him an electric potato peeler because he was so excited about using the one, she let us borrow and claims it is a game changer when peeling potatoes for Thanksgiving.  He was super amped helping me get ready for Thanksgiving with that thing.  His mom got him an air fryer and Mom got him a disc golf gift card.  He was pretty happy with his gifts and thanked everyone coming and for the gifts.

Because it was a Sunday, everyone went home shortly after so they could all get ready for the work week.  Lucky, for some of us, we work for the state and had the next day off because it was President's Day.  Ben and I put stuff away, cleaned up, dish the dishes and I worked on my blog for a bit while we watched the Sea Dragons lose.  Ben fell asleep on the couch for a little bit, and I got in a shower before bedtime.

Monday, February 20th

It was so nice to sleep in and have this extra day to do whatever we wanted to do.  Ben didn't have it off but took it off as a personal day so he could not work on his actual birthday.  When we finally decided to get up, I asked Ben what he wanted for his birthday breakfast.  He said, pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs.  I fed the kitties and went in the kitchen to start breakfast. 

We ate, watched some TV and I convinced Ben, since it was a dry day, if we could go get a geocache not too far from our house.  He said sure.  I justified it with, "we need to walk off our pancakes anyway."  We hopped into the Escape and drove the mile and a half to Wanschers Park near Hicks Lake.  Ben said he had no idea there was a park here.  I told him, I've been here a couple times over the years to grab caches.  The latest being summer 2019.

We found a place to park, in the tiny parking lot, and walked the short distance to I'm Stumped Too (GCA3TWV), just off the paved trail.  We found the correct stump, signed our names and got a photo.  We put it back and I asked Ben if he wanted to get the other one in the park and he said sure.  Along the way, I told him we needed to bring our kayaks here to get the one, Hicks Lake History (GC4RDFD) in the lake.  I told him we would probably come out here again this summer when it got warmer.

We were close to Leprechaun Treasure (GC84XQ6) and I had him lead the rest of the way.  It was an easy grab, he put his name on it and put it back.  We walked back to the Escape and noticed there were more cars in the parking lot.  A lot of them you could tell were hot boxing their cars.  Lame.  We drove home. 

I spent a couple hours going through bins in the garage.  I was looking for the scarf Jean made me when I was in high school.  It was important that I find it so I could wear it at her celebration of life the next weekend. For some reason I couldn't find it.  I rearranged some of the stuff in the garage and vacuumed some of it because they were covered in hair, webs and dust.  Gross!

I watched the Penguins lose and made Instant Pot meal #12, which was Balsamic pork loin, veggies and used Ben's air fryer for the first time to make smashed potatoes.  

I got cleaned up, did the dishes, put stuff away, set my work computer back up (since we had to use both tables for the party) and checked on more place the scarf could have been.  I looked through the container in the closet and FOUND IT!  I was so relieved that I found it.  We prepared for the upcoming short work week. 

HAPPY 37th BIRTHDAY BEN! 

Next Adventure:  Celebration of Life:  Remembering Jean Fitzgerald

Celebration of Life: Remembering Manley Wilbur Goodwin

We received the bad news that Manley passed away in January.  He had been battling spinal cancer for several years.  I was surprised he lasted this long because that kind of cancer is brutal.  That man is tough!  We checked in with Janet and other family members on how he was doing during the duration after his diagnosis.  The last time I physically saw Manley, Ben and I were floating the river during our heat dome back in June 2021.  We floated by the Goodwin property along the Deschutes River and saw many of my extended family members enjoying their day.  I waved and asked how everyone was doing.  He and Janet were sitting at the picnic table watching the grand kids and great grand kids playing in the water. He looked like he was enjoying himself. 

He was a life-long resident of Rainier even though he was born in Centralia, and most, if not all, of the people who lived in Rainier has either known Manley, knew Manley or was related to Manley in some way.  Some of those people might be living in one of his many houses he moved with the Rainier House Movers, some may have had some valuable advice given to them by Manley or had a conversation with him.  Some might remember going over to their house to trick or treat and receiving a can of pop in their Halloween bags as a kid.  Either way, they were blessed to have some part of Manley in their life, whether it was brief or for many years. 

I spent a lot of time with Manley and Janet as a kid.  We would go over to their house at different times of the year to visit, play on the swing set, ride bikes around their dirt road loop and see what kinds of things they were up to.  Manley was usually tinkering with something inside of one of his many shops and outbuildings or tending to his large garden or working on one of his various vehicles.  Occasionally, our cousins would be over there, and we'd spend time playing out in the yard with them.

Grandma Karen's husband, Pat, worked with Manley moving houses.  As a kid, it was fascinating watching him and Manley move their house onto the property they purchased back in the late 1980's. I could not believe that house it onto those trucks and that they didn't fall off. How in the world did he do that?  Expertise, skill and the knowledge...but most importantly, he loved doing it. 

We got the opportunity to pay our respects and reminisce about Manley's incredible life that February afternoon inside the Sportsman's Club.  That man lived 97 and a half years, can you imagine all the things he's seen, done and experienced?  A lot.  His brother-in-law Paul gave his eulogy both at the graveside ceremony and at his celebration of life.  Parts of his eulogy were the same and some were a little different.  We got a demonstration of what 97 and a half years looks like on a measuring tape (my mom's side of the family were construction workers) and there was a song that was sung by Debbie Sullivan (one they sang together as kids at the church).  

Paul set aside time for people to stand up and share their stories about Manley and how he impacted their life.  Most of them had the same theme, Manley would go out of his way to help people because he wanted to help them, he cared about people.  He indeed was one of a kind and will be missed by many people.  It was followed up with a long picture slideshow and food provided by the family.

I helped take tables and chairs down, put away decorations, chatted with a bunch of people that I haven't seen in a long time. It's sad that people passing away brings people together.  We need to have more happy moments rather than sad ones.  It was nice to see that many people, besides family, came to his memorial.  We all were honored to hear his stories, see photos of his life, talk to family members and keeping Manley's legacy living on for more generations.

Next Adventure:  Ben's Birthday Weekend

Superbowl LVII

The season we had just completed had a lot of highs and lows.  Seattle wasn't supposed to do as well as they did and just and just squeaked into the playoffs.   I was glad we made it to the playoffs just to throw off the rest of the NFC teams who also made it.  We were one and done against the stupid 49ers but glad they lost to the Eagles later on.  I didn't want to see a 49er or a Tampa Bay Superbowl.  The Superbowl match up I wanted to see, the Bills and Eagles, instead we got the Chiefs and Eagles.

Ben and I decided we'd host the Superbowl again at our house, for the third time, even though our main TV stopped working and had to use Erika's German TV.  We invited the same people, as usual, and Erika and Zac decided not to come, as usual.  I decided to make pulled park sliders with various types of chips, Trish brought a fruit/veggie platter, and I also made some football dirt cups.  Josh brought some sort of beer sliders and Mom made some of her sugar cookies.  It was quite the spread of food.

I had to go to the party store to get football table covers since that is the only places that has them.  I couldn't seem to find them at any other store which sucked.  I hated driving over to the west side.  I had all of my decorations and food.  Ben and I spent some time rearranging the house, vacuuming and getting things ready to go.  

I also had a fun idea that we were going to try with this group of people.  Each year after I joined UR at work, we've been doing Superbowl shape up and you earn squares to a grid.  You fill in the squares and before the game you choose numbers 0-9 and fill them in on the top and bottom and then fill in your teams.  Typically, this is a gambling game but at work we earn squares (I won in 2018), and I didn't want people to bring money, so we just drew them out of a hat and filled them in.  Whoever won each quarter won a football related prize.  It was pretty straightforward but knew I had to explain it to everyone once the game started.  Of course, Ed made it a big deal and wouldn't shut up about it.  He kinda ruined it for everyone.

Everyone arrived around 2:30 and we all ate, talked about Fantasy Football, hung out and watched some of the commercials. Several people got up a couple times to grab more food or drinks.  I was hoping the game would be a good game.  I am still disappointed the Bills weren't in it.  Instead, we had to watch Patrick Mahomes limp around and Jalen Hurts possibly reinjuring his throwing shoulder.  The silver lining to all of it was that didn't matter who won because a WSU Cougar got a Superbowl ring out of it.

I pulled for the Eagles because they were part of the NFC and I wanted Gardner Minshew to get a Superbowl ring.  Plus, it's been a while since the Eagles won.  I think everyone was kinda over the Chiefs and Mahomes but both teams featured a Kelce brother, so the media made a big story out of that and their mom.  I just wanted it to be a good game without any weird stuff.  I know the NFL still doesn't know what a catch is but it's the Superbowl...come on!

It started out pretty even keel in Phoenix, Arizona when the first quarter came to an end 7-7.  There was more defense played rather than the exciting offense.  The fans wanted to see a quarterback battle and we weren't getting one.  I did realize that it was the first quarter, and everyone had to get settled in.  

In the second quarter the Eagles took a 14-7 lead with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to AJ Brown.  That got the crowd going because that's what people came to see.  We were hoping Philly's defense would hold up and not allow the Chiefs to score on their next drive.  They held them but, on the Eagle's next drive, the ball was fumbled, and Kansas City capitalized on the mistake tying the game at 14.  Ughh.  The Eagles were able to take a 21-14 lead, Mahomes hurt his high ankle sprain and was not able to do anything and the Eagles were able to take a 10-point lead into halftime with a field goal.  We were all hoping that the Chiefs would have to put int their backup quarterback because it wasn't looking good for Mahomes. 

The halftime entertainment was Rhianna and no one in the house was into her music so it wasn't all that exciting for us.  In fact, we thought it was a dud of a halftime performance and someone else could have been chosen.  The last few halftime performances have been kinda crappy in my eyes.  Bring back the rock and roll music!  

The third quarter opened up with a Kansas City touchdown, from the gimpy Mahomes, which closed that 10-point gap down to three.  We all didn't think he'd be back in the game but with a bunch of tape, probably some pain injections and some adrenaline, he was out there relying on his team to make plays for him.  I wish the Eagles defense played better.  There were several times they had them on third and long and then let them get the yardage they needed to keep going.  So frustrating.  The Eagles got a good run going but was promptly stopped, but managed to get three points out of it, keeping a six-point lead at the end of the third. 

This was getting too close for comfort.  The fourth quarter opened up with another Chief's touchdown. The Eagles were letting Kansas City's offense do whatever they wanted and now lead the game for the first time 28-27.   Philly was forced into a three and out and made a bad decision on the punt. It was returned to the 5-yard line by the Chief's special teams. It looked like the Eagles were falling apart.  Of course, they scored on the next play with a short touchdown pass and an extra point conversion.  They now led the Eagles 35-27.

Hurts led his team down the field and scored a quick touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion which tied up the game at 35 all.  This was shaping up to be an exciting end to the game...at least we were hoping for some excitement.  Sadly, the game ended on a controversial holding call which gave the Chiefs an opportunity to win the game with a field goal.  Superbowl's should never end on a controversial call.   Final score was 35-38.  Not the worst Superbowl but another disappointing one. 

Everyone waited patiently for me to circle our winners on the grid.  The winner of the first quarter was Dad (7-7), the second quarter was Amy (4-4), the third quarter was Josh (1-7) and with the correct final score in the 4th was Mom (8-5).  Now that I have played this game with my family, I will try and have better prizes next year.  I sent some leftovers home with everyone, people picked up their stuff and thanked us for a lovely evening.  I also promised everyone we'd have a better TV next time too.

Ben and I put the tables, the food and chairs away, I vacuumed really quick and then spent the next few hours finishing up laundry, chilling and getting ready for the upcoming work week.

Next Adventure: Celebration of Life:  Remembering Manley Wilbur Goodwin