Who knew the plastic would melt?? (Obviously not me.)

A few days ago, I was cleaning out the cat litter box and, if you've done that yourself, you know that the process sets loose a variety of lovely fragrances wafting through the house. I decided it called for some incense and candles when I was done, just to freshen things up to match the newly freshened box.

So, I lit a candle in the living room and another in the dining room and grabbed a cone incense for the kitchen where the litter box is. I decided I didn't want it setting on the counter, so I set it on top of my jar of peanut butter to keep it above other things sitting there and to provide for a place the ashes could fall.

Off I went about my day with no further thought on the matter.

Later, I went to the kitchen for something - I can't remember what - and I found what you see in the first photo. At first, I thought it was the base of the cone incense because the lid was still on the jar at the time and just looked like a dark circle - a PERFECT circle. But, when I picked up the jar so that I could flick the cone's remains into the trash, I realized it was a hole. WTF!??!??!!

When I opened the jar up, this is what I saw!!!

All I could do was laugh at how naïve I was. It just never occurred to me that the base of the cone would become SO hot that it would melt through the plastic lid of the peanut butter jar!!! All I knew was that the cone never burned all the way down, so I didn't even think twice about putting it on top of the jar.

Guess who's not going to be doing that any more??

What's the silliest thing you've ever done that would have been a lot more embarrassing if YOU hadn't been the first to notice it?

Both photos were taken by me. My copyright. Jan 2014.

PB&J, Hamburgers and Hot Dogs and Beans

Nothing special to see here today, folks. No tried and true recipes, no new adventures in culinary prowess, just some every day eats with affordable standbys as we reach the end of the monthly economic cycle.


My income is extremely fixed, so when the money's gone, it's gone. Sometimes I make it until the next check, sometimes I don't. 

Things are thinning out a bit right now, so when I went shopping, it was for the most affordable foods. I got some hamburger at the in-town grocer and other items at Dollar Tree. I love Dollar Tree because there are just some foods that you can get there whose prices you can't beat. I get my chicken and beef broths there, my tortillas (seriously - try finding tortillas in your regular grocery for $1.00 - unless you're wanting jumbo sized), sometimes I get eggs, hot dog and hamburger buns (very good and very fresh), 3 liter bottles of sugar free soda, and, lately, 8 oz. bags of shredded cheese. I really feel no reason to pay a higher price for something I can get for only $1.00. Granted, there are things there I won't buy because I can get them cheaper somewhere else (like canned veggies, soups, etc.), but the things I can get for less money there are totally worth it!

So, I have had fewer full-sized meals of late, other than the two I posted recently. And, one of those was made primarily with ingredients obtained from Dollar Tree (cheese and pasta). I made hamburgers a couple of nights with the hamburger and the burger buns and fries I had bought at Dollar Tree (they frequently have frozen fries and tater tots, sometimes hash browns). Twice I had hot dogs (Bar S brand from Dollar Tree both times) with canned baked beans and the hot dog buns I had and a jar of applesauce on the side.

Now, the peanut butter and jelly did not come from Dollar Tree. That's one of those things that I either can get a better value elsewhere or they don't have what I generally use. Because I'm diabetic, I've been buying sugar-free jams and preserves and found a wonderful Triple Fruit Spread at our local Wegmans grocery. Naturally sweet without that sweet intensity so often found in other jellies. As soon as I can, I'm getting more. 

The peanut butter I got at Dollar General; not because it was the best price, but because I happened to be there when I needed some and the price was comparable to others. However, it is by far the best crunchy peanut butter I have ever had!! I LOVE crunchy peanut butter. I'll eat the creamy, but I get no pleasure from eating it. This peanut butter truly lives up to its "crunchy" moniker. These are the crunchiest peanuts I have ever found in peanut butter, bar none!! It's fantastic. I plan to get it there from now on, as long as they have it in stock. It is their brand and I'd love to know who they contract with because it's not like any I've ever had. 

I've been eating whole grain white bread lately. It's actually very good. This last loaf came from Wegmans. Really dense, but not gritty, yet soft like we've all gotten used to bread being. Larger slices, too, so when you're done making your sandwich, it's a sandwich of substance.

I'll eat PB&J for breakfast, as a late night snack, lunch and occasionally for supper. That and tuna fish sandwiches. I'm not really much into eating sandwiches on a regular basis, but if I have good bread on hand and either of those two fillers, I will enjoy having a sandwich instead of making a mess making eggs or pancakes for breakfast.

Unusual Food Combinations

I'm sure there aren't many people who haven't heard of Elvis's love of grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches or that infamous pregnancy craving, pickles and strawberry ice cream (something I thankfully did not have since I like neither of them!) But, they are far from the only unusual food combinations that people might like.

  

Photos by zantastic and Antonio Cavallo -Wikimedia Commons

For example, while I was growing up, I loved putting gravy on my applesauce. I also liked (and still do) applesauce with meatloaf. I went through a stage where I liked cheese and jelly sandwiches, but I still love grilled cheese on raisin bread. Speaking of grilled cheese, tomato soup wasn't my only dunking base. I also would dunk in chocolate milk or soda or iced tea if tomato soup wasn't handy. 

My father liked cold hot dogs dipped in mustard, cold baked beans with raw onions on crackers and raw hamburger sandwiches with a big slice of raw onion (if the ground beef was bought from a butcher - not prepackaged meat). He also liked sausage gravy over pancakes instead of biscuits. My mother would add vinegar to the chili on her plate as well as on her green beans. My grandfather would slice donuts in half like bagels and butter them. 

Photos by the US Govt & Evan-Amos -Wikimedia Commons

Did you ever wonder what other unusual groupings are out there besides those you may have? I decided to take a look to see for myself.

• French Fries dunked in vanilla milkshakes or into honey. (Yeah, really.)
• Tuna fish and ketchup. (Urp! I thought my daughter's tuna and mustard was bad.)
• French Fries dipped in Hawaiian Punch. (French Fries sure do get around.)
• Peanut Butter and bologna sandwiches. (I would never punish PB like that!!)
• Banana and mayo sandwich. (Yeah - there goes Easter dinner.)
• Scrambled eggs and grape jelly. (Oops - I was wrong.)

So, as you can see, unusual food combinations aren't all that uncommon. Maybe not overly appealing, but definitely not uncommon. Therefore, the next time I crave some chili cheese fries or a baked potato loaded with chili, cheese, butter AND sour cream, or ask for my dried beef gravy over my potatoes instead of over my toast, I know I'm not alone in the world!