Stovetop Tex-Mex Dinner

In recent years, Manhattan has amped up its real Mexican cuisine with good Mexican restaurants. You can't go wrong with Mexican food when you go out to eat!

At home, the closest I get is Tex-Mex. Authentic Mexican cooking isn’t hard, but it takes a lot of steps because every ingredient, including the spices, is fresh and often cooked from scratch. I mean, you grill your chilies and garlic bulbs and sometimes infuse your cooking oils before you start the meal prep. I tend to take shortcuts. :)

Whether I eat real Mexican or Tex-Mex medleys, I love every ingredient in the cuisine: the tomatoes, the grilled beef, the spices, the heat, the vegetables, the beans, the rice, the hot melted cheese, or the warmed tortillas -- what a mish-mash of deliciousness!

Here’s an easy Tex-Mex one-pan dinner:

My Stovetop Tex-Mex Medley Dinner

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground beef, browned in a skillet

1 large onion, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 cup of corn, frozen and thawed

1 can 15-ounce pinto beans (or substitute: black, pink, or Roman beans if you wish.)

2 cans 15-ounce diced tomatoes (I buy the Italian seasoned diced tomatoes)

1 jalapeño pepper, diced (or substitute 8 Hatch or 8 Poblano chile peppers, or an 8 oz can of chile peppers if you wish.) If I have no chile peppers, I’ll carefully use red pepper flakes - a little adds a lot of heat, so don’t get too shake happy!)

Taco seasoning to taste - start with 1 tablespoon.

Select a cheese: (1) Extra Sharp cheddar, or (2) Pepper Jack

Select a starch: (a) Baked potatoes; (b) 2 cups of cooked rice, white or brown; (c) corn or flour tortillas; or (d) tortilla chips

Optional: Sour cream - We omit it.

Garnish with diced onions, tomatoes, chile peppers, lettuce, black olives, and/or green onions.

Directions:

1) Brown the ground beef in a chef-size skillet on the stovetop. Salt and pepper it as it browns.

2) As the ground beef cooks, add the diced onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and chile peppers (or 1 diced jalapeño pepper). After the ground beef is fully cooked, drain any excess liquid. Usually I don’t have any to drain.

3) Next, add the thawed corn, diced tomatoes, and beans.

4) Sprinkle in the taco seasoning to taste. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. If the mixture gets dry, add 1/2 cup of water at a time. Simmering covered with a lid will soften the vegetables and thicken the juices.

5) Top with either extra sharp cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese, as much as you like. Cover with a lid to melt the cheese.

Taco seasoning ingredients

6) Dip the finished mixture over the starch of your choice: a baked potato, tender rice, warmed tortillas, or tortilla chips. Alternatively, you could plate the mixture on top of your starch of choice, then layer on the cheese and pop it into the microwave to melt it.

7) Garnish with the diced crunchies of onions, tomatoes, chile peppers, shredded lettuce, sliced black olives, and/or chopped green onions.

After browning the ground beef on a stovetop, alternately, you could layer the ingredients in a casserole dish to bake in your oven, but simmering it in a 12” chef skillet covered with a lid on a stovetop works in a shorter time with less cleanup. Personally, I’d only bake a casserole if I had to bring it to another house. As I said, I take shortcuts! Below is another ,,,

 💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜Dessert💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜

People either like or hate candy corn. I like it, especially the pumpkin-shaped candy corn. If I eat 2 of them for dessert, I’m satisfied, which is one of the things I like: a little goes a long way. Also, I like the texture: soft and chewy, and it doesn’t stick to your teeth. The flavor is based on honey, butter, sugar, and vanilla. One pumpkin has 30 calories. A serving is 120 calories, but I bet, like me, few people eat more than 2 pieces.

Where do you stand on the candy corn divide?

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Laurence Graff Is A Favorite Jeweler

Laurence Graff designs gorgeous high jewelry, pieces so tasteful and wearable, we wish we could afford them! Let’s do an eye candy roundup featuring a few items from the jeweler’s lovely Laurence Graff Signature Collection that could easily be more than just runway showpieces. Graff combines a classic style with an element of edge that is sooo attractive.

Click on the links above to learn the nitty-gritty details, such as diamond carat weights and prices of the featured individual pieces. Today I’m not covering it, because the pieces are the same price, namely unaffordable to average wage earners. It’s only a matter of degrees -- i.e., the number of yikes for each article! We ordinary folk can admire, yet would consider saving up to buy them ludicrous!

Here’s what we average Janes and Joes who love jewelry can do. Appreciate the craftsmanship, take note of the styles that make our hearts flutter, then find commercial-grade stones in 14k gold that we can save up to buy. Also consider lab-grown diamonds. They are chemically and optically as real as mined diamonds! Purchase a few classic pieces to wear time and again. We don’t need a collection, only a capsule of classic, wearable  jewels that won’t go out of style. Another idea is to only buy the smaller pieces our eyes can see: rings, bracelets, or earrings (when in the bathroom washing our hands, we always look in the mirror). Necklaces are heavier pieces that require more gold, so they are more expensive than rings, earrings, or bangles, often in that order. On a budget, perhaps a matching ring and earrings will suffice? Start with them!

IMHO, saving up for 14k gold is smarter than settling for gold-plated jewelry. With daily wear, gold-plated jewelry wears out in a short time. Gold-plated jewelry typically lasts from 6 months to 2 years, and the longest is about 5 years with daily use. Designer costume jewelry is also a huge waste of money. If shopping for value, save up for a capsule  (not a collection!) of real solid 14k gold jewelry. 18k gold is 75% pure gold, softer, and costs about $200 more per piece than 14k gold, which is 58.3%–58.5% pure gold and harder. Although getting 18k - 22k gold jewelry from a high earner is never disappointing, we want to get the most durable pieces to fit our budgets: pieces we can wear daily that don’t need babying! After splurging on jewelry wear it! 

Cocktail rings and delicate pieces that stay in a box are for rich people, not for SAVVY SHOPPERS who want to get the most bang for their bucks. Wear a splurge every day because you love it!

Without a doubt, Laurence Graff will always be one of my favorite designers. His jewelry is so beautiful it’s inspiring! Click the 1st link below if you want to see more of his jewelry.

Due to algorithms, after writing about Graff jewelry, these gorgeous rings began following me around the internet. Wow, I love them all, ''Fairy godmother!!''*ੈ✩‧₊˚

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Bunker-down Survival Groceries

Readers, let’s play a game!

Whenever there’s an announcement of bad weather that puts everyone in survival mode, scurrying to the supermarket, here are the items I bring home:

My Bare-bones Survival Mode Groceries:

1) eggs

2)  milk

3) bread

5) potatoes

7) frozen vegetables

8) fresh fruit

9) peanut butter

10) Some type of meat - beef, chicken, or ham

If I must stop at 10, these are my bare-bones survival mode groceries. 

But if the alert or crisis gives me more time to shop and the supply chain is optimal, I would also buy:

11) extra sharp cheddar cheese

12) spicy nacho tortilla chips (I know, but I’m addicted!)

13) dried peas, beans, and/or lentils -- in that order. So whatever is left on the supermarket shelf

14) all-purpose flour - in a pinch, I could make my own pasta and dumplings or gravy for the meat and potatoes!

15) dried pasta - because if I don’t have to make it myself

16) Cajun spice -- that would cover salt, pepper, and garlic

17) tofu - Toss into spicy peanut butter noodles or egg drop-like soup.

18) Greek yogurt

19) tomato or vegetable juice 

20) rice

As you can tell, I lean savory over sweets. I like sweets, but I crave salty and umami food and snacks. We’re not headed into bad weather, and yet, I have everything on my list in my kitchen now. It gives someone playing our game a clue to what his/her bunker-down groceries are: the foods you buy time and again, and feel you can’t be without when there is no crisis. In thinking about your list, just eliminate the extras: the treats. Not to get testy, but my dear readers, I’ve already explained the nachos.🙂

Personally, I’d never invest in one of those survival food kits with dried and canned food. I don’t understand the reasoning behind them. They tend to be pricey, and what would it help you to survive a few months after everyone else in the world perishes? And if bunkering down is temporary, which is our game, having to eat that terrible-tasting freeze-dried food, sans being shot into space ... no way! Bunkering down with food you like can lead to an element of fun! Perhaps you have good dinners and chats with family or friends. Maybe you watch a few movies with snacks until the bad weather passes.

This list of 20 comprises my bunker-down survival groceries. What are yours?

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Why Are Eyeglasses So Costly In the USA?

I chose these eyeglasses not for color or shape, but for lightness. They are flexible frames; fortunately, they suit my face.

At 22 years old, I discovered I was nearsighted! You don’t know until someone tries to show you something far away you can’t see, and an eye exam confirms it. I’ve been buying single vision eyeglasses ever since ... to drive!

About 4 years ago, my eye doctor gave me the choice of getting single distance or progressive lenses to improve my nearsighted vision too. I asked him if our eyes stay stronger if we don’t wear glasses. He said, “No, you just get used to not seeing.” :) 

At the time, I chose single vision because to this day, I can read a book and a computer screen without glasses, so I thought I’d rarely reach for them. Humans are inherently lazy! Now in 2026, I decided to get progressive lenses because my vision will only decline, and I don’t buy new glasses every year. My friend, Rhonda, told me that after a period of learning, she is so used to her progressive lenses that she doesn’t notice the adjustments her eyes make to change from near to long-distance vision. Rhonda loves her progressive lenses! Therefore, I'm sold! 

Who knows what all I’m not seeing of our world?

This brings me to the subject of today’s blog: Why are eyeglasses so damn expensive? 

The answer is: Eyeglasses are costly in the USA mainly because a single dominant conglomerate controls most of the eyewear design, manufacturing, retail chains, and vision insurance market. That company’s name is EssilorLuxottica. They own brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada, and Chanel + massive retail chains like LensCrafters and Pearle Vision + vision insurance providers like EyeMed. 

Decades ago, I bought decent frames in optical shops with names I didn’t recognize. Today I see nothing but famous designer names at eyeglass retailers. Designers outsource frame manufacturing while charging licensing fees for their logos. Consumers have the illusion of more choice and pay up to 20 times more than the cost of manufacturing their frames. Add to this the legitimate expense of brick-and-mortar overhead. It all adds up to ticket shock! You rarely spend less than $800 for new frames + lenses + lens treatment add-ons.

Since my like-new titanium semi-frameless rims are lighter and more attractive than anything I wish to pay for in the 5 eyeglass shops I visited including what was on display at my eye clinic, all I really want to buy is new lenses. That’s when I began to feel like I was dealing with racketeers! 

Here are the practices and prices I encountered:

1) Cohen Optical - For single vision lenses with scratch and anti-glare protection: After subtracting a so-called $200 discount -- Cost: $499. I don’t believe that price is discounted!

Olin Frameless at Warby Parker

2) Warby Parker - This merchant requires customers to buy both frames and lenses. They won’t replace lenses on frames you bring in for the stated reason: they lack the tools. I’m skeptical of this explanation, but I also think Warby Parker has a transparent pricing system with an itemized estimate, so customers know exactly what they’ll spend for new eyeglasses. I like W.P.’s $200 Olin Frameless rims I saw on display better than my own frames; however, since I don’t wear my eyeglasses 24/7, I can live with my old frames and pass on the $199 Olin frames. Cost: Warby Parker’s progressive lenses start at $295 to $325, and this price includes both the frames and the multifocal lenses. If you need new frames, not bad.

3) LensCrafters - For single vision lenses with scratch and anti-glare protection: LensCrafters will replace lenses on frames you bring in. Consumers choose 1 of 2 types of glare protection. For my estimate, I opted for the cheaper one and didn’t completely understand what the better glare protection offered. Frankly, I was annoyed by the two tiers. Overcomplicated: Give us the better anti-glare at the better price! Nonetheless, I also think the sales associates at LensCrafters are patient, nice, and straightforward, giving consumers a breakdown of costs. Cost: $309. I was in the store with another customer, and frankly I thought she (at the last minute) was sold a treatment she’ll later regret: photochromic lenses, driving up the price for lenses on her old frames that she dropped off. Her cost: $450 for lenses only.

4) Eyes & Optics NY (inside Metropolitan Hospital) -  For single vision lenses with scratch and anti-glare guard: I would have to pay a $25 lab fee if not buying new frames. Speaking to the sales department by phone, I was given a lower price than in person. Cost: $425 -- the higher quote because I can’t hand my eyeglasses to the unidentified salesperson I talked to on the phone.

5) Mt Sinai NYEE at E 102nd Street -  For single vision lenses with scratch and anti-glare protection; This one I only called and was quoted: Cost: $279 + an extra $25 lab fee for not buying frames.

After checking with these 5 retailers, I returned to my eye clinic at Ryan Health to get the best value available: Using my frames (which I bought about 4 years ago at the clinic), I decided on progressive lenses with scratch and anti-glare protection. Cost: $260. The flexible frames added to the expense and come with a catch: Without buying new frames (remember I bought my old frames at this clinic), nobody is responsible if the lab loses my frames. What!?! Why??? BTW: Single vision lenses would have cost me $90 + add-ons. Absolutely a bargain in this industry!

If you know the frame measurements you need + have a prescription, there are super low-cost eyeglasses for purchase online. Years ago I bought from and reviewed one of them: Eyeglasses.com, as well as, bought eyeglasses from another: Coastal.com -- both of which were good experiences. But you really have to know what to order without the benefit of trying the frames on, or having someone make frame adjustments.

Hey, maybe we’ll resort to the old magnifying glass of bygone eras to read! Starting to have its appeal, no? 

Reading glasses only cost about $10 - $15 at pharmacies for folks who are farsighted.

So what did we learn today, readers? Eyewear seems to be a cash-cow, semi-scam industry😁, and consumers need to keep their guard up! 

Did this blog make your head spin the way the comparisons did mine? I lost 2 days of my life that I’ll never get back; speaking of which, my fingers are crossed that my clinic's lab returns my old eyeglasses.👀🙏 If I’m not wearing them when driving, don't get into the car!

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Leopard Print At Old Navy

Old Navy has magnificent promotions on already reasonable prices. I tend to wear Old Navy dresses in summer, then transition to Old Navy T-shirts and leggings in the fall, and in winter toss on a Uniqlo merino wool or cashmere cardigan or a Lands’ End tunic or sweater as the temperatures drop. It’s a casual smart look that’s machine washable (except for the sweaters). Often ballet flats or a pair of Nike sneakers complete the comfortable look.

How adorable are Old Navy’s (1) high-waisted flared or (2) high-waisted fashion leggings in a leopard print paired with an (3) Old Navy’s Everyday Long-sleeved T-shirt in black? (Of course, both styles of leggings and T-shirts come in other colors too.)

I have to be brutally honest to say, IMHO, the leopard print leggings are more flattering on slender frames than on frames that carry extra pounds. I think for heavier frames, black or navy, i.e., solid darker pants or leggings, are much more flattering, since black is slimming while prints are not. However, if you don’t mind your extra weight showing, you will come across as a playful, accessible person who is a fun dresser! It’s not a bad look. The leggings are opaque, and the size fits the heavier model. Be sure to wear your correct size, not too tight!

Old Navy is a fabulous retailer for casual and activewear dapper apparal. Comfortable and easy-to-care-for clothing never needs to look sloppy! Except for a few formal events, the days when men and women dress in fussy instead of soft, cozy, machine-washable clothing are over!

What are your thoughts on leopard print and/or how to best dress heavier frames?

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On Halloween Night Heads Will Roll

.˚⊹.🎃₊˚𖦹⋆.𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖.˚⊹.🎃₊˚𖦹⋆

Standing in lines, dressed to the nines, a Spooky Halloween Party begins.🎃

Oh, do come in to stay till the end.👻

Walk with me; there’s plenty to see.👀

Like off with their heads, chillin' and dancing till dead!⚰️

The heads will roll, taking their toll.☠️

Catch the blood, sweat, and tears, and missing some ears🩸

What a spirited fight, all day and all night.🌃

Quenching an evil thirst ... every October 31st.🧛‍♂️

When the undead meet the living, it’s all very riveting!🧟‍♀️

Undoubtedly, Gotham is the place to be.🐈‍⬛

To ease any fear, party helpers will stand near.👺

For humans and demons alike, it promises to be a fang-tastic Fright Night!🐺🌕🐾

Attendees will firmly agree; it's an eerie party with a ghoulish motley.😱

Enjoy every spine-tingling scene. 🔪

  

          For a Happy Haunted Howl-o-ween!

.˚⊹.🎃₊˚𖦹⋆.𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖.˚⊹.🎃₊˚𖦹⋆

All photos were taken by me on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, except for 4 nighttime jack-o'-lantern images. Clicking on those 4 images will take to their sources.

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