Chocolate Covered Strawberries

A very quick,  simple and delicious dessert. My daughter and I made these for Mother’s Day. The Semi-sweet chocolate tastes like dark chocolate. These are wonderful for special occasions, goes great with Chardonnay.

Ingredients:

1 pint strawberries, with or without stems
Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate squares (6 squares)
1/4 Cup cream (or milk)

Directions:

1 Wash strawberries and pat dry.
2 Place on paper towels until they reach room temperature.
3 Melt chocolate, and cream in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.
4 Remove from heat and dip each strawberry with a toothpick into chocolate, coating 2/3 of strawberry.
5 Allow excess chocolate to drip off into pan.
6 Place stem side down on waxed paper covered cookie sheet.
7 Refrigerate until set, about 15-20 minutes.

First Year of College

Well, the girl is home from college. First year completed!

I was very excited for her to go to college. Although she didn’t go far, we accompanied  her, and her STUFF to college in August in three crammed SUV’s! When she managed to fit all her STUFF in a dorm room with 2 other room mates, I knew she would do just fine her first year.

She was 27 miles North of us, and we didn’t see her very much the first semester. I remember she told me that the university encouraged Freshman to stay on campus, and refrain from going home too often. I think she wanted to come home more, but she took her college’s advice. Needless to say, the house was quiet and empty without her.

She adjusted well to college life. She really seemed to enjoy her freedom, her friends, and her classes. She kept several Nanny jobs that she had in high school, so she even had a few dollars coming in to fund her gas, and Bonsai Bowl addiction! Instagram kept me “in the know” throughout the year (well about her social life anyway), and iMessage filled the void. She did very well academically this year, and decided to change her major. She made a very wise decision to go with her heart, and God’s calling. She wants to work with children.

Although she’ll miss her college buddies, I think she was looking forward to coming home. As the weeks grew closer to the end of school, we began to see her almost every weekend. Then I realized that she was bringing car loads of STUFF home again. She would come in the door and say “a little help please..(dah!)” The whole family would drop everything for 5 minutes to unload, and she’d be gone again, leaving my living room, and halls full. My husband would just shake his head, looking like a dear in the headlights as she pulled off, wondering how many more trips she would have to make to get all of her STUFF home.

Well it took 3 weekends, and she did an excellent job planning the STUFF trips! She’s home from college for a few weeks and then off to work at a Christian Camp for the summer. I feel like I’ve suddenly been awakened from a pleasant nap. Having her home for a few weeks, I realize that college kids are a little like two-year-olds (but often not as cute!)–they may be independent and a bit more mature, but they are still totally self-centered. While in school they sleep when they want, eat when they want, come and go when they want, put their STUFF where they want (my pantry is a mess again), and answer to nobody. They come home and forget that the rest of us don’t operate that way. The hurricane is back.  My husband and I decided that when she’s home, life is a tad more difficult but also alot more fun. She’s highly entertaining and brings liveliness, laughter and love to our home.

Blueberry Pie

A healthy easy recipe made with fresh blueberries.

INGREDIENTS
Original recipe makes 1 pie
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 tablespoon butter

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, into blueberries.
3. Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2 – 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp edges.
4. Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
5. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Celebrating Motherhood

Ahhhh motherhood! It’s a lifelong career. A job that is loved, but one that steals your heart, your soul, your very being. Don’t get me wrong, it can be so rewarding, but you go into this thing they call “motherhood” blind as a bat!

I must admit, pregnancy for me was actually fun, but as I got closer to my due date I began to realize that I no longer would be able to freely do the things I wanted to do. Honestly, I hated that. I was trading my precious time for an infant.. imagine that? Well, I quickly learned that this attitude was not suited for “motherhood”. I was miserable the first few weeks of being a mother. Every time I went to do something, my child demanded my time. Mama never said it would be like this!!

No wonder there’s such a thing as “postpartum”. I finally accepted that my time was no longer mine, and it would be that way for a very, very long time. Once my revelation kicked in, life changed. I actually began to enjoy motherhood.

How amazing the bond we share with one individual even before birth, an how that bond continues throughout life. Researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel found that visible affection from their mothers had tangible physiological effects on three month old infants. Simply by looking and smiling at each other, moms and babies synchronize their heartbeats to within milliseconds of each other.

Motherhood is so evolving. At first your needed for the very survival of your child, and as they grow you learn to relinquish control, which is detrimental to their survival without you.

Each year we celebrate mothers and their dedication to their children and families. I celebrate Mother’s Day because being a mother is such an integral part of who God wanted me to be. Here is what I’ve learned.

1. Motherhood forces you to be completely selfless. God wanted me to understand that life is not about “me”

2. Motherhood teaches patience, and humility.

3. Motherhood teaches you to love unconditionally.

4. Motherhood teaches you to take one day at a time. Today is not forever, another day looms over the horizon bringing challenges and another opportunity to love.

5. Children are on borrowed time. God has lent them to us for just a short while. They are His. I must do the best I can before they leave the nest.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Chicken and Dumplings

A Hearty, warm dish.

INGREDIENTS
Fully cooked whole Chicken
32    oz. Chicken Broth
1    Celery stalk
1/2    onion chopped
2    Bay leaves
Garlic Salt to taste
1/2    tbsp butter
Parsley
Dumplings
1/2    Cup Flour
1/2    tsp baking powder
1/2    Cup Milk

INSTRUCTIONS
1.    De-bone chicken and put in a large pot. Add Chicken stock, onion, celery, bay leaves, garlic salt. Let cook for 1/2 hour. Remove bay leaves, and add butter.

Dumplings
1.    Combine flour, baking powder, and milk. Mix until you form a soft dough. Roll out dough with a rolling-pin, cut into small squares with a pizza cutter. Add to boiling chicken pot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve in bowls. Yields 4

Outrageous Vegas Part II

Saturday was a beautiful day to enjoy the outdoors. We ate breakfast at a little French Cafe and headed out to the pool where we spent most of the day reading.

We walked over to the Wynn Hotel and had happy hour at La Cave, a small restaurant that specialized in small plate servings. We shared a wine tasting, and some appetizers.

Then on to the reason why we came!! To see Elton John. What a fabulous concert. He is such a talented musician. We screamed every song, so did everyone else, thank God no one could heard us!!

Any Vegas trip would not be complete without a trip to the Vegas Outlet Mall. And so on Sunday we indulged, strolling the outlet South in designer heaven. We got some great deals! We were headed back home, down lonely highway 15 by 1pm.

So yes, Vegas is outrageous with its Hoochie sightings, money guzzling advertising, maze infested Casino interiors, and break your bank drink costs. But I have evolved. I chuckled at the Hoochies, rolled my eyes at the gambling, ordered few drinks, and managed to find the nearest exits to escape the casino and shopping lure.

After all these years visiting Vegas, I’ve finally created my own illusion, and enjoyed Vegas on my terms.

Balsamic Asparagus

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 bunch (pound) fresh asparagus, trimmed
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a large pan, bring water to a boil. Add asparagus, and boil uncovered for 4-5 minutes or until tender. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Drain asparagus and drizzle with balsamic mixture.

Outrageous Vegas

Living in California offers great opportunities to getaway without really going very far. Living here all these years, I’ve never been a fan of Las Vegas. It’s a world of its own. It plays with with your mind, everything is an illusion. Buildings on top of buildings, you don’t know where one casino begins, and one casino ends. It could be 10am in the morning, and your body feels like its 10pm stuck inside the continuous clicking and ringing of the slots. No windows, few exits, blasting air-conditioning, smoke filled…..money hungry losers aimlessly wondering. Not to mention the sweltering 102 degree dry heat! They even have “skinny” mirrors (no joke).

I haven’t been there since 2008. Lots can change in Vegas in only a few years. My “Besty” invited me to see Elton John. We consider this the first trip from our “empty nest” bucket list. So we left on Friday morning.

Yes, the drive is mundane, but it beats a $300 round-trip ticket. We got to catch up with all the particulars…..work, kids, husbands, you know.

We stopped at the Mad Greek Cafe for a highly recommended Greek Salad, and we were back on the road.

We stayed at the Venetian. Beautiful hotel. The suites were the way to go to kick off our little celebration. We settled in and prepared for our adventure.

We dined at Tao Asian Bistro. The Greek salad remnants kept us from ordering main dish items, but the Alaskan crab, asparagus, and shrimp sushi melted in my mouth. We also ordered pork dumplings, and topped it off with blueberry, pomegranate martinis. Great restaurant. Now on to the show.

One word. . . MOTOWN! The group is called Human Nature, and this time it’s not an illusion. Four white guys from Australia. Their voices are out of this world! Their show is sponsored by Smokey Robinson, and they sing Motown music live with a full band, dance moves and all. The one thing I loved is that their show is truly a tribute to all those who contributed to the success of Motown. Incredible show. Don’t miss this if you do Vegas.

Great first day, with great company. The adventure continues . . .

Italian Shrimp Fettuccine

Great Italian dish, and easy to make.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
8 ounces fettuccine
1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot.
Add the mushrooms, green onions, and garlic.
Saute for 1-2 min or until green onions start to soften.
Stir in the tomatoes, parsley and wine.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
Meanwhile, cook the fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions and drain.
Add the shrimp and lemon juice to tomato mixture.
Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink.
Serve over the cooked fettuccine.

Gluten Sensitivity

It’s been 8 months since I went “Wheat Free.”  I gave up wheat to see if I could resolve my stomach pain issues. Giving up wheat also included giving up Gluten because Gluten is wheat’s natural protein. I read the book Wheat Belly, and although I didn’t agree with everything in the book, I had nothing to lose going wheat free, In fact, there were many benefits. ( I didn’t go out of my way to avoid things that contain trace amounts of wheat, soy sauce, or other sauces thickened with flour).  Since that day I have had NO digestive problems, got rid of my tummy, all menopausal symptoms are gone, no cravings for sweets, I sleep better, and I lost 10lbs. My diet is better, but boy do I miss some foods.

Chatting with my brother one day on Facebook, I found out that he changed his diet a few years ago. I remember him in his 30′s “popping Tums”  I always knew that our family had digestive problems, it was the initial cause of my Dad dying at 62! My brother said he didn’t give up wheat, but he just didn’t eat bread anymore, but he still eats cakes, and cookies.That has stuck with me for the past few months, and I started really thinking about the foods that used to upset my digestive system. They were foods like pizza, crusty breads, home-made pasta. Foods like biscuits, cookies, cakes, and fried foods never bothered me (although they are foods that are  not good for you anyway).

I am beginning to believe that my body is sensitive to gluten. I read a great article Gluten – 5 Things you need to know and I realized that I don’t necessarily need to have a completely gluten-free or completely wheat free lifestyle. I just need to stay away from those foods that effect my digestive system. Be careful of Gluten free products. Gluten free foods are generally made with ingredients such as rice, corn, potatoes, sorghum, tapioca and millet, which are higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein and other nutrients than wheat flour. The typical gluten-free ingredients that are used in place of wheat are less nutritious than wheat itself.

So based on all this information, and my food intolerance history, I started to do some research on Gluten, and the types of flours used in certain foods. Wheat flour is the most common flour used in baking. There are different types of wheat flour, and they’re distinguished by the amount of gluten they contain.

Gluten is the wheat’s natural protein, and it’s what gives baked goods their structure. When dough is kneaded, these glutens develop and become firm. Flours made from hard, high-protein varieties of wheat are called strong flours. They have a higher gluten content. Flours made from softer, low-protein wheats are called weak flours, and are lower in gluten. Those breads that effect my stomach are high in gluten. Stretchy dough used to make pizza, rolls, bagels, crusty breads like, Italian and french breads. These are the breads I need to avoid. Listed below are several types of flours and their baking uses. This information helped me to understand the gluten content in baked goods. I’ve finally learned where I fit into the gluten sensitivity spectrum! I will continue to stay away from high gluten content foods like breads, and pastas. I won’t feel so bad justifying a cookie once in a while.
All-Purpose Flour:
All-purpose flour is formulated to have a medium gluten content of around 12 percent or so. This makes it a good middle-of-the-road flour that can be used for a whole range of baking, from crusty breads to fine cakes and pastries. Even so, most professional bakers don’t use all-purpose flour but instead use either bread flour, cake flour or pastry flour, depending on what they are baking.
Bread Flour:
Bread flour is a strong flour, meaning that it has a relatively high gluten content — usually around 13 to 14 percent. A handful of bread flour will feel coarse and will look slightly off-white. Bread flour is used for making crusty breads and rolls, pizza doughs and similar products.
Cake Flour:
Cake flour is made from soft wheat and has a lower gluten content — around 7½ to 9 percent. Its grains are visibly finer than bread flour, and it is much whiter in color. Its fine, soft texture makes it preferable for tender cakes and pastries.
Pastry Flour:
Pastry flour is slightly stronger than cake flour, at around 9 to 10 percent gluten. It can be used for biscuits, muffins, cookies, pie doughs and softer yeast doughs. It has a slightly more off-white color than cake flour.

(Courtesy of  About.com   Photo courtesy of  Going Against the Grain by Melissa Smith)

My Beloved Beantown

I’m so saddened by yet another unnecessary tragedy. Sometimes I wish I could crawl into a hole when these things happen, but I am so drawn to the media. Are we becoming too desensitized to these events?  Watching from our comfortable living rooms, did this really happen, or was I watching a movie? I’m so afraid of feeling nothing.

I’ve come to realize that being so far away from these incidents in mind and body makes me want to be more in touch with those who have experienced it….. to feel their hurt, their pain. The world is real out there, and getting involved when things like this happen by donating time, blood, and funds is great. But there is one thing that would make all the difference …..love.

Love one another. I know, roll your eyes, it sounds so simple. But imaging if there was no hate, only love. Just imagine… it would set you free.

(Photo credit by Chuck Mccollough)

Breakfast Sandwich

Living in a little Boston suburb was awesome growing up. Our town introduced me to the succulent foods of many  heritages. When we were in 7th grade, we had the opportunity to work in an Italian Deli, called Goobalini’s, it was my first job. We worked after school, and opened on Saturday mornings. To this day I still love Italian meats. Here is a sandwiches that we used to make that I still love today.

Rockingham

1 English Muffin
Butter to spread
Gulden’s mustard
Swiss Cheese
Boiled Ham (thinly sliced)

Toast the English Muffin until lightly brown. Spread with butter. Add boiled ham, swiss cheese and mustard. You can melt the cheese, but I like it not melted.

Siblings shape who you are

April 10th was National Sibling Day, to honor the relationships of siblings

About 80 percent of people  have at least one brother or sister. Having a sibling goes a long way toward determining what kind of person you are, or have become. The sibling relationship is also the longest relationship that most people will have in their lives. Many psychoanalysts now believe that people can be shaped as much or more by their siblings than their parents.

My siblings have certainly had an impact on my life. Being a twin brings a whole different light on the sibling situation for me.  My brother is 6 years younger than us, and I’ve always wondered how our twin relationship has impacted him.

Here are some ways that siblings impact your life:

Stress Reducer - Siblings help reduce stress. I was a particularly “home sick” child (wimp) in my younger years. I hated new things, and change. My sister and I did everything together including “Camp Wind-in-the-Pines” Girl Scout camp. Worst trip of my life (no offense to Girl Scout Camp)!  Guess who was there to hold my hand (literally), and console me throughout the trip?  Yup, she hung right in there with me, even if it meant that she had to constantly explain to people why I was crying. What a trooper. Thanks Sis!

Tolerance – Siblings have fights 6 to 10 times an hour depending on the age groups. While these fights might be a headache to parents, they help  provide good training for interacting with peers. No matter what you say or do, your sibling will be there tomorrow at the dinner table.  Siblings learn to negotiate and compromise; and to tolerate the negative emotions that crop up in life. Fighting with my siblings happened often enough to give me strength for what I believed, but it also taught me love and compassion.

Inspire Differences – Some kids strive to be like their siblings, and some strive to be opposite. A sibling can help you find your own identity. My sister certainly helped me do that. My twin has always had a strong sense of nurturing for me and my brother. Sometimes it could be overbearing, but it helped both me and my brother realize that we needed to make our own decisions, independent of one another.

Sibling Jealousy – Young adults who felt their siblings were favored by parents as kids had lower self-esteem, and were more likely to foster feelings of jealousy, and sibling rivalry.  We were blessed to have parents that looked at each of us as individuals. We all brought different talents and abilities to the table, and we were honored specially for those gifts that we had. There was never any measuring, or worrying about making  things equal in my family. It taught us to respect and be proud of our sibling’s special opportunities and accomplishments. To this day, I couldn’t be prouder of both my brother and my sister’s accomplishments.

So in honor of National Sibling Day… Thank you to my siblings for helping make me who I am today.  I love you both!

Drakes Cakes Devil dog update

Hello Devil Dog fans! All is not lost. (courtesy of Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/03/15/devil-dogs-are-coming-back/)

Hostess is moving forward with the sale of Devil Dogs, Yankee Doodles and Yodels to the maker of Little Debbie cakes.

The bankrupt company says it picked McKee Foods as the buyer for the Drake’s cakes after nobody stepped forward with a qualifying bid to top its $27.5 million offer.

The auction scheduled for Friday will be canceled as a result, according to a filing in bankruptcy court. A hearing to approve the sale is scheduled for April 9.

McKee Foods, based in Collegedale, Tenn., isn’t projecting when it plans to have the cakes back on shelves.

“McKee Foods is a family-owned bakery, similar to how Drake’s was established as a family bakery 125 years ago,” CEO Mike McKee noted in a statement. “We have generations of experience in baking, and we will strive to bake the Drake’s cakes, not just for taste and quality, but also to deliver on the memories of the loyal Drake’s fans.”

Separately, Metropoulos & Co., which is teaming up with Apollo Global Management to buy Twinkies and other Hostess cakes such as CupCakes, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, said it hopes to have the cakes back on shelves by this summer. Metropoulos owns Pabst beer. Apollo’s investments include fast-food chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.

Maybe they’ll ship to the West Coast now…. Cheating is imminent.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/03/15/devil-dogs-are-coming-back/#ixzz2PhsOxxvu

When prayer has become depressing

It’s been difficult to pray lately. I know “my help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121:2),” but I have been overwhelmed with anxiety for others. I’m actually starting to lose sleep over others prayer needs.
So I’ve been taking the opportunity in the morning (not at night anymore) to spend time in prayer as I walk the dog, and to pray positively.

I have decided to spend more time focusing on God’s promises than on life’s problems. Prayer should not be based on a feeling, but on a decision of the mind. It’s something we call faith. God would want us to pray like we had faith. Faith that He was truly going to act in our circumstances. God may not answer our prayers the way we want Him to, but we should not fear the outcome “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).

God allows difficulties to come our way, but He also shows us that if we are right with God, we can grow in God’s great power and experience joy and peace even in the midst of difficulties.

Remember to:

Present your requests in-faith/positively (don’t beg or plead)

Ask for guidance

Pray with thankfulness

Don’t forget to pray about your dreams in life.

Go forward believing; hold your head up, and leave your requests to the power and the will of God. If your prayers don’t come true, don’t get depressed and most of all don’t lose hope. Always remember that God may be preparing a better way for you and others. Remember also that in every failure and success there is always a reason. When God closes one door, He opens another.

Three Queen Magi

The bible says they came from “the east” to bring gifts for baby Jesus. Traditionally they were three kings of different nationalities, and they called them the Magi. There is so much mystery surrounding the story of the Three Kings. Who were they? Where did they come from? What relation did they have to each other?

I first noticed the three of them at our church sitting together. They seemed to come out of nowhere. They were very mysterious to me, and I thought it odd that they seemed to know each other, and decided to attend together.  They were three distinct nationalities; Black, Filipino, and Caucasian. Witnessing the presence of the three woman, an immediate spirit came over me, and I had visions of the Magi.  I knew that they were sent by The Lord.

I recently did some research on the Three Kings, and found a website explaining this Filipino tradition:

For Centuries, the magical bearers of gifts for Filipino children were the Three Kings, not Santa Claus. Shoes were brightly polished and left on the window sills with the cleanest socks, fresh from the laundry. The children knew that the Three Kings, on their way to Bethlehem, would pass by their homes to fill their shoes and socks with gifts. Some would thoughtfully leave some straw or dry grass for the camels; if these were gone in the morning, surely the camels must have been terribly hungry. 

The Feast of the Three Kings (Araw ng Tatlong Hari) is celebrated on the First Sunday of January. It is also known as the Pasko ng Matatanda (Feast of the Elderly), the day specially honors senior citizens. The feast is also called “The Epiphany” which commemorates the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi.

They were called Melchor, meaning “king of light”, Gaspar, “the white one”, and Balthazar, “the lord of treasure”. In the Middle Ages, Gaspar was depicted young, Melchor as middle-aged, and Balthazar as ancient. They came bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In the city of Manila, it has been a tradition for decades for the prestigious club Casino Español to organiza\Three Kings’ parade on January 6 or the first Sunday of January. Dressed in royal robes, the Three Kings ride on stately horses as there are no camels in the Philippines. They parade down the block, and end at the clubhouse where children of the Spanish community await them to receive more Christmas gifts. There are gifts prepared for the poor children and orphans, too.

This feast of the Three Kings marks the official end of the liturgical Christmas of the Philippines.   

Source: Pasko by Alejandro and Chorenge

How odd that I would have this vision of Three Kings, and that unbeknown to me, a Filipino tradition was related to the Magi.

Its been over a year now. The three woman continue to bless our church, each bringing and sharing unique, and special gifts that glorify The Lord.

In my mind they are still Three Queen Magi.  Thank you for your “presents.”

Easter traditions

Easter is here. Easter used to be a really big deal in our family when I was little. Easter dresses, bonnets, “patent leathers”, and white gloves were in for little girls, and new suits for boys. Here we are photographed in our Easter best!  The Friday night before Easter was preserved for Easter egg coloring, and Saturday afternoon we always attended all the local Easter egg hunts . Sunday of course was the big day… church. It’s here that  The Real Meaning of Easter solidified my christian belief.

I was still able to keep most of those traditions with my own family, but things are changing now that the kids are older. With my daughter off to college, this will be the first Easter that Easter egg coloring, or having an Easter basket prepared is not a priority. At least to my son and my husband, the Easter festivities have taken a back seat. But all is not lost, my daughter will be home Saturday evening, and I will have everything ready for us to continue our tradition. We don’t buy new dresses or suits anymore, and those days are over for Easter egg hunts, but Easter egg coloring, and The Lord still reign in this family, so we honor Him and all His Glory on Easter Sunday morning!

BEST DARN HAM SANDWICHES

A wonderful Easter appetizer!

2 -12 packages of sweet Hawaiian rolls (the small dinner roll looking ones)
1 1/2 lbs of Virginia ham (NOT honey ham)
12 slices swiss cheese
1 stick of real butter
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions:
You will need two 9 x 13 pans. Place the bottoms of 12 rolls in each pan. Place ham (about 2 shaved slices or so) on the rolls. Cut the cheese slices into 4 parts and place 2 small pieces on each sandwich. Put the dinner roll tops on. In a sauce pan, mix butter, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and poppy seeds. Wait until all butter is melted and then brush the melted mixture over the ham sandwiches. Cover with foil and let sit in fridge for 1 hour or over night. (If you want to bake them right away, you can also.) Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve. They are great hot and even at room temperature Enjoy!

(Courtesy of Pampered Chef)

Boneless Lamb Roast

Well, Easter is only a week away, and one of my favorite cuts of meat is lamb. Costco sells a very good lean boneless leg of lamb. Easter is also the time that we start to break out the grill! This is a great boneless lamb recipe, but you need 24 hours to marinate the lamb.

Ingredients

Marinade:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey
1 whole onion, minced
1 shallot, minced
6 oz. olive oil
1/2 oz soy sauce
2 oz. white wine
1/3 bunch fresh mint
1/4 bunch fresh rosemary
1/4 bunch lemon balm
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Instructions

 For marinade
Mix marinade. Marinate Lamb Roast for 24 hours.

For Grilling
Soak 3/4 bunch of min, rosemary, and lemon balm for 1/2 hr. Place herbs on grill coals. Prepare the roast on the rotisserie. Grill the lamb roast to medium, basting with marinade frequently. Serve with roasted red potatoes.

Relief. . . it’s all relative

There are some things in life that I really hate doing, but when it’s over, there is a sense of relief. Here are some of those things:

Folding laundry
Walking the dog at night when it’s cold out
Dentist visit
Smog check
DMV visit
Putting on the dishwasher
Getting propane for the grill
When taxes are done
Vomiting
Recycling bottles
Getting the dog groomed
Last day of school before summer
Getting off of the plane after a 6 hour flight

Now here are some things that others are relieved about . . .
Pulling into your own driveway after driving your 13-year-old daughter back and forth for weekly chemo treatments
Finding out that your cancer has shrunk
Getting offered a job after searching for 2 years
Finding out your home refinancing has been approved a few months before foreclosure
The rain stops pouring on the make-shift cardboard tent you sleep in
When the Multiple Sclerosis medication has finally kicked in, and you can sleep through the night
Finally coming to grips with losing your 19-year-old son in a car accident
A successful drug intervention involving your 15-year-old niece
Cancer is slowing and you have more time
When you’ve been approved by the doctor for prosthetic legs

. . .it’s all relative.

Gluten Free Peanut butter cookies

These peanut butter cookies have the best flavor! They look and taste just like cookies made with flour. Plus, they are gluten and dairy free!

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 large egg

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2) Mix all three ingredients
3) Scoop out the dough and roll it into one inch balls
4) Place on prepared cookie sheet 2 inches apart
5) Use a flat-bottomed cup to somewhat flatten each dough ball out or press flat with a fork
6) Cook for exactly 9 minutes
7) Once removed from the oven, let the cookies cool for a few minutes before placing them on a cooling rack
8) Recipe should yield about 36 cookies

*Best to eat after they cool (they are firmer)

Inflammatory Foods to avoid

I haven’t given up all of the foods listed here, but giving up wheat and bread has made a huge difference in the inflammatory responses in my gut! Some of these items are ordinary foods that we eat everyday, but eliminating one for a week or two would probably have positive effects on your body. Try it!

1. Avoid Sugar and Refined Starch

Anytime you eat foods containing sugar and refined starch your blood sugar immediately spikes. This includes eating sugar, white bread (really anything that is a white food), lactose, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup and more. You should also avoid agave. Most people think that agave is a “healthy” sugar, but in actuality agave is packed with fructose.

When you continuously eat foods high in sugar and refined starch your blood sugar responses by spiking and this can lead to blood sugar instability and inflammatory responses like headache, fatigue, crankiness, pain etc.

2. Trans Fat

Trans fat is found in any processed foods such as fast foods, fried foods, really anything that comes in a box. Avoid trans fat foods instead eat foods that are fresh, high in vitamins, nutrients and minerals like vegetables.

3. Dairy

Milk is a common allergen that can cause acne, stomach aches, diarrhea, constipation and other inflammatory responses. If you’re looking to get more calcium in your daily consumption then choose kale. Kale has more calcium than milk (90 grams serving) and is better absorbed by the body.

4. Gluten

Many people have sensitivity issues to gluten. Now a days there are many products that are “gluten-free.” I now eat Udi’s bread.

Daylight Saving Adjustment

It’s that time of year again. It’s been a week now, and the adjustment of Daylight Saving in my life has been successful. Good ‘ole Daylight Saving time. For me it’s exciting (it’s the little things that excite me these days). It’s the start of a longer day, and in Southern California it means a few extra hours of sun, warmth, beach. Longer great weather…more hours clocked in the backyard. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an adjustment….your mind plays tricks on you waking up in the dark, and thinking I have more time in the evening because it’s so light out is mind-boggling!

The modern idea of daylight saving was first proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson, and it was first implemented during the First World War. Many countries have used it at various times since then. Although most of the United States used DST throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Congress finally enacted the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which standardized the beginning and end of daylight time for the states that observed it. In 1974 and 1975, the energy crisis moved Congress to enact earlier daylight start times, which were reversed when the crisis was over. Daylight saving time since then had always been in April—until the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ordered the earlier start time to begin in March 2007.

All of this can be quite confusing, especially for those states that don’t observe Daylight Saving (Arizona and Hawaii), and for other countries as well.

Personally for me, I lose an hour, but I gain several beach hours with the hubby on summer Fridays! All of that confusion is worth it!

Courtesy of http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/425861/the_history_of_daylight_savings_time.html

White Bean Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups cooked chicken (I usually use an oven-baked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to save on time), shredded
2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can (4 ounces) green chiles
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 box (32 ounces) chicken broth
Kosher salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
1 lime, juice

Directions:
In a large pot, saute the onion and cook until it starts to become translucent.
Once the onion is done, add shreds of chicken, Great Northern Beans, corn, green chilies (with juice from can), cumin and oregano to the large pot. Stir to combine all of the ingredients and then add the chicken broth.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and juice from one whole lime. (You can add 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro if you desire. I personally don’t like cilantro so I serve it as a side.)
Leave simmering on stove until ready to serve.
Serve with sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded Pepper Jack cheese, avocado or tortilla chips.

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

March is a very strange month. Here in Southern California it’s starting to get warm. It was 80 degrees today, but we still get some cold mornings (as low as 37 degrees). I guess that’s what you get when you live in the desert. So it’s true what they say, in like a lion,out like a lamb?

In spite of our weird weather, I’m praying for warmth, and I’ll begin to post some succulent spring recipes!  Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 lb Brussel Sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
squirt of lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
Garlic Salt
basil
pepper

Instructions

Clean the brussel sprouts by trimming off the ends and peeling the outer layer of the sprout off. Cut each one in half.
In a glass bowl add brussel sprouts olive oil, minced garlic, basil, lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper. Mix and let marinate for 15 minutes.

Heat large skillet over medium high heat.
Once heated, add the halved brussel sprouts to the pan and saute for about 7-8 minutes on each side until the outer part is a caramelized brown and the inside is soft and fully cooked.
Serve.

Grandma’s house

Ahh Grandma’s house! She lived in a small white Cape with a small front yard, and a spacious backyard equipped with very large boulders that framed the property. We climbed them often. Marigolds and Begonias, and maple and oak trees loomed over the yard. It’s still my favorite place today.

Inside, the house was small and cozy, and always smelled like food. Although there was a kitchen on the main floor, we spent most of our time in the downstairs basement, which was completely finished with a full kitchen and bath. The middle floor had 2 bedrooms and a bath. Both Great Grandparents stayed in these rooms for as long as I can remember, until they died.

The living room was also on the main floor, only a few feet from my great-grandmother “Nana”, and it was there that I spent alot of time playing the piano. I would play Sonatina OP.36 No.1 by Muzio Clementi and Nana would yell from her room “B flat, B flat!” It was also where my twin and I learned to sing together in harmony. We sang at Nana’s church often. Nana and I were very close. The same piano sits in my living room today.

The house was always bustling. Neighbors came to visit all the time, and there was family that came from the south and stayed for months at a time. Relatives were always laughing and talkin’ real loud over each other. And there was always food on the stove cooking in a big dutch oven, or something frying in a big black iron skillet.

Grandma’s breakfast specialties included grits, bacon, and fried eggs. She kept a little stainless steel pot next to the stove that contained a very big secret…bacon fat. It was the base of alot of her cooking. It was used to fry eggs, pork chops, and fried chicken, and added to collard greens, and green beans. She made a “mean” apple pie, and I loved her biscuits, which I still cook today.

Grandma is 92 and doing well. I’m 3,000 miles away from her, but I always remember her voice and the little southern drawl from her South Carolina roots. Whenever she was ready to tell you something important she would take both your hands in hers and look you right in the eyes. Her words were always sweet and direct.

The love that filled Grandma’s house spilled over like a fever burning in my soul. My son only visited Grandma’s house a few times in his short life (he’s 14), but he said to me the other day….”When are we going back to Great Grandma’s house, I love going there.” . . .the fever of love still burns.

Texas Chili Dogs – Porchester, NY

Ahhhhhh, Texas Chili Dogs!  A food with a story, and oh so dear to my heart (and stomach)!

No they’re not from Texas, but Port Chester, NY (of all places). Texas Chili is a restaurant that’s been around at least 50 years, although the name and ownership has changed through the years.  It’s a place that my Grandfather and Dad used to frequent when he was a little boy. It’s a “hole in the wall”, my Dad used to say. It’s a small diner that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The house specialty has always been “the Texas”, a split-and-grilled hot dog topped with chili, chopped raw onions, and Gulden’s mustard. If you leave out any of these ingredients, it’s not a “Texas”. What makes this chili dog so tasty is the spicy ground-beef, no-bean chili.

When my Dad was just a boy, he and his friends used to hang out here with older boys that could afford to get a dog. The “Texas” dogs were wrapped in wax paper. Of course the chili would spill onto the wax paper, making the wax paper a much wanted commodity to the younger boys! They would hang around just to get the older boys’ wax paper!

Well my Dad passed on the tradition, and we visited Texas Chili quite often growing up, but we didn’t have to beg for the wax paper. My dad also spent many years trying to copy the chili recipe, and he passed that along as well!  So enjoy!

Ingredients

• • 1 pound 85/15 ground beef
  • 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
  • 4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons Gulden’s mustard
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 small whole red chili peppers
  • Hebrew National or Nathan’s All Beef Hot Dogs
  • Hot Dog buns

---

Instructions

• 1. Cook ground beef in a sauce pan over medium-high heat, chopping beef into fine crumbles and until it is no longer pink; drain well, remove beef from pan.
  2. Sauté onion in hot oil for 5 minutes. Add beef back to pan, along with salt, chili powder, cumin, dry mustard and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup water and next 3 ingredients. Bring to a simmer; cover with lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates.

• Hot Dogs

  1. Slit all beef hot dog down the middle and fry split side down in a lightly oiled or buttered frying pan until hot dog is browned. Put hot dog in toasted bun slit side up. Add Gulden’s mustard, chili, and raw chopped onions. Serve.

Time with Daddy

My daughter loves to write.  I always told her writing and photography go hand in hand. She’s attending college majoring in Communications. I’ve been trying to get her to submit one of her papers to my blog. She finally agreed. So this is her article.

All I remember was that I was definitely supposed to be in school, and you were supposed to be driving me there…. But I knew the way to school and we were not going that way.
We ended up going through a canyon. I would look out the window and see the mountainous mountains above. The sun peaking through the mountain tops. The cars one in the back of the other, but still moving at a fast pace. Where were we going? School was miles away…we had been driving for 20 minutes and school was 6 minutes away from our house. I was going to ask “where were we going” but you were the type of person who never gave a straight answer. I knew I had to just sit and wait until we arrived at our destination.
I remember listening to James Taylor. “In my mind I’m going to Carolina. Can’t you just see the sunshine? Can’t you just feel the moonshine? Ain’t it just like a friend of mine, to hit me from behind? Yes I’m going to Carolina in my mind…” You always loved James Taylor. I could never put my finger on why. He seemed like a country artist with a cool acoustic guitar. You never seemed like the type to enjoy the calming spirit of James Taylor. But I always loved that surprise and spontaneity about you. It reminds me of why I listen to the music I listen to today. Calm, Folk, Indie acoustic music. The kind of music that makes you want to just want to hear silence, the music, and the waves of the beach crashing down on the world.
The sun was going in and out…. kind of like when you can’t make up your mind if you want the teriyaki or the mandarin chicken at Panda Express. It was flipping and flopping through the clouds. It was annoying because we had the windows down and it would be sunny one moment and cloudy the next. It was getting colder as we drove along, and I didn’t have my red cardigan with my school emblem on it because it was sunny and warmer where we lived.
We ended up at the beach and there were not too many kids there…. I had no idea we were going to the beach. It was gloomy out too. I thought…who goes to the beach when it’s gloomy? But of course the answer was simple…. My dad.
The sky was darkened by the clouds and we ate ice cream in the sand on that black, white, and grey patterned Mexican blanket you always keep in your car. I wanted to go in the water, but we only touched it with our feet. And I was in my uniform for school…. For some weird reason that’s all I remember about the entire day. I don’t remember leaving the beach. I don’t remember what you said or your reason for taking the day off and escaping to the beach. I don’t even remember if I went to school after the morning passed….
I knew you spontaneously took me away from school and to the beach just to spend a day with me…..I knew that you thought I would look back on this day and remember how we spent time together, how you pulled me out of school and we went to the beach while it was gloomy. We ate ice cream on a Mexican blanket and put our feet in the water wearing our work/school clothes. I wasn’t 5 you know……just 6.

Burger Slider Patties

Great quick meal.

Ingredients

• Onion Soup Mix packet
• 1 egg
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• American Cheese
• 16 small Hawaiian Rolls
• Special Spread (teaspoon of  each; Mayo, Ketchup, Relish, and a dash of  white Vinegar)
• Lettuce, tomato, (optional)

Preparation

1. In a large bowl combine beef, onion soup mix, egg, and mix well. Roll out flat and thin onto foiled baking sheet.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook for about 10 minutes. Cover with American cheese slices and put back into oven to melt. Cut into 16 1″ squares. Add burger patty to toasted Hawaiian roll.
3. Add spread to patty and serve. Makes 16 patties.

1977 Saturday Night TV Line-up

It was 1977. A Saturday night always meant that I was babysitting for some kid in the neighborhood. That’s what most 12 year old girls were doing on a Saturday night in 1977. I actually enjoyed it. The parent’s left, I played with the kids for about an hour before they went to bed, and then it was popcorn and TV!

The Saturday TV Line-up was awesome! I laughed from 8pm to 11 all by myself!  Here are a few of the shows in the line-up that I loved watching. What were you doing on a Saturday night in 1977?

Thoughts

“For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 2 3:7.

Blogging is all about our thoughts. Since I’ve started blogging I am much more aware of my life experiences and my thoughts on a daily basis, but how often do we catch ourselves before our thoughts become ugly? How often do we allow our minds to justify the things that we shouldn’t do? How often does absolute truth become relative?

We wrestle, and struggle in our minds against world, and when our humanistic thoughts start to follow evil, our mind becomes a battlefield, and we’ve entered spiritual warfare. In all of these aspects lie the very heart of an individual.

So what do we do?
As Christians, we seek to live by the truth and power of God, believing in God’s promised victory. We are not ignorant of the reality of evil, and the destruction that surrounds our world on a daily basis. It is in this process that we will encounter a very real spiritual struggle in our thoughts, and emotions, but we must recognize the strongholds ( 2 COR 10:1-6).

Strongholds are those things that keep our minds going in the wrong direction:
Thoughts that don’t agree with God’s word
Imaginations
Our wishes and wants
Proud thoughts
Assuming
Lust
Worry
Discontentment

Fighting the war
Our weapons of warfare are found in the Wisdom of Christ, God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Make sure you’re wearing the breast of armor every day!

“The spiritual battle takes place in our minds, but the place we give Christ in our hearts determines our victory” ~ Magdalene

Seoul Chicken

A great, easy winter recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken

Thigh, 8 thigh, bone and skin removed
Canola Oil, 2 tbsp
Garlic, 10 cloves
Soy Sauce, 3 tbsp
Honey, 2 tbsp
Ginger, fresh chopped .25 tbsp
Pepper, red or cayenne, 1 tsp
Distilled white vinegar, 1/4 cup

Directions

In small bowl mix vinegar, soy sauce,honey set aside

In Large frying pan place oil and heat to medium high add chicken and cook(brown) turning after about 10 min.

Add garlic, ginger, red pepper and cook stirring 2-3 min

Add vinegar mixture cover and cook 15 min more.

Uncover and cook 1-2 min until sauce thickens a little

Serve over rice.

Number of Servings: 4

Sesame Street Reminisin’

Music has always been a very big part of my life. For me it’s not just the sound of the music, it’s the feeling that it gives you. One of the most memorable, and enjoyable times in my young life that I remember so vividly, is watching Sesame Street (of all things). To this day, the music in Sesame Street makes me feel the same way I felt as a child. Just happy, and warm and like there is no care in the world. I loved the little film segments most of all.

We owe most of the music of many of the little clips to a talented guy named Joe Rasposo. Raposo is best known for the songs he wrote for Sesame Street from its beginning in 1969 through the mid-1970s, and also for a time in the 1980s. He wrote the “Sesame Street Theme” – various versions of which have opened every episode – as well as many of its most popular songs, such as “Bein’ Green”, “C is for Cookie”, “Sing” and “ABC-DEF-GHI”. Most of the music used in Sesame Street’s film segments was also written – and often sung – by Raposo.

The music on Sesame Street consisted of many styles and genres, but it retained its own distinctive sound. I love the  flute and the child-like piano sound that’s used much of his catchy tunes. The sound is so consistent and recognizable that the memories just flood back when I hear the songs. Sesame Street’s songwriters included Joe Raposo, the show’s music director, Jeff Moss, and Christopher Cerf. Many of the songs and clips are stilled played on Sesame Street today.

Thank you for your ingenious talent and for allowing me to share the wonders of Sesame Street with my children. Sit back and enjoy a few of the film segments and songs that just make my soul sing!

[yotube=http://youtu.be/VQPWJabnR3E]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Raposo

I am not my mother’s flip phone!

On more than one occasion I’ve hung up my cell phone in awe with a family member (who will remain nameless) after being asked to look up a phone number, information or directions. “Googling” is a house hold name in my family. It’s your “go to”, “get all”, one stop shop for information. It’s second nature when I need information, and “Siri” is starting to take the reigns! In this day and age with technology right in front of your fingers, there is no excuse, but in all reality it’s a growing concern.

Baby boomers — those born in the U.S. between the years 1946 and 1964 (missed it by a year) — have carried a lot of demographic weight through the years. Boomers are now retiring from the workplace in droves, but without an office, company computer and cell phone, are Boomers keeping up with technology?

It’s not that baby boomers aren’t connected to the internet. According to an August 2011 Pew Internet survey, three out of four boomers between 50 and 64 years old use the Internet. Surprisingly, more than half (53 percent) of American adults age 65 and older are going online.

But not all baby boomers are connected. Among current non-internet users, almost half (48%) say the main reason they don’t go online now is because they don’t think the internet is relevant to them—often saying they don’t want to use the internet and don’t need to use it to get the information they want or conduct the communication they want. Many boomers find it difficult to use the new technologies because of their complexities. Interfaces that are not intuitive with buttons that are too small and not easy to touch, and text that is too small to read make boomers hesitant to adopt smart phones, tablets, netbooks, and especially computers.

There is a growing technology gap within the Baby Boomer generation.

Many Boomers are determined to keep up with technology. They use the Internet often to stay relevant at work and connected with their friends and families. Accessing instant news and weather, and keeping in contact with grandkids and childhood friends is a necessity.

But many Boomers are resisting digital technology, and still long for the printed newspaper and land line connection. Unfortunately they will find fewer and fewer viable options.

Technology moves very quickly, and within a few years, a lack of Internet access and technology ignorance will certainly doom those that don’t conform. Those that don’t conform widen the gap. This gap is what is starting to affect Boomer communication with other Boomers as well as other generations.

Owning a cell phone and checking emails used to be enough to stay connected, but the “flip” phone today is archaic. Most Boomers fail to realize that the technology of a “flip” phone is cumbersome. Flipping back and forth from menu to menu can drive you crazy!! No wonder Boomers have difficulty with the hardware and interface! Smartphones are actually designed for ease of use.

The way that I see it, technology is not just about the hardware, it’s about changing the way we “think”. Smartphones are not just for calling anymore. Boomers still check emails once or twice a day — on their PC at home. When I leave my mother an email, I’m lucky if she checks it in a few days. Many boomers only think of their phones as a voice device, but today it’s much more than that.

My Millennial kids use their smartphones to text, chat, video, search, listen to music, bank, and play games. They do everything but use the phone to talk. They make calls as a last resort, and their voice-mails aren’t even set up!

Boomers will eventually find themselves losing touch with peers, and colleagues, and friends who refuse to text, message, or check email frequently. It becomes increasingly difficult to communicate when the response time is often days or weeks.

So what are some things that you can do (if you’re a Boomer, or have a Boomer parent) to help keep up with technology and keep the gap from widening?

Superbowl Recipe – Outlaw Ribs

To celebrate Superbowl Sunday, I thought it might be appropriate to re-post my rib recipe!  They don’t need to be put on the grill. These are my brother-in-law’s ribs. They’re so good they oughta to be outlawed!!

Outlaw Ribs

---

Ingredients

1 Slab of baby back ribs.

1 /2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Worcester Sauce

1 Cup McKormick Pork Rub

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ Sauce

---

Instructions

1. Add Apple Cider and Worcester Sauce to large pot of water. Boil Rib for 1/2 hour. Remove from pot, let cool a little.
2. Pre Heat oven to 400 degrees.

The Rub

1. Mix together Pork Rub, and brown sugar. Shake over ribs until ribs are covered with rub. Put in a pan and cover with foil. TURN OVEN OFF!! Put Ribs in oven for 3 hours.
2. Grill Ribs (optional) and add BBQ sauce.
   Makes 6 Servings

   ---

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

A really easy but delicious soup to warm the soul!

Chicken:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts tenders
Olive oil
Lime Juice
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Ground cumin
Salt and pepper

Soup:
16oz. Rojo Salsa Medium
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons tomato paste (eyeball it – I use the tomato paste in a tube)
2 (32-ounce) boxes chicken broth or stock
1 cup canned corn (optional)

Recommended toppings:
grated cheese, avocado chunks, crushed tortilla chips, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, sour cream

To prepare the chicken:
Mix chicken in lime juice and olive oil and sprinkle liberally with chili powder, garlic powder and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Place chicken breasts on foil-lined baking sheet. Place in 400 degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes turning until done.

To prepare the soup:
In a large dutch oven over medium high heat, add Salsa.  Add the tomato paste and mix into the Salsa. Add stock and bring up to a boil. Meanwhile shred the chicken into the soup. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the corn. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary. Cover and allow simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve soup in large bowls with recommended toppings.  Enjoy!

Honey Sweet Chicken Wings

Big football game today, perfect day for some sweet, sour and spicy chicken wings!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken wingettes (about 15)
• 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup Mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 tsp pepper flakes
• Flour for coating wings
• 1 tsp cornstarch (mix with a little luke warm water)
• Canola oil for frying
  

Directions

• Do not season wings. Dredge wings in flour and fry until golden brown.
• Combine the ketchup, honey, vinegar, mustard, and pepper flakes and cook in sauce pan for 15 minutes. As it thickens add cornstarch. Cook until thick and bubbly.  Add wings to sauce. Toss to coat quickly. Wings should still be crispy.
• Serve wings on top of a soft piece of white bread. Yield: about 1-1/2 dozen.

Things Remembered – 1970′s

You all know how much I loooove remembering my past. Well it’s time again to reminisce. I’m a child of the 70′s so I thought I would have some fun with some of the items from the 70′s that my kids would just be clueless about!

I know many of you will remember these items, so let’s have some fun.

The good ole’ card catalog

Merlin

A Phone booth. To think that this is a thing of the past

Atari (our video games today puts this to shame)!

A cuckoo clock (I always thought these were creepy)

I don’t even know what it’s called, but it’s so hard to explain what this is to my kids and how it worked with a 45 record without a demonstration!

I know why my mother did this, I just thought it was ridiculous!!!

Such a craze. We had hundreds of these, and we didn’t EVER stick them on anything!!!  They were too valuable for trading.

I hope you had fun going down memory lane. What fun items do you remember from your past?

Until next time…..

Matzo Ball Soup

It’s been a low of 31 degrees here in Southern California this week…Brrrrrrrrr! Here is a great Matzo Ball Soup recipe to warm the body.

INGREDIENTS
4 pieces of chicken (breast, legs, thighs)
Celery and onion for broth
Celery, carrots, garlic for soup
1 can chicken broth
Manischewitz Noodles
Matzo ball mix (follow directions on box)
Cheese cloth

INSTRUCTIONS
Boiling the chicken
1. 4 Pieces of chicken (breast, legs, thighs)
2. water to cover chicken
3. Celery and onion largely cut up

The soup
1. Strain the chicken broth with cheese cloth, discard the onions and celery
2. cut up the chicken and put it back into the strained broth.
3. Add can of chicken broth
4. Add carrots, celery, garlic and onion
5. cook until vegetables are soft
6. Add 1/2 bag of noodles, cook until soft
7. Add Matzo balls, cook for 10 minutes
8. Serve. Makes 6 large bowls

The Little Things

I’ve decided to add a new category to my blog. My blog is all about “sharing”, and as a Christian, it’s my job to share my faith also.

There are so many things that I am thankful for in my life, even the “little things.” There are so many “little things” in this world that The Lord considers valuable (Matthew 6:26), so I’ve decided to call my new category “The little things.”

So join me as I journey through life from a spiritual perspective from time to time.

Crock-Pot Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Glaze

An elegant Beef Tenderloin recipe in the crockpot!

Prep Time: 10 minutesCook Time: up to 4 hours

Crock-Pot Beef Tenderloin Recipe with Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:

1 – 3-4 lb. beef tenderloin, 10 inches long (the thick end of a whole tenderloin)
12 strips thick pepper bacon
1 small onion, sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3/4 cup beef stock
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tb. dijon mustard
2 Tb. sugar
1 Tb. four
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Have the butcher cut a whole tenderloin in half so that you can purchase the thick end (they will usually cut the rest into steaks) or buy a “butt beef tenderloin.”

Salt the pepper the whole tenderloin thoroughly. Lay the bacon strips out on a clean work surface, touching each other, so they create a rectangular sheet of bacon.

Lay the whole tenderloin across the bacon and carefully wrap the bacon ends over the top. Secure the bacon strips by “sewing” toothpicks through the ends.

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Place the whole tenderloin, toothpick-side-down, in the skillet. Brown the bacon on all sides, turning as needed–10 minutes. *This can be done ahead and the seared tenderloin, can be refrigerated for a 1-2 days if needed.

Place the beef tenderloin in a 5-6 quart Crock-Pot and pour the pan drippings over the top. Place the sliced onion, garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs around it. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the whole tenderloin, then cover and turn the Crock-Pot on low. A crock-pot beef tenderloin will be perfectly medium-rare when the temperature reaches 130 degrees F–2-4 hrs, depending on weight and thickness.

Once the temperature reaches 100 degrees, mix the flour and sugar together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the balsamic vinegar and mustard into the sugar until there are no clumps. Then whisk in the beef stock. Pour the mixture around the tenderloin, cover, and continue cooking until 130 degrees F is reached.

At 130 degrees F, remove the whole tenderloin and cover with foil for at least 10 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise to 135 degrees as it rests.

If needed, allow the balsamic glaze to continue simmering until thick.

To serve, remove the toothpicks and slice the tenderloin into thin rounds. Top with rich balsamic glaze.

January Blues

All of the Christmas decor has been put away, the holiday faire and jolly is gone.

January always reminds me of the color blue. It’s a cool, chilling month that floats amongst the dead falling leaves. It’s baron, leaving behind the naked trees of winter. It’s dark, and often cloudy and rainy here in Southern California. I guess not my favorite month, but it is a time of new beginnings.

January is a great time to:

1. Renew

2. Make goals

3. Fail (it’s only the first month)

4. Be enthusiastic

5. Go Cold Turkey

6. Appreciate the past

This month I will try to keep away those January Blues with heart warming blog posts, and soul warming recipes!

New Beginnings

January is a time for beginning a new. We store away the memories of the old year, and look forward to the new. Here is a recap of the memories of 2012:

In January of 2012 we were meeting college application deadlines, and paying application and graduation fees.

In February we attended our annual couples retreat in the desert. It’s the one getaway that I treasure each year. Looking forward to the 2013 retreat.

In March we applied to private High Schools for my son.

In April my daughter responded to her college of choice acceptance letter, and we began attending graduation celebrations.

In May her senior year was winding down. It started to hit me that my daughter was ending her years at home. My son was accepted to his private school choice.

In June my daughter graduated, and I began a new life…..blogging!

In July we went on a family vacation to San Francisco before college send off.

In August we sent our daughter off to college, and my son began High School. I also gave up wheat…another major change to life, but a good one!

In September my son became an only child at home, which I think he enjoys. I lost 5 lbs. in a few weeks!

In October my son started Freshman basketball…major lifestyle change for the whole family. Major change in maturity for my son. He’s adjusted well. I lost another 5 lbs!

In November we saw my daughter for a few days for Thanksgiving.

In December my husband and I went on vacation in Maui, Hawaii for 9 days! It was truly a second honeymoon. A fore-shadow of times to come. I haven’t gained any weight, even with vacation and the holidays.

I’m thankful for each day, and for the Lord’s provision of health, happiness and prosperity!

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Wheat free holiday

My last post glorified holiday food, but as much as I love the foods that I posted on my last blog, there are a few items I can’t eat. That’s ok though, I do want my guests to enjoy their food. Not everyone is inclined to give up wheat.

Giving up wheat is a not a temporary choice. Once your body gets used to functioning without wheat, going back can be detrimental to your system. So sticking to the plan during the holiday season is going to be very important.

It’s also going to be important for me to maintain the weight that I’ve lost since giving up wheat. I will continue to do this by tracking my food with the app MyFitnessPal.

Here are some tips to follow for the holiday:
Don’t allow yourself to get hungry between meals. Eat 3 meals a day, and 2 snacks in between. Choose healthy snacks, try to have your fruits and vegetables and nuts at this time.

Make sure you’re not hungry before going out to a social event. Another blogger that I follow says, “Hunger leads to stupid food choices.” Having a healthy fruit protein shake before an event will help curb your appetite.

Choose healthy foods at events, and stay away from wheat items. Choose fruit instead of cookies and cakes.

Don’t hesitate to bring your own stash of crackers so that you might be able to enjoy that Hummus spread, cheese or chicken salad dish.

Enjoy the holiday food when you can. I am a bit lenient on some items that contain wheat because I don’t eat a lot of it. Like Soy sauce, or a taste of a lightly breaded item, like a stuffed mushroom. I generally eat condiments, salad dressings, and sauces. Do avoid foods that you know upset your system.

Don’t be discouraged, when all else fails, stick to natural foods like hummus, veggies, fruits, salads and shrimp. Some other items that you can eat are cheeses, corn chips, salsa, and guacamole.

Bon Appetite, and Happy Holidays!

It’s all about the spread

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Time with family and friends, and let’s be honest now…food, food, food! It’s all about the spread.

I usually have Christmas at my home. Although I prepare the meal, family and friends participate in the smorgasbord of food, and we always end up with a lovely spread.

Here are a few of my favorite food items and recipes from our Christmas spread. I hope you take with you a few ideas for your Christmas Menu. Merry Christmas!

Healthy Relish Tray

Pigs in a Blanket  Made with Pillsbury Crescent rolls and Oscar Meyer Wiener Dogs

Rosemary Cranberry Spread

Serves 4-6

You will need:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons dried sweetened cranberries
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt

Place all cream cheese into a bowl and using a spoon, fold in all ingredients until well combined.
Serve along side crackers or toasted baguette slices.

Shrimp Cocktail

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

* 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
* 1/4 cup butter or margarine
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 cup milk
* 1 pint of heavy cream
* 8 large sliced white or gold potatoes (about 3 pounds)
* chopped parsley and paprika for garnish

Instructions

Directions
For sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion in hot butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, add cream.
Place half the sliced potatoes in a greased 3-quart rectangular dish. Top with half the sauce. Repeat layers.
Bake, covered, in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more or until potatoes are tender. Let stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 10 servings

Black Pepper-Crusted Standing Rib Roast Au Jus

Ingredients

1 8 1/2-pound standing rib roast (weight with bones), top fat trimmed
Vegetable oil
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons cracked or coarsely ground black pepper
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups low-salt beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
Roasted Red Onions
1 large bunch watercress

Instructions

1 Place roast, fat side up, in roasting pan. Brush exposed ends of roast with vegetable oil. Sprinkle roast lightly all over with salt. Mix 8 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons cracked pepper, minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in small bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons pepper butter for sauce. Spread remaining pepper butter all over top (fat side) of roast. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover roast and reserved pepper butter separately; chill.)

2 Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Roast rib roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125°F for medium-rare, about 2 hours 45 minutes. Transfer roast to platter and cover loosely with foil; let rest 30 minutes (temperature will rise slightly as roast stands).

3 Strain pan juices from roasting pan into measuring cup. Skim off any fat from top of pan juices; discard fat. Return pan juices to roasting pan; set pan over 2 burners. Add broth and wine to roasting pan and boil over high heat until liquid is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, about 6 minutes. Whisk in reserved pepper butter and remaining 4 tablespoons plain butter. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

4 Surround roast with Roasted Red Onions. Garnish with watercress. Slice roast and serve with sauce.

Berries and Sweet Cream – Ruth’s Chris recipe

My favorite dessert. Taste just like Ruth’s Chris recipe!

Ingredients

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar, divided
5 whole Egg Yolks (no whites)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Gran Manier
Fresh Berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries)

Instructions

1. Combine cream with half the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a strong simmer, but don’t boil
2. Whisk egg yolks in a bowl with other half of sugar. Add vanilla extract
3. After wishing on medium for a minute, begin slowly pouring in the hot cream.
4. After all the cream is added, turn off mixer, pour mixture into the top of the double boiler. Cook the sauce in the double boiler over medium heat. Stir gently but constantly as the egg/cream mixture slowly thickens.
5. Watch cream to make sure it doesn’t thicken too much.
6. You can transfer the cream to a container and refrigerate it for several hours.
7. Spoon generously over berries.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

As much as we love to give gifts to our beloved family and friends, I also like to receive gifts. Here are a few of my favorite gifts that I’ve received over the years. It might give you some ideas!

See’s Bridge Mix

Delonghi Lattissma Plus Espresso Maker

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse Gift Card

 

Ugg Boots

LL Bean Slippers

Calphalon Pans

Shower Gloves

What are your favorite gifts?

84 Senseless Deaths

My heart is aching, my head has been in a fog from crying since Friday morning.  I continue to grieve. I am greatly saddened and utterly outraged at the state of our nation. Somehow I feel like we are all responsible in some small way. We all have our personal opinions about gun control, prayer in the schools, denial of our children’s problems, divorce issues, over working, tax issues, employment issues, health issues, mental health issues, political opinions….. the list goes on and on, and innocent people are dying one by one from issues that never get resolved.

Let us not forget those innocent victims who have died this past year. I pray for their families and for the families of those that caused these tragic shootings, as well as our broken nation.

February 22, 2012—Five people were killed in at a Korean health spa in Norcross, Georgia, when a man got into an argument and opened fire inside the facility.

February 26, 2012—Multiple gunmen began firing into a nightclub crown in Jackson, Tennessee, killing one person and injuring 20 others.

February 27, 2012—Three students at Chardon High School in rural Ohio were killed when a classmate opened fire.

March 8, 2012—Two people were killed and seven wounded at a psychiatric hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when a gunman entered the hospital with two semiautomatic handguns and began firing.

March 31, 2012—A gunman opened fire on a crowd of mourners at a North Miami, Florida, funeral home, killing two people and injuring 12 others.

April 2, 2012—A 43-year-old former student at Oikos University in Oakland, California, walked into his former school and killed seven people, “execution-style.” Three people were wounded.

April 6, 2012—Two men went on a deadly shooting spree in Tulsa, Oklahoma, shooting black men at random in an apparently racially motivated attack. Three men died and two were wounded.

May 29, 2012—A man in Seattle, Washington, opened fire in a coffee shop and killed five people and then himself.

July 9, 2012—At a soccer tournament in Wilmington, Delaware, three people were killed, including a 16-year-old player and the event organizer, when multiple gunmen began firing shots, apparently targeting the organizer.

July 20, 2012—James Holmes enters a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises and opens fire with a semi-automatic weapon; twelve people are killed and fifty-eight are wounded.

August 5, 2012—A white supremacist and former Army veteran shot six people to death inside a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before killing himself.

August 14, 2012—Three people were killed at Texas A&M University when a 35-year-old man went on a shooting rampage; one of the dead was a police officer.

September 27, 2012—A 36-year-old man who had just been laid off from Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, Minnesota, entered his former workplace and shot five people to death, and wounded three others before killing himself.

October 21, 2012—45-year-old Radcliffe Frankin Haughton shot three women to death, including his wife, Zina Haughton, and injured four others at a spa in Brookfield, Wisconsin, before killing himself.

December 11, 2012—A 22-year-old began shooting at random at a mall near Portland, Oregon, killing two people and then himself.

December 14, 2012—One man, and possibly more, murders a reported twenty-eight people at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, including twenty children, before killing himself.

(Courtesy of “The Nation”  Nick Myers contributed to research.)

Three Reasons Wheat Makes You Fat, Raises Risk of Diseases

I have found most of the information that I’ve read about wheat to be very informative. Funny how wheat is becoming food that is having an effect on quite a few people all of a sudden. I truly believe that wheat has been genetically manipulated and hybridized, and the ill effects are starting to show on the guinea pigs!  And I do believe that it is the cause of much of our obesity and diabetes today. I had developed over the past 4 years an intolerance to wheat. I have not been tested, but I gave up wheat 5 months ago, just to see what would happen. I was not an overweight person, but the pain was terrible. In a week, I had no more pain, I lost 10lbs so far, I have no more “Wheat belly”, I have no more menopausal symptoms, and I recover unusually quick from illness (colds, flu, etc.). There is something to be said about my metamorphosis!

(courtesy of Indian Country February 27, 2012)

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/mobile/article/three-reasons-wheat-makes-you-fat,-raises-risk-of-diseases-99957

Today’s golden wheat fields differ from those cultivated by our ancestors. In the Huffington Post, Dr. Mark Hyman calls the modern grain “FrankenWheat,” a crop scientifically engineered over the past 50 years to contain what Hyman labels a Super Starch, a Super Gluten and a Super Drug.

Super Starch

Genetic manipulation and hybridization have led to the creation of “dwarf wheat,” Hyman explains. Designed to curb world hunger, these shorter, stubbier and higher yielding wheat plants are loaded with starch and gluten. The man who engineered the crop even won a Nobel Prize. But the invention was a double-edged sword. While it put food in the mouths of millions starving around the world, it also triggered obesity and a host of other diseases.

Now, eating two slices of whole wheat bread will spike your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of sugar, Hyman says.

One reason: dwarf wheat contains excessive levels of the super starch amylopectin A. “This is how we get big fluffy Wonder Bread and Cinnabons,” Hyman writes.

Whole wheat and white flour are now health-wise equivalents. “The biggest scam perpetrated on the unsuspecting public is the inclusion of ‘whole grains’ in many processed foods full of sugar and wheat, giving the food a virtuous glow.”

Eating this sugar-heavy wheat causes inflammation and the storage of belly fat—health risks for obesity, pre-diabetes and diabetes, Hyman warns.

The Super Gluten

Dwarf wheat also contains super gluten—a chemical likely to set off body-wide inflammation. Eating too much can also lead to obesity and diabetes. (And eating too many wheat-based products is easy to do—read on about the addictive Super Drug.)

Is there any rationale behind the gluten-free movement for those who do not suffer from the autoimmune disorder celiac disease (an intolerance to gluten)? According to Hyman there is.

Gluten, he says, is the “sticky protein in wheat that holds bread together and makes it rise.” With double the chromosomes (28) of pre-genetically modified wheat, it is increasingly likely to trigger inflammation and celiac disease, which incites insulin resistance. Thus, it can cause weight gain and diabetes, in addition to more than 55 conditions including autoimmune diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, reflux, cancer, depression, osteoporosis and more.

According to the blog FitSugar.com, a gluten-free diet is famously responsible for helping supermodel Heidi Klum slim down post-baby. Celebrity trainer David Kirsch also calls the substance “awfully bloating.”

Read about numerous other patients who shed weight by adopting a wheat- and gluten-free lifestyle.

The Super Drug

Eating wheat sparks hunger and causes addiction, Hyman says. This is because the food product is formulated with a “Super Drug” or proteins that, when digested in the body, create a drug-induced high.

“National Institutes of Health researchers showed that gluten-derived polypeptides can cross into the brain and bind to the brain’s opiate receptors,” Dr. William Davis, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based preventive cardiologist and author of the book Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health, told the Canadian weekly Maclean’s. “So you get this mild euphoria after eating a product made with whole wheat.”

According to Hyman, these super drugs solicit an addictive response, often including cravings and binge-eating. “No one binges on broccoli, but they binge on cookies or cake.”

Hyman validates his point by noting that naloxone, the drug administered in the emergency room to block a heroin or morphine overdose, can also reduce food addiction. “Binge eaters ate nearly 30 percent less food when given this drug,” he said.

So what are you waiting for? Stop being a guinea pig!

Dog days

I was never a real “pet” person. I never thought that I would be the kind of person that considered my dog anything but a dog. Through the years Sadie has grown on me.

We got her as a puppy back in 2008. She is a Shi-poo (half Shitzu, half poodle). I never wanted a dog, but my family did. I knew I would end up taking the brunt of the responsibility for it. Funny how being a mother has its role, even to other species. I said I would only get a dog if I could pick it out. The neighbor down the street had the cutest little dog, hypoallergenic (no shedding), smart and a great personality. I wanted the same dog, but a female.

Well, we did everything you’re not supposed to do. We got a mixed breed, and a pound puppy!! but we were blessed! Sadie ended up being an awesome dog. She is so smart, and easy to train. I put a hanging bell on the courtyard door and in only a few seconds Sadie was trained to ring the bell to go outside. She still uses it today.

I know you’re not supposed to feed your dog people food, but although we feed her people snacks from time to time, she’s very polite about it. She’s not a nagging beggar dog. In fact, when something falls on the ground she waits for permission to come get it!  When I feed her people snacks and I shake my head and say “all gone”, she walks away.

She has become part of the family. I can’t imagine life without her. In fact, imaging life without her brings tears to my eyes!