Goulash

1 pound lean ground beef

1½ - 2 cups macaroni (or other variety) noodles

½ onion, chopped

Garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, to taste

2 cans diced or whole tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

Pepper to taste

Cilantro, optional

Red Pepper flakes, optional

Spray skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Then cook and drain ground beef. In a separate pan, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Sauté onion and garlic. Then add ground beef, tomatoes, sauce, cooked noodles and seasonings. Cook on medium temperature ‘til hot. Serves 4.

Mom’s Basic Tomato Sauce

¼ cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped and diced

2 tsp. minced garlic

3 Tbsp. fresh thyme or 1 Tbsp. dried thyme

3 Tbsp. fresh oregano or 1 Tbsp. dried oregano

3 Tbsp. fresh basil or 1 Tbsp. dried basil

2 28-ounce cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand, with juice (very messy!)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Glob Food…

Growing up, I remember eating a lot of what I call “glob food”—the kind of food you throw together that, when eaten, really sticks to your ribs. Walking in from school, we’d ask, “What’s for dinner?”

“Food!” mom would reply. (AKA “glob food.”) Course, that never satisfied us and we’d press her for more details. I can’t speak for everyone, but whenever I found out we were having Goulash, I was always disappointed. “Goulash?” I’d whine. “We had that last week!”

It’s true. We did eat a lot of Goulash growing up. (Probably not every week, it just seemed that way!) Mom’s recipe is slightly different and includes whole tomatoes vs. diced tomatoes plus no hot spices. (Kids don’t like that.) I’ve revised it over the years for Tony. “It’s easier to microwave a bowl with diced vs. whole tomatoes,” he says. Consider it spousal privilege. In addition, I like hot/spicy food more today than as a kid. (I guess our taste buds really do change as we grow older.) And I like to try different combinations of spices to make this old recipe new again.

The Goatley’s

I can’t recall the first time Allie Goatley shared this recipe with us. Probably the late-seventies, early 80s when mom was watching her children in our home. I think it may have been around the time mom contracted Meningitis. She brought this dish over while mom was convalescing and over the years it has become a friends and family favorite.

We all have such fond memories of the Goatley family. For me, I remember the days as a teenager babysitting the kids. Then in my twenties, I taught them piano. I sure loved those kids—now grown adults. Time flies.

I especially owe a lot to Allie. When I entered college, I often rode with her and we talked about everything together. Most of all, I think she helped keep me on track. As a student advisor for the U of L Business School, she stressed the importance of academics and getting a good education. And I listened, attaining a degree in both English and Russian. Like my parents, I was not going to disappoint Allie!

The Goatley’s were a constant for us. Having our family hundreds of miles away, Allie, Macey, Kelly, Margaret and Paul were part of our extended Kentucky family. One can’t think of our years on Cherrywood or on Arrowshire and not think fondly of the days we spent with the Goatley’s.

Cavatini

1½ pounds lean ground beef

½ onion, chopped

½ green pepper, chopped

Garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, to taste

2 - 3 shakes of Worchester sauce, optional

Either:

1 14-ounce can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

A little water

Salt and pepper, to taste

Or:
Large jar of spaghetti sauce, Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce or Mom’s Basic Tomato Sauce

½ package sliced pepperoni, cut in half

1 - 2 cups noodles, any shape and size

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Spray skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Then cook and drain ground beef. Sauté onion, garlic and green pepper and Worchester sauce (optional). Then add sauce and drained ground beef. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.

In a casserole dish, mix all ingredients together except for the mozzarella cheese. If the casserole seems a little dry, add more sauce. Flatten and then top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese topping is golden brown. Serves 6.

Easy Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

½ - ⅔ small box of spaghetti

½ onion, chopped

Garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, to taste

2 cans diced or whole tomatoes

2 cans light kidney beans, drained

1 chili seasoning mix or envelope (or Chili Seasoning from the Holiday Treats and Gifts section)

Additional chili or cayenne pepper, optional

Cilantro, optional

Red pepper flakes, optional

Spray skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Then cook and drain ground beef. In a separate pan, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Sauté onion and garlic. Then add ground beef, tomatoes, (drained) kidney beans, cooked noodles and seasonings. Simmer on medium temperature ‘til hot. Serves 4.

Fresh Basil & Tomatoes with Penne

Box of penne pasta

1 Tbsp. crushed garlic

⅓ cup olive oil

2 medium size fresh tomatoes, diced, or 1 can diced tomatoes, not drained

½ - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Dash of pepper

Fresh Parmesan, shredded

Cook pasta based on package directions.

In skillet, sauté crushed garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes and basil. When completely heated, pour over pasta and toss well, adding a little pepper, if desired. (If a little dry, add more olive oil.)

This dish was another staple during the winter months of our youth! Again, mom prefers whole tomatoes instead of diced ones—but then you have to mush them. I don’t like doing that because it splatters all over the place!

There’s nothing like chili on a cold blustery evening. I can remember how the simmering chili would permeate through the house. Just before dad got home, mom would make the chili and then call for one of us to set the table. I think I liked the smell of chili better than I did eating it! I was never keen on the large chunks of tomato and often picked through my bowl of chili for the good stuff: the meat! Then I’d feast on bread or crackers (whatever accompanied the chili) and leave enough room in my tummy for dessert: like chocolate chip cookies, cake, or my favorite—hot vanilla or chocolate pudding…

The spaghetti is a new add—maybe since meeting Tony. It’s a kind of pseudo southern/northern thing that we never adhered to until the late ‘80s. But it seems appropriate now.

Like Goulash, chili is an economical dinner to prepare and if you make a double batch, you can get another meal or two out of it. And (everybody knows this), chili ALWAYS tastes better the next day!

There’s no doubt, this is one high maintenance dish. But every now and then, you need a special meal that you can make for family and friends that can feed a lot of people. Lasagna usually “fits the bill,” as they say.

One suggestion for making this recipe a little easier is to use your favorite ready-made spaghetti sauce instead of making it from scratch. That will cut down on the preparation time. In addition, when I follow this particular recipe, it seems a little dry. That shouldn’t be the case if you use plenty of sauce.

Another suggestion is to buy lasagna noodles that don’t have to be pre-cooked. I personally don’t like using them because I think it makes my version of Lasagna a little chewy. But give it a shot. It might work well for you. And again, it’s a lot simpler to use these noodles than messing around with noodles that require cooking first. (Ya do it a couple of times and you’ll know exactly what I mean!)

Lasagna and Cavatini are big hits with our friends. Try one of these recipes the next time you have a get together.

Mom’s Lasagna

1 pound lean ground beef or Italian sausage

9 uncooked lasagna noodles (about 8 ounces)

½ onion, chopped

Garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, to taste

Either:

1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

Or:
Large jar of spaghetti sauce, Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce or Mom’s Basic Tomato Sauce

1 carton (16 ounces) Ricotta or cottage cheese

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes

1½ tsp. salt + 1½ tsp. dried oregano leaves

¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese to top Lasagna

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Spray skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Then cook and drain ground beef.

In a separate pan, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Sauté onion and garlic. Then add sauce and drained ground beef. (If making from scratch, simmer sauce uncovered until mixture is the consistency of spaghetti sauce—about one hour. If using already made sauce, then there’s no need to simmer.) Reserve ½ cup of sauce mixture for the end.

In a bowl, mix cheeses with salt and oregano.

Party Chicken

8 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

8 slices bacon (preferably turkey bacon)

1 package low-fat dried chipped beef

2 cans Campbell’s low sodium Cream of Chicken soup

1 pint low-fat sour cream

½ cup sherry

Wrap each chicken breast with a piece of bacon. Cover the bottom of a flat, greased baking dish with chipped beef. One to two pieces of chipped beef per chicken breast. Then arrange the chicken on top of the chipped beef.

Mix the soup, sour cream and sherry together. Pour over the chicken. Then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Set oven at 275 degrees.

Bake for 3 hours, uncovered. Serve with rice.
Serves 8.

Mom usually serves 1 chicken breast per female guest, and two per male guest. This is a really nice dish for company and can be made up ahead of time.

Note: Chipped beef is very thin and lower in fat and salt than regular chipped beef. You can find it where the canned tuna and canned salmon are located.

Snapshot memories…

A train rumbling in the distance; train tracks running down the middle of Main Street in La Grange

Spring drives down 42 to Henry County and the country market

The pinto station wagon crushed like an accordion in front of the Cherry House in La Grange just before Christmas; mom coming down with meningitis

Potholes galore

Busing; long bus rides down to the inner-city (Byck and Central) and also to Barrett

Clouds of white fur, Duffy banished to the basement

Sliding down the cement wall, covered with pine needles, down to the creek behind our house

“No neckin’ in the bowlin’ alley!!”

Cherokee Park and copperheads

Debbie driving at 16 (most of us learned much later); her car, the shitbird, I mean Sunbird

Shag carpet in the den

Steamboat races on the Ohio River; rides on the Belle of Louisville

David hating Kentucky; graduating early; waving goodbye to us from the bottom of the steps; wearing his corduroy zip up coat and Levis; Waggener gym bag in hand; hair parted down the middle…

Rednecks!

Bruce’s first date with Linda:

Bruce writes: My first date with Linda was memorable. We wanted to go somewhere to eat, but we could not decide where. Linda said she was a good cook and she asked me what I like and I said chicken. She said she would cook fried chicken at my apartment.

She made a whole cut up chicken, and the frying pan was very full. When the pan became hot, the oil/grease started popping out of the pan all over the stove. She set the electric stove on fire!

While she was pouring salt all over the stove to put out the fire, she was saying, “But I really AM a good cook!”

She permanently left a black stain on the bottom of the frying pan.

The chicken was OK…

“Cooking may be as much a means of self-expression as any of the arts.”

--Fannie Farmer

Linda’s Vineyard Chicken

½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

¼ tsp. dried basil

¼ tsp. dried tarragon

¼ tsp. paprika

salt and pepper

4 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned

1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

2 small garlic cloves, finely minced

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup chicken broth

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley (garnish)

Sauté mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter ‘til tender; set aside.

Mix flour, basil, tarragon, paprika, salt and pepper in bowl. Coat chicken with flour mixture.

Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic. Add chicken and sauté on both sides ‘til golden brown.

Pour in wine and chicken broth. Cook ‘til chicken is done, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Transfer chicken to serving platter.

Pour sautéed mushrooms over chicken.

If desired, continue cooking sauce ‘til reduced by half and serve with chicken.

Tomato Dill Soup

7½ Tbsp. butter, divided

½ cup flour

1 cup diced onions

½ tsp. minced garlic

4 cups chicken stock

1 can (29 ounces) tomato purée (or two 15-ounce cans)

1 can (16 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, juices reserved

3 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. dill weed

1 tsp. basil

½ tsp. ground black pepper

½ tsp. chili powder

⅛ tsp. ground red (cayenne) pepper

3 dashes hot pepper sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

To make roux, melt 4½ tablespoons butter in small saucepan. Stir in flour until well blended. Cook over low heat, stirring often, for 3 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy pot. Add onions; cook gently 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook two minutes more.

Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Whisk in roux until stock is thickened and smooth.

Add remaining ingredients, including juice from canned tomatoes. Simmer 30 – 45 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching.

This is a thick soup, but you may adjust to your taste by adding more chicken stock. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Note: So, what’s roux? A cooked mixture of melted butter (or other fat) and flour, used for thickening sauces, soups, gravies, etc.

Mom and Dad-speak…

“Lower the boom on you.”

“Quit your dilly-dallying around.”

“Happy as a clam.”

“Hold the fort down while we’re gone.”

“What I know about that subject won’t add up to a hill of beans.”

“As slow as molasses in January.”

“It’s all gone to Hell in a hand-basket.”

“The whole kit and caboodle.”

“…’til who tied a pup!”

“The best laid plans of mice and men.”

Mom’s favorite swear word while we were growing up: “Oh, H-E-Double toothpicks!”

Babies don’t burp. They “bubble!”

If you choke, it “Must’ve gone down the Sunday pipe.”

Opening the front door as a greeting: “We don’t want any!”

“Bye now!”

“Good Show!”

“Test the waters.” (Take a chance.)

When running cards and a bunch of trump falls, mom will say, “Well, THAT really shook the bushes!”

“He’s a real stick in the mud.”

Someone who’s not real bright = a dim bulb

“To go cold turkey.” (To quit a bad habit.)

An old person = ole geezer

“I beg to differ.”

The backyard ice rink:
Mom writes: Every night when dad was home, both on Kevin’s Way and on Robert Court, he would spray the ice rink, push back the snow and make ready for the every after school hockey game. They used a real hockey puck. Thank heaven’s no injuries!

For me, I was too young to play hockey and had to wait until “the big kids” were thru before I could venture into the backyard and down to play on the rink. My favorite thing to do was to slide around in my rubber boots and pretend I was really ice skating!

Sometimes the frozen rink would flow into neighbor’s yards. One particular curmudgeonly neighbor didn’t like that. And if we accidentally glided onto their property, they’d step out onto their back deck and yell at us! Some folks are just no fun…

Oven Beef Stew

2 pounds lean rump (or chuck) roast

1 pound whole carrots

2 medium onions

2 cups of tomato juice + 2 cups water

¾ tsp. of basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. of sugar

2 medium potatoes (or more)

Cornstarch or flour for thickening, if needed

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Cut up meat, carrots, and onions. Cut into bite size or medium size pieces. Then add tomato juice, water, basil, salt, pepper and sugar. Place ingredients into a large oven proof (roaster) pan. Cover. Bake one hour. Then add cut up, peeled potatoes. Bake 3 - 4 hours until tender.

Then thicken the liquid with cornstarch or flour, if necessary. This is a great winter meal that smells great when it’s cooking all day. Serves 4 - 6 people. I normally double this recipe.

Sweet Rolls

2 packages of yeast dissolved in ¼ cup warm water plus 2 Tbsp. of sugar

1 cup scalded milk

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup shortening (Crisco)

2 eggs

4 – 5 cups flour

Dissolve sugar and yeast in water. Scald milk and cool; add salt, sugar, Crisco, and stir well. Add eggs and dissolved yeast. Mix well. Add flour. Make into a soft ball. Knead until smooth and bounces back when poked. Let rise and then shape into rolls.

Set oven to 375 degrees.

Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2 cups onion, finely chopped

2 tsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. dried basil

1½ tsp. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

3 12-ounce cans Italian tomatoes with basil

2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce

¼ tsp. pepper

4 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

In a large pot, heat the onion, garlic, basil, oregano, bay leaf, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and parsley. Mix well, mashing the tomatoes with a fork. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1½ hours. Remove bay leaf. Makes 2 quarts.

Serve with your favorite pasta.

Chicken Cacciatore

1 - 2 cups noodles

2 - 4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces

½ onion, chopped

Garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, to taste

½ green pepper, chopped

Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce or a large jar of ready-made spaghetti sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese

Recipe for a Happy Home

Ingredients:

4 cups love

3 cups forgiveness

1 cup friendship

1 pint kindness

3 Tbsp. tenderness

2 cups faith

1 pint understanding

Take understanding and love and mix it with faith. Blend in kindness and tenderness. Add friendship and forgiveness. Sprinkle generously with laughter.

Serve Daily

Snapshot memories…

Celebrating mom and dad’s 25^th and 50^th Wedding Anniversaries

With Stevie’s birth in ’79, Lori became an aunt at 9 years of age!

The whir of mom’s Singer sewing machine; sawing in dad’s workshop; the bounce of a basketball out in the driveway; music blaring from an upstairs bedroom; the clanking of piano keys; the dog barking in the backyard; children’s laughter from the downstairs playroom

Dad’s big pet peeve: empty ice cube trays left in the freezer!

Pulling up a chair to the kitchen counter to “help” mom mix ingredients, cut out sugar cookies, add colored sprinkles

Storms in the middle of the night shared together under protective blankets

Chopsticks on the piano

Spring cleaning and airing out the house after a long winter

Brian working out at the farm and coming home smelling like manure!

Touch football, hockey, baseball, badminton, jarts, volleyball, wuffle ball played in the backyard

The loft dad built for us kids in the garage in Sun Prairie; dad strung lights up there for us and we even had built-in platforms used for both sitting and sleeping; friends thought our loft was pretty neat!

Karin’s Baked Ziti

1 - 2 cups noodles

½ onion, chopped

Garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, to taste

½ green pepper, chopped

Jalapeno pepper, VERY optional

2 cups of Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, large jar of ready-made spaghetti sauce or 2 cups Mom’s Basic Tomato Sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese and/or Parmesan cheese—your preference

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Spray skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Sauté onion, garlic and green pepper, and a few tiny pieces of jalapeno pepper—if you like hot, spicy food; if not, leave out the jalapeno pepper!

In a casserole dish, mix all ingredients together except for cheese. If the casserole seems a little dry, add more spaghetti sauce. Flatten and then top with your choice of cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese topping is golden brown. Serves 4.

Mom’s Chop Suey

1 pound stew meat or chuck, cut into bite-size pieces

2 Tbsp. shortening or vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup beef bouillon (low-sodium)

1 cup chopped onions

2 cups chopped celery

1 can bean sprouts, drained

1 can chop suey vegetables, drained

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Pinch of ginger

¼ tsp. molasses (or brown gravy sauce)

¼ cup water

2 cups cooked white rice

Chow Mein noodles

Brown meat in shortening (or vegetable oil). Add soy sauce, salt, bouillon. Cook and cover until meat is tender. Add onion, celery and other vegetables. Cook 10 minutes.

Blend cornstarch, ginger, molasses (or brown gravy sauce), water. Mix with meat and vegetables.

Cook rice according to package directions.

To travel ‘round the world and back…

UPS has been very good to me. When I first started there in ‘91, I never thought I’d be promoted into management and that, one day, I might hold a position that allowed me to travel to the other side of the earth and back again. But amazingly, that’s what has happened.

I’ve had an opportunity to briefly travel to London, travel throughout the US and Canada, and have made numerous trips to Asia. I feel very blessed to have these opportunities to serve UPS, experience different cultures, visit different cities, and meet wonderful people everywhere I visit.

Yes, I can tell you, I’ve experienced culture shock. But, I find it really helps to just go into a new situation with a completely open mind and to be mentally prepared to learn new things. It’s a very simple concept!

One of the greatest benefits of my business travels has been the friendships that I’ve established. Folks, we’re not that different! We share stories about family, books, movies; we share similar passions.

In my recent visit to Hong Kong, I met up with Wai Kong with whom I’d briefly met in ’99. I couldn’t help but notice a beautiful crystal bracelet she was wearing. When I asked her about it, she told me she’d made it herself. During the same business trip, we hooked up again in Taipei and we found that both of us share a passion for crystal beads and jewelry.

Opening up that box was like finding something that I’d lost—not realizing I’d lost it! Does that make sense? I sat down at the kitchen table and made necklace after necklace. It was incredibly fun!

And from this encounter with Wai, two unexpected things happened. The first was with Lori. As it turns out, she has a good friend that also does beading and when I made a short trip up to Madison one weekend, we all went bead shopping together. And guess what happened? Lori got the bug! She’s now as obsessed with beading as I am! And, she’s better at! (Lori’s always been a fashion buff and really has an eye for color and texture, whereas I’m pretty Plain Jane in my approach to fashion and jewelry-making.) Anyway…it’s really great to have a shared passion for something with Lori.

The second thing that happened is this: shortly after my business trip, Wai Emailed me to say that she was Air Mailing a little package via the postal service. The problem is—it never came. Several weeks later, I let her know that I hadn’t yet received it. She then sent me another gift via two HKG partners making a trip to Louisville. In her gift contained enough crystal beads to make my own bracelet. They’re stunning!

Mom’s Swiss Steak

1½ - 3 pounds round steak (1 – 1½ inches thick)

½ cup flour

2 – 3 onions, sliced

1 tsp. crushed garlic

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1½ tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. pepper

1½ cups diced tomatoes

½ cup water

Parsley for garnish

Noodles, Rice or Potatoes

Lay meat on bread board and pound flour into both sides of meat until flour is absorbed by steak. Use meat hammer for this.

Pre-heat fry pan to 360 degrees.

Sauté onion and garlic in vegetable oil for about 3 minutes. Remove. Set dial to 400 degrees. Add an additional 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. When hot, add meat. Brown well on both sides (about 10 – 20 minutes). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread onion, garlic, and tomatoes over steak. Cover. Turn dial to 220 degrees. Simmer until tender—about 1½ hours.

Remove from fry pan. Place meat and vegetables to platter. Pour drippings over meat. (If desired, thicken drippings to make gravy.) Garnish with chopped parsley.

Mom’s Italian Lentil (Bean) Soup

2 medium carrots, sliced (approx. 1 cup)

1 stalk of celery, sliced (approx. ½ cup)

1 small onion, chopped (approx. ⅓ cup)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

5 cups of water

½ head of cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces (approx.
4 cups)

1 cup of dry lentils (beans), rinsed and drained

1 cup of tomato purée

1½ tsp. of sugar

1½ tsp. of salt, optional

½ tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. of pepper

In a large sauce pan, cook carrots, celery, and onion in the hot olive oil for about 5 minutes. Stir in the water, cabbage, lentils (beans), tomato purée, sugar, salt, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until lentils (beans) are very soft.

Ladle into bowls for hungry eaters. Serves 4 – 6.

Note: It is not necessary to soak the beans over night.

Linda’s Famous Black Bean Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, minced

4 16-ounce cans black beans (do not drain)

2 16-ounce cans chicken broth

2 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce

½ cup chopped cilantro (split into 2 portions)

2 tsp. ground cumin

Sour Cream, optional

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil ‘til tender. Add all other ingredients except ½ of cilantro. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

“Of soup and love, the first is best.”

--Spanish proverb

“Only the pure of heart can make a good soup.”

--Ludwig van Beethoven

Cilantro: An Acquired Taste

The pungent, citrus-like flavor of cilantro, the herb that is used to season many southwestern recipes, sometimes takes getting used to. If you’ve never tasted it, give yourself a few tries before you decide whether or not you like it. It wilts quickly, so keep cut stems in water in the refrigerator with a plastic bag over the leaves. Change the water every day.

Excerpt from Low Fat, High-Flavor Cookbook, published in 1995, pg. 175.

“Home is one’s birthplace, ratified by memory.”

Henry Anatole Grunwald

Mom’s Vegetable Stock (Broth)

2 onions, peeled and quartered

6 carrots, peeled and halved

4 celery stalks, halved

8 tomatoes, halved

8 ears of corn, cut into pieces

2 bay leaves

A couple teaspoons of whatever fresh or dried herbs you have: parsley, oregano, thyme, cilantro, marjoram, basil, fennel, rosemary, sage, etc.

1 tsp. red pepper flakes and/or 1 Tbsp. of black peppercorns

Combine all the ingredients with water to fill a large Dutch oven (soup pan). Bring to a boil over high heat.

Then lower the heat and simmer for about an hour.

Strain the stock through a strainer. Throw away the veggies.

The vegetable stock can now be used in any of your soup recipes calling for water and cans of vegetable broth.

If not using any (or all) of the stock right away, cool completely and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

You can also transfer to smaller containers and freeze until needed.

Mom’s Vegetable Soup

3 cups Mom’s Vegetable Stock (Broth) or 3 cans ready-made vegetable broth

1 15½-ounce can of chopped tomatoes

½ cup onion, chopped

½ cup frozen corn

¼ cup carrots, chopped

¼ cup celery, chopped

1 bay leaf

½ tsp. basil

Add any other vegetables that you wish: example, green beans, mushrooms, potatoes, etc.

Place all ingredients in a large soup pot. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes; then simmer for as long as needed.

The above recipe serves 4 – 5 people.

Note: Add more water, as needed.

Feel free to experiment and add herbs/spices/
additional veggies/liquid, as needed.

Before I got married

Mom recalls: Before I got married, and when I was teaching in Sawyer, I rented a room in a big English Tudor house out in the woods. It was absolutely gorgeous and was owned by a lady from Chicago. She spent most of her time in Chicago and was rarely there. I was absolutely petrified in that house by myself after dark.

Pearle and Herbert Pullen lived next door. They were in their 80’s at the time. I asked if I could rent a room from them and they said, “Yes!” almost in desperation because I had gone over there one time when the lights had gone out in the big ‘ole house.

I lived with them for about a year. I had dinner with them every night and she was a very good cook, very neat couple, too!

Snapshot memories…

Setting the table

New Year’s with the Stoehr’s; the train set in the basement; playing Royal Rummy on the green mat folded out on the kitchen table; one-eyed cat

Slumber parties; two things you could bank on: something would get broken and some kid would get sick in the middle of the night

Brian’s Mustang; an old tomato can used as a muffler

Golf and cross-country trophies proudly displayed on the mantel

Pewter and crystal in the dining room

David rolling Lori up in the braided rug in the family room and sitting on her!

Speeding tickets in Indiana and Kentucky

Bruce’s room: off-limits to all except Lori who was allowed to sit on his bed and eat cherry life-savers

Antique brass light fixtures

Hippies!

People-watching and window-shopping on State Street

Mom’s dark burgundy and leather tin with an ornate lid, filled with buttons

Having a house full of kids after school—in particular, the Goatley children

Dad’s wooden tennis rackets and these odd triangular-shaped brackets that kept the racket heads from warping…

Karin’s Spicy Vegetable Soup

12 – 16 cups water + 1 – 2 cans low-sodium vegetable broth or Mom’s Vegetable Stock (Broth)

1 can corn or 1 small bag frozen corn

3 – 4 stalks celery (I like a lot of celery in my soup!)

½ head cabbage (I like lot’s of cabbage, too!)

1 small package fresh mushrooms

Fresh green beans

4 carrots

Few cut-up pieces jalapeno pepper, use sparingly

1 medium onion

1 – 2 tsp. crushed garlic

Few shakes dried cilantro (fresh if you can find it)

Few shakes Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Chop up vegetables into bite-size pieces. (When cutting up the jalapeno, be very careful: the juice of the pepper will burn the skin. Use one knife for chopping the other vegetables and a different one for chopping up the jalapeno. In addition, wash your hands immediately after handling it. And remember: you only need a few pieces to make your soup spicy!)

Using your soup pan, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil. Then add all remaining ingredients and simmer for 2 – 3 hours, or until vegetables are soft and tender.

Pot Roast

3½ - 4 pounds beef chuck roast

1 Tbsp. paprika

Salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

½ cup water

8 – 10 small onions, chopped

8 carrots cut into bite-size pieces

4 small potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

2 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce

Half a head of chopped cabbage, optional

Turn fry pan to 360 degrees. Trim excess fat from chuck roast. Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper.

Add vegetable oil to fry pan. When hot, brown chuck roast—on both sides. Add water. Turn down fry pan to 220 degrees. Add onions and carrots; cover and simmer chuck roast for 1½ hours or until meat is tender. (Be sure to check the meat every 10 – 15 minutes. If it starts to get too dry, turn down temperature and add more water.)

Now add the potatoes, tomato sauce, and cabbage. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serves 6.

LH Inn Salad Dressing

1 onion, grated

1 cup sugar

1 cup chili sauce (Heinz)

1 pint (2 cups) salad oil (Wesson or Mazola)

½ cup vinegar

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. dry mustard

½ tsp. minced garlic

Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Blend together the onion, sugar, chili sauce, and salad oil. Then add vinegar, salt and mustard. Mix with electric mixer at low speed until well blended.

The LH Inn

Mom recalls: George and Jo Haslinger, dad and I would splurge and go to the L H Inn for dinner. (The Lincoln Highway Inn, US33.) The owner was Sode Alsasser. (She’s still alive.) They had a dinner salad with this house dressing that we ALL loved.

One night the Haslinger’s went to the Inn for dinner and Jo said, “I want the recipe for that dressing.”

And George said, “They will NEVER give it to you. And I don’t want you to ask them.”

“Well, I’m asking for it!” she said. So she asked the waiter.

“I don’ think they’ll give it to you, but I’ll ask the owner,” he replied. And about 5 minutes later the owner walked in and handed Jo a card with the recipe on it!

Dad recalls: LH Inn had the BEST soups in the free world! Mr. and Mrs. Alsasser would fly to Europe and they would come back with new soup recipes every year…

Past Tense Mode…

Ice cube trays

Lava lamps

Tie dye

Flower Power

Flash cubes for cameras

Dial T.V. with no remote

Cheap gasoline

Dime phone calls

Karin’s Roasted Herb Chicken

1 whole chicken, 2½ - 5 pounds

Dash of your favorite herbs: rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, cilantro, etc.

Garlic powder

Pepper

Celery salt, optional

Red pepper flakes, optional

Set oven at 400 degrees.

Rinse chicken, removing any giblets or chicken parts from cavity of chicken. Place chicken in roasting pan, breast side up. Spray lightly with vegetable oil cooking spray. Sprinkle with your favorite herbs and seasonings. Place thermometer in meaty part of thigh—avoid hitting a bone. Bake (covered with aluminum foil) for 50 minutes.

Remove foil and baste to keep moist. Bake uncovered for 15 more minutes—or until thermometer indicates chicken is done. (Larger whole chickens, or partially frozen ones, will take longer to cook.) Serves 3 – 4.

Linda’s Hot Bacon Dressing

½ pound diced bacon

1 large white onion, diced

½ cup each of white wine and red wine vinegar

Cornstarch to thicken

1 cup beef broth

½ tsp. each of salt and pepper

Brown sugar to taste (start with ½ cup)

Sauté bacon’s crisp. Strain from drippings and set aside. Sauté onion in bacon drippings ‘til clear. Add vinegars, salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Add bacon.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin

2 tsp. dried tarragon, crushed

½ tsp. dried thyme, crushed

⅛ – ½ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. ground red pepper

Dash of salt

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces

1½ Tbsp. honey

In a small bowl, combine tarragon, thyme, peppers and salt; blend well. Spray both sides of each pork tenderloin piece with vegetable spray. Sprinkle both sides with seasoning mixture.

Arrange tenderloin pieces on broiler pan. Broil, 5 – 6 inches from heat source, for 2 minutes per side. Remove from broiler. Brush top side of each piece with honey. Broil for an additional minute, or ‘til desired doneness. Serves 4.

Salad Dressing

2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

½ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. dry mustard

1 clove garlic, crushed

Mix above ingredients together. Serve over a salad of mixed greens, black olives, artichokes, croutons, and parmesan cheese.

Can you guess these nicknames?

Mop Top

Punkin

Chumley

Crasher

Iggle Diggle Giggle Man

The blur

Speedy

Mr. E

Bean

Ben-a-Rousky

Mushroom Head

Sugar Plum

“Little” Dave

The Terror

Little Buddha

Nobutt

Stoughton Snow Plow

Trevmanian Devil

Peanut

Little Bits

Nicknames continued:

Kari Mary Quite Contrary

Naderbean

Iggy

Betsy-Lu

Brudie

Chocolate Brown Eyes

Neane or Neaner

Scrunch

Klutz

Little Lu Lu

Buster or Buster Bo Bo

Gorilla

Perky

Amber-deeno

See pg. 40-41 for the answers!

“Life is an echo. What you send out – you get back. What you give – you get.”

-         Zig Ziglar

Southern Red Beans ‘n Rice

4 16-ounce cans red kidney beans, drained

1 pound diced ham

1 package kielbasa sausage, diced

1 ham hock

2 cups chopped onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

1 Tbsp. freshly chopped parsley

½ tsp. black pepper

⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper

⅛ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 whole bay leaves

½ tsp. dried thyme

⅛ tsp. dried basil

10 – 12 cups water

Rice

In a large Dutch oven (soup pot), combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer on low heat for 2½ - 3 hours, or until a thick natural gravy has formed. Stir once every half an hour, scraping the sides and across the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or spatula to prevent scorching. If mixture appears a little dry, add more water. When finished, turn off heat and remove the 2 bay leaves and ham hock.

Boil rice, based on package directions and number of servings needed. Serves 8 – 10.

Jeaneane’s Honey Mustard Meatloaf

1 pound ground turkey or beef, uncooked

1½ cups Stouffer’s stuffing, unprepared

1 egg

⅔ cup Masterpiece Honey Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Debbie’s Lasagna in a Pot

1 pound lean group beef

2 - 4 cups assorted noodles

½ onion, chopped, optional

Garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, to taste

½ package sliced pepperoni

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 large can of Spaghetti Sauce

1 can tomato sauce + 1 can tomato paste

1 package of spaghetti spices mix

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Spray skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Then cook and drain ground beef. In a separate pan, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Sauté onion and garlic. In a large pan, add ground beef, pepperoni, tomatoes, sauce/paste, cooked noodles, seasonings, onion, and garlic. Cook on medium temperature ‘til hot. Add cheese just before serving. Serves 6 - 8.

Karin’s Pasta with Greens, Turkey and Rosemary

1 box penne (or other favorite pasta)

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1½ tsp. rosemary leaves, crushed

1 cup cooked and diced turkey (leftovers is perfect!)

2 cups greens (like spinach, mustard greens, etc.)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fresh Romano cheese shavings

Cook pasta based on package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, combine olive oil with garlic and rosemary. Cook over moderate heat until the garlic is lightly browned—about 2 minutes. Stir in turkey, then add the greens and bring to a simmer. Season the turkey mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

Dear Tooth Fairy

Dear

Tooth

Fairy:

I Lost

My First

tooth

to Day

But I

Lost

it.

By Ethan

Debbie writes: I was coaching soccer at the soccer field and it was starting to get dark. Ethan was on the other end of the field playing football with some of the other kids waiting for me to finish soccer. He got hit in the mouth with the football, which knocked out his tooth and he lost it in the grass.

It was pretty traumatic for him because it was his first tooth to fall out and he really wanted it to go under his pillow for the tooth fairy.  We were out looking in the grass with a flashlight, but we couldn't find it.  So he wrote the note above and stuck it under his pillow.

The Tooth Fairy enjoyed his note and left a very generous reward under his pillow!

Pasta with Greens, Turkey and Rosemary recipe is from November 2000 Food & Wine magazine, pg. 227.

“We can do no great things—only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

Mom’s Baked Pasta with Chicken

2 large jars spaghetti sauce or use approx. 4 cups Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into cubes

3 cups cooked pasta

1 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Italian seasonings, to taste

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Place all ingredients in a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish. Bake until bubbly and hot. Serves 4 – 6 people.

Serve with hot French bread!

Karin’s Linguini with Garlic Chicken and Mushrooms

1 box (12 ounces) linguine or thin spaghetti

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

⅓ cup olive oil

1½ tsp. minced garlic

½ cup parsley

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (less if a guest does not like hot, spicy food)

¼ cup white wine or low-sodium chicken broth

Small jar or can mushrooms, cut up

Cook and drain pasta based on package directions.

Meanwhile, cut chicken into bite-size pieces.

Heat olive oil in a wide skillet over high heat and add garlic. Cook 15 – 30 seconds, just until garlic is aromatic and barely begins to turn brown. Add chicken, parsley and red pepper flakes and cook until chicken is done. Add wine (or broth) and mushrooms.

Mom’s Chicken Broth

Misc. chicken pieces, approximately 2 pounds: chicken wings, chicken thighs, regular chicken tenders, leftover chicken, etc.

1 cup onion, sliced

½ cup celery, chopped

1 large bay leaf

4 sprigs of parsley

8 whole black peppercorns

Your favorite herbs such as basil, rosemary, etc.

Place chicken in 2½ quarts cold water in a large kettle. Simmer (don’t boil) uncovered for 3 hours. Remove the bones, cut off the meat. Chop up the meat. You can return the meat to the stock. Or if you don’t want to use the meat, just strain it off and use the clear broth.

Add remaining ingredients to the stock. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours—don’t boil it. Strain all of it. Use the clear broth for your soup base. It’s that simple and very delicious!

Mom suggests you freeze some of this in Tupper-ware bowls. It freezes beautifully!

Mom’s Chicken Chili

2 15-ounce cans kidney beans

3 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes

2 cooked boneless chicken breasts

½ onion, diced (more or less, to taste)

2 – 2½ Tbsp. chili powder (more or less, to taste)

Drain kidney beans. Wash them in a sieve. Add the kidney beans to the tomatoes. Cut up the cooked chicken and add to the tomatoes and kidney beans. Next add the diced onion and the chili powder to the mixture. Blend well. Simmer on low heat for two hours. Serves 4.

My dad the sign painter

Dad writes: My dad did a lot of sign painting on all kinds of surfaces and sizes. He painted some on brick. The most notably to me, because it was so boring, was the time he painted a sign on the side of a hardware store in Edwardsburg. The job took several days to lay out, paint the background and then do the actual lettering. Fred (almost Junior) was the anchor at the bottom of the ladder. Dad would work for several hours and Fred (almost Junior) would sit on that small round bottom rung of the ladder (which changed the configuration of my backside) and sweat. This work was always done on a hot dry summer day.

The most spectacular sign by dad was done across the entire side of the Judd Lumber Company warehouse building in Dowagiac. The building was 257' long. Part of the sign was a mural and the rest was advertising. The lumber company was located near a dam of the Dowagiac creek and the sign incorporated Judd Lumber's motto “The best yard by a Dam Site in the City.” I liked that part. I didn't help him much on that sign. (Thankfully.)

Mom and Dad-speak…

“I’ve been hustlin’ my bustle.”

“I’m not a happy camper.”

“I’m so furious I could spit nails.”

“We’re going to slide right into the poor house!”

“I’m totally discombobulated!” (Out of sorts, confused)

“Gather the troops!”

“Flown the coop.” (Left home.)

“Still wet behind the ears.” (young, naïve)

“Up a creek without a paddle.”

“Brand-spankin’ new.”

“Only a smidgeon.”

“Gallivanting about.”

Dad’s name for a car = jalopy

Dad’s word for cops = gendarmes

“Down the hatch.”

“Put the kibosh on it.”

“The car is on the blink.” Or, “fritz.”

“Quit your bickering.”

“He’s a real stick in the mud.”

“He’s got one foot on a banana peel.”

“It’s drizzling outside.”

“They live out in the boondocks (or boonies).”

“You didn’t eat enough to put in a thimble.” Or, “You ate like a bird!”

“Hold your horses!”

Mom’s Chicken Soup

Mom’s Chicken Broth or 2 cans (14½ ounces each) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

½ cup water

8 ounces chicken tenders

½ cup chopped onion

1 cup each sliced carrots, celery, and mushrooms

⅔ cup egg noodles

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth and water to boil over medium heat. Add chicken. Stir, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Chicken will cook perfectly. Lift chicken from broth with slotted spoon and set aside to cool.

Note: If using homemade broth, eliminate the water.

Return broth mixture in saucepan to boil. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add mushrooms and noodles. Cook 5 minutes more.

Cut up chicken. Add to saucepan. Add a little more water if soup is too thick for your taste. Heat through. Stir in parsley. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Mom usually quadruples the above ingredients. Mom’s broth, when used, is also more flavorful due to the herbs and spices she adds when she makes the broth.

Sandy’s Beef Stroganoff

1½ pounds beef round steak or 1½ pounds boneless sirloin

Meat tenderizer

2 Tbsp. margarine

1 cup chopped onion

2 4-ounce cans sliced mushrooms, do not drain

2 8-ounce cans sliced water chestnuts, do not drain

3 cubes beef bullion

2 Tbsp. flour

1 cup cold water

1 4-ounce package sour cream

Rice or egg noodles, cooked

Slice beef into strips. Sprinkle with meat tenderizer. Put margarine in electric frying pan. Brown beef. Take browned beef out of pan and set aside.

Brown chopped onion in beef drippings. Add mushrooms and water chestnuts with liquid. Add bullion cubes.

In a Tupperware bowl, combine flour and water. Shake until well mixed. Add to the onions, mushroom and water chestnuts. When mixture thickens, add meat.

Note: If not thick enough, add more flour.

When ready to serve, stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked rice or egg noodles. Serves 4 – 5.

Note: One time Sandy substituted chicken for the beef for mom and dad and it was very, very good. (If using chicken, be sure to substitute chicken bullion and omit tenderizer.)

The art of prankstering at Grandma and Grandpa’s

Brian, Sandy, and the kids have a favorite game they like to play when they go to grandma and grandpa’s house. They call it “Dead Soldiers” which is the fine art of hiding empty cans of pop or beer (called “Dead Soldiers”) throughout the house.

When hidden well (inside kitchen cabinets, behind books, inside clay pots), it will take grandma and grandpa literally MONTHS to find them all! Course, this is just in time for yet another family gathering where they can start the game all over again.

Greg and Kurt, as they’ve grown to nearly 6 feet tall, especially like to hide Dead Soldiers up so high that grandma and grandpa can’t reach them. Heck, sometimes they can’t even see them!

“It’s like lookin’ for Easter eggs,” says Sandy of the game. “Look high is best!”

Poor grandma and grandpa, they’re always the brunt of some kind of prankstering. Another favorite game is to hang picture frames, knickknacks, and the telephone receiver upside down. Why? Just because it’s fun, a little bit juvenile, and because it irritates grandma and grandpa!

A short-lived Owen partnership: Painting the Victorian house

Dad writes: The basic problem here was dad thought he and I should be a team. After high school he convinced me to quit my job at the hardware store and work with him before I went to college in the fall. He knew I couldn't paint signs but I could paint houses (even if I didn't want to) and he would pay me big money. Right? Wrong! First of all he had only one house lined up to paint and it rained too often and I wasn't making any money.

The house was a typical three-story Victorian with several porches and very high gables with elaborate cornices. To get to the gables (peaks) you had to put an extension ladder on a porch roof and stretch out to paint the wide overhangs. I was petrified and painted real slow. The windows were very long and had multiple panel sashes that were very tedious to paint. I used a one (1") inch brush, which took forever. Dad wanted me to use a five (5") inch brush. I painted more window than I did wood. He's not satisfied with my work and I am not satisfied with anything.

Karin’s Calzones

Pizza dough (1 pizza dough = 2 – 3 servings)

½ pound sausage

½ package sliced pepperoni

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (per calzone)

Optional: Black or green olives, mushrooms, green pepper, onion, tomato, minced garlic, etc.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In separate bowls, prepare pizza dough according to package directions. I spray the dough with vegetable-oil cooking spray, cover with a paper towel, and then place each bowl in the sink filled with hot water. The longer you let it rise, the easier I find it is to work with the dough.

While the dough is rising, begin cooking the sausage and cutting up the other ingredients you wish to have in your calzone.

Spray a cookie pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. After the dough has risen, work slowly to flatten dough on pan—just as if you’re making a pizza—except you’re only going to put ingredients on half the dough. Lightly spread sauce across half the dough. (Make sure you avoid the outer edge of the crust.) Then add your favorite ingredients on top of the sauce.

Carefully fold other half of dough over filling. Pinch edges, with a fork, to seal securely. Brush calzone with egg or lightly spray with vegetable oil cooking spray. Cook for 25 – 35 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. One calzone serves 2 - 3.

Jeaneane’s Tater Tot Casserole
“Slop on a Plate”

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 bag tater tots

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Set oven at 350 degrees.

In a casserole dish, spread ground beef evenly on the bottom. Fill the casserole dish with frozen tater-tots. Spread Cream of Mushroom soup over the top of the tater tots. Then sprinkle the top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Cook for 25 – 30 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown on top, soup is boiling, and taters are crispy.
Serves 4.

Variation: add veggies to the bottom of casserole dish, like cut up broccoli.

Karin’s Angel Hair Pasta and Shrimp

1 box angel hair pasta

1 jar artichoke hearts

1 head of broccoli

1 onion

2 stalks celery

1 small jar pimentos

Small package mushrooms

¼ cups olive oil

Crushed garlic, to taste

Dill seasoning

1 pound cooked salad shrimp

Cook pasta according to box directions. Cut up vegetables into bite-size pieces. Then lightly sauté all vegetables in olive oil with garlic. Add shrimp—just ‘til heated. (Do not over-cook the vegetables.) Toss all ingredients with pasta and serve. Serves 6.

“Family is an angel who lifts us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”

--Anonymous

“All that I am or hope to be I owe to my mother.”

—Abraham Lincoln

Laura’s Awesome Mushroom Lasagna

1 pound farmer’s cheese or large container of cottage cheese

½ pound low-fat or part-skim ricotta cheese

2 egg whites

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. minced fresh chives

1Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

¼ tsp. pepper

8 ounces lasagna noodles, uncooked

1 large onion, minced

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1½ pounds mushrooms, sliced

4 cups Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce or large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Set oven at 375 degrees.

Purée farmer’s cheese (or cottage cheese), ricotta, egg whites and Parmesan. Then blend in chives, parsley and pepper by hand. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. (Be sure noodles are not too mushy.) Then lay out flat on clean kitchen towels until ready to use. (Remember: a good way to save time will be to use lasagna noodles that don’t require pre-cooking. It’s your choice.) In a skillet, simmer onion in wine vinegar for 5 minutes until very soft. Cover while simmering. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft and half their original volume—about 5 minutes. Drain.

Combine cheese mixture and all but ¼ cup of the mushroom mixture.

Spread 2 cups of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Alternate layers of noodles, cheese, noodles, cheese, ending with a final layer of noodles. Cover with remaining sauce. Distribute reserved mushrooms over the top.

Linda’s Baked Chicken and Potatoes

1 cut-up chicken

8 medium red potatoes with skin left on, cut in half

1 medium onion, diced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried thyme and/or other favorite herbs and seasonings

Salt and pepper (freshly ground pepper is best)

Paprika

Set oven at 425 degrees.

Wash chicken and potatoes and cut eyes and any other blemishes from potatoes. Mix potatoes, onion, seasonings and olive oil together in a bowl so potatoes are lightly coated with oil.

Lay chicken pieces, skin-side up, in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan (non-stick works best). Tuck potatoes between chicken pieces. (Potatoes and chicken should be crowded.) Put remaining onion mixture over chicken and potatoes; sprinkle with a little paprika for color.

Bake for about 1 hour, until chicken is at least partly browned and potatoes are tender.

Serve hot. Serves 4 – 5.

This is a family favorite at Bruce and Linda’s!

Below are two quotes for those of us who frequently travel—and those who will travel (for business or pleasure) in the future. It’s good to see the world, but it’s great to come home….

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”

--Lin Yutang

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”

 --George Moore, The Brook Kerith, 1916

The Woods

The woods watches you during the day and night.

In the woods it is cool and shady even during daylight.

As you walk through the woods you can hear the crackling of the leaves beneath your feet.

Under the big oak is where my friends meet.

A hawk circles above us, silent in the sky.

Who would want to cut these trees down, I wonder why?

As the trees blow in the wind I can see the leaves fall.

I must leave the quiet woods.

I hear my mother call.

By Nate Owen

Jeaneane’s Chicken Stew

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

½ package baby peeled carrots (do not cut up)

3 – 4 stalks of celery, cut up

½ onion, chopped, optional

2 cans low-sodium chicken broth

4 – 6 medium potatoes, cut and peeled into bite-size pieces

Flour/water for thickening

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Cook chicken. You can cook it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (or until done) and then cut into bite-size pieces. Or, you can cut chicken into bite size pieces and with a little bit of vegetable or olive oil, cook in a skillet on the stove. (If you’re in a hurry, cooking on the stove takes less time.)

In a large pot on the stove, throw cooked chicken pieces, carrots, celery and onion (optional) in broth. Cook 45 – 60 minutes. Then add diced potatoes and cook ‘til tender.

Mix a little bit of flour and water together and add to stew to thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This does not have to cook for several hours—just until everything is done.

Note: Jeaneane likes to serve the stew when the veggies are still crispy. So, try not to over-cook the veggies too much.

This is a family favorite!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups elbow macaroni

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

¼ onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. flour

Dash of salt and pepper

2½ cups milk

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Set oven at 375 degrees.

Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions.

In a saucepan, melt butter (or margarine). Sauté onion in the butter ‘til tender. Next, stir in flour, salt and pepper, and then milk. On a medium temperature, cook and stir ‘til thickened and bubbly. (Be careful not to burn the milk.) Now add the cheese and stir until completely melted. Stir in the cooked macaroni.

Then pour macaroni and cheese into a casserole dish.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until cheese topping is golden brown. Serves 6.

“Cheese:
Milk’s leap towards immortality.”
--Clifton Fadiman

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Why make homemade macaroni and cheese that takes nearly an hour to prepare from scratch when you can buy the kind that comes in the blue box and takes all of 7 minutes? Well, I realize for busy people (and finicky children) it’s a hard sell. Macaroni and cheese, to a child, might as well be its own separate food group. After all, many an American child lives on hot dogs and macaroni and cheese during their formative years!

But with expanding waistlines, and many of us concerned about our blood pressure level, it may be best to consider the high maintenance version of this dish. Why? Because you can regulate the sodium (completely leave it out, should you desire) and you can cut the fat using things like skim or 1% milk ,or Brummel and Brown yogurt butter vs. the good stuff. It’s hard to cut more corners than that, from a fat stand-point, but if you’re just dyin’ for some macaroni and cheese, you might want to think about this homemade version next time.

Be merry all, be merry all.

With holly dress the festive ball;

Prepare the song, the feast, the ball,

To welcome merry Christmas.

          --W.R. Spencer

Linda’s Christmas Eve Cheesy Potato Soup

10 – 12 potatoes (depending on size), peeled and diced

3 large leeks, white part only, finely chopped

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Chicken broth to almost cover potatoes

1½ cups half-n-half

1 Tbsp. butter

¾ cup shredded brick cheese

¾ cup shredded American cheese (or skip the brick cheese and use 1½ cups American cheese)

Put diced potatoes, leeks, salt and pepper in a large saucepan. Add chicken broth ‘til potatoes are almost covered. Bring to a boil and simmer over the low heat until potatoes are tender.

Note: To make soup a little thicker and less chunky, you can gently mash a few of the potatoes with a spoon.

Pour in half-n-half; add butter and heat through. Stir in cheese(s), ‘til melted. (If you wish to eat just a creamy potato soup, you can leave out the cheese.)

Turkey (or Chicken) Casserole

4 cups diced and cooked turkey or chicken

2 cups sliced celery

2 cups toasted croutons

1 cup Miracle Whip

1 cup milk

1 small can mushrooms

Salt and pepper, to taste

1½ cups shredded Swiss cheese (any kind is fine)

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Place all ingredients into a greased casserole dish. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Take cover off and bake ‘til brownish.

Linda’s Italian Peasant Bread

1 package fast-rising dry yeast

2½ cups warm water

About 6 - 6 ½ cups unbleached bread flour

1 Tbsp. salt dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water

Cornmeal (for pan or baking stone)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes and stir. Mix in 4 cups flour; mix/knead for 10 minutes. Mix in salt and water and remaining flour. Knead for 4 minutes with mixer or 15 minutes by hand. Add more water, if needed, to get a slightly moist dough.

Put dough on plastic wrap or counter and cover with a large metal bowl. Let rise 1 – 2 hours ‘til double in size. Punch down and let rise 1½ hours. Punch down and shape into 2 loaves. (Doesn’t matter what shape.) Put loaves on floured towel and cover with another floured towel.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a pan of hot water on bottom racks.

When loaves have risen to double, put loaves upside down on pan or baking stone sprinkled with cornmeal. Bake about 45 minutes.

Serve hot with your favorite soup!

“Bread deals with living things, with giving life, with growth, with the seed, the grain that nurtures. It is not coincidence that we say bread is the staff of life.”

--Lionel Poilâne

More about my dad painting the truck…

Bag the Marinade

One of the easiest ways to marinate food is in a zip-lock bag. The bag takes little space in the refrigerator, and it’s convenient to flip the bag over to make sure all of the food takes on the flavor. Use just enough marinade to cover the food. And remember that marinades made from acidic ingredients like vinegar, yogurt, wine, or citrus juice, are good for tenderizing meat before cooking.

Excerpt from Low Fat, High-Flavor Cookbook, published in 1995, pg. 13.

A Prayer by Thomas H. B. Webb

 

Give me a good digestion, Lord,

And also something to digest;

Give me a healthy body, Lord,

And sense to keep it at its best.

Give me a healthy mind, good Lord,

To keep the good and pure in sight

Which, seeing sin, in not appalled,

But finds a way to set it right.

Give me a mind that is not bound,

That does not whimper, whine or sigh.

Don’t let me worry overmuch

About the fussy thing called I.

Give me a sense of humor, Lord;

Give me the grace to see a joke,

To get some happiness from life

Mom’s Herb Marinade for Meat

½ cup onion, chopped

¼ cup vegetable or olive oil

1 cup each of water and ketchup

¼ tsp. oregano

⅛ tsp. thyme

2 Tbsp. vinegar

1 Tbsp. each of lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Sauté onion in the oil. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer on low heat for 15 – 20 minutes.

If going to marinade your chicken or steak, then you’ll want to cool the sauce first. Then pour sauce over the meat. Cover. Refrigerate overnight. This sauce acts as a tenderizer and will be much loved by all. Makes 2¼ cups.

Herb-Marinated Chuck Steak

¼ onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. Dijon-style mustard

½ tsp. minced garlic

½ tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed

1 pound boneless beef chuck shoulder steak, cut 1 inch thick

Combine onion, parsley, vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic and thyme. Place beef chuck shoulder steak in plastic bag; add onion mixture, spreading evenly over both sides. Close bag securely; marinate in refrigerator 6 – 8 hours, or overnight (if desired), turning at least once. Pour off marinade; discard.

Doris Wortinger’s Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazzini

½ package (4 ounces) medium noodles

2 cups diced and cooked turkey or chicken

6 Tbsp. shortening (Crisco)

6 Tbsp. flour

1½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. celery salt

2 cups turkey (or chicken) stock

1 cup heavy cream, scalded

⅛ tsp. sherry flavoring

1 cup (6 ounces) mushrooms, broiled

⅓ cup toasted slivered almonds

3 Tbsp. parsley, minced

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until tender, drain.

Melt shortening; add flour and blend. Add seasoning and stock. Cook over low heat until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in cream, sherry flavoring, mushrooms, almonds and parsley.

In a large casserole dish, alternate layers of noodles, turkey (or chicken) and mushroom sauce. Top with cheese.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Serves 4.

I expect to pass through this world but once; and any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass
this way again.

This is on a plaque given to mom from Doris Wortinger.

Recipe for writing

“There is only one recipe for writing that I ever heard of: take a quart or more of life-blood, mix it with a bottle of ink and a teaspoonful of human tears, and ask God to forgive the blots.”

Stephen Leacock (1869-1944), How to Write

“One written word is worth a thousand pieces of gold.”

Karin’s Pasta with Tomatoes, Green Beans and Feta Cheese

2 – 3 tomatoes, seeded and diced (if made in winter, 1 can of diced tomatoes can be used instead of fresh ones)

1 tsp. minced garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste, plus 1 Tbsp. salt for the pasta water

1 – 2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 – 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar, optional

2 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh basil

½ - ⅔ cup (2 – 4 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled

1 box pasta (fusilli, rigatoni, farfalle or penne)

½ pound fresh-picked green beans, trimmed, and broken in half

Start a large pot of water to boil with one tablespoon salt. While water heats, toss tomatoes with garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar, and herbs in a pasta bowl. Add feta. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes or longer. Taste and adjust oil, vinegar and seasonings, as needed.

Add pasta to boiling water. Cook 5 minutes. Then add fresh green beans to your boiling water with the pasta. Keep cooking until pasta is done—probably another 5 minutes, or so. (To verify, see cooking time of pasta on package.)

Drain pasta and green beans. Toss with tomato mixture and serve. Serves 4.

Note: The tomato mixture, without herbs, can be made hours ahead. Hold in or out of the refrigerator, but let it come to room temperature before adding herbs and tossing with cooked pasta.

Kentucky Hot Brown

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. flour

1 cup of milk

3 cups chicken or turkey stock (broth)

⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 slices toast

12 thin slices freshly baked turkey breast

8 thin slices sharp cheddar cheese

8 slices tomato

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

8 slices cooked bacon

In a small saucepan, melt butter and then stir in flour. In a separate saucepan, bring milk and stock to a boil. Turn down heat. Add butter and flour mixture to the milk and stock. If you like, add a little salt and pepper. Then stir in the shredded cheese. Cook until cheese melts.

Place toast in the bottom of four individual size oven-proof plates. Cover with turkey slices. Top each plate with cheese sauce. Now place cheddar slices on either side of the plate and arrange tomato on top of sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Top with bacon. Place under broiler for about 2 minutes or until sliced cheese is completely melted. Serves 4.

Honey-Mustard Salad Dressing

6 Tbsp. salad oil (like olive oil)

2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. honey

½ tsp. minced garlic

Dash of pepper

Snapshot memories…

Paper bag lunches lined up on the counter with our names penciled on the front

Seneca Park: cross country meets and field hockey games

The tree in the middle of the driveway on Cherrywood

Jeaneane and Sandy visiting us in Kentucky; for Sandy, this was the first time leaving the state of Wisconsin

Trekking through Mammoth Cave and over Natural Bridge

Narrow, winding country roads

Dave and Jeaneane honeymooning in Kentucky; going to the Derby with mom and dad; all of us traveling down to Cumberland Falls

March Madness!

Dad taking the older kids to school every morning. “So, here we are. Where the Hell are we?!”

Round hay bales in fields

A dusting of snow in Kentucky and schools close for days. Gotta love it!

Skunk bushes on each side of the front entrance on Cherry-wood

Beau Brandy, pushing a basketball with his nose in the backyard

Termites!

Abandoned refrigerators and other garbage thrown into sink holes

Snapshot memories…

T-boys throwing glass beer bottles at the fire hydrant in the front yard; cutting my foot on the glass; mom yelling, “Don’t bleed on the carpet!”

A quick trip to get milk at the local convenient store before dinner becomes an hour long drive for Deb

Playing H-O-R-S-E in the driveway

Spooked deer running across the road in broad daylight

Thoroughbred horses leisurely dining in bluegrass pastures

Dumb Duffy with one ear longer than the other

Our first color T.V.

Tiny square burgers with onions and mustard consumed at night when you have the munchies

The Dream Game

Brick houses and white painted trim-work

Lori’s “birthday cake” building

The Belvedere; jumping on the lily pads; Piccolo-playing naked statue

Horse farms

Log cabins

Ice cream from Ehler’s and Sunday drives

Visiting day traffic at the local state prison (aka the University of La Grange)

Black Pepper and Herb-Crusted Eye of Round Steak

2 pounds boneless beef eye of round steak

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. black pepper (or black pepper mix)

½ tsp. onion salt

¼ tsp. thyme

¼ tsp. cilantro

¼ tsp. celery seed

Set oven at 325 degrees.

Rinse off meat. Place in an 8 x 8 casserole dish.  (I’ve noticed many directions indicate to cook the meat fat side up. I don’t do this—but maybe I should.) Do whatever you think is best.

With a sharp knife, cut slits in the top and sides of the meat. Then rub minced garlic into the slits. Generously sprinkle black pepper, onion salt, thyme, cilantro, celery seed (or other favorite herbs), onto top and sides of the steak.

Insert a meat thermometer. Cook in the oven until meat thermometer registers 135 degrees for medium-rare or 150 degrees for medium—about an hour to hour and a half.

Note: Mom suggests removing the meat from the oven just before it reaches the desired doneness—temperature will continue to rise 5 – 10 degrees, even after it is removed from the oven. This is a very good tip if you don’t like to eat meat that’s as tough as shoe leather!

Linda’s Spaghetti and Meatballs

¼ cup vegetable or olive oil

3 medium onions

4 cloves garlic

1 pound hamburger

2 29-ounce cans tomato sauce

2 12-ounce cans tomato soup

4 cans tomato soup

4 bay leaves

1 tsp. basil

3½ Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1½ tsp. oregano

½ tsp. fennel seeds

Chop onions and mince garlic: sauté in oil under tender. Add ground beef; cook ‘til browned and mash ‘til broken up. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 3-4 hours, stirring often. (You can also bake in the oven at 300 degrees—sauce will not stick or burn in oven.) Add meatballs ½ hour before serving.

Meatballs

2 pounds ground beef

3 slices bread, shredded into crumbs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 egg

Mix above ingredients well. Form into 1-inch balls; bake in 325 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Add to sauce ½ hour before serving.

Answers to the Nicknames Trivia Game, pg. 20-21:

Mop Top = dad

Punkin = Laura

Chumley = Chad

Crasher = Tony

Iggle Diggle Giggle Man = Greg

The blur = Mom

Speedy = Deb

Mr. E. = Ethan

Bean = Brian

Ben-a-Rousky = Ben

Mushroom Head = “big” Dave and Brian

Sugar Plum = Jo Jo

“Little” Dave = Bruce’s Dave

The Terror = Steve

Little Buddha = Kurt

Nobutt = Ethan

Stoughton Snow Plow = Dave Janke

Trevmanian Devil = Trevor

Peanut = Amber

Little Bits = Chad

Answers continued:

Kari Mary Quite Contrary = Karin

Naderbean = Nathan

Iggy = mom and dad’s first car, a ’41 Olds

Betsy-Lu = Betsy

Brudie = Bruce

Chocolate Brown Eyes = Kurt (Also, “I’m not Kurt. I’m Superman!”)

Neane or Neaner = Jeaneane

Scrunch = JoJo

Klutz = Linda or Karin

Little Lu Lu = Laura

Buster or Buster Bo Bo = Dad

Gorilla = Greg

Perky = Mom

Amber-deeno = Amber

Basic Pesto

2 tsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. pine nuts

1½ cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup olive oil

Using a small food processor, mix garlic and pine nuts for about 5 seconds. Then add basil and parsley: process for 10 seconds. Add cheese, process until well blended. Slowly pour in olive oil, blending until smooth. Makes 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of pesto that can now be used to stuff mushrooms, spread on warm bread or on tomato slices, or in the below pasta recipe:

Pesto-Stuffed Pasta Shells

One cup + 2 Tbsp. Pesto (see above recipe)

2 cups low-fat ricotta

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

⅛ tsp. pepper

⅛ tsp. garlic powder

20 jumbo pasta shells, uncooked

2¼ cups of Mom’s Basic Tomato Sauce, Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce or large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Set oven at 375 degrees.

Cook pasta shells based on package directions. Drain and set aside.

Combine pesto, ricotta, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir well. Stuff cheese and pesto mixture evenly into cooked shells.

Laura’s Jambalaya

1 Tbsp. olive oil + 1 Tbsp. flour

1 cup each of chopped onion, celery & green pepper

1 tsp. minced garlic

2½ cups chicken broth

Tomatoes

¼ cup parsley

1 tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. basil

½ tsp. salt + ¼ tsp. pepper

⅛ tsp. ground red pepper

Rice and Shrimp

In a large pan, coat with olive oil. Add flour and stir for 1½ minutes. Sauté onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in olive oil/flour mixture for 7 minutes or just until tender. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, basil, salt and pepper; blend well and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook another 5 minutes. Serves 4.

Easy Tacos

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 jar of your favorite taco sauce

1 Tbsp. chili powder or Chili Seasoning Mix from the Holiday Treats and Gifts section

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

½ head of lettuce, shredded

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Sour cream

12 taco shells

Set oven to 250 degrees.

Momisms, a complete list

“You can do it!”

If caught drinking milk directly from the carton: “Use a glass!”

What’s for dinner? “Food!” What kind of food? “Good food.”

(This is both a Momism and a Brianism)

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

“You ate like a bird!”

“You are what you eat.”

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

“A watched pot never boils.”

“Children are to be seen, but not heard!”

“If you haven’t got anything to wear, then I guess you’ll just have to wear your birthday suit!”

“Don’t be a tattle-tale.”

“Did you write your Thank You notes?”

“You’re slouching. Don’t slouch!”

“Sit up straight. Shoulders back!”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“I only have TWO hands!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Momisms, a complete list, continued

“Elbows off the table.”

“If something aches or hurts, mom’ll say:
“I guess we’ll have to amputate.” Or, “Guess we’ll have to send for Sears & Roebucks for a new one.”

“Don’t fall asleep with gum in your mouth.”

“Put your hands in your lap.”

“Haste makes waste.”

If you leave a room: “Turn off the lights!”

Never say that you “HATE” something, say “dislike.” Never say “stupid” either.

“Don’t slam the door!” yeah, yeah, yeah…

“Put your thinking cap on!”

“Mom’s worry. That’s what they do.”

“Neat!” (Mom’s word for cool!)

“Did you wash behind your ears?”

“Don’t fight. If you’re going to fight, take it outside!”

Got a sore throat? “Gargle with salt water!”

Shrimp Creole

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ tsp. minced fresh garlic or garlic salt

3 Tbsp. shortening

1 16-ounce can stewed tomatoes

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ - 1 tsp. chili powder, to taste

Dash of bottled hot pepper sauce

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. cold water

12 ounces frozen shrimp, shelled and thawed

½ cup chopped green pepper

Rice, cooked

In a large skillet, cook onion, celery and garlic in shortening ‘til tender, but not brown. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder and hot pepper sauce.

Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.

Mix cornstarch with cold water; stir into sauce. Cook and stir ‘til mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Add shrimp and green pepper. Cover and simmer 5 more minutes. Serve over rice. Serves 4 – 6.

The individual that gave this recipe to mom has this note: Marilyn, I have made this using other fish. The imitation crab flakes or lobster flakes works real well (Louis Rich products).

Jeaneane’s Low-Fat Seafood Casserole

1 – 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

One package imitation crabmeat

Mushrooms

1 cup onions, finely chopped

3 Tbsp. margarine

1 Tbsp. flour

2 cups skim milk

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 egg, beaten

1 bunch asparagus, boiled (snap off and discard the woody bases)

1 box spaghetti or angel hair pasta, cooked

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Sauté chicken, crabmeat, mushrooms and onions.

Melt margarine, add flour, stir until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk to mixture. Stir constantly until thick and bubbly. Stir in Worcestershire, pepper and garlic powder.

Remove from heat. Stir in ¼ of mixture into egg. Add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in meat, veggies and noodles. Spoon into ungreased casserole dish.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake another 5 minutes and serve. Serves 4.

What to do in your daily diet

Regardless of age or health, it’s a good idea to pay attention to the type of fat you eat, not just total fat.

Add

·         Eat a diet rich in plant foods: fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, grains.

·         Eat more omega-3 fat (mackerel, salmon, sardines, herring, walnuts).

·         Get carbohydrates in vegetables and fruits, not in sugar or in fat-free, sugary foods like cookies.

·         Maintain normal weight by exercising, watching total calories.

Avoid

·         Restrict saturated animal fat (fatty meat, cheese, butter) as much as possible; everyone agrees it’s very dangerous.

·         Avoid trans-fatty acids, or partially hydrogenated fat (common in margarine, crackers, doughnuts, processed foods). They appear worse than animal fat.

Switch

·         Substitute monounsaturated fat (olive oil, avocados, almonds) for other fats. Mono fat has been found to be beneficial against stroke, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

·         Use canola oil instead of corn, regular safflower or soybean oils.

I cut this out of the newspaper several years ago.