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Good morning everyone. I hope your weekend was pleasant. We had the family over for our Valentine’s Day party yesterday. It was great to see the kids and grandkids together again. We enjoyed thick pork chops from the grill, potato salad, baked beans, garlic and cheese toast, and huge decorated sugar cookies for dessert. We also made margaritas in my new blender (gift to self, lol). To make them more festive, I added a few drops of grenadine which gave them a lovely pink tint. Everyone ate to their heart’s content and we sat around while the kiddos opened their pretty Valentine bags full of goodies from Nana. Then we turned on Rod Stewart’s newest album and danced the afternoon away. Oh what fun we had and what great memories for our Valentine’s Day tradition for all!

Enjoy!

Ramblings...

Let's Wear Purple Hats!

In honor of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck

(Written after she found out she was dying from cancer)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it . live it .and never give it back. Stop sweating the small stuff.

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.

Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with. And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally. I hope you all have a blessed day..

Beautiful Women's Month

Age 3: She looks at herself and sees a Queen.

Age 8: She looks at herself and sees Cinderella.

Age 15: She looks at herself and sees an Ugly Sister (Mom I can't go to school looking like this!)

Age 20: She looks at herself and sees "too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, too straight/too curly"- but decides she's going out anyway.

Age 30: She looks at herself and sees "too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, too straight/too curly" - but decides she doesn't have time to fix it, so she's going out anyway.

Age 40: She looks at herself and sees "clean" and goes out anyway.

Age 50: She looks at herself and sees "I am" and goes wherever she wants to go.

Age 60: She looks at herself and reminds herself of all the people who can't even see themselves in the mirror anymore. Goes out and conquers the world.

Age 70: She looks at herself & sees wisdom, laughter and ability, goes out and enjoys life.

Age 80: Doesn't bother to look. Just puts on a purple hat and goes out to have fun with the world.

Maybe we should all grab that purple hat earlier.


Shared by Judy, Warren, MI


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Next Monthly Theme...

St. Patrick's Day Recipes

Saint Patrick's Day is March 17th. This is a perfect way to plan at least one meal in honor of the patron saint of Ireland. You may choose a traditional dish such as an Irish Soda Bread recipe; the numerous potato dishes that are reminiscent of Ireland's earthy, humble history; perhaps a simple addition to a favorite recipe that makes it more "Irish"...please share your favorite Irish recipes. We aim to have a memorable theme issue dedicated to the Irish in all of us. Now, here is the NEW set of rules:

A to Z Recipes continues with its popular Theme Issues. We will share theme recipes and post them on the first Sunday of each month. Send your recipes no later than the last Friday of each month to have them posted in the next monthly theme issue. You may send in TWO of your favorite theme recipes in ONE email. If the number of recipes exceeds those needed in the issue, the publisher will post as many from every submitter as possible and save the remaining recipes for the following Sundays of that month. The rules for recipe submissions for the monthly theme issues are the same as ALL recipes submitted for posting.

The rules are as follows:

As a service to your fellow readers, please send only recipes that are in a form that others could easily copy and save for their own use. Recipes that would require a lot of editing or cleaning up or use non-standard measurements should not be submitted. Recipes without a name and location of sender may NOT be posted or posted without any credit given. There will be NO recipes posted that are from other recipe-zines. A to Z Recipes protects the privacy of its readers and does NOT publish email addresses. There will be no exceptions.

The deadline for March's theme issue is Friday, February 27th.

Theme recipes must have subject: "St. Patty" and will be posted on Sunday, March 7th.

As usual, only recipes are to be sent to: A to Z Recipes Inbox

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Crazy Corner...

Creation

Shared by Vicki, Sarasota, FL

On the first day God created the cow. God said,
"You will go into the field with the farmer and
suffer under the hot sun, have calves and give
milk to support the farmer and for this I will
give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said, "That's sort of a tough life you
want me to live for sixty years. Let me have
twenty years and you can have the other forty back."
God agreed.

On the second day, God created the dog. God said,
"You'll sit all day by the door of your house and
bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I'll
give you a life span of twenty years."
The dog thought then said, "That's too long to be
barking. Give me ten years and I'll give back the other ten."
So God agreed.

On the third day God created the monkey. God
said, "You'll entertain people, do monkey tricks,
and make everyone laugh. I'll give you a life
span of twenty years."
The monkey said, "How boring, monkey tricks for
twenty years? I don't think so. The Dog gave you
back ten, so that's what I'll do also, okay?"
And God agreed again.

On the fourth day God created man. God said,
"You'll eat, sleep, play, have sex, and enjoy
life. Your life span will be twenty years." Man
thought and said, "What? Only twenty years? No
way. Tell you what, I'll take my twenty, plus the
forty the cow returned, and the ten the dog gave
back and the ten the monkey gave back. That
totals eighty years, okay?"
"Okay," said God, "you've got a deal."

So that's why for the first twenty years we eat,
sleep, play, have sex, and enjoy life; for the
next forty years we slave in the hot sun to
support our family; for the next ten years we do
monkey tricks to entertain our grandchildren;
and for the last ten years we sit in front of the
house and bark at everybody.

Silence Is Golden

Shared by Mary Jane, Stockton, CA

A lesson for us all, on how silence is golden:

A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The
officer says, "I clocked you at 80 miles per hour,
sir." The driver says, "Gee, officer, I had it on
cruise control at 60, perhaps your radar needs
calibrating."

Not looking up from her knitting the wife says sweetly
from the passenger seat, "Now don't be silly, dear,
you know that this car doesn't have cruise control."

As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks
over at his wife and growls, "Can't you keep your
mouth shut for once?"

The wife smiles demurely and says, " You should be
thankful your radar detector went off when it did."

As the officer makes out the second ticket for the
illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his
wife and says through clenched teeth, "Darn it, woman,
can't you keep your mouth shut."

The officer frowns and says, "And I notice that you're
not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic
$75 fine."

The driver says, "Yeah, well, you see officer, I had
it on, but took it off when you pulled me over so that
I could get my license out of my back pocket."

The wife says," Now, dear, you know very well that you
didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your
seat belt when you're driving."

And as the police officer is writing out the third
ticket the driver turns to his wife and barks, "WHY
DON'T YOU SHUT THE HELL UP??"

The officer looks over at the woman and asks, "Does
your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?"

"Oh, heavens no, officer. Only when he's been
drinking."

Baptism

Shared by Linda, CA

Three little boys were concerned because they couldn't get anyone to play with them.
They decided it was because they had not been baptized and didn't go to Sunday School.
So, they went to the nearest church.
Only the janitor was there.
One said, "We need to be baptized because no one will come out and play with us. Will you baptize us?"
"Sure," said the janitor.
He took them into the bathroom and dunked their heads in the toilet bowl, one at a time. Then he said, "Now go out and play."
When they got outside, dripping wet, one of them asked, "What religion do you think we are?"
The oldest one said, "We're not Katlick, because they pour the water on you.
We're not Babtis, because they dunk all of you in it.
We're not Methdiss because they just sprinkle you.
"The littlest one said, "Didn't you smell that water?"
"Yeah! What do you think that means?"
"I think it means that we're Pisscopalians."


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Your Favorites...

SPAGHETTI MONTANARA

~Submitted by Larry, Ontario, Canada

1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 pound lean salt pork, diced
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 pound tomatoes, chopped
1 sprig basil
1 pound spaghetti
1/4 pound Gruyere cheese, diced

Fry the garlic in the oil and butter until golden.

Remove the garlic from pan and fry the onion and salt pork until the onion is soft. Add the white wine and allow to evaporate.

Add the tomatoes and basil leaves and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently.

Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water, drain and add to the sauce. Sprinkle with Gruyere cheese and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 5

SODA CRACKER ALMOND ROCA

~Submitted by Shirley, WA State

Preheat oven 350

1. Grease large jellyroll pan. Put 40 soda crackers on it. Set aside.

2. In Teflon fry pan, stirring over medium heat put:
1 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1 c. margarine ( 2 hard sticks)
Just till the oil and sugar incorporates, about 5 min. Stir constantly.

3. Pour over soda cracker smoothing out with the back of the spoon.

4. Put in preheated oven for 8 min.

5. Sprinkle on 1 c. chocolate chips and 3/4 c. chopped nuts. Spread over candy. Cool and break into 40 pieces.

CALICO POTATOES

~Submitted by Bev, FL

1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound russet potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Chef Zader's Seasoning (recipe in instructions)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound sweet potatoes peeled and thinly sliced

1. In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, cook the onion and green pepper in olive oil till tender, but not brown. Remove the cooked onion/green pepper mixture with a slotted spoon.

2. Add sliced russet potatoes to skillet. Sprinkle with Chef Zader's Seasoning and salt. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, turning mixture occasionally.

3. Add sweet potato slices; cook, turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes more or till potatoes are tender, adding more oil if necessary to keep potatoes from sticking. Add the cooked onion/ green pepper mixture. Heat through. Makes 4 servings.

Seasoning: In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed; 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice; and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

FUDGE

~Submitted by Mary B, MI

3 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk
Salt
4 1/2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup walnuts

Mix together sugar, cocoa, milk and salt. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until it makes a ball in cold water. Take off heat. Add margarine and vanilla. Beat until it loses its gloss. Stir in walnuts.

Note: you may add 1 1/2 cup peanut butter at end if desired.

GREEN BEAN CHOWDER

~Submitted by: Tena, MO

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2" lengths
3/4 pound boiling potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 pound lean bacon, chopped fine
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crumbed dried rosemary
3 cups chicken stock or broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Steam beans, covered for 4-12 minutes, or until they are just tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the liquid and rinse in cold water. In a small saucepan cover the potatoes in salted cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until they are tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Cook bacon in kettle over moderate heat until crisp. Drain and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Cook onion in fat over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add thyme and rosemary and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans, the reserved liquids, and the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer about 3 cups of the vegetables and 1 cup of the liquid to a blender or food processor and puree. Stir pureed mixture back into kettle, add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Heat over moderate heat, stirring until it is hot. Serve sprinkled with reserved bacon. Makes about 10 cups, serving 8-10.

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Heart Healthy...

CHERRY ANGEL TRIFLE

~Submitted by Jean, Syracuse, NY

1 pkg sugar-free cherry gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1 prepared Angel Food cake (torn into 1-inch cubes)
1 can (approx 20-oz) light cherry pie filling
1 carton (8-oz) Fat-Free Cool Whip

Dissolve gelatin in water; refrigerate for 15 min. Place half of the cake cubes in 3-qt trifle or clear glass serving bowl; top with half of the gelatin and pie filling. Repeat layers. Top with whipped cream. Refrigerate 1-hour.

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For Two...

PORTERHOUSE AND TWICE-BAKED POTATOES FOR TWO

1 Beef Porterhouse or T-Bone steak, 1" thick (approx. 1 lb)
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen twice-baked potatoes, any variety
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp seasoned pepper

Cook potatoes according to package directions; keep warm.

Meanwhile combine garlic salt and seasoned pepper; press evenly into both sides of Beef steak.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place steak in skillet; cook 14 to 17 minutes for medium-rare to medium doneness, turning once.

Remove bone; carve Beef crosswise into slices. Serve with potatoes.

2 servings.

Source: National Cattlemen's Beef Association

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Publisher's Choice...

MEXICAN BEEF STEW

Total preparation and cooking time: 2 1/2 hours

3 pounds beef for stew, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup ready-to-serve beef broth
1 cup prepared thick-and-chunky salsa
2 medium zucchini, halved, sliced (3/4-inch)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed, drained
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water

Toppings:
Chopped tomato, chopped fresh cilantro, dairy sour cream (optional)

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Brown beef in batches; pour off drippings. Return beef to pan; season with salt.

2. Stir in broth and salsa; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1-1/2 hours. Stir in zucchini, beans and corn; continue cooking, covered, 15 to 20 minutes or until beef is fork-tender.

3. Stir in cornstarch mixture; cook and stir 1 minute or until thickened. Serve with toppings

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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