No Matter How Old We Were She Wouldn't Let Us Win

My family has always been a game playing family.  I learned to play a watered down version of poker when I was 5.  Games were what we played when we got together with family.  Games were what we did when friends came over.  Games were what we did instead of going to the movies.  Games are great entertainment.

One of the games we play most often is called Bounce.  It is also called Nertz.  I don't remember when I learned to play.  I've just always played.  I do remember my little sister learning to play.  She was 3.  She played a watered down version of the game, but she played.  As she's gotten older, she has gotten a lot better at the game and a lot less competitive.  Or at least she handles losing better.

My grandma loved to play Gin.  She was good at it too.  No matter how old we were she wouldn't let us win.  It was a great feat to be able to beat her.  I remember sitting at her dining room table playing Gin with her.  I don't think I ever won.  After she moved to Idaho, we would play when I would visit.  I would win occasionally.  But I don't think it was that I was getting better; I think it was that she was loosing her sight.  Even after she could hardly see, we would play.  We used the cards that had the numbers really big. Occasionally she would ask what a card was.


While I lived in Texas, I spent time with a family who also liked to play games.  We didn't play often, but we sure had fun when we did.  I got a lot of recipes from them also.  One of those recipes was Chicken Spaghetti.  I had forgotten about it until the other day when someone asked me if I had it.  I did a little digging and found it.  It is oh so good!


Chicken Spaghetti
4 c. cooked chicken, shredded
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tbsp. dried parsley
2 cans mushroom soup
2 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 (12 oz.) pkg. spaghetti, cooked
3/4 tbsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. pepper
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 sleeve saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 325.  Add all ingredients to medium pan, except chicken and cheese. Simmer about 15 to 20 minutes. Add cheese and simmer until it melts. Add chicken.  Put spaghetti noodles to a 9x13 baking dish. Pour cheese mixture over noodles.  Smash sleeve of saltines before opening.  Spread over the spaghetti.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Freezes great. Makes a large quantity.

He Knew How To Flush Your Radiator

Going to a Christian school, we didn't celebrate Halloween, but we did celebrate All Saints Day.  Or at least we did one year.  It must have been 5th grade.  The building we had school in had an unfinished part of the basement.  Our teacher took us down there to teach us about All Saints Day.  I don't remember the significance of being in the dirt and dark, but we sat down there for her to tell us about the holiday.

I don't recall what she told us about the holiday.  What I do know is that I've learned a few things over the years about Day of the Dead.  Day of the Dead is actually 2 or 3 days depending on who you ask.  I'm gonna stick with 2 days for now.  November 1 & 2.  November 1st being All Saints Day and November 2nd All Souls Day.  Both days are meant to remember people we loved and have passed on.  Memorials are set up to remember those people and food is offered.  Some of the things they do seems a bit creepy, but I think the idea of the holiday is a good one.  To remember and honor people we love who have passed away.

Today I spent the day with friends I've had for a long long time.  And while my mind was not on All Saints Day all, I was brought back to remembering my dad.  And what an honor it was to him for a friend to say that she and her husband respected my dad and always appreciated his wisdom.  My dad was a quiet man, but he was wise.  My dad was the person I called when I had a question.  He knew where to find just about anything in the Bible.  He knew how to flush your radiator.  It was rare for him to not know the answer to one of my questions.

He was also a man with great faith.  We moved to Idaho to start a church.  That is not a high paying job.  Well monetarily speaking.  My dad always believe that God would provide for us.  And He always did.  We didn't live a life of luxury, but we had what we needed.  My dad also always trusted that God would guide him in leading a church.  Even though that's not something that's as easily measured, I think He did.

Not only was my dad wise, he was also funny and loved sports.  He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  I once made dinner that had no meat.  He acted like I was crazy.  I always made sure to serve some kind of meat after that.  Since the days of making dinner for my family, I have gone through phases of what I like to eat.  Actually, I have gone through phases my whole life.  I didn't eat much meat for a while.  Now I eat some but not a ton.  And because of that, I don't have a lot of recipes with meat in it.  I can cook a mean ribeye or burger.  But those don't really call for recipes.  So I had to dig deep for this recipe.

Easy Oven Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
2 - 15oz cans marinara sauce
1 - 10oz pkg lasagna noodles
1 cup ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
12 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

Brown ground beef, drain.  Add water, marinara sauce and salt, bring to a boil.  In 2 t. baking dish, layer hot cause, uncooked lasagna, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.  Repeat layers, ending with sauce.  5 layers with 6 noodles each later.  Garnish with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 375 for 1 hour.  Let stand 5 -10 minutes before cutting into squares.  Serves 8.  Decrease temperature 25 degrees last 1/2 hour in black pan.

Not Even the Dogs Would Eat It

Today was a day spent with lots of friends.  Friends I've had for a long time.  We got to talking about old memories from school.  I went to a small Christian school.  All the students knew each other and multiple grades were grouped together in classes.  There was a small group of us that were really close.  Some of the group are still friends.

I moved away from this area for about 15 years, and after moving back I felt like I just fit right back in with all of them.  We all know each other so well.  My best girlfriend from this group and I spent a lot of time together growing up. We met when we were 9 & 10.  We did a lot imagining together.  She lived not too far from the lake, and we would walk down to the shore to look for old things.  I think I still have a glass bottle that I found.  Because the town used to be where the lake is now, there are lots of antique things in that lake.  Sometimes those things wash up on the shore.  Treasure hunting was always fun.  We also played cards, dolls, rode mats down the stairs, and were just kids.  One of our favorite passtimes was baking together.  We experimented with things.  Some things turned out well and others didn't.  We once made a cake-like thing.  It started out as cookies but once we added strawberries it was no longer that.  It also turned pink.  We tried adding chocolate to turn it brown again, but it never really was anything but a pink goo.  After baking it, not even the dogs would eat it.  I don't think we kept that recipe.

I think our experimenting with recipes gave me the confidence to experiment with other recipes.  I rarely leave a recipe as is.   I think my changing of recipes drove my mom nuts, but I had fun with it.  One of my more recent recipes I changed is Chicken Pot Pie.  It's also a great recipe for a cold day, which it is here.  We've already gotten our second snow of the season.  I think really our first real snow.  It hasn't started sticking yet but we are supposed to have an inch in the morning.  Yay.  I love snow.  To warm up your home with this Chicken Pot Pie below is the recipe.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 Pie crusts*

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup milk

2 medium russet potatoes

1 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 can corn, drained

4 chicken breast halves

Salt & pepper to taste

Chop potatoes and carrots.  Boil until tender.  In a glass baking dish, place chicken breasts and cover with plastic wrap.  Cook in microwave for about 7 minutes or until chicken is done.  In the meantime, in a large saucepan, saute onions in butter.  Once onions are tender, add flour.  Mix until it becomes a paste.  Add broth and milk and whisk until there are no lumps.  Add peas and corn.  When chicken is done, shred and add to the pot pie filling mixture.  When potatoes and carrots are done add them also.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  In a deep dish pie plate, place one pie crust.  Prick with a fork and bake according to the pie crust directions.  After crust is done, pour filling into the crust.  Top with the second pie crust and bake according to the directions.  Serve while it is hot.

*I use store bought pie crusts.  I am too lazy to make my own.

Go Put Some Clothes On

The weather has turned cold this week.  Some people aren't happy about it at all but I enjoy dressing warm and the cold crisp air.  I love baking and making soups. So I am loving the change of weather.

Although I like the cold weather, I don't like being cold.  I like to turn up the heat, snuggle under blankets, and wear sweatshirts.  When I was a kid, we didn't have a lot of money.  My parents moved to Idaho to start a church when I was 4.  Starting a church isn't a money making venture.  It is full of rewards, but money isn't one of them.  To save money, we kept our thermostat a little lower than I liked it.  I often would complain that I was cold and my dad would say "go put some clothes on."  I would tell him I have clothes on and he would tell me to put more on.  At one point, we got a space heater.  My favorite spot in the house was in front of that space heater.  The dog also liked it.  I could get my "flamigo legs," as my mom called them, warm.

As a junior higher, fluffy skirts were in style or at least we thought they were.  My mom made me several skirts.  I loved them.  I wore them often even if my legs froze off.  My love for being "stylish" and my love for being warm brought me to standing in front of the space heater.  I'm surprised I haven't come across a picture of me standing in front to of the heater because I was there a lot.

One Sunday morning, I put on my favorite skirt getting ready for church.  While I waited for everyone else to get ready, I stood in front of the space heater.  After a few minutes, I smelled something funny.  My dad says to me, "I think it's your skirt.  You are too close."  I move away to find part of my skirt had melted.  Boy was I upset.  I wore it anyway to church.  You couldn't really tell.  I was more careful after that about standing too close to the heater.

Since then I have found other ways to warm up.  Now I bake something or eat hot soup.  I am trying out a new soup recipe today and will share it later if it turns out well.  But until then  I will share with you a super easy soup recipe.  It has several different names but I call it Hamburger Vegetable Soup.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup
1 lb browned ground beef
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can ranch style beans
2 cans Italian style diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 pkg ranch dressing mix

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Do not drain water off the cans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Never Again Will I Say I Don't Like BBQ Sauce

I  really wanted to get a recipe out today but inspiration just hasn't hit me this morning.  Hopefully a can of efusjon will help.  Quite a few of my recipes came from my time spent in Colorado at the ranch.  I learned a thing or two about cooking while I was there.  I learned a thing or two about life while I was there also.

I spent a little over a year at the ranch.  I loved living in the boonies out in the mountains.  The experiences gained were amazing.  I relearned to horseback ride, learned to snowmobile, learned more about people and learned so much more about cooking.  I also learned to like BBQ sauce again.  The recipe I'd like to share came from the ranch.  It is the most well liked recipe I make.  However, the story I'd like to share isn't about the ranch.  It begins several years before moving to Colorado, even several years before college.

When I was a young kid, my family moved to Idaho.  My parents moved us to a small town to start a church.  Along with the ministry of the church, my mom ran a daycare in our house.  This allowed her to take care of our young family while bringing in an income.  As our family aged, our needs changed and it was time for mom to work outside our house.  I was thrilled with this.  As a teenager, I was tired of all the little kids running around our house.  I just wanted privacy.  My younger sister wasn't as excited.  She was "losing" all her friends.   This change was a big one for us.  It meant dad had to begin cooking for us.  Dad was creative with his cooking.  I realize he was trying.  However, he liked to put his "secret ingredient" in nearly everything.  Although, he never told me his "secret ingredient," I believe it was bbq sauce.  This began my season of hating bbq sauce.  Contrary to popular belief (or just my dad's), bbq sauce does not belong in ramen noodles, rice,  or so many other things.  I also began to learn to cook around this time.  But I didn't use bbq sauce.  In fact, I didn't eat bbq sauce again until I moved to the ranch.

At the ranch, I was introduced to bbq ribs - amazing bbq ribs.  Ribs that you dream about.  I have seen people eat an entire rack of these ribs.  Never again will I say I don't like bbq sauce.

To make these amazing BBQ Ribs:

Baby Back Pork Ribs (or St. Louis style) 1 rack for every 2 people
Chopped garlic
Brown sugar
Pepper
Pineapple Juice

BBQ Sauce:
1 -18oz KC Masterpiece bbq sauce - original
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 drop tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Place racks of ribs in a baking pan.  Rub each rack (both sides) with brown sugar, garlic & pepper.  Pour pineapple juice over the racks, cover & place in oven.  Bake for about 3 hours.  The meat will be tender and pull easily away from the bone.  (When I lived in TX, it only took 2.5 hours to cook)

For the BBQ sauce, combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until warm.

After ribs are done in the oven, preheat the grill.  Cut in pieces with 2 rib bones in each piece.  Dip rips into bbq sauce.  Turn grill to low and place ribs on grill.  You will just be caramelizing the bbq sauce.  Cook until grill lines appear.  Depending on the temp of the grill, it will take 5 to 10 minutes on each side.
Serve with lots of napkins.