Snow Place Like Home

     What's better than scraping ice off your windshield?  Mopping it up from your floor I guess.  What's the buzz you ask? Well it started off this morning with hubby saying "We are only getting 9 inches", by the time I got to work it was 12 inches, and by this afternoon it traveled up to 16, back down to 12 and rested comfortable at "way too much snow".

     The above photo is the present state of affairs at Village Drive, that is our Christmas tree next to the car displayed proudly for the snow Gods. At least it made it to the end of our driveway. I think it is attracting a rodent. Both my husband and my oldest son saw what appeared to be a guinea pig. Bad idea telling me that, I am outside with a flash light trying to save the animal.  Here's a little nugget of valuable information, possums look like guinea pigs.

     Doesn't this scene, just make you want to crawl right back in bed and pull the covers over your head. It is a blessing that I, along with my kids have a snow day. I slept in like a twenty something recuperating from a bar crawl. But 2 hours later, I have used up all my fun. I am not used to having a day off.     

     This photo is the trail that my cat Giggle left in the snow as he attempted to get home. It broke my heart, he kept turning around and around to attempt to jump over the snow. So, I was going to rescue him, but he was on the porch before I could even find my socks. Such a good kitty.

     My youngest son is the snow baby. The rest of us just zone out until the first robin shows up. I mean look it out there. I don't like to wear hip waders to get to my car, do you?  You know all those silent requests for snow on Christmas?, they arrived on Mother Nature's desk a little late.





     Tonight I am going to make lasagna, because it was the first thing I could think of for dinner. Now that I have finally learned how to use my digital camera. I can take pictures of the things that I make at home and at work. It's a whole new world!!! God, I love technology.

The not so healthy Lasagna  I use canned spaghetti sauce because, unfortunately I am unable to stay home and cook all day~two jobs makes that nearly impossible, so I use a quality spaghetti sauce, I would use Full Red Marinara, but a 6 pound can is a bit much.

1 pound ground round

1 pound meatball & meatloaf mix

8oz sliced pepperoni

1 diced onion

5 cloves of garlic minced

1 tablespoon pizza patch blend

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 box lasagna noodles

2 cans of spaghetti sauce

1 15oz container of ricotta cheese

1 12oz package of mozzarella cheese

1 1/2oz butter

1 1/2oz flour

3 cups milk

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup shredded parmigiano reggiano

salt and pepper to taste

Dice onion and garlic and split in half. In a saute pan, add the olive oil and cook half of the onion and garlic until it is translucent and sweet smelling. Add ground beef and the meatball mix with 1 1/2 tsps pizza patch blend, cook until meat is done drain and set aside. In a saucepan saute the remaining onion and garlic in the butter, add the flour and turn heat down, just until the flour taste is cooked out of the roux, about 3 minutes, add the milk and simmer until the sauce is thickened. Melt the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses in the sauce, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Grease a deep 13x9 lasagna pan. Start with a layer of spaghetti sauce, layer with noodles, 1/2 of ricotta sauce, half of the pepperoni, half of beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese and more spaghetti sauce, layer with noodles,add remaining ricotta sauce and pepperoni, sprinkle with cheese and more spaghetti sauce, layer last of lasagna noodles, cover with sauce and remaining beef mixture, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Cover with plastic wrap(prevents cheese from sticking to aluminum foil) and foil. Bake in 350F oven until heated through, about 140 degrees internally. Uncover and cook just until cheese browns slightly. Remove and allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cut.

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.~Carl Reiner

The World Needs More Potlucks

     So as we usher out 2010, and welcome in 2011, what is everyone resolved to do different? Me, I am going to say what the hell? It was just like 2000! Here we are 11 years later, and they haven't invented the "turn back timenator". I for one would kiss support a little machine like that. I am not into surgery "on purpose", to diminish those little laugh lines. They are laugh lines, reminders that I found life and the people in it, funny on more than one occasion. They stay!

     Wow, time flies. My oldest son is going for his learner's permit in March, that means that 15 years have elapsed. Not 5 months or even 5 years, nope not ten, 15 years!!! Was I asleep? I am speechless, on how quick time passes. I remember when the Twin Towers were hit in 2001. I was pregnant with my youngest son Kerry. I was working and the waitresses kept coming in and saying we were under attack. People were confused and in Vermont we could only rely on what the news channels were reporting. Living within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant there was a lot of praying. There have been only two times in my life that I was brought to my knees with grief. One was September 11, 2001, and the other Hurricane Katrina. It reminds you how grateful you should be. That's it.

     When I think of gratitude, healing and bonding of a community. I think of church suppers. Sharing a meal with your neighbors, friends and family is very cathartic. These people have your back no matter what, and they don't want anything in return, BUT for you to be you. It bonds communities, and strengthens relationships. I have always said, warring nations should gather together and eat before they talk business. Food is our common ground.

     The unique thing about Church suppers is that every dish has a history, and thus a story attached to it. Those desserts in the late spring that have fat strawberries, remind me of berry picking with my mother-in-law, where there were strawberries as far as the eye could see. The little ones, just sat down and ate their fill, faces stained red. Or a Church member's prized chili, that all the rest waited in anticipation for. Talking about food, sharing recipes, connecting, giving out gratitude and receiving gratitude. Life's most perfect moments.

     Potlucks or Church suppers can turn a room full of strangers into a chatty bunch, sharing their favorite recipes. While the aroma of lasagna hovers over their heads, waiting patiently for their turn. Funny, how I can be so patient during potluck, but applied to life, I fall short. Just read my previous posts. During a potluck everyone belongs, no one is excluded, all is shared, and no two Church suppers are the same, each time a new and different experience. It is a perfect harmony of synergy and abundance.

     I am going to share a recipe that was given to me by my friend Barbara,  I twisted it a little, and I brought it to my Church supper. That was a very happy moment. We all get them, when we know we are right where we are supposed to be. I liken it to an epiphany.

Spanish Chicken Casserole

1 bag of good quality tortilla chips
4 16oz jars of salsa
1 pound ground chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package Taco Bell taco seasoning
1 sweet onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 16oz container of sour cream
1 2cup bag of mozzarella
1 2cup bag of cheddar

In a skillet heat olive oil and saute diced onion and garlic and add green peppers and ground chicken. Cook until chicken is done, add the taco seasoning mix and cook according to the package directions. Spray a deep 13x9 pan with pan spray. Layer starting with salsa. Crunch chips and layer some of the ground chicken, dot with sour cream, and sprinkle with both cheeses and add more salsa. Repeat until all ingredients are used up, with the cheese on the top. Bake in 350F until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with guacamole, fresh tomatoes and shredded lettuce. My favorite burritos without all the work.

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to. ~Bill Vaughn

It's Over can I hear an Amen?

     Well, it's over!! Yippee!!!! Sorry to all those out there, that I might offend, in advance. What stress this year, and I am not sure why?, because I jump headfirst with both feet into the Christmas Spirit. Jeff, my husband was not at all in the Christmas Spirit, so it was tough to carry it for the both of us. Last night, was the first time, I actually heard him hum a Christmas song all year, maybe it was a hum of relief.

     When my children were babies, we could fill up the living room with useless plastic toys as far as the eye could see. Crazy stupid thing about that is, the plastic took up room, making it impossible to move around. I remember one year, actually contemplating standing in line at O' dark thirty to run with the rest of the cattle, to the toy section to do battle over the "Tickle Me Elmo" doll. My son was only 2, and did he care, whether he could tickle Elmo or not?, no, I did. Wow, do you see the insanity in that?

     My sons are older now, and that six year gap between them is becoming less of a headache issue. When they were younger, there was almost always a huge dramatic meltdown from my youngest, because my oldest got_______(fill in the blank). We would say, "Well, Casey is older and more responsible with his toys, when you are older, then maybe you will get something like that". Very frustrating for the parents, because somehow, you feel that you are dropping the ball. Hardest job, hands down in my life, being a parent.

     This year, was a great year for my youngest, because we felt that he was ready for toys that we forbid him to have in years past, because of the responsibility involved. That was the highlight of Christmas for me, the maturity and gratitude he showed us, was a gift, far more valuable than anything money could buy.

     The only flaw to an otherwise perfect day, was that I ignored my father's advice started right into something, that I should have researched more. Now, I won't buy a TV, without reading all the consumer ratings and comparing all my options, but I will blindly, barrel into hooking up a piece of equipment that I really should have researched. My father bought my family for Christmas, a wireless broadband router, that sentence alone~is confusing. Well in my defense, it did say "Easy system setup" on the box. But nothing can be further from the truth. I managed to clear the room out in 30 seconds. I not only watched the setup CD once, but numerous times in between the plugging and unplugging of the cables.

     I called the company twice, and unfortunately the poor tech support guys were foreign, so we already were handicapped from the beginning. I am sweating, I have a raging headache, no one wants to be around me, and come Hell or high water, WE WILL HAVE WIRELESS!! After the 4th attempt at the directions, Amen it clicked, it worked. I ran through the house trying to get someone to validate that it worked. My oldest who plays Playstation3 with his buddies across town, flashed me a huge smile and said "Mom, I never had 100% connection", because we were pirating some one's wireless, that lives around us. Wow, is all I could say, I had given myself a migraine, and I still needed to look at the Kindle.

     My parents finally called later, and the depth of my brain function left was to watch the "Tooth Fairy", with my youngest son. It was nice, just to mindlessly stare at TV, not being responsible for anything. Whew, glad it is over. Amen!

     Tonight, we are back on casserole schedule, to begin saving for my oldest son's first car. He is eligible for his learner's permit in March, and I am hoping to medicate myself heavily, to avoid any further involvement, than just putting him on my insurance policy. I was the worst driver ever distracted and driving correctly never was a priority for me. In life, Karma comes when we least expect it, as a teen I had a total disregard for the rules of driving, and since an accident in 2001, I have developed a phobia with driving, that I struggle with every time I have to go somewhere.

     Tonight, we are having my favorite Cheesy Chicken Pot pie, it is quick, easy and tastes good. With a little salad, you have a complete meal.

1 package chicken breasts, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
6 stalks celery, sliced on the bias(diagonally)
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 red pepper, diced
5 small red potatoes, diced, cooked and cooled
1 can Campbell's cream of chicken soup
1 can Campbell's cheddar soup
1 bag of frozen cauliflower and broccoli mix
1 8oz block Velvetta
2 cans cresent dough
3 ozs butter
pan spray

In a saute pan over medium heat melt the butter and add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes, add the celery and red pepper, cook for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until there is no pink in the chicken. Add the cooked potatoes and frozen cauliflower and broccoli and cook for 5 minutes or until the frozen mix has somewhat thawed. Add both soups and mix well, add Velvetta and turn down flame. Simmer and mix until the cheese has melted. Spray a 13x9 pan with pan spray, add the contents of the saute pan and cover with the cresent dough. Bake in a 350F oven until the cresent dough is golden brown. Make sure the bottom level is cooked, because sometimes the dough underneath is not cooked. Enjoy and enjoy the money you saved. ;)

Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.~ Charles F Kettering