Apple Wraps and Friendship Tea 11/21/13

The schedule for my week filled abundantly after thinking I had an effortless week to do only what I wanted to and that was going to be a short list.  My family had other plans, so I quickly adjusted to a different set of drums. I do not want to turn down any invitations and induce a pattern of them not asking me because I always say, ”NO”!

On Saturday my niece and her family scheduled a Life Celebration for her husband who answered God’s call two weeks earlier. He had requested no traditional funeral, was retired from the National Guard, and so his family organized a celebration of his life at the National Guard Armory in Warsaw, Indiana. It was a very informal program with a number of his fellow Guardsmen in attendance.  They were introduced and Taps were ably played by his son-in-law. All stood at attention and as usual upon hearing Taps played goose pimples waved their way clear to my toes creating an aura that I never have at any other time. The afternoon was otherwise filled with greeting of family and friends, and an attractive table of snacks provided by friends of the family. A very nice tribute to Don Doan, which my sister, her daughter, myself, two of my daughters and one son were privileged to attend.

On Thursday evening, one of my daughters had planned a family gathering to attend a taping of a TV show Ultimate Appetizers which is a ministry of the Bryan Alliance Church and will be broadcast on the Bryan Cable Channel. I was pleasantly surprised the next day when I got an email from my daughter, Anita, who had organized the evening for us.  She had written a synopsis of the evening which greatly impressed me. I knew she did some creative writing, but I decided she was in competition for my Magic Moments job.  She did such a great job, I am going  to send it on to you so you can appreciate it. Besides that makes it much easier for me!

“At 6:30 P.M. on Thursday evening, November 14, 2013 phones switched to vibrate mode and our minds silently ignored those little hunger pangs in our bellies. And, oh what Magic Moments we had last night at the home of Barb Jermeay near Ney, Ohio.

Twenty kitchen chairs filled with men, women and children with Uncle Steve taking the easy chair in the living room, as he had the perfect view from there. Our 15 family members and two friends sat in anticipation of the cameras switching to the “on” position and wondering if we could really behave ourselves for over an hour while the taping was happening. (I thought we did pretty good!)

The early Christmas decorations surrounded us while the kitchen was warmed by an oven full of tomato bacon cups and mini sausage muffins. The scent of the apple wraps surrounded each of us in anticipation of the goodies to be consumed in a few minutes. The olive stuffed celery made us question who would ever combine pickles, olives, pecans and cream cheese to “stuff” into anything. The fruit salad with citrus yogurt sauce enticed our sweet tooth, while Jim leaned over and asked, “Does brother Dave ever make something like that?”

Barb, Sharon and Chef Bob made us feel as if we were part of their families in their kitchen as we leaned on the edge of our seats to get a better view, laughed, shared our food allergies and critiqued the golden crust of the apple wraps as they were gently lifted from the oven.

While we all wanted to shout out our Christmas traditions, most of us only gently nodded when asked if anyone does a brunch as part of their Christmas. I believe we all looked like a group of first graders anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus, squirming a bit in our chairs in anticipation, but knowing we had to behave or suffer the consequences. (Maybe the world seeing us on the TV screen acting just a bit less in control than we cared to show others.)

The food line was full of smiles and eagerness as we took our samples of each appetizer and then settled in to savor each bite. The warm friendship tea sipped through our lips topping off the evening with feelings of comfort and family.

After our plates were licked clean, Grandma Max was surrounded by her family, and photos sealing the evening were recorded. Coats were gathered from the closet and we filed out through the garage into a crisp fall night. As we assembled into our cars, the evening already becoming a cherished memory, one could not help but gather our coat a little tighter,  walk a little lighter, smile a bit brighter and be thankful for family."

I received permission to use  some of the recipes, so I am giving you favorites of mine although they were all worth trying.

APPLE WRAPS

1 package crescent rolls

1 soft apple, Jonathon suggested

Cheddar cheese slices

1 stick of butter melted

Chopped pecans

Cinnamon and brown sugar

Core and cut apples into 8 slices. Unroll crescents. Melt butter and coat crescents. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon to taste. At wide end, place chopped pecans, a cheese wedge and an apple slice. Roll up and place on greased cookie sheet. Spread butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon and a little brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

          

FRIENDSHIP TEA

1 container (21 oz.) orange breakfast drink

1 cup sugar

½ cup sweetened lemonade drink mix

½ cup unsweetened instant tea

2½  teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place p to 6 months. To prepare tea, add 4 ½ teaspoonfuls in a cup of boiling water. Stir well.

Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching. Give it some serious thought and be grateful for the many magic moments in each of your days.

Serving is Magic 11/13/13

Monday was Veteran’s Day. Hope you all remembered to give thanks to all of our veterans who gave so much for all of us at least in your thoughts and prayers. Better yet if you thanked the ones you know personally. My 102 year old friend was born on 11-11-11.  How unique!  I thought I was special since my year of birth is the same as the day of the month. The most special thing about it is my kids should remember how old I am or at least be able to figure it out because they will remember what year I was born.

Remember how I told you to look for the ever present magic in the ordinary things in your daily life?  I had that really brought home to me Sunday.  On Saturday a daughter and son-in-law came to clean my eave spouts and rake my leaves. It was so windy that raking leaves was a  hopeless task so I conned them into another major project that needed accomplished. Also, I had messed up my TV and did not have a picture. I had done such a good job (guess I pushed too many buttons) that she could not correct the problem. She called the number for Time Warner and after being on hold for over ten minutes she was connected with an operator. This was a bit of magic in itself. By telling what was on the screen the operator told her what to do and in a few minutes they had a picture. My daughter asked if she could ask where she was located. We were amazed at her answer that she was in the Philippines. She said she personally was safe from the storm but thanked her for asking. What a small world we live in.

  

On Sunday afternoon, since I was having a lazy day and expected no company, I decided to spend the afternoon finishing a novel I started the other night when I could not sleep. In the wee hours I read for nearly two hours, so was quite interested in how the characters solved their problems. That is a better excuse than being lazy but not as honest. I thought I noticed some movement from one of my windows. When I went to investigate, my back yard was filled with teenaged angels, raking and carrying the leaves to the curb.  I gave credit to the youth of St. Mary’s church. If I am incorrect the true angels will have to let me  know so I can thank them personally.  All I noticed were the halos, and did not try to recognize any faces!

  

How adventuresome are you this week?  While looking for recipes, I noticed two that would be a different slant on Thanksgiving specialties.  I wanted to try both of them before I passed them on, but decided that If I did that it would be too late for you to try them before subjecting your guests to an untried recipe.  On the other hand, if they did not turn out well you would have had lots of help to eat them. By the time everyone tasted them they would all be consumed!

            

PUMPKIN DESSERT

1 cup sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs, beaten

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Spice or Carrot cake Mix

2 sticks of butter, melted

¾ cup chopped pecans

Mix sugar, condensed milk, eggs, pumpkin, spices and vanilla. Put in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle cake mix on top of pumpkin mix. Drizzle melted butter on cake mix. Sprinkle nuts on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with whipped cream.

            

SWEET POTATOES

1 can (18 oz.) sweet potatoes

1 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 stick butter, melted

½ cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

TOPPING: ½ cup self rising flour

                    1 stick butter cut in pieces

                    1 cup brown sugar

                    1 cup pecan pieces

Beat together sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, melted butter, milk and vanilla. Pour into baking dish. Mix together flour, brown sugar and pecans. Put butter on top of sweet potato mixture, then put flour mixture on top of that.  Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.

If you do not have self-rising flour, mix 1 cup of all purpose flour with 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt.

"Farkle" Family Magic 11/7/13

We have to remember daily that decisions do have consequences and that we have to live with them later.  After a very busy weekend, last evening I decided that this would be easier to do after a good night’s sleep and in the early morning hours when everything is bright and fresh.  So much for that bright idea.  Here I am up and dressed with the only idea in my mind is that I sure wish I were cozy in bed and still sleeping. Now we will see what I can do about that decision and its consequences.

Both Saturday and Sunday were very special days.  One of my daughters works at the Filling Home in our county. They were having a special day in Napoleon.  I went with two daughters and a granddaughter to their Filling Home Fling.  Just spending the day with them was special in itself, but I came home with a heart full of special feelings.  A number of the individuals who are under their care were there, along with projects they made that were amazing with the talents that it took to produce them. A special one that I know personally and has been in my home several times was so glad to see me and waved at a distance. Then when we approached her table, she held back her sweater to show me a necklace that I had given her for her birthday. Thank you, Sue Ellen for making my day a very magic one. Also thanks to the special people who devote their lives to making magic in the lives of other special people.

Several weeks ago, a daughter called me and suggested that we have a “Farkle” day at my home.  I was way out in left field on that request and before I answered I needed an explanation. It is a very simple but enjoyable game played with dice. So we proceeded with the plans and Sunday was our special day with the whole family invited for a game and snacks day at my home. We had chosen a busy day and had many regrets, but we decided that if there were only six of us here we would have a good time. We ended with about 20, who enjoyed the relaxed day of  enjoying a new game, each other, much laughter, a large pan of chili, chicken sandwiches, apple crisp, crackers and cheese, apple pie, lemon cake, and a number of finger foods.  We had the food on the stove and counter and everyone just helped themselves when they felt the urge to eat, which was often. The day was successful since the plans developed to have a similar day regularly for any who can work the day into their schedule. The last ones left for their homes a little before nine. That is the reason for my procrastination to be up early this morning.   The next time I will do my thing the day before instead of the “morning after”.

Since we are experiencing much cooler weather, it is time to think of comfort food to warm our inner souls.  I picked up a cook book that dates back to my early housekeeping days, that is a long time ago, and found some casserole recipes that sound very appetizing, are simple to make, consist of  every day ingredients and are different than any I have ever made. Hope they challenge you to try them.

            

BEEF CHEESE CASSEROLE

1 pound ground beef

¾ cup chopped onion,

Salt and pepper to taste

16 ounces  tomato sauce

1 cup cottage cheese

1 package (8 oz.) cottage cheese

¼ cup sour cream

1/3  cup chopped green pepper

1/3 cup chopped green onion

8 ounces noodles, cooked and drained. Brown beef and onion. Add salt, pepper and tomato sauce. Simmer slowly while preparing other ingredients.  Combine cottage cheese, cream  cheese, sour cream, onion and green pepper. Place half of the noodles in bottom of three quart casserole. Top with cheese mixture, then remaining noodles. Pour meat mixture over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

                        

HAM ASPARAGUS CASSEROLE

1 can condensed cream of mushroom sop

1/3 cup light cream

2 cups diced ham

1 cup cooked or canned asparagus

Buttered cracker crumbs

Blend soup with cream. Add ham and asparagus.

Pour into a small baking dish and top with buttered cracker crumbs. Bake in a moderate oven (375) for 20 to 30 minutes.

Lesson for today: Remember that decisions do have consequences!

More Birthday Magic 10/31/13

I messed up last week when I put in the date because I did it at the end of a busy day and did not have all of my faculties in the ON position. I am a slow learner and here I am again at a late hour, but trying to be more alert than last week.  Also, in my defense, I could not believe it when I saw trick or treaters out in full force on Saturday evening.  Know why?  It wasn’t Halloween yet! We still had almost a whole week to be ready to celebrate. No wonder we old folks have trouble keeping up with the funny ideas of the people running things these days!

Part of the frustration was caused by the fact that I was so busy celebrating my birthday I did not notice much else. Sunday evening a daughter and her husband took me out for supper, and on Monday a son treated me to lunch downtown. Because of tentative plans on Thursday, my actual birthday, which another daughter could not attend she called on Monday evening and wondered if I wanted to go to Ft. Wayne with her on Tuesday. I had an appointment that was written in ink, but not carved in stone, so I managed to get that cancelled.  Have you ever dined at Baker Street in Ft. Wayne? It is a real experience. We had a routine order of a sandwich and fries, but it was served with such elegance it made you think you were at a banquet. Add that to a full day, one on one with a grown up, married  descendant and you have about all of the magic that one little old lady can handle. See if you can manage it on your next birthday!

One daughter did not want me to be alone on the actual day, so we decided to crash a regular Thursday evening dinner arrangement with another daughter who is a caretaker for my sister-in-law. That would allow them to help me with my final social event with just the four of us.  Wouldn’t you know that thirty people showed up and we moved to the party room of our local restaurant! Aren’t families wonderful? If God grants me another birthday, He has already been generous, I do not think it can beat this one.

Also on the plus side this week, my niece took my sister and me to visit a cousin who is a resident in a nursing facility and we have not seen her for over a year, on Sunday afternoon.  Her two daughters happened to be there and we had a delightful visit.  We thought we were doing it for her, but I think we were on the receiving end as much as we were ministering to her.

As I look at the clock on the wall, I had better get to food, so I can get to bed as I have a full day planned for tomorrow. One thing is to handle the situation that I had to reschedule last week. Oh well, Life is good.

How venturesome are you when it comes to preparing, and maybe eating new suggestions?  The first recipe I am giving you is way out as far as I am concerned and I have never heard of the combination of three very common everyday foods.  I found it in a fifteen year old cookbook with favorite recipes from “families and friends” of a popular tourist attraction. If you try it, I am not going to, let me know how you could treat round steak in this manner. Some participants from Ft. Wayne to California included their name and address. This one did not, maybe that is scary.

           

APPLE BUTTER BEEF ROLLS

2 pounds round steak, ½ inch thick

6 strips bacon

½ cup water

1 cup apple butter

Pound salt and pepper into steak. Cut into 6 pieces. Spread with apple butter. Roll up and wind bacon around each roll and fasten with a tooth pick. Sear in pan 5 minutes. Add water and cover. Bake one hour at 350 degrees.

The next recipe is more to my liking and I will probably make it. It does have a signature which is encouraging.

     

ORANGE CREAM FRUIT SALAD

1 can (20 oz.) pineapple, drained

1 can (16 oz.) peach slices, drained

1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained

2 medium firm bananas, sliced

1 medium apple, chopped

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 ½  cup milk

¾ cup sour cream

1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

Combine drained fruits, set aside. In a small bowl beat pudding mix, milk and orange juice concentrate for 2 minutes. Add sour cream, mix well.  Spoon over fruit. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

May your week be filled with magic moments from unexpected sources.

Happy Birthday Magic Maxine! 10/24/13

10-24-24 is a very familiar date.  Guess why. It is my date of birth!  So that means that today is my birthday!  If you are a fair math student you can figure out which one. Sunday was the first celebration.  My daughter asked me to help celebrate the Tuesday birthday of a challenged friend of hers (who happens to have a favorable relationship with me) to celebrate our birthdays together. An element of surprise for me was the attendance of a grandson and his family who joined us at the restaurant. Hope it was a memorable occasion for you, too, Sue Ellen. Monday, one of my sons is having lunch with me, if he doesn’t forget!  So it looks as if it will be a great week. 

Saturday was a special day when another grandson and his fiancé were married in Kendallville.  A reception was held at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. I felt honored with a special place of honor plus being presented with a beautiful pink rose by the bride. Her grandmothers were equally honored. That makes me half way through my grandkids with a set of silverware. I just finished all of the high school graduates. Don’t have plans to start any great traditions with the greats considering the numbers that you came up with for my birthday.

Glad that the government is back in business, but did they really solve anything or will we be back on the same spot in a few months?  Why can’t we have Congressmen who are there for the good of the country rather than serving their own self interests like pensions, self raises and special laws that pertain only to them and their own re-election?

On a good train of thought, congratulations to the volley ball girls on their success at the tournament on Saturday. We are real proud of you. Best wishes for success on Tuesday night.

A magic moment occurred this morning when I checked my computer and found an email from one of my nieces from Auburn who had sent me a recipe for sweet potatoes.  I usually just boil them longer than necessary then whip them with a whisk. Add butter (well lots of it), salt and a bit of cinnamon. I can consume more of  this than one little old lady should, but I think I deserve to indulge. Plan to try this method soon, as I do enjoy sweet potatoes and they come highly recommended for diabetics. I might dip lightly with the brown sugar or use Splenda Brown Sugar.

            

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

3 sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

A pinch of ginger

Sea salt to taste

Peel and dice potatoes into bite size cubes. Place in a small baking dish coated with cooking spray. Melt butter in microwave and pour over the potatoes with the oil, brown sugar and spices. Add more sugar or cinnamon if desired. Toss to coat evenly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes. Stir twice during cooking.

Since I have put in a long day after a short night of sleep, I am resorting to my four item cookbook. I like pork chops and this sounds like an easy way to prepare them.

            

OVEN FRIED PORK CHOPS

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 egg plus 2 tablespoons water, beaten

1 cup cornbread stuffing mix

4 pork chops

Place butter in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Dip pork chops in egg mixture, then stuffing mix to coat. Place chops on top of melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn and bake 15 minutes longer or until browned.

I wish for you Faith so that you can believe, Patience to accept the truth, and Love to complete your life. Whatever your tribulation when the road you are traveling seems difficult at best, give your problems to the Lord and God will do the rest.