Even though the sun was shining most of the day and the temperature reading registered by the local bank was moderate, even the date reaching into May was unable to convince me that Spring has finally arrived. As I left the house for church in my spring jacket, it was too late to decide to go back in the house for a coat or a warmer jacket. I thought maybe I could shiver fast enough to make up for the cutting edge of the wind. Maybe I am just a slow learner!
Thanks to all of you who attended the breakfast at St. Mary’s after church services to help cover expenses for the over thirty young people who will be attending Catholic Heart Work Camp this summer. The campers and their chaperones assisted with the preparing and serving of the food and cleanup. The week is a great learning experience for our youth who work hard doing manual labor, without pay, for people who cannot afford to improve their lot in life. They pray hard, improving their spiritual life with evening vespers, and play hard by interacting with fellow youth in relaxed time. All who attend like to return year after year.
The most exciting thing that happened to me last week was an aborted plan to visit my sister. When I opened my car door in the garage, the usual lights illuminated on the dashboard and all was well until I turned the ignition key. More lights began to dance and quiver and make an unusual racket. I am almost as auto illiterate as I am computer illiterate, but I knew very quickly that additional efforts would be fruitless. So I just came back into the house and called my trusty mechanic. In a short time, I saw my car leave my driveway, so I knew that help was already on the way. A couple of hours later, I noticed it come back into the drive way and enter my garage. By the time I got my tired old body around where I could investigate, I saw a red car pick up someone and away they went. I could not stand the suspense, so I (as quickly as someone my age can) went to the garage and sure enough there was my car, with the keys on the front seat and the bill for a new battery beside them. Many thanks to local mechanics who quickly respond to helpless little old ladies, and trust them to remember to pay the bill. So glad for their assistance and my guardian angel who helped my battery last until it was safely at home in my garage before giving up its last breath instead of when I was out and about.
I am going to live dangerously for recipes this week. I am going to give you a couple of my emergency meals!! On Sunday I was cooking Western Style Ribs in my slow cooker thinking that I might have some company later in the day. I use a can of mushroom soup, a can of water and lots of sliced onions. I was finishing my bag of smaller yellow onions that I like because when I cut a large one, I invariably let the rest of it spoil. I knew I had a new bag of them that I had purchased when they were on sale. When I decided to use another onion or so in my ribs, I discovered that I had purchased them longer ago than I remembered. There were sprouts growing out of the mesh bag and the roots on a lot of them were sprouted. Here my childhood upbringing kicked into gear and I remembered my Dad saying that a woman can throw out more with a teaspoon than a man can bring in with a scoop shovel! So, whatever can I do with those onions, so protect my thrifty buying? Here is the recipe that I came forth with. My daughter was here as they were coming from the oven and had two helpings. Her husband refused any because he was planning something else for his supper. I told him I could eat scalloped onions here and still eat what he was having at home. I won’t be too hard on him since my son who was here had said, ”Mom, those look good enough that if you had not told me they were onions, I would have tried them!”
MAX’S SCALLOPED ONIONS
8 to 10 medium onions, sliced
1 can celery soup
1 soup can of water
1 tablespoon butter
1 inch chunk of Velveeta cheese, cubed
½ stack buttered, crushed cracker crumbs
Peel and slice onions and place in casserole dish. Combine soup, water, cheese and butter in two cup measuring cup. Heat in microwave 2 minutes on high. Pour over onions. Sprinkle top with buttered cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
WESTERN STYLE RIBS
I make the Western style ribs do two different things. Cook them until they are overdone in a slow cooker and the bones fall out. Remove fat and cut up meat into bite sized pieces. Mix half a cup of ketchup and a half cup of your favorite barbecues sauce. Blend well with meat and serve on toasted buns.
With the gravy like broth that is left, add vegetables of your choice or a lazy way is to use a package of frozen stew vegetables, and cook until very well done.
With rain forecast for most of the week, do you think I might start to “empty” my spare bedroom that looks like Fibber McGee’s closet? Maybe you should not place any lunch money on that since I didn’t even look in there last winter when all it did was snow and snow and snow!
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