8/25/11

After a very quiet weekend, 8 hours of sleep last night and a nice nap yesterday afternoon, I should be as bright as a dollar. The only trouble is I am having difficulty ringing in at 50 cents! Other than a fantastic fun day with my sister on Friday, which consisted of shopping, lunch and visiting our baby sister (82) and our aunt at Laurels of DeKalb in Butler, I had no social contacts.

There was a magic moment in my shopping venture. My youngest sister said that I could not cook if they ever took cheese off the market. Here I noticed my favorite brand (Velveeta) was on an unbelievable sale. I turned around from my selection to realize a lady was talking to me. I was so engrossed in my purchase that I was not aware of anyone around me. She was telling me how much she enjoyed my ramblings and we had a brief pleasant chat. I hadn’t seen her for a long, long time but she is the daughter-in-law of a very special friend of my past. It was indeed a magic moment of my day.

Another pleasant activity was a response of a request to donate cookies for a local political rally. I responded with the offer of 4 dozen sugar cookies with white frosting and red, white and blue sprinkles.

This should have been a simple request, but my frail mind did not schedule it properly with my other obligations and I nearly forgot that I was waiting until the last evening so they would be as fresh as possible. So at eleven p.m. I was still frosting cookies. It didn’t help that I so generously offered 4 dozen because that is what I thought one batch made. Imagine my chagrin when I could come up with only three dozen. I hurriedly did a small recipe of chocolate chip cookies, only to find my supply of chocolate chips was diminished. Being raised to make do with what you have, I rummaged through my “goodies jar” and found a package of Heath Toffee Bits. They turned out exceptionally well. You should try it.

Back to the political rally. I did not attend but I find myself already tired of the finger pointing, character assassinations and "just say No" antics. If I were one of the Special 12 committee, I would start with repealing the lifetime pensions of congressmen who almost all are very wealthy in their own right. Let’s get down to what is good for our country, not just trying to get re-elected and promoting a particular party. Remember to be an informed voter, not a prejudiced one. NO party has all of the best candidates.

I am still trying to eliminate a lot of unnecessary accumulated items in my household. I contributed one bag to the garbage collection, and made one visit to Good Will. That is a good start. Going through a recipe box, I saved a couple that I thought you might be interested in. They are from clippings I saved from a flier in the weekend newspaper. They also meet my standard of simple preparation and down to earth ingredients. They both make servings for six people so I am experimenting with only a half recipe of one. I think I cam manage a whole recipe that fits into a 9-inch pie pan!

BREAKFAST PIZZA
2 cans (7 ½ oz.) buttermilk biscuits, separated
1 pound bulk pork sausage
2 cans (4 oz. each) mushroom pieces, drained
1 large onion , diced
4 ½ teaspoons butter
12 eggs
3 cups (12 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
Separate and cover bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Set aside
Crumble sausage into a skillet. Cook over medium heat until no
longer pink. Place sausage in a bowl and set aside. In the same
skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion 3 to five minutes. Add to the
sausage. Whisk the eggs, cook and stir over medium heat until
nearly set. Add sausage and vegetable mixture, Spread egg mixture
over biscuits. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 400 degrees
for 12 minutes. Uncover and bake10 to 12 minutes longer.

PEPPERONI CHEESE BAKE
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup diced pepperoni
5 eggs
¾ cup milk
¼ teaspoon dried basil
In a greased 9 inch pie plate, layer the mozzarella cheese and
pepperoni. Whisk the eggs, milk and basil. Pour over the cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes
before cutting.