Psalm 71 one

Belle, I wanna come help you!! We'd have a blast, I'm ADD too!! We could run off on all sorts of "rabbit trails"--and yak yak yak and make truffles!! LOL! But ya can't mess up too badly on these-- they're very forgiving! (Just keep the heat on low when ya melt the chips. I prefer the stovetop over the microwave--seems I get a bit of a crystally type texture when I use the microwave. I've been practicing on tiny batches) You will get so many people raving over them! Have fun at your exchange!! I'm actually making all my cookies this weekend--getting some help from my 9 yr old, Ben :) But wouldn't it be fun to do some of this stuff together?--with several GS-ers? Could ya imagine Rascal's crowd in on this? wouldn't that be a blast? My family in MI gets togther and they all make their Christmas treats together. My oldest sister is the "home-ec" teacher in her Jr high school, and gets the kitchen classroom. So each of my family members brings the stuff they are gonna make and share the three--or four? kitchens in the classroom, and make their stuff and yak and hang out. The little ones play and taste test! LOL! I've never gotten to go, cuz I make my visits in the summertimes. <_< Anyway, have fun!!!!!

i ' m . . o . k a . y . . r e e e e a l ll lll yyy y y y y except fer th th ht ht ht thth tw tw twitch twitch twitch and thhhhhhhe e e e bobblehead feeling Yer friend Crusher made short work of my cats, and then played football with the piggy--Really, WITH the piggy! An' then I stepped in to rescue my piggy and Crusher played with me, too---- WITH me! I still have a little trouble drinking anything, cuz my neck leaks!! shhhh! nobody else read this, only Mr Dove. . . Those were the funniest pictures! I laughed so hard!! But I didn't post when I saw it and then didn't get to it for too long. And then I just saw it again, and roared! so I hadta post. But sorry it took so long! okay, everybody else can read again!!

dmiller, sounds like fun!!!! I wanna go too!!!!! I used to take my 4WD Toyota out in the snow, too, before the roads were plowed. But I couldn't get out in the 10" snow--no way that vehicle could clear that snow!! LOL!--so I'd go to the empty store parking lots and do donuts!! LOL!!!!! Ahhhh, snow. . . I remember in MI, we'd go sledding at night under the full moon--GORGEOUS!!!!! We'd bundle up, drag our sleds to the best hill on the farm, (which was way down the lane--we had a 160 acre farm and the lane was about 1/2 mile long), and sled til we were frozen!! It was so cold my nose stuck together when I'd breathe in! LOL! But oh, so beautiful, and so quiet and peaceful. You could hear a cow moo off in the distance, and often the shouts and whoops of some other people out there playin on their own farm. siiiiiiiigh, I do miss it. Michigan winters were lonnnnngggg! and grey! but those full moon clear snowy nights, or those beautiful days where the snow sits heavy on the branches of the trees, or etches everything in a beauitful contrast of black and white, made the winter fun--or at least bearable? LOL! Moving here to Georgia, when my hubby hears of the snow everybody else is getting, he's all happy and says, "glad it's them and not us". And my 9 yr old Ben and I look at each other and sigh sadly! (My hubby hated the shoveling, but darn! I HELPED!!! he didn't hafta do it all!). MY biggest hesitation for moving here was the "no winter" factor--but then I look at this house we never could have afforded up in MD and remember the townhouse we woulda been stuck in, I decide to accept it. I do hope we can at least make a trip to the mountains sometime in the winter so I can get my snow fix! I DO miss it.

Bow, if anyone flames you, lemme at 'em! I'll throw a stinkier thing than pie or chocolate!! It took guts to do what you did, stay strong! The al-anon meetings would probably be a big help, but if you can't make it, there are library books about co-dependancy that helped me a whole lot--might be helpful to you. Even though this guy is out of your life, strengthening yourself in this area is still good--there will be others that come into your life--even if for a short time, and maybe it will help you recognize the pattern sooner. I hope I haven't offended you--I don't think I said it right! I've prayed for you and will continue. Cman-- you too, I'm praying for you! Congrats on making it through this far without a drink! keep going! Maybe you need to not watch TV for awhile, if it's a trigger--get dvds and such. Get your news on the net for awhile. I don't have the words to say in encouraging you, I wish I did, but your honesty is incredible! God Bless you, I wish you the best! This is a hard time for you! God can give you the strength! I know my words aren't much, but my heart is cheering for you and I am drawn to pray for your success.

Sudo started a thread up in open about Thanksgiving, which included traditions, memories, too, But here, we're just cooking it--or throwing it, as we see fit! LOL! So I'm gonna paste what I posted up there about different twists I use for the traditional fare. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For my stuffing I do the regular onions/celery. etc-- and cook up some hot breakfast sausage and mix it in-- with maybe another shake of those little pepper seeds-- (ya know the stuff some people shake on their pizza). And it doesn't get cooked in the turkey, it gets cooked in a lasagna pan so that there's a bunch of the crispy top! LOL! I've stuffed seasoned hamburger in the cavity of the turkey-- makes that "meatloaf" taste delicious! Only problem is, now that I cook the turkey in an oven roaster bag, the hamburger doesn't get done all the way-- not in the heat long enough, but the turkey is NEVER dry when cooked in a bag. In my mashed 'taters, I stir in some fresh parmesan cheese, and use heavy whipping cream--no butter. (And of course there's no fat grams there! LOL!!!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How 'bout anyone else? different twists, "nontraditional" foods? Recipes for killer dishes? Pies to throw? :)

I figured we'd end up with Thanksgiving recipes both here and in the kitchen--oh well! More to try!! LOL! For my stuffing I do the regular onions/celery. etc-- and cook up some hot breakfast sausage and mix it in-- with maybe another shake of those little pepper seeds-- (ya know the stuff some people shake on their pizza). And it doesn't get cooked in the turkey, it gets cooked in a lasagna pan so that there's a bunch of the crispy top! LOL! I've stuffed seasoned hamburger in the cavity of the turkey-- makes that "meatloaf" taste delicious! Only problem is, now that I cook the turkey in an oven roaster bag, the hamburger doesn't get done all the way-- not in the heat long enough, but the turkey is NEVER dry when cooked in a bag. In my mashed 'taters, I stir in some fresh parmesan cheese, and use heavy whipping cream--no butter. (And of course there's no fat grams there! LOL!!!) My hubby's family always had saurkraut at Thanksgiving, as well as the traditional fare. Seems to be a tradition in Baltimore. What a mix when that saurkraut juice and yer cranberries run together!! EWWWW!! :wacko: What are ya'all doing? I ususally snag people that say they have no place to go, no family or whatever. I love to cook for a crowd-- last year we had 23 people--which is not unusual. This year, we were gonna have some dear friends that had moved away, come visit. They have been supporting a ministry where recovering drug addicts live in this home-- they got a wild thought to host these folks for Thanksgiving--9 men, 3 women (which included the couple who runs this home). I must confess, that while giving money to their program was something we were willing to do, having them in our home, I wasn't ready for. :( Our friends are gonna host these folks, so now it's back to just our family. That's fine, we'll have a sweet family day, but I have mixed emotions about not having these people over--don't know if anyone understands, or if we now look like real jerks. . . .

Here's another friend, Bird Brain, don't worry, it won't hurt much this is what happened to the last "BIRD" Mr Kitty had for lun er played with. . .

ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH! Now, you've done it FEATHERS!!!! I've brought a friend along to help me. . . . Bird? what bird?

Oooh Chas! I had totally forgotten about American Chop Suey! My Mom used to make that a lot! Something else we used to get in Michigan, that I've not seen elsewhere (Maybe it's around, but I haven't seen it)-- pickled bologna. Thinking about it, I can taste it now!! LOL! Actually, I don't see ring bolgna, pickled or not, sold either here, or in MD And in Michigan, we ATE smelt, in MD they never heard of EATING smelt-- it's BAIT!! LOL! Peanut butter on pancakes--my in-laws thought I was sick or something when I asked for peanut butter when we had pancakes on a camping trip with them-- they actually asked me what was "WRONG" with me! Yet when I go to Mi to visit my family, they don't think twice when ya ask for peanut butter in a restaurant when ya order pancakes-- SO THERE!! LOL!

I couldn't get in earlier, either-- I thought I;d been banned cuzza the food fight!! LOL! But then next time I logged in, there it was! hmmmm! whats the secret password?

I agree, Rocky, garlic and onion-- and peppers! LOL!! I love cumin and cilantro! And Sazon! I like spike too- love it in eggs! lemon & pepper--on hamburgers!! YUM! Sudo, I'll try those greens! Here's something different for green beans. Bacon pieces, chopped onion, cinnamon, dash of chili powder, dash of cayenne mmm mmm good!

Belle, I understand! One year, rather than dipping them, I painted little paper candy cups (a bit smaller than mini muffin cups) with the dipping chocolate and then put the filler in, then "closed" the top with more dipping chocolate. I found it easier (sorta) than dipping, because you can make up the cups ahead of time, and kind of break up the job. (Dipping is easy enough, it's just time consuming) Being a cookie exchange, you might want to keep the flavoring to no more than 3 choices--and make the outside of each different--I discovered in my gift boxes, it was better to keep the choices limited, cuz ya want to give a decent amount of each kind, and it can get expensive. (Still worth it!) Dontcha hate it at those cookie exchanges, tho, when someone brings plain ole sugar cookies? LOL!!

TOTW that was fun!! hmmmm, maybe . . . never mind!! LOL!! Belle, thank you!! LOL!!!! (Psalmie kindly hands Belle some chocolate) ya know, it you squirt mustard and I squirt ketchup at Mr Feathers, we could make him orange!! Dooj, we ususally get a fire hose and hose it all down! (mebbe we can hose Rosie an Donna? ) Suda, git that mop offa yer haid!! LOL!!!!

Told ya I'd be back! I keep turning up like a bad penny! I love this new forum! I'm gonna be here a lot-- tasting stuff--or throwing it!! haha!! Jardinero, I lived next door to a Mexican lady when I was a teenager and she'd invite me into her kitchen and teach me how to cook stuff-- she did the handfuls and pinches of goodies. I loved to watch, but I was too new at cooking to attempt measuring by hand--I didn't think I learned much at the time, but now that I'm older, that is exactly how I make drop biscuits-- I don't measure anything! (well, not with a measuring cup-- with my hands--and I dared do so because of so many times sitting in my neighbor's kitchen! I've just restarted making whole grain bread for my family (freshly ground grains-- a friend of mine got me started!) I have a nice honey wheat bread recipe, wonder if your Tassajara Bread book might have a recipe for a yeast bread with more than one grain? (THAT recipe I would follow!! LOL!! still fairly new at breadmaking!) Rocky and coolchef-- YUM! on the new ideas for corn!! Rocky, I've done lime, butter, cumin and parmesan cheese on corn too! MMMM! Love those cooking shows-- we no longer have cable--or an antenna, and that is one of the few things I miss on TV. Canned goods can make nice "starters" for recipes but I rarely eat 'em as they are intended. Ya know, like I don't think I've EVER had a bowl of cream of mushroom soup, but use the condensed stuff in so many recipes, I buy it 24 cans at a time!! LOL! Here's what I call "Seafood Bisque" (heh heh!) 1-2 cans chunky New England Clam chowder (sometimes more clams--canned) 1-2 cans evaporated milk 1-2 cans shrimp (Or if money allows, a pkg of cocktail shrimp) 1-2 pkg imitation crab meat (or if money allows, some cans of the real stuff! LOL! sometimes scallops--canned or frozen 1 clove garlic Old Bay to taste parsley (probably some other stuff, but I'm not standing by my spice cupboard right now, so I can't tell if I use it or not! LOL!) Cook on low heat-- don't scorch the milk--ya probably need to add a bit of water, to thin it a bit, but my hubby and I like our soups thick, so yours may turn out different if you like yours thinner.

Glad to see I'm NOT alone!! LOL!! For the most part, on baked goods, I follow a recipe, but I use my hand as measurement on things that are 1 tsp or less, most of the time. And add extras, as it seems good! OhBehave, your tomato soup sounds delish! I'm gonna try that!! Belle, same with my mom--she was a master at it too, and like you--my soups never get duplicated cuz I throw in whatever I have in the fridge too! Thanks for the Greek salad recipe-- I LOVE greek salads!! Haven't tried my hand at anything other than a spinach pie. How do you pronounce the "tzatziki" sauce? Sounds really good!!! YUM!!!! Abi Thanks for the recipes with the Salisbury steaks and the black bean soup--I do stuff like that too--it sounds delicious! my hubby will really like the Salisbury steaks. I throw my brats in the soup all the time too!! And i hear ya about always modifying a recipe-- even when I'm trying it for the first time!! some of what you all have shared here, that I am gonna try, I'm gonna change somewhat to my tatse! LOL!! I wanna comment some more but have to git for a bit-- I'll be baaaaaccckkk!

I've enjoyed reading your recipes, and I frequently make stuff that people beg for the recipe. And I didn't follow one! Or if i did, I have already "made it my own" LOL! My recipes aren't "secrets", but I'm the kind of cook that throws in "a little of this and a little of that" and it turns out good! (unless people are lying to me) So if I give a recipe, I might not be able to give you amounts. And if I have a written out recipe, I'll do my best in remembering what I added. (Like I will add an extra egg to a lot of cake or batter type breads. Or add a Tbls of cocoa powder in a carrot cake recipe--makes the cake richer-- you don't taste chocolate, or cinnamin in a dish I want a bit of a bit to, but don't want it as hot as cayenne) Anybody else cook like that?

I love making truffles!! People think I did soooooo much work, but they're not hard at all! The simplist recipe I've used is melted chocolate, heavy cream, and more melted choclote or cocoa powder/powdered sugar, crushed nuts, or whatever else you want to roll the truffle mix (or "ganash") in. TRUFFLES 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup heavy cream Melt chocolate chips, (You can process the chocolate in the blender to make it melt faster, if you want) Stir in the cream, and chill--maybe an hour or two. KEEP THE HEAT ON LOW WHEN MELTING! Roll filling into 1 inch balls and dip in melted chocolate, or powdered sugar or finely chopped nuts, or crumbled Pecan Sandies (cookies) You can add various types of liquers for flavoring, also. About 2-3 Tbls. I've used creme de menthe, creme de cacao, amaretto, kalhua-- you can possibly use those coffee flavoring syrups, also. Or some instant coffee crystals. Get the chocolate wafers you can get at cake decorating stores. You DON'T have to add wax or anything to the chocolate! Drizzle a bit of white chocolate on the tops for decoration. I've made these as Christmas gifts for a few years. And discovered some people don't really appreciate them! :blink: They might like chocolate, but they don't want a box of 'em!! Too many calories, too much fat, etc! I finally stopped making these or other special cookies as gifts--just make enough for my own family and maybe to serve to company, occasionally. (Bummer, I like to make homemade goodies!) Mebbe I'll make some to fling here! Or maybe I'll just put em on a plate and you can eat 'em or throw 'em as you see fit! LOL!

OW!! OWEEEOWEEEEE OUCHOUCHOUCH! YIKES! you guys are just plain MEAN!! I'm NEVER mean!!

Sudo, I found some recipes online some time ago, while looking for an artificial crabmeat recipe. (The stuff in grocery stores at the deli counter--made with hot sauce--like tabasco--very good with crackers) I have that recipe upstairs because I've used it a billion times. The other cold (real) crabdip recipes, I saved in a folder on my 'puter. I didn't try these, but here they are if ya wanna try em--if they don't turn out right, throw 'em away quickly cuz Suda might throw 'em at ME!!! (I can get the other recipe for the imitation crab meat, too, if you want it). Cold Crab Dip 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons milk 2 green onions, finely chopped 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish 2 (6 ounce) cans crabmeat, drained and flaked In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, milk, green onions and prepared horseradish. Gradually mix in crabmeat. Chill in the refrigerator until serving. COLD CRAB DIP 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese 1 (6 1/2 oz.) cans white crab meat 2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp. lemon juice 3/4 tsp. McCormick Chesapeake Bay Seafood Seasoning 1 bottle cocktail sauce Combine all ingredients except cocktail sauce. Spread into 9" pie plate. Refrigerate. Before serving pour entire bottle of cocktail sauce over the mixture. Serve with crackers

Suda, Wonder if we can stomp the chocolate like they do grapes? heehee! I'll share the chocolate AFTER I give you a peanut butter shampoo!! squish, squish . . . Those tater cakes were a bit soggy! ya didn't cook em long enough! If Mr Feathers misbehaves you can help me bang on the pot I slap over his haid!! heehee! I think it's fun--he doesn't seem to think so, though!

TRAGET PRACTICE!! SPLOOT! SPLAT! KAPOWEE! (That was pudding, chili and scrambled eggs!) EWWWW! ICKY!

HEY! HEY! NO PORK RECIPES ALLOWED HERE!! Now, roasted BirdBrains? BBQ Birdwings? Mebbe we can play Molasses onna Feathers? HA!

HAPPY HAPPY! Cindy! Belle put it best--and I agree, I Am so glad to see God restoring what the locusts took. We may not chat as much, but I still think of you fondly--and am thankful for the friendship you've always given. Hope ya had a wonderful day! Tell us all about it! (Mom Still loves me best, though!! :P )

Psalmie gleefully dances into the kitchen, tasting everything, spoon flinging some pea soup, jiggling Dooj's souffle, and the spots Dooj's mashed potato cakes. AH! What good flingers! FLING!! SPLAT! Haha! got Coolchef onna side of the head! SPLOOSH! Belle has a new hat! SPLAT! OOPS! missed Sudo and got Suda! Hmmmm . . . what else? Krys loves chocolate. . . well, who can blame her? SPLATTT! Chocolate Cheesecake, cake and pudding !! HAHA!!! With pretty little chocolate shavings Where's White Dove? CHILI BOMB! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!!

HEY!! Tcat yer either older than me or younger than me-- which is it? LOL!! One profile shows birth year 1858, making you 148 yrs old, and older than me (1906, 100 yrs old!) and the other shows your birth year as 1918, in which you'd be younger than me!! FESS UP!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!