Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, Good grief, look how smart I am!
Must be where ‘Smart Ass’ came from!
Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, Good grief, look how smart I am!
Must be where ‘Smart Ass’ came from!
Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies’ Group in Tuscaloosa , but forgot to do it until the last minute.
She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack up for Scout camp.
When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, “Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!”
This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. She found it in the bathroom – a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing.
Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home. When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone & called her mom.
Alice was horrified-she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back.
The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa, but having already RSVP’d , she couldn’t think of a believable excuse to stay home.
The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice’s horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor’s wife said, “What a beautiful cake!”
Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, “Thank you, I baked it myself..”
Alice smiled and thought to herself, “God is good.”
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, sliced and split into rings
1/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons dried parsley
3/4 cup whipping cream
As many of you know I have spent the last 7 1/2 months helping out various family members around the country. First it was my elderly in-laws who begged us to come help them sell everything including the house and move them closer to family (we all know how that went – FIL is still trying to assign sentimental prices to everything in sight) and now it is my aunt & uncle. My aunt has end stage Parkinsons disease, such a sad disease. My aunt is extremely artistic and a beautiful painter – or at least she was. The Dyskinesia from the Parkinsons disease has robbed her of that ability.
My uncle recently saw the Oprah episode on hoaders and has decided that my aunt is one. Trust me, she isn’t. I once worked for a real estate company as a stager for homes and they would send me in to work on homes that were similar to those on the Oprah show – those were horrible. So ask yourself, what is my (your) happy medium on the stuff I’ve (you’ve) accumulated? My theory? If you have a place for each item and it’s in its place, you’re NOT a pack rat or a hoarder. I do offer you the definitions below.
She does have a LARGE collection of art supplies and empty tins for storing those items in, but in her defense men do think in simpler terms and this is just a meeting of the minds discussion. And in his defense they should be getting rid of most of this as she is now in a assisted living home and will not be able to use these items again. Donating them to the church or a school while they are still usable would be best, but can’t be forced. I pray that I will have more grace regarding these type of decisions if I reach that point and give up things more willingly, but none of us can ever be in one another’s shoes and truly know what we would do.
NOW FOR A LIGHTER TOPIC:JELL-O TRICKS
I think most everyone knows this trick by now, but it always amazes me how much better it makes a bowl of Jell-O so I thought it was worth mentioning again.Around our house we usually put canned fruit (peaches or pears usually) in the Jell-O for a little bit of extra OOMPH! When you drain those canned fruits, use a sieve and drain them into the measuring cup for the cold water first. Then just add enough water to bring the level to where you need it. I usually get about 1 1/4 cup of fruit juice. Doing this will make for a better, more substantial flavor to any Jell-O.
Just after I pour in the Jell-o I use a small salad fork to stir up the fruit in each bowl. The fruit is usually well distributed in the Jell-O.
We also don’t like the film that forms on the top. And I hated trying to stack all the bowls in the refrigerator, so I started using my Pampered Chef prep bowls for making Jell-O. Once you’ve made it, put the lids on and you can easily stack them in the frig.
If I keep this made, we both tend to eat this at night when the munchies strike and stay away from the chips and ice cream.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, sliced and split into rings
1/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons dried parsley
3/4 cup whipping cream
Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie
| DATE | BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER | |
| MONDAY | 6/7 | CEREAL | SANDWICHES | Recipe Experiment Night |
| TUESDAY | 6/8 | TOAST | LEFTOVERS | Potato Pancakes and Pork Tenderloin |
| WEDNESDAY | 6/9 | YOGURT | SOUP | Twisted Pepper Steak |
| THURSDAY | 6/10 | FRUIT | CHEESE & FRUIT | Hungarian Goulash |
| FRIDAY | 6/11 | OATMEAL | C.O.R.N. | 12 Hour Salad |
| SATURDAY | 6/12 | Depression Eggs | leftovers | Seafood Salad |
| SUNDAY | 6/13 | Hash Brown Casserole | Monte’ Cristos | Chicken Fried Chicken & Parmesan Potatoes with Peppered Gravy |
My uncle recently saw the Oprah episode on hoaders and has decided that my aunt is one. Trust me, she isn’t. I once worked for a real estate company as a stager for homes and they would send me in to work on homes that were similar to those on the Oprah show – those were horrible. So ask yourself, what is my (your) happy medium on the stuff I’ve (you’ve) accumulated? My theory? If you have a place for each item and it’s in its place, you’re NOT a pack rat or a hoarder. I do offer you the definitions below.
If you could bottle up the smell of summer. Save it for one of those rainy days in the middle of winter. When nothing seems to be going right and seasonal affective disorder has officially sunk in. What scent would you choose?
Me personally? I would want basil pesto. I would want it to ooze out of my every pore so that I could smell nothing else for days.
I would want to be able to pull out a jar of it. Open it up. And be instantly hit with the smell of sweet basil laced with garlic.
And I wouldn’t stop there. I would want to taste it, because isn’t taste linked to your sense of memory as well? Pesto and tortellini salad with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and black olives. Pesto, tomato, and grilled cheese panini. Pesto pizza. Pesto on a spoon. Eaten just because. Just so. Just.
Pesto.
Pesto is probably one of the simplest sauces you can make and also one of the most versatile. You can make it with basil and pine nuts. A classic.
Or you can go slightly insane. As I have. Many a time. And mix and match your herbs and nuts. Just about anything goes. Basil and pistachio. Basil and walnuts. Cilantro and pine nuts. Rosemary and walnuts.
Just keep the ratios about the same. And go wild.
Do a little dance. Make a little love. Get down tonight.
Basil and Pine Nut Pesto
1 large tub basil (I would say about 2-3 cups)
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
NOTE – this freezes incredibly well. Just omit the parmesan cheese and you’re good to go!
4 VERY thick pork chops
8 slices oatnut bread
butter
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup apricot pineapple jam, room temperature
1 tablespoon peach schnapps
1 large lemon, juiced
*If you prefer, prepare 1 box of stove top stuffing instead.
Barbecue baked beans are as common a visitor to the summer picnic table as ants are. Of course, the beans are more welcome.
Trevor was helping smoke some spare ribs last weekend on his offset smoker, so I thought I’d make some beans to go with them.

There are an infinite number of BBQ baked bean recipes but this is the quick and easy version my mother taught me eons ago.
Easy BBQ Baked Beans
My momma
1 28 oz can Bush’s Baked Beans (Homestyle)
1/2 cup sweet BBQ sauce (I prefer Blues Hog brand for this)
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 ea onion, diced (or in this case, a boiler onion sliced into rings)
1 Tbs BBQ rub (Whatever your favorite one is)
1 TBS Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup chopped BBQ pork or brisket
Mix all ingredients in a small casserole dish and bake for 1 hour at 350f.

Like I said, quick and EASY.
For me, I have to have meat in my beans, it just isn’t the same with out it. I also like more of a spicy kick but the one I listed here is very mild for my family.
What do you like to put in your baked beans?