Saturday, December 24, 2022

CHRISTmas Eve 2022

 Oh there is so much to relay; where to begin?!?
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! After the recent storm we have not lost power and both of our vehicles are running well! We are both on the mend and Moni's ankle is almost good as new, God be praised!!
We didn't have school yestreday, Friday the 23rd, due to the coming event and winter storm warning. The cold is here (down to 0 last night, and only 5 above now), to be sure, as are with winds (sustained 20-25 mph, with gusts up to 60), but the snowfall accumulation we so feared never manifested (maybe two inches total; drifts up to five or six inches, and the sidewalks blown clean already). We are blessed!
Thankful we are for the many gifts from staff and students and their families - oh how God showered us through the many folks of Holy Spirit this CHRISTmas! Thankful and humbled we are.
The Downy (and a few Hairy) Woodpeckers have  been our most faithful customers these past few days. Second price in attendance goes to the Darkeyed Junco and House- and Chipping- Sparrows! Pigeons, Black-capped Chickadees, and Tufted Titmice have all been visiting as well, along with a fortunate Hawk - not able to identify the variety - showing God's design for nature in our little yard. 
Looking forward to 11 pm Mass during the Night (with Pre-Christmas Music at 10:45) tonight, and our lasagna dinner tomorrow. We have the thermostat up to an unheard of 78 degrees in an attempt to thaw our pipes - no water for us so far to-day!
Compass issues, new glasses, and overdrawn checking accounts round out our end of the year high- (or low-) lights. My mom and dad's Lions are beginning play for their 8th win of the season, a feat only accomplished four times since 2000.

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Prayer

 ... committing to You and inviting You into this day, Lord God, almighty Father. Offering all our joys, hardships, pains and frustrations, blessings, fear, worries, our whole beings to You.

And praying for Francis and all the priests, bishops, deacons, religious and their families, and Your Church all over the world, especially where there is persecution or scandal. Praying also 
For Bishop Earl, Father Karl, Father Bill, Father Joe and Father Joe, Father Tom - for courage for him - , Father John, Father Miguel, Father Ken, Father Jim. For every woman considering abortion that You would change her heart and mind, that she would know there is a better way. For the repose of the souls in purgatory, for all who have gone on before us. For President Trump and his family, and for all the elected officials and leaders at the state, local, national, and international level - that they would make decisions that please You. For the sick and the dying, for those in hospitals and those in prison. For every child, every parent, every family, every marriage; for those traveling to-day and those who work outside, the blue collar folks: construction workers, caregivers, nurses and doctors, police, fire, rescue, all our military - bring them home safely. For those suffering from addiction or retardation; for the homeless and the helpless. For the one who has no one to pray for him, for the one struggling to pay the rent or truck payment, gas, electricity, ... For the men of Livingston County - that we would turn our hearts to You; for our great State, our Nation, and men all over the world - draw us to You! For Monica and all our family and friends - that You would forgive their sins, give them a desire to know You more intimately through the truth and fullness of the Catholic Church, protect them and keep them safe, heal their body, mind, soul and spirit, give them peace in their hearts, and let them know how much You love them. For Marty, Denada and their kids, Tony, Doreen, Liam, Aiden, Roger, Sheri, Benjamin, Kevin, his mom, dad, brother and his family, for John Paul, Brandon, Joe, Sam, Steve, Amber and Andrew, and Wendy and all their families. For Ms Laura, Mrs Mackmiller, Ms Wilson, Ms Hager, Mrs Mcgint, Mrs Thornburg, Mrs Dewan, Carl, Mr Tuworek, Leo, Mrs Rivet, Ms Art lady, Mr Computers, Mr Schultz, Dr B, Andrea, Ewa, Mary Ann, Debbie, Sparty man, Sean, Hart, Jacob, Oliver, Jack, Evan, Charlie, Anna, Sophia, Dana, Jena, Emma, Anthony, Lauren, Collette, Hunter, Hutton, Miss Coco, Miss Izzy, Miss Scarlet, Kaidon, Luke, Matthew, Hannah, Meka, Alex, Chris, Chloe and Joey and all their families. For Brent and Ashley, Kylie, Travis and Jackson, Juniper and Harlow, Scott, Cindy, Zach, Faith, Ty, Sandy, Jay, her brother and his family, Faith, Jim and Chris, the nice lady and her family, David, Michael and his mom, all our neighbors down that way, June, Brian, Shawna, John, Ron, Ed, the Georges, Shawn and Joanne and the maintenance mean and all their families. For Bonnie, Phyllis, Amy, Cheryl, Deb, Adam Mary Joe and all their families, for Tommy and Shelly, Vic AJ, Peggy, John, Michele, and their families; for Ron, Tim, Buttrey, Walt, Bill, Jonathan, Beth, Tommy, Termors, Fournier and their families; for the Nortons, Cece's, Charlicks, Sherwoods, and all the good folks from West Highland; for Deb, Kim, Denise, Meredith and their families; for the local folks we see at stores and shopping centers. 
For Stan, Rita, Charlotte, Stan, Beth, Kathy, Joey, Mary and her family, Eleanor, Caleb, Dana, Andrew and their kids, Stosh, Stacie, Carter, Parker, Ryan, Emily, Mary Ann, Dean and his family, Courtney, Rusty, Drew, Mason, Meggie, Jake, Quinn, Cameron, Deacon, Kacie, Alex, Harper, Brett M, Moni, Bob and his family, John, Jason, Jen, Joslin, Liam - that those kids and beautiful grandkids would grow up to know and love You, serve You all the days of their lives, and spend eternity with You in heaven - for Pam, Ken and his family, Kenny, Kendall, Marshall, Robert, Carolyn, Doug and his family, Terry, Jeannie and her family, Ty, Sophia, Trent, Kevin, Justin, Coret and her family, Torri, Kaylie, Claire, Camron, Kristine and all their families.
For mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, aunt Sue, uncle Elt, uncle Skip and their families, Jeff, Dawn, Josh, Christy, Cathy, Jeff, Francisco, Nicole, Owen, Kim, Mario, Dante, Sydney, Uncle Bill, Aunt Nancy and her family, Brad, Brenda, Blake, Brooke, Kelli, Doug, Marin, Cookie and the other daughter, Steve, Frances and her family, Charlie, Anne, Mary Ellen, all the Fuches and foxes and our other cousins; for grandma and grandpa, aunt Arlene, aunt Doreen, uncle Butch and his family, Vicki Dave, Dana, Gray, Wendy, Adam, Jason, Matthew, Gerald, Tiffany, Elizabeth, Mackenzie, Laura, Ray and Emily, Jim and Ed, Mel and Grace and Bob, uncle Art, aunt Dorothy, Janis, uncle Fred, aunt Delores and Donna, Sharon, Sandy, Jim their kids and grand kids Jake and Jack, Aunt Grace and Uncle Harold, Shirley, Diane, Jesse and her family, Kenny and his family. For Nancy and Ruben and his family especially baby Sullivan, Ramon, Alexander, Ricardo, Belle and Eli, Benjamin and Mackenzie, Carlos, Cheyenne and her family. For Gary and Mary and her family, for Joshua, Taylor, Theo James, Ty, Jeremy Breeze, Lauren and her family and Own, for Nicholas, his dad and his family, for Ariel, Isaiah, and Alexander.
And I give You this day: my every thought, word, action, decision, work, play, rest, EVERYTHING!

Thank You, Lord.
Come Holy Spirit;
come now;
come as You wish.

Amen

Sunday, August 21, 2022

2022 Graduation!

 A blessed time yestreday celebrating my youngest nephew Ricardo's graduation! 

We were at mom and dad's in Westland; the weather cooperated, and my sister had done up a wonderful taco bar for dinner. It's always good to see family and friends - those kids grow up so fast! There were collages of photos of Ricardo through the years  and Ric did get the Elvis taking a knee figurine he was hoping for! 

Ricardo below, with his freshman buddies :-)

God bless you all, in this next chapter of your lives.





Friday, August 12, 2022

This day I am thankful...

Dearest Father~

Thank You for another beautiful summer day! Thank You for getting me up this morning, and getting me to work safely. Thank You for my job. Thank You for our vehicles. Thank You for loving us so much. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for Your Spirit. Thank You for Your Church. Thank You for Your Word. Thank you for Father Tom and Father Miguel and Father Matthias. Thank you for organists and choir and maintenance folks and secretaries and school teachers. 

All praise and glory is Yours!


 











































Saturday, August 6, 2022

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!

My wife's Compass is at the shop, denying a simple diagnosis to the mechanics who are trying to determine the cause of the erratic temp gauge. As a result, we are sharing one vehicle, for the first time (for more than a couple days) in a long time. The 09 Escort we bought last spring has been a faithful ride to and from work, and for our (much more scarce of late) Saturday morning drives exploring the beauty and wonder (and bargains) of this Great State. What a Friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear.

The other day, when my sweetie was backing in to our drive I noticed that the driver side brake light was out. Then when driving, it was the tell-tale quick turn signal when making a left that confirmed the issue. I know you can get pulled over for the gross infraction of no brake light, and so I added this to the Stuff I Need To Worry About list (which has been growing exponentially, it seems). 

 'Would I be able to access the bulb?', 'Would I have to have someone do this job, that used to be so simple on older cars?' 'In case I could in fact access the bulb, would the spare 1157s I have kept in my vehicles for years be the correct replacement?'

So as I began my morning errands, I started praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. I have found this morning ritual to be supernaturally comforting to me, if only to keep my mind on Jesus, and not on my worries. What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer.

I had temporarily put the light out of my mind, as I was on my way to our Kroger for a couple things, until I was turning left onto the Michigan Highway 36, off of Merrill Road. As I signaled, the hyper-fast click click click was my reminder, but I was thankful that it was Saturday, I was not on my way to work, and I had all the time I needed to check this out. 

I parked in a good spot, and opened the back gate. Praise the LORD! The housing assembly was held in place by two cross screws, and my fishing tackle box sure enough contained the right driver for this job. In another box I keep in the vehicle was an emergency set of sockets and pliers, along with a package of two 1157 bulbs. Would they fit? I was amped at this point to find out.

Screws out, the housing compartment slid out like it just went in yestreday, and with a quick (lefty loosey) turn of the bulb, it also came out of the housing, black as a burnt hamburger bun. God be praised! again, it was a match for the replacements I had carried for hundreds of thousands of miles, just in case. :-) Quick pull on the old one, quick shove of the new one it, quick righty tighty turn of the bulb in the compartment, and the box slid right back into place. Two screws finished the deal, the entirety of which took all of four minutes. Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear. All because we don not carry, Everything to God in prayer.

Thank You, Father, for Your provision, and not just when I see it working out as I would like it to. Thank You, for knowing what's best for us, and for loving us so much. 



 

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Recipes Number 18 and 19: Yellowstone Taco Salad and Cowboy Cookies

Every once in a while  I receive an email containing something excellent and worthy of note. Yestreday one came from my sister with a recipe for 'cowboy cookies', which I admitted I had never heard of. The recipe was quite simple enough, and I only needed to pick up a couple of items on the way home to make it work. I had planned on doing my taco salad on the grill that night as well, so it turned out to be one big kitchen and deck extravaganza.

I actually made the cookies first, while I was prepping for the salad; that way the house smelt pretty good before I got the neighborhood smelling like barbecue :-)

For the cookies:

1 c softened butter
1 c granulated sugar
1 c dark brown sugar packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking SODA
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking POWDER
2 c AP flour
2 c oats
package of chocolate chips

I creamed the sugar and butter in my stand mixer, then added the eggs, then soda, salt, powder, flour and oats. When all was quite incorporated, I added the chips. Some recipes call for walnuts and coconut. I will rarely put nuts in anything I bake; I will NEVER put coconut in anything I bake. Period.

This recipe did six trays of 11 cookies each: 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

Yummy. I had already eaten several by the time I lit the fire for the grill.

I moved on to the meat for our salad; in my decades-old ten inch cast iron skillet the ingredients: about a pound of ground turkey, onions, bell peppers, and seasoning. (I have no camera, sorry - photos would be nice here.)

Lean ground turkey
Mexican oregano
chili powder
cumin
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
ground black pepper
a bit of jarred salsa
corn chips
shred colby jack cheese
served with sour cream and guacamole

I cooked the meat, vegetables, seasoning over lump charcoal until the meat was done - about a half hour at about 250, and then added the salsa at the end of cooking. I brought in the pan of meat, and in the kitchen built the salad.

On an old cookie sheet, I placed my 11-inch springform pan. In this I layered busted up corn chips, meat mix, and cheese - twice. I topped it with some chopped green onions and put it on the grill over indirect heat, with the lid closed. I left it in there until the cheese started melting and the whole concoction began to settle a bit - maybe another half hour, while I did the dishes from the cookie bake. 

I spooned up a wedge and topped it with just a dollop of sour cream, and a bit of homemade guacamole. After all the cookies, I could only eat one bowl of this fantastic dinner, but I did find room for several more cookies while we watched Yellowstone later. 

Thank you, Jesus, for a fun night, for the time we could be together, and for always providing for our needs. We love You, too.






Friday, June 24, 2022

Roe v. Wade has been overturned. God be praised!

As the lunacy in this great Nation continues, Lord, please give us the grace to fight this fight well. 
I praise You for Your goodness.
I praise You for Your Word.
I praise You for Your Son.
I praise You for Your Spirit.
I praise You for Your Church.
I praise You for the glory of Your Creation.




Tuesday, June 21, 2022

 Praising God for His goodness this morning.

Thanking God for His provision, patience, love, mercy, lovingkindness.

Asking God for the grace to live and love how He wants me to live and love.

... 

...

Thank You, Father

Monday, June 13, 2022

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

 Praising God for His goodness and provision, on a beautiful Monday morning!

Oh give thanks unto the Lord - His mercy endures forever!

Blessed be the Lord God Almighty; who Was and Is and Is to come!


Yestreday's mass was beautiful, again; but this one filled me so, that I wanted to share a bit. The feast day was the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. As Lutherans, we had a whole season celebrating the Trinity, which roughly corresponds to the Catholic Ordinary Time after Pentecost.

Our celebration yestreday began with an amazing piece done by the choir in at least four parts, full of praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. We then invoked the help of St Michael, and we sang the processional hymn, where the priest, deacon, servers, the Cross, and the Word were brought to the altar. This hymn, which we also sung at our wedding 27 years ago, was Holy, Holy, Holy:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee!
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.

Oh the majesty in that hymn! My sobbing, which had begun during the rosary before mass, and through the choral prelude, continued.

The first reading was from Proverbs, regarding Wisdom:

“The LORD begot me, the beginning of his works,

the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;

From of old I was formed,

at the first, before the earth.

When there were no deeps I was brought forth,

when there were no fountains or springs of water;

Before the mountains were settled into place,

before the hills, I was brought forth;

When the earth and the fields were not yet made,

nor the first clods of the world.

When he established the heavens, there was I,

when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;

When he made firm the skies above,

when he fixed fast the springs of the deep;

When he set for the sea its limit,

so that the waters should not transgress his command;

When he fixed the foundations of earth,

then was I beside him as artisan;

I was his delight day by day,

playing before him all the while,

Playing over the whole of his earth,

having my delight with human beings.”


Then from the eighth Psalm:

When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place—
What is man that you are mindful of him,
and a son of man that you care for him?
 
Yet you have made him little less than a god,
crowned him with glory and honor.
 
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
put all things at his feet:
 
All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,
 
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
 
O LORD, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth! 


 Then from the fifth of Romans:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.


And then from the 16th of St John's Gospel:

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that He will take from what is mine and declare it to you.


 From Loyola Press (https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/liturgical-year/sunday-connection/most-holy-trinity-cycle-c-sunday-connection/), regarding the Gospel reading:

"Reading this passage on Trinity Sunday reinforces our understanding of the unity shared by the members of the Trinity. Although the idea of one God in three persons remains a mystery, we have the assurance that, as Jesus and the Father share all, Jesus and the Spirit share all.

Truly a mystery, and truly wonderful. Blessed be God forever!

 

 

Friday, June 10, 2022

From Pope Francis, on Living With Christ

 Reprinted in my daily devotional from Loyola Press (https://www.loyolapress.com/retreats/celebrating-eucharist/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Your+3-Minute+Retreat+for++TODAY&utm_campaign=3-Minute+Retreat+Master+Template)


It is not creativity, however pastoral it may be, or meetings or planning that ensures our fruitfulness, even if these are greatly helpful. But what ensures our fruitfulness is our being faithful to Jesus, who says insistently: “Abide in me and I in you” (John 15:4). And we know well what that means: to contemplate him, to worship him, to embrace him, in our daily encounter with him in the Eucharist, in our life of prayer, in our moments of adoration; it means to recognize him present and to embrace him in those most in need. “Being with” Christ does not mean isolating ourselves from others. Rather, it is a “being with” in order to go forth and encounter others.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Musings on an Easter Thursday

 Like five loans going right now, which makes my eight hours of enslavement seem like twenty. There are only so many games one is able to engage in, without the game itself becoming drudgery. Thankfully, the New York Slime only gives me one Wordle per day :-).

Kemple Spruce appraisal came in early to-day but four of the rooms in one unit need flooring, and this will delay our closing for sure. Baxter had to be resubmitted due to the addition of co-borrower spouse, and we will get their appraisal transferred to the new loan. Spawn's two TBD loans are both approved - one he is working furiously on and the other not so much. I keep hearing about a host of new refinances coming from Tina but have not seen any app data yet. Stay tuned...

My morning time was especially blessed earlier. Father Al provided just a little more insight into the vastly huge, unprecedented Father's love for me. The Legionairies of Christ guided me through praying with an open heart: Lord, increase my love and appreciation for the Church and her leaders.

Our guest list for Mom's huge shindig has inflated to five confirmed, and possibly as high as nine. Not including Gar, Mary, Nicholas, Joshua, Nancy Ann, Ricardo, Beni, Mack, Belle, Eli, Mom, Dad, and I. So like seventeen, with a potential for nineteen. Will I really need an entire case of Koegle Viennas? I've already mentally scratched the slaw, the rice krispy treats, and possibly the sangria. Lord, please guide us through the process - we give it all to You.

The Aldi ad doesn't look so hot, but as we do need a couple of staples (ketchup, eggs, mushrooms and rice for shrimp fried rice tonight - more on this as it becomes available :-), I will visit there after Reconciliation. 

Did about a half hour on the FitNation last night and my knees feel pretty good, God be praised! 

Yankees Orioles is the free MLB game of the day, so I will have that as my background this afternoon; yestreday's Called to Communion on youtube now :-)


Yawn... . Spider, check email, Mahjong Titans, check email, Hearts, check email, Solitaire, check email, Chess Titans, check email, check fantasy baseball scores, ...LORD, please send us some loans






Great 2nd Verse #3

 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ein Feste Burg)

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing.

Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God’s own choosing.

You ask Who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He!

Lord Sabaoth His Name,

From age to age the same;

And He must win the battle!







Friday, April 22, 2022

Friday of the Octave of Easter Banter, and a Recipe Thrown In As A Bonus

Rookie Beau Brieske goes tomorrow (Saturday) for the Tigers against the Rockies in his first MLB start. A bit of his story in a good Bless You Boys article: https://www.blessyouboys.com/2022/3/12/22952332/detroit-tigers-beau-brieske-pitching-prospects

We are turned a proverbial corner with respect to weather. We had snow three days ago (actually stuck, and froze hard overnight) but it'll be 65 to-day and 80 tomorrow! I'm getting excited about peppers and tomatoes and, when this avian flu pandemic passes, safflower in the feeders. 

I put together a dish this morning I was going to cook tonight but was challenged by my beautiful bride regarding the whole chicken sitting around in the refrigerator thing. I'll provide the (very common) recipe, and then my thinking regarding the cooking tonight.

1 cup brown rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup +- chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
about 4 big bella mushrooms diced up
1 good size broccoli floret diced into bite sizes
4 bigass chicken thighs with bone and skin, the way we all used to eat them
garlic powder
dried garden herbs

I added the first six items to my favorite casserole dish and stirred to combine. then the thighs went on top, skins up, covered with the seasoning. Easy bake at 350 for almost an hour and a half - until the meat temp was over 165. 

Crispy tasty skin, moist savory chicken, and yummy rice/vegetables on the side. I decided to cook it at 5:00 this morning, and by 6:30 the smell in the house was such that I could sleep no more until I had at least tried this. So I had a big plate with a diet dew and jumped back in bed for a bit before starting my work day. 

God is good, He is mighty to save, just and righteous. There is none like Him!



Wednesday, March 30, 2022

 God of justice, help me to look outside myself and be alert to the needs of others. Help me to remember that I serve You through service to others.



Sunday, March 27, 2022

Laetare Sunday 2022

 Will this be more ramblings, or will it take more form and have substance?  .. .. .. 

I've been working with my brother and sister on a birthday shindig for mommie dearest, who turned 80 this past December. We decided to make the open house in June of this year be a sort of dual birthday celebration and 60th anniversary commemoration, which is coming up this 6th of October. Much of the preparation has been delegating and concurring on time, format, menu, guest list, etc; it has good pretty smooth so far. I am on the books for (and this is just me thinking out loud, if you will) coleslaw, hotdogs, fixins bar, rice krispy chocolate and peanut butter as per Ree Drumond treats, lemonade, a summer sangria iced beverage, firewood, bottle water, soft drinks, ice for coolers and drinks, 

The communication yestreday was on point and to the point, God be praised!! More so than much accomplished, I would say much was initiated - all towards the goal of a 'successful' endeavour. 

Father in Heaven, we entrust this event to You - all the planning and preparations, decisions and details, food and fellowship - all to Your glory! Thank You for what we have accomplished so far; continue to be our Guide and Ultimate Provider. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; amen.

We have our next phone gathering for 3:00 pm our time on the 9th of April, two weeks hence.

So far tentatively we have

Mom and Dad providing the yard, home, rented canopy with tables, fire pit, indoor food presentation and lavatory facilities, fried chicken, 

Nancy Ann working on the decorations and cake, and further providing fruit, potato salad. She did agree to sing Be Still My Soul as per TLH arrangement, and also volunteered her daughter Belle as a fourth, and possibly a soprano.

Gary and Mary Baldner bringing Nicholas and Joshua Michael, as well as desserts; and creating and mailing the invitations. Gary also agreed to sing Be Still My Soul for ma.

My beautiful bride Monica offered to make her world famous pasta salad; my remaining responsibilities are listed above. 


Sunday, March 20, 2022

Recipe #33: Goodass Spaghetti

 Third Sunday in Lent, and I'm ready for a little bit o' pasta I think. After a blessed trip to Aldi yestreday, we have all the fixin's.


Ingredients:

one turn of the pan EVOO
1 big old can of crushed tomatoes (maybe 30 oz?)
about a cup of chicken broth
1 beefsteak tomato diced
1 white onion diced
1 green pepper diced
tablespoon of minced garlic
about a pound and a quarter ground turkey (85/15)
one container of sliced mushrooms
onion powder
dried parsley/sage/rosemary/thyme from the garden
dried basil
dried oregano
thin spaghetti noodles















Order of operations:

I warmed up the oil then added the onion, pepper, garlic (oh that aroma!) and then the meat, and cooked until the meat was done. I added the broth and tomatoes, and then the seasoning and brought it to a boil. Then I lowered the heat, and let it simmer covered for about an hour. I added about half a box of noodles to the sauce and let that go probably another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve with some grated parmesan and a fat slice of butter bread, and sit down with the clicker for some college basketball. 

God bless you all. 



Friday, March 11, 2022

Lenten Tartar

 I've been experimenting for years - trying to get the most flavorful tartar sauce imaginable. We both agreed last week's version was pretty darn close, so I want to record it here for posterity. Amounts (as ever) are approximate.

3/4 c mayo
1 squirt dark brown mustard
tbs Worcestershire
tbs lemon juice
1/4 c diced dill pickles
1/4 c finely diced red onion
pinch of dill seed
a couple grinds of black pepper

Combine all in a Kitchen Aid bowl with a tight lid; this will last til next Friday in a good cold fridge, if there's any left. 

Should it seem not thick enough, add more mayo/pickles to stiffen it up a bit. You may add salt if your palette deems it necessary, but we don't add table salt to any dishes (mayo, mustard, Worcestershire, and  pickles all contain sodium!).

God bless