This afternoon after church and a very hurried lunch at El Charro -- poor Travis - I saw him start to eat a bite and his hand was stopped in mid-air - trying to catch the first of the ballgame! That was true love or hunger to take us to lunch and THE BALLGAME starting at 12 noon! After the outcome - he probably wished he had stayed all afternoon! Oh well - we got home before 12:30 -- so he didn't have to miss much! I attended a young and beautiful bride's wedding shower this afternoon. She was so young, excited, and in love. I wonder how many people married at least 10 years - much less 20, 30 or 40+ years can say everything stayed just as perfect and wonderful as it was that first few weeks or months?? So - if it doesn't stay "So Perfect" - why are we still married? The answer - I think --You make a commitment to one another - but more important you remember - through thick and thin - you made a commitment to God - to stay with one another "for better or worse" until death do you part. It also helps if you make God an active part of your commitment! Someone who had been divorced told me: "Looking back - I see now that you can choose to love someone or you can look at all their faults, ignore yours - and leave - and start all over doing the same thing!" Good advise to remember, don't you think? So my prayer for that young bride - is choose to always love your husband and keep God close by!
Well - Mark (our preacher) you did your two sermons today (and great ones too) and this was mine!
I asked Travis what he suggested I tell you tonight and he said, "well it is about cooking, isn't it?" Then his suggestion was that I give you some of my recipes for simple meals that are quick and he thinks are quite good. So - have you ever used a crock pot? I don't very often - but one of my favorite dishes comes right out of the crock pot! It is "PULLED PORK SANDWICHES."
INGREDIANTS: 3 or 4 Thick cut pork chops., 1/2 cup Kraft original barbeque sauce, 1 teaspoon seasoning (either Cavenders or some some type of grilled steak seasoning, 1 onion, sliced, 1 small jar of drained mushrooms (stems are fine), and 1 chopped plum tomato or if fresh tomato is unavailable, use 1 drained can of diced petite tomatoes. DIRECTIONS: Place the pork chops in the crock pot, slice onion on top, topped with mushrooms. Stir the seasoning into the barbeque sauce and pour on top. Chop the tomato on top (or put canned tomatoes.) Cook on high about 1 hour and then turn to low for 5 to 6 hours. Remove pork chops, shred with fork. Pour juice into small sauce pan, add about 3 Tablespoons brown sugar and cook to melt sugar. Add pork to sauce and serve on hamburger buns (I prefer whole wheat ones!) Combine this with a simple pasta salad and you have a great meal! For my favorite pasta salad, I like to cook the whole wheat spirals, cook a bag of Asian flavored frozen veggies in the microwave, drain and add to the pasta, with a little salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Great Meal. The Pulled pork makes about 8 to 10 sandwiches! You know I like "production food" or gourmet but some of the best meals are those that are simple and just plain good! If I can make time permit tomorrow -- I am going to cook some new beans - they are called Anasazi Beans -- a great cook (and her Italian husband is even greater!) brought some to work one day. Her aunt had given them to her at Christmas. They are really gorgeous - just in a jar on the cabinet - red, pink, and white speckled. They are similar to pintos, but are sweeter, do not have to be soaked, and do not take as long to cook. Short of the story - we loved them and Kim found them on the internet in a small town in Colorado - and we ordered some. So I am going to cook the beans, the cornbread I've told you about, and do a really fresh green salad to go with them. Now Travis may insist on some meat - he can have a hot dog - no seriously - a meal that is tasty doesn't have to be elaborate. The key is to make it taste good!!! And it always makes my man happier - if I have a great dessert for him! So I will try to do that too! I will let you know tomorrow!!
So for this week - I am going to give you some really easy, simple and delicious meals or dishes to prepare - so please try some of them and see if you like them - or more important - did your family like them! Then next week - I hope to spend some time giving you some easy - but delicious appetisers to fix for any Super Bowl party you might be having or attending! One more thing before I sign off for the night -- I mentioned "MUFA's" and how they benefit our bodies -- well I thought I would tell you that MUFA (MOO-fah) stands for "monounsaturated fatty acid" - a type of heart healthy, disease-fighting, "good" fat found in foods like almonds, peanut butter, olive oil, avocados, even chocolate! So enjoy some MUFA's and lose that belly fat!!!
Enjoy tomorrow - MLK day - and I really got a new appreciation of the day and what it represents from our preacher this morning! So play it forward -- do something nice for someone -- and then just perhaps - they will continue the deed! God's will - tune in tomorrow! Good night!
You go, girl! And thanks for the shout out.
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