Well, it’s been a while, but looks like we’re gonna open up Miz Judi’s Kitchen again. Miz Judi was like… “I’m gonna let you back in MY kitchen and no Deb to clean up behind you?? Get outta here!”

But, here I am so, I’m beginning to think that her bark is worse than her bite, BUT, I’d be willing to bet if she WERE forced to bite…shed take a chunk out of ya!

Diane in Virginia sent me a joke I thought I’d share with you guys…

Before Obama was elected President he went to see Bill and Hillary for some campaign advice, at their spacious home. After drinking several glasses of iced tea, he asked Bill Clinton if he could use his personal bathroom.

That evening, when Bill and Hillary were getting ready for bed, Hillary smiled, and said to Bill: “I found out who peed in your saxophone.”

The next is from Diane too.

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys and inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the top and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water.

This, my friends, is how Congress operates… and this is why, from time to time:
ALL OF THE MONKEYS NEED TO BE REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.

She sent me another one just recently also, but I’ll not share that particular one. It is a well written piece, and the author makes several great points, and I’m one that wholeheartedly believes in giving credit where credits due.

That is, until I find out “the author” just happens to teach at a major university up north of here…WAY up north of here…Athens to be exact.

You know where I’m talkin about by now, right? They bark like dogs, woof-woof, and their mascot IS a dog…named uga…uga sounds like tug-ga…without the t.

The dog don’t even look mean.

Every time I’ve seen the camera pan over to him…the dern thing looks plum give-out. Layin down, tongue hangin out, just a hasslin.

They ought to get some kind of a cool lookin mascot. I mean, how hard could that be?? Shoot, give me just a second or two, and I’ll come up with one right off the top of my head.…hmmm…what’s a good lookin mascot?

Now I didn’t spend anytime thinkin about this, but the first thing popped into my mind was that alligator one. Who is he supposed to represent anyway? I think it’s a team in Florida, right??? LOL!

One of Athens most famous graduates (Mr. Lewis G. hisself),described uga once as a creature that inside a FULL stadium, packed with spectators, would sometimes wander out towards the 50 yard line, sit down and start likkin itself, well…where dogs do.

His buddy looks over at him and says, “Hey Lewis…MAN…I wish I could do that!”

To which Lewis replies, “Man…that dog’d BITE you!”

Enjoy the recipes, God Bless, and keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!

Dub and Deb

Fiesta Burgers

• ¾ cup crushed saltine crackers
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup catsup
• 2 teaspoons minced onions
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 (10-1/2 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained
• 1/3 cup fresh or frozen chopped green pepper
• ½ cup shredded natural Cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine cracker crumbs, eggs, catsup, onions, and Worcestershire sauce. Add meat and mix well; shape into 6 patties. In large skillet, brown the patties on both sides. Pour soup over meat; top with beans and green peppers. Cook, covered, over low heat 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and heat until cheese melts.

Kraut Burgers

• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 (8 oz.) can sauerkraut, drained and snipped (that’s probably cut up a little, huh?)
• 1 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• ½ teaspoon caraway seed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Preheat broiler. Combine ground beef sauerkraut, Italian dressing, onion, caraway seed, and salt and pepper. Shape into 6 patties, ¾ inch thick. Broil on broiler pan 3 inches from heat for 6 minutes. Turn patties and broil another 6 to 8 minutes.

Serve in toasted hamburger buns. Top burgers with additional sauerkraut.

Beef Logs

• ¼ cup crushed corn flakes
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 slightly beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons chopped ripe olives
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon snipped parsley
• ½ teaspoon minced onion
• 1 pound ground beef
• 6 hotdog buns, split and toasted

Preheat broiler. In mixing bowl combine corn flakes, sour cream, egg, olives, chili sauce, parsley, onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Add ground beef and mix well. Shape into 6 logs to fit the buns.
Broil on broiler pan 3 inches from heat until done, 9 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Serve logs on toasted buns.

Egg and Bean Salad

• 6 hardboiled eggs, chopped
• 1 (14 oz.) can baked beans in molasses sauce (1-3/4 cups)
• ½ cup sliced celery
• 2 tablespoons fresh or frozen green peppers
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• Salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce to taste
• Bed of lettuce in individual salad bowls

In large bowl combine all ingredients but lettuce. Mix together lightly and chill until ready to serve. Serve salad over lettuce.

As I said in our previous post, Deb and I hope you guys had a great Mother’s Day. Boy we sure did! It was at my Mom and Dad’s, and all of our grandchildren were there. That doesn’t happen too often anymore, so when it does we’re very pleased.

We’ve been very fortunate in regards to our children and grandchildren. None really ever got into any type of trouble, and all are in great health. We are blessed in their regard!

I’ll show a video of some of our family while at Mother’s Day. We’re just a normal family, most of the time, but I guess in truth, if there are any “abnormal ones,” it’s probably me! LOL! Or, Deb considers it this way most times!

The kids and grandkids were out hitting golf balls, or playing softball. No video games for them. That in itself is a blessing.

Plus, most of our kids and grandkids are involved in some sort of backyard gardening as well. This is one fact that Deb and I are very proud of. It too gets them outside, and is really a very good learning experience for them. Far too many children today have no earthly idea in how to grow a garden or take care of one.

But again, Mark’s daughter Shelby Lynn, who’s 5, doesn’t come to her Nana and Papa’s house without first…goin to the garden. That little girl just loves to be around a dern garden, and enjoys helping us pick the vegetables. She’s a “sport-model” for sure!

Josh, our oldest son, and his family have just started gardening. Josh is already impressed by how his two oldest boys, Devin who’s 15, and Landon who’s 9, have taken to it. Actually, as soon as school’s out, Devin is coming to spend the summer with Deb and I and help us out around here. We can’t wait!

It will be a good experience for him, and we hope he finds this all to his liking, but from our conversations with him, we feel he’s just as anxious to stay with us, as we are for him to! Time will tell.

We actually had it on Saturday, as my sister and her oldest daughter, Jacie, were down, and their flight back to N. Carolina was leaving EARLY Sunday morning.

I asked Mom why we didn’t just have it Sunday as usual since Sunday WAS Mother’s Day. Her reply was, “WELL, Marie and Jacie would like to celebrate Mother’s Day with us too!”

I said, “MOM, we could call them Sunday after they got back home, and everybody say hello over the dern phone! That way, there’d be a lot more beef tenderloin to go around!”

She just shook her head! Deb’s a lot like Mom too! LOL!

Anyway, here’s the video from Mom’s Mother’s Day.

Isn’t it great to see kids out playing games?

I gotta say though, ole Wille, our grandson who was out holdin left field down is kinda like his Papa Dub…we both like to play games, but at mealtime, there ain’t no gamin goin on at the table, we’re dead serious at that point!

We’re both firm believers nt workin that knife and fork wide open…we’re gonna eat it, before it has a chance to eat us! Or at least that’s along our lines of thought! LOL!

Our next video is of my Mom’s cook shed. We have some friends out in Louisiana that are looking to build one and they wanted to see how Mom’s turned out, so, we filmed it for them. Mom’s did turn out nice, and boy she’s proud of that booger too!

Where there lake is in the video is one that Dad had dug 5-6 years ago. They were putting in a new road and needed dirt, so Dad sold the dirt and got a lake out of the deal too.

Actually though, many years ago Mom’s cook shed would have been on an island. Where the new lake is was once a lake, years ago. It actually wrapped all around where the cook shed is, and there was an old dirt road that was built to get out to the island. This though was many moons ago.

The island has many large oak trees and cabbage palms on it. It is really a beautiful spot, and with the large trees, and the lake there, there’s always a nice breeze. It’s not only a good eatin spot, but also a great spot just to go down, get in one of those rockin chairs and read a book. A very pleasant place.

Anyway, here’s Ruthie’s cook shed. Ruth is my Mom’s name, but me, my brother and sister have called her “Ruthie” for years! I guess because she’s not only one fine Mama, but is really our best friend too!

Let’s close out today with food for thought, and actually a request. This request comes from our sister-in-law Patty, and actually I felt it to be appropriate…LOL!

Dear friends,

Together, we can make it happen. Thank you!

Patty

You guys have a great day, and God Bless! Deb says to keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!

Dub and Deb

Our friend Edith sent this video to us, and we thought we’d share it with you guys today. It’s very short, but if you’ve raised any children, especially “male children, “ then I’m sure you can relate!

This too comes from Edith…

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they

were on the way to church service,

‘And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?’

One bright little girl replied,

‘Because people are sleeping.’

We have another friend who contributes “funnies” to us quite a bit, ole Diane up in Virginia. She sent us some animal pics the other day that were pretty funny, but cute as well. Anyway, at the end was a quote that got me to thinking…

“Life is short…smile while you still have teeth!”

Well, today’s recipes come from a cookbook we purchased at a supermarket here in town. We’ve used it before and again, there are some good recipes in it. It’s called, “Taste of Home…Casseroles and One Dish Meals.”

Today’s recipes are breakfast dishes, but, if you’re like Deb and I, there are many times we eat breakfast…for supper!

Baked Apple French Toast

• 20 slices French bread
• 1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup cold butter, cubed
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup

Arrange 10 slices of bread in a greased 13×9 in. baking dish. Spread with pie filling; top with remaining bread. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Meanwhile, place brown sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans and corn syrup. Sprinkle over French toast.

Bake uncovered, on 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Beverly Johnston, Rubicon, Wisconsin

Bacon and Cheddar Strata

• 1 pound bacon strips
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 8 green onions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 8 slices white bread, cubed
• 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1-1/2 cups 2 % milk
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet cook bacon in batches until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble into a large bowl. Add the red pepper, onion, and tomatoes. In a greased 13×9 in. baking dish, layer half the bread, bacon mixture and cheese. Top with remaining bread and bacon mixture.

In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, mayonnaise and seasonings. Pour over the top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to baking. Bake, covered, on 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Deb Healy, Cold Lake, Alberta

Sausage-Potato Bake

• ½ pound bulk pork sausage
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced.
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 jar (2 0z.) diced pimientos, drained
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons minced chives
• ¾ teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
• Additional minced chives, optional

In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-heat until no longer pink; drain.

Arrange half the potatoes in a greased 8 in. baking dish; sprinkle with salt, pepper and half the sausage. Layer with remaining potatoes and sausage; sprinkle with pimientos.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, chives and thyme; pour over pimientos.

Cover and bake on 375 for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Uncover; bake for 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Sprinkle with additional chives if desired.

Ruth Rigoni, Hurley, Wisconsin

Reuben Quiche

• 1 cup, plus 3 tablespoons finely crushed Rye triscuits or other crackers
• 1 tablespoon rye or all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted

Filling

• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese, divided
• 1 package (2-1/2 oz.) deli corned beef, cut into 2 in. strips
• ½ cup sauerkraut, well drained
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, flour and butter; press onto the bottom and up the sides of an un-greased 9 in. pie plate. Bake on 375 for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, sauté onions in butter until tender; set aside. Sprinkle ½ cup cheese over crust. Top with corned beef, sauerkraut, and remaining cheese. Whisk the eggs, cream, flour, mustard, salt and reserved onion mixture; pour over cheese.

Bake, uncovered, on 375 for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let quiche stand for 5 minutes.

Barbara Nowakowski, North Tonawanda, New York

Mom and Dad are coming down for lunch. We’re having Granny Margaret’s Meatloaf, peas, macaroni-n-cheese, Mom’s chili sauce, rice and tomato gravy and a good fresh salad.

After the meal, for dessert, Deb will be havin carrots dipped in beet juice for her sweet tooth, and I’ll be having the same, followed up immediately with a #1 washtub full of peach cobbler covered with homemade vanilla ice cream!

Just kiddin Mississippi, on both counts! That dern peach cobbler and homemade ice cream do sound good though, doesn’t they? Wonder when ole Deb’s headed back up to Live Oak to see her family?
Hmmm…

Granny’s meatloaf is a hit though…every time! Our whole family loves it, and 9 out of 10 times, they come down, that’s what Mom and Dad want for the meal. I gotta say, that mutha makes some really good meatloaf sandwiches the next day…or two!

We always cook about 3 times what we need. We eat about a third for lunch, eat about another third between sharin another meal or two with Mom and Dad, both of us having it for the next nights meal as well.

After that we’ll food saver the other third in some meal size packs…quick and simple dinner for one night down the road.

Well, why don’t we go back in Miz Judi’s Kitchen and fire off the cook stove?

Salmon Patties With Sauce

• 1 (15-1/2 oz.) can salmon, drained
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (8 oz.) can English peas, drained

Drain salmon; reserve 2 tablespoons liquid and set aside. Flake salmon; add onion and egg. Mix. Stir in ½ cup of flour. Add baking powder to salmon liquid. Stir well and add salmon mixture. Mix well. Make into 4 patties and fry in hot oil (375) until golden brown, (about 5 minutes.) Drain.

Sauce

Melt butter in saucepan. Add ¼ cup of flour, stir constantly, and gradually add milk, continuing to stir constantly until mixture is thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, and peas Serve over patties.

Sharon Bray

Crab Quiche

• 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups whipping cream
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 (6 oz.) packages frozen crabmeat, thawed and drained
• 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper
• Pastry for 9-inch pie

Line a 9-inch quiche or pie pan with pastry. Saute onion in butter until tender. Set aside. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add the whipping cream and salt, mixing well. Stir in sautéed onion, crab meat, cheese, sherry, and pepper. Pour into a partially baked (about 5 minutes) pastry shell. Bake on 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 for an additional 35 to 40 minutes until set.

Brenda Bray Harris

Baked Cheese and Shrimp Custard

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• ½ cup finely chopped celery
• ¼ cup butter
• 4 slices of bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• ½ pound cooked, cleaned shrimp
• 1-1/2 cups American cheese, grated
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• ½ teaspoon salt

Saute onion and celery in butter for 5 minutes or until soft. Add bread cubes and lightly toss to coat with butter. Turn 1/3 of bread mixture into a 1-1/2 quart greased casserole. Add ½ the shrimp, then ½ the cheese. Repeat the layers of bread, shrimp, and cheese and top with a layer of bread mixture. Combine the eggs, milk and salt and pour over the layers; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake on 325 for 45 minutes or until set and a knife inserted in custard comes out clean.

Bea Bird

Vinegar Pie

• 1 stick margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

Combine margarine, flour, vinegar, sugar, vanilla and eggs, blending well. Pour into pie shell. Bake on 300 for 45 minutes.

Eva Dell Beaty

Well, today I’ve been back in that dern cookbook, “White Trash Gatherings,” and found a few more recipes I’d like to share with you. I get a kick readin through this cookbook, and it’s about my 4th or 5th pass in it.

It’s really entertaining to read, and if you guys were born in the South, around my time, much of it brings back memories. Good, old, down home memories. I think of my Granddaddy Troy, his wife and my Granny Margaret, and my Mom’s mother, my Nanny Murphy.

Boy, what a different age we live in today. Life was so much simpler then. Don’t get me wrong, life was hard, and you WORKED for what you got…there were no such thing as… “ENTITLEMENTS!!!!”

If there had of been, most would have been too ashamed to have taken them! Don’t get me wrong…people did help people, but it was neighbor helping neighbor. They didn’t need, nor wanted “Uncle Sam” minglin in their business! They took care of one another.

They did love their Country deeply, very deeply as a matter of fact, and didn’t hesitate to respond if duty called, yet their business was just that…THEIR BUSINESS! Once more, Uncle Sam had his place, and it wasn’t tellin them how to live…they wouldn’t tolerate such.

Yet today, we have created an environment of…gimme, gimme, gimme, OR, what’s yours is MINE TOO! It’s expected that we give part of our hard-earned money to people who mainly…just don’t want to work. Get this…it’s expected, and even worse, the ones we’re givin it to, no longer appreciate the fact that we’re doin just that…givin it to em.

Plus, many of the ones expectin, and takin…aren’t even citizens of our Country! What have we come to? What used to be a Nation of achievers, the very best on the planet, is fast becoming a Nation of…YOU OWE ME’S! My thoughts on this…##%**!!…**??!!

Let me get back to these recipes before I DO get angry, and mess around and burn down Miz Judi’s Kitchen by not payin attention to this dad-burned cook stove! 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. Okay, okay, I feel much better now.

Take a look at pickin up this cookbook. Again, it was written by, Kendra Bailey Morris, and published by ten Speed Press. Revisit your past, and take a stroll down “memory lane!” It’ll do us all some good!

Pinto Bean Pie

• 1-1/2 cups dried pinto beans
• 3 medium, or 2 extra -large eggs, beaten
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 (13 oz.) can evaporated milk
• ½ stick butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Whipped cream for serving

Cook up your beans in a plain ole pot of water until real tender, about 3 hours at a low simmer. Strain, and reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid.

Turn your oven on 450.

Get out your blender and puree your beans with the ½ cup liquid. Your mixture should look like thin mashed potatoes. Add the rest of your ingredients and mix real good. Pour your bean filling into a 9 inch pie shell and bake for about 15 minutes. Turn your oven down to 350 and cook your pie for another 45 to 55 minutes, or until it sets up. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Miss Oma’s Grape Jelly Meatballs

• 1-1/2 cups Burney Papper’s Chili Sauce (recipe below)
• ½ medium-sized jar grape jelly (more if you like it sweet)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• ½ teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper, as much as you’d like

Put your chili sauce and grape jelly in a crockpot set on medium-low heat.

For your meatballs, mix together the ground beef with the rest of your ingredients. Carefully shape the mixture into small balls, taking care not to roll the meatballs too tightly.

Fry the meatballs in a shallow pan of hot oil until they’re brown on all sides. Add them to the grape jelly mixture and simmer until nice and tender. Serve straight from the pot with toothpicks.

Burney Papper’s Chili Sauce

• 1-1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt, plus more as needed
• 9 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1-1/2 cups chopped onions
• 2 whole jalapenos, sliced in half
• 1 whole cinnamon stick and 1 teaspoon whole cloves, tied up in a cheesecloth

Get your vinegar, brown sugar, and salt to boiling in a good sized pot. Add your tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Add the tied up spices. Cook, uncovered, on low heat until thickened (about 1-1/2 hours), stirrin every now and then. Skim off your foam from time to time. For a thinner sauce, cool and puree in a blender. Store in pint jars.

Ollie V.’s Gingerbread

• 1 cup molasses
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup very hot water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon allspice

Turn your oven on 350. Grease up an 8 inch square baking pan.

Stir up your molasses, butter, and hot water and add your egg. In another bowl, mix up your dry ingredients. Add your molasses mixture to your dry ingredients and mix everything up real good with a wooden spoon. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out nice and clean. Serve warm with a dollop of fresh cream.

We hope you guys enjoyed today’s recipes, and we’d like to thank Kendra Bailey Morris once more for her cookbook, “White Trash Gatherings.” Deb and I have enjoyed it immensely!

Before closing this morning we’d like to share with you guys…”Praying Hands.” It was sent to us by our friend Gary, and we felt you guys would enjoy reading about this well-known painting and the story behind it…

The Praying Hands

Many of you would have seen the picture of “The Praying Hands”, which is present in many Christian homes, but would almost certainly not have heard the moving story behind this popular picture. Here is the story.

THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE OF THE PRAYING HANDS

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with
eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.

Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of the elder children, Albrecht and Albert, had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.

After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.

They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg . Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils
were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.

When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, “And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you.”

All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, “No. ..no…no. ..no.” Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, “No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg . It is too late for me. Look …look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother …for me it is too late.”

More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer’s hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer’s works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.

One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands,” but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love “The Praying Hands.”

The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one, no one, ever makes it alone!

“In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:6

The Praying Hands

Thanks Gary, and sendin our regards, buddy!

You guys have a great day, and God bless you and yours. Deb says to keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!

Dub and Deb

You know, ole Deb and I kinda like piddlin around a cook stove ever once in a while, and we do pick-up, or somebody will send us a cookbook. Actually in today’s cookbooks, many times you can also read up on the “back in the day” lifestyles, and some are very entertaining, and good reads to boot. We enjoy them.

Anyway, we’ve shared some other recipes from the cookbook we’ll be using today, and it falls into the funny, “back in the day” category. But it also has some very good, “down home cookin” recipes as well.

Its title once again is, White Trash Gatherings,” and was written by Kendra Bailey Morris. It was published by Ten Speed Press.

I’d come back in this morning after a couple cups of coffee, sat down in my easy chair and picked up this book once again. Yep, you guessed it, ole Deb was still sleepin…how else could I have possibly sat down in my easy chair? Once Deb gets up, there ain’t much takin it easy after that!

So, while Deb’s sleepin in, and our “little girl,” girl, Cheyenne was gnawin on a bone in the floor beside me, I flipped through the “White Trash Gatherings” once more. Readin through it, I came upon those dern “Drunken Weenies” again and thought to myself…I’m gonna post them rascals today, so, let’s get started!

Drunken Weenies

The author states in her book that “these little weenies really pack a wallop. Made with a good amount of bourbon, these little guys are as liquored up as YOU”LL be after eatin em! (Caution: Keep away from children unles you want their game playin to consist of “Quarters” and “Keg Stands!”

• ½ cup bourbon
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• Cocktail weenies

Mix all your ingredients in a pot and cook, uncovered, on low for 30 minutes. Transfer to your favorite crockpot and serve right outta the pot with a toothpick.

Remy and Max’s Dried Apple Snacks

• About 12 tart cooking apples, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups apple cider
• ½ cup honey (use more or less to suit your own taste)
• 45 cinnamon red hot candies (again, use more or less to suit your own taste)

Put your apples and cider in a big ole pot and bring up to a simmer. Stir every now and then so it doesn’t stick. Cook your apples on low-heat until you get a sort of watery apple butter. Then cool the mixture and throw it into your blender(if you have a fancy food processor, now’s the time to pull it out). Mix it up good. Then throw it back in the pot and add your honey and candies. Cook until your mixture starts to look like thick apple butter.

Put some parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread out your apple mixture about ¼ inch thick. Then stick the mixture in the oven on real low heat (about 120 degrees) to dry it out. Keep the oven door just a bit ajar so all the moisture can escape. This will take about 14 hours.

Take it out of the oven, let it cool, and then peel it off the paper and roll up jelly roll style. Cut into slices. Store in a Ball jar.

Big Butt Bea’s White Trash Nachos

• ½ box buttery crackers
• ½ pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (use more if you like it cheesy)
• ½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Pickled Jalapenos (optional)
• Sour cream, for serving
• Salsa, for serving

Turn oven on to about 400. Line up a casserole dish with buttery crackers. Sprinkle with some cheese. Top with crumpled bacon and jalapenos. Bake it until your cheese is good and melted. Serve with sour cream and salsa. Play a little mariachi music in the background for added Mexican flavor.

Devil’s Delight

Beat your cream cheese with an electric mixer and then add the rest of your ingredients. Mix it up real good. Then put it in the fridge and set back and relax while it chills. Serve with chips or Melba toast.

We hope you guys enjoy these. Before we take off today, our good friend Gerry, up in Western Canada, sent us a story about curtain rods. Deb loved it, but then again…it sounds just like something she’d do!

Thanks Gerry, and God Bless ya buddy!

Curtain Rods…

On the first day, she sadly packed her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company, pack everything up to take to their new home ……. and to spite the ex-wife, they even took the curtain rods!

You guys have a great day, and God bless. Despite the curtain rods, Deb still says to tell you all to keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!

Dub and Deb

Before we get started this morning firin off the cook stove, we have to share something with you that Diane from Virginia, sent to us.

Two Tennessee country boys are out hunting, and as they are walking along they come upon a huge hole in the ground.

The old farmer said, “That’s impossible. I had him chained to a transmission!”

Diane sends us a little humor from time to time and we love hearin from her. She’s put a smile on our faces many times. Keep em comin Diane…we love it!

Let’s look at a couple others from Diane while we’re at it…

Donation

Father O’Malley answers the phone. ‘Hello, is this Father O’Malley?’

‘He will.’

Confession

An elderly man walks into a confessional. The following conversation ensues:

Man: ‘I’m 92 years old ….. I’m telling everybody!’

On that note, we better head into the dern kitchen! The recipes today come from “Taste of Home Casseroles and One Dish Meals.” I believe you can pick it up in most any supermarket. It’s chock full of good, quick meals…

Corny Pork Chops

• 4 bone-in loin pork chops (3/4 to 1 inch thick and around 7 ounces each)
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• ¼ teaspoon pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 can (15-1/4 oz.) whole kernel corn
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 cup soft breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion

Season pork chops with ½ the salt, and ½ your pepper. In a large skillet, cook chops in oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or until chops are lightly browned. Drain.

Combine the corn, celery, breadcrumbs, ketchup, onion, and remaining salt and pepper; place in a greased 11 x 7 inch baking dish. Top with chops.

Cover and bake on 325 for 40-45 minutes or until meat is tender.

Ralph Petterson, Salt Lake City, Utah

Bratwurst Hash

• 4 uncooked Bratwurst links
• 1 (20 oz. pkg.) refrigerated diced potatoes with onion
• 1 cup fresh, or frozen corn
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• ¾ cup roasted sweet red peppers
• ¾ cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• ½ teaspoon seasoned salt

In a large skillet, cook Bratwurst over medium heat until a thermometer reaches 160 degrees, then drain. Remove from pan, cut meat into ¼ inch slices. Return to pan; stir in potatoes, corn, and green pepper. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the red peppers, ½ cup of cheese, and seasoned salt; heat through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Taste Of Home Test Kitchen

Sausage and Black Bean Pasta

• 1 package (4.4 oz.) jalapeno jack pasta mix (or Lipton Pasta Mix)
• ½ pound smoked sausage, chopped
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

Prepare the pasta mix according to package directions. Stir in sausage and black beans; heat through.

Taste Of Home Test Kitchen

We’ve been telling everybody how pretty the weather’s been lately, and shoot…today’s even prettier. High of about 85, a good breeze blowin, and spring’s bearin down upon us! Boy, it’s so nice to be alive and kickin, isn’t it?

Today we’ve hung another set of shelf racks in the greenhouse, planted 20 strawberry plants, and are now mowing a few high areas with the little push mower and bagger. Getting some fresh, green grass clippings to go on the compost pile.

Ole Deb’s been rakin leaves under a big oak tree where she’s fixin her up a flower bed. She feels great and is busy as a dern bee! She’s a mess, I know that much! She’s into something constantly!

We’re taking her leaves and they’re going in the compost pile too. It’s time to get that mutha fired off again, so we’re loadin it down, and fixin to start turning it a couple times a week. The weather is warm enough now to heat that baby up!

Until we started doing this site, I never had used compost. Honestly. We’d use manure or commercial fertilize, and we still do, but commercial is used much less. We kept hearing of the benefit of compost from many of you guys and shoot, next thing I knew, I was getting up some soil, some leaves, hay, paper, manure, grass clippings (went and bought a small push-mower with a bagger?? ) That set me back some guys…thanks! LOL!

Deb started saving our vegetable scraps, egg-shells , banana peels, even the pulp leftover from our morning juice. Which had some tomato seeds in it, by the way. They’d “volunteered up,” so we stuck em in some 5-gal. buckets with compost from the pile, 9 of em. Then, we kept them until we finished the beds in the greenhouse.

We set them a couple weeks back, and this morning we counted 90 plus tomatoes on them. Talking about working hand in hand? So, today we compost. LOL!

Then I kept stoking that thing up” with grass clippins, juice pulp, vegetable scraps, stirring it up, wettin it down…getting it HOTTTT!

Then I didn’t water it for a few days, or stir it…and I burnt up a pasture! Dern thing spontaneously combusted…I’d created…a MONSTER! Not really. I call it kiddin ya’ll…Deb calls it lyin to ya! LOL!

BUT, we do believe in, and use compost anytime we can, plus everything you need is right here. No cost.

Anyway, that’s some of what we’ve been up to. Ya wanna fire off a cookstove? Let’s do it!

Today’s recipes come again from “Bless This Food at the End of the Fork.”

It was a gift from Deb’s “older sister,” Louise, and was put out by members of the church Louise attends. These women, and men, can cook! Louise is a good cook for sure, and I can vouch for that personally!

I keep waitin on her to call one Sunday and say, “Hey Dub, we’re havin dinner on the grounds Sunday…ya wanna come?” So far…no call? I think I worry her.

Mini Fruitcakes

• ½ lb. candied cherries, chopped
• ½ lb. candied pineapple, chopped
• 1 small pack coconut
• 2-1/2 cups pecans, chopped
• ½ can self-rising flour
• 1 can condensed milk

Mix cherries, pineapple coconut, nuts and flour. Add condensed milk and mix. Use mini cup cake pans, fill about ¾ full. Put small pan of water in bottom of oven and bake on 325 for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool before taking out of the pan. Makes 48 mini cakes.

Dean Griffin

Buttermilk Pies

• 3 cups sugar
• ½ cup self-rising flour
• 1 stick butter
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 pie crusts

Melt butter and mix with sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating until mixed good. Add flour, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour into your two pie crusts and bake on 350 for 45 minutes, or check center for doneness. If you’d like, you can sprinkle cinnamon on top prior to cooking.

Marie Caraway

Bread Pudding

• 2-1/4 cups milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup raisins

Combine milk and egg and pour over bread crumbs. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place in a shallow pan and bake on 350 for 45 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Ruby Young

German Chocolate Upside Down Cake

• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Grease bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle mixture into bottom of the pan.

Cake

• 1 box German Cake mix
• Ingredients listed on cake box

Prepare by box directions and pour on top of coconut and pecans.

Topping

• 1 (8 oz.) box cream cheese
• 1 stick butter
• 1 box confectioners sugar

Mix together and put on top of cake in small spoonfuls. Bake on 350 for 45 minutes, or until center is done.

We got this in an e-mail yesterday. Read closely, then sink it in. We did an old post a few months back called “Please Don’t Feed the Bears,” covering this same topic.

Isn’t It Ironic?

Meanwhile, the Park Service, also managed by the Department of Agriculture, threatens to prosecute those who “Feed Wild Animals,” because the animals may grow dependent upon us and not take care of themselves.

To all of you people out there who haven’t come to grips with the fact our government is going to tank us through these types of entitlement programs, whether they be passed out to their “have-not constituents,” or the public sector pension plans, buy-outs, double and triple-dipping, health care, and more of, “We’re the Power…” read the statement above once more.

It says it all!

You guys have a great day, and God Bless! Deb says be sure to tell you guys to keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!

Dub and Deb

Well, yesterday Deb and I took a little “our time,” and went to a barbeque cook and contest here in Haines City. This is called, “Ribs on the Ridge.”

To be honest, we both were quite surprised at the amount of contestants, AND the number of people in attendance. But to be honest, it’s not surprising when you’re talkin the South…and barbeque. We both had a good time and it was a nice little outin.

My cousin Vince was in the cook, so we went over to his setup and hung out a while, visited, and…sampled?? Vince is who did the cookin for Deb’s bash she had a month or so back. As bad as I hate to admit it, that scoundrel can cook! He found his callin, and by his doin so, dern if we don’t try to “hang out” with him bout every chance we get! LOL!

We did see him prior to his “cookin days,” just not as often! Vince’s team is called, “Hog Jim’s,” after his Grandfather. Before Deb and I left, I’d been hung with the handle… “Hog Dub!”

I told Deb that I’d never even met Vince’s Grandfather! She then informed me that Vince’s Granddaddy’s nickname had absolutely NO BEARING whatsoever in the reasoning behind why they were callin me that!

For the life of me… I still “don’t get it??” Deb tells me that it’s better “I don’t…get it!”

For you guys who aren’t familiar, there’s four categories you enter. I believe at this contest you do the chicken first, this was at 11:00 am., then that’s followed up with ribs, then pork, and last is brisket. All are taken to be judged at 1 hour intervals.

The judging results aren’t until 5 in the afternoon, so Deb and I missed that, so we’ll call Vince today to see how he did.

We had a good time with Vince, Sandi, Tom, and Vince’s brother Dale. Then Dale dropped by our place and dropped us off a tomato magazine. Good night a livin, Deb and I had no earthly idea there were so many varieties…it is amazing!

Deb and I wandered around at the barbeque and were checking out all the contestants and their points of origin. Ohio, another team had the Great Lakes on their cooker, and I’m sure there were other places too, plus a ton from all over Florida.

I was takin some videos, stopping by a few booths to shoot the bull and MAYBE try out a sample or two. While doin so, we covered from one end of part of the place to the other, and it was pretty neat. We got down to the far end of where we were at and Deb stopped me. She asked, “Are you sure the camera’s on?” I asked her, “Are you kiddin me? What kind of a question is that?”

Then I looked…the dern thing hadn’t been on! I couldn’t believe it! Man, I’d been easin down through there, bein my usual shy self, talkin, laughin, pickin at people and possibly with a little sampling goin on too! The camera wasn’t even on!

Deb’s just standing there laughing at me, and I told her… “Well, we’re gonna have to do it again!” She’d seen “my samplin” going on, and asked, “Did you do that on purpose, JUST so you could go back and do a little more sampling?”

Shocked by such an accusation, and honestly my feelings were hurt a little bit, I replied, “OF COURSE NOT!” LOL!

So, off we go again…this time with the camera on!

I tell you guys, we had a great time, and met some really, really nice people. EVERYONE was friendly as they could be, and the atmosphere was great. The food wasn’t too bad either. OK, it WAS very good!
Here’s a couple videos if you guys would like to see them.

The first is of Cuz showin us around a little. He tells us a little about what he’s cooking, how he prepares for the competition, and what SHOCKED me, was the amount of time and work involved doing one of these contests!

Deb and I had always kicked around the idea of possibly doing some of that, just foolin around, BUT, after we saw the work Vince and his team had put into this, we were like…ya know, just wanderin around enjoyin everyone’s company ain’t half bad, and much more along the lines of…our cup of tea! LOL!

Seriously, I take my hat off to all the teams competing. Those guys and gals have put forth a lot of effort just in prepping for the competition, much less being involved in the competition itself! Our hats go off to every one of them! We think they ALL did a great job.

Once again I do take my hat off to Vince’s team and everyone else in the competition…a lot of work involved!

The next video is of Deb and I looking around some…

After we got back home, Deb and I walked out to the greenhouse, and we had some seedlings sproutin. There were radishes, Japanese cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, and a few Rutgers tomatoes startin to stick their heads up outta the ground.

Some of these seeds were set out on the 21st, and some on the 22nd. Our nights had still been down in the low 50’s, so I was a little concerned with the germination. But we let the curtains down at night and it’s looking like they’re going to be fine. Again, this greenhouse stuff is new ground to Deb and I!

I tell you though, we can’t wait for the next couple months to roll by and we can see how everything is doing at that point. This is going to be very enjoyable, and very beneficial to us both. Juice products for Deb outta be right out the backdoor…daily! The Good Lord DOES provide, and he’s sure smiling on Deb!

Let’s closeout today with a little laugh. It’s supplied to us by our good friend Jerry. Jerry lives in the far western edge of Canada. He’s a great guy, and one that Deb and I visit with from time to time. Jerry is another one of you guys who’s become another member of our family.

Jerry is 95 years old…I’m just kiddin Jerry, but he is 75, but looks and acts…55. He works all the time and I believe Jerry can do just about anything!

Anyway, let’s see what Jerry sent us. Thanks Jerry!

SYLVIA:
Hi! Wanda.

WANDA:
Hi! Sylvia. How’d you die?

SYLVIA:
I froze to death.

WANDA:
How horrible!

SYLVIA:
It wasn’t so bad. After I quit shaking from
the cold, I began to get warm & sleepy,
and finally died a peaceful death.
What about you?

WANDA:
I died of a massive heart attack.
I suspected that my husband was cheating,
so I came home early to catch him in the act.
But instead, I found him all by himself
in the den watching TV.

SYLVIA:
So, what happened?

WANDA:
I was so sure there was another woman
there somewhere that I started running
all over the house looking. I ran up into
the attic and searched, and down into the
basement. Then I went through every closet
and checked under all the beds. I kept this up
until I had looked everywhere, and finally
I became so exhausted that I just keeled over
with a heart attack and died.

SYLVIA:
Too bad you didn’t look in the freezer
—we’d both still be alive.

As you guys can plainly see, Jerry is quite a card too!

You guys have a great day, and God Bless. You know we can’t get outta here until Deb says for ya’ll to keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!

Dub and Deb

You know, honestly I don’t enjoy in the least posting on political events. Yet in the same breath the time has come that maybe we all need to be shouting out over a government gone wild. It’s up to us, “We the People” to turn this craziness back around. That, or kiss your freedoms, your liberties, you’re right as an American to have the opportunity to grow and prosper, and by doing so creating a better way of life for not only you, your children, and even strangers.

The term “strangers” is used kinda loosely, but if you create jobs through running or operating a small business, that’s exactly what you’re doing. By doing so, “the strangers” become friends and business associates, family, so to speak.

Today, this, AND the “American Dream,” are fast becoming a past tense. We’ve been dumbed down as a society, just look at our educational system, we’ve been “watered down” as a society in general through the advocating of our elected officials to “turn a blind eye” in regards to the illegal immigration taking place in our Country today, and the literal stealing of our tax dollars through all these so called entitlement programs. Whether they be, for the “poor and oppressed,” or through the public sector workplace!

This morning I flipped on the local news, like a dummy because I KNEW better, and what’s on? The United States Postal Service is expecting to lose…over 18 BILLION DOLLARS…THIS YEAR ALONE!
They now want to cut Saturday delivery, shut down THOUSANDS of Post Offices across the Country, AND increase the price of stamps once again.

So, who suffers? How about you and I, the taxpaying American citizen! Less deliveries, less offices to use, and another increase for a dern stamp to mail your, how about your IRS tax return! LOL!

Do you guys know why our Postal system is failing? Government intervention, government subsidies from you and I, and unionization! There’s absolutely NO care or concern to make this business profitable. Why would there be?

The more these guys spend, the more support they get from Uncle Sam, who again, is actually you and I. Redistribution of wealth you ask? 10-4 says I!

Look at it from a realistic standpoint a minute or two…UPS, Federal Express, and there’s others who do the same thing as the USPS. THEY…make money! If not…they go out of business! Sounds familiar doesn’t it. It does to me, because if our business loses money for any length of time…we go out of business! That’s how it works…in the private sector, but NOT for the public sector. NO, NO, they continually are bailed out by We the People, their “bottomless pit!

This has been going on in the Postal Service for YEARS now! It’s stealing people, and that’s exactly what it is! How long before we finally stop and say, “NO MORE! What you guys are doing to us IS CRIMINAL!” Yes, that’s exactly what it is. If any of us ran our business like our government runs theirs…we’d go to jail. Simple as that, then be made a mockery of by the attorneys who prosecuted us.
You want to see more fraud…ask that ALL credit card receipts be made public that government employees use for “official business.” I’m sure all our jaws would drop open!

They talk about Bernie Madoff?? Yes sir, ole Bernie was a crook through and through, and deserved much more than he received, BUT, if you compare what Bernie stole, and again it was sinister, to what our government is STEALING from We the People daily, they make Bernie look like a complete amateur!

Back to the USPS…they want to make ALL these cuts to OUR services, BUT increase OUR COST for these services! Hmmmm…

I haven’t heard of any cuts being made to their salaries, their vacation time or pay, their health care benefits, their retirement packages, nothing! YET, private sector business has been implementing such cuts for some time now. I have a brother-in-law who took, along with other employees, a 50% pay cut! This was done to keep the doors open of the company they worked for!

PLUS in regards to the USPS…you can’t just fire them! Oh no! Think about that for a minute. You can’t fire an employee for not doing their job, insubordination, not coming to work, and it goes on and on, and on! This IS our government, and what they represent today.

Before I stop this morning, let’s look at a couple numbers. I know I’m preaching to the choir in regards to many of you, but here they are anyway…and these are 2009 numbers.

Postal Service is paying 45,000 hours of “standby time” every week…

The “Federal Times,” reports the Postal Service is paying 45,000 hours of “standby time” every week—- the equivalent of having 1,125 full-time employees sitting idle, at a cost of more than $50 million a year. Guess who pays for that?

Postal Union officials estimate that 15,000 employees have spent time this year in so called “resource rooms” where they read books, do word puzzles, or sleep—-and get paid for it.

The Cato Institute says the Postal Service is experiencing serious financial woes because 80% of its financial woes are tied up in labor cost. The main cause, once again, is that the Postal Service is so heavily unionized they can’t fire non-productive workers, lay-off workers when needed, or even cut back salaries or wages. On top of this the American Postal Worker Union operates under government protection. This is but one example.

So once more, THEIR solution is to cut services, shut down offices, and charge us more for stamps. Man…why do we tolerate such actions?? Private sector business has to adapt…public sector business just reaches deeper into OUR pockets, but sacrifice nothing in regards to…them!

We’re losing our Country as we know it, my friends! Ya better wake up!

Well, let’s go on and fire the dern cook stove off. ..Deb will probably be able to light it off my head this morning! @@##..!!??

Cream Cheese Chicken

• 6 chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and pounded
• 2 (8 oz) packages of sour cream
• 4 tablespoons dried or fresh chives, snipped
• 6 strips bacon
• 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
• ¼ cup cream sherry

Divide cream cheese into 6 portions. Place 1 portion in the center of each chicken breast. Fold, or roll breast around cheese and wrap 1 bacon strip around each stuffed breast. Grease an 8 x 8 inch or 9 x 13 inch baking dish with oil. Pour in cream sherry. Place chicken breasts fold side down in dish. Bake on 325 for I hour or until breasts are done.

Cyndi Wright

Carrots Jo Ann

• 1 pound carrots, fully cooked
• ¼ cup liquid from carrots
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons horseradish
• 2 heaping tablespoons minced onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of paprika

Cook carrots until done. In a bowl mix carrots, mayonnaise, carrot liquid, horseradish, onion, salt, pepper, and paprika well. Place in a casserole dish, and cover mixture with bread crumbs. Bake on 350 for 30 minutes or until browned.

Betty Land

Eight Layer Salad

• 1 head of lettuce
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 package frozen green peas, uncooked
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 ounces grated cheese
• 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Break lettuce into bite size pieces and layer in a glass bowl. Layer other ingredients on lettuce in order given. Let set 24 hours covered in the refrigerator. Toss 10 minutes prior to serving.

Sharon Heard

Pear Bread

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pears, cored and peeled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream butter, gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients; add to egg mixture alternately with yogurt. Stir in pears and vanilla. Pour into a buttered 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
Bake on 350 for 1 hour.

Mary Lou Grupp

Before we sign off this morning, let’s take a quick look at a REAL Cowboy. I think we’ve posted this before, but Deb and I saw it again last night and both got another laugh from it! Here’s hopin you guys do too!

A Real Cowboy

He’s a sport, ain’t he??

You guys have a great day and God Bless you and yours, and our Country as well! Deb says to keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!

Dub and Deb