Message Board

I just realized that I need a post to put my notes; to organize lists, projects and life in general. If you’d like to leave a question or comment on any post,  you will need to click the top “Post Header” of the blog article you would like to comment on and it will take you to that screen.

If you want to ask me a quick genealogy question here is the post to do that!

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“Whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can’t, you’re right.”
-Henry Ford

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Mid-Week Meal

MENU

Sliced Ham
*Lorraine Potatoes
Fried Okra
Creamy Sautéed Tomatoes
Pickled eggs, cut in half lengthwise
Rolls/Butter
Soft Sugar Cookies
served warm w/ strawberries or blueberries & whip cream
Beverages and coffee or warm tea w/ dessert.

Lorraine Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
5 cups sliced unpeeled potatoes
4 ounces bacon, cut into small pieces, partially cooked
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese, (substitute Emmenthal or Swiss if you can’t get Gruyère).

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9 × 9-inch baking dish.
2. Layer half the potatoes, bacon, green onions, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half the Gruyère on top of the potatoes. Repeat layers.
3. Cover with foil. Bake until potatoes are tender and cheese is melted, about 1 hour.
4. Remove foil. Bake for 10 minutes longer. Cut into squares to serve.

Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson “Ring Out, Wild Bells” 1850

 

Oven Baked Cheese Dream

INGREDIENTS
Butter or margarine (optional)
4 slices pumpernickel bread, toasted
8 slices tomato
8 ounces leftover turkey, ham or both, sliced thin
Cheddar Cheese Sauce (see recipe)
4 slices bacon, cooked
4 spears asparagus or broccoli, precooked
4 slices Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Butter (if desired) the toasted bread slices and arrange them in the bottom of a shallow casserole. Top each bread slice with 2 slices of tomato and two ounces of sliced meat. Cover with the Cheddar Cheese Sauce.
2. Heat casserole in 400-degree oven until the cheese begins to bubble. Add bacon slices, asparagus or broccoli and 1 slice of Swiss cheese  to each meat-topped bread slice. Return to the oven. Heat until the ingredients are melted together. Serve hot.

CHEDDAR CHEESE SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded or coarsely grated white Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of white pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the butter in saucepan. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes over low heat. Add the milk and stir until it is well combined and the sauce is thick and smooth.
2. Stir in the shredded or grated cheese, salt and pepper. Continue to stir over low heat until the cheese is melted.
3. Make just before serving. (If allowed to stand, they could become soggy, losing their fresh-cooked taste).

Serves 4.

Serve with chips, bean salad, tangy pickles and fresh fruit. Use green olives as a garnish.

Experiment with spicy or flavored mustard’s, such as Dijon or tarragon. Try such cheeses as Gruyère or farmhouse cheese.

Note: For those of you that know me, you know that I always add a shot of Tabasco or hot sauce to my cheese sauce while the cheese is melting. It just gives it a little kick. And I hate asparagus, so you know I’m go with the broccoli. (sh)

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. ~ Winston Churchill

 

What is Communication…REALLY?

True communication, effective communication requires that the listener understands the sender’s message in the spirit it was intended or the message is skewed, misunderstood and the relationship between the sender and receiver has changed or is damaged in some way.

Everyone talks… ie: “What do you do?” This was the questions that I was asked by a complete stranger while getting my nails done at a salon, where I had never gone before. It seems like a fairly basic question that most people would ask, but how much information are we obligated to share with strangers?

When I expressed that I didn’t want to tell her what I did, she immediately made a joke about me being in the CIA and couldn’t talk about it. It’s hard to explain what I do to others.  I used to tell people that I was a domestic engineer. Then they immediate assumed, a housewife. I hold so many titles that “Donna-Do All” seems more appreciate of my skills. My aunt used to call me the Jack of All Trades – Master of None. Yet, I don’t feel that’s a fair assessment of my skills either. I have mastered a great number of skills. The ones I enjoy the most, are what people consider to be mundane or trivial.

In today’s society we tend to talk to almost everyone, about almost everything. Countless TV shows in the afternoon, with fairly similar names, all meaning the same thing, View, Talk, and Chew. Same premise – different faces. I CHOOSE not to watch any of them, because it all seems a little redundant after an episode or two. But one was inflicted on me while I sat in my chair. Not by choice, but by proximity. Not to mention that the one redhead makes me crazy. You’ll have to decide for yourself which one that is. Life’s to short to be stressed out by total strangers, brought into my life via the television.

I will admit that I seem to talk too just about everyone that passes by me, for one reason or another, most of the time, standing in line. But this woman, talked to everyone the entire time I was in the salon, she even knew them all by name and what shows they shared. Who knows every person that works in a salon? She talked about, current trips she was taking, her grandsons, about TV shows and celebrities & their relationships, for which I really have no interest. But for the most part I tried to keep up with her. Not having a clue about most of the stuff she referenced. I got tired of trying to smile politely, as not to offend her. She even asked me how I signed my name. [I didn't have it in me to "SIGN" it to her. My sign language skills are a little rusty. Okay now, I'm just being a brat.] Honestly, I just wanted to say, “These people will never be in my life or yours for that matter.” So, I asked my self, “Why does she care?” Was it merely to have something to talk about?

Sure, I talk to strangers in the supermarket, or if I need someone to give me an honest opinion on which jacket to buy, as I did at Penney’s, when it was a toss up between the old familiar beige trench coat & the new trendy one that won’t last more than one, maybe two seasons. Two women both agreed that I should get the trendy beige trench with the ruffle on the bottom, so I went with it. Still thinking it a bad decision, when only last year, I donated about 6 or 8 trench coats, thinking I’d never wear one again, I bought it. Pretty naive thinking on my part since this is Ohio and it’s always going to rain and rain and rain. I thought of returning it, but who knows how I’ll feel about it in two seasons? After all, it’s just a jacket.

I said all of that… just to say that in communication you have to have some thing to talk about, for which both parties are truly interested or familiar with the others ideas, or you’re just talking at someone.

Recently, I’ve had several people on the blog post comments that I didn’t understand not completely anyway; some not at all. I spent far too much time in the spam query, trying to decide if the comments were sincere or legitimate or if they were just talking to hear themselves think? Or maybe they were in fact spam? I don’t want to pretend that I know everything about our heritage or how I make peanut butter cake. Nor do I want to tell someone that their comment are too far behind the times to catch up, so what do I say?

In a prefect world, we’ll all know everything about which we speak or have clear on concise comments in our questions & answer queries. But that’s not very likely to happen, not in our lifetimes anyway. So here goes…

I’d like to ask those that choose to comment, which I encourage completely, to please be clear on the subject and the date, in which a post was posted, I may have made 10 more recent with new findings and no time to go back and fix it in the previous posts. Also, to give dates and times for your reference or people noted. Please don’t make blanketed statements that you’re right, and everyone else is seemly wrong. No one at this point was alive before the 1900’s, nor is all family records considered accurate. My own mom’s death certificate is wrong. Nothing here is absolute.

Everything is open for discussion and all views are taken seriously, even if they are way outside the box. I don’t make any demands – but my time is as valuable as the next persons, I’d like to get from point A to point B with a few steps as possible. I’ll try to get to your comments as quickly as I can. If I have not commented back, it because I still have more to look up, or people to contact on the subject, but rest assured, as soon as I know something, I will share it.

Everyone learns to talk. Very few learn to communicate effectively.
I hope my being direct hasn’t offended anyone; that was not my intention here. I’d also like to add that for the most part I did enjoy chewing the fat as my dad would have said, with just about anyone, there may be a few exceptions, but for the most part, even the total strangers that I meet in strange places. If you pass by me, unless it’s in a restaurant, please feel free to talk to me about whatever is on what’s on your mind. Really, I don’t mind. I could talk a dog’s leg off, if I have a clue what we’re talking about.

Etiquette, social graces, presentation and/or manners will only get you so far in a relationship. A speech will not endear you to your neighbor.

The basic rule of human nature is that powerful people speak slowly and subservient people quickly — because if they don’t speak fast nobody will listen to them. ~ MichaelCaine

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“♫Ring out the old – Ring in the new. Ring out the false – Ring in the true. Ring out the old – Ring in the new♫” ~ George Harrison

 

Quotable Quotes

If you can recall, I used to do a monthly segment on the 15th of every month of little quotes that I read that stuck with me, I thought I’d post a new one this month. Here are a few that caught my eye…

“My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.” ~ Anais Nin

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“To love is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” ~ John Henry Newman

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid.” ~ Mark Twain

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Do not undertake anything beyond your capacity and at the same time do not harbor the wish to do less than you can. One who takes up tasks beyond his powers is proud and attached. One who does less than he can is a thief.”
~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“One option is to struggle to be heard whenever you’re in the room… Another is to be the sort of person who is missed when you’re not. The first involves making noise. The second involves making a difference.” ~ Godin

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

“Ability is a wonderful thing, but its value is greatly enhanced by dependability. Ability implies repeatability and accountability. ” ~ Robert A. Heinlein

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. ~ Anonymous

 

Warmth: Which means, “polish & andirons”

Is time to clean out the fireplace and raid the woodpile, then snuggle up with a good book. My fireplace is gone now,  I’ll have to go out and buy me a electric fireplace (or two). Burr.

The temp here in Ohio is below freezing, it seems like the perfect day to curl up with a warm cup of coffee, tea or maybe some hot cocoa and a good book. Or, watch some football! Since, I don’t have a dog in the fight (our Bengals are a fold) let’s focus on the books (or magazines, etc.) – what are you reading right now?

I put South of Broad on my this weeks to do list, just as soon as I finish up Entangled (A Fredrickson Winery Novel) [Kindle Edition]. I ordered 4 more books this week, they won’t be in for awhile, but I still have a lot of winter left to muddle through. I’m missing my fireplace already.

The good things of life are not to be had singly, but come to us with a mixture. ~ Charles Lamb

 

Teriyaki Steak

Time for a mid-week meal update – what are you making for dinner tonight? Do you have a regular Wednesday meal that makes the week’s halfway point easier to handle? Are you making it today, or did you make it earlier in the week?

As you know, I love to eat… and to cook… (cleaning, not so much). You know I love Asian inspired foods (with the exception of sushi). I LOVE Teriyaki… I put it on too many things. Stir-fry’s, sausage stuffed mushrooms, steak, you name it. Rice pudding & custard are my two favorite desserts. Quick & easy.

This is a quick and easy meal.

Teriyaki Steak
Butter Noodles
Boiled Cabbage
Crescent Rolls
Rice Pudding
Beverages

INGREDIENTS
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon minced onion flakes
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lb London broil (flank steak)

Mix together all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, except steak. Mix well with your fingers & place the steak in the bag. Shake bag to cover completely with marinade. Marinate in mixture for 2 hours. Turning bag over, every half hour. Grill, bake or broil (George Foreman – like me) to your liking. Let rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve over a hearty bed of buttered noodles.  Serve cabbage in a soup bowl sprinkled with *cornbread croutons.

*Cornbread croutons: Heat 2 TBSP of bacon grease in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Cube some leftover corn bread into 1 inch squares. Toss into skillet. Stir occasionally, making sure not to break up the bread. About 5 minutes. Toss on top of cabbage just before serving.

There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do any business from there. ~ Colonel Harlan Sanders