Blenda-Happy at 58!

I’m back after not writing for some time.  I guess I’ve not had that much to “vent” about.   …Life is good!  I did recently celebrate a birthday though, my 59th.  ..One more before the big “60″.  That doesn’t scare me either. 

There’s so much going on these days especially with politics.  Choices!?  My choice is not in the running, unless as a V.P.  …Yes, I was hoping for Hilliary.  Now I’m not sure which way to turn.  Both candidates have their good points, so I guess I’ll just have to follow things closer this year than in past elections.  Who knows…maybe my decision won’t be made until “the day”!!

It’s on the way…spring that is, and I’m ready!  The first thing I notice about this time of the year is that the sun sets later and rises earlier.  Right now we have about 2 1/2 hours of additional daylight and it’s a pleasure.  It’s so dreary to look outside at 4:30-5:00PM and have it almost dark. 

We’re still getting snow.  We’ve had almost 80 inches this season.  The winter sports enthusiasts are loving it and I’m glad for them. 

All in all it’s been a good winter.  I’ve stayed warm and dry.  Yeah…it’s been much colder, icier, and snowier than I’d really like, but God has his reasons for the bad weather.  Maybe someday we’ll all find out just what they are.

Anyway…seven weeks is a lot better than sixteen. 

I wanted to make some bean soup this week.  I had some leftover ham and wanted to use it in the soup.  While looking for typical navy beans I came across a package that read “15 Bean Soup”.  I decided to give it a try.  It’s in the slow cooker now and tastes really good.  One thing about it I especially like is the color.  The beans come in a variety of shapes and colors.  It’s interesting to look at and I’m looking forward to having it for dinner. 

Let me start by saying “Happy Thanksgiving”  to all.  When we went to bed last night it was raining and when we got up this morning our yard and trees were covered with snow.  It’s the first snow of the season.  It looks like a Currier and Ives picture and is really pretty. 

I was asked to make a Waldorf Salad for our Thanksgiving dinner.  I’d never made one prior to this.  This is how I did it.

I cut two Granny Smith apples and two red delicious apples, sliced them and cut them into bite size pieces with the skin attached.  (Hint…I was afraid I’d have too much apple for the rest of the salad so I trimmed each slice so that the part with the skin was about 1/4 inch and then I put the remaining portion of the slices in a separate bowl.  I’ll use those skinless slices for another dessert like an apple crunch perhaps tomorrow. )

When the apple pieces with skins were cut and in a bowl I poured about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice over them and mixed them up.  This keeps the apples from turning brown as quickly.  I used about 50 (?) red seedless grapes and quartered them in the bowl with the apples.  I cut three celery ribs into the mixture, again bite size pieces.  I put about 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts in the mix.  I blended them all together.

I took about a half cup of Miracle Whip (a little sweeter than mayonnaise) and added 1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated Splenda.  Of course you could use sugar.  I added two shakes of cinnamon, one shake of nutmeg and about 3 tablespoons of milk, mixed it all together then put it over the apple mixture.  

  I garnished it with walnut halves.  It’s really good!  It was a little time consuming to cut up  the apple mixture, but I was sitting down watching a parade on TV as I was doing it so it went pretty fast, and no sore back. 

You might want to give it a try sometime.  With those ingredients it yielded about 6 cups of finished salad, a nice sized dish to take to dinner.    I hope your Thanksgiving has been blessed.

It’s hard to believe it’s the middle of November!  We’re having the cold weather and such, but it doesn’t seem possible that it’s so close to the end of the year.  Thanksgiving is on the horizon and I need to come up with a couple of ideas for dinner.  We’ve been invited to a favorite aunt’s home.  She asked me to bring a Waldorf salad.  That shouldn’t be a problem.  I I’d like to come up with a couple of new hors d’oeuvres also.  …Inspiration anyone!?!?!!!

It’s a cold, windy day in mid-Michigan.  My husband said macaroni and cheese sounded like the “comfort” food he’d like.  So it’s in the oven and is really smelling good.  It should be the  warm end to a cold day.   

We had breakfast out this morning and when finished we had two biscuits left.  We like them and usually bring any extras home.  I use them to create other things.

Today I decided to make chicken and vegetables to eat with the biscuits.  Let’s see…two chicken breasts (cut into strips), two stalks celery cut, one package frozen peas, about 15 mini carrots, one package fresh mushrooms and four green onions cut into pieces.  I put everything in the slow cooker and added one can cream of chicken soup and one soup can  low fat milk.  Spices and herbs I added were basil, rosemary, black pepper, marjoram, and a couple shakes of cayenne pepper.

I cooked it on high for one hour and on medium for two more.  We just finished it over the biscuits and it was great!  As it worked out I had half of the chicken sauce left, cooked some noodles, added them and we’ll have that for another day.  …Easy and on to another day. 

Ever have one of “those” days where things just don’t feel quite right??  I think we all do.  That’s been the sum of it for me.  I really overslept so I didn’t get to do my aerobics.  It was very cold and rainy so my husband and I didn’t get to walk.  I felt like the more I tried to accomplish the less I actually did accomplish.  The Mamas & Papas said, “Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day.”  This isn’t a pity trip.  It’s just a reminder that they all can’t be the greatest of days, but over all they’re good.  …On to Tuesday!