Happy Veterans Day Thank You for Serving

Southern Sausage Corn Bread Thanksgiving Stuffing

1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the baking dish and dotting on top of the stuffing
3 celery ribs, finely chopped about 1 cup
2 large carrots, finely chopped about 1 cup
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped about 1 cup
1 pound Italian sweet sausage, removed from the casings
3 cups Chicken Broth
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 (14oz) bag of corn bread stuffing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°

In a large, deep frying pan, melt the 1 stick of butter.  Add the celery, carrots and onion to the pan season well with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage to the pan and break it up as it cooks. Continue cooking until sausage is browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, poultry seasoning, and parsley, and cook, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Add the apple cider, and then stir in the cornbread stuffing making sure it all gets coated well with the broth and the vegetables. Spread the stuffing into a buttered baking dish and dot the top of the stuffing with about 2-3 tablespoons of butter.

Cover with foil and bake the stuffing in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes then uncovered for about 15 minutes, until it is heated through and the top is lightly browned. Let the stuffing stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Tips:

Add in’s like a cup of dried cranberries, a chopped green apple, cooked chopped chestnuts or sliced mushrooms go extremely well with this stuffing so be creative and make it your own.
Stuffing can also be stuffed into the bird before roasting but let it cool for about 15-20 minutes before stuffing it into the bird. Then simply fill the cavity loosely with the stuffing and spread any extra around the outside of the cavity.
The stuffing can be made a day ahead but not baked. Simply refrigerate it overnight but be sure to bring it to room temperature before stuffing the turkey or baking it in a baking dish.
If you want a denser stuffing you can fold in 2 beaten eggs after you remove the mixture from the stove.
IMPORTANT: If your stuffing is too dry, you can add a little more liquid. If your stuffing seems too wet, you can add more cornbread stuffing.

recipe source here

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Corn a Staple of Life and recipe for Crispy Corn Fritters

Corn has long been a resource of many in the United Stats. Referred to as "the source of life" or "sacred mother corn" the Aztecs worshiped corn through the corn goddess Chicomecoatl. Corn dates back many thousand years. It is thought to have been part of the wild grass in Central America. Evidence of carbon dated corn dates back to 5,000 B.C. It is believed that corn has been cultivated since 1,200 B.C. in Southwest United States.

Corn was brought to Europe by the Portuguese conquistadors. From there it spread quickly to many countries. Corn is exclusively Native American. They were the ones to find methods to preserve and farm corn. Corn depends on human distribution and is not self sowing. One of the earliest planting methods was to plant in a mound with three fish for fertilizer.

Sweet corn is preferred but is not the only variety of corn. Flint, Dent, pop and flour are other varieties. There are over 3,000 uses for corn. Each part can be used :

• corn husks make brooms, baskets, dolls, tamales and stuffing
• cobs makee fish bobs, fuel, scrub brushes, toilet paper, insulation, pipes and bottle stoppers.
• corn starch is used in paint, paper making, cosmetics, medicines, ink, film, toothpaste, plastics and more
• corn is also used to feed livestock and in many pet foods
• corn is also used in many food products as well as eating corn 

This recipe was one that has been around quite some time I hope you enjoy!!

Crispy Corn Fritters

1 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 shakes fresh ground pepper
1 egg
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 cups corn kernels
Vegetable oil for frying

Combine all ingredients together, add corn last and drop into hot oil. Fry until brown on both sides.


resource here

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Thanksgiving Sundae

Thanksgiving will often find us stuffing our faces with the biggest meal since last Thanksgiving. Where in the world is there room for dessert?? We always seem to find it somewhere. A delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings normally has plenty of leftovers. This Thanksgiving sundae will be perfect for the day after Thanksgiving. This is also great for a fun night to prepare and serve the dinner as a sundae.

In a cup or glass layer each ingredient that you want in your sundae. Top with bacon sprinkles and a cranberry. That is all you have to do Enjoy

T

National Young Readers Week

My grand-children are 6 and 9 years of age with one in first grade and the other in third grade. They are both striving to read more and more and doing great. It is our job as parents to promote them and get them to read more and more. You can do this in many different ways. One of the first is by example. Children often mimic our own actions if we demonstrate to them that we read then they will strive to read as well.

Prepare them a great treat to help them feel special while reading. Gummy worms in a baggy with a book worm attached will do just this. After all you do know what a book worm is. 

Tips for Preparing that Turkey

Are you preparing turkey for Thanksgiving for the first time?? Are you looking for a bit of help for Thanksgiving?? We all could use a bit of help now and again and I hope this helps you.

To serve 10 people you will need a 15 pound turkey. You will easily have enough turkey to serve your guest and have a little leftover for a day after Thanksgiving casserole. The same 15 lb turkey will hole 7 cups of stuffing.

If you have a 15 lb turkey you will want to store in fridge to thaw for an around 3 days. This is an average of 5 hours per pound. A cold water bath for 1 hour per pound will do nicely to thaw turkey as well, you will want to change your water a few times. Defrosting the Turkey is very important step in preparing the guest of honor the Turkey.

Once defrosted you are ready to prepare the turkey. You will first want to remove giblets and neck. Rinse turkey inside and out, then dry skin and cavity of turkey well. If you plan on stuffing the bird then fill neck and body with stuffing. Use a skewer to pin close.

***** Tip to dressing up boxed stuffing is to add in some chopped onions and garlic. Season and stuff turkey ******

Now put that bird in the roaster and rub with butter. Season with poultry seasoning or thyme , salt and pepper. If the lid of the roaster will work great just simply cover the turkey but if it does not work make an aluminum foil lid and place over turkey. Roast 325 degrees for 4 hours. Make sure to baste every hour or so.

Remove the lid or foil and continue roasting another hour or so til nice color. A meat thermometr in thigh should read 185 degrees. Let stand 15 minutes before you are ready to carve.

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Take Down That Wall and they did....

August 12th 1961 Waltr Ulbricht leader of the East German Communist Party ordered a barricade to be built that would stand between the east and west Germany. The wall separated friends, family, work and homes. The wall would be built of concrete and barbed wire The wall was also carefully guarded. .

The great Berlin was had been constructed overnight and separated the east from the west. This all ended on November 9 1989 when the wall fell.  I can recall staring and shouting at the T.V. as history was about to happen. The Berlin Wall was about to come down. It would be the fall of the great wall. The Cold War was starting to thaw across Eastern Europe and East Berlin and West Berlin would be changed forever. Residents of Berlin would be reunited allowing families to see each other, friends and others to join together What a wonderful day.

While I had never been to Germany I do not believe that anyone in the room watching this play out on t.v. had a dry eye. We all felt the excitement. History was being re-wrote and the wall in the future would be no more .

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Potato, Potato Every Where and A Healthier Scalloped Potato Here

How many of you remember the old child hood way of counting who is in and who goes out:
one potato, two potato, three potato, four,.... five potato, six potato, seven potato no more....

Well here is a great recipe where you still get a delicious potato recipe in a healthier version and bad health out.

3 pounds potatoes – peeled and sliced ( 8 medium)
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 1/2 cans of 98% Fat free Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup low fat milk (add more as needed)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except potatoes and cheese in a bowl
Spray casserole with non-stick and put down one layer of sliced potatoes.

Spread 1/3 of the yogurt mixture on the potatoes. Add 1/3 of the cheese.

Repeat layers – mine made about 3. Top with cheese.
Bake at 350 for 45 – 60 minutes. About 10 minutes before it’s done add crispy onion straws.

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Thanksgiving Veggie Tray

2 green peppers, sliced in thin strips
1 lb baby carrots
1 (16 ounce) bag celery, cut in short strips
1 (32 ounce) jar baby dill pickles
1 (16 ounce) jar green olives
1 (16 ounce) can black olives
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 pint vegetable dip

Put the container of veggie dip on the bottom of the tray. This will be the head.
Arrange the green pepper strips along the outer edge of the serving tray, but don't cover the bottom.
Then add each layer of veggies, overlapping the previous layer. Don't cover the bottom of the tray. These first layers of veggies are supposed to look like the turkey's back feathers. Carrots, then celery, then baby pickles.
Put the tomatoes on one side of the dip, and a few on the top of the dip. Then arrange the olives to be the rest of the turkey neck.
Put a few pimentos from the olives on the dip to look like eyes. I used a piece of green olive to look like the beak

resource here

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Strawberry Jello Poke Cake Recipe Perfect for Holiday Dessert

Vanilla Cake Mix (and ingredients needed per package instructions)
1 small package of strawberry Jello (and ingredients needed per package instructions)
Small container of Cool Whip
10 or 12 strawberries, washed and sliced

Prepare the cake according to package directions.

February 10, 2016 By Summer Scraps 4 COMMENTS

STRAWBERRY JELLO POKE CAKE

I am all about simple desserts and this is one that my family just loves and is so much better than just a basic cake.  I love that I can mix and match the flavors depending on what flavor of Jello. Also because of the Jello the cake is very moist.  This recipe is also always a hit with the kids.

STRAWBERRY JELLO CAKE

Let me show you how easy it is to make this cake!

Ingredients Needed:

• Vanilla Cake Mix (and ingredients needed per package instructions)
• 1 small package of strawberry Jello (and ingredients needed per package instructions)
• Small container of Cool Whip
• 10 or 12 strawberries, washed and sliced

Prepare and bake the cake according to the package directions. Poke the cake all over with a fork. A straw or end of a wooden spoon would work nicely as well. 

Prepare the jello according to package direction. Slowly pour the jello so that it absorbs evenly Chill for 3 hours and then ice with cool whip. 

Top with sliced strawberries

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National Adoption Month

For the past 15 years November has been the month to celebrate National Adoption Month. During November there will be many stepping up to help promote national, state, and local agencies as well as foster, kinship care and adoptive family groups. There will be programs, events, and activities hosted all to help raise awareness for thousands of children and youth in foster care who are waiting for permanent loving families. 

Statistics show that an average of 415,000 children are in the foster care system. That large number demonstrates the need of help and of this large number around 108,000 are waiting to be adopted. Children of all ages are awaiting for someone to love them and open their door. Youth and older children also are in need of help. Their young lives still have many milestones to cross. 

National Adoption month originated in 2002. Since that time more than 25,000 children who were once photo's listed on adoptuskids.org  have been adopted. However, older children between ages of 15 and 18 are not equally represented Older youth and teens have lower adoption rates than younger children. 

While private adoption of an infant or adopting internationally may be expensive the cost of U.S. adoption through child welfare system has virtually no cost.  

Adoption may be easier than you think. Some topics often discussed when adoption comes up are personal status so here are some answers for you:

Most states allow individuals to adopt a child whether their status is single, married or divorced. Single parents that adopt children account for 29 percent of all adoptions from foster care in 2014. 

No need for a college degree or high school diploma. The level of education is not important as having a stable, flexible and compassionate home. It is also important that to adopt you must be able to support with a commitment to raise a child throughout life. 

The place you live is not as important as your home being stable and you being able to love the child. Many believe that to qualify for foster service or adoption you must own your own home. 

The age of the individual desiring to adopt a child is not as important as what they can give the child. Many experienced parents do a great job. Regardless of age, income, marital status or sexual orientation if you desire to adopt and have the ability to do so then reach out as there are thousands of children waiting to be adopted. 

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Crockpot Vegan 3 bean chili

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 red bell peppers, sliced into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 {14 oz} can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 {14 oz} can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 {14 oz} can white kidney "cannellini" beans, rinsed and drained
1 {28 oz} can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 {6 oz} can tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano flakes
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Topping ideas: Corn Bread and/or Chopped Green Onions

In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil. Add chopped onion pieces and red bell pepper cubes. Saute until soft.
Add sauted onion and red bell peppers to a 5-quart Crock Pot {or larger}. Combine all other ingredients and stir well. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. Or, High for 3 to 4 hours.
Top with corn bread, green onions or whatever you like.

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Cinnamon Raisin Buns

For the bread dough:
2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)
1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon milk (at room temperature)
1 large egg (at room temperature)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cake flour
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
To finish the buns:
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2-2/3 cup raisins
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to form an egg wash
simple syrup: 1 tablespoon sugar dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

Start by making the bread dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer to “stir.” Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together.

After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size.

After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces.

Roll out each piece into a rough 8×4 inch rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and dot with a few raisins

Roll into a cigar, and cut the cigar in half lengthwise, leaving one end attached (it’ll look like a pair of pants).

Twist the two pieces together, and then roll the whole thing into a snail shape, tucking the ends underneath the bun.

Lay on a baking sheet, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rise for another hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the risen buns with egg wash and bake for 13-15 minutes. Right after they’re baked, transfer to a cooling rack and brush with simple syrup

recipe source here

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Chocolate Almond Bard with Marcona Almonds

Bittersweet Chocolate Bark with Marcona Almonds

1 cup plus 2 Tbs granulated sugar
9 oz Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped and sifted
1 lb bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions to make the almond brittle:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Put the sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add 1/4 cup water and swirl to moisten. Cover and boil over high heat until starting to turn golden around the edges, about 4 minutes. Remove the lid and cook, swirling occasionally, until the caramel is deep amber, 3 to 4 minutes more (I only needed 1 minute longer. Be super careful here because the caramel goes from perfect to burnt in an instant). Stir in half of the nuts. Pour the mixture onto the foil-covered baking sheet, and spread to 1/8 inch thick. Cool completely at room temperature.

Peel the brittle off the foil, chop coarsely, and sift through a medium-fine sieve to remove the extra-small pieces and the brittle dust, which will make the chocolate bark too sweet. At this point, you can proceed with making the bark, or store the brittle in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a week.

Directions to make the chocolate bark:

Line two 8×8-inch pans with foil. In a 12-inch skillet, bring 1 inch of water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer. Put the chocolate in a dry stainless-steel bowl that fits in the skillet and put the bowl in the simmering water bath. Stir until most of the chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the water—be careful not to get any water in the chocolate—and stir until smooth. (I have no idea why this improvised double boilerish was the technique of choice instead of just using the microwave. It worked fine, but seemed odd to me.) Stir in the remaining almonds and the almond brittle.

Divide the chocolate mixture between the prepared pans, making sure that none of the brittle is exposed. (The brittle will sweat and soften if not coated in chocolate.) Level the chocolate with a spatula. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Turn out the bark and remove the foil. Cut into small pieces and refrigerate for up to 1 week before serving.

recipe source here

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Canine Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a common type of cancer that can occur in both humans and dogs. In dogs it results from unregulated growth of malignant lymphocytes (tumor) that affects lymph nodes, bone marrow, liver , spleen, eyes, skin, and gastrointestinal tract. Dogs may simply seem depressed, lethargic, vomiting, losing wight, losing fur / hair , febrile, with a decreased appetite. Lymphoma is diagnosed with diagnostic lab work and an aspirate of the lymph nodes. 

Early Signs of Canine Lymphoma include:

• Enlarged lymph nodes (may be seen in one or all regions- under jaw, in the chest region, armpits, behind the knees, groin)
• Weight loss
• Inappetance, anorexia
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea or black, tarry stool
• Fever
• Conjunctivitis – eye infections
• Lethargy, depression
• Reclusive behavior
• Loss of fur or hair
• Increased water consumption
• Increased urination

The most common treatment for canine lymphoma includes chemotherapy. There is no known cure but with good therapy the canine can survive around 9 months to a year longer. Your vet should be able to help you with your questions and making a decision of what to do. Another group that can help is CLEAR that helps bring awareness to the issue of canine lymphoma. 

Recently starting just a few years ago individuals started to help draw awareness to Canine Lymphoma. The first campaign started when a well known and respected dog trainer and competitor Terry simmons had his beloved dog diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2011. There was just not enough information , let alone accurate information to allow him to help make choices for his dog that was considered family as well. Out of the grief for his own dog Simmons created CLEAR (canine Lymphoma Education Awareness and Research). The hope is that dog owners will know their options and feel empowered to advocate for their four legged family member. 

Salute To Saying Tongue Twister Day

A tongue twister is a combination of words that are designed to be hard to pronounce. The words are often common place and even easy to pronounce. The words are combined together to form a set of words that are surprisingly difficult to say. Often the words placed together into tongue twister sentences are words that have the same phonetic sound repeated at the beginning of each word.

Tongue twisters are great tools for helping learn the English language. The faster a person can say the tongue twister without slipping up the stronger their language skills become. Those that stutter while they spoke were often given tongue twisters to say to help better their speech. Tongue twisters are to help our tongues pronounce difficult and same sounding words easily.

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Lung Cancer Awareness

Lung cancer is the growth of abnormal cells that is uncontrolled. It can occur in one or both lungs. These developing cells will not function like normal cells or grow into healthy lung tissue. They will form tumors and impede oxygen reaching the lungs.

Lung cancer comes in two forms. One is a non small cell lung cancer and the second is small cell lung cancer. The difference between the two are how they look under microscope to pathologist. Most lung cancers consist of the non small cell. The oncologist will help determine what treatment is needed and will work best for your specific type of cancer.

Nearly 90% of lung cancer is caused by smoking tobacco. Quitting smoking will help reduce the risk of lung cancer. Exposure to secondhand smoke is also a large risk of lung cancer.

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Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter is great for those that are trying to loose a bit of weight. Eating peanuts and peanut butter can help control hunger. Health studies have showed that peanuts and peanut butter have help lower the risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease. Alheimer's disease has been shown to be slowed by niacin. Peanuts are one of the foods highest in niacin. Eating five or more servings of nuts or peanut butter per week had a 25% - 30% lower risk of getting gallstones compared to those who rarely ate nuts or peanut butter. 

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the ingredients together until smooth. Scoop onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. (Roll into 1" balls with your hands, if you do not have a scoop.) Press down with the back of a fork and then press again from the opposite direction, to form the criss-cross pattern on top.

These cookies will not spread at all. You can bake the full recipe on a single tray if you would like. Bake for 12 minutes and then let cool on the tray for 1-2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

recipe resource here

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