Tomorrow, is our anniversary! We are a couple years past the quarter of a century mark (dosen't that make one think ancient!) and I'm continually amazed that God gave me the blessing of a good marriage and children.
We are heading down to the fabric warehouse today as my husband said that is what he wants to do for his anniversary. Uh, my husband doesn't sew and I have a feeling this is for me, you think? I have promised him a chocolate torte for his gift along with salmon for dinner this evening.
It is interesting that the more the years add up on our lives, the more it seems that we look back at 'chapter's of it and often have trouble relating events of the past to ourselves . . . more like rereading a book! When life is happening, we are often too busy to thoroughly appreciate it so memories are our way of eventually really enjoying all that we have been given.
Naturally, my husband's horrible cold of last week is leaving him just as the germs seem to have found me and my son. That's why we are heading down to the fabric warehouse, today, in case I get worse. Right now, it is only a cough and not such a bad one that I emit a mating call to seals! When we came down with the first symptoms, yesterday, my son and I immediately headed down to Walmart and loaded up on ZICAM (highly recommend the stuff!), cough drops, and AirBorne. I haven't had a cold in over five years and I'm not going down without a fight! :-)
My quilt work was productive, yesterday. It only needs a border now which is pretty good as I only started the project three days ago. Some quilts are like that, they just seem to fall together while other ones give me fits. No quilting today as I will be busy coughing and checking out the latest and greatest at the fabric warehouse!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Budget Idea . . .
We were longing for something hot and cheesy for dinner last night and I thought about lasagna. A check into the cupboards and I discovered I didn't have any lasagna noodles, ground beef, or pasta sauce. It was time to get inventive and keep myself away from the temptations of the grocery store!
Since I did have cheese on hand, I had that portion of the meal. I peek in the freezer found a box and a half of breakfast sausage. It came to only ten ounces but I had ideas churning in my mind now.
I brown the sausage and then roughly ground them up and then added them back to the frying pan with some finely diced onion and garlic. A half cup of red wine, some spices, a can of diced tomatoes, a little simmering and it was starting to smell like dinner.
I cooked 16 ounces of rigatoni pasta to almost done as it would finish off in the oven. I drained the pasto and put it in a large bowl. I added two eggs and the sausage/onion mixture and stirred until well combined.
I grated 3/4 cup of Romano cheese, set it aside. I melted a half stick of butter in a saucepan and then added 1/4 cup flour, stirring constantly to prevent lumping and letting it brown just a little bit. I added two cups of milk and kept whisking and cooking until it thickened. Salt, pepper, and a dash of chili flakes plus the cheese was added and stirring continued until it was smooth.
I spread the meat/pasta mixture into a large, oblong baking dish. I topped that with a cup of grated Mozzerela cheese and then the Romano sauce. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes until it was hot and bubblling. My teen son had two helpings with the only suggestion being I put the chili flakes out for extra sprinkling on his serving.
We didn't exactly have lasagna but we got a dish large enough to take care of dinner and provide leftovers for another meal tomorrow. And I didn't have to go to the store!
Anyone want a more precise recipe, let me know!
Since I did have cheese on hand, I had that portion of the meal. I peek in the freezer found a box and a half of breakfast sausage. It came to only ten ounces but I had ideas churning in my mind now.
I brown the sausage and then roughly ground them up and then added them back to the frying pan with some finely diced onion and garlic. A half cup of red wine, some spices, a can of diced tomatoes, a little simmering and it was starting to smell like dinner.
I cooked 16 ounces of rigatoni pasta to almost done as it would finish off in the oven. I drained the pasto and put it in a large bowl. I added two eggs and the sausage/onion mixture and stirred until well combined.
I grated 3/4 cup of Romano cheese, set it aside. I melted a half stick of butter in a saucepan and then added 1/4 cup flour, stirring constantly to prevent lumping and letting it brown just a little bit. I added two cups of milk and kept whisking and cooking until it thickened. Salt, pepper, and a dash of chili flakes plus the cheese was added and stirring continued until it was smooth.
I spread the meat/pasta mixture into a large, oblong baking dish. I topped that with a cup of grated Mozzerela cheese and then the Romano sauce. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes until it was hot and bubblling. My teen son had two helpings with the only suggestion being I put the chili flakes out for extra sprinkling on his serving.
We didn't exactly have lasagna but we got a dish large enough to take care of dinner and provide leftovers for another meal tomorrow. And I didn't have to go to the store!
Anyone want a more precise recipe, let me know!
You can't live a faith you don't know . . .
The outcry about the bishops being against the obama mandate re. contraception is the premise that 98% of the Catholic women use birth control. The liberal left's thinking is that since they abide by this percentage as fact, the Church should just cave. Although I'm pretty sure that is a contrived number, the sad fact remains that many Catholics do use birth control.
The Church's stance on abortion and contraception is clear, however, as a radio talk show host put it , perhaps there is a lack of education coming forth from the pulpit, otherwise how do you explain this?
My husband and I met in a Catholic singles group and around the time we married, another couple was planning their wedding. We mentioned something about natural family planning to the prospective groom immediately ranted, "I'm not letting any old man in a dress living in Rome tell me how I plan my life!" We were shocked because the guy and his fiance were, to all outward signs, 'good', 'practicing' Catholics. Was he just interested in the convenience of contraception, regardless of Church rules or didn't he know that it wasn't just a whim of the 'old man in Rome' but an attack on babies and marriage.
Another time, we were talking to a brother-in-law and mentioned something about abortion. The brother-in-law, also a practicing Catholic, said, "Well, the Church is okay with abortion up until three months, right?" When we told him the truth, he was surprised that no one had ever told him that before.
According to my understanding, the reason priests don't often preach on this subject is that they are supposed to base the sermon on the Gospel and Readings of the day. Seems to me that you can draw something from most any Scripture that can be tied into the sanctify of life, sacredness of marriage, and obedience to the Church. Perhaps, it isn't alway quite feasible but given the increase in attacks on the Church, it should be brought up early and often.
It isn't enough to have Pope Paul VI's Humane Vitae as part of the Church's library of life, it should also be required teaching and conversation in every aspect of Catholic schools and from the pulpit. After all, you can't defend your Faith if you don't know your Faith.
An evangelist friend once told me that soon it would have to be the laity bringing the Word of God and instruction to the people as it won't be coming from the pulpit. He told me this over 15 years ago and it is almost a fulfillment of a 'prophecy' today.
The Church's stance on abortion and contraception is clear, however, as a radio talk show host put it , perhaps there is a lack of education coming forth from the pulpit, otherwise how do you explain this?
My husband and I met in a Catholic singles group and around the time we married, another couple was planning their wedding. We mentioned something about natural family planning to the prospective groom immediately ranted, "I'm not letting any old man in a dress living in Rome tell me how I plan my life!" We were shocked because the guy and his fiance were, to all outward signs, 'good', 'practicing' Catholics. Was he just interested in the convenience of contraception, regardless of Church rules or didn't he know that it wasn't just a whim of the 'old man in Rome' but an attack on babies and marriage.
Another time, we were talking to a brother-in-law and mentioned something about abortion. The brother-in-law, also a practicing Catholic, said, "Well, the Church is okay with abortion up until three months, right?" When we told him the truth, he was surprised that no one had ever told him that before.
According to my understanding, the reason priests don't often preach on this subject is that they are supposed to base the sermon on the Gospel and Readings of the day. Seems to me that you can draw something from most any Scripture that can be tied into the sanctify of life, sacredness of marriage, and obedience to the Church. Perhaps, it isn't alway quite feasible but given the increase in attacks on the Church, it should be brought up early and often.
It isn't enough to have Pope Paul VI's Humane Vitae as part of the Church's library of life, it should also be required teaching and conversation in every aspect of Catholic schools and from the pulpit. After all, you can't defend your Faith if you don't know your Faith.
An evangelist friend once told me that soon it would have to be the laity bringing the Word of God and instruction to the people as it won't be coming from the pulpit. He told me this over 15 years ago and it is almost a fulfillment of a 'prophecy' today.
Some Smiles and Some Truths . . .
"Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles
writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a
best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher."
-- Flannery O'Connor
-- Flannery O'Connor
"Advice to writers: Sometimes you just have to stop writing. Even
before you begin."
-- Stanislaw J. Lec
-- Stanislaw J. Lec
"Aristotle was famous for knowing everything. He taught that the
brain exists merely to cool the blood and is not involved in the process of
thinking. This is true only of certain persons."
-- Will Cuppy
-- Will Cuppy
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived
forwards."
-- Soren Kierkegaard
-- Soren Kierkegaard
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