The beginning and the end of yesterday . . .

 

The beginning of the day and the final demise of that pile of fill dirt. Sigh . . . We are waiting for another truckload today. Two truckloads just weren't quite enough. Meanwhile, I'm preparing food for the soon-to-be hungry crew. Everyone is tired and sore today. For some reason, my husband didn't think he needed to do his usual morning exercises today. Go figure on that decision!

Mostly war and no peace in politics!

Politics are almost as exciting as war and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics - many times.

Winston Churchill

Definitely worth sharing . . .

These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read:

 

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

 

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

 

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

 

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

 

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

 

Easy Does It Cinnamon Rolls

This is my go-to recipe for cinnamon rolls. It goes together easily, doesn't require any unusual ingredients, and bakes up nicely.

Easy Does it Cinnamon Rolls

2 tablespoons dry yeast
½ cup warm water*
1 ¼ cup buttermilk**
2 eggs
5 ½ cups all-purpose flour - approximately
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons ground anise seed (optional and gives the dough a great but unusual taste.)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixer bowl. Add buttermilk, eggs, 2 ½ cups flour, the butter, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend 30 seconds with mixer on low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Beat two minutes on medium speed.

Stir in remaining 3 cups flour. (Dough should remain soft and slightly sticky.) Knead five minutes, or about 200 turns on a lightly floured board. With a Kitchenaid, you should be able to do the entire thing with the dough hook.

Shape into coffee breads or rolls as desired. Place on greased baking sheet and refrigerate over night. In the morning, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake. Frost while still warm. You can also form your rolls, cover with vegetable oil sprayed plastic wrap, let rise at room temperature, and bake the same day.

*You can’t used cold, tap water in this recipe. Sweet dough require the slightly warm temperature to prevent the dough from souring. But, only slightly warm or you will kill the yeast.

**Instead of going out and buying buttermilk, just add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to milk and let stand a moment. This works just as well and is cheaper!

Fillings:

½ cup melted butter
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash of cloves
dash of nutmeg
½ cup finely chopped nuts, optional

Roll out a portion of dough, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and nuts. Roll the dough up and then cut slices (1/2 inches) and place on baking sheet and go on as indicated.


Frostings
Powdered sugar, about two cups
Grated lemon rind
Juice of lemon
Teaspoon of vanilla extract

Combine ingredients and mix into a thick paste. Use more water if you can’t get the consistency you want.

Or:

Brown half a stick of butter in a pan. Mix in about two cups powered sugar and vanilla extract. Again, add small amounts of water to get proper consistency for spreading on rolls.
　

Another quote to tuck into our hearts!

“No, I do not wish to make anything of passing troubles, when it is a question of procuring some glory for You who suffered so much for love of us.”  ~St. Teresa of Avila

Progress but no finish line . . .

 

Who would have thought that filling in a hole with the help of three people would take so long! The trio, my husband, son, and son's friend, have been going at it to the tune of about 80 wheelbarrow loads each since eight this morning. It is almost 7:30 in the evening and they are barely done. The worst part? When they are done, they are not done as we had to order another truckload of dirt. The estimate arrived at by both the company and my husband was off. Tomorrow, only one truckload is being delivered but I think the blisters earned today will soon remind the guys of what is ahead. Fortunately, it has been down in the 80's which is unusual and a blessing for sure.

The dog is confused. She always wants in the house and is usually outside. Today, she HAD to stay in the house and she wanted to be outside with the action. We did give her a break during lunch and she enjoyed checking out the smells that came with the new dirt.

Very Basic Chicken Soup

A young friend asked me how to make chicken soup so I wrote down the very basic recipe for her. I thought I'd share it here, too. Chicken soup is always welcoming and you don't have to rely on the canned soup with the soggy noodles.

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs

1 large onion, chopped

10 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 cans of chicken broth

2 cups water

2 16 ounce bags of frozen mixed vegetables

Salt and pepper

16 ounces elbow noodles

In a frying pan or pot with a cover, put in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, heat, and brown the chicken on both sides. Add the onion and garlic and cook some more until

they are slightly browned and tender. Pour in the broth, water, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for an hour. Strain the broth into another pot to get rid of the solids.

Cool the chicken slightly and pull off the meat and throw away the bones. Put the frozen vegetable in with the meat and chicken in the broth. Taste to see if you need

more salt or pepper. Simmer until it is hot.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles until just tender. Drain. Put a spoonful of noodles in each bowl and top with soup. Serve!

Ideas . . .

You can get fancy and finely chop some parsley or chives and sprinkle on each serving.

Sometimes, I sear a couple of boneless chicken breasts, dice them, and add them to the pot.

No, frozen vegetables. Nothing wrong with chopping up some fresh carrots and celery for your soup.

one-four of barley added and simmered until tender stretches out your meal and adds some extra fiber.

Dried onions are a reasonable substitute if you don't have a fresh one on hand.

My children like angel hair pasta in their soup. The choice of shape is open to choice!

A dash of poultry seasoning adds some extra flavor.

Potatoes instead of noodles/pasta is always a nice change.