Reliving the Past

We are proud of our Soldiers, those that came home, some badly injured, enduring only God knows what.  My Dad served in the Korean war, my brother in the vietnamese war, my son even though in the army did not see any form of battle and I am grateful.

War is useless bloodshed, anguish, not only to the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands to our  children. what if ther were another way to settle our differences, that would be wonderful. Highly unlikely though I know.

We enjoy our freedoms, even though we may get disgruntled among ourselves, we are so much better off than those countries, where women are beaten on a regular basis. Hanus crimes aganst humanity go on everyday. Some may not always like it here, but before you get too whiney, and complaining about your woes. Stop and think, Somebody would love to be in your shoes. Deal with your woes, because it is a step up in the right direction, especially for those who are held down and held back by their governing factors and fascions.

Love the USA, you don’t have to agree  with everything, after all, that’s what happens in most families. We are one big family. Hang tight and hang close, we are all going to need one another,  GOD Bless us all.

Spaghetti Recipes (How tos’)

1 pound of good ground beef

olive oil

salt and pepper

a jar of tomato pasta sauce (not marinara), Tomato and basil would be the best

Cook the ground beef in a sauce pan, over medium high fire, with some olive oil, salt and pepper for about five minutes or so, until browned. If you have any herbs, fresh or dry, like Basil, Thyme, or Rosemary you may add a sprinkle of them to the meat while browning for flavor.

Add the tomato sauce to the meat, lower the flame and let simmer for about 10 minutes to let all the ingredients and flavors blend together and enhance one another. Correct salt and pepper to taste, add if you have some fresh chopped basil or parsley and pour over your favorite pasta together with some Parmigiano cheese
Spaghetti Noodles

There are several types of noodles that are available to use. You may choose to use the Long noodles, for myself I choose the wide egg noodles.

Heat water to boiling, put salt and Olive Oil in large boiling pot, place noodles in the pot, cook until soft and opaque. Drain the water off the noodles.

Some people ladle their sauce over their noodles on individual plates.  Some people mix the sauce and noodles together in a bowl.  A nice Salad with Tomatoes, Avocado and Croutons with a nice Italian Dressing, Garlic Toast, Garlic Bread or Breadsticks is great with an Italian Spaghetti dinner.  We used to have a red wine with our meal when Mama cooked dinner. Enjoy !

1 16-ounce loaf of Italian bread or French bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
1 heaping tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Toasted

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut the bread in half, horizontally. Mix the butter, garlic, and parsley together in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture over the the two bread halves. Place on a sturdy baking pan (one that can handle high temperatures, not a cookie sheet) and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.

3 Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over bread if you want. Return to oven on the highest rack. Broil on high heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the bread begin to toast and the cheese (if you are using cheese) bubbles. Watch very carefully while broiling. The bread can easily go from un-toasted to burnt.

4 Remove from oven, let cool a minute. Remove from pan and make 1-inch thick slices. Serve immediately.

Method 2 – Soft

Preheat oven to 350°F. Make the butter, garlic, parsley mixture as above. Make 1-inch thick slices into the bread, but do not go all the way through, just to the bottom crust. Put a teaspoon or two of the butter mixture between each slice. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and heat for 15 minutes in the oven.

Until Dad Married my Step Mother Bonnie, (she was a wonderful Mother by the way)

I hadn’t even heard of an onion bun, broccoli, cauliflower, or even avocado, and when it came to eating them let alone taste  them  I fought her tooth and nail.  I would pour ketchup over everything so I wouldn’t taste the nasty food she was trying to shove down my throat.  This went on for months, I would watch my sisters and my Dad, they really liked what Mom was cooking, they loved it. To tell you the truth, curiosity got the best of me, so I tasted and chewed and to my surprise it was wonderful. Everything she made was wonderful.  Everything she made was from scratch. I became accustomed to coming inside from being at school,  and being greeted to some tantalizing aromas.

She was always in the kitchen, baking cookies, breads and buns all from scratch. I came in one day and she was in the process of making Onion Buns. It stopped me in my tracks. I watched her in total amazement and I waited gingerly for the buns to come out of the oven. She was a wonderful person, and I would like to share a recipe for onion buns with you….enjoy.

ONION HAMBURGER BUNS

Heat milk in 1-quart saucepan until it just comes to a boil (3 to 4 minutes); stir in butter, sugar, onion and 2 teaspoons salt. Cool to warm (105 to 115°F).

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixer bowl. Add cooled milk mixture and 3 cups flour. Beat at medium speed until smooth (1 to 2 minutes).

Stir in enough remaining flour by hand to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place into greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched. Punch down dough; divide in half. Shape each half with floured hands into 6 rounds; place onto greased baking sheets. Flatten each to 3 1/2-inch circle. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Cover; let rise until double in size (about 30 minutes).

Heat oven to 400°F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. To serve, split buns.



My Dad and StepMother had been happily married for a good many years. She really had all of her ducks in a row. She was a great housewife, housekeeper, Mom, Wife and Grandma. She put a light in Dads eyes. She was great at managing bills, building up credit and could cook like nobody else I had ever known. She made our house a home. My parents got elderly as we all do, Moms health was poor, Dads wasn’t much better.  There came a time when we got the call that Mom was dying and was time to go home. Only 20% of her heart was functioning, they tried  a Triple Bypass on her way back in 1978, they could only do one, there were no guarantees on how long she would go on living. It was the late 1990s, all of us girls were with her, at home when she drew her last breath.  Within a year, my Dad took his own life, he was 73 years old. He had problems with mood swings and depression, and now I know he was showing signs of Dementia. At the service we told everyone he died of a broken heart.

Since then I have been studying and learning all I can about depression and suicide, Here are some facts: