at this very difficult time

know that your friends
are thinking of you

sent from a dear friend

this is hard for me
i do not want to be a burden on my friends
i need to work through all of this in time
i feel incredible guilt because i am not in touch with my friends
its the way it needs to be for me for now

ultimate fruit of choice crisp

 

4-5 cups of berries of choice or peaches or apricots or other fruit of choice

4 T white sugar but can skip if you think sweet enough and want to go HEALTHY!!
2 c flour of choice
2 c oats
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar or less if you want to go HEALTHY!!
1 tsp or more to compensate if you lessened the sugar.. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 c butter or less if you want to go HEALTHY!! ( I never use that much...OMG!)

preheat oven to 350 degrees

in a large bowl, gently toss fruit with sugar if using sugar otherwise just toss fruit

in a separate large bowl, combine flour to nutmeg
cut in butter until crumbly.....(cut means use a fork or a pastry blender to mix and eventually the mixture will become crumbly....like the size of large peas....I know..."details")

press half of the "crumbly" mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 unbuttered (unless you omitted a lot and when the HEALTHY route) dish/pan

cover with fruit of choice mixture
sprinkle remaining "crumbly" mixture over the fruit of choice mixture

bake in preheated oven 30-40 minutes or until fruit of choice is bubbly and topping is golden brown

(tips:  i have done apricots, peaches, blackberries as my fruit of choice, also strawberries, blackberries and blueberries...do what you want and have fun...it's no fail especially warm ala mode!!!  may need to bake extra time if fruit is extra juicy)

found by me on the internet.....such a resourceful tool and it was not on a BLOG....LOL

macaroni and cheese aka "crack"

1/2 lb elbow macaroni
1 T butter
1 large egg, beaten
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tsp salt
1-1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 T hot water
3 c grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 c milk


preheat the oven to 350 degrees


boil the macaroni in salted water just until slightly tender
drain thoroughly and put mac in a large mixing bowl
stir in the butter and egg along with some pepper
mix the salt and mustard with the hot water and stir into the mac
add the cheese minus 1/2 c to sprinkle on top 


put the mac and cheese into a buttered casserole dish
sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top
pour the milk over everything


bake for 45 minutes or until the is crusty

(tips:  use the sharpest cheese you can find....ok to prepare night before, refrigerate and bake just before serving.....I usually double the recipe for a 9x13 casserole...leftovers are best fried)

found in a cookbook my dad gave me many years ago

balsamic dressing

½ c balsamic vinegar

4 cloves of garlic~minced

fresh ground pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

½ c canola or grapeseed oil

½ c olive oil

shared by my dear friend, Tina xo

dijon vinaigrette

½ c apple cider vinegar

4 garlic cloves~minced

2 tsp kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

4 tsp dijon mustard

½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce

½ c canola or grapeseed oil

½ c olive oil

-blend it all together pulsing in the oil at the end

-can prepare it in   

blender/food processor or just whisk it

shared by Tina, my friend who loves to "kook" as much as me