Recipe Thursday - Forgotten Cookies

Forgotten Cookies
(I forget who I got this recipe from but it is one of the simplest cookies you will ever make).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup granulated (regular) sugar
1 tsp. vanilla (clear if you've got it -makes a whiter cookie - but regular will do)
14 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat the egg whites with salt until very stiff. Add vanilla and sugar gradually until well-mixed (stiff and glossy, can't feel granules of sugar between your fingertips) - about 10 minutes, maybe longer. This is only one of the many reasons I love my Kitchen Aid stand mixer! Gently fold/stir in the chocolate chips and drop by small teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet (flat ones work best). Place filled cookie sheets in your pre-heated oven. Shut the oven door. Turn off the oven.
Do NOT open the oven again until the next day (8 hours minimum). If you even peek, you'll ruin the cookies! So NO peeking. I usually make these before bed, and they're all ready to go the next morning. BTW, I never make this small a batch - a double batch will made 92 cookies. You can crowd them on the sheets because they don't spread. Just don't let them actually touch. Store in an airtight container. Better cookies result if the weather is not too humid.

Note - these cookies are gluten-free and delicious!

Spiritual Sunday - Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday when Christians celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem which occurred the week before his death and resurrection. This is also called 'Passion Sunday' as it marks the beginning of Holy Week which concludes on Easter Sunday.

The Bible tells us that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds greeted him with waving palm branches and by covering his path with palm branches. This is why it became customary in many churches for each person attending worship services to receive a fresh palm leaf on Palm Sunday.

One of the customs in my household and my husbands was to turn that palm into a cross.

We usually spend Palm Sunday with husband's parents celebrating Palm Sunday and FIL's birthday (he turns 92 this coming Wednesday). We traditionally have an Italian lunch then FIL's favorite cake (German Chocolate Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting). Since I am still non-weight bearing, daughter had the pleasure of making the cake today which she actually loves to do since she loves the frosting (yes it is homemade). After cake and FIL opened a few gifts (mostly puzzles), we spent the afternoon doing our tradition of turning our palms into crosses. We then helped FIL do a puzzle then left as he was pretty tuckered out from the whole day that began with church services this morning. Even with his advanced dementia, FIL did not forget how to make his cross.

Here are the steps that we have always used.

Step 1: Hold the palm in your hand horizontally

Step 2: At the midway point of the palm make a fold so that it is bent to a 90 degree angle

Step 3: At the midway point of the palm, fold one piece down over the other so it overlaps and points down toward the floor

Step 4: Fold that same piece you just bent tightly downward so that it wraps around and is now pointing up toward the ceiling.

Step 5: Grasp the piece that has been stationary (unfolded) and fold it across the piece you have been previously working with to create a square.

Step 6: Still holding the section of the palm you just folded over, slide it through the square that you just finished making at the center point of the palm. The exact spot you want to slide the palm through is located on the back of the palm and will go under the first fold you made when starting the folding process in step 3.

Step 7: Pull that section of palm through until the knot is tight enough to not need pressure to hold it in place.

Part 2 begins once the knot has been made and is fully secure.

Step 1: Take the section of the palm that points upward and fold it down. Slide it through the square to create the front of the cross.

Step 2: Take that same piece and slide it back up through the square from the previous step to make the bottom of the cross.

Step 3: At this point you are halfway done. Turn the palm over so that the horizontal section of the palm is facing to the right. As you view it from above you should see a vertical square . Take the piece of the palm now facing the right and slide it through the square to make the first side of the cross.

Step 4: Take the same section of palm you just worked with and slide it through the same square you just used in step 3. The key is to make sure when you do this that you thread it behind where you just slid it through so you do not undo your work.

At this point you are done and have a cross made of palms. There will be some pieces that are uneven and it is okay to trim them off or down to make the palm cross look more uniform. Keep in mind many people make mistakes the first time, but it is okay. Palm is forgiving enough to allow you to try again until you get it right.

Recipe Thursday - Cheesy Au Gratins

This is one of my favorite recipes. I make mine in a square 9 inch glass dish and let it crisp on the outside which to me is the best part :)

Ingredients
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
5 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced, not rinsed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook onion in butter until soft, add flour and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly so it doesn't burn. Whisk in milk and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add all but 1/4 cup of cheese, stirring until melted. Layer half of potatoes in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with half of sauce. Layer remaining potato slices on top of sauce and season. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, covered, for one hour or until potatoes are tender. (I usually take off the foil for the last 15 minutes as I like the top browned also).

This recipe works well with substitutions (low fat milk, skim milk, fat free cheese, and salt substitutes).

Ankle Update - 5 weeks postop 5th surgery

I have been still having pain mainly in the back part of the outside of the ankle to the back part of the inside of the ankle and with any motion. I have been trying to do the alphabet with my foot and ankle to get more motion in it but I have pain especially when I pull the foot toward me or when I try to make any letter that involves any type of a circular motion. It seems to hurt the longer I am up even if I put some weight on the foot or not although I try and stay mainly non-weight bearing. I also am still getting this baseball size swelling in that area along with a total intolerance to riding in a car with the motion.

So yesterday at the office hubs took tuning fork to my foot and made it hurt worse and then took special xrays on the right ankle and stated that he thought my continued swelling and pain might be due to what is nicknamed a Shepherds Fracture. This is a fracture of the lateral tubercle of the posterior process of the talus which was named after Francis J. Shepherd. Basically he thinks I sheared off a piece of this bone at the back of the talus. It has possibly been there since the original injury 8-15-07.

To get this fracture one must hyperplanterflex the posterior talofibular ligament and have the 2 bones come together and shear off one of the processes of the talus. It is usually seen in athletes or ballet dancers (yeah not either).

So, today my doctor took a few more xrays and wants me to get an MRI to be sure. I am kind of a pain in the rear patient in that I don't want to hear any word that starts with either an 's' or an 'i' aka surgery/shot/injection. I also didn't want to have another cast put on and he agreed PLUS the biggest: he took me off the narcoleptic anti-inflammatory medicine called Indocin. All it was making me do was sleep which both my doctor and husband agreed was a nice side effect as it effectively kept me quiet. Haha.....so got that med stopped. One cannot sleep their life away.

So this weekend I am working on my newsletter that I need to have in the mail by next Friday. But no surgery at this point and for that I am thankful. I honestly don't know if I could mentally tolerate another one. Maybe one 10 years or so into the future but not right now. Right now I just want my life back. I want to cook again. I want to drive again. I want my independence again.

But basically we don't know yet so until we do, the 's' word and the 'i' word are off the table and the narcoleptic drug is right there with it.

Hotel Suite Pics

Pretty exhausted today from that new medication and working and being told I might need another surgery by husband - that to be confirmed when I see my doctor tomorrow, so posting pics of the suite we had last week. Enjoy!
One of 3 doors to our suite - this one had the doorbell. Another was located behind the bar and the 3rd was beside the bed.

Other side of front entranceway:


Huge bathroom to left, bar to right behind couch.

Just a few views from the windows in our room:

Happy St Patrick's Day and Happy 57th Anniversary Mom and Dad

A sequence of photos showing the Chicago River being dyed green.




This was taken 3-13-10 from our hotel room.

This picture was taken on 3-14-10 and the river is still green although darker.

Yep today is St. Patrick's Day. The pictures above portray the dying of the Chicago River. If you are ever in Chicago for the St. Patrick's Day Parade you will feel, see, and hear the excitement that begins at 10:30am when the Chicago River is dyed this incredible shade of "Irish Green". This began 43 years ago and is not funded nor was begun by the City of Chicago but by a family called Bailey and today is done by Mike Butler and his crew who states they get a little help from a leprechaun. As you can see in the pictures above, the color of the dye that is put into the river is orange. It is only after a few minutes and with the help of the leprechaun that the river then turns this magical shade of green.

Personally, I have lived in the Chicago area since 1963 and I had never seen it dyed except on the television. To me, the Chicago River is always a murky dark shade of yuck green anyway. But this year I got to actually witness it in person and it is truly amazing. We never got to the parade (my daughter and son-in-law and their friends did) but according to them it was as crazy as always.

Today is also my parent's 57th wedding anniversary - so Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Recipe Thursday - Sweet Potato Casserole

Friday evening during the seminar a bunch of us blew off vendors who wanted to wine and dine us and went to Ruth Chris by ourselves instead. We all felt we had been seminared for over 12 hours already and frankly just wanted to sit down to a good meal and friendship. This was one of the side dishes a few people commented on that they really liked. I knew I had a similar one so I said I would post it.

Sweet Potato Mixture
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs - well beaten
1 stick butter - (1/2 cup) melted

Crust
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
1/3 stick butter - melted

Combine the ingredients for the crust: brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. (Although this is the official recipe, for those with nut allergies, you can divide this whole recipe into 2 dishes and then just sprinkle the pecans on the top before baking). Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a mixing bowl in the order listed. Mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.

Note - I personally use a bit more brown sugar and less pecans in my crust - I like my crust crispy and sweet and not too nutty. I also tend to really chop the pecans into tiny pieces.

Seminaritis and New Drugs

Yep, I carefully looked at all my symptoms and carefully researched said symptoms and have come to the conclusion I have seminaritis. This has to be a disease process afflicting anyone who attends a 2 or more day seminar and has this lethargy attacking them when they get home. I haven't decided if it was the difference in beds and I was just happy to get back to mine which doesn't need a step stool to get into, or the fact that I was people'd out. It's hard being nice for a solid 4 days in a row. I get this affliction after being around my family too and after working during full moon weeks and after.........well quite a few times per year come to think of it. I am sure I have not become desensitized yet. I only know there is no cure except sleep.

On top of the seminaritis, my doctor changed my anti-inflammatory medication from an OTC (over the counter) one to a prescription strength one which is contributing to my seminaritis lethargy. I feel like a newborn - eat - sleep - poop - eat - sleep - all day and night. Kinda makes me wonder if my doctor and my husband thought this would be an effective way to make me stay in bed and shut me up for a lot of the day thus ensuring both of them peace. I don't think so but the thought has occurred to me. According to them, they want to reduce the swelling in the ankle I have been getting thereby reducing the amount of pain I have (I don't take pain medications for the very reason this new anti-inflammatory is doing - they make me sleep and I have things to do). But after 24 hours and a full 10 hours sleep and 3 naps during the day and evening, I can firmly state that although I feel no pain while I am zonked/drugged, the pain and swelling is still there before I zonk and still there when I wake up.

Still haven't coordinated my brain to remember to find the camera so I can show you some of the neat pictures I took of the Chicago River being dyed green and of our suite but hopefully I will do it in the next few times I am up and awake tomorrow, if I remember.

Best news from the seminar besides being invited back to speak next year and getting a suite for the price of a double room: I found another person in this world who is as allergic to garlic that I am. Funny thing is we share a lot of the same allergies. And here my husband and doctors think I am 'different' or 'special' - you know it doesn't mean a different or special good because they use that "special voice" and roll their eyes as they are saying it. But now I have confirmation - thanks Sheila!

Spiritual Sunday - Friendships

Hubs and I have been at a 15 state seminar since late Wednesday evening through this morning. I posted the first day but hubs had a dinner meeting that night so I had free time. Friday and Saturday were super busy days and basically all I wanted to do once I got back to the room was strip, wash my face, and climb my step stool to bed. Between seminars and functions we attended, I was exhausted every night and the foot definitely didn't like the activity levels either. This is why there has been no posts.

But at the seminar we were able to catch up with people we don't see but once a year at this seminar. We learned a dear friend had a heart attack in January with 2 stents put in but he did sustain damage to the heart. We learned a doctor my husband first worked for after residency had passed away after a long battle with cancer. We met new doctors fresh with ideas and thoughts and wondered if we were ever so naive and young. We met up with a dear friend who was diagnosed with Stage IV prostate cancer at the same time I was diagnosed with cancer (1998) and we went through treatments and the emotional outflow together. He is doing well and still living day to day and still takes nothing for granted.

This seminar is not just a seminar for learning for us - it is a social event that spans over years of friendship. Friendships that we are blessed to have that last a lifetime. We have quite a few of those types of friends where we live that are just as dear to us as those who live far away.

So today for Spiritual Sunday, I celebrate for not only turning another year older, but those friendships that last forever and sustain us and make us who we are. I am truly blessed for not only those friendships but for my husband - my only lifetime friend with benefits.

Seminar Day 1

Hubs and I are currently attending a 4 day, 15 state seminar. We checked into the hotel last night and learned that they had not given us a handicap room with a shower stall like we had reserved. So we were put into this ginormous suite complete with 3 couches and 2 chairs, a 62" TV, a mini-kitchen, a dining room table and enough square feet for a party of 50 - at the same rate we were to pay for a plain old double handicap room. Nice.....wish hotels made those mistakes more often!

Looking at the room though, I noticed all the couches and chairs aimed directly at the bed - yes the bed was in the center of the room. Of course my mind went into the gutter wondering exactly what this suite was used for and thinking I only brought one can of Lysol and no blacklight. But never fear - my husband cleared it up for me. The bed is actually a Murphy's bed so it closes up into the wall unit so one can have a party without the bed being in the center of everything. (I kinda liked where my mind went though). Only problem with the bed though is that it isn't made for a one legged height deficient person so I had to ask for a step stool to be able to get into the bed. Yeah I can see you all laughing right now :)

Day 1 of the seminar started off well. I think it is amazing how the outside world just doesn't exist when you are away. I guess there was a huge thunderstorm last night with power outages. I heard nothing. So far have not missed a lecture I wanted to go to and even managed to scoot around half the exhibit halls. Would have been able to do the entire exhibits but kept getting stopped by people I see only once a year. So will probably try and finish tomorrow in between lectures I don't want to miss (including my own).

Foot/ankle even on scooter is very sore. Came back to the room and ordered room service and put it up with a couple ice packs. Feels much better now.

Renewing Your Driver's License

My birthday is this Sunday and the date my drivers license expires. I haven't had to renew it for over 10+ years since I am a good driver and all **snicker**

I have had the form for over a month but didn't think it would be nice to go in on my scooter or using crutches and ask for a drivers license. So I waited. I practiced this morning a bit to make the limp less noticeable. Son and I took off for the DMV. He dropped me off to lessen the amount I had to walk and I had the crutches and scooter in the car just in case. I limped in until they could see me then I walked although very very slow.

First one must state why you are there then you are given a number and a finger pointing to where you are supposed to go. Then you take a seat until your number is called. When my number was called, the lady watched me walk - there was no way I could walk fast since then I would limp. So I ambled over and I commented that this damp weather is bad on old people (meaning those of us with owies). Thankfully she laughed and said I wasn't that old, meaning I think that I was old just not ancient.

Then I had to take a vision test. I wore my glasses (bifocals) and told me to look into this vision testing thingie. There were 3 sets of numbers. The first 2 were easy. The last 3 I had absolutely no clue on. The lady said take a guess and I said they were so blurry I couldn't even hazard a guess. I said I needed to get trifocals and she said: "Oh honey, tilt your head up to see the last set". Yep those were for close work hence the need for bifocals and sure enough those numbers came into focus!

Next I had to cross the entire DMV to get a new picture taken. Managed to do that and then walk out. Son picked me up and my foot went up on the dashboard and I popped a pain pill.

Best thing - I got my license renewed not having driven in almost 3 years!

Recipe Tuesday - Carrot Cake

I was supposed to make this for my MIL's birthday on Sunday but didn't have the ingredients so instead my husband got her a store-bought cake which actually didn't taste that bad but it still wasn't homemade. Mine is definitely better. I tried to make this recipe 'lighter' in calories, etc but it just does not taste right. To me, if I make this 1-2 times a year for a birthday then one can splurge on their birthday of all days!

4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cups chopped pecans
4 cups grated carrots (I usually do the grating using either my salad shooter or in my food processor)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and sugar. Add in 4 slightly beaten eggs and the vegetable oil. Fold in the pecans and carrots. Bake in either a greased and floured long 9x13 pan or 2 - 8inch greased and floured round or square pans at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans. Completely cool cake before icing.

For the icing:
1/2 cup softened butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.

I have also made this into cupcakes.

Pink Jobs vs Blue Jobs

This has become my son's and husband's mantra. "I can't do that because it is a 'pink job'" to which my response is to double them both up on 'pink jobs'. Getting them to do 'pink jobs' is easy right now because I have been unable to do a lot with being non-weight bearing. Oh yeah....pink jobs are fun to dole out.

Did you know that there is a difference between a 'pink job' and a 'blue job'? I didn't. I had to have it explained to me by the chauvinistic males in my house. I hope their thought processes are changing but I apologize for the woman who can put up with our son. I can only hope you wrap him around your finger until he doesn't know what he's doing and all he wants to do is please you. If not, then talk to me because I have lived it for quite a number of years. There are ways to get them to come around to your way of thinking.

For those who are not in the 'loop' - a 'pink job' is a female job meaning it is beneath a males psyche to do. Therefore a 'blue job' is a male oriented job or task and considered above a female brain.

In my humble opinion, there isn't one thing in this house I can't do and probably have done already including hanging towel racks that laid in their boxes underneath our bed for over 15 years until I broke down and did them.

But there are definite 'pink jobs' in this house which includes picking up cat hair balls, dog poop, cleaning, organizing, finding anything, doing dishes, cooking, shopping, laundry, cleaning the litter box, etc. I could go on and on. A lot of these jobs neither my son or husband will touch.

I am thinking that these jobs have had to become the 'blue jobs' since I have been incapacitated which might go on for a bit longer.......months and months of physical therapy. Oh yeah......it is possible to 'get even'!

Spiritual Sunday - What are you doing for Lent?

I grew up with the knowledge that one gave up something for Lent and added something religious to acknowledge the 40 days and nights leading up to Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus. As a child, I would give up something easy like chocolate which I really didn't like anyway and I would promise to try and be good for the week (this usually lasted for less than a day but the intention was there. I can't state I was a bad child but I was the oldest of 13 and have always had my own opinion on everything. I call myself an independent thinker now.) As a family we already attended mass every day and twice on Holy Days (kinda what happens when you attend Roman Catholic schools). We would also only have fish on Fridays. I looked forward to Fridays because that was the only time we actually got to eat fish and I loved it.

But it wasn't until I was in college and taking a Religions in America class that I really learned what it all meant, especially to me. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of a person via prayer, penitence, almsgiving, and self-denial. I would challenge my professors telling them to cite the exact reference to The Bible that states this ritual. There is none. In reality, it wasn't until the 2nd century that the church began using that season as a time to encourage us how to think, live, and believe as Christians. This would be done by reliving the Scriptures of Christ's time before He was killed, culminating in His Resurrection Easter Sunday.

As the centuries passed, the idea of what Lent was shifted to looking at the depth of one's own sin and a time for learning what it means to follow Christ and a time for actually changing your ways to be more as Christ would have wanted you to be.

This is how modern Lent came about. It is traditional to give up or fast from something that we do a lot of and that we find pleasure in. It is done so we learn self-control and to free our minds of material things and to tell ourselves no and really do it. Giving things up is to help us identify with Christ's sufferings and to remember what the true pleasures are for Christians. It is also a time for us to reflect on what we have done wrong and confess our sin and take appropriate action to not do it again.

But Lent isn't just about giving something up - it's also about adding good things to our lives - you know those good things that Jesus wants us to do all the time. It is a time to reconcile yourself to someone you don't like. It is a time to do acts of kindness to others just because and without adoration or acknowledgement. It's a time to reflect on how you can help serve Christ and others.

I usually give up swearing. I was brought up around people where swearing was as natural as saying your name. I didn't realize it wasn't allowed in society until I got to school and the nuns would whack my hands everytime one of those words came out of my mouth which I admit was a lot. That language is still 2nd nature to me and so every Lent, I give up swearing but usually make it painful by putting a monetary donation to a jar behind it. This year every swear word is worth $10.00. And I still won't eat meat on Friday.

I also have been re-reading The Bible - a few readings every night along with reflecting on something ordinary that I do every day and think about What Would Jesus Say or Do with what I did that day and use that as my journal passage for the day (yes I still write in my journal almost every night). I also attend all special worship services (I love Holy Week Services) but because of my lily allergy I can never attend Easter services - those I do via the television.

Ankle - New Clothes - Birth - Death

Today's post comes from Chicago where 48 degrees and sunny sounds like the tropics yet it still hasn't even begun to melt all the snow!

Ankle - been doing a bit too much on it today trying to reclaim my house and laundry room and it decided to retaliate by swelling so ended up taking a nap with an ice bag around the knee and another around the ankle and another around the whole forefoot. It was nice to relax though and I was able to read an actual real book my daughter picked up for me - reviews will definitely be coming on it.

New Clothes - did a bit of shopping for the upcoming seminar since a lot of my clothes were really baggy on me. Got a new light 2 piece turquoise shirt set, a 2 piece pantsuit, 4 new slacks, new compression socks, new earrings, 2 scarves, and a black boyfriend jacket. It all came in last week but husband had forgotten to bring it home so I finally got it yesterday but didn't open the packages until today. A little excited - doesn't take much to please me :)

Birth - Welcome A, T, and J - born to 3 sisters within 10 days! Nana and Papa will have their hands full with them and the other 3 grandchildren.

Birth - Also Welcome to K and congratulations to new grandparents K and K!

Death - Sincere deepest sympathies to Zeek and her family with the death of her father - another cancer victim! He is in His Hands and at peace.

Otherwise not much going on - attending an open house tomorrow and going to see MIL and FIL Sunday for her 83rd birthday. I plan on making a huge pot of pea soup and a carrot cake from scratch tomorrow for her - well the cake is for her and I will give her a jar or 2 of the pea soup but not all of it! I think there would be 1000's of wet noodles coming my way if I didn't give others some jars!

Cast Off - 3 weeks postop 5th surgery

Cast actually came off Tuesday evening and then my husband did a diagnostic ultrasound on the areas that were hurting - ended up to be many areas but mainly nerves and not due to anything major. Tuesday evening I put some weight on the foot letting the crutches take most of the weight and there wasn't any popping or pain - stiffness and soreness but no pain. The ankle would normally be stiff and sore after 3 weeks postop but no more of that 'popping' severe pain I had been getting in the cast which was quite a relief for me.

Yesterday I went to my doctor/surgeon who took out the sutures and said the cast can stay off! Yipeeeeeee - I did some calculations yesterday and realized that out of the past 31 months, I had been in a cast for all but 12 months of that. I get to start some light passive exercise (sitting and making the alphabet with my ankle) so I can get more movement in it. Plus I can do some light crutch weight bearing and walking but still have to remain 99% non-weight bearing and on the scooter which is fine with me. I get to take a shower and get it wet and nice and clean and massage it with lotions so I can get the skin back instead of the orange scales I currently have. A few more days of the skin toughening up and I can even shave those ugly long hairs! (Just a side note clarification - I was talking about the fact that the foot could get wet in the shower and that the scooter doesn't go in the shower. And another clarification - I have been taking showers all along - but with a shower bag over the cast. Just making sure ya'll comprende there!)

I worked from home yesterday then headed to upstairs and soaked my foot....ahhhhh such bliss! I massaged it with lotion then wrapped it and went to bed and read.

The ankle feels pretty good - not great but I can't move it a whole lot yet and it is still swelling, but for 3 weeks postop - I am happy. No more feelings of no foot underneath me so a stable ankle is back! So far the Artelon is holding!

Husband even apologized (this is rare) so he's back out of the doghouse. I swear men have PMS once a month and as they age it gets worse!

Recipe Tuesday - Chicken a la King

Chicken A La King

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup pimentos (optional)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
dash paprika
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups hot water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream (or milk)
1/2 cup milk, scalded
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 cups diced cooked chicken (leftover works great!)
1 cup sliced mushrooms

Melt butter; add flour and paprika. Add chicken stock, milk and cream. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add beaten egg yolks, chicken, pimentos and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on rice or in 6 puff pastry shells (you can find them in the frozen food section next to the phyllo dough - they come ready to bake so bake them then spoon the chicken a la king into each shell).

Serves 6.

(This is one of my sisters' recipe and tasted a zillion times better than any I had ever found! I have also added 1/2 cup diced celery and a 10oz bag of frozen peas cooked for variety.)

No Post Today

I have a couple personal issues I am dealing with so there will be no post today.