They Had Fun

Saturday we hosted the Men's Trio singing group from Pacific Baptist Bible College in Long Beach, CA. The men stayed in our home and Lyndsey and Jessica stayed at our pastor's home overnight. The group was scheduled to be in our church yesterday morning.

L to R - Michael, Zach, Alonzo and Jessica (the pianist)

The guys were so funny. We had a great time with them. Especially Phyllip and Tyler. Phyllip showed the guys his air soft guns (or bb guns - sp?). They decided to play with them. All 5 of them disappeared out into the field next to our house and proceeded to have a bb gun fight. Instead of shooting at a target they shot at each other! They all came in with welts on their bodies!

The guys included Phyllip and Tyler in everything. They were so kind.

I'm not sure how much sleep the 3 of them got. I woke up at 2:15 a.m. and the lights were still on! Someone could have been up to use the bathroom I suppose.

They came back to the house after the morning services and we fed them and their representative - Brother Johnny Esposito and his wife, Denise. We had a great time fellowshipping and the kids played games.

These 3 young men have made a great impression on our 2 sons. They gave Phyllip and Tyler a glimpse of how to be godly young men. I am forever grateful to them and to Pacific Baptist Bible College for their desire to train up godly young people.

Pasta Rustica

I can't believe I'm doing this but...I decided to share another of my favorite recipes. Usually, I prefer to just make it for people and keep the recipe secret. But then friends and family from far away don't get to taste it. So...

I took the basic idea of this recipe from Macaroni Grill's "Pasta Rustica" and tweeked it to the way I like it.

Pasta Rustica

2 lbs. penne or rigatoni pasta
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese - HUGE difference between fresh and not!
*grate a little extra add when it's all put together
2 jars spaghetti/marinara sauce - I prefer Classico's Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion
fresh basil - to taste
crushed red pepper - to taste
pepper - to taste
1 lb. bacon
1 lb. sausage - I prefer breakfast sausage like Jimmy Dean in the tube


Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces before frying. Fry till crisp. Cook sausage till well done. Boil water for pasta. While the water is heating mix together the marinara sauce, whipping cream, parmesan cheese, basil, crushed red pepper and pepper. Cook on low heat just until heated through - be sure to stir occasionally so it doesn't stick to the pan.

When water is at a rolling boil add some salt - a couple of teaspoons - to flavor the pasta while it's cooking. Then add the pasta. DON'T walk away from your kitchen once the pasta is cooking. You DON'T want to have mushy pasta - yuck! Cook until pasta is al dente - not crunchy but a little chewy. Cook somewhere between 5 and 6 minutes, usually. If you leave it in the pan past the al dente stage it doesn't taste good. Drain water off of pasta immediately.

All of this makes 2 9x13 pans of food. Combine meat, pasta and sauce. Mix well. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and even a little more fresh basil if you want. Serve. ENJOY!

You can use any meat you want. Chicken works well. I've had someone tell me she used shrimp and it tasted good. I've made meatballs, too. It's whatever you want.

I've tried the canned parmesan cheese. It's ok. I've tried fresh grated parmesan cheese from Wisconsin. It's ok. Then I decided to try Italian imported parmesan cheese and grated it fresh. Oh my goodness! Huge difference in flavor! Way better than anything else! If you can afford it - try the Italian cheese! You won't be sorry!

Another note - Classico spaghetti sauce is quite expensive. So...I decided to try to imitate it. I bought a cheaper brand. Our family loves the roasted garlic and caramelized onion flavor. I roasted a head of garlic in the oven and I fried an onion in a little olive oil and butter until it was golden brown. Then I put the garlic and onion in the marinara sauce. Warm it up and voila! It was just as good as the Classico but without the price!

Glasses

My daughter has been complaining she can't see things far away. It's blurry. She's been reading A LOT for the past year. We're talking books that are over 500 pages she reads in 2 days! I know, I know. That's a good problem to have!

So...I finally got her an eye appointment. Guess what? She needs reading glasses. *sigh* But the good news is all that reading isn't why she needs them. Why does she need them you ask? I don't really know because my Mr. Wonderful (aka Daddy) took her to the appointment. He did say that she's far sighted but didn't say what's causing that.

She picked out her glasses with the help of her daddy. He told me that the choice of frames was between "attitude" and "sophisticated." He liked "sophisticated." So she chose that. She gets them next week.

I missed it! The whole thing! *sigh* All because I wasn't ready (ya know - no makeup on, hair not done). I could've had my camera there to capture the moment. Oh well!

Oatmeal Bread

I started making homemade bread consistently about 6 weeks ago. I've tried several different recipes. My family keeps telling me to make one particular recipe. So...I thought I would share it.

I've "shot myself in the foot" so to speak with this here homemade bread stuff. See, the ignitor in my oven went kaput last week. I couldn't make any bread so I bought some - the good stuff I used to buy - the bread my family likes. Well, they don't like it anymore! They only like my homemade bread. It appears that I am destined to make homemade bread from now on (ok - not like I mind - cooking is one of my passions!)! This recipe is the only one that stays fresh up to 3 days (at least in what I've made).

Oatmeal Bread

1 cup rolled oats
3 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use bread flour as well)

4 cups all-purpose flour - approximately


Measure rolled oats into large bowl. Add butter and molasses. Pour boiling water over top. Cool to lukewarm. I boil the water on the stove in a pan and pour the oats, butter and molasses into it.

Stir warm water and granulated sugar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over top. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast. I do this step in the bowl (a very large bowl) that I will mix the actual bread dough in - too many bowls used otherwise. Add oatmeal mixture to yeast mixture.

Add brown sugar, salt and first amount of flour. Beat well.

Work in enough remaining flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl (for me I use 3 1/2 cups of flour - but for you it might be 4 - all depends on the moisture in the air where you live). Turn out onto floured surface. Knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Here's where a kitchen-aid mixer or something like it comes in handy. I let my mixer do most of the kneading as my hands don't have the strength anymore to do all the work. I do probably 1 minute of kneading by hand. Place in buttered bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a tea towel. Let stand in oven with light on and door closed for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down. Divide into 2 equal portions. Shape into loaves. Place in 2 buttered loaf pans. It is VERY important that you butter your pans. If you don't this will happen. Cover with a tea towel. Let stand in oven with light on and door closed 20 to 40 minutes until doubled in size. I don't put the dough in the oven at all to rise. I find it rises just fine as long as it's in a warm place - don't put the dough in the refrigerator.

Topping: Beat 1 large egg white and 1 tbsp. water with a fork in a small bowl. Brush over the top of loaves.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup rolled oats using some or all, as desired. If you prefer not to use this topping, brush tops with softened butter after loaves are baked - the latter is my preference. Bake in 350 oven for 45 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool. Makes 2 loaves.

This Will Tug at Your Heart Strings

Click here to see life through the eyes of a marine wife.

Kids These Days

I was running errands today. I stopped by the UPS Store to fax a page. The guy (a teenage boy) took my page and went to the fax machine. He tried the number 3 times - each time getting a busy signal. He turns around, looks at his dad and says, "Is that a busy signal?" To which his dad replies, "Um hum."

I was floored that he didn't know what a busy signal was! I guess with all the technology we have today, most kids won't know what a busy signal is.

Happy Birthday America!

I AM SO PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! WE ARE SO BLESSED IN THIS COUNTRY! We have freedoms that most other countries don't have! We need to get on our hands and knees and thank God Almighty for this great land that we have the privilege to live in!

Also, if you see any of our military (past or present) thank them for their service to our country. We wouldn't be here today if it weren't for them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!