"Happy Birthday To Me"

Words to live by......

I have always liked this poem it expresses so clearly how I strive to be, so I am posting it as a birthday gift to myself to keep me in check whenever I feel myself begin to stray.

Myself

Poet: Edgar A. Guest

I have to live with myself and so

I want to be fit for myself to know.

I want to be able as days go by,
always to look myself straight in the eye;

I don't want to stand with the setting sun
and hate myself for the things I have done.

I don't want to keep on a closet shelf

a lot of secrets about myself

And fool myself as I come and go
into thinking no one else will ever know

The kind of person I really am,

I don't want to dress up myself in sham.

I want to go out with my head erect
I want to deserve all humankinds respect;

But here in the struggle for fame and wealth

I want to be able to like myself.

I don't want to look at myself and know that

I am bluster and bluff and empty show.

I never can hide myself from me;
I see what others may never see;

I know what others may never know,

I never can fool myself and so,

Whatever happens I want to be
self respecting and conscience free.

This recipe was the one I tended to go to when my Mother asked what I wanted as my special birthday dinner. I always loved when she made this for me, of course you can substitute any type of meat that you like. We always enjoyed it using chuck only because it had a good amount of marbling and as we all know much to the chagrin of our waistlines that fat has a lot of flavor.

Beef Parmesan

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. of Chuck Steak or Roast (cut into one inch strips and pound slightly) to make cutlets

2 tbsp. flour

3/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can tomatoes

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. sweet basil

1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese

Cut chuck into one inch strips, sprinkle with garlic salt and flour. Pound thin, between pieces of waxed paper. Sauté quickly in olive oil and butter. Place in baking dish, sprinkle with Parmesan.
Mix tomatoes, breaking them up a bit, with tomato sauce, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic and pepper. Simmer in saucepan 25 minutes. Pour over chuck and top with mozzarella. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serves 4.

Gone But Not Forgotten....Happy Birthday Mom

       

         "To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die." ~ Thomas Campbell

                                                           Are there birthdays in Heaven?

Does the Angel blow his horn

announcing to everybody

this is the day that you were born?

Can the stars be your balloons?

or an angel food your cake?

Presents wrapped in moonbeams

that the Angels helped to make?

Your birthdays have meant so much to us;

they were always a very big deal.

Birthday presents, your favorite treats,

and perhaps a special meal.

So we'll whisper a little prayer today

asking everyone here and  above

to sing you a Happy Birthday song

and with it all our love.

I wasn't sure what recipe to post in honor of my Mother's Birthday she loved to eat and had a great many favorites. Then it dawned on me the one food item that was always on the top of her list was......onions! Without exaggeration I can honestly say that my mother went through at least five pounds of onions a week if not more.

I'd like to say that I am about to wow you here with some fancy schmancy recipe using onions but my mother was a purist and enjoyed them in their simpler form......sliced thick between two slices of bread.......it's enough to make you cry!

Happy Birthday Mom, you are greatly missed, fondly remembered, spoke of often, your Harriet-izms still fill us with laughter and bring smiles to our faces...we thank you for the joy that you have given us and still give us.

Harriet's Favorite Sandwich

1 Onion (red, white, Vidalia, Spanish...it just needs to be an onion).
2 slices of bread (she didn't care; it could have been wonder bread or rye)!
1 Tablespoon of either miracle whip or mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the mayonnaise/miracle whip on one or both slices of bread. Cut onion into 1/2 inch to 1 inch slice, place slice on bread add salt and pepper, cover with remaining slice of bread and enjoy.

Hope It's Great In 2008

May peace fill all the empty spaces around you and in you, may contentment answer all of your wishes.

May comfort be yours, warm and soft like a sigh and may the coming year show you that every day is really a first day, a new year.

Let abundance be your constant companion, so that you have much to share. May mirth be near you always, like a lamp shining brightly upon the many paths that you travel.

May you truly love and be loved.

Author Unknown

A poem for those of us who may have over indulged just a little bit this holiday season.......

The Week After Christmas
Author Unknown

'Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales, there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber),
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt,
I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So -- away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruitcake, every cracker and chip,
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
'Til all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie -- not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore –
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet!

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, apple pie = Thanksgiving

Family, friends, laughter, cooking, baking, watching football, wonderful aromas, warmth,
playing cards, dishes clinking, pots and pans clanking, stomachs growling with anticipation,
feeling blessed, an abundance of food, not being alone, sneaking some crispy turkey skin as the bird comes out of the oven, all the oohs and aahs when seeing
all of the food on the table = Giving Thanks

May the holiday hold all of the chaos that a room full of hungry people can bring!