Do You Know the Words?

Something I think I’ve always kind of taken for granted was knowing the words to our national anthem.  It was brought to my attention of late, that not everyone does.  That’s such a shame!

Fear not!  I have your back, fellow bloggers and friends!  I humbly give you Francis Scott Keys beautiful words:

“O say, can you see,

By the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed

At the twilight’s last gleaming.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.

And the rocket’s red glare

The bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night

That our flag was still there!

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free

And the home of that brave!”

Play ball.  No, that last phrase was from my childhood of listening to Cub’s games with my dad.  Love you, Dad!

Actually, there are many more words.  I had no idea, but when I looked it up, sure enough!  Maybe I’ll learn those too some day.

Have a beautiful, blessed Fourth of July, my fellow Americans!

God bless you,

Rita

Tastes Like Rotisserie Chicken Thighs

My delicious meal!

The other day I was trying to figure out food to make from what I had on hand.  It was a day for chicken, and so I had taken that out of the freezer and thawed it.  Now, what could I do with chicken that I haven’t done a million times?  (I am exaggerating!)

So, I thought I would try something new.  I used the following ingredients:

Four, bone-in, chicken thighs (though I suppose you could use boneless.  I can’t say that I have yet!)

1 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. or so smoked paprika

1-2 tsp. everything bagel spice

Juice of 1/2 a small lemon

Melt butter, melt!

In a medium skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Season the thighs on both sides with the smoked paprika and bagel spice.  Set in the skillet and drizzle the lemon juice.  Turn every five minutes or so to make sure they cook through.  When the chicken reaches 165°F it’s done.  I did have to put a lid over the chicken after it had browned on both sides, so that’s good to note!

Seasonings greetings!

I served this with mini cucumbers, a potato triangle (so yummy and I was amazed to find in a store after so many years!) and spinach (for me!) The others didn’t want spinach!  Their loss!  I love my spinach! (Although a little less so when I’m munching on it at breakfast!). If you happen to have leftovers, those are yummy too.  I just wouldn’t eat them for breakfast!!!

I’ll take some!

    Rosemary-Chicken Burgers

My open-faced rosemary-chicken burger with caramelized onions and shredded mozzarella -provolone mixture!  Mmmmmmmm!

Chicken and Rosemary.  Rosemary and chicken.  It’s a classic combination.  Today, I threw together some ingredients that I had written down on a piece of paper (don’t ask) to make rosemary -chicken burgers.  So, here is what you will need.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chicken

1 tsp. granulated onion

1 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. rosemary

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large, sweet onion, peeled and sliced into rounds

1/4 cup olive oil

Optional:

GF buns

Shredded white cheese

Spinach

Dill pickles (slices or regular on the side)

Directions:

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ground chicken, granulated onion, oregano, rosemary, black pepper, and salt.  Mix well with your impeccably clean hands!  Wash your hands and store the mixture in the fridge until you get the rest of the things prepared.

Just starting out!

In a large frying pan, pour in the olive oil and heat over medium heat until hot.  In the meantime, separate the slices of onion into rings and drop into the pan once the oil is hot.  Cook said onion rings a little while you form the chicken mixture into five burger patties.  Set the patties on top of the onions and cook, flipping occasionally until they reach an internal temperature of 165° F.  Also, make sure to stir the onions once in a while, so they don’t burn!  (No one wants that!)

Yum.  Just yum.

Serve hot, topped with the now-carmelized onions.  You may serve also topped with cheese (on top of the onions, of course!) on a GF bun, or on a bed of lettuce (or spinach!) and pickles.

God bless and enjoy!

It Has Been So Very Long…

Yup. I’m still here. No, I’m not a mountain goat, or whatever that lovely animal is, and I have no cliffs by me either!
Photo by Enrique on Pexels.com

Just thought I’d pop in and let you know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth! I am still here, trying to get my life together. Wait…shouldn’t I have had that figured out by now? Ha! Ha! Ha! That’s funny, people.

So, I have been trying out a few recipes with lime specifically, and they are coming along. These days I have been trying very hard to eat much healthier (actually, I’ve been at it for almost a year!!!) Some of us are a little slower on the uptake than others!

Life is still full, and I mean full of stress, but I think that’s how it is for everyone. We all have our crosses to bear. I don’t mean to make light of anyone’s suffering; I know how it feels. Just know that I am praying and I hope you are too!

I am enjoying the wonderful, warm, sunny weather we’ve had for the past almost week. It’s not super warm most days, but the red-winged blackbirds are back and that means spring! I’m glad. It was a long winter for us, more mentally than anything, I guess. Just realizing some things, so that’s been um…interesting?

Not the red-winged blackbird I saw, but you get it – Spring!!!
Photo by Irina Babina Nature and Wildlife on Pexels.com

I will leave you with a quote from a beloved saint:

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” St. Padre Pio

I’m still a work in progress as they say.

Standing in the Need of Prayer

Pray hard, friends!

The whole point of this post is to ask for prayers.  I have turned the comments off, but don’t let that stop you from prayer.  I also offer my prayers for you, my readers and all who are in need.  I think that’s probably the majority of the population of the world, but that’s as it is.

May God bless you and keep you in His loving arms.

Rita

Grandpa’s Snotball Pudding

Not his orphanage, but cool orphanage – type pic!

For this post, I must start with a story.  This story was from my Grandpa B, who had the best stories!  My Grandpa grew up in a Lutheran orphanage.  He was raised there because his mother and many brothers and sisters died from tuberculosis.  This left his fifty-year-old father alone with a four-year-old little boy.  My great grandpa didn’t feel up to the task of raising this child without the help of his beloved wife, Josephine, so he shipped my Grandpa off to the local orphanage.

Grandpa B grew up during the World War One.  As it was wartime, eggs and sugar were in short supply.  Therefore, what came about from the attempts to make tapioca pudding, was grey and lumpy.  The boys of the orphanage dubbed this mixture “Snotball Pudding.”

I wanted to make some “Snotball Pudding” to bring to game night.  This is what I used:

1, 8 oz. box of tapioca pearls

6 eggs, separated

12 cups of milk

1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar, separated

3/4 cup vanilla

Whip up the eggs white and when they are fluffy, slowly add 1 cup of the sugar and beat until soft peaks form. 

In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir milk, eggs, the remainder of the sugar, until it comes to a rolling boil.  This simply means that it doesn’t stop boiling when you stir it!  Remove the saucepan from the heat. 

Stir in the vanilla (I actually forgot this this time, but it was still very delicious!) Gently stir in egg white mixture.  Serve warm or chilled.

The one picture I managed to get before it was all gone! 😭

Note: This is a huge recipe, which with game night and Child #3, we managed to finish in less than 24 hours!!!  Just be forewarned, that you will get a lot of pudding from this recipe.  It’s wonderful, but it’s a lot!  Enjoy!

We Did It!!!

So, what did we do?  For about a year or so I have been growing my hair out.  I finally got to the point where it was blowing in my face and getting caught in my eyes or nose as I drove around.  It became way too annoying!

Being endowed with oh so much patience (total joke!) I had had it.  I decided that if I was going to cut my hair, I was going to find some way for someone to benefit from it!  Enter childrenwithhairloss.org.

They accept hair from eight inches up, which is good, since mine wasn’t as long as I’d like!  It averaged thirteen inches!  I will be sending it in soon!

The before.  I was so tired at this point.  Please excuse the exhaustion on my face!
And…the after!  I will get some better pics after I get some beauty sleep! (Please no comments on how much is needed!  Be nice!)

Child #2 also donated her much longer hair!  It was fourteen to fifteen inches!  She had been growing hers out, with me trimming it, for about ten years!

It was a good experience and now I can wear all of those lovely, huge earrings that I own!!!!

Officially Old

Today I officially qualify for AARP (American Association for Retired Persons!) Yikes!  How did this happen?

I remember my then MIL telling me that when she turned 30, she locked herself in her room in the dark!  Really?  What is wrong with this picture?

A lot, really!  First 30 is not old!  Second, did you think that your life was over at 30?  Seriously?  How can you be so selfish?

I am officially 50 today.  Do I feel fifty?  Not really.  Actually, I feel about 21.  I even got carded a couple of years ago when the clerk thought I looked younger than my daughter!!!  I was 47!

Ah, the simple joys!

So, is age just a number?  Maybe.  I mean, honestly, my hips hurt more now than they used to.  However, that is due to a car accident back in 2015.  Nothing to do with age!

My children are older.  In fact, they all qualify as adults!!!  How on earth did that happen???  Child #1 was just a baby!!!?  😔.  How time flies and yet…I wouldn’t want to relive my life.

Accept your life as it happens.  Be content with what you have and don’t long for things out of your reach.  Be pleasing to God and don’t worry about the rest.

God bless,

Rita

Life is such a gift!

Trivia Question Answered

Well…did you figure it out?  Why is the first mow of the season so sweet smelling, while subsequent cuts not so much?

Here it is, the answer: When the first cut of the lawn mowing season is done there aren’t any dandelions!  The dandelions are what give subsequent cuts that bitter scent!

So, there you have it!  Dandelions are bitter!  Didn’t know that, didja?!!!

The bitter flowers!

Have a great day!