BIRTHDAYS, COMFORT FOODS, AND FAMILY

Well, my man turned 52 on Saturday! He doesn’t care for real big ta-dos, so we had the kids over for cake, which is always nice. The little ones LOVE birthdays, and it seems like there is always someone having one around here! dad’s was the day after Steve’s, Mom’s is tomorrow, their anniversary is Saturday, and Fathers’ is Sunday. Whew!



I made a really yummy ice-cream cake. Steve LOVES ice cream, and that isn’t being extreme. He also really likes butterfingers, so this cake was a hit.

LAYERED ICE CREAM CAKE

(Makes a 9”x 13” Pan)

24 Ice cream sandwiches **I actually ended up only using about 21 sandwiches plus 2/3 of another.

8 oz. Cool Whip™

1 Hershey’s™ chocolate syrup bottle **I used Dove—Mmmmm Mmmmm Good!

1 Smuckers™ caramel syrup bottle

2 king size Butterfinger™ candy bars chopped up

1st Layer: 12 ice cream sandwiches

2nd Layer: Half of whipped cream

3rd Layer: Half of Butterfinger™ bars, Squeeze 1/2 of caramel &
chocolate over that.

4th Layer: Rest of ice cream sandwiches

5th Layer: Cool Whip

6th Layer: Rest of Butterfinger, caramel & chocolate

You can freeze this and eat as desired! Yummy! Yummy!

I got this recipe from the Duggar Family’s website







Happy birthday, Sweetie!



COMFORT FOODS

I really like to TRY and eat healthy. Sometimes, though, the German in me has to come out! Gramma was 100%, and she cooked the best German food that I have EVER tasted. Oh, how I miss her…and her cooking…and her quilts…and her…Well, you get the picture...

Mom was and is 100% German, and let me tell you, she took after her mama! She can make about anything there is to make, and my best memories of growing up are the meals that she cooked.

So, even though it’s not always healthy, comfort food just brings home the goodness and warmth that a family needs.

For last night’s dinner, I had thawed some boneless skinless chicken breasts. We get ours at Costco; they are comparatively cheaper, and I like them over Wal-Mart’s. I also had some left-over baked potatoes that needed to made up.

I steamed the breasts and simply added pepper and garlic salt...a real easy dish to make. In a separate pan, I sautéed onions in butter (real butter not margarine). When the breasts were ready, I scored them diagonally across the top and then topped each with a serving of buttery onions.



For the potato dish, I skinned them, cut them up into bite-sized pieces, and then added them to some of the butter and onions that I had left. I fried them up, adding extra butter as needed. They’re especially yummy if you fry them to a crisp golden brown!



To add some fruit (albeit canned) and a cold dish to the mix, I made an Angel Hash Salad. I have had this recipe for I don’t know how many years, and it’s always a favorite.



It has a custardy-pudding-like sauce that is very good…

ANGEL HASH SALAD

1 (1 lb.) can crushed pineapples
1 (1 lb.) can fruit cocktail (I usually use two to make it go further)

**Reserve 1c syrup from pineapple and fruit cocktail**

1 small can mandarin oranges
2 T cornstarch
¼ c sugar
2 egg yolks (beaten)
1 c heavy cream whipped
2 c miniature marshmallows (The colored ones are fun)
2 bananas sliced
Coconut to taste

Drain fruit well reserving the 1 cup syrup (discard mandarin orange syrup)

Combine in saucepan: Cornstarch and sugar

Mix well and add to saucepan mixture: Beaten egg yolks and reserved syrup

Blend well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cool thoroughly.

Fold in:

Whipped up cream
Marshmallows

Pineapple
Fruit cocktail
Mandarin oranges

Cover and chill overnight. Just before serving, add sliced bananas.

I was out of bananas but usually decorate the top of the salad with the slices, which makes it look more finished.

Dinner was served on Gramma’s plates, which I received when she passed.



Notice the blemish at the top of this plate? It is where a piece broke out and she glued it. Gramma was so very frugal…one of the things that I adored about her.



Grape juice (another fruit serving) was served in Gramma’s juice cups. I only have two; someone broke one, which makes me sadder than sad. It seems that I am the only one who has the sentimental heart strings when it comes to things from my past. :( At least one of her precious plates was also broken. Oh well…

I remember Gramma serving us “choosss”, as she would say in her little German brogue, from the time I was wee…



Ah, the memories…isn’t that what life is about? It’s not about the going to work every day. It’s not about the bills and the trials and the car break-downs. It’s really about family and love. The others will always be there…But, family won’t, (at least not in this life) so cherish your families, as if tomorrow they’ll be gone because we never really know do we?