Stick of Butter Rice … Say What!!!

Elroy licking his chops thinking about Stick of Butter Rice!

Oh you heard me …. 

I said "Stick of Butter Rice".

Yum

I don't usually share recipes here especially when they are not mine to start with,

but I'm going to break that rule today,

because

everyone needs a super fattening, super decadent and super yummy side dish.

I have made this dish 3 times,

my girl and my guy love it so much, I've had to double the recipe

so that we have enough for our meal.

They actually ask for this rice frequently, but keeping our health in mind I don't make it

frequently, 

no way,

it has to be a treat, something you think about and crave,

and when you finally get it you savor it.

Today I'm making it for a friend,

I've added 2 sautéed hot italian turkey sausage out of the casing,

I wouldn't usually but for this gift it's meant to be their dinner.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the recipe, I found it on Pinterest attached to someone else's blog, her name is Mique and here is a link.
 http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2014/01/stick-of-butter-rice/ .

Here you go!

Stick of Butter Rice

Ingredients

• 1 c. uncooked white rice (NOT instant) 
• 1 (10 oz) can of Condensed French Onion Soup
• 1 (10 oz) can of Beef Broth
• 1/2 c. of butter, sliced        

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
• In a 9x9 inch baking dish combine rice, soup and broth. 
• Cut butter into slices and place on top of the mixture.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove cover and bake 30 minutes more.

You can add to this recipe, ground cooked beef, mushrooms, or maybe some roasted butternut squash squares, just be creative. My mom always told me when you take a recipe from someone, change it just a bit to make it your own, I've followed her directive ever since.  

Can you even imagine how delicious that would be? So go ahead, give it a try, oh and one other trick, feel free to cut the butter amount in half, it will still be delicious. 

Say What!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

DREAMS OF SOUP ...

I lived for 33 years in the Northeast, Connecticut to be exact.  We had 4 separate seasons, my favorite was Fall for it's warm days and cool nights, the smell of dew on the grass and wet leaves early in the morning, shorter days, warmer clothing, apple festivals and fairs, pumpkins, hot cocoa and soup.  Some of my best memories of being a young girl at home with my mom and family were of the soups she would throw together with "cheap ingredients".  Nothing was better then playing outside all day and coming in when the street lights went on to find soup bowls on the table.  She made soup out of leftovers rather than have them go to waste, money was carefully spent to assure that we had what we needed without excess.  Soups of every kind, ham and cabbage soup thick with carrots, onions and a salty ham broth was a favorite of mine.  Chicken noodle soup made with all the meat we didn't eat, for me that was the brown meat, but in a soup I loved it, carrots, celery, and noodles with lots of black pepper, we all loved it, sometimes there were even homemade drop biscuits on the side.  My favorite soup to come out of moms kitchen however was "Hamburger Soup".  I've heard it called poor mans soup, and even a few times depression soup, perhaps because it was made during the depression using just a bit of ground meat and lots of cheap "rice, pasta or potatoes".  My mom  always made her soup with a beef broth thickened with crushed canned tomatoes, sautéed ground beef with salt and pepper, onion, carrots, celery and frozen corn were always there along with elbow macaroni.  Mom always served that hot steaming soup with crusty french bread and butter on the side, I loved dipping it in to my soup and having some butter melt in to the soup with every dunk.  Every family has there own version or recipe for this traditional classic using their own list of ingredients and each person probably has their own memories of enjoying it at the dinner table.  I've been thinking a lot about that Hamburger Soup lately, I think it's my mom coming through and reminding me of my roots, reminding me to keep the things I love close to me and enjoy them whenever the need arises.  I may not live in Connecticut any longer and the seasons in California don't change like they did back East, but my taste for those Fall comfort foods will never leave me.  I can assure you that Hamburger Soup is on my mind and will be on my menu this week.  I'd share a recipe with you if I had one, but I do not,  I work from tasty memories and know that whatever I pull from that pot when it is finished will bring me right back to my family dinner table … because I have strong memories and dreams of soup!

What is that feeling anyway???

It's a terrible feeling.
You know that feeling when something is wrong, but you don't know what!
When everything people say sounds like a loud buzz in your ears.
When you just can't find the goodness, or the positive side, or the light.
What is this feeling anyway? 
They say you can be surrounded by a million people and still it feels like there is no one.
When the people you are supposed to be able to laugh with, share with, and talk to,
are the ones you feel so distant from.
Why can't we tell people the truth, 
when they say "how are you today",                                  why do we just say fine.
Maybe we aren't fine, maybe we need to scream, I can't breathe, I'm sad and I don't know why.
Nope, we just say "fine".
You know that feeling where you just want to cry                                                                                                                                  and everything that everyone says to you makes you weep.
But you weep Quietly,
In the shower, you weep, while you are driving, you weep,      after everyone is asleep, you weep …                                        the warm, salty tears roll down your cheeks.
Wanting to talk and having no one you feel you can talk to,    even your closest friend seems wrong.
It's a terrible place to be, when you want to run away for a bit, and have no idea where to run away to.
It's a terrible place to be!
Sadness!

TIME … it just continues to fly by!

Sunset on Seal Beach

When I was a little girl growing up I could never wait for tomorrow.

It seemed like the hours went by so slowly, especially when I was waiting.

I couldn't wait for summer to come and school to be over,

I couldn't wait for summer to end and school to start.

I couldn't wait for Friday so I could play all weekend with my friends,

and I couldn't wait for the weened to be over so I could go back to school with my friends.

I couldn't wait to be a little older so I could have more freedom,

and once I had that freedom and realized it came with responsibility

I wished I was young again and had no worries.

I couldn't wait for the ice-cream truck to come by at night, it seemed I waited for the tune from his truck all day long.

I couldn't wait for so many things,

especially to grow up and not have to answer to anyone.

Fast Forward … and I do mean fast up to today.

Here I am, all grown up and gosh don't I sometimes wish I could go back to being a child again.

My mom always said, "don't rush time, it goes fast enough". 

Wow, was she ever right.

She was pretty much right about everything, 

though I never would have told her that way back when.

She was a smart cookie, and brave too, she had it all together even though life tried so hard to knock her down on a daily basis.

Looking back,

I wish now I could go back to moments in my life and enjoy them all over again.

Enjoy the people who were such a big part of making me who I am.

I'd spend more time talking to my mom while she hung clothes on the line in our backyard.

I'd sit and crack more Brazil nuts for my dad and listen to his boyhood stories.

I'd walk down the boardwalk in Wildwood one last time with Brian.

I'd spend more time enjoying the little things in life,

because I know now how quickly life goes,

and

how short life really is in the grand scheme of things.

In memory of:

My dad, Charles Henry who has been gone  for almost 41 years.

My mom, Pauline Therese who has been gone for almost 8 years.

My husband, Brian Fielding who has been gone for 3 years.

******************

What we once enjoyed and deeply loved

we can never lose

for all that we love deeply

becomes a part of us.

-Helen Keller-

Welcome 2015

It's a New Year
It's a New Day

How did that happen, where did 2014 go so quickly?

It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating our move to California,

Learning to live as a new blended family.

Closing Probate finally after 2 years.

Adjusting …

Adjusting …

Adjusting …

That's really what life is all about I think.

Adjusting.

There is always something new, something different, something changing that requires us to stop and think about how we will adjust to the changes in our lives.

I believe that each morning when we wake up,

life gives us a new chance to start over,

to make new and better choices,

to rewrite our story,

and to

make changes

and adjust.

Yesterday is already history,

tomorrow is definitely a mystery, 

but today is yours to create.

Don't waste your chance to make the changes you need to make.

Don't pass up the chance to be a part of changing the world you live in.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,

do it now,

lose the weight,

try something new,

take a trip,

tell someone you love them,

just do it.

Happy New Year to all my family and friends.

May you realize all your dreams in 2015.

Love you all,

always.