Saturday Portions

Hey Guys, where's the feeder?

Oh, what a beautiful day we're having today. 

Today, there was a slight drizzle, and the temperature reached a high of 74 degrees. Although the rain wasn't substantial enough to extinguish the fire, the cooler temperatures and increased humidity will help the firefighters gain greater control over the situation.  

This morning, I was relieved to see that the major swelling on my thumb had reduced significantly. Although there is still a little swelling, I'm able to bend my thumb without experiencing any pain, which was not the case yesterday. I decided it was not necessary to go to urgent care. I plan to continue soaking it three times a day and applying Neosporin. It seems like it's improving day by day, and I just don't want to seek medical attention when it appears to be getting better. It's a day-by-day thing. 

Tomorrow is our church's monthly potluck. I decided to create a dish using whatever ingredients I had on hand. It's a combination of different ground beef casseroles, and even though it was a risk, it smelled delicious while the sauce simmered. 

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2 lbs. of ground beef

Two packages of Taco Mix

One can of tomatoes

One can black whole black olives

lots of garlic

some paprika

1 bag of the southwest blend of corn, black beans, peppers, and onions.

Two handfuls of noodles. 

*I might have thrown some other spices in there - I lost track! 

I told you I made it up with what I had available. 

I dumped it in my casserole pan -  added shredded cheddar cheese - 

and will bake it tomorrow morning at 350 for 25 minutes or so. 

We'll see how it is received—whether it was a bomb or a hit. 

It sure is colorful! 

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I hope the casserole isn't too spicy. Although I used to enjoy spicy food, my stomach issues have made it difficult for me to handle the spice as well as I used to.

If the meat casserole turns out good, I'll give it a name.  I might also make some changes. I think adding some green onions and cilantro on top would have been a nice addition, but unfortunately, I didn't have any on hand. At first, I wasn't planning to add noodles, but I felt like the dish needed a little something extra, so I found a bag with just enough noodles and decided to throw them in. I realized I was out of corn and flour tortillas, which I usually keep in stock, and I forgot to buy them yesterday. I didn't feel like going out to the market on a Saturday just for those items.

I have some BIG reservations about church potlucks due to a bad experience with food poisoning and finding hair in the food at other churches in the past. I prefer sticking to items I'm confident about, such as bread and butter, salad, or raw vegetables. I'm trying to get over this phobia I have...

 How do you feel about church potlucks? 

Tonight is pepperoni pizza night, so I'm off duty. Husband is in the kitchen, listening to Italian opera

Our Song!

Well, that's it for me. I hope you all have a restful evening. 

Enjoy Andrea Bocceli in my favorite version 

of Time to Say Goodbye. 

Debby