It’s Sunday afternoon and my TV is tuned to the game channel. Even though I may not watch much of the game, I do enjoy the commercials. If you watched the game, I hope you enjoyed it and your team won!
This past week varied between being busy and being quiet. I spent quite a bit time with my sister. She had business and appointments in different directions, and we had a great day together on Thursday. On Friday, her daughter took her to her doctor’s appointment, and she is now allowed to wear her neck brace as needed, which makes her feel much better. She has been wearing it day and night, since her surgery in November and was getting a little tired of it!
My daughters were in for a visit this weekend, celebrating the retirement of the youngest one, who actually came in on Friday afternoon. After lunch and visiting, we were invited to my neighbor’s home for game time. We played numerous rounds of Rummycub® and then, her husband came in and joined our game and in the midst of much laughter and joking round, we played several more games and had a wonderful time. The other two daughters came in close together on Saturday morning and the fun began. We had flowers, balloons, cards and gifts and a trip to Victoria, TX to do some shopping. I think each of us found something we needed or wanted and had a great day checking out different stores outside the mall, and then quite a few that were in the mall. All I can say, is thank goodness for cell phones. We usually seemed to go in four directions and then all of a sudden were back together again. We lunched at a favorite restaurant and then did a little more shopping. Suddenly, it was nearly 5:00 and time to head back to the house. After a snack, the one daughter headed to her home, and the other two and I relaxed for a while, caught up on family gossip and just talked in general. Then, it was time for a few rounds of Rummycub®, yes, we’re all pretty crazy about that game. We have a few members of the family who are experts, but thankfully they weren’t around, and we were pretty casual with the game. Sunday morning after making sure everything was neat and clean around the house, beds made, and the kitchen clean, they both headed home. It has been a quiet afternoon for me, even though it was slightly frustrating. I had nearly finished typing this column, clicked on the space bar or something and lost everything I had done in the previous hour. After about thirty minutes searching various ways to find it, I gave up and started over!
This morning, the weather changed from the bright sunny, slightly windy day we had Saturday to one with the temperatures in the mid 30s. Other than being chilly, the day has been beautiful.
The following recipe is one that a friend served at one of our Pokeno parties. Since we had several members who were diabetic and she was diabetic herself, she made this, and we all loved it.
Diabetics Delight
1 box yellow cake mix (now that sugar-free cake mixes are available, you might consider trying one in this recipe)
12 oz. diet soda (Sprite Zero® or your choice)
1 can crushed pineapple (16-oz size) (divided use)
1 large tub Cool Whip®, sugar free
1 large box of sugar-free vanilla instant pudding
Empty cake mix into large bowl, add diet soda and mix well. Then add ½ can of crushed pineapple and stir well. Pour into 9×12 pan that you have lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake as directed on package. While the cake is baking, mix the Cool Whip®, the remaining crushed pineapple and the pudding together and stir well. Chill thoroughly. When the cake has finished baking and has cooled, spread the Cool Whip® mixture over the top. Cut into squares to serve. Makes 12 to 15 servings.
Cowboy Cornbread Casserole
2 boxes cornbread mix (8.5 ounces each)
(the unsweetened type works best)
1½ lbs. ground beef
1 can Rotel (mild, medium or hot, your choice)
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can ranch style beans
1 cup shredded cheese
1 pack taco seasoning
Mix cornbread according to package instructions then set aside.
Preheat oven 425°
Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning, undrained can Rotel, undrained ranch style beans and drained corn. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir into cornbread mix. Mix in shredded cheese. Stir completely. Pour into a greased 9×13 Casserole dish. Bake approximately 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean, you can top it with more cheese, sour cream, salsa or whatever your heart desires.
Quick and Easy Shrimp Salad
1-pound boiled shrimp, peeled and deveined
(Use one of the packages of peeled, deveined shrimp from the grocery store and boil them, it’s much easier, or even easier, use one of the bags of pre-boiled shrimp)
1½ large celery ribs, finely chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
Salt and ground black pepper
Mix all together in bowl and stir well to distribute the mayo. Chill before serving.