For Better or For Worse

The last few weeks have been busy ones for me. I had a wonderful Christmas and I hope everyone else had a lovely Christmas too. My youngest bought our cats a terrific toy and I've been enjoying watching them play with it and fight over it.

My oldest and her husband took us to the Biltmore Estate Wednesday as a Christmas present. I'll try and write a post about it soon along with some photos. We had a great time especially since it was all done up in christmas decorations and lights.

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year, God Bless...

Show us a video that cracks you up.

This has to be one of my favorite Christmas songs. I prefer Kelly Clarkston's version but Amy Grant does a good job too.

I also like anything that Mannheim Steamroller does.

• 1 butternut squash, about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs.
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 large carrot grated
• 4 cups 2% milk or stock
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 pinch allspice
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry or Marsala wine
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, or reserved squash seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Cut the butternut squash in half, scrape out the seeds and set them aside. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes.

3. While the squash is baking, heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery, carrot and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes.

4. Scoop the squash pulp out of the skin with a spoon and put it into a large bowl. Add the onion, celery, carrot and milk or stock. Stir to combine.

5. Puree this mixture in a blender in batches, being careful not to overfill the blender. Strain the blended mixture through a colander to remove any remaining fiber or seeds.

6. Add the lemon juice, cumin, allspice and sherry or Marsala wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Spread the cleaned, reserved seeds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

8. Reheat the soup, adding milk or stock if it is too thick. Divide it among 6 warmed soup bowls and sprinkle with the toasted seeds.

Serving Size: 8 ounces

Nutrition Information:
Number of Servings: 6
Per Serving
Calories 136 
Carbohydrate 26 g
Fat 3 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Fiber 7 g
Protein 3 g 
Sodium 323 mg

Show us what a bad hair day looks like.
Submitted by Cindercone.

Dreadlocks

Show us what autumn looks like where you live.
Submitted by Miss Parker.

This pear-cranberry strudel makes a great holiday or weeknight dessert. The beauty of phyllo, or filo, dough is that it's low fat, has no saturated or trans fat, and no cholesterol, making it a terrfic alternative to regular pastry. It's light, crisp and flaky, and so long as you use butter-flavored cooking spray between layers rather than real melted butter, it's a perfect low fat choice for pies, tarts and, of course, strudels.

• 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 6 sheets 9-inch by 14-inch phyllo dough, thawed
• Butter-flavored cooking spray
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray or lay a silicone baking mat inside.

Place chopped pears in a medium bowl with lemon juice, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir well. Place one phyllo sheet on cookie tray and spray with butter-flavored cooking spray. Repeat with next four sheets. Lay final sheet on top. Spoon filling along length of dough sheets, leaving a border of at least 1 inch from the edges. Tuck in the short ends and roll the strudel. Bake seam side down for 25 minutes or until golden. Serves 4.

Per Serving: Calories 168, Calories from Fat 12, Total Fat 1.4g (sat 0.3g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 83mg, Carbohydrate 37.6g, Fiber 3.3g, Protein 1.5g

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Dog-smile

• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin 
• 1 (14 ounce) can fat free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell
  

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; beat just until smooth. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F; bake 25-30 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.

Nutritional Analysis:
One piece equals 246 calories, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 3 mg cholesterol, 334 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 8 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fruit, 1/2 fat.

A while back I found a website that contained all kinds of dumb laws that are still on the books. I live in North Carolina and here are a few stupid laws that my state have...

- The mere possession of a lottery ticket is illegal in North Carolina and may result in a $2,000 fine.  We now have a state runned lottery so I don't think this is still on the books but then again you never know.

- No one may be a professional fortune-teller, and if one wishes to pursue the practice as an amateur, it must be practiced in a school or church. Strange

- It's against the law to sing off key.  Well I'm screwed.

- Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields. *hehehe* I can understand why this one exists.

- All couples staying overnight in a hotel must have a room with double beds that are at least two feet apart. That's why most hotels have 2 double beds in them

- A marriage can be declared void if either of the two persons is physically impotent. *hehehe*

- Organizations may not hold their meetings while the members present are in costume.

And in the city where I live, Forest City, You must stop and call City Hall before entering town in an automobile.

I love reading all these dumb laws. I don't understand why they don't just take them off the books.