Peanut butter & jelly, hot dogs, red beans and ice cream cones.

I sat down at my dining room table in front of the window so that the cool breeze would hit the back of my neck. It has been hot and humid in my part of the world and the rain we had earlier had made the temperature drop along with the humidity. I was thinking about how wonderful that breeze felt when I heard children outside. I looked at the clock and it read 10:20 pm. I was thinking that it had to be my son's fiance and her children. They came in and the kids said that they were hungry so I made them peanut butter and jelly. Then I remembered that I had hot dogs. My son and his girl had red beans and hotdogs with chili powder mixed in. Three of the five children (the youngest is 14 months and he was sleeping) had p & j and a hotdog. They all had chocolate milk and to top it off they had chocolate ice cream cones (one of them had a fudge bar). I forgot to mention that my daughter-in-law lives right down the street with her mom and stepdad. The youngest child has been staying with me because there isn't much room where they live. At present her mom is the only one that has a job. Her and my son can not find a job and her stepdad just lost his. (even I am unemployed) She tried to get help from the state and denied her because she wouldn't go after my son for child support. She told them that they were together and why would she do that. Plus, he doesn't have a job. He tried to get help and got denied for the same reason. It is awful that the state cares more about trying to collect child support than they do about hungry children. I do help them as much as I can but it isn't easy. There are too many people in this same situation right now and my heart breaks for each and every one of them. Children are a blessing from God and they bring such joy into our lives. A child should not go hungry. No one in America should go hungry.

Do you like spaghetti?

I have eaten so much spaghetti in my life that I could live the rest of my life without it. For the simple fact that it is a cheap meal and I can get two meals out of a pot. I have always loved Italian sausage so I went to the store and bought a tube of Bob Evans brand. (my favorite) I browned it with some onion, drained it, and mixed it into my sauce. (Believe it or not, the Great Value spaghetti sauce that you get at Walmart is really good.) It was delicious. It gives it a whole new taste so I am now eating spaghetti again. If you like Italian sausage I encourage you to try this. You will love it! Have a great day and happy eating!

Beans and Cornbread-Come Home to the South

Beans are high in fiber and low in fat. Also a good source of protein. I made a big pot of northern beans for dinner tonight. Lots of onion and garlic and pepper and bacon (you don't have to use the bacon, it's for flavor). They were delicious! Leftovers tomorrow. I made a 13 x 9 pan with baked cornbread and then I also made some fried. Both kinds are wonderful. I just buy the cornmeal mix and follow the directions for country cornbread. When I fry it I just fry it like pancakes. In fact, we tried it with syrup the last time I made it and it is actually really good. I even made a spice bundt cake for dessert. No frosting though. We haven't had a slice of that yet but I'm sure it's fantastic. I can remember going to Kentucky when I was a kid. The food was unbelievable. Breakfast would be waiting for you when you got up. I'm talking food, food and more food. There would be biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, ham, potatoes, eggs, and even dessert! And that's just breakfast. No wonder I always put on a little weight while visiting there, lol. Back then they would eat their biggest meal around 1pm. They called this dinner. Toward evening was supper. This is when they ate what we might eat for lunch. There would be just as much food, if not more, for dinner as there was for breakfast. Cornbread was always a part of this meal. Good old fashioned in the cast iron skillet cornbread. The best! Southern fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, gravy and always dessert. Memories are delicious! Happy eating and stay healthy!

What a good dinner we had!

Hello, Tonight we had BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and biscuits. Everything turned out delicious. I used the country style ribs. Half with bone and half without. Parboil ribs for twenty minutes. Cover bottom of baking pan with bbq sauce. Place boiled ribs in pan and cover with sauce. Amount of sauce depends on how you like your ribs, so, by taste. Bake at 350 degrees for twenty minutes. My roommate had a can of Campbell's beef gravy and I must say that it was fantastic! The first time that I have had that. There was a time in my life when I cooked every day. I had a husband and a son and I was a housewife. Now I am divorced, my son is 32 with a son of his own, and my boyfriend and I live together. I love it! I cook when I want to, not because I have to. It makes cooking so much more fun. I have plans on beans and cornbread tomorrow. I have the beans (northern) soaking for the night. I have to run out in the morning to get cornmeal mix and milk. I'm going to fry up some cornbread. The way my gramma taught me. yummy! I have a problem with wanting something sweet in the evening. I try not to be too bad so what I am going to do is mix some peanut butter with some honey and spread it on pumpernickel bread. It kills the sweet tooth and it isn't too unhealthy. Just don't eat a whole loaf of bread and you will be fine, LOL. I love food!! I just want to say that I am a person that doesn't like salt much. Only on certain things. So, when you eat my cooking you usually need to add salt. Although, no one complains about my cooking:)

Time For Ice Cream

I just love when the weather starts getting warmer and it's ice cream season again. There is nothing like a bowl of ice cream at the end of a hot day. I see nothing wrong with eating ice cream on occassion. I love ice cream and I try to be careful about how often I eat it. I can eat it all year long but, my significant other can not. That makes me like summer even more because I have someone to enjoy it with. What I do is I keep track of when I am buying, let's say, a gallon of ice cream. If I purchase it within the first week of the month, it will last me to very near the end of that month. I try not to eat it every day, I spread it out so it is more of a treat. Then when that gallon is gone I wait at least two weeks before I buy more. Believe me, I could eat it every day of the week. Moderation is the key. I didn't eat much ice cream at all this past winter. I started buying the big tub of vanilla yogurt (personally, I like Dannon), frozen sliced strawberries (no sugar added) by Dole, and frozen blueberries also by Dole. Thaw out the fruit and add it to the yogurt. (not all at once, one bowl at a time) This is absolutely delicious and can take the place of ice cream (especially in the winter). I encourage you to try other varieties too. I get stuck with one thing that I love and have a hard time changing, LOL. I welcome any other cool desserts for summer. Thank you