Thursday Has Arrived! Good Morning... T O D A Y ' S  Q U O T E...... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work. ~Pearl S. Buck Coffee is ready! Fill Yer Cup! Time & Temp in Toronto is...It is quite overcast too & there is a muggy breeze(BUT it could change at any time!)....lol (Looks like my clock it running about 1 minute behind the computor "task-bar" clock, so not sure which one is right!) Things are good here in Toronto again this morning. Nice pleasant "Walk" this morning....just the right temp too! How is it where you are? There sure has been some up-side-down weather for some...Our prayers are surely with those families devastated affected. I really don't have very much to tell today...yesterday was a "sweat-box" kinda day....first place it was 76 inside........I was soaked.... Second place......The dang furnace came on.....it was 78....what can I say......I was wet there too! Came home, made supper....drank 3 bottles of water..over and above the 2 I drank while driving home!.......then I went to bed. The heat depresses me..I get so frustrated with it...I get "mad" at the heat....lol Today.....I KNOW it will be in the area of 79 to 80 degrees.....when I walk in that house & there WILL be NO a/c on! I cannot understand for a second....how I keep the weight on that I do....I walk all day long and I sweat.....even in the Winter...... What's with that? Anyway....the second place will be cooler...'cause they mainly live in their basement.......so that is where the majority of work takes place. The "Main floor" is just a "lick & a promise"! How about you? What are you doing today? I have nothing else to say this morning soooo Have a great day. Take Care. Be Safe. Prayers to Those in Need. Carol/CSW/cas * * * * * * * * * Ham Appetizer Sandwiches 1 cup butter, softened 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds 1 onion, grated 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 Tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard 2 (12 ounce) packages white party rolls (King's Hawaiian) 1/2 pound chopped cooked ham 5 ounces shredded Swiss cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together butter, poppy seeds, onion, and Worcestershire sauce and prepared Dijon-style mustard. Slice rolls in half horizontally and set aside tops. Spread bottoms with the butter mixture. Top with ham and Swiss cheese. Replace tops. Arrange rolls in a single layer in a medium baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 10-12 minutes, until rolls are lightly browned and cheese is melted. * * * * * * * * * * Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Sour Cream Banana Bread Preheat oven to 325° (dark metal pan, 350 for light-colored metal or glass) 3 cups flour 1/2 cup white sugar 1 cup light brown sugar 1 or 2 tsp. cinnamon (your choice) 3/4 tsp. salt 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil 3 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 3/4 cup orange juice 4 heaping Tbsp. sour cream 3-4 very ripe bananas (2 cups) 1-½ cups chopped pecans (optional) Combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine beaten eggs, oil, vanilla, orange juice and sour cream. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and mix in liquid ingredients. In small bowl, mash bananas with fork. Continue bananas with hand mixer until pureed and as smooth as possible. Add to batter; do not over-mix. Stir in nuts, if desired. Grease two 9"x5" loaf pans with cooking spray. (I use a dark metal pan- if different, raise temp to 350 degrees) Divide batter evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes, checking with LONG wooden pick. Bread is done when pick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, remove to wire rack and continue to cool. Wrap tightly in plastic when cool. Bread will be moister the next day. No need to refrigerate. Don't eat right away -patience is a virtue with banana bread! NOTES: 3 large (10-inch) bananas or 4 medium bananas will make the required 2 cups of banana puree. Sprinkle cinnamon on top before baking and swirl with a fork for a nice look. You can also sprinkle chopped nuts on top before baking for a nut studded top. This is good with chocolate chips (if you're a chocolate freak). I would reduce the white sugar, if you plan to do this. * * * * * * * * * * * I have made this with all light brown sugar and no white, or sometimes dark brown sugar. Feel free to fiddle with what you have on hand. Dark brown doesn't disperse as well as light, so be aware that you will have a few "pockets" of dark brown sugar (again, your personal preference). Makes one 9 x 5" loaf or 3 minis. Mandarin Orange-Crushed Pineapple Cake...... Cake: 1 box Yellow Cake Mix 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix 1 cup Crisco Oil 4 large eggs 1~ 11-ounce can mandarin oranges (DO NOT DRAIN) Icing: 1 12-ounce (med. size) container of Cool Whip, thawed 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix 1 large can crushed pineapple Grease and flour 2 round cake pans. For Cake: In large bowl, mix all ingredients together, beating with mixer for 2 minutes. Divide cake batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake according to package directions. (I use dark coated Teflon pans, and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean) Cool cake for at least an hour. Icing: In large bowl, empty container of cool whip, box of vanilla pudding mix and crushed pineapple (undrained). Mix well with either large spoon, or beater. Spread icing on the first cake layer, adding second cake layer and spreading the remainder of icing. DELICIOUS!!!! * * * * * * * * * * Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Chews   Ingredients: 2 cups oats 1 3/4 c. flour, divided 3/4 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. baking soda 1 c. butter, melted 1 c. butterscotch caramel topping 1/2 c. chopped pecans 1 6 ounce package semi sweet chocolate morsels Preheat oven to 350. Spray baker with cooking spray. Combine oats, 1 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar and baking soda. Add butter; mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 c. of the crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom of the baker. Bake 15 min. Combine the caramel topping with the remaining flour. Whish until smooth, then drizzle over bottom of crust. Spread to edges. Combine pecans and reserved crumb mixture and then sprinkle those and the chips over the caramel mixture. Bake 15 min. more. Remove from oven and cool. Yields: 24 bars. Also yummy served warm with ice cream! * * * * * * * * * BERRY-TOPPED BLINTZ BAKE Yield: 6 servings BLINTZ: 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 8 ounces small curd cottage cheese 3 eggs, plus one egg yolk 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. sugar 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. flour 3/4 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup butter, melted 1 teaspoon lemon peel, grated 1 tsp baking powder TOPPING: 1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries, thawed 3/4 cup blackberry of blueberry syrup Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square dish with 2-inch high sides (2 quart pan). BLINTZ: Place cream cheese, cottage cheese, the egg yolk, 1 Tbs. of sugar, 1 Tbs. of flour and vanilla in a blender container. Blend on low speed until smooth, stopping and scraping down side of container once. Transfer cheese mixture to bowl; set aside. Do not wash blender. Place the 3 eggs, sour cream, milk, butter and lemon peel in blender container. Blend on medium speed until smooth. Add combined 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar and the 1 tsp. baking powder. Blend on high speed until smooth. Pour half of the batter into the baking dish. Drop small spoonfuls of cheese mixture in evenly spaced rows on top of batter. Pour remaining batter on top. Bake until puffy and edges begin to turn golden, about 45 minutes. TOPPING: Combine berries and syrup in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until warm, stirring occasionally. Cool blintz on wire rack for 5 minutes. To serve, cut into squares; top with berries. Makes 6-8 servings. * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy!

A Bee Bg