Merry Glitzmas!

 

Wishing you the Merriest of Christmases and

the shiniest of New Year’s from

The Southern Girl Gang!

Friday Follow & What Did You Say?

Happy Friday everyone.  Hopefully all your weekend plans will go smoothly and still leave you enough time to recuperate and rest for Monday.  I’m linking up with Java over at Never Growing Old for Friday Follow.  She’s hosts it every week, as well as a Blogger list of Over 40 Bloggers.  If you’re looking for some new reading material, make sure to check the list out. 

Yesterday on the Facebook, one of the girls I went to high school with mentioned how much she liked the new Volkswagon Passat commercial and the misheard lyrics for Elton John’s song Rocket Man.  We’ve all probably done the same thing once or twice in our life. There's even a Friends episode where they’re discussing the most romantic song ever and Phoebe thinks it’s that song Elton John wrote for the Who’s the Boss? guy and then starts singing, “Hold me close, young Tony Danza”. 

Anyway, I told my friend that commercial makes me smile and remember when Katiebug was a teeniney little girl and thought the song was “When A Man WAS A Woman”…or when she wanted to “Rock and Roll all night. And PART of everyday”.  Not the whole day mind you; just part.  (And not party like KISS was singing in the song.)  My friend said it was only last week when she read the lyrics to Don McLean’s “American Pie” that she found out that song was in fact, not about her and he was not going to ‘drive Michelley to the levee’ but instead the Chevy.  Not to be left out, I may or may not have believed Keith Urban had some major product placement in his song when he told that girl to “take her cotton Levi sweater”.  That is, until I learned he really said “take your cat and leave my sweater.”

There is, in fact, a website dedicated to misheard  lyrics and some of them will make you literally laugh out loud.  Like the one about “Sixteen Tons”.  The misheard lyric was “Yuh load sixteen tons and what do you get. Another deodorant, deeper in debt” when in actuality it’s “You load sixteen tons and what do you get.  Another DAY OLDER and deeper in debt.” Or what about the Dolly Parton song “9 to 5”?  The misheard lyrics were: “Tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen. Pour myself a cup of damn b****in'.” The correct lyrics are: ‘Tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, Pour myself a cup of AMBITION.' That reminds me. Candance said she sings that song in her head every morning as she walks to the kitchen to make coffee.  I’m going to have to ask her just what it is she’s singing. 

So now, y’all have to have some incidents of misheard lyrics.  Let me hear about it.  I can’t wait.  Have a great weekend!

What’s Cooking Wednesday

Today’s recipe is 1) again from Pinterest; and 2) not anything that has to be cooked so I’m not sure how it fits into What’s Cooking Wednesday but just humor me, OK? 

Y’all all know that I’m not working right now.  Because of that I’m doing everything I can to make the unemployment stretch and have given up a lot of things that I used to take for granted but one thing I refuse to give up is my coffee.  For my sanity and the safety of anyone I may come in contact with as well. I will admit I made the occasional visit to the drive thru java joint with the holiday red cups but never, ever on a regular basis.  I did always have several varieties of liquid coffee creamer on hand, both at home and the office.  And I’m embarrassed to say, never really gave a thought to spending $3.00+ on a bottle of coffee creamer.  Times two or three, depending on how many bottles/flavors I bought.  My how things change. I used the last of the already purchased creamer today and when I went to the Walmart tonight to get a few groceries, I remembered one of my latest pins. I could make my own coffee creamer so I got the items needed to make sure I was able to get my coffee in the morning.  

There are only three ingredients and you probably already have them on hand.  Here’s what you need to make your own French Vanilla Coffee Creamer:

• 14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 14 oz. Milk – whole, 2%, skim…your choice
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• Mason Jar – pint size works fine

Add the sweetened condensed milk to your jar

Fill the can with the 14 oz. of milk and empty it into the jar also.

Then add the vanilla.  Mexican vanilla if you have it. I think it’s the best. 

If you look closely you’ll see I used 1 tablespoon instead of 2 teaspoons.  Oopsie!

Shake, shake, shake it up until it’s blended all nice and thick and creamy.  See?

I put the lid on and put it in the icebox.  As I was closing the door, something caught my eye…

Sitting right on top of the trash was the empty container – with a pour spout I might add.  It was already rinsed out so I removed the wrapper, thoroughly washed it in hot soapy water, then dried it. 

Bazinga!  Now I wouldn’t have to bother with unscrewing the lid each morning because I could just flip the top with one hand AND could pour it into my cup in a more controlled manner.  Most of the creamer fit into the recycled container and I drank the rest put the remaining back into a smaller Mason jar.

I can’t wait to make some different flavors.  Oh I don’t know, say maybe a batch with a little peppermint extract and perhaps a dash of chocolate syrup?  So many possibilities!  At a fraction of what they cost at the grocery store PLUS – I know exactly what’s in it.  Love it!

Is it time for coffee yet? 

Merry Music 2011

 

I hope y’all are staying warm wherever you are.  It’s pretty chilly here tonight.  Brrrr!

Still no job but I’m trying to stay hopeful and not let the rejections get to me too much.  At least that’s what I’m trying to do.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll even get out of the house.  Or at least my pajamas.  If it’s you’re thing, any prayers you want to offer up would be greatly appreciated.  Anyways…

Last year I posted a few of my favorite Christmas songs.  My favorite Christmas songs are the ones that make you happy, bring out the good (in most people) and remind us what the season is about.  Some of them. Others are a little less reverent but still make me smile.  This song isn’t one of those less reverent ones but a beautiful story about someone who sometimes doesn’t get remembered as he should.  Here is the video and Rachel, I added the lyrics too just for you.

 

He was her man, she was his wife
And late one winter night
He knelt by her
As she gave birth
But it wasn't his child
It wasn't his child

Yet still he took him as his own
And as he watched him grow
It brought him joy
He loved that boy
But it wasn't his child
It wasn't his child

But like a father
He was strong and kind and good
And I believe he did his best
It wasn't easy for him
But he did all he could
His son was different from the rest
It wasn't his child
It wasn't his child

And when the boy became a man
He took his father's hand
And soon the world would all know why
It wasn't his child
It wasn't his child
And like his father

He was strong and kind and good
And I believe he did his best
It wasn't easy for him
But he did all he could
He grew up with his hands in wood
And He died with his hands in wood
He was God's child
He was God's child

He was her man, she was his wife
And late one winter night
He knelt by her
As she gave birth
But it wasn't his child
It was God's child

~ Lyrics and Music by Skip Ewing

I’ll have to elaborate one day on the respect and reverence Catholics have for St. Joseph.  It will take some explaining and probably clarification about saints and prayers to the saints but I think you’d find it interesting. 

Until next time…

The One Where I Can’t Think of A Witty or Funny Title

Thank y’all so much for the sweet comments about the funk I’ve been in recently.  Looking for a job is quite hard on one’s soul I must say, and even though a few of you are in the same boat you still sent encouraging words.  That means so much and shows you is kind, you is smart and you is important.    And that I have the best readers ever. 

It’s going to be a handmade Christmas this year and Pinterest has become my new, very best friend.  In addition to all the wonderful gift ideas I’ve discovered, there are recipes galore on the Interwebs.  And some of those recipes will fall into one of two categories:   “What in the Hell were those people thinking when they decided to create this dish?” or “Where in the Hell has this dish been all my life?”  Tonight’s supper fell into the second category. 

I love love love a dish that uses, or can be adapted to use, what’s already in my icebox or pantry.  Tonight I found a recipe on Pinterest called “Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti”…um, yes please. 

Here are the four (yep only FOUR!) ingredients that I used to make this amazeballs dish:

• 1 – 26 or 28 oz jar spaghetti sauce, your choice
• 1 – 8 oz block of cream cheese
• 1 lb box of spaghetti
• 1 lb of ground meat.  I had turkey so I used that

The recipe also called for garlic and Italian seasonings.  I didn’t have Italian seasonings so I used dried basil.  I also like my spaghetti sauce more on the spicy side rather that sweet,  so I always add dried red peppers.  I also sautéed some chopped onions and minced garlic I had in the icebox but forgot to add that to the photo.  Oops.  

Begin by bringing a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil to cook the spaghetti while you prepare the sauce.  I cook my pasta in water that is salted enough to taste like sea water.  Now your dish won’t need a lot of additional salt because the pasta will bring enough to the party if cooked this way.

Next, add enough oil to a pan to cover the bottom and then sauté the onions and garlic in the oil.  Once the onions were translucent, I then browned the ground turkey with the onion/garlic mixture.  There is so little fat in the turkey that even with the added olive oil, you won’t have to drain the meat/onion mixture.  I added some red pepper flakes, dried basil, black pepper and a little of Miss Paula’s House Seasoning.  Once the meat is browned, add the jar of spaghetti sauce and let simmer until the spaghetti is done. 

When the pasta is cooked to package directions and done, drain and then put in a large bowl.  Add the cream cheese, some more dried basil and red pepper flakes.  Mix well until the spaghetti is thoroughly coated with the cream cheese/spice mixture.

Spread some of the meat sauce mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.  Place the spaghetti on top of the sauce, then cover with the remaining sauce.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven until bubbly. 

I just remembered – the recipe called for covering the top with Parmesan cheese but I didn’t have any.  Some parm or mozzarella would make it even better, but it was pretty delish without.  Here’s the Printable Recipe. 

And it was as good in my tummy as it was on the plate.

You’ll be in and out of the kitchen in about 45 minutes.  The prep time is about 15 minutes and then it bakes for 20 minutes. Use the other 10 to make a green salad or some garlic bread.  This will definitely be a dish I’ll make and experiment with over and over again.  I’m already thinking about the next time I have left-over rotisserie chicken.  And mushrooms.  Or olives and roasted red peppers.  Or Italian sausage.  Hmmm…

I almost forgot - make sure to go vote for one of my fellow Southern Girl Gang members, Candance.  She was nominated in a contest for one of the Top Southern Mom Blogs.  I think her campaign slogan is the same as LBJ’s back in the day – vote and vote often.  Well, at least once a day.  The contest ends December 20th. 

Now, I’m off to enjoy another dish of this awesome spaghetti.  And possibly a glass of wine.