FRIENDS, FAMILY & A BUTTERFLY

I am not a scrapbooker. I do appreciate the patience and talent involved unfortunately I do not have those talents. I regret this because I think it is a fun and fancy way to document your memories. Recently I decided to have my cake and eat it too. School is out and so we have lots of time to fill. I decided to finally upload and print my pictures from 2007 and let Maddie start making her own scrapbooks, it fills up a bunch of time and we will be able to see how her creativity grows through the years. It also saves me from having to do it. I am really excited about this and I hope we can do it every summer. So far we have done 2 pages. The first of course dedicated to her 2 favorite cats and her blankie. This one she titled "under cat world". The second page has pictures of our most recent trip home. This one, "friends, family and a butterfly". I think this could get really interesting. We had one of the best trips home ever. We were all sad to leave after such a great time. We thank everyone for their hospitality! I have also added some delicious recipes for your enjoyment.

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MEMORIAL DAY VACATION

PICTURES

SPRING PEAS WITH PANCETTA

3 slices pancetta, chopped (about 1 ounce)

3/4 cup finely chopped white onion

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups shelled green peas or frozen petite green peas

1 cup fat free less sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat - leaf parsley

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and saute 5 minutes or untl crispy. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Add onion and garlic to pan, saute for 2 minutes until tender. Add peas, broth, sugar and salt to pan. Simmer 5 minutes or util the peas are tender, stirring occasionally. stir in pancetta and chopped parsley.

DATE NUT PINWHEELS

In a saucepan combine 2.5 cups (1lb) finely chopped pitted dates, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup of orange juice. Cook over low heat 10 minutes, or until thickened. Remove, stir in 1 cup chopped pecans; cool.


Cream together until light and fluffy 1 cup of shortening and 2 cups dark brown sugar. Beat in 3 well beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Stir into the egg mixtrue.


Chill dough thouroughly. It must be completely cold to roll out easily. Divide into thirds for easier handling during rolling. Roll eeach third to form a rectangle a little over 1/8 inch thick. Spread evenly with 1/3 of chilled filling. Starting at wide side of rectangle roll in a jelly roll fashion. Wrap in waxed paper; chill.


When ready to bake, cut rolls into slices alittle less that 1/4 inch thick, place on greased cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or untlil lightly browned

Yummy!

Broccoli Salad
1 Bunch green onions chopped
1 Big Broccoli slaw
1 C dry roasted sunflower seeds
1 C slivered almonds - browned
2 pkgs chicken flavored ramen noodles, crushed
Grilled chicken breast
Toss everything with the dressing right before serving - it gets soggy if you do it too far ahead
1/4 C Balsamic vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C oil
1 pkg seasoning from the ramen noodles