Thirteen Recipes I Love

Back in November, I posted a Thursday Thirteen with recipes that I love.  Here’s my second list of thirteen recipes - no duplications from the previous one!

(1) Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches (These are really great.  My mother (Ruthlace) is making some for a bridal shower we’re hosting this coming weekend.  Yum!  I can’t wait!) 

(2) Instant Capucchino Mix and Instant Spiced Tea Mix

(3) Fresh Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (The BEST apple cake and cream cheese frosting I’ve ever tasted)

(4) Southern Sweet Iced Tea (made with Splenda) (My own recipe.  I keep a gallon on this in the refrigerator at all times)

(5) Wraps (you choose the meat and cheese) (These are really pretty to serve to guests - and they’re easy to make)

(6) Sweet Potato Souffle (This is famous in my family!)

(7) Homemade Peach Ice Cream (no sugar) and Orange-Pineapple Sorbet (no sugar, no fat) (I made both of these for a church ice-cream supper.  I loved them both)

(8) Moist Pound Cake with Caramel Frosting (Again- THE best recipes for pound cake and caramel frosting I’ve ever tasted)

(9) Tuna Salad Supreme (This is my own creation - I have a secret ingredient that makes it spectacular!  As a matter of fact, I had it for dinner last night and lunch today.)

(10) Moist Banana Bread (Another family favorite - always delicious)

(11) Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits (easy and good!)

(12) Omelets in a Bag (sounds unlikely but it works great!)

(13) Monkey Bread  (sweet, gooey, delicious)

And a bonus recipe:  (14) Grape Salad (uses green and red grapes)

To find more Thursday Thirteeners and to get information about joining the Thursday Thirteen meme, click HERE.

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The new Thirteener Carnival (edition #2) is up over at the Thursday Thirteen hub.  Do you participate in Thursday Thirteen.  It’s a great way to meet other bloggers, increase your traffic and links.  Best of all, it’s FUN!  Check out the carnival.

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Thirteen Reason I HATE Poison Ivy
I hate poison ivy. I’m extremely allergic to it, and I currently have patches on it spread over various places on my body. I called my doctor yesterday hoping she would prescribe something over the phone to give me some relief.  But no, that would be too easy.  She must see the rashes for herself.  So this afternoon, I will leave work a little early to go to the doctor.  I remember as a child getting poison ivy so bad that I had to miss a week of school because my eyes were swollen shut from it.  Once, as an adult, my father-in-law was burning a pile of leaves that unfortunately had poison ivy in it.  I got rashes from breathing the smoke - it was all inside my nose and mouth.  Yes, I HATE poison ivy, and here’s why:

(1) It itches.  Poison ivy has a very distinct itch.  I know it well.

(2)  It forms blisters and oozes. 

(3) It is red.

(4) The oozing is contagious - and causes the rash to spread.

(5)  It looks disgusting.

(6)  It takes a long time for the rash to clear up.

(7)  When it gets really bad, it not only itches and looks awful - it HURTS.

(8)  It can get into my system, and then poison ivy breaks out in places where the poison ivy plant never touched.

(9)  Even though I hate it, it likes me so much that once I get it, it hangs around for WEEKS.

(10)  The only way to get relief is to go to the doctor and get a steroid shot.

(11)  Even with the shot, it doesn’t go away quickly.

(12) Right now it is so bad on my right arm that I will probably end up with a scar.

(13)  I can think of absolutely NO reason for poison ivy to exist.

Read other Thursday Thirteen participants by checking HERE.

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Thirteen Poems That Are Great To Read With Children

(1) If You Should Meet a Crocodile (Anonymous)

If you should meet a Crocodile
Don’t take a stick and poke him;
Ignore the welcome in his smile,
Be careful not to stroke him.
For as he sleeps upon the Nile,
He thinner gets and thinner;
And whene’er you meet a Crocodile
He’s ready for his dinner.

(2) Fog (By Carl Sandburg)

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

(3) Drinking Fountain (By Marchette Chute)

When I climb up
To get a drink
It doesn’t work
The way you’d think.

I turn it up.
The water goes
And hits me right
Upon the nose.

I turn it down
To make it small
And don’t get any
Drink at all.

(4) Hey, Bug! (By Lilian Moore)

Hey, bug, stay!
Don’t run away.
I know a game that we can play.

I’ll hold my fingers very still
And you can climb a finger-hill.

No, no.
Don’t go.

Here’s a wall - a tower, too,
a tiny bug town, just for you.
I’ve a cookie. You have some.
Take this oatmeal cookie crumb.

Hey, bug, stay!
Hey, bug!
Hey!

(5) Sometimes (by Mary Ann Hoberman)

Sometimes I like to be alone
And look up at the sky
And think my thoughts inside my head -
Just me, myself, and I.

(6) Bird Carpenter (By Leland B. Jacobs)

Carpenters use nails and hammers,
Planes and levels,
Saws and rules.

Birds build houses so much simpler -
Beaks are all
They have for tools.

(7) About Feet (By Margaret Hillert)

The centipede is not complete
Unless he has one hundred feet.
Spiders must have eight for speed,
And six is what all insects need.
Other creatures by the score
Cannot do with less than four.
But two are quite enough, you know
To take me where I want to go.

(8) My Nose (By Dorothy Aldis)

It doesn’t breathe;
It doesn’t smell;
It doesn’t feel
So very well.

I am discouraged
With my nose;
The only thing it
Does is blows.

(9) I’m Glad The Sky is Painted Blue (Anonymous)

I’m glad the sky is painted blue,
And the earth is painted green,
With such a lot of nice fresh air
All sandwiched in between.

(10) Who Has Seen The Wind? (By Christina Rossetti)

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the leaves bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

(11) Dreams (By Langston Hughes)

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

(12) Spaghetti! Spaghetti! (By Jack Prelutsky)

Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
you’re wonderful stuff.
I love you, spaghetti.
I can’t get enough.
You’re covered with sauce
and you’re sprinkled with cheese,
Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
Oh, give me some more please.

Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
piled high in a mound.
You wiggle, you wriggle,
you squiggle around.
There’s slurpy spaghetti
all over my plate.
Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
I think you are great.

Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
I love you a lot.
You’re slishy, you’re sloshy,
delicious and hot.
I gobble you down
Oh, I can’t get enough.
Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
you’re wonderful stuff.

(13) Books (By Arnold Lobel)

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky.
My pile of books
Are a mile high.
How I love them!
How I need them!
I’ll have a long beard
By the time I read them!

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Thirteen Things About My Drive To Georgia Today

(1) I started the trip later than I had planned.  I had hoped to leave in the morning, but I left home around 2:00 p.m.  A little over three hours, and I’d be at my mother’s in Georgia. With the time difference and the later departure, that would put me in Chattanooga around 5:00.  I was worried about hitting rush hour.  As it turned out, traffic was the least of my worries.

(2) I-24 going east - a trip I’ve made hundreds of times.  I honestly was thinking about Thursday Thirteen, and I was jotting down things I saw along the way in order to write my T13 as soon as I got to my mother’s. 

(3) I was going over the bridge on the Tennessee River and Nickajack Lake when traffic almost came to a standstill.  A car had had a tire blowout and was blocking a lane of traffic.  No big deal, though.  Someone had already stopped to help.  A minute or two at a slower speed, and that was behind me.

(4) A few miles later I felt a little skip or bump in my engine.  Uh -oh! Was it a rough spot on the pavement, or was something wrong with the car?  I turned off the radio so I could listen.

(5) There weren’t any other bumping noises or feelings, but I noticed that the power steering had suddenly stopped working.  That wasn’t good.  The engine was still running, though.

(6) Then the battery light on the dashboard flashed on — shining brightly red.  As I studied the dashboard I saw that the needle on the heat indicator had not only gone past “hot” — it was flashing red as far past “hot” as it could go.  There were too many red flashing lights on the dashboard!  And no power steering!  Something was definitely wrong. (Well, duh, Carol!)

(7) Of course I was nowhere near an exit.  The car was still running fine - despite the flashing red lights and lack of power steering.  I slowed down and kept driving for a mile or so and saw a “Rest Area - 1 mile” sign.  Whew!  I’d get off there.

(8) The rest area was closed.  I was afraid I’d damage the engine if I continued driving with an overheated engine.  So I pulled to the side of the road next to the blocked exit to the rest area.  Too bad the rest area was closed.  I had to go to the bathroom, but that would have to wait.

(9) Thank God for cell phones and a 24-hour roadside assistance insurance policy.  One phone call, and everything was arranged.  The wrecker was there in about 30 minutes - which was much quicker than the 60-minute ETA the dispatcher gave me.

(10)  I spent the 30-minute wait calling my husband and children to garner some sympathy - as trucks and cars whizzed past me on the expressway - rocking my car with each passing.  The kids were great and appropriately concerned and sympathetic and proud of how I was handling things.  Of course I had to tell them how efficiently and well I was handling everything for them to tell me how proud they were of me.  My husband was in meetings with his phone turned off.  I would finally talk to him much later in this adventure.

(11) Since my car is a BMW, the tow truck took me to the BMW dealership in Chattanooga where I found that the parts shop closed at 5:00, and most of the mechanics in the service department had left by 5:00.  However, they had someone who could look at it to see what was needed.  Two belts and a water pump were needed.  Apparently not unusual in cars with over 100,000 miles on them - like mine.  No parts and no mechanic meant no repaired car until tomorrow.  I didn’t want to spent the night by myself in a hotel in Chattanooga.  I asked about a rental car.  I didn’t realize that local car rental places often close at 5:00, too.

(12) It took awhile, but they found me a rental car - a 2007 BMW.  Oh yeah! I could live with that.  They’ll repair my car tomorrow, and I’ll pick it up when I go back through Chattanooga on my way home Friday.

(13) I got to my mother’s - safe and sound and only three hours later than I had planned.  All in all, a good ending to a long day.

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Thirteen Dishes That Will Almost Certainly Be At Our Church’s Potluck Dinner Tonight

1.  Miss Phyllis’s chicken pot pie

2.  Brownies

3.  Devilled eggs

4.  A chicken casserole

5.  Another chicken casserole

6.  Some kind of jello salad

7.  Ms. Edna’s cobbler - probably blackberry

8. A hashbrown casserole

9.  a beef roast cooked with potatoes, carrots and onions

10.  a tossed salad

11.  a loaf of homemade bread

12. some cornbread

13.  some homecooked vegetables

All in all, it will be a very nice dinner.  The best part, though, will be talking and being with some really good people.

UPDATE:  The potluck dinner is now over.  I had 10 out of the 13 correct.  I think that’s a pretty good average.  We didn’t have eggs this time - no roast beef or chicken pot pie, either.  However, one person brought a big bowl of ripe and juicy strawberries and another bowl of CHOCOLATE dipping sauce for the strawberries.  Needless to say, that was a major hit!

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Thirteen Green Things That I Like

1.  Emeralds - RT gave me a beautiful emerald and diamond ring for Christmas.  I just love green gemstones.

2. Peridot (my birthstone)

3.  Broccoli - especially with cheese sauce on it

4.  A fresh salad with a combination of greens - a veritable medley of shades of green

5.  My eyes - It may sound vain or silly, but I’ve always loved the fact that my eyes are green.  Green eyes are somewhat unique - and I like that.  (RT and both my children have brown eyes.)

6.  Jade

7.  Green enchilada sauce - especially when it’s poured over chicken enchiladas.

8.  Kermit the Frog - especially his “Rainbow Connection” song from “The Muppet Movie”

Written by Paul Williams and used by Kermit the Frog, of The Muppets, Jim Henson Productions

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we’ve been told and some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong, wait and see.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it’s done so far.
What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
we know that it’s probably magic….

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it.
It’s something that I’m supposed to be.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
La, la la, La, la la la, La Laa, la la, La, La la laaaaaaa

9.  Lush green lawns, freshly mown.

10. Drooping, flowing weeping willow branches.

11.  Limeade (quick & easy - Sprite or Diet Sprite with a slice of fresh lime in it)

12.  The first shoots of jonquils and crocus each spring.

13.  Four-leaf clovers.  I used to find them all the time.  However, it’s been a few years since I’ve had that particular stroke of luck.

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Thirteen Good Things About March

 1.  Spring break

2.  Flowers begin to bloom - especially daffodils and jonquils.

3.  The weather gets warmer.

4.  It’s still possible to have a snow day from school.  It rarely happens, but there’s still that possibility to cling to.

5.  The trees start to fill out with leaves.

6.  I can wear sandals again.  Well some days are warm enough for sandals.   I LOVE wearing sandals.

7.  Daylight Savings time begins.  It’s wonderful having daylight last well into late afternoon/early evening.

8.  Lots of birds are around - busy building nests and visiting the bird feeders.

9.  It’s easier to grill outside.

10.  I know that summer break is getting closer.

11.  Stores stock summer clothes, and I enjoy shopping for summery clothing.

12.  Everything looks so new and fresh.

13.  The greens of the trees and bushes and flowers are just spectacular.  Green is my favorite color, and spring is bursting with all the varied shades of it.

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I don’t believe I’ve ever seen an official definition of the word “meme.”  It’s one of those words that you see so often that you know the general meaning of it.  However, in the past twenty-four hours, I’ve heard the word pronounced two different ways:  “me-me”, and  “mim.”

So, I looked it up.  Both the pronunications I heard before were wrong.  The correct pronunciation rhymes with the word “theme.”  Long e in the middle - silent e at the end - “meem”.

The official definition is:

A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

It comes from the Greek word “mimos” which means “mimic.”  And that really explains the use of the term “meme” in speaking of practices such as Thursday Thirteen, and Sunday Seven.  They’re definitely cultural information that is transmitted online repeatedly from one person to another.

Whew!  I always like to get things straight. 

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Looks like the cat’s out of the bag about Thursday Thirteen.  There is lots to do to get everything switched over.  Look for more information coming very soon.

Click HERE to read about it.  And it isn’t just me - THIS is my partner.

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