Friday, March 29, 2013

Twenty Reasons

I generally write to relieve stress, mostly so it doesn’t blow the top of my head off. Sometimes I write for me. Because I just need to get it out. Right now. Sometimes I write with you in mind, hoping that if I inform or amuse you, or show you a picture of something yummy, you might come back. Maybe even tell your friends?

Anyway, just so you know, this one’s for me.



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Twenty reasons I should not run away from home today:

1. It’s wicked (I’m from Boston, I was bound to say it eventually) cold out.
2. I probably don’t want to be responsible for what happens in this house when the toilet paper runs out.
3. The mortgage isn’t paid off yet, do I really want the house destroyed at this point? Think I’m kidding? Read this:  Burnin' Down the House and you decide.
4. Who would I have to complain blog about?
5. The kids probably know how to GPS track me through my cell phone anyway.
6. Who will embarrass the boys with their singing?
7.  I’d probably have to put actual clothes on.
8. When one of the kids texts their dad (who doesn’t text), who will he call to text them back?
9.  How will the Prize Patrol find me?
10. How will the boys ever eat anything healthy without someone to whine at while doing it?



Passover Cheesecake Squares | BakingInATornado.com | #recipe

 Passover Cheesecake Squares

11. Wouldn’t that be like rewarding my kids? Do I really want to do that?
12. Can I live with the responsibility of people being out of a job when a local Grocery Store loses out on my weekly attempts to keep my kids fed?  On the plus side, the fast food franchises will see a big increase in sales.
13. I’ll be disappointing all those poor uneaten bananas that hoped to be turned into Cinnamon Banana Bread.
14. Who will answer the door at midnight when my older son comes home without his key . . . again . . . as usual?
15. Who’s going to go around shutting off the water running endless into the sinks and the lights left on in every room?
16. What will the poor mailman do when no one ever takes the mail out of the box again. . . ever?
17. I’m still responsible for what the boys do until they’re 19. On the plus side, you can’t hold me responsible if you can’t find me, right?
18. Who would torture me?
19. My younger son probably won’t let me borrow my car if he knows I won’t be bringing it back.
and lastly:
20. The liquor cabinet’s full and I can’t take the whole thing with me. Looks like I’ll have to stick around a while and work on that.

So I managed to come up with 20 reasons why I shouldn’t run away from home today. And honestly, it took me the whole day so it’s too late anyway. But tomorrow, tomorrow’s another day.


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Passover Cheesecake Squares
                                  ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar (1/2 sugar, 1/2 brown sugar, if you have Passover brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup matzo cake meal
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder (grind if it isn't fine)
cheesecake filling ingredients (not the cookies, just the filling) from this recipe: Cheesecake recipe

Directions:
*Grease a glass 8 X 11 pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
*Cream the butter and sugar(s). Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in matzo cake meal and coffee powder.
*Press into the bottom and partially up the sides of the glass pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool. 
*Make the cheesecake filling according to the recipe here: Cheesecake recipe
*Pour filling evenly over crust. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. 
*Cool completely before cutting into squares.
*Store in the refrigerator.  

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Ten Commandments

Since it’s one of the times of the year when most everyone I know is celebrating something religious, I thought it would be fitting to do a post with some religious undertones.

Exodus tells the story of how the Jews, having escaped slavery in Egypt, were wandering the dessert. Moses got word to climb Mount Sinai where he was given the Ten Commandments, a list of expected behaviors for all.

This got me thinking. In my house, I have a list of expected behaviors too. I, by no means consider myself to be divine. Nor do I mean any disrespect to my religion or any other. But through all this Bible talk, I’ve had an epiphany. What my household needs is not just the Ten Commandments from the Bible, but additionally our own Ten Commandments.

So I’m starting with G-d’s, because they are a perfect example of the expectations of the morals and values I, too, expect in my home. But I need to change them, just a little, to fit the circumstances.


The Ten Commandments | BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

The Ten Commandments, my version:
1. I am your Mother. I went through hell to conceive you, used all the toilet paper in the land while carrying you, and suffered a lengthy and excruciating ordeal to have you. You will accept me as your Mother or I will farm you out into bondage.
2. Thou shalt have no other Mother besides me. I do not care how much nicer you think every other Mother on the planet is, I am yours and you are stuck with me and only me.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of your Mother in vain. Just so we’re clear, this means you can’t swear at me, OR call anyone else a Mother. . . anything.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Give me a break, at the very least on the weekends.
5. Honor thy Father and thy Mother. Notice how I’ve generously included Dad in this one.
6. Thou shalt not kill. No matter what consequences you’ve suffered for whatever action you decided to take, you cannot have murderous thoughts towards me. Change your behavior ‘cause I’m here to stay.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. If you even know what this is, you’re grounded for life.
8. Thou shalt not steal. That means that what’s mine is mine. You cannot take my things and then try to pretend I never had it. I KNOW it was there yesterday.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor. STOP blaming your brother. I’m not stupid, I know it was you.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house. Do well in school, get into college, get a good job and buy a bigger one.
And thou shalt love thy Mother with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Or there will be an exodus. And it will not be mine.



Charoses  | www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe
Charoses

This article was also posted on Huffington Post Parents as The Ten Commandments, Mom Style on 3-30-15. 

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Charoses
                                     ©www.BakingInATornado.com
Printable Recipe

*NOTE: Charoses is used as part of the Passover Seder. My family eats the leftovers on (matzo) crackers, as a side dish with lunch or dinner, and I also bake it into (Passover) muffins.

Ingredients:
1 Delicious apple, cored, peeled and chopped
1 Braeburn apple,cored, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
3 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP red wine

Directions:
*Mix all ingredients the day before serving.
*Place in a sealed container in the fridge.
*Stir the ingredients every now and then.

Friday, March 22, 2013

March Fly on the Wall


Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 11 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what goes on in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.


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When you’re done, click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

Baking In A Tornado
Just A Little Nutty
Follow me home  . . .
Stacy Sews and Schools
The Sadder But Wiser Girl
Menopausal Mother
Moore Organized Mayhem
The Momisodes
The Rowdy Baker
Finding Felicity
Caramel Living


A couple of months ago I did one of these Fly on the Wall posts about the conversations that go on at the dinner table in our home. I’ll often read the paper or watch the news for absurd stories to bring up at the dinner table to add a funny element to our dinner conversation (and keep the kids from talking about my cooking). The feedback I got on that post was that people really enjoyed it, so today I’m going to share some of our latest dinner conversations:

*Apartment complex taking DNA of dog poop to see who isn’t cleaning up after their pets. Really? This is just wrong on so many levels.



Fly on the Wall | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


*Pizza Hut has come out with a perfume. Just in case someone wants dogs following them through town, I guess.


Garlic Knots | www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe

Garlic Knots

*No link seen in hogs’ deaths. A rural Deputy Sheriff announced that the hogs that died in a facility in his county was not linked to the deaths of hogs who had died in a fire in a different facility in a different county the week before. Oh, good. I was worried about that.

Fly on the Wall | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

*Wrangler has come out with moisturizing jeans. Oh please don’t make me explain anything that combines “moisturizing” and “jeans” to my teenaged boys.

Fly on the Wall | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

*Fruitcake Fling. A local county has announced the success of their fruitcake fling. Apparently a group of non-fruitcake eaters saved their holiday fruitcakes and thought it would be fun to have a contest to see who could fling theirs the farthest in a local field. So the wildlife could eat them, special bird seed filled fruitcakes were flung. I guess ‘cause birds don’t like fruit? Or they didn’t want to get the birds drunk? Or make the birds gak? But how exactly do these specially made fruitcakes get rid of the ones from December? I’m just so confused!

Fly on the Wall | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

*There’s a new “pillow” guaranteed to let you sleep anywhere. It’s more like a full face and neck hat and looks like you’ve got an elephant on your face. Cause everyone’s most comfortable sleeping with our faces up an elephant’s butt.

Fly on the Wall | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

*”Trust falling guy” arrested for giving wedgies to strangers at a movie theater. You know that old “trust exercise” where you’re with a friend and you prove you trust them by falling straight back and they catch you? There’s a guy who was randomly falling over backwards in public to prove that strangers would catch him. Well this same guy was just arrested for giving strangers wedgies in a movie theater. Where’s the trust now?

Fly on the Wall | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

Many nights I fail to keep the conversation off of the topic of what I’ve prepared. Like this night: The boys said they didn’t like my Potato Pancakes. I asked how they can like McDonald’s breakfast Hash Browns when they’re the same thing. Younger Son said that they weren’t the same because McDonalds deep fries their Hash Browns. Older Son said if they’re not deep fried, they’re just not as good as Ronald McDonald’s. Which makes my cooking worse than, well, a clown’s. Ouch. Now you see why I try to keep the conversation away from the subject of my cooking?


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Garlic Knots
                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com
Ingredients:
2 packages of Pillsbury Bread Sticks
1/2 stick butter, melted
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
*Separate each package of bread sticks into 12 pieces. Loosely tie each piece into a knot.
*Place all 24 knots onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
*Bake for 15 minutes.
*Add garlic powder, parmesan, parsley, red pepper flakes and salt to the melted butter.
*When you remove the knots from the oven, brush with the seasoned butter and serve.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Fee Schedule

Everyone knows kids are expensive, this is not a revelation. My kids are both teenagers, have part time jobs and don’t contribute to the household. That’s fine, it’s my pleasure to support them until they graduate college (or drop out, but let’s just not go there).

But as kids get older, there are responsibilities they can and should take on. Not just to be a contributing member of the household, but to be prepared to take care of themselves. I’ve recently decided to scrape the “doormat” tattoo off of my forehead and sit the kids down and tell them the following:

Due to inflation (mostly of your egos), I’ve decided that a fee schedule is in order. You’re going to be on your own very shortly and it’s time you understand what that entails. If you decide to pay up, that’s fine. But if you decide that change is in order, even better.


Fee Schedule | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

Some things will remain free, let’s start with those:
Having friends over: still free
Access to baked goods: still free
Friends helping themselves to the pantry: still free
Friends helping themselves to the drinks in the basement fridge: still free
Parking for your friends across the street in the vacant lot: still free

I don’t mind having your friends over, in fact I like knowing where you all are. You have the basement to yourselves so you don’t get in my way. I bake to relieve stress and since I do so much of it, someone may as well eat it. So none of this will change.




Crockpot Chocolate Caramel Cake

Crockpot Chocolate Caramel Cake| www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe

Crockpot Chocolate Caramel Cake| www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe


Now on to the new fees:
*Making me come get you for dinner because your headphones are on and you can’t her me call: $1 – each way. Give me a break, you know what time dinner is.
*Picking up your trash and throwing it out when you’ve missed the can and decided to just leave it there: $2 per piece, and you’re taking the Trash and Recycle Bin to the curb that week. . . wear your nose plugs.
*Shutting off a light, TV, Xbox, etc, etc: $3 each time, plus you pay that month’s electric bill. So what if you didn’t use it all, I didn’t use it all either.
*Not cleaning your crumbs off of the counter: $4. Stop right there, using a paper towel instead of a sponge is another $4.
*Leaving a pile of crumbs under your chair at the counter: $4 each day they stay there. Consider it rent, those crumbs take up space.
*Washing my dish after you’ve put your own in the dishwasher leaving mine in the sink: $4 per dish. You’re not alone, Dad’ll be paying this one too.
*Not telling me we’re running low on something until you’ve used it all up: $5 plus the price of gas to go get more.
*Saying you told me something when we both know you didn’t: $6. Continuing to insist that you told me doubles the price. Sorry, I’m not THAT old, I know what you have and haven’t told me.
*Not answering your cell when I call: $7. Each time. And I’ll keep calling, so there’s that . . .
*Taking something of mine and not returning it so I have to go search for it when I need it: $8 per item. And an extra $8 if I think you’ve actually hidden it.
*Sneaking: $9. Anything, anytime, anywhere, anyhow. And yes, Moms do have eyes in the back of their heads so this one could get expensive.
*Friends sleeping over: A flat fee of $10 per kid. An extra $5 if they want bathroom priveleges.
*Answering a question: first time is still free, $25 each additional time I have to answer the same question.
*Entering a bathroom and finding an empty toilet paper roll: $50. Oh yes I can. And I will. I’m the only female in this house and I’ve had enough.
*Being asked to drop everything and make you a grilled cheese when you can easily do it yourself: $100. It may seem steep, but you’re not 2 years old, make yourself a frikken sandwich.

There is no arbitration, negotiation or plea bargaining. I am the Judge and I am the jury. I know this is the United States and you have rights, but what you may not realize is that those rights end at my front door. Which, just so you know, leads in both directions.

Oh, and by the way, to end on a good note: hugs and kisses an “I love yous” are still free, but rejecting any or all (no matter how much money you just had to give me) . . . that’s gonna cost you.

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Crockpot Chocolate Caramel Cake
                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com
Ingredients:
1 package Chocolate Cake Mix
1 package (4 oz) Chocolate instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup water
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup caramel baking chips
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
*Spray crockpot with non-stick spray.
*Mix all ingredients by hand.
*Put into crockpot. Manipulate the mix so it's thicker along the edges of the pot with less in the center, as the edges cook faster.
*Put a paper towel over the crockpot so that the cover holds the towel up under the cover. It shouldn't be anywhere near the cake. This is to keep the condensation from the top from falling into the cake. Check and replace the paper towel every now and then.
*Cook on low for approximately 6 hours. 
*NOTE* times vary depending on the size of your crockpot and differences in heat levels. Keep an eye on it the first time to know how long it will take for you. It's done when the center springs back to the touch. Serve warm.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Take 2 – March Secret Subject Swap


Welcome to another Secret Subject Swap. This week, 13 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.


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Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Baking In A Tornado
Just a Little Nutty - Guest Post
Suburbia Interrupted
Moore Organized Mayhem
Come Play In The Kitchen
Big A and little a
Black Sheep Mom 
The Mommy Ref
100lb Countdown
Finding Felicity
Evil Joy Speaks
Caramel Living
Adventures in Hickey Land 

My subject is: If you inherited a large sum of money, and it was stipulated that you were forced to spend $1 Million solely on yourself before you could spend the rest however you wanted (ie: give away, share, etc), what would your most indulgent purchase be and why?  It was submitted by: Come Play in the Kitchen.

Although I’m sure people would think that I’d need some time to figure out how I’d spend my million dollars, that’s not the case. And although my purchase may be seen as indulgent by some, it’s self-preservation in my mind. Potato. . . Potaaaaato.

I am buying an Island. I may have already picked one out. It might be in the Florida Keys, but if I disclose the location I’m just going to have to spend more of that money searching for a scientific way to wipe the information from your memory. So I’ll spare us both that. You’re welcome.

I will make all laws. And I will enforce them. So despite what Bob Marley and Eric Clapton say, no one will be shooting the Sheriff (hear that, sons?)

I will be determining all holidays and celebrations. There will be Cookie Day, Cake Day, Pie Day, Cupcake Day, Donut Day and any other (to-be-determined) day of my choosing. And EVERY day is officially NOT my birthday. I’m just too old for that crap.


Lucky Mint Bars | www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe
Lucky Mint Bars

I’ll be determining the weather. Each day I’ll choose from sunny, sunnier and sunniest. We’ll need rain, so sometimes I’ll allow it at night.

Shoes are banned.

I will even pick which bugs will be allowed there. Midwest bitey bugs (wolves in sheep’s clothing) that look exactly like innocent Lady Bugs and you don’t realize that they aren’t until they bite you – Banished from my kingdom.

I will approve all visitors. Please fill out all forms; attach 3 proofs of identity, a current picture, a litter of recommendation, a recipe, 3 recent humorous tweets, a birth certificate, and a partridge in a pear tree. You can do the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself around, but I’m not so easily bribed. At this point, it appears that there’s a one year waiting list. I’ll let you know.

Not that I’ve given this scenario any previous thought or anything . . .

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Lucky Mint Bars
                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com


Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 stick margarine, melted
1 package Keebler Dark Chocolate Fudge Stripe Cookies, crumbled (smooth) in a Food Processor
1/2 plus 1/4 cup mint baking chips
1/2 plus 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 plus 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
20 mint Oreos, coarsley chopped
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 X 11 pan.
*Mix together melted margarine and Fudge Stripe cookie crumbs. Pat firmly into bottom of pan as a crust.
*Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mint baking chips, dark chocolate chips and white chocolate chips over the crust.
*Sprinkle half of the coarsely chopped Oreos over the baking chips.
*Sprinkle the rest of the baking chips, then the rest of the Oreo pieces.
*Pour the Sweetened Condensed Milk evenly over the top.
*Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
*Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Texting, Mom Style

Everyone with kids knows that phones aren’t for calling any more. They’re for texting, almost exclusively. And if you have kids you also know that texting has its own language, incomprehensible to those over a  . . . ahem . . . certain age.

But what our kids don’t know is that we Moms have a text language too. We also frequently need to communicate quickly, and cryptically.

If you’ve not yet gotten one of these Mom to Mom missives, there’s much you need to know. Not just the meaning of the messages, but the protocol, how you’re expected to respond. So I’ve put together the most commonly used texts you might receive and what action to take when you get one. The fall into two categories.


Good news texts:

TOT – Take One for the Team – this is used when a Mom has plans (yay) and needs the other Mom to spy on host the kids at her house that night.

WOO HOO – With Out Ours, Head On Over – Recipients of this text are either being invited; they’re welcome to come to the sender’s house, but only if they can dump their own kids. Or they’re being taunted (of the “ha, ha” variety).
Responses would be either:
HI – Heading In – mission accomplished, on our way.
                                 or:
DAMN – Dark And Miserable Night – can’t get rid of our kids, tried everything.

Texting Mom Style | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

NO NO NO – this is the Holy Grail of Mom texts, it means she has a night of NO kids, NO husband and it’s a shout-out to all available for a N O (night out).

Bad news texts:

XO – This is not hugs and kisses, this is Xylophone Overload and is the text of a Mom whose child has a musical instrument (any, not just xylophone) and is about to throw it out the window.

ABCD – This is not the text of a home-schooling Mom, it’s a Mom having an Already Been Chewed Disaster. There is gum stuck somewhere, and this text is often followed by more of the alphabet:
MNOP – Mom Needs Out, Pronto.

General calls for help:
BS – Bring Sugar. It’s the (usually initial) request of a mildly irritated Mom.

Butterscotch Slice and Bake Cookies| www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe

Butterscotch Slice and Bake Cookies


It may be followed by:
CRAP – Child Really A Pain – this is an unmistakable cry for help.
If the situation isn’t diffused, this one may come next:
HELP -  Have to Escape Little People – this is rarely a text to be ignored.
But if no relief is found, you’ll see a text of last resort:
COW – No, she doesn’t need milk, she’s Climbing Out a Window – this is a Mom who now needs to be talked down from the ledge, literally.

Used by Moms of older kids:
SHIT – Stuck Home, In Trouble – this is the emergency text of a Mom at home (usually with a grounded teen). The recipient of this text is obliged to drop everything and bring chocolate . . . or liquor . . . or chocolate liqueur.
The above is frequently paired with:
BUM – Bring Unused Medication.

And if you get there and no one answers the door, check your phone for this:
BITCHY – Been In The Corner Hiding, Yo.
To which you should answer:
OUCH – Open Up, Comfort’s Here.


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Butterscotch Slice and Bake Cookies
                                 ©www.BakingInATornado.com


Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 stick margarine, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup Butterscotch baking chips
1/4 cup toffee baking chips

Directions:
* Cream butter, margarine, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.
*Beat in egg. Mix in flour, salt and baking soda.
*Add in the butterscotch and toffee baking chips.
*Roll into a log, wrap in plastic and refrigerate one hour (or up to 3 days).
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 cookie sheets.
*Slice the log into approximately 30 cookies.
*Bake for about 12 minutes.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Take 1- March Secret Subject Swap

Welcome to Take One of March’s Secret Subject Swaps. This week, 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.
 
Secret Subject Swap | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics
 
 
Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:
 
Life on the SONny Side
 
My subject is: Tell us about a St. Patricks Day you (sort of) remember. It was submitted by: The Momisodes. Here goes:

There are quite a few St. Patrick’s Days I could tell you about, or partially tell you about. Especially those that took place during my college years. But the one I’m going to tell you about is from a few years after I had graduated from college. I was living in an apartment, had worked as a Social Worker for a few years and at this point was the Director of Social Services in a private Long Term Care facility.  My best friend was working a few evenings Cocktail Waitressing at a Pub in my home town and I decided to work an evening or two a week also.

Liam’s Irish Tavern was generally fairly quiet on the nights I worked and I enjoyed it. I served a few beers, learned some very . . . ahem . . .interesting songs from some really fun Irish bands, visited with friends who’d occasionally stop by, have a drink at the end of the evening and go home.

And then March came around. We’d been told that whether or not it was our night to work, St. Patrick’s Day was all-hands-on-deck. That was fine with me, my favorite Irish band would be playing, green beer would be flowing, everyone I know in town would be in. This was going to be fun.

So maybe fun isn’t exactly how I’d describe it. Torture would be a good word. It was PACKED, like unable-to-take-a-single-step-without-getting-to-know-someone-intimately packed. They were drinking, dancing and drinking, singing and drinking, walking around to see who was there and drinking, spilling and drinking, yelling to be heard and drinking, standing wall-to-wall and drinking . . .

At first I tried to do my job; take orders, fill the orders, pay the bartender for the drinks and head out to the table. Nope, not gonna happen. I’d hold my tray up in the air, but at five feet tall, I couldn’t get through the crowds to the tables. People would just grab drinks off my tray and throw money onto the tray. What wasn’t taken was spilled into my hair and down my neck. When I’d finally make it to a table and lower my tray I’d find an empty pitcher or two, a few beer glasses that were one third full at best and NO shot glasses.

Secret Subject Swap St. Patrick's Day | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

OK, Plan B. Skip taking orders, go straight to the bar, get a bunch of beers, pitchers and shots and just turn around. Drinks were taken, money was left, if I didn’t try to get to the tables I could even avoid more beer down my shirt. Once the bouncers saw that I couldn’t move, they’d come and surround me to get me through the crowd. I knew they just wanted to see the one woman wet t-shirt contest that resulted from my trying to walk, but I preferred my Plan B to a green beer soaking, so I sent them on their way.

A few times through the night the band would grab me or a crowd I knew from High School would grab me and I’d find myself taking a break from (not) serving drinks (anyway) to dance or sing along:

 Oh, dear, what can the matter be
Seven old ladies stuck in the lava-tree
They were there from Sunday till Satur-dee
Nobody knew they were there.

Can’t remember my kids names or what I had for dinner last night, but I STILL remember the words to that song!

The night went by in a huge wet green blurr. My feet were sore, I was exhausted, bumped and bruised. I was soaked and my shoes stuck to the floor. I’d NEVER wear those clothes again, but I was grinning from ear to ear. And in the early hours of the morning when I sat down at the bar, had a drink and finally started to pull my tips out of my apron, hair, ears, shirt, and pockets, I realized this: That pot full of gold at the end of the rainbow . . .  I  had found it.



Rosemary Beef Stew | www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe
Rosemary Beef Stew

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Rosemary Beef Stew
                                     ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Stew Beef
3 Tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cloves minced garlic
1 (28 oz) can diced Italian Tomatoes
1 cup water
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper
4 new potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered
1 zucchini, cut lengthwise, then sliced
1 small bag frozen peas
fresh or frozen pearl onions

Directions:
*Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the beef. Remove the beef and saute the onion and garlic in the same pan until the onions are soft. Add the beef back into the pot.
*Add in the tomatoes, water, wine, parsley, salt, rosemary and pepper.
*Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
*Add the potatoes, cover and simmer for another half hour.
*Add the mushrooms, zucchini, peas and pearl onions. Cover and simmer another half hour.

NOTE: I will often brown the beef, saute the onion and garlic, then finish making it in the crockpot.