Shrimp Boil with Crack Sauce!

Shrimp boil season is here! It is one of our favorites.  So easy and so good.

6 Smart Points with Shrimp, corn, onion, 3 pieces of sausage (1 link), 1/2 cup potatoes and 1/4 cup crack sauce on the side.

Put large soup kettle filled 3/4 full with water on to boil.

     Add lots of Old Bay Seafood Seasoning
     Add lots of Trader Joe's Chili Lime Seasoning
     Squeeze 1 lemon and add all of lemon to pot
*   Add lots Cracked Pepper
     Add potatoes cook 10 minutes
** Add onion (cut in chunks)
     Add corn (cut in half) cook 10 minutes
     Add sausages cook 5 minutes (cut in thirds)
     Add shrimp cook 1 minute

Made into foil packets for grilling - 7 packets
2 bags 16-20 raw shrimp (5 shrimp each)
6 corn roasted broke into 2 or 3 pieces
2 pts potatoes cut in half roasted
2 onions quartered roasted
2 pkgs sausage cut in thirds

*   The Chili Lime is very salty so I don't add salt.
** You may want to add more seasoning when you add the corn and onion.

Drain

Serve with crack Sauce
1 cup Fage FF Greek yogurt
1/4 cup Walden Farms Honey Mustard
1/8 cup Walden Farms Ranch
1/4 cup Ketchup
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 TBS Worcester Sauce
1 tsp Sriracha Sauce

And the new book begins

I'm working on my next book. Still can't decide if it's going to be a series or a stand alone. It also is nameless! But... I really am enjoying writing again after my year long break.

I decided to spend a year focused on supporting others on Connect and Facebook who are on this Weight Watchers journey with me.

I found I got more out of helping others than I ever imagined could happen. So I'm liking my characters. Dawn of 'dawn of a new day' gave permission to use her coffee house in the book. That makes me very happy because it is a great place in downtown Saginaw.

So as I work on this please pray the words continue to flow from my heart.

Here is the beginning:

PROGLOGUE

The child hid behind the putrid trash can. Crouching even lower, she silently put one foot behind the other inching farther back towards the cold brick wall. She shivered with fear, as much as from the cold and when her tummy rumbled loudly, she was terrified it could be heard.  She hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning. This afternoon her mother had ordered her to stay hidden in the dark alley until she returned with food, but that was a long time ago.

 Now there was someone with a flashlight at the end of the alley searching for something. As he pulled boxes away from the building the beam of light jerked back and forth on the wall creating monster shadows. She squeezed her eyes shut hoping if she couldn't see him then maybe he wouldn't see her.

 When the trash can in front of her was pulled away she screamed and tried to push past the man. She stumbled over his feet as the laser flashlight momentarily blinded her. She felt his huge hands grab the back of her jacket lifting her off the ground. Just as her Mom had taught her she kicked her feet and swatted the air with her hands and tried to bite the stranger when she heard him say, "It's okay your mom sent me to find you."

 She dropped her hands and made her body go limp in his arms. Constantly warned not to trust strangers, especially strangers saying she had sent them, the child tried this last maneuver her mom had taught her to use in a bad situation. The man assumed the little girl was going to give up and set her on her feet as he pressed the radio button attached to his coat announcing, "This is 134. Found her, heading back to the station."

 Now that she could see again she shuddered as her worst nightmare unfolded in the dark alley. It was a Policeman!  When he let go of her hand to put the flashlight back in his belt she bolted. The police officer shouted with terrifying authority, "Get back here, now!"

 She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, but it wasn't fast enough. This time when he lifted her off the ground he carried her under his arm to the police car, deposited her in the backseat and shut the door. When he walked around the car to get in the driver side she reached to open the door to run again. She screamed in frustration when she realized there was no handle on the inside of the door; no way out. Tears ran down her cheeks faster than her filthy hands could brush them away leaving streaks of dirt on her face. The officer got in the car and looked in the review mirror at the little girl. He knew without a doubt this would be a night he would never forget.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Kay and Jerry gave us Rhubarb. A search for recipes found a hot strawberry shortcake that I revised. It's delicious.

7 servings
1 Smartpoint

2 lbs. fresh or frozen strawberries
2 cups rhubarb cut in small pieces
7 tsp Truvia
1 tbsp cornstarch
Juice of one lemon
3/4 cup self-rising flour
A little less than 3/4 cup Fat Free Greek yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat the oven to 400°

Put strawberries, rhubarb, 2 TBS Truvia, and lemon juice into saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. When boiling mix cornstarch with a little water and add to fruit. Simmer to reduce. Pour into casserole dish.

Combine the flour, yogurt and applesauce in a mixing bowl and mix until just combined. Use a small cookie scoop to add the dough to the casserole dish with the strawberry mixture.

Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon of Truvia and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture over the biscuits. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are lightly browned.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Just don't know what to do

So I'm just going to post my opinion on this. I don't want your opinion, post it on your own blog. 

My arms ache thinking of a parent with empty arms. My heart breaks thinking of a lonely, frightened child. My anger flares when God's word is twisted.

No matter what the reason, forcefully separating parents and children, then holding the children as political pawns, is immoral.

***Not Tested Yet***

***Not Tested Yet***

12 servings - 1 pt each

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 TBS Fat Free Cream Cheese
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Zest of 1/2 lemon
3 TBS Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 TBS Sugar Free Jello Pudding Mix (cheesecake)
4 TBS Fat Free Redi Whip

Mix together, frost cupcakes

Chicken with Balsamic Tomatoes

Chicken with Balsamic Tomatoes

Serves 6 - 4 Smart Points each

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1 1/2 Tbs White Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

15 garlic cloves

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

6 cups fresh cherry tomatoes cut in half (I used heirloom)

3 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs regular butter

1 Tbs honey

1 Tbs basil

1 cup onions, chopped

1 tsp Thyme

3 wedges Laughing Cow Cheese

2 cups shredded fat free Mozzarella

6 Tbs Trader Joe's Bruschetta Sauce

Preheat the oven to 425

In Ziploc bag add 6 cloves crushed garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar, pepper flakes, salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, Italian Seasoning.  Mix together and split chicken breasts and spread 1 Tbs Trader Joe's Bruschetta and 1/2 wedge of Laughing Cow cheese, roll up and add to ziploc bag. 

Marinate for a couple hours or overnight.

After chicken is done marinating.  In the pan you are going to bake the chicken in, add the tomatoes and push the chicken breasts into the center of the tomatoes.

Saute onions in Pam sprayed pan, add remaining crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar, thyme, butter, honey.Turn off heat.  Add basil.  Pour over tomatoes and chicken.

Bake uncovered for 25-55 minutes - it depends if you have assembled this dish before and had it in the refrigerator or putting it into the oven warm.  I always check the temperature.  It should be close to 165).  Cover with mozzarella.  Spray with Pam.  Broil on high for 5 minutes.

There will be lots of tomato gravy.  Delicious over rice.  Served this with 2-ingredient dough made into Naan bread (adding chives and garlic).

Pat and I are up early every morning, on Saturdays we watch U.S. Farm Report. We always enjoy the John Phipps commentary. This morning it was on a serious note about death by suicide. He showed statistics from survivors.

A study of survivors by Harvard School of Public Health showed these statistics:

70% decided less than 1 hour before

25% of those decided 5 minutes before

82.5% chose to use a gun

90% of survivors feel regret and do not repeat

John suggested we should seriously look at the role of impulse. We could do this by building in a 5 min delay sort of like counting to 10 before speaking in an argument.

• Keep the guns locked with the key somewhere else
• Keep guns and ammunition in separate places

This will not save every victim, but even one life saved by using prevention steps would be worth the small inconvenience of these suggestions.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline

800 273-TALK

Centennial Edition of the Saginaw Diocese Catholic Weekly

A friend sent me the Centennial Edition of the Catholic Weekly published, May 25, 1952. Interesting reading.

An Aunt Mary Ellen Saying!

Our nieces and nephews will hear Uncle Pat say something and then they quote him for years to come. We'll.... here is my Weight Watcher original:

"You always win when you don't quit, but you can lose!"

~AME~
 6/2/18

Banana Pumpkin Muffins

Anything in the Refrigerator Muffins

These are delicious. Just right with a salad for lunch. 1 Freestyle pt for one. 3 pts for two.

In my book, "Enough Kindness to Fill an Empty Heart" Rebecca calls this the Anything in the Refrigerator Muffin.  I love baking this muffin.  I've used many different combinations:

zucchini and carrots
zucchini and black cherries
carrots and applesauce
carrots and blueberries
peaches and blueberries

Sometimes I only add one egg, depending on how wet the ingredients are when I mix them all together.  Sometimes I bake them for 60 minutes instead of 50 and even leave them in the oven when they are done for awhile.  This is a very forgiving recipe.

When they are cool I turn them upside down on a cooling rack until the bottom dries.  Then I put them in a Rubbermaid container with paper towel on the bottom and in between layers.  I store them in the refrigerator and we have one or two for a night snack warmed up with Reddi Whip.  It makes for a delicious snack.  1 muffin is 1 point - 2 muffins are 3 points.