    |
.JPG)
Posts
All Comments
I got this recipe from http://theprudenthomemaker.com
and I wanted to try it. Sounds yummy possibly.
Chicken Fried Steak
(minus the hen)
2 2/3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup dried onions
1 1/2 - 2 cups water
2 eggs
2 tsp sage
2 tsp Lawry's chicken and poultry seasoning, or 2 tsp McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning, or 2 tsp of another steak or chicken seasoning mix
3 Tbsp oil for frying
Sauce:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3 cups reconstituted powdered milk
Heat oil in a large skillet with a lid. Mix first six ingredients. It should be wet and stick together well. If it does not, add enough water until it does. Form into six patties, and fry both sides until browned. Lower heat to simmer. Pour gravy on patties and flip them over to coat both sides. Cover and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure that patties don’t stick or burn. Serve with mashed potatoes or noodles. Serves 6.
And another about our current state of affairs...
From the Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson we read:
"The pending economic crisis that now faces American is painfully obvious. If even a fraction of potential foreign claims against our gold supply were presented to the Treasury, we would have to renege on our promise. We would be forced to repudiate our own currency on the world market. Foreign investors, who would be left holding the bag with American dollars, would dump them at tremendous discounts in return for more stable currencies, or for gold itself. The American dollar both abroad and at home would suffer the loss of public confidence. If the government can renege on its international monetary promises, what is to prevent it from doing the same on its domestic promises? How really secure would be government guarantees behind Federal Housing Administration loans, Savings and Loan Insurance, government bonds, or even social security?
"Even though American citizens would still be forced by law to honor the same pieces of paper as though they were real money, instinctively they would rush and convert their paper currency into tangible material goods which could be used as barter. As in Germany and other nations that have previously traveled this road, the rush to get rid of dollars and acquire tangibles would rapidly accelerate the visible effects of inflation to where it might cost one hundred dollars or more for a single loaf of bread. Hoarded silver coins would begin to reappear as a separate monetary system which, since they have intrinsic value would remain firm, while printed paper money finally would become worth exactly it's proper value--the paper it is printed on! Everyone's savings would be wiped out totally. No one could escape.
"One can only imagine what such conditions would do to the stock market and to industry. Uncertainty over the future would cause the consumer to halt all spending except for the barest necessities. Market for such items as television sets, automobiles, furniture, new homes, and entertainment would dry up almost overnight. With no one buying, firms would have to close down and lay off their employees. Unemployment would further aggravate the buying freeze, and the nation would plunge into a depression that would make the 1930s look like prosperity. At least the dollar was sound in those days. In fact, since it was a firm currency, its value actually went up as related to the amount of goods, which declined through reduced production. Next time around, however, the problems of unemployment and low production will be compounded by a monetary system that will be utterly worthless. All the government controls and so-called guarantees in the world will not be able to prevent it, because every one of them is based on the assumption that the people will continue to honor printing press money. But once the government itself openly refuses to honor it--as it must if foreign demands for gold continue--it is likely that the American people will soon follow suit. This in a nutshell is the so-called 'gold problem.' (An Enemy Hath Done This, p. 218.)" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson p 639-640.)
Ezra Taft Benson, speaking of the upcoming economic crisis quotes Hamilton, but then also gives us hope to move forward and rebuild a monetary system and healthy economy which shall be a model once again for all the world. Benson states:
". . .it is even possible that some of the government manipulators who have brought us into this economic crisis are hoping that, in panic, we, the American people, literally will plead with them to take our liberties in exchange for the false promise of 'security.' As Alexander Hamilton warned about two hundred years ago: 'Nothing is more common than for a free people, in times of heat and violence, to gratify momentary passions by letting into the government principles and precedents which afterward prove fatal to themselves' (Alexander Hamilton and the Founding of the Nation, p. 21.) Let us heed this warning. Let us prepare ourselves for the trying time ahead and resolve that, with the grace of God and through our own self-reliance, we shall rebuild a monetary system and a healthy economy which, once again, will become the model for all the world. (An Enemy Hath Done This, pp. 220-21.)" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson p 640.)
Dwight Eisenhower's Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson met with USSR's Nikkita Khrushchev and related:
“I have talked face to face with the godless communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. Khrushchev for a half day when he visited the United States, not that I’m proud of it. I opposed his coming then, and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But, according to President Eisenhower, Khrushchev had expressed a desire to learn something of American Agriculture — and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why. As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom he arrogantly declaired in substance:
“ ‘You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.’
“And they’re ahead of schedule in their devilish scheme.” (Ezra Taft Benson “Our Immediate Responsibility.” Devotional Address at Brigham Young University. circa 1968.”) [access the audio file on this page.]
| This is from my friend from LDFR... If You Give a (Mormon Homeschooling) Mom a Muffin… She will want some orange juice to go with it. She will pour some orange juice into a glass, and go to put the pitcher in the fridge. When she turns around, the 7 year-old will be drinking the orange juice. She will say “Hey!”, startling the 7 year old who will spill the remaining orange juice on the table, chairs and floor. She will get two dishrags and teach the 7 year old how to properly clean up a spill. While she is wiping up the floor, the phone will ring. She will jump up to get the phone, knocking the back of her head on the table. The 4 year old will beat her to the phone (of course!) (The four year old does NOT take messages.) (of course.) While she is trying to get the phone from the 4 year old, the baby will begin screaming and the 6 year old will run and hide. She will pick up the baby as the 4 year old hangs up the phone. (of course.) She will begin searching for the 6 year old…in the linen closet…. She will find the stack of bills she has been looking for all week. (Huh? In the linen closet??) She will remember that the utility bill is due tomorrow and go looking for her checkbook. She will find that the 4 year old has dumped the entire contents of the purse onto the floor and is applying lip gloss to her eyebrows. She will go to the laundry room to fetch a diaper wipe, and will slip on the remaining orange juice. She will crash onto her rear and start the baby screaming again. The 6 year old will giggle from in hiding. (the pantry?) She will stand up, console the baby and head toward the laundry room for that diaper wipe. She will find the dryer door open (with her shin) and full of wet clothes. She will call the 10 year old to finish her chore. The 7 year old will show up asking for help with a math problem. The math problem is about hamburgers. She will remember that she is supposed to take dinner to the new mother down the street. She will get a pound of hamburger out of the freezer and look for her cookbook “101 Things to do with a pound of Hamburger”. She will step over the contents of her purse (where is the 4 year old now??), carefully side-step the orange juice, and start going through the recipe books. The phone will ring. Again. (of course…) The 4 year old will beat her to the phone (of course!) The 4 year old does not take messages (remember?) The baby will ”explode” in his diaper. The 6 year old will giggle again (the pantry?) She will side-step the orange juice, step over the contents of her purse, and head back to the laundry room to change the baby. Digging through the laundry basket for clean baby clothes will remind her that she is still wearing pajamas. She will strip to the skin and find clean clothes for Mom too… The doorbell will ring … (of course!) The 4 year old will beat her to the door (of course!) It is the neighbor girl selling girl scout cookies. She will send the 10-year old to sort through the contents of her purse for money to buy some Samoas. The 10 year old, the 7 year old, and the 4 year old all surface, asking to have some. She says “Yes” so she can get dressed in peace. The baby starts crying. She steps over the contents of her purse, side-steps the orange juice, walks around the cookie crumbs and collapses in the rocker to nurse. The phone rings. AGAIN! (of course!) The 4 year old beats her to the phone (of course!!) The 10 year old snatches the phone from the 4 year old and reports that it is Daddy. Daddy wants to know A) why the 4 year old has been answering the phone all morning and B) if she can scan and e-mail the important document he left on his desk. She will carry the nursing baby upstairs to find the document. The 4 year old has drawn a purple family on the important document. She will look for the white out. Looking for the white out will take her to her desk where there is a post-it screaming – “BOOK CLUB!! DON’T FORGET TREATS!!” (Why did she let the kids eat those Samoas, anyway??!!) She will head downstairs and gather all the children together and begin a lesson in “real life” math (aka doubling recipes). The 6 year old has finally appeared and is crying because he got no Samoas. She will go to the pantry for the sugar and flour. She will find the 4 year old eating sugar straight out of a #10 can and spilling most of it on the floor. She will lay the now-sleeping baby down and fetch the broom. She will sweep up the sugar!!! (YEAH!) She will get the purse contents off of the floor and head back to her desk to write a check to the utility company… (DOUBLE YEAH!!) (where were those bills again??) She will white out the purple family and scan and e-mail the document. (THREE JOBS DONE!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??) The baby will wake up. (Does 17 minutes even count as a nap??) She will taste the cookie dough that the 10 year old has taken charge of. Since it is only slightly too salty, she will put the first batch in the oven. She will look around at the flour, sugar, and chocolate chips all over the floor and decide it can stay there with the orange juice until after lunch. She will decide to start some read-aloud. The phone will ring (of course!) The 4 year old will beat her to the phone (of course!) (The 4 year old does not take messages, remember??) She will take the phone off the hook. The cell phone will ring. (It’s Dad’s ring) Dad wants to know A) why the house phone is busy and B) if she ever sent that e-mail. She will head back upstairs to try again. The doorbell will ring. (of course) It’s the neighbor. (She will remember she offered to watch the neighbor’s toddler for an hour) The neighbor asks if something is burning and will look skeptical about leaving her toddler. She will feed the first batch of cookies to the dog. She will put in a second batch and gather all the kids around for a good book. The baby will start screaming. She will ask the 10-year old to turn pages while she nurses and reads. The phone will ring. (HUH? – she thought it was off the hook) The four year old will beat her to the phone. Again. Of course. The 7 year old will wrestle the phone from the 4 year old. Did she try sending that e-mail again? (She will say a very mild swear word, but only in her head) She will head upstairs to e-mail the document. The neighbor’s toddler will scream. The 6 year old will run and hide. She will feed the second batch of cookies to the dog. (She will set the timer for the third batch.) She will head upstairs to email that stinking document. She will hear the cookie timer and race downstairs. She will see that it is already 2 O’closk. She will feed the kids cookies, dried apples and yogurt for lunch. And she will pour them some orange juice to go with it. While she is at it, she will pour herself a glass of orange juice and go look for that muffin….maybe it is in the linen closet….. -------------------- Yvonne Polar Star Studies www.realmomstudies.blogspot.com |
Elder Boyd K. Packer
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
There is a recurring theme in the revelations having to do with learning. And, from the beginning, Church leaders have counseled us to get all of the education we can as a preparation for and as an improvement of our careers. For example:
“Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118; italics added. See also D&C 90:15; D&C 109:7.)
Learning is to be accompanied by faith, and as the Book of Mormon teaches us, learning “is good if [we] hearken unto the counsels of God.” (2 Ne. 9:29.)
There is one thought that must come at the very beginning of a discussion on occupations and careers in order to establish it as preeminent, and it is this:
Do not ever belittle anyone, including yourself, nor count them, or you, a failure, if your livelihood has been modest. Do not ever look down on those who labor in occupations of lower income. There is great dignity and worth in any honest occupation. Do not use the word menial for any labor that improves the world or the people who live in it.
There is no shame in any honorable work, and the principle of faith, which the Lord connected with learning, is precious above the technologies of man.
There will be many who struggle through life with small ownership and low income who discover, because they have been decent, the meaning of the scripture, “He that is greatest among you,” let him be “the least and the servant of all.” (Matt. 23:11; D&C 50:26.)
While schooling and education generally go together, there are kinds of wisdom which are not usually taught in school classrooms.
To illustrate, I begin with the Old Testament record of Naaman who, as the commander of the armies of Syria, had “given deliverance” to his country. He became a leper and the king of Syria feared he would die.
An Israelite slave girl who served Naaman’s wife spoke of prophets in Israel who had the power to heal.
The king of Syria sent a message to the king of Israel saying, “I have … sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.” The king of Israel suspected a plot and complained, “He seeketh a quarrel against me. … Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?”
Elisha, the prophet, heard of the king’s distress. And “he sent to the king, saying, … let him come now to me.” Elisha would heal Naaman, and he told why: that “he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
When Naaman was near, Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, … and thou shalt be clean.” Naaman was angry. There were rivers aplenty in Syria, as good, he thought, as the Jordan. He had expected Elisha to perform some impressive ceremony like clapping his hands upon him. And he “turned … away in a rage.”
But one of his servants (it seems there is always a servant) courageously chastised the general and said, “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?”
Humbled by his servant, Naaman “went … down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: … and he was clean.” (2 Kgs. 5:1–14; italics added.)
Human nature hasn’t changed over the years. Even today some of us expect to be bidden to do some “great things” in order to receive the blessings of the Lord. When we receive ordinary counsel on ordinary things, there is disappointment, and, like Naaman, we turn away.
Let me give you a modern-day example. President Kimball has been President of the Church for eight years. In virtually every conference sermon he has included at least a sentence telling us to clean up, paint up, and fix up our property. Many of us have paid little attention to the counsel.
Question: Why would a prophet tell us to do that? Has he no great prophecies to utter?
But, is that not a form of prophecy? For has he not said to us over and over again, “Take good care of your material possessions, for the day will come when they will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace.”
Already there is a fulfillment. Families who might have afforded a home when first he spoke now despair of getting one.
For some reason, we expect to hear, particularly in welfare sessions, some ominous great predictions of calamities to come. Instead, we hear quiet counsel on ordinary things which, if followed, will protect us in times of great calamity.
It was Alma the prophet who said, “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.” (Alma 37:6.)
Now, all of this was to prepare you for the fact that the counsel I will give may seem ordinary, even trivial to some of you. But it will be consistent with the doctrines and principles announced by the First Presidency when the welfare program was first introduced:
“Our primary purpose [is] to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 3.)
That emphasis, on self-reliance, suggests something about education. We cannot expect the Church to assume responsibility for the schooling of all of us.
One of the questions most often asked of General Authorities as we travel usually begins in this way: “Why doesn’t the Church … ?” And then there follows a description of some worthy project that would, if it should succeed, bring credit to the Church and benefit many people.
For example, why doesn’t the Church establish schools to prepare members for financial security?
Some years ago I was near our front gate splitting rails for a fence. A young man came to make a delivery. He had recently returned from overseas combat duty. He had falsified his age and left school to join the Marines. When I asked about his future plans, he didn’t know. Jobs were scarce; he had no skills to offer.
I counseled him to go back to high school and get his diploma. He thought he couldn’t do that; he was too old now. “If you do it,” I told him, “you probably will not exactly fit in. And the students will call you the ‘old man’ or ‘grandpa.’ But you faced an enemy in combat; surely you’ve got the courage to face that.’
The lesson is this. I only spent ten minutes with him, sitting on a log by our front gate. I did not build a school nor ask the Church to build one. I did not pay his tuition or prepare his lessons. What he needed was some direction, some counsel, some encouragement, and some vision. In this case he took the counsel and returned to school. Now he has a family and an occupation.
I only gave him vision and encouragement. It does not take additional Church budget to do that. That is the responsible role of every priesthood leader in counseling members on careers. We must help people to help themselves.
Several years ago a certain country was emerging from a long period of political and economic distress, and there was a need for skilled workers of many kinds. Some of our local leaders, sensing the need, conceived the idea of establishing vocational schools in our chapels to train the brethren in their skills. They could then upgrade themselves in their employment. It was a very appealing idea.
They pointed out that the money expended would be justified on the basis that these brethren would return in tithes more than the cost of the program. They were greatly disappointed when the Brethren did not approve their idea.
There were several things they’d not considered. The most important was that vocational training was already available to those who really looked for it. Classes to train new employees, and to upgrade the experienced ones, were offered by business and industry, and by their government.
What our brethren needed most was counsel and encouragement to take advantage of opportunities that were already available.
We ourselves are responsible to seek out and take advantage of every opportunity to improve ourselves.
Now, there are some things that the Church must do, for we are commanded to do them. We must preach the gospel. We must build temples. We must perfect the Saints. These things others cannot do. The many other good things (which are not central to the mission of the Church) must take second place. For we do not have the resources to do all that is worth doing, however worthy it may be.
While we cannot build schools for everyone, there is a most important contribution the Church can make to our careers, one that is central to the mission of the Church. And that is to teach moral and spiritual values.
There are ordinary virtues which influence our careers even more than technical training; among them are these:
Let me illustrate one or two of these.
It is likely that our children, and yours, for the first part of their married life at least, will live in rented apartments.
I had a conversation with a stake president who owns a large number of apartments which he rents to middle-income families. As he showed them to me, he described the abuse of his property, not just the normal wear and tear, but outright abuse bordering on vandalism.
Such conduct is unworthy of a Latter-day Saint! We should know better than that. We should be willing to drive a nail or set a screw in a hinge, if it’s needed.
Our people should regard an apartment as their home and keep it inviting and clean and in good repair. Has not the prophet told us to do it? When they leave an apartment, it should be clean and essentially ready for the next tenant.
Now, what has this got to do with a career? Surely you can see the transfer of learning from our homes to our work.
Years ago my father, as a young married man with several children, went nervously into the bank in Brigham City to ask for a loan to start in business. He was asked about collateral. He had none beyond his willingness to work and some mechanical aptitude.
The banker, in turning down his request, happened to ask father where he lived. “In the old box house on First West,” was the answer. The banker passed that corner on the way to work. He’d watched the transformation in the yard. He’d wondered who lived there, and admired what they were doing.
Father got the loan to start in business on the strength of the flowers that mother had planted in the yard of a very modest adobe house they were renting.
We have raised a large family on a very modest income, and it’s likely that our children are going to have the same privilege. In order to prepare them, we’ve trained them to do ordinary, necessary things as preparation for their careers.
For instance, we have maintained an area (sometimes it’s the corner of a basement room) where there is a work bench, where projects could be left. There can be some paint or a little sawdust on the floor, without a problem. In spite of continuous cleanup, this area is perpetually untidy, but with a purpose.
We have followed another practice. Each Christmas, at least one of the presents for the boys has been a hand tool. When they were old enough, a good metal toolbox was included. When each has left home, he has had his own set of tools and some knowledge of how to use them. He can tune up a car, or drive a nail, or turn a screw, or replace a plug or a faucet washer.
The girls, in turn, have learned to cook and to sew, and each has left home with a sewing machine. This training is doubly important—first, in frugal living at home, and then in their value as an employee. They would, we hoped, be not only good, but good for something.
Now, I have an idea that some soul will be very upset with us for not providing our boys with a sewing machine and our girls a box of tools as well.
So I hasten to explain that our boys can cook enough to survive a mission and they can sew on a button. The girls in turn can change a faucet washer and drive a nail, and both of them can type and even change a tire on a car.
While many, many occupations suit a man or a woman equally well, I, for one, have grave concern over the growing trend for both men and women to choose careers which in some respects are against their very natures.
We have tried to prepare our boys for manly work and our girls for work that would suit the opportunities that womanhood will bring them. In defense of our doing that, I can only observe that in this Church we are not exempt from using common sense.
There are so few nowadays who are really willing to work. We must train our children and ourselves to give, in work, the equivalent of the pay we receive and perhaps just a little extra.
There are so few who will come a bit early to get organized for the day, or stay a minute after to tidy up the work bench or the desk for tomorrow’s work.
The attitude that demands compensation and benefits in excess of the value of labor has come near destroying the economy of the world. Now, however, many workers quite willingly accept reductions in pay just to keep their jobs. That spirit of doing a little extra would have prevented the crisis had it been evident earlier.
Family responsibilities and tight budgets sometimes prevent us from obtaining all the schooling we desire.
We can, however, improve ourselves. The only tuition required is the time it takes, the work required, and the desire to build into our lives the ordinary virtues so much in demand and so short in supply.
I hope you have not been too disappointed that I have not presented some “great thing” for you to do, some elaborate formula for career planning, rather than such ordinary things so obvious, so close to us, that they are often overlooked.
There is a formula. The Lord said, “Verily I say unto you, that every man who is obliged to provide for his own family, let him provide, and he shall in nowise lose his crown; and let him labor in the church.” (D&C 75:28; italics added.)
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the formula for success. Every principle of the gospel, when lived, has a positive influence over your choice of an occupation and on what you will achieve. The counsel to labor in the Church has great value. Living the gospel will give you a perspective and an inspiration that will see you successful however ordinary your work may be or however ordinary your life may seem to others.
God bless the members of this Church, that you can be happy with who you are and where you are, that you can improve yourselves. We pray that God will bless those who are struggling now with unemployment, with the loss of their employment, with the fear of that loss. May he bless us that we can build into our lives those principles of reliance and integrity that have been part of the gospel from the very beginning, for the gospel is true. Of this I bear witness, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
2 cups dried black beans
Soak overnight in cold water
Drain, Place beans in saucepan, cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer over low heat until tender (1/2 to ¾ of an hour. Drain the beans , saving 1 cup of the liquid.
Put beans into food processor and puree until smooth.
1 tsp. ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground cloves
3 cups brown sugar (can use maple syrup) 3 Tbsp. ground sesame seeds
1 cup evaporated milk or 1 cup soy milk or 1 cup cocoanut milk
Bring the reserved liquid to a boil, add cinnamon, cloves and sugar and mix well. Add the pureed beans, milk and the ground sesame seeds, simmer, stirring continuously until thickened. Let cool to room temperature.
This sounds like the right filling for the papas rellenos (don't know if I'm spelling that right) and it's called rocotos rellenos so I'm thinking this recipe is just stuffed inside of a pepper instead of potatoes.
Ingredients:
For the crema de rocoto:
Preparation
Heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes.
Crumble the ground pork and beef into the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often until meats are browned. Spoon off as much excess fat as possible.
Add the ajà panca paste, tomato, raisins, salt, pepper and cumin and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the olives and hard-boiled egg. Cover and keep warm.
Carefully slice the tops off the rocotos and scoop out all seeds and veins.
Add 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp vinegar to a large pan of water and bring to the boil. Blanche the rocotos and their tops in three separate changes of water, adding 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp vinegar to each change of water. This will reduce their spiciness.
Drain the rocotos well and fill with the meat mixture and cover with grated cheese. Replace the tops.
Place under a broiler until cheese is melted and golden. Serve immediately with crema de rocoto.
To make the crema de rocoto:
Reduce wine in a small pan over medium heat until almost totally evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add cream and rocoto paste. Lower heat and continue cooking until the sauce has reduced to a thick pouring consistency.
