A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....11-17-05....Thanksgiving Countdown - T minus 7

DollyCali | November 17, 2005 | DollyCali

[DollyCali]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

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~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, Mama_Bear ~

Holidays beginning at Thanksgiving and going until New Years can be Joyous or Gut-wrenching Lonely.

Or anywhere in between.

The absence or presence of people doesn’t always make it one way or another.

Fast forward one week. It is NOW Thanksgiving Day 2005

Some families have a tradition of touch football…some have a tradition of couch potato spectator football with the slew of bowl games. Some women (and a FEW Men) spend the afternoon scowering the ads for the next day Shopping mania at the various stores.

You may be with a large group of family or friends at a home for an elegant sit down dinner. You may be with this same group for a more casual homey pot luck/pitch in affair. You may go to Hometown Buffet for a massive dinner including drinks for under ten dollars or to a 4 star hotel for a grand buffet for $39.95 per head (beverages extra). You maybe with three dozen people. You may just be with one or two of your family/friends.. Or you may be alone. But you don’t have to be lonely, UNLESS you want to.

If you have had a significant death this past year, holidays are hard. VERY HARD. Go thru the pain but go thru the celebration also. You honor the lost loved one by remembering with joy the good times and the good experiences you shared.

Various factors contribute to how you will experience these holidays but lets join in here & help those that maybe are leaning toward the lonely & the depressed during this time while at the same time we are going to also share party/menu ideas & decorating thoughts for those that are in the spirit & flying high.

Some have had this day planned for months. Some will start “working on it” on Tuesday before T-Day.

First of all for those who don’t have a dinner commitment until later in day or those alone. Make this the best Thanksgiving you have had --- by ……volunteering at a Homeless Shelter, Battered Women’s shelter, VA center, Nursing home , retirement center etc. I will honestly tell you that my best holidays have been those where I have spent the time to do this very simple but mighty act of service. Take the kids, take the whole family.

If you are smart enough to be reading this thread, you are smart enough to research where you can go to help. JUST DO IT! Afterward you can join your other activities & I’ll bet your mind will dwell on where you were earlier, and wish you had stayed longer.

If you have a pet that is friendly take it (check first). Most places are pleased their folks can have interaction with well behaved, leashed pets. Take small gifts. Nothing fancy. Some cookies, mixed nuts or pretzels in baggies. Some of your old knick knacks you were going to throw away will thrill someone in a nursing home often. Find a person or two to adopt. Make a point of visiting them now & then. You will both be blessed.

<

Dolly’s SOGGY Greens
(Salad of Great Goodness = Yummy)

Prepare the Bath. In Largest container you have: very cold water mixed with ¼ cup white vinegar & ¼ cup table salt. (If any of the ingredients are extra dirty(black soil) do pre-washing

Add

1 cup celery in 1/4 inch segments (save the inner w/leaves for bloody Mary)
1 cup Baby carrots - julienne
4 cups each of the following Greens:

Romaine - remove the core & the edge of the remainder of leaves. Chop into 1 “ squares.
Baby Bibb - chopped into 1” squares
Spinach (remove the stems & brown leaves
Mixed wild greens

Gently swoosh to remove any dirt. Soak for at least one hour until all become firm. Drain gently. Or preferred method lift with hands into colander(the dirt will be at bottom) Place in plastic container in fridge until serving time.

At that time Mix with:

2 sweet onions chopped onions
I cup chopped basil
1 cup pecans
1 cup cashews
1 cup pineapple tidbits
1 cup sliced strawberries (or raspberries whole)
1 cup mandarin oranges
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes

Serve with favorite dressing. This mixture lends itself to a delicate vinaigrette, or sweet dressing

Dolly’s Crunchy Dressing (nope - no meat)

1 package Pepperidge Farm dried bread crumbs
1 eggs
1 sm can cream celery soup
¼ cup melted butter
1 T Italian herbs
½ t salt
½ ground pepper
1 t minced (bottled) garlic
1 can chopped water chestnuts ( all veggies chopped medium fne)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped sweet onions
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup coarsely chopped apple (skins removed)

Sauté onions & celery in butter. Mix in celery soup & egg & seasonings. Blend well. Add remainder of ingredients. If too thick, dry, add water. Should be moist.

Place the mixture in a greased 2-quart casserole; cover with lid or foil and bake at 325° for 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover the last 5 minutes of baking time.

Tortilla Chips & sauces/dips

Warm the tortilla’s of choice (best to use plain, non-flavored if you warm)in over for a few minutes to have the warm fresh taste

Serve with Pico de Gallo, Gaucamole, Chessy Wheezy, and Pico Cream.

Pico De Gallo (salsa)

3 large tomatoes diced
1 large onion diced
2 tablespoons diced Jalapenos
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (diced)
2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon apple vinegar

Directions: Mix all ingredients together in large container until well blended. Allow to set for at least 6 hours, it is better if allowed to sit overnight.

Guacamole

2 large avacados
3 T lemon juice (fresh or Real Lemon)
½ cup salsa (or Pico de Gallo)
½ c shredded Monterey jack cheese
½ c chopped yellow pepper

Cut the avocados in half and remove the seeds. Scoop out the pulp and place in a bowl. Drizzle the pulp with lemon juice and mash, leaving some chunks. Mix well with remaining ingredients. Add Jalapeno to taste and garnish with cheese

Cheesee wheezee

In small crock pot mix 1 large bottle of cheese (cheese whiz, Mexican) with ½ cup salsa or pico de gallo. Serve hot ( will be thin)

Pico Cream

Mix equal portions of Sour cream & Pico de gallo. Mix well. Serve cold

Easiest centerpiece in the world

Collect fall leaves of various shapes/colors and an assortment of pinecones. Put them in Freezer for a few hours or oven a few minutes to prevent unwanted guests from crawling out of your display. Put them in a huge brandy snuffer or cut crystal bowl in center of table. The colored leaves is really very pretty even against elegant crystal, china & white lace.

LINKY LINKS

Thanksgiving Timeline

Holiday Tips & Recipes w/ Grocery List!

Chef & Freeper Carlo3b’s Another of those dreaded Thanksgiving Recipe Threads You can count on Carlo

Annie‘s Homepage Homespun ideas

Kids Crafts

Stuffing Recipes

Now, share your thoughts… your decorating tips… your favorite recipe from Grandma, the cookbook or one you made up yourself (the best). And each holiday work on having ONE thing you do the best. The one thing others will look forward to.

09-27-05 ~ Hall of Fame #13

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 11-14-05 Military Monday 11-15,16-05 Oh, My Eyes!!

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[TweetyinOhio]

Do you ever sleep? I guess not!! The Thanksgiving thread is beautiful. I might take you up on that offer to lend a hand with my family at a homeless shelter, or nursing home or somewhere where someone needs a hug on Thanksgiving. I think this would be right up our alley with just being baptized and getting baptized for the rest of my kin.

[lysie]

Good morning.

[g'nad]

thanks fer the recipes ma'am... always lookin' fer somethin' new...

mornin' Billie... deer #3 got hung up yesterday... I'll be takin' a break fer a few...

[alwaysconservative]

Thanks for the ping, Dolly, and the wonderful recipes and suggestions! I'll have to dig in for some of my special holiday treats and recipes to post here.

Have you tried the Quorn turkey-style roast yet? It's like a rolled turkey breast, and is marvelous (if not overcooked). With a little gravy, it is the BEST. You can find their products at www.quorn.com and they are at many grocery stores and health food stores.

[DollyCali]

Good morning, thanks for dropping in. Retired in Ozarks. sounds nice! I checked your profile page & will admit to knowing little about the spartans other than knowing they were "basic" folk, hence the use of the word spartan as in spartan existence. Tickled my curiousity to do a little checking later.

[The Mayor]

November 17, 2005

Seven "Ones"

Read:
Ephesians 4:1-7

[Endeavor] to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. —Ephesians 4:3

Bible In One Year: Galatians 1-3

Have you ever worked at a job where you felt a strong bond with your co-workers? Perhaps you were united by a sense of mission, or by a respect for your boss, or by the belief that a prosperous company will benefit everyone financially. The more points of agreement among members of a group, the more they will be unified, the better they will perform, and the less likely they will be to fight among themselves.

Christians have a built-in list of unifiers that can keep them working together with a oneness of spirit. In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul listed seven uniting "ones." Think of how helpful they can be to any group of believers working together on the same project:

One body—we are a single family unified for one purpose
One Spirit—we all have the Spirit as our power source
One hope—we all look forward to the same future
One Lord—we all trust the same Person in charge
One faith—we all trust Jesus' sacrifice for our salvation
One baptism—we all have a single identity
One God and Father—we all share the same source of our existence

What a difference it would make if we all could dwell on those seven "ones." —Dave Branon

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love!
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above. —Fawcett

Followers of Christ should focus on what unites them, not on what divides them.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
The Mind Of Christ

[MEG33]

"Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love!
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above". —Fawcett

Thank you. Mayor

Mighty pretty, Dolly

[luvie]

Good mornin' Mayor!

Thanks for the lesson from God's Word...it is needed.

Heard you guys had snow last night! Yark!

[Billie]

A terrific post, Dolly! Your colors and your graphics are great, and the words thought provoking. You've covered this so well, I can't imagine what you have in store for NEXT Thursday!

You may be with a large group of family or friends at a home for an elegant sit down dinner. You may be with this same group for a more casual homey pot luck/pitch in affair. You may go to Hometown Buffet for a massive dinner including drinks for under ten dollars or to a 4 star hotel for a grand buffet for $39.95 per head (beverages extra).

Ours are usually the first example, but each year as we count our blessings, we remind ourselves that it's not the meal or the setting that's most important, and should we need to go the Hometown Buffet way, we'd still be thankful for what we have and who we are and mostly for being together.

[luvie]

That's right Billie....Thanksgiving is such a lovely family holiday. Unfortunately we'll be by ourselves. We will go out to a cafeteria--one that has really good food....and the best homemade pies. Yum.

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning Dolly Beautiful thread! Wonderful suggestions for some who may not have plans yet for Thanksgiving. :)

[Pippin]

Greetings Dolly!

Good thread and great theme! :o)

[Billie]

Morning, Luv. I really, honestly wouldn't mind at all going out to eat Thanksgiving dinner - or even ordering turkey and dressing made *for* us, but it's always been a family tradition the way we do it, and I don't have to cook the dinner or do the table. *I* do "the whole thing" for Christmas dinner every year, though, so it's payback. The two times each year that are a *given* we're having the perfect table, etc. We may do the same on a few other occasions during the year, but these two just go without saying. :)

Anyway, we hardly finish Thanksgiving until we start full scale Christmasing, do we? :) May start decking the halls next weekend. Sigh! That part is fun - putting it away afterwards is not. LOL

[tuliptree76]

Lovely thread, Dolly!

[Aquamarine]

Good job on the Post Dolly, everything is so well coordinated, informative and fun. :)

Here's the recipe for a dip that I'm going to try out next week.

Key West Crab Mango Dip

1/2 cup crab meat
1/4 cup light cream
1 8oz package cream cheese,
room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons horseradish
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/3 cup crispy chopped bacon
1/2 cup mango chutney

Blend in light cream and cream cheese until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients.
Serve with House Cuisine Saffron & Pepper Crackers.

[Aquamarine]

Good Morning Pippin! :)

[Pippin]

Hi, Aqua!

[DollyCali]

Great News from Traffic Court. Lost two hours of time there but that is all. Case dismissed!

When I left one of the patrolmen shook his head & told me this was the only the third time a case was dismissed in the many years the Mayor has held court and the ONLY time to his recollection that the judge laughed out loud & engaged in conversation one of the "criminals". (with a lot of folks yet to be heard).

so that is a BIG financial relief & I wont have the points/mark on my driver's license. It was a driving left of center charge in a community where the fines are higher than most. It was a bad start as many of the prior cases were individuals who lost their licenses & had jail sentences. I was sweating bullets for awhile there but just prayed for peace & to accept what came. I knew I wouldn't lose my license or go to jail but just hated the thought of a fine with our financial situation so tenuous all the time.

Just wanting to share my good news with my FRiends here.

thank you for your comments on the thread, those that have stopped by thus far. Thanksgiving weekend will be a DIFFERENT theme.. today's was "gettin a ready" type of thread. I wam hoping for many to share decorating & recipe ideas as well as thoughts on handling situations that are hard during the holidays. (family rifs, death, severe illness in family etc)

[DollyCali]

Hi Ms. Pippin. I hope it wont be too long until you have a computer w/internet access at home. I got cable a few weeks ago & LOVE IT. It is a finanicial strain somewhat but I don't really have other "vices" and don't spend a lot money for myself by & large so this is my TREAT to me each month.

Not sure if I pinged you to the last note. I am sure I missed quite a few I wanted to let know.

[lysie]

Woohoo!! Yippee!!