HEY! What's For Supper?

Granny Goulash

1-2 pounds of Ground meat
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Diced Onions
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Family Size Box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, made according to directions on box.

Cook the ground meat with the onions. Once meat is fully cooked add spices according to taste. Let that cook together for a few minutes then add can of tomatoes. Let that simmer while mac and cheese cook. Once Mac and cheese is made then mix with meat mixture and serve. Salad goes great with this dish.

HEY! What's For Supper?

Big Ol' Pot of Beans

1 8oz. Package of Pinto Beans

Minced Garlic

Ham Chunks

Diced Onion

Wash off the beans and put them in water to soak. I soaked mine for 5 hours. Rinse them off and place them in the crock pot. Add diced onion, ham chunks, and garlic (depends on you). Fill crock pot with water and turn it on low. I cooked mine for 14 hours (all night basically). When you eat them you might need to add salt and pepper. Again, that depends on your taste.

Miracles Have Happened

It is official. I have accomplished something I never even dreamed about doing. I now hold teaching certificates for all subjects for grades K-8. I know that this is where God wants me to be because He continues to give me the wisdom I need to pass the horrible tests that the state of Texas deems necessary for us to take. You see, growing up I had my Granddaddy Watson :) who was a principal and superintendent, my Grandmother Watson :) who was a teacher, and my mom :) who is still a teacher in my life. All I heard from people was "You are going to be a teacher like those people in your family." Well, it may surprise you but I tend to be a tiny bit stubborn and I don't like to be told what I am going to do with my life. I know it shocks you to find this out but you had to find out eventually. (You can laugh hysterically here. I am.) I did everything in my power to NOT be a teacher. I thought I was going to the extreme opposite by going into social work. Boy, was the joke on me. God was just preparing me for teaching while allowing me to think that I was doing things my way. When I finally decided to try God's way, I discovered that not only did I really love teaching, the kids, and the learning, but God opened every door that has popped up for me to maintain this path in life. I have toyed with going ahead and getting certified in High School English just to go ahead and have every certification for K-12 but for now I am content with what I have accomplished with God's help. If He wants me to get that final certification then it will happen in His time, not mine. If you had asked me 15, 20, 25, even 30 years ago if I would love teaching I would have loudly, said, "Miracles will have to happen for me to even think about teaching."

Miracles have happened. :)

HEY! What's For Supper Bonus

Lynne's Salsa

3 Cans of Diced Tomatoes**
1 Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Bunch of Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 Onion, diced
1/2 Jar of Diced Jalapeno Peppers
Garlic Powder to taste (roughly, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
A Splash of Lemon Juice

Mix this all together and chill, if you can wait that long. Serve with chips and or tortillas. Enjoy.

**When they are in season and reasonable in price, I substitute 4-5 fresh tomatoes, chopped.**

HEY! What's For Supper?

Homemade Tacos

1-2 Pounds of ground meat
Shredded Cheese
Diced Onions
Diced Tomatoes
Shredded or chopped Lettuce
Sliced Black Olives
Tortillas or Chips
Salsa

Cook the ground meat and onions together. Season with Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper, and Cumin. The seasoning is up to you depending on your family's taste. I do this instead of packaged taco mix because then I know that there are no weird things in it. Anyway,
top it off any way you want.

Encouragement

I haven't written in a while because I have been overwhelmed with more TAKS testing, end of the year stuff, and on and on and on. Life, basically. Anyway, I read an article that said that when you were feeling kind of low and focused on life stuff then one way to lift everyone's spirits is to tell someone how they inspire you. What a great idea!!!! There are so many friends who inspire me and encourage me constantly. I had 1o of my friends in my cell phone book so I decided to text them and let them know just how special they were to me. I was amazed. I must not tell my friends how special they are enough. Here are some of the responses I got:

"Why?"
"Are you sure you meant to send this to me?" (Actually, 2 people said this)
"What have I done?"
"What are you up to?"
"Thanks! I love talking to you!"
"Thanks! I needed that."

After some explanations that I like these people and that they do inspire and encourage me, I got these responses:

"You are buttering me up."
"Thanks, I think."
"Okayyyy, thanks."

I was telling my husband about this and he asked what I would have done had someone done this to me and honestly... I would have responded the same way. I thought about how sad it is that we are suspicious about a friend telling us how much they like us, inspire us, or encourage us. One of my favorite responses was "You know what? I really needed that because I was having a really bad day." That was really the intent of the texts. It was an encouragement and hopefully a bright spot for someone who needed it. It brightened my day to know that I had given someone a boost.

I think I will start emailing people next and spreading the sunshine there as well. You know, the article was right. I felt a whole lot better after I did this.

HEY! What's For Supper

Chicken Salad
(Modified from Sue Ellen's Recipe)

1/2 Cup Mayo
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Cans of Tyson Chunk Chicken
Pepper to taste
Grapes, diced

Mix altogether. I also mix in some cayenne pepper to give it some kick. Serve as sandwich, with crackers, tossed salad greens, or whatever. It is better once it is chilled.

HEY! What's For Supper?

MEATBALLS

1-1 1/2 pounds of ground meat
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
A splash of milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Montreal Seasoning by McCormick


Mix meat, onion, bell pepper together. Mix milk and egg together then add to meat mixture. Add bread crumbs and seasoning. Mix everything together. Form small balls and place on baking sheet and cook at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Serve with Spaghetti, sauce, salad, and garlic bread.

HEY! What's For Supper?

CHICKEN GUMP

3 to 4 Chicken Breasts, diced
Fajita Seasoning
1 Can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup*
1 Can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup*
Milk
Cooked, Diced Potatoes (optional)

Coat chicken with fajita seasoning or buy it already done that way. Cook chicken. Add both soups and then using the cans as measuring devices, add 2 cans of milk. If adding potatoes, add them now. When soup starts to bubble, it is done.

I don't do potatoes with mine. We add brown rice to the bottom of our bowls and then cover it with soup. We have also put mozarella cheese in the soup and just had it with crackers.

****I have tried generic brands of soup but they just don't taste right. Campbell's is the best to use with this recipe.