1 pound ground turkey mixed with 1 1/2 T. Italian sausage seasoning 1/2 onion diced 3 clove garlic finely minced 8-10 cubed potatoes 10 c. chicken broth Brown turkey sausage in pan with onion and garlic, until meat is cooked, onion is tender and clear. Add broth and potatoes. Simmer until cooked and soft.

Now you can either mix in a little bit of heavy whipping cream or some sour cream. I used sour cream as that is what I had, but my boys liked it without. I added some fresh spinach and cooked mine a little longer with it, so it was still really green.

Cherry Oatmeal dessert 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 1 1/2 c. oatmeal 1 c. brown sugar (or less) 3/4 c. melted butter 1 t. soda 1/2 t. salt Mix together to make crumbs Put half into buttered 8 x 11 pan (I would probably use a 9 x 13 and use a little more dry ingredients as that is alot of butter) Spread filling over crumbs. Top with rest of crumbs. Bake at 375 20 minutes or more Serve with milk Filling: 1 qt canned cherries, pitted 3/4 c. sugar (I think I will leave this out as I have sweet cherries) 3 T. flour Cook filling together until thick

Peanutty Dip 1/2 a 6 oz can of orange juice concentrate 1 c. creamy peanut butter 1 c. plain yogurt Let orange juice stand at room temp. about 10 min. Mix peanut butter and yogurt together, add juice. Mix until smooth and creamy. Serve with sliced fresh fruit.

Nutty Bites 1 small package cream cheese 2-3 T. chopped nuts 1 grated carrot (if desired) 6 slices raisin bread Mix cheese and nuts (carrot if desired) Spread on bread, cut into triangles

Another favorite I have is Celery with peanut butter with dried cranberries on top! i also made some cookies that were really good. Pumpkin Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Everyone liked them, but they made 10 dozen cookies and they were gone in one day!

When we first were mothers: We jump at every cry they make We wonder how our mothers did it with more than only one We mourn the lack of gourmet meals and the freedom to take a shower The things we thought were of the norm, are something of the past. If Only, we think, they were just a bit bigger; it would not be so hard

When we get to be a mother of two, or three or more, We start to wonder what was so hard about only having one! We wonder why we were not more grateful for all the things we had You think it is hard to take a shower with one, try it with more! If only they were bigger, could take care of themselves, it would not be so hard

Now they are growing and going away There is joy in their growing and a sense of achievement Sadness though aches deep within us They are no longer here To cuddle, to yell and to play They are no longer begging for food or spilling their milk Chasing the dog or things children do If Only, we think they were babies again, it would not be nearly so hard

We would take care of the spills, the crying and yells Yes, the even the colic will not be so bad. If only we think, we had taken the time to enjoy what we had

Let¹s not let our life be full of "If Only¹s" Let us take each day as it comes and be thankful today for what we have Life may be hard, but enjoy every bit so when we are old, we do look back and say "If Only"!

It may not all be on recipes since I like to talk about other things too! I am sitting here in front of 2 computers. My brother was uspposed to come and transfer the info from the one to the other so I could just use one, but since we is off on a trip, I have to make due! I keep wondering if I could figure it out myself, do you think I can?

I am really excited as when I had my birthday, I always get a little bit of birthday money. Last night I found 5 books that I have been looking for! They are rare books that are hard to find and usually whenever I have found them, they are priced far above what I can pay! I am so excited as they are on their way!!! I know, it may not be exciting to those of you who do not collect books, but hey, I am going to have a shelf of books that I prize highly! I may even think about grabbing them in case of a fire.....

We made only about 200 raviolis this year, it ended up okay, but I think we are going to work next year on making more. It was really different having Christmas with family around. I am not a big noise, huge family gathering person, I need to be able to have a place to run to. I ended up going with my cousin to change the baby and sitting in the quiet for awhile. New Year's is almost here and I am wondering what to do. Hopefully, we can have a nice time, if no one wants to with me, we will have a nice time right here as a family. I have all these memories of New Year's, maybe because it was the nicest time of the year when everyone was happy before, when they were not the other parts of the year, I don't know, but I miss them!

I am excited to try this cookie in a jar mix this year! i made one so far and am planning on a couple more!

Cookie in a Jar- Layer in order

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 t. soda 1/4 t. baking powder

1/2 c. oats

1/2 c. butterscotch chips

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. rice crispy cereal. You have to pack things down good to fit it all! I think I would like to make some that had raisins or dried cranberries instead of the cocolate chips. Another idea I had was white choclate chips and dried cranberries!

Beat: 1/2 c. butter 1 c. sugar

Add one at a time : 3 eggs

Add: 3 c. Flour 2 t. baking powder 1 T. Anise flavoring 1 T. Anise seed 1/2 t. salt

Divide into 2 rolls 1 1/2 in. wide.

Bake at 350 F 20 min.

Take out, cut in 1 in. sections and lay sideways. Bake again for 15 min. or until golden.

Good dipped in coffee or hot chocolate.

Variations- Add Almonds and Almond flavoring instead of anise seeds and anise flavoring. Dip half in chocolate or drizzle with chocolate. This is a really nice cookie to include in a gift!

3/4 c. butter 3/4 c. sugar 3 eggs

11/2 t. vanilla 3 c. flour 1 1/2 t. baking powder 1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 1/2 c. yogurt 1 1/2 c. fruit (I used a can of blackberries drained)

Topping 1/2. c. sugar 1 t. cinnamon

Cream eggs and butter, add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Mix in a separate bowl dry ingredients, then add to eggs one cup at a time.

Add yogurt and fruit. Pour half of batter into greased 9 x 13 pan and then top with half of cinnamon sugar mixture.

Pour rest of batter on top and finish with rest of cinnamon sugar. Bake at 325 for 35 min.

I do not remember where I got this so I hope it does not infringe on someone that I am sharing it. It has been awhile since I made it, but it was excellent!

3 c. cubed bread toasted until dry 1/2 c, chopped celery

1 small onion chopped finely 1 t. parsley 1 1/2 t. basil 1/4 t. salt 1/8 t. pepper

1 egg 1/4 c. melted butter

Mix everything except butter in bowl. sprinkle butter over top, Toss until blended.

Use to stuff chicken or turkey or Bake as a side dish. If I bake it on the side I add some chicken broth to keep it moist. I sometimes have also added chopped mushrooms and I like that alot. I have also add a little cooked rice to vary it!

I do not care for onions in it so sometimes I will add onion powder instead of chopped onion. In a large turkey I will double this.

In large, heavy bottomed pan, brown in a small amount of olive oil 1 finely diced onion and 5-6 cloves of finely minced garlic. Add #10 can of tomato puree and half of can of water or more. It will be thinner, but will cook down. Add salt to taste, a handful of parsley and 3-4 T. dried basil. If you have fresh basil sometimes I like to add that! Cook on very, very low heat for several hours, all day if you can, stirring occasionally. Sometimes I will refrigerate it overnight and then continue cooking the next day. Taste for spices as it cooks and add accordingly. You can also add meat to this now or later.

Cook 1 pound spaghetti noodles, set aside. Meanwhile chop up like for stir fry, carrots, broccoli, zucchini , green pepper or whatever you like in stir fry. About 4-5 c. of vegetables total. Stir fry vegetables in a bit of oil with some crushed garlic. Add to spaghetti Brown 1/2 lb. ground beef in pan and add 1 small square package tofu. Add a couple of T. of soy sauce to meat tofu mixture and then add to spaghetti. Add soy sauce to taste.

( We were in the middle of moving and most of our food had been moved already except for the freezer food, so that is what made it so hard)

We scrounged the cupboards to make this cake and made a Oriental hamburger helper that I doctored up. Instead of frosting we made instant pudding with powdered milk (all we had) to serve on top of this cake and ate it for three days! We found some change in the house and counted out the pennies to buy some margarine!

I remember on the last day we found $7 and was so thrilled! We tried to think of what we needed and we could not find something we needed that badly to spend it on.

It is amazing what you can live without and be happy if you have to! We were only close to this little store that was really expensive and didn't have enough money to go further really!

Anyhow, now for the cake recipe! 1 3/4 c. flour 1 c. sugar (I already cut the sugar in half so if you like your cake sweeter you may want to raise it up)

3/4 c. cocoa 2 t. soda

1 t. baking powder 1 t. salt

1 c. coffee 1 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. oil 1 t. vanilla 2 eggs Blend flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, coffee, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, eggs, with electric mixer Por into greased 9x 13 pan

Bake 350 for 30-40 minutes

Peel and slice about 10 peaches. Place in 9 x 13 pan wth 1/2 c. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon

Meanwhile mix topping:

1c. flour

2 c. oatmeal 1 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. melted margarine or butter

Mix all together until crumbly

Put on top of peaches and bake at 350 for about 40 min. or until topping is crunchy

Even someone who hated cabbage really liked this! The reason I tried it was because someone gave me a whole bunch of home canned cabbage. I am glad I did!

Cabbage Casserole

1 large cabbage shredded about 12 c.

cooked and drained 1 onion diced- fry onion in 5 T margarine Add: 1 can cream mushroom soup and 8 oz. cubed american cheese Stir until melted

Mix with cooked cabbage

Add salt and pepper to taste

Put into baking casserole dish

Mix 1/4 c. bread crumbs and 1 T melted margarine

Sprinkle on top of cabbage mixture

Bake at 350 20-30 min. and until heated through

6-8 servings

Bring to a boil and cook 1 min. Cool to lukewarm. (Or you can use leftover oatmeal heat it to lukewarm and add butter)

Dissolve in large bowl:

1 pkg yeast 1/3 c. warm water

Mix in: Oat mixture and remaining ingeredients

1/3 c. brown sugar 1 1/2 t. salt 4 c. flour

Beat until smooth

Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough

Knead until smooth about 6-8 min. Let rise one hour. Punch down. Let rest 10 min. Shape into 18 balls. Place in a greased 9x 13 pan

Let rise until doubled (about 45 min.)

Bake at 350 for 20-25 min or until golden brown

We were really poor so it was always a challenge to make food taste good and stretch far enough!

Next week I get to try out my skills again on a Junior high camp! Hopefully not lots of picky children! I am looking for ideas! What are your children's favorite foods?

1 cucumber cut in very small cubes 1 green pepper in very small squares

4 tomatoes in very small squares 1/4-1/3 c. Italian salad dressing.

Mix all together. It is very important to cut them small.