thought for the day

"life isn't about how to survive the storm but how to dance in the rain"

The Invitation by:Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

German Maultaschen-Authentic Schwabian Recipe

They consist of an outer pocket of noodle dough and a filling made of gound meat and spinach.
You will sometimes find people calling them Schwabian pockets; they are also similar to a meat filled ravioli.
It is said that they were invented by monks to conceal the fact that they were eating meat during Lent.
They are traditionally served in a broth with toasted breadcrumbs and parsley or with onion rings. One of my favourite German recipes has to be Maultaschen so I felt I had to share this recipe with you.
I often make a very large batch and freeze them. When your family come home starving hungry, you can whip them out of the freezer and heat them up in a broth for about 10 minutes until heated through. Delicious meat filled ravioli to serve with my German potato salad.

3 eggs
pinch of salt
for each egg, half an eggshell of water
360-400g wheat flour
Mix eggs with salt and water. Sift flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Break the eggs into it and blend all the ingredients together. Take out of the bowl and then knead the dough on a board until air pockets can be seen when the dough is cut. You can knead by hand or with a mixer.
Depending on the flour, if the dough is too thick add a little water or an egg white. The dough shouldn't be too soft. Form a ball and place on a board. Cover with a cloth and leave to rest. Now you can prepare the filling.
400g fresh spinach
saltwater
20g diced bacon
20g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
3-4 stale rolls, crusts removed
150g ham or cold meat, diced
250g ground meat (pork or beef)
2-3 eggs
a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg
boiling saltwater or meat broth
Clean the spinach well, wash and blanch it briefly in boiling saltwater. Rinse with cold water, let it drain and chop coarsley. Braise the bacon in butter for a couple of minutes, add the chopped onion and spinach and braise for a couple more minutes. Soak the stale rolls in water until soft. Squeeze out the excess water and chop the rolls into pieces.
In a large bowl mix the above prepared ingredients with ham and ground meat. Add the eggs and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

On a floured surface roll out the noodle dough into rectangular sheets (about twice as wide as you want your Maultaschen to be). Use a tablespoon of filling at equally spaced 3 inch intervals all down the middle of one side of the sheet of dough. Fold the plain half of the sheet of dough over to cover the filling and press firmly on the spaces around the pockets of filling. Use a pastry wheel or cookie cutter to cut into 3 inch squares.
Put them into boiling saltwater or meat broth and let simmer (not boil) for 10-15 minutes depending on the size.
They can be served in broth with toasted bread crumbs and parsley or with onion rings.

Alternatively, slice an onion and fry the rings in butter until brown and serve with the soup. Maultaschen are also good with German potato salad.
If there are any left over, they can be used the following day. Cut Maultaschen into one inch slices, fry in fat, add slightly beaten eggs and milk to the pan and cook through. Delicious served with a crisp green salad.

A normal serving size is 2-4 Maultaschen.
Enjoy this German meat recipe with Kartoffelsalat (Hot German Potato Salad).

ENJOY!!!!!

 

Better Than Banana Bread

3 cups flour
3 eggs

3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz crushed and drained pineapple
3 ripe bananas

Combine all ingredients, pour into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Let stand 5 minutes then turn out. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top when cooled.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
2 & 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 ounces grated yellow cheddar cheese
3/4 cup whole milk

Ingredients for Garlic Butter:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Lightly mist a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Make the biscuits: pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the shortening and pulse until combined. Add the butter; pulse 4 or 5 times, or until the butter is in pea-size pieces. add the cheese and pulse 2 or 3 times. Pour in the milk and pulse just until the mixture is moistened and forms a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and gently knead until the dough comes together. Do not overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough.

3. Drop the dough onto the baking sheet in scant 1/4-cup portions, 2-inches apart, and bake until golden, 25 to 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the garlic butter: Melt the butter with the garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 1 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Brush the biscuits with the garlic butter and serve warm.

No Oil No Egg Orange Cake

Cake

12  ounces DIET Orange  Soda
1  white  cake  mix
mix  together and  bake  following   directions  on   box
let  cake  completly cool
*****************************************************
Frosting
1 pkg SUGAR FREE   Orange  Jello
1 8oz FAT FREE Cool Whip
mix jello and cool whip  together...spread on cooled  cake
12 Servings  .....   each  serving  is 6 Points Plus  (Weight Watchers)
ENJOY!!!

See Our Most Popular Chinese Food Recipes - Chinese Cuisine - Recipe.com

See Our Most Popular Chinese Food Recipes - Chinese Cuisine - Recipe.com

Nutmeg Shortbread

Nutmeg makes a scintillating addition to rich, buttery shortbread. Though these cookies bake for about fifty minutes, the actual work time is amazingly brief for something so special. If you cook the shortbread in a black pan, check it after forty minutes since the color of the pan will cause the dough to cook more quickly. Shortbread keeps well stored in tins.

Yield: MAKES 8 TRIANGLES

Ingredients

• 1 1/3  cups  flour
• 1  teaspoon  grated nutmeg
• 1/4  pound  cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 6  tablespoons  sugar
• 1  large egg yolk

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 325°. Butter an 8-inch round metal cake or pie pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and 3/4 teaspoon of the nutmeg. With your fingers, rub in the butter completely until the mixture is the texture of sand. Using a fork, stir in 5 tablespoons of the sugar. Stir in the egg yolk. Press the mixture together to make a dry, crumbly dough and put it on a work surface. Knead the dough about twelve times until it just holds together.
3. Press the dough in an even layer into the prepared pan. With a small, sharp knife, mark eight wedges halfway into the dough. With a fork, prick the dough every 1/2 inch or so. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and sprinkle it on the dough. Bake the shortbread in the middle of the oven until golden, 50 to 55 minutes.
4. Let the shortbread cool slightly in the pan set on a rack and then cut into wedges. Let cool completely in the pan.

Honey Mustard Stuffed Chicken Breast

 stuffed chicken breasts is a good way to make  an ordinary dinner staple into something  fancy..without adding a lot of time preparing  it...

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 slices deli ham
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a 9x12-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Lay a chicken breast out on a work surface. With a sharp knife, cut from one side through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book. Place a slice of ham and about 2 1/2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese onto one side of the chicken breast; close, and secure with toothpicks. Place into baking dish.
3. In a bowl, mix the honey, spicy brown mustard, and yellow mustard together; pour the mustard mixture over the chicken breasts. Cover the dish with foil.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C)

Crustless Lemony Cheesecake

Ingredients

•     Nonstick cooking spray
• 12  ounces  cream cheese, softened
• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 2  tablespoons  lemon juice
• 1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla
• 1/2  cup  sour cream
• 3    eggs, lightly beaten
• 2  teaspoons  finely shredded lemon peel
• 1  cup  warm water
•     Fresh raspberries (optional)
•     Fresh mint (optional)

Directions

1. Lightly coat a 1-quart soufflé dish or casserole with cooking spray. Tear off an 18x12-inch piece of heavy foil; cut in half lengthwise. Fold each piece lengthwise into thirds. Crisscross the foil strips and place the dish in the center of the crisscross; set aside.
2. For filling, in a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, flour, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Beat in sour cream until smooth. Add eggs, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in lemon peel.
3. Pour mixture into the prepared soufflé dish; cover tightly with foil. Pour the warm water into a 3 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker. Bringing up the foil strips, lift the ends of the strips to transfer the dish to the cooker. Leave foil strips under dish.
4. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours or until center is set.
5. Carefully lift with foil strips to remove dish; discard foil strips. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours. To serve, spoon cheesecake into dessert dishes. If desired, garnish with raspberries.

Nutrition Facts

• Servings Per Recipe 8 servings
• Calories253,
• Total Fat (g)19,
• Saturated Fat (g)11,
• Cholesterol (mg)131,
• Sodium (mg)159,
• Carbohydrate (g)15,
• Protein (g)6,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet