Hallelujah!

 

HE HAS RISEN!!!

HALLELUJAH!!!

I hope you were all able to enjoy this beautiful Easter day.  I've been reading through the Bible and am currently in the book of John.  How appropriate that I would read the story of the crucifixion, but more importantly, the resurrection of our Lord, at this special time of year.  What an amazing, powerful, almighty God that we serve!  What love that Christ should die so that we may have eternal life! 

The Lord is always blessing us, but I have a particularly amazing blessing to share today.  My parents farm, and this past week Wednesday my dad was involved in an accident.  He went to help a neighbor unload cattle.  They needed to adjust the cattle chute height, so my dad stepped between the semi and chute so he could help lift the chute.  There was about a three-foot gap between the semi and chute.  Somehow, the semi rolled backwards and pinned my dad.  He had about 80,000 pounds pinning him in place!  (As my brother says, it took 80,000 pounds to finally make him speechless!)  They alerted the truck driver and he drove forward while my dad slumped to the ground.  I'm not recommending anyone to do what he did next: he went and laid on the ground and told the guys to finish unloading the truck.  Then we drove the quarter mile home and insisted on changing his dirty clothes before going to the ER.  Stubborn at all???  Anyway, after 48 hours of observation, IVs, two CT scans, several examinations, and pain meds...he came home.  He had NO broken bones!  (Must be all the milk he drinks!)  And he had only a very small amount of internal bleeding.  Needless to say, he is very stiff and sore, but he is ALIVE and whole!  Praise the Lord!  I shudder when I think about the different ways this incident could have turned out.  Thank you, Lord, for this miracle! 

Nothing too new in our neck of the woods.  I did make a quick day-trip to Omaha last weekend.  For Christmas, my parents gave the girls a ticket to see the Broadway musical, "The Lion King."  I've seen a few other Broadway shows (Mamma Mia, Fiddler on the Roof, and Wicked).  They're all amazing, but this one was very different.  My sister-in-laws laughed at me, but I was amazed by all the science and thinking that went behind the production.  Between sets and costumes, so much thinking went into it!  But, anyway, I just want to say it was amazing, and I can't wait to see even more Broadway shows...hopefully on the actual Broadway someday!
Besides seeing a new show, I did try a new recipe:  Taco Pie.  It was great!

Taco Pie
1 package crescent rolls
1 pound hamburger
1/2 package taco seasoning
2-3 Tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup water
1-1 1/2 cups mild shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 package crushed Doritos

Press rolls into a 9-inch pie tin or a 9-inch square pan.  Brown hamburger, drain, and mix with taco seasoning.  Add sour cream and water; simmer for 10 minutes.  Put 1/2 of chips over crust; add hamburger mixture. Add cheese and top with remaining chips.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until crust is golden brown.  Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, black olives, and taco sauce.

*taken from ARC cookbook

And an old, easy favorite: Fifteen Minute Bars

Fifteen Minute Bars
4 cups oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup melted butter
6 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix oatmeal, brown sugar, and butter until blended.  Pat in a 9x13 pan.  Bake for 10 minutes (or a little less) at 425 degrees.  Melt chips and peanut butter in the microwave; spread on baked crust.  Cool before cutting.

Chocolate Dump Bars

Now I realize that the words "Dump Bars" might not sound very appetizing, but that's why you put the word "chocolate" in there.  :)  I think these were probably the first bars I ever learned to make, probably because they're one of my all-time favorites.  And I probably licked the batterout of the bowl--and the spatulas--back then...like I would never do now.  (Note sarcasm.)  While these bars are amazing all by themselves, to add to their greatness, plop a scoop of Well's Blue Bunny Dulce de Leche (caramel) ice cream on top.  And maybe some chocolate syrup.  And maybe some caramel sauce.  Yep!  That will do!

 

Chocolate Dump Bars

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

5 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup chocolate chips

 

Dump all ingredients, except chocolate chips, together.  Mix with a spoon until all ingredients are moistened.  Spread in a 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Do not overbake.

Excuses...

I could say my excuse for not blogging much lately is that my computer crashed.  (It finally hit the dust after eight years...it's hard to believe I've been out of high school that long!  Oy!)  But it would just be an excuse.  Anyway, I had the day off today and was able to relax a little!  I even started a quilt!  (I may or may have had the material for five years!  And yes, I wrote "may or may have" on purpose; it's something I caught in college...)  I even tried a new recipe for supper, and it was a success!  I highly recommend it, and I have no idea where the original recipe came from, and I did change some amounts.  For once I'm not sharing a family recipe!  (Sorry for the bad pic...it tastes better than it looks!)

 

Egg Noodle Lasagna

6 1/2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles (I used 5 c.)

3 Tbsp. butter

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I used 1 lb.)

2 1/4 cups spaghetti sauce (I used a little less than 2 c.)

6 oz. Velveeta, cubed

3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.  Add butter and toss to coat.  Brown beef; drain.  Spread 1/4 of the spaghetti sauce in an ungreased 5-quart crockpot.  Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the beef, 1/3 of the remaining sauce, and 1/3 of the cheeses.  Repeat layers twice.  Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until cheese is melted and lasagna is heated through.  (OR forget to allow four hours--like me--and cook on high for 1 hour, and low for 2 hours.)