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Hello and welcome to another issue of A to Z Recipes daily newsletter. I am quite pleased with what we have to share today. We have some great recipes from many of you and a special treat for those of you who cook for only one or two. Joyce in Illinois has prepared an entire menu for one, and it contains Weight Watcher point values and is microwavable. What a nice thing to do, Joyce! Thanks. Look in the ???For Two??? section for her menu and recipes.

Enjoy!

Ramblings...

THE DIETER'S PRAYER

My appetite is my shepherd, I always want.
It maketh me to sit down and stuff myself.
It leadeth me to my refrigerator repeatedly,
Sometimes during the night.
It leadeth me in the path of Burger King for a Whopper.
It destroyeth my shape.
Yea, though I knoweth I gain I will not stop eating,
For the food tasteth so good.

The ice cream and the cookies, they comfort me.
When the table is spread before me, it exciteth me.
For I knoweth that I soon shall dig in.
As I filleth my plate continuously,
My clothes runneth smaller.
Surely bulges and flabbiness shall follow me
All the days of my life.
And I shall be "pleasingly plump" forever.

Let's eat!


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Did You Know?...

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Discussion Forum

Our discussion forum at QuickTopic for our topic "Eating and Cooking Healthier" is well under way. To join in (or just to read) use your web browser to go to:

A to Z Recipes Discussion Forum

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NOTE:
Maybe once you get to the site using the above link, you could add it to favorites. Links that are easy to find are more likely to be used again.

Next Monthly Theme...

Recipes For Romance

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, share with us those recipes you consider when preparing that special meal for your sweetheart. Is there a special beef or seafood dish he/she enjoys? How about that aphrodisiac to all...chocolate? Share your favorite recipes for romance with us, won't you? Now, here is the NEW set of rules:

A to Z Recipes continues with its popular Theme Issues. We will share theme recipes and post them on the first Sunday of each month. Send your recipes no later than the last Friday of each month to have them posted in the next monthly theme issue. You may send in TWO of your favorite theme recipes in ONE email. If the number of recipes exceeds those needed in the issue, the publisher will post as many from every submitter as possible and save the remaining recipes for the following Sundays of that month. The rules for recipe submissions for the monthly theme issues are the same as ALL recipes submitted for posting.

The rules are as follows:

As a service to your fellow readers, please send only recipes that are in a form that others could easily copy and save for their own use. Recipes that would require a lot of editing or cleaning up or use non-standard measurements should not be submitted. Recipes without a name and location of sender may NOT be posted or posted without any credit given. There will be NO recipes posted that are from other recipe-zines. A to Z Recipes protects the privacy of its readers and does NOT publish email addresses. There will be no exceptions.

The deadline for February's theme issue is tomorrow, Friday, January 30th.

Theme recipes must have subject: "Recipes for Romance" and will be posted on Sunday, February 1st.

As usual, only recipes are to be sent to: A to Z Recipes Inbox

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Amazon.com Valentine's Day e-Cards!

Special Valentine's Day cards for him and for her, and for anything in between; and left to it; and right. Amazon.com not only lets you send these cards for FREE, you can also attach a gift certificate for your Valentine.

FREE Valentine's Day Cards

Crazy Corner...

SISTER MARY KATHERINE

Shared by Millie, TX

Sister Mary Katherine entered the Monastery of Silence.

The Priest said, "Sister, this is a silent monastery. You are welcome here as long as you like, but you may not speak until I direct you to do so."

Sister Mary Katherine lived in the monastery for 5 years before the Priest said to her, "Sister Mary Katherine, you have been here for 5 years you may speak two words."

Sister Mary Katherine said, "Hard bed."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the Priest said. ???We??™ll get you a better bed."

After another 5 years, the Priest called Sister Mary Katherine. "You may say another two words, Sister Mary Katherine."

"Cold food," said Sister Mary Katherine, and the Priest assured her that the food would be better in the future.

On her 15th anniversary at the monastery, the Priest again called Sister Mary Katherine into his office.

"You may say two words today."

"I quit," said Sister Mary Katherine.

"It's probably best," said the Priest. "You've done nothing but complain since you got here."

THE HONEST HUSBAND

Shared by Jean, Syracuse, NY

His wife had just bought a new line of expensive cosmetics absolutely guaranteed to make her looks years longer.

She sat in front of the mirror for what had to be hours applying the "miracle" products. Finally, when she was done, she turned to her husband and said, "Honey, honestly now, what age would you say I am?"

He nodded his head in assessment, and carefully said, "Well, judging from your skin, twenty. Your hair, eighteen. Your figure, twenty-five."

"Oh, you're so sweet!"

"Well, hang on, I'm not done adding it up yet."

HEAVENLY

Shared by Larry Holmes, Ontario, Canada

Two men waiting at the pearly gates strike up a conversation. "How'd you die?" the first man asks the second.

"I froze to death," says the second.

"That's awful, how does it feel to freeze to death?" says the first.

"It's very uncomfortable at first, you get the shakes, and you get pains in all your fingers and toes. But eventually, it's a very calm way to go. You get numb and you kind of drift off, as if you're sleeping...How did you die?" says the second.

"I had a heart attack", says the first guy. "You see, I knew my wife was cheating on me, so one day I showed up at home unexpectedly. I ran up to the bedroom, and found her alone, knitting. I ran down to the basement, but no one was hiding there. I ran up to the second floor, but no one was hiding there either. I ran as fast as I could to the attic, and just as I got there, I had a massive heart attack and died..."

The second man shakes his head..."That's so ironic," he says.

"What do you mean?" asks the first man.

The guy replies, "Well, if you had only stopped to look in the freezer, we'd both still be alive!!"

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Your Favorites...

CHRISTMAS (OR ANYTIME) CARAMELS

~Sent in by Kim, WA

2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light cream
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
4 unsweetened chocolate squares
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup candied cherries

* Use red and green candied cherries, cut in half, as an optional decoration for the top of caramel squares.

1. In large saucepan, combine the sugar, salt, cream, butter (best to use butter instead of margarine for this recipe) syrup and chocolate. Bring to a gentle boil over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 248 degrees on candy thermometer, or to the firm-ball stage when a bit is dropped into cold water.

2. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and pecans halves. Butter an 8-inch square pan and pour in the candy. Press 32 cherries, cut in half, on candy if desired. Cool candy until firm.

3. Cut into 1-inch pieces (should be 64), leaving a cherry half on each piece. Place each piece on wax paper or in paper candy liners found at cake decorating supply stores or gift shops.

Serving Ideas : Make these a few days before Christmas (Valentine's Day?) for gifts.

KOREAN SESAME AND GINGER MARINADE
(For beef, lamb or pork)

~Sent in by Raquel, McDonough, GA

4 lg. garlic cloves; crushed
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger root
2 T. sugar
2 T. peanut oil
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp. crushed, dried hot red pepper
2 T. toasted white sesame seeds
6 T. Kikkoman Soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

MUSHROOM BISQUE
(Makes 2 quarts)

~Sent in by Christine, Block Island, RI

1 pound Mushrooms, fresh
1 quart Chicken stock
1 medium Onion, chopped
7 tablespoons Butter
6 tablespoons Flour
3 cups Milk
1 cup Heavy cream
To taste Salt
To taste White pepper
To taste Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons Sherry (optional)

METHOD OF PREPARATION

1. Wash the mushrooms and cut off the stems. Slice six caps and reserve.

Discard any dried ends from the stems. Grind or chop the remaining caps and stems very fine.

Simmer, covered in the broth with the onion for 30 minutes.

2. Saut?© the reserved sliced caps in 1 tablespoon of the butter and reserve for garnish.

3. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, add the flour and stir with a wire whisk until blended. Meanwhile, bring the milk to a boil and add all at once to the butter-flour mixture, stirring vigorously with the whisk until the sauce is thickened and smooth. Add the cream.

4. Combine the mushroom-broth mixture with the sauce and season to taste with salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce.

Reheat and add the sherry before serving. Garnish with saut?©ed sliced mushroom.

HONEY-ROASTED CHUNKY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

~Sent in by Larry Holmes, Ontario, Canada

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup peanut butter, preferably smooth
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup liquid honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely chopped honey-roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, using a fork, stir flour with baking soda and salt until blended. Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl, beat peanut butter with butter, brown sugar and honey until well blended. Beat in egg, scraping down sides to mix well. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in peanuts until evenly distributed.

Flour your hands and roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place at least 2 inches a[part on baking sheets. Flour the bottom of a glass and gently press on each ball to flatten cookies slightly. Then dip the tines of a fork into flour and press gently into center of cookies 2 times to form a cross pattern.

Bake in center of preheated oven until golden and just set, watching carefully near the end to prevent the base from burning, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and leave on baking sheet 1 minute. Then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 3 dozen.

ITALIAN CHICKEN
Serves 6

~Sent in by Pat, Hahnville, LA

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained
1 (6 ounce) jar whole mushrooms, drained
1 (6 ounce) can pitted ripe olives, drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
6 chicken pieces, skinned
1/2 cup water
1 envelope dry onion soup and recipe mix
Hot cooked linguine

Combine first 4 ingredients in a slow cooker, and arrange chicken over vegetables. Add water, and sprinkle with soup mix.

Cover and cook on HIGH 3 to 3 1/2 hours or on LOW 7 hours or until done.

Serve over hot cooked linguine.

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Heart Healthy...

FLUFFY HIGH-FIBER, LOW-FAT PANCAKES

~Sent in by Judy, Canada
Publisher of JudysRecipes
52489-subscribe@zinester.com

INGREDIENTS

- 1 cup low-fat (1 percent fat) buttermilk
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
- 2/3 cup miller's bran (unprocessed, uncooked wheat bran)
- 1 large egg, or 1/4 cup egg substitute
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine the buttermilk, oats, and bran in a large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat until blended.

In a small bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until blended. Add to the bran mixture and blend until all the flour is moistened.

Prepare a hot skillet or griddle with non-stick pan spray. Pour in about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook about 3 minutes, or until bubbles form on the top and the edges are dry. Turn and cook the pancakes about 2 minutes more.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (2 pancakes):
Calories: 136, Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 55 mg, Sodium: 462 mg, Carbohydrate: 24 g, Dietary Fiber: 7 g, Sugars: 6 g, Protein: 8 g Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 Starch, 1/2 Fat

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For Two...

DINNER FOR ONE
(With Weight Watcher Points)
(Microwave)

~Sent in by: Joyce, IL

BREAST OF CHICKEN
BAKED POTATO
CREAMED CORN
GREEN BEANS
LAYERED SALAD
ICE CREAM SANDWICH

BREAST OF CHICKEN
(3 WW points)

?? breast of deli rotisserie chicken

Remove skin from chicken and place on serving plate

BAKED POTATO
(3 WW points)

1 baking potato (10 ounces before cooking)
salt
pepper
creamed corn

Scrub potato and dry with paper towel. Pierce potato several times.

Place on microwave dish and cook on HIGH 4 or 5 minutes. Cut potato as you wish and top with salt, pepper and creamed corn.

CREAMED CORN/GREEN BEANS/BEETS
(Canned)
(1 WW point)

?? cup creamed corn
1 cup green beans
?? cup beets

Place the three vegetables in separate dishes and heat in microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Pour creamed corn over baked potato and place remaining vegetables alongside chicken and potato.

LAYERED SALAD
(0 WW points)

1 bag salad mix
1 thin slice onion, separated into rings
1 thin round slice green pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
7 slices of cucumber, cut into halves
?? tomato sliced in wedges
No Point Salad Dressing

Layer ingredients in salad bowl in order given. Coat with dressing.

ICE CREAM SANDWICH
(1 WW point)

1 whole graham cracker
?? cup fat-free Cool Whip

Break cracker into 2 pieces, 2 ??-inch square. Spread cool whip on 1 side of cracker; top with the other cracker piece. Freeze.

(I make several of these and after they freeze put them in plastic baggies and keep frozen.)

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Red Hots Bouquet 12971/28485_show_id_qELfutnXLH0_bids_43959_type_2_subid_0 id=qELfutnXLH0&bids=43959&type=2&subid=0" >

I simply LOVE this arrangement. Wouldn't YOUR special someone?
This playful bouquet delivers up a sweet ceramic mug decorated with hand painted, three dimensional hearts and bursting with a bright spray of flowers - including one red rose, for the romantic in all of us. A heart-shaped box of real Red Hots candy adds a sweet cinnamon treat. It's a red hot value!

Always remember:
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