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Good morning. Hopefully you've had time to get over the weekend and return to work. I always enjoy being off but truly enjoy my job so returning to work is not a dreadful thing for me. I also hope you enjoyed the first installment of our monthly theme Fire Up That Grill! Everyone will have a particular grilling experience that makes it something worth doing again. Of course, we all have some that make us cringe, too. I had a funny one on Monday. I prepared everything for our grilled chicken including the marinade. I was using some spices, olive oil, garlic, lime and had made two separate batches as in one I placed chopped Habanero peppers (Angela and some other lily-livered souls won't touch this!). Any way, The Maggs was all set to place the chicken pieces into the marinade. I went to the fridge to get the chicken and...well...it was gone. That chicken had flown the coop! After some head scratching and soul searching it was determined (by Trey) that the "chicken" that had been taken from the freezer to thaw in the fridge was, in fact, ground beef, which he placed in the meat drawer to make room for my chicken. The chicken was sitting quietly in the freezer. Well, "go get some more from the store" you say. Being the only driver here, I was faced with a tiny problem. I had visited the wine cellar (ok, I tapped it from a box in the fridge) and felt it was probably better to go to "Plan B" than jail. So, we had a great dinner using the ground beef. And a good laugh.

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Did You Know?...

Favorite Dessert (Carrot Cake!)

No cheating. Pick your favorite dessert from the list below, then look to see what psychiatrists think about you! After taking this dessert personality test, send this in an e-mail onto others, but when you do, be sure to put your choice of dessert in the subject box above and also send it to the person who sent this to you.

If you were making a dessert and you had your choice of those below (or some great bakery was baking the dessert of your choice), which would you choose?

Angel food
Brownies
Lemon Meringue
Vanilla with Chocolate Icing
Strawberry Short Cake
Chocolate on Chocolate
Ice Cream
Carrot Cake
Cherry Pie




NO ... You can't change your mind once you scroll down! So think carefully, what your choice will be!
OK - Now that you've made your choice, this is what research says about you!

NO Peeking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!










Angel Food... Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

Brownies... You are adventurous, love new ideas, are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up, you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

Lemon Meringue... Smooth, sexy, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent after-dinner speaker and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, but you have many friends.

Vanilla with Chocolate Icing... Fun-loving, sassy, humorous. Not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lack motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

Strawberry Short Cake... Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people and can be counted on in a pinch. You tend to melt. You can be overly emotional and annoying at times.

Chocolate on Chocolate... Sexy, always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

Ice Cream...You like sports, whether it be baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

Carrot Cake... You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends.

Cherry Pie... You have a sparkling personality, with a wicked sense of humor. You have an honorable idea of right and wrong and seek justice for all. Your love of art and technology give you many hours of pleasure. You don't make friends easily, but your true friends are many.

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The Mail Box...

Welcome to The Mail Box where a2z family members may send mail for all to read. It is expected that opinions, suggestions, etc. posted here be done with kindness and respect for all involved. If you have a message for the group, please send it to maggieblackwell@hotmail.com with "Mail Box" as subject. As in ALL items for posting, your first name and location must be included in the message. Posting is at the discretion of the publisher.

Re: Creole Sauce Recipe Request

Dear Maggie,

We appreciate the recipe for the Creole Sauce. Please pass our THANK YOU to Anita.

It is things like this that make eating an adventure.

Love,
Barbara, Chula Vista, CA


Barbara,

You are most welcome. It's nice when something here at a2z helps. It's doubly nice when we hear back from those we help!

Love ya, too!
Maggie

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Great Cookbooks with FREE shipping!

Discussion Forum

A to Z Recipes Family Reunion Plans

My family is planning a road trip in late June and I'd love to meet some of you along the way. We will be driving to Florida (from the Houston, Texas area). We had wanted to take this trip last year and could not afford to (not that we can now, lol). Unfortunately, the person my children most wanted to see for the first time in their lives, their paternal grandfather, died a few weeks ago. I'd like to ensure that they see the remaining relatives while all enjoy good health. If you live near one of these cities, maybe some of us can finally meet, face to face.

How about a cup of coffee? Great! Let's meet! Here is my schedule for when and where I will be:

-Wednesday morning, June 23rd, Biloxi, MS
-Saturday afternoon, June 26th, Leesburg, FL

If you'd like to discuss this, make plans, offer some feedback, help me decide exactly where in each city to meet, you may do it right here and now.

I look forward to meeting with each of you and perhaps hearing what you have to say about us meeting in YOUR area next.

What about a catered affair one day? WOW!!!

Come on, folks. Let's chat...

Discuss a2z Family Reunion

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

You don't have to register or sign in, and you can choose to receive email for newly posted messages -- just click the Subscribe button when you get there.

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.

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Next Monthly Theme...

Star Spangled Recipes

So, what would a theme so named mean, exactly? Well, I am hoping to liven things up a bit around the a2z house. What we'll be looking for in the month of June (hint: the theme issue is to be posted on July 4th) are recipes that either have "red" "white" and/or "blue" in the title - or - recipes that are red, white, and/or blue in appearance. It's really simple and could be great fun.

Here are some examples:
"Beet Salad" (red in appearance)
"White Chocolate Mousse" ("white" in appearance and title)
"Mom's Blue Cheese Dressing" ("blue" in title)
"Strawberry Cream Pie" ("red" and "white" in appearance)
"Blueberry Pancakes" ("blue" in appearance and title)
"Creamy Fruit Salad" ("red" cherries, "blue" berries, "white" whipped cream)

For those of you who find themes difficult because you do not have recipes of a certain persuasion, the gig is up??¦everyone has a recipe that will fit in here. I am looking forward to first-time participants as well as our "regulars". Now is a perfect time to spend a few minutes sending in a recipe to share. If you don't, I will certainly be "blue".

Here is the recipe submission 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 and 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 July's theme issue is Friday, June 25th.

Theme recipes must have subject: "Star Spangled Recipes" and will be posted on Sunday, July 4th.

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

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Crazy Corner...

All Shared by Mary Jane, Stockton, CA...

A Mormon Bishop was seated next to a cowboy on a flight to Texas.

After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The cowboy asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him.

The flight attendant then asked the Bishop if he would like a drink.

He replied in disgust, "I'd rather be savagely raped by ten brazen prostitutes than let liquor touch my lips."

The cowboy then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, "Me too. I didn't know we had a choice."



Underwear

The other morning a man took a pair of underwear out of the drawer. "What the hell?" he said to himself as a little dust cloud appeared when he shook them out. "Honey," he hollered into the bathroom, "why did you put talcum powder in my underwear?"

She shot back: "It's not talcum powder. It's 'Miracle Grow."



Majorly Busted

Every Saturday morning he has an early tee time. He gets up early and eager, golfs all day long, sometimes 36 holes.

Well, one Saturday morning he gets up early, dresses quietly, gets his clubs out of the closet and goes to his car to drive to the course.

Coming out of his garage rain is pouring down; torrential downpour.

There is snow mixed in with the rain, and the wind is blowing 50 mph.

He returns to the garage. He comes back into the house and turns the TV to the weather channel. He finds it's going to be bad weather all day long, so he puts his clubs back into the closet, quietly undresses and slips back into bed.

There he cuddles up to his wife's back, now with a different anticipation, and whispers, "The weather out there is terrible." To which she sleepily replies, "Can you believe my stupid husband is out golfing in that crap?"

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Love is not blind.
That's why they make lingerie...

How Can I Help?...

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Your Favorites...

FRUIT SALAD & WHIPPED CREAM DRESSING

~Submitted by Treva, NC

1 can (16 1/2 ounces) pitted sweet cherries, drained
2 cans (15 1/4 ounces each) pineapple chunks in juice, drained and 2 tablespoons juice reserved
3 oranges, cut into small chunks - or - 2 cans (11 ounces ea.) mandarin orange segments, drained, can be substituted for the oranges)
1 cup miniature marshmallows
* PLUS Whipped Cream Dressing recipe (below)

Prepare Whipped Cream Dressing.

"Gently" toss dressing and remaining ingredients in large glass or plastic bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 12 hrs. to blend flavors but no longer than 24 hours. Cover and refrigerate any remaining salad.

WHIPPED CREAM DRESSING:

2 large eggs, beaten
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs reserved pineapple juice
1 tbs margarine or butter
dash of salt
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

heat all ingredients except whipping cream just to boiling in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat; stirring constantly; cool. Beat whipping cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold in egg mixture.

Yield: 8 servings

PORK CHOPS WITH BLUE CHEESE GRAVY

~Submitted by Treva, NC

This recipe makes the most delicious creamy gravy to serve over pork chops. It tastes like something from a fancy restaurant. Serve with saut?©ed mushrooms, if desired.

2 tablespoons butter
4 thick cut pork chops
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1 cup whipping cream
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1 Melt butter in a large skillet, over medium heat. Season the pork chops with black pepper and garlic powder. Fry the chops in butter until no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 20 to 25 minutes. Turn occasionally to brown evenly.

2 Remove chops to a plate and keep warm. Stir the whipping cream into the skillet, loosening any bits of meat stuck to the bottom. Stir in blue cheese. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over warm pork chops.

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Info: Per Serving; Calories: 403, Total Fat: 37 g, Cholesterol: 138 mg, Sodium: 296 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 2.4 g, Dietary Fiber: 0.1g, Protein: 15.7g

SOUTHERN CORNBREAD BAKE

~Submitted by Treva, NC

I??™ve got a great all-in-one supper idea for you! Try this ???Southern Cornbread Bake??? and you??™re family will be whistling Dixie. Are you ready? Well, let??™s get cooking...

2 seven-ounce packages of cornbread mix
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
2 cups frozen hash browns
1 fourteen ounce can of creamed corn
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Let's begin by stirring up one seven ounce package of cornbread mix. Pour the prepared mix into the bottom of a greased casserole dish and bake it at 350 for ten minutes. While that??™s cooking, we??™ll take a large bowl and combine one pound of cooked and drained ground beef with two cups frozen hash browns, one fourteen ounce can of creamed corn and two cups of shredded Cheddar cheese. We'll pour this mixture over the baked cornbread and finish by preparing a second package of cornbread mix and layering it across the top. Bake the whole thing uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes and serve! Yum, um! The only thing you??™ll need for this dish is an empty stomach!

ROAST BEEF ROLLUPS

~Submitted by Treva, NC

Ask for rare to medium-rare roast beef, depending on your preference, and have the deli attendant make long, whole slices, thin enough to roll easily but not so thin they threaten to fall apart. You should get 12 to 15 slices in 3/4 pound.

2 (8-ounce) tubs whipped cream cheese (light is acceptable)
4 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Several grinds of black pepper*
1 cup diced red or yellow bell pepper, or a mixture of both (about 1 small pepper)
1/4 cup finely diced red onion (about 1/4 of a small red onion)
3/4 pound rare to medium-rare roast beef, thinly sliced (about 12 to 15 slices)

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients but the roast beef until thoroughly blended. Lay out a slice of roast beef and spread an even layer of the cream cheese mixture on it. Roll up. Repeat with remaining beef.? 

Refrigerate the rollups until ready to serve. Offer leaf lettuce leaves torn to a size suitable for wrapping around the beef rollups. Slice into 1/2's or 3rds before serving.

Makes 12 to 15 rollups

MUSHROOM STUFFED TOMATOES

~Submitted by Treva, NC

Metric Ingredient Imperial:
6 small tomatoes 6
1 medium onion, finely chopped 1
15 ml butter 1 tbsp
225 g mushrooms, chopped 1/2 lb
125 ml beef broth 1/2 cup
15 ml fresh dill, chopped 1 tbsp
3 slices white bread, crusts removed 3
- salt & pepper to taste -

Directions
Halve tomatoes and hollow out using small spoon.

In a skillet; saut?© onion in butter for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook for about 2 minutes longer. Stir in beef broth and dill; bring to a boil, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Finely chop bread; stir into mushroom mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fill tomatoes; place in baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 F (180 C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

Serves 6

Source: www.PeakMarket.com

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Heart Healthy...

SMUCKER'S CHICKEN SALAD WITH RICE, PECANS, GRAPES AND ORANGE DRESSING
photo)

~Submitted by Treva, NC

Source: SMUCKER'S?®

A simple orange marmalade dressing - made with Smucker's?® Sugar Free Orange Marmalade, raspberry vinegar, and orange zest - gives this salad a fresh, Spring taste.

4 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup sliced green grapes
1 cup sliced green onions (optional)
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
1 tablespoon grated pecans, toasted (optional)
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 cup Smucker's?® Sugar Free Orange Marmalade
1/3 cup raspberry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
CRISCO?® Cooking Spray

1 Spray a large skillet with Crisco cooking spray: heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

2 Place chicken in an 11x17-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken: cook and cut into 1/4-inch strips.

3 In a large bowl, combine chicken, rice, green onions, and grapes and pecans, if desired. Toss well and set aside. In a small bowl, combine orange rind and next 4 ingredients; stir well. Pour over chicken mixture; toss well.

4 Serve salad at room temperature, on lettuce-lined plates, if desired.

Makes 7 servings

Nutrition Info: Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245, Total Fat: 5.3 g, Cholesterol: 38 mg, Sodium: 133 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 36.7 g, Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g, Protein: 19.2 g

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For Two...

MICKEY D'S SHAMROCK SHAKE
Makes: 2 tall glasses

~Submitted by Treva, NC

2 cups (475 ml) vanilla ice cream
1-1/4 cups (300 ml) low fat (or reduced fat) milk
1/4 tsp (1 ml). mint extract (not peppermint)
8 drops green food coloring

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. (Stop blender to stir with a rubber scraper if necessary to help blend ice cream.) Pour into two tall glasses and serve.

2 servings, approx. 12 oz. each.

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Publisher's Choice...

GRILLED PINEAPPLE SLICES WITH GINGER CREAM
photo)

Total: 30 min
Prep: 15 min
Grill: 15 min
Makes 6 servings
Source: Betty Crocker Kitchens

Pineapple bursts with flavor when grilled! Ginger Cream adds a heavenly finish.

Ginger Cream (below)
medium pineapple (3 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
Maraschino cherries, if desired

1. Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat. Make Ginger Cream.

2. Cut 1/2-inch slice off top and bottom of pineapple. Cut off rind. Cut pineapple crosswise into 6 slices; remove ???eyes??? from slices. Drizzle both sides of pineapple slices with butter.

3. Cover and grill pineapple slices 4 to 6 inches from medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, turning once, until hot and light brown. To serve, top pineapple with Ginger Cream. Garnish with cherries.

Ginger Cream

1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger

Mix all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

1 Serving: Calories 115 (Calories from Fat 55); Fat 6g (Saturated 3g); Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 20mg; Potassium 120mg; Carbohydrate 13g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 1g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A 4%; Vitamin C 10%; Vitamin D 0%; Calcium 2%; Iron 2%; Folic Acid 2%
Diet Exchanges: 1 Fruit; 1 Fat

TIPS:
Purchasing:
Purchasing pineapple have you in prickles? A ripe pineapple should have a sweet pineapple fragrance at the bottom of the fruit, and there should be no soft spots.

Simplify:
To each his own! Pass separate bowls of sour cream, brown sugar, ginger and cherries. Everybody gets as much of whatever they want, and it saves you the mixing step!

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