Rosemary..I had to smile when I read your post. I was a cook for 46 years-had 2 of my own places, as did my mom & worked in many area eateries. Old River Rice is the ONLY rice we'd use for our rice pudding-can't tell you how many gallons I've made of it over the years. Old River is a company that hails from the south US-but when I lived in FL the past14 years-you couldn't find it anywhere. I'd 'stock up' each summer here in PA at my local grocery store & take it back to FL. Never had it w/cherries but a restaurant in NYC featured a large pork chop with Plum sauce over rice..it was delish! Your hubs will be surprised, I'm sure.

Good timing, I had just dug these out of my clippings to make life a bit easier. IMPOSSIBLE QUESADILLA PIE 2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies, drained 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese 2 cups milk 1 cup Bisquick 4 eggs Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch pie plate. Sprinkle chiles and cheese into plate. Beat remaining ingredients until smooth, 15 seconds in blender on high or 1 minute with hand beater. Pour into plate. Bake until knife inserted between center and edge comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Serve with sour cream and guacamole, if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings CHILE CHEESE CASSEROLE 4 eggs ¼ cup flour ½ tsp baking powder 1 ½ tsp dry mustard 1 cup cottage cheese 1 cup shredded jack cheese 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 3 chopped peeled green chiles 1 16-ounce package frozen hash browns Shaker of paprika -- dust top of casserole just before puttin in oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a small casserole dish with vegetable oil spray, 7-8 inches square or round. Line the pan with ½ inch layer of potatoes. Beat eggs. Add dry ingredients and beat well. Blend in remaining ingredients. Batter will be lumpy. Pour in dish and bake 25-30 minutes. If you double the recipe, use a 9 x 13-inch pan. Check for doneness with a clean, sharp knife blade. The blade should come clean when inserted in the middle. Top should be lightly browned, edges starting to pull away from pan. Serves 4 Hacienda Antigua Bed & Breakfast TEX-MEX CHORIZO STRATA 3 pounds chorizo sausage 2 green bell peppers, diced 2 medium onions, diced 1 small can diced green chilies 4 cloves garlic, chopped 4 slices Texas toast, grilled 2 cups grated cheddar cheese 2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese 12 eggs, beaten 2 cups half & half Garnishes: salsa, sour cream, chopped scallions Brown chorizo sausage in 10 inch iron skillet. Remove sausage from pan, draining all but 2 Tbsp grease. Saute green peppers, onion, chilies and garlic in skillet; remove from pan. Place Texas toast in bottom of skillet, layer vegetables and chorizo sausage over bread, and top with grated cheeses. Beat eggs and half&half together. Pour into skillet covering all ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until firm. Allow to cool 30 minutes. Slice into 8 wedges. Garnish with salsa, sour cream and chopped scallions. Jim Plymale, chef at Buddys Bar & Grill, Lexington, KY TURKEY-WILD RICE STEW from 1001 Delicious Recipes for People with Diabetes 1 pound boneless, skinless turkey breast, cut into ½ inch cubes 1 tsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cups reduced sodium fat-free chicken broth ½ cup wild rice 2 carrots, thinly sliced 2 cups chopped broccoli florets 1 Tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried sage leaves Salt & pepper to taste Saute turkey in oil in large saucepan until lightly browned. Add onion and cook until tender. Stir in broth, wild rice and carrots. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Stir in broccoli and sage, simmer until broccoli is tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 4 Spinach Pie -- Family Favorite recipe posted by Amy in the GWCF 1 16 oz package frozen, chopped spinach (no need to thaw if in a bag just bang to break it up. The boxed spinach needs to be thawed and drained) 2 cups raw rice 4 cups liquid -- all milk or milk/water mixed, can use chicken broth, if desired 8-12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese 2 eggs, beaten Salt and pepper to taste - add a least a bit of salt or it will be flat. Mix all ingredients in casserole dish and bake at 350-375 for 1 hour and 15-20 minutes.

There are some traditional Hawaiian dishes on the link I've posted below. Some of them, such as lomi lomi salmon, may be cost prohibitive for your group. One thing I don't see listed on that web site is macaroni salad. It's everywhere in Hawaii, and often comes in box lunches. Some places add potatoes to it, so it's kind of like a cross between potato salad and macaroni salad. Sweet potatoes are very popular in Hawaii. Here are a couple menus from actual luaus: Island Breeze Menu Lomi salmon, Kona-style poke, relishes, cucumber namasu, Kona tomatoes, macaroni salad, Waimea garden greens, legume salad vinaigrette, pineapple wedges, cinnamon-spiced bananas, banana bread, poi, steamed white rice, uala (Hawaiian sweet potato), lau lau, Kalua Puaa (pork), Kona broil, chicken long rice, catch of the day tropicale, coconut cake, haupia (coconut pudding), Kona coffee, tropical fruit punch, Mai Tai, standard bar service. ------------------------------------------------ Main Entrees Kalua Pig, Fresh Island Fish, Island Chicken and Pulehu Beef Accompaniments Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes, Rice, Vegetables, Assorted Salads, Fresh Pineapple, Poi, Lomi Lomi Salmon, Taro and Coconut rolls Desserts Coconut Cake and Pineapple Upside Down Cake ------------------------------------- Be prepared for an amazing buffet-style feast including: assorted cold local fruits and salads like Ginger-Chicken salad and Paniolo Chili-Beef salad topped with island dressings. Also traditional Poi, Namasu, Lomi-Lomi Salmon, Poki and Rolled Sushi. Includes exotic hot dishes: steamed Mahi-Mahi with oriental vegetables in light oyster sauce, Parker Ranch Ribs, Roasted Chicken with Mango and Green Peppercorn, Stir Fry Veggies, Steamed Rice, Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Shumi, Garlic Roasted Potatoes and Hawaiian Sweet Bread. Whole Roasted Suckling Pig carved to order by the Chef. Finish with dessert choices such as: Coconut and Strawberry Haupia, Coconut Cream Pie, Chocolate Mac-Nut Pie, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Banana Cream Pie, Warm Banana Cobbler -------------------------------- I have two Hawaiian cookbooks, so let me know if you need more ideas and I'll look through them. Here is a link that might be useful: luau recipes

Even the USDA is now saying that eggs keep for months. They keep longest if they are refrigerated, of course, but they can keep for a long time just sitting on the counter, if they are unwashed. Unfortunately, the eggs in my fridge are all washed. It got rainy and muddy here and they were all pretty messy, so I just gave in and washed them and stuck them in the fridge. Amanda will take some, as will Ashley. We have a local retired pastor in his 90s that love 'em and he'll take a couple dozen. Mother will take a dozen, and then my overflow will be taken care of. Future eggs will reside in the back "root cellar", next to the potatoes and other vegetables being kept. I have a dozen hens and am getting 9 or 10 eggs a day, so soon I'll The Princess sell some at her roadside "market". Annie