This is a story I told a while back, so mayby you heard it. A long long time ago we had squirrels in our attic. Every one told me they would chew the elec. wires and cause a fire. So they had to go. DH found the opening in the roof overhang and when they came out one morning he blocked it up with screen. As he was putting in the last staple a little head peeked over the edge of the roof. When he left it went to the patch and bumped its head against it several times. Then the second squirrel appeared and they just stared at the patched hole. I felt so bad and he asked me if I wanted him to remove the patch. I told him no, I was afraid they would indeed chew on the wires. That night I was looking trough a magazine I believe (Womens Day), and I came across an ad for a sampler (a embroidered message) It had two squirrels on the top and the message was "Blessed is the Home that Shares it's Shelter". I felt so guilty after that. The hard part is that they mate for life and my neighbor in back caught one of them in a have a heart trap and that was the end of that family. I personally enjoy watching them and decided I can't have everything my way and choose to co-exist.

My favorite right now is Sol's Honey Rolls. The recipe does not call for kneading but I put it into my bread machine anyway, works like a charm: Sol's Honey Rolls 1 Cup milk 1/2 Cup honey 1/2 Cup butter [1 stick] 2 Tsp salt 1 -2 tablespoons granulated sugar* 2 pkges. dry yeast 1/2 Cup warm water [110ú-115úF] 2 large eggs lightly beaten 6- 6 1/2 cups All Purpose flour Heat the milk, add butter and salt. Set aside while butter melts. Stir in the honey. In another bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let it sit until yeast is completely dissolved, about 6-7 minutes. Combine milk mixture with yeast mixture. And stir in the beaten eggs. Beat in 4 cups flour. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to coat both sides. Cover and allow dough to rise 1 hour. Punch dough down, and allow to rise another hour. Punch down again, and shape dough into rolls. Let it rise again 45 minutes to an hour or until doubled in volume. Preheat your oven to 375F and bake rolls for 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown. For a very soft crust, brush rolls with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. Note: You could omit the sugar from this recipe altogether. I sometimes use about a teaspoon of the honey called for in the recipe to feed the yeast instead of the sugar. As an alternative, I like these and I do them in the bread machine too: Butternut Squash Rolls 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast 1 cup warm milk (110ð to 115ð) 1/4 cup warm water (110ð to 115ð) 3 tablespoons butter, softened 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup mashed cooked butternut squash 5 to 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in milk and water. Add the butter, salt, sugar, squash and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Form into rolls; place in two greased 10-in.cast-iron skillets or 9-in. round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375ð for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 2 dozen. Annie

Here ya go! Cheesy Potatoes (I wrote hashbrowns, they use tator tots!) 1 2LB bag Tator Tots 1 can Cream of Chicken soup 8 oz. sour cream Chopped onion, I use about 1/2 cup 2 cups Grated Cheddar cheese (or more if you like) Spray 13 x9 dish with Pam. Mix soup, onion and sour cream in a BIG pan. Add frozen tator tots and 3/4 of cheese to mixture. Stir to mix well. (that's why the BIG pan) Put in casserole, add remaining cheese to top. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350. Uncover and bake additional 15 minutes. (I usually double this for gatherings and put in a 10x14 dish-our crouds likes to eat!!) *************************************************** Veggie Pizza 2 pkgs. refridgerated crescent rolls 2 8oz. pkgs cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup miracle whip 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. dill weed (this is the secret ingredient!) 1 pkg. Hidden valley dry ranch dressing mix 1 pkg. very fine shredded cheddar cheese (about 2 cups) Fresh veggies of your choice, chopped into small pieces (I use broccoli florets, cauliflower, and black olives) Open the rolls, and unroll them on a full sized cookie sheet, pinching the dough at the perforations to seal them, to make one solid piece of dough that cover the entire cookie sheet, pat it and shove it around until it's all about the same thickness. Bake at pkg temperature for 9 to 11 minutes (just until lightly browned). Cool the crust completely. Mix the cream cheese, miracle whip and spices and spread onto the cooled crust with a rubber spatula. Add your chopped veggies on top, and with your hands, lightly press the veggies down into the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Refridgerate until cream cheese is firm, then cut into 1 1/2" or 2" squares. ********************************************************* Cream Puff Dessert Crust: 1 cup water 1 stick margarine 1 cup flour 4 eggs Mix water and margarine in a pan and bring to boil. Add flour all at once and mix until ball forms.(this takes some muscle and a good strong big spoon!) Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Add 1 EGG AT A TIME, mixing each one thoroughly. Spread in a greased 13 x 9 or 10 x 14 casserole. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes..then lower temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 25 minutes. (the batter puffs up and comes up the side of the dish) Filling: 1 8oz. pkg cream cheese-softened 3 1/2 cups milk 2 3oz. pkgs vanilla pudding (or CHOCOLATE!!YUM) Topping: 8oz. cool whip To cream cheese, add milk then instant pudding. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour over crust. Put in fridge for 15 minutes to set up, then take it out, and frost it with the cool whip. Refridgerate until chilled. Boy, am I hungry now!! I've copied the recipes from this thread, and can't wait to make them! Thanks everyone for sharing! Woodsy

In case you're interested in adding international recipes, here are my two favourite meatball recipes, one from Germany and the other from Mallorca, Spain. (Poached meatballs in lemon & caper sauce.) Here is a German dish which originated in Königsberg, former capital of eastern Prussia, now part of Russia and called Kaliningrad. Having a pleasant, mild flavour, these meatballs are also a low calorie dish as they are cooked in water. They're well known in most German households and are often a family favourite. Ingredients: 1/2 lb finely ground veal (225 grams) 1/2 lb finely ground lean pork (225 grams) 1 large onion - peeled and finely chopped 8 finely chopped + 2 finely chopped later for sauce (total 50 grams) 2 TBS capers finely chopped + 1 TBS whole capers later for the sauce 1 lg egg, beaten 3 slices firm crusts removed, soaked in water juice of 1/2 lemon - or juice of whole lemon if it is very small 2 bay leaves 2 whole cloves (aromatic spice cloves) 1/2 TBS oil for frying onion 2 TBS flour mixed with water salt & freshly ground pepper 1. Sauté onion gently until golden and put aside. 2. Mix the two ground meats with 8 of the chopped anchovies, 2 TBS chopped capers, beaten egg and the soaked bread which has been squeezed dry. Then mix in the cooled fried onion and some salt and pepper. 3. In a wide saucepan put 3 3/4 cups of water and add some salt, the lemon juice, bay leaves and cloves. Bring to the boil. 4. Meanwhile form large meatballs with hands and place on a plate - about 14 meatballs. If water boils, turn off until all meatballs are formed. and bring it slowly back to the boil then lower heat and let simmer gently for 30 minutes. Turn meatballs once or twice during this time. 6. When cooked, remove meatballs with slotted spoon to a casserole and keep warm. Mix flour and cold water to a paste and add to the cooking water, stirring to thicken. Add the last two anchovies, chopped fine and 1 TBS whole capers. Bring to the boil and simmer 2 - 3 minutes. Pour and serve with boiled potatoes and green beans. I actually had more sauce than what appears here in the photo. I kept the rest in the pot on the stove for keeping hot. Note: They turned out very well. My lemon was VERY juicy and as I used all the juice, it was a bit too much. Go easy on the lemon juice if it is a large lemon. SharonCb ************************************* Here's a favourite dish from the Island of Mallorca, Spain. - 4 servings 700 grams ground veal (I use 1/2 pork & 1/2 veal) 3 eggs - beaten 1 medium onion - minced 2 cloves garlic - minced flat-leaf parsley - lots 2 teasp oregano 2 teasp thyme 2 teasp sweet paprika powder 2 teasp salt fresh ground black pepper cooking oil 3 medium very ripe tomatoes - (skinning is optional) chopped 1/2 cup milk & 1/4 cup water flour 4 - 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chips (french fries) Utensils needed: - small frying pan about 6 inches diameter - medium or large frying pan or chip fryer - earthenware or ceramic stovetop casserole with lid 1) Mix meat with beaten egg, minced garlic, 2/3 of the chopped onion, salt & pepper, herbs and paprika. Add a few stalks of parsley chopped fine. Mix all together. 2) Pour about 1 cm oil into small frying pan and put on medium heat. Put some seasoned flour (s&p) on a dinner plate and using a small spoon, scoop out meat mixture and begin forming meatballs with help of floured hands, rolling them in flour as needed. Put them on floured plate and when you have six and oil is hot, put them carefully using spoon into the small frying pan to brown. 3) After two or three minutes turn meatballs over using a small spoon. Continue forming more meatballs. 4) As meatballs brown, remove and put them into casserole dish, adding the fresh ones to the pan, six at a time. 5) When done, strain out any burned bits in the frying pan oil and put in the rest of the onion with the tomato, as well as a handful of minced parsley. Cook on medium heat. 6) After a few minutes add the milk and water. Taste and if tomato flavour is too sharp add a pinch of sugar, also some salt. Pour sauce over meatballs in casserole, (optional is pour it through a sieve for finer sauce) put on low heat with lid and simmer very gently 20 minutes, checking and turning them over once. 8) Prepare potatoes and in oil in large frying pan or chip fryer begin making the french fries a few at a time, salting them and keeping them hot in oven. Put a few chips on top of the meatballs, add a bit of chopped parsley and serve at table with extra chips on each plate. Source: Adapted from 'Cocina selecta Mallorquin' SharonCb