Like Duane and Michael, I'm snowed in. Well, I'm at Elery's, he HAD to work to night, since he works for a big utility company here in Michigan it was something about load and keeping the lights on and the furnaces running. I'm really glad I insisted on bringing the Jeep down, I told him that it didn't matter if there was three FEET of snow, he could get to work in the Jeep, and he did, he just called to tell me it wa a long slow drive and he'd be home in the morning. Susie, I LIKE potlucks, we just had one at the office on Wednesday. Nancy, I hope you get a break soon, and those personnel problems at the store get resolved pretty darned soon. Cathy, a hayride sounds like fun, here it would have to be a snowmobile ride! Diane, have a drink for me, will you. That kahlua one sounds good..... alexa, I can't believe they didn't call off school, if you weather is anything like mine. Melissa, bake away, it's all the more fun with a little helper. Dedtired, you sound like I did several years ago, until I gave up a lot of pieces of "Christmas carp". Now I try to keep things a lot low key, and maybe someday I'll learn to like Christmas again. It hasn't happened yet, though. Sharon, I'm sorry about your dinner party. Elery and i were supposed to take Bud and makayla and the girls to the toledo Zoo today. That got cancelled yesterday, so I'm kind of bummed too. Em, my favorite Christmas movie is "The Muppet Christmas Carol" with Michael Caine as Scrooge, LOL. Lyra/Michael, have fun with the new gal, it sounds like you could be great friends. I sure hope you do get a little break in January, give you a chance to rest up. Grace, I'm glad your boy made it home, family is what makes Christmas special. Have a safe and happy weekend, everyone. Sunday Elery's kids and grandkids will be here for dinner and Christmas gifts, so tomorrow I'm making butterflake rolls, some homemade butter pecan ice cream and some cookies decorated like snowmen. Still no pictures, my camera hasn't made it back from Ohio yet where I left it. Hopefully I'll have it by Tuesday when Bud and Makayla come to help me bake. Annie

Haven't made this in almost 10 years, but it sure was good when I did make it! Peloponnesian Pot Roast Ingredients 2 1/2-3 pound Beef pot roast 8 cloves garlic-cut in half Salt & pepper to taste 2 tablespoons cooking oil Hot cooked spaghetti 3 cups tomatoe sauce 2 tablespoons brown vinegar 1 teaspoons ground nutmeg 6-8 whole cloves 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice Method Make slits in top of roast with tip of sharp knife; insert garlic halves into slits. Sprinkle roast with salt & pepper. In large skillet, brown meat on both sides in hot oil. Take meat from skillet & put into small roaster. Combine tomato sauce, vinegar, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon & allspice. Pour mixture over meat in roaster. Cover and roast at 350 degrees for about 1-1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat to cutting board; keep warm. Bring juices in roaster to boiling; boil, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced a bit. Remove the cloves from the sauce. Remove the garlic from meat, if desired. Cut meat into serving portions & serve over spaghetti with a little sauce over the top

I've posted this before....we love this one! Spaghetti with smothered onions 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 pounds onion, sliced very thin, about 6 cups Salt Black pepper 1/2 cup dry white wine 2 tablespoon chopped parsley 1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese ( I just use fresh parmesan cheese) 1 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta 1. Put the butter and olive oil, and the onions with some salt in a large sauté pan. Cover and turn heat to very low. Cook for almost an hour until the onions become very soft. Uncover the pan, raise the heat to medium high, and cook the onions until they become colored a deep, dark gold. Any liquid the onions may have shed must now boil away. Add liberal grindings of pepper. Taste and correct for salt. Bear in mind that onions become very sweet when cooked in this manner and need an adequate amount of seasoning. Add the wine, turn the heat up, and stir frequently while the wine bubbles away. Add the parsely, stir thoroughly, and take off heat. Ahead-of-time note : You can cook the sauce entirely in advance up to the point where you add the parsley. When you are nearly ready to toss with the pasta, reheat the sauce over medium heat and add the parsely just before draining the pasta. Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the grated Parmesan. As you toss, separate the onion strands somewhat to distribute them as much as possible throughout the pasta. Serve immediately.

These are some of my favorites. They're all simple and use common ingredients. Raspberry Bars 1 # Cold Butter 2 C Chopped Walnuts (maybe just use ½?) Blend together and add: 2 C Sugar 4 C Flour 2 Jumbo (preferably) Eggs Spray a jelly roll pan. Take a little less than ½ of the dough and press into the pan. Top with 2 Cups of Raspberry filling (jam/preserves/jelly) Add nuts to the other ½ of the dough. Break it up and put on top of the preserves. Bake 40-50 minutes. Another one was called EZ Bars. I tried to find the actual recipe but can't find my cookbook. I got it from a cookbook my mother had that was put out by the local paper and I can't find that cookbook either! I've seen variations all over the place. If you need the exact recipe I'll find it (it's somewhere!) but essentially you take a stick of butter and melt it in a 9x13 pan. I do it in the oven while the oven is preheating and I'm getting out the other ingredients. Otherwise you could use a pan or microwave but why dirty another dish? Then take and cover the melted butter with graham cracker crumbs (I get a good thick layer so it absorbs most of the butter, 1.5+ cups), top with a package or two of chocolate chips (I like to vary with butterscotch and vanilla chips or use a mixture), chopped pecans or walnuts, or both, about a cup I 'spose, some like to add coconut, but I don't like it, so I don't. Then just drizzle a can of sweetened condensed milk over the top of it all. I hold the can up a foot or more so I can get a thin stream and get it evenly distributed. Do NOT stir! Repeat, DO NOT STIR! You want the layers separated. Bake it about 25 min or so until slightly golden. I usually line the pan with foil to make it easier to remove and clean up. These have been a hit everywhere I've served them. If you need more details, let me know and I'll dig out the exact recipe. It is one of those recipes that can be varied and is very forgiving. I've thought about mixing in mini M&Ms or toffee bits or something as a variant too. I'm not a big chocolate fan although my Minnesota Mud Bars go over big. Here's one of my favorite brownie recipes: Butterscotch Brownies (From Franco Palumbo) 1/4 C butter or shortening 1 t baking powder 1 C packed brown sugar 1/2 t salt 1 egg 1/2 t vanilla 3/4 C flour 1/2 C chopped Nuts (opt) Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add flour, salt, powder, and vanilla. Batter will be thick, spread it in an a sprayed 8x8" pan and top with nuts if desired. Bake 350° for 25 minutes or until done. You can use vegetable oil in place of butter or shortening and mix whole wheat flour as part of the flour in this recipe. AnnT from the cooking forum provided the following recipes. I've substituted different nuts and mixed the types of nuts too. They're always good. Graham Cracker Chewies ====================== These are amazingly good and simple to make. They are a nice alternative to brownies. Recipe from the Nantucket Open House Cookbook. (AnnT's from the Cooking forum) Crust: 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons A/P flour Topping: 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla ext 2 large eggs beaten Preheat oven to 350° Crust: Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and flour in a mixing bowl until moist and crumbly. Press the mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Topping: Stir all the ingredients together until blended. Spread the topping over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut into 16 squares. Double for 13 x 9" pan. And another one of her contributions: SILLY TOFFEE SQUARES 1/2 cup flour 3/4 cup Rice Krispies cereal 1/4 tsp. baking soda Pinch of salt 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup butter melted 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT Evaporated Milk!) 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1-1/4 cups Rice Krispies cereal Combine first 6 ingredients and press into 8-inch square pan and bake at 350° F. for 10 minutes. In heavy nonstick saucepan combine condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a low boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat and pour over baked crust. Melt chocolate chips over low heat. Stir in remaining cereal until well coated. Using two forks spread over caramel layer. Chill and cut into squares.