THE OLD MAN AND WOMAN STRUCK AGAIN! Friday night, they left the garage door open ajar because of below zero temperatures (minus 16 to be exacct) and were worried about our cat Toeby. (The old sweeties really are caring and sensitive at times.) I'll post a picture of Toeby below. (He has 6 toes on each foot.) Well, this led to our pipes freezing and bursting in our furnace/pump room at 3 a.m. In the night, I heard the sound of rushing water, ran out to the garage, and freaked as I tried to turn off the pump in frigid temperatures. The plumbers came later in the day and fixed everything and gave us a $650 bill! Remember, our hot water heater incident earlier in the week cost us $1000! So, the whole time we were writing a check, the old man and woman were laughing! Oh, after the plumbers left, Carol wanted to do a load of laundry. Well, the Old Lady and Man had frozen the drain pipe and water went everywhere in our laundryroom. I had enough! I had them pack their bags and shipped them off on the train with a one way ticket to....! Are they headed your way? Be prepared! I'm exhausted from Winter Break! I need a vacation from my vacation! LOL Bear Hugs! Kirk

OMG! Thanks for sharing Susiesunshine! lol! That ol' biddy is hanging out at my house too. She got rid of all my socks and cute shoes and replaced them with men's diabetic socks and "sensible" shoes (spells U-G-L-Y). She uses my female sanitary products for small diapers just in case she can't get her crippled @ss to the bathroom fast enough in the middle of the night. I can hear her bones popping when she stands up from across the room ... good grief, sometimes I think a gun went off! And yes, she has replaced my pretty panties with huge cotton ones but at least they are not all white. I guess I should be thankful for small favors. If that isn't bad enough, she seems to have a stinky duck for a pet! The damn little thing quacks all day and smells up the house! Does anyone know of a good exterminator? I am so glad I am not the only one putting up with that very annoying old woman!

I almost always have frozen soup in the freezer. I will freeze any soup that does not contain potatoes. Some will disagree with me about cream soups, but I have never had any issues freezing the ones I make. Here are a couple of things I always freeze. CROCKPOT FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES Posted by Ginger St. Thomas 2 cups water 1/2 cup soy sauce 4 whole peppercorns 1 tsp dried rosemary 1 tsp dried thyme 1 bay leaf 1 tsp garlic powder (had none so used 1 minced garlic clove) 3 lb boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed 8 French or sourdough rolls, split Combine water, soy sauce, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme & garlic in a slow cooker, stirring until well blended. Place roast in cooker & cover. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until beef is tender. Remove meat from broth & shred with a fork. Serve beef on rolls. Pour broth in small bowls for dipping.~~ Good topped with Swiss cheese or sauteed onions, peppers or both. I like mustard on the rolls, too.~~ [](http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=10&imgid=301499516) Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy Source: Rachel Ray 1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick) or, coarse salt and pepper Extra\-virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons, 3 turns of the pan 12 crimini or baby portobellos, sliced 12 shiitake mushrooms, chopped 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons all\-purpose flour 2 cups beef stock Combine meat, Worcestershire, onion and steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Form 2 large, oval patties, 1\-inch thick. Preheat large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra\-virgin olive oil and the meat patties to a hot pan. Cook meat 6 minutes on each side until meat is evenly caramelized on the outside and juices run clear. Remove meat and cover with loose tin foil to keep warm. Add 1 more turn of the pan extra\-virgin olive oil and butter to the pan, then the mushrooms. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and saute mushrooms until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. To mushrooms, add a sprinkle of flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in stock and thicken 1 minute. To serve, pour gravy over Salisbury steak. Serve with Smashed Potatoes with garlic & herb cheese and chives. Mashed potatoes freeze well, too. Spicy Chicken Cakes with Horseradish Aioli 2 (1 1/2-ounce) slices whole wheat bread 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 large egg whites 2 teaspoons canola oil AIOLI: 2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 1/8 teaspoon salt To prepare cakes, place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup (discard remaining breadcrumbs). Set breadcrumbs aside. Place chicken in food processor; pulse until ground. Combine chicken, chives, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, egg whites, and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl; mix well (mixture will be wet). Divide mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done. To prepare aioli, combine 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with cakes. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken cakes and about 1 1/2 teaspoons aioli) I've never frozen the aioli, but the cakes are great with or without it. [](http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=10&imgid=213120098) Chicken Cordon Bleu Source: Marilyn (Danain) 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs 4 slices Swiss cheese 4 tablespoons butter 4 thin sliced smoked ham 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup all\-purpose flour 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 egg; beaten salt, pepper & garlic powder Pound chicken breast to 1/4\-inch thickness. Sprinkle each piece on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on each breast. Roll up each breast using toothpicks to secure if necessary. Dredge each in flour, shake off excess, then in egg and finally in bread crumbs. Place seam side down in baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Place 1 tablespoon butter on each piece of chicken. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes until juices run clear. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, reduce broth by half over medium heat; add cream and simmer over low heat until thickened; season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour over chicken. I am not sure I would freeze the sauce...Good without the sauce, tho... Minnesota Wild Rice Soup 2T butter 1/4c chopped onion 1/2c flour 4c chicken broth 1-1/2c cooked wild rice 1/2 tsp salt 1c diced chicken or ham 1/2c grated carrot 1c half and half 1T dry white wine 1/2c slivered almonds Melt butter in saucepan, saute onion til tender. Whisk in flour then gradually add broth. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Add rice, salt, chicken, and carrots. Blend in cream and wine, heat to serving temperature. Garnish with slivered almonds. Maple\-Chili Glazed Pork Medallions 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1\-inch\-thick medallions 2 teaspoons canola oil 1/4 cup apple cider 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 teaspoon cider vinegar 1\. Mix chili powder, salt and ground chipotle in a small bowl. Sprinkle over both sides of pork. 2\. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium\-high heat. Add the pork and cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Add cider, syrup and vinegar to the pan. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, turning the pork occasionally to coat, until the sauce is reduced to a thick glaze, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve the pork drizzled with the glaze. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Linda

My grandparents' house never changed. Oh, once there was a new slipcover on a chair, or some new towels in the kitchen, but that was about it. According to my father, the big changes since he was a kid were 1) a refrigerator to replace the ice box and 2) the advent of a television to replace the big radio. After my grandparents died, an uncle and his family moved in and they changed everything--new paint, wallpaper, new floor in the kitchen. Then Uncle and Aunt moved to assisted living and the house was sold. Last year, my brother was back in town and we drove out to the house so he could take a picture of it. The new owners saw us and asked what we were doing. We explained who we were and they very kindly offered to let us take a final look around the house. Interestingly, they've brought the house back to very, very close to the way it was when we were kids. The fussy wallpaper is gone and calm, neutral colors are back on the walls. They have a dining room set eerily like my grandparents. The furniture in the living is arranged pretty much the same way. There's even a chest in the upstairs hall where my grandmother had one. And it wasn't just me, my brother was exclaiming over the same things. And it's not as if the house was new when my GPs' bought it--the house was built around 1875 and my GPs' bought it in 1930. But the new owners have a lot of furniture from about the same era. We were able to tell the new owners a lot about the house and how it looked, explained why the kitchen is much newer than the rest of the house (lightening caused a fire in 1938 and the kitchen had be redone), the colors of the walls, the reason for the odd ceiling light in the basement (used to hang over a pool table). They were very kind and I had a great walk down memory lane.