What next??

A beautiful sunny day here in central Illinois.  It is 40 degrees right now but is to reach 71 degrees and up to 77 tomorrow.  I hope the tide has turned and we are really into spring now.

I am going out in a bit and run a couple of errands.  I am still putting off cleaning out the last big closet in the hallway as it is a chore.  For the life of me I wish I knew how to fold a queen size fitted sheet.  Full size is not so bad.  That is one reason I hate to clean out this closet because of those fitted sheets that are in a nice round mess in the closet.  Any tips anyone?

The fresh green beans were delicious.  I am putting the remainder in the freezer as today I am making the pasta salad.  Here is a refresher on that recipe.

**********************************************

1 12 ounce box of rotini pasta.  I have the colored kind that has different vegetable flavors

1 bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 diced red, green or yellow pepper (today I am using 1/2 of a red and 1/2 of a yellow pepper)

2 stalks of celery  diced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Several slices of bacon fried crisp, drained and crumbled (as many as you want as you are the boss)

Cook the pasta to the desired firmness.  Rinse with cold water and drain well.

Mix the ranch dressing in a large bowl with the garlic powder and stir in the pasta.

Stir in the diced pepper and diced celery.  Stir in the cheese and crumbled bacon and chill.

**************************************************************

I really  do like this and I have never been a big fan of pasta salad.  I am going to cut this recipe in half today as it makes a lot of salad.

Have a wonderful day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

I’m back….

tired but happy.  It was nice having my family all together again.  The food was good and I sent the leftovers all home with the kids.

*****************************************************

I used a recipe from www.allrecipes.com for the raisin pie.

"Raisins are plumped in water, and brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, vinegar and butter are stirred in. The filling is poured into a pastry shell, covered with a top crust, and baked in a hot oven for 30 minutes. Cool and serve with ice cream."

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups raisins

2 cups water

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon butter

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust

pie

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Combine raisins and water in a small saucepan. Boil 5 minutes. Blend brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together; add to hot raisins. Cook and stir until syrup is clear. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar and butter or margarine. Cool slightly.

2.  Turn filling into a pastry lined pan. Cover with top crust. Seal edges, and cut slits in the top crust.

3.  Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes.

This is what my pie looked like.  I didn’t use that hot of an oven.  I used a 375 degree oven and it took about 45 minutes to bake.  I was afraid to use that hot of an oven with my glass pie pan.

***********************************************************

The brownies were courtesy of a Duncan Hines mix.

***************************************

The macaroni salad was a big hit.  I tweaked a recipe around that I found on the net.

I cooked a 12 ounce package of Barilla  tri-color rotini pasta about 10 minutes.  Then I drained and rinsed it under cold water.

I had already cooked several slices of bacon until crisp.  I diced the bacon into small pieces.

In a large bowl I mixed l bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.

I diced 1 green bell pepper that had been washed and seeded.

I diced 1 stalk of celery.

I added the pasta to the ranch dressing mix and folded in the bacon, green pepper and celery.  I then added 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and mixed it all together.

This salad was really good and the first pasta salad that I have eaten that I really liked.

***********************************

I hope you all have a good week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth