Make Someone Happy

Make just one someone happy,
And you will be happy, too.

“Make Someone Happy” from 1960. Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Jimmy Durante all had versions of this song. Jimmy Durante's was used in Sleepless in Seattle.

Pride

"You can have no greater sign of confirmed pride than when you think you are humble enough."
~William Law (1686-1761)

Peanut Butter Pie

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese
16 ounces Cool Whip
Hershey's chocolate syrup

Combine and beat on high for 2 minutes. Fold in 16 ounces Cool Whip. Spoon into large graham cracker crust, drizzle with chocolate syrup and freeze.

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until well blended. Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 375 for 7 minutes.

A Gift-Bear for the King

~by Carl Memling, printed in 1966. Illustrated by Lillian Hoban

Exodus 24:3

When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the Lord has said we will do."

Bug Movies

Spined soldier bugs hatching by Donna Young.

Pulled-Pork Tacos

~Real Simple
2 cups store-bought salsa, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Kosher salt
1- 2 1/2-pound boneless pork butt or shoulder
18 corn tortillas
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 lime, cut into wedges

In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, cocoa, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.

Cook, covered, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily, on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350° F. Stack the tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir into the cooking liquid. Serve with the tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, lime, and extra salsa.

Tip: When using a slow cooker, resist the urge to lift the lid until the dish has cooked the minimum amount of time specified in the recipe. Each peek allows heat to escape and can increase cooking time by as much as a half hour.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

"Sylvester is a marvel---daisy fresh and filled with the sheer joy and wit and craft that crowns this book, yet again, a masterpiece." -Maurice Sendak

"I love the story of this sweet little donkey. It never gets old. Every time I read it I suffer with Sylvester and his parents and rejoice with them in the end." - Betsy Lewin

Happy 200th Birthday!

Felix Mendelssohn was born February 3, 1809 and died in 1847. He was a German composer of the early Romantic period.

Spring Song, Op.62 N0.2

Via My Mom

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting

~Jason Knapp, Governor's Executive Chef

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

½ t Salt

1 stick Margarine

1 cup Guinness beer

½ cup Shortening

3 T Cocoa

2 Eggs

1 t Baking Soda

½ cup Buttermilk

1 t Vanilla

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. In a saucepan combine, margarine, beer, shortening and cocoa. Bring mixture to a boil and pour over flour mixture. Mix well. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, soda, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well and add to flour and chocolate mixture. Mix all well. Bake in muffin cups in muffin tins in a 350 degree oven for 12-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cup cake comes out clean.

Vanilla Butter Cream

6 cups confectioners’ sugar

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter

4 1/2 Tbs. milk, plus more, if needed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, the 4 1/2 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks.

Eisley

Eisley is a rock band made up of 3 sisters, their brother and a cousin from Tyler, Texas. They were all raised in christian homeschooled families.

Sort of a sanitized version of the Partridge Family. ~John Cody

US Senate Bean Soup

Bean soup is on the menu in the Senate's restaurant every day. Some say the tradition was started by Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho, others say it was in 1903 by Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota.

The recipe from Dubois includes mashed potatoes and makes a 5-gallon batch. The soup served in the Senate today does not include mashed potatoes.

The Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup Recipe
2 pounds dried navy beans
4 quarts hot water
1 1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste


Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened. Place beans into pot with hot water. Add ham hocks and simmer approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Lightly brown the onion in butter. Add to soup. Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.


Bean Soup Recipe (for 5 gallons)
3 pounds dried navy beans
2 pounds of ham and a ham bone
1 quart mashed potatoes
5 onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
four cloves garlic, chopped
half a bunch of parsley, chopped

Clean the beans, then cook them dry. Add ham, bone and water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and mix thoroughly. Add chopped vegetables and bring to a boil. Simmer for one hour before serving.

SOUPTALE: In March 1998, Representative John Spratt, Jr. walked down the marbled steps near the Senate restaurant, slipped on spilled bean soup, and ended up with two small fractures in his right arm.