Party Meatballs

I've promised this recipe to several people, so I thought someone else might like it, too.

3 lb. ground beef
1 c. milk
2 c. oatmeal
2 eggs
minced onion
1/2 T. garlic
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt

Mix ground beef mixture well and form into small balls. Put onto a sheetcake pan. Bake at 350° while you make the sauce.

SAUCE

1 1/2 c. ketchup
1 c. water
2 c. brown sugar
1 T. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Heat in saucepan and bring to a boil. Drain grease off of the meatballs, and pour the sauce over the meatballs. Total baking time will be 45 min. to 1 hour.

Make a Cornucopia that's Good Enough to Eat!

As promised, here are the directions to make the awesome Thanksgiving Cornucopia I make every year. First take a long piece of aluminum foil.

Wrap it around itself into a long cone shape, and stuff with loose balls of aluminum foil to help retain the shape. Twist the end.

Using three cans of refrigerated breadsticks (that come in the the cannisters like biscuits), wrap around the foil form, reserving three. Braid the three remaining and put at the "mouth" of the cornucopia. Brush with a mixture of egg white and water, and bake in oven till browned.

Let it cool, then pull out the aluminum foil.

Stuff and surround with assorted. colorful fruits and vegetables.

Enjoy the oohs and aahs!

Valentine Blow-Out

Dr. Phil, Weight Watchers, Thin Within, Weigh Down, plus every nutritional article I've ever read are in my brain as I try to lose weight. But, I'm trying to combine my knowledge with following God's guidance. So I try to listen to Him and not be tied up with diet "rules".

I've come to have the same thing for breakfast every morning. At first I had a fruit and whole grain, plus a protein and milk. But I can hardly choke it down even though I stop eating by 7:00 the night before. So now I have an apple cut up into 3/4 of a serving of oatmeal and some hot tea.

I've been feeling pleased about my eating habits, but last night was a blow-out.

We had a romantic dinner at home with steak, baked potato, asparagus, and wine. Not too bad, I had a very small potato with low-fat sour cream and a small piece of steak. It was so good. I did have 2 1/2 glasses of wine. And then we had Moellieux au Chocolat, known in America as Oozing Chocolate Lava Cake. Ohhh, it was roll your eyes in the back of your head good. I don't have any ramekins, so I used a muffin tin and made six individual cakes instead of four. And it was so rich I didn't know if I could eat all of that one, but I did.

Then I prayed for the leftover two to be gone, because I just wanted to eat more and more. My husband and son polished those off, so yea!

And I woke up feeling lousy this morning. Do you think it was all the sugar?

That was fun last night, but my oatmeal tasted really good this morning.

Munching Peanut Brittle

This recipe makes a good peanut brittle. Plus it is super easy to make using the microwave. I never trust those candy thermometers anyway!

MUNCHING PEANUT BRITTLE

1 c. Sugar
1/2 c. white corn syrup
In 1 1/2 qt. casserole stir together sugar and syrup.
Microwave at High (10) 4 minutes.

1 c. roasted, salted peanuts
Stir in peanuts.
Microwave at High (10) 3 to 5 minutes, until light brown.

1 tsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Add butter and vanilla to syrup, blending well.
Microwave at High (10) 1 to 2 minutes more.
Peanuts will be lightly browned and syrup very hot.

1 tsp. baking soda
Add baking soday and gently stir until light and foamy.

Pour mixture onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
Let cool 1/2 to 1 hour. When cool break into small pieces and store in air -tight container.