Friday Friend Recipe #250 --Spaghetti Sauce #14

My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #250

(#willreallyfinishthissomeday)

April's Spaghetti Sauce--Spaghetti Sauce #14

and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....

...and the rest is cookbook history!

Just remember, the countdown is not all about pretty food and food design---it's about the people and the stories.

And (the most important thing)  proving my husband wrong--and that I can and WILL make every recipe in this cookbook

It's a good fast sauce.

I have run out of words to describe spaghetti sauces. 

I have learned that fast sauces can be very good indeed!

This is one of those--try it--you'll like it.

By the way--I'm not sure if April always uses penne pasta or not, but I used spaghetti noodles because that's the section it's in.

Now on to my creative friend April.

Yes, creative.  Very.

 When you are a very creative person--as April is  

(she's a Hooker AND a doormat girl!), it's very hard to have a friend like me.

We (she, Shelly and I) took a flower arranging class together.

I cut my finger first thing.

They bandaged me up and gave me wine.  

April ended up with a beautiful arrangment.

I tried hooking once but the ladies thought I knew how to put the yarn on the needles?  HA!

Wait--What?

Hookers?  Hooking?  What the heck do you think April does?

It's needle craft and hand work--such as crochet (get it?  Hookers?) knitting, quilting, etc etc--all those crafts and skills I don't know--those hookers do!

Just cuz we live in Nevada and April's a hooker, you thought what?

Geez.

She's also a Doormat girl.  I cannot defend her here, because I'm not sure what a Doormat girl is or does.

But I know she's not gonna let anyone walk all over her!

(She's thinking about it)

April is so creative that she volunteered to make sacrifical  Wizard of Oz idols to throw on the bonfire for Shelly's husband's 60th birthday party.

Shelly's husband Lorin detests the Wizard of Oz and thru the years it has become a standing joke, so it just seemed appropriate to sacrifice something other than a couch (yes a couch. long story for another time) to the bonfire at their semi-annual Dance party.

We would sacrifice in honor of Lorin turning 60!

It was a great party--both birthday and dance (every other year they have a dance party the 1st weekend in November and this year it just coincided with Lorin turning 60.)   We had a blast, as usual.

There was a little couch burning

and a few shots drunk

(we are old people--we have 2 shots now and we're done. BUT we have so much fun thinking we can party like we used to!)

It was his 60th birthday after all---his shot can be slightly bigger.

But back to my creative friend April.

Look at these cute, cute idols to be sacrificed!

She did great--she made Dorothy and the Tin Man and the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion (he looks a bit like a bear, but you get it)

(also--the profanity!!  But 60 tho, remember?)

The weekend before the party I went over to help her make these idols.

She ended up kicking me out.

She wanted me to staple that tin foil pan together to make the Tin Man's body.

I couldn't do it.  I mean I tried.  Really I did. But it wasn't turning out well.

So, she  graciously gave me a glass of wine and we talked instead. Oh, I watched as she demolished a stuffed bear and tried to make a Lion out of it.  I even held the glue gun once or twice for her, but she kindly waited until I went home and then WA-Lah!

Did her magic and they came out cute as ever!

Ruby Red slippers and everything!

And then---the sacrifice began!

All of April's great creative work up in flames!

It wouldn't have been so sad if it were my ugly handy work (she should have let me stay and help), but hers going up in flames?  It was a shame.

We LOVE that she gives us homemade craft gifts!

She can do it anytime.

That's my story--and I'm sticking to it.

And I bring to you

recipe #250

Only 117 left to go!

Woo Hoo!

Friday Friend Recipe #249 - Fiesta Chicken

Come with me as I continue to countdown my Friday Friend Cookbook!

What is it, you may ask?

In a nutshell....

About 20 years ago, 50 of my closest friends and family, who had been on an

  e-mail forum with me, sent in recipes in different categories and we compiled a cookbook.

I decided to count those down!

Why?

Because one night I was looking thru the cookbook and I said, "I should make every recipe in  here for my blog."

The Handyman, who thinks he knows me better than I know myself, said "you'll never EVER do that."

Well, maybe I will!  Maybe I'll show him!

Which brings us to Recipes #249 - my mom's Fiesta Chicken

Obviously, I did not use mozzarella cheese, but cheddar cheese instead.  And apparently a  LOT of it. But one can never go wrong with cheese, right?
This is good. Very simple really--just a seasoned chicken breast topped with cheese and salsa.
I put peas on my rice, because my mother did---and this is her recipe.
Well, I always put peas on my rice--the Handyman does not, he puts his peas beside his rice, as he grew up doing. 

A few days ago, I noticed it was Paul Newman's birthday.  My mother always loved Paul Newman.  This is what I put on Instagram that day:

One autumn afternoon about 11 years ago, I got a phone call from my mother and she said “the love of my life died today “. I was instantly panicked and said—DAD? And she said “no silly. Paul Newman”. After starring at this picture, I can understand. He would have been 95 today—my mother would have still thought he was just as handsome as he was here 😁. Seeing Paul made me think of my mom.

As you know, it's getting harder for me to think of stories about people who turn in recipes for this cookbook countdown.  This is my mother's tho--for heaven's sake, I shouldn't have trouble thinking of stories about her, right?
This morning I was looking thru a tub I have of ancestry stuff--another hobby of mine--and I came across a folder with some old emails printed out, where I had asked questions of the Friday Friend forum.  Lest you think I just ask my mom these kinds of random questions, rest assured that it was a general question on the forum, where I must have asked who you find attractive.

Okay, honestly, it was probably more like  "what 5 men are on your list of: it would be okay to sleep with if you could"  

YOU KNOW that list that never ever could happen?!   We all have one!  And we tell our spouses!  And they have one too!
AND I DIDN'T ASK THIS SPECIFICALLY TO MY MOTHER!  She was just on the forum and she answered me.  (sigh)
Don't tell me you don't have a list like this!  You do---oh you do  (even if it's only in your mind)

I guess this is my mother's list.  TMI?  Probably, but it's okay, it was all in fun.  
Her email was dated February 13, 2002.

Seeing my mother write 'turned me on', is really kinda weird.
My parents did side jobs at the horse race track for years. My dad did security and my mom took bets.  They loved it!  I always thought my mom loved being around the people, but now I'm thinking--did she love it so much just so she could look at Ted?  We will never know.

I guess I must have also said she slept thru the '60s music.  But no--she was awake.  And liked Wayne Newton. The Four Aces.  The Kingston Trio.  And is proud of it!

SHE WAS IN HER 20's!!   
Most young women in their 20's liked the Beatles in the 1960s.  Herman's Hermits.  The Doors.  Jimi Hendrix.  The Animals. The Beach Boys.  The Who.

She was a woman who danced to her own music.  Too bad Paul Newman didn't sing.

I found a few pictures of my mom in the 60's---

She and I in 1962.  My dad was a Marine, and he was overseas at this time. We were living with my grandparents in a teeny tiny ranching town--Enterprise, Oregon.
My mom was working as a telephone operator.
I think we were so isolated at that time  (before satellite radio, cell phones, internet, etc) there was only one radio station and it certainly didn't play  Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention!  (so perhaps she didn't know what good music she was missing?)

 


And the end of the decade my dad was home, I got my first camera and took some photos of my pretty mom.

She and our dog Snow.  
She wore her hair in this cool Behive hairdoo for most of the 70's, but once in a while she would throw on a wig--or in this case a "fall", as we called it.  I never knew her to have long hair unless she wore a wig or a fall and it was in the 60's man!  Or 70's. 
Man~ she loved Paul Newman for a long time.  She had good taste.

My friends I bring to you   my mom's 45the recipe in this countdown--

Fiesta Chicken!

Make some. 

 Put on a Paul Newman movie  (may I suggest Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid) or play some Wayne Newton 

and enjoy!

This is recipe #249

Only 118 left to go!

Woo Hoo!