What's Cooking for New Year's?

What is everyone fixing for New Year's day celebrations?   We will be having greens, black eyed peas, rolls, chicken, and an assortment of other items.  We always have greens, that is a traditional New Year's day side.  Greens represent the green of money, so you are supposed to eat plenty to have plenty in the new year.   Some say black eyed peas represent coins, my mom always said they represent good health for the new year.   I do not eat greens often but I do enjoy a healthy portion on New Year's day.  It sure cannot hurt.   So, eat your greens for more green in the new year and eat black eyed peas for health and wealth in the new year.  

I am lucky that my brother-in-law cooks most everything on New Year's day so all I have to do is bring a dip and maybe a dessert.  This year I will be fixing a jalapeno corn dip that is to die for.  I would not suggest this very often because it is so heavy but oh so good.   Here is that recipe:

1 32oz bag of whole kernel corn frozen

1 stick of butter

1 pkg of cream cheese

1 jar of jalapenos

I let me butter get soft along with the cream cheese then I add several tablespoons of juice from the jar of jalapenos.  Add the corn but, be ready because the corn is frozen it makes everything stiff and hard to mix.  After it is all combined spread it in a casserole dish I usually put  few jalapeno slices on top and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.

I am also making some Christmas Crack.  I am not sure if I have shared this one before but, it was a huge hit at my moms' this year and I decided I would fix it again.

Saltines

1 stick of butter

1 cup of brow sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 bag of white chocolate chips

Melt butter and add brown sugar, bring to a boil, remove from heat and add vanilla.  Lay out your saltines in a single layer on a cookie sheet, I put parchment paper under mine, then pour butter mixture over crackers.  Bake at 400 for 6 minutes.  When you take it out pour your chocolate chips on and then the white chocolate chips and let them set to melt a little.  Then smear them around to make them smooth.  Allow them to set and the chocolate to get firm then separate and serve.  This is before the chocolate has gotten firm enough to separate. 

Email Scams and other Technology Scams

Have you ever gotten a friend request from someone that you are already friends with?  If you have, it was probably a scam.  Let's face it the Internet and all of our wonderful technology has opened up a whole new world for devious, scamming, and underhanded low lifes'.   Today that is what I would like to talk about.
With our great new technology, it is time for us to be just a bit more careful about everything.    There are some that will take the pictures of your friends and then use them to set up fake profiles as that friend on Facebook.  They will send out friend requests and some people will just accept whomever sends them friend requests whether they know the person or not.  Some will not think twice about the fact that they are already friends with that person.  We really need to be more diligent about who we accept friend requests from especially those we think we may have already accepted once before.  
There are always notices out there about the next virus or email scam.   There is a great website you can go to and check these out.  You can also use this website to check out other things too, like urban legends and hoaxes.  Check out www.snopes.com if you think something is a little fishy before you just fall for it.   Remember, not everything you read or hear on the Internet is true.
While I was writing this I went to snopes and they had listed the very Facebook scam I mentioned above.  They listed it as part true and part false.  I will tell you it happened to me with one of my friends from home and I did not friend her a second time and I shot her a private message to check it out.  It was not her that was sending me the second friend request.
Young people want to have the most friends on Facebook so they will friend just about anyone that sends them a request.   They do not look at things they way many older people do.  I am old school, if I do not have a face to face relationship with you I will not friend you on Facebook.  It is nothing personal but I am cautious about my private information.   I want you all to be safe as you enjoy our fabulous technology.   Be diligent about whom your kids are talking to on Facebook too, if they have a Facebook account.  My boys do not have an account and I do not plan on letting them anytime soon.  I just finished one of my criminal law classes and in our text it detailed how pedophiles attract their victims by using Facebook and other social media.  Please be aware of what your kids are doing, after all I have read with my law classes, there are a lot of sick people out there just waiting for their next victim.  It is important as a parent to stay up to date on the latest technology, you need to know at least as much as your kids.
I will be talking more about protecting the kiddos on computers and the Internet next week, so stay tuned.  If you have any questions please post them below, if I do not know the answer I will find it for you.   I do not know everything but I know where to go to get the answers.

Hello Monday. . .

As par for the course in our family I spent the day after Christmas in the ER with my dear hubby and a raging case of the FLU! !!  It was not lower case flu it was all caps FLU.   We spent 5 hours waiting to be seen and got to the pharmacy just in time to buy the last box of Tamiflu in the County.   I am thankful that my family is so very helpful and understanding.   I left sweet Basil and my boys with my mom and everyone else to keep an eye on.   Dear hubby was pretty much out of it the whole weekend. 
I did get to visit a little bit with my nieces but it was a whirlwind trip.  My niece helped to get me started on a slouchy beanie for me.  I have a beautiful pink yarn I have been dying to make a hat out of.  I wanted to crochet this one and I have not done much crochet so I needed help.  My niece has made a few different hats and she had a really cute one on at Thanksgiving and I wanted to make one similar to it.  This will be my feature on crafty Thursday.  
I hope the rest of our family does not get this FLU.  I checked in with dear hubbys' family on Sunday and so far nobody is sick on that side.  My family is ok right now too.  I do pray that none of them gwt this.  It is really bad.  Dear hubby also had the flu shot, so do be on guard for the symptoms.  This is nasty stuff.   I left my mom with Lysol to bomb the house after we left. 
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.   I am looking forward to a fabulous 2015.  

Tech Gifts for 2014 that Will Not Break the Bank

Here are some of the top tech gifts to 2014 that will not break the bank.  There were some on the list that could break the bank but I am not listing those.

Roku 3 best overall steaming tech from Amazon.com $77.99.  It steams Netfix, hulu plus, HBO Go, Showtime anytime, and Amazon instant.

Apple offers Apple TV also a streaming device.  Walmart.com $89.00  Apple is coming out with a new version of this so Cnet says wait if you are thinking about this purchase.  The newer version should be out within a few months.

Kindle 2014 has an entry level Kindle with a touch screen for $59.00 at Amazon.com

Amazon Fire HD 6 $99.00 at Amazon.com

Samsung SL-M2020W an inexpensive compact laser printer.  $79.99 Amazon.com

Seagate Backup plus Slim  $69.90 Amazon.com
2 TB back up for your computer   2TB =2,000GB lots of storage for a modest price.
This would be great to back up those pictures we have been talking about.

My Charge  offers Energy Shot
The Energy shot is a small inexpensive charge for your phone  $20-$30

Logitech K480  Bluetooth Keyboard  $55.44 Amazon.com
This keyboard can toggle between any three devices:  Android, iOS, Windows.  It has a slot to hold a phone and tablet.

I found these and the information about them on www.cnet.com/holiday-gift-guide/under-50
a very reliable source for tech information.
I think my favorite of these would be the Roku 3.  I have been debating this option for a while and I think this one is the best option for us.  Still looking around though but I like what I found in this article.
I hope you have enjoyed my posts.  I will be taking the rest of the week off to be with my family.  I will post again on Monday.  Please check back and let me know what you think of my new set up.
Merry Christmas and here is to a fabulous New Year for us all.

Unusual Christmas Gift Giving

I am always telling tells on myself here and today is no different.  When my nieces and nephew were early teens they were so hard to buy for.  I hated giving money because I felt like I was being lazy as the gift giver.  Now that I have my own teens, I realize that giving money is actually a good thing.  As the gift giver you just do not know what these kids are in to or wanting.  Their interests change so fast from day to day. 
My hubby and I decided one year that if we were going to give money we were going to make it interesting.  Here are two things we did for/ to our nieces and nephews. 
The hubby started telling his nieces and nephew that all they were going to get from us was a bag of nuts for Christmas.  Everytime we saw them he would mention this.  We took walnuts and cracked them so that they came apart in perfect halves.  I dug out the goodie inside.  We folded dollar bills very tightly and placed one dollar in each nut and glued the nut back together.   We gave them twenty one dollar nuts and one five dollar nut.  We threw in a few real nuts just to throw them off.  We put them in a stocking with a nutcracker and a Christmas ornament.
Christmas day when we were ready to open gifts, hubby passed out the stockings.  You would have thought we had given them underwear.  We planned for this, so hubby said he wanted a nut, he took one out and cracked it open.  When he pulled the dollar out they just about lost it.  You have never seen three kids cracking nuts like crazy.   Ahhh the memories.
When Sprat had come along we decided to take things to the next level.   I made chocolate pudding and we put their Christmas money in a ziplock baggie and tapped it to the inside of a diaper then covered it with the chocolate pudding.  I folded it up as if it were a dirty diaper and put it in a Christmas bag.   Well, you can imagine the looks and words that were exchanged.  It was all done in love and fun and once they realized it was in fact only pudding we all had a good laugh. 
So, if you are giving money do it in an interesting way. 

Flu Friday

Yep, it is flu Friday.  Big T was up most of thr night puking.  When you are the stay at home mom you get vomit duty.  Hubby left for work  at 4 this morning and I maned the linen closet and laundry room.  No baking today, just laundry and trash duty.  Sprat and I also started tamiflu but I am not feeling real well so my finance information will have to wait.  I am sorry.   I hope tonight will give us all some much needed rest.  
It is funny, as a mom, no matter how tired you are the tiniest of a whimper from your child can jerk you awake in two seconds. 
I am not hitting on a lot today so please check back and we will get back on track. 

Crafty Thursday Not so

Crafty Thursday turned out to be dentist for me and doctor for Big T and Tamiflu for us all.  Yep, little man has type A flu and has been out since 10 this morning.  
Crafty will be wrapping presents while the little guys is in my bed and the presents in my closet.
It could be worse, this could have all happened closer to Christmas.  Now we will have this out of the way and can enjoy our time with family.  
I told you when I started this,  life happens and we must go with the flow. 
A note on my blackberry wine cake, it stuck.  I was not a happy camper at all.  I did give it to a neighbor though, she loves me and did not mind that it was not perfect.  I worry about that so much, I want everything I bake to be pretty and it upsets me terribly when my cake sticks.  I did taste some of the scribbies that stuck and it was very good.   I have at least one more of those to fix before Christmas.  
A couple more batches of Scrabble (chex mix), Hello Dollys, and Pecan Sandies to go and maybe some chocolate chip cookies too.

Christmas Baking continues

Note:  if you are baking for others and bake early, you really should deliver early.  If you do not, you will end up like me,  baking again because you ate all of your goodies.   Ughhhhh
Yes, I admit it I love my sweets.  Today I will be making Hello Dollys and Pecan Sandies and I am going to make a wine cake.  The wine cake recipes come from my sister-in-law.   They are heavenly!  There is a white wine cake that is spicy and a blackberry wine cake that is fabulous.  The blackberry wine cake is a favorite of mine and Big T.  We had a get together at my in laws and my sister-in-law had made her blackberry wine cake.   Everyone had finished eating and was in the den relaxing.  I need to give you a little background before I finish the story.  Big T was in the 5th grade, so he was involved in the DARE program at school.  The DARE program teaches the kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.  When Sprat went through the program I got a lecture every time I had a glass of wine, which was not very often.  With Big T going through the program he also felt it necessary to add his two cents worth on my having a glass of wine.  I always told them when I had anything to drink I was not driving.   I cook with wine and beer regularly but I do not drink that often, just so you know.   With the back story out there back to our family get together. Big T came by me about three times with his plate full of blackberry wine cake.  I decided I would mention to him that the cake was made with wine (alcohol) just to give him a taste of what he had done to me.  His reply is typical Big T.  He said, "it's ok mommy I am not driving."    My boys do crack me up.

Here is your recipe for the Blackberry wine cake.

1 box of white cake mix

4 egss

3/4 cup oil

1 cup blackberry wine

1 3oz pkg of blackberry fusion jello

Mix all of this and put in an oiled bundt pan and bake at 325 for 60 minutes or until cake is done.

you can do a glaze to go on top with 1/2 cup of blackberry wine and 1/2 cup of sugar warmed to blend.  Pour over cake after it has cooled just a bit.   Let it sit for about 15 minutes before you try to turn it out.  

This is one of our favorites.  

Let's Clean up those extra files

Have you ever really looked at your files?  I looked at mine the other day and I realized I had some duplicate files.  I actually had quite a few duplicate files.  Guess what?  There is help to clean that up.  Check out www.auslogics.com  look at their "duplicate file finder."   Remember if I suggest it, that it is safe and more than likely Free.  
Sorry I was late posting today.  Like everyone else I am trying to get all my shopping and wrapping done.  As Christmas is fast approaching my posts may slow down but, please stay tuned because I will get back on track as soon as I can.   

It is Monday. . .

Last final for me today,  a little break till next session starts.   I think I am going to finish up with an A and a B, not too shabby for an old lady.   I really cannot wait till the  boys are out of school.  They have a long break this year.  Sprat faces his first year of "final exams," he had finals in middle school but not like the ones he will have from this point forward.   He was telling me about the week they are having them and how at least two days he will not have to go to school.  If he has an A in the class and the final is not state mandated then he does not have to take the exam therefore, no school.
I have a paper calendar notebook that I keep all of our appointments in.  The boys have a more active life than I have ever thought of having.  I know, you would think in this technology age I would have a fancy computerized something to keep up with everyone.  I like my little notebook and pencil.  I have tried numerous times to use those computerized calendars on my phone and it never works like it is supposed to.   I will remain an old fart with her paper notebook calendar.
With Christmas fast approaching, I think back about Christmas and growing up.  One year my brother, who is 11 years older than me, started telling me in November I had been bad and Santa was going to put switches in my stocking.   He told me this every chance he got.  My mom and dad fussed at him for being mean to me but that did not stop his constant badgering about dear Santa and the switches.   Naturally, I was the first one up on Christmas morning that year and every year.  I was up at probably 5 am and I ran downstairs to see what Santa had brought.   I had to turn on all the lights in the den just to be sure what I was seeing.  I rubbed my eyes a couple of times and yep I was not dreaming, there right in front of me was a pile of switches in my brothers stocking.  My stocking was filled with goodies and so was my sisters.  I could not hold my excitement, I ran through the house and woke everyone up screaming that my brother had gotten switches in his stocking.   I will never forget that Christmas for as long as I live.  I tell that story to my kids every year to remind them that Santa is real and he is watching.  

Finance Friday

I would like to talk about the envelope system by Dave Ramsey today.   My oldest has to have a palate expander and then braces.  We met with the orthodontist last year and found all of this out.   They gave me a rough estimate in what it all would cost.   We started our orthodontist envelope.   This is not an emergency so we will not use emergency money.   I planned for this so, this will have no effect on our budget.  It has been included in our budget for a year now in a very small amount.  We have terrible dental insurance so the bulk will come from us.  I have no fear of this  because I planned and used the envelope system.  You could also use a health savings account in the same way.  
This is the same way we do our Christmas money.   We save all year a little at a time so Christmas does not break our budget.  What a feeling that is, to not feel guilty about spending money on your loved ones.   Like Dave says, Christmas is not an emergency.   There is no reason to max out in credit card debt. We know it is coming and planning will help.  I encourage you to check out Dave's envelope philosophy.   Google it and see what other people say about it.  Pick one thing in your budget and try it with the cash envelop system.   I would suggest something simple like eating out, groceries,  or coffee money if you drink a lot of  Starbucks ( $4 bucks) coffee.   I am not judging if you like their coffee, I like it too but I only get it every now and then.    The envelope system has been around for a very long time, Dave just brought it back to the mainstream.   Dave showed an envelope system he found at an estate sale dated in the early 1900's.  I thought that was very cool.

Thursday Not so Crafty

Trying to finish shopping and wrapping and cleaning.  Are you seeing a pattern?  Pattern, that is in crafts.  Did not even get any baking done today, thankful I got a lot done yesterday.  Oh, let us not forget the after school orthodontist appointment. 
The never ending to do list of a mom. 
If I had been able to bake today this is what I would have made.
Pecan Sandies or Pecan Crescent
These are also a favorite from my mom.  My hubby calls them the incredible melting cookies because,  shock surprise I wrote the recipe down wrong and had too much butter and not enough flour.  My cookies ran all over the oven the first time I made them.  Ughhh. Yet another pattern of mine. 
I will give you the correct measurements for these yummy cookies.
1/4 lb butter
2 tbs sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
Powdered sugar for later
Cream butter, sugar, and flour and nuts.
Once all combined make ball then shape into a crescent and bake 350 for 10-15 minutes.  After you take them out of the oven  dredge them in the powdered sugar.
These are lite and flakey.   I will be making these later.

Christmas Goodies. . .

Christmas just would not be the same without some Hello Dollys (7 layer cookies).  My mom has made these since I was little.  They are the best ever cookie and to me they sing Christmas.  I am fixing these today and maybe some butter cookies.  The butter cookies are not really Christmasy but I do love them.  The butter cookies are from my sister.  She used to make these all the time when she was in college.  I have had a little bit of a craving for both of these.    Let's do the Dollys first:
1 stick of butter melted in a casserole dish
1 1/2 pkgs. of graham crackers crushed
1/2 bag of chocolate chips
1/2 bag of butterscotch chips
1/2 bag of white chocolate chips
1 can sweet and condensed milk
1/2 bag of flaky coconut
1/2 pkg of pecans chopped

After you have melted the butter in the casserole dish sprinkle the cracker crumbs in the bottom then layer all of your ingredients and top with sweet and condensed milk.  Bake at 350 25-30 minutes or until brown and bubbly.  With my oven pre heated it only took 25 minutes. 

Here is the butter cookie recipe:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1tbsp vanilla

2tbsp orange juice

Cream butter, egg, sugar, vanilla and OJ then add flour mix well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  It can be left overnight.   When ready to bake let the dough warm up just a bit.  I make balls and  flatten them.  Bake 400 for 6-10 minutes.  

Stay tuned tomorrow may be more baking, baking is kinda crafty right.  

Techno Tuesday. . . Defragment the Hard Drive

I am running behind today, sorry for the late post.   Here are the thoughts for today on technology.
If you have an older computer using an older hard drive you should defragment it at least every few months.  If you feel like your computer is running slow then you should defrag more frequently.  If your computer is newer and has a solid state drive you do not need to defragment and in fact you should not degrament it.   The deframent program is strictly for older hard drives that have the platters (HDD).  Windows has a deframent program that comes with it but there are other programs you can use too.   Here is a site to check out for this and one other program you should know about.
www.auslogics.com 
At this site they offer FREE downloads of some of their products and then they offer premium product for a fee.  I use their FREE products and they are great.  The defragment program is very good.  Keep in mind if you have not defragmented your drive in a while or ever this will take some time.  This will also speed up your computer because your files will not be scattered all over your hard drive.
The other program that is helpful is the Duplicate File finder.  This program will find duplicate files and allow you to get rid of them.  This will free up disk space as well as speed up your computer.  You may think, I do not have any duplicate files,  but you do.  You will be surprised at how many duplicates you may have.  Under each of these programs it offers more information about them.  Check this out before you download to make sure you are getting what you want.   I love FREE downloads but I am very cautious of them too.  These were both given to me by my instructor and I trust him and his opinions.  I will not recommend anything that I do not trust or have not used personally.

Mom Babbles. . .

Here are my random thoughts on this past week and the week to come.    I was honored to be inducted in to the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society on Friday.  I was shocked and thrilled to be recognized for my school work these last two years.   My cap on my implant fell out Friday night and that meant an emergency visit to my oral surgeon on Saturday.   This week will be crazy with dentist appointments and a flury of antibiotics and pain medication.  Ughhhh
Mom's do not get sick days though, so kid duty will continue.  Luckily, other than needing a driver, my kids are self sufficient.   The driving may be tricky this week. 
I will be knee deep studying for finals this week too.   Looking forward to Christmas break with the kidos and some down time.   Good news is my tree is up and decorated, bad news I have not put up all of my ornament boxes yet.  I will add that to my list of things to do this week.  I will be baking this week too,  check back on Wednesday for some Christmas goodie recipes. 

Happy Friday! Topic Today the Big B. . . Budget

Yep, it is time to revisit that nasty word, Budget.   That word always carried a restrictive connotation with me for many years.  It is actually very freeing to be able to sit down and tell each dollar where it is going before you get it.   If you do that you want be wondering where it all went at the end of the month.   I told you when I started this that I was terrible at balancing my checkbook and doing a budget.   I had never balanced my checkbook till I took Dave's class and worse than that I had never really looked at my bank statements before either.  I know, that is the worst.  That is why I tell you, I have made many mistakes and I wish I knew about Dave or anybody else for that matter earlier.  It would have saved me so much money and heart ache too.
Let us get down to the nitty gritty of the big B.  Dave says, managed money is like getting a raise.  That is so true, I would have never thought that before I put together a budget.  Do not look at your budget as restrictive, look at it as spending on paper for a purpose.  (another Daveism) The first thing I did was write out, longhand, what we spent in a month.  Even though we are in the technology age I still like using pencil and paper when working with my budget.   I took old bank statements and looked at each one and wrote down what we had spent to try and compile my budget.  Group your items together for example, restaurants, groceries, insurance, car payments, house payments, utilities, and phone bills etc. . .  Do not forget to put give and save at the top of your list.  Remember what your grandparents always say the more you give the more you receive so, always keep giving at the top.  You also have to remember to pay yourself (save).   If you are at the height of your debt snowball you may think, how can I give and save if I am paying crazy to get out of debt?   You may have to cut back on saving during your debt snowball period.  That is ok because once you are out of debt you will be able to save and give like crazy.  I did not believe it either but it is possible and we are giving and saving like crazy.  We are still paying down our house but it is not like before.    Dave says during the debt snowball that everything should be going to pay off your debt.  He talks about using your savings to get out of debt.  I guess if you were in several hundred thousand dollar debt then that would be understandable, we were not that bad off so we did not use any savings to pay ours off.  We used everything else though and, we never stopped giving.  To me giving was the most important part of our budget.  The old adage stands true the more you give the more you receive.  We are proof positive in that.  I cannot tell you how many times early in our marriage that we did not know how we were going to pay bills but we never stopped our giving and we never missed any payments.
Being able to budget and get out of debt has been a huge blessing and I want everyone to know how to do it.  Imagine a debt free world, imagine the amazing things that could be done if there was no debt hanging over our heads, imagine the lives that could be changed.  That is what I hope for, amazing changes for everyone.

Hand Made Christmas Gifts. . .

I love making goodies at the holidays especially Christmas.  I also enjoy sharing what I have made with others.  I used to make trays of goodies for my neighbors: different kinds of cookies, bars, and chex mix.  I would buy an inexpensive tray or plate and use that to deliver my sweets, my neighbors were to keep the tray as part of their gift.   My mom used to make all kinds of goodies and do something similar for her friends and neighbors and I guess that is where I got the idea.  Most of the time my sweets are well received but, one time one of my neighbors responded, I don't have anything to give you or I cannot repay you.  I do this because I like sharing with others not because I want something in return.  It really hurt my feelings that someone would think I expected something from them.  A simple thank you and Merry Christmas would have been wonderful, anything except  a question of my motive.   That next year I didn't bake my sweets for my neighbors because I felt so bad.  The year after that I decided I did not care what anyone thought and I made even more sweets to share.   Do me a favor, if someone in your neighborhood or office bakes you goodies just respond with a simple thank you and Merry Christmas.  
I also enjoy making ornaments with the kids.   I helped my nieces make some glass ornaments one year when they came to visit.  We took clear glass ball ornaments and we drizzled glue in the ball and rolled it so it would cover the inside.   Then we took glitter and shook it inside the ornament and shook it around to cover the inside.  They make beautiful ornaments and the kids can make them with adult supervision.   My sister made me some ornaments out of her sheeps' shearing.   She took the same type of glass ball and she put the sheep's wool in the ball.  You can buy those glass ornaments at AC Moore or Michael's or any craft store.   Below are some pictures of those ornaments and my tree because I just finished decorating today.  Wheww! 

Kung Pao Chicken. . . In the Pot

I missed my techno Tuesday, sorry about that.  That is my life though, sometimes there are bumps in the road.  I will catch up next week. 
On to the spicy Kung Pao chicken cooking.  I found this on Pinterest and it was a huge hit with my hubby and the oldest.  Big T did not care for it.   I may have spiced it up a wee to much.  True to my routine I did not follow the recipe specifically.   Here is the link if you want to check it out,  www.thefrugalgirls.com
I will tell you what it originally called for and what I used instead.
It called for cooking your 4-6 chicken breast in the crock pot for 3 hours on high and then removing and draining the juice.  I decided that was too much work.   I boiled my chicken in 15 minutes and cut it up then put it in my crock pot.  Next you mixed up pineapple preserves and Kung Pao sauce.  I did not have pineapple preserves,  I did have pineapple juice and some molasses.   Yes, I subbed in the pineapple juice and molasses.  I added 4 oz of pineapple juice and 2 tbsp of molasses to a bottle of the Kung Pao sauce and mixed it up.  I poured that over my chicken cut up in the crock pot.  The recipe called for red and green peppers to be chopped and added.  I used some of our own hot peppers and I added them whole.   I cooked my recipe on low for most of the day and then dropped it to warm.  I served it over rice, it was very spicy and very good.   It would clear out your sinuses quickly.  This will go into the list to use again.  

A Mother's Opinion. . .teens driving

I am going to weigh in on all the kids that have been killed in car accidents these last few weeks.  I feel very sorry for the families that have been affected by these tragic events.  I pray every night for each of them.  With that said, here is my opinion.
I think teens today have had a lack of parental involvement.   The economy is bad,  most families require both parents working and the kids are left  to their own.  Our kids are over indulged and under parented. 
A friend of mine is trying to set up a driving program for our high school to better educate our kids for the road.  I applaud her for trying to do something. I don't think that is the root of the problem.  Teens today have no respect for authority, themselves or anyone else for that matter.  They are a very self-centered group.  I see it everyday when I pick up my kids at school.  They are checking their phones and not paying attention to their driving.  You can see it on Facebook with the sketchy photos of young girls.  Read it and hear it on the news about the sexting.  This generation is growing up way to quickly and they are not mentally able to handle it. 
They all believe it cannot happen to them but sadly,  it is happening every day. 
The latest I read was a 15 year old driving with two 16 year olds and a 17 year old at 2 in the morning.   The 15 year old and two others are dead.   I do not understand why parents are not keeping a closer eye on their kids.  Yes, I guess I am an old fart with backward ideas.  I am not trying to be my child's friend,  I am their parent and disciplinarian.   Not a fun job some days but it is my job to make sure they abide by the rules.  I love my kids too much to give in to every whim and let them get by with misbehavior.    I hold my kids accountable for their actions and that is not popular these days.   These days the popular thing to do is deny it happened or blame someone else.  

Your kids really want your time not your money, they are begging for it everyday.  When they act out and do things they know are wrong, that is a cry for attention.  

 Please do not think I am heartless or callous because of what I have written.  I have a 15 year old that is learning to drive and my heart breaks every time I hear about another wreck.   We need to encourage our kids to stand against the "crowd" and not be afraid to be different and to do what they know is right when the "crowd" is doing what our kids know is wrong.   If we do not we may be getting that late night call of tragedy, and I do not want that to happen to anyone.   

This is just my opinion, and my kids are not perfect by an stretch of the imagination.   The difference with my kids, is I know they are capable of stretching the truth on occasion and I know how to catch them.  They also know I will find everything out one way or the other.   "There is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known" Matthew 10:26