Menu Ideas

• Baked Sweet Potatoes (or regular potatoes), Peas, Meat (pork chop, fish, steak, chicken)
• 5 can chili (w/ ground sausage, beef, or turkey, optional), Whole Wheat Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
• Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
• Taco Salad Night
• Ministrone Night
• Fiesta Dinner Salad served with Chicken or Pork Chops
• Quiche Night
• Sloppy Joes served on Whole Wheat Buns and Sweet Corn
• Lasagne served with Spinach Salad
• Oaty Cakes served with a variety of fresh fruit/berries and lean Sausage links or Bacon
• Taco Night served with Beans and fresh Black Bean/Corn/Cilantro Salsa
• London Broil Steak or Salmon served with steamed or grilled Asparagus and Baked Potato
• Pad Thai served with Noodles
• Fried (Brown) Rice served with Chicken, Pork or Beef with Baby Brocolli, Peas, Sliced Carrots

Oaty Cakes

These delicious, good-for-you pancakes are a staple here in the MCQ!!

These are very oaty and creamy inside! You’ll need to smoosh them down once you flip them!
1 cup quick oats + 1 cup plain greek yogurt… mix well.
stir in…
1 egg, 2 tbsp canola oil, 1/4 cup ww flour, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon… mix well.
Scoop onto HOT griddle (set on about medium heat), flip, smoosh, brown… serve with fresh berries, butter, and maple syrup.

Feel free to get creative with this recipe! Add into the mix chopped pecans or walnuts, diced apple, raisins.....
Makes 8 pancakes.
Yum! :-)

Fiesta Dinner Salad

This is very delicious, it's from miss Jean :-)
She says it is a complete little protein and veggie package.

4 cups cooked brown rice
1.5 red bell peppers, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 cups frozen corn
2 cans black beans
6 green onions
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
chopped cilantro topping (optional)
Dressing:
1/3 cup evoo
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all in a large bowl. Can be served with baked chicken.
Adjust ingredients or amounts according to taste. Sasha thinks chopped up tomato outsides would be tasty in it. Brook says carrots would be yummy in it.
Enjoy cold!

Delicious Taco Salad

This one has been in the family for a couple of generations. It's a winner.

1 lb ground beef
1 can beans, drained (red kidney, black beans, etc)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp Williams chili seasoning
1/2 cup water
3 tomatoes
1/2 cup onion
1/2 head lettuce
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salad dressing (see recipe)
2 cups crushed tortilla chips (plain or flavored)

Salad Dressing:
1 pkg Good Seasons Italian seasoning mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup oil
Shake well.

Brown beef, drain and add beans, salt, pepper, chili seasoning and water. Simmer 20 minutes. Cut up tomatoes, onion and lettuce. Add cheese and dressing. Add the meat and the chips. Mix well.

Note: Beans can be omitted with no problems, and also taco seasoning can be used in place of the chili seasoning. Also, don't put the chips in the salad if you plan on having left-overs. The chips are awesome in the salad the first night, but not so awesome the next day.

Curtis' Yummy Pad Thai

This recipe is super delicious and really simple. I made it for me and my roomie tonight and we give it two thumbs up.

1 lb chicken breast, cut into pieces and cooked in skillet
12-16 oz frozen veggies
sauce: mix in bowl
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

peanuts for topping
serve over noodles or rice

Enjoy!! :-)

Fancy Macaroni & Cheese

Here it is so I won't loose this recipe again. This dish rocks! Thanks mom, for discovering it on the Food Network.


Yield: 6-8 servings

Butter, for greasing dish
12 oz wide egg noddles
3 c whipping cream
1.5 c whole milk
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 c (packed) grated Fontina
3/4 c (packed) finely grated Parmesan
3/4 c (packed) grated Mozzarella
4 oz cooked ham, diced (optional)
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Butter a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender but still firm to bite, about 5 min. Drain well, but do not rinse.
Whisk the cream, milk, flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in 1 cup Fontina, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup Mozzarella, ham (if using) and parsley. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Toss the remaining 1 cup Fontina, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup Mozzarella in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the noodle mixture.
Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts and begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Yum!!!! :-)

Mediterranean Pinwheels Appetizer

Mediterranean Crescent Pinwheels

2 cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 pound cooked ham, thinly sliced
2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Heat oven to 375ºF. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
Separate dough into 8 rectangles; place on lightly floured surface. Firmly press perforations to seal. Press or roll each to form 8x5-inch rectangle. Arrange 1/8 of prosciutto or ham slices evenly over each rectangle.
In small bowl, combine cheese, pepper and oil; mix well. Sprinkle mixture evenly over prosciutto on each rectangle. Sprinkle with basil. Starting at short side of each rectangle, roll up; seal long edges. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 5 slices.
Place, cut side up, on sprayed cookie sheets. Bake at 375ºF for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets. Serve warm.

Makes 40 appetizers.

More on Quiche

Revision to the Quiche recipe:

6-8 oz breakfast sausage, browned
1 red, yellow, or orange pepper, chopped
1 cut-up potato
1 clove garlic, chopped
a handful or two of baby spinach
a spoonful or two of sliced black olives
feta cheese, or parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
3 eggs mixed with some milk
pie crust

Mix everything together and place in pie crust. Bake on oven set at 375 or 400 degrees until done.

Brook's Quiche

(Greek style, but can be altered for any style. Note: tomatoes are a bad idea in this, they are too liquidy)
6 oz Breakfast Sausage, browned
1 red, yellow, or orange pepper, chopped
1 red or yellow onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
a handful or two of baby spinach
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
feta cheese
Italian seasoning
3 eggs mixed with some milk
pie crust

Mix everything together and place in pie crust. Bake on oven set at 350 degrees until done.

Brook's Minestrone

1 lb sausage, browned
1 medium onion, chopped
carrots, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
1 potato, chopped
fresh cut green beans
frozen peas
3-6 cloves of chopped garlic
couple handfuls of baby spinach
1 box of beef stock
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
small can of tomato sauce
1 can beans (kidney, garbanzo, etc.)
sprinkle of baking soda
lots of Italian seasoning
black pepper, to taste

Brown the sausage and place in a stock pot on stove on medium heat, adding onions followed by all the other remaining veggies. Add the rest of the ingredients and increase heat to high to start simmering. Then reduce heat to medium and allow to cook for about an hour.

Boil a bag of cheese tortellini and drain. Place a serving of the tortellini in the bottom of your bowl and scoop the soup over it. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!!

Roasted Bell Peppers with Basil and Balsamic Vinegar (salad)

My Aunt fixed this recipe for a party we were going to in Chicago. It's a great summertime recipe!

Ingredients:
3 red bell peppers
3 yellow bell peppers
4.5 TBS evoo
1.5 TBS balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 TBS matchstick- sized orange peel strips (orange part only)
12 large fresh basil leaves

Procedure:
Roast peppers in oven at 400 - 450°F on a sheet lined with foil. (Cut peppers in half and take seeds out, place cut-side down and spritz with evoo. Roast for at least 15 minutes.)
Let peppers cool and then peel, rinse if necessary.
Cut peppers into 3/4 inch wide strips and place in bowl. Mix in oil, vinegar and peel. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand one hour. Chop basil and mix in before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

A Valentine's Day Prayer

Almighty God,
You have shown us that you are Love itself in the very act of creating us; you did not have to create anything.You have shown us that you are Love itself in the gifts you have given us and by which you have sustained us.You have made us to be like you, to be people of love.
Make us people of true love, love that is chosen and committed. In love, help us to choose patience, when we feel impatient. In love, help us to choose kindness, when we want to be unkind. Help us to be humble, when we want to be pompous and inflated. Help us to choose to love with tenderness, rather than hurt with rudeness. Help us to be generous, when we want to seek only our own interests. Help us to be gentle, when we want to be quick-tempered. Help us to forgive with love, when we want to brood over injury. Help us to find joy in truth rather than pleasure in wrong-doing.
Lord, give us strength to bear our burdens when we want to lay them down and quit. Guide us through our belief in the truth when others attempt to misguide us by deceit. And Lord, give us hope for a brighter future when all around us seems dark.
Lord, help us to endure the sufferings of this present life so that we may finally attain eternal life with you, who is God of Love, forever and ever.
Amen.

March for LIFE 2009

The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Basilica.








Walking to the Rally.









On the March. Right down Constitution Avenue.








The end of the March- at The Supreme Court.

The Origins of the Rosary

Origins of the Rosary

(original post: http://www.secretummeummihipress.com/ )

St. Dominic did not “create” the Rosary. He died in 1221, and the earliest recorded rosary similar to what we know today was dated in the 1300s. It is possible that he taught people to recite the first half of the Hail Mary. St. Peter Damian (1007 – 1072) told the story of a priest with only one virtue – saying that Angelic Salutation daily. (Luke 1:42a)

Soon, it was called the "Psalter of Our Lady", with peasants reciting the Angelic Salutation 150 times in a row as an imitation of the 150 psalms of the Divine Office. The rest of the Hail Mary (or in Latin, Ave Maria) was a monastic addition.

Several Cistercian orders developed some meditations on the life of Christ, divided the “Aves” into groups of ten, punctuated with a “Pater Noster” (Our Father). Finally, another Dominic, a Carthusian monk of Polish descent, popularized his version with 50 meditations to keep wandering minds focused on the task at hand. This version dates to the early 1400s, and was called a Rosenkranz – a garland of roses.
Knotted cords and beads for prayer counting predate the Hail Mary. They were also used to count “Paters.”
The genius of the Rosary was that anyone could say it. The rosary confraternities were free, and open to all. (Other religious confraternities had membership dues and requirements that suited only the nobility.) The Carthusians and their Dominican confreres were simply concerned with providing spiritual succor to their flocks, all of whom were reeling from the effect of the Hundred Years War and bubonic plague.

The Rosary also satisfied the need to idealize love and relationships. In Stories of the Rose, historian Anne Winston-Allen says, “Like most works of the devotional allegory genre, it calls up the language and images of the Old Testament Song of Songs and fuses them with the conventions and terminology of courtly love.”

Woodblock prints were widely used to disseminate popular religious images to those who couldn’t read. Rosary books, devotional paintings, and sculptures abounded on the rosary theme. At the same time, most peasants said the Rosary using a knotted cord. The first Rosary woodblock print dates to 1483, in Ulm. Each picture is framed in ten roses, one for each Ave.

Easy, artistic and free-- the Rosary endures as a devotion for rich and poor.

-- by Kristen West McGuire

The Three Gates

The three gates which all thoughts should pass through before that thought becomes speech:
1. Truth
2. Relevance
3. Kindness

Ask yourself before you speak, Is it true?, Is it relevant?, and Is it kind?
Let me just tell you, this will save you a lot of trouble.

4th of July in Chicago

This is Baby Paul, super sweet, and tons of cute personality! He's a real charmer!





















Here is Eileen, Colin, Chris, Uncle Martin and Aunt Janice. I am so happy we were able to go and visit them! We all had a very lovely day.







On Saturday, Aunt Janice and I walked all over downtown Chicago. It was so much fun! We went to this really cool Architectural Building, and then....










she took me to see Jersey Boys! What a fun show! Aunt Janice is standing below the sign here, but with the lighting it is hard to see her. After we saw the show, we went to a fun, trendy restaurant called Quartino. I wish KC would get one of these, it was really yummy!









On Sunday, on my last day there, she took me down to The Taste of Chicago. There was so much food there, it was so awesome! I had some Chicago-style pizza and an Italian Ice - Yummy!

Address at the 2008 March for Life in D.C.

Abortion

Rep. Chris Smith’s address to the 2008 March for Life
By Rep. Chris Smith

“Today, 35 years after the infamous Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion on demand throughout pregnancy, we mourn the estimated 50 million innocent girls and boys whose lives were cut off by abortion—a staggering loss of children’s lives, equal to six times the total number of people living in my home state of New Jersey.” Someday future generations of Americans will look back on us and wonder how and why such a rich and seemingly enlightened society, so blessed and endowed with the capacity to protect and enhance vulnerable human life, could have instead so aggressively promoted death to children and the exploitation of women by abortion both here and overseas.They will note with keen sadness that some of our most prominent politicians and media icons often spoke of human or civil rights, while precluding virtually all protection to the most persecuted minority in the world today, unborn children.

On Sunday, Senator Barack Obama criticized Americans for both our moral deficit and empathy deficit and called on us to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.

Can Senator Obama not see, appreciate or understand that the abortion culture that he and others so assiduously promote lacks all empathy for unborn children—be they Black, White, Latino or Asian—and is at best, profoundly misguided when it comes to mothers?

Why does dismembering a child with sharp knives, pulverizing a child with powerful suction devices or chemically poisoning a baby with any number of toxic chemicals, fail to elicit so much as a scintilla of empathy, moral outrage, mercy or compassion by America’s liberal elite?

Abortion destroys the life of our “brothers and sisters” and the pro-abortion movement is the quintessential example of an “Empathy Deficit.”Human life begins at the moment of fertilization. Every second thereafter is simply a stage of development. By day 22 after fertilization the heart is beating and brain waves can be detected at 44 days. By week five tiny hands and feet begin to develop and by week 7 the baby is already kicking and swimming in the womb. Ultrasound technology gives us a window into the robust lives of unborn children showing them even in the earliest weeks of pregnancy, moving, turning, and stretching. We now know that in the second trimester babies have the capacity to feel pain. Future generations will wonder why it took so long for Congress, the President and the courts to stop just one hideous painful method of death, partial-birth abortion. And why dismembering a child with sharp knives, pulverizing a child with powerful suction devices or chemically poisoning a baby with any number of toxic chemicals, failed to elicit so much as a scintilla of empathy, mercy or compassion by some, especially America’s liberal elite, for the victims.

Abortion can never be construed as a human right, even if Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say it is. It is a human rights abuse against the weakest and most vulnerable—treating these young persons as a sexually transmitted disease, a parasite, a piece of junk to be destroyed. And the whole notion of wantedness and unwantedness turns a child into an object. Unborn babies have dignity, inherent value and infinite worth. Because these kids are so defenseless, politicians and jurists must now, at long last, rise above perceived political self-interest, surface appeal arguments crafted by pro-abortion focus groups and pollsters, and a raft of junk science to protect the fundamental human rights of unborn children.Let’s be blunt. Abortion is violence against children. It is extreme child abuse. It is cruelty to children. Sadly, abortion is not only legal until birth but the daily perpetrators of this terrible injustice are massively subsidized by liberal politicians who enrich the abortion industry with taxpayer funds.

Generations to come will reflect with dismay and incredulity that, notwithstanding modest pro-life legislative gains in Congress and the States, in 2008 the largest abortion provider in the nation, Planned Parenthood, continued to receive huge amounts of taxpayer funds. This ubiquitous seemingly benign organization is in the grisly business of systematically dismembering the fragile bodies of unborn children with sharp knives and hideous suction machines, or killing them with poison. As I said recently on the floor of the House of Representatives, it’s time to take a second look at Planned Parenthood, “Child Abuse, Incorporated”, for the millions of children it has killed and continues to kill, all the while receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from local, state, and federal governments.

For the abortion industry, business is good. In 2005 Planned Parenthood alone increased the number of abortions it performed in its so-called family planning clinics by 10,000 for a total of nearly 265,000 abortions. With its nation-wide clinic building boom well underway that number of slaughtered babies will likely rise to 300,000 per year or more.
Human rights defenders worthy of the name must at a minimum move to abolish government subsidies for those who destroy children. We must also tenaciously fight for the day when every life, born or unborn, is respected and protected by law.

There are at least two victims in every abortion (Three when twins are involved). It’s time to recognize and accept the inconvenient truth that abortion exploits women. Women deserve better than abortion. Nonviolent, humane solutions need to be found for women facing the challenge of an unexpected pregnancy without adequate financial resources or emotional support. A woman’s unborn child may be easily scraped from her womb, but the memory is not so easily scraped from her heart and mind—some women experience severe psychological consequences including clinical depression.

Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has had two abortions. Today, she has joined the growing coalition of women who deeply regret their abortions and are “Silent No More.” Out of deep personal pain and compassion for others, they challenge us to respect, protect and tangibly love both the mother and the child. The women of Silent No More give post-abortive women a safe place to grieve and a roadmap for reconciliation. And to society at large, these brave women compel us to rethink and reassess the far-too-cheap sophistry of our abortion culture. Reflecting on her uncle’s famous speech, Alveda King asks: “How can the ‘Dream’ survive if we murder the children?”

Future generations will look on those who March for Life with gratitude for their unwavering resolve to protect both women and unborn children from abortion. Thirty-five years after Roe, pro-life ranks have swelled with abortion survivors—courageous post-abortive women, fathers grieving the loss of their son or daughter, siblings who mourn the abortion death of a brother or sister and students who miss every third classmate denied a chance to live. Through their efforts, combined with the dedication of pro-life advocates of all ages, and united in prayer and fasting, America’s dark night of child slaughter will soon come to an end.”

(Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is currently serving his 14th term and is Co-Chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus)

For more information, go to: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource.php?n=476

PA and the Poconos

I'm in PA right now, enjoying my vacation. Mom and dad are here and we are at Uncle Bob and Aunt Jill's house getting ready for a yummy dinner out on the deck. It is a beautiful evening and their brand new "water feature" is very cool.















We spent the last several days in the Pocono Mountains here in North Eastern PA, and we saw harness racing and the Pocono Raceway, which is a Nascar race car track. We got a free tour of the track and even got to ride in the pace car.


























We were able to go and pay a visit to Alex and Gloria and little Lydia up near Scranton, PA which was only about a half hour from where we were staying. That was a real treat to get to spend an evening with them.

Pray for Priests

On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, we are asked to pray for the sanctification of priests. The following prayer is worth saying more often!


St. Therese's Prayer for Priests

O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests: who as a pledge of Thine own most tender love will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the souls of men.
May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.
Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.
Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for Thy beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love. Amen.

From: Secretum Meum Mihi Press

The March for LIFE 2008

We left Kansas City, MO on Saturday, January 19th in 4 big coach buses, holding about 50 people on each bus. It was a 24 hour bus ride out to Washington DC.
I was lucky enough to get to meet up with my cousin, Aaron the first night I was there. He took me out to this delicious seafood restaurant, Legal Seafood, and then afterward he came with me to a pub that was next to my hotel and got to meet a bunch of my friends, including my roommate. It was so cool and totally fun!

The reason for the March for Life is that it marks the day the Supreme Court passed the decision on Roe v. Wade that made it legal to have an abortion for any reason at any time during the 9 months of pregnancy. 3000 babies a day die as a result of abortion. Abortion is by far the leading cause of death in America. We march for and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.


This is my friend Brook and myself in the hotel right before going out to sightsee on the day before the March. It was really cold outside so we were all bundled up! We went to the Mall and we saw the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, the Korean War memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We also walked to the Capitol building, and we saw several other federal buildings on our walk.



Washington Monument......











The Lincoln Memorial.....











Brook on the steps by the Capitol.










We stopped by the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to check it out since we had to get over to the Basilica to get a seat.
This is St. Francis with the Child Jesus.









We got seats right in the front row! It was the most amazing and memorable mass I've ever been to. The Basilica, which is the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, was so beautiful. There were hundreds of seminarians, Deacons, Priests, Bishops and Cardinals there. I had never seen so many in one place before!



This is the mosaic of Jesus that was behind the altar. He has fire coming off of his halo! He looked like a warrior Jesus.







Here were some of the Bishops that attended the mass. Bishop Finn, the Bishop of KC is the second one from the left. We Love Bishop Finn!!!!






This is Sherri and me and Ryan at the March Rally on the 22nd. It was freezing out there, but that didn't stop us from speaking up for the babies!






The Silent No More campaign was there. They have a very profound presence. Women and men who are speaking up about regretting their abortions, or being involved with one. Abortion doesn't rewind anything, it only causes hurt and pain.
http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/





Some of the signs that were present during the March. This was a life changing experience for me. Life is so precious and sacred, it is a gift. Let's all work to make the womb a safer place to live!