Water Cooler

I have Verizon for the phone line, and hence, dial-up. THEY reported no problems yesterday, but my DD's system crashed at work three times so she said. My problem was that it would take FOREVER to get 10Kb to come through. When I say FOREVER, I mean that it was coming through at about .5Kb per minute!!! Very frustrating!!!

Oh you have my sympathy Candyce! I just cannot imagine using dial-up after so many years of high-speed. It's downright painful.

I had sooo many trick or treaters that I ran out of toys and pencils and started handing out dimes and nickels until I ran out of them! Then I turned off the lights and hid out!

Goal today. Spaghetti for supper: I was taught by an older woman from Italy. She was a Pisano (sp)? I have never recorded this for 30 years. I have no receipe or measurments. The meat poundage, that is it. I go totally on looks, smell and feel.

Started bad 7:11 on the road to get Olive Oil. Got back at 7:30

2 large onions dices. Heat olive oil in pot. Saute onions till translucent. Then add 6 cloves garlic crushed (never never burn garlic). 4 - 28 oz. Cans whole tomatoes (I squish them in a dish with my hands a bit before adding to pot). 1/2 can of water.
Add to the tomatoes
Salt & pepper
Oregan & basil - no measurement, I do it just till the tomatoes are covered.
4 bay leaves
6 fennel seeds.
Keep adding water to sauce as needed.

8:30 done with that and starting next step.

12 Sweet Italian Sausage and 6 hot.
1 bunch fresh parsley chopped.
5 garlic cloves crushed.
2 lbs burger
1 lb ground pork
3 eggs
Progresso Italian bread crumbs.

Burger, pork, garlic and eggs. I smooch it with my fist. Then the crumbs and parsley. Salt & pepper to taste.

9:10 Roll them up and brown them in Crisco vegetable oil and add them to sauce. (made 35 meatballs)

Brown sweet sausage first add to sauce and then the hot sausage. I normally take 1/4 cup of the frying pan fat and add it right to the sauce. (This could depend on your preference of fat intake).

9:47 Simmer the sauce for hours. Around 3:00 I will add a can of tomato sauce and a small can of tomato paste. I don't put it in until late as the paste and sauce could make it burn. You have to pay attention and stir frequently with a spatchula.

Meantime I will grate a slab of fresh Romano cheese. Do the dishes.

I never recorded cost. I will guess around 30-35 bucks. You have your spaghetti, meatball or sausage subs, grinders, hoagies what ever you call them. If you want to go the extra distance you can make stuffed shells.

At the holidays coming up we do not do gifts, we do stuffed shells. My DH kids have watched me make stuffed shells and don't know how I make them without a receipe. Last year it was like 43 lbs of meat around 175 bucks for the ordeal. We give each kid a tray to take home. They will get 2 or 3 meals out of a tray. It takes me 2 days for the sauce. The 2 pots are big and they have to be hauled outside to stay cold at night. The 3rd day the shells go togather and get baked. Motzarella, Romano, Parmasean and Ricotta.

The meatballs have a tendency to disapper. I dream of Jeenie must come around. The kicker I don't eat the stuffed shells. I like cheese buy not that much, I end up with spaghetti.

Now I'm hungry!

YUM!!! Drooling all over keyboard.

It is not done so don't get your mouth watering yet. I don't know why I even did this on here? Maybe you will get little pointers to help. With the stuffed shells the #1 making them so special is the word ***FRESH*** Garlic, parsley, grated cheese etc etc. I do not make the spaghetti or shells. Heck they might be done in 2 months.

I will answer any questions if you have any the best I can.

Still not delivering?

I would but it is against the law. I am drinking a BEER !!! At 10:30 AM... By the time DH gets home OH BOY

Happy cooks make happy dinners!!

Wow - hide the scales after that meal!

I've decided I'd rather be a bit heavy and happy, than thin and hungry.

Oh, Schick......that sounds just wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to share your recipe! I am drooling here, and thinking I'd better make some dinner soon, now that you put me in the mood.

Candyce - I can so relate to your frustration about the internet. We had only dial-up at the farm in NH for many months. Like Victor - I could not go back, even though it was way too expensive to get Wild Blue that was out of service whenever it rained. Here in Fla. we have Embarq high speed, and it is so much better!!! If I had realized how expensive the "free installation" would end up being, along with the cost of the satellite for Wild Blue, I'm not sure I wouldn't still be on dial-up too. No great answers in the areas of NH where you and I live.

Well, I'm starving now - thanks to Schick - so I will have to come back after supper!!! LOL

Unfortunately, millions are more than a bit.

which reminds me---what is it about having a baby that causes a woman to gain so much weight? There's 6 or 7 girls here in town that have had kids recently, and every one of them has gained a minimum of 60 pounds-----just curious is all.

With my two kids I had trouble gaining weight! [And what's the idea of having a stealth thread and not telling me about it?] They said "TEN POUNDS BY 20 WEEKS OR ELSE!" I never made it and both kids are fine. BUT, I think a. it changes your body's management of food b. it changes your appetite c.if you do or don't nurse, that plays in there somehow. In short, I think it's a complex issue involving lifestyle and body-image issues as well as self-esteem. How did they manage their weight before baby?

x, Carrie

Sympathy for the dial-ups - I started a new thread. Refill at the water cooler:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/786284/

crrie---pre baby, they were all nice slim girls--which is why I was wondering---I've never had kids, so I didn't understand the complexities of it--but I do know a lot of women who gained a whole lot of weight--was wondering if it's fairly common.

I gained over 60 lbs with both my kids. I'm still working on losing it from my 1 year old.My son wieghed 9lbs 3 ozs and my daughter was 9lbs 6ozs. I'm on the small side, only 5'2" usually wear a size 6 or 8.