Yummy stir-fry sauce

Prepare whatever veggies and meat you want, saute them in oil then add this sauce to them when they are done:

1 cup pineapple juice (I usually just add whatever juice in left over from the big can of pineapple- I think it's 1 lb. 4 oz and then I use the pineapple in the stir fry)
3 T brown sugar
3/4 c tamari or soy sauce (be sure to use low sodium!)
1/8 t ginger
1 clove garlic-crushed/minced (add this very last)
2 T cornstarch in 1/4 c water (be sure to add the cornstarch to the water before adding the mixture to above of else you will have to start over!)

Heat over med/low until thick.

Roasted Vegetables

Mix any and all of the following:
beats (which I usually add extra)
sweet potatoes
zucchini
red pepper
red onion
yellow pepper
carrots
mushrooms
anise

After chopping vegetables (potatoes and carrots smaller than others), mix all together with olive oil. Bake uncovered at 425 for 30-45 minutes.

I usually make a lot of vegetables so that I can eat them for lunch for the next week. They are good even reheated in the microwave.

Christmas Idea

My mother-in-law unknowingly gave us a great idea for Christmas gifts. And then two days later I was talking to my dad and he mentioned, completely unaware of my mother-in-laws comment, that he had to get prepared for emergency.

For Christmas we are making emergency preparedness kits for two of our sets of parents. I've been looking for a long time as I have created our own family preparedness kit. The other day, I came across a great site. It has really good prices and a lot of variety. I figured out that if I order what I want from their loose stuff and assemble my kit on my own, I could get a lot more stuff for the price of their prepared emergency kits.

And we got all of our siblings involved to make it a group gift which kept the cost down. And our siblings loved that they didn't have to come up with something on their own.

Anyway, I just thought it was an unconventional but practical gift for loved ones.

The site that I like is www.preparednessproducts.net.

Great Children's Books

So, I am always on the look out for great children's books, both visually and contextually. Below are a couple of our favorites, what are yours?

Alberta, are you out there?

Does anyone have the Youngs' contact info? I've misplaced their e-mail addresses...Anyone have an e-mail address or phone number? Apart from wondering how they're doing, I need to talk to Brad about choir stuff. Specifically, I need the old choir e-mail list. Thanks!

chicken divan

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons soy sauce
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
2 cups cooked chicken pieces
2 pkgs frozen broccoli or cooked fresh broccoli

Melt butter, add flour. Add chicken broth, 2 cups cheese, and soy sauce. Slowly add to sour cream, NOT IN HOT PAN! Layer chicken, broccoli and sauce. Cover with remaining cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve over rice or noodles.

Free Night of Theater is back!!

Free Night of Theater is back this year! Some of us did this last year and it was lots of fun. Free theater tickets if you go on or around Oct. 18 (sorry, the big Broadway shows usually don't participate). All you have to do is go to www.freenightoftheater.net starting at noon on Monday the 8th to reserve tickets. You can reserve two at a time. Tickets go quickly, so get right in there!

The shows are listed by title and location. Two close ones that sounded interesting to me were Jekyll and Hyde (the musical, playing in Fullerton) and Doubt, a parable (non-musical "cat-and-mouse" drama, playing in Costa Mesa). There are plenty of interesting ones playing in the LA area too.