Wow! We awoke this morning and looked out to welcome a soft, shimmering blanket of freshly fallen snow! Incredibly beautiful! A rather rare occurrence for these parts! Admittedly, I absolutely love it! Bill ventured out onto the deck and got a plate full of the soft fluffy stuff and I immediately set about to transform it into snow ice cream! Ah, the memories of when we did this as children in East Texas on those rare occasions when we had snow there, too. I found the bag of Splenda, the vanilla flavoring and 1% milk and got busy getting it “just right!” It was delicious! I even added some sugar free chocolate syrup to the second half and that was delicious, too! I may have to send him back outside for more snow!

Today is indeed a memorable day in our nation’s history. I, as many of you may have, watched much of the inauguration. It was a humbling experience, and regardless of one’s political leanings, we must pray for our new president, Barack Obama. It is heartwarming to know that many of the barriers which divide our country have been torn down. Today is proof of that. I thought Pastor Rick Warren delivered a very good prayer and one that honored our Lord Jesus Christ. Also, I have been very proud of former President and Mrs. Bush for their tremendous display of dignity and courtesy in the transition of power. They have served our country well in my opinion in spite of many challenges.

This past week was somewhat of a blur. I did not set my foot (either one) outside - at all! I’m sure Wal-Mart stock is way down and now we know the real reason. That might be a world record for me. Battling a severe sore throat, I have stayed “put” until I got much better. Per my sweet Dr. Tami Harris, there is a viral type sore throat malady going around that is highly contagious. I certainly have no desire to spread the mess if indeed that is what I had!

So, I have taken these “homebound” opportunities to go through a huge plastic zipper bag (it once held a comforter, I think!) of various recipes that I have collected through the years, but which somehow never found their way to a binder, recipe box, or other place of honor. They are written on all sorts of note paper, backs of check deposits, 3-ring blue-lined notebook sheets, backs of Ace Hardware advertising mailers (you know the hardware store in Kentwood was sold in the late 70s!), and on various other bits and pieces of dog-eared writing material. Many of them bring to mind dear friends and family members - many of whom are now gone - who have shared the recipes with me; others are just random clippings that go into a “one day” file. Barely legible, some are shouting, “Why on earth did you save me! You never tried me!”

At any rate, I think it is definitely time to share a recipe or two from my horde of unorganized (but beloved!) recipes! By the way, I’d love getting some from any of you, too, who have some favorites to throw in the mix. I can just hear someone saying, “Even when she’s sick her mind is on food!” Yep, you would be correct in that assumption! One of my favorite “finds” was the recipe for M & M Chicken Dressing! Just so you know, that stands for Magee and Morris Chicken Dressing! Talk about a flood of memories and sheer delight when I came across this one. I had searched diligently for it during the Christmas season when my dear friend Elisa Chaney had asked for a dressing recipe. I kind of re-created it in my mind - and I think I remember Elisa saying it was good; but anyway, I will spare you the original recipe right now because the one I resurrected makes five (5) gallons! Dora and I used to have a literal ball getting together and making this delicious dressing each fall before Thanksgiving. We would spend the day in her kitchen and cook till we dropped! Then we would freeze sizeable portions and give them away to others who might not be up to making dressing for the holidays. After all, has anyone ever successfully made a small amount of dressing? There was always plenty for us and to share with many others. But since it is way too close to cause anyone to jump ship on any new year’s resolutions, I won’t share that recipe right now lest you be tempted!

Here are a couple of recipes from my cache. I thought some salad selections might taste good, although today’s weather begs for homemade chili and soup! Probably you have your favorites of those already. Here we go; these are all really easy and have been around a while and are not necessarily low calorie!

CHERRY SALAD from Dianne Yarbrough formerly of Kentwood, now of Simpsonville, SC:
1 – 12 oz. Cool Whip
1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
½-3/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 small bag miniature marshmallows
Mix together and chill.
(Note from Velta: I believe that you could use light pineapple in its own juice and light cherry pipe filling and still have a delicious salad that also works well as a dessert.)

CHINESE SALAD from Gwen Simmons, our neighbor in Greenville, SC
1 head cabbage, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Ramen Noodles, beef flavor
Place in large bowl.

Dressing:
3 T sugar
2 T vinegar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Beef flavored packet from Ramen Noodles
¾ cup olive oil
Mix well, pour over salad, to which you add toasted slivered almonds and sunflower seeds, plus the Ramen noodles. Makes 8 servings.  (Note from Velta: I used to mix the dressing ahead of time and add to the other ingredients a few minutes before serving.)

ORANGE SALAD – a recipe from my deceased sister, Opal. She often made this the night before she planned to serve it. It can also serve as a dessert.
1 large Cool Whip
1 box orange jello
1 can mandarin orange sections, well drained
1 – 16oz. carton cottage cheese
1 can chunk pineapple, well drained
In large bowl combine Cool Whip and cottage cheese. Sprinkle dry jello over above mixture. Fold in orange sections and chunk pineapple. Mix well, cover and refrigerate several hours.

That's all for now! Everyone: stay well and warm!