Ingredients
1 pound sirloin steak, cubed salt to taste ground black pepper to taste 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth 3 large carrots, diced 3 potatoes, cubed 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1/3 cup water 2 (9 inch) refrigerator pie crusts
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the pieces of meat on all sides. Pour in some water to almost cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is tender and falls apart easily; about 2 to 3 hours. Transfer meat to a large mixing bowl. Shred the meat slightly and add salt and pepper to taste.
In another 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, pour in beef broth and add carrots and potatoes. Cook until almost tender; about 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to the large mixing bowl with the beef; leaving the liquid in the pan. Combine the peas with the carrots, potatoes and beef.
Dissolve the cornstarch with the 1/3 cup of water. Pour into the saucepan of beef broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat; cook for 5 minutes.
Line a 9 inch pie plate with one of the pie crust following the package directions. Place the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy over the top of the mixture, then cover with the other pie crust. Bake in a preheated oven until the crust is golden brown; about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
A House Blessing for our Home on Thanksgiving
May all those that pass through these portals,
Feel safe and secure, and may they feel love and respect,
No matter what their station or place in life is.
A home that was established on respect and love,
But the greatest of these is Love.
A special prayer of thanksgiving for my entire family, including, but not limited to:
Mine and Jody’s biological families, our special family and my family at St. Andrews Presbyterian.
My past is behind me, my future it bright and beautiful. Every day is a new awakening. I thank God for each and every day, and I thank God for that special day when Jody and I first met.
Thank You God, for everything!
Your humble servant,
Jere
Feel safe and secure, and may they feel love and respect,
No matter what their station or place in life is.
A home that was established on respect and love,
But the greatest of these is Love.
A special prayer of thanksgiving for my entire family, including, but not limited to:
Mine and Jody’s biological families, our special family and my family at St. Andrews Presbyterian.
My past is behind me, my future it bright and beautiful. Every day is a new awakening. I thank God for each and every day, and I thank God for that special day when Jody and I first met.
Thank You God, for everything!
Your humble servant,
Jere
Crab Salad and Tartar Sauce
CRAB AND SHRIMP SALAD
Serves 4 to 6
3/4 pound fresh crabmeat, preferably from stone crabs from the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico
3/4 pound domestic wild-caught pink shrimp, cooked
1/2 cup Tartar Sauce (recipe follows)
1/3 cup minced fresh organic chives, plus 1 tablespoon extra for garnish
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
6 cups mixed organic baby greens
3 ripe tomatoes, stemmed and thinly sliced
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sugar
1 ripe but firm avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut lengthwise into thin slices
1 tablespoon minced parsley
With your fingertips, pick through the crabmeat to remove any pieces of shell or cartilage. Transfer the crabmeat to a mixing bowl. Pick through the shrimp to remove any fragments of shell, and then add the shrimp to the crabmeat.
Add the Tartar Sauce, chives, and red onion to the bowl. Gently fold the ingredients together until the seafood, chives, and onion are well mixed and evenly coated with the dressing. If not serving immediately, cover and refrigerate.
On 4 chilled main-course salad plates or 6 chilled appetizer salad plates, attractively arrange beds of the baby greens. Scoop the seafood salad in mounds on the center of each bed of greens.
Arrange the tomato slices attractively around the seafood salad and season them with just a pinch of sugar. Arrange the avocado slices attractively among the tomato slices; then, season both the avocado and tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle them lightly with the olive oil. Garnish each plate with the remaining chives and the parsley and serve immediately.
TARTAR SAUCE
Makes about 1-1/2 cups
1-1/2 cups store-bought mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped cornichons (tiny French-style dill pickles)
1 tablespoon small rinsed and drained capers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Put the mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. With a spoon or a wire whisk, stir in the cornichons, capers, tarragon, chives, and sugar until thoroughly blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 3 days.
This is the Wolfgang Puck recipe, for me, I play with it and in a simplistic way, combine Shrimp, Shredded Coleslaw Mix, a very light dressing of mayonnaise and salt and pepper. From there I can do anything with it, serve it crackers, on bagel bites or even with fresh grated cheese on it. My version came from the chef at a country club, Jerry Attaway, in Jackson, Mississippi and has fared me very well over the years.
Serves 4 to 6
3/4 pound fresh crabmeat, preferably from stone crabs from the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico
3/4 pound domestic wild-caught pink shrimp, cooked
1/2 cup Tartar Sauce (recipe follows)
1/3 cup minced fresh organic chives, plus 1 tablespoon extra for garnish
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
6 cups mixed organic baby greens
3 ripe tomatoes, stemmed and thinly sliced
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sugar
1 ripe but firm avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut lengthwise into thin slices
1 tablespoon minced parsley
With your fingertips, pick through the crabmeat to remove any pieces of shell or cartilage. Transfer the crabmeat to a mixing bowl. Pick through the shrimp to remove any fragments of shell, and then add the shrimp to the crabmeat.
Add the Tartar Sauce, chives, and red onion to the bowl. Gently fold the ingredients together until the seafood, chives, and onion are well mixed and evenly coated with the dressing. If not serving immediately, cover and refrigerate.
On 4 chilled main-course salad plates or 6 chilled appetizer salad plates, attractively arrange beds of the baby greens. Scoop the seafood salad in mounds on the center of each bed of greens.
Arrange the tomato slices attractively around the seafood salad and season them with just a pinch of sugar. Arrange the avocado slices attractively among the tomato slices; then, season both the avocado and tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle them lightly with the olive oil. Garnish each plate with the remaining chives and the parsley and serve immediately.
TARTAR SAUCE
Makes about 1-1/2 cups
1-1/2 cups store-bought mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped cornichons (tiny French-style dill pickles)
1 tablespoon small rinsed and drained capers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Put the mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. With a spoon or a wire whisk, stir in the cornichons, capers, tarragon, chives, and sugar until thoroughly blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 3 days.
This is the Wolfgang Puck recipe, for me, I play with it and in a simplistic way, combine Shrimp, Shredded Coleslaw Mix, a very light dressing of mayonnaise and salt and pepper. From there I can do anything with it, serve it crackers, on bagel bites or even with fresh grated cheese on it. My version came from the chef at a country club, Jerry Attaway, in Jackson, Mississippi and has fared me very well over the years.
Thanksgiving Inspirations and Recipes from Houston, Texas
What follows is a compilation of recipes from the Ukitena Clan in Houston, Texas. Also, please feel free to share with everyone, thoughts, feelings and inspirations!
Wonderful Peach Cobbler
The whole family likes this one!Ingredients
• 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the Dumplings....
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• MIX TOGETHER:
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
And now the whole cobbler...
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.
Wonderful Peach Cobbler
The whole family likes this one!Ingredients
• 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the Dumplings....
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• MIX TOGETHER:
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
And now the whole cobbler...
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Just How much does it cost to Praise God and Worship in today’s so called modernistic society?
24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- Matthew 6:24
I have written about the value of a human life in some previous postings and now I feel the strong need to address this particular issue.
It’s appalling to me that we place an inordinate amount of responsibility on a simple piece of paper and give it power over every aspect of our lives, even giving for the proliferation of some supposed secret word of love and hope. How can we, even as human beings, turn a blind eye to what is going on around us. In Houston, Texas, the poverty rate of the school children is 80 percent, at least that is what HISD is telling us, and all the facts and figures associated with that very large and seemingly hopeless school system. The teachers teach a test in order to propagate some funding metric from the state, instead of teaching reasoning and logic skills. Kids slip through the cracks, the dropout rate is 40 to 50 percent, and there is no incentive to learn….anything at all, just pass a test, and that will give you everything you need in life.
Well, coming from an educators standpoint, it’s not necessarily the teachers complete responsibility to guide each and every student to the trough of knowledge and wisdom, that responsibility lays in the laps of the parents and families of the children also, perhaps more than the teachers themselves. There is a very old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink!” Well, for me, I would drink, but I’m not a horse, I don’t think I am at least, but then, I had the want to know feeling about who and what I am and how I can impact myself and the world around me. There is a wonderful experience in my life, studying with a great mentor, perhaps an icon of artistry and intellect, Mr. Robert Marcellus. In many peoples eyes and in mine, was one of the greatest and most prolific of the performing artists of the day. As I ended a rather exhausting lesson experience with him (as a point of reference, the second one I had with him), he, in his unobtrusive way made the statement “Jere, There is nothing I can teach you, you already know all there is to know. If you ever want to learn from me, let me know, I’ll be glad to share with you my knowledge and teach you my ways of doing things.”
I believe I will leave this topic here for now for further exploration, perhaps when someone wants to ask about the outcome, or perhaps share from their lofty perches that they place themselves and others on.
- Matthew 6:24
I have written about the value of a human life in some previous postings and now I feel the strong need to address this particular issue.
It’s appalling to me that we place an inordinate amount of responsibility on a simple piece of paper and give it power over every aspect of our lives, even giving for the proliferation of some supposed secret word of love and hope. How can we, even as human beings, turn a blind eye to what is going on around us. In Houston, Texas, the poverty rate of the school children is 80 percent, at least that is what HISD is telling us, and all the facts and figures associated with that very large and seemingly hopeless school system. The teachers teach a test in order to propagate some funding metric from the state, instead of teaching reasoning and logic skills. Kids slip through the cracks, the dropout rate is 40 to 50 percent, and there is no incentive to learn….anything at all, just pass a test, and that will give you everything you need in life.
Well, coming from an educators standpoint, it’s not necessarily the teachers complete responsibility to guide each and every student to the trough of knowledge and wisdom, that responsibility lays in the laps of the parents and families of the children also, perhaps more than the teachers themselves. There is a very old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink!” Well, for me, I would drink, but I’m not a horse, I don’t think I am at least, but then, I had the want to know feeling about who and what I am and how I can impact myself and the world around me. There is a wonderful experience in my life, studying with a great mentor, perhaps an icon of artistry and intellect, Mr. Robert Marcellus. In many peoples eyes and in mine, was one of the greatest and most prolific of the performing artists of the day. As I ended a rather exhausting lesson experience with him (as a point of reference, the second one I had with him), he, in his unobtrusive way made the statement “Jere, There is nothing I can teach you, you already know all there is to know. If you ever want to learn from me, let me know, I’ll be glad to share with you my knowledge and teach you my ways of doing things.”
I believe I will leave this topic here for now for further exploration, perhaps when someone wants to ask about the outcome, or perhaps share from their lofty perches that they place themselves and others on.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Valueless Life?
I keep reading, with utter dismay, of all the conflicts in the world that seem to drive up the price of essential commodities that promote human life.
In Russia and the Ukraine, people are freezing to death, and there is a fight. In the Middle East, there are wars on top of wars that seem to regulate the price of Oil.
Around the world, people are freezing, unable to afford the very thing that could prevent that, meanwhile the price of Oil keeps going up so the Oil Barons can get richer. To what end do these riches yield? "What value does a man have, if he gains all the possessions in the world and loses his soul? Praise the Dollar as God Himself!"
I question the bailouts in the US, for bailing out the ones that spend money foolishly and care nothing about the common man, I question the Oil Barons, who speculate on the price of a necessary commodity in this day and time, as if they were shooting craps at the casino. Guess what folks, there is an eventual crap out, where the house takes all the table stakes and your left with just a little bit in reserve, perhaps to speculate some more a push for more wealth, no matter what the personal cost is.
In Houston, Texas, as a disabled vet on limited income, the energy companies here don't hesitate in the heat of summer or the dead of winter to cut the necessities of life for not paying the entire extravagant bills they send. There is no heart and soul in these actions, only dollar signs, and human life is not even worth a penny to them if it's not in their pockets.
What's happened to the world? I really don't know, and I question all humanity on this issue. What happened to the days when people actually cared about other people, and would belly up and provide for each other, no matter what the cost. Have we become that selfish and self centered as a society? How about just sitting with someone, perhaps that person on the street, laughing with them, giving them your smile…..it doesn't cost you a penny, but it does take about 5 seconds of your precious time. Sounds pretty cheap to me, except….time is the most precious commodity we have to give each other. To bad, in this hectic world, we take that for granted and spend the time we have chasing the almighty dollar that sharing God's Love with each other.
Who knows, in an ideal society, there would be no hunger, no greediness, no lack of self worth, no suffering, no loneliness……perhaps we would be one people, together, with full lives and no worries about today.
"But of these, three remain faith, hope and love…but…the greatest of these is Love!"
Thank You God, for the precious gift of time (love) You give to me….I pray I give enough time and love back to You through human compassion and kindness……
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