Happy Birthday Ken!

All day long our SON in law Ken is going to have to face the music, he's turning 40 today! It's not bad enough to be born on "Tax Day," now he's in for some humiliation on a plate...

Everyone has something to tell you about getting older, we want to share the misery! 

"I can't figure out if life is passing me by or trying to run me over!"

"When did my wild oats turn into shredded wheat?"

"You know you're getting old when your knees buckle and your belt won't!"

Forty's certainly not "old," but when you're forty, you think it is! It is the time you start noticing that getting 4 hours sleep just won't work anymore and you have aches and pains that just weren't there yesterday.

You may notice a gray hair or two. Just pluck them out as quick as you see them and no one will know...

Put these glasses on to find the gray hairs!

At least people start looking up to you for your wisdom and may even ask for advice on important matters...

One thing about it, you are surrounded by lots of friends in the same boat. In fact, you start to notice there's plenty of people who made it past 50, or 60 or even 80! Maybe 40's not so bad after all...hey, you're just a "pup," the baby in the group. You still have your teeth and most of your hair...even if it is on your back and growing out your ears!

Have a great birthday and don't let a 40 get you down! We've seen you move "mountains".... you're a long way from old!

American Ingenuity

Walmart announced this week that they are adding back 8500 products that were removed from shelves two years ago in a company wide reduction plan to cut costs. Since I am a Walmart shopper... we live right smack dab in the middle of Walmart country... it changed the way we ate. Shopping in a small town is dicey. Sometimes you can find products like sundried tomatoes or artichoke bruschetta, and sometimes you can't. If Walmart, Aldi or Harps doesn't carry it, you are out of luck. You didn't really want to make a Tuscan inspired dinner, did you???

Walmart lost a chunk of it's loyal base of customers when they were forced to go to other stores to buy products they had eliminated from their shelves. I was one of those. Not everyone loves Walmart, maybe what they dislike about the company is it's size or growth or strength. We went to church with Sam and Helen Walton years ago. The couple who dreamed big and grew Walmart from a meager Five and Dime store on Bentonville's square were as easy to talk to as your next door neighbor. They were honest, hard working people who gave back to their community. The company still gives back, if you don't want to believe this then don't Google "Walmart Contributions." Regardless, when I couldn't buy bean sprouts for my Pad Thai and salads, I went to Harps and while I was there I spent money on other things that Walmart no longer carried. A lot of people did the same thing. We all spent our hard earned bucks other places which helped Aldi to grow and Harps to thrive and Walmart lost customers and money. For 7 straight quarters, Walmart sales were down. The recession hit us all, even the big boys. But the American way is loss for some, growth for others. The American way also is when you can't find what you want, you figure out other ways. I learned how to grow my own sprouts and you know what, they taste even better than the little $1.44 package I used to get at Walmart!

Trout Almondine

Jerry brought home 10 pretty trout from his guy weekend and my brain went into overload how to prepare the little beauties! Broiled, fried or sauteed, these small rainbows of goodness were going to be delicious no matter what I did to them! Last night I decided to make Trout Almondine.

 I dipped the fish in milk and then sprinkled lightly with salt, pepper and flour. Then I sauteed in 2 tablespoons butter and a tiny bit of olive oil, 2 minutes on each side on medium-high heat. Set aside the fish and wipe out the pan. Next, brown a handful of slivered almonds in another pat of butter and  squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the pan before pouring over the fish. I steamed the green beans then tossed in olive oil, sea salt, and about a tablespoon of finely chopped crispy bacon. It was a perfect meal until I divided the cost of the trout into the cost of the trip!

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