10650 keep your fork Recipes

there was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. as she was getting her things in serving, she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. she told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. the woman also requested to be buried with her favourite bible., everything was in serving and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her., more thing , she said excitedly. what s that came the pastor s reply. this is very important, the woman continued.. i want to be buried with a fork in my right hand. the pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say.. that surprises you, doesn tsp it the woman asked. well, to be honest, i m puzzled by the request, said the pastor., woman explained. in all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, i always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, keep your fork. it was my favorite part because i knew that something better was coming..like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. something wonderful, and with substance! so, i just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and i want them to wonder what s with the fork then i want you to tell them: keep your fork..the best is yet to come, eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman good-bye. he knew this would be 1 of the last times he would see her before her death. but he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. she knew that something better was coming. at the funeral people were walking by the woman s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite bible and the fork placed in her right hand. over and over the pastor heard the question what s with the fork and over and over he smiled., during his message , the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. he also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. the pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either., he was right ., next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come..

i use a 3 1/2 to 4 lb chuck roast, well marbelized with fat, and if you can find a bone-in roast, that s better yet (but it s almost always boneless chuck that you find at the grocer). i like to quickly rinse the roast in cold water just before i lay it on the cutting board to coat it with seasoned flour. place the following ingredients in a small baggie and shake the closed bag to mix it up, flour, salt, garlic salt, crazy mixed-up salt (if you can tsp get this seasoning, use seasoned salt instead, but jane s is by far the best), pepper, use your hands to generously pat the seasoned flour into the roast, on both sides, flipping the roast a couple times and repeating the process., in a dutch oven or roasting pan large enough to hold the roast, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat - you want your pan and oil to be hot enough to sear the roast well when you put it in the pan. when the oil is just about to the smoking point, put the roast in and cover the pan. let the meat sear until nicely browned on the bottom, then flip the roast. let it sear for a minute or two on the second side, then add, beef stock (i much prefer the boxed stock to the canned broth - it just seems to give the gravy a much richer taste in the end), cover the roasting pan and place it in a pre-heated 300 degree oven. roast for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is fork tender and falls apart easily. i check the roast each hour, quickly opening the lid, just to make sure the stock has not evaporated. as long as your pan has a good seal on it, this shouldn tsp happen. but if necessary, add more stock to the pan., an hour before the roast is done , prepare the mashed potatoes. peel 6 large red potatoes (these work better - at least for me - because they are much moister than the russets, so the mashed potatoes are creamier); cut into 1/4th, and place them in a large saucepan - rinse the cut potatoes 2 times in cold water, then cover them in fresh cold water and place the pan over medium high heat; boil until tender. this is usually about 30 minutes, but it depends on the size of your cuts, so just cook them until you can easily insert a fork into a potato. drain potatoes well, reserving 1 cup of the water for the gravy. add the following to the hot potatoes, butter, sour cream, milk, salt, crazy mixed up salt (use regular salt or garlic salt if jane s salt is not available), pepper, i use a hand masher , but you can use an electric mixer or however you chose to mash the potatoes into a creamy yet firm texture. add more milk if potatoes are too stiff. place the mashed potatoes in a buttered casserole dish, cover with foil, and place in the oven to keep warm while you make the gravy., prepare the gravy, melt 2 tbsp butter, stir in 1/4 cup flour to make a paste, stir in enough beef stock to thin the paste enough to pour., finished roast from the pan and place it on a plate; cover meat with foil to keep warm., place the roasting pan over a medium flame and bring the liquid to a gentle boil (i usually seem to have about 1 1/2 to 2 cups liquid in the pan when the roast is done - if you have less, just use the beef stock to increase your liquid)., use a whisk to gradually whisk in the butter/flour/stock liquid., add 2 tbsp beef base - i use tone s (i prefer beef base to buillon - has a richer flavor and is really worth having on hand, but if you can tsp find this, try knorr s beef buillon extra large cubes), add the 1 cup of reserved potato water, add 1/2 cup beef stock, taste the gravy and see if you want more seasoning. i usually find i don tsp need to add anything at this point, since i have the seasoning from the flour coating and the stock and the beef base. if you think you need more seasoning, add salt and pepper to your taste. beef base will also give you more saltiness., keep the gravy warm while you uncover the meat and use 2 forks to pull the meat apart into small to medium chunks., you are now ready to assemble...

your favourite brewed tea, peaches, peeled,chopped and frozen

light olive oil or 3 tbsp canola oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, minced, salt, fresh basil, minced, black pepper, white kidney beans or 1 (20 oz) can great northern beans, albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked, scallions, sliced, red sweet bell peppers or 1/4 cup yellow sweet bell peppers or 1/4 cup orange sweet bell pepper, chopped, leaves bibb lettuce (optional)

dry beans , your choice of pinto or lima (baby or large) i use the camellia brand, yellow onions ( chopped or diced ), also add 1 -2 cups of green onions (chopped), i use the green onions along with the yellow onions, jalepeno peppers, seasoning meat (your choice of bacon, smoked pork, ham, ham hock , salt meat or a pork chop), seasoning ( i use natures seasoning ), sugar or splenda (can use more , depends on your taste), parlsey, black pepper (to your taste ), salt (to your taste).. add towards the end of the cooking process), garlic powder (to your taste ), jalepenos slices (optional), a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional), you dont want your beans to hot to the taste or too sweet , so keep taste tasting your beans

hershey bars without nuts. the amount depends on how bif of a kiss you want to make., chopped nuts of your choice, chopped candies of your choice, caramel, toffee bits, rice crispy cereal, chopped oreos, dried fruits, sunflower seeds, colored sugar, coconut, chocolate mints, marshmallows, fudge bits, peppermints, etc.., like to add that some great foil to wrap your candy in can be found at beauty supply stores or at a hair salon. the foils used to highlight hair are ultra thin and come in various colors. they cover the chocolate very well and are great to use for other chocolate recipes such as truffles or molded chocolates. they re not expensive and come in large squares which means less foil cutting for you! ho! ho! ho

baking potato, about 9 oz (peeled and quartered ), unbleached all-purpose flour (17 1/2 oz), instant yeast, salt, warm water (about 110 degrees ), extra virgin olive oil , plus, extra virgin olive oil , for oiling the bowl, tomato sauce (your favorite homemade or store-bought ), pesto sauce (your favorite home made or store bought), chicken sausage (or seasoned cooked chicken cut into bit sized pieces), sun-dried tomato, chopped, onion (your favorite kind, raw or sauteed, chopped or strips), ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, toasted pine nuts, hot pepper flakes , to taste

cube steaks (about 4 pieces) or 1 lb round steak, beef gravy (beef, mushroom beef, herbed beef, mushroom...mix and match to your liking) or 3 (3/4 oz) envelopes mushroom gravy (beef, mushroom beef, herbed beef, mushroom...mix and match to your liking), water, onion, sliced (optional), sliced mushrooms (optional), white potatoes, peeled and quartered (optional)

albacore tuna in water, mayonnaise (i like light mayo but increase to your liking), cheddar cheese, dill, croissant rolls (sourdough or english muffins or any bread you prefer can be used)

lean ground beef, all-bran cereal, crushed, barbecue sauce, water, egg, salt and black pepper, to taste

margarine, honey or 2 tbsp maple syrup, white sugar or 1 cup brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, flour, quick oats, nuts (optional), peanut butter (optional), cinnamon (optional), ginger (optional), your favorite chocolate chips or 1/2 bag peanut butter chips or 1/2 bag butterscotch chips or 1/2 bag cinnamon bark

meatloaf recipe (your favorite ), hot dogs, mashed potatoes, grated cheese

low-fat milk, low-fat vanilla ice cream, frozen blueberries or 3/4 cup frozen strawberries, etc, your choice

sandwich size zip lock bag, your favorite cold cereal to 1/2 the nag or whatever you desire the amount to be, level tsp instant non fat dry milk adjust to consistency you want, dry non dairy creamer (to give the non fat dry milk body if you want) note you may want to run the powdered milk and non dairy creamer through a food processor first to break the non daitry creamer down a bit smaller or use an inexpensive non dairy creamer that breaks down easily in cold liquid), sugar or splenda to taste (whatever you put on your cold cereal), addition of dried fruits and nuts, cinnamon etc is a plus, plastic spoon, water from a tap or your water bottle you probably carry with you or from a water fountain on the run..

beef roast , any cheap cut, olive oil, onions, sliced, whole rosemary, basil leaves, condensed tomato soup, garlic, chopped or crushed, dry vermouth (can leave out but it s just not the same), paprika, bay leaves, cracked peppercorn, worcestershire sauce

walnut oil, egg, agave syrup or 1/4 cup brown rice syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, oats, white whole wheat flour (or 1 cup white and 1/2 cup wheat flour), baking soda, salt, m & s (your choice) or 1 cup raisins (your choice) or 1 cup shredded coconut (your choice) or 1 cup nuts (your choice) or 1 cup chocolate chips (your choice)

pasta, cooked (penne is my favorite for this), tomatoes, halved, cheese, of your choice (provolone , feta, and pepper are good), pitted olives, of your choice (black and kalamata work well), vegetables, of your choice (artichokes , green onions, bell peppers, cucumbers with seeds removed, etc.), vegetable oil, vinegar, of your choice (red wine or cider), dried basil, garlic clove, minced, dijon mustard, salt, sugar, onion powder