Reflections On Life

Hello and welcome , I hope this post finds you in good heath and feeling happy in your life. I wanted to take a little time to talk about a few things I’ve been pondering lately. In life things happen to everyone everyday. Sometimes it’s little things and sometimes you’re just having “one of those days”. Last month for me was “one of those months”. I lost both my biological dad and my last uncle whom I was closest to. They both passed in very similar fashion, having had neurological problems that led to a rapid decline. In looking at the way death happened to both of them it gave me thought to look at my own life. It should go without saying that each day is a gift. None of us know when we’re going to pass. It becomes very apparent when one is in hospice care, but for those of us who can get out into the world and enjoy it , we probably tend to take each day for granted. I know there are days when I wake up and start the day on auto-pilot, going through the motions to get to the place I have to be and do the things that are required of me. That’s life and living, but if you can take just a few minutes out of the day to find one good thing, and really appreciate it and be thankful for it, it’ll make your day worthwhile. We’ve all heard the sayings, “Life is too short- insert saying here”, my personal favorite is from a sign I saw in a little restaurant once. “Life is short, order the bacon!” In other words don’t wait for someday to do the things you’ve been wanting to do because there are no guarantees. Obviously you can’t drop everything and run off to climb Mount Everest tomorrow, but if that’s something you really want to do ,why not start planning the adventure and getting in shape to make it happen?

I know these concepts aren’t new but we never seem to talk about death in our society. As a matter of fact we will go out of our way to not speak about it. I agree it’s an uncomfortable thing to talk about, but it’s actually more inevitable, than being born. It’s the only way we get off this rock! If the thought of death makes you uncomfortable, then look at it another way and focus on living each day with passion and to its fullest. Sometimes that’s laying in a hammock and enjoying some peace and quiet and other times, it’s finding a cure for cancer. It really is up to you as to what makes you happy and it is your life so do with it, as you desire. I myself have a regret I hope to change soon and that is I have never been to Europe. I would really love to be doing this blog from a cafe in Amsterdam or somewhere other than America for a change. Keep your fingers crossed!

I look back at the two men in my life that just passed. My uncle fell in love with his childhood sweetheart in the 5th grade! She still kept the little notes he had sent to her. He went into the AIr Force at 18 and traveled the world and had some amazing stories to tell. One was a time when they were transporting supplies over the Pacific Ocean and they had just passed “the point of no return”, when one of the engines went out. My Uncle said, ” A lot of men on that plane became religious really quick on that day!” He saw the world, did all that he felt he needed to do outside of Tennessee. He moved back to his hometown and he and his wife lived a happy life for 60 plus years. My biological dad, had a tough upbringing being born into an immigrant family in Brooklyn. They moved to Tucson to keep him from running with the wrong crowd. He always wanted to be an actor, a journalist or playwright, but he never pursued his passions after high school. We met when I was in my 30’s and for the next 20 years every time I’d go to visit he would say, ” Let’s make lasagna together the next time you come over.” He wanted to share the family recipe with me. In fact he kept saying it even when he was in the hospital. We both put it off until it was too late and since he never wrote the recipe down, it died with him. According to his wife the one thing he did that made it different from the others was the way he layered his lasagna noodles. He would weave them much like the lattice of a pie. So in his honor I’ll share with you my quick and easy lasagna recipe that doesn’t include the weaving. Find it here.

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One of the things you’ll find at any gathering in the South will be a casserole of some type. My cousins and I always made a joke of it and would try and guess which one would be at whatever function we’d be attending. I will say my uncle’s neighbors were all kind hearted amazing cooks, and the condolences and food came in for days. One reoccurring theme must have been the , Casserole Du Jour, chicken and stuffing casserole. I think I tried about 5 or 6 variations but they all had a few things in common, chicken, cream of something soup and packaged stuffing . The one I liked best was one that didn’t stir in the dressing but kept it on top so it would be a crunchy alternative to the creamy chicken goodness below. After quizzing several ladies from the Church I think this is a pretty good recipe to work from.

• Chicken And Stuffing Casserole
• 3-4 cups cooked diced boneless chicken. ( can use a precooked chicken from the market)
• 1- can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1- can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1- cup of whole milk or half and half
• 3-4 cups of prepared dressing ,I like cornbread stuffing but use the type you prefer
• 1- stick of butter melted
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease a 9 x13 inch baking pan or dish
• Add the chicken and soups and milk in one bowl and mix together
• Pour chicken mixture into the baking dish
• Add dry dressing mix to a bowl and pour over the melted butter mixing together gently
• Spread the dressing evenly over the chicken mixture
• Cover with foil and cook for 25 minutes
• Remove foil and cook another 10 until top is crunchy
• Let cool a little before serving.
• Just to be clear stuffing and dressing are the same thing, it’s called stuffing when it’s “stuffed” into the bird and dressing when it’s cooked and served on the side.

Thinking back on the amount of casseroles I saw while in Tennessee makes me think I should do a separate blog post on them. My cousin was telling me about one that uses pineapple and corn flakes! I’ll have to do some research on that casserole. If you have a favorite casserole dish please send it in so I can include it in my casserole post.

Thanks for stopping by today and taking the time to read this blog. To sum it up, I’ll leave you with the words of the late Dr. Wayne Dyer who said, “Don’t die with your music still inside you.” Until next time, Boone Appétit!