Sun/Rain ~ Picture of the Day ~ Gestation Length ~ Make-Ahead Chicken/Veggie/Pasta Casserole ~ National Empanada Day ~ National Zoo Lovers Day

 

Good 53º raining morning.

 

 

Yesterday morning, with all the rain predictions , the sun came through the clouds for a few minutes. It was beautiful.....

 

 

Then by 8:30 it got darker than dark and it started raining.....

 

The rain POURED and all night hearing it gave me nightmares! We got 3" !!!!!!! 

 

Brian and family headed to Roseburg for Sami's last gymnastic meet of the season. This is what the roads looked like up there!

 

 

BTW, Sami took Second over All!

 

 

Picture of the Day .... well timed!

 

 

 

 

Interesting about gestation length....

 

For most species, the amount a fetus grows before birth determines the length of the gestation period. Smaller species normally have a shorter gestation period than larger animals. For example, a cat's gestation normally takes 58–65 days while an elephant's takes nearly 2 years (21 months). However, growth does not necessarily determine the length of gestation for all species, especially for those with a breeding season. Species that use a breeding season usually give birth during a specific time of year when food is available.

Various other factors can come into play in determining the duration of gestation. For humans, male fetuses normally gestate several days longer than females and multiple pregnancies gestate for a shorter period. Ethnicity may also lengthen or shorten gestation. In dogs there's a positive correlation between gestation time and a small litter size.

 

 

 

When you know you're gonna need to plan ahead for a one dish dinner,

this is the one! Mix up Make-Ahead Chicken and have it waiting in the fridge to pop into the oven and bake up fresh and hearty.

 

• 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes
• 1 (9-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
• 8 ounces (2 cups) uncooked elbow macaroni (or your favorite)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (10 -ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (see Options)
• 1 cup corn flake crumbs (for topping)
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted (for topping)

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except topping ingredients; mix well. Place in an 8-inch square baking dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Refrigerate 6 to 8 hours, or overnight. 
    
2. Before serving, preheat oven to 350º .
    
3. In a small bowl, combine corn flake crumbs and butter; mix well. Stir chicken mixture then sprinkle crumb topping evenly over top.
    
4. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until golden.

***

• If you don't care for the flavor of curry, try an equal amount of dried basil for an Italian treat, or dried dill for that "right from the garden" taste.

 

• For instance, if the recipe requires 1/3 cup corn flake crumbs, start with 1 cup cornflakes. Put the cereal in a food processor, close the lid and pulse several times -- until the cornflakes are finely ground to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Use the corn flake crumbs as a coating or breadcrumb substitute.

 

 

 

Historically this date....

1974 – At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth's 39-year-old record.

1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.

.........he died in 1993.

 

And births this date include....

1918 – Betty Ford, American First Lady and founder of the Betty Ford Center (d. 2011)

 

1931 – John Gavin, American actor and politician (d.2018)

 :o(

 

1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Norwegian painter

Ok, never heard of this guy, but GEEZE with a name like that!!! Wonder if his middle name is Ball. It should be!

 

1960 – John Schneider, American actor

   

 

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Monday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

April 8 recognizes a food holiday, National Empanada Day. Empanadas are a stuffed bread or pastry that is baked or fried.  The name empanada comes from the Galician, Portuguese and Spanish verb em pandar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread.

Empanadas are made by folding the dough or bread around a seasoned stuffing. The filling usually is made from meat, cheese, vegetables or fruits but may be made with other ingredients.

A cookbook published in 1520 in Catalan, the Libre del Coch by Ruperto de Nola, mentions empanadas filled with seafood.

In the Southern and Southwestern United States, empanadas are called Creoles.  They are a half-circle flaky crust filled with seasoned pork, beef or chicken, and cheese.  In the Southeastern United States, empanadas are referred to as a “fried pie” and are a pastry filled with fresh or reconstituted dry fruit such as apples, apricots, peaches or sweet potatoes and then fried.  In New Mexico, it is a winter tradition to make sweetmeat empanadas for Christmas.  They are made with ground pork, sugar, pinon nuts, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, sealed in a tortilla-like dough and then deep fried in lard.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy these mouth-watering Empanada recipes.

And............ today is also.....

Each year on April 8, National Zoo Lovers Day is observed.  This would be a perfect day to visit a zoo and be one of the millions of people who visit them each year. Enjoy seeing your favorite animals swinging from the trees or splashing in the water and have a fun-filled day.

A few zoo facts:

• The Vienna Zoo is the oldest existing zoo and was opened to the public in 1765.
• The United State’s first public zoo, Central Park Zoo, opened in 1874 in New York.
• There are 350 zoos in the United States
• Approximately 175 million people visit a zoo each year.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom has had more than 9.8 million annual visitors.
• More than 3.2 million people visit the San Diego Zoo each year.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Visit your local zoo