Author: Finnyfrau

Bring Better Baked Beans

As Spring tentatively approaches, if you want something warm and filling that you can set up and forget…Better Baked Beans may do the trick for you!

I made this for a squadron potluck when we lived in the Netherlands, and JML, my crockpot tipped over in the car on the way there, leaving only half the recipe in the pot.  Not only did it take me forever to clean the car, but the guys were very unhappy with the scarcity of the beans!  Fighter pilots are competitive about everything, and expelling noxious gas at a high velocity seems to bring them some sort of inner joy. I never brought any leftovers home, and make no claims that this recipe is totally healthy – but it is delicious!

True story, and the reason I now take the time to put my crockpot in a box to transport it, use the seat belt to buckle the box into the car seat if there is not enough room on the floor of the passenger seat….AND lay a towel over the top of the pot to weigh the top down if I don’t have one of those thermal crockpot carriers. There are probably better ways to do it, but I worked with what I had at hand at the time.

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Better Baked Beans

This side dish is hearty enough to to be a meal, sweet and full of protein.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: barbecue, bbq, potluck
Servings: 8 people
Author: Kathleen Finnegan

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 pound) can pork and beans 48 ounces
  • 1 pound bacon diced
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon mustard prepared, not ground spices
  • ½ cup dark molasses
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F, or use stovetop or crockpot.
  • Fry bacon in a dutch oven; set bacon aside and drain grease from pot.
  • Brown hamburger and onions in the same pot.
  • Add the bacon and beans to hamburger and onions.
  • Mix remaining ingredients (ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, molasses and Worcestershire sauce) and add to bean mixture in pot.
  • Bake covered at 350°F for 1 hour, or simmer on stovetop for 30 minutes, or bake in crockpot for 2-3 hours.
  • Serve with bread and salad.

Notes

Serves 8 as a main dish, 24 as a side.
If you are transporting this, be sure to secure the crockpot so that it doesn’t tip, and set it in a box in case any contents seep out as you round corners.  And don’t forget a sturdy serving spoon!

Watergate Salad for St. Patrick’s Day?

When I was in my teens a green fluffy dessert appeared at family gatherings called Watergate Salad. While Watergate Salad as a recipe did appear around the time of the Watergate scandal, apparently it was never served at the Watergate Hotel , and the best explanation I have found of the name is that ‘it’s full of nuts’. While it is not an Irish dessert, it is a GREEN dessert, and therefore qualifies in my book for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations!

I found this recipe in the clippings my mother had in her recipe box. I don’t think the original recipe included the bananas, but my father loved bananas and she was always looking for ways to incorporate them for him.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Watergate Salad

A pineapple pistachio delight that was all the rage…for a while. Pudding, pineapple and Cool Whip…ambrosia!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy, make ahead, potluck, quick

Ingredients

  • 1 4 ounce package INSTANT pistachio pudding (cook and serve won’t work)
  • 1 16 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 1 9 ounce container Cool Whip
  • ½ cup maraschino or Bing cherries chopped
  • ½ cup walnuts or pistachios chopped
  • 1 cup miniature marshmallows
  • Sliced bananas optional
  • extra whole cherries for garnish

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, combine pudding mix, pineapple and pineapple juice until dissolved. Let sit 5 minutes.
  • Fold in Cool Whip, then cherries, nuts and marshmallows. Just before serving, fold in bananas. Recipe is best if put together the night before and stored in the refrigerator (except for the bananas). Bananas go in last minute because they brown easily.
  • Serve in an ice cream bowl with a spoonful of whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Notes

Serves 8.
Keep refrigerated.  

Pandemic Holiday Blues (And Reds)

—Kathleen Finnegan, November 2020

In this year of the Pandemic
With so many out of work
We are fighting over face masks
But our leaders only shirk
While the Christmas music started
Right around November first
We are hopeful and yet fearful
That we haven’t seen the worst
So we’ll gather up our closest
And remember those afar
As we lift a cup of cheer to those
Who aren’t here any more
And with thanks we’ll eat whatever
Food is put upon our plate
As we say a quiet prayer for those
Whom we consider “late”
We will not let this pandemic
Kill the joy and love we feel
As we gather oh so virtually
This year’s Christmas is surreal.

I wrote this in November 2020, as we approached the holidays and had decided that it was not prudent to travel in order to gather as a family. With the computer in the kitchen and everyone online doing the usual holiday tasks, it was much more enjoyable than anticipated, and we were able to include other families across the globe, a true bonus. I am posting it now as a belated thanks to ZOOM for extending the session times for the holidays in the free versions. They didn’t have to do that, but it was much appreciated.
It certainly made a difference for us.

The Only Limitation is Within Us

We have all heard that little voice that says “what if it doesn’t work”? “What if they don’t Ike it?” “What if they make fun of me?”

Don’t listen to that voice. What does it matter if it works, or they like it, or they tease you? What is important is the trying. What is important is do YOU like it? What is important is that you don’t limit yourself before you even make an attempt, because that is the surest path to failure.

Pick a few of your own possibilities and make them real. At the very least, you will shut up that negative little voice for a few minutes – and perhaps forever!

Mrs. Slithering

A three foot long black snake undulates towards me from the flower beds towards my house. She stops and raises her head, tasting the air, when she sees me. “You don’t want to live here”I tell her “we have dogs.” She shrugs shoulderlessly and continues towards the back stairs, disappearing into the gloom underneath.

The next day, she is watching me work on my raised garden (it is on four foot high supports) as I adjust the anti-squirrel fencing. “Could you move please?” I ask her, as she is directly in my path, and she obligingly and calmly angles to the right, under the gardens and out of my way. Do snakes understand English?

She seems like a considerate gal, and we don’t seem to have any mice problems these days. If we are lucky, she will also keep our cicada population down. She wasn’t out today but it is raining; maybe she doesn’t have an umbrella or is enjoying a good nap. She is the same color as my garden hose; it would be JML to have not noticed her. Hopefully I won’t try to pick her up next time I water the flowers!

On the Radio

“Living on a Prayer” was playing on the radio as I drove to get the second of my vaccination shots, which I thought was quite appropriate for the past year (“we’re halfway there” rang true as I had only 1 of 2 shots at that point) and as I turned the key in the ignition to go home, “Low Rider” came on, at “take a little trip”. Call it what you will; I am looking forward to whatever trip is in my future!

A Hopeful Sign…

The Sunday comics were up to their usual shenanigans today. Life must be getting back to normal, at least a little bit at a time. Thank you, cartoonists, comic strip creators and other illustrators of the quandaries of daily life, for helping me navigate this past year . A little smile goes a long way…even if its only a smirk.


The B.A.N.J.O. Party

Watercolor of Capitol Building with Heart and Flag

A political party with these stated principles...

Benificence – the quality or state of doing or producing good
Autonomy – the property of having one’s decisions respected, honored, and heeded within a political context
Nonmaleficence – an obligation and dedication not to inflict harm on others; closely associated with primum non nocere (first do no harm)
Justice – moral obligation to act on the basis of fairness, entitlement, equality and in accordance with law
Openness – openhearted, openminded, open actions (transparency)

You don’t need to leave your current party. Just bring these qualities and principles in with you, and we will all benefit, regardless of what party we affiliate with.

I began this painting on January 6, 2021 and finished it on January 20, 2021. If we look for the good in each other, we find common ground. Look for the bad in each other, and we find poisoned soil. Plant the seeds of the future where they can grow, on common ground.

Good Energy Translations

Many years ago, my husband was stationed in Europe. When you are living far from your birth family, the other Americans around you become your second family. My European second family has stepped forward to help with the translations of Why(r)us the Virus and I can now provide the book in German (Why(r)us das Virus), French (Why(r)us le Virus) and Spanish (Why(r)us El Virus). The women who did the translations (Angie, Sophie and Andrea) were military spouses like myself, and we worked together in Europe to look after the American families stationed with us. Angie is a German national, Sophie is a French National, and Andrea is the daughter of a Mexican national, and all of them donated their time and energy to provide excellent translations so that the book can be of use world-wide. I am so grateful to them for their continuing contributions to increase the Good Energy in the world. Hopefully we can visit again soon, once the vaccine has made a difference in the pandemic’s spread. Just so lucky to have their friendship and support…