Good morning everyone!
Back to another work week, again. Hope the weekend was a good one for you despite the cloudy, gloomy, windy and cold..
What's charging your battery this morning? Black and decaf, again, as always...
QOTD-ST. Patrick's Day coming on Wednesday. Do you celebrate at all? Are you in any way Irish? No Irish background at all with me, so St. Paddy's makes me "official" for one day. Not celebrating this year, but used to go out for the best corned beef and cabbage with Guiness.
Good stuff....
Time to hit the showers.
Have a good one!
Deb

Good Morning, I haven't started my coffee yet, I have been awake since 3 am, just in bed playing on pc.  DH is out of town so bed is cold, can't get up, don't want to wake up dogs and really would like them to stick with the new feeding time of 7:30 instead of 6:30 so if I don't get up before 7 it might work (probably only for a day or two). 

QOTD: For the last 4 or 5 years we have been going to the Green Ice game to watch the K-wings !  I have friends that are in the Breakfast Optimist Club of Kalamazoo and they go every year, so we join them.  We have a great time !  This is also the only time I can get DH to wear green, he is a Michigan fan and won't wear green so a few years ago I did find a Michigan Shirt that is Green with the Michigan M on it, they sold them just for St Pat's day, he only wears it one day a year.  Of course I wear green a lot, I am a State fan !

I'm drinking decaf tea, already had a Carnation Instant Breakfast for some extra protein.  Cannot tolerate protein shakes/mixes right now!

QOTD:  We haven't done anything for St. Paddy's in a couple of years.  I don't think I could even tackle corned beef right now!  But I love the fun of it. 

Morning All,

Not much here this morning.  Drinking tea, will tackle protein shake in a little bit.

QOTD:  We are not Irish and do not do much for the day.  My daughter's boyfriend is Irish so they celebrate.  I do love corned beef and cabbage.  I am going to my parents house she loves to cook it.  Hope I can eat some. 

Good Morning Everyone!!

It is a great Monday morning! I am glad this week is here finally... It was a long weekend.

I am getting ready for my day with my usual iced tea. I need to get me something for breakfast.... We have a visit coming today here at the house so I have to get prepped for that. Other than that we are just hanging out at home.

QOTD: I am IRISH through and through! I will be eating my corned beef for sure and wearing my green on Wednesday! I love celebrating St Patricks Day!! I have always loved it alot!!! It is definately part of my heritage that I take pride in!

Suzanne

Having some black coffee this AM, as usual.  Dub's playing on the floor, actually he's standing at the dining room table checking things out.  He's so curious.

QOTD:  Not Irish.  Don't do anything in particular to celebrate.  It was always one of those "pain in the butt" days, at school.  I always had to start the day with my "If anyone pinches anyone else....." speech.  And I handed out green stickers so EVERYONE was wearing green!  It was just an unnecessary distraction during the school day...the pinching, not being Irish.

Good Morning Michiganders.

Starting out with some protein hot chocolate and vitamins. Then to the carbsmart yogurt. Think I may be getting hooked on that stuff. Going to make some Chicken Picotta for dinner tonight, with a big salad.

QOTD: I have nothing against St Patty's Day. but some how I always was the kid that forgot to put on my green shirt or what ever and came home with bruises from the pinching.
Thank you Tina and all the other teachers with those green stickers.
 This year since corned beef was on sale I am going to make a batch. Corned beef and cabbage is usually our New Years day tradition, But It sounded good to me when I saw it in the store.

St. Joseph's Day? That is the Polish version of St. Patty's Day. The Polish have claimed it and traditionally wear the polish colors of red and white. And instead of being pinched for not wearing the colors on that day you have to walk backwards. or put your shirt on backwards for the day.

The feast day of St. Joseph is celebrated on March 19 every year.

St. Joseph's Day is a Roman Catholic feast day commemorating the life of St. Joseph, the step-father of Jesus and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. People with very strong religious association, often those of European descent, typically celebrate St. Joseph's Day. March 19 is said to be St. Joseph's birthday.

During a famine, when food was scarce and many people were starving, the poor people had only their faith to rely on. St. Joseph was known as the protector of the Holy Family and had strong family relationships, so they prayed for St. Joseph to intercede for them so they could have successful crops. Their prayers were answered, and the famine came to an end. In gratitude, people promised to make annual offerings of their most precious possession – food – in St. Joseph's honor.

Today, the faithful erect "St. Joseph Tables," which are set to honor St. Joseph. They are filled with beautiful and often elaborate foods, including meatless dishes such as stuffed artichokes, pasta and fish, as well as breads, cookies, pastries, cakes and other delicacies. Each table is blessed by a priest and presided over by a statue of St. Joseph. A stalk of lily blossoms, votive candles and a lace tablecloth are other typical items used to decorate the feast table.

When you visit a St. Joseph's table, you often receive gifts of fava beans and breads. Fava beans play an integral part of the celebration because this was the food that saved the Europeans from starvation. The bean is said to bring good luck, and it is believed that if the St. Joseph's bread is kept in the home, the family will never starve
.
www.greatbreadrecipes.com/st-josephs-bread-recipe/

Mary,

Have you ever made anything from fava beans?  I've read about them but I've never tried to use them.

Sandi

Shrimp and Fava Beans with Thyme
Ingredients

• Smart Balance, Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread, 1 Tbsp
• *Jennie-O Extra Lean Turkey Ham, 2 oz
• Garlic, .25 tsp
• • Shrimp, raw, 12 oz
• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Fava Beans
  3 cups water
  1 tsp minced fresh thyme
  Thyme, fre****sp
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Rinse and sort Fava Beans; do not soak. Place in a medium to large saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until soft. Beans will begin to break apart as they cook. Overcooking may result in mushy beans.measure out 2 cups and save the 3rd cup for another recipe or put it in some soup.


One cup of dry beans yields approximately 3 cups cooked beans.
.

Heat SmartBalance in skillet over moderate heat. Add turkey ham and garlic and toss for a minute. Add shrimp,2cups of favas, and thyme and toss just until shrimp become pink.

Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Cover and cook on lowest heat possible for 1 to 2 minutes, or until shrimp are just cooked through and juices exude slightly. Serve immediately.

Tastes great served over brown rice.

This makes either 2 dinner portions or 4 smaller portions

Number of Servings: 2

2 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		291.6
Total Fat		7.4 g
	Saturated Fat	1.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.5 g
Cholesterol		278.4 mg
Sodium		609.9 mg
Potassium		527.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate		13.4 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.1 g
	Sugars	0.0 g
Protein		44.1 g

4 Servings Amount Per Serving
Calories		145.8
Total Fat		3.7 g
	Saturated Fat	0.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.7 g
Cholesterol		139.2 mg
Sodium		305.0 mg
Potassium		263.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		6.7 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.0 g
	Sugars	0.0 g
Protein		22.0 g

WAY too much sodium!