Bear with Me . . . Pleeeeze

I got a little wrapped up with life and such . . .

the time just flew . . .

and I got a little (okay a lot) behind!

If you ever find yourself in that situation here are a couple of quick, simple and yummy recipes that may bail you out---just like they did me.

Jerk Chicken and Black Beans --- 

 a hearty soup that is ready to eat almost before you are!

Combine one can of Campbell's new Chunky Jammin' Jerk Chicken with Rice and Beans OR their Fajita Soup with Rice and Beans AND one un-drained can S&W Cuban Recipe Black Beans (with onions, peppers and cumin). Heat and then, if there is a little time, allow it to simmer until you are ready for it.

Serve it in bowls and top with coarsely broken tortilla chips and sour cream as desired.

You can also use a can of plain black beans if you choose. These should be drained before adding to the chunky soup.

Leftovers are also good the second day in a flour tortilla. 

Orange Cream --- 

brings back childhood memories of a vanilla ice cream bar encased in orange Popsicle stuff. It is great either as a refreshing salad or a light dessert.

Gently combine one 8 ounce carton of frozen non-dairy topping (thawed) with one 6 or 8 ounce carton vanilla yogurt.  Gently fold in the dry mix from a small( 4-serving size) package* of orange gelatin. You can eat it right away but it is best chilled for a short while in the refrigerator.

The last time I made this, at the suggestion of Barb the friend who gave me the recipe, I only used one-half to 2/3rds (just estimated--didn't measure) of the packet and it was plenty. 

There is obviously no need to point out that Simply, Gail is no Martha Stewart (which I consider a compliment) but when I happened across her site above showing how to creatively wrap singular things up I thought it fit the two separate things I have to wrap up this post. (I apologize for the run-on sentence!)

1.  Time is probably going to continue to fly for the next month or so, so---I will by posting once a week for a while---probably on Fridays.

2.  When I started to write this post, being a little behind took me back 33 years. Our youngest son just started school and I just started to work those same hours outside the home. For the first time ever, I entered a contest. It was December 1980. The rules were how to creatively say, in 30 words or less, why I deserved a $1,000 wardrobe of my choosing from a local dress shop.

I used a long strip of adding machine tape* and using magazine cut-outs I made a telegram** type picture-gram basically explaining how I was returning to the workforce with a full life, a great husband, and six wonderful children but(t) a very bare wardrobe---using the little Miss Coppertone illustration. 

I rolled it up, stuck it in the top of a small Santa boot and mailed it off.

I guess it was pretty risque for it's day and when the winner was announced on the radio, the moderator said that while the entire presentation was clever the closing line/illustration was the deciding factor!!

* a narrow roll of paper, like today's rare but simple (rare as they are) cash register receipt, that printed out the numbers you typed in a machine you worked by pulling a handle, without the benefit of  any batteries, wires, plugs. The original meaning of "wireless" I guess!

** a document sent to deliver an urgent message to someone some distance away. Somehow each word was typed out individually by a special operator on a special machine who somehow sent it over the telephone wires to another special telephone operator (and their special machine) in the area where it was to be delivered. 

A telegram was a miracle means of contact for very important occasions/messages. We received one from New York 50 years ago on our wedding day in California ---not really that long ago in the overall scheme of things, but seeming light years away when trying to describe then with now's  technology.

Next, each word was printed out individually on really, really narrow slips of paper (kind of like the shreds of today, pasted in order on a sheet of paper and given to another person who

 immediately hand-delivered it to the recipient.

According to another long ago ad slogan ---- 

"we've come a long way, baby."