I began smoking cigarettes when I was fifteen. It seemed like the sophisticated thing to do. Lord knows, I wanted to fit in. It soon became a habit. I would hunt for my glasses so I could find my cigarettes. I was noted for searching through the ashtray, sorting out the longest cigarette butts. It was hell to run out of cigarettes. We were living on Lee Road east of Michigan Center, Michigan. Extra money was hard to come by, trying to build our house. Every spare cent went into buying materials. Almost every cent, that is.

This casserole goes together quickly, since we are using frozen breaded chicken patties diced into bite sized pieces. Just toss it together and bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes.
When you need a great casserole in a hurry, this is it.

Did you always like the lunch your mother packed for you during those long-ago school years? Did your classmates’ lunches look better than the same old boring stuff you pulled from your lunch sack?
If so, you were not alone. But there was a solution. Let me tell you what my son Tom thought up.
If Tom had paid as much attention to his schoolwork as he did in goofing off, he might have been a rocket scientist or at least the vice president. Not so. Goofing off was his specialty.

My father was a reader. But during the Great Depression books were hard to come by. We didn’t live near a library. Gas to go there was expensive when he only earned forty dollars a month working on a farm, doing the milking and field work. But there was some reading material available at a low price. The pulp Western novels, costing ten or fifteen cents, filled the bill. We couldn’t even afford a newspaper subscription.

What do you do when you need croutons for salad or a dressing? Do you shell out good money for toasted stale bread at the store? You don't have to do that. Croutons are easy to make. You can use any kind of bread you like. Let's face it, the bread you buy is at least a day old when you buy it. Open it and it's on its way to being too stale to use for anything other than toast or croutons. So you do have stale bread at home. Don't throw it out. Make croutons. You might add some dried spices for different flavors.

Back in the day, when we lived on the farm, if I wanted to prepare a Sunday chicken dinner, there was a lot of prep work to do. We only did this if we had company coming. We couldn’t go to Food City and select a package of chicken parts from the meat counter. Nope! Na! Na! No way! In fact, in those days the only chicken I might find at the meat market was a sorry looking whole chicken. Separately packaged breasts or drumsticks were far in the future. I prepped my own.

What can you do with the masa harina flour you see on the grocery shelf? I know mass farina flour is used to make tortillas, so that is what I do. It's different. Try it next time you need flour tortillas

I never drink a glass of iced tea that I don’t think of my brother, Russell Stimer. He passed away over twenty years ago. Gone, but not forgotten. Russ died of throat cancer. A doctor had told him not to smoke cigarettes, but that small cigars were ok. Not true.

I have a number of leftover turkey recipes. If you have leftover chicken, that works, too. One thing about cooked meat is that it can be put on the table in a hurry. Most of the time in less than 30 minutes. I have a collection of quick supper meals.

This salad makes a big batch. It keeps well in the fridge. I make it and much on it for several days. Very good..

In small saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, oil and salt.. Bring to a boil over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add dressing. Toss to coat. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Serve with slotted spoon. Makes 25 servings.