Pepper Jack Meat Loaf

1 lb ground beef, turkey or chicken

1 cup celery, diced

½ cup onion, diced

1 cup oatmeal or crumbled saltine cracker

2 eggs

2 cups pepper jack cheese shredded

¼ cup ketchup

1/8 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.

Mix meat, celery, onion, oatmeal or crackers, eggs together well. Press half of the meat mixture into prepared loaf pan. Place cheese over meat mixture. Top with remaining meat mixture and press down to seal. Spread ketchup over top of meat loaf….sprinkle with chili powder, salt and pepper. 

Bake, covered lightly with foil, for 30 minutes. 

Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F, remove cover and continue to bake for 20 minutes or until edges are bubbling and knife inserted in center comes out clean. 

Let sit for 5 minutes then slice and serve.

Granny's Favorites Cookbooks

Pizza Balls!

♥ PIZZA BALLS ♥

 Ingredients:
 3 cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (10 ct)
60 pepperoni slices (2 per biscuit)
Block of cheese (Colby/Monterey Jack or Chedder)
1 beaten egg
Parmesan Cheese
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
1 jar pizza sauce

 Directions: Slice cheese into approx. 28 squares. Flatten each biscuit and stack pepperoni and cheese on top (Like in the picture) Gather edges of biscuit and secure on top of the roll. Line rolls in greased 9x13 pan Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 18 to 20 mins. Serve with warm pizza sauce for dipping. ENJOY!!

❤

Survival Seed Vault™ (20 Heirloom Varieties in Jumbo Seed Packs)

The Survival Seed Vault features only the best survival heirloom seeds. The concept of a survival seed vault has become more widespread over the last several years. More and more families are gaining food independence by growing their own survival heirloom seeds.

Our Survival Seed Vault features only the finest survival heirloom seeds for a robust and hearty garden, even in the toughest of times.

Provides a variety of 20 easy-to-grow vegetables 

No hybrids, GMOs, or outdated survival seeds. All harvested seeds are reusable. 

Each seed bank is hand-inspected and packed by our American staff to ensure quality.

Dried for long-term storage (5+ years) at 75F, longer at lower temperatures.

Includes detailed survival seed saving guide.

Seeds (and Variety) Include:

Blue Lake Bush Bean - over 150 heirloom seeds
California Wonder Bell Pepper - over 70 heirloom seeds
Marketmore Cucumber - over 150 heirloom seeds
Scarlet Nantes Carrot - over 800 heirloom seeds
Parris Island Cos Romaine Lettuce - over 900 seeds
Golden Acre Cabbage - over 530 heirloom seeds
Detroit Dark Red Beet - over 260 heirloom seeds
Lincoln Shell Sweet Pea - over 100 heirloom seeds
Black Turtle Bean - over 70 heirloom seeds
Beefsteak Tomato - over 180 heirloom seeds
Champion Radish - over 320 heirloom seeds
Green Sprouting Broccoli - over 500 heirloom seeds
Waltham Butternut Winter Squash - over 100 seeds
Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach - over 260 seeds
Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion - over 145 heirloom seeds
Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn - over 250 heirloom seeds
Hales Best Cantaloupe - over 70 heirloom seeds
Snowball Cauliflower - over 285 heirloom seeds
Black Beauty Zucchini - over 50 heirloom seeds
Crimson Sweet Watermelon - over 60 heirloom seeds

Taken from website efoods.com

They also offer a "sample" package, for a $14.95 shipping and processing fee, you get 3 pouches of food (12 1-cup servings or 6 hearty meals), a bonus audio CD and a step-by-step Planning Guide to help you calculate a food supply based on how much food you and your family normally eat. I personally HAVE got the prior kit they offered and we ate the Tortilla Soup,  the Cheesy Rice Casserole, and the Creamy Potato Soup and they were great! 

The Pitfalls of the Monsanto Protection Act

THIS is a MUST read article ...

The Pitfalls of the Monsanto Protection Act

My 21 Tips on Keeping It Together During Depression

By Rosalind Robertson

1. A while ago, I penned a fairly angry response to something circulating on the internet – the 21 Habits of Happy People. It pissed me off beyond belief, that there was an inference that if you weren’t 'Happy', you simply weren’t doing the right things.
   
   I’ve had depression for as long as I can remember. It’s manifested in different ways. I did therapy. I did prozac. I did more therapy. My baseline is melancholic. I’d just made peace with it when I moved, unintentionally, to a place that had markedly less sunshine in the winter. I got seasonal depression. I got that under control. Then I got really, really sick. Turns out it’s a permanent, painful genetic disorder. My last pain-free day was four years ago.
   
   So, this Cult of Happy article just set me off. Just… anger. Rage. Depression is serious – debilitating, often dangerous, and it’s got an enormous stigma. It leaves people to fend for themselves.
   
   It’s bad enough without people ramming Happy Tips at you through facebook. There is no miracle behaviour change that will flip that switch for you. I know, I’ve tried.
   
   A friend of mine suggested that I write something from my point of view because, surprisingly, I manage to give an outwards impression of having myself together. I was shocked to hear this. And I find this comical, but I see her point. I’m functioning. I’ve adapted. I’m surprisingly okay. I think the medical term is “resilient”.
   
   So, here it is.
   
2. 
   
3. 1)  Know that you’re not alone. Know that we are a silent legion, who, every day face the solipsism and judgement of Happy People Who Think We Just Aren’t Trying. There are people who are depressed, people who have been depressed, and people who just haven’t been hit with it yet.
   
4. 
   
5. 2)  Understand that the Happy People are usually acting out of some genuine (albeit misguided) concern for you, that it’s coming from a good place, even if the advice feels like you’re being blamed for your disease. Telling you these things makes them feel better, even if it makes you feel terrible. (If they insist on keeping it up, see #12.)
   
6. 
   
7. 3)  Enlist the help of a professional. See your doctor. You need to talk about the ugly stuff, and there are people paid to listen and help you find your way to the light at the end of the tunnel.
   
8. 
   
9. 4)  Understand that antidepressants will only do so much. They’re useful, they’ll level you out and give you the time you need to figure out your own path to getting well. They can be helpful. There are lots to choose from. They may not be for you, and even if they are, they take some time to kick in. Conversely, they may not be for you. Work with your doctor.
   
10. 
    
11. 5)  Pick up a paintbrush, a pencil, an activity you got joy from in the past and re-explore that. Or, sign up for the thing you always wanted to try. There is a long history and link between depression and creativity. It’s a bright light of this condition, so utilize it to your best advantage.
    
12. 
    
13. 6)  Eat nutritionally sound, regular small meals. If you’re having trouble eating, try to focus on what you’d like to eat. I went through a whole six week episode of tomatoes and cream cheese on a bagel twice a day. Not great, but it was something – helpful context, I’m a recovered anorexic. Conversely, if all you want to do is scarf down crap, try to off-ramp it by downing a V-8 and doing #9 for 15 minutes, and see how you feel. Chucking your blood sugar all over hell’s half acre is going to make you feel worse.
    
14. 
    
15. 7)  While you’re doing #3, get some bloodwork done. If you’re low on iron or vitamin D, or if your hormone levels are doing the Macarena... these can all contribute to zapping your energy or switching your mood to Bleak.
    
16. 
    
17. 8)  If you’re in bed and the “insomnia hamsters”, as I like to call them, are on the wheel of your head, watch Nightly Business News on PBS. This has the effect of Nyquil. Swap out your coffee for herbal tea. If you just cannot sleep, try the next tip.... 
18. 
    
19. 9)  Learn how to meditate. Start by focusing on your breathing. Not sleep, not thoughts. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Meditation is focusing on being present in your body, not careening around in your brain. It may not be as good as sleep but it will give you some rest and recharge you.
    
20. 
    
21. 10)  Face a window as often as you can – at work, at home. Look out into the world. Watch. Observe. Try to find something you find pretty or interesting to focus on. And, handily remember that one in five of those people out there feel the way you do.
    
22. 
    
23. 11)  Cry. Better out than in. Sometimes it’s not convenient or career-enhancing to cry, so find a private place as best you can and let the tears go. Carry Kleenex and face wipes and extra concealer if you wear makeup. You can always claim allergies.
    
24. 
    
25. 12)  Any “friend” who resolutely believes that your depression is because you’re lazy, because you’re not trying hard enough, who blames you for not bootstrapping out of it- that friend needs to be cut off. Polite (#2) is one thing, but there is a limit. You don’t have to explain, you can just not respond. You feel badly enough, you don’t need their “assistance”.
    
26. 
    
27. 13)  Limit your time with people who drain you. You know who they are. Often you don’t have a choice- but you can put the meter on. And, subsequently, be aware of what you’re asking of those close to you.
    
28. 
    
29. 14)  Everyone has stuff they’ve got to deal with. What you have been saddled with is your stuff. Recognize, just as you’re not alone, you’re also not unique. The grass may look greener, you may be jealous or envious of others who don’t have to deal with depression, but you likely do not know everything that’s going on with them.
    
30. 
    
31. 15)  Let go or be dragged. This is an old Buddhist saying. It’s a very useful way to frame aspects of depression. Betrayal, anger, fear... letting go is a process – often a painful and difficult process - but it’s ultimately going to show you the path out of this terrible place. Repeating the mantra can help when you’re feeling gripped by these feelings.
    
32. 
    
33. 16)  Wear clothes that make you feel confident. It takes as much time to put on nice clothes as it does to put on sweatpants. You will want to wear the sweatpants. Fight the urge. The whole “look good/feel better” campaign isn’t limited to cancer and chemotherapy. Or women.
    
34. 
    
35. 17)  Avoid fictional drama and tragedy like the plague. No Grey’s Anatomy, no to The Notebook, or anything that won a Pulitzer prize. You’ve got enough going on In Real Life. Comedy only. Or trashy stuff. Old episodes of WonderWoman? I’ve got the box set. Mindless drivel, like the latest CGI blockbuster. Or clever, funny books. David Sedaris. Jenny Lawson. Fiction exists to elicit emotion, and the emotion you need to express most right now is laughter.
    
36. 
    
37. 18)  Simple exercise, if you can. It can be something as simple as taking the stairs up a flight, or walking around the block. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, it doesn’t have to involve climbing a mountain or running a marathon. Baby steps.
    
38. 
    
39. 19)  Depression will lie to you. Depression will try to tell you what others are thinking. That you are unloved and unworthy, that others think little of you or don’t care – or even wish you harm. You are not a psychic. Keep repeating that. “I am not a psychic”. Repeat. The only way to know what another person is thinking is to up and ask them.
    
40. 
    
41. 20)  If you are well and truly losing this battle, reach out to someone. I’ve been the random friendly-but-not-close person who has fielded the occasional outreach. I like to think I’m notjudgmental  and generally resourceful, and others have thought the same, so they called and asked. You know someone like me. And they will help you.
    
42. 
    
43. 21)  Forgive yourself. I’m writing out all these tips, and I can’t always muster the strength to even stick my nose outside, or walk up the stairs, or eat my vegetables. Today, I got outside for ten minutes. I will try again tomorrow. And I will try again the day after that.
    
    This list will not cure you. This list will not flip on the happy switch.
    
    God, I wish it were that easy.
    
    The theme here is to not to unknowingly sabotage yourself. All these little things? Like your blood sugar, or watching nonstop episodes of House, or endless 'Try Harder' lectures from your Perpetually Perky sister?
    
    They all make dealing with depression just a tiny bit harder than it needs to be. And it’s hard enough, all on its own.