Got a minute to spare?

I was out walking one day and I happened to run into a friend that I had not seen in quite some time. The day was somewhat gloomy and the clouds threatened to burst and drench us with rain at any moment. Immediately, as I saw her, her face broke out into a smile as she greeted me with these cheery words," Hello, I was thinking about you this morning!" Suddenly, it didn't quite seem to matter that rain was threatening, and the day didn't seem to appear so gloomy anymore . . .

I felt all warm and rosy inside. Someone had been thinking about . . . me.



As usual, things like this get me to thinking. There's no such thing as a co-incidence you know, only "God-incidence." Everything happens for a reason and a purpose. The thought came into my mind . . . "Wouldn't it be nice if we could all stop for a minute once a day, and use that minute to think about someone else, instead of focusing on ourselves and our own lives???"

It only takes a minute . . . sixty seconds . . . not long. But if we all did this, there's no telling what we could achieve. We've all got 24 hours in a day. That's one thousand, four hundred and forty minutes. Surely we can, each one of us, spare just one single minute to think peaceful, loving, kind thoughts of another . . .



This is my challenge for you today. Do you think you're up to it? I think you can do it! One minute for others! There, that didn't hurt a bit, did it?

I'm a person that doesn't believe in waste, especially in the kitchen. Recent statistics have shown that, as a nation, we, here in the UK, waste an outrageous 6.7 million tons of food every year. That's 6.7 million tons of food that could be eaten. If we all stopped wasting food that could have been eaten, the impact on our carbon footprint would be massive. Not only that, but think of the money we would save . . .

Here's one tasty way you can use up the last bits of that Sunday roast and those leftover vegetables.



*Leftover Meat Casserole*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

This is a most delicious way to use up all those leftovers from your Sunday Lunch. It's an old fashioned recipe that I have had kicking around in my big blue binder for a great many years. It's really good, very quick and easy to put together and uses up all the little bits you may have leftover. It comes from a day and age when nothing went to waste. It's an oldie but a goodie!

2 cups cooked lamb, pork, beef or chicken, cut into smallish bits
1 cup diced celery
1 large onion, peeled and minced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 cups of lefotver cooked vegetables, diced
1 tin of campbells condensed cream of tomato soup, undiluted
1 tin of campbells condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3 cups cooked egg noodles
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup of meat stock (the kind depends on what type of meat you are using)
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly grease a casserole dish and set aside.

Put the onions, celery and garlic into a microwave safe bowl, along with 1 TBS of water. Cover with cling film. Pierce the top in a few places and then microwave it for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until they are crispy tender. Remove from the microwave and dump into a large bowl. Add the chopped meat and give it a stir.

Place the meat/onion mixture, vegetables and noodles together in layers in the prepared casserole dish, ending with noodles on top and seasoning each layer slightly with some salt and pepper.

Blend the soups and meat stock and pour this over top of the whole mixture. Combine the grated cheese and breadcrumbs and spinkle this mixture evenly over top of the casserole. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until nicely bubbling and lightly browned on top. Delicious!

Note - this also freezes very well. I break it down into smaller amounts. I end up with three small two person sized casseroles, one we eat on the day and two go into the freezer to have on hand in case of emergencies!



If you are looking for a tasty way to get rid of some of that ginormous cauliflower your gardening neighbour gave you, look no further than this. Cauliflower Cheese Fritters. Need I say more? Check them out NOW!