Hi Everyone,

Today my Mom came over and helped me mow the yard, edge and blow. Of course we had to take time out to go to Home Depot before doing the yard and get a few things. Last week I had read an article in the newspaper relative to keeping your lawnmower in tip top shape.

Among the many things the article mentioned was:

1. Do a maintenance check on your mower every 25 hours.

2. Change the oil, muffler and clean out the air filter by taking out the little sponge and washing it with some mild detergent and drying it out. Then put some motor oil on it, squeeze out the excess and put it back on.

3. We also changed the height of the wheels so the grass would be trimmed more closely.

Then we did our yard and weeded a little bit and it looks marvelous!! I also found the time to put a couple of plants in their small pots inside an old blue plaid small traveling case! The kind that women used to carry all their personal things in like make-up, etc. I found it for practically nothing at a thrift store a few weeks back...It is adorable!! I set it right in the corner of my corner!

Now since I knew I was going to be so very busy today, I marinated 4 pork chops last night and then put them in the crock pot this morning with enough water to cover and put it on high. Oh, were these tender and tasty!! I then took them out, they were falling off the bone but I made sure I kept them in big chunks...I made a thickener with 2 t. cornstarch and a cup of water, shook it up real good in a jar and mixed it in with the delicious juices from the crockpot. I put this gravy in a small saucepot and brought it to the boil so it would thicken up, put the chunks of meat back in the crockpot and poured the gravy over. I then lowered the crockpot to low and was able to cook the rest of the meal. I made Collard Greens, Fresh string beans and Fried Cabbage. I also served a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, red sweet bell peppers & olives. I used one of the Hellman's Splashes on it and sprinkled it with Parmesan, yum!!!

Here are the recipes for you!

Fall Apart Pork Chops

4 thick pork chops
1 t. oregano
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1 T. Morton's Season-All
1 t. McCormick's Spice Blends Key West Flavor

Arrange porks chops in a plastic container with a lid...sprinkle all the seasonings on and rub the garlic all over. Squeeze the lime and turn the chops to cover well in marinade. Marinade all night long.

Next morning, arrange chops inside crockpot, pour all the marinade over them and barely cover with water. Set on high. In the PM, carefully pick chops out, they will fall apart, pick the bones out and set aside. Taste the drippings and adjust salt and pepper if need be. Mix together 1 c. water with about 2 t. cornstarch in a small jar. Blend well. In a small saucepot, blend the drippings with the cornstarch mix and bring to high so that it thickens a bit. Add the meat back to the crock pot, pour the gravy over and set on high so you can cook the rest of the meal.

Fried Cabbage

2 pounds sliced cabbage
4 slices bacon
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large garlic clove, pressed

Fry bacon until crisp and well browned. Drain and set aside.
Add chopped onion and garlic in grease and stir until somewhat limp.
Add cabbage, salt & pepper.
Stirring well so that all the cabbage is coated. Add crumbled bacon bits and cover and cook over low heat until cabbage is limp and tender.

Mess O'Greens
Servings: 4-6

4 bacon strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 pounds collard greens, well rinsed, thick stems trimmed of and discarded, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick strips
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. onion, chopped

In a large pot, fry bacon with onion and saute. When limp, add the garlic and saute til aroma released. Add the sugar and the seasonings and 1/2 c. water. Add the collards and stir well, simmer on low.

Southern Green Beans

1 lb. fresh green beans, ends snapped off
2 large onion slices, chopped
1 garlic clove
2 bacon strips
2 T. veg. oil
pepper
salt
1-2 drops of hot sauce
splash of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Cook bacon pieces with onion in a med. pot. After 3 min. add the oil and stir. Add seasonings and garlic clove. Add vinegar and beans, stir to coat. Cover and lower heat to med-low. Check after 5 min., stir, and lower heat to low. Cook for about 25 min or tender. You should have a delicious brown sauce coating the beans when they are ready.