54 Years of Wedded Bliss

We're thankful we're old and 

in a long marriage!  

😊

 

 

52 Years!

Here’s to 52 years of wedded bliss!

50 Years Ago Today w/Easter wishes for tomorrow!

50 years ago today, 

in Louisville, KY, 

I married a lucky guy, 

and he's still the love of my life, he's the best!

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DEAR!

 And to all of you, 

 a very 

Happy Blessed Easter!

49 and Counting...

This is truly hard for me to fathom:

it has already been 

17,898 days,

roughly 429,567 hours

since Bill and I married

way back

 49 years ago, 

on April 15, 1967.  

Seems like it was yesterday, doesn't it, dear?

April 15, 1967 ~ Louisville, KY

We were both young things 

in our early 20’s 

when we married 

and life has been 

good to us ever since.

Hawaii - 2001

It makes me happy that 

I found and married 

such an 

optimistic ~ loving ~ kind 

 husband 

with a witty sense of humor 
that cracks me up daily.

He's a caring father 

for our 2 magnificent sons, 

plus a 
caring grandfather for our 

adorable groovy 
5-year-old grandson.

Bill, Jr.

Matt

2004 ~ Tucson

2005 ~ Riviera Maya, Mexico

 2007 ~ 40th anniversary renewal vows in Las Vegas, with Elvis "officiating." 

The sun was very bright in this pic, but had to include it because of Elvis' pose!

2008 ~ Las Vegas

2010 ~ Springfield, KY

2013 ~ near home

We will be celebrating it low-key this year, with a delicious dinner at a favorite restaurant here in the Chicago area:  filet mignon for me, strip steak for him, with all the trimmings…

Toasting to our 49 years 

of wedded bliss

and Income Tax Day!

  

Woo hoo! It's our 48th!

I've been on a little Spring break and am happy to be back here today as...

Bill and I are celebrating 48 years of wedded bliss today.

Our day:  April 15, 1967!

We renewed our vows on our 40th anniversary, April 2007, in Las Vegas, with Elvis officiating.

Now...

Our 2 great sons, Bill, Jr. and Matt:

Happy Anniversary, Bill, you light up my life!

Cuban Picadillo Sloppy Joes plus Tetrad with a Blood Moon and a Happy Anniversary…

I’m envious of our good Canadian friends who vacation in Cuba frequently ~ this recipe is about as close as we will get to it!

Anyway, I love picadillo!  (Say peek-ah-DEE-yoh.)  It’s derived from the Spanish verb “picar,” which means to mince into small pieces.  The basic ingredients are ground beef, onions and tomatoes, with each Latin American country having its own rendition, but its heart belongs to Cuba.

What makes the Cuban-style hash especially appetizing is the addition of green olives, capers and raisins or currants ~ it’s a great mixture of salty and sweet, with different textures and various flavors, blending together to form the distinctive Cuban dish. 

I took it one step further, and turned the picadillo into sloppy joes.  This makes a lot:  if there is any left over, you are the lucky one, as it’s even better then!  It’s comfy, home-style cooking at its best!

Cuban Picadillo Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1½ cups onion, chopped

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 pounds 90% lean ground beef

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 (15-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained

1/3 cup tomato paste

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon brown sugar

½ cup dried currants

½ cup green olives with pimento, chopped

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

Hamburger buns

Method:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add onion and garlic, sauté 3 minutes.

Add beef to pan, crumble and brown.

Stir in ingredients through brown sugar.

Reduce heat to low; simmer about 20 minutes, until liquid reduces, stirring occasionally.

Stir in currants, capers and olives, cook for 5 minutes.

Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

Makes 10-12 sandwiches

Buen provecho!

By the way…

 

Tonight and tomorrow, kicks off a tetrad:  the first of four lunar eclipses in a row ~ the only such quartet in a span of 28 years.   A full lunar eclipse in North America will occur, presenting a blood moon.  Mars will be closest to Earth for the year.  It’s around 1:00 a.m. CST, and will last 78 minutes.  I hope to see it!  Will you be watching?

And it’s our 47^th wedding anniversary tomorrow!  Our anniversary, a total lunar eclipse, income tax day, what a day!

 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DEAR BILL!!!

   

All-purpose Buttery Yellow Cake

I’m happy to say Bill and I celebrated our 46^th wedding anniversary yesterday!  All this time with the best husband:  thank you for all the wonderful years and wonderful memories, my dear, with many more to follow!

We celebrated with an excellent dinner at Biaggi’s Italian Restaurant and I “desserted” him later with his favorite cake ~~~

In Bill’s opinion ~ there is no cake better than a yellow cake with dark chocolate frosting.  This recipe is from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. This is the lightest, fluffiest cake with the finest crumb you can imagine!  In my opinion ~ it beats any bakery cake!

I made a sheet cake in a 9-inch x 13-inch pan; however, if you prefer a layer cake, this recipe makes a 2-layer cake.  Along with the cake flour, it has its share of butter and eggs to provide a tender and springy texture with a stand-out buttery flavor. 

Then finish the cake with sinful chocolate frosting, and you’re treated with a scrumptious cake that would make about anyone happy! 

 

All-purpose Buttery Yellow Cake

Ingredients:

2¼ cups cake flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ cups whole milk, at room temperature

Method:

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch cake pan with shortening and dust with flour.  Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in half the milk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture.

Give the batter a final stir using a rubber spatula to make sure it's thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes.

Let cool completely before frosting, 1-2 hours.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

2½ sticks butter, softened

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Method:

Stir the melted chocolate, vanilla and salt together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves.

Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth, 30-60 seconds.

Reduce speed to medium-low, slowly add confectioners’ sugar, and beat until smooth, 2 to 5 minutes.

Beat in the melted chocolate until combined.

Add cocoa and continue beating to blend.

Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, 4 to 8 minutes.

Makes 3 cups frosting

It’s a classic all-American cake!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes! 

Today is Our 44th Wedding Anniversary!

Our wedding day!

Las Vegas, one of our fave vacation spots!

When it comes to anniversary gift buying, I read that “groceries” is the gift for a 44^th wedding anniversary.  That doesn’t sound real exciting to me and Bill doesn’t even like to go grocery shopping so we won’t be giving each other groceries today.  Instead, Bill is taking me out to one of our favorite restaurants for a delicious dinner this evening.  There won’t be any cooking or recipes here today!

It has been an incredible 44 years and I am astonished with how fast these years have flown by.  Bill is a kind and caring man ~ the love of my life.  It was his great sense of humor that attracted me 46 years ago and there’s still no one who can make me laugh the way he does.

We have been blessed with 2 incredible sons, Bill, Jr. and Matt; Matt’s wonderful pretty wife, Kathy and their darling son, Matthew:  our amazing grandson.  And, by the way ~ Bill has already given me the best gift ever ~ his love!