-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

 RH> 20/20 hindsight. I was somewhat hesitant when Steve told me about it
 RH> but the longer he was in, the more I knew it was a smart choice and
 RH> really enjoyed a lot of it. Didn't like the separations of course but
 RH> he never did deploy to a war zone.

 DD> All the "lifers" that I know are glad they did it.

 RH> It's a steady job with little (but some) chance of a lay off. If you go
 RH> in young enough, you'll retire with enough years yet for a 2nd career
 RH> and have 2 retirement checks. Steve didn't do that but with Social
 RH> Security, retirement and disability pay, we're able to meet our bills
 RH> and have a bit left over.

My brother, Phil, didn't do a full career in the military. When he got
back from Vietnam he signed up for the apprenticeship in the Plumbers,
Pipefitters & Boilermakers. Did that for 40 years - the last 20 or so as
the heating & AC guy for the local school board which gave him two nice
pension cheques. And his wife retired from cooking lunches and running
cafeterias for the school district - so they have three decent whacks of
$$$ pluse social security for both.

Me? All I've got is social security. Which I could scrape by on. But I'm
still working part-time @ AutoZone because it helps pad-out the SSI but
more because I enjoy helping people and enjoy the job. Not to mention it
gets me away from sitting my rusty-dusty and pounding on the confuser keys.

Bv)=

 DD>       Title: Picnic Potatoes
 DD>  Categories: Potatoes, Soups, Casseroles
 DD>       Yield: 10 Servings

 RH> I've seen similar that have had a topping of crushed corn flakes so
 RH> have never tried it. Maybe try something like this, but in a smaller
 RH> quantity.

 DD> You could have subbed Wheaties, Grape-Nuts Flakes, or Bran Flakes for
 DD> the Kellog's. Whoops, just checked - Wheaties contains corn - so it's
 DD> a no-no. But Bran Flakes or All-Bran will work.

 RH> Or, use something like potato chips for a double potato dish.

 DD> Or Ritz crackers if you don't want the extra salt that comes w/tater
 DD> chips.

 RH> True, there's usually a work around for most anything if you look hard
 RH> enough.

Ritz crackers is not a stretch. Especially when I figured uot what the
recipe writer was talking about with the call for "butter flavoured"
crackers.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Ritzy Cheddar Chicken Breasts
 Categories: Poultry, Breads, Cheese, Dairy
      Yield: 4 servings
 
      1 tb Olive oil; more for greasing
           - rack
    1/4 c  Sour cream
      1 lg Egg white
      1 ts Dijon mustard
           Salt
  1 1/2 lb (2 lg) boned, skinned
           - chicken breasts
      1    Sleeve (100 g) Ritz
           - crackers
      2 oz Extra-sharp Cheddar cheese;
           - coarse grated
    1/2 ts Garlic powder
    1/2 ts Onion powder
 
  Position rack in the bottom third of the oven and set
  oven to 450ºF/232ºC. Place an ovenproof wire rack over a
  sheet pan. Dab a folded-up paper towel with olive oil
  and rub it over the wire rack to grease it.
  
  In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg
  white and Dijon mustard until smooth. Season with salt.
  Lay the chicken flat on a cutting board and carve each
  breast in half horizontally so you end up with four thin
  cutlets. Add the chicken to the sour cream mixture, and
  using your hands, smear the sour cream all over the
  chicken.
  
  In a large bowl, crush the Ritz crackers into coarse
  pieces with your fingers. Some crackers will turn to
  rubble while others turn to dust. Add the cheese, garlic
  powder, onion powder and olive oil. Season with 1/2
  teaspoon salt and toss until evenly distributed. Holding
  one of the chicken cutlets by its thinner end, add to
  the bowl with the crumbs, and using your hands, pack the
  crumbs onto the chicken, pressing them in to create a
  thick coating. Transfer the breaded chicken to the rack
  in the sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining three
  cutlets.
  
  Bake the cutlets until the outsides are crispy and the
  insides are no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Let the
  chicken cool slightly so the coating can set, about 5
  minutes, before transferring to plates and serving.
  
  By: Eric Kim
  
  Yield: 4 servings
  
  RECIPE FROM: https://cooking.nytimes.com
  
  Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
 
MMMMM

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