Hello everyone! It’s a beautiful August day with a temperature of 82 degrees. I know, sounds crazy, but it’s true.
I know most of you know my son, Jacob Hopkins. He’s always on me about something, and my response is, you don’t live here anymore so butt out of my business. He loves to tell me what to do. I’m 59 years old and I believe I can make my own decisions. He text me a while back and asked for his birth certificate. I looked in my lock box and looked through some drawers and I can’t find it. I told him “I believe I gave it to you when you got married.” He replied he didn’t think so. That was about a month ago, and yesterday I got a text from him asking me again. I don’t have the birth certificate and I can’t find it. Jacob’s response was “I guess my birth wasn’t important to you.” After 14 hours of labor, high blood pressure, and severe pain one would think I would know where that birth certificate is. I told him to get online and order him a new one. So that solved the problem, he got that done yesterday.
These are the kind of things that go on in my life. I don’t know if I’m washing or hanging out most of the time. This story has nothing to do with Jacob but it’s about his uncle Larry Wagoner. When I tell you that all Wagoner men are alike, believe me, they are. They act alike, have the same traits, the same sense of humor and they are good men.
Years ago, before I got married, I was a nurse’s aide at Methodist Nursing Home in Fort Smith, Arkansas. I loved that job and loved my patients. I got so attached, I’ve always loved the elderly and now I am one. During this time, my sister-in-law, Virginia, was going to nursing school. We would swap stories and talk about medical stuff. Back in the old days, we took blood pressure with a stethoscope and a manual cup. We would sometimes have to take temps rectally. They also used to take baby’s temps that way because they said it was more accurate. Virginia and I were talking one day about taking temps rectally and here comes Larry Wagoner walking in the room and says, “recta lee, who?” He thought we were talking about a lady named Recta Lee. We laughed so hard and have never let him live that down. If your name is Recta Lee, I’m sorry, but that gave us the best laugh. For you young people looking for a different name for your baby, don’t rule out Recta Lee.
This week’s recipe comes from my friend, Debra Overton. She is an awesome cook. I have made this recipe and it is so easy and delicious. It is very important for you to follow the directions.
BLASTED CHICKEN
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. You will need one whole chicken (thawed) around 3 1/2 pounds or so. Salt and pepper. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat dry with a paper towel. Set in a baking dish, breast side up. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper all over, inside and out. Bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes. Do not peek or open the oven door. When done, take it out of the oven and let it set for a few minutes. If your chicken is slightly larger, cook a few more minutes. It’s like eating rotisserie chicken, it’s really good. While cooking, you can make your sides.
This sensational rice recipe goes well with the blasted chicken. Cut up one onion into small pieces. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet and saute the onion on medium heat until soft. Add one cup of raw rice. Continue sauteing until the rice begins to brown, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes. Don’t burn. Quickly add two cups of canned chicken broth, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Enjoy your easy dinner and have a blessed week.
