The “Sinful” Mashed Potatoes Recipe - and a Pony
Thursday, November 27th, 2008It’s probably a little late in the day here on Thanksgiving for you to use this recipe - but it’s darn good, mainly because of the cream cheese (which is also why they call it the “sinful” mashed potatoes recipe.)
“Sinful” Mashed Potatoes
(serves 6-8)
2 C hot or cold mashed potatoes
1 large package (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temp
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
2 T flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 can 3.5 oz. French-fried onion ringsPut potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add cream cheese, chopped onion, egg, and flour. Beat at medium speed until ingredients are blended, then high speed until light and fluffy. Taste, add salt and pepper if needed.
Spoon into greased 9-inch-square baking dish. Distribute canned onions evenly over the top. Bake, uncovered, 300 degrees, for about 35 minutes.
Delicious! But wait! Before we eat, let’s think briefly of others less fortunate than ourselves.
Members of Congress do so on your behalf, and there are several bills in Congress intended to alleviate hunger. Would they succeed? Finding solutions to hunger and poverty is obviously more easily said than done.
There’s S. 1172 and its House counterpart, H.R. 1938. Both are called the “Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2007.” The brief legislative summaries of these bills say they would “reduce hunger in the United States.” (Oy. Grand claims like that put these bills in the “and a pony” category.) Basically, the bills would make grants to various anti-hunger organizations and programs.
H.R. 206, the Anti-hunger Empowerment Act of 2007, would reduce red tape in the food stamp program and give grants to nonprofit anti-hunger groups for a “Beyond the Soup Kitchen” pilot program.
S. 3108 and H.R. 6127 are both called the “White House Conference on Food and Nutrition Act.” They would require the president to call a White House Conference on Food and Nutrition. (Well named bills, don’t you think?)
S. 1575 is the FEED Act of 2007. It would give grants to public agencies and nonprofit institutions “to encourage the use of community resources to combat hunger and the root causes of hunger by creating opportunity through food recovery and job training.”
Finally, there’s H.R. 2129, the Feeding America’s Families Act of 2007. It would “strengthen” the Food Stamp Act of 1977 in various ways. Take a look at the wiki article for the bill to see them all.
It may not be that you want to support these programs, but it is a day to be thankful and to think of those who have less bounty than we do.
And do keep in mind the old saying, amended for this day, “Give a man a turkey and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to turkey and you - no, wait . . . teach a man to fish - yeah, that’s it, fish - and you feed him for a lifetime.”
This time it’s not a politician to blame for making exaggerated claims. It’s one of these coalitions that spring up when a certain set of people want a certain set of goodies from the government.
Yet, each year, Congress has failed to timely complete the annual appropriations process, which divides taxpayer dollars among different federal agencies and programs, guiding the government’s priorities.
Something about health care seems to bring out the braggadocio in Members of Congress. (Braggadocio? - big word! How about “exaggeration.” Wait! I’ve got it - “boasting.”)
We’re back on energy issues, with the introduction of a bill to solve every last problem with one fell swoop. And we’ll all get a pony.
H.R. 6498 is called the
I take a quick glance at all the bills that are introduced in Congress to make sure you’re getting the very, very best information from WashingtonWatch.com. (And maybe I’ve got a touch of OCD.) As I do, I often stumble across bills that stand out just for something in their titles. The