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See what’s new on your iPhone. Did you know you can remove the background of a photo. Touch and hold it to copy and paste it. 

Bake This

 

Happiness comes from within and a slice of this pound cake with an espresso.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake 

 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1.5 cups butter, room temperature 

1 teaspoon lemon extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbspn vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

Directions:  mix butter, cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and lemon. Mix in  the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into a greased  pan. 

Bake at 325° for 1.25 or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Scary times

Nobody’s talking about it

The changes in the auto insurance that I’ve heard from agents across the industry in the last few months are unprecedented. Allstate announced last winter they were collecting 50% down for new policies, most people like to spread installments over 6 months, then Kia and  Hyundai’s $200 Million class action suit due to car theft frighten Progressive, Allstate, GEICO and State Farm causing some carriers to refuse to insure certain model years due to high theft rates.

Next came the underwriting guidelines changing for some companies, reducing eligibility. Drivers can only have 1 accident in 5 years and need a good credit score to qualify. 

Most carriers are filing with the state of NY asking to pass on premium increases of 20% to 40%  to the customer.

To say these are scary times is an understatement. In this new post covid world, with the mainstream of the autonomous car technology around the corner, it’s probably a matter of time before we’re all driving in them and maybe the insurance companies are preparing for the risk.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/01/27/business/progressive-state-farm-hyundai-kia/index.html

Baked Empanadas

Here’s how I made baked pulled pork empanadas. 

Ribs in the Dutch Oven 

Mix 

1/4 cup of  Worcestershire sauce 

1/4 cup Soy sauce

3 tbsps oil 

3 minced garlic cloves 

add water or beef stock

Bake at 325 for aprox 4 hours or until cooked

It’ll be juicy and tender. Let it rest for a few minutes before pulling. Using a fork, it’ll just fall apart.

Mix in 

1  Tbspn of ground Cumin

Parsley

1 Tbspn of Chilly Powder

1 Tbspn of salt

Shredded cheese

Fill into empanada disks 

Brush with egg wash 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, broil for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

White rice on the side. Dinner is served!

Thanksgiving

Champagne Turkey with a blend of spices and too easy Tres Leches cake  

November is a time to reflect and be thankful for all our blessings. Sending good wishes and sharing  these two easy recipes for Thanksgiving.

Champagne Turkey

Line a large turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil long enough to wrap over the turkey. Rub the turkey with lemon and put it the roaster.

Stir parsley, rosemary, sage, garlic, thyme, lemon pepper and salt in a bowl and rub the herb mixture into the cavity of the turkey. Cut and orange in half and insert it into the cavity of the turkey. 

Pour a bottle of Champagne and chicken broth over the turkey, making sure some champagne gets into the cavity of the turkey. Bring the aluminum foil over the top of the turkey and seal it loosely.   

Bake at 350 in a preheated oven according to its weight. Uncover the turkey about 30 minutes to an hour before its done and continue baking another 30 minutes or until the skin turns golden brown.  A thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F.

move over Pecan and Pumpkin pies

too easy Tres Leches cake

Cake

Blend two boxes of Duncan Hines white cake mix with two 12-ounce cans of flavored seltzer for about 2 minutes. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, cake is done when toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for about 1 hour.

Cream

Whisk two cups of heavy cream, one 12-ounce can evaporated milk and one teaspoon ground cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. Set cream mixture aside. Whisk one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk and one teaspoon vanilla into the cream mixture.

Using a fork, poke holes into the top of the cooled cake and pour the cream mixture over the cake.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. 

Whip one cup of heavy cream with one cup of powdered sugar with a mixer for about 2 minutes until it becomes light and fluffy whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream over the cake and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Be blessed, enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving

Sweater Weather

It’s been a minute 

Let’s give ourselves permission to cope with the stresses of the past few years. News about politics, vaccines, crime and the economy will never stop playing, but we can choose to tune into something else. 

These past few years I’ve learned to embrace self care through exercise, prayer and meditation. It’s been my release, given me life changing peace. I no longer let things that are beyond my control dictate my attitude.  

Tires on electric vehicles require replacement more frequently than tires on other cars

KBB advice on tires for EV

Fall and everything Pumpkin 

Here’s a Pumpkin Muffin recipe from Kathy, my car pool friend from my old GEICO days.

2 slightly beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup solid pack pumpkin

2 ½ cups flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12- 18 muffin cups or use paper

liners.

2.Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin in large bowl; mix well.

Combine flour, pie spice, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Add to

liquid ingredients and mix just until combined. (Do not overmix)

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Spoon batter into muffin cups (about 2/3 full) and bake 20-25 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool

Teresa

Side Effects

So much has happened in one year.  I tried to be an independent broker, failed and got my old job back. Since then the whole world changed.  There was a worldwide pandemic, we went into isolation and held our breaths for a Vaccine. 

Once you fall hard you learn to fail harder. The concept that failure is learning, the more you fail the more you learn. It’s side effect is less fear.

The big “C” word

One of the many side effects of the pandemic is it has people thinking about their future. If you have anxiety about death in the time of the Covid crisis, now more than ever is the time to talk about LIFE.  Health exams may be waived and depending on the pandemic’s mortality rate life insurance prices might rise in the future. There’s  uncertainty about how the virus affects long-term health and life expectancy.  The best thing to do is to guarantee insurability before insurance application questions include covid exposure or diagnosis.