Stuffed Pistolettes for Shirley

Let me tell you about Shirley. She's the most lovely person at the hospital. On the occasional Sunday morning at the hospital, the unit clerk will set the call bell to page and Shirley will sing a gospel song, piped into all the patient rooms. Once when one of my patients was on her way to heaven, the family heard this, and requested that Shirley come in the room and sing to mama, which she did without hesitation. Then, a little while later, when the mom passed, Shirley came back in the room and sang again. This resulted in the family asking her to sing at the funeral. She has the voice of an angel, and the sweetest disposition. I made pistolettes once and took them to work, and she flipped over them. She has asked me to make them for her son and herself for Christmas and I am more than happy to oblige. So here's how you do it:

Cut the ends off 12 pistolettes, and with a long fork, scoop out the middle. (I always save the insides in a freezer bag for breadcrumbs later). Then, with the Temptations singing Standing on the Top, chop 1 onion, add it to 1 lb ground beef in a skillet, and cook.

Cook a small pkg of chopped broccoli according to pkg directions, omitting salt.

Once the meat is brown, drain it and add 1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce, sprinkle in a little garlic powder and some cajun seasoning. Then add 1/2 lb velveeta, and cook on low to melt cheese. Jackson Browne is singing Your Bright Baby Blues, and all is right with the world.

Once the cheese is melted, add the broccoli to the meat mixture, and begin stuffing the pistolettes. Once each one is stuffed, replace the end that was cut off earlier, and secure it with a toothpick. Toby Keith is singing Who's Your Daddy? (you are, baby!)

Once all pistolettes are stuffed and their lids are secured, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder. If you are serving them right away, place them in a 450 oven and cook 8-10 minutes til light brown. Careful---they burn easily.

I'm not cooking these, so i placed them in the freezer, and will deliver them to Shirley with baking instructions.

Sure hopes she knows what a blessing she is.

Speaking of blessings---here's a personal footnote:

Those of you who know me know that Dan is history---and all I can say about that is good riddance.

But I have been monumentally blessed with a husband who truly loves me, and although I think I'm a pretty neat chick, I don't know why in the world this man can forgive and forget the way he has. Of course, the hurt I felt in the marriage was little by little over the years, culminating in the break-up, but still I would never have expected him to do what he has done to prove to me that he's the right man for me, after the way I hurt him. So I will do all I can to encourage him and let him know he's loved and appreciated. My mom will be so happy!

L