Spagetti Sauce for a Crowd. . .or two

I made a roaster full of spaghetti sauce today. It simmered all day on the kitchen counter while we were taking down our Christmas decorations. Taking down the Christmas stuff always makes me feel sad; but having 40 cups of spaghetti sauce ready for the freezer helps a bit.

Here's the recipe:

Roaster Spaghetti Sauce

4# lean ground beef, browned with onion and garlic, drained and rinsed in hot water. (I used three medium yellow onions and a fist of garlic. Onion can go in with the ground beef, but wait until the meat is nearly done before adding the garlic so it doesn't burn and get bitter)

2 pkg. hot Italian sausage links, cut into rings the size of meatballs (not sure the weight on the sausage but each package had 5 large links--I'd guess something over a pound for each package) Cook sausage thoroughly and cool before cutting into pieces.

1) 6# 6 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1) 6# 9 oz. can of tomato sauce

3) 12 oz. cans diced tomatoes with juice

3) 8 oz. pkgs. fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 small cans tomato paste

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Season to taste with parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary. Cook on 250 degrees all day, stirring occasionally. Check seasonings near the end of cooking time and adjust. I usually add basil again right near the end.

Makes 40 cups.

An Evening Prayer

WE THANK THEE, O Lord, for the work of each year, and for the rest of each night. We will lay us down both in peace and sleep, for Thou, Lord, only, makest us to dwell in safety. Keep watch around us throughout this coming year, to protect us against the assaults of the evil one, to suggest to us holy thoughts, to defend us from all dangers, to lead us in the perfect way of peace, and to prepare us for the happy service of a new year. For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Rev. John Edgar Park
West Newton, Massachusetts

Happy Hogmanay to You!

Hogmanay: the name, in Scotland, for the last day of the year.

(today's Dictionary Word of the Day; and no, I didn't know that already)

God's Minute

December 31
New Year's Eve

And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused.--Luke 14:19

FATHER in Heaven, let not our material blessings confound our mind and fill us with a false sense of security, nor suffer us to be enamored by the dazzling prospects of temporal gain and carnal joy. Let us be mindful that the world's chalice of sweet wine is inevitably converted into a cup of bitterness, and that the joy of today becomes the remorse of tomorrow. Thou canst not be denied, O God! All things are Thine, and man is accountable toThee. Grant that we may be faithful stewards of Thy possessions, and that the things of this world may never take precedence in our life over the glorious riches which Thou hast prepared for Thine own from the foundations of the world. If there is any hardness of heart among us, we beseech Thee for the touch of Thy Spirit, that our hearts may yield to Thee in obediance, reverence, and confidence. Thou, whose grace is sufficient unto Thine own, suffer none of Thy children for any cause to depart from the faith this day, but strengthen them, that their faith in Thy goodness and the merits of Christ's redemptive love may remain beautiful and strong. Make us strong according to the inward man, strong in our Christian convictions, strong in faith, strong in our advocacy of righteousness and truth, and strong in our loyalty to Thee. Above all, keep us from dishonoring Thee by any secret or open sin. Through Christ, our Redeemer.

Amen.

Rev. J.P. Meyer,
St. Louis, Missouri

God's Minute

December 30

The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.--Psalm 145:9

O GOD, our Father, we are about to enter upon a new day. To meet well all duties and responsibilities that come to us; to resist firmly every distraction and temptation that seeks to draw us from our path; to be utterly prepared for any danger or any crisis that may this day befall us; to be found, when the evening is come, pure and holy--this is our desire.

And we would be friendly with all men; strength to the weak, hope to the despondent, joy to the sorrowing, power to the tempted.

We wait, therefore, our Father, for the coming of Thy Spirit upon us ere we venture into all that this day holds for us. In the quiet of this early morning hour, bowed before Thee, our souls wait. Touch us with that hand which has been laid in blessing upon others before us; speak to us with that still, small voice of power; fill us with Thine own righteousness.

Give us of Thyself, that we may this day so live for ourselves and before men that through us Thy Kingdom may in part come, and Thy will more fully be done among men. For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Rev. Seeley K. Tompkins,
Cincinnati, Ohio