Bacon wrapped cheese banana peppers

Bacon-wrapped, cheese-filled banana peppers

by John Fisher

I had 9 banana peppers from the garden, cream cheese, basil, and bacon.  Combined and grilled in the BBQ, they made a delicious appetizer.

Ingredients

9-banana peppers, various, sizes, yellow and red
1 package of cream cheese
fresh basil, chopped
9 pieces of bacon
18 tooth picks

Directions

Soak the tooth picks in water for 15 minutes. Cut the banana peppers along one edge and discard the seeds. Mix cut fresh basil with the cream cheese. Fill the peppers with cream cheese. Wrap the peppers with bacon. Use tooth picks to attach the bacon.

Grill at medium heat on the BBQ for 15 minutes on one side. Then turn over for another ten minutes.  Watch carefully to keep from burning.

Nutrition facts (per pepper)

Carbs 4g 5%
Fat 30g 79%
Protein 14 g 16%

For more information about Cyactiv, go to https://riverglen.cerule.com/

Sunset in Wyoming

Photo by John Fisher

Keto meatloaf

Keto Meatloaf

1hr 27mins · 595 calories per serving · 4 servings

Calories 2381

Carbs 37g 6%

Fat 122g 47%

Protein 272g 47%

Fiber 10g

Net carbs 27g

Sodium 1529mg

Cholesterol 840mg

12 minutes to prepare, 75 minutes to cook

Ingredients

Ground beef

90% lean meat / 10% fat, patty, cooked, pan-broiled 1 ½ lbs

Raw, fresh eggs 3 large

Pepper, Spices, black, 1 dash

Garlic, 3 cloves

Mushrooms, 1 cup

Onions, Raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia)

Parsley, Spices, dried, 1 tbsp

Olive oil, Salad or cooking, 1 tbsp

Tomato sauce, Canned, 8 tbsp

Directions

Step 1 - Chop garlic, onions, and mushrooms

Step 2 - Add garlic, onion, and mushrooms with 1 tsp of salt to a pan and saute on medium heat until onions are soft

Step 3 - Mix together all the ingredients except for the tomato sauce

Step 4 - Spray down a loaf pan with cooking spray and firmly press in the ground beef mix

Step 5 - Pour tomato sauce on top ensuring you spread evenly

Step 6 - Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees

Serve hot with string green beans cooked in bacon grease, and sprinkled with bacon bits

 For more information about Cyactiv, go to https://riverglen.cerule.com/

Cheese Filled Mushrooms

Cheese filled mushrooms: Low carb Keto diet

Low Carb Keto Diet stuffed Mushrooms

Hands-on 5 minutes Overall 25-30 minutes

Nutritional values per serving (4 mushrooms + fresh greens):

Total carbs: 7.9 g, Fiber: 2.3 g,  Net carbs: 5.5 g

Protein: 14.3 g, Fat: 28.5 g, Calories: 334 kcal,

Ingredients (makes 2 servings)

8 large mushrooms (300g / 10.6 oz)

1 cup shredded white Italian cheese (100g / 3.5 oz)

fresh thyme

salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175 °C/ 350 °F. Clean the mushrooms and

remove the stem. Season with salt to taste.

1. Chop the stems into small pieces and add fresh thyme leaves.

2. Fill each mushroom with shredded cheese, chopped stems

and thyme. Place in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven and place on a serving plate with fresh

greens tossed with olive oil.

 For more information about StemEnhance ULTRA go to https://riverglen.cerule.com/

Easy to make Cauliflower Rice

Easy to make cauliflower rice

For dinner we added cauliflower rice to our "Keto" meal. I used the following recipe which was easy and provided great results. I only made enough for three people, which was about half the cauliflower.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower cut into large chunks 
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Put large chucks of  cauliflower into a food processor. Pulse until the cauliflower bits are about the size of rice. Do not over process.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add cauliflower. Stir constantly for about five minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot with meat and other vegetables. It looks good and is tasty.

Nutrition facts:
Per Serving: 113 calories; 7 g fat; 11.1 g carbohydrates; 4.2 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 63 mg sodium

I based the recipe on one I read at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/238987/paleo-cauliflower-rice/



Learn more about StemEnhance ULTRA at https://riverglen.ceruleinternational.com/ 

Grill time for vegetables

Grill gives fresh summertime vegetables an extra taste of yumminess. Coat vegetables with olive oil so they don't stick to the grill. Use a grill basket for smaller pieces.

Raw zucchini

Grilled zucchini

Vegetable	Cooking time	Heat level
Asparagus (whole)	6 to 8 minutes	Direct medium heat
Bell pepper (halved)	6 to 8 minutes	Direct medium heat
Carrot (halved)	12 to 20 minutes	Direct medium heat
Corn (whole, shucked)	10 to 12 minutes	Direct medium heat
Onion (1 inch slices)	10 to 12 minutes	Direct medium heat
Mushrooms (whole)	10 to 12 minutes	Direct medium heat
New potatoes (halved, precooked)	10 to 12 minutes	Direct medium heat
Russet potatoes (whole in tinfoil)	40 to 60 minutes	Indirect medium heat
Squash, acorn (halved)	40 to 60 minutes	Indirect medium heat
Squash, butternut (halved)	50 to 55 minutes	Indirect medium heat
Sweet potato (whole in tinfoil)	50 to 60 minutes	Indirect medium heat
Tomato (halved)	5 minutes	Direct medium heat
Zucchini (halved or sliced)	6 to 10 minutes	Direct medium heat

Learn more about StemEnhance ULTRA at https://riverglen.ceruleinternational.com/ 

Children’s Health Care: Best and Worst States

With Every Kid Healthy Week kicking off on April 23 and children’s health care costs getting increasingly more expensive, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best & Worst States for Children's Health Care.

In order to determine which states offer the most cost-effective and highest-quality health care for children, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of children aged 0 to 17 in excellent or very good health to pediatricians and family doctors per capita.

Best for Children’s Health Care			Worst for Children’s Health Care
1.	Vermont		42.	Arizona
2.	District of Columbia		43.	Alaska
3.	Massachusetts		44.	Wyoming
4.	Connecticut		45.	Oklahoma
5.	New York		46.	Montana
6.	Maryland		47.	Arkansas
7.	Hawaii		48.	Mississippi
8.	New Hampshire		49.	Texas
9.	New Jersey		50.	Louisiana
10.	California		51.	Nevada

Source: WalletHub

Best vs. Worst

• Massachusetts has the lowest share of uninsured children aged 0 to 17, 1.3 percent, which is 8.8 times lower than in Alaska, the highest at 11.5 percent.
• The District of Columbia has the lowest share of children aged 0 to 17 with unaffordable medical bills, 5.20 percent, which is 3.3 times lower than in Nevada, the highest at 17.00 percent.
• The District of Columbia has the most pediatricians per 100,000 residents, 45.52, which is 25.1 times more than in Oklahoma, the fewest at 1.81.
• New Hampshire has the lowest share of obese children aged 10 to 17, 8.50 percent, which is 3.1 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest at 26.20 percent.
• Iowa has the highest share of dentists participating in Medicaid for child dental services, 83.70 percent, which is 5.7 times higher than in New Hampshire, the lowest at 14.80 percent.

For the full report and to see where your state or the District ranks, please visit:

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-child-health/34455/

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial

by John Fisher

Last week my wife and I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum, which honors the 168 people (including 15 children) who died in the bombing of the Murrah Federal office building on April 19, 1995. I was greatly moved emotionally.

Staff indicated that it takes about an hour and a half to take the tour that begins on the second floor and makes it way down to the first and then to the bookstore and exit and the ground level. We took two and half-hours and didn’t see all that we would have liked to.

The tour begins with a description of the building and then takes your back to 9 a.m. on April 19, 1995 by listening to a recording of a meeting that began across the street and adjacent federal building. About two minutes into the recording I jumped at the sound of an explosion. We then moved into the next room, which showed scenes and broadcast news reports about the impact of the explosion.

Display in the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum

The next few rooms described the response of police, fire, and emergency medical personnel as well as the city generally. I was impressed by the immediate and long-term work of first responders, including 665 Urban Search and Rescue Teams (USAR) that came with 24 K-9 units from across the nation.

Rescuer photo in the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum 

Responders rescued hundreds of injured people on the day of bombing. The final live victim was pulled from the ruins at 7 p.m. Finally, after a week it was determined that no more people could be alive. The rescue process ended and the recovery process began. On May 5th the search was called off because of potential danger to responders. On May 23rd the building was demolished, with three people unaccounted for. On May 30th, their bodies were discovered as workers removed the rubble.

I learned how eagerly the citizens of Oklahoma City answered any appeal for help. And, how determined they became in face of disaster. They pulled together and became united in their efforts to recover form the tragedy.

The media helped tremendously in the response by keeping the public informed and by sharing appeals for help when needed. They respected the privacy of victims and their family and treated all with dignity.

On the first floor we walked into a room with windows that provided a panoramic view of the memorial which consists of a pond the length and width of a city street next to where the Murrah Building stood. At either end are large block monuments with the time of the blast inscribed. Across the pond are 168 chairs on a grassy knoll (the original site of the building) representing the 168 people who died in the explosion.

Oklahoma City National Memorial shows 168 chairs for each person who died 

Best & Worst States for Doctors – WalletHub Study

As the personal-finance website WalletHub showed in its report on 2018's Best & Worst States for Doctors, good health care is dependent on any number of factors.

To identify the best states for those in the business of saving lives, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics. The data set ranges from average annual wage of physicians to hospitals per capita to quality of public hospital system.

Best States for Doctors			Worst States for Doctors
1	South Dakota		42	Illinois
2	Nebraska		43	California
3	Idaho		44	Maryland
4	Iowa		45	Oregon
5	Minnesota		46	Massachusetts
6	Wisconsin		47	District of Columbia
7	Kansas		48	Hawaii
8	Montana		49	New York
9	North Dakota		50	Rhode Island
10	Wyoming		51	New Jersey

Source: WalletHub

Best vs. Worst:

• Oklahoma has the highest average annual wage for surgeons (adjusted for cost of living), $317,825, which is 2.8 times higher than in the District of Columbia, the lowest at $113,603.
   
• The District of Columbia has the highest number of physicians per 1,000 residents, 8.24, which is 6.9 times higher than in Nevada, the lowest at 1.20.
   
• Florida has the highest projected share of the population aged 65 and older by 2030, 27.08 percent, which is two times higher than in Utah, the lowest at 13.21 percent.
   
• Nebraska has the lowest annual malpractice liability insurance rate, $4,977, which is 8.2 times lower than in New York, the highest at $40,826.

To view the full report and your state or the District's rank, please visit:

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-doctors/11376/

More from WalletHub

• Healthiest Cities in America
• Best & Worst Cities for an Active Lifestyle
• State Uninsured Rates
• City Uninsured Rates
• Best & Worst States for Health Care
• Best & Worst States for Nurses