Hopefully, I will be at Buy ’n Fly very soon, picking up my coat and Cabbage Patch earmuffs. But they may never want to come home. Now, according to the new pictures, they are doing community service and helping out METS. I’m so proud! It’s better than just sitting in my closet.

I had quite an experience last week. The Family Literacy Center in Carthage sells Easter eggs as its major fund-raiser each year. I’m sure you’ve seen them around and hopefully you have bought some. As a member of the board of directors for Family Literacy, I showed up last week to help make eggs. Let me tell you, it’s no walk in the park, but the company was great.

We started by packing the filling into balls then into the molds to form the egg shapes. It takes lots of hand and arm muscles that I hadn’t used that much for a long while. Next came the dipping. Now, that was fun. Once I got the hang of making sure the eggs were completely covered and didn’t have to chase them around in the pan of chocolate, I moved right along. Decorating the tops of the eggs was next and I was excited about making the purple flowers. Trouble was, it took us three or four times to find the right decorating tip so that meant changing the tips with frosting in the bag. To make it even worse, some of the tips we tried had to use the adapter and some didn’t, so you can imagine what a mess I made. I ended up with more frosting on the outside of the bag than inside.

But I finally was able to make about a dozen flowers and I’m betting you will be able to tell which ones were mine. I thank everyone at the center for letting me help and for making it so much fun. In the coming weeks, look for these eggs for sale at various locations, buy one, and let me know what you think. I think you will love them.

I had to leave all that fun for a noon lunch date and as I was on my way out the door to go eat lunch, I grabbed a tuna-salad sandwich to eat on the way. Most people would call that lunch, but not me. I can’t pass up tuna.

Sunday was a sad, sad day. First thing when I opened the paper, I saw where Don Knotts had died. I used to think Lucy was my all-time favorite comedian but each time I watch “The Andy Griffith Show,” which is every time it’s on, I’m in awe of Don’s talent. His Barney Fife is a legend and can’t be topped. I’m hoping they have an Andy Griffith marathon soon in his honor. I’ll watch every minute and still laugh at the same stunts I’ve laughed at dozens of times. I’ll be on the lookout for my very favorite scene, where Andy tries to help Barney learn the Preamble to the Constitution. Now, that’s great television.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m not much on name brands. I can’t see spending extra money for a name. So when I buy sunglasses, I go to the Dollar Store and spend a dollar. Lori Langerot and I went to lunch last week and as we were crossing the street, she said she felt as if she should take my arm and lead me across the street because my sunglasses looked like those you wear after eye surgery. Hardy-har-har. I noticed her sunglasses were very similar to mine except they had some blingy, diamond sparkly design on the sides. La ti da da.

Well, now my sunglasses look just as good as hers and for a lot less money. I bought some of those stick-on earrings kids buy when they want to look like they have their ears pierced but don’t. I made a stunning design on the side of my glasses with these dots and, voila, for a grand total of $2, I have some great shades. Lori will be jealous and others will be begging to know where I got my beautiful sunglasses.
I’ve shared the gooey butter cake recipe before and made it many times. It’s always a crowd pleaser. When I found the recipe for the chocolate marble gooey butter cake in “The Cake Mix Doctor,” I was thrilled because it contains chocolate! And it’s so easy because you start with a dry cake mix. Fix the corned beef and cabbage anytime or save this recipe for St. Patrick’s Day dinner. If the brisket has that extra spices packet, use it instead of the pepper and bay leaves called for in the recipe. This recipe is from the “Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes” but is fixed on the stovetop. The baked corn casserole is from the Country Woman magazine and a good rival for the green bean casserole, and I love the green chilies in it. It’s good with just about anything. I hope your first week of March is a great one!

Chocolate marble gooey butter cake

Crust:
1 plain yellow cake mix
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
1 large egg
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
3 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For crust, place the cake mix, melted butter and egg in large mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer on low for 2 minutes. Batter should come together in a ball. Pat batter evenly over bottom of ungreased 9x13-inch pan, smoothing out with fingers until top is smooth. Set aside. For filling, place cream cheese in same mixing bowl used for crust and with same beaters, blend on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Add eggs, vanilla, and melted butter and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.

Add confectioners’ sugar. Beat on medium until sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute more. Place chocolate chips in small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until chips are melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Measure out 1 cup of the cream-cheese filling and fold it into the chocolate mixture, stirring so the batter becomes well combined and all one color. Set aside. Pour the remaining filling into the crust and spread evenly with spatula, covering entire surface. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate over the filling, then swirl with dinner knife, creating marble effect. Be careful not to cut through the crust. Bake until well browned but the center still jiggles when you shake the pan, 45 to 47 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Yields 20 servings.

Corned beef and cabbage

1 2 to 2 1/2-pound corned beef brisket
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
3 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise
2 medium parsnips or 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into chunks
2 medium red onions, cut into wedges
10 to 12 whole, tiny new potatoes
1 small cabbage, cut into 6 wedges (about 1 pound)
Trim fat from meat. Place in 4 to 6 quart Dutch oven; add juices and spices from package, if available. Add enough water to cover meat. Add bay leaves and pepper if using. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 2 hours or until meat is almost tender. Add carrots, parsnips, and onions to meat. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer covered, for 10 minutes. Scrub potatoes; halve or quarter. Add potatoes and cabbage to Dutch oven. Cover and cook about 20 minutes more or until vegetables and meat are tender. Discard bay leaves. To serve, slice meat across the grain. Yields 6 servings.

Baked corn casserole