First off… I really want to congratulate Lilly Carol Brown (my granddaughter) and her teammates. Wow, what an awesome little team they’ve become. I can’t say how proud I am of all of them. We had a tough year being so young and playing schools that are class AA, A, and B big schools. We took our losses with pride and when we made a basket it’s like we won the entire tournament … LOL. I’m proud to say that we always score in every game and our defense has really come a long way. Looking forward to next year’s travel team. Thanks to all the parents who made it possible. I want to thank Zaza Andrews, Ashley Abbott and Sharon Ames who always stepped up to sit with me on the sideline. I’m grateful to all who made it a big success.

Onion soup is what’s cooking this week. A dear friend, Tina Boot, asked me to post my onion soup recipe so I’m thrilled to oblige. I’m also going to share my homemade crouton recipe. You’re going to need two to three Vidalia sweet onions or whatever is on hand, half a stick of real butter, two tablespoons of EVO, one cup of red wine (or more ... LOL), two to three tablespoons beef paste, a loaf of French bread, and a cheese of your choice. Rich and I like Swiss and provolone.

First throw your half of stick of butter and EVO in a frying pan, chop your onions, doesn’t matter how (I prefer mine not too big) and cook in the frying pan until very soft. I don’t like crunchy uncooked onions. Add your cup or so of red wine and simmer. Add water as needed and add your beef paste; simmer a little more. Make sure you taste the broth; if it needs more beef paste add it and even a dash of pepper. Set aside.

Croutons, or as my husband calls them, crustacean, long story! Slice your bread into half-inch pieces at a little angle, place them on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Drizzle EVO and toss garlic pepper, maybe some onion powder, whatever you’ve got in your spice drawer --- maybe add some Parmesan cheese ... go crazy. Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes but keep an eye on them. When done, take the croutons out of the oven and let cool.

The soup: I’ve got a couple of crocks I use. When heated, add your soup to a bowl and top off with a couple or three croutons, then place your cheese. My husband likes cheese so I add four slices, two on each bowl. Put under your broiler on low and bake. I keep checking on mine … sometimes my oven has a mind of its own. Please be really careful. It’s hot stuff. Serve with a nice side salad and you’ve got yourself a delicious dinner or supper (all depending on what time you end up eating).

Easter is coming up. That means ham and lamb.

Hope you all have a fantastic week. Enjoy the warmer weather and be kind.