Hash Brown Casserole

I found this tasty little recipe in the newsletter that our propane provider, Franger Gas, sent us. I can't wait to try it out. I'll probably make some variations such as homemade hash browns instead of frozen ones.

• 1 2 lb. package frozen hash browns
• 1 8 oz. sour cream
• 1 8 oz. French Onion dip
• 1 8 oz. cheese spread (pimento, cheddar, salsa - whatever sounds good)

Directions:

Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Mix all ingredients together and put in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour and a half.

The recipe was submitted by Carolyn Coffey, Customer Service Rep. in the Jones office.

Tough Road Ahead For Ford

Bill Ford laid out a plan on Monday that would call for the idling of 14 manufacturing facilities, 25,000 to 30,000 factory jobs, and cut 12% of the company's officers by 2012. The six year plan would supposedly bring Ford back to profitability within two years. It is a simple matter of producing way more vehicles than Ford is currently selling. To cut back the number of vehicles produced, Ford must idle some of its factories. These are painful, but necessary cuts if the automaker plans on continuing to be in business for another 100 years.

Get all the info from the article as well as audio statements by Bill Ford and others - MORE PAIN AHEAD: Ford lays out deep cuts, but details unclear

Biodiesel Plant to Locate in Bangor

A bit of good news has finally come to southwest Michigan. It appears that Bangor has been able to woo a biodiesel plant to locate there instead of in Fremont, Indiana. The plant is scheduled to be running by summer and expects to produce about 30,000 gallons per day and employ approximately 22 people. This is will be the second biodiesel plant in Michigan. The first one is in Gladstone in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is not yet up and running.

Read the full story - HERALD-PALLADIUM

Motel Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to be Razed

The Snowflake Motel gathers numerous opinions on architectural taste. Some think that this building designed using the principles of Frank Lloyd Wright is a building that exudes fun and uniqueness. Others find the building ugly and cannot wait for it to be torn down. In 1998, the Snowflake Motel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. However, this does not prevent it from being torn down. The hotel garners its name from the shape the six buildings create - a snowflake. Though you can only tell this from the air.

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HERALD-PALLADIUM