Today has been one of those days...when I leave my house in the morning, expecting to be home around noon. Except I spent the afternoon taking my daughter for fun things like x-rays and lab tests. It was an unexpected sort of day for me (and my needle phobic baby girl), so I didn't crockpot anything for dinner in the morning. Which means we are stuck eating frozen burger patties, chips and apple slices. Not exactly my favorite, but my burgerholic boys are, no doubt, giving thanks to the heavens above, so there's your silver lining! Now I realize being gone all day is the norm for most of America, but since I'm a stay at home, (shockingly mainstream) homeschooling, homebody-type mom...I'm here pretty much all the time.
If I had known I would be removed from my household for the day, at the very least I would have thrown this into my crockpot. I usually keep a chuck roast in the freezer, and, although manufacturers of 'slow cookers' recommend you don't throw frozen hunks of meat into your crockpot, I will let you in on a little secret. I do it all the time, and we ain't died yet! I think they are CYAing to their litigation department's tune. But that's just me. You have to decide for yourself. (See, I can CMA too.) This is perhaps the most basic a crockpot recipe can get, but it has saved dinner more than once!
Crock'd Roast Beast
1 - 4-5 lb. chuck roast (you can adjust the size accordingly, this feeds our hungry family of 5, with leftovers that make great burritos, tacos, nachos and hot sandwiches for lunch)
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1/2 cup leftover morning coffee
Season all sides of your roast and put it in your crockpot. Add the coffee. Cover and turn on low for all day cooking. If you happen to have a frozen roast, you might want to turn it on high for an hour before you leave, and then down to low, but it will cook the other way too, just taking a bit longer.
Feel free to slice onions, potatoes, carrots, celery and throw them in there if you like (the roast goes in last). While that does make a handy ENTIRE meal, my family doesn't like their potatoes and veggies this way. When I'm really pressed to get dinner on the table a bag of frozen broccoli and loaf of french bread go a long way towards completing a meal. This is also a great way to use up half empty bottles of sauces, marinades, salsa etc. Just eliminate the coffee and seasoning salt. If you have plenty of time, whip up some mashed potatoes, use the pan juices to make gravy and live large.
Well, the siren song of frozen sirloin patties from Sam's Club are calling...
xoxo
~S
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Fling them aside!
Cast them off!
Today, just this morning, I have flung Monkey #2 off my back. The TV issue, solved Monday, I guess has to qualify as #1. But really, this morning's, was so much more fulfilling. The details are boring, so I won't list them, but Bill and I are going to raise our glasses to taking care of bidness tonight!
And before anyone goes off getting all...I hate Sherri and her perfect, monkey flung off, life...just know there are plenty where that one came from. My life is by any measure NOT perfect.
One monkey at a time.
Even though I tend to want to take on the whole zoo in one massive, life altering, glorious, hard left turning change, the world in general, seems not to want to cooperate.
So I will settle for one at time, and be glad it's gone.
And really hope we didn't just make room for a new one. Hardee har har. That would be a drag!
So if you've been putting it off...just start. This particular monkey fling has been MONTHS in the making, but if we hadn't started...well I'd be carting that thing around my neck right now.
Love ya'!
~Sherri
P.S. My reward for this??? Spending the day at one of those tortuous kid places full of LOUD video games and go carts with my boys. They won a trip from our charter school. Good test scores or something useless like that. I'll be bringing the Advil. You can find me at the picnic bench in the shady corner.
Today, just this morning, I have flung Monkey #2 off my back. The TV issue, solved Monday, I guess has to qualify as #1. But really, this morning's, was so much more fulfilling. The details are boring, so I won't list them, but Bill and I are going to raise our glasses to taking care of bidness tonight!
And before anyone goes off getting all...I hate Sherri and her perfect, monkey flung off, life...just know there are plenty where that one came from. My life is by any measure NOT perfect.
One monkey at a time.
Even though I tend to want to take on the whole zoo in one massive, life altering, glorious, hard left turning change, the world in general, seems not to want to cooperate.
So I will settle for one at time, and be glad it's gone.
And really hope we didn't just make room for a new one. Hardee har har. That would be a drag!
So if you've been putting it off...just start. This particular monkey fling has been MONTHS in the making, but if we hadn't started...well I'd be carting that thing around my neck right now.
Love ya'!
~Sherri
P.S. My reward for this??? Spending the day at one of those tortuous kid places full of LOUD video games and go carts with my boys. They won a trip from our charter school. Good test scores or something useless like that. I'll be bringing the Advil. You can find me at the picnic bench in the shady corner.
Monday, October 25, 2010
cookie bars with a dash of paranoia
So today, I let 2 strange men into my home. It helped that they had been scheduled. That they were expected. Wearing uniforms and carrying a clipboard. That they were bringing a replacement TV for the piece of junk Samsung was passing off as a TV a year and a half ago. But still. I detest having people in my house for deliveries, repairs or installations. Cleaning, well, my tolerance shoots way up for that category.
First off, they are always MEN who are delivering, installing and repairing. Not once in the 25 years that I've been in charge of getting stuff done has it been a woman. Second, these things always have to occur during the week which means Bill is generally at work. What educated, savvy woman flings open her door to complete strange men types? Thirdly, they always expect me to know lots of things I don't. Like where was the last cable run? Where is your water main? Will it be okay to drill a hole through the wall? Fourth, they have occasionally been...condescending...like the water heater delivery/installation dude who wanted to just go ahead and flood my garage because he didn't want to wait for the thing to drain properly (and slowly) through a hose out into the gutter. He actually rolled his eyes when I said...'Uh, no? Let me call someone and see if that's okay.' Unable to get Bill on the phone, I was able to get my trusty brother-in-law on the phone who then chewed the guy a new one for me. Gotta love family. And finally, what if they're really casing the joint? Looking to see how to best get in later to murder us all in our sleep??? I'm just sayin'. A little paranoid. I think it's all those Ellery Queen Mystery shows my dad let me watch when I was little. Timothy Hutton's dad sure was handsome though. And I do go through my whole house afterwards making sure they didn't leave a window unlocked for later. Welcome to my little corner of insanity. It's cozy here. And why I told Evan to look Very Big while they were here.
AND, because Judy and I both feel guilty about throwing our recyclables into the trash...here's my blue ribbon winning Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. If there is someone who is just not letting you off the hook...make 'em some of these. It might help smooth things over.
I bake these in a 15" x 9 3/4"ish black jellyroll pan. It's one my grandma gave me one day, so I have no idea where it came from. I mention this only because some people swear the pan must be what makes these awesome. I'm not so sure because I've baked them in other pans too, you just have to sort of adjust your cooking time if the size is different.
You'll need:
2 1/4 cups flour (Don't just scoop it out with your measuring cup, that packs it in and then your cookies will be dough heavy. I'm all about less dough and MORE CHOCOLATE. Kind of fluff up your floor and then spoon it into the measuring cup with a big serving spoon like I do.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (Use regular, salted butter. Don't even think about margarine. It won't taste as good.)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup PACKED dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Again, use the real stuff. It's probably the difference between blue ribbon and honorable mention.)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I get mine in the huge bag at Sam's club so I have no idea if this translates handily into a smaller bag size from the grocery.)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl. Use a whisk to mix and sift the ingredients together.
In a different bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love that thing. Worth every cent it cost. Unlike the worthless TV...), beat together the butter, sugars and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat some more. Gradually beat in the flour. You can do all this by hand by the way, I have, and the cookies still rock. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread dough into a greased (I just use Pam) jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. They will be a nice golden/light brown all across. Cool, in pan, on a wire rack. Divide the pan up into however many servings you want and enjoy with some icy cold milk!
Love ya!
~S
First off, they are always MEN who are delivering, installing and repairing. Not once in the 25 years that I've been in charge of getting stuff done has it been a woman. Second, these things always have to occur during the week which means Bill is generally at work. What educated, savvy woman flings open her door to complete strange men types? Thirdly, they always expect me to know lots of things I don't. Like where was the last cable run? Where is your water main? Will it be okay to drill a hole through the wall? Fourth, they have occasionally been...condescending...like the water heater delivery/installation dude who wanted to just go ahead and flood my garage because he didn't want to wait for the thing to drain properly (and slowly) through a hose out into the gutter. He actually rolled his eyes when I said...'Uh, no? Let me call someone and see if that's okay.' Unable to get Bill on the phone, I was able to get my trusty brother-in-law on the phone who then chewed the guy a new one for me. Gotta love family. And finally, what if they're really casing the joint? Looking to see how to best get in later to murder us all in our sleep??? I'm just sayin'. A little paranoid. I think it's all those Ellery Queen Mystery shows my dad let me watch when I was little. Timothy Hutton's dad sure was handsome though. And I do go through my whole house afterwards making sure they didn't leave a window unlocked for later. Welcome to my little corner of insanity. It's cozy here. And why I told Evan to look Very Big while they were here.
AND, because Judy and I both feel guilty about throwing our recyclables into the trash...here's my blue ribbon winning Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. If there is someone who is just not letting you off the hook...make 'em some of these. It might help smooth things over.
I bake these in a 15" x 9 3/4"ish black jellyroll pan. It's one my grandma gave me one day, so I have no idea where it came from. I mention this only because some people swear the pan must be what makes these awesome. I'm not so sure because I've baked them in other pans too, you just have to sort of adjust your cooking time if the size is different.
You'll need:
2 1/4 cups flour (Don't just scoop it out with your measuring cup, that packs it in and then your cookies will be dough heavy. I'm all about less dough and MORE CHOCOLATE. Kind of fluff up your floor and then spoon it into the measuring cup with a big serving spoon like I do.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (Use regular, salted butter. Don't even think about margarine. It won't taste as good.)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup PACKED dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Again, use the real stuff. It's probably the difference between blue ribbon and honorable mention.)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I get mine in the huge bag at Sam's club so I have no idea if this translates handily into a smaller bag size from the grocery.)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl. Use a whisk to mix and sift the ingredients together.
In a different bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love that thing. Worth every cent it cost. Unlike the worthless TV...), beat together the butter, sugars and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat some more. Gradually beat in the flour. You can do all this by hand by the way, I have, and the cookies still rock. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread dough into a greased (I just use Pam) jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. They will be a nice golden/light brown all across. Cool, in pan, on a wire rack. Divide the pan up into however many servings you want and enjoy with some icy cold milk!
Love ya!
~S
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Confession #43
Hello blogworld. I've missed you.
Confession #43: I don't recycle when it rains.
Here's why - I can safely deposit trash into the outside trash bin from the (dry) doorway of my garage side door. The recycle bin requires that I leave the comfort of being 100% dry and walk maybe 6 feet over wet concrete and under a wet dripping roof edge, unless it's actually raining, and then, well, the raindrops get me too. I, like the Very Bad Cat Layla, don't like being wet and cold. (I'll introduce you to VBCLayla sometime. She's a mean girl.)
And yes, I do feel a little guilty each and every time I toss my flattened cardboard boxes, glass bottles, and recyclable plastic (no widemouthed containers please) into the trash bin. I think this I can squarely blame on my parents. BTW I am not a fan of parent-blaming since I am now the parent of 3 future potential blamers. While the 3 R's are very popular and PC now...Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...I had hippie parents in the 70's and we were into the big E and WC. Ecology and Water Conservation. We also practiced Use It Up, Wear It Out, and Make Do way before it was chic to 'shop your own closet' for a new outfit. But I think that's mostly because my parents, having both decided a college education would be helpful, returned to school in my youth. We were broke man. As an adult, I have to say, it has been useful to know how to be green before it was movie star cool, and to use it up, wear it out, and make do. But I like to call it Being Resourceful.
Got a confession you'd like to get off your chest? I'm here for you!!! Before you go getting all sappy and Sherri loves me, please know that I have discovered that it is way more fun than I anticipated seeing that I have a comment on here. I know. Kind of pitiful. But a happy pitiful. Which makes it a win-win sort of thing. You feel better, I feel better. Leave me your confessions....please?!
xoxo
~Sherri
Confession #43: I don't recycle when it rains.
Here's why - I can safely deposit trash into the outside trash bin from the (dry) doorway of my garage side door. The recycle bin requires that I leave the comfort of being 100% dry and walk maybe 6 feet over wet concrete and under a wet dripping roof edge, unless it's actually raining, and then, well, the raindrops get me too. I, like the Very Bad Cat Layla, don't like being wet and cold. (I'll introduce you to VBCLayla sometime. She's a mean girl.)
And yes, I do feel a little guilty each and every time I toss my flattened cardboard boxes, glass bottles, and recyclable plastic (no widemouthed containers please) into the trash bin. I think this I can squarely blame on my parents. BTW I am not a fan of parent-blaming since I am now the parent of 3 future potential blamers. While the 3 R's are very popular and PC now...Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...I had hippie parents in the 70's and we were into the big E and WC. Ecology and Water Conservation. We also practiced Use It Up, Wear It Out, and Make Do way before it was chic to 'shop your own closet' for a new outfit. But I think that's mostly because my parents, having both decided a college education would be helpful, returned to school in my youth. We were broke man. As an adult, I have to say, it has been useful to know how to be green before it was movie star cool, and to use it up, wear it out, and make do. But I like to call it Being Resourceful.
Got a confession you'd like to get off your chest? I'm here for you!!! Before you go getting all sappy and Sherri loves me, please know that I have discovered that it is way more fun than I anticipated seeing that I have a comment on here. I know. Kind of pitiful. But a happy pitiful. Which makes it a win-win sort of thing. You feel better, I feel better. Leave me your confessions....please?!
xoxo
~Sherri
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tick tock you're almost off the clock!
Finally!
Friday afternoon has graced us with its presence.
Several times over this past week I didn't think we were going to make it to Friday without an Incident.
You know, the type that results in yellow crime tape, orange prison jumpsuits and a padded room.
But here we are.
Whew. Good thing too.
I'm pretty sure that's a collective sigh of relief I just heard, because I am not the only one who has suffered at the hands of this wicked week.
In my little corner of the world, nothing says "Hellooo, Gorgeous Weekend" like chips, salsa and an ice-cold something to sip on.
So make some SALSA and usher in the weekend properly.
28oz. can whole tomatoes - do NOT drain this baby
2 cans(10 oz.) Rotel tomatoes and chiles - 1 mild, 1 original
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1-2 whole jalapenos, quartered (don't cry to me if you rub your eyes, privates, etc. after you touch these because it will burn like a mother and you have been warned!)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (I like big kosher salt. It makes me feel cool and doesn't cost much.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bunch cilantro
juice from 1/2 lime (I think it's mighty convenient that this leaves the other lime half for drinks.)
Toss it all into your blender or food processor and pulse, don't turn it on and let it run, pulse it, 10 to 15 times for the consistency you'd like. Take it for a spin and see if you want to adjust any of the seasonings.
Now here's my little list of salsa insider trading tips...I use one whole jalapeno, seeds and all. Pulse it about half the number of times and taste it. You may or may not want to add part or all of the other pepper. Their heat varies a lot, and I like mine pretty spicy. If you are a mild sort of salsa person, who am I to judge. Just be sure to remove the seeds and membranes to eliminate most of the jalapeno's heat in the beginning. I'm sure you all know to rinse the cilantro and cut off the stems right?! You can also use less than a full bunch of cilantro if you like less. I like a lot!!!
Be sure to cut up the other half of the lime into wedges to stick in your diet Coke, Corona or whatever else goes with chips and salsa in your mind.
Have a fantabulous weekend!!!
~S
Friday afternoon has graced us with its presence.
Several times over this past week I didn't think we were going to make it to Friday without an Incident.
You know, the type that results in yellow crime tape, orange prison jumpsuits and a padded room.
But here we are.
Whew. Good thing too.
I'm pretty sure that's a collective sigh of relief I just heard, because I am not the only one who has suffered at the hands of this wicked week.
In my little corner of the world, nothing says "Hellooo, Gorgeous Weekend" like chips, salsa and an ice-cold something to sip on.
So make some SALSA and usher in the weekend properly.
28oz. can whole tomatoes - do NOT drain this baby
2 cans(10 oz.) Rotel tomatoes and chiles - 1 mild, 1 original
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1-2 whole jalapenos, quartered (don't cry to me if you rub your eyes, privates, etc. after you touch these because it will burn like a mother and you have been warned!)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (I like big kosher salt. It makes me feel cool and doesn't cost much.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bunch cilantro
juice from 1/2 lime (I think it's mighty convenient that this leaves the other lime half for drinks.)
Toss it all into your blender or food processor and pulse, don't turn it on and let it run, pulse it, 10 to 15 times for the consistency you'd like. Take it for a spin and see if you want to adjust any of the seasonings.
Now here's my little list of salsa insider trading tips...I use one whole jalapeno, seeds and all. Pulse it about half the number of times and taste it. You may or may not want to add part or all of the other pepper. Their heat varies a lot, and I like mine pretty spicy. If you are a mild sort of salsa person, who am I to judge. Just be sure to remove the seeds and membranes to eliminate most of the jalapeno's heat in the beginning. I'm sure you all know to rinse the cilantro and cut off the stems right?! You can also use less than a full bunch of cilantro if you like less. I like a lot!!!
Be sure to cut up the other half of the lime into wedges to stick in your diet Coke, Corona or whatever else goes with chips and salsa in your mind.
Have a fantabulous weekend!!!
~S
Thursday, October 14, 2010
comfort food & Emerson
Yesterday was really a mixed bag.
The miners were out!
But I didn't get to watch any of the coverage because I happen to be a mother with typical kids.
One nagging challenge solved in a most perfect way.
Followed by the phone call that precluded watching the miners.
So what to do with a day like that? I'm too old and wise for things I may have once sought. So first I re-read this little nugget of wisdom from Ralph Waldo Emerson (how can you not love that name?!)
I have this little poem of his on a magnet on my refrigerator. It reminds me not to kill anyone when they are doing something really idiotic. Including me.
finish each day and be done
with it. you have done what you
could. some blunders and
absurdities have crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
tomorrow is a new day. you shall
begin it serenely and with too
high a spirit to be encumbered
with your old nonsense.
-emerson
Then, with my mom hat on, I spun two of my plates into one and fulfilled my dinner making obligations by feeding the familia my favorite comfort food!
This is a practically perfect Mac N Cheese recipe. Perfection has alluded me, but I've got time. Until then, after a gnarly day, I'll make this one out of one of Trisha Yearwood's cookbooks.
8 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked BTW I hardly ever us elbow, I usually pick some that looks more fun just to entertain myself.
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten (particularly a good ingredient when your mad...)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted (please use regular old salted butter, nothing fancy, it's mac n cheese for Pete's sake)
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 10oz. bricks, sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 5 cups) okay, it's a really good thing she included that little tip about it being 5 cups, because out here in Cali, they don't sell 10 oz bricks of cheese at the local grocery)
Dash of paprika I was in a hurry last night and didn't use any paprika. I don't think anybody suffered expect maybe the paprika farmer.
Her directions call for making this in a crockpot, but so far all crock'd mac and cheeses have a weird texture and I didn't think I could handle any more disappointment last night, so I baked it!
Here's how...Preheat your oven to 350F, mix all the ingredients EXCEPT the paprika and 1/2 cup of the cheese in a large bowl (I used the pot I boiled the macaroni in - less dishes). Pour it all into a greased 9x13 pan, sprinkle the 1/2 cup cheese across the top, get in a rush, forget to sprinkle on the paprika and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Pull it out of the oven when the timer beeps and carb out. Your troubles will melt away.
If you want to crock it, A-let me know if it has that weird lumpy cheese texture, and B-here's how to do that...do all the same things except pour it into your crockpot (I'd probably grease mine, because I'm lazy that way), sprinkle the 1/2 cup cheese across the top, cover and cook on low for 3 hours and 15 minutes. Turn off the crockpot, stir and serve.
Doing my best to remain unencumbered with nonsense today...
xoxoxo
~S
The miners were out!
But I didn't get to watch any of the coverage because I happen to be a mother with typical kids.
One nagging challenge solved in a most perfect way.
Followed by the phone call that precluded watching the miners.
So what to do with a day like that? I'm too old and wise for things I may have once sought. So first I re-read this little nugget of wisdom from Ralph Waldo Emerson (how can you not love that name?!)
I have this little poem of his on a magnet on my refrigerator. It reminds me not to kill anyone when they are doing something really idiotic. Including me.
finish each day and be done
with it. you have done what you
could. some blunders and
absurdities have crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
tomorrow is a new day. you shall
begin it serenely and with too
high a spirit to be encumbered
with your old nonsense.
-emerson
Then, with my mom hat on, I spun two of my plates into one and fulfilled my dinner making obligations by feeding the familia my favorite comfort food!
This is a practically perfect Mac N Cheese recipe. Perfection has alluded me, but I've got time. Until then, after a gnarly day, I'll make this one out of one of Trisha Yearwood's cookbooks.
8 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked BTW I hardly ever us elbow, I usually pick some that looks more fun just to entertain myself.
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten (particularly a good ingredient when your mad...)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted (please use regular old salted butter, nothing fancy, it's mac n cheese for Pete's sake)
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 10oz. bricks, sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 5 cups) okay, it's a really good thing she included that little tip about it being 5 cups, because out here in Cali, they don't sell 10 oz bricks of cheese at the local grocery)
Dash of paprika I was in a hurry last night and didn't use any paprika. I don't think anybody suffered expect maybe the paprika farmer.
Her directions call for making this in a crockpot, but so far all crock'd mac and cheeses have a weird texture and I didn't think I could handle any more disappointment last night, so I baked it!
Here's how...Preheat your oven to 350F, mix all the ingredients EXCEPT the paprika and 1/2 cup of the cheese in a large bowl (I used the pot I boiled the macaroni in - less dishes). Pour it all into a greased 9x13 pan, sprinkle the 1/2 cup cheese across the top, get in a rush, forget to sprinkle on the paprika and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Pull it out of the oven when the timer beeps and carb out. Your troubles will melt away.
If you want to crock it, A-let me know if it has that weird lumpy cheese texture, and B-here's how to do that...do all the same things except pour it into your crockpot (I'd probably grease mine, because I'm lazy that way), sprinkle the 1/2 cup cheese across the top, cover and cook on low for 3 hours and 15 minutes. Turn off the crockpot, stir and serve.
Doing my best to remain unencumbered with nonsense today...
xoxoxo
~S
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Go Ahead Wednesday - I DARE you...
I started off this day with a long, dark post all about why Wednesdays and I don't get along.
But it didn't quite feel right, so I sat on it.
Then I got a great phone call of good news and rewrote, feeling lighthearted.
Then my phone rang again.
And in the way only a Wednesday can, the joy was sucked right out of the room.
So I guess DARING Wednesday to be its usual self was not the way to go.
Consider me schooled.
Waiting for it to be Thursday,
~S
But it didn't quite feel right, so I sat on it.
Then I got a great phone call of good news and rewrote, feeling lighthearted.
Then my phone rang again.
And in the way only a Wednesday can, the joy was sucked right out of the room.
So I guess DARING Wednesday to be its usual self was not the way to go.
Consider me schooled.
Waiting for it to be Thursday,
~S
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
I'm in trouble now!
Uh oh...I have figured out how to fiddle with the background controls...I feel a major time suck coming...it's going to be a good time waster though!
Now that it looks a little more like October 'round here, we need to celebrate my favorite month of the year. So for those of us who were born in this lovely fall month, that's ROCKtober for you and me, and if you have a long lasting love with your crockpot (as I do) it's also CROCKtober. Hmmm, tap, tap, tap, I got nuthin'. If you have any, you better post them!!!
Well, since it's CROCKtober and all, here's a little CROCKpot recipe. (By the way I think we are officially supposed to call them slow cookers to be PC and all, but whatever. Roll your eyes here. We all know they were popular in the 70's and they are crockpots! Don't even get me started about the Kleenex/tissues debacle.)
Crock'd Italian Chicken
Start this in the morning so it can cook all day on low.
Or start it at lunchtime, but cook it on high, all afternoon.
Buy a big package of chicken thighs at the grocery. Take off the skin if you want. I do. If you don't happen to be feeding 2 teenagers and an 11 year old who makes them look bad at the dinner table, go ahead and buy yours already skinned.
Get out a couple cans of diced tomatoes (not the big doorstop size, the usual, slightly bigger than a soup can size - I am so not going out to my pantry to check the ounces - but this isn't rocket science so you can't really screw it up!)
Pour 1/2 of a can of your diced tomatoes into the bottom of your crockpot.
Add 1/2 the thighs and the other 1/2 can of tomatoes.
Break out your Italian spices: like oregano, basil, garlic salt (if you've got 2 extra minutes, press a clove of garlic and use a little kosher salt, but the garlic salt is fine, remember this baby is a 70's darling and NOTHING was fresh in the 70's, except maybe Burt Reynolds).
I usually mix and match whatever Italian spices I have on hand and fill up the little quarter size crook of my palm with the Italian spices. Then, over the chicken and tomatoes already in the crock, rub your hands together crushing the spices. Emeril swears this releases the flavor of dried spices and I believe him. He's Emeril.
Add the rest of the thighs and the other can of diced tomatoes. Throw in some more spices.
Put the lid on, make sure that crockpot is set on low, and go do something fun all day long. Or, if you must, go to work, but at least you'll come home to a house that smells really good. (If you do this at lunchtime and go the matinee, put it on high, so you're not eating raw chicken, which is a Bad Idea.)
You can serve this over pasta, next to bread, garlic bread, garlic cheese bread, whatever makes you happy. Rip open a bag of salad or steam some green veggies and call it dinner. This feeds my hungry family of 5 with a little leftovers. More people? Serve it with all of the above.
Just don't do this with chicken breasts. Well, you can. But they'll be dry. Every time. Or maybe that's just my experience. Anyhow, I've served this even when my kids' friends have been over, and everyone always likes it. Which is a good thing.
Oh, and I cook this in one of those big oval crockpots.
Happy CROCKtober!
~S
Now that it looks a little more like October 'round here, we need to celebrate my favorite month of the year. So for those of us who were born in this lovely fall month, that's ROCKtober for you and me, and if you have a long lasting love with your crockpot (as I do) it's also CROCKtober. Hmmm, tap, tap, tap, I got nuthin'. If you have any, you better post them!!!
Well, since it's CROCKtober and all, here's a little CROCKpot recipe. (By the way I think we are officially supposed to call them slow cookers to be PC and all, but whatever. Roll your eyes here. We all know they were popular in the 70's and they are crockpots! Don't even get me started about the Kleenex/tissues debacle.)
Crock'd Italian Chicken
Start this in the morning so it can cook all day on low.
Or start it at lunchtime, but cook it on high, all afternoon.
Buy a big package of chicken thighs at the grocery. Take off the skin if you want. I do. If you don't happen to be feeding 2 teenagers and an 11 year old who makes them look bad at the dinner table, go ahead and buy yours already skinned.
Get out a couple cans of diced tomatoes (not the big doorstop size, the usual, slightly bigger than a soup can size - I am so not going out to my pantry to check the ounces - but this isn't rocket science so you can't really screw it up!)
Pour 1/2 of a can of your diced tomatoes into the bottom of your crockpot.
Add 1/2 the thighs and the other 1/2 can of tomatoes.
Break out your Italian spices: like oregano, basil, garlic salt (if you've got 2 extra minutes, press a clove of garlic and use a little kosher salt, but the garlic salt is fine, remember this baby is a 70's darling and NOTHING was fresh in the 70's, except maybe Burt Reynolds).
I usually mix and match whatever Italian spices I have on hand and fill up the little quarter size crook of my palm with the Italian spices. Then, over the chicken and tomatoes already in the crock, rub your hands together crushing the spices. Emeril swears this releases the flavor of dried spices and I believe him. He's Emeril.
Add the rest of the thighs and the other can of diced tomatoes. Throw in some more spices.
Put the lid on, make sure that crockpot is set on low, and go do something fun all day long. Or, if you must, go to work, but at least you'll come home to a house that smells really good. (If you do this at lunchtime and go the matinee, put it on high, so you're not eating raw chicken, which is a Bad Idea.)
You can serve this over pasta, next to bread, garlic bread, garlic cheese bread, whatever makes you happy. Rip open a bag of salad or steam some green veggies and call it dinner. This feeds my hungry family of 5 with a little leftovers. More people? Serve it with all of the above.
Just don't do this with chicken breasts. Well, you can. But they'll be dry. Every time. Or maybe that's just my experience. Anyhow, I've served this even when my kids' friends have been over, and everyone always likes it. Which is a good thing.
Oh, and I cook this in one of those big oval crockpots.
Happy CROCKtober!
~S
Monday, October 11, 2010
No reason I can think of.
That is the answer to why do jumping spiders exist??? Eww. Ack. Probably just because they are so good at making me shriek, leap, and generally wig out as I'm trying to kill one in my house. Do you think they are enjoying the entertainment rolling their nasty little multi-faceted eyes with each and every little jump as I jump and shriek just after? If truly there was something to despise...it's a jumping spider. Yuck. Ick. Bleh. I think I need to lay down (lie down?) for the rest of the afternoon to fully recover from the spider killing. Oh yes, I did get that little sucker, make no mistake about it. I just had to freak out the entire time.
From my now spider free home,
~S
From my now spider free home,
~S
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Totally an owl, married to a lark.
Hello blog world. We have been langorously, lounging on our favorite beach for the last 5 days. It was everything it should be and that we needed. We go every October and I hope we do for.ev.er. As our kids grow up, get married, have kids of their own. We all need to spend a week in Carpinteria in October every single year. Please don't argue with me on this. It is non-negotiable.
I've always been a nightowl. Very nocturnal. I'm pretty sure I can count the number of sunrises I've seen on one hand. Mostly due to my husband's vacation departure time preferences. Because he is definitely a morning person. Somehow, we manage to compliment each other though. I just read a little article about what your sleep preferences say about you as a person. Owl's tend to be risk takers, wish people would refrain from speaking before they have gulped down that first cup of coffee and tend to be most productive mid-morning and late evening. Yes, yes and yes. When I lived with my fabulous grandparents my first couple of years in college, I remember asking my mom if she could please ask my grandma not to talk to me so much in the morning. Mind you, they travelled about 9 months out of the year, so we aren't talking about that many mornings. Anyhow, I'm sure my mother, in her wisdom, just let it be and figured someday I would grow up and be less self-absorbed. Larks tend to wake prior to their alarms, are raring to go straight out of bed and are at their finest early in the morning. They also tend to be depressed. Very interesting I think. Somehow, the man and I make it work out. Mostly because he happens to be the kindest person on the planet and I am truly scary before my cup o' joe wake up. Smart man is all I'm sayin'. Love him to the moon and back.
They also talked about dreamers. Do you dream vividly? Can you remember them in the morning? If yes, well then your boundaries are blurry. Not fully awake or asleep. No black and white, just shades of gray. Not clearly a Republican or a Democrat. Odd, quirky, creative. Okay, I'll take that. It was the tendency toward schizophrenia that was a bit of a drawback.
So who are you? A dreaming owl like me? A lark? A restless sleeper? It all seemed to line up with the characters in our household. How about you? The article is on msn right now. Take a peek. Let me know.
Love you loads!
~S
I've always been a nightowl. Very nocturnal. I'm pretty sure I can count the number of sunrises I've seen on one hand. Mostly due to my husband's vacation departure time preferences. Because he is definitely a morning person. Somehow, we manage to compliment each other though. I just read a little article about what your sleep preferences say about you as a person. Owl's tend to be risk takers, wish people would refrain from speaking before they have gulped down that first cup of coffee and tend to be most productive mid-morning and late evening. Yes, yes and yes. When I lived with my fabulous grandparents my first couple of years in college, I remember asking my mom if she could please ask my grandma not to talk to me so much in the morning. Mind you, they travelled about 9 months out of the year, so we aren't talking about that many mornings. Anyhow, I'm sure my mother, in her wisdom, just let it be and figured someday I would grow up and be less self-absorbed. Larks tend to wake prior to their alarms, are raring to go straight out of bed and are at their finest early in the morning. They also tend to be depressed. Very interesting I think. Somehow, the man and I make it work out. Mostly because he happens to be the kindest person on the planet and I am truly scary before my cup o' joe wake up. Smart man is all I'm sayin'. Love him to the moon and back.
They also talked about dreamers. Do you dream vividly? Can you remember them in the morning? If yes, well then your boundaries are blurry. Not fully awake or asleep. No black and white, just shades of gray. Not clearly a Republican or a Democrat. Odd, quirky, creative. Okay, I'll take that. It was the tendency toward schizophrenia that was a bit of a drawback.
So who are you? A dreaming owl like me? A lark? A restless sleeper? It all seemed to line up with the characters in our household. How about you? The article is on msn right now. Take a peek. Let me know.
Love you loads!
~S
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Wildcats, Volleyball and One Smelly Gym
Yesterday I spent the glorious, prime hours of my day in...a really hot, really stagnant, pretty stinky gym. And I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world! That was my girl, her JV Volleyball team, down there on the courts. DOMINATING. UNDEFEATED all morning. Beat every team in their division. Twice. Sometimes they mopped the floor with their competitors, sometimes they had to work a bit harder. Once, we thought we were down for the count, but rallied, and took over the score board. It was glorious. Fun. Teamwork and confident playing.
Some of the parents of our girls thought since we were the only team in both divisions to be undefeated that we should take the 1st place trophy and let everyone else duke it out for 2nd and 3rd. Part of me thought so too. But alas, that is not how tournament volleyball rolls. In fact, it rolls about 50 different ways, and I mostly don't get what's going on yet, but at least I can tell every tournament sponsor has several different ways to do things that must be officially acceptable. But back to my girl and her Wildcat team.
We sat out the first game of bracket play since we won our division. And then...a few games in, and 3 distinctly BAD CALLS...we lost. We were out. That quick. Despite the fact that we still had the best game record for the entire day. Unfair we cried. Bad reffing cost us the 1st place spot. But my devil's advocate said...if we had really been smoking that other team those 3 calls wouldn't have been the game. We sighed. We talked about how unfair it was. Our girls showed their tremendously abundant good sportmanship and did us proud. We took our 3rd place, took a team photo, and got the heck out of that 95 degree gym and into our air conditioned cars for the long ride home.
That's when I started thinking about fairness (and why for everything wonderful could we not find a drive-thru for a coke and fries?!). How life just sometimes isn't F.A.I.R. The good guy doesn't always win. And I began to wonder if this is why we Americans take our sports so seriously. Why our athletes are almost like royalty from the Little League fields, to the high schools and for sure the pros. It is the one place where the rules are clearly defined. Where skill, talent, hard work and determination are most certainly rewarded. That is the American credo after all. Work hard, be diligent, do the absolute best you are capable of, and surely success will come. It's a lofty ideal. A good one. It is why our country ROCKS! Something I try and instill in my children. And yet, it doesn't always play out that way in the field of life.
So we must always dig a little deeper. Know ourselves well enough to know we did all we could and still respect ourselves in the morning! Smile people! Throw a little football on the TV tonight, have a little bean dip and a cold drink and cheer like mad!!!
Some of the parents of our girls thought since we were the only team in both divisions to be undefeated that we should take the 1st place trophy and let everyone else duke it out for 2nd and 3rd. Part of me thought so too. But alas, that is not how tournament volleyball rolls. In fact, it rolls about 50 different ways, and I mostly don't get what's going on yet, but at least I can tell every tournament sponsor has several different ways to do things that must be officially acceptable. But back to my girl and her Wildcat team.
We sat out the first game of bracket play since we won our division. And then...a few games in, and 3 distinctly BAD CALLS...we lost. We were out. That quick. Despite the fact that we still had the best game record for the entire day. Unfair we cried. Bad reffing cost us the 1st place spot. But my devil's advocate said...if we had really been smoking that other team those 3 calls wouldn't have been the game. We sighed. We talked about how unfair it was. Our girls showed their tremendously abundant good sportmanship and did us proud. We took our 3rd place, took a team photo, and got the heck out of that 95 degree gym and into our air conditioned cars for the long ride home.
That's when I started thinking about fairness (and why for everything wonderful could we not find a drive-thru for a coke and fries?!). How life just sometimes isn't F.A.I.R. The good guy doesn't always win. And I began to wonder if this is why we Americans take our sports so seriously. Why our athletes are almost like royalty from the Little League fields, to the high schools and for sure the pros. It is the one place where the rules are clearly defined. Where skill, talent, hard work and determination are most certainly rewarded. That is the American credo after all. Work hard, be diligent, do the absolute best you are capable of, and surely success will come. It's a lofty ideal. A good one. It is why our country ROCKS! Something I try and instill in my children. And yet, it doesn't always play out that way in the field of life.
So we must always dig a little deeper. Know ourselves well enough to know we did all we could and still respect ourselves in the morning! Smile people! Throw a little football on the TV tonight, have a little bean dip and a cold drink and cheer like mad!!!
Friday, October 1, 2010
What size is your straight jacket?
Oh my friends, has it ever been a day. A week really. But sometimes things just all like to really come to a head at once. It's not just that we've been sick all week, culminating in doctor appointments, diagnoses of walking pneumonia and bronchitis, antibiotics and inhalers being prescribed, it's not just that we're preparing for a week away (and yes, all you burglars we do employ house/dog sitters who are here full-time, so don't even bother), it's not just that I had one day in which to do all that I would normally do over the course of a full week and while I still feel like a truck has run over me and squeezed out every ounce of energy, it's that the crazy, weather warning inducing storm, BLEW DOWN THE POOL FENCE. The very one that keeps all the neighborhood children from drowning. And that my friends, is what size my straight jacket is.
But since really, straight jackets are a bit limiting fashion-wise, I have decided to find a bright spot...or a few...first, I woke up on the right side of the dirt. Now when I start there, well, you just know it's been a rough go of things. Second, nobody did drown in the pool and it is almost back up. (Yay to my husband who can fix everything!) Third, well, I'm sort of stumped on a third because I'm so exhausted. So I guess we'll stick with waking up on the right side of the dirt AND no dead guys in my pool. Because either one of those things would REALLY wreak havoc.
Love ya'
~S
But since really, straight jackets are a bit limiting fashion-wise, I have decided to find a bright spot...or a few...first, I woke up on the right side of the dirt. Now when I start there, well, you just know it's been a rough go of things. Second, nobody did drown in the pool and it is almost back up. (Yay to my husband who can fix everything!) Third, well, I'm sort of stumped on a third because I'm so exhausted. So I guess we'll stick with waking up on the right side of the dirt AND no dead guys in my pool. Because either one of those things would REALLY wreak havoc.
Love ya'
~S
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