Sunday, September 2, 2012

Life Just Gets In The Way

Sorry you guys. I know I have been AWOL for the last two weeks. Like the title says, Life just gets in the way. I have been either super busy or super depressed.

I was hoping that we would be moved into our new house by now but even after 2 months it feels like we are no closer to doing so. More and more things just get in the way of it and as much as I hate to rag on my in-laws it is their fault.

We could totally be out there working on it every day but noooooo they only let us go out on the weekends. My poor cats are going feral. Ok so only the kittens have gone feral. My beloved Chunky still loves me and sadly my baby boy Trouble is no where to be seen.

I just want to be a family and not stuck living with my husbands parents who seem to love picking on me.

Anywhooooooo

On to some good news! My oldest daughter Riality just finished her first week of school and on Friday she got Role Model status in class. They do this behavior chart thing and Role Model is the highest you can go. We are quite proud of her. Wile at home she has always been quite the problem child so both me and my hubby were worried it was going to cause a lot of problems at school. Thankfully there have been no complaints.

Well i guess that's been my life in a bit of a nutshell. It's been boring and though I have tried to write I have just not been able to find the words to say what I wanted.

I hope all of you guys out there have a good Labor Day weekend. I plan to work on my house (if the in-laws let me) and kick back with a few beers, maybe cuddel up with my hubby and watch some movies

See ya !

 

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Deviled Eggs

     What's up guys?  Since I posted about creepy nursery rhymes last week and Mercedes has been unable to post, I figured it was time for another recipe. This was is beyond simple and my mom always receives compliments for it. She made them a couple of weeks ago and took pictures for me. Honestly, I don't even know how she really makes them, so I'll be learning as I write up this post. All I know is that they're really yummy.

Ingredients:
-Eggs
-Mayonnaise
-Salt
-Pepper
-Mustard
-Garlic Salt
-Cajun Seasoning

Directions:
Step One:
     Now, there are two ways to go about this step. The first way is to hard boil the eggs and then peel the shell from them. To hard boil eggs, boil water and then place the eggs in it. Leave them in there for 3-6 minutes and then take them out. Momma doesn't do that though, because she buys the eggs already boiled and peeled (since she "is not a good eggshell-peeler").

Step Two:
     Cut the eggs in half and put the yolk into a bowl.


Step Three:
     Chop the yolks as finely as you can get them.

Step Four:
     Mix in the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic salt to the chopped up egg yolk. There aren't any measurements, so just taste as you go.

Step Five:
     Put the yolk mix into the eggs that you cut in half.

Step Six:
     Sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning.


P.S. In case you were counting the eggs, some where in between steps one and five, a spider jumped from the ceiling and landed on a couple eggs so we threw them away. Even the spiders want to eat them!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Nursery Rhymes Are Creepy

I would like to put a disclaimer here that I am not taking credit for any of the nursery rhymes in this post. I don't know who wrote them but all credit for creating the rhymes goes to the authors. As for the true meaning, I suppose only the author themselves would know, but this is what I've been taught.

     Since I've been giving a bunch of recipes lately, and I would like to have more to give that I actually cook, I'm going to talk about something that most people don't think about. Maybe it's because I have a sort of twisted, dark mind. Maybe it's because my mom told me about a couple. Maybe it's because I learned of the Lizzie Borden rhyme when I was in sixth grade.

"Lizzie Borden had an axe;
She gave her mother forty wacks.
When she'd realized what she'd done;
She gave her father forty-one."

     Pretty twisted, right? That's one of the more obvious ones. After that, I told my mom about it and she told me that a lot of nursery rhymes were meant to scare children into behaving, but now they're just for fun because every little kid loves things that rhyme in a sing-song voice.


Ring Around The Rosie:
"Ring around the Rosie;
Pocket full of posies.
Ashes to ashes;
We all fall down."

     I don't know the meaning of the first line. My theory is during burials, people would stand in a ring around the coffin and roses were thrown on the graves, especially to cover up the scent of all the deaths. As for the second line, my mom told me that posies were poisonous berries that the song was to teach children not to eat. Looking it up, I found that it refers to a sachet of herbs carried around to ward off infection of a plague. The third line can refer to the phrase "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" often said at funerals or that many bodies were burned to prevent the spread of the disease. As for the last line, they were scared that everyone would get sick. It didn't matter who you were, you were at risk.


Pop Goes The Weasel:
"All around the Mulberry bush;
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey stopped to pull up his sock;
Pop! Goes the weasel."

     I've tried to find the history on this one, but I can't find anything that says this one is supposed to be creepy. Maybe it's just me? What I feel about the song, is that it's about hunting. You know how people would have little monkeys on their shoulders to preform in the street? It makes me think of a monkey being like a hunting dog, chasing the weasel around, and pop goes a gun. There are like forty different versions and verses though, so you'll have to look those up yourself.


The London Bridge Is Falling Down:
"London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.

London Bridge is broken down,
Broken down, broken down.
London Bridge is broken down,
My fair lady."

     This is another long one so you'll have to look up the rest of the lyrics on your own. There are several theories to this song, but according to what I found, nobody has any proof of any theory. One theory is that it was from viking attacks, another is about children sacrifices, and another was from one of the mass fires in London (which everyone I know heard about, as the source of this rhyme). However, if you just look at the lyrics, it's about a bridge- at one time, a wonder of the world- collapsing.


Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary:
"Mary, Mary, quite contrary;
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells;
And pretty maids, all in a row."

     This one has a few versions as well, but this is the one I grew up with. There are a few theories about where it came from as well. One theory is about religion, Catholic religion to be exact. The silver bells would be cathedral bells and the cockle shells were sort of badges, while the pretty maids were nuns.
     Along those same lines (sort of), one theory is that Mary (Queen of Scots) is the Mary in the rhyme. The changes are that cockle shells indicate her husband was cheating on her, possibly with the pretty maids (who might have been her ladies in waiting/The Four Maries).
     The last theory I found is about Mary I Of England. Since it's a pretty long theory, I'm just going to give the basic idea. It could be in mocking reference to the fact that she could not have children (line two) and had many miscarriages (line four). There's a second theory about her, that she tortured and executed many people and is the source of the Bloody Mary legend.


Little Boy Blue:
"Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn.
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn.
Where is that boy,
Who looks after the sheep?
Under the haystack,
Fast asleep.
Will you wake him?
Oh no, not I.
For if I do,
He will surely cry."

     This one is difficult to find history on as well. It seems that nobody really knows where half of these come from, but I guess that's what makes them so famous, because nobody knows where they came from but everyone knows them. But that's not the point. The point is that these nursery rhymes come from dark places... Like this one, it talks about a boy crying because he was woken up. It seems to be that either he was a very young child- too young to work- or that he was just a very sad person. Or a lazy boy who cried because he had to work. Not really qualities I would want anyone to have.


Sing A Song Of Sixpence:
"Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish,
To set before the king?

The king was in the counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlor,
Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
When down came the blackbird,
And pecked off her nose.

They sent for the king's doctor,
Who sewed it on again;
He sewed it on so neatly,
The seam was never seen."

     This is a poem about baking black birds into a pie and then the maid getting her nose pecked off by one of the black birds that was in the pie. I mean... That's just a teensy bit violent, don't you think? I doubt you'd see a poem about a wolf ripping an arm off and it being sewn back on.


Rock-A-Bye Baby:
"Rock-a-bye baby,
In the treetops.
When the wind blows,
The cradle will rock.
When the bow breaks,
The cradle will fall.
And down will come baby,
Cradle and all."

     Do I even really need to explain this one? It's about a baby, in a cradle, falling out of a tree. Even I recognized this one when I was like five or six, as a very dark and twisted song. Babies are not supposed to fall out of trees. I mean, sure, it could be a lesson like, "Hey, don't climb trees" but babies can't even walk, let alone climb.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Homemade Chicken Stock

     Hey guys. Sissi has given me another recipe! She was also making it anyways, which is why she gave it to me, but she even included pictures! (I know, I'm supposed to be cooking my own recipes. But I will be able to do that a lot more when I move, because I'll have an oven and stove, which will allow me to do a lot more than electric plug-in cooking appliances.)

     She basically wrote everything, but she had to do so over text because of all of the pictures. Most of it is direct quotes, but I did change a little bit because the texts came in out of order and some of it was confusing to read because of that.

Ingredients:
-Half An Onion
-Celery
-Carrots
-Chicken Bones With No Meat (One Pound Per Gallon Of Water)

Directions:
Step One:
     Cut the onion into quarters and the celery and carrots into large pieces. To get the right amount of veggies, you have to do a little math. It's ratio is "2 units onion, 1 unit carrots, 1 unit celery". So if you had 16 ounces onion, you would have 8 ounces carrots and 8 ounces celery.

Step Two:
     Get a large pot (more than a gallon) with no particular measurement, but enough water to cover the chicken bones. Let the water boil, put the bones in, and boil for one minute. That will remove most of the fat from the bones.



Step Three:
     Remove the bones after one minute of boiling. Drain the water and refill the pot with one gallon (or sixteen cups) of water.


Step Four:
     Put everything into the pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer. Do not cover or stir. Simmer for four to six hours, at which point, the stock should be reduced by half. (Remember, the solid components will change the level of the liquid.)

Step Five:
     The stock will get darker and murkier. You'll be able to see a film forming on the surface of water.

Step Six:
     Skim the water occasionally. Basically, just drag a spoon across the top of the water and take out the bubbly filmy gross shit.

Step Seven:
     Remove all of the solids and let the stock drip back into the pot. Don't throw them away because if the stock is above two quarts, you can put it all back in and reduce it more.

Step Eight:
     Get a pot (large enough to hold two quarts) and cover it with a mesh strainer. Set cheese cloth or a few paper towels in the strainer and pour.

Step Nine:
     Pour stock into something that can be used to measure. (She uses her blender because it's seven cups and she needs eight cups. It doesn't have to be exact.)

Step Ten:
     Strain again and repeat as needed. You want a clean stock but you want to have enough, as well. Strain at least two or three times and if you still see shit floating around, strain again.

Step Eleven:
     And now you have eight cups of homemade, unaltered chicken stock that you can use in a lot of different soups (which she will probably leave up to me to show you later, but if you're using this, you probably have your own soup in mind anyways; she was making split pea and ham to which I have to say "Ewwww" haha). Remember do not salt the stock and put it in the fridge until it is used within two days. (Personally, after the second day, I throw out any leftovers.) (And by throw out, I mean, give to the outside cats.)
     You can also freeze it if you have too much or don't plan on using it right away. It's not suggested because it's better fresh, but this is what Sissi uses to hold it.




Sunday, August 12, 2012

For lack of better words

I really don't have much to post about. Luckily I am able to use my inlaws computer at the moment beacuse my own is in need of a new charger and that wont be delivered till next week.

I had a really god day today. I took the husband out to a early birthday lunch and we had a grea time. We went to hooters and no not just beacuse he's a guy and theres hot girls but beacuse we enjoy the food there. He got crab and I got a burger and when we each got our fill of our meals we switched. It's really nice to be with a guy who is not stingy with his food and lets me steal off his plate.

After we ate we went for a walk around the stripp mall that was in the same lot as hooters. We did this mainly beacuse we had both had a beer and wile derek can hold his own pretty well I was feeling a bit tipsy and needed some air. I am quite the cheap drunk haha.

After we both let our heads clear and I drooled over a really really really pretty $60 Chef's Knife, we went to Wally World.

WE did the basic shopping thing. I got a new dress which I love and we got 97% of my oldest daughters school supplies. All we need is an outfit for her and some tissues. Thankfully it was all pretty simple.

We had a nice stress free day. The first one I have had in a long time though I know the moment my inlaws come home that stress free day will come to an end.

I really do need to tell you guys about my inlaws and well all of my family but I will wait until I have the saefty of my laptop to do that.

Sorry if this post was not much. I'm lucky I was ablt to do it at all

See ya! ^.^


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Stuffed Jalapeños

     What's up guys? Well, I don't have much stuff going on to write about here, since this isn't my personal blog and stuff. But I do have an awesome recipe for you, thanks to my dear Sissi. She is where I get a lot of my yummy recipes, even if I change a little bit here or there. But everyone has their preferences so that's okay.

     Also, I apologize, but I don't have any pictures at the moment. Whenever I get the chance to make these, I'll take pictures and update though!

Ingredients:
-Large Jalapeños.
-Garlic Powder.
-Bacon Bits.
-Onion Powder.
-Shredded Cheddar.
-Cream Cheese.
-Bacon.

Directions:
Step One:
     You need to use large jalapeños because they're easier to clean. (My dad told me that the ones with the pointed tips are hotter than the ones with a rounded tip, but that might just be his experience.) The first thing you have to do is throughly clean them.
     Cut the large end off of the jalapeño. There's going to be a bunch of white/yellow hot stringy stuff that you need to get rid of. Get rid of all that shit and slide the knife down the inside of the pepper, along the wall. Don't poke holes in it; just cut the membrane out. Pull out the white shit and get the remaining pieces. If you don't have something to hold them upright, just cut them in half length-wise.
     (Keep in mind, that you should always do it more than you think, or you're going to miss some. Also remember, that hot shit is going to be in the air so you'll be coughing- turn your head away from the food. And do not ever fucking touch your eyes, okay? I'm serious. It will burn like a mother fucker.)

Step Two:
     Mix the garlic powder, bacon bits, onion powder, shredded cheddar, and cream cheese into a bowl. (I don't have measurements, sorry. It changes by how many you're going to make so you'll have to go by sight and smell.) Then put it into the peppers, along a layer of cream cheese to coat the top. (A simple tip is to use a frosting bag to apply the last bit of cream cheese.)

Step Three:
     Wrap the peppers in the bacon, holding it down with tooth picks. I know everyone loves bacon, but don't use so much that it will over power the rest of it. (This means you, Momma. You can't wrap half a pound of bacon on one pepper.)

Step Four:
     This is where it gets complicated, because there are three ways to do this. It really depends on how you want to do it, so read all three because it also depends on how they're cut, okay?

Four A:
     If they are whole peppers, bake them in the oven for about fifteen minutes at 350 degrees, or until the bacon is fully cooked.

Four B:
     If you had to cut the peppers, be sure to place them on a tin foil sheet, cheese side up. The cheese will typically turn a golden brown color and pop, but that's okay. Cook it for about the same amount of time, but make sure the bacon is fully cooked.

Four C:
     My daddy made them for me on the grill, which gave it a unique and delicious flavor. Before lighting the grill, wrap the metal tray in tin foil and poke holes all over with a regular fork. Place the peppers (whole or half) on the foil and cook until the bacon is fully cooked.

I would like it to be noted here, that you need to wash your hands after dealing with the peppers whether cooking or eating, so that you do not burn yourself.


Sunday, August 5, 2012

My Yummy Nummy Meatloaf

Alright so wile I had another post in mind for this week I could not get it pulled together in time and thankfully I am cooking dinner tonight so I was able to make a post out of it. This recipe is one that I keep reinventing but most of the ingredients stay the same. Some times I add more of something, sometimes less. Sometimes it comes out dry and other times perfect.

Now I must tell you guys that when I cook I hardly ever measure things so to get this out to you I am stealing measurements as well as taking a guess;. if you feel you are adding too much of something then don't add that much, try half, see where you are and then go from there.

Now. On to the basic recipe.

My Yummy Nummy Meatloaf (I made up the name)

(serves 6 or so)

3 lbs Ground Beef.
2-3 cups Italian bread crumbs
3 Eggs Beaten (one egg per pound of meat)
Half a cup of Ketchup
Half a cup of Sour Cream
1-2 Packets of Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 Med Onion
Salt-Pepper

Any anything else you want to add.

Preheat oven to 350-375


Ok so first off you want to make sure that the meat you are working with is not too cold. If it is then it makes mixing everything that much harder.

Take your meat and put it into a bowl. Crumble it up a bit and then add your Eggs, Ketchup, Sour cream, Onion soup mix,onions and salt and pepper. Mix well. Oh and be sure to take off all jewelry during this step as if you do it with your hands it dose get very messy.

Now the next thing you want to do is add your bread crumbs. For this step I would suggest adding in a bit at a time as I am sure everyone likes their meatloaf a bit different.

 Add less if you want it more meaty and add more if you want it more bread like. Just take it slow and add a little at a time wile mixing it together.

 This is one of the parts where I always seem to differ on how much I use. I go by the way it looks and feels. I guess if I had to describe when my stopping point is I would have to say it's when you can lift all the meat into a ball but its still sticky. If it's crumbling on you then stop adding bread crumbs and add in some more ketchup and sour cream. Even a little water would help.

Alright. The last thing you do is place your meatloaf on or in whatever you are using to cook it and before you put it in the oven put ketchup over the top. Not a whole lot but some. Then you place it in the oven to bake for about an hour, hour and a half.

When it's done ENJOY!

I am sorry for the lack of photos. I tried 30 times to upload a photo of the finished product but Blogger was just not having it tonight. I will try again tomorrow.