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Ridiculous Ramblin'

3/24/2012

This is a ramblin' post.

I figured Ramblin' Rose by Neil Diamond was gonna be the video that would be perfect to embed with the theme of this ramblin', nonsensical post.

Except I discovered Neil Diamond sang
Cracklin' Rosie,

not Ramblin' Rose.
Nat King Cole sings Ramblin' Rose.

You can enjoy both Neil Diamond's video and Nat King Cole's video
down below here.
Unless you're name is "Ma" and you read this blog on an I-Pad and Steve Jobs didn't want you to use flash player on your I-Pad so now....oh whatever...

MA!

GO USE A DESKTOP COMPUTER...

NEIL DIAMOND IS SINGING TO THE RIGHT!!!!!!

Geez...

AHHHH,

And then we have the fabuloso
Nat King Cole...

LOVE!!

Okay, let's get started with this Really Ridiculous Ramblin' Post
Thingie #1

The outside of the house is messy cuz we're getting new siding on part of it.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #2

While checking out the new siding outside,
I wondered if it's too early to take down the outside Christmas lights and decorations.

What do you think?
I'm torn.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #3

And then I wondered if this plant was dead or just went dormant through the winter.

Huh.
*shrugging shoulders*

Which leads me to Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #4
I saw more Christmas lights outside on the fence by the horse trough planter.

And I wondered if those plants in the horse trough were dead too from last year.
Or just dormant.

Someone who may or may not be named Angie was lazy and did not clean out her flower beds last fall.
Huh again.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #5

But I did notice some of my perennials were coming up from the ground already with the warm weather.

Shocking that we need siding on the house in this picture, isn't it?

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #6

I went inside to discover the hammering from the siding caused one of my pots to fall off the shelf in the laundry room and broke.

Thank goodness cuz now it matches all my other pottery, as evidenced by that one handled floral vase there.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #7

Well,
at least the clean laundry has finally been folded and put away from the washer and dryer.

CRAP!!

Foiled

AGAIN!!

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #8

Checked on a new recipe that I tried out...
a Turkey Pot Pie.

So far, so good.

Oh goodness, making a crust for the pot pie.

A homeade crust that does NOT come out of a foil pan or frozen box.

My attempt at a pot pie crust is beginning to stink by this time.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #9

And the finished product was not much better.

At all!!!!

I will not be sharing this recipe.
Clearly.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #5000

My cheap-o-rama camera battery thing broke and I have to use a rubber band to hold it shut now.

One of the naughty cats dumped it off the table.

I'm not gonna mention any names.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #8764

OH! OH! OH!
I posted this hot 1999 Grand Am GT online with 102k miles for $4485.
It's sporty and hot looking! Check it out on the "Inventory" page.

Ridiculous
Ramblin' Thingie
#10,267

My Ma and her hubby Davey send me pictures from a weekly flea market of pretty shiny tableware.

Fieeeesstttaaa!
I'm in luuuurve!!

Ridiculous Ramblin Thingie #47632
OH!

Tim and I went to the Avett Brothers concert at the Union a couple weeks ago.
It was awesome!!!
Our favorite band ever!
And bought a concert t-shirt,
just like we used to in our golden rock concert days of the 1970's and 80's.

Except the t-shirt was a size 2T.
For our itty bitty grandson Little Boy Blue.

Choo, choo.
Ca-choo.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #22600

This cafe is in an old service station in Mt. Union and I loooove it!!!

A nice lady runs it six days a week.

My kind of cafe!!!

Will be talking more, another post, about my lovely conversation with this great lady that took place after she almost ran me off her property.
Seriously. Not kidding.

Ruby is my new BFF.
I just hope SHE'S okay with that.

Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #Oh Who Cares, Why Are You Even Still Reading This???

I picked up this gorgeous Mikasa coffee cup and bread/dessert plate on the clearance table at Dillards. $2.80 for each. I love the art deco styling.

Originally $20 and $25 a piece. Yeah, riiiight. Uh huh.

Last Ridiculous Ramblin' Thingie #Oh Stop Your Jumping Up And Down, It's Embarrassing.

For me.

Oh how you know I love the bright shiny stuff...I was looking at shiny planters the other day at Iowa City Landscaping...gorgeous! I need a planter for the right hand side of the door with the new yellow siding.
I love the aqua drip glaze on the left and this color green on the right is so soothing too.

Or

how about

these

scrolly

beauties?

LOVE!

Their prices are really reasonable this season too!

Okay, thanks for humoring me through this whole boooooring blog post!!! :):):):)

You're awake still, right?
Yeah?

Helllooooooooooo!!!

HEY LOOK!! IT'S GEORGE

CLOONEY!!!

Bet you're AWAKE now.
:)

Talk at ya next time friends!

Have a fun rest of the

weekend!
But stay outta jail.
:)

A Vegetable Pancake By Any Other Name Is Still A Vegetable Pancake

3/21/2012

Oh my goodness, it's been for--evah
since I last posted.

It seems like just yesterday when I wrote about that yummy
Chicken Salad on a croissant. But it was over eleven days ago!!!!

In that eleven days, I think I cooked one new dish;
these Vegetable Pancakes.

They don't look like pancakes though, do they?

Because this is what they are supposed to look like, according to the cookbook.

See, those are called patties over to the left there...or pancakes...either way...they are flat disks that are solid.

My Vegetable Pancakes don't look flat.
Or solid for that matter.

I must say though, my Vegetable Pancake misadventure is not the reason I haven't blogged in close to two weeks.

Because in fact,

we had our own little pancake boy stay a few days with us....

Little Boy Blue,

Come Blow Your Horn!!!

The sheep's In the meadow (although the sheep looks oddly like a beagle),

The cow's in the corn.

But where is the Little Boy tending the sheep?

He's under the haystack...

Fast asleep.

Okay, onto the Vegetable Pancakes....

This Vegetable Pancake recipe is so simple and really makes a very tasty, super healthy side dish.
It seems as if this is a breakfast dish, but Tim paired it with a grilled chicken breast last night. I paired it with turkey sausage links.

This recipe comes from a cookbook I just picked up for a few bucks called Glycemic Index Cookbook. I don't know what glycemic means but Ima look it up soon. I just loved the simple, healthy recipes inside.

Git yer

grater out

cuz yer

gonna

need it.

Grate up the sweet potato,
the carrot,
the zucchini
and chop up the green onions (scallions).

Throw your onions and other grated vegetables in a large bowl.

Mix it all up and then season with pepper. Now this recipe does not call for salt.

Add the egg white and then form into eight patties.

Yup, patties.

Oh, wait.
One moment please while I excuse myself...one moment...I'll just be a sec....

Yeah.

Patties.

Riiiiiiiight.

Just simply form this mixture into patties.

NOT!!!!

Clearly they weren't pattiefying so I threw the veggies back in the bowl.

So I tried to form patties again on the platter.
To no avail.

So then I put on my thinking cap and strategized.

I quickly formed four patties real quick
and
put them in the heated pan
real quick this time,
trying to trick the veggies into thinking they were a patty.

Cook a few minutes over gentle heat on one side until golden and then flip them over.

Then pat them down with the back of a spatula.

So far, so good, right?

Cook for a few more minutes on that side.

Transfer patties/pancakes to a plate....

That don't look like no patty.

And this don't look like four patties.

Look like a mess is what it look like.

WAIT!!
Re-read instructions and get out your NON-STICK pan because that's
what it says to use. Non-stick, NOT cast iron.
Awesome!

So I start anew with my non-stick pan!

1. Oil up the pan...

2. Put the "patties" in...

They don't look too bad.

We're rockin' and rollin' here!

Be smarter than the patties and take out yer Pam and spray a thin spatula...

THEN
quickly flip the patties over.

Gently cook for another 5-6 minutes and watch your little baby pancake masterpieces form...

CRAP!!!

Crap!

Crap!

Okay, so I wasn't successful with completing a patty look.
These were still obviously very tasty.
Lots of sweetness in these pancakes with the sweet potato and the carrot.
The zucchini and scallions were such a nice contrast to that sweetness too.

And it does plate up nicely with Canadian bacon
or what I have here...turkey sausage.

YUM!

Ohhh,

see those scallions,
the green zuchini,
the sweet potatoes and carrots....

Mmmmm...
so good!

Now Tim plated his up with a grilled chicken breast.

But I loooves me some real Maple syrup on sausages,

and these organic turkey sausages were fab!

Mmmmm,
so good!

This will probably be one of my top ten go-to dishes from now on.

Breakfast,
lunch or
dinner
really.

Vegetable Pancakes
From Glycemic Index Cookbook, Healthy cooking for your best health
Gina Steer, Sian Lewis, Charlotte Watts
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
1 sweet potato, grated
8 scallions, finely chopped or shredded
1 egg white, beaten
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Pepper
8 lean Canadian bacon slices to serve (optional)

Directions

Mix all the vegetables together and season with pepper to taste, then stir in the egg white. Using clean hands, form into 8 small patties. Press them firmly together.
Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet and cook the patties over gentle heat for 5-6 minutes, or until golden. Turn over halfway through the cooking time and press down with the back of spatula. Do this in 2 batches to prevent the skillet from being overcrowded.
Meanwhile, preheat the broiler and line the broiler rack with foil. Place the bacon under the broiler and cook for 5-8 minutes, until crisp, or cook to personal preference. Turn the slices over halfway through the cooking time.
As soon as the patties and bacon are cooked, serve immediately.

Well,

all fun weekends must come to an end.

And our fun several days spent with
Little Boy Blue came to a closing when his mommy Goodness, and his daddy GreatGuy came to pick him up and take him home.

Sniff, sniff.

Tim and I were sad to see our yittle bitty baby leave to go back home and have fun with his momma and daddy.

So to cap off the weekend, Stud Muffin and I went out for some ice cream.

Oh.

What.

That doesn't look like ice cream?

It's frozen ice cream onion ring yogurt twirled flavored ice cream.

duh.

Wink, wink :):)
See ya next time!

Have a good

Wednesday night!!!

Go -To Chicken Salad With Some HEEEEEAT

3/11/2012

Anyone can make a Chicken Salad.
And there's sooooo many excellent recipes out there.
I especially like Chicken Salad with tarragon spice. YUM!

Today's chicken salad recipe however, does not have tarragon spice in it.

This Chicken Salad instead has some HEAT to it.

A little KICK shall we say.

A real BITE to it.

This Chicken Salad is excellent as a sandwich on a buttery croissant....

Or with crackers, it's exceptional for a party appetizer!!!

Look close. Do you see those little red dots? Cayenne pepper baby!

Even when it's a party of just one...yourself. *sigh*

Yeah right, like I stopped at five crackers and a 1/2 cup of chicken Salad. NOT! I literally had to subtract a ton of stuff off my plate to make it photo presentable.

So let's start with the recipe

and move on into the

easy directions.

Chicken Salad
Allrecipes.com
From Southern Living Magazine April 2005
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
3 pounds skinned and boned chicken breasts
1 (49 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
3 cups mayonnaise
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation
Place chicken breasts in a large skillet; add chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from skillet, and let stand 15 minutes or until cool to touch. Shred chicken.

Combine shredded chicken, celery, water chestnuts, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl.

Stir together mayonnaise, ground red pepper, salt, and white pepper until well blended; spoon over shredded chicken mixture, stirring to coat. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Shrimp Salad: Substitute 3 pounds chopped cooked shrimp for chicken breasts and broth. Do not cook. Reduce mayonnaise to 2 cups and salt to 1/4 teaspoon. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Here's the

fixins to

this

Chicken

Salad

with a

BITE to it.

It's the small amount of ground red pepper (cayenne pepper) as well as WHITE pepper that gives this salad a kick.
Also DO NOT DISCOUNT THE WATER CHESTNUTS! They bring a layered flavor and excellent crunch to this yummy salad!

So let's start by cooking those chicken breasts in chicken broth...

Then,

shred all

those

yummy

chicken

breasts

up.

Chop up your vegetables....

Those veggies up there look so pretty, I just want to shellac them or make them plastic, and keep them just like that for all eternity on my counter.

Photo Credit: Fake Food Decor business from Etsy.com

Kind of like that fake food decor in new furniture stores from back in the day.

Remember that?

Where there was always a fake spill or a real-looking bakery item strategically placed on dining tables in the dining showroom area?

Do you remember that it didn't matter how old you were....12 years old......or 22.......or 45, you just couldn't help picking at that fake plastic spill when the furniture staff wasn't looking!!??

Did I say 45??!!
I meant 4 or 5!
Geeez Louise.

Moving on,
add the chopped veggies and water chestnuts to the shredded chicken.

And mix 'er all up.

Prepare the mayo with the red pepper, white pepper and salt.
Do not add too much salt!
The chicken was cooked in salty chicken broth so you really don't want to add much more salt. Trust me on this one.

Then add the tasty mayo to the chicken and veggie mixture.

The warm Chicken Salad is exceedingly tasty at this point.

Grab some crackers and start shoveling some on your plate.
OR
wait and let it chill several hours and the flavors will meld even more.

Intermission.............

HEY!

Question:
Why did the chewing gum cross the road?

Answer:
Because it was stuck to the chicken.

Cheesy Chicken Joke #1:

Diner: Do you serve chicken here?

Waiter: Sit down sir. We serve everyone here.

Cheesy Joke #2:

Diner: I can't eat this chicken. Call the manager.

Waiter: It's no use. He can't eat it either.

Ba-dum!!

Anyhoo,

Shovel some of that chilled Chicken Salad
on a buttery, buttery, but, but, buttery croissant.

Can you see it now?

Those peppers?

Water chestnuts?

Spiced-up mayo?

Now remember...this makes a great party appetizer spread!

Hey, still haven't made the Naughty Brownies but will work on that soon as well as a Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole I have my eye on.
Now watch,
this Naughty Brownie recipe I keep talking about will probably turn out like
liver and onions. Or shoe leather. Or dirt.

Okay, I'll shut up now.

See ya next time!!!!

Enjoy the weather kids!!!

A Boring Bedtime Story That Involves Vintage Pottery

3/7/2012

Dear Girls and Boys,

Photo credit: colourbox.com

The night is drawing near.
The stars are twinkling in the March sky and the birds are all snuggled in their nests.
Tweet.
Tweet.

Photo credit: cosmopolitanpsique.deviantart.com

Run along now and put on some nice comfy jammies,

grab a warm milk or hot toddy and a snuggie blankie,

and let's settle in for a bedtime story that is so boring it will surely put you to sleep.

Once upon a time

a girl named Angie
ran a seasonal antique and junque shop out of her barn.

It was fun.

One year the girl, Angie, decided to close the barn.

She sold everything in the barn but she could not bring herself to sell the vintage pottery she had fallen in love with many years ago.

So Angie kept a lot of the vintage pottery for herself. She displayed some of the pink and white pieces in the summer kitchen for a few years.

Boys and Girls, I want to be clear about this.

It is not good to be a hoarder.
Of anything!

Unless it is vintage pottery from the 40's, 50's, 60's. Then that's okay.

Now really,
little snuggie wee ones in jammies,
how could Angie ever give up this ultra cool vintage elephant planter that sits on her coffee table, keeping watch over the couches and books?
And pet hair and food crumbs.

Would you want Angie to be sad?

I didn't think so.

Angie never stopped collecting vintage pottery.
In fact, look at this highly unusual black and white planter she picked up for $3 at a consignment shop recently.

Do you think $3 is a lot of money?

I don't either.

The cool Haeger vase below is about 14 inches high and is lovely.
The vase sits in her living room window.
Angie thinks it looks austere.
Do you now what austere means?
Neither does Angie, she just thinks it sounds neat.

Did you know Angie has a bookshelf in her living room? Except she has pretty pottery on the top shelf.

And clearly a big mess on the lower shelves.

Did you know Angie doesn't like to pick stuff up. Or straighten
or organize?

Can you spell boring? B-O-R-I-N-G.
Kind of like this blog post.

Do you see that tall, skinny, orange vase in back, girls and boys though? That orange color is unusual.

Angie even likes speckled pottery, such as this small peach colored vintage planter on her bookshelf.

Except this planter holds Abe Lincoln's head and other knick knacky things.

Did you know Angie saw Abe Lincoln's head in her closet when she was twelve?
True story.

But that's probably a little scary for tonight.
I digress.

That crazy girl Angie is not color specific on any favorite color for her pottery . She just picks up what speaks to her.

This yellow vase spoke to her.

In a whisper where no one else could hear.

But Angie heard.

And it sits on her step-back cupboard now.

You can see more examples of Angie's yellow pottery on the laundry room shelf. Along with that super nice white McCoy jardiniere over to the left.

So, do you think Angie or her husband Tim finally folded those clothes that are always piled on the washer and dryer?
It looks nice and clean, doesn't it?

Well,
it's not.

Angie just squished all the clothes down so she could take a good picture of the pottery.

That crazy Angie is sneaky sometimes, isn't she?

Angie might be sneaky but she squeals with delight with original, vintage handmade pottery.
Like these two pieces made locally. Aren't they cool, chunky and full of texture?

Angie really likes pottery with texture.
But Angie has limited brain capacity and can't remember what this type of pottery below is called.

She does, however, know this type of pottery to the right is called "drip glaze".

Angie luuuurves drip glaze.

You know how you can tell Angie likes drip glaze so much?

Because her and Tim's coffee cups that they drink from every morning are drip glaze. Tim's cup is a newer drip glaze. Angie's cup is that lovely shade of olive from the 1960/1970's.

Do you remember the 1960's and 70's boys and girls?

If you do, that is good!

Just a couple more pictures of drip glaze pottery and then off you go to night-night land.
Angie looooves that burgundy and gray drip glaze vase below. Very different.
Different is gooood.
The pink drip glaze cup holds her work pens. And glasses. Because Angie keeps getting older and blinder. Growing old sucks boys and girls. I mean stinks.

See this drip glaze piece?

The nice boy who made this for Angie and Tim didn't even know Angie loved drip glaze so much.

Angie likes her white pottery in the guest bedroom.

And her colorful pottery in the laundry room is up high so you can't see the broken handle on the vase.
The middle piece is McCoy.
Angie likes McCoy.

And she especially loves this gorgeous gray planter too. She's never seen another one like this.

Angie has a pink Royal Copley planter and a groovy aqua planter with gold iridescent in her bathroom.

The aqua planter holds earrings, bracelets and necklaces.
Are you curious what's in that pink pottery planter up there?
Well, it's money.
Angie has been saving her change for a long time for new flooring in the entryway and bathroom.

Looks like Angie hasn't been very good at saving her money.

Angie wishes often that buttons, safety pins, rubberbands, a dog tag and lint could be counted as money too.

What was that little boys and girls?

You feel sorry for Angie because this pottery doesn't seem like a large collection?

Oh darn it!

Angie forgot to show this box which was deposited in the summer kitchen several months ago and hasn't found it's way to the barn for storage yet.

Speaking of the barn, that coo-coo ca-choo girl Angie ran out there just now and forgot she had more pieces.
It looks like these pieces could use a little cleaning though.

And Angie remembered there's many more vintage pieces such as these...

And then Angie spied more pottery on the floor and wondered why she always has to put stuff away so crappily in storage.

And then she discovered more pieces that were hastily packed.

Naughty .

Don't ever be lazy like Angie boys and girls.

Even Angie was getting bored by now looking and writing about her pottery.
Except she remembered she has pottery high up in the summer kitchen and ran back there to snap a couple pictures.
Oh, how she loves that Royal Copley green and purple planter on the right. Love!

So Angie went inside for the evening, made herself a hot toddy and began making one of her favorite dishes; Oven Fried Chicken from last September.

And then Angie got all excited again and remembered she forgot to show you her pottery on top of the yellow cupboard in the dining room.

Hey

wait!!

Did you see the pieces on top of the yellow cupboard? Did you, did you? Cuz they're cool. Look! Hey!

So be honest, was it the picture of the chicken that put you to sleep?

My Bananas Talk To Me And They Say Mean Things - Banana Butterscotch Bread With Toasted Pecans

3/5/2012

I don't know about you,

but my bananas talk to me.

Look closely.

Shhhh, listen.

Can you hear what they're saying?

Those bananas just called

me a loser!!!

A loser!

Why? What did I do????

What?
What are you saying now you meanie-baneanie bananas ?

I'm LAZY????!!!

Hey you little monster bananas,
why do you say I'm lazy you little spoiled, overipe, overdone, overblown pieces of produce??
What? Speak louder, I can't hear you.

I'm a

banana

waster

?!?!

You're a banana waster!

Okay, well I won't argue that one with ya.

Whatever.

Just for that though, you're going down.
You're getting mushed.
You're getting cooked SUCKA.

HeHeHe

And these are the fixins for a
Banana Butterscotch Bread With Toasted Pecans.
We all know that over-ripe, brown banans make THE best bread eh?

Nothing fancy for the line-up. Just good old ingredients you have in the fridge and pantry.

Smash your bananas and then mix all your dry ingredients together.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease and flour it.

Add your eggs and butter to the sugar and mix.

Add the bananas, milk and vanilla...

Add the flour mixture, the butterscotch morsels and the pecan nuts.

Did someone say

butterscotch morsels

and pecans?

Stop right

now!

No face diving into the batter.

It is inappropriate.
And unsanitary.

Pour the

batter in

the pan.

Add the remaining pecans on top and bake at 350 degrees for an hour.

Bake for 45 minutes and then put a sheet of tin foil over the top to prevent over burning for the last 15 minutes.

.
This Banana Butterscotch Bread With Toasted Pecans was yummy.

I kept thinking it would be good for a breakfast sweet bread or when company comes over.

Enjoy!!!

OH! I forgot...here is the recipe for the Butterscotch Banana Bread!

Banana Butterscotch Bread with Toasted Pecans
From www.cookiemadness.net check this website out; this woman has cool recipes
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (8 oz)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5 inch metal loaf pan and dust with flour. If you have some, line the bottom with parchment. This bread is kind of sticky.

Mix together the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer, beat the sugar, butter and egg. Beat in the bananas, followed by the vanilla and the milk. Stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the pecans and the butterscotch morsels. Sprinkle the pecans on top of the banana bread and bake for 1 hour. After 45 minutes, lay a sheet of foil over the bread to prevent over-browning. Let bread cool in pan on a rack for about 15 minutes, then remove from pan.

See ya next time...hopefully I will have found time to make some naughty brownies, whose thoughts and picture just will not release me!

Am I Annoyed Or Am I Annoying?

3/4/2012

The other day, I noticed things annoy me.

But I don't do anything about them.
Because I am lazy I think.
Or have no short term memory.
One of 'em at least.

Let's start with the candle in my bathroom.
There is a bug in a candle in my bathroom.

It's disgusting.
I have no idea how it got there but I am disturbed by it.

I asked Tim last night, "Did you know there's a bug in a candle in the bathroom?"

Tim said, "Yes."

I said, "It's disgusting."

Tim said, "Yeah."

It's been there for a year.

Know what else is annoying?

Tim

and I

continue

to not

fold

laundry.

And don't EVEN get me started about the ring around the bathtub!!!!!!

Because SOMEONE forgot to buy softener salt.
Again!

For a week.

Or two.

I'm blaming it on peri-menopause.

Ima bypass any comment on this one.
*sigh*

Other thanHissssssss
Sssspit
Mreeeeoooowwww
Ptttttthhhhh
Reeeooowwww

And I am annoyed that Two Cats For Sale aren't as intrigued with their new playhouse as I was.

In fact, there is no intrigue at all.

They would have preferred forty bucks in kitty treats instead,
I'm fairly certain.

It wasn't even 6am yet that day, and I knew I was going to be annoyed all day.
Or annoying.

So I thought I would lift my spirits and go to some of my cookbooks and find a fresh recipe to make for supper that night.

And I was annoyed by all my cookbooks when I flipped through them.

Not a single recipe intrigued me.

But I did see some funny photos in a
1948 Better Homes And Garden Cookbook.

Some of the food in the chapter photos actually looked good, some dishes looked dubious and others looked downright cheesetastic.

The Cakes, Cookies, Frostings and Fillings

chapter page looked pretty festive here.
And I love the colonial figurines because nothing speaks partaaaay more than Paul Revere and Dolly Madison porcelain figures.

The picture on the right looks like Paul is saying, "Dolly, you're lookin' mighty fine in that petticoat; wanna meet for a cup of tea at the Community Center later?"

Clearly, I was getting in a better mood.

These

Salads

even

started

to

look

good.

The

coloring

is off a

little in

the

Candy

chapter,

but it's

do-able.

I'd eat those apples.
Why not?

And the Eggs and Cheese section is downright colorful and I want to eat everything pictured.

Although I wonder why a beach ball is in the middle of the cheese platter though?

But the picture of the

Casseroles and One-Dish Meals

kind of almost made me lose my oatmeal and raisins I had just eaten.
Blech.
I hope those are meatballs.

All was forgiven by the time I got to the Pastries and Pies section though.

Lemon Meringue anyone?

Yes, pleeeeze.

And just about anything can be forgiven over yummy criss cross buns from the Breads chapter.

And lastly,

the Desserts.

I'm on the fence about the Dessert section.

Oh, who am I kidding. I'd eat everything on that page if I could. Even the wonky looking stuff.

Which leads me back
around to being annoyed again.

Who likes a good laugh every now and then?!!!???

Hey, have a great

rest of the

weekend!!!

Talk at ya next time!!

Beef Short Ribs and Smashed Potatoes That Will Turn Your Cultured Man Into A Neanderthal

3/2/2012

Okay, I'm just gonna get right

down to the nitty gritty dirt of

this Short Ribs recipe....

IT'S ABSOLUTELY

FANTASTIC!!!!!!

And with these super yummy

Restaurant Style Smashed Potatoes...

The potatoes alone are a meal unto thy lovely self.

Well, there's lots of pictures today, so let's get started on the Short Ribs recipe that turned Tim into an
honest-to-goodness caveman when he was eating them.

Also Tim kept saying how much he loved me and how he's the luckiest man alive (oh my, how I feel sincerely horribly sorry for the male species then) in between his grunting and groaning and shoveling of these ribs in his mouth.

I finally said, "Tim!!! Enough! Now, why do you like these beef ribs so much?!?!?"
He was eating so fast and furiously, he couldn't form a complete sentence. Seriously.
He just grunted, "Bold. Sweet. Impeccable. Ooga Googa."

Okay, so I added the "ooga googa". But still, other than that, those were Tim's exact words.

Okay, here's the fixins for these delicious ribs.. Not much here really for prep.

Not much chopping or peeling or slicing.

Easy is what it is.

Wait a minute.

I forgot something....

The ribs!!!!

Very important! The bone-in beef short ribs!!

The recipe calls for 6 lbs.
I had 5 lbs. The beef short ribs were $3.99/lb, so my package was $20.31. Not too bad for a cheat night meal.

I did trim off .60 of a lb. of fat off the beef ribs before cooking.

Which still left quite a bit to salt and pepper up both sides.

Over medium heat, brown ribs for six minutes on both sides, in batches.

Remove the short ribs and add the onions, carrots, garlic, and celery and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, and wine to the vegetables and cook for a minute or two.

Very important!!!! You are using two cups of wine here...make sure it's a good red wine.
DO NOT SPOIL THIS NICE MEAT WITH $5 WINE!!
I used Apothic Red Winemaker's blend.
You can find it under $10 a bottle on sale. Inexpensive but it drinks like a $15 bottle and even though it's not a Cabernet, it drinks big.
A nice big, peppery Cabernet would be even better.

Add your stock, diced tomatoes and thyme and bay leaf...

Get your zester out...
YO, JR!!!
They're only like $6...buy one already!!

And zest a whole orange...mmmm..smells heavenly!!

Add the ribs back into the pan with all those juicy juice dripping sauce liquid things.

Add your orange zest in, cover pot and braise at 350 degrees for three hours or until the meat is tender.

By the way, your kitchen will have the most fabulous aroma for the next three hours. Neighbors will be climbing the back yard fence to try to sneak into your kitchen, girl scout cookie sellers will ask if they can stay for supper, and neighborhood runners and joggers will say screw the healthy exercise, that aroma smells too good to pass up.
Just sayin'.

At three hours or before,
pull out the dutch oven and see what the short ribs look like.

Yup,

I would

say

they're

falling

off the

bone!!!!

You can plate it up but you might want to wait for the Restaurant Style Smashed Potatoes that Ima show you how to make.

We is a-gonna make these potatoes that
your family will fight over!
Look over there, that's those French's French Fried Onions.

No wonder this recipe is fantabulous!

Oh, look at that butter and sour cream too. Uh huh. These potatoes are not low fat!!
But they are probably top three best potatoes I've ever had. and you know how I love the starch!

Fry up

yer bacon

till crisp

and

crumble.

Bake your potatoes (I baked mine in the oven) and add to a large bowl.

Mash those crispy skinned potatoes up!

Holy Guacamole!!!!!!!!
Add the creamy butter, scallions, BAAAAACCCOOOOOON, and sour cream!

This looks good all mixed up, doesn't it?

Well,

it is!!!

What could make it better???

Those french fried onion things!!!!

Oh yeah

baby!!!

I'm speechless by how good these potatoes are.
They taste as good as they look.
If there was a swimming pool full of these mashed potatoes, I would get over my fear of diving, and dive straight into these.
Total serious.

This makes such a nice little
treaty
cheaty night, doesn't it?

Ever notice how the starch in all my pictures are predominate over anything else?
I suck cuz I am such a carb girl. I wish carbs made you lose weight instead of the opposite. *sigh*

Okay, here's the recipes....both the embedded where you can print off and the non-embedded ones where you have to hand-write it off.

Neely’s Short Ribs
www.foodnetwork.com Down Home With The Neelys
Pat and Gina Neely
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
6 pounds beef short ribs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, in thick puree
3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 orange, zested
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat about 2-tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat.

Season the short ribs well with salt and pepper. Over medium heat, brown ribs for 6 minutes on each side. You will need to do this in batches. Remove the browned short ribs to a plate and repeat with remaining ribs and oil.

Add onion, carrots, garlic, celery, and salt and pepper to the Dutch oven and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and wine to the vegetables and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the stock, diced tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf. Return the browned short ribs and any juices that have accumulated back into the Dutch oven. Add orange zest. Cover with a heavy lid and place in the oven and braise for 3 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Once the ribs are tender, remove the ribs to a platter. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve the short ribs over the stone ground grits, if desired. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Restaurant Style Smashed Potatoes
www.thepioneerwoman.com, a very popular food blog
Ree also has a new show on the Food Network, Pioneer Woman
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
5 whole Large Red Potatoes
1 stick Butter, Softened And Cut Into Pieces
5 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 whole Green Onions, Sliced
3/4 cups Sour Cream
Salt To Taste (add Plenty!)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper To Taste (ditto!)
3/4 cups French Fried Onions, More For Topping

Preparation Instructions
Nuke potatoes or bake in the oven until fork-tender. Add to a large bowl and smash with a potato masher. Immediately add softened butter, green onions, bacon, and sour cream and stir with a rubber spatula. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add french fried onions and fold in.

Serve hot, sprinkling on extra french fried onions and green onions. Yummy with grilled steak or chicken!

Okay, so that's a big post today with lots o' pictures.

Ima be making some Naughty Brownies this weekend....naughty because who really needs a thousand million calories in one brownie bar???

Who? Who?

Duh.

Angie.
*wink, wink*
See ya next time :)