Wednesday, May 18, 2011

To those who say I don't make healthy food

Today I went to the gym.  First time in about a year.  Why?  Because it took that bloody long for my husband to get me my gym membership.  See,  It's a military gym,  so a military person has to sign up their dependants to use it.  Felt good to get back in the groove.  See, over a year I lost about 20lbs.  I want to get into a little bit better shape before I go for my surgery on the 21st of June (if that rapture shit is fake..which it is)  So most of my absence is me doing all the stuff needed to get ready for it.  Let's just say, to put it delicately,  having two kids caused things to herniate down there.  Gyns like to call it a "Rectocele prolapse"  But really it's a stupid hernia.  You know if you're a guy and you have this ingual ring in the ball area where the balls came down when you were a kid?  sometimes it gets widened and the stuff goes in?  Well that's kinda like what's up with me. It's annoying and I'm glad it's finally getting fixed.  ANYWAY recipe time.

To those who said I had too many unhealthy recipes? BAH on you I say BAH!  Tonight I made the most delish salad IN THE WORLD
First I took a chicken breast,  Put it in a bag with a little Extra virgin olive oil, Rosemarry, sage and seasoned salt.  Let it sit for a bit, then put it on my george foreman grill because I haven't dug my BBQ out of the garage yet.  I then cut up a honey crisp apple and diced up a quarter of it and put it on a bed of baby greens (ORGANIC baby greens) Then chopped up a bit of cucumber, and a few multi colored cherry tomatoes...and topped it with chopped walnuts.  It kinda looked like this:



I then took the chicken after it was cooked:


Chopped it all up and put it on top of the veggies



I then took THIS  dressing and drizzled it all over 


and the result was this:



There you go, a healthy supper.  Really tasty too.






Sunday, April 17, 2011

BAH Sorry about that

Life got to me.  The whole Mommy Taxi thing...then my husband going away for a bit then..well just life.

Also this past Tues my son injured his arm pretty badly and he's now in a cast due to a dislocation that the quack at the closest hospital didn't fix.  Lady was some stupid bitch that didn't know how to set a kids dislocated elbow so she said "nothing wrong..come back tomorrow if it still hurts him"

Fuck her...I waited the 24hrs...then I went to the other hospital about 45min away.  They are more pediatric friendly anyway.  They Xrayed it (something the Punjab Quack at the other hospital didn't do) they tried to set it,  they put it in a sling and told me to come back on Friday.  Went back, more Xrays, and they splinted it in a soft cast and told me to keep him in it for 2 weeks to let the tissues heal.  If he still can't use it in 2 weeks, then it's off to the IWK Grace hospital for an MRI to see if he has some fracture in his growth plates the Xray failed to pick up.  OH YAY.

ANYWAY, just letting you guys know, my mom set up a new store, where you name your own price (within reason) for whatever you want. It's here. Seriously you name the price of what you want.  She has magazine subs and a whole bunch of stuff.  So go check it out at least.  *shrug* 

Anyway I gotta get back in the kitchen and finish up supper.  having Baked ham with Maple Bacon Glaze (the Glaze is a storebought one, President's Choice Maple Bacon Marinade...)  and some Lipton Sidekick Scalloped potatoes.  nothing too horribly difficult.  Not like I want to cook anything super involved anyway...Stress sucks so bad.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Well I did it

Yup.  I got my license.  Despite coughing/hacking and sneezing the whole time through it.  Only got 15 points docked off too (Had a max of 45 to be docked.)  10 for taking a right too wide and 5 for going too slow.  Heck it's March break,  kids were out and playing, you know kids can be stupid so I was going 10mph because of the dumb kids.  Oh well...I knew I was doing right for my driving ability.

I wasn't going to go through with it.  Why?  Because a few days before I put my car into the ditch.  You got that right.  IN...THE..DITCH.  I was out practice driving with my husband.  We went too far up a country road for his liking so he wanted me to turn around.  I pulled into this farmer's driveway and started to back out, you know do the whole Uturn...well I was too far to the right,  was like 2 inches from his mail box, but still OK right?  Well as I started to give it to make the turn,  the mud under the front end gave out and we fell into the ditch.  Rear of the car was on the shoulder,  the nose was in the ditch, and 3 wheels were in the air.  Luckily the farmer was home and towed us out.  My instructor who saw it yesterday said that I would have made it if the ground were more solid.  oh well.

So tonight I'm going to be making pork Katsu.

Yeah I make some wicked Japanese food, so I will blog/photograph the whole thing as I make it.  I just thought I would let you all know that I'm actually driving now.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

In sickness...and well sickness

Sorry everyone.  Family has been sick lately.

first it was my son.
Then it was my husband.
Now both my daughter and myself got hit by it.  So needless to say,  all that has been cooking here has been chicken noodle soup...

My husband downed the home made stuff when he was sick,  so now it's just the Lipton and canned stuff for my daughter and me.

I'll get back to doing recipes soon, no worries.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

there we go

A solution that works for everyone.  I made a free webstore, so I can hawk my dropship stuff,  (Link will also be placed in the sidebar) and I'll still blog my recipes.

You see,  I'm just trying to contribute to the household income since times are hard, and I don't have a PAYING job yet.  (Stay at home mom is a pretty demanding and harsh job but it doesn't pay very well...) So yeah,  forgive the whole crap post below.  Just trying to help out my husband while I work the resume.

So this is the link to my store.  Yes, things in there are a little pricey right now,  I'm doing the whole "Vintage Automotive Collectible" thing and I guess those things are pretty hefty, but hey...if people like em enough they'll probably buy em.  I haven't seen any of that stuff in stores so *shrug*.  Of course I live in Canada so I dunno.

I'll get back to blogging recipes tomorrow or Tuesday.  This coming week will be nothing but Turkey I'm guessing, since it's on sale for $1.49/lb and a decent sized bird can feed us for a week.  (Yeah I told ya times were tough...but it is everywhere I guess)

I'm thinking that I might just invest the money I make (well some of it...the rest is gonna go to the family bank account)  Like since I'll probably only be bringing in around $400/month after taxes, I'm thinking I set $100 of that aside to put into some sort of investment thing.  Gotta talk to my RBC financial advisor to see what I can swing on a $100/month investment contribution.

Heh.

Yeah that was a bust

Gonna stick with just blogging recipes lol.

Figure I would give it a shot.  lol oh well thanks anyway

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Stuff for sale

Ok, nicknacks and stuff.  First offering is practical, and also..lulzy.
You guys like to go out and get drunk right?  You think "meh I'm good to go.."  or you're having a party at your house and one real drunk moron thinks he's perfectly ok to drive home, but you know he isn't, but you don't have the proof that he'll believe to prove that he's more hammered than he thinks he is.

You need this wonderful handy dandy personal breathalyzer.  Yup.  Your buddy is plastered,  "No bro I'm ok, I'll drive home"  "Oh yeah, dude, give this a try...I'll PROVE you're too hammered to drive home." *as he tries to figure out the instrument you hide his keys*

SKU:Q3I3000


ALCOHAWK Q3I-3000 PRECISION DIGITAL BREATH ALCOHOL TESTER
SCREENS FOR THE PRESENCE OF ALCOHOL QUICKLY; IDEAL SOLUTION FOR A PORTABLE TESTER WITH PROFESSIONAL QUALITY; FEATURES A CLEAR LED DISPLAY; UPGRADED WITH AIRCHECK TECHNOLOGY

Price:  $79.00 Including Shipping.  US CUSTOMERS ONLY.  (yeah even if I wanted these I couldn't have them)







                                                                                                    




Ok,  your party is in full swing.  You guys have the munchies.  You figure,  nachos and queso right?  nothing wrong with some queso, except that when you serve it, it starts to cool off and turn into this clump of un-dippable stuff.  Well here's something that can keep that nice queso, or whatever kind of warm dip you like, warm...


American Originals™ Electric Heated Dip and Chip Tray
SKU:72-4819




Now how cool is that?  A place for the chips,  fruit, or whatever, and a place that's nicely warm for the dip.  I want one so bad.  But I cannot has because this is for US people only.
American Originals brings you funky products with a 1950s retro feel! Combining great food and fun, the range is reminiscent of a cool, 1950s American diner where the hip and trendy would hang out with family and friends.
American Originals provides fun, fun, funky products perfect for everyday use as well as entertaining.
The American Originals Electric Heated Dip and Chip Tray is perfect for keeping hot dips tasty and warm. You may also prepare a hot melted chocolate dip and fill chip tray with marshmallows, fruit or your favorite dipping cookies.
American Originals Electric Heated Dip and Chip Tray is great for cold dips too, just use without the heating base.
Features include:
  • Removable ceramic dip bowl with 21 oz capacity
  • Plastic melamine chip tray
  • Heating base
  • Attached inline power switch to heating base
  • Rated Voltage: 120VAC-60Hz
  • Wattage: 0.22A (4A during operation)
  • Dimensions: 14 x 14 x 3.25 inches
  • Includes retail packaging

American Originals brings you funky products with a 1950s retro feel! Combining great food and fun, the range is reminiscent of a cool, 1950s American diner where the hip and trendy would hang out with family and friends.
American Originals provides fun, fun, funky products perfect for everyday use as well as entertaining.
The American Originals Electric Heated Dip and Chip Tray is perfect for keeping hot dips tasty and warm. You may also prepare a hot melted chocolate dip and fill chip tray with marshmallows, fruit or your favorite dipping cookies.
American Originals Electric Heated Dip and Chip Tray is great for cold dips too, just use without the heating base.
Features include:
  • Removable ceramic dip bowl with 21 oz capacity
  • Plastic melamine chip tray
  • Heating base
  • Attached inline power switch to heating base
  • Rated Voltage: 120VAC-60Hz
  • Wattage: 0.22A (4A during operation)
  • Dimensions: 14 x 14 x 3.25 inches
  • Includes retail packaging
Price is $73.58 including Shipping/handling






                                                                                                    




Oh let's not forget the games.  Who doesn't like playing a bit of darts while hanging out with the bros.  Print off the picture of your least favorite person,  maybe that ex that cheated on you last week,  that's why she's your ex now..that would work, tape it to this baby and go to town in a catharsis of emotional venting.
US Customers only please.  This will run you about... $175.78 Shipping included.

SKU:8BL7000




This 8-Ball dart cabinet features a quality dart board and darts included. 
Features include:
  • 22 x 25 inch solid wood cabinet
  • medium wood finish
  • full color logo displayed on front of cabinet
  • full color logos also displayed above the scoreboards inside the cabinet doors
  • bristle dartboard included
  • 2 sets of darts included

This 8-Ball dart cabinet features a quality dart board and darts included. 
Features include:
  • 22 x 25 inch solid wood cabinet
  • medium wood finish
  • full color logo displayed on front of cabinet
  • full color logos also displayed above the scoreboards inside the cabinet doors
  • bristle dartboard included
  • 2 sets of darts included






Oh yeah: HUGE thing right here

NO REFUNDS.  ON ANYTHING.  
Sorry, it's just a complete and utter pain in the ass to refund stuff from a dropshipper.  No hard feelings right?

Poll for my readers

Hey guys.  Just have a bit of a question here.
If I were to use this to sell stuff,  would you guys bite?  I've seen blogs that sell things.

Hard times have hit here and I need to start pulling my weight financially.  I've been applying for jobs within walking distance because I'm really doubtful that I'll pass my road test.

So, if I were to list some stuff here,  what kind of stuff would you be interested in?  Answer in the comments :D

Thanks!!!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Replies to the advice to "Rant"

@Chris  LOL  Unfortunately I live in Canada and Aston Martins are extremely difficult to find, (let alone maintain,  the whole parts/garages that are liscensed to work on them ect) especially in lefty version which is how I learned to drive (you know, being Canada and all)  Trust me I would LOOOOOOVE an AM, unfortunately 1: We couldn't afford one on his pay right now (even if I got a job too  no way we could afford it) and 2: It's out of my Caste.  See, my husband is an Non Commissioned member of the Canadian forces.  Aston Martins are most definitely officers cars.  Most of the male officers wouldn't give a crap and give my husband props for having one,  but the wives.  Oh god...I would never hear the end of it from the officers wives and neither would their husbands.  (My husband routinely works along side of pilots and navigators so it would be an issue)

Fortunately, everyone, I'm slowly weaning him off the idea of a pickup truck and into the possibility of an SUV.   I used the whole "You know,  I went into this driving thing screaming and kicking.  Since I don't really want to do it anyway, I would really like to have a vehicle I ENJOY driving.  If I won't ENJOY driving the vehicle I won't even bother with it unless I absolutely have to and keep walking everywhere.  Of course I'm still pretty leary about getting an SUV because just because I'm a mom, doesn't mean I should HAVE to drive a "mom car" like a minivan or a SUV.

I like my cars to have guts, I like them to have a decent amount of BHP and Torque.  They also need to be able to deal with winter and of course...the absolutely "lovely" Nova Scotia roads in the summer (@Halliguy you know what I'm talking  about right? lol)

Pic related.  This is the car that spoiled me.  Sure there's a bunch of "lolford/mercury" but it's a pretty fun car to drive.

 Of course I still want a CAR...and if I could find another 1999-2002 Ford/Mercury Cougar I would be jumping all over that like ..well you can come up with a suitable metaphor.  So I'm watching the Auto Trader diligently.

Well I gotta go get my house clean.  Thanks for the advice all!  Husband is coming back from his survival course tonight so this will probably be the only blog you'll see till well Friday I'm guessing.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Rant.

Yeah...feel free to skip past this down to the recipes.  It's a whine.

As you all know I'm getting my license in a week *hopefully* Anyway I was discussing with my husband the possibility of getting a second vehicle.  Mostly because he doesn't want to give up his Cougar, and nor do I expect him to.

But....


He wants to get me


a

Fucking

PICKUP TRUCK.  No...just no.  He kept going on about how utilitarian it would be if he wanted to get lumber or stuff for the house, and it could just be a little 1/4 ton crew cab or something (because of the kids) and I'm like...no.  I'm sorry.  I'm not a truck person.  I don't like trucks.  They serve their purpose for rednecks and contractors, but honestly I..don't want to drive a pickup truck.

So I'm trying to sell him on the Nissan Rogue.  Any help people? (those that didn't skip down anyway)  Really.  I just have this visceral dislike for pickup trucks.  (If you haven't guessed yet :-P )  Nissan Rogue isn't a huge wheeled tank that most "moms" drive..nor is it a minivan (I'm serious I hate minivans too..but I'd rather drive one of those before driving a pickup truck)

Sorry about yesterday

See,  Since I don't have my drivers license, I gotta walk my kids to school,  and since my husband isn't home (Survival course for work) I have to walk to get groceries too.  So yeah yesterday was spent walking...A LOT.  So I justifiably didn't do much in the way of sitting at the computer and blogging.  I did however make a nice Salmon pie and will share with you the recipe, yes, with pictures.

Salmon Pie

Ingredients:

FILLING (you wanna make this first and put it in the fridge to chill)
2 cans of salmon
3 potatoes, boiled and mashed up
1tsp tarragon
3tsp garlic powder,
3tsp onion powder,
1tsp seasoned salt
a dash of pepper
2tbsp dried Parsley

Now,  You dump the filling ingredients in a bowl and you mix it very well. so it kinda looks like this:


Put it in the fridge to cool off.

Now for the pie crust:

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
2 cups flour
1tsp salt.

With a fork mash this together till it looks like this:


Then slowly add ice water a few tablespoons at a time until it starts to form a smooth dough.  I don't really have a measurement for this because it's subjective.

Put it in the fridge to chill for a bit too.

Then, take half the pie dough, roll it out on a floured surface and put it in a pie tin, add filling.


Then you roll out the other half of the dough and put on top of the filling..making a PIE.

Like this:


Poke a few holes in the top with a fork, and brush with some milk or egg wash to give it a golden/glossy sheen as it cooks, 375 degree oven for about 45min to an hour, don't cook it longer than that or the crust well *points to picture below*  I was too busy watching a movie with my kids.  Whoops  was still edible, the crust was just a little darker than it should have been.

Then serve:  I served it with some Green Giant steamed broccoli/cauliflower with cheese sauce.








Sunday, February 27, 2011

Ahh my intrepid readers

Good Sunday to you all.  (or Monday depending if you're on the other side of the Date Line. )

I'm slacking.  Yeah.  I should be cleaning my house but I'm putting up another blog recipe/entry while having my morning coffee.


Here's a cheap and easy dish that's a staple around here:

Corned Beef Gravy.

Peel and cut and boil a few potatoes.

Then, get a can of corned beef (I use Hereford brand but whatever floats your boat) open it and dump it into a frying pan.  Turn on the element to around Med-High heat and start mashing it down with a fork while the potatoes are boiling.  while this is going on, mix up roughly 1/2 cup flour to 2 cups of water really well...like no lumps or anything.

When the potatoes are done, drain some of the water into the frying pan with the corned beef...add some seasonings if you want, garlic/onion powders, steak spice, pepper (no real need for salt.)

Now,  give your flour/water mixture a stir, and slowly pour in to the hot beef/water mixture while stirring constantly,  it should thicken up pretty well.

Serve over the hot potatoes (smash em on your plate a bit and put butter on them first if you want)  and with some bread and butter.

The gravy freezes/refrigerates  well so all you need to do is put it in individual containers.  So there you go a $2 can of corned beef can feed you for a bit.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Pirogies!!

Here's something for pretty much everyone.  Home made pirogies.

I know you all have probably bought the frozen variety, mostly due to convenience, but, if you have a bit of time on the weekends or something, you can make your own, and actually put what you want in them, instead of dealing with the store supplied fillings.

What you will need:

Dough:

2 cups flour
a tsp of salt
enough water to make it into a pliable dough

Now mix all these together...the water is subjective so just add a little at a time until it forms a dough.  Then knead this dough. and let rest

Filling:

1lb of potatoes, peeled and mashed.

Now what I like to put in it is a mixture of stuff

I take some bacon, cut it up and fry it until crisp with some minced onions so they caramalize.  Then I mix in with the already hot mashed potatoes, some garlic spread,  the bacon, the onions, a bit of grated sharp cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream and some minced chives.

Now,  Roll out the pirogie dough on a floured surface so it's about 1/4-1/8" thick..not too thick but not too thin.  Take a glass or a small plastic cup and cut out circles.  Put a tablespoon of your potato mixture in the middle of each of the circles, then take your finger, put it in some warm water and trace the outside of each circle before folding them in half and pinching the pirogies shut.

Cook in boiling water until they float.  If you want,  you can freeze them for later, or toss in butter/bacon/chives and serve with sour cream!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Moar foods

Here's a recipe out of that nice cookbook my mom gave me, that I actually DID try, because no one in this house is allergic to tuna.

It's cheap, it's pretty awesome too.

It's called

Tuna Fish Loaf.  *yeah similar to meat loaf but made with tuna instead*

2 cans of tuna packed in water (drained)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup.
1/2 cup of milk
2 1/2 cups of bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
and of course seasonings.  I used oinion powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, a titch of cayenne and some dried parsley for color.

Soak your bread crumbs in the milk combine and mix thoroughly with soup and beaten eggs.  Bake in a GREASED loaf pan (this is important or the stuff won't come out..or non stick..but even then if you grease it it'll get all nice and crispy on the outside)  at 350 for about 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and it's all set.

So there you have it, it's cheap, it's good.  No I don't have pictures of it because I made it a while ago, I probably will make it again next week though.

Served it with some steamed carrots and home made rolls.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Well that was upsetting P

Someone on facebook decided to pretend to be the midwife that was present at my sons birth.  This person also tried to beg for money because they "got mugged at gunpoint in Malaysia"  Umm ok.  I asked a few questions before I even started to believe this person was my former midwife.  You know, questions based around my sons birth.  (No I won't give them out here)  Anyway this person didn't answer a single one of them correctly, and gave the name of a supposed social studies teacher, That I never ever had.  So yeah,  blocked and reported.

I also told the REAL midwife about the jerk that's trying to pretend to be her.

Good try though,  I might have been born at night..wait no I wasn't.  Anyway,  That scammer has learned that not everyone is a bloody gullible moron.  I also sent a message to those this fraudster friended saying that this wasn't the real deal.

So yeah.  GG scammer GG.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Heh

I'm gonna try my hand at making scotch eggs tomorrow.  I'm boiling the eggs right now, so they can cool off in the fridge over night.  I have some sausage meat and some bread crumbs all ready.  I've heard some good things about these...figure trying *one* won't hurt.  But will I be able to stop at one?  Bah if I can't I'll just give the rest to my daughter for her lunch or something.  She needs the calories.

BAH

My inlaws have a condo in Ottawa and they have one crazy view from there.  Almost penthouse.  I mean their view is phenomenal.

Of course it sucks when someone in downtown Ottawa gets a little trigger happy.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Driving connundrum

For all you people who are just tuning in.  I'm an (almost) 32yo stay at home mom.  I have had my learners permit for driving, for about a year now.  I have been taking defensive driving lessons since September,  give or take.  Now,  my instructor wants me to practice on my husbands car, since well it's the only car we own right now, and it's going to be the one I will be driving.  (Not rocket science)  Well, he is justifiably nervous.  I'm learning in a Honda Civic,  we own a 2000 Mercury Cougar.  V6 vs a 4 Cylinder. Both are Front wheel drive and automatic, so not much difference there, just a difference in horsepower and obviously handling.

How the heck can I get him to understand that I might be a driving noob, but I really do need the practice in the car so I can get used to it.  He refuses to call my instructor to get the "You know she's really NOT that bad" speech.


Trust me, if I didn't HAVE to get my license, I wouldn't be.  I'm just sick of walking to take/get my kids from school, my husband's job takes him away quite often, so I need to be able to get groceries.  Not to mention appointments and all that.

Trust me, I understand his reluctance.  It's HIS car.  He bought it before we were married, it's his first real car.  He's justifiably attached to it.  I wish we could afford a second, not so nice car, like..a Dodge Aries K, or a Neon or something stupid like that, so if I do hit the ditch,  it won't be such a nut punch to him.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

No Food today.

Sorry.  Just made sweet and sour meatballs and steamed rice for supper.  Ground beef held together with egg and bread crumbs,  cooked up and tossed in some store bought sweet and sour sauce.  nothing too involved.  (You walk 12 miles and clean a 2400sq ft house from top to bottom and see how much you want to cook)

So I think I'll post about City of Heroes/Villains today.

City of Heroes debuted around 7 years ago, the brain child of Jack "Statesman" Emmeret and Matt "Positron" Miller of Cryptic studios  After a bit NCsoft bought the IP and it's taken off like mad.  It is a superhero based MMO with untold character customization, then about 2 or 3 years after,  it's first real expansion, City of Villains, came out,  introducing the opposing faction, Supervillains, and just a few months ago they released their third paid expansion, Going Rogue,  which allows the player to drift from good to evil and back again.  (WITHOUT paying faction change surcharges, just do some dailies and pick the right option bam)

Anyway let's get on to rolling a character shall we?  I'll be including screen shots on the step by step process.

First step is to obviously select your server.  Pick whatever one you want.  Freedom is a high pop regular server, whereas Virtue is a high population "Roleplaying" server.  (If you're into that kind of stuff)  Guardian is a mid population server.

Next:  Pick if you want to be Hero, Villain, or Praetorian.  This determines where you start, and what Archtypes you have access to.  Praetorians have access to all the archtypes, except for the epics, right off the bat.  Heroes only have access to the Heroic archtypes (Defender, Controller, Scrapper, Tanker, Defender and Blaster, Warshades and Peacebringers are the epics)  Villains have access to the villain archtypes (Brute, Stalker, Corruptor, Dominator, and Mastermind.  Arachnos Widow and Soldier are the epics)

I picked Praetorian for this blog

Now,  On to pick your archtype or "Class"  For this blog I picked a brute. 


Now origin doesn't really matter except for what kind of Dual Origin/Single Origin enhancement you can use when you get to use them.

So after that you get to go pick your powers.



I picked Kinetic Melee for my primary and Stone Armor for my secondary.  Just for this demonstration anyway.  I have no real urge to play this one.

Now, on to picking your body type!  You have three choices,  Male, Female, and Huge.  I picked female to show you all the absolute super customization you can achieve with this game.  Yes my friends, you can give your character....HUGE TRACTS OF LAND!!!  Chest Slider Maximum ftw.


Now, comes the fun part.  The costume creator.  You have endless combinations as to what you want your character to look like.  I know people who spend hours upon hours trying to create the perfect look.  The best thing about this game honestly, and the "gear" aka Enhancements, do not mess with your look!  That's right.  All sorts of Juicy gear that doesn't mess with your looks.  It's good!

anyway here's a few screenies of the process.  I stayed with the bikini...just for this demonstration..(and I know you guys would like to see)



now, even more customization, you can choose what your powers will look like/animate as.  Seriously  the customization in this game is phenomenal.


On to the big question.  What will you name your character?  Pick carefully because a rename token costs $10.  Try not to go for copywrited names/costumes either, that will get you genericized and possibly banned from the game.  See once upon a time when this game first came out, Marvel decided to sue Cryptic/NCSoft for IP infringement.  The suit was settled when Cryptic agreed to enforce the "No Comic book ripoff" rule.  So, if you make a Claws/Regen Scrapper named.."Badgerine" That's gonna get you hit with the Generic stick


After all this,  you can click "Enter Praetoria/Rogue Isles/Paragon City"  And you'll be given the option to do the tutorial or not.  For new players I strongly suggest it.  Heck even for veteran players it's an easy level up.

and Into the game we go!


Now you can see I included my UI.  Down at the bottom right is your power tray.  They correspond to the numbers 1-9 on your keyboard, and you have 9 of them.  You can expand/detach organize this however you want.  above it is inspiration tray,  somewhat like potions. Then at the bottom left, is your chat box.  You can customize this as well.  Upper left,  Target,  it's what you're currently targeting to either attack or talk to. Upper left is your menu, Hitpoint, stamina, experience, and in the case of brutes and dominators,  fury and domination.  it's a pretty tight UI and it's pretty easy to use.

Anyway I figure I bored you guys enough already and I'll let you get back to your blogging/surfing.  Hopefully things will start clicking here in my life again.  Life has been pretty hectic these past few days so when it's time for things to click in to place...it's tough.  Don't worry though.  I'm sure everything will get back into the swing of things soon.  I'm still viewing the ol screen though. Don't worry about that.







Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Hey Pig...Yeah you...hey piggypiggypigpig

Yup.  Pig night tonight.  Picked up a pork picnic shoulder on sale the other day while grocery shopping.  $6 for a decent sized roast, which will be turned into about 3 meals or so.  Tonight, I'm just roasting it while following this recipe:

I DID make some adjustments.  I didn't have any sherry or chicken stock so I used beef stock and beer instead.  I left out the carrots because no one here likes cooked carrots. It is smelling REALLY good right now.  The left over meat will be used to make pulled pork sammies and pulled pork enchiladas.  Nothing too special there.

Anyway I got my recipe from this website here: Pork Shoulder Roast  Enjoy!!!


Ingredients

  • 1  bone-in, skin-on fresh pork picnic shoulder (6 to 7 lb.)
  • 1  head garlic (2 1/2 oz.)
  • 1  tablespoon  coarse salt
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  dried oregano
  • 1  teaspoon  dried thyme
  • 1/2  teaspoon  fresh-ground pepper
  • 1  onion (10 oz.), peeled and sliced
  • 1  carrot (4 oz.), rinsed and sliced
  • 1/2  cup  oloroso or cream sherry
  • 4  cups  fat-skimmed chicken broth
  • 1/4  teaspoon  dried hot chile flakes
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Rinse pork and pat dry. Score skin in a crisscross diamond pattern, making 1/8-inch-deep cuts about 1 inch apart. Separate and peel garlic cloves. In a mortar and pestle, crush garlic, salt, oregano, thyme, and pepper into a coarse paste (or mince garlic, then mix with salt, herbs, and pepper). Rub garlic paste all over roast. Set roast, skin side up, on a rack in an oiled 9- by 13-inch roasting pan.
2. Roast in a 450° oven (see notes) until deep golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.
3. Remove pan from oven and scatter onion and carrot slices around pork. Pour 1/4 cup sherry and 2 cups broth into pan. Add chile flakes. Baste pork with some of the pan juices. Reduce oven temperature to 225° and bake until a thermometer inserted through the center of thickest part at bone reads 170° to 175°, 8 to 9 hours (do not insert thermometer before the last hour of roasting). If pork is done before you're ready to serve, reduce oven temperature to 160° and hold in oven up to 4 hours.
4. About 30 minutes before serving, transfer pork to a carving board. (For extra-crisp pork skin cracklings, see notes.) Cover pork loosely and set in a warm place. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup sherry and 2 cups broth into the roasting pan (drippings will be dark) and set on a burner over high heat. Bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Boil, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour through a wire strainer set over a bowl, pressing on vegetables (discard vegetables); you should have 1 to 1 1/3 cups drippings. Skim off and discard fat. Stir in vinegar.
5. Lift skin off pork and cut it into bite-size chunks or strips; pile on a platter. Slice meat across the grain and arrange on platter. Drizzle about a fourth of the pan juices over meat; serve remaining to add to taste.
NOTES: You may need to order the pork from your meat market in advance. Monitor oven temperature with a thermometer before starting, and adjust temperature as needed. If you hold the roast in the oven after it is done, check to see if oven is still on after 12 hours of continuous use; some ovens turn off automatically. A convection oven is not recommended. For extra-crisp cracklings, pull skin off cooked pork, separate into bite-size pieces, and place in a shallow pan. Bake in a 400° oven until crisp and puffy, about 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:
521 (66% from fat)
Protein:
37g
Fat:
38g (sat 14)
Carbohydrate:
4.6g
Fiber:
0.3g
Sodium:
578mg
Cholesterol:
138mg

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Monday, February 14, 2011

Burger Stroganoff

This one is another very easy dish, and pretty frugal.  And, for you single people out there, you can make this full batch, put it in individual containers and freeze it and you'll have tons of food for a while.  My husband used to do that when he was single.  Make a huge double batch of Hamburger Helper, or Spaghetti and just eat it throughout the week.  GASP!  This one has step by step pictures too!!!!!

What you will need:

1lb ground beef
1 package of egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup beef stock
2 cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup.  (any variety will do...)
1tbsp of thyme
Minced garlic
Montreal Steak Spice
Italiano seasoning
butter/margerine
1/2 a large onion, minced


Cook Egg Noodles as per package directions. Drain well and set aside...


Now,  Mince up the onions, and put in a big skillet with a bit of margarine/butter and italiano seasoning.
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or so until onions start to get soft.


Now,  push the onions off to the side and put the ground beef in the skillet, and mash the ground beef up.  Put the lid on again and cook for another 5 -10 minutes


Then,  once the beef loses it's pinkness, add some minced garlic (about 3 cloves worth) and a few good hefty shakes of steak spice.  Mix well then push it all off to the sides, leaving a well in the middle. (there will be juices from the steaming of the onions and beef)  and let the liquid evaporate.  (will take another 10mins or so)


After the liquid evaporates,  toss in the 2 cans of soup, beef broth, thyme, some more garlic if you want,  and the sour cream.  Stir well.


Now,  put the cooked and drained egg noodles into the burger/soup mixture.  If you want, add a little dried parsley for color.


Now, I serve this with just a green salad with some light vinaigrette.  If you're calorie/fat conscious feel free to use the fat free sour cream, (I did) fat free cream of mushroom, and extra lean ground beef.  I used the Whole wheat egg noodles, but regular cream of mushroom soup.  I'm not just feeding myself, but two scrawny kids, one of whom is 4 years old and only 30lbs (That's actually very small and his pediatrician is concerned) So, if my recipes seem pretty rich,  that's why.  Feel free to substitute lower fat/calorie options for your diet.  I just moderate my portions to smaller than suggested.





Wow!!

52 Subscribers??  SWEET!  Thank you guys so much!  You are awesome.  You really are.

I'm gonna post more recipes later (with photos) of tonight's supper.  Ground Beef Stroganoff.  I'm just putting a little blurb up to say THANK YOU!!!!!

Yeah, that's my valentines supper.  I'm cooking it...rofl.  I don't care though.  My birthday is in a month so I get treated then.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

a few ideas on what to do with...a whole chicken

Ok,  here's a post for the "Frugal" minded people.  We all know, that it's cheaper to buy one whole roasting chicken, than a package of chicken breasts or two, for the same amount of meat.  (as in the cost per pound is less)


But here you are, with a whole chicken.  You are like "Ok how the heck can that feed me for not one..but three days, if not more" (depends on the size of the chicken and how many people..if you're like a single person, or just a couple, then it will feed you for a decent amount of time)


1: Roast chicken meal.  Here's the most "Fancy" of the whole thing.  Sprinkle some seasoning salt on the skin, toss in a 400 degree oven for about 2 hours.  That's it.  Serve with mashed potatoes/veggies/can of gravy..or if you're a Canadian like me, fries and St. Hubert sauce.  (Swiss Chalet is ok...but St. Hubert is better)


now for the leftovers.  After your roast chicken dinner, make sure you save all the bones  TRUST ME...strip the meat from the remaining bird,  and put in bags/containers and freeze.


Recipe1:




Of course instead of using the chicken breasts, I used some of the leftover roast chicken.
Now here's a quicker/easyer way.  Instead of doing the slow cooker,  grab a skillet,  and use a drained can of chick peas.  everything else is the same,  but the result is a meal in like 10 minutes.


Chickpea/chicken slow cooker curry.  I got this from a $5 meal site..
Curried chickpeas and chicken




Slow Cooker Curried Chickpeas and Chicken

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. dried chickpeas ($1.75)
  • 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (free to $1)
  • 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce ($.33)
  • 1 Tbsp curry powder ($.20)
  • 2 chicken breasts, diced ($1.75)
  • Couple dashes of garlic salt
  • Couple dashes of pepper
  • 1 cup white rice ($.20)
  • 1 box frozen spinach ($.50)
  • Cilantro, an optional garnish

Directions

  1. Soak the dried chickpeas overnight.  Drain and rinse, then add to the base of the slow cooker.  Add the broth, tomato sauce and curry powder. Stir together. (At this point you could add the cooked or uncooked chicken pieces and let them cook with the chickpeas.) Season with a few dashes of garlic salt and pepper.  Set on high and cook for 4 hours, or until chickpeas are soft and chicken is cooked, if using raw chicken at the start. Let sit on warm, until ready to serve.
  2. Prepare rice as directed on the package.
  3. Cook the spinach as directed on the box.
  4. Serve Curried Chickpeas and Chicken over rice with side of spinach, or other vegetable.
It kinda looks like this:  this is the leftovers that I'm eating for lunch right now.  Yeah it kinda looks like puke but it tastes pretty good.  Of course most curries look like puke anyway.


Chicken broth:

you take the bones of your chicken,  put in a big pot with about 3 peeled/chopped carrots 3 stalks of chopped celery, a chopped onion, and a whole buttload of garlic cloves, along with some cold water to cover and some vinegar.  Roughly 3tbsp or so.  Bring to a boil, then lower the temp to around 3 on your stove, and simmer for 24hrs.  Strain, and chill and the fat will come right off.  You'll need this for further recipes.

Recipe 2:  Chicken Pot Pie.

Pie Crust:  1 cup shortning,  cut in with 2 cups of flour and a pinch of salt.  Just mash it together with a fork, don't touch with your hands until you need to.  Add enough ice cold water to form a dough, stick in the fridge till you are ready to roll it out. (That's when you start handling it, when you roll it out

Now,  For the filling you'll need 
Chicken meat, 
 two peeled and diced potatoes,
  1/2 cup of frozen peas,
 2 peeled and diced carrots,
 2 finely chopped stalks of celery, 
and 1/2 a minced onion.
1tsp poultry seasoning
1tsp sage
1tsp summer savory
1tsp salt
 Ok,  take the veggies,  and put them in about 2 cups of chicken stock, and the seasonings. Simmer until the potatoes are barely fork tender...add chicken and about 1/4 cup of flour to thicken it up...cool the filling in the fridge while you roll out your pie crust.

Line your pie plate with one layer of pie crust.  Pour cooled filling in it, then top with another rolled out pie crust, pinch together, then poke holes in the top crust for steam escape.  Brush with milk for a nice color.
cook for about 45min at 350f




Now,  for the last bit:  Chicken Noodle Soup.

Chicken stock
Potatoes
Carrots
chicken
noodles!
garlic
onions
Cut the veggies up small,  toss in the pot with the stock and meat, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer till the veggies are cooked.  Voila done.

Next post will be about how to stretch a roast beef.