The Holidays

The Holidays seem to have the rampant capacity to consume everyone's schedule and plans, and mine are not an exception. I'll get back to real postings soon, I promise.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ea. garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ea. sea salt, black pepper

Mix well. Store in airtight container.

Electronics Website Review - The Wirecutter

I'm now a fan of this website. The Wirecutter is a simple review site. It's run by the former editorial manager of Gizmodo, Brian Lam, but it has a very different feel than the Gawker blogs.

The idea is that he lists the best choice in electronics. He pulls together reviews from experts, testing statistics, and so forth, and designates what his top choice in a category would be based on these. He's always explicit with his sources, and with his reasoning points. If you're one of those people always being asked for advice on the best electronic whatever, this is a great fallback site.

1001 Albums - #2 Elvis - 'Elvis Presley' (1956)

'Elvis Presley' was Elvis' debut album. The first thing that struck me when listening to this album was that it doesn't sound much like rock and roll as we know it today. Most of it would pass easily on country stations. He even covers the classic 'Blue Moon'. To me, though the cover of 'Tutti Frutti', the 1955 song by Little Richard, was the most telling. You can see the beginnings of the melding of the types of music he was exposed to, and crossing the genres of country and rhythm and blues into what would be called rockabilly music.

This brings back memories, even though I'd never heard the real album all the way through - my parents had Elvis' Greatest Hits, (parts 1 & 2) when I was growing up.  

Habaneros!

Lovely, aren't they?
Thanks to Mat Jurgensen for them!
I'll be experimenting with these this weekend. Habanero oil and habanero hot sauce. :) I'll post the recipes and pics.

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

It's the musical equivalent of history lessons - a critical selection of the best albums from 1955 to the present day.

I've decided to go through it, album by album, and I'll stick my comments up here. They may be a bit out of order, as I expect I'll jump around as the mood strikes me. There's also a few gaps in my collection, and I'll remedy those as I go along.

I'll eventually get going on the 1001 books, too. I've got a bunch of them loaded on my Nook now. Once of these days when I finally finish Cryptonomicon, I'll settle down to that.

Quiche

Breakfast Quiche
This makes two 9" quiches, which sounds like a lot, but it keeps really well. Since it takes a full package of most of the ingredients for two, it's easier to just make two.

1 twin-pack deep-dish pastry pie crusts
2 cups (one pint) half-and-half
4 eggs
1 cup chopped ham (I usually use the Hormel canned ham, one can is perfect. It's where the tuna is in most supermarkets.)
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, or casserole blend)
1 cup chopped onion (or less, to taste. You can also use onion powder if you don't have onions on hand. I recommend the prechopped frozen onions, cause I'm lazy.)
salt-and-pepper to taste.

1) Take crusts out of freezer and wrappings. Leave on countertop to thaw a bit.
2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3) Prick pie crust bottoms with fork all over, bake 5 minutes, pull back out. (this way the crusts aren't soggy.)
4) In large bowl, lightly beat 4 eggs. Beat in half-and-half, salt and pepper. Sit aside.
5) Sprinkle half of onions, ham, and cheese into each crust.
6) Pour half of egg mixture into each crust.
7) Bake at 400 degrees for around 35-40 minutes, or until egg filling is set and golden brown on top.

Enjoy! It keeps really well, just cover in foil and put in fridge after it cools. It's also a great thing to take to potlucks and family things, as it's easy to make in advance and it looks so much more complicated than it is. The crusts tend to burn a bit around the edges, if that worries you put a rim of tinfoil over the edges when you put them in to bake.
You can experiment with the fillings. I've used ham, broccoli and white cheeses; ground beef, cheddar, and bacon for a bacon-cheeseburger effect; and taco beef, green peppers and cheddar for a Mexican taste.

Sausage Balls

Sausage Balls

2 lbs. Sage Sausage (Jimmy Dean's my favorite)
4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. minced onion
1/2 c. celery, chopped fine
1 1/2 c. biscuit mix (like Bisquick)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder or minced garlic

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix everything together thoroughly.
Shape into into 1" balls. (If you're making for later, freeze at this step. Thaw when ready to use and cook normally.)
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 15 min or until golden brown.
Makes about 6 dozen.

For something different, try some ingredient replacements.
1) replace celery with cooked chopped broccoli.
2) fine chopped jalapeno peppers and add 1/2 tsp chili powder.
3) Replace one of the pounds of sausage with Italian sausage, add 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning, and add some Parmesan cheese.

Buttermilk Pie / Buttermilk Crunch Sundae (like Mark's)

Buttermilk Pie

Unbaked 9 inch pie shell
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 1/2 Cups sugar
3 Tbsps all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 Cup buttermilk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla
Cinnamon for sprinkling over the top, if desired

In mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
Add in all remaining ingredients.
Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, if desired.
Bake at 350 for forty minutes.
Let cool and store in refrigerator.
You can also sprinkle nuts or powdered sugar over the top.
Buttermilk Crunch Sundae
To make the sundae, cut a piece of pie into chunks. layer it with
vanilla ice cream, nuts, and caramel. Yum!

Key Lime Pie

Fish House Key Lime Pie
MAKES 1 PIE
FOR THE PIE:
4 egg yolks
1 (15 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh key lime juice
1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust
FOR THE MERINGUE:
4 eggs whites
4 tbsp sugar
1. Combine egg yolks and condensed milk. Mix together well. Add key lime juice and mix well again. Pour mixture into pie shell.
2. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, slowly adding sugar. Spread the mixture onto the pie all the way to the edge of the crust. Create peaks using back of a wooden spoon.
3. Bake in pre-heated, 300-degree oven until meringue is light brown. Cool before serving.

Instant Hot Spiced Tea

3/4 c. Instant tea
2 c Tang
2 small packages lemonade mix (Wyler's)
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves

Mix together, store in airtight container. To serve, add two to three tsps of mix to a cup of hot water.

Mini Cheesecakes

Equipment: Muffin Pan, Aluminum Muffin Cups, Mixer, Mixing Bowl, Oven

Preheat oven to 375.

Blend together two 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened; 2/3 c. sugar; 2 eggs; 1 tbsp ea. vanilla and lemon juice with mixer.

Set muffin cups in muffin pan. put a vanilla wafer round-side up in each pan. put about two tbsps of cream cheese mix in each cup.

Bake 15-20 min. Test for doneness with toothpick or uncooked spaghetti. Let cool, then chill in refrigerator. Top as desired with pie filling or whatever you like.

If I remembered...

If I remembered this thing was here, I'd post more often!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!

What muscle car?

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive.  You're all about winning the race and getting the job done.  While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal.  You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

It hink I'm going to challenge myself.

That last post made me think for a bit. Maybe if I challenge myself to publish a little bit a day out here in public, I'll actually finish something.

Doubtful, but it'll at least be practice.

I write like...

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Of course, the big difference is that he finishes stuff. :(

Should be standard issue for villains. :)

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Contemplating my stuff

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I have too much stuff.
What may surprise is that I'm taking a more active effort to dislodge it. We'll see how well it goes, but for now, I have a cleaner desk and shelf.
Miracles happen one step at a time :)

I am Blue/White
Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

I'm both orderly and rational. I value control, information, and order. I love structure and hierarchy, and will actively use whatever power or knowledge I have to maintain it. At best, I am lawful and insightful; at worst, I am bureaucratic and tyrannical.

I don't think I like this test - I would've sworn I'd be green/white. Oh well.

I want these earrings..

Or would you call them earwings? Found these while poking at a few steampunk sites. Aren't they gorgeous?

Improbable Cog via Etsy.