Hi,
I've started about 5 blog posts in the last two weeks but never seem to get them posted before they are massively out of date. Oh well. The countdown is officially on for when I get to leave town with the fam for a few days, off to visit the Fockers in what Art Bell would coin "The Great American Southwest". Its basically the Focker Spa and Resort Utah. I'm stoked. The boy and I are staying at the Tropicana for one night solo, which was recently renovated. The last time we stayed there the room looked like it hadn't been updated since 1988, no exaggeration. Mauve and jungle, rattan, and lots and lots of mirrors. They've switched out the rattan for bamboo (modern rattan), upgraded the colors to brights and mutes and finally, clean lines. The sheets are still 200 count and I really could give two shits less about it. Does that even make sense? I say it alot.
I'm adding a poll over there on your right about which veggies you think we should grow this summer in my and Bebe's kick ass garden. I highly encourage everyone to start their own garden, big or small, as food prices continue to climb. I don't understand how that's just now making the news because its been climbing steeply for a while now.
My punk-ass little sister is in Estonia (aka gallivanting across Europe), so keep her in your prayers and what-nots.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Shrrrrrreeeumps and Dignity
So, I made those New Orlean's BBQ Shrimps this past weekend. They were fair to midland and for that reason have decided not to post the recipe. I have made them before with better results, but that's not a statistic I'm willing to work with. I'll just post my mother-in-law's recipe for Cajun Crawlers...as soon as I find a minute of time to do that in.
Speaking of The Fockers (my in-laws), looks like we are headed out to visit them in March during my Spring Break. For those of you that are new to my blog, a brief geography: The Fockers live in the middle of the dessert, amongst many friendly 
Mormons (that's not ugly, I love Mormons), in Utah. Where they are= 2 hours outside of Las Vegas, which is also where you have to fly into when visiting. What does this mean? We will fly in to Las Vegas on a Saturday. We (myself, daddy, Bebe, SIL) will spend the night in a cheap hotel room and the Fockers will arrive the next day with two cars. They will use one to return to Utah with Bebe and Sister-in-Law, leaving the remaining car with me and the daddy. We will stay one more night in Vegas all by ourselves! Woo hoo! Then we'll drive out to Utah the following day, Monday. I'm hoping for a brief visit to Valley of Fire, aka Planet Vulcan, on the way there. OOOooooo.
Major Announcement: I'm drinking this 
evening! And not tea either, I want the good stuff, the stuff we lock up when my mom comes to visit. I'm thinking light margaritas or some sort of rum drink. I haven't decided....I might even make a special trip to the liquor store on the way home. Magic time begins....after the baby goes down, of course.
Hey, who the hell needs dignity? Not me!
Ghost Adventures (Valentines Day Special, hilarity is sure to ensue), liquor of some kind and homemade popcorn. Awwwwwe's yeah.
Keep calm and carry on,
Molly
Mormons (that's not ugly, I love Mormons), in Utah. Where they are= 2 hours outside of Las Vegas, which is also where you have to fly into when visiting. What does this mean? We will fly in to Las Vegas on a Saturday. We (myself, daddy, Bebe, SIL) will spend the night in a cheap hotel room and the Fockers will arrive the next day with two cars. They will use one to return to Utah with Bebe and Sister-in-Law, leaving the remaining car with me and the daddy. We will stay one more night in Vegas all by ourselves! Woo hoo! Then we'll drive out to Utah the following day, Monday. I'm hoping for a brief visit to Valley of Fire, aka Planet Vulcan, on the way there. OOOooooo.
Major Announcement: I'm drinking this 
evening! And not tea either, I want the good stuff, the stuff we lock up when my mom comes to visit. I'm thinking light margaritas or some sort of rum drink. I haven't decided....I might even make a special trip to the liquor store on the way home. Magic time begins....after the baby goes down, of course.
Hey, who the hell needs dignity? Not me!
Ghost Adventures (Valentines Day Special, hilarity is sure to ensue), liquor of some kind and homemade popcorn. Awwwwwe's yeah.
Keep calm and carry on,
Molly
Friday, February 4, 2011
Jambalaya Friday
Good Friday to you! May we all have restful, fun weekends. Our weekend will include celebrating my husband's 32nd birthday. We'll be dining on New Orleans style BBQ shrimp and I'll be posting that recipe later this evening. I'm really excited to share that one with you, as it isn't what you'd imagine.
But for now, I'm sharing a very tattered, battered recipe that I copied out of a book a long time ago. The book was "Sweet Potato Queens Cookbook and Financial Planner." It was one of those books that got me through incredibly boring summers in the dorms during summer sessions in college in middle TN. You should totally go buy all those books right now, they are laugh out loud hilarious and heartfelt. They bring out that inner majorette.
Jambalaya, Y'all (*adapted, with love and gratitude, from the previously mentioned book)
Ingredients (color coded by step):
1lb good hot sausage (I usually use turkey breakfast sausage)
1/2 - 1 lb ham (I get one of those ham steaks and cube it up)
1 lb boneless chicken (we use boneless/skinless breasts x 2, anything will work)
2 chopped onions
2-3 ribs celery
1-2 bell peppers (any color)
3/4 of a beer (something you'd actually drink, as you'll want to drink the last 1/4)
1 10 oz can whole stewed tomatoes
1 box chicken stock (equals 4 cups)
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
Tony's Cajun seasoning! (or something comparable)
2 cups rice (not the minute stuff, regular long or med grain rice)
Now, here's how we're gonna cook this up:
1. In a big ole, heavy bottomed pot, brown your sausage (nice and broken up) and your ham, then add your chicken meat and brown that too.
2. Add chopped onions, celery, bell peppers (the trinity) and your beer. Give her a good stir to prevent things from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until onions are clear, not browned.
3. Now dump your tomatoes in a bowl and mash and tear at them with your hands and add them to the pot and cook for about 10 minutes or so. If you really like tomatoes, you can add more smooshed tomatoes, but leave out the juice.
4. Add your chicken stock and seasonings and let it all simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the rice and bring the concoction to a high boil for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, then cover and reduce heat to the lowest setting possible. DO NOT TAKE THE LID OFF THE POT FOR a full 20 MINUTES, OK? I mean it. You want all that heat and steam trapped in there so that rice will cook up real nice.
6. After the 20 minutes on low, take the lid off, turn the rice real gentle-like, and taste it to make sure its all cooked. If it isn't, cover that puppy back up and let it go for another 10 minutes.
As with most recipes, the real trick is to go in order and follow the instructions. If you happen to make any magical changes to this recipe as you go, please report them here!
Go forth and celebrate,
Molly
But for now, I'm sharing a very tattered, battered recipe that I copied out of a book a long time ago. The book was "Sweet Potato Queens Cookbook and Financial Planner." It was one of those books that got me through incredibly boring summers in the dorms during summer sessions in college in middle TN. You should totally go buy all those books right now, they are laugh out loud hilarious and heartfelt. They bring out that inner majorette.
Jambalaya, Y'all (*adapted, with love and gratitude, from the previously mentioned book)
Ingredients (color coded by step):
1lb good hot sausage (I usually use turkey breakfast sausage)
1/2 - 1 lb ham (I get one of those ham steaks and cube it up)
1 lb boneless chicken (we use boneless/skinless breasts x 2, anything will work)
2 chopped onions
2-3 ribs celery
1-2 bell peppers (any color)
3/4 of a beer (something you'd actually drink, as you'll want to drink the last 1/4)
1 10 oz can whole stewed tomatoes
1 box chicken stock (equals 4 cups)
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
Tony's Cajun seasoning! (or something comparable)
2 cups rice (not the minute stuff, regular long or med grain rice)
Now, here's how we're gonna cook this up:
1. In a big ole, heavy bottomed pot, brown your sausage (nice and broken up) and your ham, then add your chicken meat and brown that too.
2. Add chopped onions, celery, bell peppers (the trinity) and your beer. Give her a good stir to prevent things from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until onions are clear, not browned.
3. Now dump your tomatoes in a bowl and mash and tear at them with your hands and add them to the pot and cook for about 10 minutes or so. If you really like tomatoes, you can add more smooshed tomatoes, but leave out the juice.
4. Add your chicken stock and seasonings and let it all simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the rice and bring the concoction to a high boil for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, then cover and reduce heat to the lowest setting possible. DO NOT TAKE THE LID OFF THE POT FOR a full 20 MINUTES, OK? I mean it. You want all that heat and steam trapped in there so that rice will cook up real nice.
6. After the 20 minutes on low, take the lid off, turn the rice real gentle-like, and taste it to make sure its all cooked. If it isn't, cover that puppy back up and let it go for another 10 minutes.
As with most recipes, the real trick is to go in order and follow the instructions. If you happen to make any magical changes to this recipe as you go, please report them here!
Go forth and celebrate,
Molly