A Blog From Birmingham October 25, 2009

Alright, so as most of you know, I am in Birmingham, AL right now.  And I need to vent!  That’s not really what I had in mind for my blog when I started it…but you know what?  It’s MY blog and I’ll vent if I want to!

Yesterday was probably one of the most stressful days of my life.  I had a good visit with Mom in the morning, and then yesterday afternoon my brother, Dad and I met with a woman who I will call ‘A’, from UAB’s Palliative Care center.  We also met with the Doctor, but that was after being put through the wringer with A for a little over an hour.

I am sure that ‘A’ is a nice woman, and that she had the best of intentions.  But it felt like she spent all that time trying to convince us that Mom doesn’t want to live anymore and that we should not feel guilty about ‘giving up’ on her.  She said a lot more than that – she talked for over an hour, in case I didn’t mention that already.  But the summary was that modern medicine has been extending Mom’s life beyond what’s natural and we should go ahead and treat her like we’re living 100 years ago when people just got put into a bed and their families tried to make them comfortable until they passed.  No really, she said exactly that.  I am absolutely positive that Ms. ‘A’ is getting kickbacks from the Grim Reaper.

Apparently ‘A’ had  a conversation with Mom a day or two ago, and Mom told her that she didn’t want any more medical treatment.  So ‘A’ took us back to Mom’s room so we could hear her say it ourselves.  However, ‘A’ is a professional at talking in circles, and Mom is extremely medicated right now as she still has a chest tube in her side and is in a lot of pain without the drugs.  Mom’s only partially lucid.  So ‘A’ tries to lead her around to saying she doesn’t want to fight anymore, but Mom is not lucid and is feeling much better now that she’s not in pain anymore and wasn’t getting it.  So it came down to telling Mom that the Doctors feel like she is not going to get better and does she want to stay where she’s at, or go somewhere more comfortable?  And that’s when Mom started crying and said, “So you’re telling me that no matter what I am going to die here??”  Oh yeah.  Hearts broke left and right.  Also, I would like to kick ‘A’ into next week.

Then the Doctor came in, and was all fakey fakey…but he at least was a little more direct in talking to us and said that basically, the hospital has made no progress on Mom’s illness since she’s been there.  They don’t know what’s wrong with her, they haven’t been able to heal her, and there is nothing further that they know how to do.  He said he feels like they have been torturing Mom rather than treating her.  He asked her if she felt the same way, and she said, “No.  I do not feel like you have been torturing me.”  But the Doctor still recommends that we move her to Palliative Care and out of ICU.

I feel like we spent the afternoon being convinced that we should stop fighting for Mom, and that Mom wants to stop fighting.  I also feel like A and the Doctor made Mom feel like we all want to stop fighting for her, too.  The bottom line though is that at the end of it, Mom did say she wants to be moved, she does not want to be put back on a ventilator if it comes down to that.  So today she will be moved to the Palliative Care floor.  And as long as that’s what she wants, I’m OK with that.  Mom is being prayed for, and I know that God does not need the ICU or anything to make her well again if that’s His will. 

As you can probably imagine, I am an emotional mess.  I am so ANGRY.  Seriously, I am fighting myself to keep from being a witch to everybody.  I am mad with no target for my anger.  So I want to yell at people walking on the street, doctors standing in the hospital hallways, my brother, everybody.  I would also love to lay down and sleep for a day or two, but Lauren hardly lets me sleep for more than 4 hours at a stretch.  Did I mention that she’s sick, too?  Oh the fun!

Pray for me, that I keep it together and don’t give in to the anger.  Of course, pray for my family.  And please, if I seem snippy to you – well, I probably am.  But I don’t mean it!  Take me with several grains of salt for a while, eh?

Exhausted,

Becki

Welcoming The Fall Into Our Home: Pumpkin Pancakes! October 20, 2009

I’m baaack!

Honestly, I have a backlog of recipes and photos to post….I just haven’t felt motivated to do so.  Sorry, Charlie(s).

But now.  Now we are finally experiencing some fall weather here in north Florida and I got motivated to do some celebratory cooking!  First up:  Pumpkin pancakes!  (I have to say “pumpkin pancakes” slowly or I read and say it as pumpkin paMcakes.  Just thought you should know.)

Unlike Peter Peter, I have never been much of a pumpkin eater.  I don’t really care for pumpkin pie, even.  But I’ve been browsing all these fall recipes and pumpkin is everywhere and suddenly it’s sounding pretty fantastic to me.  Maybe it’s the hormones.  Maybe it’s just the natural expansion of my slowly aging palate.  Either way, I got up and made some pumpkin pancakes this morning!

I took this recipe from Xiaolu at 6 Bittersweets.  She is quite the cupcake artist, too.  I’m pondering her Caramelized Banana Creme Brulee Cupcakes, which look and sound fabulous.  They also look like a lot of work, and so I haven’t moved much beyond pondering them.

Back to the pancakes:  I thought they turned out GREAT!  Not surprisingly, David was not so enthusiastic.  He is just not an adventurous eater, people.  He likes scrambled eggs and ketchup for breakfast, turkey sandwiches for lunch and steak and potatoes for dinner.  He could honestly live very happily on that menu DAILY.  Sad, huh?  Me, I love food.  I love trying new food.  Variety is the spice of life, right?  At least when it comes to eating?

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cream Cheese “Syrup”

Pancake Ingredients:

-1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 tablespoon wheat germ
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I did not have any ground nutmeg, so instead of adding everything seperately I just used a pumpkin pie spice mix that I already had, because it had all the ingredients in it, minus the cloves, add allspice.  I thought it was good!)
-1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
-pinch of ground cloves
-pinch of cayenne powder (oops, I forgot the cayenne!  I bet it gives it a unique little bite.  Next time!)
-1 egg
-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 tablespoon molasses
-1 tablespoon sugar
-1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used canned)
-1 cup buttermilk (I substituted skim milk plus 1 tsp lemon juice)
-vegetable oil for the pan

Cream Cheese Syrup Ingredients:

-3/4 cup cream cheese frosting (any kind but I used extra from the recipe below)
-1/2 cup milk
-1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk, or more to taste

OK, I did not use the sweetened condensed milk.  I just made the frosting with the following ingredients and added 1/2 cup milk to thin it.  Yummm.

-4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
-1/8 cup (2 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
-1/8 cup maple syrup
-1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted (I did not sift)

Directions:

-In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, wheat germ, baking power, baking soda, and spices.

-In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg until thoroughly combined, then add the oil, molasses, sugar, pumpkin, and buttermilk.

-Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk gently until the batter is mostly mixed but still contains small lumps. Let batter rest while pan heats, at least 5 minutes.

-Heat non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add a few drops of oil and spread it over the bottom of the pan.

-Pour pancake batter onto hot griddle approximately 1/4 cup at a time.

ooo...orange pancake!

-When the edges start to dry and bubbles appear on top, flip to cook the other side.

-Keep pancakes warm in an oven heated to 275 degrees as you repeat the process to cook the rest of the batter.

nekkid pumpkin pancakes

-To make the syrup, simply mix all the ingredients together until smooth. You can play around with the proportions to get the perfect sweetness/thickness for you.

It looks like she's having an epiphany, no? "Pumpkin pancakes...who would have thought..this changes everything!"

OK, and finally, with the syrup (sooooooooo good with the syrup!)

Get in my belly!

Welcome, Fall!

Becki

On Mortality. October 7, 2009

Mortality.  It sucks.  The end.

Just kidding.  I have way more to say about it than that!

My Mom is gravely ill, again.  She’s been on and off her death bed for the past – I don’t know – probably 5 years now.  The thing is, in all these years of medical emergencies and near death experiences, nobody has figured out what the underlying problem is.  She keeps getting pneumonia – usually about 6 times a year.  She did much better this year, but last year she was almost literally in the hospital every other month.  You can imagine the emotional havoc that wreaked upon everybody…not to mention Mom herself.  She’s been everywhere looking for answers – even as far as Colorado.  And still nobody is any more clear on what keeps bringing her down.  Her lungs are pretty damaged from everything, so she’s always on oxygen these days.  She can’t ride or even really visit her horse anymore.  It’s so hard to see my once vibrant Mother fading away, without even a reason why.

Sunday she was admitted into our local hospital, Monday she was moved to the ICU, and yesterday they flew her out to UAB to see if that team of doctors could come up with anything.

I’ll try not to get too long-winded about it all, but I do want to vent a bit.  It’s such a strange thing having my Mom be chronically ill.  On the one hand, I’m sick of talking about it.  This has been going on so long – when people ask about her I just summarize with “ok…basically the same…at least she’s at home right now.”  Because what else is there to say?  That she has at least one doctor’s appointment a week, that she goes for IVIG treatments once a month, that her medications are constantly being adjusted and tweaked, that she has good days and bad days but none of them are exceptionally healthy days any more?  I’m sick of talking about it.  The first question is usually how old is she?  Too young to be going downhill this way – early 60’s.  My Dad’s Mom is in her early 80’s and is still living on her own out in the country, healthy as an elderly ox!

So mostly I try not to think about it too much, and just enjoy the time that I have with Mom.  We spend quite a bit of time over at their house, and I try to get Mom to go out and do things as much as she is able.  I don’t talk about her health, I don’t really listen to the daily updates that are usually just a new version of “we don’t know any more than we did 5 years ago” and I try not to think about her mortality.

But now she’s back in the hospital – and she’s in Alabama so I can’t even go see her!  All of my repressed worries and sadness over the mortality of my Mom is coming  down on me at once.  I’ve been moping around the house all day today, except the quick trip I made to Sonic to drown my sorrows in fried foods.  Then I washed them down with some homemade baked fudge ala Pioneer Woman.  You guys must try this stuff – it’s the perfect “pity party” treat!  Click here and remember to thank me later ——->Baked Fudge.

So, keep my Mom and all of the rest of us in your prayers.

Brooding,

Becki

I totally love and totally hate running. Totally. September 25, 2009

First, what do you guys think – if your Christmas lights are relatively inconspicuous, is it still tacky to leave them up all year long?  I ask only because last night as I was headed back from my run, I noticed that our neighbor 2 houses down still has their icicle lights up over their garage.  And I thought, “Huh.  Not a bad idea since they’re so hard to notice.”  I mean, I’ve run past that house almost every time I run in our neighborhood (so at least like, 5 times now!) and I just now noticed them.  I’m pretty sure it’s still tacky and it would bug me to pull up to my house and see them every day, but I just wanted to see what you guys think.

Anyhow, back to the running.  When I came in the door last night I told David,

“If I didn’t just achieve a personal best in distance, I might actually quit running.”

Because let me tell you, running in the pea soup that is Florida air after an afternoon rainstorm is NOT FUN.  Add to that the fact that my neighborhood is made up of a bunch of hills strung together, and that I accidentally ran up a mountain last night, well.

You see, I am trying to increase my mileage every time I run.  But if I plan my routes ahead of time so that I actually know where and how far I am going when I run, I psyche myself out and am much less likely to actually complete the run.  I enjoy flying by the seat of my pants, so to speak.  It helps keep my mind off the pain of running and occupied trying to decide where I’m going and remember where I’ve gone and guessing how far I’ve run.  Plus it’s a fun way to explore and get to know the neighborhood.  This is how I came to run up a mountain:

I had already almost gone down one dead-end road, so I made sure to look ahead for another street sign, hopefully indicating an outlet to the road I was about to turn down.

It was a slight incline, which is normal for my ‘hood.  But then all of a sudden I found myself here:

This is me looking out across a "valley" to the hills ahead. It was really pretty, and an excellent illustration of why this city is called "Crestview." But I knew there was no way I was running back up that road once I got to the bottom!

Did you know that running down a steep road is no piece of cake?  It takes a lot of focus and restraint not to go tripping/rolling down the mountain!

See? I was very glad I had "made sure" the road looped around.

I made it to the bottom without tripping OR rolling down the hill, and I was feeling pretty good.  Until I turned the corner and discovered THIS:

I was mad. Oh, I was mad. So mad that I turned around and kept right on running!

You know the term “feel the burn,” right?  I felt my calves’ hearts breaking.  They were crying and it was serious.  Their little calf muscle chests got all tingly and tight and everything. But we persevered, my sobbing calf muscles and I.

I tried very hard to keep myself distracted.

Know what got me through to the top?  The song, “Let’s Get Retarded (In Here).“  I know.  That is not good Christian music, kiddies and I’m not endorsing it!  I am saying that the song has a bad attitude, and by this point in my run SO DID I.  My thoughts went something like this:

“Why am I still running?  What am I trying to prove?  This is retarded!“

But I made it to the top, and then I KEPT GOING.  I kept going until I could not go anymore, and when I walked in the door I told David,

“If I didn’t just achieve a personal best in distance, I may actually quit running.”

And you know what?  We went back and drove it, and it was a personal best!  I made it 4.3 miles without walking, and that mountain was almost exactly in the middle.  Am I bragging?  Yeah, a bit.  But I am also saying that THIS is what I love about running:  99% of the reward comes once the run is over and your body parts aren’t crying anymore and the happy hormones are flooding your brain and you feel like you have really accomplished something – even if it’s something as small as breaking your personal record by a measly 2/10’s of a mile.

Do something you have never done before – even if it’s just by 2/10’s of a mile!

Becki

Mmmilk Dud Cupcakes! September 18, 2009

Yesterday, in a fit of hormones, I went on a “must have chocolatey sugary goodness!” rampage, and I am so glad that I did!

I combined a couple of recipes from Jenny at Picky Palate and spent the afternoon attempting (and mostly failing) not to eat all twenty-four of the cupcakes that I made.  I took the Caramel Buttercream Icing (are you drooling yet??  every time I read or say “caramel buttercream icing” my tastebuds smile.  best idea ever, Ms. Picky Palate!) from this recipe and the cupcake batter from this recipe to make these:

Milk Dud Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

-1 box devil’s food cake mix

-4 eggs

-1/2 cup vegetable oil

-1/2 cup water

-1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix (Buying instant pudding is tricky.  I hate the packaging because it is not immediately obvious which ones are sugar-free and which ones are regular.  I spent a long time staring at them before buying 4 packages of what I thought was regular chocolate instant pudding mix.  When I pulled out a box to make these cupcakes yesterday and discovered that I had purchased 4 boxes of sugar-free, I almost had a melt-down.  I hate it when I’m “tricked” into low-fat, no-fat, sugar-free stuff!!  But as it turns out, these cupcakes are plenty sweet enough – I did not miss the additional sugar that would have come with a box of regular pudding.  Sorry for this long side note…I had to get that off my chest!)

-1/2 cup sour cream

-1 cup milk chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet for mine, and they’re fine.  But the semi-sweet kind of overpowers the caramel – I think milk-chocolate chips would be a much better choice for these cupcakes.)

-1 movie-theatre sized box Milk Duds

Caramel Buttercream Icing Ingredients:

-20 soft caramels

-1/4 cup milk

-2 egg yolks

-3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

-2 sticks softened butter

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350º

-Using a stand or electric mixer, combine all cake ingredients except chocolate chips.  Mix on medium for 2 minutes or until well combined and somewhat thick.  Add chocolate chips and stir until combined.

-Scoop into 25 paper lined muffin cups.  Don’t be like me and waste your cute white cupcake liners on these chocolate cupcakes.  White cupcake liners are made for light-colored batters.  Duh.  But aren’t these adorable?

cute, no?

-Press 1 Milk Dud into the center of each cupcake.

-Bake for 22-25 minutes or until they pass the toothpick-test.  Let ‘em cool completely before frosting. (OK and here I have to say that straight out of the oven, with no icing or anything, these guys are SO GOOD.  I ate a whole one as soon as they came out of the oven, and I could have easily eaten a couple more!  The chocolate chips and the Milk Dud are all gooey and melty and mmmmmmm…)

Caramel Buttercream Icing Directions:

-Unwrap caramels and place them and the milk into a medium saucepan over medium low heat until melted and smooth, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

-In a seperate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

-Using a stand or electric mixer, slowly beat together the melted caramel and the egg yolk mixture until well combined.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate until well chilled – at least an hour or so.

-Once the caramel mixture is chilled, add the softened butter and beat until whipped.  Slowly beat in the remaining 3 cups powdered sugar, until everything is light and fluffy.

-Frost your cupcakes and ENJOY!

Oh, and there won’t be enough frosting to make them all swirly and pretty like this:

So you’ll just have to slap it on like this:

But that’s OK because you’re still going to want to shovel it into your mouth like this:

Get In My Belly!

Have a great weekend!

Becki

Cupcakes: Not Just For Dessert Anymore! (Meatloaf Cupcakes) September 17, 2009

I’ve mentioned before that I suspect my parents do not enjoy being my guinea pigs, and this is why they are hesitant whenever I invite them over for dinner.  So last night, I took dinner over to them!  Or I took the stuff to make dinner over to them, if you wanna get technical about it.

Here’s what I made:

Meatloaf Cupcakes ala Bakerella

Meatloaf Ingredients: (I halved the original recipe.  My version makes 12 “cupcakes.”   So if you want to make more, double everything!)

-1 lbs ground chuck

-1 cup whole wheat bread, torn into little bitty pieces (I used white bread.  That’s all my parents had.  What is up with THAT??  We were never allowed to eat white bread when I was living with them….)

-8 ounces Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used sharp cheddar cause it’s all I had.  I was afraid it was going to be too strong, but I loved how these turned out!)

-1 half medium onion, diced

-1 whole egg, lightly beaten

-1/8 cups tomato sauce

-1/8 cups ketchup

-1 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon pepper

Meatloaf Sauce Ingredients:

-1/4 cup tomato sauce

-1/4 cup ketchup

-1 tablespoon regular mustard

-1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

-1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (I didn’t bring any vinegar with me, and Mom and Dad didn’t have any.  Dad went to the store to buy some, but it took longer than anticipated and I had to go ahead without it.  We didn’t miss the vinegar, but I’ll probably use it next time just to see how that goes.)

-1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

Cream Potato “Icing” Ingredients:

-3 big potatoes, peeled and cubed

-3/4 stick butter

-2 teaspoons salt

-¼ cups sour cream

-¼ cups evaporated milk (I have never used evaporated milk in potatoes before and I was a little worried…but these potatoes are awesome!)

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350°

-Line cupcake trays with 12 aluminum foil baking cup liners. (Mom and Dad gave me all of their cupcake pans, so I just sat the foil baking cups on a cookie sheet.  Since the meatloaf doesn’t change shape as it cooks, this works just fine.)

-Mix ground chuck, bread pieces, cheese, onion, eggs, salt, pepper and the tomato sauce and ketchup.

-Fill each cup with meatloaf mixture. Press into aluminum baking cups and fill tops above the liners in a mounded shape simulating the finished cupcake shape since the mixture won’t rise.

So wrong, but they turn out so right!

-Bake for almost an hour or until done.

SAUCE

-About halfway through baking, mix together ingredients for the sauce and spoon or baste it on the tops of the meatloaf cupcakes.

CREAM POTATOES

-While meatloaves are baking, prepare potatoes.

-Boil peeled and cubed potatoes for 20 minutes or until tender.

-Drain in a colander and return to pot. Add butter and salt.

-With a mixer, beat on medium until completely smooth.

-Add sour cream and evaporated milk for a creamier consistency. (Of course you can add more or less sour cream and milk to please your own palate.  Crazy, huh?)

ASSEMBLY

-When meatloaves are done, remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Remove the foil liners from the trays.  (Unless you are like me and just used a cookie sheet.  Then you can leave them where they are for now!) Be careful because the sauce may cause the edges to stick to the trays. Separate with a knife if this happens and lift out of the trays. The meat will have shrunk a little and some grease will be in the bottom of the liners so be careful. (See?  Just skip the muffin trays and use the cookie sheet.  You don’t need this extra hassle!)

-Spoon potatoes into a large ziploc bag with the corner cut off and pipe potatoes on top of meatloaves in a swirling motion.

"Frosted" vs. Not "Frosted." Looks to me like meatloaf was made to be covered up!

-Use leftover sauce when serving if you like.

-Enjoy this adorable little dinner!

Dinner is Served!

Seriously guys.  I hate meatloaf.  But this recipe is yummmmmy.  The potatoes are awesome, and the cute little presentation….you can’t go wrong!  I am absolutely making these for the next church potluck or baby shower or whatever that comes my way.  Who knew meatloaf could be so much fun?  Bakerella, that’s who – and now you and me, too!

Deeelicioso!

Go ahead, play with your food!

Becki

Chai Latte Cupcakes?! Yessir, and they are AWESOME! September 14, 2009

My Mom really likes Chai tea.  So when I came across a recipe for Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes (wow, what a cumbersome name!) I knew I had to make them.  I did, and as I predicted she loved them.  But what surprised me is that I also loved them…and so did my Dad and David!  Crazy, huh?  Try ‘em, you will be glad you did!

I’m not sure where I got the original recipe.  I tried to find it again so I could look for an alternative to the spices…but I never could track it down.  So I give the original recipe poster credit, and for that I apologize!  I did change things up a bit in my version, though….as usual, you’ll see my edits in PINK.  Without further ado, I give you:

Chai Latte Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

-1 3/4 cups sugar

-3 eggs

-2 tsp vanilla

-1/2 tsp salt

-3 tsp chai spice mix (2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tbsp cardamom, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger)*

OK, I could not find cardamom.  So I bought Chai Tea bags instead:

Good Stuff.

-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I thought I would be fancy and use half all-purpose and half cake flour for fluffier cupcakes.  No.  My cupcakes came out very dense and flat.  I believe this would not have happened if I had stuck with all-purpose only.)

-1/2 cup buttermilk

-1 cup whole milk

Cupcake Instructions:

-Cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

-In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and spices (or no spices if you’re going the tea bag route)

-If you’re going with the tea bags instead of the spice mixture, this is what I did:  I brought the 1 cup whole milk to a boil and added 3 tea bags and let it steep for a minute or two.  Then I poured the milk back into a measuring cup because it looked like some of my milk had evaporated away.  It had!  So I added more whole milk until the amount came back up to the 1 cup mark.  Does that make any sense??

Looks gross, huh? It's not! It's yum-E!

-Alternate adding the milk mixture and the flour mixture to the butter mixture, making sure to begin and end with the flour.  Does THAT make sense??

-Pour into lined muffin tins and bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.

Chai Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:

-1 cup Crisco (ugh.  This frosting turned out SO good…but I hated myself for using the Crisco.  I’m pretty OK with gross amounts of butter, but Crisco just seems to be crossing the line for me.  I should have used a different buttercream recipe.  Maybe next time!)

-1 cup unsalted butter

-1 1/2 tsp vanilla

-1 tsp salt (I skipped the salt because I used salted butter.)

-2-3 tsp Chai Mix (or not, if you’re going the tea bag route)

-1 envelope Dream Whip

-1/2 cup water (I brought the water to a boil and added 1 tea bag.  Let it steep for a minute.  Add more water if you lost any in the boiling process.  I did not.)

-8 cups powdered sugar (This seemed ridiculous to me, too.  I think I used around 6 1/2 and probably could have gone with 5 1/2.  Very sweet icing!)

Icing Instructions:

-Cream the Crisco and butter and Chai mix (or not, if you’re using tea bags!)

-In a separate bowl, mix the water (or Chai water, if you’re using tea bags!), vanilla, salt and Dream Whip.

-Alternate adding the powdered sugar and water mix to the Crisco/butter mix.  When everything is combined, beat on high speed for 5 minutes.

-Frost those cupcakes and ENJOY!

Love you, Mom!

Becki

Pork Chops ‘N’ Apples – AKA Parent Bait September 12, 2009

OK so I think it was actually the promise of Chai Latte Cupcakes that got my parents to accept my dinner invitation, but whatever.  The point is that they made the trek out to my house, and they found themselves loving not only the cupcakes, but these pork chops, too!

I got this recipe from my one-time roommate and long-time friend Gina.  She made it for me once back in our college roomie days.  This was back when I cooked basically never.  In fact, that same year I almost burnt down my apartment while attempting to make chicken nuggets.  Or rather, by neglecting my chicken nuggets in their grease on the stove.  But that’s a story for another time, or not.

Back to the pork chops.  They are deeeelicious and easy and you must try them!  Oh, and I also did not take any pictures of them…sorry!!  I had hungry people hovering about in the kitchen, so I will come back and add some pictures next time I make this awesome dish.

Pork Chops And Apples by Gina H-turned-K.

Ingredients:

-4 boneless pork chops

-2 Red Delicious (or whatever you prefer) apples, cored and sliced

-2 green onions (I did not have green onions…so I used 1/4 of a vidalia onion, chopped.  YUM.)

-2 tbsp vegetable oil

-1 tsp salt

-1/8 tsp pepper

-1 1/2 cups apple juice

-1 tbsp cornstarch

-1/4 cup milk

Directions:

-Using a frying pan big enough for your pork chops to fit into later, cook the apples in oil until they are soft and their skin turns pink (if using red apples).  It’s OK for them to be slightly browned. (If you are like me, you will prefer them that way!)

-Remove apples from frying pan and keep warm.

-Place pork chops in the pan or skillet and brown for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.

-Add onions, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup apple juice.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes.

-Remove pork chops and keep warm.

-Mix cornstarch with remaining 1 1/4 cups apple juice.  Slowly pour into pan.  Add milk, and stir until thickened (still cooking on low heat).

-Put pork chops and apples back into the pan, heat and serve.

**When Gina gave me this recipe, she included the side note that she likes to serve this meal with white rice, so she doubles everything except the pork chops and apples so that there is more gravy to go around.  Personally, I do not care for rice.  In fact, to date, I have never made rice.  I did make mashed potatoes with this tonight, and there was plenty of gravy for the four of us, without doubling the recipe.  So….do whatever you think is best!

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and puh-pork choooops,

Becki

P.S. – Please tell me I’m not the only one who remembers that Apples and Bananas song from elementary school….

Nine Eleven September 11, 2009

September 11, 2001 was an incredible day.  I mean that in the most literal sense of the word – as in  “not credible; hard to believe; unbelievable.”

Where was I on September 11, 2001?  I was living in College Station Apartments in Orlando, Florida.  I had a test that day in one class or another, and I drove to campus only to find that my class had been canceled.  I got back in my car and started driving home to my apartment, when I heard the news on the radio.  I absolutely did not believe it.  I thought it must be some terrible radio jockey’s idea of a joke.  I turned around and drove back to campus in numb disbelief – I was sure that I had gotten lost in a fog and that I was going to miss my test.  The rest of that day is a blur.  I know that I called my Dad, and that we commiserated in confusion and disbelief.  I know that speaking to him was extremely reassuring.  And I know that my life went on.

I also know that this date marks the anniversary of tragic, sudden loss for many, many people.  For all of us, as Americans.  But on a personal level, in a certain way, this date is a time of thankful remembrance for me.  I didn’t lose anybody close to me in the 9-11 terror attacks, and for that I am infinitely grateful to God.  It was hard enough to lose the blind belief that nothing could touch me and my country…but to lose that innocence (naivete?) AND a loved one?  My heart and prayers go out to all who dealt (still deal) with that wicked combination.

Peace be with us,

Becki

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and its place remembers it no more.

-Psalm 103: 14-16

The Meal That Was Missed By All – Chili in Biscuit Bowls September 10, 2009

Friday night I decided I would make this chili recipe I had been looking at in my Paula Deen cookbook.  I was feeling friendly, so I told Dave to ask his parents if they’d like to come eat with us.  I was sure they would be here – they never miss a chance to play with their granddaughter.  But no, they had to be up early the next morning so they respectfully declined.

Then I invited my parents, who always say “no” when I ask them over to dinner.  They want me to think that it’s the drive out here to the ‘View that’s holding them back, but I suspect it is actually that they don’t like being my guinea pigs for all the new foods I’m trying.  Though they are always happy to take any desserts that I bring by their house….either way, I asked and they said “no thanks,” too.

So it was just me and Dave.  But I went ahead with the cookin’s, and we were both glad that I did!  The chili isn’t anything spectacular on it’s own…but with the cayenne peppered biscuit bowl, it’s got just the right amount of kick.  It was so good that Dave didn’t ask for tobasco or vinegar for his chili this time…and he always asks for those things when he eats chili!

Chili In A Biscuit Bowl by Paula Deen

Ingredients:

-2 cups Bisquick baking mix

-2/3 cup whole milk

-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-flour for dusting work surface

-1 pound ground chuck

-1 medium onion, chopped

-1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

-Two 14oz cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (I could not find mexican style stewed tomatoes…so I used one can of “chili ready” stewed tomatoes and 1 can of regular diced tomatoes)

-One 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

-2 tablespoons chili powder

-1 teaspoon salt

-toppings as you prefer: cheese, sour cream, corn chips, etc.

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 450°.  Invert a 6 cup large muffin tin and spray the underside with vegetable oil cooking spray.

-Stir together the biscuit mix, milk and cayenne.  Shape into a ball.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead three or four times.  Divide the ball into 6 pieces.  Roll each piece into a 6 inch circle.  (OK this step did not turn out so lovely for me.  The dough was extremely sticky and not firm at all…I was never able to shape it into a nice neat ball, much less seperate it into individual neat balls.  So I just grabbed globs of it and spread it over the muffin tin with my fingers.  It worked well enough!)

not pretty at all!

-Place 1 dough circle over each muffin cup.  Press around the cup to form a bowl shape.  bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned.  Let cool slightly.  Remove biscuit bowls and reserve.

jagged little bowls!

-Brown the ground chuck over medium heat in a dutch oven or large stew pot.  Add the onion and green pepper and continue to cook until the meat is completely browned and the vegetables are tender.  Drain off any fat and discard.  Stir in the tomatoes, beans, chili powder and salt.  Bring the mixture to a boil, covere and reduce the heat to low.  Simmer for 35 minutes.

-When ready to serve, spoon hot chili into the biscuit bowls.  Garnish as you see fit.  Enjoy!

and here it is: chili in a biscuit bowl! YUM!

Beans, beans, the musical fruit….!

Becki

P.S.  I thought I published this post weeks ago.  Apparently I did not.  So here it is!