I mean, really….Jiffy Pop butter popcorn.  Could there BE anything better?  Lately The Boy has become an expert at the popping of the Jiffy Pop….much to the chagrin of my waistline.  Excuse me while I go make sure he doesn’t eat all of it before I get a chance to have some more.

P.S.  Yes, it’s late.  And yes, we are still up while The Spouse is away.  And yes, I will be calling in for The Boy so he can skip the half-day school bus evacuation training tomorrow which he already took last year.  If there are no academics involved, I’m actually okay with sanctioned skipping.  But ONLY then (unless a trip to Ireland is involved, in which case there are actually educational components involved which can {and have} been used in later projects.

Mmmmmm…nachos and Irish beer.  Jealous?

Because what better way is there to celebrate all the good things in our lives than to fry up a nice turkey?

I hope your turkey turned out as well as ours, and you are able to be home with your families enjoying the day.

Tommy’s a damn good turkey fryer, isn’t he?

For years now, the spouse and The Boy have been raving about the many wonders that can be discovered by eating a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in various forms.

To be honest, I’m not one for peanut butter….unless I’m starving and then all of a sudden the meal I want most in the world is a crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jam sammich with potato chips dipped in ketchup.  I know..it must sound gross.  But I am hypoglycemic and so when I wait too long to eat it’s either that I crave or a fried egg sammich with orange juice.  That’s just the way it is.

So anyway….cut to last night when the plan was to hide out with the house lights off and watch Distrubia while eating pumpkin cheesecake pie (which I made per The Boy’s request).  As a side note…the movie was really good.

Anyway, in addition to candy bought for The Boy who no longer bothers to go out and get candy for himself, we purchased a variety bag of Resse’s products.

Well…in that bag….were…..these!:

For the past day or so, I have been disregarding the bowl of Reese’s products because, well….who in their right mind likes them anyway?

But tonight after four drinks (give or take), I decided to sort through and maybe take one or two up to the spouse who’d been diligently playing Warcraft for hours.  But then I found the caramelly Reese’s things…and…well, it was probably the poor judgment caused by alcohol…I tried one….and they’re actually really good!

Then I looked on the site and found the nutritional stuff and found that by the time I’d eaten the second one I’d consumed 20 fat grahams.  So much for the 100 calorie popcorn bag I had with drinks.

But it was worth it!  Now I can part-take in the Reese’s eating with The Boy and the spouse and actually LIKE what I’m eating!

Of course, more reps and more cardio in the gym will follow, but at least now there are caramel Reese’s thingees for those of us who like our peanut butter with a bit more sweet than just the chocolate.

Yummy.

I admit it, I’m totally obsessed. Lately here in the Average household we likes us some guacamole!!!

Now…..you can get some avocados and you can get some of that packaged dry mix and you can almost feel like you’re having guacamole when you mix the two together.

But me? Not so much.

After many weeks, I have FINALLY perfected the perfect (for me) guacamole. Now, keep in mind the mixture of ingredients has a lot to do with:

a. My mood.

b. How much I’ve had to drink.

c. Whether or not I’ve worked out that day.

Having said that, here (approximately) is what I do to make a perfect (for me) guacamole:

1. You need four of the smaller avocados, and you have to squeeze them before you buy….they have to have some give to them (I like less give than the spouse, so I usually get two firmer and two softer to be fair).

2. Cut the avocados in half, pit them, and scoop them into a bowl.

3. Take a medium sized lime, roll it, cut it in half, and then squeeze the hell out of one half so all the juice is on the avocados for to make sure they do not turn brown.

4. Ya gotsta have some red onion. Oh, I dunno…about a heaping tablespoon of the stuff, finely chopped (maybe more, maybe less).

5. Also, some cilantro. Fresh. Chop it fine. About one tablespoon.

6. Cumin!! Ever wonder what’s missing from your guac? Well, it’s cumin. Trust me. 1/3 – 1/2 tsp…enough so’s ya know there’s some smoke in the mix.

7. Freshly cracked black peppercorns…I usually go about 10-12 cracks.

8. Fine sea salt (you know…the stuff in the blue container). A few shakes.

9. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the stuff. It will make it smooth and creamy. Yum.

10. Chunky Pace Picante Sauce…Hot. Trust me, you need it. About two tablespoons.

11. Use a fork and mash the whole thing up.

12. Cover your bowl with saran wrap, put it in the fridge, and surf blogs for at least 30 minutes.

13. Open a fresh beer or pour a fresh margarita.

14. Open a bag of these.

15. And have at your guacamole!!

Enjoy!!!

P.S. You need to use #14 to taste your creation to make sure it’s right before you chill. I always find myself adding more cumin and/or hot sauce depending on my mood.

Seriously…..we live like 1/3 mile from a new shopping center that’s been built a few blocks away. It started with a new Kroger signature store. Which….how great is that? New, better employees and it’s so close that it’s nothing to run down there if you forgot an ingredient. Nice.

And then….they put in a Starbuck’s. Which…..when I was working I SO would have gone to each and every morning. There are lot of people that work around here, so I’m sure that store will be here to stay. I like their Cafe Mocha. Mmmmmm.

And then they got a Subway. Subway. Who doesn’t want a sammich now and then?

Oh, there’s also some weird deal sushi place that I’m sure a lot of people like. And a Karate place (I guess the Sushi place came in to serve the Karate types). And a Dentist. And a kid haircut place (there’s a LOT of little kids around here….seems like 9/11 spurred a baby boom!!). And a place called Doggie Loft….hasn’t opened yet but I’m assuming grooming and boarding and the like. For pampered pets for people with decent incomes. We prolly would have used it when our dog was here. And we have a pack and ship mail place. I think that will come in handy around Christmas!

And now….we have…..Le Peep!!!!! Ever been there? Seriously, good breakfast, brunch and a little bit of lunch. Place closes at two but who doesn’t need a nice sit-down breakfast place within walking distance (okay for us walking distance like in the fall and winter but in July it’s driving distance ‘cuz it’s so freakin’ hot and humid)?

Soon….. we will have Pollo Salsa. They will have an outside eating area and beer and margaritas. Who doesn’t need a place to go drink and eat chicken that’s less than a mile away? Now we can BOTH drink and The Boy can safely walk us home.

There’s also a wing and pizza and American eatery type place with outdoor seating coming in. Stone Cold Creamery is SUPPOSED to be there but I haven’t seen a sign yet….

Yes, all that within walking distance. I hope the Pollo Salsa is open come fall/winter. Who doesn’t like a brisk walk to dinner and back while being able to drink as much as they like at dinner without a designated driver?

Nice…..

I think the gym will be seeing a lot of me in the coming months……..

Yes, it was finally sunny this weekend in Dallas! It’s amazing how a little time outside enjoying the sunshine and fresh air while swimming can improve your mood.

It’s also amazing how rain and clouds every day for weeks can put in a mood most foul.

When I’m in one of those weather-generated funks I rarely get creative when I cook and there are no extra goodies.

But now I’ve been in the sun some for the past two days…and….I cooked!!

I made Tommy guacamole with fresh ingredients (not the packaged stuff). Well, I made it for me too. It was yummy. The avocados were in a perfect state of ripeness.

Then I made banana bread from scratch.

Then I made fudgy brownies (not from scratch because really why would you when the Duncan Hines stuff is so good?).

All in one afternoon!

And now I am making baked tortellini…yum.

Why does being the sun make me wanna cook? Don’t know. I’m sure Tommy and The Boy don’t care. As long as they get the good stuff, right?

Sunshine + cooking = yummy!

Here’s a dinner idea for you if you like spicy food. It’s in Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals book, but I’ll break it down for you:

Coarsely chop:

1 large green bell pepper (seeded and cored)

1 large onion

Three celery ribs (leaves and all)

Finely chop:

4 cloves of garlic

2 FRESH jalapeño peppers (cored and seeded)

Note: You can chop all the above stuff way early, like maybe even a day early, to save time if you’re having guests for dinner and will be in a hurry.

Heat a large stock or stew pot, add at least two tablespoons of canola (NOT olive) oil, and throw the whole mess in with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Saute’e it for at least five minutes

Add:

28 oz. crushed tomatoes

28 oz. stewed tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

Bring it all to a boil, then add about three tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro/set to simmer

Set your oven to 300 degrees.

Prepare your triple decker quesadillas (you’ll need nine flour tortillas a bunch of scallions, and some shredded pepper jack and shredded sharp cheddar cheese):

-Use a spray bottle or brush to oil the bottom sides of three tortillas and place them on a nonstick cookie sheet

-Evenly distribute shredded pepper jack cheese on the tortillas and then top them with chopped scallions

-Add a tortilla to each of the three stacks

-Top the second layer of tortillas with shredded sharp cheddar cheese

-Place a third tortilla on top, then brush the outside with canola oil

-Put those bad boys in the oven for 10 minutes

When the quesadillas are done, your soup should be done. Use a pizza cutter to cut the quesadillas in quarters. Serve the salsa soup in big bowls and give each person three sections of quesadilla. You can put some sour cream dollops on the soup, but that’s for wimps.

You will have enough for another whole dinner or weekend afternoon lunch. This stuff is GOOD, people. If you like it a bit spicier, I suppose you could add another jalapeño or leave some seeds in. But this way is plenty spicy for me.

Sorry, no pics. The stuff always smells so good cooking that by the time we eat I’m not in the mood to pull out the camera. But really, you should try this on a cold winter day (or any day). It’s damn good.

I had this:

Doesn’t it look yummy? Grilled pork loin chop, fresh green beans braised in chicken stock and then sauteed in garlic and salt with seasonal sweet corn!!!

Now…what’s the perfect desert for a meal like this? Read More »

I went to do my weekly grocery shopping yesterday, only to find that my store of choice did not have any brisket in the meat section. How can that be? No brisket…in a Texas grocery store…a week before Memorial day.

Ah, but it was true. So I picked up my dry pinto beans, bacon, garlic, onions, southern potato salad (Did I mention that Tommy does all the cooking when we have brisket… thus the pre-made potato salad), and wheat biscuits, and home I went. Yes, it’s just brisket, beans, potato salad and biscuits. We don’t want any of that nasty green stuff ruining that good brisket meal experience.

So today after the gym and the pool and a shower, off I went in search of brisket. Tommy had requested I find a pre-marinated one that would retain many juices while slowly smoking in his grandfather’s old smoker by the pool so all can enjoy the flavorful, juicy aroma whilst swimming and drinking chilled beer from our keg all afternoon.

Well…I went to the two other grocery stores in our area…the only pre-marinated brisket I could find was also pre-smoked so that would not work….we do our own smokin’ around here.

But they DID have good-sized raw unseasoned brisket. Now, I know my way around the kitchen and I have a few days to think about it…so knowing I could come up with some type of marinade in which I could steep the beef for a day or two, I set my sights on the brisket section of the meat case.

Now…I don’t know about you but around here we smoke our brisket fat side down so all the juices can run down the meat and thus keep it extra juicy. So one must find a brisket that has one complete side that is fat. There were several pieces that were 1/2 fat or maybe 2/3 fat on one side. But no. I needed my fat. So I found one like that…only it was about six pounds.

Note: Brisket smokes much better if it’s big.

Now, I know it’s only going to be the three of us plus Buffi but leftovers are good and The Boy will be out of school for the year and the spouse will be home for a few days after Memorial Day….

So I got me a BIG BRISKET. It’s a little over ten pounds. And it has its glorious complete layer of fat on one side. And it is big enough to cook up right while the beans slowly simmer on the stove with all their bacon and garlic and onions and pepper…..

Oh yes. We got us some brisket! I will research for the next day or so and then marinate that bad boy in some really tasty stuff so it’s good to go on Monday.

Brisket!!! Yay!!!

Oh, I’m sure there will be pictures on Monday. No worries…