***First, let me start this by saying, I have made it through my first month of my no-shopping pledge!!! I haven't bought a single piece of clothing or pair of shoes in one whole month!! 11 more to go!***
On that note, I'll switch my blog topic of Wish List..HA! My and Richard's 13th anniversary is the week of Thanksgiving, my birthday is the first week of December and then of course, there's Christmas! So, if you can't provide me with world peace (which my husband all ready works on), here are a few things that I have in mind that I would like to have....
1) The only big ticket item on my list: A new washer and dryer!!! The washer and dryer we currently have work, but only if you don't mind the super loud racket the washer makes and running your clothes 2 to 3 times through the dryer to get them dry! Specifically I would like the LG - 4.5 Cu. Ft. 14-Cycle Ultra Capacity High-Efficiency Washer and LG - SteamDryer 7.3 Cu. Ft. 14-Cycle Ultra Capacity Electric Dryer, both in white. Please.
2) I would really like a watch. I haven't worn a watch in years, I tend to rely on my cell phone. But would like to have a watch, all the same. Here's an idea of what I would like: silver, rectangular face with rhinestones around the face, but not on the band. I would post a link to one, but have yet to see one that I really like.
3) The Nook Tablet. Please.
4) A new coffee maker, this is what I would like: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17320726&RN=2353&
5) A successful deer hunt, or two. Would love to get a nice sized buck that is large enough to get mounted. If I were going to be extravagant (winky-face), I'd love to go on a romantic deer hunting trip at a nice hunting lodge in Pike County, Illinois. That would be a great gift for our 15th wedding anniversary...just sayin'.
That's pretty much it, the extent of things I think I really want. That said, I honestly will be perfectly happy to wake up on any of these 3 days to a happy, healthy marriage, happy, healthy kids, and all of our basic needs met.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Gumbo
I have had a few of my friends request this recipe lately, so I thought I'd post it again and share. This picture is from the gumbo I made today, however it's turkey and sausage instead of chicken and sausage. I used the leftover turkey that we fried last night.
Here's the recipe for my usual gumbo:
Melissa’s Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
2 cups flour
2 cups canola oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped (including leaves)
4 green bell peppers, chopped
2 rotisserie chickens, skinned and de-boned
2 lbs link sausage, sliced (spicy or mild, depending on your taste)
2 lbs raw, peeled shrimp, tails off, thawed
1 bottle beer (any kind, I try to use a light beer like Coor's Light or Mich Ultra)
3 32oz containers chicken broth ( i like to use low-sodium)
Tony's to taste
Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Thyme to taste
3 bay leaves
TIP: do all your chopping of veggies before you get started. You won't be able to do it during the cooking part...
In large pot, brown sausage over med/high heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring around often. Take out and drain on paper towel. Reduce heat to med/lo and add oil and 1 1/2 cups flour, whisking together until smooth. Save the other 1/2 cup of flour for now. Continue stirring, constantly, until roux is a nice brown color. I like to do this over a medium-low heat so that it doesn't burn, and it helps develop a nicer flavor. This can take about 20-30 minutes, depending on the type of pot you are using. I normally use my Magnalite pot or my black cast iron (as pictured above), and it takes me right at 30 minutes to get it the perfect color. Right when it's getting to the color you want, add in the other 1/2 cup of flour. This helps keep it from becoming too thin. The longer you brown it, the more it breaks down the flour's thickening agent. Once you stir that in and it's smooth (about 3-4 minutes), add in all your chopped vegetables. Continue stirring for 5-10 minutes, making sure to scrape along the bottom of the pot. Slowly add in the broth, one carton at a time, stirring constantly to keep it smooth. I like to add one at a time and let it rest for a minute or two before adding the next one. Next, pour in your bottle of beer. This gives a nice flavor, I always add it to mine, but I know a lot of people don't, so it is optional. Add your Tony's, hot sauce, thyme, black pepper, and bay leaves at this point. I add the Tony's and hot sauce gradually, tasting it every 10-15 minutes during cook time. You can always add more, but you can't take it out. Let this cook over a medium heat for about 30-45 minutes, stirring often and making sure to stir all the way to the bottom of the pot. Add chicken and sausage to the pot, reduce heat to medium low and let cook for an additional 30-45 minutes, stirring often. Next you will add your shrimp, and I always do this in the last 10-15 minutes because it doesn't take them long to cook and you don't want them to get tough. Let it cook a little longer until shrimp are pink. We like to serve ours with some crusty French bread and a scoop of plain potato salad in the middle of the bowl. ("Plain" means potatoes, boiled egg, a little of pickle relish, mayo and salt and pepper. The gumbo all ready has all the other stuff in it.)
This recipe makes a ton, I normally half it when I'm just making for our family of 4, but it will freeze nicely, too. Also, you can change the meat choices out, I don't always put shrimp in mine, sometimes I will use crawfish, or no seafood at all. That is part of the art of making gumbo, you can change it up to suit your tastes. Enjoy!!
Melissa’s Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
2 cups flour
2 cups canola oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped (including leaves)
4 green bell peppers, chopped
2 rotisserie chickens, skinned and de-boned
2 lbs link sausage, sliced (spicy or mild, depending on your taste)
2 lbs raw, peeled shrimp, tails off, thawed
1 bottle beer (any kind, I try to use a light beer like Coor's Light or Mich Ultra)
3 32oz containers chicken broth ( i like to use low-sodium)
Tony's to taste
Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Thyme to taste
3 bay leaves
TIP: do all your chopping of veggies before you get started. You won't be able to do it during the cooking part...
In large pot, brown sausage over med/high heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring around often. Take out and drain on paper towel. Reduce heat to med/lo and add oil and 1 1/2 cups flour, whisking together until smooth. Save the other 1/2 cup of flour for now. Continue stirring, constantly, until roux is a nice brown color. I like to do this over a medium-low heat so that it doesn't burn, and it helps develop a nicer flavor. This can take about 20-30 minutes, depending on the type of pot you are using. I normally use my Magnalite pot or my black cast iron (as pictured above), and it takes me right at 30 minutes to get it the perfect color. Right when it's getting to the color you want, add in the other 1/2 cup of flour. This helps keep it from becoming too thin. The longer you brown it, the more it breaks down the flour's thickening agent. Once you stir that in and it's smooth (about 3-4 minutes), add in all your chopped vegetables. Continue stirring for 5-10 minutes, making sure to scrape along the bottom of the pot. Slowly add in the broth, one carton at a time, stirring constantly to keep it smooth. I like to add one at a time and let it rest for a minute or two before adding the next one. Next, pour in your bottle of beer. This gives a nice flavor, I always add it to mine, but I know a lot of people don't, so it is optional. Add your Tony's, hot sauce, thyme, black pepper, and bay leaves at this point. I add the Tony's and hot sauce gradually, tasting it every 10-15 minutes during cook time. You can always add more, but you can't take it out. Let this cook over a medium heat for about 30-45 minutes, stirring often and making sure to stir all the way to the bottom of the pot. Add chicken and sausage to the pot, reduce heat to medium low and let cook for an additional 30-45 minutes, stirring often. Next you will add your shrimp, and I always do this in the last 10-15 minutes because it doesn't take them long to cook and you don't want them to get tough. Let it cook a little longer until shrimp are pink. We like to serve ours with some crusty French bread and a scoop of plain potato salad in the middle of the bowl. ("Plain" means potatoes, boiled egg, a little of pickle relish, mayo and salt and pepper. The gumbo all ready has all the other stuff in it.)
This recipe makes a ton, I normally half it when I'm just making for our family of 4, but it will freeze nicely, too. Also, you can change the meat choices out, I don't always put shrimp in mine, sometimes I will use crawfish, or no seafood at all. That is part of the art of making gumbo, you can change it up to suit your tastes. Enjoy!!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Attacked by Magazines
Am I the only person that takes offense to the magazines that are placed at a child's eye level in grocery store check out lines? The pictures and story lines that jump off of them and into my child's face are seriously disturbing. I have enough of a challenge keeping topics of sex and what the world thinks is the best body image for a man or woman out of the world of my kids, without having to go preview the checkout aisle before letting them enter. I have pretty much gotten to the point of just not taking them with me when I go to the store. I will say that the first store that I have personally been in that makes an effort to protect young eyes from these rags is the Publix here by my house. They have opaque plastic covers in front of all of the questionable magazines that are placed in the check out line. They are a more expensive store than some of the other chain grocery stores, but I'm willing to pay the extra money if my kid are with me, knowing they won't be exposed to that garbage. I'm not sure what can be done to change this in other stores, but the topic headlines on some of these magazines (namely, Cosmopolitan and Glamour) are, in my opinion, pornographic, and should be treated as such.
The others that get me are the tabloids that will have "undoctored" photos of celebrities at their most unattractive moments, that have zoomed in on the cellulite that is exposed in whatever outfit they have on. Really??? Shame on the publication, shame on the stores for displaying it, and SHAME on the people that buy that trash and use it to dictate thier lives. Our society has become so consumed with "keeping up" with the star of the moment, that they don't know what reality is anymore. Women, if you are using these magazines to dictate who you are and how you should act, you are looking in the wrong place, and I can pretty much promise you that they are not encouraging you to behave like a lady should. Try reading Proverbs 31.
The others that get me are the tabloids that will have "undoctored" photos of celebrities at their most unattractive moments, that have zoomed in on the cellulite that is exposed in whatever outfit they have on. Really??? Shame on the publication, shame on the stores for displaying it, and SHAME on the people that buy that trash and use it to dictate thier lives. Our society has become so consumed with "keeping up" with the star of the moment, that they don't know what reality is anymore. Women, if you are using these magazines to dictate who you are and how you should act, you are looking in the wrong place, and I can pretty much promise you that they are not encouraging you to behave like a lady should. Try reading Proverbs 31.
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