Food Porn Part 2

 It was awesome to have Friday and Saturday off this week,the weather was beautiful! After a struggle with the flu Vern was feeling well enough to put his new smoker grill to the test. He put on an 8 lb pork shoulder at 9:45 am and let it smoke low and slow all day....
Here's what it looked like after 5 hours-

And here's what it looked like after 8 1/2 hours-

 Hours of apple wood smokin and getting sprayed with apple juice caramelize to make a brown glaze on the out side...it's really hard to wait!
So in the meanwhile I whip up some macaroni and cheese to smoke too-

Here it is getting "happy" in the smoker...oh heavens,I feel the food sinning starting to happen....
As soon as the pork is done it has to sit all bundled up in foil for an hour..I hope the noodles and I can wait until then :)

A Little Advice On Life

I suspect you will be surprised at how well you're doing already.

01. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

02. Memorize your favorite poem.

03. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.

04. When you say, "I love you", mean it.

05. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.

06. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

07. Believe in love at first sight.

08. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

09. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

11. Don't judge people by their relatives.

12. Talk slowly but think quickly.

13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

15. Call your mom often.

16. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

18. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.

19. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

22. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

23. Spend some time alone.

24. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

26. Read more books and watch less TV.

27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.

28. Trust in God but lock your car.

29. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.

30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

31. Read between the lines.

32. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

33. Be gentle with the earth.

34. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.

35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.

36. Mind your own business.

37. Don't trust a man/woman who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss.

38. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

39. If you make or have a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.

40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.

41. Learn the rules, then break some.

42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.

43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

44. Remember that your character is your destiny.

45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

One "Step" At A Time

 

What is a stepmother?

A step below or a step above?

Someone for you to (sometimes) love?

Someone to share your laughter and tears?

Or do you grow quiet when she comes near?

*****

What is a stepmother?

A step above or a step below?

Someone to teach you and help you to grow?

Is she a mystery to you, or someone you know?

Are you true with your feelings, or are they for show?

*****

I'm a stepmother, so let me define

What a stepmother is, at least in my mind

A stepmother cares for her family and home

And loves her step kids like they were her own

She fixes their meals, treats a cold, ties a shoe

Anything that a kid's real mom would do

*****

A stepmother consoles you when you feel sad

And hands out a punishment if you are bad

She'll tuck you in bed and read you a story

And yet, it's the real mom that gets all the glory

*****

A stepmother hides the tears that she cries

When mother's day comes and then just slips by

With no card, and no hug, though she really feels sad

She won't let you see it, won't let you feel bad

*****

She feels like an outsider but tries to fit in

If you're playing a game with her, she'll let you win

She makes sure your birthday is one special day

And when hers is forgotten, she'll just look away

*****

When your teen years come, life gets much tougher

With a stepmother these years, for her, are much rougher

You may say or do something that injures her feelings

Please keep in mind that she hurts while she's healing

*****

Your stepmother has done the best she could do

And no matter your age, she'll always love you

For her birthday, the best present to get her

Is the most precious of all, that you didn't forget her

It's like the movie Cinderella-
I see myself like this....

But it seems some people see me like this

Oh the joys of being a Step Mom!

The transition has begun folks. The time is near.
The clocks have been set and the sun sits idle in the sky just a little bit longer.
It's taking over me,I swear I can smell it in the air.
Are you ready for it?
Oh yah,I'm talkin' bout SPRING!!!!!

I enjoyed my last Friday and Saturday shifts for awhile last week. I won't miss those hectic days at the shop! Sunday was a sunny beautiful day so Vern and I decided to head out and do some shopping. Until this weekend I had no idea that Vern had NEVER been to IKEA! Can you believe it? I almost couldn't! Of course I set out to fix that and we headed there first. I think we were in and out of there in a little over 30 minutes!And yes we actually bought stuff! "Follow the blue arrows" I kept saying...He learned his lesson once when we short cut and nearly missed the kitchen stuff (that's like the best part right?!) We really weren't there to buy much,mostly taking a mental inventory of all the things we need and all the things we want as we try to make ourselves comfortable here living at Del's for a few more years. 3 adults and one small dog are a tight fit in our little old house. We need all the IKEA space savers we can get!So we wizzed through,checked ourselves out and we were off  to Cash&Carry. For those of you who haven't been to Cash &Carry,it's a restaurant,coffee shop,catering supply type store. Vern likes to buy meat in large quantities and hand cut and package it at home.It also saves us a lot of money! (We had to stock up our freezer with meat for the new smoker!) This is also where we buy the ingredients for our homemade espresso drinks! It saves me quite a bit of money every week :) Then we headed home to enjoy the rest of the sunny afternoon. These cute birds were playing in a puddle nearby and so I got as close as I could....

Looked like it was bath time!

Last but not least I bring you some more food porn....
Remember the pork loin? I diced a few slices up real small and then  added my chicken fried rice leftovers from lunch and rolled them in the pre-made egg rolls wraps I bought for less than $2. I followed the instructions on the package and they were really easy to roll.

Then off to the deep fryer for 3-5 minutes!

Mmm...deep fried goodness :P

Am I making you hungry yet?
And finally the end result...the best egg rolls I have ever had!

It's so fun to play with food! These were a success and we'll be adding egg roll wraps to our regular grocery list. It's great way to use up leftovers and I'd like to also try them with cream cheese inside too. Perhaps I should put off canceling the gym membership....looks like we are going to be needing it more than ever!

Field Trip

 I did something today I have wanted to do for a long time. I applied for my Concealed Weapons Permit. This particular errand was like a grown-up field trip to the police station!  I have been smart or... maybe lucky enough to avoid becoming familiar with the station, so I admit it was a bit eye opening. After a simple form and $55.25 you are sent downstairs to the finger print machine. I also must add that I had Vern with me and his father was the local police chief for 18 years. His father was a very well known and respected man and that became even more obvious as we walked the halls of the station. His father was in so many of the photos on the walls,very cool :) Vern looks so much like his Dad...So back to my permit-we head downstairs to the finger print machine. We wait at the counter as our officer escort prepares the machine. On a dry erase board in front of us is a chart containing the 20ish people currently visiting our local jail. It states their name,offense and possible time serving. Wow? Although it seemed nosey..I quickly scanned the list to see if I just might recognize a name or two...nope.Then my curiosity had to know what criminals in our small town were doing these days..but it was the typical stuff-DUI,assault,probation violation bla bla .He was finally ready to take my fingerprints. He wet my fingers and squished them onto a glass lens and wa la- my fingerprints appeared on the computer screen!I seemed to be the only one impressed with this process!?Sooo, I think this means that now is not the time to start a criminal career,I am in the system!haha We headed back upstairs and Vern finished my tour down his father's memory lane,who knew going to the police station could be so fun?They will be calling me in a week or so and I can go pick up my permit..well I assume I will pass the background check?!?! haha I don't plan on packing a gun,I just want to exercise my gun rights while I still have them. The permit is also a way for me to show that I intend  to own and use a gun legally and responsibly. I just hope I am never put in a position to have to use it,only the position I am in now of protecting myself in case I do. :)

Food Porn :)

Today's blog is going to star with what I call "food porn"! Remember the pork tenderloin I mentioned yesterday? Well thanks to Vern's meat smoking research I just had to attempt the "bacon blanket" I had seen on so many web sites. I have to admit it looks impressive...yet it's sooo easy to do!

Then I painted on a little liquid smoke and ground some fresh black pepper...

Then into the oven on a broiler pan at 350 for about 2 hours or until it reaches 170 degrees

I broiled mine for the last 5 minutes to crisp the bacon...remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Oh but it's worth the wait...

The result was a juicy,smokey, bacon flavored roast! Yum!

Exciting Stuff At Our House This Week...

 I am so excited to finally get to go to Alice In Wonderland this weekend! It came out March 5th but I haven't had time to go :( I have been excited about this movie for 5 months! I don't usually like to go to the  movie theater but I am making an exception this time! Mostly because I have heard that the plot is weak so I am counting on the special effects of Tim Burton and another entertaining performance from Johnny Dep (sp?) I will report back on this Sunday and give my review :)

 In other news-we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Vern's new smoker BBQ grill

This is the Country Smoker CS 680.
This is going to keep Vern from going crazy while recovering from shoulder surgery this spring.
I am going to enjoy being his taste tester!

It is supposed to arrive tomorrow but no guarantees.We are trying to be patient...but it's hard,Vern has been waiting and researching for weeks! I will also be attempting to help keep a photo log of his yummy creations to keep your taste buds coming back to see more! We are wondering if we can turn this meat and cheese smoking into a money making side business someday..? Mostly I hope Vern enjoys it as much as I think he will :)

 Day off for me tomorrow. I have a small to-do list but I'll be taking it easy. Perhaps I can think of something creative to do with the huge pork roast in my oven...it'd be nice if that damn grill would get here!Haha  I am also going to cancel our gym membership. It was fun but...we just don't go and it seems like a waste of money now that the weather is getting warmer and the dog needs walking. Much better than sweating with 30 other people in a small room full of machines and noise.I just hope there is no guilt trip included in cancellation ; x
As for the rest of the day,a few calls and errands and a whole lotta relaxing! Then back to work for a few more days as I start my awesome new schedule next week. Yay,I get to have a life again!