The Crockpot Is My Friend - Redux

 Another goodie from the Brickworks files:

Stephanie over at "A Year of Slow Cooking" has made it her goal to use the crockpot every single day in 2008.

I'm not up to that level of dedication, but I do love the crockpot -- its round self has saved my patootie more than once during the past few months of roofing. And there's nothing like coming in the house, cold and hungry, and smelling beef stew waiting for you. Right. Now.

Bliss.

Not only that, but crockpots use way less energy than your stove. Even your microwave. You do tend to cook in larger quantities-- occasionally a problem, now there's just Husband and yours truly -- but the stuff freezes nicely. Or we have it for lunch/supper again during the week.

Stephanie just gave an extremely nice recipe for Chocolate Fondue:

--1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet, dark, milk, or white. Your choice.)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Mix in a Small Dipper crockpot -- or put in an ovenproof bowl or glass casserole dish inside your larger crockpot. Don't add water. (I don't know why the stuff doesn't burn, but it doesn't.) Cook on low until it's melted -- about 1-2 hours. Dip in marshmallows, apple or orange slices, bananas, whatever. Enjoy.

There are a ton of other recipes on Stephanie's website, but you can find about any dish on Allrecipes.com, as well.

Here are some of my favorites:

MEXICAN PORK

1 pork roast (cut off the most obvious fat)
1 envelope taco mix

That's it! Cook 4-8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high. Don't add water -- the meat juices will give this a nice soupy mix. Tender, delicious --use for barbecue, enchiladas, tacos and such.

This is also good for beef, though I may substitute an envelope (or two tablespoons) of onion soup mix and 1/2 cup of wine.

CROCKPOT CHILI
(got us through a snowy, blustery day this week)

1 pound ground beef or pork
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups chopped tomatoes (or 1 quart jar home-canned tomatoes. Or 1 large can tomatoes)
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons dried garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1 small can green chilies (optional, but very Coloradoan to use)
2 cups dried pinto beans

Rinse the beans and dump them into the crockpot; cover with water (about 1/3 of the pot). Dump everything else in -- do not brown the meat! (This way, the good juices go directly into the chili, rather than being wasted in the frying pan. The bouillon just boosts the meaty taste.) Rinse out tomato and/or chili cans -- add that water, as well. Cook on low 6-10 hours, or high 6-8 hours. Feeds 4-6 gorillas, especially when served with 'cheese guys' (cheese melted on corn tortillas in 450 degree oven approx. 5 min.). Stretch your meat further by doubling everything else --it's still delicious.

CHICKEN-BROCCOLI SOUP

1/2 pound raw chicken breast, chunked (1-2 cups cooked leftovers are good, too)
1 pound broccoli -- frozen package or approx. 2 cups chopped raw
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon marjoram or basil
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 large can (or two small cans) cream of chicken, celery or mushroom condensed soup
approx. 2 cups milk
-----stop here -------------
1 teaspoon sour cream per bowl (optional, but good - yogurt works, too)
1/2-1 cup grated cheese

Here we go. Dump everything, from chicken through the condensed soup, into the crockpot -- fill the empty cans with milk to rinse, and dump that in, too. Add 1-2 cups water if mixture looks too thick. Cook on low 4-6 hours, or high 2-3 hours. Serve each bowl topped with a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkled with cheese. Feeds 4-6.

Enjoy. And invite us over to dinner!

Monday (er, Tuesday) Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Yes, I'm Still Here

     Working on something this week...I'll check in periodically, but might be a bit quiet. Hang in there with me.

Queen of Sweden rose (Wikipedia) --

a sister-in-law's favorite

Meanwhile:

A gargoyle... behind an English toilet in a 700-year-old home? 

How would you like something from the international space station suddenly visit your home?

The woman who tried to use her dead uncle's body to get a bank loan. (He was 

'signing.')

The true rate of inflation.  (My Tireless Retirement has a point here.)

'Poverty meals' that just might help you save money.

A sketch of a marble block goes for more than 33 times its low estimate. The sketcher? Michelangelo.

Have a good week.

But I LIKE Oysters...

 

'Overheard a conversation about people talking about rich people and weird foods, and eventually they started talking about oysters.

 One of them remarked, “Well, if you wanna eat boogers outta rocks, you gotta be rich.”'

From "Oysters" on Wikipedia

Spring Is Here... And Updates

 

     We have now lived in Fort Garland for five months. It's been interesting to see how spring arrives here in the 'High Desert:' greener trees and sage, and grass growing along the roadsides. Real green!! What a lovely color, after winter shuffling through tan, gray and white, over and over. 

    This week, we brought back the last of our things from the Sedalia ranch we've called home for several years. When we pulled in, five deer greeted us with shocked expressions: "Where did you come from??" And we soon learned that hauling heavy boxes down the ladder from the garage loft was not exactly easy. (The Brick shimmied down three steps, trying desperately not to drop the box as I tried to grab it and ease it down. Do that a few times, and you'll feel it in back and shoulders.)

     We also cleaned out our share of food from our friends' freezer, and packed it in tubs. One of the tubs was put upside-down on top of a bag of quilts, to keep it secure. On the way home, just south of Pueblo, we hit a HUGE bump...and discovered, once we got home, that one of the tubs fell off. Weirdly, nearly all the frozen food stayed in the truck. Much of it stuck to the lid -- and the rest was scattered in the truck bed. All the road crew got was a few assorted bags of veggies, the empty bin -- and a frozen pizza!

     I hope they like Supreme. 

Our old home. We loved it there.

New home. Loving it here, too!

Lessons Learned From A Gunslinger: The Redux

      I wrote this post for another website years ago...but it's worth visiting again. And yes, Paladin and we are still buddies.

     We've been in good company lately, riding the Western backcountry with Paladin. (Hanging out in luxury San Francisco hotels, too.) In case you're not familiar with this knight errant, Paladin was a gun-for-hire in the American television show,  Have Gun Will Travel.  Richard Boone starred in this long-running series (1957-63) on CBS. His trademark was a knight embossed on his holster ("the most dangerous piece on the chessboard," Paladin says), and a business card prominently featured in each episode. Paladin quotes Shakespeare and the classics, appreciates fine food and wine (when he's not out in the boonies living on beans and coffee, that is), and shoots straight -- no matter what.

After multiple episodes of Have Gun Will Travel, I realized some of Paladin's lessons were good for life, too:

*An expert is worth his hire. "I can get three guns for your price," one of Paladin's clients announces. "Quality is not quantity," Paladin retorts. This hired gun charges a hefty fee for his services - $1000 or more, and that in the 1870s! If you're good at what you do, charging more makes sense.
     Our oldest daughter, in college and paying her way via dogsitting, learned this when she was featured on her sponsor site, Rover.com. Suddenly her services were even more in demand, and at a higher price.
     When I began teaching and lecturing (my other jobs, besides writing and appraising), a teacher friend urged, "Double your fee." I was afraid groups couldn't afford my services, but the truth was a surprise -- I was busier than ever. My higher price confirmed  to them, at least, that I was worth it. 

*Give your word -- and keep it. Paladin expects loyalty, both from his friends and himself. In spite of obstructions -- 'bad guys,' stormy weather or whiny females -- Paladin finishes the job, and does it well. He may grab a smooch or shoot the local tough in the process, but that just makes the plot more fun.

*Work hard, play hard.  Does the latest job demand travel for days in the heat and dust, a teeth-rattling ride in a stagecoach, arguing with a hostile crowd, or a showdown on main street? Whatever it is, Paladin accomplishes it, an nobly. Between gigs, he retreats to his suite at the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco for hot baths, fine wine and tickets to the opera. (Okay, a lot of flirting with pretty girls, too.) A thousand bucks, after all, covers a lot of playtime at post-Civil War prices.

*A good education comes in handy. Paladin is well-read, from Cicero to Keats. (Another lesson: education is lifelong, not just classes.) He speaks more than one language, and understands several different cultures. He needs it: he has to get along with everyone from English aristocrats to Apache warriors. Which brings us to another lesson --

*The great ones are versatile. Not only is Paladin equally capable of fighting with a variety of weapons, riding a horse up a steep canyon, and analyzing great whiskies -- so are the actors and actresses in Have Gun Will Travel episodes. A number are famous now, including Charles Bronson, June Lockhart, James Coburn and Martin Balsam. Even more interesting: the really good ones appear more than once, as different characters. (Did they honestly think we wouldn't notice?) It isn't just the actors; a number of the episodes were authored by people who went on to fame elsewhere. Those names include Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek), Bruce Geller (Mission Impossible) and Harry Julian Fink (Big Jake, Ice Station Zebra...and the Dirty Harry movies).

Good lessons, all. And if you like cowboy Westerns, the research is so much fun!

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Three-Wheel Driving?

 What a week. 

    As I mentioned before, our truck literally popped a wheelie (i.e., a wheel flew off -- all bolts sheared off) while our kids were doing 70 mph on the highway, pulling the fifth-wheel. Thank God Adopted Son was able to pull safely onto the shoulder, with no one hurt, and the truck and fifth-wheel surprisingly unharmed. (Well, except for no wheel or tire, burned out brake pads, messed-up axle, scraped up side, etc etc.) Fortunately, one of our Blanca friends had a truck with hitch that we could borrow. So the Brick picked up the kids in Walsenburg, then drove down south of Raton (about a 2-hour drive each way) to bring the trailer back. 

     They had to wait for a wrecker, who then towed the truck to a dealer in Trinidad, where it sits -- and waits. The dealer said it would take a week to get most parts, and two weeks to get a replacement wheel. (The kids searched all over, but never found the wheel. Perhaps it decided to roll home on its own.) Brick and Co. finally got home about 1:00 a.m. 

     There are several problems with this: 

     *The truck is our only vehicle.

     *I have an appraisal to do Tuesday in Castle Rock, 3 hours away...and a package to ship.

     *How in the world are we going to get around, meanwhile? 

     The answer: a truck generously provided by a friend. We're renting it from him.

     How much is this going to cost? We have no idea. Hundreds of dollars already flew out the door with tows, gas, etc. Not to mention wasted time and energy.

     Yes, we have a claim filed with the tire company (which put on NEW tires only last week). The kids could have been killed. (Honestly, they should have rolled -- only the grace of God and Adopted Son's driving skills were in play.) The truck and fifth-wheel can be replaced -- our children cannot.

     I am so grateful they're ok. 

Meanwhile:

How did Israel manage to stop '99% percent' of the rockets, missiles and drones fired at it this weekend?  Iran wasn't the only aggressor, by the way. Hezbollah did its share with 30 missiles...not that many news outlets are mentioning this. 

A Russian family looks for their lost husky via a drone -- and finds him playing with a family of bears.

Death Valley is full of wildflowers! The best bloom since 2016, they're saying. That's what extra rainfall will do.

More than 3000 incidents of illegal migrants crossing his land? This rancher has video proof -- and it isn't pretty. 

     We have a heart for this subject, having seen elderly friends very concerned about this same subject, when we were living in McNeal, AZ, near the Mexican border. They not only would have illegals crossing their land -- but had people banging on their door in early morning, asking for food and water. And these were elderly widows, Gentle Readers. How terrified do you think they were? 

Weird stuff astronauts have seen (and heard) in space.

Edwardian cufflinks -- how much do you think these would value for?

(A little on the high end, I would say...)

The former president of Harvard (ousted for plagiarism) is teaching a 'Reading and Research' ETHICS class -- for Harvard! (Guess they have to hire her for something in her field of expertise...)

Otzi the Iceman had 61 tattoos -- but they weren't done the way scientists originally thought. (Nor did he die naturally -- not with an arrowhead in his shoulder, a head wound and a defensive wound on his hand...)

Rude comments...and boy, are these good.

Why Mel Gibson is sooo grateful for Robert Downey Jr.'s support. (And he should be.) An incredible public statement on picking yourself up, admitting your mistakes ("hugging the cactus") -- and forgiveness.

Three decades -- three decades of insisting on your true identity, yet put in jail and a mental institution -- and DNA finally proves that you were right all along. A VERY strange story.

Here's a lesson for daredevil skiers who attempt to jump Colorado highways -- the word "roadkill" may eventually apply. Sadly.

'Cast crackups' from the Carol Burnett show. Just what we need, during taxtime:

Hopefully this week will be better -- for you, too!

At This Point, I Wouldn't Mind...

 

Perhaps Ruby could be Vice President?

"If elected, I will not serve...unless you serve me!"