It's Solid, Solid As A Rock

First, I need to give you a little background.

While I'm normally a very devoted rule-follower, in the kitchen I tend to walk on the wild side...much to my family's dismay.  I'm infamous for forgetting to purchase necessary ingredients and deciding on a whim to make a substitution.  Recipe, shmechipe!  That's my motto.

It often gets me into trouble.

Like a few nights ago.

I had a hankerin' for some Pecan Pralines and my favorite cookbook happened to have a MICROWAVE Pecan Praline recipe which sounded like it would be a snap.

Oh, a you need a little more background.

My friend Kim makes a FANTABULOUS microwave fudge.  It melts in your mouth like buttah.


I have tried rather comically THREE times to make this delightfully easy fudge.

It did not end well.

Kim says I'm the only person she knows that can screw up microwave fudge.

Ok, back to my story.

So, I skimmed the recipe and perused my pantry...

Here's where the wheels fell off my endeavor.

The recipe called for half-n-half.

I had flavored coffee creamers, fat-free milk and evaporated milk.

Hmmm...what to do, what to do?

I ruled out the Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer for obvious reasons.

I ruled out the fat-free milk because it just seems like fudge should have fat in it.

Which left the evaporated milk.

Why not?  It's a dairy product, right?

So I proceeded to mix it all up and pop it in the microwave just like the recipe said.

Everything seemed to be going fine after 4 minutes when I checked it and stirred, as directed.

I popped it back in for 5 minutes like the recipe said but after 3-ish minutes it started to smell...

And not a good smell either.

More like a burnt milk and sugar smell.

I still wasn't ready to give up so I boldy dropped it into blobs on the waxed paper while Wes looked on skeptically and I kept saying optimistically that maybe they were ok.

The smell was overwhelming.

Before I could get it all scooped out...

It set up like concrete.

Ok, no problem.  We'll just soak the bowl and spoon in hot soapy water, right?

Not so much.

Wes volunteered to finish cleaning up for me:

He's so helpful.

Not one to be daunted by failure, I pulled out my traditional stove-top praline recipe...which actually DOES call for evaporated milk.

Wes was dubious especially when he heard me muttering about my candy thermometer being broken and having to use the old-fashioned method to determine when it had reached soft-ball stage. (Sidenote: Thanks Mom for teaching me the cup of water method!)

Voila!

Now, THAT'S a praline!

Once again my family is amazed.

And they have banned me from using any more microwave candy recipes.

Today I made Chewy Gingersnaps...except I was out of ginger.

They are actually more like Randomly Available Spices Cookies.

But quite tasty, thank you very much!

Tales from the Deer Woods

My dad has requested a blog post about my children because it makes him feel lighthearted and apparently my last blog post was a real buzz-killer.  So I thought I'd regale you with a cute story involving my younger daughter, a gun and a couple of amused deer.

Last weekend was Youth Hunt here in AR which means that kids can hunt and kill pretty much any deer in any shape or form that they so desire.  My girls eagerly look forward to it every year.  We have a family place in the middle of nowhere where all the hunter-types in the family go to kill meat.  All the grandchildren in the family happen to be girls but that hasn't stopped their daddies from teaching them to do all things redneck.

My baby girl is the only cousin that hasn't killed a deer yet...well, except the baby, Faith.  She's just started walking so she's not packin' heat yet.  So, this weekend was a big deal.

Caitlin and her Pappaw spent the morning on the deer stand together and Wes was on a stand with Hayley not too far away.  He heard some gunshots and was so hopeful that Caitlin had finally gotten a deer.  Then the walkie-talkie squawked beside him and Caitlin said, "Dad, I just shot four times at some deer and missed!"

So they talk back and forth a bit and then she says, "And now I'm out of shells....and Dad, those deer are still standing there...and they're laughing at me!"

All I have to say is those deer better laugh while they can 'cuz their days are numbered.

I Don't Hate Poor People or Children

Content Warning: If you are really into partisan politics, Republican OR Democrat, or if you frighten easily, (Tiff put your fingers in your ears right now and sing La La La La!) you should probably not read this post. I'm probably going to step on your toes or scare the snot out of you.

OK, still with me?

I've had a few requests to explain the health care debate, i.e. "I know the health care bill is bad but I'm not sure why." and "What's all the hub-bub about the government option?"

I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination.   I'm going to attempt to articulate my position which you should take with a grain of salt. Do your own research and form your own opinion based on your core values and principals.

We have actually had this same argument back in the 90s and we decided against universal health care.  Hillarycare, anyone?!  But if you're like me, you were young and healthy back then and thought you didn't need health care so you didn't really pay attention.   But now you've got aging parents and children and suddenly it's a discussion worth having again.

So let's start at the beginning.  Politicians in both political parties campaigned on health care reform.  During the campaign you heard this said a lot: "America is the richest country in the world!  It is unacceptable that 46 million hardworking Americans are uninsured!"  It was presupposed that everyone agreed with this statement; the only disagreement was on HOW to fix it.

No one ever challenges the idea that America is the richest country.  The claim is made to imply that we are so rich we can afford to pay more.  Not so much.  Let's say you have a neighbor who has a big, fancy house and a shiny new car in the driveway. You'd probably assume based on appearances that he's the richest guy in the neighborhood.  But if you knew that he had a first and second mortgage on that house and he borrowed the money for the car and he couldn't afford to pay his bills, would you still think he was rich?  Right.  Not so much. That's America.  And America paying for universal health care is like your bankrupt neighbor pulling out his Visa and charging a trip to the Bahamas.  It's just stupid.

Are there really 46 million uninsured?  Not so much.  That figure makes a great campaign line or eye-catching headline but it's exaggerated.  First, that figure includes approximately 10 million illegal aliens or other non-citizens who likely wouldn't qualify for health care anyway.  About 18 million of the remaining 36 million uninsured have a household income greater than $50,000 and over half of them have a household income of more than $75,000 which is more than enough to afford health insurance if it were a priority for them.  I'd be willing to bet that a lot of those households don't go without cell phones, cable and high-speed internet.  So if we eliminate all those people we're left with the ones who truly need help.  And we already help them.  Close to 30% of our country's population already lives under some type of government health care.  And another estimated 14 million American's qualify for it but haven't bothered to apply for it.  The true number of uninsured Americans is somewhere around 3% which is still too many but is vastly different from the number our politicians and media like to toss around.

Our health care system is not perfect.  Could we make some improvements?  Sure.  Do we need a new behemoth government program that we can't even afford?  Not so much.  If we were really serious about bringing down the cost of health care we could have done that already.  No, what we're really talking about is growing the size of government.  Because progressives think you are too stupid to manage your own life.  Government is their answer to everything.

Frankly, I think the whole debate can be settled by answering one simple question:

Do you want the same people who run the post office to cut your chest open for heart surgery?

Let's say you've decided you're ok with that risky proposition.  Let me ask you another question:

You think that a government who has brought us Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, the IRS and the DMV can possibly run an efficient and cost-effective health care program?

Or ask yourself this:

Do you really believe that the government who gave us Amtrak can be expected to run a health care system that pays for itself?

If you're still reading this, by now I'm sure you've figured out that I'm not really in favor of nationalizing health care.  It's not because I hate poor people or because I want children to die in the streets.  I just happen to think that government is the problem NOT the solution.  Everyone complains about our "employer-based" insurance.  Do you know why we have that system?  Government poked its nose where it didn't belong and ,presto-chango, it created a whole new set of problems in addition to the one they were trying to fix.  During the Great Depression, government decided it was a good idea to mess with the free-market system by using wage controls.  Employers had to find another way to attract the best employees and since they couldn't lure them with higher wages they started offering fringe benefits like health insurance.  Then, in 1943 the IRS further encouraged employer-provided insurance by declaring them tax free.

That's just one example of government creating more problems than it solves.  So do you really trust them to get it right this time?  Do you really think they won't create a lot of unintended consequences with all the regulations in a health care bill?  I hope you're willing to bet your life on it....because you are.

In my next post I'll try to address the things that I think are wrong with the bill that just passed the House.  And believe me, there are many, many things.  It will take more than one post.  You'll need to plan to stay awhile.

Thank You

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"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."--Thomas Paine

When Thomas Paine penned these words in 1776, he was describing the beginning of the American Revolution. But these words have proven true time and again throughout our nation's history. Each time a crisis has arisen, brave men and women have risen up to answer Freedom's call.

These men and women are no "summer soldiers" or "sunshine patriots" who shrink from service. These are men and women who boldly go without reservation in the name of Liberty. These men and women consider the cost to themselves and their families and count it as gain in the name of defending America and her ideals.

We owe the men and women of America's armed forces a debt of gratitude that we can never hope to fully repay. From the American Revolution to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, these amazing men and women have served our Great Nation with honor and dignity. They have preserved our rights as individuals to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, often at great personal sacrifice.

Please join me in giving a hearty Thank You to all of those who have served and continue to serve in our armed services this Veterans' Day.

Insert Clever Post Title Here

So today I went to Walmart (ugh!) and purchased all the items necessary to try Carpoolqueen's Roasted Vegetables and Orzo. It sounds yummy!

I was disappointed that the Tyson Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts were $7.54 for a 3-lb. bag. I can usually find them for $6.00! Which has nothing whatsoever to do with CPQ's recipe but I just thought you should know.

Sweet onions were down $0.40/lb but yellow squash were up $0.50/lb.

Can you tell that I LOVE my iPhone app "Grocery IQ"?

And there were NO eggplants. Just a big empty case where they should be. Was there a run on eggplants this morning? Did everyone read Carpoolqueen's blog and stampede to the produce section? Is there an eggplant shortage I don't know about?

Also, Walmart, I am on to your store brand scam. Del Monte Cut Green Beans and Whole Kernal Corn are $0.20 per can cheaper than the Great Value brand. Hmmmph!

And your Great Value Fruit and Grain bars are NOT the equivalent of Kellogg's Nutrigrain Bars. I don't care how much cheaper they are. They are nasty.

That is all.