Rockstar Status

I am officially taking the title of Rockstar Status! Believe it or not, I am a good cook! Magically, when I have time to sit and find recipes, read them, and then actually go step by step through the directions, it turns out! I am just featuring one particular recipe that Robert and I found scrumptious.

I was a little unsure of the title, especially with "jerk" in the title. Who would name a spice Jerk, if it was good. Robert reassured me that the spice was good and that he used his many times on chicken. I caved, I decided to make it. 



 I read the recipe, made my grocery list, and set out to find the ingredients. I figured it wouldn't be too challenging to find, they all seemed pretty basic with the exception of the Jerk seasoning. Fast forward a bit... I got home and to my surprise, really the lack of surprise, I forgot ingredients. But alas, the Jerk seasoning was being a jerk at the store, so I couldn't find it. I sent Robert a text, and he came to my rescue with all the extra ingredients I forgot and couldn't find!



I put the ketchup, the turkey, onions, green peppers, oats, jerk seasoning, and an egg. I mashed it together with my HANDS! Love that part! It was starting to smell pretty good.

The one item I forgot to take a picture of was the mango salsa that I made. It had some papaya, mango, cilantro, lime juice, onion, green pepper, and avocado (the avocado wasn't supposed to be there, but I stole that idea from my mom because she makes something like this).

Robert slapped the burgers on the grill and we let them cook for a while. The one challenge we ran into was that due to the fact the burgers were so delicate, Robert had a difficult time flipping the burgers without breaking. The good news? He managed, with skill, to save the burgers. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the finished product! Healthy and amazing! It turned out well! So proud of the finished product! It even looks pretty good in the picture!



ROCKSTAR STATUS! BAM!



Saving the Brownies

Before I go any further in the blog, HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER! But more importantly, HAPPY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Anyway, so I have started my cooking summer experiment. Let me say that it got off on a rocky start, but turned out okay in the end. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of trying to find something to bring to the end of the year staff potluck. For the life of me, I could not think of anything, well anything I could actually cook. Then, while I was spinning, I came up with the best idea: pasta salad! The idea was fantastic and I couldn't go wrong. I didn't want to come home before hand because I was already tired from the day and I wouldn't leave if I did. I figured on my way to the store I could call my the best cook in the world, my mom.

As I was driving to the store, I was praying that she would answer. No such luck. When I was roaming around the store, I was praying (again) that she would call me back. No such luck.

Alright, plan B: I am taking my friend Jen's idea to make brownies.

I went straight to the brownie mix and I luckily had all the ingredients (score)! So off I go home. I made dinner (which was salad, so don't give me too much credit for cooking). So I started mixing the ingredients for the brownies: eggs, water, and oil. Not difficult. Poured it into the pan and the oven was ready. I put the pan of brownies into the oven. As I was putting the pan of brownies in the oven my arm defnitely rubbed the oven! OUCH! Man, I was doing so well! Anyway, I set the timer for 29 minutes. I went off and finished other things I had to accomplish.

29 minutes later...

I returned to the kitchen as I heard the timer going off. I stuck a knife into the pan of brownies to see if they were done. NO! What the hey man?! I put the timer on for another 10 minutes. in my mind, that will definitely be more than enough time.

10 minutes later...

STILL NOT DONE! What in the freaking world?! I put the timer on for another 5 minutes.

5 minutes later...

STILL NOT DONE! I could not figure out, for the life for me, what was going on. I finally figured it out! The oven was set for the incorrect temperature! DANG! I still needed to bring these brownies with me to the staff potluck, so I figured that as long as the brownies are done and cooked, then nobody will get sick.

Low and behold, another 10 minutes later on the correct temperature, the brownies looked awesome.

Father

There are very few things I know for sure in life, but one that I do know for sure is how much I appreciate and love my dad. Everytime I go see dad, I know for sure I will get this huge smile and a big bear hug; nothing changes and I can always count on this.

As I have grown older, I have moved away from home and started my own life. It is one of those things where from time to time I wish I could go back to the time where he would lift me up on his feet to give me an airplane ride or wrestle me and tickle me until tears came out. Those were the small moments in life that I still cherish, as an adult, today. I can look fondly back upon those moments to laugh and appreciate. When life gets too crazy or overwhelming instead of going home for that airplane ride or tickling match, I can always call for advice. Dad seems to always have the right things to tell me or to keep me grounded in my decisions. The other thing I can always count on is the unconditional love which I am so lucky to have. Even if I had made some crazy decision that didn't work out so well for me, he was still by my side, cheering, loving, and coaching me back to the right direction.

Although I am growing up, I still think of myself as dad's little girl. Holding my dad's finger because that is all I could fit my tiny hand around, but I still feel like the picture below.

I will always be dad's little girl. I have the best dad. Ever. Happy Father's Day, dad!

I've Got the Attitude!

Julia Child once said, “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”  As so, it is time, my friends. Believe it or not, it is going to happen. This is the year I am going to master cooking.

Yep, that is correct. For those who know me, you are probably dying of laughter and/or streams of tears coming down your face from laughing so hard. I figured it is do or die time with cooking. If I can pull out a miracle this summer with at least a few solid recipes I can survive and my future family will be able to survive as well.

It isn't just that, however. I am envious of my brother who is the go-to-cook of the family. He is the one mom goes to to help with: birthday dinners, holiday cooking, advice about cooking, and so on and so forth. How do I help with these occasions? I am there for entertainment purposes about cooking experiences. I have quite a few stories about cooking. I will share my favorite.

My favorite is the most recent incident. This was about a year ago, on Father's Day. I thought I would be a nice daughter and fix the most amazing father dinner. So i whipped up Chicken Caesar Salad with no problem, I cut the bread (already store bought), and probably something else (I don't quite remember). Anyway, for dessert I was making my dad's favorite dessert: fruit crisp. I figured i couldn't go wrong because it was his FAVORITE. I looked at the recipe and couldn't quite understand the process. I then proceeded to  call my mom for advice. She told me (I could almost quote this): just put the flour, oatmeal, sugar, and butter on top of the fruit. My reaction was, "MAN I CAN TOTALLY DO THIS! YES! I cannot screw this up!" Needless to say, I kept looking in the oven as it was baking and it wasn't looking like it was supposed to. I was a little worried, but I followed mom's advice so I couldn't go wrong. Fast forward, I did it completely wrong! I felt like I was back in kindergarten eating paste. Disgusting.

Now that summer is about 6 school days away, I have decided I am going to become a chef. It is going to happen! I have got that 'what-the-hell' attitude Julia Child is talking about. Why? I figure, what do I have to lose? Absolutely nothing! I have everything to gain. So watch out world, there is a new chef in town, with attitude!

Stay tuned during the summer for cooking stories!

Bringing Blogging Back

Hello Blogging World... again!

For those who are new to my world of blogging, hello. For those who have followed my blogs before, well, hopefully I will not disappoint and leave you hanging once again.

I have been contemplating on whether I should start blogging, again, or not. I threw the idea around for quite a while. There was always an excuse of why not to start, and let me share you some of the reasons (believe me, they are not good reasons):
1. I don't have time. If I have time to watch TV, then I have time to write.
2. The last thing I want to do when I come home is write. True statement, however, I don't blog EVERY night.
3. I don't have ANYTHING to write about. I tell my students, "Yes you do, you just have to brainstorm ideas.The idea will just appear!"

As you can see above, those are definitely invalid arguments!

So after much debate, I have made a commitment to myself, you, and the blogging world to reappear! There are some... okay, a few changes from the other blog: the name and background. Seems a bit minor, but I wanted to start out fresh! Unlike the last blog I created, this will be more about living the fine art of life; what it has to offer. More or less, little anecdotes about experiences and every once in a while just random thoughts that pop into my brain.

With that said, here's to a new blog! Here we go... I am bringing blogging back!