Days 29 & 30 - New Me's and Recipes

Day 29 was about taking a selfie that tells something about the person you're becoming.  I got randomly sick yesterday, and thus was NOT in a photogenic mood.  So I did it today.

Now, what you don't know is that there are a whole bunch of Peanut Butter Blossoms out in the kitchen.  I am eating an apple.  Thus, healthy eating/lifestyle choices being the theme of this photo!

Day 30 is posting a recipe!  I like talking about food.  I was surprised when going back through my blog posts and seeing I only have 4 or 5 recipes!  Simply not done I say!

Flash Fried Chicken

3 cups chicken broth

4 chicken breasts

Grapeseed oil

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp celery salt

1 Tbsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

                                                    1 1/2 cups milk

Heat chicken broth in saucepan over high heat to bring to a boil.  Add chicken and reduce to a simmer.  Boil chicken for 40 minutes.  Remove chicken, pat dry, and keep warm.  Mix all dry ingredients.  Coat chicken in milk then in dry mixture, shaking off any excess.  Heat oil in skillet or saucepan.  Fry chicken in enough hot oil to cover, for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Serve chicken immediately.

By cooking the chicken first before coating, you are saving yourself a load of fat and calories you would otherwise ingest from normal fried chicken.  

Day Twenty-Eight - One Sentence Saturday

Today at KIOSB we're posting our word for 2014!

Action!  After much deliberation (and a lot of A and P words for some reason) I narrowed it down to Action.  With a capital A.  There are so many things in my life that can only improve by acting on them.  

Movement, following through with things, finishing, doing.  These are all a part of the theme that is action for me.  Wish me luck in this coming year!

Days 25-27 - Catching Up

Well, between holiday festivities and sleeping, I have some catching up to do.  So here we go!

Day Twenty-Five - Holiday Traditions

For our Christmas day tradition, we usually go to bed early.  We wake up at four (yes... a.m.) to open our stockings.  Then at six we would wake up our mom and open gifts, after preparing her coffee of course.

There was one year when we were still young, when my oldest sister and I didn't want to wait.  Our middle sister was asleep and thus had no part in the plot.  We set the designated clock ahead two hours, so we could go down at two instead of four.  We actually woke our parents up at four.  It amazed us both not only how long it took them to figure it out, but that we didn't get in trouble!

Day Twenty-Six - Ten Things in Your Fridge

We went over to my sister's in-law's Christmas party, so no leftovers for us.

1. Silk vanilla soy milk- We have quite a bit of dairy sensitivity in this house.

2. 2% milk- For baking and cereal.  These people don't like the Silk as much as I do, I guess.

3. International Delight butter pecan creamer- For my mother's coffee.  She loves it so much, she buys multiples so she won't run out.

4. Diet Pepsi- We are a Pepsi household.  Yes I know it's bad for you, I am trying to cut down.

5. Eggs- For the occasional breakfast sandwich, but mostly used for baking.

6. Heavy Whipping Cream- For the Yule log I made, soon to be used up in New Year's Chocolate Mousse!

7. Home made chicken stock- In the green tupperware.  I used all of our canning jars to freeze the rest.

8. Pepperoni- For pizza!  I make this fairly often, on days that I want cooking to take a short time... or I forgot to get out meat to defrost.

9. White Zinfandel- My mom's wine of choice, though it's been there awhile.  She doesn't drink much, myself even less so.  I don't care for the taste of alcohol.

10. Tomatoes- Down on the bottom all by their lonesome.  We need to go shopping for fresh vegetables. -_-

Day Twenty-Seven - Final Friday

1. What will you remember about 2013?

Staying at my sister's house to watch her kitties while they went on vacation.  Getting a whole tub full of free costume jewelry to take apart and use.  My mother and sister being happy with their blankets.

2. What are you ready to leave behind?

Fear.  Doubt.  Stagnation.  Arguments.  This house! 

3. What's something you learned in 2013?

How to finger crochet.  Don't leave candles unattended.  EVER.  That cooked tomato does not equal stewed tomato.

4. What would you like to celebrate about this past year?

I made two blankets by hand.  I made cordial cherries and English toffee from scratch and people liked them.  Our finances are actually somewhat stable.  We are moving forward, even though things can be tough at times.

Day Twenty-Four - Holiday Disasters

Today's prompt on KIOSB is to share a tip or story relating to a holiday disaster.  Happy Christmas Eve everybody!

Now this didn't happen during Christmas, but around my sister's birthday, which is in early January.  Some of you Canadians as well as northeastern Americans may remember...The Ice Storm of 98'.  

I was about seven at the time, but remember it well.  We were in northern NY at the time, so right in the thick of the storm.  My parents were smack dab in the middle of their divorce, so we weren't at home when the storm hit.  The snow was nearly as tall as I was and the hail was monstrous.  No one was allowed on the roads but response vehicles, since the roads were either icy, covered in downed tree branches, or both.  

I remember being glad that we had access to a gas stove, so at least we could heat up the snow to cook food or flush the toilet.  This was also my first and only ambulance ride.  The people were nice enough to pick us up and take us all to a fire station, where a bunch of people were sheltered.  They played Men in Black for us kids while the parents and adults did who knows what.  I remember being scared of that movie.

It wasn't too bad a time, to be honest.  I always liked snow and found severe weather exciting.  My sister didn't have a very good birthday though, as it was spent in a hotel with people we didn't really know.  But we all came out of it safe.

Now for tips!  Gas stoves are awesome for power outages, but don't use the oven to heat your house because of the fumes.  Generators-Awesome.  Candles-Always a plus.  Blankets-Have more than you need.  Flashlights and batteries are necessary.  Food/water storage are an excellent idea if you have the space, or you can put some in a garage or shed.

Day Twenty-Three - Books

Today's prompt for KIOSB  is to talk about books, or in my case book collections!  This first one is where some herbalism books are held on the top shelf.  Those are the only ones I really look at.  The rest are my mom's nursing books and other things.

THIS is my sister's and my shared book collection.  Manga takes up a little more than one bookcase and the rest are mostly fantasy novels.  These are in my sister's room, so she also uses them as shelves. -_-




These you may have seen before when I showed you my blogging space.  It's a closer looks at the Pagan/herbalism books I keep in my room.

Last but not least!  COOKBOOKS!  I was surprise at how many of these are mine.  The little box on the top right is my recipe box, which also hold quite a few of my favorites.

Day Twenty-Two - Wee Me

Today's prompt at KIOSB is sharing pictures of ourselves as little ones.

Look!  Look upon the wonder that is her majesty.  Complete with red-eye, which always made me look a bit demonic.  With my crowning glory bestowed upon me from one King of Burgers, along with my almighty sippy cup of truth.

My pictures of this age seem to go between being happy for whatever reason, screaming because of the injustice of my sister stealing my toys, and just staring at the camera like I've never seen it before.  By the way, does BK still have those crowns?

Day Twenty-One - One Sentence Saturday

"Generalizations are generally a bad idea."

                                -Me

I think this is a good quote to live by.  I feel that when you try to put a large group of people into a little defined box, someone is going to be hurt.  So I try my best to judge people by what they do or say, and not by what society likes to label them as.