Meat Loaf

1 lb ground meat (I used taco turkey meat)
½C quick-cooking oats
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 celery stick, chopped
8 baby carrots OR 2 carrots, grated
any seasonings you want (I went with garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and cinnamon)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Precook vegetables for soft texture, or leave as-is for crunchy. Line a shallow pan or cookie sheet with foil; spray foil with nonstick spray. Mix all ingredients; form into loaf and place in pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy.

Grilled Meat Loaf: All ingredients the same. Preheat George Foreman grill. Mix all ingredients; place on grill. Cook for 15 minutes. Enjoy.

( And now for something completely different. )

I have a new favorite flavor. And that flavor is Cucumber with Chile.



They're actually pretty spicy -- and I like stuff spicy -- but also very refreshing. Pattie might like it without the chile, except they don't make them.

Or, "Springtime in Celina, Ohio"

( Twitter )
( Lent )
( Martians )
( Garbage Digging )

And completely unrelated to any of that, we got our living room cleaned up. Yay!

I present to you...the BACONPIG!


Does this not look delicious?

So Thanksgiving started at 5:30am for me, not because we were making anything complicated (green bean casserole) but because I was picking up Pattie from work and going to mom's to help with the meal there.

Before I go any further, let me say that you should never follow the Green Bean Casserole recipe on the LCoFFO (Lying Can of French Fried Onions). Do not add milk.

Technically, Thursday started around 4:30am, I completely forgot until just now that I had one of Pattie's dreams. For whatever reason, I teamed up with my cousin Tasha and her husband -- except it wasn't the guy she's married to IRL -- to steal soft pretzels from an elementary school set up exactly like the hotel we stayed at in Ft. Wayne in September. They were in another part of the building shooting, so I tried to sneak out with my bounty. I did a double-take at the cop by the exit -- because I wasn't expecting a cop to be there. The fact that this cop was Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed completely normal. Anywho, I acted as calm as possible as I passed by him with my handful of soft pretzels, but he'd seen my double-take and questioned me in the parking lot. The truth must have came out, because next thing I knew I was wandering aimless and depressed around the Celina Walmart trying to figure out how I'd tell Pattie that I was going away. Then I woke up.

So. Got back up at 5:30, got my shower, cleaned out the crockpot (we were going to do the casserole in mom's oven, but then she decided to do the turkey in the oven instead of the NuWave), and got on my way. Picked Pattie up, got almost all the way to mom's house, then just inside the tiny village of Allentown we saw something you just don't see in these parts.



Yes, that's four turkeys in the middle of the road. On Thanksgiving. What are the odds? So Pattie took pictures on the phone, we went around them -- they weren't moving for anything -- and got to mom's house.

Ahh, Thanksgiving at mom's house. A holiday just wouldn't be a holiday without her and my sister Christy at each other's throats much of the day. Chris had decided to do most of the cooking herself, which is good and well except for two things: she's inexperienced at cooking large meals and unfamiliar foods, and my mom's side of the family doesn't believe in trivial things like recipes and measurements. So Christy would ask yet another question, mom would give a huffy answer, and Christy would get pissed about it, leaving mom even more exasperated for the next question.

And that's not even the reason mom wants to go out to eat next year. I'm still trying to figure out WTF they spent $150 on, 'cause there were five people and not that many leftovers.

After everything was cooked things settled down. Mom and Pattie took a nap, and I vegetated drowsily while Chris played euchre on Yahoo. Eventually I got the bright idea to pop a couple of Christy's Hydroxycut pills, which are basically 150% caffeine.

Now that I'm thinking about it, they might just work too. I didn't eat near as much at breakfast this morning as I normally do.

But that's not why I took them. 150% caffeine woke me up for the rest of the night, most of which was spent playing Electronic Monopoly Here and Now. Which Christy won.

We saw no turkeys on the way home.

1 lb bulk sausage
1 Tbsp butter
½ cup flour
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup water
pepper, to taste

Brown sausage in saucepan and crumble; do not drain. Add butter and stir over medium-high heat until melted. Add flour; continue stirring over medium-high heat until flour is browned, being careful not to burn it. Remove from heat; add milk, water and pepper, and stir. Return to low heat, if desired, to heat up and thicken.

And of course, you have to serve it over real biscuits, not the stuff in the tube. Haven't gotten ambitious enough to do those completely from scratch (yet), but Bisquick and milk still does a good job.

2 cans jalapeño black-eyed peas, with liquid
1¾ cups water
3 tsp sodium-free chicken boullion

Put all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer ~10 minutes. Enjoy.

Am tired. Maybe post more later. Maybe not.

(Or: The Blog In Which I Use Too Many Acronyms)

So I got the bright idea to install SP3 for XP today, mostly just hoping against hope that it would clear up my KB892130 bug. No dice. Completely fubar'd my D-Link software too -- can't even uninstall it -- but now Windows is controlling the connection just fine. I swear, wireless is a more potent evil than the Devil himself. I'd complain more, but at least restarting WCZ was an easy fix and I remembered my insane WPA key first try.

Fiery Habanero Doritos. In a word: yes. Always thought it was habañero since I pronounce it that way, but for once Wikipedia has denied me. Anywho, these things are actually spicy. I can't just plow through them like the other flavors.

I've gotten so far out of the blogging habit that it's unreal. And I don't mean the FPS. In fact, video game-wise I'm back to Diablo 2:LOD. Oh yeah, POTCO went out the window, after a while it just gets too repetitive. You would think that eight years of D2 would get repetitive as well, but there's always something new to try. Not always viable, but new nonetheless.

Complaints go in the box below.
[]
Please write legibly.

So iunno, I've just lost motivation to blog. Only reason I'm really doing it now is to put off calling my interviewer back -- I despise talking on the phone. Screw it, I'll call. Didn't get it, ah well. I got more dental swords, these ones have a flip-out point guard so Nate will be happy to know they don't reach far into the ear canal. Not that the waxy fortress has made any return anyways, I think irritation from the loud radio chatter and earpieces at OfficeMax had a lot to do with it. So I'm-a be married in a little under two months, and Pattie has come to the realization that momma and I were right about eloping. It'll still be a nice wedding, just much headacheness planning it. We're still on track, although we've still got some invitation stragglers to get addresses for and some groomsmen still need fitted for tuxes.

And I make fun of Pattie for not using carriage returns. Wow. I have to pee.

I am returned. So, Pirates of the Caribbean Online. For as good a speller as I am, I ALWAYS want two "R"s and one "B" in that word. Anyways. The limited free trial is nifty. I went ahead and did the $5 for the first month of unlimited, will know better in a few weeks if it's worth $10/mo after that. So far it's really fun, which surprises me because I normally hate the behind-the-character-3D crapola. Back in the day I think I tried to play Guild Wars for a whole week before I gave up in disgust. Leave it to Disney to finally get it right.

So our furnace is out again. The one nice thing about renting is that it's someone else's problem when stuff goes to pot. Which is ironic, because going to the pot is my only problem when the furnace goes out. I swear that toilet seat has a layer of dry ice on it.

Shill #2: Have I told you guys about NutraCal? Good stuff. I'm not personally worried about calcium deficiency -- I'd actually originally gotten it for Pattie, as it also boasts increased energy. Turns out Pattie can't handle it on the far end of her GI tract, but I've noticed it gives me more energy. Anyone who's interested can get a jar for $3.85, coupon code is CAL101. Without the period. That just denotes the end of the sentence.

I like green tea.

So I finally used up the last of that wretched toothpaste I had. The flavor wasn't bad, it was the packaging. It was a two-part toothpaste, but both parts were in one segmented tube. As you can guess, only one part ever came out at a time, and it got worse as I went up the tube. Technically there was still a little useable product in there, I just gave up on it. Good riddance.

If someone comes up to you and asks you to clean out the sink thigamajigger, are you going to figure out they wanted you to take the dishes out of the strainer, which is not in the sink? Yeah, me either. And that apparently makes me an asshole. Huh.

And I'm spent.

Or, "The Entry That Took Four Hours Because I Had To Finish Assembling Our Entertainment Center".

So, yesterday I hit my newest age milestone. Don't feel any older though -- no surprise, I never do on my birthday. In five years I can legally run for President, meaning I'll just miss the 2012 election. Vote for me in 2016.

Anywho, had a good birthday. Went to Bella's (local Italian restaurant) for lunch, it was nummy. Poor Pattie though, she only liked about half of what we got. Pattie got me a ring (I'll get motivated to picturize it later), and mom and Christy got me two books I wanted that suck. I'd heard good things about Kevin Trudeau's work -- apparently I was listening to the wrong people.

I was going to write more here, but in the meantime I've forgotten what it was.

And now for a list of pops that need to be brought back NAO:
* Crystal Pepsi
* Pepsi Blue
* RC Edge
* Faygo Frosh
* Faygo Moonshine

Chelada Caliente Catfish

1 lb catfish (fillets or nuggets)
1 22oz bottle chelada-style beer (Miller Chill for us lazy folk, or your favorite with lime and salt)
hot sauce and garlic (powder or pressed), to taste
corn meal-based dry breading
non-stick cooking spray

Mix beer, hot sauce and garlic in a large bowl. Add catfish, close lid or cover with foil/wrap, and marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours. When ready, preheat oven to 365°F. Put breading in a shallow pan and spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Dredge fish with the breading, then place on cookie sheet. Bake at 365° for 30-40 minutes.

---

Not too much new, although Pattie and I did spend a few nights in Fort Wayne. Toured the DeBrand chocolate factory, home of the best chocolate ever; swam, swam, and swam some more; ate at the Cork 'n Cleaver, which was awesome; went shopping for a day (my next entry will probably include a review of the grass jelly I picked up at the Asian market); had my first mojito, had the Jones Soda Halloween mojito pop, and realized the pop was better; and generally had a good time.

A word to the wise, learn from my mistake or suffer my fate: If you're going to deep-fry a pot pie, thaw it first, for not even boiling oil shall warm its frozen heart.

My aunt went on NutriSystem for a few months, and I think I inherited about a month's worth of food she didn't like. Good stuff if you like a wide variety of foods, though probably not worth the cost even if you liked it all. Especially since some of these "meals" are "here's turkey in viniagrette, go buy lettuce and salad toppings".

The new job's going well enough, would still like to get out of the retail environment though. I was hoping it was just Lima that was a dead spot for lab jobs -- apparently it's the entire area. Honda's Anna plant is doing a round of open hiring, it'd be nice to get a call back from them, otherwise we'll have to figure out where we want to look for jobs at.

Wedding planning has slowed down a bit, I think we're at a point where there's not so much to do until closer to time.

Anybody wanna come do my dishes?

So the rotten thing about Wal-Mart is, they're paying me more than some of the guys training me. Not that I want to make less, but they could afford to pay the veterans more.

I have finally made the pilgrimage to Sonic and partaken of its tasty beverages. They even put real limes in the cherry limeade (the cherries are hit-or-miss) with which they make the SuperSonic Sunrise. And jalapeños in the breakfast burritos. It's a good thing they're not any closer...

So, even trying to do everything simple and cheap, throwing a wedding is an expensive affair. Which I'm sure a few of you could have told me, but anywho. Aside from the honeymoon, most of the budget is for miscellaneous stuff. Before I'd have figured it'd be food, but one of Pattie's aunts loves to cook so we just have to buy bulk food.

Just the brokest he's been in a very long time.

Still no job, had a few interviews though. Setting up a second interview with the Devil (Wal-Mart) tomorrow, not thrilled about going back into retail but it'd be 3rd shift so I can keep looking for other stuff without taking time off.

Holy run-on sentence, Batman!

Other than that, living with Pattie is going well, not that I thought there'd be any problems. We still love each other and we're still getting married.

If you have the chance, deep-fried Twinkies and Snickers are surprisingly good. I recommend frying the Snickers first, as the oil takes on some chocolate that transfers to the Twinkies.

And here, rearing its ugly head, is that LJ meme where you take the first sentence from the first entry of each month and pretend it's something meaningful. I dislike hard-boiled eggs.

Enero: First entry of the new year, and I've changed the style of my LJ again.
Febrero: I don't get heartburn.
Marzo: I am currently browsing teh intarweb with German Earthtrout.
Abril: ...and, after taking mom's computer apart, I can officially say I'm not allergic to the stuff.
Mayo: Or: "The chickens are comin' home to roost, Bobby Boucher."
Junio: Yet one more reason to love winter.
Julio: So, yuuhidokka says I must list seven songs I've been listening to a lot, or the zebra gets it.
Agosto: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America
Septiembre: We've been having intermittent trouble with our DSL for, what, a few weeks now?
Octubre: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca.
Noviembre: Seems like it rains every time I vote.
Diciembre: For some, it's schedules and PDAs.

I've written a lot less about food this year, probably because I've fallen out of the habit of going to Stites and picking up oddities. I should get back into the habit, those were always fun to write up. Also, less about wireless networking -- and the shiny new D-Link router seems to be rocksteady (Bebop unavailable for comment), so hopefully that's a subject I'm done with for a while. May Linksys fall on its face with its hands in its pockets.

Aside from a few events here at year's end (the car debacle and going out with Pattie), this year I really seemed to be in a holding pattern. I realize the whole "may you live in interesting times" thing is more of a left-handed curse, but really, I was boring this year.

For being a lifelong gamer, I don't write about games much either. I really should resubscribe to EGM. Even when I wasn't in the market for a game it was always a blast to read, and since I let it lapse a few years ago -- well, more like several now -- I've gotten further out of the gaming loop. (I honestly think my only game purchase this year was Gran Turismo 4.) Sure, I realize all the same information is available online for free, but not in one place and not as well-done. Or at least, that was the case several years ago. I should probably grab an issue first (at newsstand price, eww) just to make sure it hasn't gone down the crapper.

It's my birthday in 7 minutes. Yay 29!

Yep, I'm on Youtube. Rather than link them all, go here, it's pretty obvious which ones are my drunken ass.

And now for something completely different: a little something I'm calling "scavenger salsa".

You see, on Sunday I got some tortilla chips, but no salsa. So I went to eat them tonight, and whaddya know, I have no salsa. Who'd-a thunkit, right? So I get the crazy idea to make my own.

The tomato base was easy -- I had a few cans of tomato puree I keep on hand to make chili with, so I grabbed one. (I use puree instead of sauce because they don't add salt.) Garlic was another issue. Normally we have some in the fridge, but not tonight. And our powdered garlic is OLD. Then it dawns on me -- the rooster sauce has a boatload of garlic in it. Thanks again, Bill.

On a side note, now that Meijer has expanded its world foods section, they're now carrying sriracha. No more stocking up in Ft. Wayne.

Next for the peppers. First idea was a can of serrano peppers from Stites. Question time: are serranos supposed to have oily black stuff floating in the top? Mmm, botulism.... So those were out. Luckily, I still had a few pickled cherry peppers (and a ton of seeds) in the fridge, so I diced those instead and threw in the extra seeds.

At this point, it's almost ready, except it's a little too sweet. I'd thought about adding vinegar anyways, and that balanced it out nicely. Good stuff.

So I'd guesstimate the recipe as follows:

1-15 oz can tomato puree
4 Tbsp sriracha sauce
3 pickled cherry peppers, diced
seeds from 3 more pickled cherry peppers
4 Tbsp vinegar

Mix and enjoy.

Find your own pose!

WTF? I'm not a cold fish, thank you very much.



One of these days, when I have an extra $30 just laying around...



No sir, I don't want a shit-quality wallet. lol



Mmm...kimchi...

So, yuuhidokka says I must list seven songs I've been listening to a lot, or the zebra gets it. I think she's bluffing -- I don't think they have zebras in Singapore -- but just in case, I shall do so anyhow.

Marilyn Manson - Suicide Is Painless -- Manson's original work may be hit-or-miss, but he's one hell of a cover artist. Probably because he does his own thing with the songs instead of trying to sing them the way they were originally sung.

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire -- Who'd have thought that a musical Cliff's notes would be a hit? Billy Joel, that's who.

Lemon Demon - The Ultimate Showdown (of Ultimate Destiny) -- I'm just geek enough to have burned this to CD. I think I somewhat frightened Mike by rattling off the entire montage that kills Chuck Norris on IM.

The Buckwheat Boys - Peanut Butter Jelly Time -- 'Nuff said.

They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (not Constantinople) -- Actually, the Turks do often refer to the city as Kostantiniyye, "the city of Constantine," so Constantinople isn't really out of place.

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata -- I remember hearing a 3-channel version of this on our first computer, and even that couldn't screw it up. Fully orchestrated, it's just awesome.

Britney Spears - Anticipating -- Yes, I like poppy stuff sometimes. Sue me.
I'm also supposed to tag seven people. I don't think seven people read this regularly, so do it if ya wanna. Please, think of the zebra.

I like extra-sharp cheddar cheese. A pox upon your mild substitute!

We had a customer today who bought photo paper, and couldn't figure out why there was a perforation through one end of her pictures and a white gap she had to cut off on the other end. And I had to expain it without LOLing or slapping the stupid out of her.

Geeks do it 1000101-style.

My neck feels floppy, and my hands kinda tingle. And for some reason, that's funny. Very funny. I think I had more Goldschläger than I thought I did. I drink for the taste, not to get buzzed, but I have to admit, this is rather pleasant. Wouldn't want to go any further, though.

I should probably eat something. Peanut butter-and-honey sandwich doesn't sound bad.

Whoa. Then again, I might just sit here for a few. Nah, gotta eat something. Wish me luck.

---

Ah, here we go. Peanut butter-and-honey sandwiches, went for two. And milk. Yum. It's a bit ironic, though -- natural PB (only ingredient is peanuts), raw honey (unfiltered and unpasteurized, had little bits of beeswax, pollen and propolis), and ultraprocessed white bread (which is basically pure refined carbohydrate). Natural PB is cheaper, raw honey costs more (though I'm not sure why, aside from tasting better), so it more-or-less evens out. And non-organic milk, which PETA tells us is full of pus, blood, growth hormone, and cruelty. In other news, I apparently like the taste of pus, blood, growth hormone, and cruelty.

Also, "propolis" is one of those really fun words to say, kinda like...I forget. Whatever word I said that about last time we played 20 Questions.

---

Okay, no difference. I don't think I ate soon enough to soak anything up. Normally alcohol doesn't affect me like this, not even the 151. Then again, it's usually earlier in the evening and/or on not so empty a stomach. Wow.

I made black bean tuna chili for lunch. Nummy. Then mom turns around and makes chili for supper. I R T3H B34N M4N!!1!

In other news, it turns out I may not hate wireless networking so much as I just hate Linksys. My wireless card died on me today -- reinstalled drivers, switched PCI slots, nuttin'. So this time I got a D-Link instead, and while I haven't tested it too much, so far it seems to be rock-steady. (Bebop was unavailable for comment.) Time shall tell, I suppose.