.. On the Flip Side of Things!!!!

Hello!

Today I am just boring you with a short (but scary) personal update! Wednesday evening I received a shocking phone call from my TallGuy .. he was in an accident in which our car was totaled .. but by God's Grace .. he walked away with only a few scratches!!! 

On the flip side .. the accident was caused due to his heart not beating for a few seconds, which caused him to black out and lose control of the vehicle! After docs gave him a complete check-up it was decided that he needs heart surgery!!!! (insert big SIGH and PRAYERS here)

Yesterday was my birthday .. and to a certain extent, it also was HIS!!!!!!!!

Hopefully, the next time you hear from me it is a new blog filled with good news! Until then.....

Goody Eggrolls

Did you ever have a taste for something .. run to the grocery store .. only to find out that they do not have what you are craving?? Yeah, me too! Not too long ago I really had a taste for Eggrolls and every store I went to ... NOTHING!! 

So I decided to go back home, raid my pantry, make these little goodies myself and share my recipe with you!!!

Ingredients

4 teaspoons vegetable oil 

4 eggs, beaten 

1/8 cup milk

1 medium head cabbage, finely shredded 

1/2 carrot, shredded 

1 (16 ounce) can bamboo sprouts

1 (8 ounce) can bamboo shoots, cut into matchsticks 

1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts

1 onions, thinly sliced 

2 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon sugar

1 dash crushed red pepper

1 (14 ounce) package egg roll wrappers 1 egg white, beaten 4 cups oil for frying, 

Heat 3 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in cabbage and carrot; cook for 2 minutes to wilt. Add bamboo sprouts and shoots, water chestnuts, onion, soy sauce, sugar, and continue cooking until the vegetables soften (about 6 minutes).

Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Pour in beaten eggs and cook, without stirring, until firmed. Flip the eggs over and cook for an additional 20 seconds to firm the other side. Set egg pancake aside to cool, then slice into thin strips.

Stir sliced egg into cabbage mix, then spread the mixture out onto a pan, and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

To assemble the egg rolls, place a wrapper ( I used these...)

 onto your work surface. Place about 3 tablespoons of cooled filling in a heap onto the bottom third of the wrapper. Then fold the bottom corner over the filling and roll firmly to the halfway point. Fold the left and right sides snugly over the egg roll, then continue rolling until the top corners seal the egg roll. Repeat with remaining egg roll wrappers, covering finished egg rolls with plastic wrap to keep from drying out.

Heat about 6-inches of oil in a wok or deep-fryer to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Fry egg rolls 3 or 4 at a time until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

màn màn chī!!!!!!

🍽

.. BrainFreeze!!!!!!!!

Hey YOU! 

Remember me? I used to blog here. 

I’ve been unable to string words together lately. So I hope you forgive me while my brain undergoes maintenance.

I have some contractors working on it and they think it is limited to my temporal lobe, which controls semantics and word meaning. They think if I just practice writing every day, words will make sense to me again and twelve potatoes dance in the moon river when the 33rd of May takes a bubble bath.

What?

Nevermind!!! Apparently, my brain still needs work.

In the meantime, I will leave you with some silly snowmen for you to mull over. And just in case YOU are building a snow(wo)man-creature-thingy .. please, please share a picture!

I hope I get to see you soon again .. but for now, I wish you a VERY

                                                                       
                                                                           🎅

just a .. Doodle

Today I was finally in the mood to do another Doodle! Here is a little step by step of what I drew!

At first, there are only a few lines!

More lines are added!

And then the filling in starts!

Let me add more shapes!

And replace the pencil lines with ink!

Add more shapes and more ink!

And some shade!

VIOLA!!

🎨

Spicy Chocolate Brownies

Oh, it is getting cold outside and I don't like it  -  at all. The weatherman even predicted some snow for this weekend! So I decided that I need some comfy food to warm my spirits! How about some ooooey goooey brownies? Yes, but not the store brand .. I have to whip them up myself!!! 

Red's Spicy Chocolate Brownies

1 cup butter, melted  

3 cups white sugar 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

about 1/4  teaspoon of ground cinnamon 

about 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each until thoroughly blended.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder in a bowl. Gradually stir flour mixture into the egg mixture until blended.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

I have also tried these brownies with walnuts, and another time with mini chocolate chips and I am planning on adding some coconut next time!

Enjoy!!!!

The Art of Stacking WOOD

Stacking logs is never a fun chore, but with the right amount of creativity and patience, it can be a pretty neat art-form.

The firewood is kind of like building blocks for adults. All of the different textures and colors from the various types of wood really do lead to some incredible works of art. Just take a look for yourself at these awesome stacks below.

Isn't this amazing? Makes me think about starting some wood-stacking projects (on a smaller scale fitting for a frame) and makes me wish I had a fireplace!

:(

.. what's for dinner on TurkeyDay??

I don't want to bore you with another recipe for another ThanksGiving dinner, I would be a little late for that anyway, right? I didn't even prepare a turkey this year!

 I opted out for .. CHICKEN .. a bird is a bird is a bird after all! This year's ThanksGiving dinner, my TallGuy and I were the only invited guests! So why would I run around in the kitchen for hours like a chicken with its head cut off (yeah .. pun intended) preparing a turkey that we would have to eat for days over and over again?? None one of us likes turkey that much!!!

 The chicken I picked out was not too small and not too big .. a nice 5pounder! After defrosting it in the fridge like a chef I decided to brine it! Hey, only because it is not a turkey I still want to do the right thing! It's still a bird that I want to digest this holiday !!!

And just in case you want to use this brine for your bird (good for turkey and chicken) next year ... here is what to do!!

16 cups of water

3/4 cup of salt

2/3 cup of sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Italian spices .. basil, thyme, rosemary etc

1 head of fresh garlic crushed and chopped

Put all that together in a big pot, mix and make sure all the sugar and salt are dissolved .. and drown that bird over night!

  

Of course, before you roast your birdie, make sure it has a nice bed of vegetables to rest on!! Chop those onions, potatoes, carrots and celery like there is no tomorrow, toss them in some olive oil and then off into the baking dish ! Oh, and don't forget to powder that chicken butt with a few more spices like onion salt, paprika, and garlic powder, inside and out, before you shove it in the (385 degrees), preheated oven! Every 38 1/2 minutes (or something like that) I checked and poured some melted butter with more spices over the skin and ....

... after 2~3 hours (depending on the size of your wing thing) you have a crispy skin but juicy meat bird-meal. YUMMM...

I also decided to make some homemade mac and cheese and some dressing as sides! And of course, there was pie .. sweet potato pie .. storebought ... but sssssshhhh don't tell!

So until next year, gobble 'til you wobble!! Just don't blame it on me! 

;)