lesfen

Two hospital stays... one baby and one gall bladder. When I had the baby I couldn't have anything but water, ice, and popcicles for 19 hours. When I got to the final stage of labor, I instructed my brother in law to get to the nearest McDonalds and fetch me some Chicken McNuggets... STAT. The meals that followed were pretty pedestrian. Plain iceburg salads with shredded red cabbage and carrots, instant mashed potatoes with yellow gravy (both of which are a secret shame of mine), sliced "turkey" (you know the stuff... half dark, half white, perfectly round), applesauce, etc. Breakfast was instant scrambled eggs, oatmeal, toast, and bacon. The rest of my meals were taken in the hospital cafe, which were actually really good. When I had my gallbladder removed they gave me a full meal, which I thought was a little strange, but I have no idea what it was. I do remember that it came with some kind of nutritional dessert thing that was in a little cup. Not quite ice cream, richer than sherbet, unnaturally pink, and apparently chock full of nutrition. I LOVED it. It was so tasty to me. When the nurse came back in she looked at my tray and said, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone actually eat that!" I told her that it was awesome and she brought me two more. I wish I would have written down what they were.

What the HELL is up with Combos?! I literally gag every time I try to eat them... but just the first one. I get over it and chow down. The texture of that filling is just vile... but the faux pizza flavor is a thing of beauty.

That... is... brilliant!! Lesfen's "to do" list: 1. Make friends with an Arby's Manager. Do what you must. 2. Buy Lil' Smokies and toothpicks. 3. Get rid of husband and child for the evening.

Cheese is in constant danger. I have to make at least four extra pieces of bacon to distract me from the rest. The bottom and the top ring of a tomato hold a special place for me... it's right on the corner of my cutting board, covered in S & P. Celery. Gotta have a stalk of celery and a jar of peanut butter for an "after the choppin'" break. Any piece of fat that has browned on a roast. (I guess that one isn't an ingredient.) Even the things that I don't really like get eaten!! Raw carrots and green peppers come to mind. Ground beef. I don't really love hamburgers, but there's something about ground beef frying in a pan with onions, S & P, and a little garlic that makes me nuts. Ground sausage too. Oh man. Nothing is safe from my cake hole.

I love you. That stuff is great... too bad you have to beg them for it. ← Please tell me you put it on your cheeseburgers ← I don't... but I'm gonna! I don't eat Wendy's cheeseburgers because the ones that I frequent seem to have a flagrant disregard for customer requests. I'd rather not have mayo on my burgers (especially their "mayo") and they just can't seem to comply. The local pub makes a provolone and mushroom burger that absolutely begs for a little something something tho'. I actually keep them on the shelf above my stove with my other spices and use them whenever something just isn't quite... right. If I think something needs kicked up (please excuse the expression) I test a drop or two of that magical golden elixir and see what happens.

I love you. That stuff is great... too bad you have to beg them for it.

I had a guacamole craving this weekend but couldn't find an avocado to save my life. So I went to Sam's Club and bought a giant bag of premade guacamole. *Please note that I did serve some of it to my guests on NYE.* The rest was squeezed directly from bag onto chip... and directly from bag into mouth... and directly from bag onto piece of leftover pork... and directly back into mouth. Sigh. It was actually very, very good. Spicy with big chunks of avocado. Mmmm.

Don't store your George Forman Grill with the drip thingy inside of it. Next time you preheat it, it will melt. Fortunately the clean up wasn't too bad. That thing has one hell of a non-stick surface.

Oh baby.

I'd go with comfort food... venison with gravy over egg noodles. Mmmm.

I also have quite a collection of hot mustard packets from Chinese takeout. I love that stuff on sausages, hot dogs, and especially on corn dogs. Mmmm... corn dogs.

I'm with Jason... sort of. I like the original Arby's sauce. A lot. Really, a lot. I will stuff the packets into my purse by the fistfull. It's one of the few BBQ sauces that I actually like. I do wish I could get my hands on a big jug of it tho'. Do you know how hard it is to grill chicken with Arby's sauce, packet by packet?

I received what appears to be a cookie plate and mug painted (badly) with pictures of gingerbread men and candy canes. They are really tacky. The kicker was the sticker on the bottom: (Paraphrasing) WARNING: This product contains materials that have been confirmed to cause cancer... etc. I got this gift from a Secret Santa co-worker... who apparently hates me and wants me to get cancer. I threw them away when I got home.

EVERY TIME!! I keep my cast iron skillet and one of my baking sheets in my oven and I always forget to take them out when I preheat the oven. It really makes me mad! Then I have to call out like a maniac... "Don't touch the pans that are on the stove!!". Sigh. Don't ASSUME that your dog (or your 2-year-old for that matter) can't, or won't attempt to, reach the cookies that you've left on the counter.

Sandy... I just had to say that your avatar looks just like you!

Please elaborate...

I hate you guys. I got a new cast iron skillet, which I don't know what to do with. I have one that my MIL gave me that's 40 years old and is as smooth as glass! I don't know what to do with this new, and very rough, one. I also got a cheap Santoku, but I haven't pulled it out of the package yet. My own fault for wish listing online. My mother is not a traveller of cyber space. I did get the whisk that I asked for. I really needed one with a proper handle. All of the ones that I have are the all wire variety. What else? Oh, a Rachel Ray cookbook. I didn't ask for it, but I do love cookbooks. As long as she's not narrating it, I'm ok with it. Oh, and my brother got me a great pack of Christmas Blend coffee from Susan's. I know, I know... it's the thought that counts. Sigh.

Ever have a PMS craving go bad? Last week, I wanted steak. BAD. Beef has been so expensive around here that I refuse to buy it. Stupid, but when I can buy 16 chicken legs or 16 chicken thighs for just over $3, I find it hard to justify spending that much for about 2/3 lb. of ground beef. Anyway... I had absolutely had it so I made my husband pull into the grocery store at 9:30pm to pick up a Ribeye (him) and a strip (me). Went home, prepped the steaks, and threw them into the cast iron skillet. Nuked some red potatoes and boiled some petite peas. The steaks were still a little too cool in the middle to be considered medium rare, but instead of just putting them under some foil to finish, I threw them under the broiler for a minute, pulled them out and let them rest. To make a long story short, they turned out medium well and I was PISSED. There is nothing worse than trying to satisfy a craving and then jacking it up, with no one to blame but yourself.

Also... Percyn posts have caused me to say things like, "you know... might be better with a nice over easy egg on it" and "ya know... putting salt on this Twix bar may be the smartest thing that I have ever done."

Oh... Someone posted a picture of their GORGEOUS tomato pizza made with phyllo. I think it was Rachel Perlow. Anyway, it floored me and I think I made 12 of them before the summer tomato season was out.

I have a huge covered porch (covered, but not screened) so I grill out there. I always grill up pork tenderloins on the day after Christmas, but other than that I probably only light it up one or two times until spring. Sometimes a hankering will grab hold and you gotta just go out and grill it up.

We had a new addition to our relish tray this year. My aunt canned hot peppers in a mixture of what appears to be garlic, onion, tomato, and maybe paprika? They were ok, but they really came to life with a sprinkling of salt. I managed to snag a jar for myself and I keep finding myself standing in my kitchen, fridge door open, fork in hand, salt shaker within reach, munching away. Yum.

I have a cheap one (soft... I have to sharpen it almost everytime I use it) that came with my Kitchen Aid knife block wedding gift, but I still use it more than any of the other knifes in my kitchen. I don't think my hands are particularly small, but I do find it less cumbersom than my chef's knives. I still use the chef's knives for very hard root veg's and other things as they come along, but my Santoku-style really is my "go to" knife. BTW... I have added a better model to my Christmas wish list. My husband has been instructed.

How was the pork, Grub? It actually looks pretty darn good... minus the purple stuff, of course.

Cheese balls, baby... spread with those totally queer spreaders with snowmen/Christmas trees/Christmas tree bulbs as handles. Love it! I also look forward to the giant bowl of mixed (shell on) nuts that my mom always has hanging around. My husband said that he most looks forward to eggnog milkshakes from McDonalds and Steak and Shake.