What a Day

I had a really crazy day today! First off, I gave a presentation at work for our Safety meeting. I was really nervous, but afterwards, I was told by several people that I did well, and that the presentation was good. Whew!
After work, I dropped by the library to sign up for the Winter Reading Program, since I had recently finished reading five books for the year. As it happens, they gave out their last mug (the reward for completing the program) yesterday.

They did give me two pens, though (you usually get one when you sign up).

Then, I was off to the grocery store to get dinner for tonight. I made a family recipe for meatloaf, Betty Crocker's scalloped potatoes, and crispy oven-fried chicken.

Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken

• 2 cups corn flakes cereal, crushed to 1 cup
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 3 to 3 1/2 lb cut-up whole chicken, skin removed

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray rack in broiler pan with cooking spray.
2. In shallow bowl, place crushed cereal. In another shallow bowl, beat remaining ingredients except chicken with fork until well blended. Dip chicken pieces into egg white mixture; coat with cereal. Place on rack in broiler pan.
3. Bake about 45 minutes or until thermometer inserted in center of breast reads 170°F and in center of thighs, legs and wings reads 180°F.

The recipe came from Pillsbury.com, and I was kind to Tom and omitted the spices I knew he wouldn't like and added ones I knew he did like. He said he would have liked to see the corn flakes pulverized a little more, so next time I think I'll use Panko bread crumbs. The flavor was good enough, but it needed longer in the oven.
I was also able to finish up this scarf that I started last night.

It's made with Red Heart's Boutique Sashy Twist.

Purple Scarf

The scarf I completed this evening was a success!

It was crocheted with Red Heart's Boutique Sashay Purple, and I made it slightly different from all my previous scarves. I've been trying to make a standard length of approximately four feet, and using the Frilly Crochet Scarf pattern, I've needed to use more than one ball of yarn, leaving unused yarn. Well, with a slight change of pattern, one less stitch across in each row, I was able to get a scarf that was just over four feet with only one ball of yarn. Since I only had two balls of this yarn, I won't have leftover yarn laying around!
Now I've got to figure out what to do with all of my odd balls of yarn.

Mambo Scarf

Today, before work, I finished another scarf.

It's crocheted with Red Heart's Boutique Sashay Mambo. The colors are pinks, purples, blues and yellow-greens, and are fun and bright.

Beef Stroganoff

Tonight for dinner, I attempted a recipe I found on Pinterest, called the absolute best Beef Stroganoff ever - and with praise like that, how can you go wrong?

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

• 2 pounds cubed stew meat
• 2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
• 1 largish onion diced
• 2 tbsp of Worcestershire
• 1/2 water
• 8 oz of cream cheese
• couple of dashes of Garlic Salt (1 tsp?)
• couple dashes of Hot Paprika

1. In the slow cooker stir in all the ingredients, except the meat AND the Cream Cheese, together. Once combined add the meat and mix together.
2. Cook on Low for 8 hours (or High for 5 hours). Cut up the cream cheese into cubes just before serving and turn crockpot on high. Stir the cream cheese in until all combined. You might have to put the lid back on and leave for 10 minutes.
3. Serve over egg noodles. Or mashed potatoes, I won't tell anyone but I would really like to not be alone in this.

Now, of course, Tom had misgivings because he saw me cutting up onions last night in preparation for today, but he actually liked the dish. He still recommends that if I make this again to cut back on the onions. I thought it was good, and filling - after one bowl, I was stuffed!

Disco and Conga

Tonight I finished two scarves that I had been working on for the past couple of days.

They are both crocheted with Red Heart's Boutique Sashay. The one on the left is called Disco, the one on the right is Conga.

Tutu and Aran

I finished up two scarves today, one for an order and one to possibly send out as a promotional product for the Etsy shop.

Aran

Tutu

They were made using Red Heart's Boutique Sashay yarn. Overall, I think they turned out well.

Smothered Cabbage

I couldn't help but make one more thing for the Mardi Gras celebration at Huber today, Smothered Cabbage.

Smothered Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 lb smoked sausage, cut into small pieces
• 1 onions, large (diced)
• 1 head cabbage, medium size (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, brown sausage over medium heat.
2. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes.
3. Add cabbage and cover.
4. Cook about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Uncover and add seasonings, cook 5 minutes more.
6. Serve as a main dish over rice or as a side with some cornbread, of course. ;).
7. Enjoy! ;).

This was the more popular of the two dishes I brought, and it was tasty, but I obsessed over the sausage. I used a hot Italian sausage, which I can only hope tasted "right" in the dish.

Catfish Etouffee

At Huber today, we had a Mardi Gras celebration at lunchtime, so I wanted to bring someething with a Cajun flair. I decided on Catfish Etouffee.

Catfish Etouffee

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup enriched white rice
• 2 cups water
• 4 tablespoons brown roux
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 pound tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 pounds catfish fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• red pepper flakes (to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine rice and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until done.
2. In a large saucepan, warm roux over medium heat. Stir in onion, green bell pepper, and garlic; cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Stir in broth and tomatoes. Season with lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, black pepper, thyme, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Stir in catfish and parsley. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
4. Stir in 2 cups cooked white rice, and season with red pepper flakes. Serve.

I got many praises, but I think the dish could have been more flavorful. It smelled wonderful last night, while I was making the base, but the flavor today just didn't live up to my expectations.

Teppanyaki Grill & Supreme Buffet

As an end-of-season get-together, invites were sent out to the band to enjoy dinner together at the Teppanyaki Grill & Supreme Buffet in Landsdowne.

Despite on-line reviews that were less than stellar, we enjoyed ourselves. Between 30 and 40 people showed up for the event, which included band members, significant others, and some children. There were eight buffet tables, a sushi bar and teppanyaki grill. Tom liked it so much, he wants to remember it, just in case we're in the area again and are hungry.

SuperBowl Parade

What a day! Despite the hour delay getting started, it seemed pretty successful. The parade started at City Hall, where some of the Ravens addressed the crowd.

We made our way to the stadium on streets packed with people. The band led off the parade, followed by the cheerleaders, Mr. Bisciotti and company, and the team. When we got to the stadium, the team was introduced, and there were a few speeches.

The stadium was packed with people, more than I've ever seen. The ceremony was short and sweet, but the band didn't get to play while at the stadium. Afterwards, we got box lunches, and I ate in the media lounge. I've never been there before. It was only chairs and tables, but on the wall was this item.

There will be a new one to add soon!