Beef..it's what's for dinner!

Well at least, for Christmas dinner this year.

I didn't order a Giordano's stuffed pizza this year for Christmas, even though the prices have dropped considerably - they are offering to ship 4 pizzas for under $100 now.  It's the best pizza that I've ever had.  A Chicago-style pizza, with a bottom crust, then cheese, then a top crust, then sauce and toppings.  VERY filling! We first found them when we were in Orlando for a computer conference, we went to Giordano's over by the hotel we were staying at.  Wow! what a find!

For Christmas this year, I'm making a beef roast - a nice prime rib roast, and I've used this rub before when I made one years ago - this rub is excellent on beef.  It comes from HEB grocery's website, under "recipes".


Prep Time:
10 minutes
Makes:
seasons 3-4 lb.
Ingredients

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Beef may be roasted immediately or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and "cured" in the refrigerator overnight.

From James Beard's American Cookery:

To buy beef for roasting:

Look for cherry red, well-trimmed beef with good marbling in it and with creamy fat.  It should be US Choice or Prime.  Estimate 3/4 to 1 pound of meat per person, especially if there is much bone. Have no fear of leftover roast.

The first three ribs are considered the best, a larger roast would be first five ribs, well-trimmed, so that carving will be easy.  This means a "7 inch cut" with the short rib section cut off and the chine bone, back cord, and feather bone removed.  It is wise to have the roast barded with an extra piece of suet.

Low-heat method: This works successfully with beef that is well fatted. Place the roast on a rack in a shallow pan, and rub it well with freshly ground pepper, and,. if you choose, a little rosemary or thyme or garlic. (or use the above rub).  Preheat the oven to 180 or 200 degrees, and place the roast in the oven bone-side down.  Allow it to roast without basting approximately 23 to 24 minutes per pound, until it achieves an internal temperature of 120 to 125 degrees for rare meat; or for medium, approximately 28 minutes per pound until it achieves an internal temperature of 140 degrees.  Salt the roast, remove it from the oven, and allow it to settle about 10 minutes before carving.

Medium-heat method: This is more or less the standard method.  Preheat the oven to 300 or 325 degrees. Prepare the roast as above.  Roast, allowing 15 to 17 minutes per pound for rare (meat thermometer 120 to 125 degrees) or 17 to 20 minutes per pound for medium rare (meat thermometer 140 degrees).  Allow the roast to stand 10 minutes before carving.

Searing method: Preheat the oven to 425 to 450 degrees.  Prepare the meat as above.  Roast 30 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and continue to roast, allowing about 12 minutes per pound for rare (meat thermometer 120 to 125 degrees) or 14 to 15 minutes per pound for medium (meat thermometer 140 degrees.  Allow it to stand 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy!

Licensing smokers?

Go figure.. the nosy nannies are at it again...this time, suggesting smokers get licensed by the government to buy cigarettes.  Can you say "black market"? 

I quit smoking over 24 years ago - I really don't care for smoking, and I think it STINKS...but I'm not saying that other people cannot smoke if they wish.  

Some nutjobs academics out of Australia are suggesting that smokers be licensed, and have to pay the government for the amount of cigarettes they buy.   The whole argument is found here http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001342

Remember the liberals were all about "get the government out of our bedrooms"? Now they're wanting to regulate pretty much every doggone behavior.  

A psychosis?

I was browsing the English version of Pravda - amazingly enough, this paper does tell the "truth" about the US.  The Opinion section is most enlightening, saying what the MSM is afraid to say in this  country.

Here is a 4-page article on "Is Liberalism a Psychosis?" http://english.pravda.ru/history/29-11-2010/115965-liberalism-0/.  Quite an interesting article.

It does give you several rabbit trails to run down also!

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything - in the process of switching some meds, and the side effect of the new one is nausea.  Joy!

Here is a Christmas candy recipe for you, made in a crock pot! It looks easy enough.  I'm going to be baking Oatmeal Scotchies today, oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips in them.  The recipe is on the back of the Toll House Butterscotch Morsels.  Hubby at first said YUK when I first made them...then he tried one..and ate the whole bunch!

1 sm. pkg. semi sweet Chocolate Chips

2 (16 oz) jars dry roasted Peanuts (unsalted)

1 (4 oz.) German Chocolate Bar

1 (18 oz) can Mixed Nuts (shake in collander to remove some of the salt)

2 pkgs. Chocolate Almond Bark (break into several pieces)

 

Put all into a Crock Pot on low for 3 hours.  Stir and drop by spoonful onto wax paper or foil to harden and enjoy.  It makes a lot,  a 5 quart crock pot full. 

Enjoy! 

Now the big decision is "which tree do I use this year?".  I have one of those twirling fiber optic trees (the peanut's decision for a tree); the 3 foot tree that's pre-lit (I made a crochet pineapple tree skirt some years back, it fits this tree); or the Charlie Brown Christmas tree I picked up last year at Wal de Mart after Christmas.  

Grocery prices!?!?

I'll say this flat out - grocery prices are getting outrageous!  Even a dozen medium eggs are around $1.50, that used to be the price of a dozen extra-large.  The 75% ground beef is up over $3 a pound, and it's well over $4 a pound for extra lean.  Chicken is going up also - leg quarters (sprinkled with some tasty BBQ spices) used to be a dollar a pound, and now it is almost $1.40 a lb for leg quarters.  Turkey thighs used to be fairly inexpensive also, now they are almost $3 a lb.

I cringe at what frozen turkey prices are going to be this Thanksgiving.   I guess gone are the days of 10c a pound turkeys on special if you bought $20 or more of groceries.  Even last year, the cheapest turkeys were around 60c a pound.  Spiral ham has stayed about the same the past couple of years, but hopefully it has not gone up as well - the HEB Brand spiral hams usually are 2.99 a lb, but I can snag a Smithfield spiral ham for $1.98 a pound.   (And they taste just as good!).

Bacon is outrageous - even the box of ends and pieces that I usually buy, because it's cheaper than buying sliced bacon.

If you have a printer, go on over to http://www.couponmom.com/  sign up, and start printing off coupons for things you need.  There are also 'coupon exchanges' that cost some money (not sure how much) but they will mail you coupons.  Also check manufacturer's websites for coupons, and your grocery store website for coupons and advertisements. If you time it right, you can really good some good deals.  But ONLY if you were going to buy those things at the time.  My husband has a whole stack of deoderants under the bathroom counter - they were on sale for $2, and I had some coupons for $2 off each...so I stocked up. But not like those CRAZY couponing people you see on TV. I picked up 4 sticks of it.  Enough to last a while, figured that would save some money.


GASOLINE [ALL TYPES]
2002 Average – $1.44
2012  Average- $3.73
Percent Increase: 158%


BEER [PER 16 OZ.]
2002 Average – $.99
2012 Average-$1.24
Percent Increase: 25%


EGGS, GRADE A, LARGE [PER DOZ.]
2002 Average – $1.03
2012 Average-$1.80
Percent Increase: 73%






COFFEE, GROUND ROAST, ALL SIZES [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $2.92
2012 Average-$5.58
Percent Increase: 90%


PEANUT BUTTER [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $1.96
2012 Average-$2.75
Percent Increase: 40%


MILK, FRESH, WHOLE, FORTIFIED [PER GAL.]
2002 Average – $2.75
2012 Average-$3.47
Percent Increase: 26%


LOAF OF BREAD, WHITE
2002 Average – $1.01
2012 Average-$1.41
Percent Increase:  39%




SPAGHETTI AND MACARONI [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $0.91
2012 Average-$1.32
Percent Increase: 44%


ORANGE JUICE [PER 16OZ.]
2002 Average – $1.84
2012 Average-$2.69
Percent Increase: 46%


APPLE, RED DELICIOUS [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $0.94
2012 Average-$1.35
Percent Increase: 43%


WINE [PER 1 LITER]
2002 Average – $6.23
2012 Average-$10.03
Percent Increase: 60%


ELECTRICITY [KILOWATT/ HOUR]
2002 Average – $.091
2012 Average-$.130
Percent Increase: 42%


BEEF STEAKS [PER 16 OZ.]
2002 Average – $4.40
2012 Average-$6.22
Percent Increase: 41%


MARGARINE,SOFT, TUBS  [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $o.86
2012 Average-$2.09
Percent Increase: 143%


TOMATOES [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $1.18
2012 Average-$1.44
Percent Increase: 22%




TURKEY, WHOLE [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $1.05
2012 Average-$1.65
Percent Increase: 56%


BACON [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $3.23
2012 Average-$4.52
Percent Increase: 39%















GROUND BEEF [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $2.28
2012 Average-$3.69
Percent Increase: 61%


COOKIES, CHOCOLATE CHIP [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $2.59
2012 Average-$3.61
Percent Increase: 39%

If you would like some interesting reading, check out the prices here > http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=418



Ok, enough of that.. onto something *juicy*


Remember how we all thought Osama Bin Laden was dead at the bottom of the sea, feeding the hagfish and sea lice? (sea lice are shrimp and crabs, FYI)

Turns out, he's alive and well, living at 911 Jihad Way, Abottabad, CA 91101! Although his occupation is listed as "deceased terrorist", he's given $ to Obama's campaign.  Evidently all you need to know is a zip code for in the US (Google is most helpful for that I guess), and you too, can gin up all the phony names and addresses you want, and donate money to Team Obama.  AND it will be accepted!

Check out what happened with this guy > http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/10/25/how-the-obama-campaign-is-illegally-accepting-donations-from-foreign-citizens/?singlepage=true

Wow...

After many fits and starts, I *finally* learned how to use this mesh yarn I have - Sashay from Red Heart.  Ignore their video at the Redheart site, as the crocheting is done *off camera* for some reason. They sure didnt put much thought into it.  A better place to learn how to do it is at www.simpleandsensational.com .  Free membership, plus lots of interesting stuff there!

test? this is only a test...

My dashboard is gone - nothing up at the top to click on to post a new post, so this is a test. I googled "blogger" and got this link http://beta.blogger.com/blog-this.g   Gee I hope they're not tweaking it AGAIN. I liked it the way it was in the first place!

On another note - how do you know you're ready to have children? After all, it is an 18+ year commitment, so in order for you to be properly prepared to handle kids, I give you this 14-point test.


Test 1: Preparation

Women: To prepare for pregnancy

1. Put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front.
2. Leave it there.
3. After 9 months remove 5% of the beans.

Men: To prepare for children:-

1. Go to a local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet onto the counter and tell the pharmacist to help himself
2. Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home. Pick up the newspaper and read it for the last time.


Test 2: Knowledge

Find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels and how they have allowed their children to run wild. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behaviour.

Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.


Test 3: Nights

To discover how the nights will feel:

1. Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 4 - 6kg, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2. At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 11pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
4. Set the alarm for 3am.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
6. Go to bed at 2.45am.
7. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs in the dark until 4am.
9. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up when it goes off.
10. Make breakfast.

Keep this up for 5 years. LOOK CHEERFUL.


Test 4: Dressing Small Children

1. Buy a live octopus and a string bag.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that no arms hangout.

Time Allowed: 5 minutes.


Test 5: Cars

1. Forget the BMW. Buy a practical 5-door wagon.
2. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
3. Get a coin. Insert it into the CD player.
4. Take a box of chocolate biscuits; mash them into the back seat.
5. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.


Test 6: Going For a Walk

1. Wait.
2. Go out the front door.
3. Come back in again.
4. Go out.
5. Come back in again.
6. Go out again.
7. Walk down the front path.
8. Walk back up it.
9. Walk down it again.
10. Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
11. Stop, inspect minutely and ask at least 6 questions about every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue and dead insect along the way.
12. Retrace your steps.
13. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbours come out and stare at you.
14. Give up and go back into the house.

You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.


Test 7: Conversations with children

Repeat everything you say at least 5 times.


Test 8: Grocery Shopping

1. Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
2. Buy your weekly groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight.
3. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.

Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.


Test 9: Feeding a 1 year-old

1. Hollow out a melon
2. Make a small hole in the side
3. Suspend the melon from the ceiling and swing it side to side
4. Now get a bowl of soggy cornflakes and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon while pretending to be an aeroplane.
5. Continue until half the cornflakes are gone.
6. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure that a lot of it falls on the floor.


Test 10: TV

1. Learn the names of every character from the Wiggles, Barney, Teletubbies and Disney.
2. Watch nothing else on television for at least 5 years.


Test 11: Mess

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out:

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains
2. Hide a fish behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flowerbeds and then rub them on clean walls. Cover the stains with crayon. How does that look?
4. Empty every drawer/cupboard/storage box in your house onto the floor and proceed with step 5.
5. Drag randomly items from one room to another room & leave them there.


Test 12: Long Trips with Toddlers

1. Make a recording of someone shouting 'Mummy' repeatedly. Important Notes: No more than a 4 second delay between each 'Mummy'. Include occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet.
2. Play this tape in your car, everywhere you go for the next 4 years.

You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.


Test 13: Conversations

1. Start talking to an adult of your choice.
2. Have someone else continually tug on your shirt hem or shirt sleeve while playing the Mummy tape listed above.

You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.


Test 14: Getting ready for work

1. Pick a day on which you have an important meeting.
2. Put on your finest work attire.
3. Take a cup of cream and put 1 cup of lemon juice in it
4. Stir
5. Dump half of it on your nice silk shirt
6. Saturate a towel with the other half of the mixture
7. Attempt to clean your shirt with the same saturated towel
8. Do not change (you have no time).
9. Go directly to work

Now go have fun!

Blind Dog

Well, our small fat, watermelon-shaped dog lost a lot of weight, so I took him to the vets - turns out the poor thing has diabetes.  I get to give him insulin injections 2x a day, plus he has special food.  Turns out he's gotten cataracts that came on very quickly too, so he's unable to see.  When he has to go out to potty, I snap my fingers low along in front of him to show him where he can safely walk without running into stuff.  

From everything I've read, dogs will adapt to being blind, varying from a short time to up to three months. 

For exercise I am going to take him on a walk a couple times a day - which is good for me also. 

Hubby was all for "one shot - either me or the doc" fix for Rocket, but I nixed that - I said that if Rocket was put down, then I'd bring home the baby kitten that was for free at the vet's office. LOL that went over like a lead balloon! 

Here is what is happening in our county: 

The 2012 Bay City Bull Blast will be held October 20th at 7pm. The Bull Blast is presented by the Matagorda County Fair Association. This year they will feature 30 Championship Bull Riders, Mutton Bustin' and Junior Steer Saddling.

With your ticket purchase you'll also have the opportunity to dance to the sounds of the Sour Mash Band that starts playing at 9pm.

For ticket information call 979-245-2454 or visit www.matagordacountyfair.com.  Adult tickets are $15 in advance - $18 at the door. Children tickets $7 in advance $10 at the door.

If you've never seen Mutton Bustin', you're missing out on a treat! It's where the kids (usually 60 lbs and under) get on a sheep, and ride. 




That idiot that was saying he was going to kill schoolkids and stuff a couple of years ago - here is some new info on him.  Turns out the guy was a SUBSTITUTE TEACHER also! 


PAUL MAY ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE
Paul Nolan May, the individual convicted of making terroristic threats against our children and teachers is eligible for parole. Just weeks ago May plead guilty to 12 counts of terroristic threat. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison.  Due to his receiving time served credit for his time spent in county jail awaiting trial, Paul May is already being considered for parole.

At the time of his crime the Bay City community pulled together, living in fear, yet refusing to let a terrorist win. Many children continued to attend school even though there had been multiple threats, bomb threats, and the distraction of national news media invading the campus.

Paul May's parole is not automatic. Paul Nolan May will have to appear before the Parole Board who will also consider the input from victims and people of the community. The board wants to hear from citizens and they've made it easy to contact them.  You can fax, email or snail mail the Parole Board about this individual. Be sure to include his name and State ID Number in your communication. 

Paul Nolan May State ID# 08763442;

Send your email to tamara.stockton@tdcj.state.tx.us

Snail mail:
TDCJ, Victim Services Division
8712 Shoal Creek Blvd, Ste. 265
Austin, Texas 78757-6899

Or Fax: 512-452-0825