none of that homemade junk for this family...

it has to be the "good stuff" straight from the box. i have tried many made from scratch brownie recipes(alton brown's cocoa brownie recipe being one of my favs) and my family picks the mega mart house brand every time. we are not talking mr. hines, mrs. crocker, or even the doughboy, but good ole uncle sam...sam walton that is.

oh, and don't go trying to sneak in any nuts, that mess don't fly in these here parts.

truth is, they are really moist, fudgey and very yummy . sorry, mr. brown.

a simple solution to beautify our planet

when asked today in preschool what we could do to help keep our planet earth beautiful, my three year old rolled his eyes and with finger to mouth, calmly suggested "we could vacuum it".

guacamole, my way

let me just say i love the avocado any way you slice it. i bought two the other day at my local mega mart, half way expecting them to be flavorless. i then scoured the internet for a great guac recipe, but not finding one that really excited me, i decided to combine them all and do my own thing. i think it turned out pretty dang good myself. i started by throwing a small clove of garlic and about a 1/4 of a small onion into the food processor. i did this to get a fine mince, because as mentioned in a previous post, i have no knife skills. meanwhile, i mashed my two avocados with the juice of a lime using my potato masher. i tossed in the garlic and onion combo along with some kosher salt and about ten grape tomatoes cut in half. i gently stirred to mix, tasted and adjusted the salt to my liking. i placed it in the fridge for an hour or so to let the flavors mellow and meld.

now, i have seen other recipes that called for both cumin and cilantro. i didn't have any cumin, so i don't know how it would taste. i had cilantro, but it is already in my homemade salsa, so i didn't want the overkill. i also have seen recipes listing the juice of a lemon rather than a lime. i am sure one or the other would work, mostly because it helps keep the avocado from turning brown, but i tend to think the lime gives the guacamole a brighter or fresher taste. i hope if you are a avocado addict like moi, you will give this recipe a go or come up with one of your own. i don't think you can really mess up guacamole, except maybe the recipe i saw that called for cottage cheese. ick.

p.s.-just to be on the safe side, i did bury the avocado pit in the middle. it, too, is suppose to help keep your guacamole green. okay, i am off to fry corn tortillas to make taco shells. adios amigos!

potty training

why am i such a failure? i did manage to pull it off just fine with my daughter years ago, but my son, it seems to be a lost cause. he will be four in june, yes FOUR, and he could absolutely care less about doing his business in the ye ole potty. i have tried bribes of candy, stickers, toys, floated cheerios in the water as a target, threats of punishment and he is not fazed. today, is underwear day for him, not me. he is in his diego drawers perched in front of the tv with lots to drink. i am prepared for both praise and clean up duty. bring it on.

he can do this, we can do this. keep your fingers crossed, or legs if ya gotta go!

caesar tortellini salad

this is a super simple supper salad, say that three times fast, that i nicked from recipezaar. there is a gal over there that has some killer recipes and this is one of them. my pic looks pretty washed out. i need to think about investing in a new camera, but that is a whole different post. the salad is a big hit at my house. i usually fix parmesan crusted chicken tenders as an accompaniment. good thing you can't smell my breath right now--whoa!


here is the link to recipe-
http://www.recipezaar.com/Kittencals-Caesar-Tortellini-Salad-166669

oh, i let the end users add their own black pepper.

psa-followers

see that poor little empty box to your right? it is suppose to contain my followers. i don't have any, yet, maybe one day. there is always hope.

thank you.

pocky

what is pocky? i have seen this "thing" mentioned on so many food blogs. there are folks out there who are pocky connoisseurs or pocky collectors(snort). i will just refer to them as pocky people. now, i have actually seen pocky at my local mega mart, so today i bought a box. it looks pretty unassuming, some type of asian treat. i have to admit, i am really leary of any asian food fad, from bubble tea to now, pocky. i adore all types of asian food, but have a fear that when i crack the wrapper the stench of fish food will come wafting out. okay, let me assure you, pocky is delicious. they are little biscuit rods dipped in chocolate. you get about 20 of these little gems in a pack for about a dollar. my first thought was, what i can i make with these? they are so tasty. they even have strawberry pocky. i want more.

i wonder if there is a pocky fan club out there for pocky people like me?

oh gawd, high school all over again

so, i applied for a secretarial position with the county's school system. i had to go take a test at the high school today. they tested me on microsoft word, did okay, missed two out of 22 questions, stupid mistakes just like in high school, but still passed. then the lady gives me a four page, front and back grammar test. holy moley! i breathed deep and try to shake it off, don't look at the clock, calm down, wipe sweaty palms on pants and move on. i got my #2 sharpened and headed straight for the multiple choice. unlike high school, i actually skipped some questions, came back, reviewed, erased and changed a few answers. i scored a 95%!! dang, if i had done that good in high school i wouldn't be trying for a secreterial job, but go after the superintendent's!

dear starbucks-i will work for whipped cream

i would, i tell ya. pay me in whip hits.

why do i love starbucks? i really don't get it myself, but i do. i love the smell. i love the scones. i love the coffee. i love the venti black shakened ice tea with four splendas and extra ice. i love it all, but what i really love is the whipped cream. that stuff is magical. i covet the snazzy, silver, pressurized canister filled with fluffy love. that stuff is proof God loves us.

i hope there is a starbucks in heaven.

lula's corn puddin'

this is good stuff i tell ya. i made it for dinner last night. it is a bit sweet and next time i will cut the sugar by half, oh, and there will be a next time. lula is my great aunt and her recipe is the one my mama used, so i use. the kiddos wouldn't even give it a second look, to quote t-"ewwww, yucky". want the recipe? here ya go.

lula's corn puddin'
1 can creamed corn
3 eggs
1/2 sugar-i will cut to a 1/3 or even a 1/4 next time
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup of milk
1/2 stick butter or margarine
2 tbsp flour-doesn't call for it, but mama wrote that she always added two big pinches, i opted for the tablespoons

pam an 8x8 casserole, preheat oven 400 degrees. melt the butter and add in all the other ingredients. whisk till mixed. pour, at this point you can sprinkle with black pepper if you like, and bake 40-60 minutes. what you oughta do is bake about 40 minutes, cover loosely with foil to prevent burning and go another 15-20 minutes. it might be a tad jiggly, but that is okay. yummy!

UPDATE-i remade this recently, cut the sugar to 1/3 cup and added a drained can of whole kernel corn as well. it was way better.

explanation

why is my blog titled "you know what you oughta do"? i credit that to my gal pal and fellow muskratateer(different story, different day) lisa. she tells everyone that i am her life manager. i apparently use that line often with her. i don't even realize that i do. i guess it comes so natural to me.

oh well, the smartest thing she has ever done(next to divorcing her husband) is not listening to me. no, seriously.

knife skills or lack of

i have no knife skills, you know the ability to chop, dice, mince food items in a relatively quick fashion, yet have everything relatively the same size. i cut with a steak knife. i do not own a real knife folks. i am too po to buy myself a forty dollar blade. every holiday that pertains to me, mother's day, birthday and christmas ( in that order) i vocalize what they oughta do, but oh no, i end up instead with something like lunch at olive garden followed by a mind boggling visit to ripley's. oh yay! i liked that too, i guess. folks, i want to be a quasi-serious cook here. i need a knife. have you ever try cutting a watermelon with a steak knife? or carve a pumpkin? it ain't pretty. i have entered the contests over at that oklahoma prairie woman's website, but i never win squat. any chefs out there upgrading, think of me and take pity. send me your old knife. i'm begging ya, ya'll.

beth's best

or at least that what my daughter calls my salsa. it certainly isn't anything extraordinary in my opinion, but it has been a big hit here at the ole homestead. c has eaten three batches in five days. it's good for ya, right? it is a simple salsa made from canned tomatoes i pilfered from a food blog. i added a little sugar and bingo we have a winner. want the recipe? here, have it anyway.

throw in the processor or blender, a clove of garlic and half of a smallish onion, pulse a few times to chop. add a 14 oz. can of tomatoes with jalapenos(i use del monte with zesty jalapenos), handful of fresh cilantro, juice of one big ole lime, salt and sugar to taste. give the processor a whirl, stick you finger in and taste. a word to the wise, please stop processor before inserting finger(you will thank me later on this one). i keep adjusting salt and sugar till i get it right where i want it.

you should read to your dog 20 minutes a day

just because................

cockeyed cake

this is cockeyed cake, a quick and simple snack cake you can throw together in minutes. maybe i should come up with some type of rating system? let me think on it. one out of five stars, whisks, dancing pigs, I dunno. anyway, i nicked the recipe from a popular internet food website and tweaked to my liking. here ya go, oh use good cocoa, not the crappy house brand stuff like me(sometimes being a tightwad just doesn't pay off).

heat oven to 350 degrees and pam an 8x8 pan.
in a bowl whisk 1.5 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar and 4 tbsp. cocoa, add to that 1 tsp. of baking soda and a 1/2 tsp. salt. now mix in 5 tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp. vinegar, yes vinegar, and 1 tsp. of vanilla. okay, add one cup cold water mix until smooth and pour into your prepared pan. bake for 30 minutes. dust with 10x sugar to make pretty. verdict-me-needs more cocoa; big j-ate four pieces, must be good; c-wouldn't touch it, choose dill pickles instead; t-one bite, declared it ain't no brownie and walked off. i would make again, too easy not too.

thinking about starting a

food blog. what do you think? i adore food. i love to bake and cook, neither one i am all that great at, but i have yet to kill anyone. i need a good title.