Thursday, October 29, 2009
Pilsbury Easy Frost Review
I think Pillsbury has a great idea here, but I'm not completely sold only because I think I could get more aesthetically pleasing results with my icing bag and knowing exactly how much pressure I'm applying. That being said, if I don't want to make my own icing, this is great. It's so fast to squeeze the icing on and I don't have to worry about spreading cake crumbs. Plus, it's one less bowl to clean up if I'm not making my own icing. Taste wise, I tried the vanilla dream and found it as sugary delicious as all other canned icing.
Joe loved the Easy Frost! He had a blast playing around with it and loved that his name could fit on a cupcake. Thank goodness the child will never die in at least one of us!
Chili's Enchilada Soup
I didn't read the recipe before hand, so I started in a large pot....umm...that wasn't large enough, so mid way I had to pour everything into the largest pot I had on hand--what'd I'd call my crab steaming pot if we could actually buy live crabs in Omaha.
Either way, I thought the soup was pretty close to Chili's and definitely worth making again, but perhaps only a 1/3 of the recipe next time. Here's the recipe with my adaptations.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1/4 cup Chicken base (I used 1/2 chicken stock)
3 cups diced Yellow Onions
2 tsp. ground Cumin
2 tsp. Chili Powder
2 tsp. granulated Garlic (I grated two cloves instead)
1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
2 cups Masa Harina (I used 2 1/2 cups)
4 quarts Water (divided)
2 cups crushed Tomatoes
1 can diced chiles (not in original recipe)
1 lb. processed American cheese, cut in small cube (Velveeta)
3 lb. cooked, cubed chicken
DIRECTIONS:
In large pot, place oil, chicken base, onion and spices. Saute until onions are soft and clear, about 5 minutes In another container, combine Masa Harina with 1 quart water. Stir until all lumps dissolve. Add to sauted onions, bring to boil. Once mixture starts to bubble, continue cooking 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. This will eliminate any raw taste from Masa harina. Add remaining 3 quarts water to pot. Add tomatoes; let mixture return to boil stirring occasionally. Add cheese to soup. Cook stirring occasionally, until cheese melts. Add chicken; heat through.
Makes 1 1/2 gallons or 16-20 servings.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Saw a miracle today
Cases like above really challenge my thoughts on what I'd want for me and my kids when the time comes. Medically, this girl probably shouldn't have survived, but she did because the attending never gave up hope. My father-in-law likely shouldn't be around either (he has nine lives, I swear), but my mother-in-law refused to turn off the life support and he's now seen 12 years since then. Sometimes too much knowledge is dangerous and I hope when the time comes, my medical training will be pushed aside and my faith will kick in.
While I am extremely happy our patient today had a transplant and is doing so well, I can't forget another kid had to die so she could have a heart. Family, I am sorry for your loss and you did a remarkable thing by donating your child's organs. Thank you.
Donate Life
Monday, October 26, 2009
Let's hear it for the masks!
I'm back in Omaha and in light of the swine flu, the Children's hospital out here is mandating universal face masks for everyone. Even if we're not sick, whenever we see a patient, we need to wear a mask. The patients need to wear a mask. The parents need to wear a mask. Heck, if the kid brought a baby doll, they'd probably have to wear a mask too. Seriously though, I guess this is good and a necessary precaution, but I miss being able to see the social smile of the kids or trying to connect with them by making funny faces. I just hope they don't mandate universal gowning next.
(I feel like Michael Jackson always wearing a mask).
I think Joe likes BBQ...
Let's Talk About My Traps
And some more rambling...although my traps get painfully tight, I'm fortunate they don't cause headaches. Thank goodness for small blessings.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Baltimore Gas Prices
And yes, I had to get one last visit to Chick-fil-a before going back to Omaha who hasn't been blessed with the yumminess of the establishment.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Displaced Ravens Fans
All things must end
I'm excited to fly back to Omaha tomorrow to get back to our home we established. I miss seeing Joe everyday and our little lifestyle. I'm doing pediatric cardiology next, so I'm hoping to have some more time to catch up on baking and reading. We'll see.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sorry Bella
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Funny Swine Flu Photo
One of my dear friends sent this to me and I just had to share. It's no lie that Swine Flu is hitting us hard, but at least we have the resources for this pandemic. I loved how this picture had masked on the other characters, because it's so true. We isolate all of our flu patients and I feel like I'm gowning for almost every patient on the floor. I wouldn't be surprised if stocks in hospital isolation gear have gone up.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Ravens Gnome
I don't know why, but Joe has an affinity for gnomes. I think it all started when Travelocity used a gnome as their mascot, but I could be wrong. Either way, when I see gnomes I automatically think of Joe. While I was at the mall this past weekend, I ran across the Baltimore Ravens gnome. I had never seen it before and I knew I had to get it for Joe. I thought, "what a perfect Christmas gift?!" The thing, it's football season now and I didn't think I could wait for Christmas. So, I ordered one and sent it to him as an early Christmas gift. He loved it! He says right now it's currently planted on our kitchen table looking over our tickets for the Ravens game this week. Let's hope the gnome is a lucky gnome!