Sasha pics!!!

I call this hairtie love.  She takes my hairties and plays with them until they break.  Sasha steals my hairstuff in the middle of the night like a ninja.  She sits next to me and when I wake up all my hairties are destroyed and all over the floor.  Sometimes in the middle of the night, I turn an her ass is in my face chewing all my  stuff on the nightstand.  That's why for Christmas, I give her a pack of scuncis.   My baby girl loves to destroy everything.  She also loves to watch me do anything.  Every painting I do has her and Sam in it because they try to sit in my paint and lick my work.
The other weird thing Sasha does is visit me in the bathroom.  I don't know why but I feel a lot of pressure when she comes in.  She tries to do her business at the same time as I do.  She just walks in and sits with me.  It's creepy.  I can't pee with her in the bathroom.  I know she's a cat but it still feels like I'm being watched and graded by her or something. She also wants to be patted and coddled over while you're on the toilet.  She rubs her tail and butt all over you.  It still freaks me out.

This is Sasha in my bedroom.  She sits while I blog about her.  She hates having her picture taken and always looks away from the camera.  Like me.  I love taking pictures of her though and I keep trying to take them.  So, here are some more pics.  She looks so regal and clean.  She is playing with her beat up ball right now.  And she's rubbing herself all over the laptop too.  I call her Sasha Bigbutt just to make fun of her.  LOL

Too Spicy!!!!!: beefball udon soup

Too Spicy!!!!!: beefball udon soup

beefball udon soup

This is super uber yummy.  It's kind of cold here in Vegas, which is weird because it's May so I made this soup.  I think it will be a reoccurring dish for my family too!!!

Beef meatballs

½ lb ground beef

¼ c. uncooked white rice

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 T. onion powder

1 T. finely chopped scallion

1 egg

¼ c. Italian breadcrumbs

1 tsp. marjoram

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Soup

1 48 oz. package chicken stock

2 carrots medium dice

2 large leaves swiss chard, escarole, or use 1 package chopped frozen spinach

1/2 of a package of dried udon noodles or 2 tied bunches

¼ c. scallions chopped

1 tsp. ground ginger

TT salt

TT white pepper

Directions

1. Take a large bowl and combine all beef ball ingredients and mix. All ingredients should be evenly mixed.

2. Heat up chicken stock with white part of scallions and ground ginger. 

3. When stock is boiling, pinch little balls of meat and roll in hands until you get a meatball.

4. Drop in meatballs and let cook until rice is done and balls are floating on top of soup. Add carrots and any hard vegetables.

5. Cook udon noodles in separate pot like pasta, so your soup will remain clear and not gummy tasting.  Don’t add salt.  Follow directions on package.

6. Add leaf vegetables to soup pot and let cook until leaves are tender.  Add salt and seasonings to taste. 

7.  Before service, add cooked udon noodles to soup and stir in. Serve with chopped green scallions.

favorite pieces!!!!

T

These are my fave pieces that I've done.  Most are in watercolor or acrylic!!  I am getting my creativity back.  I've lost the urge to create new things and experiment with art.  Most of the time, I've been cleaning or cooking something without doing something for myself.  So, this is my art!!!!  I love these too.  I am going to create and paint as much as I want.  You will be the willing viewers of my stuff whether you like i or not.  And everyone else can just SUCK IT!!!

Great steak dinner!!!

Steak marinade

1 gallon storage plastic bag

1T garlic powder

1T onion powder

1 tsp. ginger powder

1 tsp. black pepper

1 T honey

1/3 c. soy sauce

1-2 tsp. lemon pepper

1-2 tsp. salt

2 T.  lemon juice

I got 3-4 top round sirloin steaks from the supermarket.  I don't know much about meat cookery but I usually poke 1 or two holes into my meat before I throw them in the ziploc bag.  I find that the marinade seeps into the meat better and when you cook it, it's not just the outside that you can taste the flavor.  That's when I put the marinade in  the bag.  Zip it up and shake it around so the meat is evenly coated.  I try to marinate the beef for 15- 30 minutes before I put it on the grill or broiler.  I usually stick this in the fridge and do other things.  Don't marinate overnight or 3 hours or something like that.  If you do, the soy sauce flavor will really take over and you might as well be making jerky.  It won't taste like meat anymore either.

We have an electric foreman grill so I put the setting on 3 and let it heat up for 5-10 minutes before I put the steaks on.  I do this because I want the meat to sear on the grill so it seals in the flavor. I let one side cook for 5-6 minutes before I turn it over.  An important thing to not do is put the cover on when you first start grilling the first side of the steak.  It will just steam and boil the inside without adding the sear on the outside.  All the flavor will leak out on the grill too.  

I usually leave the other side to cook for 5 minutes too, depending on how big the steaks are.  My steaks were brontosaurus size so I left them on the grill a little bit longer.  I like medium to medium well steak so it's good.  

Tip: If you're not eating right away or let's say everyone went to sleep on you, I kept it in the oven for 275 for 15 minutes then turned off the oven. It surprisingly came out really good.  It was almost well done though but the meat was still tender because of the marinade. 

looks done, but still a little bloody, perfect steak!!

Also make sure you rest the steaks for 15 minutes before you eat.  Just tent it with some aluminum foil and leave it on the counter.  The inside will be juicy and it will be perfect.

Where's mine?!!!

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

A few days ago, I marinated and grilled some steaks for dinner.  I paired it with some buttered cilantro rice and salted tomatoes.  It was a great meal, unfortunately I had to eat it alone because my fam went to sleep.  It did make me sad  for a bit, but the upside is I could eat as much as I want.  My cats kept me company and we had a good time.  Except Sam kept eying my food while I ate.  I could feel his attempt at mind control while I ate.  I felt the urge to slide my plate over to him and leave the table.  I thought it was funny until he started trying to eat from my plate the same time as me.  That crossed the line because he stuck out his paw and tried to push my steak to him.  That's why I kicked him off the table.  I'm always eating the cats' hair and I told them I had enough fiber and hair in my diet.  EEEEWWWWWW.  We call Sam rude because he sticks his butthole in everyone's face especially when you're on the computer or trying to eat food.  It makes you puke and he expects you to look at it like it's a great piece of art.  I always wondered why he did that.  I figured he's trying to mark his territory or something.  Honestly, I feel like I'm at a cat strip club when he does this.  I keep yelling at him to stop putting his junk in my face.  He just whacks me with his tail and starts purring. 
I found out though that Sam does this around food because he's mad no one's giving him anything. So he wants to spoil your dinner.  So now, I call him Sam asshole.

Love me!!!

Who knew cats love steak too?? I thought it's for dogs, humans, wolves, etc. 

How to fry an egg {part 2}

This is the money shot!!!  Yummy!!!!!!!

How to :

1. First use a nonstick pan and turn the flame to a low setting.  
2. It should just be a bunch of small flames on the burner.  Heat up your pan and put probably a good pat of butter or your favorite spray on it for those who are watching their cholesterol. 
3. Let the butter slowly melt and move it around so the pan gets coated.  The pan shouldn't be too hot when you do this or the egg will really stick to the pan.
4. Crack the egg onto the pan and let the white stuff form slowly.  Just scrape the sides a little bit so it won't stick.  When the white stuff forms on the bottom and the yolk is stable on the white part, shake it around to make sure the egg won't stick. When I mean shake it around, I mean use the handle of your pan and not your utensil or your hand.  If you're scared about moving it, take one of those silicone spatulas and gently slide it under the egg.  Slowly and gently so you won't break the yolk and make sure nothing is sticking to it.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Ok! This is the part you want to start thinking about flipping it.  The white part of the egg should be just about cooked and solid.  However, some of the egg whites around the yolk should still be liquid. The bottom should be white if you like it over easy, or a little browned at the edges if you want it more cooked etc. 
6. Fliiping time!!  Slide the egg to the edge of the pan and let about a third of the egg hang out on the sides. Use the handle to slide it to the side.  Your thumb should be on the upper part of the handle in the middle of the handle. Your other fingers should be holding the pan at the bottom for stability.  If the pan is heavy, slide your hand closer to the pan but don't burn your fingers or use a towel.  Then toss it once into the air to flip the egg.   Keep your eye on the food so it doesn't fall all over the place and catch it. 
7. Keep it on the low burner for a little bit until it's done.  For over easy, just wait until the egg whites are all cooked before you transfer it to a plate.  For medium keep it there until the whites are cooked and the edges are brown.  For hard, keep it there until the yolk is solidified and looks like what a boiled egg yolk looks like.  

Good luck!!!! and use an apron for those messy flips.  Remember, don't mess with the flame because I have the habit of doing that and my stuff comes out like crap and I just end up getting mad too.  And DON'T BE AFRAID TO USE SALT!!!!
On another side note, you can throw your hands in the air and dance around in the kitchen after you're done because you can say you're skilled expert in egg cookery!!!  That's what I did too and the cats just stared at me and asked for food. {sigh} they have no sense of celebration.

How to fry an egg!!!

Sometimes, ok more than sometimes I forget how to do things or what I'm doing.  I thought to myself this morning, I want to eat a sunny side up egg with rice.  But, on the way to the bathroom I forgot cause I saw one of the cats.  I just made myself an ice coffee with a lot of sugar and went back to bed.  Then I was watching bobby flay on food network and I thought, " that looks cool!!!" I remembered though that I've tried the egg flip many times and I've either broke the yolk and it spread all over the stove or it landed on the floor and Dasher ate it.  He was fast too.  The next time I tried to flip my food was at culinary school.  The pan was kind of heavy and when i did it, it sucked balls.  It didn't look cool and I almost dropped it all over me too.  That's why I moved back and the guy next to me did it for me so it would look nice.  I thanked him too.
The point of this is because I had success this morning!!!  I flipped it right and it came out nice.  Well, when I put it on the plate it became lopsided but I don't care.  It was awesome.  V for victory!!!!!!!

AND NOBODY ATE IT BUT ME!!!!! BWAHAHAHA!!!

Franken Ketchup Sauce Recipe

If you want to try the sauce out here you go:  

1 c. ketchup
1/3 c. honey
1 T dried orange peel
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2-3 T? cocktail sauce
2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 T red wine vinegar

It tastes good as a dip.  Just cook it a little in the microwave or stove so the powders and honey mix better and evenly into the whole sauce. 
Dislaimer:  I am not responsible for spicy and burning mouths, nostrils, or stomachs.  Go to store and buy some maalox or milk if you think you'll need it.  Good Luck!!!

Orange Chicken Frankenstein

What was I thinking?  I made a new type of orange chicken without the orange sauce and it came out good, but I have to say it smelled a little funny.  I wanted to make a better orange sauce but I had no orange juice just dried orange peels, so I made a ketchup based sauce. I put cocktail sauce for heat, orange peel, ginger, garlic, and onion powder, honey, red wine vinegar, and soy sauce.  It was a franken mess but it tasted really good.  I also battered a pack of cut up chicken thighs with buttermilk.  I used a mix of flour and cornstarch to see if it make any difference with frying.  Guess what, I ended up just using flour at the end because honestly I didn't see any difference.  The only thing I noticed was that the cornstarch burned quicker than the flour.  It was a holy crap mess!!!! But I had fun doing it.  One of the cats tried begging me for chicken....but he smelled it and ran away...so I wondered, can I feed this to my family without killing them??!!!  I decided to go with it and cooked up the ketchup sauce.  I had to stand back because the spices burned my nostrils......Did you know that spices become more distinct when you cook them?  Well, they do because when I served it to my family my sister gave me a look like I was trying to poison her.  She ate it though and said "I don't like it it's too hot."  I just smiled at her like I was saying, "I like it this hot."  Which I thought I did, but my stomach started burning and rolling around.  I was trying to discreetly look for Tums or maybe water without her noticing.  Then my brother in law came and ate it too.  I was waiting for him to spit it out or maybe tell me something but all he did was eat it.  I was trying not to laugh while worrying that we're all going to be in the bathroom for the next few hours.  The most scary thing is that we only have two bathrooms and we're 3 people.  I hope I am not going to be the one going the gas station next door to use the bathroom.  I drank coke and water though and my stomach is fine.  We all seem to be fine.....for now.  I am now trying to eat a bunch of lettuce leaves to calm my burning stomach, which seems to work.  The family seems fine so I would like to think of this dinner as a success.  No successful new recipes, and I think I'll go back to my old orange chicken recipe and use this one for a bbq sauce.  I think it is a better chicken on a stick then orange chicken or general tso chicken. On side note, the choice of marinated chicken thighs is a successful idea!!!!