So, this post is just going to be a mishmash of crap all flung together and mixed around a bit to LOOK like a blog post. Now, tell me you love me!
I mean... I guess that's what mosts of my posts are anyways... am I ever REALLY coherent, anyways?
So, I'm going to start this off with two things that should make me happy, but have actually started to annoy me for whatever reason.
Firstly, I have lost a lot of weight this year. I don't know how much, because I don't own a scale, and, I guess I'll figure it out when I get back to Canada, but, it's a substantial amount. That makes me happy, and proud. What DOESN'T make me happy is that most of my clothes no longer fit. Like, really really don't fit. As in, my co-teachers have started commenting on how bad my clothes look on me, and have started handing me websites as suggestion for where to buy clothes from. As in, if I pull my pants out in front of me, without a belt on, all of them, save for four pairs of jeans--even pants that were way, way WAY too tight when I came here--stretch at least three inches out in front of me. I have almost been pantsed on numerous times as a result of this. Why does this not make me happy? Because it means I have to spend a buttload of money on clothes when I get back to Canada. At least I won't have to worry about my luggage being overweight, because I will apparently be leaving all of my clothes--save for a few items--here.
Secondly, I have amassed a ginormous amount of change and one dolla bills. $38 in one dollar bills, and $38 in change, and growing. Why does this annoy me? How the hell am I going to get rid of $38 in change before I leave? I'm carrying around a giant ziploc bag full of $38 in change like I am a crazy old lady.
On to other things, I'm going to share some recipes with you guys!
I apologize in advance that my recipes are not an exact science... I have this thing where I make crap up as I go along, so bear with me, and the fact that I use the phrase "to taste" a lot... and the fact that these recipes appear to be written by a rambling crazy person, which, I kind of am... or, actually am.
SHORT RIBS AND SAUERKRAUT (it sounds gross if you don't like sauerkraut, but it is actually AMAZING)
You can cook this in a large pot type o' situation, or, for best results, I use a crock pot... lots o' crock pot love goin' on right here!
Ingredients and directions!
About 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of boneless pork or beef short ribs, or even a pork loin or some kind of beef roast cubed
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder for seasoning
2 tablespoons of margarine or butter
Season the meat, and then brown it on all sides in a pan. For the love of jeebus, do not cook it all the way through, just brown it!
Things to throw into your crock pot/big ol' pot whilst browning the pork or beef:
4 or more (! I'm part Ukrainian, there is no such thing as too much) cloves of minced garlic
2 diced onions
4 cubed potaters
Mix all that stuff together
Throw the beef or pork into the crock pot
Add salt and pepper to taste
Add a couple of dashes of Worcestershire (spelling???) sauce
Mix vigorously
Add 1 16-22 ounce jar, can, whateva, of sauerkraut WITH THE JUICE (IMPORTANT!!!!) over top of everything, and spread it all out
1 cup of beef broth
Cook on the lowest setting possible until the beef or pork is thoroughly cooked, and the potatoes are cooked all the way through (takes about 8 hours on the lowest setting in my crock pot)
If you want to speed up the cook time, partially boil the potatoes first!
Serve with sour cream to taste! I love me some sour cream, so, I smother it in it... hehehe.
COTTAGE CHEESE NOODLE THINGY (this is a really technical name, you guys... for serious. Actually, my dad's grandma used to make this for him when he was a kid, and then he made it for my sister and I when we were kids, and it is seriously my favourite food in the entire world, and I may make it once a week sometimes, and I can probably gorge on an entire pot of it all to myself and be all fat and rolly polly and happy forever even though I ate so much that I feel like barfing... boy, I bet you guys are glad you're still reading this!.. I have revealed too much about myself, now.)
Directions!
Start boiling a pot of water to cook some noodles of your choice. I enjoy the bowtie pasta, because it is fun as hell, or! Oh my gosh! Shell noodles! I love how delicious things get stuck inside of the noodles!! cook the noodles to desired doneness.
What to do while you are cooking your pasta:
Slice up some bacon, as much as you want. It's easiest if you freeze the slab of bacon first, and then sit it on its side while you cut it up with a big sharp scary knife... serrated for extra pleasure. You can wear a bag on your hand so that it doesn't get frostbite and fall off.
Dice up an onion! OR! Put an onion in a slap chop and repeat "You're gonna love my nuts!" over and over again while you beat the crap out of the onion!
Sautee the bacon until it is cooked through, but not crispy... you do NOT want crispy bacon for this.
Put the bacon to the side, and remove MOST of the drippings from the pan, leave some in to provide a little bit of flavour for the onions.
Melt a tablespoon of butter or margarine into the same pan, add the onions, and sautee until they are soft and delicious and cooked all of the way through!
Turn off the stove, and add the bacon to the pan that has the onions in it.
Drain the noodles.
Return them to the pot.
Dump the pan of bacon and onions into the pot.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well.
Add as much cottage cheese as you would like! See, my dad always put in a bit of cottage cheese, I, on the other hand, am a cottage cheese fanatic, and I shamelessly add tonnes and tonnes of cottage cheese to this recipe. I like it all creamy and delicious, so, it's up to your tastes.
Enjoy!
MY WINTER SALAD (I got bored and made this crap up one day after I bought too many pomegranates [is there such a thing?!] and I had to find something to do with them, other than sit in my room with a bucket of seeds, gorging myself. This is a super pretty looking salad!)
Directions and ingredients!
Seeds of 1/2 of a pomegranate, removed from pomegranate
1 big cucumber, cut into quarters, and then cubed
A bunch o' cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 mandarin orange, peeled, pulled apart, and then the little sections cut into threes
Dried cranberries
Crumbled feta cheese
1/2 of a yellow pepper, diced up
Toss with a delicious salad dressing.
My favourites:
Kraft sundried tomato and oregano
Kraft roasted red pepper with parmesan
So, there's a few recipes for you! I hope someone actually tries them out! If you do, let me know how they work out.
Sorry my blog theme has been food, lately, haha.
Toodles! <3
Hehe your blogs are funny to read. Have to try your recipes. Love ya. Aunty Dar
ReplyDeleteThere's always some good with bad. I gained a lot of weight last year, and then lost most all of it. The newest clothes don't fit, but thankfully for me... I saved my old clothes in hopes that this would happen! ;P
ReplyDeleteMost of the time, it doesn't, but I gambled a bit and won! Yay!
If you ever visit Calgary when you come home, we should totally get together and cook up a storm. I think we'd have a blast. =)
<3
No one else in my world has ever even heard of ribs and sauerkraut let alone tasted them. The recipe must have been passed on to you by a Ukrainian ancestor maybe even older than me. We coat the pork ribs with flour and pepper before browning and just add sauerkraut with the juice as you recommend. This is one of my favorite meals, will try your variation, thanks for sharing. Suppose you also like home made pyrohy with a cottage cheese and potatoe filling fried in copious amounts of butter.
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks, Aunty Dar, I'm glad you like my blog! Tell me how the recipes turn out if you do try them.
ReplyDeleteKrista, we totally should get together sometime when I get back and cook up a storm, I think it would be a total riot! Also, I'm not saving my old clothes, 'cause I don't plan on gaining the weight back... haha.
Rebus, it's one of my favourite dishes, too... it's so nice on a cold wintery day! As for where the recipe came from, I learned it from my dad, who probably learned it from his mother or grandmother, who are Ukrainian. And, yes, I LOVE homemade cottage cheese and potato pyrohy, the cheddar cheese and potato ones just don't stack up. I like them served with warm fresh farm cream with a little dill and some fried up onions, though!
I love recipes! Even when they arn't an exact science. The whole business with the clothes not fitting does sound annoying, as does the change. Do you carry that with you very often? It seems like it would be heavy.
ReplyDeleteNo, I keep enough change for a few bus rides in my wallet, and that's it... the change bag is slowly being depleted.
ReplyDelete