Friday, July 31, 2015

Friday, July 31, 2015

buck

What the Beck?????

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location:  Steak Bites
Found in: The Pioneer Woman blog
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/01/steak-bites/

I figured out that there are 342 calories per serving, if 4 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

       OMG these are wonderful! Now, this could be because I love meat, or because it was so flavorful, or because Ree totally knows what she is doing. Whatever the reason, these steak bites are the perfect side dish for any meal. For breakfast, this steak would be a great side for eggs. This extra protein in the morning is a great start to the day.  For lunch, you could add these bites to a salad to make it a little heartier. Of course for dinner, you could put them in pasta, mix with skewered vegetables, or even stack them on a bun. They would also be great in a burrito. I personally, just ate them all alone on a plate. Yum!



Here are my ingredients


A blurry photo of the meat chopped up

It's time to melt the butter

I aways put individual servings in the freezer for later

Gosh is this tasty!
Don't ya just want a bite?


Bucket List Update

1934  The Barretts of Wimpole Street
         starring: Norma Shearer and Fredric March
         plot – The love story of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning.         
         I really liked this old movie. I didn’t know much about the love                        story of Barrett and Browning. It was a truly interesting story.
1937  In Old Chicago
         starring: Tyrone Power and Alice Faye
           plot: This is the story of the O’Leary family and the Great Chicago.
                     I was so impressed with this movie. Being that it was 1938, I had low                                                   expectations for the cinematography. How could they create the Great Chicago                                   Fire in those days? They did a wonderful job with the special effects, and I really loved                       this movie.
1938  La Grande Illusion
         starring: Pierre Fresay and Jean Gabin
         plot – A World War II film about two French soldiers who are                        captured and put in a German camp. 
         OMG – this film had captions to read, and. I was exhausted                   after the first fifteen minutes. It was awful. Most of the                   time I could figure out what was happening, but I truly                   hated this film.
1947  Gentleman’s Agreement
         starring:  Gregory Peck and Dorothy McQuire
         plot – A reporter is trying to gather information on anti-semitism,               so he pretends to be Jewish. He has a really hard time dealing               with the hatred. 
         This was a fabulous film from beginning to end. Gregory Peck was          great in this role, and his reactions to the hatred were so realistic          and moving. This one is a must see. Set your DVD!
1950  King Solomon’s Mines
         starring: Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger
         plot – a lady tries to hire a guide to hunt for her husband who is               lost in the middle of Africa, at a time where little was explored.
         I loved this movie. Filming in untamed Africa was eye opening to          me. I really have no desire to ever travel there, but this historical          view of the country was impressive to see. I learned a lot about the          tribes that lived there at that time.




The Old Neighborhood

Our house has changed a lot. I really like it being
gray with dark green shutters and door.

The new addition hasn't changed too much,
but the houses are hidden by the foliage.

The elevator house is radically different

Rascher's house is a big mess.
I wondering what they are doing to it.

Potter's replacement house

The Burger's house hasn't changed much

Stopka's house is huge!
I miss the old neighborhood, when life was simple.



Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Wednesday, July 29, 1915

What the Beck???

Recipe Review
Today’s Recipe and Location:  No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

I figured out that there are 352 calories per serving, if 28 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         This recipe was so fast and easy to make. The problem happened when we cut the bars the next day. The entire bottom crumbled and separated from the chocolate topping. Someone suggested that maybe I should have frozen the bottom to help it set up better before I added the chocolate topping, or just have put the topping on the next day and give it the entire night to set.
         The bars tasted so good, but I was disappointed in the final product. I will try this recipe again and give it longer to set up. They were good enough to give it another try.


Here are the ingredients that I used today

Mmmmmmmm

Stir it up


Melt the peanut butter and
chocolate in the micro

Chop up some peanuts, and
try to not eat them as you go

Pat the base into a 9 x 13 pan
buttered  or sprayed pan


Pour the topping on the base mix

Use an offset spreader, so
it is nice and smooth

sprinkle with the chopped peanuts



Bucket List Update
I have no idea how I can type this in one size and after I cut and paste it in here it goes crazy. Steve - I need your help!

1966  A Man for all Seasons
         starring: Paul Scofield and Wendy Hiller
         plot – This was the story of Sir Thomas Moore who was in conflict                      with King Henry the Eighth.
         This was a good historical story, but it seemed to drag on and on to          me.
1972  Cabaret
         starring: Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey
                     plot - A club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the                                   Nazi Party rises to power around them.
                    Joel and Liza were absolutely amazing in this movie. I really didn’t like the storyline. I                         feel like I should have liked this one because it is considered a classic. Sorry Liza – this                      one was a snooze for me.
1994  The Shawshank Redemption
             starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman and James Whitmore
             plot – Basically a prison movie about two imprisoned men who bond over a number of years,                        finding solace and eventual redemption through their actions.
             I love, love, loved this movie! I can’t believe that I haven’t seen it in its entirety before now. I             think I turned in on once and it was a violent scene, and I turned it off.  What a major                           mistake.  I love the characters.  This is a must see.
2004  The Aviator
           starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Alan Alda, and Alec Baldwin
           plot – The biography of the life of Howard Hughes. This movie takes place in the 1920s and                     40’s. This showed how Hughes was involved in building planes and movies.
           This was a very long movie, but I learned a lot about Howard Hughes. I really didn’t even                  know what he looked like until I looked it up on Google. DiCaprio did an excellent job                        portraying this eccentric man.
1933  Smilin’ Through
         starring: Norma Shearer and Fredric March
         plot – A man lives alone for thirty years after the death of a past love. His close friend insists                     that he take care of his orphaned niece. Once she is grown. John does not want her                                to marry her chosen man because of an old grudge. She stills wants to marry him.
         At first I was unsure about this movie, but it had a great twist at the end.



 Uninvited Guests
I took this through the screen,
so I wouldn't spook her out of my pond


She was so happy taking a little dip


He was standing guard,
so she wouldn't be interrupted

It was time to go










Monday, July 27, 2015

Monday, July 27, 2015





What the Beck???


Recipe Review
Today’s Recipe and Location:           Cheesy Sausage Rigatoni

I figured out that there are 247 calories per serving, if 18 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         I love, love, love this dish, because it is so flavorful and cheesy. The best thing about it is the Italian sausage. I also love making this in the summer, because I can walk out my back door and use fresh parsley right out of the garden. This one is a keeper! The calories are low, but I was totally full for the entire afternoon. Anything that can keep me full is totally worthwhile.


Here are my ingredients

I began by preparing the pasta

Next,  the onions


I added the meat to the onions
OMG the smell was fabulous

Add in the sauce

It is ready to enter the oven

HOT AND YUMMY!


Add the parsley for the finishing touch

Ready for my individual freezer servings


Bucket List Update

1933  A Farewell to Arms
       starring: Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes
       plot – they meet, got separated, and then eventually got back        together
       Who knew that Helen Hayes was so beautiful as a kid? I only
       remembered her from the movie Airplane as the little old                           lady stealing aboard the plane.
1937  A Star is Born
         starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, and Andy Devine
       plot – a struggling actress gets help from an alcoholic movie                 star, but their marriage is in trouble when she becomes                 a bigger star.
       Okay, I must admit that I thought this was going to be like                         the Barbra Streisand movie, but this was different. I did like                 the movie, but found myself annoyed that he couldn’t be                 happy for his wife and went off and felt so sorry for himself.                 Really?
1941  Here Comes Mr. Jordan
       starring:  Robert Montgomery and Claude Rains
       plot – a boxer dies before he was supposed to and then gets a                 second chance to return to Earth.
         As I was watching the movie, I realized that I knew this movie.                     The remake was called Heaven Can Wait and starred Warren                 Beatty. The original was just as good as the remake!
1946  The Yearling
       starring: Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman
       plot: A poor Florida farmer’s son takes care of a fawn
       I have a love/hate feeling about this movie. The relationship                 between the boy and the fawn is so sweet. I had to close my                 eyes when the family dogs were fighting a bear. It upset me                 because I hate to watch animals fighting. I hated the ending                 because the fawn was killed just like Old Yeller.  I wanted                 everything to end happily – what a drag!
1955  Marty
       starring: Ernest Borgnine
       plot: two self-proclaimed unattractive people discover each                 other
       I really liked this movie, but I had a hard time trying to                 remember this character instead of thinking of Borgnine as                         McHale. It was a nice thought that there is someone out there                 for everyone.



Another Girls’ Dinner

We have such a good time when we are all together