With a large amount of leftover turkey, ham, and dressing, and a small amount of potatoes, cranberry, and other sides, there are only so many plates of leftovers you can make before things start looking sad. Then comes sandwiches... you can use an entire loaf of bread in one weekend if you do sandwiches. Especially if you start doing club sandwiches with three slices of bread... the middle slice is especially good on a warm sandwich if it's been soaked in gravy.
Then when everyone is sick of sandwiches, it's time to break out the recipes.
I am particularily fond of two recipes after Thanksgiving, as it uses up the main meat leftovers but still leaves enough to stash in the freezer.
Turkey Chow Mein
2 C. Chopped cooked turkey
1 whole onion
2 Tb. Soy sauce
1 Tb. Sherry (optional)
2 Tb. Oil
1 C turkey or chicken broth
3 Tb. corn starch
1 Tb. molasses
1-15 oz can Chop Suey vegetables (more variety than chow mein veggies and the bonus of crunchy water chestnuts)
Saute onion and turkey in a mixture of the oil, sherry and soy sauce until onion is tender. Mix together cold broth, molasses, and cornstarch, set aside. Add chop suey vegetables. Push pan contents to the edges of the pan, leaving a well in the middle. Give the broth mixture a stir, then add all at once to the pan, making sure to get it all in there. Stir constantly and heat over high heat until cornstarch thickens and is bubbly. Stir the ingredients pushed to the edge back into the middle. Let bubble over medium heat for another minute or two. Serve over hot rice or chow mein noodles.
You may want to create some extra rice so you can make the following:
Ham and Egg Fried rice
2 C chopped cooked ham
2 eggs
3 C cooked rice
2-3 green onions with tops, chopped
2 Tb. soy sauce
2-4 Tb. oil
Heat oil in a deep skillet. Beat the eggs, and add to the pan. Cook until set, but do not let them brown. Remove from pan and break them apart in a small bowl. Set them aside.
Add ham and soy sauce to the oil left in the pan, adding more oil if needed. Cook and stir for a minute, then add the rice. When the rice is warmed through, add the eggs back to the pan, then add the green onion. In a few minutes, everything should be heated through and fragrant. Serve immediately.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Blogging: Kids are work
With the peanut home for the week, I'm going to be taking some time off from the blog. If something whaps me upside the head, I'll probably mouth off about it, but otherwise it's a lot of planning and running around, and entertaining my audience of one.
So far I've had five requests for jewelry items, three requests for knitting lessons, a cooking lesson... and it's only Monday. I'll let you know if I'm alive later in the week.
So far I've had five requests for jewelry items, three requests for knitting lessons, a cooking lesson... and it's only Monday. I'll let you know if I'm alive later in the week.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Miscellaneous: More bitching about healthcare
If you've ever owned your own business as an adult, you should know why you charge the prices that you do for services or goods. First of all, in the case of goods, you have to pay for raw materials. A little extra for your time spent making the goods, a little extra for unseen expenses like products that get lost in the mail or damaged in transit. Plus maybe a little more extra to buy new tools and equipment, pay the electric used in the process, etc.
This is why I'm beginning to see medical professionals as the greediest bastards on the planet.
Don't get me wrong, my new dentist is a nice guy. I wasn't too sure at first (he must have been having a bad day) but now he's grown on me.
Recent medical costs have made me start to wonder though... exactly what are they charging me so much money for? Or my insurance company?
When I had to go to the emergency room while on vacation, I walked into the building under my own power, so no ambulance. I sat waiting on a gurney in the emergency room for a half-hour, the doctor came, talked to me for five minutes, took a blood test, gave me a prescription, and sent me on my way. For this they charged a total of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
My insurance company paid 60% of this, that's not the point. The point is does the doctor actually think he's worth $2000 an hour? I don't give a flying f*ck if it's Saturday, nobody is worth that much. Even if the blood work was $500 of that total, that's still pretty arrogant.
Yeah, I'm probably paying to cover a lot of people who go in there whom they can't turn down who can't pay their bills. But even accounting for that, the two ladies in reception who are being paid to be there, the doctor, the pharmacist in-house, the immense amount of electricity being used, that much money for five minutes of personal attention is pretty fucking steep.
I have a feeling that I was also paying for the big, fancy atrium they had put in last year with the big greenhouse glass ceiling and a fountain. A FOUNTAIN. It's a clinic in a town of less than 20, 000 people, and they put in a fountain the size of a swimming pool. Are you fucking kidding me?
And guess what's attached to this clinic? That's right, the same care facility where they have my grandfather housed, which is charging over $6K a month for him to stay there.
Greedy fuckers.
I didn't start out intending to talk about that clinic, I was more flabbergasted by the $200 charge for teeth cleaning I had recently (ten minutes of a lady poking around in my mouth with a metal stick... $200 really?) but you know the more I think about it, it's all the same animal.
I just don't see why it's so expensive. Especially since the assistant that helped with my last procedure admitted to me that she'd never gone to school for dental assistance, and was getting her training on-the-job. I *know* that chick is probably only making $10 bucks an hour. All the equipment in the office is falling apart, and it's the same equipment that's been there for at least three years. You know they don't even have sinks except in the one bathroom? It's like they took over an office building, and didn't go to the expense of a plumber.
I suppose they thought $50 an hour was too expensive. :/
This is why I'm beginning to see medical professionals as the greediest bastards on the planet.
Don't get me wrong, my new dentist is a nice guy. I wasn't too sure at first (he must have been having a bad day) but now he's grown on me.
Recent medical costs have made me start to wonder though... exactly what are they charging me so much money for? Or my insurance company?
When I had to go to the emergency room while on vacation, I walked into the building under my own power, so no ambulance. I sat waiting on a gurney in the emergency room for a half-hour, the doctor came, talked to me for five minutes, took a blood test, gave me a prescription, and sent me on my way. For this they charged a total of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
My insurance company paid 60% of this, that's not the point. The point is does the doctor actually think he's worth $2000 an hour? I don't give a flying f*ck if it's Saturday, nobody is worth that much. Even if the blood work was $500 of that total, that's still pretty arrogant.
Yeah, I'm probably paying to cover a lot of people who go in there whom they can't turn down who can't pay their bills. But even accounting for that, the two ladies in reception who are being paid to be there, the doctor, the pharmacist in-house, the immense amount of electricity being used, that much money for five minutes of personal attention is pretty fucking steep.
I have a feeling that I was also paying for the big, fancy atrium they had put in last year with the big greenhouse glass ceiling and a fountain. A FOUNTAIN. It's a clinic in a town of less than 20, 000 people, and they put in a fountain the size of a swimming pool. Are you fucking kidding me?
And guess what's attached to this clinic? That's right, the same care facility where they have my grandfather housed, which is charging over $6K a month for him to stay there.
Greedy fuckers.
I didn't start out intending to talk about that clinic, I was more flabbergasted by the $200 charge for teeth cleaning I had recently (ten minutes of a lady poking around in my mouth with a metal stick... $200 really?) but you know the more I think about it, it's all the same animal.
I just don't see why it's so expensive. Especially since the assistant that helped with my last procedure admitted to me that she'd never gone to school for dental assistance, and was getting her training on-the-job. I *know* that chick is probably only making $10 bucks an hour. All the equipment in the office is falling apart, and it's the same equipment that's been there for at least three years. You know they don't even have sinks except in the one bathroom? It's like they took over an office building, and didn't go to the expense of a plumber.
I suppose they thought $50 an hour was too expensive. :/
Friday, November 20, 2009
Books: Under the Dome
I will just say this regarding my earlier post today:
Much in the way of Joss Whedon, Mr. King, I didn't get what I wanted, but I certainly got what I *needed*. Thank you for an excellent book.
Much in the way of Joss Whedon, Mr. King, I didn't get what I wanted, but I certainly got what I *needed*. Thank you for an excellent book.
Television: Space-age Technology, books, and dentistry
V is grabbing my attention, for sure. Not only is Elizabeth Mitchell doing her usual excellent job, but Alan Tudyk (Wash from "Firefly") is kicking ass!
The introduction of V technology that renders a small patch of fabric on a Visitor uniform into a camera is spooky and unsettling. Is it a commentary on Big Brother, or just there for the creepiness factor?
I did not watch Supernatural last night, as I have been knee-deep in the new Stephen King novel and enjoying it immensely. It's a huge tome, over 1075 pages, but I'm about 90% of the way through it. I figure I will finish it later today, what with my permanent crowns being installed. I figure on a minimum wait of half an hour at least, then more waiting in the chair. I then plan to reward myself with a nice view of the Winchester boys when I get home.
Back to the subject of S. King... my husband and I have been less than pleased with Mr. King's work of the past ten years or so. I'm sure coming back from being hit by a car was a harrowing ordeal, and it's bound to affect anybody.
Reading "Under the Dome" however, I'm convinced that the beast is back... you know, the one who wrote "The Stand"? My final judgement is reserved for when I finish it, however. A lot of his work is truly excellent right up until the last few pages, and then it all goes to hell (and not in a good way). Kind of like the adaptation of his short story (my all-time favorite) "The Mist". The adaptation was great, and did the story justice... until the last MINUTE or so, when I threw things at the screen and yelled at the craptacularness of it.
He's not responsible for that, though. I blame Hollywood.
But it serves as an illustration. A story can be an excellent piece of work all the way through, but if the ending sucks, the ending sucks and you will hate the whole thing as a result... even if there are a thousand pages before it that were truly amazing.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR "Under the Dome"
Here's what I'm hoping for the end of "Dome": I want Dale Barbara to come out alive. I want Julia and Col. Cox to end up together... you know, happily. I want Rose to end up meeting her favorite CNN correspondent and preening and flirting with him. It would be cool if Alice and Aide end up being aliens in disguise, but that's not a deal-breaker. And I want Big Rennie to die... horribly. Under the tight, hot beam of a magnifying glass in the sun, if possible. Chef and Andy should only be able to blow themselves up, out of pure stupid.
And somehow, Joe figures out how to shut down the dome... through cleverness, not some kind of "interference".
I mean, Jeeze man... horror doesn't have to end horribly for it to work, does it? DOES it?
The introduction of V technology that renders a small patch of fabric on a Visitor uniform into a camera is spooky and unsettling. Is it a commentary on Big Brother, or just there for the creepiness factor?
I did not watch Supernatural last night, as I have been knee-deep in the new Stephen King novel and enjoying it immensely. It's a huge tome, over 1075 pages, but I'm about 90% of the way through it. I figure I will finish it later today, what with my permanent crowns being installed. I figure on a minimum wait of half an hour at least, then more waiting in the chair. I then plan to reward myself with a nice view of the Winchester boys when I get home.
Back to the subject of S. King... my husband and I have been less than pleased with Mr. King's work of the past ten years or so. I'm sure coming back from being hit by a car was a harrowing ordeal, and it's bound to affect anybody.
Reading "Under the Dome" however, I'm convinced that the beast is back... you know, the one who wrote "The Stand"? My final judgement is reserved for when I finish it, however. A lot of his work is truly excellent right up until the last few pages, and then it all goes to hell (and not in a good way). Kind of like the adaptation of his short story (my all-time favorite) "The Mist". The adaptation was great, and did the story justice... until the last MINUTE or so, when I threw things at the screen and yelled at the craptacularness of it.
He's not responsible for that, though. I blame Hollywood.
But it serves as an illustration. A story can be an excellent piece of work all the way through, but if the ending sucks, the ending sucks and you will hate the whole thing as a result... even if there are a thousand pages before it that were truly amazing.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR "Under the Dome"
Here's what I'm hoping for the end of "Dome": I want Dale Barbara to come out alive. I want Julia and Col. Cox to end up together... you know, happily. I want Rose to end up meeting her favorite CNN correspondent and preening and flirting with him. It would be cool if Alice and Aide end up being aliens in disguise, but that's not a deal-breaker. And I want Big Rennie to die... horribly. Under the tight, hot beam of a magnifying glass in the sun, if possible. Chef and Andy should only be able to blow themselves up, out of pure stupid.
And somehow, Joe figures out how to shut down the dome... through cleverness, not some kind of "interference".
I mean, Jeeze man... horror doesn't have to end horribly for it to work, does it? DOES it?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Knitting: Insanity Halted
Well as much as I love the look of the Autumn Rose Pullover, and love the idea of knitting such a cozy thing, I think I'm scrapping my two inches of progress later today. I'm not even going to frog it, just save the needles and toss it. Why? Because when I started getting into the color changes, I really hated the way the colors combined. My yarn people may think their colors are decent substitutes, but I assure you when it comes to the "original" color scheme, they do not.
That, and the chart for this thing is set up in an insane manner. The light color yarn is indicated by shaded boxes, and the dark color yarn is indicated by white boxes on the chart. WTF? The chart is hard enough without having to have to think about which color is which at every color change... and there are a LOT of them.
I'm still thinking of charting my own pattern though... without the insane number of striping changes.
I'm pretty much finished with the blanket coat. It's wearable now, with the sleeves set in, but I think instead of stopping there as I originally thought, I'm going to go ahead and pick up and knit the facing for the borders.
Another change in my plans is regarding the pound of natural Oatmeal Blue-Faced Leicester I spun up, hoping to use it for the coat on the cover of the Fall 2009 Interweave Knits magazine. I've already knit one coat, I don't want to do two. So I've started a very simple shawl with it. They're Aran to Bulky weight one-ply singles... so the project is going quite fast. I've got about two feet done on a garter-stitch border, triangular shawl, and I've just started insetting a garter stitch in the center, using appropriate increases and decreases to keep the border and middle stockinette as an even stripe. It's kind of a chevron look, but the stripes are four inches or so wide.
So far I've used about three ounces of what I had spun up... that leaves a heck of a lot left, including a huge bag of the fiber that hasn't been spun yet. However, this is soft, incredibly fuzzy warm stuff. It will make excellent winter garments.
I will most likely have enough left for a very chunky-knit sweater. Here's hoping!
That, and the chart for this thing is set up in an insane manner. The light color yarn is indicated by shaded boxes, and the dark color yarn is indicated by white boxes on the chart. WTF? The chart is hard enough without having to have to think about which color is which at every color change... and there are a LOT of them.
I'm still thinking of charting my own pattern though... without the insane number of striping changes.
I'm pretty much finished with the blanket coat. It's wearable now, with the sleeves set in, but I think instead of stopping there as I originally thought, I'm going to go ahead and pick up and knit the facing for the borders.
Another change in my plans is regarding the pound of natural Oatmeal Blue-Faced Leicester I spun up, hoping to use it for the coat on the cover of the Fall 2009 Interweave Knits magazine. I've already knit one coat, I don't want to do two. So I've started a very simple shawl with it. They're Aran to Bulky weight one-ply singles... so the project is going quite fast. I've got about two feet done on a garter-stitch border, triangular shawl, and I've just started insetting a garter stitch in the center, using appropriate increases and decreases to keep the border and middle stockinette as an even stripe. It's kind of a chevron look, but the stripes are four inches or so wide.
So far I've used about three ounces of what I had spun up... that leaves a heck of a lot left, including a huge bag of the fiber that hasn't been spun yet. However, this is soft, incredibly fuzzy warm stuff. It will make excellent winter garments.
I will most likely have enough left for a very chunky-knit sweater. Here's hoping!
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