Thursday, July 05, 2012
Life Changes
I spent some time reading through the posts that I have put on here over the years and in so many of them I mention Kasey and in fact have some posts that are pretty romantic towards her. I had been considering removing them or just removing this blog entirely, but after thinking about it, despite the love lost and anything else, I was still married to her for 11 years and during that time she was a major part of my life. While that part of my life is over, I don't think that it is right to just totally ignore it and pretend that it did not happen. That relationship and the things that happened during it have had a major role in making me the man that I am today and to deny it and try to hide it would be foolish.
Don't get me wrong, I am not pining for that lost love or anything like that. It is over and I mean o. v. e. r. but it has still been a major part of my life, so why pretend that it didn't exist?
Besides that I have had some other life changes. I bought a new house. It's really way too big and too expensive. It totally does not go with my escape plan at all. I have thought a lot about it, but I think that I can make it work for me in the long run.
In addition to the house, my beloved dog 4 of 7 died on February 10, 2012. He died of thyroid cancer that had spread throughout his body. He had a quick and painless death, but he is sorely missed in my home. I am very thankful to still have Zeauxy and Big-A-Toe though.
I also bought a new car. The Xterra was killing me with the price of gas and the poor gas mileage, so I decided that I needed a car with better gas mileage. I wanted to find something that could get about 20 mpg, but that didn't mean that it could not be awesome, so I bought a 2006 Nissan 350Z. It's a great car, but not very practical for anything other than going to and from work. Since this is like 99.9% of all the driving I do, it's great. Also, it's a convertible which is AWESOME! I have always wanted, but never had a convertible until now and I have to say that it is pretty fun. I have had it for over a year now and I rarely have the top up.
Now that I am where I am in my life, I am at a perfect point to seek MY dreams. I have thought about this a lot and I have named the project Scott's Great Adventure.
What this entails is basically getting a truck and a camper, selling off everything that I own (except the house, I will rent it out) and hitting the road. In order to make this happen though, I need to work on my side businesses more and develop them to a point that I can live off of them only. I figure that with a paid off truck and camper, I should be able to live comfortably off of about $3000 a month in online income.
So, to reach this goal, the first step is going to be to develop that income and make sure that it is steady. I plan to do this while still working my regular job though and I can use the money in the mean time to buy the truck and the camper.
I will likely buy the camper first and keep it at an outside storage place near my house. I will make modifications to it to get it all ready in the mean time too. I plan to add solar and wind power charging abilities, replace the cruddy Styrofoam insulation with spray foam (used in houses) to better insulate the place. I'll probably replace the bed with a memory foam mattress. Ensure that the plumbing and electricity is good to go and all that kind of stuff then it will be time to look for a truck, sell of all of my junk on craigslist and then hit the road.
Now to see if I actually do it...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Scott’s Super Awesome Pizza
Enjoy!
(Yeah the formatting is all jacked up on this post, but for some reason Word was not being friendly and I had to copy and paste and this is how it came out. Whatever.)
Pizza Dough
This makes the dough for one pizza, but I usually double it and make 2 because the sauce recipe makes enough sauce for 2 pizzas, plus, it’s awesome and leftovers are awesome.
Ingredients
- · 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
- · 1 teaspoon white sugar
- · 1 cup warm water from the tap
- · 2 1/2 cups bread flour (regular flour works, but bread flour tastes mucho better)
- · 2 tablespoons olive oil
- · 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, (about 10 minutes).
3. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Mix until smooth. (I usually start with a wooden spoon and then use my hands when it gets tough to do)
4. Let rest for 5 minutes.
5. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface
6. Pat or roll into a round. (Basically a ball) cover with a clean hand towel
7. Let it sit for about a half hour, the yeast will make it grow to about double the size.
8. Make the sauce while you wait.
SAUCE
Ingredients
· 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce (regular can size)
· 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (tiny can size)
· 1 tablespoon ground oregano
· 1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
· 1 teaspoon ground paprika
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, Mix together tomato sauce and tomato paste until smooth. Stir in oregano, garlic and paprika.
2. Stick this in the fridge and let it sit until the dough is ready. It really tastes better if you make it and then store it in a jar in the fridge over night, but is fine right away.
Put it all together!
Ok, you should really go get a pizza stone. They are like $10 at Walmart and will make it so that your crust is not soggy in the middle. If you do not have one, you can use a cookie sheet, but you will want to use a fork to poke a bunch of holes in the crust before you put the sauce on. I have not done this though since I have a pizza stone. :/
Ok, so, now you should have a smooth ball of dough that is kind of soft, a hot oven and some sauce. Hopefully you had the foresight to get some pizza cheese and some toppings or you are going to have breadsticks and not pizza!
So, what you want to do is get the dough flat and the size of your pizza stone. I have tried many ways to do this, but this is the one that works best for me. First, you will want to smash the dough flat with your hands to “pop” it. Try to keep it in a circle though.
After that I usually use my fingers to go all the way around the ring of the flat dough, a little in from the edge and kind of push it down to make a dimpled ring, and then I toss it like you see on tv to spin it to size. Be careful because if you tear it, the dough will not be smooth and it is a pain in the butt to get back into one piece.
One you get it close to the size you want, you can kind of pull it to stretch it the last couple of inches or to make it straighter.
Ok, now you should have the dough on your stone all spread out and ready to go! Put half of the sauce you made on the dough then top as you see fit. I usually top mine like this: First, put the sauce, then a layer of pepperoni, then most of the cheese, then another layer of pepperoni, jalapenos, onions and bell peppers, then finally a little more cheese to make it all stick together.
Now stick the pizza in the oven for about 20 minutes. Make sure your oven is on bake and not preheat!) Keep an eye on it, since all ovens are different.
Boom-shacka-lacka! There you go. Awesome pizza.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Thanksgiving 2010 Menu
I LOVE Thanksgiving. It has really become my favorite holiday. I love to cook the large meal and I especially love that Kasey cleans up after me!
Sweet Potatoes
I have never made these before, but I figure, “hey, why not?”
Ingredients
· 3 cups cold mashed sweet potatoes (without added milk and butter)
· 1 cup sugar
· 1/2 cup milk
· 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
· 3 eggs
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING:
· 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
· 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
· 2 tablespoons cold butter or margarine
Directions
· In a mixing bowl, beat sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, salt and vanilla until smooth.
· Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish.
· In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, and flour; cut in butter until crumbly.
· Sprinkle over potato mixture.
· Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.
French Bread
I made this a couple of weeks ago and it was really good!
Ingredients
· 6 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
· 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
· 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
Glaze
· 1 egg white
· 1 tablespoon water
Directions
· Put the 2 cups of warm water in a mixing bowl and add the yeast. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and it should turn frothy.
· In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, salt and they yeast and water mix. Beat until well blended Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
· On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).
· Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large and thin rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.
· Grease a large baking sheet. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled (about 35 to 40 minutes).
· With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.
Stuffing
Ingredients
· 1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
· 3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
· 1 cup chopped onion
· 3/4 cup chopped celery
· 2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
· 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
· 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
· 1 apple, cored and chopped
· 3/4 cup dried cranberries
· 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Directions
· Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
· In a large skillet, onions over medium heat, stirring until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
· Pour mixture mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and liver. Drizzle with melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill.
Pie Crust (for “Superman Pie”)
Ingredients
· 4 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 3/4 cups lard
· 3 tablespoons white sugar
· 2 teaspoons salt
· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup water
Directions
· In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, lard, sugar, and salt. Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
· In a small bowl, mix egg with water. Blend into flour mixture. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
Pie Filling (for “Superman Pie”)
Ingredients
· 2/3 cup white sugar
· 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
· 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
· 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
· 8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I prefer Jangold, but Kasey prefers Granny Smith apples. If I had the cash I would only use Honey Crisp apples, but they are like $3-4 EACH!)
Directions
· Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
· In a small bowl stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and cloves.
· Place one of the pie shells into a 10 inch pie pan. Put 1/2 of the sliced apples into the shell and sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over them. Top with the remaining apples and the remaining sugar mixture.
· Using the remaining crust, use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut dough circles.
· Starting along the edge of the pie, place the circles, slightly overlapping all the way around. Once you go around, move up to the next level and continue until the top of the pie is covered. You will want a small bit of space between the “corners” that the overlapping circles make.
· The top of the pie should have one single crust circle. In this circle, draw a Superman logo! (thus the name Superman Pie. Shut up. That’s what I call it, so if you don’t like Superman, draw the Batman logo or whatever)
· Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish
(This is the BOMB, yes I said "the bomb"… old school)
I got this recipe from NPR. It looks weird (pepto pink) and sounds nasty, but trust me. It is THE BEST! BTW, the first year I called this Cranberry Chutney, and Kasey still calls it that, so if you hear her talking about Chutney, this is what she means.
Ingredients
· 2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed (that’s about a whole package from most stores)
· 1 small white onion
· 3/4 cup sour cream
· 1/2 cup sugar
· 2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar (not the creamy horseradish sauce, but the brownish stuff that is just the grinded up root)
Directions
· LIGHTLY Grind the raw berries and onion together with a food processor. You want them to be chunky still.
· Add everything else and mix.
· Put in a plastic container and freeze overnight.
· Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. ("It should still have some little icy slivers left.") I usually make this first in the morning and put it in the freezer and just take it out and move to the fridge about an hour before everything is done.
Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
· 12 eggs
· 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
· ¼ cup mayonnaise
· 1 pinch black pepper
· 24 slices black olives
· Paprika for sprinkling
Directions
· Boil and peel the eggs
· Cut eggs in half lengthwise
· Place the yolks into a mixing bowl, and set the whites aside.
· Mash the yolks with the, mustard, mayonnaise, and black pepper.
· Spoon or pipe filling into egg white halves.
· Garnish each deviled egg with an olive slice, and then sprinkle with paprika.
Turkey
Ingredients
· Turkey
· Tony Chachere’s brand injection
· Tony Chachere’s seasoning
Directions
· Inject the turkey as per directions on the bottle. Be sure to USE IT ALL!
· Rub the turkey with Tony's seasoning
· Stuff the turkey with the stuffing above
· Bake the turkey per directions that come with the bad boy.
Brown and serve rolls
Kasey wants these every year. J If you need directions for this you should leave the kitchen now and wait for someone to cook you dinner.
Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
· Small bag of red potatoes (maybe like 2 or 3 lbs?)
· 1 cup sour cream
· 2 tbsp garlic
· ½ stick of butter
Directions
· Cut potatoes into small chunks
· Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes
· Drain water from potatoes
· Add all ingredients and mix to desired consistency
Green Bean Casserole
This is pretty much just the Campbell’s recipe.
Ingredients
· 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (I don’t like cream of mushroom, but others may want to use that instead)
· 1/2 cup milk
· 1 teaspoon soy sauce
· Dash ground black pepper
· 4 cups canned cut green beans
· 1 1/3 cups French Fried Onions (or just use the whole can! I love these things…)
Directions
· Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.
· Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions.
· Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.
Monday, August 23, 2010
10bucksapop.com
The main goal of this is to free myself from the cubi-cell monotony of corporate slavery and the geographical restriction that comes with a "real job". I really want to move to the beach in South Padre, and I mean ON the beach, but the economy there is one that does not offer a lot of opportunity outside of tourist type things and what not. Basically if you want to live on the island, you need to bring your own source of cash flow.
If it all works out though, I can spend my days chilling in the sun and kite surfing. :)
This is not my first online business, but it is presenting some new challenges. Advertising for example is a lot different as people will want to see pictures of the products, so I am doing image type ads on google, which is a whole new field for me. Also, I am trying some facebook integration to get some viral advertising action too.
I still have a lot of ideas that I need to expand upon and implement, so there is plenty to be done, but with me, motivation comes and goes in waves. Hopefully I can get it done and start a new and exciting chapter of my life!
Anyway, there you go. That's all I have to say about that.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Birthdays
I recently had a birthday and this one was different than the many others that I have had. I normally look forward to my birthdays, but as I grow older, I look forward to them less and less. I used to have a very narcissistic view of my birthday and liked that it was all about me, me me! This year as my birthday approached, I felt that doom of missing all that I wanted to achieve by this point in my life and forgot to look at the accomplishments. I started to realize that this year was not going to be all about me and that frankly people did not care as much as I did. Shamefully, I have to admit that I was pretty bummed.
A couple of days before though, I decided to make my birthday not about me at all, but rather to make it about appreciating the people in my life that have made it what it is.
When I worked at On Board, the head guy there, Brian, used to bring in doughnuts and such for everyone on his birthday. He said that it was a custom that he picked up in Germany, but regardless of where it came from, the idea stuck with me. On the morning of my birthday I brought in three dozen breakfast tacos for my co-workers. It was a simple way to say thanks and many were confused by the gesture, but everyone seemed happy (I mean come on, free tacos!). I left work early and spent lunch and the early afternoon with my mother, since she did give birth to me. While we were out I picked up Jenga and another game to play that evening with my niece and nephew that were visiting.
After hanging out with my mom, I headed home where I was surprised by my wonderful wife with an amazing gift and the customary cookie completely covered in chocolate from the Great American Cookie Company (the place at the mall). That was pretty awesome! That evening, I played games and hung out with Kasey and her sister's family. Ok, I did play a little Playstation too, but only a little and with my nephew.
I did not get to see everyone that I wanted to on that one day and even if I did, I could not do justice to that amount of time, so over the course of the next year, I am going to try to make a point to spend more time with the people that really MAKE my life, the ones who change me just by being a part of it. And hey, if I don't get to you, don't take it personally, I probably just forgot that this was even my plan. (ha ha)
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Cool Starbucks Tip
Starbucks has a handy dandy little green stick that you can stick in the little hole in your cup to prevent the hot coffee from splashing out all over your hand or car. Since I my stops to Starbucks are usually in the morning on my way to work, I always want one of these to keep the coffee in the cup and not all over the car, but it seems that my local neighborhood coffee shop is nearly always out. In the past, Chris has offered me a sticker from their label machine, which … kind of works, but today he solved the problem for good.
If you are ever faced with this, all you need to do is take one of their short straws (they have larger ones for venti frappuccino's that are longer and fatter, don't use these) and bend it in half then stick the fold into the cup. I am happy to say that it works well and they are a lot less likely to not have straws.