Sunday, January 30, 2011

Movin' on up...

I bought my own domain!!

Seriously, I'm so excited about this.

You can find me here:  http://www.memoirsfrommykitchen.com/  but you will be redirected to the new site when you type in the old one :)

Friday, January 28, 2011

Friday Flip Off's 1/28/11

The only thing today has going for it is that it's Friday






Winter can Flip the fuck off already... ANOTHER 16 inches of snow yesterday on top of all this shit that's leftover from the Christmas mess and I'm ready to pack up and drive my truck as far west as it'll go.  I've had it.
Snow up past my knees.. it's enough already:

This is NOT a winter wonderland.



My Landlord's kids can Flip the fuck off too.. Wednesday night I came home, there was a HUGE pickup truck in my driveway that I could barely fit around to get to my door on the side of the house, there was about 4" of snow on the ground and nothing was shoveled AND... and.. these fuckers were on the back deck smoking pot.  Yea, they're a real fuckin' classy bunch.  Then the fuckers had friends over until 1:30 this morning.. no matter that I had to go to work today.. I can't wait to see my Landlord and say something to him.. because I can talk to him.. they're his stepkids.. I can't talk to his wife though (that nasty bitch) because she gets all defensive of her little assholes.

My Body.. it can flip off.. because my entire body is sore from the hour and a half of shoveling I had to do to dig my truck out yesterday..

My asshole neighbor.. he can flip off because he threw off the snow from his driveway behind my truck and then the damn snowplows came by twice last night pushing all the slush on the street right next to my truck.. and it all froze overnight, so I had to shovel it out again this morning.. and it still took me half an hour to get myself out of the spot I was in.

This winter has been BRUTAL.. Everywhere, I know.. but in NY, this is like nothing we've ever seen before.. yesterday's snow broke records across the board, it's unbelievable and I'm so freaking over it.

Now.. go and Link up... Mads Bloggin' mom from The Mad Woman Behind The Blog is taking the reigns from MommaKiss this week, Bless her heart she's a trooper that one :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

*Giveaway* Are you a coffee snob like me?

I love my morning coffee, it's a total ritual for me.

I'm not just gonna drink any coffee though, and I absolutely refuse to drink the sludge they make in my office. I will not drink Dunkin Donuts regular coffee, I think it's absolutely vile.  Milk and sugar please.  My mom drank Tasters Choice coffee, 2 spoonfuls to her cup of microwaved water.. with milk & no sugar.. Yuck... my dad didn't drink Coffee, he was a tea with sugar & milk kinda guy.. I like my tea like that too.

But I'm kind of a snob when it comes down to my morning coffee, I love to have a Latte in the morning and I have thankfully managed to break my Dunkin Donuts Latte habit and cut down my getting cappuccino at my beloved Rosie's bakery to just once in a while instead of 2-3 times a week. I buy 1 can of Lavazza Espresso for around $6.99 and it lasts me 2 weeks or so and it's totally worth it. Seriously.. the lack of funds for coffee can be a total bummer but if you can manage an awesome latte on your own, then that new pair of shoes or purse is that much easier to attain ;)  Sure I'll grab a cup of coffee at the deli once in a while and I will have coffee if you invite me to your house.. but I won't drink anything that's been sitting around for God knows how long... yuck.

Before the bestie left on her adventure she gave me a little tool to whip up my lattes.. and I love it and I use it every day.. but it's lacking the real frothing power I need to make a seriously good latte.. and since the frother on my espresso machine decided it doesn't want to work anymore I needed to upgrade to something a little more powerful. (By the way, anyone want me to test an espresso machine?  Just let me know.. I'm in the market for a new one)

So, I did what any sweet blogger like me would do.. I bought myself a new BonJour Cafe Latte Frother from CSN Stores and I bought one to share with one of you lovely readers too!  This thing packs a super strong motor and whips up milk in seconds!  It uses 4AA batteries that aren't included in the package, but I'm nice enough to throw in a pack for ya so you can get to using it right away.
This battery-operated frother whips milk into thick foam in seconds for creating a latte, cappuccino, or macchiato. It's also handy for sauces, hot chocolate, foamy cocktails, and even scrambles eggs. The soft-touch push down button and chrome stand make this easy to use and store. Powered by 4 "AA" batteries (not included).

Now, since I hate bloggy contests that want you to post the contest 37 times on twitter with a hashtag, subscribe to the reader, follow on facebook and add a video of yourself licking your elbow (which you all know is impossible) so.. all you have to do here is.. say hi.and tell me how you like your coffee or what your favorite coffee joint is (and I'm not talking starbucks here either.. there's a wicked little place on my way to work called Witch's brew that has the most amazing selection of coffee's and teas with really odd hours, but a really cool atmosphere). Also, if you like to add a little flavor to your coffee with Coffee-Mate let me know what your favorite flavor is and if you're the winner you'll get a little extra something special in your package too!

Y'all have a week to comment and then on Wednesday Feb 2nd I'll choose a winner using that handy dandy random number generator.

That's all there is to it :)

Looking forward to great comments from you guys!

Ash~

I just had to add this... my morning coffee today just milk, whipped up with the Cafe Latte Frother.  Yum yum yum!

Monday, January 24, 2011

♪♫Makin Whoopie♪♫


Oh get your head outta the gutter will you?

Sheesh, you guys are really something else...

No, seriously.. I thought the same thing.. So yea... great minds think alike ;)

It’s Cold in NY.. Like chill you to the bone cold that we haven’t seen here in NY in 6 years.  It was 6̊ here this morning.. SIX DEGREES people.  (Have I mentioned how sick I am of winter yet?  Oh, I have... well.. I’ll tell ya again.. I'm so sick of winter.. Winter can suck it.)

OK.. So back to the Making Whoopie part of this post.

It was cold yesterday, so I do what I like to do when it’s cold ... I cook.. And I bake.

So I had the crockpot going with dinner, I had chicken in the oven for tonight’s dinner and when the chicken was done I decided I’d take a stab at making Whoopie pies.  I had wanted to make them last week and didn’t for whatever reason but when I went grocery shopping on Saturday I got the ingredients I needed that I didn’t have (Butter.. How the hell I managed to run out of butter I’ll never know, I always have a pack or 2 in the freezer) and got myself situated.

Now, this recipe says it makes 12, I made 24 small ones.. Because I was taking them to work for the cretins there. (They were gone by lunchtime) They were amazing.. I actually saved 2 at home for the Kid and I tomorrow.  The Kid and I each had one last night, but they’re much better if you assemble them and let them sit overnight.

I needed a recipe without shortening because I really don’t like the flavor.  Someone gave me a recipe from Gourmet magazine that uses buttermilk.. I’m going to try those next.  These aren’t super Chocolatey, but everyone at work really liked them.. I like a more dark chocolatey flavor though, hopefully the next time around I can master that dark chocolatey taste.

Ingredients

Cakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk

Filling:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).Line baking sheets with parchment paper or non stick foil

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa and sugar.

Add the egg, oil and milk, stir until smooth and well blended. Drop by tablespoons 3 inches apart, onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven.

Cool before removing from baking sheets.


To make the filling, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, marshmallow creme and vanilla, in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Pipe filling between two cooled cookies.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

COFFEE-MATE FREE FLAVOR FRIDAY, February 4, 2011









         On February 4, 2011, FREE FLAVOR FRIDAY, COFFEE-MATE will be giving away 100,000 coupons for a free bottle of COFFEE-MATE. You can register for your coupon on Free Flavor Friday at the COFFEE-MATE Facebook page
 
        This promotion is a one-day-only event and free product is limited!

          There are 25 great Coffee-Mate flavors to choose from.. so sign up and get your favorite flavor for free!  I'm a huge fan of Peppermint Mocha and my new favorite is Cafe Latte.  I love that I can make my favorite coffee drinks at home without spending $ at Starbucks and I kicked the Dunkin Donuts Latte habit when I learned how much sugar was in their Latte's.

       Do you use Coffee-Mate?  What's You're favorite Flavor?
 

 

Friday, January 21, 2011

Friday Flip Off's 1/21/11

Oh Friday how I've missed you.

Thanks to MommaKiss for being our Flipping host, she's so dedicated ;)









First up, I'm flipping off my usually cool neighbor who was a total asshole last night for parking in the spot that I dug my truck out of and have been parked in since the Christmas mess.  I had to park a block away last night and I was totally livid beyond belief.

Second, Winter.. Really, I'm done.. if I could (and if there weren't bugs the size of Mice) I would pick up and go hang with The Bestie in Mozambique.  I can deal with the humid heat.. winter can kiss my rosy red Italian ass already. I really wasn't into brushing off 5" of snow off the truck this morning.. or having to walk in the street a whole block down to get to the damn truck either.. GRR!

The Jackass who owned my truck before me.. he's getting flipped off too for being a total fucktard and allowing the jackass who worked on the truck to REMOVE the 4 wheel drive mechanism.  I love my truck but my transmission is, uh.. well.. it's a little tricky sometimes and acts up in the cold.. she got me to work in one piece this morning through the snow and unplowed streets, which I'm totally thankful for.. but she would be better if she still had all her damn parts.

I'm flipping off my wisdom teeth too.. OK, just the lower one on the right side.. because it's been a bitch all week.  I'm one of the few people I know who still have all 4 and every once in a while one of the bottom ones will act up because they're not completely out, but it's a real bitch when you can barely get your mouth open enough to eat.

Now I'm done with Flipping.. but I wanted to tell y'all that I did it!  I took my first Zumba class last night and I have the coordination of a slug.. I have no rhythm at all... but it was fun, the class was full of newbies and the teacher was Ãœber cool and nice and I will be going back next week... every single muscle in my body is feeling it today.. but it's worth it.

OOH... One more thing... in about a week or so I'll be hosting a giveaway.. so Stay tuned and ya just might be a winner :)  (It'll be an easy entry.. I hate when you've gotta do 30 different things for an entry for a contest.. so, no worries)
Now, get with the program and link up and have a kick ass weekend!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Fried Polenta


I had a craving for polenta a few weeks ago, I read a book that had the most wonderful description of it and from that moment on I just wanted it.  I didn’t grow up eating polenta, it wasn’t something that I even tasted until my first real restaurant job and even then I wasn’t a huge fan of “cornmeal mush” but this book described grilled Polenta, all crispy on the outside and creamy inside... and I just had to try it like that.

My first try was a miserable failure.  I didn’t cook it long enough and then I didn’t let it cool nearly as long as I should have so it was still kinda floppy.. And it had no flavor.  So to Foodgawker I went.. And I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for.. So to Google I went.. And searched through what seemed to be a gazillion recipes and finally I took it upon myself to fiddle around to get just what I wanted.

And I got just that on Sunday afternoon while preparing dinner. (Hey, I’m Italian.. Dinner is a big event on Sunday, even if it’s just me & The Kid.)

Here’s how I did it:

Heat 2 cups water in a saucepan

While the water is heating wisk 1 cup cornmeal into 1 cup of cold water until it’s mixed in well

When the water starts to boil wisk the cornmeal mixture into the boiling water and keep stirring.  (I learned the hard way that if you just plop the dry cornmeal into boiling water you end up with a clumpy disgusting mess and that batch went into the garbage... and I hate wasting food).

I added 1/4 cup grated asiago cheese and 1 Tbs crushed red pepper flakes.

Turn the heat to medium/low and let it bubble, but not really boil and KEEP STIRRING so it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan... turn the heat down if you need to.  Now it’s not like risotto where you have to stir it until your arm is breaking, but just keep slowly mixing it to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot for 6-7 minutes until it’s thick and creamy like paste.

Pour into a greased pan (or, my new love is Reynolds non stick aluminum foil because seriously, nothing sticks to it.)  Smooth it out until it’s in an even layer and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Cut the cooled polenta into squares and dust with flour.

Heat 2-3 Tbs oil in a pan until hot, but not smoking. (A trick 1 learned to tell if oil is hot enough is to put the end of a wooden spoon into the oil and if it starts to bubble, the oil is hot enough)

Carefully place the polenta slices into the oil and cook 7-9 minutes per side over medium heat.  Don’t touch the polenta while it’s cooking, because if you mess with it, it will stick and fall apart.  Just leave it alone & wash up the dishes, sing a song.. Whatever you need to do to Not touch the polenta in the pan.

Carefully turn over the polenta and cook the other side using the same method as before.

When the other side is cooked to golden brown deliciousness take it out of the pan and drain on paper towels if needed.

I served mine with Slow Cook Down Home Pork Chops and Gravy with roasted Broccoli on the side and it was unbelievably delicious.

I still have half of the polenta I made on Sunday in the fridge, since it was just the Kid & I on Sunday I just cooked enough for us to eat then & saved the rest for later... I'll probably make that tonight with dinner :)

Saturday, January 15, 2011

from Cookware and furniture to Modern Decor CSN has it all

I love when I"m given an opportunity to review products from companies that have seen this little blog here.  I was contacted by CSN stores which is one of the biggest "malls" online.  They have stores that sell just about everything you need from Cookware and furniture to Modern Decor they have it all.

As you all know I'm looking to move soon.. and you can bet I'll be shopping through CSN for things I need.  I've always been amazed at how fast they deliver no matter what store you shop from and their customer service is great too.

Stay tuned to see what product I decide to review.. and maybe if y'all are lucky I'll offer up one for a lucky reader.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Friday Flip Off's 1/14/11

It's Friday?
Are you sure? I didn't work on Wednesday.. no school because of the snow day.. I'm all screwed up.

Yes?

Alrightythen... TGIF!!



then lets get a move onto the second Friday Flip off's of 2011.

First off I'd like to flip off this damn cough.. sure, I finished my antibiotics on Monday and the sinus infection is gone.. the cough.. nope.  I'm fine in the morning, but it's all downhill from there and it's not cool when the receptionist goes into a coughing fit mid message.  *sigh* 

Second, Winter.  I'm so seriously Over winter already.  We got another 10.5 inches of snow here on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.. so of course the school called at 10:30 on Tuesday night to let us all know what we already knew.. that they were going to be calling a snow day.. no bother to me, because my office was pretty much closed anyway.   What I really hate the most (beside the blistering cold) is having to shovel my truck out of the snow.  Now I got smart this year and learned to NOT park in front of my own house because last year my asshole landlord dug his 2 kids cars out of the snow and and shoveled all the snow around my truck and  it took me 2 days to dig myself out of that spot, then his bitch wife has the balls to ask me if I want to use their shovel to dig myself out.  Yea, they're real classy people.

Third here's something that I'm sure a lot of us are ready to flip off.. WTF is up with the amount of Federal taxes coming out of our paychecks?  As if I'm not taking home little enough as it is my paycheck had to be LESS this year than it was last year?  I was Fuming mad when I realized it was because Fed tax was nearly THREE times more than last year.  This is not cool at all.

I'm throwing this out there.. as a reminder to myself not to be a slacker and so y'all who follow me on twitter can remind me and not let me back out.. ok.. ready?  I'm sure this will be yet another thing for me to flip off Next Friday.. but here goes...
          I am Determined to get fit this year.. absolutely Determined.  So.. next Thursday I'm going to start Zumba classes.  There is a class over by the kid's school every Thursday night, I saw the flier up in the supermarket and then I checked it out online, contacted the teacher and got the info I needed.  I'll be honest.. I have a belly.. my kid is almost 15.. I have no excuses for this belly to be here.. and I want it GONE, so I'm gonna dance it off.  My eating habits are healthy.. my exercise routine.. well, I don't have one.  That will be changing.  I have no desire to go to a gym.......but that may change if I can get my kid to go with me and I can  afford it... but that's another story.  

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Crock Pot French Onion Soup

As I've said it before, my kid will eat just about anything, he's never been a picky eater.  French onion soup is one of his favorites.  Since we got the call last night from his school that today would be a snow day I decided to make this for him last night to enjoy today (ya know, before I send him out to shovel my car out of the snow, lol)

Crock Pot French Onion Soup
3 large onions, sliced thin
3 T butter, melted
3 T flour
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
4 14 1/2 ounce cans beef broth


8 slices French bread 1 inch thick
3/4 C shredded Swiss


Mix onions and butter in Crock pot

Cover and cook on high1 to 2 hours or until onions begin to brown slightly around the edges, whisk in flour,Worcestershire, sugar and pepper.

Stir flour mixture and broth into onions,cover and cook on low heat 7 to 9 hours or until onions are very tender.

Place 1 slice bread on each bowl of soup.

Place bread slices on rack in broiler pan and sprinkle with cheeses.

Broil about 5 to 6 ' from heat about 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Friday Flip Off's 1/7/11

Welcome to the first official Flip of 2011 Folks!








The Holiday season that came around and bit me in the ass this year is finally over. Kid pretty much got what he asked for.. me, as usual did not.

Saw my sister on New Years Eve.. who is as malnourished and anorexic looking as ever.. *cue the eyeroll here* I now refuse to have my picture taken with her.

I had off work for 10 days.. which happens ONCE a year.  Once a year I take consecutive days off for Christmas break so that my kid and I can get a break.. all year long he comes to work with me during breaks and so Christmas break is when I give us both time off from work.

But this year what happens?

 I get sick.

I Never get sick.. maybe a sore throat here or a stomach bug there.. but no.. I get both freaking sinus and upper respiratory infections that made me absolutely miserable. SO....

FLIP OFF YOU DAMN COLD!

Second, on the Sunday after Christmas, Mother Nature decided it was time to let it snow in NY.. but not just a little dusting or 3-4 inches.. no we got like 3 freaking FEET of snow overnight.  and.. and?  It's Snowing again now... we're in for 3 inches or so today.. Yippee.

Flip off Snow.. I'm So over winter already.

The 2 giant bags of laundry that are leering at me. you'll get done this weekend, so Flip off.  I detest going to the laundrymat.. I'm one of the few that generally doesn't mind doing laundry.. it's the lugging it to the laundrymat that gets me.


OOH OHH!!one more.

I'm a bzzagent which is absolutely awesome because they sent me a COMPLETELY FREE HTC Surround Window's 7 phone.. which is awesomely amazing and it's a really cool phone (I have At&t) BUT.. what totally sucks ass about this phone is you can't upload your own ringtones.. which I've always done.  Every phone that I've ever owned has given me this option so WTF HTC? I'm stuck with crappy ringtones for as long as I decide to keep this phone?

 Not happy.  

Loving the free phone.. Not loving the crappy ringtones that I'm stuck with.  so.. Flip off HTC for NOT letting me upload my own ringtones to this really cool phone.


Now join in, Grab the code and link up and join the rest of us flippers here:

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Crock Pot Minestrone

Minestrone is one of my all time favorite soups, full of veggies and pasta.  With salad and some crusty Italian bread, you've got yourself a really good comforting meal.


Ingredients
    1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    2 large carrots, chopped
    2 medium celery stalks, chopped
    1 small onion, diced
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp pepper
    1/2 tsp dried oregano
    1/2 tsp dried basil
    1 16 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rised
    1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
    4-6 cups chicken broth
    2 cups sliced zucchini
    1 large potato, peeled and diced
    6 oz. cooked Ditalini pasta
    Grated parmesan cheese


Directions
In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. 

Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until soft, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and sautee about 1-2 minutes.

In 6 quart crockpot, add beans, tomatoes, potato, zucchini, and seasonings. 

Once carrots, onions and celery are cooked, add to crock pot.

Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-5.

When ready to serve, add pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Crock Pot Recipe blog hop


Following in the footsteps of Miranda @ Not Super just mom I'll be joining in the Blog hop recipe swap.

Us moms are busy ladies, no matter if you work outside the house, work at home or are just a stay at home mom there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Many of us have crock pots or slow cookers and unfortunately many of us are slightly clueless as to how to use it.  I’ve had one for about 10 years and I love it!

I’m going to post a few links here to recipes I’ve made in the past and over the next few days I’ll be posting some new recipes to share with y’all :)

Sauerbraten

Sausage and Peppers, in the crock pot

Chili

Crock pot chocolate fudge pudding cake


Sunday, January 2, 2011

So I've been kinda MIA

I've had the past ten days off.. and unfortunately I didn't go on vacation... Luckily I hadn't planned on it.. what I sure as hell didn't plan on was getting sick or being snowed in.  I started feeling sick early Christmas morning.. I had a cough that just wouldn't quit, then last Sunday we got this damn blizzard that had my car that was parked on the street (because I have nowhere else to park) buried under almost 2 feet of snow. Sick as I was I had no intention of going anywhere (although it probably would have been a good idea to make a trip to the Dr.)  Wednesday morning my kid was up at 6am with a 103 fever and I was really beside myself.  Luckily after sleeping all day and doing what I knew to do to get his fever under control it finally broke around 5 and he got up and ate something.

  I finally broke down on Thursday despite the fact that I could barely breathe, we had absolutely no food in my house. Had I have been thinking rationally I would have just called Peapod and got my groceries that way, but I was desperate.  Between The Kid and myself we shoveled the car out in 2 shifts and by 4PM I finally made a break for it and the local supermarket was a mess.. I had a list in mind, grabbed what I needed, ran through the self checkout and was back home in less than half an hour.

I had planned for my week off to be fun... to visit family and take the kid shopping to get Sasquatch a pair of winter boots that I'm sure were on sale this week (because lemme tell y'all, size 14 snow boots aren't cheap.)  But no.. I was home all week in my jammies, cleaning the house, resting and not doing much else.  I finally made a concerned effort to get dressed, fake health with some industrial strength cover up and take my kid to my friend's son's birthday party at Dave & Busters on Friday.. because I wasn't about to stay home alone on New year's eve.  Despite the way I felt I managed to make a quick stop to hang with family and bring the Christmas presents that were still under my tree for them and make my way back to my friend's house for dinner and to ring in the new year as I have the past few years minus my bestie who's in Mozambique but who managed to email us all to wish us a Happy New Year.

I'm still sick.. which sucks Royally.  I haven't been sick for this long in years and tomorrow I'm making it the first thing on my list to call this quack that's listed on my insurance card whom I haven't seen yet and who has a name I can't even begin to pronounce.

I hope you all had a safe and happy new year.


Here's to 2011 being a Fantastic year!