And the list goes on...

I’ve done other things too:

 

I read a Book

 

Don’t Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde – I’m not really sure why I picked this one up to read. It’s not my usual genre, but there was something about it that made me want to read it…. I think it may have struck a note with my own abandonment issues… not that this book in anyway is even close to my own life.

The story is a bout a little girl whose drug addicted mom can’t be bothered with. The neighbors in the apartment building, including the reclusive former dancer Billy, ban together to help her out. It was a cute book. Not spectacular by any means, but an enjoyable read.

 

We saw a Musical

 

Wicked – This was alright. Don’t get me wrong. We enjoyed it. It was entertaining… but for all the hype that we have heard about it being such a fantastic musical – I think we were expecting more. Will I go see it again? Maybe one day. My favorite musical still remains Les Miserables.

 

Become addicted to this App

 

Where’s My Perry?

 

More Movies/TV

 

Phineas & Ferb – This show is just plain entertaining. It's on the Disney channel. (also on Netflix.) I haven’t seen an episode yet that I haven’t enjoyed.

 

Expendables 2 – Not for the feint of heart or those who abhor violence. This is a very violent and action packed movie. I don’t know the last movie I saw with so many decapitations and CGI blood. The movie is pure action entertainment from the first second all the way through. It’s chuck full of action heroes: Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham…. The list goes on. What a great set of action fun. There were a lot (and I mean A LOT) of puns referring to everyone’s past films, but that just made it more entertaining. Seriously, if you like action movies you’ll love this one.

Why so silent??

It’s been a while since I blogged. I wonder if my two readers thought that perhaps I had died?

There has been a lot going on in the lives of the people at my house lately. Lets see if we can catch up…

 

Lets talk about Movies/TV first, shall we.

 

The Avengers (2012) – TOTALLY AWESOME! Yeah, we saw it. Midnight. Opening day. Can I just say that whoever decided that reserved theater seats were a good idea was a GENIUS! Yes, it’s true. I <3 Loki. The whole movie was fantastic. It was full of action, adventure, drama.. Joss Whedon’s sense of humor. There wasn’t a single thing about it that I didn’t like. We saw it twice in the theater… or was it three times> I don’t remember. I can’t wait for this to come out on DVD (September 25^th) so that I can own it and watch it again and again.

 

The Decoy Bride (2011) – David Tennant. This was just a cute movie about finding love when you least expect it. It would fall into the “Chick flick” category, but John sat and watched the entire thing with me. And he enjoyed it. The main female character is also the voice of Merida in Disney’s Brave.

 

Brave (2012) – LOVED! The music was fantastic. The story was meaningful. The animation was beautiful. There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t love about this movie.

 

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – Meh. This wasn’t as great for me as it was for everyone else apparently. It was good, just not great. I’d rather just see the Avengers again.

 

John Carter (2012) – I really enjoyed this movie. I’m sad that it was such a flop and that Disney isn’t going to make anymore.

 

The IT Crowd: Seasons 1-4 – This is the first show in a very long time that truly is laugh out loud funny. It’s been a long time sings something has made me laugh so much. Now, keep in mind that it is a BBC production. There are a lot of “F” words used, and completely inappropriate things going on with irreverent humor, but some people just don’t care about that stuff… and it’s not that I don’t care that it’s there, it’s really a matter of I hear worse than that most days at my own office.  It’s full of moments that are so stupid they’re funny. Like THIS ONE. Sadly there are only 4 seasons.

 

Blassreiter – Anime. This one was just confusing about techno-zombies and… I don’t even know. It was entertaining enough.

 

D. Gray-man – Anime. Pretty good. Exorcists with powers to smite evil.

 

Vandread – Anime. A planet full of men who hate women and a different planet full of women who hate me. A group of women pirates get stuck with 3 men on the wrong side of the galaxy. There are some good moments, but as a while it’s just kind of Meh.

 

I’m sure there are more but I just don’t remember at the moment.

 

... and now some Music

 

Julie Fowlis – Gaelic music. This woman is the primary voice you hear on the Brave soundtrack. Her other music is fantastic to listen to. I highly recommend it.        

 

Brave Soundtrack – See my above statement. I love this soundtrack.  

 

Jonas & Plunkett – British folk-rock. I have really enjoyed this band. I only own the one album, but it’s really good.

How do you make this yummy frosting!?

Vanilla Butter Cream  

 

1 cube butter*
1/2 cup solid pure vegetable shortening
1 lb bag powdered sugar (or 4 cups sifted)
1 tablespoon Meringue Powder (may substitute with cornstarch)
1 tsp vanilla (or more if you want more flavor, just subtract the extra vanilla from the water)
7 - 8 tsp milk* or water

Beat butter, shortening and liquids together until fluffy.

Add powdered sugar and meringue powder.

Beat until light and fluffy (About 3 minutes)

This makes a STIFF consistency frosting (used for making stand up things like flowers)

For MEDIUM consistency frosting (used for making pretty much every other decoration) add an additional 1 TBS of water.

For THIN consistency icing (best for frosting the body of the cake) add 2 TBS extra water.

To make it chocolate: Add 3/4 cup cocoa or three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted, and an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons water to recipe. Mix until well blended

 

 

 

* Because I'm now dairy free I use the following substitutions for my recipe:

 

ü      1 cup solid pure vegetable shortening

ü      Water only

ü      1 tsp Butter flavoring

 

 

For White Icing use CLEAR Vanilla Extract (or white food coloring)

 

 

This is the Wilton Buttercream recipe found on www.wilton.com

Eating With Liz 2012 - MoJo Marinade

Truth is… I actually never got to try this. However, everyone at my 4^th of July BBQ really liked it, and some liked it enough to ask for the recipe. Here it is:

MoJo Marinade         

½ cup Fresh Orange Juice

2 T Fresh Lime Juice

2 T Soy Sauce

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 T Minced Garlic

½ t Hot Pepper Sauce

½ t Ground Cumin

¼ t Kosher Salt

¼ t Ground Black Pepper

Mix completely. Marinade for at least 1 hour.

Good on beef, pork, chicken, fish or vegetables.

~*~

What I did Different:

Frozen Orange Juice concentrate. No, I don't thaw it. I just toss it in as it is.

Lime Juice from the little green bottle in my fridge.

Used Freeze Dried Minced Garlic.

Tabasco Sauce for "Red Pepper Sauce" it may be the same thing, but I have no clue. I just added a few shakes since I know a lot of people aren't spicy fans.

Put all ingredients in a 1 gallon Ziploc Bag and squish/shake together. Add meat (or whatever) and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Eating With Liz 2012 - Grilled Turkey Tenderloin

How do you feed a house full of kids and two extra adults on short notice? With stuff from the fridge of course. This little recipe was pulled from last weeks www.emeals.com menu of Portion Control for Two so remember if you're cooking for more than two you'll need to double it.

Grilled Turkey Tenderloin

 

1 T Light Brown Sugar

½ t Salt

½ t Ground Cumin

⅛ t Red Pepper

⅛ t Ground Ginger

⅛ t Coriander

1 T Olive Oil

12 oz Turkey Breast Tenderloin

 

Combine all ingredients, except olive oil & turkey. Brush turkey with olive oil & rub with brown sugar mixture. Grill over med-high heat for 10 min on each side or until inside reaches 165 degrees. Let rest for 10 min before cutting.

~*~

 

What I did differently:

 

First of all, since this recipe is for two I used the full 24 oz. Tenderloin instead of just the 12 oz. that is requested in the recipe.… which is really just two large turkey breasts in stead of one. Meaning I doubled my breast size, but what I failed to do was to double the rub amount. Which in this case is fine since neither my mom or dad are very adventurous foodies.

 

I used a few sprinkles of Cayenne Pepper as a substitute for the Red Pepper that I do not own.

 

Instead of brushing the breasts with Olive Oil I used my PAM Olive Oil Spray and just sprayed each side of the breast before rubbing on the seasoning. I love that stuff.

 

John threw these on the grill for 10 minutes a side just as the recipe suggested and they turned out perfect. I let them sit for 10-15 minutes while I finished getting the sides ready and then sliced them length-wise into beautiful delicious cuts of turkey.

 

For some side dishes I paired the turkey with a spattering of the following items:

 

Side Salad – With an option of Ranch dressing or Strawberry Vinaigrette.

Cantaloupe – That I happened to have in my fridge from a different recipe for the week.

Celery & Carrots – Leftovers from our 4^th of July party.

 

Baked Potato Slices: I baked the potatoes on High in the microwave using the "Baked Potato" button. When the microwave beeped I pulled them out and sliced them. I coated them in Olive Oil Spray and salt and pepper and threw them in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes to make them all crispy-ish.

 

All-in-all a pretty tasty well rounded meal for kids and adults.

 

~*~

 

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