ShE's NoT yOuR aVeRaGe MoM: TiP fOr TuEsDaY (post 138)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

TiP fOr TuEsDaY (post 138)

The past is behind you for a reason.
This tip for Tuesday post is going along with my quote I shared on my fan page today:

‎"The past is never there when you try to go back. It exists, but only in memory. To pretend otherwise invites a mess." ~ Chris Cobbs

I swear that blogger's "improved" publishing tools are going to be the death of me as well, but besides that, I was trying to figure out how old I was when this picture was taken. My guess is about 15. Freckled face, very large eyebrows, giant t-shirt and pre-giant framed glasses I started sporting at 16. I'm sparing myself from the pic of those, not necessarily the rest of you...just a FYI!

Recently there has been sort of a buzz on Twitter, not that I follow the trends on Twitter (yes, I'm stealing this from the blog of someone else, don't judge me!) this is the reason I know about it! (Ha, and you thought that following 40 blogs was a waste of time!) Anyway, I'm done talking to myself here (don't hold your breath on that!) and I'm getting to the point....finally! The Twitter buzz is letters to your 16 year-old self...you know, giving yourself advice and what not. As I mentioned before, I am unwilling to torture myself with the image of my 16 year-old self but, this does not mean I can't remember that age with vivid detail. I am certainly not without loads of advice I could have used as well...so here goes.

Eyebrows. Yep, girl they make two of them for a reason...perhaps you should take a few minutes to separate them for good...and to think I didn't break them up for good until after high school. Why...why...why?

Glasses. For reasons I cannot explain when I got my braces off the year before, it didn't occur to me that I should not get the most giant pair of frames possible and commit beauty suicide. I mean for Pete's sake, when they suggested a smaller frame size why didn't you say yes? I looked like an owl with those giant frames dwarfing my petite features...

Hair. I chopped it short at 14, and that was pretty cute...ringlets and all. I chopped again at 15 and 16 too. I have it short now as well, but I actually fix it fashionably. That and I wear make-up daily and no longer raid my Dad's clothes for flannels and worn out jeans for cut-offs...tsk, tsk. I looked ridiculous constantly until my senior year!

Date someone else too. I dated the same guy from 16 on and now that we are grown and his wife is fat and hates me and I no longer get to be his friend, I wish I had broadened my horizons. It's a shame.

Okay, so this whole post is making me very glad that the past is behind me! Of course I will always wish that I had done some things differently, but I really am glad the past is passed. Yes, chopped short hair, giant glasses, giant eyebrows and all! The past IS behind you for a reason, me at 16 could have stayed there too! Here's your tip for Tuesday!

2 comments:

Cara said...: We were all a little scary looking in high school. Remember when I was a bleach blonde bald-looking girl who then tried to get a perm which ruined her hair even more and then finally turned it green? He he. Lesson learned. :); November 10, 2010 at 2:09 PM
Janae said...: The past I have a hard time leaving behind is not necessarily my own. I know I made mistakes, but few with any kind of long lasting consequences. It's my husband's past that I have a hard time with. It affects our lives on a daily basis and it's hard to not resent that in some small part. Do you have any advice for that?; November 10, 2010 at 5:45 PM

qUiCk ReCiPe GuIdE

Being Gluten-free rocks!

Honey Lemon Barbecue Sauce (gluten-free)

3 tablespoons clover honey
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons brown mustard
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Recycled Chicken Enchiladas (gluten-free)

2 to 3 pieces of leftover cooked chicken
small can of diced green chilies
1 lrg green onion (chopped)
1 can black olives (halved)
1 can black beans
1 can authentic red chile enchilada sauce (Las Palmas)
1 package corn tortillas or Frito's corn chips or 5 minute rice
2 to 3 cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese
sour cream

Heat chicken, green chilies, and onion in skillet over medium heat...stirring occasionally. Add black olives and black beans and red chile sauce, simmer for 10-12 minutes on medium/low heat. Wrap in corn tortillas and cover with cheese and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Serve with sour cream. OR serve over bowls of Frito's corn chips, cover with cheese and sour cream. (kid friendly) OR serve over instant rice with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Ham and Potato Soup (gluten-free)

1/2 large onion (chopped)
1/4 margarine or butter (soy butter works as well)
2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour (gluten-free)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill
2 cups water
4 to 5 medium red potatoes
1 lb cubed ham (or turkey ham)
2 cups milk (dairy or soy)

In the bottom of your large soup pot combine margarine and onion and saute till onion is translucent. Remove from heat and stir in flour, salt, pepper. Add water and potatoes and return to medium heat. Stir in milk and bring to a boil letting simmer about 5 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken. Add cubed ham and garlic and dill and reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer 25 to 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Serve when potatoes are no longer firm.

Pumpkin Bread (Gluten-free)

(I actually converted this recipe from a traditional pumpkin bread recipe, if you don’t need gluten-free just use regular all-purpose flour and enjoy)

1 can (15 oz) of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla (not imitation)

4 large eggs

3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free All purpose Flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ raisins or chocolate chips if desired

Move oven rack to lower position to ensure tops of loaves will be in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of (2) 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ loaf pans or (1) 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan, (Pam spray works)

Mix Pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl till blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients (minus raisins, or chocolate chips) until blended. Stir in raisins or chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly between pans.

Bake 8 inch loaves 50 to 60 minutes, 9 inch loaf 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack.

Loosen sides of loaves from pans. Remove from pans and place topside up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to 10 days.

The best vegetable soup ever, no kidding (courtesy of the Today Show) *this recipe is naturally gluten-free as well!

Mark Bittman, New York Times columnist and author of "The Food Matters Cookbook"

Ingredients

3/4 cup olive oil, more or less
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch parsley, washed and chopped, thick stems discarded
2 or 3 cabbage leaves, chopped
1 bunch chard, preferably white, washed and chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cans white beans (such as cannelloni) with their liquid if possible

Preparation

Put about a third of the olive oil in the bottom of a deep pot and turn the heat to medium.

Add half the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, which takes about 10 minutes.

Add about half of the remaining oil and repeat the process, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.

Add the remaining oil with the parsley, cabbage and chard and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is softened but not browned.

Add the tomato paste and stir.

Mash the beans so that they're about half mashed and half more-or-less whole. Add this mixture to the pot, along with any bean cooking liquid and enough water to make the whole mixture stewy but not watery.

Continue cooking, tasting and adjusting the seasoning as necessary, until all the vegetables are very tender and the soup is hot. Serve hot or warm.

Serving Size

Makes about 10 servings

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup gluten free baking mix ( I like Pamela's)
2 table spoons margarine
1 13 oz can evaporated milk (or 1 1/4 cups Coffee Rich)
2 tea spoons gluten free vanilla
2 eggs
1 16 oz can pumpkin
2 1/2 tea spoons pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350. Beat all ingredients until smooth-1 minute in blender. Pour into a lightly greased 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, checking at 45 minutes.
Optional: add 3/4 cup chopped pecans in mixture before pouring into pan. Garnish with whipped cream.

ShE's NoT yOuR aVeRaGe MoM