John Everett's New Bike

Here's John Everett on his new bike! I wanted to post a video, but I guess it's too long because I'm having trouble posting it, so I need to create a short one. Here's a photo though. A video will come soon! Sorry it's not the best picture...I promise to post more soon.

Dinner Tonight

Porkchops with Cranberry Stuffing & Baked Apples

Yowsa! This was insainley delicious!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

I used about 2 1/2 pounds of bonless pork chops (sea salted on both sides)

3 apples (cored and sprinked w/cinnamon)

Stove Top Pork Stuffing (made with apple juice and dried cranberries)

Line a 9x 13 bking dish with you sliced up apples w/cinnamon

Place pork chops in the center

Make Pork Stuffing as indicated on the box expcept...use 1 cup of apple juice and 1/2 cup of water till boiling and add 1/4 cup of dried cranberries as your strirring the mixture w/the boiling water/juice

Scoop the stuffing w an ice cream scoop onto the chops

Spray a piece of aluminum foil w/cooking spray and place that side down on top of the baking dish

Bake for 40 minutes

Sorry I've been away awhile...

But I'm BACK! And I've been eating well! Above you can see my ZATARAN's Dinner...which is just Zateran's Reduced Sodium Red Beans and Rice with Tukey Kielbasa, fresh green pepper and onion! Simple and yummy!

Top right is Baged Flavored Pork Roast w/Mashed Potatoes!

This was INSAINELY DELICIOUS! I got so sick of Slow Cooket Pork Roast w/Apples...I needed a change and this was AWESOME. Used "McCormick's" Pork Tenderloin Bag and Seasoning Envelop (I swear I'm addicted to their envelopes...never had a bad one!) cooked it in the oven inside the flavore bag for nearly an hour for my 2 lb roast and served mashed potatoes on the side! Turns out hubby and I CAN have instant potaoes as long as we use rice milk for making them! I couldn't tell the difference! Yippee! Hey I'm IRISH! I need mashed potatoes! :)

At the top is John Everett enjoying an Open Faced version of my Steak Fajitas!

Used Top Sirloin Steak, cut into long and lean strips in heat heat in a skillet, a drained can of diced tomatoes, fresh onions, yellow peppers that I grew, and canned mushroom pices (drained) all heated together in my skillet...then I put them in a white flour tortilla with a little sour cream and Mexican shreaded cheese in mine! YUM! :)

Dinner Tonight

Black Beans Chicken & Rice

I was very pleasantly surprised by this receipe! I don't cook "Mexican type" receipes very often..because my taste palete prefers mild...not HOT or SPICY, but this seemed tame, so I tried it! Everyone in the family LOVED it! Well, John Everett didn't care for the black beans, but I think that's because he's not used to seeing black colored food.

2 lbs of of Chicken (cut into cubes)

Olive Oil

1 Can (15 oz) of Black Beans (drained)

1 Can (15 oz) of Diced Tomatoes (drained)

1 cup of Chicken Brooth

1 bag of "boil in bag rice" (I use Success Rice)

Little bit of Crushed Red Pepper (to taste)

1 Green Pepper (cut up)

1 Onion (cut up)

Mexican shreaded cheese on top (if desired)

Cook Rice as Directed on box separatley

Two circles around skillet with Olive Oil...heat until very hot

Add 2 lbs of cubed chicken (cook through)

Add, green pepper, tomatoes, black beans, red pepper, and chicken brooth (heat unti boiling)

After boiling set to "simmer" and cover w/lid for about 10 minutes

Afer simmering for 10 minutes I drained MOST of the chicken brooth from the pan from the dish because I don't like "soggy" rice, but but if you like it juicy, keep it in. Add the cooked rice to the skillet and stir well. Add shreaded cheese on top as desired

What BROWN did for me

Community Day

So here's John Everett happy as a clam coloring on his free Crayola Pirates of the Carribean paper with his free Crayola crayons that he got at our Community Fair on Saturday! Every year Hellertown (usually around John's birthday) throws a "Community Day" for the public. It's a very cheap, small thing for residents to attend to learn about their local community and family businesses in the area. They had a free train ride for the kiddies, tons of free goodies advertising businesses! My personal favorite wasn't free, but man was it worth the $5.00 that I paid! It's the little brown metal UPS Truck at the bottom right of the picture! John Everett played with that truck ALL DAY LONG! People were giving out pens, pencils, mugs, recycle shopping bags, it was great! John Everett also learned about fire and bike safety from the police ad firefighters, it was way cool! I also finally learned about a Food Bank that's coming to my neighborhood (they are moving into a building around the corner from my house.) I was so happy to learn about this, because I've really been looking for something that can "fill me up" that I can give my time too, something that I can "give back" too and this looks like it's perfect! :) They also give to food to animal shelters too! I'm hoping I can get involved!

Like Springfield for Chocolate

....and today God createdRick Springfield. Take a good LOOOOONNNNG look at this photo. Honestly....does this man look 60 to YOU!? He is. He defies his age. Isn't he beautiful?

Sorry...drifting into a sweet dream there for a moment. :)

Seriously, you can't hear Jessie's Girl and not remember childhood or a fun part of that Summer the song was released. If you've only heard that one song, you hardly know him. He is one of the most underated songwritters of our generation. Most of his fans can't stand the song Jessie's Girl...Although we believe the album "Working Class Dog" is one of his best. He's NOT a one hit wonder. He produced 17 Top 40 hits on Billboard. He's had 4 consecutive gold albums, acted in many movies, played one t.v.'s sexiest doctors, even had his OWN CARTOON of himself in the 70's for two seasons. People always ask me, why do you still go? How many concerts of one person can you possibly attend? My answer? If it's still good and gives you a thrill why stop? Have you stopped eating chocolate? You know how that makes you happy? Rick is my chocolate.

The World's Easiest Dinner

O.k....you got something easier than this that can be called dinner, I'd really be interested in hearing that...

Campbell's Chunky Beef Soup With Egg Noodles

Boil Water, cook Noodles for 15 minutes.

Heat Soup

Mix Together!

DONE!

Dinner Last Night

Cheeseburger Pie
Loved this! It was sort of like cornbeef hash with whipped potatoes but it was great! :)
Beef Mixtue:
1 lb of ground beef
I put in 1 can of diced tomatoes (drained)
1 fresh green pepper
1 chopped up onion
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Heinz Ketchup
2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
Topping:
Topped off with 6 servings of Instant Mashed Potatoes as a topping
Top with shreaded Cheddar Cheese as desired
I cooked the mixture in a skillet for about 10 minutes and then placed it in a pie dish and baked it at 375 for 15 minutes.
I followed the directions on the box for the potatoes and spread it out over the mixture, it didn't quite "slice like a pie....but hey it all just gets eaten anyway!

Dinner Tonight

Ham and Hot Dog Casserole

I call it a "leftover special" it's ham and bean casserole actually, but I had 2 leftover hotdogs, so I cut those up and added them into the mix too! It was YUMMY! My hubby loved it. So you can call this another one of my "man meals"

1 lb of cut up ham cubes (I used ham and hot dogs...kielbasa would work great too!)

1 28 oz Can of Baked Beans (I used Bush's Maple Bacon flavor!)

1 15 oz Can of Great Northern Beans (drain)

1/2 cup of Barbeque Sauce (I used KC Masterpiece)

One Onion (Chopped up)

1 tube of biscuts (I used Pillsbury)

You can can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of shredded cheddar on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a skillet put ham and onion and heat through (about 5 mins)

Add the beans and barbeque sauce to the skillet-heat through (another 5 mins)

Place hot mixture into 11x9 reactangular baking dish

Open biscuit tube and cut up biscuits w/scissors & scatter them as a crust on top

Add cheese on top if desired

Bake for 20 mins in oven until biscuts are golden brown

Dinner Tonight

My Version of Fruity Asian Chicken Salad

O.k....it's not very Asian, but it's yummy to me...

Pan seared chicken with soy sauce and Asian Orange Sauce I also pan sear the celery and the onions with it for better flavor)

Spring Salad Mix

Cucumbers

Dried Cranberries

Light Mixed Canned fruit (juice drained)

Walnuts

Carrots

I used Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing...only because I was out of Rasberry Vinagrette...it ROCKS wit that dressing!

YUM!

It's the humorous, but not funny.

The title is the only thing funny about this post.
I'm gonna keep this short out of respect for my mother's privacy.
The reason I haven't posted in a while is because my mother had an accident this weekend while visiting with me here in Bethlehem. She fell and broke her left humorous bone (the upper part of the arm) She seems in better sprits now but it was and will continue to be hard for her to do simple things...so please, keep her in your thoughts as she recovers during this time. Thank you.

More Childhood Toys of Mine

I found this as well at this great toy store in Bethlehem! It's called "Toy Magic"...and I think I will be spending a majority of my Christmas money there! :) This is what I learned to tell time with! I'm gonna start slow...like teaching when "bed time" is! That's a BIG ONE! LOL!

Anyone remember THIS?

OH MY GOODNESS! I found COLORFORMS AGAIN!

And John Everett LOVES them.

Yeah....he's my kid! Mom and I bought nearly all the options they had!

I Can't Believe It's NOT Buttercream!

Yep...here it is, my hubby's birthday cake from Vegan Treats Bakery in Bethlehem. It's white cake, with Raspberry Filling and White Icing. It was really sweet if you ask me. But they have AMAZING THINGS at this bakery...seriously!

Hubby can't have dairy or chocolate, of any kind....I know, I would thrown myself off the cliff years ago over this, but he's still around oddly enough...smiling at his little fruit cup, or fruit bar, or fruit sorbet which he always has for dessert, but then I discovered this bakery in Bethlehem. Apparently, it's one of the best Vegan Bakeries in the country!

Yeah...it's an "impression" of a cake and how it should REALLY BE....but lettme tell ya...it's the freaking RICH LITTLE of impressions! And for someone who usually only has "fruit" in a variety of ways....that's something!

Heaven Is....

I'm convinced. It's a Select Comfort Bed with 1000 Count Egyptian Cotton Sheets...Rick Springfield lying in that bed saying "come on in..." and having him feed me these peanut butter cups! :)

They are from Trader Joes! HATE THAT WE don't have a Trader Joe's HERE! Their filling is CREAMY Peanut Butter! Awesome...

Mom brought them for me from VA...that's love! Well that and Rick Springfield concert tickets at Borgata in September....honey you reading this...HONEY! Bithday in October...early present..HELLO! :)

Dinner Last Night

So this is what we had for dinner last night, I know isn't my picture of food PRETTY!? It's like something out of "Better Homes and Gardens"! Well,... in my case more like "Superior Condos and Window Boxes"

What can I say? It's great to have a little Weber Grill, fresh ingredients, and most importantly...a husband whose willing to grill and cook everything with 3 women whining at him for everything on his birthday weekend! LOL!

Grilled Chicken, Fresh Pineapple and Asparagus

Skinless Chicken Breasts....simply grilled (about 10 minutes on each side all depending on thickness)

Sliced Fresh Pinapple (remove all the rind and "eyes" of the pinapple...what really important is slicing it as a whole circle of NOT removing the core of the pinapple first. Just eat around the core on your serving....it makes it easier to stick it right on the grill as a whole circle as opposed to a "doughnut shape"

Fresh Aspargus first blanch in shallow water and oil in a large skillet pan. Do this for about 4 to 5 or until it turns bright green in color. Then place in foil or we use a wire veggie grill basket, sprinkle with Mrs. Dash to taste . Grill for a few minutes serve with balsamic vinegar...it's DELISH!

Dinner Tonight

O.k....here's what we ate tonight...I know what your thinking...who has the time to cook RIBS? You do. Trust me, no one is lazier than me!

Slow Cooker Spare Ribs

Spare Ribs

One Bottle of Barbeque Sauce (I like K.C. Masterpiece the best)

Honey (to taste)

Brown Sugar (to taste)

Cook on low in Slow Cooker for 6 to 8 hours (put a few cups of water at the bottom of cooker)

Take out of Slow Cooker and transfer to rectangular oven pan lined with heavy duty foil

Add more sauce to ribs and brush over to taste

Place in oven at 350 for about another 20 minutes to finish it off

Voila! Ribs at home!

Pat the Husband

So for like the last week my Mom has been trying to send me this "funny book" via Amazon. Turns out after many days of waiting it was freakishly sent off to Union City, CALIFORNIA! It was here in the Lehigh Valley and then off to CA it went! Weird. Anyway....Amazon sent it overnight for the trouble and I got it today.
At first I rolled my eyes at the concept...a "parody" of the famous children's story "Pat the Bunny"....which OF COURSE I had when I was little! But then as I read it, I SCREAMED with laughter over HOW TRUE it all was! Just HILARIOUS! I'm telling you, if any of you out there are married (I think marriage is a requirement to really enjoy this) and need a good laugh, this is so worth the money! Even my husband laughed at it! Here's John Everett getting in on the action...he's showing you his favorite part of the book.....helping Paul ask for directions when lost!

Sad and Happy

Les Paul is dead at 94...the man was a legend. Rock and Roll would have been less without him.
That's sad....

However....Kate Gosselin has told Regis that "there is no happily ever after for her and Jon...and the marriage is over." I'm paraphrasing there...but hey that makes me happy! They were toxic for one another, maybe now the show will finally run it's course and be DONE!

But now what will I read about in the tabloids! Oh no....now I'm sad again! :)

It's a crazy world..

Dinner Tonight

Summer Sausage Skillet

This was my dinner tonight. Such a "man's meal"! I like it because it's PAINFULLY EASY!

One whole link of precooked sausage (I used Hillshire Farm's Turkey Sausage)

One bag of cooked potatoes (like Simply Potatoes)

Olive Oil to taste

Any fresh veggies that you like! I used tomato, green pepper, and onion

Heat on medium high heat for about 10 to 15 minutes

God it's good! :) It's helps to have a cute pink skillet to serve it in too!

Et tu Coach?

So I have date with Brutus tonight to go clubbing at the Forum, but what shoes do I wear!? Oh these! THANKS COACH! Hey perfect....now we can nearly break our necks walking in these, and have a weapon against that dictator Ceasar! Wow. It's so many things! It's a sandal! No it's a heel...it's two...two...two god ugly shoes!

WOW!

Hey there!
Look at that! Already 3 followers, and ONE isn't even related to me! Ooooo! I feel like a SOAP now! I got to tell my stories to all of you! LOL! LOL! "When last we left Kathleen she was eating her Beef Au Juis for lunch and contemplating how in hell she's gonna finish all of work today!" Oooo! Will she finish her lunch? Will she EVER finish her WORK? Will Orlando Bloom suddenly break in and sweep her off to some cheesy hotel.....STAY TUNED!

LOL! LOL!

Yeah right! Although speaking of some cheesy soap plot line, it's times like this (at work) I do TRULY WISH I had a clone to do everything for me! Yeah, the clone would stay here....while I would secretly stay at home do some some covert operation like...LAUNDRY, or cleaning! LOL!

Gosh Mom may be right about this one (she's the one who convinced me to do this blog) this might be really good for me to get back into writting, therapy, and making people laugh (HOPEFULLY! :) Although I think it's her secret way of spying of John Everett (kidding Mom!)

Speaking of which as I get my bearings with this blog and all.... I've decided that I will make John Everett's projects, and my cool food things, a "regualar appearance" on here. What do YOU GUYS think? Any more ideas as to what I can make a regular feature? Give me your thoughts....o.k...tick tock, rick tock....my 5 minutes for lunch is nearly over (and...SWALLOW!) O.k...it's over...later everyone! :)

It's Good to Have a Corner Organic Veggie Lady!

There's a lady around the corner from my house that sells the most delicious organic veggies...

and she has FLOWERS too! Aren't these beautiful? They have been making my dinning room smell so nice! All of her things cost next to nothing! I got these and 5 other bunches for only $5.00! Needless to say my neighbors now have these on their table too this week! :)

I'm hoping to get NEW ONES by the time my mother and mother in law visit us this weekend.

My Lunch Tomorrow...

Here's what I made for dinner tonight, yes I TOTALLY scammed this idea from Ellen DeGeneres! It's Mediterranean Chicken and Veggies!

Preheat Oven to 400 Degrees

Marinate Chicken (about 1 lb) in 1/2 cup lemon juice, a little bit of olive oil, fresh ground pepper, ground salt (to taste) fresh rosemary (to taste) a little bit of chopped onion (or garlic) for about 30 minutes....in a ziploc bag.

Chop up whatever fresh veggies ya got that you LOVE! I used red bell pepper, green zucchini, yellow squash, and onions

Throw in a rectangular baking dish lined w/foil. Put veggies on the outter edge, chicken in the center, pour leftover juice on top of the veggies.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes ...eat it up....yum!

What John Everett Made...

Cool huh? They are studying Dinosaurs this week at their daycare, and he made this "dino fossil"

I'm just a working class blog...

And I just get by!

O.k. o.k.... Insert your eye rolling here! For those of you NOT in "the know" (gasp!) of the inspiration behind my title it's named after one of my favorite albums, Rick's Springfield's "Working Class Dog".

Alright enough about that...so what is this gonna be about? Well ME (of course) Mr. John Everett (my 3 and 1/2 year old wonder!) and a little bit about my hubby John, our travels, my working frustrations, Rick Springfield, laughter, food, Rick Springfield, yummy things I make...did I say Rick Springfield? Ha! Ha! Just checking if your reading! I swear, it will mostly be about me and John Everett! :)

So just one rule here....yes there has to be one...post comments please, but none about correcting my spelling! LOL! LOL! Well this took me like 5 minutes to do here...so I'm off to learn more about how to make this blog better and beautiful!