Chattanooga has a secret....

  
       
Very cool stuff happening here people.  Dylan Kussman, known for his acting alongside Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, is now in Chattanooga.  Really.  No, Really.   Yes, yes he is.  I am NOT kidding.... Yes he has other roles in movies and TV but when I first saw him here at Ripple Theater,  playing in '12 Angry Jurors' alongside my very dear friend Ikeko Bass, I knew I'd seen him somewhere else, I remembered the name but not the movie.  IMDB to the rescue!  This isn't his first time in Chatt-town.  He also played in LeatherHeads (you know with that other guy, George Clooney?) which was filmed in part here in Chatt. 

I had heard some rumors that he was staying here and was working on a 'film noir' webseries.  I thought that would be pretty cool.  So, here it is.  They had a big release party but I couldn't make it.  The first episode as well as the first season trailer are online at www.followthesteps.net .  The next episodes will be released over the next few weeks. 

After watching the 1st episode my take is, GO SEE IT.  Follow 'Charlie's' blog on the site to fill in any gaps.  They are also running a contest to win a Dell Netbook.  Just watch each episode and find the answer to the weekly question.  When you figure it out go to twitter and send a twitter to @FollowTheSteps and also use hashtag #THESTEPS in your tweet with your answer.  Simple!   It's very well produced, professional looking and fun to watch.  They are also using Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/thesteps where 'Charlie' is starting a vlog.  It's fun, I'd like to see them do it all from the character POV through Facebook pages ect. Make it interactive, immersive even. 

Sick Friends Call For Homemade Chicken Soup!

So, two families that our friends of ours have been through it, literally.  Both mothers have been through MAJOR chemotherapy (one for breast cancer, one for hepatitis.)  They both have very large families (roughly 10 kids each give or take a couple.)  The mothers have have some serious health problems besides what they've gone thought the chemo for.  The fathers in these families, one is a priest and has health issues of his own and the other, on top of being a priest also works full time to support the family.  These are very dear, sweet, precious, loving, kind, caring people.  Both families have been tremendous helps to us when we were going through some major stuff.

I still am unble to work outside of the house because of my back, but I can do a lot around the house as long as I can do it on my own time.  (I had back surgery October '09 that did not fix all the problems but it did fix the emergency that I had to have it for. Overall I'm still not back to where I was before I needed the surgery.)   I knew my friends weren't up to cooking yet so the situation was 'catch as catch can' with sandwiches and some frozen meals.  I did some shopping Sunday night, 3 'jumbo' packs of split chicken breasts, 3lbs carrots, 3lb bag of yellow onions, 1 stalk of celery, 8lb bag of really nice 'bakers' russet potatoes, 3 bags of Mueller's whole wheat extra wide dumplings, 1 bunch parsley and a small jar of 'better than bouillon' chicken base (GOOD stuff that, beats the crap out of bouillon cubes!) 

Thank you Budweiser of Soddy Daisy for choosing me to be a winner of a $100 Bi-Lo gift card so I could take care of my friends! 


So, Sunday night I broke down the chicken.  This means I took off the skin and excess fat and threw it away.  I then de-boned the breasts (something I should post a tutorial on, it's not hard once you get the tricks of it and it can save you some money to do it yourself.)  Threw the boneless breast meat and the tenders into a pan to put back in the fridge.  I threw the bones (with small amounts of meat attached) into the crock pot.  I added 2 stalks of celery cut very large, 2 carrots also cut very large and 1 onion quartered and NOT peeled (ends cut off though.)  I covered it with water and put it on 10 hour low cook. 

Next day I broke out my two stock pots and strained the stock through a small wire sieve and separated the stock into the two pots.  I cut up 4 onions into small dice and sauteed them in a bit of vegetable oil until just sweated and very lightly browned.  Half went into each pot.  I sliced the head of celery thinly and also sweated it well (including the leaves).  Half went into each.  I sliced the rest of the 2lbs of carrots into rounds (roughly 1/4") and they went directly into the pans.  I cut each potato in half and the half's again.  I then sliced the potato quarters into roughly 1/2" slices.  Half into each pot.  I de-glazed my veggie sweating pan with a bit of dry vermouth and put that into the pots.  I added water to the pots to make it the way I wanted it and added the chicken base to taste.  I also added black pepper and a tiny bit of salt.  I chopped part of the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and put them in to the pots.  I brought the posts up to boiling and set my timer for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes (potatoes and carrots tend to take about 20 minutes to cook, noodles take 10-12, I had to wait to add the noodles so they wouldn't be mush.)  I added my noodles.  It cooked about 15 minutes maybe and it was ready.  GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD stuff!   My husband and I along with Kathy and Nicholas delivered them Monday night.  Hopefully it helps them.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

So, I like casseroles.  They're easy to put together, don't have to do a bunch of sides.  Maybe throw in a salad and bread and you've got a meal.  They also generally make enough for 2 meals.  What's not to like?  I was in the mood for a chicken broccoli rice casserole tonight.  Andrew's mom (my husband's mother) has a recipe for one that he likes so I had asked her for it.  She hadn't gotten it to us yet.  (no rush or fuss here, I'd just like to try it sometime)  So we called and they were heading out to get groceries.  Said they would call back.  (They did, but it was later, she's working on getting it written down for us as well as her recipes for Waldorf salad and her Sweet potato casserole.) 

I looked online and tried a bit of hodgepodge of recipes I came across.  Started off with cooking 2 1/2 Cups rice in chicken broth,  2- 13oz. bags of broccoli florets (steamed in water),  and I pan seared a 'jumbo' pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts after I sliced them into half thicknesses     I greased the bottom and sides of my 13x9" casserole.  I cut the cooked chicken into slightly smaller portions and layered them across the bottom of the pan.  (cut them because my kids are 6,4,2,1 years old)  I deglazed the chicken pan with dry vermouth and let it boil well.  I added a few splooshes of dale's sauce and enough water to keep the chicken moist.  I poured this over the chicken in the bottom of the casserole. 

I then added most of the rice over the chicken, working it in slightly.  I then topped it off with the cooked broccoli.  I then took the 'family size' can of cream of mushroom soup  (DON'T TELL KIRA SHE ATE MUSHROOMS!!!), a good sized glob of sour cream (maybe a cup)  (DON'T TELL ANDREW HE ATE SOUR CREAM!!!), Dale's sauce, a few blops (2-3 tablespoons maybe) 1 1/4 cup shredded mild cheddar and pepper.  Mixed those together and heated till boiling.  Poured over the top carefully working it down into the layers.  Topped the rest with 3/4cup or so of shredded mild cheddar and put it in a 425* F oven to get toasty.   Hubby's only real comment was that his Mom's is topped with crushed cornflakes and then baked.  (Which I was planning on but I didn't have in the house.)  He's happy with this and so am I.  I will do some sort of crunchy topping next time, for example, crushed Ritz, crushed cornflakes, crushed saltines (bleh) or bread crumbs. 

The children liked it also, although Nicholas, boy who will eat ANYTHING didn't eat much of it but I'm chalking that up to him seeming to have a head cold.  Kathy surprised me completely by not complaining about the broccoli and actually eating it!  Nina ate most of her bowl pretty much by herself (even if that often means throwing utensils to the side and digging in bare handed  >.< ) 

Poo free? Not so much

Ok, so I haven't given this much time.  I stopped about a week after I started.  I just don't like the feeling of not using shampoo and I don't want to mess with it right now.  However, I have gone 'natural' in another way.  (and use it on my kids too!)

I was diagnosed with skin cancer.  Just below my right eye I've had a spot that just would not heal up.  Ok, so I've ignored it for the last five years hoping that it would go away.  It didn't.  I finally brought it up to my primary care (it looks like a pimple most of the time but not quite if that makes sense? so it wasn't something she would have just noticed normally.)  I told her how long it had been there and if it was bumped or I scrubbed very hard it would break open and bleed a bit then stay kind of raw for several weeks.  She took one look said "that looks like a basal cell, gonna send you to a dermatologist."  Bleh.  Anyway, went in, had a, whatcha call that? when they take a sample... uhm... BIOPSY! (thanks Google)  It was a basal cell.  Went in two weeks ago and had it cut out.  Moh's surgery http://www.mohscollege.org/about/  was performed and they got it all.  It wasn't horrible but it wasn't fun being that close (less than 1/4" from my lower eyelid and closer than that to the outer corner of my eye)  to my eye was horrible on my nerves.   I've got a L shaped scar about 1 1/4"x1 1/4" from it.  Got the stitches out a week later.

All that to say, I've decided to stop using facial soap and start using oil.  Yes that's right, oil.  I was also diagnosed with Rosacea.  It seems like pretty much any type of face cleaner/moisturizer/toner that I've used causes my skin to get dry and red and hot.  Now I know why.  The dermatologist prescribed a wash, I haven't tried it yet though.  I did a bit of looking online and it seems that some people get good results from 'washing' their face with about 80% castor oil Castor Oil - 16 oz. - Liquid and 20% olive oil Zoe Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 25.5-Ounce Tins (Pack of 2).  You pull back your hair, rub it in good to your skin then clean it off with a wash cloth with just hot water.  I do this before bed and when I wake up my face isn't over oily nor is it dry.  I don't get nearly as red either.  I do need to be more consistent with it but it does seem to help and it makes my face feel good.