Inspiration

First, I want to state that I have nothing against people who truly have a handicap. If you are, or someone you know is, handicapped and need alternative modes of transportation, then, by all means, you or they should be able to use it.

That all said, I now know where the inspiration for the movie Wall-E came from. If you have seen the movie, you will recall that the people on the ship became so lazy that they did nothing for themselves. In fact, they didn't even walk, they simply reclined on motorized vehicles that did everything for them. They pushed buttons and sucked their meals through straws.

I believe they got the inspiration for all these people from Disney World. I say that because while we were there, it seemed that every other person was riding a motorized scooter. Most of these people did not need to be riding in these scooters, in fact, the walking probably would have been very good for them. In fact, when they would get on a bus, they would sit on the scooter until the bus got there. When the driver got off to help the person get on the bus, the person would either stand and let the driver put the scooter on the bus or they would drive it on themselves and then stand. Eight times out of ten, the person had no problems walking onto the bus or to a seat. When they got off, it was the same thing.

At the parks, you would rent a scooter, or a wheelchair, just like you could a scooter. At Hollywood Studios, I took this picture:

I couldn't believe my eyes! After I saw this, I realized why I could barely walk down one of the streets of the park, as the scooters were stretched across 5 wide blocking the path. Sometimes, you would see several together and riding on the laps of some of the drivers were children. Not little children either, but tweens who could walk perfectly fine.

After several rides, we finally realized why so many people rented the scooters and wheelchairs. It's like having your very own Fast Pass. The driver and their family could drive to the front of the line to a special handicapped entrance and get right on the ride.

Now, as I said earlier, if someone truly needs a wheelchair or scooter, then, by all means, let them use it. But, don't encourage people to be lazier than they already are by renting the scooters and wheelchairs on site to anyone willing to pay the money. Maybe to rent one you need a handicapped tag from your car to prove you need it? Who knows. I just know that by the end of the trip, we were referring to the scooters, with riders, as Wall-E.

Quiche

I like Quiche. I've made a healthy version for a few years now. But, this week, I had to make one for the teachers at the kids school. About the same time I was asked to do this, I saw a recipe on Pioneer Woman's site. So, what goes in looking like this:Comes out looking like this:
Along the way, I fried the peppered bacon:
Sliced the onion very thinly:
Quartered the artichoke hearts:
After the bacon was removed from the pan, the grease poured off, but the good stuff left in there, I added a stick of butter...
I added the onions and cooked them for a few minutes, don't they look yummy?
Then, I added the mushrooms. I didn't get good shots of that, as I was too busy looking at this:
A few pieces may have become missing... But, that's ok. Where were we... Oh yes, then I added the artichoke hearts:
Back to the bacon...
Here's where things changed a bit from the original recipe. Since I was making this for a large group of people, I wanted them to all be able to easily get a piece. Baking in a pie dish, the pieces just would have been difficult. I figured, we could get more pieces from a 13 x 9 pan. So, I bought the {gasp} Pillsbury pie crusts and arranged them in the greased 13 x 9 pan.
I stored all of the pre-made parts (crumbled bacon, cooked onions, mushroom, artichoke hearts, shredded swiss cheese, lined 13 x 9 pan) in the refrigerator overnight. This morning, I mixed the eggs and heavy cream, added the swiss cheese and then other ingredients. In the oven it went, and came out looking absolutely lovely!
But, was it as good as it looked you might ask??? The answer is YES! I cut it and removed a small piece to bring to work and try. So, I took it to the school missing one piece. They didn't mind though, and I hope they liked it!

Here's a link to the recipe. I only modified the crust and type of pan used. I baked mine for 40 minutes, lightly covered with foil and then another 15 uncovered. DQ smelled it and came down saying something smelled good and she was S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G! Now you know whey we call her Drama Queen!

Key Lime Bars

My bosses birthday is today and one of his favorite things is Key Lime. So, last night, I whipped these up. I had found a recipe to use here, and decided to tweak it a little bit...

Crust
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 TBSP salted butter
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 1/2 limes

Filling
2 egg yolks
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice

1. Heat oven to 350F
2. Grease 8" square glass baking dish with Pam, line it with parchment paper that hangs over the edge of the pan by a little bit
3. Melt butter in glass bowl
4. Add sugar to butter, mix
5. Add lime zest to sugar/butter mixture and stir well
6. Add graham cracker crumbs and mix thoroughly (a fork works best at this stage)
7. Press into the prepared pan, pressing a little bit up the sides. About an inch or so
8. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool until you can no longer feel the heat coming off the crust
9. In another glass bowl, using an electric mixer, combine egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk until well mixed
10. Add lime juice and only use electric mixer briefly, finish stirring by hand, as you don't want air bubbles in the mixture. It will begin to thicken slightly
11. Pour filling into the crust and make sure the filling reaches the edges
12. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until set
13. Cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate overnight
14. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper and cut into 16 squares. Use a very sharp, large knife for smoothest and quickest cutting. Also, wipe the knife between cuts.

Italian Sausage and Pasta Bow Ties

I would say this recipe below could use a little tweaking. It seemed to me like it was missing something. I think maybe some additional salt/oregano/basil/pepper would do it. BD and PM liked it as is. DQ gave it a thumbs down, but she was tired last night.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked
4 Italian sausage links (1 lb.), cut into 12-inch-thick slices (I had 5 sausage links for 1.24 lbs)
2 green, red or yellow peppers, cut into chunks (we used one green and one yellow)
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta as directed on package
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage and peppers in large skillet on medium-high heat 15 min., turning sausage for even browning. Add sauce; cover. Cook on medium heat 10 min. or until heated through.
3. Drain pasta; mix with sausage and peppers in skillet. Sprinkle with cheese

We're riding!

PM learned how to ride his bike a few weeks ago. Since then, he hadn't been on it again, until yesterday. By the time we were done yesterday, he was not only riding, but had also mastered the two things that had previously alluded him; starting and stopping by himself. Here's a small video of that (taken by my cell phone, so it's tiny).

Chocolate

So, I gave up chocolate for Lent. I know, pretty standard stuff, right? Well, I didn't realize just how many things I eat have chocolate in them. Also, how many recipes I look at online that have chocolate in them. Wow! Other than just not having any more Cadbury Mini Eggs until Easter (the total count that I ate in 1 week and 1 day was 34 oz, that was three 8 oz bags and one 10 oz bag, yes, pretty much all by myself), which is killing me by the way and I need to make sure I buy a bag for the Easter Bunny to put in my basket, there are lots of other things that I eat that have chocolate in them. The number one example, Hot Chocolate from Starbucks. UGH! I was buying that at least once a week, if not more. Also, my Fiber One Oats and Chocolate bars. Those are a great snack when I need a sweet fix, but want something semi-good for me.

Chocolate chip muffins, chocolate chip cookie dough, donuts, chocolate chip cookies someone brought in for work... The list goes on and on. I can honestly say that I have strictly adhered to my promise, with one small faux paux. When we had our snow days, and we had come in from spending over three hours in the snow, I made the family the best hot chocolate in the world. I had a small mug. I figured, we only get snow once every five years or snow like that, and I wanted to enjoy the day with my family.

The recipie for this wonderful hot chocolate is below:

Hot Chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
2 TBSP sugar
pinch of salt
8 oz dark chocolate, shaved or finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
marshmallows or whipped cream for serving

Heat cream, milk, sugar and salt until hot. I use my glass Hot Chocolate Pot from Williams Sonoma for this. I can put it right into the microwave for 5-7 minutes and it is perfect!

Once heated, add the chocolate and vanilla and froth (if you don't have a frother, invest in a cheap drink mixer, again, my pot came with one) until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Pour into mugs and top with marshmallows or whipped cream. I prefer to use whipped cream and the kids marshmallows

Things that make you go hmmm....

1. People that claim to know a lot, and may have certificates to prove it, but really are clueless about the world and maybe even that subject!
2. Mom's that have kids and then leave them with the dad and go off to live their own lives.
3. Kids that think they can sneak their Nintendo DS out of the house in their pants pocket to school.
4. Eczema, why oh why...
5. Mood swings
6. People