HodgePodge Wednesday - WooHoo

Joining up with Joyce on this week's hodgepodge questions.




1. In an effort to combat obesity, the mayor of NYC has plans to ban the sale of large sugary drinks (anything over 16 oz.), initially in restaurants, movie theatres, and street carts. Corner stores would also be affected if they are defined as food service establishments. You can read more here. Your thoughts?


I used to respect this man and now he is a joke. You can't legislate healthy eating. That sort of sounds like a communist country to me. He also has come up with a plan to make women breast feed newborns in the hospital. Read about it here. What happened to freedom? I thought America was sort of founded on that.


2. Art festival, music festival, food festival...which would you most like to attend?
I've been to all three and the one I liked best was art followed by food.


3. What are you irrational about?
Irrational? I'm never irrational. (LOL)


4. Do you feel confident you'll have a comfortable retirement?
I think we will. I've worked for the same university my entire life. And on September 1 I'll have 25 years here which mean I'm eligible for their retirement. I won't because I need the state teacher's retirement which I can access in about 6 more years. Our university is very generous in the plans. Last year I met with one of the reps from Fidelity on my choices and when I showed him everything he was very impressed and said we would be set. The house is almost paid for and we don't have big debts.


5. What's been your favorite Olympic moment so far?
(Not ever, just in the 2012 Summer games)
This can change every day. I've so enjoyed the little known sports. You know the ones that don't get on the nighttime show. Archery was fabulous as I talked about last week. But last night's high bar routines have to take the cake for outrageousness. Did you see the guy from the Netherlands? Wowser.


6. What would you label as the messiest room in your house?
I conveniently left this question until after Whitney moved out. The utility room is the messiest. We always put the stuff we don't want seen or don't know what to do with out there. It is always a pit.


7. Do you follow your heart or your head?
My head. I'm way to logical to follow my heart.


8. Insert your own random thought here.










The move went well yesterday. Her bedroom is bigger there than at home.


Dan got the tv set up. Turns out they do have all the cable stations (except the movies) so she can watch HD channels.






They have so much storage space in their kitchen area too.






The walls had a lot of chips missing so hopefully they can come in and paint them. I'm not sure why that didn't happen over the summer. The furniture was in good shape which is better than the room next to theirs which had duct tape on the couch. I'm sure that will get replaced.

Crazy Cooking Challenge - No Bake Oreo Cheesecake

After taking a couple of months off from the challenge, I had to rejoin when I heard the recipe of the month was cheesecake. I love cheesecake even if it doesn't love me. Who can resist all that creaminess and so many different toppings/flavors? All you have to do is look at the cheesecake menu at The Cheesecake Factory and you know what I mean.

Of course with it being the hottest part of the year (100+ temperatures...yuck) and a baked cheesecake takes at least an hour to cook, I decided to make a no-bake one. I would so love to try my hand at baking one again. My last attempt didn't turn out at all like the picture in the recipe (Pumpkin Cheesecake) but it was still tasty. But I wanted no-bake. After consulting with my dessert expert (Whitney) we decided we wanted an oreo cookie cheesecake. If I'm going to eat all those calories, by golly I'm going with something that has chocolate in it. And who can pass up an Oreo? It is after all the 100th anniversary of that cookie.

I searched all over the place for a recipe. I did find one that looked delicious but my goodness the amount of steps and stovetop cooking needed to make it just made me look elsewhere. Since the rules changed last month about being able to use a recipe from anywhere, I went to the Kraft website. (I know I took the easy way, but I'm serious about not turning my oven on for 2 months). There I found a recipe that looked easy and delicious. So I made it.

No Bake Oreo Cheesecake
(recipe from Kraft Foods)

9 OREO Cookies, divided
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)

HALVE 4 of the cookies; reserve for garnish. Finely chop remaining cookies; set aside. Remove 1 cup of the whipped topping; store in tightly covered container in refrigerator to use as a garnish.

BEAT Neufchatel and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add yogurt; mix well. Gently stir in the remaining whipped topping and the chopped cookies. Spoon into crust.

REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm. Top with the reserved whipped topping and cookie halves just before serving. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

So the changes I made to the recipe was I used a chocolate pie crust. I couldn't find a oreo one. (I think the oreo one would have added something so if you have one, use it). I also put all of the cool whip into the cream cheese mixture and didn't keep any out. I think it helped make the filling a little lighter. We also used the reduced fat oreos. I had no idea they made so many different types of cookie now.

I figured out the calories of one slice (1/8 of the pie) was 375. Which for a cheesecake isn't too bad.

Our overall impression was that it was tasty but we missed a real cheesecake's density and flavor. It had a tang to it but not as pronounced as when you use real cream cheese. I did appreciate that it was cold and didn't heat my house up to make.




Let's go see what other delights people came up this month!

Cake Batter Puppy Chow

Whitney wanted to take her friends at work a treat her last day so she tried a new recipe. She loves to make puppy chow since it just microwaves but one of the girls is allergic to peanut butter. So she tried this new recipe. Super easy and delicious.

Cake Batter Puppy Chow
Courtesy of food.com

5 cups Chex cereal (she used rice)
10 ounces vanilla flavored almond bark
1 1/2 cups yellow cake mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Melt almond bark according to package. Add shortening if it needs thinning. We added about a teaspoon.
Pour the cereal, cake mix, powdered sugar into a paper Bangor container with lid.
Drizzle melted almond bark over cereal and fold top of paper bag or put lid on.
Shake bag or container until cereal is evenly coated.

How to make a Seat Cushion

Whitney needed a seat cushion for her desk at school. We looked for something that would match her bedspread or at least would look cute, and nothing worked or it was way too expensive. So I decided to make one.

Now my sewing skills are adequate but I don't usually do anything without a pattern. But I figured how hard could this be. It's a square with ties. So off we went to buy fabric and a cushion.

The fabric she chose was super cute with the added benefit of having a somewhat line for me to follow to cut a straight line. So I measured what I thought I would need, given that I would need to slide the cushion in.

First I sewed the ties and turned them inside out. I used to make scrunchies for Whitney when she was little so I knew how to do that part. The hardest part is turning them inside out. Thanks to a skewer I got them turned out.




Then I needed to sew the sides with the ties attached. I had been smart and cut a big rectangle instead of two squares so I only had to fold it over and sew two sides. My first attempt to sew the ties had me put them on the wrong side. So I had to take out all the stitches and start over. But within no time I had all the ties stitched in and both sides done.




Last step was to put the pre bought cushion (conviently a square shape) and sew the last edge by hand. I folded it like I was wrapping a package and sewed the cushion in. I sewed it twice to make sure it would stay.





The finished project was comfortable, will tie to the chair and looks good. Not too bad for $6 and a couple of hours of my time.

Friday Fragments - Olympics Edition

Joining with Mrs. 4444 to put together a bunch of stuff for those of us too lazy to come up with a blog topic. (OK, that's my definition not hers)



The Olympics is on constantly thanks to streaming online. Now I'm not mad when someone posts who won what simply because I already watched it. But don't worry, I'm not telling anyone else so I'm not that spoiler person.

Yesterday was the gold medal match in women's archery. I've sort of become an archery fanatic. For those of you who don't know, each archer gets 3 arrows a set. If you score more you get two points. First person to six points wins. After five sets you go to a tie-breaker. The girl from Mexico was down to her last point and came back to tie it after five sets. The crowd was so supportive of her because she was the underdog. Then came the tie-breaker. ONE ARROW! Can you imagine it all coming down to one arrow? The girl from Korea won.

Did you know the top Korean archer is legally blind? Sort of makes you wonder how he can aim but he can see vague colors/shapes. So he aims for the yellow. He set a world record the first day.

Today's unusual sport to watch is trampoline. Bet you didn't know that was an Olympic sport. This is not your backyard trampoline and they certainly are doing tricks that if one of your kids do you would have a heart attack.

Track and Field starts today. I need to check and see where they put the Olympic torch since it was sort of installed in the middle of the field portion of the stadium. I don't think they are throwing javelins around it.

For non-Olympic news, Whitney has an MRI scheduled for Monday for her foot. She hurt it somehow earlier this summer, wore a boot for a few weeks and it just hasn't recovered. The MRI will determine if she has a slight stress fracture or inflammation. We see the doctor Tuesday morning for the results then get on the road to move her back into the dorms. Thank goodness that she has covered parking under the dorm so we don't have to be out in the sun in 100+ temperatures moving her stuff. I don't think I could do that.

We almost got the alltime record high temperature yesterday. We were one degree short. Frankly if we are going to get that hot, I want something to show for it. Mandatory water rationing went into effect yesterday. I could tell water pressure was going down so I hope people heed the warnings. Water is something you just don't want to run out of. You sort of need it to live.

Yesterday was post 500 for my blog. What started out as my own blog because I had taken over Dan's has turned into a creative writing outlet that I didn't know I needed. Sometimes it is stupid stuff, sometimes important, but it is a way for me to show a side of me that not many people know.

For all of you who read this blog, thank you. I hereby award you a gold medal (courtesy of the Olympics of course)!

Rio Grande CountryRibs

In my quest to not use the oven for the hottest two months of the year, I needed to find some new recipes since we tend to eat the same things over and over. I pulled out our crockpot cookbook and found a couple of rib recipes and then ribs went on sale so I knew it was to be. I thought that these would be good since they combined Mexican flavors and pork.

Rio Grande Country Ribs
Courtesy of Crockery Cookery

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. country-style pork ribs
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 (7oz) can green chile salsa
1/4 dry white wine
3 T brown sugar
1T Worcestershire sauce
1tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder
2T cornstarch
3T water

Combine ribs and onion in crockpot. In a medium bowl, combine salsa, wine, brown sugar, worcestshire sauce, mustard and chili powder. Pour mixture over meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or until tender. Remove ribs. Combine corn starch and water in small bowl. Stir into crackpot. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Spoon sauce over ribs.

We served this on a tortilla with sour cream.

Dan and I liked it, especially the sauce. I thought it had a cinnamon flavor, maybe from the green salsa? Whitney wasn't fond of it, which just left more for us. I would definitely make sure to not overlook the ribs because they have a tendency to get dry when overcooked.

I'm always looking for recipes that use country ribs because they usually have good sales on them. So it's a good thing to have different ways to prepare them.

Hodgepodge - Truly hodgepodgy

Joining up with Joyce for this week's questions. Note question one refers to HER daughter and not MINE. Whitney doesn't blog.

1. I'm (Joyce) joining my daughter1 (Shannon) in the 101 in 1001 challenge. Essentially you create a list of 101 things you hope to do or accomplish in the next 1001 days. What's one thing you'd put on your list?
I've read Shannon's list and it is full of fun things, some accomplished easily and some she has to work at. I at one point had a list of a few things I wanted to do before I turned 40 and I only got one of them off the list. So I don't do too well with those things. But for these purposes I would say in the next 1001 days I would like to finish my kitchen remodel. I still need new counters and a new stove would round out the newness.

2. How many remote controls do you have in your house? What's one item in your home you wish could be operated by remote control?
I think there is six of them. Four for the living room devices (although we have everything programmed into a universal remote) and then two in the bedroom. I wish I could have a remote for the temperature control. The height it is at and the angle of the screen means I always have to get a chair or stepladder to try and read the little letters that say heat/cool. There are four settings so when i switch it I can't tell where it is. 

3. What does having it all mean to you? Is it attainable?
I think it means having everything to make you happy. So that is attainable. I don't think it refers to money or things.

4. What's your favorite movie soundtrack?
This is a tough question. I'm not a movie person but I know I sing along with songs all the time. So I'm going to pick A Chorus Line. Yes it was a musical first and the movie really wasn't that great. But I love the songs so much. I've had them memorized since the 70's when my cousin played it for me for the first time and taught me a little dance. My favorite is What I Did for Love. While not the movie version (totally choppy) here is the lovely Idina Menzel singing it with the composer Marvin Hamlisch.

5. Describe the best view you've seen from a rooftop.

I'm going to say the view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower at night.

6. What's your least favorite thing about summer?

Easy question...heat. Moving on.

7. Our weekly Hodgepodge falls on the first day of August. In ten words or less sum up your July.
Vacation awesome. Heat sucks. Whitney leaves in seven days :(.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Cool Olympic sports...archery (love the sound of whooooosh, thunk). Skeet shooting (2 golds for USA). White water kayak (scary but fun). Synchronized diving (how do they stay together).