Chatbug Karen

A New Kind of Chili

Karen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:31:43 +0000

I have been so hungry for chili. The cool temperatures and falling leaves are prompting fall moods. Fall brings to my mind great soups and pots full of chili. I was happy that hubby felt the need to make chili this weekend, that was until he announced he was going to try a new recipe. His recipe called for roast beef! I don’t know about you but in my mind, chili calls for hamburger and beans. His recipe had me fearing that his latest concoction would be better than the best diet pills ever invented! I was pleasantly surprised.

The chili he came up with was a smooth blend of roast beef and tomato sauce. What surprised me the most was that he used Jiffy corn bread mix, mixed with a bit of the broth and microwaved for a few minutes. He then added the broth back to the chili which thickened it. It was scrumptious.

Lynn’s Chili

2 1/2 lb chuck roast cut into bite sized pieces
2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
1 1 lb package fresh pork sausage mild (whatever hotness you like)
1 medium white onion chopped
1 package chili seasoning
4 cups water

Brown meats, onion, add water and simmer for one hour.
Then add:
Add 4 cans kidney beans (2 dark red, 2 light red)
5 stalks of celery cut into half inch pieces
One 12 oz can V8 juice
6 oz can of salsa (Chi Chi’s Salsa is what we like)
2 cups water

Simmer until chuck roast meat is fork tender.
Spoon out 2 cups of liquid and put into a bowl. Add 1/3 pkg Jiffy corn bread mix. Stir and put mixture into microwave for 45 seconds. This mixture will puff up a bit. Stir and add back into the chili.

Spoon into bowls and sprinkle grated cheese over the top.

Ice Age Will Make You Smile

Karen — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:28:20 +0000

I tend to worry when I send hubby to the video store by himself. He usually comes home with a gory, bloody, action packed movie that encourages me to venture into another room and drop Entrecards. Tonight he surprised me when he brought home Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. We usually only watch animated movies when our kids are visiting and drag us to the theater. I enjoyed this movie and even found myself laughing out loud more than once!

Excerpt from Amazon:
Manny (voiced by Ray Romano) and his mate Ellie (Queen Latifah) are expecting a baby mammoth. Unfortunately, this makes Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) feel left out. Diego, who worries he’s losing his edge, decides to head out on his own, while Sid adopts three suspiciously large eggs that he’s found through a crack in the ice. Up to this point, the movie is perilously sappy–does anyone, particularly a kid, want to watch a kid’s movie about parenthood and impending middle age? Fortunately, the eggs turn out to be dinosaur eggs from a pre-mammalian underworld, and when the mama T-Rex comes to rescue her rambunctious little ones, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs transforms into a delightful comic adventure.

I highly recommend this movie, especially if you are down in the dumps or not feeling up to par.

Dead Man is Alive

Karen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:43:00 +0000

This is what I want to do! I would love to show up at my funeral and say hi.

A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral.

Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves, 59, had identified him as the victim of a Sunday night car crash in Parana state in southern Brazil, police said. As is customary in Brazil, the funeral was held the following day, which happened to be the holiday of Finados, when Brazilians visit cemeteries to honor the dead.

You can read the whole story at AOL News.

Sewing Makes My Eyes Buggy

Karen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:02:46 +0000

My eyes are buggy and my head feels foggy. I have been sewing most of today. I really should be working on the end of October bookwork for our business but I don’t want to do it. Thus, I sew.

I finished two more Haunted Halloween wall hangings. One for me and one for my sister who by the way, just got a new notebook computer! Congratulations on the new baby, Grace! I hope you still find time to sew and don’t spend all of your time setting up your new toy. LOL

Fall Is Apple Time

Karen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:58:28 +0000

The best thing about fall is visiting the orchard. I just about missed it this year. When I purchased my apples, the clerk said it would be the last day they were open for the season. Yikes!

I bought a small bag of apples this year and now I wish I had purchased more. I doubt I bought enough apples to make a pie. My son said he was going to make applesauce with their apples.

Do you have a favorite apple for making pies and applesauce? I get so confused when I visit the orchard.

There are many historical aspects to how certain varieties of apples came to be however, we may never know the history behind certain Did you know that it is illegal to propagate patented varieties without permission of the patent holder? Apples have no fat, cholesterol or sodium, and contain small amounts of potassium, which may promote heart health, help maintain healthy blood pressure and a healthy weight.

Health Benefits Debated

Karen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:51:49 +0000

I was surprised, while watching Dr. Oz’s new television program, to hear him recommend organic milk. I agreed with his thoughts on the benefits of using organic leafy, hard to wash items, such as Romain lettuce and other items but have to disagree with his thoughts on buying organic milk.

The following article written by By Karen Collins, R.D. for MSNBC explains what I have always held to be true about milk.

Demand for organic milk, which can sell for up to double the cost of other milk, is booming. Deciding whether to spend the extra money is not as clear-cut a decision as some suggest.

People may turn to organic milk for health benefits, or environmental and animal rights’ issues. But when evaluating the health claims, so far, research does not support a health advantage of organic over conventional milk for any segment of the population.

That’s because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has four requirements to define milk as organic, and confusion abounds about each.

Milk that is labeled “USDA Organic” must come from cows that have not been treated with bovine growth hormone (BGH) to increase milk production. People who focus on this goal express concern that hormones in milk could raise the risk of hormone-related cancers, or lead to higher levels of an insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) linked with cancer.

But BGH is a protein hormone, which means that if any does appear in milk, enzymes and acid in our digestive tract destroy it. Dale Bauman, a professor of animal science at Cornell University, emphasizes that if IGF-1 is slightly higher in milk from BGH-treated cows, it represents a tiny fraction of the IGF we all produce each day. Bauman reports that we would have to drink 95 quarts of milk to equal the IGF-1 we make daily in our saliva and other digestive tract secretions.

We need to differentiate between levels of IGF in our blood, which some studies link to a possible increase in cancer risk, and levels of IGF in our food. Several organic-related Web sites refer to a study in which vegans (who eat no animal products) showed 13 percent lower IGF than non-vegans. But, a closer look at that study shows that milk consumption was not related to blood levels of IGF. Research shows high blood levels of IGF are linked with overweight, lack of exercise, and diets too high in saturated fat, refined carbohydrates or total calories.

No antibiotics
A second characteristic of organic milk is that these cows are not treated with antibiotics. If a cow in an organic herd does need to be treated with antibiotics, she is not returned to the herd for a period of 12 months. Yet in conventional herds, milk from cows that receive antibiotics is not used until tests show it is antibiotic-free. Tanks of milk are routinely tested to ensure no antibiotic content.

A third requirement of organic milk is that cows’ feed is grown without pesticides, whether the feed is grass or grain. Recent USDA reports show that nonorganic milk may contain low levels of certain pesticides, but these are far below established tolerance levels. Using organic feed may support sustainable farming practices, yet research has not found it affects the nutritional value of the cows’ milk.

Grazing time?
The final requirement for organic milk is that cows must have “access to pasture.” Many consumers assume this means cows graze in fields most of the year. But, the current standard does not require a specific length of time in pasture. A cow can graze in pasture only a limited time and still produce milk that is certified organic.

On the question of grain- versus grass-fed cows, some suggest that pasture-fed cows may produce milk that contains more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a special type of fat that may protect against cancer and other health problems. But Michael Pariza, professor of food microbiology and toxicology at the University of Wisconsin, and a leading expert on CLA in dairy products, says grass feeding by itself does not assure increased CLA. He and Bauman both note that cows fed mixed grains with soybeans or other additions can produce milk that has higher CLA levels than milk from grass-fed cows. This may lead you to spend less on milk and more on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and other healthful foods.

Nutrition Notes is provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C.

Sorry, Dr. Oz. I have to disagree with you on this one.

Four Foods on Friday 93

Karen — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:09:37 +0000

Interesting questions for this weeks meme, Four Foods on Friday.
1. Name one bad habit you have in the kitchen.
I eat cookie dough when mixing up a batch of cookies.

2. Do you have a tv in the kitchen?
Yes

3. What’s one food you can’t stand cold?
Coffee I am not picky about my coffee. No need to get the water from rain barrels but I do like it hot!

4. What’s your favorite juice?
cranberry apple

Join us at Four Foods on Friday by clicking the icon above.

Rain, Fog and Computer Memory

Karen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:30:24 +0000

I have worked with computers for probably 20 years and I am still afraid of them. This morning I received an error message that told me my virtual memory is low. What the heck is that? Do I need an sd card to move my information onto?

On to more normal things. We woke up to fog today. I was very surprised that the schools did not delay the bus pick ups like they usually do. It is so dangerous to drive in fog.

Extreme Makeover, Home Edition was in our county. They have been working in the rain since last week. It has been very exciting to read the progress report each day. They had so many volunteers that the workers were put on other jobs in the area. There are so many places that need help whether it be painting or plumbing. I hear that the episode that was filmed here will air some time in December.

Daylight Savings Time

Karen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:02:40 +0000

My husband and I were talking about how awful it is to have to get out of bed when it is still dark outside. I thought it was going to be necessary to haul in some heavy duty industrial equipment to get his butt up this morning. LOL Usually, I am the one who pulls the covers over my head while crying 15 more minutes! Please! I hope that the change in time helps us. Did you know that, here in the United States, our time will be changing soon?

The U.S. begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. local time on the second Sunday in March and reverts to Standard Time at 2:00 a.m. local time on the first Sunday in November. DST is not observed in Hawaii or Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, which does observe DST, even in Arizona. In 2009, DST starts on March 8 and ends on November 1. In 2010, DST starts on March 14 and ends on November 7.

Why do clocks change at 2:00 a.m. in the U.S.?
In the spring, clocks spring forward from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.; in the fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The time was originally chosen because it minimized disruption. Most people were home at the fewest trains were running at 2:00 a.m. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.

Tweety taw that Puddy Tat

Karen — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:35:44 +0000

I made a Tweety Bird purse for a friend’s daughter. I noticed that Tweety is celebrating his 67th birthday! Tweety Bird made his debut in the Warner Bros. cartoon A Tale of Two Kitties (released November 21, 1942), directed by Bob Clampett. He is an old critter for never having to deal with acne treatments!

Tweety didn’t meet his most famous adversary in that first outing — his role was to defend himself from a pair of Hollywood-caricature cats named Babbit and Catstello. Nor was he called by name — like Chip’n'Dale, Wile E. Coyote, and many other cartoon stars, the name came only when he’d appeared twice. He did, however, utter his most famous line, “I tawt I taw a puddy tat.” And the child-like, ever-so-innocent demeanor with which he demolished his antagonists was there right from the start.

You can read more about Tweety at Toonpedia.