Pinterest Fail: Yogurt Covered Blueberries

Pinterest. For many young ladies, like myself, it’s a combination drug and time-suck. You make the mistake of visiting the site for “a quick peak,” and end up looking up from your computer, hours later, only to realize it’s dark out and you haven’t accomplished anything that day, let alone come close to achieving any of the thousand pins you re-pinned that day.

To make up for this unproductive time, many Pinterest users blog about their successes with Pinterest, hoping to become a social influencer, or be pinned themselves. Well, guess what? About 50 percent of the crap I attempt on Pinterest doesn’t work. Sure, I’ve gotten great fashion advice, skin care regimens and pasta recipes, but sometimes, it’s just a failure.

Case in point: Greek Yogurt Covered Blueberries. I thought this had so much promise. I mean, Greek yogurt + blueberries = superfood that will turn one into the picture of health. Well, I don’t know because I had all of five test berries before I realized I had wasted my time.  I won’t post the original link, because I’m sure the author loved their concoction and it worked great for them. But it didn’t work for me.

Here is why it didn’t work:

1. Plain Greek Yogurt probably wasn’t the best choice. IF, and that’s a big if, I were to make this again, I would use a honey or vanilla flavored Greek yogurt, just to avoid the weird tanginess.
   

   It looked so promising.

2. To get the yogurt to become a coat on the blueberry, you have to freeze the little superfood nuggets. Turns out, frozen blueberries turn into little chunks of ice, covered in frozen yogurt. It’s like eating ice, and I hate chewing ice.
   

   I truly wish this had worked!

3. When I put them in fridge to become a little less ice-like, they became soupy, blueberry yogurt-y messes. I was not pleased.

Moral of the story – sometimes you have Pinterest success, sometimes you have Pinterest Fails.

Sunday Night Dinner: Pot Roast and Hatfield’s & McCoys

Sometimes, you just need a little home cooking on a Sunday night. So, you make yourself a pot roast.

I’m proud to say, at the age of 23-years-old, I have finally made a pot roast. I always look for a little bit of a family-feel on Sunday, which typically manifests itself in the way of a big meal and a movie. Tonight, I accomplish that cozy feeling with pot roast and re-watching the first installment of The History Channel’s Hatfields & McCoy’s. I know, I am America. I just need some apple pie and a flag.

I didn’t use a recipe for my pot roast – just a conversation with my mom and some improvising on my part. I literally just threw it in a crock pot and forgot about it.

Here’s what I did (scroll to bottom for ingredient list):

I put all the vegetables on the bottom, as a kind of bed for the roast.

Veggies!

 Then, I used some McCormick’s Montreal steak seasoning on the meat. Why McCormick’s Montreal? Because it was on sale for a dollar, that’s why.

Well aren’t you an adorable hunk of meat?

After I had the vegetables and the roast in the slow cooker, I mixed two cans of beef consommé and 2 cans worth of red wine together. In the words of my mom, “make sure you can taste the wine!”

Mhmm, beef juice and cheap red wine.

Pour this beef wine over the steak and vegetables (it shouldn’t cover the roast), put the lid on the slow cooker, and go.

Time to make the magic happen!

I started this around 11:00 am this morning, and by 6:00 pm, I had this beautiful sight:

Get in my belly.

I’m pretty proud. I mean, look at it, it looks delicious. I’m going to be able to enjoy this for DAYS.

Now, I’m going to settle in with my pot roast and some Hatfields and McCoys. Haven’t seen it? Watch it. I know not everyone is as obsessed with American history as I am, but this is a truly great mini-series. Watch it.

American history is my favorite.

Ingredients for the Pot Roast

• 1, 2 pound boneless roast, trimmed
• Steak seasoning
• Oregano
• ½ white onion, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 5 celery stocks, cut into chunks
• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 2 cans beef consommé
• Red wine, enough to fill 2 cans of the beef consommé

Place vegetables at bottom of crock-pot. Place seasoned roast on top of vegetables.

Mix beef consommé and red wine. Pour over roast and vegetables, making sure the liquid does not cover the roast.

Cook on low for 7 – 8 hours. Enjoy!

Minnesota Winter Bucket List – A Progress Report

It’s no secret – I’m a Californian adjusting to life in Minnesota.  I mean, I’ve blogged, Tweeted and Facebooked about that fact pretty much non-stop since I moved to Minnesota in June. During one of my countless posts, probably about how I was dealing with winter, you probably saw my “Minnesota Winter Bucket List,” which was just a fun list of things I wanted to accomplish while living in a place where there are real seasons. For a while there, my roommate, Bekah, was helping my fly through the list. In fact, everything I was able to check off the list was thanks to Bekah. She took me sledding, made me hotdish and helped me build my first snowman. Here’s the progress I was able to make on my list:

It’s been 76 days since I made any progress on this list. 

Since it’s April 20, I’m officially calling the Winter Bucket List for the year (though snow isn’t completely out of the forecast…still).  What does this mean? Will I ever go ice fishing? Will I ever develop a tactical plan for a snowball fight? Well, I guess I’ll just have to stick around for another winter! 

Penne with Zucchini and a Lemon Basil Yogurt Sauce

Like many other people my age, I have a fascinating with cooking. For millennials, cooking isn’t just a mode to provide sustenance; it’s a form of entertainment. Seeing what delicious (or not so delicious) concoctions we can come  up with, and wowing our friends with our amateur skills is exciting. Last night, I wanted a little excitement, even though I was just cooking for me. I also had a zucchini that needed to be used and some left over penne pasta. I’d like to think inspiration struck at this point, but I just happened to remember a recipe from Pinterest I tested out a few months ago.  I will give myself I little credit though – instead of looking up the original recipe, I just took what I had and made it happen. Some Tyson pre-cooked chicken, chopped zucchini, onion,garlic and leftover pasta, plus a little Fage 0% greek yogurt mixed with lemon juice and dried basil resulted in a tasty dinner for one. Not gourmet (pre-cooked chicken, I know), but it was delicious and fresh.

Want to make my version for yourself? Check it out!

Ingredients 

Pasta, cooked
Chicken, cooked
Olive Oil for sautéing
Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
Zucchini, sliced
1/4 Fage 0% Greek Yogurt
Juice from 1/4 lemon
1 tbsp dried basil
salt and pepper to test

Saute onion, garlic and zucchini in olive oil with salt and pepper until soft. Add pasta and chicken to warm.

Saute it up!

While pasta and chicken are warming, mix yogurt, lemon juice and basil in a small bowl.

Looks funky, I know!

Place zucchini and pasta mixture in a bowl, add a dolop of yogurt sauce and mix thoroughly. The, enjoy!

Not the most glamorous looking meal, but it’s delicious, I swear!

Yep, it was that simple. Since the chicken just needed to be warmed up and the pasta was already cooked, this took me about 15 minutes. Easy to prepare, and filling!

Hey Girl, Ryan Gosling Supports PETA Now

Ryan Gosling, breaking the hearts of countless agriculturally-inclined young women throughout the world, has partnered with PETA in urging the National Milk Producer’s Federation to lead the phase out of dehorning in dairy cattle. I’m going to be up front: I LOVE Ryan Gosling and am NOT happy about his new friendship with PETA.

But hey, at least he is taking an actual interest in agricultural practices, not just supporting PETA because it is en vogue.  I mean, he hasn’t been properly educated on the process of dehorning dairy cattle. We dehorn young calves on dairies to prevent the cows from gouging each other and dairy workers later in life, and it is done in a controlled environment. By removing the horn “nubs” from new born calves, dairy producers can minimize the pain through best practices procedures, and apply numbing agents and pain control products, as well as prevent possible infection. By dehorning the calves in a controlled environment at a young age, producers can prevent the cows injuring each other farther down the road when the calves are in pastures, and not in an environment that lends itself to minimal pain and infection. Dehorning now means preventing serious injury later in life.

He hasn’t been educated, but Ryan Gosling has taken an interest. Countless celebrity PETA supporters tout vegetarianism and pose naked, which somehow tells us not to wear fur. Ryan Gosling has found a real part of dairy production, and has shown an inclination for agricultural practices. What if we all write a letter to Ryan Gosling, and outline why we dehorn dairy calves. Maybe, we can change his mind, or at least make him realize that he needs to explore both sides of an argument before heading to E! Channel. 

I love technology.

Technology – what’s not to love? Sure, we’ve become too reliant as it as a society and children of the future will have no idea how to interact with people in person. But whatever. Technology is awesome, because it let me talk with my family half-way across the country tonight.

Yep, I got to chat with mi familia tonight. Aren’t they cute?

Mi familia!

Since I moved out here in June, I’ve seen my parents and little brother, Alan, twice – at Thanksgiving and Christmas. At Christmas, I got smart and bought my parent’s a camera for their computer, so I could see them more than my two or three visits home each year. I Skype with Alan somewhat frequently while he is at school, but it is nice to be able to talk with all three at once.

So, thanks to technology, I have been able to fend off homesickness just a little longer. Hopefully a few more evenings like this will tide me over until June, when I get to visit my beautiful California again!

Happy First Day of…Spring?

March 20. The first day of spring. In a previous life, today would have signaled the official start of warm weather. Grilling. Trips to the beach. Sunning on the deck while reading a book. 

Who am I kidding? I lived in San Luis Obispo. I could do all those activities year round. But I digress.

One word that describes March 20 in my current life? Frigid. With the windchill, it was -14 degrees when I left for work this morning. By all accounts, this has been the worst March in recent memory. In fact, today was the coldest first day of Spring Minnesota has had in 48 years. 48 years! The word around the office is that Mother Nature is breaking me in, and this cold weather is all my fault for moving here.

Another reason the cold could be my fault? Two weeks ago I made the unfounded decision to take my heated blanket off my bed. Sorry ’bout it.

Apparently on March 20, 2012, it was 80 degrees. Nice right?

So, it was sub-zero in Spring. But, it can’t possibly be this bad next year. I’m getting my dramatic winter weather over with. Right?

Right? 

 

Tough Break

Well, I’m over this thing called “snow” and “cold weather.” Tough break, right?

All things considered, I think I lasted pretty long. I’m proud of myself.

And just so we’re clear, Minnesota  and its shitty weather isn’t necessarily to blame. It’s every other state’s fault. I was watching The Today Show this week, and they were all complaining about the how “cold” it was. It was 26 degrees. Please. It was 18 degrees here Friday morning and I got an iced drink at  Starbucks. Buck up people.

California is also not making me very happy right now. It wasn’t looking outside at the ice and snow that caused me to diagnose myself with SAD (seasonal affective disorder. It’s a real thing. Google it). It was hearing about everyone in SLO going to the beach or everyone in Northern California talking about spending the day outside, riding horses and bikes. Let’s just say I’m not playing “California Love” on repeat this week. I know, Tupac is disappointed in me. But if my fellow thug was here with me, he’d understand. I mean, I’m pale, but I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this colorless in my life.

So, when is spring, exactly?

High of -4? I’ve got this.

Since I moved to Minnesota in June, I have been preparing for this day. 

It was a day that I couldn’t fully fathom. A day I had no past experiences even similar to. A day that had caused much fear and worry in my mind. What could this awful, awful day be, you ask?

Today, the temperature never went over 0 degrees. In fact, it was a high of -4, windchill of about -30. And I survived.

Hey, look! There is a midweek warming trend!

Yes, I survived my first day of entirely subzero temperatures. Biggest lesson learned of the day: Cold is cold. At about 10 degrees, I’m going to start crying like a little girl, which doesn’t change when it is -4. It was like any other day, except the natives joined me in my whining, which was comforting. 

Luckily, I planned ahead. Well, Lana planned ahead for me. She sent me a text last night saying she would be picking me up for work in the morning and driving me home as well, and I wasn’t allowed to go to the gym today. I happily allowed her to take over my to and from work transportation. 

She also provided me with some humor this morning, though it may have hit a little too close to home…

Just like when I attempt to sun tan, it ended up being a burn.

I also had this less than pleasing conversation with my brother, who is a freshman at Cal Poly and is enjoying the traditional January heat wave that hits San Luis Obispo every year:

The cold is so distracting, I forgot to use correct grammar. Apparently balmy weather causes the same problem with my brother.

There were several silver linings to the cold weather today, though. 

1. broadhead took pity on us all and ordered 4 gallons of chili for the chilly day. Never underestimate the power of chili when you know it is no warmer than -5 outside. 

2. I found this little guy in my office, being underutilized. He now lives at my desk. 

3. Hot Dish. While I’ve had it once before, after eating it for dinner tonight, I GET IT. Who knew cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, canned corn, ground beef, sour cream and a ritz cracker crust could make you feel so good?

(For those of you keeping score at home, that is both chili and hot dish I have eaten today. I am also beginning to understand the concept of winter weight.)

I am now safely tucked into the couch, in my yoga pants and flannel shirt and no less than two blankets. I was assured that today was the coldest day in four years, so it can’t get any worse, right? Right? 

A Girl and Her Gun

I grew up with guns.

I got my first BB gun when I was three, and it wasn’t even my birthday or Christmas (for the record, I did get a gun for Christmas when I was 10). I spent countless weekends at the shooting range with my dad and marching through the hills chasing deer, sometimes quail or dove. When I was 14 years old and just about to start high school, I got my first buck (70 yards, off-hand). Besides the gun safe, deer mount and horns displayed in my family’s dining room, there is a boar mounted in our stairwell, affectionately referred to as “Griz.”

One huge aspect of my childhood, even bigger than hunting, was gun safety. The first movie I remember watching (besides Pocahontas) was the Eddie the Eagle gun safety movie. Both my parents instilled a healthy dose of fear in my brother and I as to what could happen when one was careless with guns. When I turned twelve, my father enrolled me in a hunter’s safety course where I had gun safety pounded even further into my head. Currently, my dad is as a NRA Certified instructor, volunteering with our gun club’s junior rifle team and my brother’s former Boy Scout Troop.

In my 22 years of being around guns and people with guns, I have never been affected by a gun-related incident. Why? Because everyone I was around respected what guns were capable of, and were educated on how to stay safe around guns. What happened over the weekend with Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend is truly tragic, but the comments from Bob Costas during Sunday Night Football’s Half-Time are unfounded. Yes, a gun was used to end the lives of two people, but is that fact that guns exist the sole reason this tragedy occurred? No, it’s not. No one is sure what caused Jovan Belcher to do what he did, but the existence of guns is not what pushed him to carry out the acts he did.