Sign No More

http://youtu.be/eltHv58l8ig


Serve God, love me and mend
This is not the end
Lived unbruised, we are friends
And I'm sorry
I'm sorry

Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea, one on shore
My heart was never pure
You know me
You know me

But man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be

There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be

There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be

And there is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

Blue Cheese, Spinach Meat Loaf Muffins

A-yep. You read that right - MEAT MUFFINS! 

I have never liked meat loaf. I have heard people extol the virtues of meat loaf and so I have tried to like it. I have even tried to make it - all to no avail. 

Until now! 

As installment 3 of "Things to try while your wife is out of town", I give you: The Meat Muffin! These are seriously awesome!

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach

2 eggs

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 strips bacon (optional)

Yield: 1

-Preheat an oven to 375 degrees
- Grease a large muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Combine ground beef, blue cheese, onion, bread crumbs, spinach, eggs, and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl until well blended.
- Divide meat mixture evenly into the prepared muffin pan.
- Cut bacon strips into square pieces to top each "muffin"
- Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). 

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

The wife doesn't care much for horseradish so this is another one of those recipes that is perfect to try while she is out of town. These potatoes rock! I even think the wife would go for them since you taste the *zing* of the horseradish without any of the burn.

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 45 min

3 tablespoons butter

2 onions , sliced and separated into rings

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon ground dried thyme

3 large baking potatoes

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, or to taste

salt and cracked black pepper to taste

1/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup half-and-half

1 cup white or yellow Cheddar cheese (optional)

Yield: 1

- Melt 3 tablespoons butter (or oil if you prefer) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium, and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, and achieved a deep brown color, 30 to 60 minutes.
- While onions are cooking, mix together dijon mustard, horseradish and butter in a large mixing bowl
- While onions are cooking, cook potatoes until soft (microwave or cube and boil)
- Once onions are to desired doneness, stir in vinegar and thyme, and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Add potatoes, one at a time to the horseradish mixture and blend in with an electric mixer or potato masher
- Blend in 1/2 and 1/2
- Fold in onions until evenly distributed
- Add more Horseradish, Salt and pepper to taste

* Another option is to transfer mashed potatoes to a casserole dish, cover with cheese and broil until cheese begins to brown

Hot-Sweet Wings

I got this recipe from my favorite chef: Sam the Cooking Guy

I had been wanting to make this recipe for a while but never found the right time. With the girls out of town and the Super Bowl coming up, today was the perfect time. These turned out awesome and I kid you not; they were easier to put together than making Mac & Cheese out of the box!

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 30 min

3 pounds frozen chicken wings
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
6 ounces Louisiana-style hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more to taste)

- Place frozen wings on a large baking sheet and broil for 15 min a side
- Put remaining ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for 15 min
- Once wings are done, let rest 5 min
- Toss it all together and serve with your favorite dipping sauce (Blue Cheese, Ranch etc)

Pep Talk

http://youtu.be/l-gQLqv9f4o

Red Hands

http://youtu.be/1bt-FHaFVH8


Oh Yeah 
Oh Yeah 
That Gun is loaded. 

I know that I messed up a few times or what you want to call it. 
I know if I fell down you'd change the way that I saw it. 
I'd put it on the line for this time only. 

Is that what you really want? 

I can't see that I got red hands I'm colour blind sing Day-oh. 
Don't put the blame on me child the damn thing gone wild all Day-oh. 
Never wanted to be foolin' you, Can't believe I was ruining you. 

Is that what you really want? 

Oh Yeah 
Oh Yeah 
That gun is loaded. 
That gun is loaded but it's not in my hand. 
That gun is loaded but it's not in my hand. 
The fire burns I'm not the one with the match man! 
That gun is loaded but it's not in my hand. 

Oh Yeah 
Oh Yeah 
That Gun is loaded. 

I've seen it all before you back out and everything's changing. 
I needed something more you stepped down so what are you chasing. 
I'd put it on rewind for this time only. 

Is that what you really want? 

I realize that I got red hands don't want to change this Day-oh. 
Don't ask me why I choose to lie I stay blind all Day-oh. 
It's clear to me that you are fuming too. 
Your accusations are burning through. 

Is that what you really want? 

Oh Yeah 
Oh Yeah 
That Gun is loaded. 
That gun is loaded but it's not in my hand. 
That gun is loaded but it's not in my hand. 
The fire burns I'm not the one with the match man! 
That gun is loaded but it's not in my hand. 

Oh Yeah 
Oh Yeah 
That Gun is loaded. 

Oh Yeah 
Oh Yeah 
That Gun is loaded.

A Delightful Valentine's Post for Parents of Wee Ones

I give you, once again, The Bloggess

Beef Burgandy

Servings: 8

6 strips bacon

3 pounds beef stew meat

1 large carrot sliced

1 medium yellow onion sliced

3 tablespoons flour

10 ounces canned beef broth

1 1/2 cups burgandy wine

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves garlic minced

3/4 teaspoon thyme

1 whole bay leaf

1/2 pound white pearl onion peeled

1 pound mushrooms sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons butter

Yield: 8

- Cut bacon into 1/2 inch lengths, brown and drain
- Cube stew meat, brown and add to slow cooker
- Brown carrot and onion with 3 tbls flour, add to slow cooker
- Add beef broth, wine, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and pearl onions to slow cooker
- Cook n low 8-10 hours
- 1 hour before serving; saute mushrooms in 2 tbls melted butter and add to slow cooker
*To thicken, add 1/4 cup flour and 2 tbls melted butter

Killer Chili

Linden Family Cookbook / Stews

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 30 Min
Cook Time: 2 Hours

8 ounces bacon

1 yellow onion chopped

6 cloves garlic minced

2 jalapeno chiles seeded, chopped

4 cups water

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ancho chiles ground

1 tablespoon oregano dried

1/4 teaspoon allspice

28 ounces tomatoes canned

12 ounces beer

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons cumin

3 pounds beef stew meat cubed

34 ounces red kidney beans drained

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups Cheddar cheese grated

1 cup sour cream

3 limes cut into wedges

Yield: 8

- Preheat oven to 400
- cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces, arrange on a cookie sheet and bake on top rack for 20 minutes
- when done, set bacon aside and pour drippings into a large pot
- add onion, garlic and jalapenos. Cook until onions are translucent
- add water, chili powder, ancho chiles, oregano, allspice, tomatoes, beer, bay leaves, bacon, cumin and stew meat
- simmer 1 1/2 hours
- add kidney beans and cook 5-10 minutes
- if chili is too runny, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- if chili is too thick, add another beer
- serve with cheese, sour cream and limes

2nd Haircut! (This time we got our money's worth!)

Before:

During:

After:

You can't really tell from this photo but we went from keister-length to shoulder-length. So freaking cute!

Nutella Cake

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min

4 large eggs

8 1/2 ounces nutella

Yield: 6

- preheat to 350
- butter and flour a pie pan
- Beat eggs with an electric mixer on the highest setting until they are about triple in volume (about 6 minutes). The egg consistancy is the key to making this recipe work - they are what creates the cake.
- microwave nutella for 20 seconds to make it softer
- fold in one third of the eggs stirring in a clockwise manner until all streaks are gone. Then add second, then add third. Make sure to do this in three batches otherwise the eggs may lose too much of the air that has been whipped into them.
- Pour into pie pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean.
- Let cake cool completely before serving.

Perfect Baked Potato

Prep Time: 1 min
Cook Time: 30 mins

1 medium baking potato

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons butter

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Yield: 1

- Directions Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F
- Scrub the potato, and pierce the skin several times with a knife or fork.
- Rub the skin with olive oil, then with salt.
- Place the potato in the preheated oven, and bake for 90 minutes, or until slightly soft and golden brown. 

Superb Sauteed Mushrooms

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 pound button mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon red cooking wine

1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Yield: 4

- Directions Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook and stir mushrooms, garlic, cooking wine, teriyaki sauce, garlic salt, and black pepper in the hot oil and butter until mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 8 more minutes. 

Now Winter Nights Enlarge

by Thomas Campion

Now winter nights enlarge
This number of their hours;
And clouds their storms discharge
Upon the airy towers.
Let now the chimneys blaze
And cups o'erflow with wine,
Let well-tuned words amaze
With harmony divine.
Now yellow waxen lights
Shall wait on honey love
While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights
Sleep's leaden spells remove.

This time doth well dispense
With lovers' long discourse;
Much speech hath some defense,
Though beauty no remorse.
All do not all things well:
Some measures comely tread,
Some knotted riddles tell,
Some poems smoothly read.
The summer hath his joys,
And winter his delights;
Though love and all his pleasures are but toys
They shorten tedious nights.

Medical Update: Chronic Fracture NOT Infection

After that last post I finished packing us for a two night, two day stay at the hospital and headed back. The hospital only allows one parent to sleep in the room and there was no way the wife was going to leave the wee-one's side so I drove back home. I got home around 1:30am fixed myself some left-overs and spent about an hour just decompressing before I could sleep.

The wife called for reinforcements around 5am. They had not been admitted and were still in the ER. Fortunately, Annie got a good night's rest. Unfortunately, the wife and I had only about 2 hours sleep and we were thoroughly thrashed.

As luck would have it, Friday mornings the entire Ortho team meets to discuss cases and ours was the headlining act. They reviewed the xrays, blood work, MRI and our entire case history. They decided it was most likely a chronic fracture of the heel bone but they wanted to take a bone-marrow sample to be sure.

This is one of those weird catch-22 moments when we are so glad Annie doesn't have any feeling in her legs - of course, if she did, we probably wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

The docs jammed a needle into her heel bone and the marrow came out normal-looking (no pus). So they officially labeled it a fracture, casted her and discharged us with apologies for the long night. We packed up all our gear that I needlessly packed in the middle of the night and headed home.

They will do a culture on the marrow to officially rule out infection but the results won't be back for a week or so.

So just to recap:

- 18 hours overnight in a crowded ER
- 3 round-trips between home and the hospital
- 2 days of gear pointlessly packed, loaded, unloaded, loaded and unloaded again
- Two rounds of xrays
- Blood tests
- MRI
- Bone marrow drawn
- Bone infection - no, wait, fracture
- Mom and dad delirious on 2 hours of sleep tag-teaming a four-year-old today who has had a full night's rest
- The house is a wreck and the CHRISTMAS TREE IS STILL UP

But in the end we are grateful. Cast beats scalpel every day of the week.

Thanks for your prayers and well-wishes.

Medical Update: Bone Infection

When the wife brought Annie home from school today she immediately noticed something wasn't right. Annie's left ankle was hot, swollen and tight. Of course Annie can't feel her ankles so she was otherwise in good spirits.

When Annie fractured her right tibia some time ago and then her left femur some months later, the symptoms were exactly the same, swollen tight and hot. It seemed pretty obvious to us that Annie had fractured her left ankle at school today.

Once at the ER, we were sent for Xrays of her ankle. The films didn't show a fracture. The docs ordered blood work which came back indicating the likelihood of an infection. Orthopedics was called and they sent Annie for an MRI. Then it was back to radiology for an Xray of Annie's tibia that she had broken earlier.

By now it was 10pm and we had been in the ER for 6 hours. Once again, dear friends came to the rescue with dinner for us. The docs believe that Annie has an infection in her heel bone that will require surgery tomorrow and a second night's stay in the hospital.

I am scrambling at home to pack up overnight bags before I head back to the hospital.

We will keep everyone posted as we are able.

Tomorrow is "Go Annabelle" day.

Sport 'em if you got 'em.

Your prayers are appreciated.

UPDATE HERE

Five Minute Beer Bread

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 10 Min
Cook Time: 50 Min

2 tablespoons butter

3 cups self-rising flour

3 tablespoons sugar

12 ounces beer

Yield: 1

- preheat to 350
- grease loaf pan with butter
- pour beer slowly into mixing bowl
- add sugar and let foam subside
- stir in flour until smooth
- place in greased loaf pan and place in center of oven
- bake 50 minutes
- remove and let cool on a wire rack

*works best with a dark beer such as Guinness 

Lovely

http://youtu.be/wnT7e6SqUrE

Best Thing I Have Seen Since OK Go

http://youtu.be/1bt-FHaFVH8

Carry On

http://youtu.be/W9PiLdjmR0w

Well I woke up to the sound of silence
The cars were cutting like knives in a fist fight
And I found you with a bottle of wine
Your head in the curtains
And heart like the fourth of July

You swore and said
We are not
We are not shining stars
This I know
I never said we are

Though I've never been through hell like that
I've closed enough windows
To know you can never look back

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on

Carry on, carry on

So I met up with some friends
At the edge of the night
At a bar off 75
And we talked and talked
About how our parents will die
All our neighbours and wives

But I like to think
I can cheat it all
To make up for the times I've been cheated on
And it's nice to know
When I was left for dead
I was found and now I don't roam these streets
I am not the ghost you want of me

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on

Woah
My head is on fire
But my legs are fine
Cause after all they are mine
Lay your clothes down on the floor
Close the door
Hold the phone
Show me how
No one's ever gonna stop us now

Cause we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we're miles away
So we'll come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on

Well This is Delightful

http://youtu.be/WcM14Al83Ls

The Days are Getting Longer!

"Darkness must pass. A new day will come & when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer" 

- Tolkien

Smoked Salmon Dip

Servings: 12

1 (8-ounce) tub light cream cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped, divided
sprig dill (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped red onions


Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 2 tablespoons)

- Combine first 3 ingredients in a food processor.
- Add half of salmon; process until smooth.
- Fold in remaining half of salmon.
- Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Seared Scallops with Bacon, Cabbage, and Apple

3 center-cut bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups chopped fuji apples (1 medium)

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 tablespoon canola oil

16 large sea scallops (about 1 pound)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

Yield: Serves 4

- Cook bacon pieces in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon pieces from pan, reserving 1 1/2 tablespoons drippings in pan.
- Add sliced cabbage and chopped thyme to pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring cabbage mixture occasionally.
- Add 1/2 cup water, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover pan. Cook 5 more minutes.
- Stir in chopped apple and cider vinegar; cover. Cook 5 minutes.
- Stir in cooked bacon and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
-------------------
- Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until scallops are done.
- Place about 1 cup cabbage mixture on each of 4 plates. Arrange 4 scallops on each serving.
- Sprinkle each serving with 1/2 teaspoon dill.

New Year's

 by Dana Gioia

Let other mornings honor the miraculous.
Eternity has festivals enough.
This is the feast of our mortality,
The most mundane and human holiday.

On other days we misinterpret time,
Pretending that we live the present moment.
But can this blur, this smudgy in-between,
This tiny fissure where the future drips

Into the past, this flyspeck we call now
Be our true habitat? The present is
The leaky palm of water that we skim
From the swift, silent river slipping by.

The new year always brings us what we want
Simply by bringing us along—to see
A calendar with every day uncrossed,
A field of snow without a single footprint.

Quote of the Day

"No one ever regarded the first of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam."

- Charles Lamb

Happy New Year (part 2)

http://youtu.be/Pwe-pA6TaZk