I Can Make that SO MUCH Better!

I made a delicious breakfast this morning. I may or may not have ripped the idea off of a certain fast food giant... but really, THEY
did not create the concept of the breakfast sandwich... and mine tasted 10,000 times better than what you'd get there... even if I say so myself!

This is a super easy recipe. Seriously, you're going to read it and be like "why was a post needed for this?" but bear with me.
Because it was grub! Just ask my husband. He's a very reliable source on yummy things... if not a little bit biased when it comes to my cooking, which is very wise of him... since he does have to live with me at the end of the day! ;)

Anyway...

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit-wich




Beautiful, right!?

Here is what you're going to need

Thick Cut Bacon (I used 4 slices, cut in half)
Eggs (1 for each sandwich)
Biscuits (1 for each sandwich - I used Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle-Southern Style; the nice big ones)
Cheese (1 slice for each sandwich - I used Cheddar)
Pam - or other non-stick pan spray... depending on how good your non-stick pan is.

First step, Bake your biscuits. I suppose you could make your own biscuits, but I had some of the handy pop-open-the-can kind left over from yesterday, so I just used those. If you are going to use the canned biscuits, follow the directions on the can. Just make sure they're big enough to make a nice sandwich.

Put your bacon slices on a cookie sheet (I cover mine in foil, so the clean-up is easier, and the sticky bacon grease isn't such a problem on my lovely baking sheets) Set oven to 400 Degrees Farenheit, and place cookie sheet with bacon in (I just add a few minutes of cooking time when I start with a cold oven) Set timer for 16-20 minutes... I cook for around 18 usually. It really depends on how chewy/crispy you like your bacon. Just try not to use your smoke alarm as a timer... YEAH... When finished cooking, place on a plate with paper towels to drain off the fat. Set aside.

Fry your eggs, or if you like them over-medium... whatever you like. (I really hope you know how to fry an egg... but just in case here's the basic idea: Non-stick pan, medium heat. Add a little bit of pan spray if you like. Crack one egg into the pan. Let cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until bottom is firm, slide spatula/turner under the egg. Flip over the egg. Cook for another 30 seconds or so... I turn off the heat while the second side "sets" ... You will need to adjust cook times for your preferred egg texture.)

Cut your biscuit in half. Add a bit of butter... place in a hot non-stick pan (can be the one you just cooked your eggs in if you like to re-use and minimize dishes, which I do, considering there's no dishwasher in this place... unless you count Me!) Place butter side down on the pan, allow the biscuit to grill, or fry, or whatever you'd call it... until it's a little crispy, and brown around the edges.

Now, you've got your pieces. Put the bottom half of the biscuit on a plate. Place your fried egg on top of the bottom biscuit. Place 3 half strips of bacon side by side (if you like more bacon, by all means... add more!) Place your slice of cheese on top of the bacon. Place the top half of your delicious grilled biscuit on top of the cheese. Dig in!! SO much yummier than those fast food ones...

Pulled Pork and Corn Fritter Amazingness

So, it's been forever and a day since I posted anything on this blog.

When better to pick it up again than now, when I am in a new(er) city, meeting new people, and learning all sorts of new things about myself, keeping a home, and perhaps my favorite: cooking for the people I love (mainly my husband)!?

Quick catch-up if you don't know (and if you care): August 3, 2012 I married Matt, got a new name and moved down to Santa Barbara, CA. The last 5 1/2 months have been a whirlwind, and a time of learning, growing, and embarking on adventures together. Not going to lie, I am loving the opportunity to try new things, and find new recipes to keep my wonderful husband well fed.

One example:

Pulled Pork in a crock pot. Why anyone would make pulled pork any other way, is beyond me, but then again, I've only made it this once... so maybe the other way is easier, but the whole ability to make it at night, and have it ready for a yummy meal the next day is wonderful to me.


This is my meal:

Isn't it beautiful, and doesn't it look delicious!? Let me tell you, it was fabulous! The other little bits of amazing on the plate were Corn Fritters, deep fried, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside yumminess.

I've pretty much been a fan of corn fritters since I had them when I was a kid (probably 9 or 10) and have pretty much never been able to find them quite as yummy again. Well, for my wedding a little over 5 months ago, one of my besties decided I needed to have deep fryer, and while at first I was a little bit sceptical, I've pretty much been converted. We don't have the space to have it out all the time (we also don't need to be eating deep fried foods all the time... I tend to try and cook healthier than that on a regular basis) but since I had used it in the last week, and hadn't put it away yet, I decided to play around, and the corn fritters happened... YUM!

Not that you care. Not that you should. But IN CASE you want a couple of simple recipes for yummy food, I'm going to include them. If for no other reason, than that I want to write them down, so that I don't forget how I made them!

Pulled Pork

3 - 3 1/2 lb. Pork Shoulder (the label also called it a Boston Roast) Other recipes told me I could use a Pork Butt of the same size, and this was on sale (Hey, I'm working really hard to stay on a food budget!)

3/4 c. Apple Cider Vinegar

2-3 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard

3-4 Tbsp. BBQ Sauce of choice (I used Sweet Baby Ray's - Honey Barbecue... it was also on sale)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

A splash to 1/4 c. of water.

Salt and Pepper

(I should warn you, the measurements in my recipes are usually estimates, because unless it's something that absolutely MUST be measured, I tend to cook according to my personal tastes, and play around with it until I'm happy, so it's difficult to tell JUST how much of ingredients I use)

I rinsed my roast in warm water, patted it dry, and then placed it into my slow cooker. Not sure whether that's "necessary" but it seemed like a good idea. Next I sprinkled the roast with salt and pepper to add a little extra flavor.

In a measuring cup mix together the Cider Vinegar, Mustard, BBQ Sauce, Worcestershire sauce and water. Pour over the roast. Put the lid on.

I set my cooker to medium-high for about an hour, and then turned it to low overnight (8-10 hours) but other recipes I looked up before I put mine together indicated you could just do the low for 8-10, or medium-high for 5-6. I don't know which you would prefer, but since I was doing mine overnight the 8-10 hours worked better for me, and when I opened the crock pot next morning, the whole thing shredded with two forks CRAZY easily.

After the meat has been shredded in a bowl, I mixed about a cup of the barbecue sauce, and about 1/4 c. of the liquid that it cooked in together and then mixed in the meat. If you like your pulled pork with a little more sauce, you could obviously add more, but I don't like mine too soggy, so I reserved extra barbecue sauce to be put on the buns when we actually ate it. Personal preference. So yummy!

(I feel I should mention, while I left the fat on my roast for flavor during cooking
and then removed the fat before I shredded the roast, some recipes do indicate that you should remove the fat before cooking)

Corn Fritters

Okay, disclaimer: THIS recipe is very um... well, let's just say I took a recipe I could find, and then substituted and added stuff that I had in my kitchen to make them more like what I was looking for... so unfortunately I cannot absolutely guarantee the same results. Basically, the recipe is as follows.

One box Jiffy corn muffin mix.

One Egg

One 14.5 oz Creamed Style Corn

Vegetable oil to fry (if you're using a full size deep fryer you will need 8-10 cups (follow the directions on your fryer, mine is just "fill it to line A, then plug it in, the light will go off when it's at the right temperature". If you are pan frying, you will obviously use less... like 1/2-1 c. Not sure.

Aproximately 6-10 tablespoons of all purpose flour (this part was more to get my batter to the consistency I felt comfortable dropping into HOT deep fryer oil, so that it wouldn't splatter apart and turn into little tiny balls instead of puffy round fritters, if you are pan-frying, a thinner batter won't be such a big deal, they'll just be flat fritters.)

about 1/2 tsp. Baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. white sugar

2 Tbsp. Packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Honey

I mixed the corn muffin mix, 4-6 tbsp. of the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars in a bowl, then I added the egg, creamed corn and honey, and incorporated it all together.

At this point, I did a sample run of the batter in the deep fryer, the first spoonful was so thin though, that it kind of plopped into the boiling oil, and broke apart into little pieces of deep fried yumminess... just not a FRITTER like I was looking for.

This was where I added more flour until it was a thicker batter that I could get a spoonful of, then scrape off with a second spoon just below the surface of the oil, and it would (usually *) fall gently into the oil and turn into a nice puffy, crunchy brown fritter.

Allow the fritter to cook for about a 90 seconds on one side (lid closed if you have one to keep the oil from spattering everywhere), flip the fritter over with a fork (or some tongs, just make sure whatever you use won't melt in the hot oil), and allow to cook another minute or so (basically a uniform brown color is what you're going for.

Pull the basket out of the hot oil, and dump the fritters onto a plate covered with paper towels. Ours were delicious "as is" but I am sure there are dipping sauces out there that should be tried with them. Delicous!

(*) PLEASE be careful when you are placing things into your deep fryer, although I was being super careful, the last fritter I made still managed to plop into the oil, and splashed a drop of HOT oil onto my face about a 1/2 inch from my eyeball. Honestly, I'm pretty sure it was a miracle that I DIDN'T end up that the ER that night (although lucky for us, we do happen to live 2 blocks from the ER...)

Anyway, it was a delicious meal, and all in all I'm super pleased with the result!

This is a new feeling...

Sometimes there is an emptiness inside that doesn't make sense. It isn't so much even an overt sadness as it is a knowledge that something is no longer there... It is a longing for things to feel right again. One that I of course know the underlying cause of, but still sometimes am caught off guard by. It is strange and it is most certainly not fun. However, knowing that it isn't where you want to be doesn't actually change anything, and somehow you find a way to breathe again. To breath Through the hole in your chest. And to smile... Like it doesn't hurt. Most importantly, you find a way to not only live your life... You find a way to enjoy it, and the people around you, because in a lot of ways, other people are what it is all about anyway!

Wow... Emo much?

Peace that Surpasses Understanding

I guess I was naive in my thinking, or perhaps had just never really encountered a situation where I was going to have to rely on his will, and trust that he would bring peace, but when Philippians 4:7 talks about how the peace of God, "which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" I always assumed that God would somehow magically make it so that I would be happy about it. That it would not hurt as much as it would without his peace. And perhaps it does... there was definitely a shift when I finally handed the situation to God and said, "okay... this is what you require, and I know it. And I know that you know best, so I'm going to stick with it, even if right now it feels like it might kill me." It hasn't, by the way. It doesn't mean that I'm happy about the situation. It doesn't make it hurt any less. But I know that my God is enough, and that he is bigger than the situation. He sees the finish line, that I can't even imagine in my small, earthly and human brain.

So rather than fall asleep in anguish, crying out to God to give me my way in the situation, which is where I had started to find myself; rather than opening my eyes in the morning, and asking God why it couldn't all just be a bad dream. Instead, I wake with a peace. A peace I don't understand, other than that I know that I am within God's will, and that he is good. All the time.

I still cry randomly about it. Sometimes the tears cut through the peace. Sometimes I don't even see them coming, until suddenly I can't breathe, and the tears are blurring my vision. But the despair is gone. The anguish is dulled. God's will. I don't understand it, and quite frankly I don't always like it, but I know that he is good, and that he has a plan, so rather than stumble around blindly in the dark looking for a match, I will turn instead to Him, the Bright and Morning Sun... and I will rest in his peace, and find comfort through the tears.

Instead I will turn to him, continuing to lift up the situation, and the people involved to Him in prayer. And yes, I will continue to pray for my own hear, and my own attitude throughout it all.

Oh they say when you marry in June... Oh wait... I'm not getting married in June!

Wow, it's been over a year since I last posted anything on this blog. That's okay, I probably haven't really had anything worthwhile to write anyway. Sometimes I wonder whether anything I have to write on this is worthwhile though... but realistically Blogs are pretty much all about vanity anyway, so whatever. I'm going to grip and moan my way through this blog... sorry, feel free to stop reading.

Is it taboo to complain about Facebook on your blog? At this point I don't really care.

Did you know that as-SOON-as your relationship status changes from "single" to "in a relationship" your sidebar ads change from "Hey! Meet other single people!" to "Hey! Come buy an engagement ring!" As though you should actually be thinking about marriage not two seconds after you decide to date someone...

Granted, you probably shouldn't be dating someone if you don't see some sort of a future with them, but still... it's probably a little bit early to be shopping for your engagement ring.

Now, I've been with Boyfriend for eight months, but they still irritate me. They've irritated me since they morphed from the "come date other 23 year old Christian single people". Don't ask me why, they just do. I guess I should just be grateful that they're pushing conflict free diamonds down my throat, and stop my moaning.

May Flowers?

Is anyone else in this world having trouble believing that we're already into May?

I for one have been blown away by this fact. Not that it seems so terrible that we are fully one third done with the year, which in and of itself is quite difficult to wrap my head around, especially since it seriously seems like it was JUST January, and February, and March for that matter. And I know for a fact that I was JUST in April... but now it is May. It has officially been over a year since I graduated from University. A full year of not knowing what is next. That is also really difficult to accept. I know that God is sovereign, and He has a perfect plan, but golly if I didn't think (or at least hope) that He would have just pointed to a path and said "GO!" He hasn't yet, in case you're wondering. At least not that I've noticed.

That is a thought that scares me sometimes. What if I have been too busy doing my other stuff, or just not paying attention? What if I have missed the offramp (or on-ramp...think of it however you will) or misread the directions that God has given to me. Has He in fact pointed out a path to me and told me to take a step forward, but I missed it? Worse still, what if I was just too scared and decided that he must not have actually meant for me to take that path... "oh you know God, I know that I asked for an opportunity, but I don't think I'm ready for that... try me again!" That is a very sad thought, and I really hope that it is not the case.

So for now I will continue on in the path that I am on. And continue waiting on the Lord. Searching and seeking for whatever His will might be right now. I know that that can be a dangerous thing: to ask the Lord for direction, for purpose... because you really never know exactly where you will end up, but I think I'd rather be in His will than anywhere else.

Either way, it is May. Already. I can't believe it. El Cinco de Mayo already. Crazy.

Holding Pattern

I really really really hate not knowing what I'm doing. Uncertainty really bugs me, and it REALLY irritates me in myself.

The problem is that sometimes when I don't know what I want, or where I'm going; I am totally okay with that. There are times that I KNOW for a fact that God is in control and I am at peace with where He has me right now.

And then there are other times that I "know" that God is in control, but I feel like he has placed me on the shelf and forgotten me. Even better, sometimes I feel like one of those little wind up toys that gets put on display in the little shallow box to waddle around in a circle... and then ends up getting stuck in a corner, or just at the edge, but is still moving it's little mechanical legs and ends up running into the wall over and over and over and over and over. Get the picture?

The last several weeks have felt more like the second scenario to me. I know that God is in control and has a plan, and all of that jazz, but I have NO IDEA where my life is going, and it is not only bugging me, but it's starting to scare me, and I'm really getting irritated at my life.

Needing a change but having no idea where to start, or the self-confidence to follow through is a very disheartening situation to be in. I am very frustrated right now.