Wickles!

Have you ever had something so good you just can't stand it?? I have been craving pickles, because it was so hot here and I crave salty stuff when it is hot out. Chips and salsa, olives by the can load, pickles, blt's....yeah, the saltier the better...well, while I was at the walmart I came across this jar of pickles that said Wickles, the wickedly delicious pickle! I thought oh dang, I have to try these!

Oh My!! I cannot stop eating them, I snack on two or three every hour!! I am going back to buy a case of these Wickles!!! Fabulous Pickles!! Give them a try, you won't be dissappointed!!

More pics!

We had driven from orange county (newport beach) to south bay county (redondo beach) via the pch highway, it was a gorgeous drive, we stopped along the way to take some photos, it has been awhile since I saw the ocean! But I was glad to come home to my 100 degree weather, it was far too cold in california for me!

I had my rock star glasses on and my rockstar hair too!

Bolsa Chica



Bolsa Chica

On the Redondo pier

His name is Malcolm!

A little weekend getaway!

We ran off to California to watch the Rangers play the Angels. I got to see Napoli play! I wore my jersey and Charlie wore his jersey, I wonder if people try to figure out what player was Deguevara!! haha! Maureen got him a personalized shirt one year....so his jersey says Deguevara on the back!
Joe and Mary went to fridays game with us and then saturday we went to visit christy and had lunch with her then back to the ball game for saturdays game, just me and charlie. We had a fun little getaway....

They gave away free hats!

 We got to be part of a Guiness world record for the most cowboy hats worn in a location, everyone put their hat on and we had to keep them on for 10 minutes, it was cool to see, then the official Guiness guy declared it a record, 40,000 fans had hats on! Wow, we are famous!

The sea of black hats!

Napoli!

In and out can go........

take a long walk off a short pier!! I am telling you after being a beef eater my whole life this black bean burger was the best I have ever tasted!!! I actually got to eat two of them because they are so good and good for you, I don't have to worry about a tummy ache later tonight like I get with beef!

You know it used to be 40 years ago, my mom would cook chile verde, and I would beg for a piece of raw steak with lots of salt on it, she always let me have a few chunks, and it was soooo good, but that was when beef had flavor and was not full of hormones and drugs and chemicals...now days the beef just tastes rotten, I have not had a decent steak in 5 years!!
So I quit beef.

With the help of my daughter in law, Rebecca (vegan) and my sister Christy (vegetarian/vegan) I am on my way to feeling good about what I eat and feeling better the more good foods I put in my body!
I am about 80% dairy free, and 100% beef free. I will still have chicken and fish, but maybe eventually that will go by the wayside too.

If you choose to do one healthy thing this month, make this burger, you won't be sorry!!! It was out of this world fabulous!
From www.gingerandjam.com
She is becoming my go to recipe guru!!

My burger eaten with a lettuce bun and avacado!! Yum!!

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 15 oz can whole black beans, drained and rinsed

½ Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small yellow onion, diced in small pieces

1 small red bell pepper, diced in small pieces

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt (my addition, only cause I add it to everything)
I would add red pepper flakes the next time I cook these!!

Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste

Flour and more olive oil for cooking the patties

Directions

Drain and rinse the beans in a colander. Let sit so they begin to dry slightly while you prep the other ingredients.

Dice the onion and red pepper. Set aside. Mince the garlic. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add ½ Tablespoon olive oil and let the oil heat slightly. Test to make sure the oil is ready by putting one piece of onion in the pan. If it begins to sizzle then the oil is heated thoroughly.

Add the onion and red pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is soft, about 8-10 minutes depending on the temperature of your pan.

Once the onion is soft (you’ll know by actually biting into a piece!) add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for about 30 seconds.

Add the beans, cumin, paprika, ground pepper, and salt. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the beans soften. Again, just taste one! The key to cooking is to taste as you go.

Turn off the heat and grab a potato masher or fork. Mash the bean mixture until most of the beans are pretty smashed. This will help the patties stick together a bit better.

Add the rice to the bean mixture and mix thoroughly. Taste the mixture and add any additional spices as you see fit.

Turn the mixture out on a large plate so it can cool slightly. While it’s cooling you can prep your burger toppings. Avocado! Can I get an Amen?!

Once the bean mixture is cool enough to touch (this shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes) separate it into 6 balls. Flatten the balls with the palms of your hand and sprinkle or lightly pat flour onto both sides of each pattie. If you don’t plan to cook all 6 patties at once, set some aside to freeze.

Heat some olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot add patties to the pan – as many as will fit without being crowded. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, paying attention to not letting them burn. Remove from the pan once both sides have a crispy brown crust.

For the patties you set aside and choose not to cook: place them in a freezable container in a single layer or in a Ziploc with parchment paper between each pattie. When you’re ready to enjoy them, simply cook them in a pan with some hot oil – straight from the freezer. Easy peasy.

The 3 day weekend...

What a fun filled weekend I had!
 I went to bingo on Saturday morning and won 1000.00 on the jumbo bingo!

Then saturday night I went to see a Led Zeppelin tribute band with Tanya and Erin, it was so good I got tickets to sunday's show for charlie and I to go back! www.zepagain.com

Then on Monday, I ran some errands while Charlie worked at the raceshop with Ethan, when they got done we went to Metro Pizza for dinner! Back to work tomorrow!

Chicken Fricassee Jackie style!

picture zuccini instead of mushrooms! no peas!

Ok, I was at the end of the week and low on supplies, but I really wanted to make this recipe I saw on americas test kitchen, I record this show and watch it to learn about cooking and tools and much much more, they test and try recipes and kitchen gadgets and let you know which works the best, nothing is endorsed so you can feel confident in their findings! I highly recommend it for the budding cook!
Chicken fricassee, a chicken and mushroom wine cream sauce fabulous type of  dish...they made it simple and easy, you can whip it up in 1/2 hour!

So now on to the reason we need to change the name, I had no mushrooms and no sour cream!! Eeeek!
Thats ok, I had milk and a zuccini! Let's make this dish Jackie's Zuccini Fricassee!!

2 chicken breasts salt and pepper
olive oil and butter 1 tablespoon each
1 zuccini chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (or mushrooms)
1/4 onion diced
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 clove minced garlic
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon parsley chopped
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Put the olive oil and butter in a pan, heat on med-high, add chicken breasts that have been seasoned with salt and pepper, and brown each side 5 minutes each. Remove from pan, add onion and zuccini and wine to pan, cook on med for about 10 to 15 minutes until reduced and nicely softened and browned. Add garlic and vegetable broth and flour, mix well, turn down to simmer and add chicken back in and cover for 10 minutes until breasts register 160 degrees. Remove only the chicken to a platter, now remove 1/2 cup of the sauce and put in a bowl, add milk, egg yolk, lemon juice, parsley, cornstarch, whisk real good and add back to the pan and heat until thick and bubbly about 3 minutes! Pour sauce over chicken and devour!!

Here is a tip: I buy the little 4 pack of sutter home chardonnay wines, they are perfect to keep in the fridge when you need to add wine to a recipe, you can also get red wine as well! that way you do not have to open a whole bottle of wine just for a 1/2 cup of wine for a recipe!

Mini bottles!

Broccoli Enhanced!

I bbq'ed some chicken legs for a quick dinner, and was going to just saute up some broccoli with butter and salt and pepper, but I had some time so I thought let's go see what allrecipes.com can do with broccoli...I found this quick and easy sauce to put on the broccoli, I did not serve cold but warm, wow, very tasty..if you love lemon and garlic which I could live the rest of my life eating, you must give it a whirl to enhance your broccoli dining experience!
I whipped it up while the chicken finished cooking in it's last 10 minutes, made the broccoli very flavorful!
Enjoy!

Easy Broccoli Salad

Rated: Submitted By: Chef John Photo By: landcruisers Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes Servings: 4

"This simple broccoli salad kicks up ordinary broccoli with some lemon and red pepper flakes."

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli 3 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper, or to taste 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

1.	Trim bottoms of broccoli stems and cut off broccoli heads; cut the broccoli heads into quarters. Peel broccoli stems and cut into quarters crosswise.
2.	Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; reduce heat to medium and cook broccoli until tender when cut with a paring knife but still slightly firm, 5 to 6 minutes.
3.	Transfer broccoli to a large bowl filled with cold water and chill to stop the cooking process. Drain well. Arrange broccoli in a colander with the florets facing down towards the holes of the colander and allow broccoli to drip for at least 30 minutes.
4.	Whisk together garlic, lemon juice, rice vinegar, Dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper together in a large serving bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking rapidly until the dressing is thick and creamy. Adjust salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to taste.
5.	Toss broccoli with the dressing; let stand 5 to 10 minutes to marinate, then toss again. Can be refrigerated up to an hour if you want to serve the salad cold.