Breakfast for Breakfast: Fly on the Wall

  

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

PurDude comes home for a few weeks each year right around now, from just before Thanksgiving to the beginning of December. I always serve his favorite meals, snacks, ad desserts. It's a lot, so I start stocking up on the groceries I'll need ahead of time.

Me: I was talking to PurDude, we haven't had bacon wrapped fillets in a really long time. I'm going to add them to the menu this year.

Hubs: Sounds good to me, I love them, and we haven't had them in a while.

Me: Well, they're super expensive. 

Hubs: All meat is expensive.

Me: Yeah, but the bacon wrapped fillets cost a fortune, so will the prime rib we always get when he's home. And those thick rib eyes aren't cheap either.

Hubs: You only live once.
Me: I'm pretty sure the next part of that quote isn't "so you may as well eat all the meats."

It's rare that I get the chance to see all of the sports teams I want to see. Often, streaming channels buy the rights to a specific game, a channel we may or may not have. And it's difficult, in the Midwest, to pretty much ever get to see a Patriots game. But one Thursday:

Me: This is going to be a fun weekend, on Friday, the Purdue basketball game is streaming on a channel we have, on Saturday, Purdue football is on a channel we get, and we actually get the Patriots game on Sunday.

Hubs: That'll be three great days.

Me: Yeah! I'll probably lose my voice by Monday.

Hubs: So four great days. 

Sometimes you just need to limerick. Am I right?

There once was a woman from Boston, 

her baking obsession, got lost in,

she made some mistakes,

like completely flat cakes,

but perhaps that fact best be forgotten.

There once was a moron named trump,

whose actual surname is Dumpf,

teamed up with some jerks,

immorality among their quirks,

who say "how high" when dumpf says to jump.

In the spirit of the old saying "glutton for punishment," we were watching a Purdue football game, and they were playing the #1 team. 

During the game, they showed the Big Ten rankings.

Hubs: Poor Purdue, they're in last place.

Me: Yeah, but there's good news.

Hubs: How do you get good news out of being in last place?
Me: They're not in last place, they're tied for last place.

Hubs: As good news goes, that's a stretch.

You know that saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade?"

Sure hope those Purdue players like lemonade. A whole lot.

I don't eat breakfast, I'm a coffee in the morning girl. My family does, but none of them cook, so I always have bread, bagels, English muffins, an assortment of cereals, and oatmeal packets on hand. They know to fend for themselves.

But I do love breakfast, so I make it for dinner now and then, which makes everyone happy, including me.

I had an idea for a new recipe, a Breakfast Club Sandwich, which I thought might be a good brunch idea for over the holidays when I'd have a full house. I decided to give it a try yesterday morning.

Hubs came into the kitchen, went to grab a bowl for cereal and noticed I was cooking.

Hubs: What are you making?
Me: Breakfast.

Hubs: In the morning? 

Breakfast Club Sandwich

I have to admit, I'm a little freaked out. OK, a lot. I know all of our electronics can and are being use to track us and to target us. There is no such thing as privacy or anonymity.

But what happened last night took targeting to a whole new level.

I was in my room, flipping through the channels when I noticed a message in the lower left corner of the screen. It jarred me. I moved on with my channel surfing and found a show to watch.

Later, flipping through the channels again, although a different show was on, the message was there again. Now I'm starting to get concerned.

I took a picture with my cell phone, then googled the channel and the message. Nothing.

So, this is meant for me? And this is no subliminal message. Far from it, it's downright overt.

Should I make a run for it? Pull my sim card out of my phone and crush it, dye my hair, start wearing a ball cap, grab some cash and head for the border?

'Cause I don't think the idea of playing sitting duck is going to turn out well for me.

 

I'm not a fan of AI. In fact, I've said that AI is the next step in the extinction of humanity. 

But further than that it has, many times been just plain wrong. And I've heard of friends tell me that AI has stolen from both their books and articles they've written without permission or attribution.

We were watching a Purdue basketball game and there were a lot of players who were new to us.

Hubs: Who is that on the floor, #17?

Me: I'm not sure, I don't know who that is either.

Luckily, through Google, a whole lot of information is right at our fingertips. So I googled "which Purdue basketball player is wearing #17 this season?"

Top response on the page is AI, telling me that no Purdue basketball player currently wears #17.

That's either wrong, or Hubs and I are sharing a hallucination.

Fortunately, the Purdue website was able to tell me who it is.

I need a little advice from my girls:

I was watching TV, and a commercial came on for a Viagra substitute. It claimed to be easier to take, faster acting, bla bla bla. They ended their pitch with the promise of earning you a round of applause.

And I gotta know, like, is that a thing? Am I supposed to jump up and start clapping . . . you know . . . after?

 

I went to use my laptop and it was purring. Loudly. Fortunately, I'd been texting with PurDude.

Me: I have a problem. I think a cat is hiding in my laptop.

PurDude: I'm going to need an explanation.

Me: It's purring.

PurDude: Does it sound like a fan?
Me: Well, yeah.

PurDude: Then it's the fan.

Me: I've never heard it on before, and I've had this laptop for a year. 

PurDude: The fan turns on when the computer does something intensive.

Me: I wasn't even using it. So now I have a bigger problem.

PurDude: What's that?
Me: What was it doing behind my back?

Funny, he never answered me.

I had tried out a new recipe, a dessert. It was so easy, had very few ingredients, was no bake, and was topped with a chocolate whipped cream.

I had finally set it up for pictures the way I wanted, took out a large serving spoon, scooped out a serving and put it onto a plate.

Once all the pictures were taken, I needed to taste it to be sure it came out as I'd hoped. Since there was some on the serving spoon, I just took a big mouthful off of the spoon.

The doorbell rang. Perfect timing, I hate when I'm distracted while taking pictures, but I was done.

I answered the door, the salesman gave his spiel, all the while giving me a strange look. Whatever.

I declined, shut the door, and as I was walking away, glanced in the mirror next to the door.

Those strange looks? They probably had something to do with the big blob of whipped chocolate on the end of my nose.

Good thing I'll never have to face him again.

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Breakfast Club Sandwich

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (per sandwich):

3 slices bread

2 TBSP butter

1 TBSP green onions, chopped

1 TBSP red pepper, chopped

2 eggs

2 TBSP milk

2 slices sharp cheddar cheese

2 pieces bacon

Directions:
*Preheat oven to a warm temperature, 200 degrees.

*Toast the bread. Butter them all on one side. Place in the oven to keep warm.

*Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the green onions and red pepper. Cook and stir until they soften, about a minute or 2. While the vegetables are in the pan, whisk 1 of the eggs with the milk. Add to the pan.

*Omelet style, cook the eggs, flipping once. Fold into quarters.

*Place one slice of toast, butter side up, onto an oven safe serving plate. Top with the omelet, then one slice of cheese, a second slice of toast, and the second slice of cheese. Return to the oven and keep warm.

*In the same skillet, cook the bacon. Drain, cut in half, place on top of the the second slice of cheese on the sandwich. Keep warm.

*In the same skillet again, fry the egg to your liking. Place it on the bacon, top with your final slice of toast (butter side down), cut into quarters (add long toothpicks if you want, to hold the sandwich together) and serve.

Grilling and Chilling, 35 Recipes

 

We're well into optimal grilling season. I say optimal because I tend to grill year round. I've been known to have Hubs shovel a path of snow off the deck from the slider to the grill. But in this part of the country, there truly is a grilling season. There's nothing I love more at the end of a hot day than for us to grab a cold cocktail, throw dinner on the grill, and wind down. Grilling and Chilling.

For the most part, dinner prep is pretty easy, often just a matter of marinading the main course in the morning and sticking it in the fridge. Added bonuses are not heating the house by turning the oven on, and easy clean up, since Hubs cleans the grill.

Oh, and to make things even easier, I'll often prepare cold sides ahead of time and have them in the fridge. Check out my Apple Cider Chive Potato Salad, my Blueberry Bagel Salad, my Greek Pasta Salad, my Pasta Salad Bites, my Summer Orzo Salad, my SW Ranch Picnic Salad, my Vegetable Ranch Tortellini Salad, and/or my Smoky Slaw, for some make ahead chilled side dishes.

Because there are plenty of hot days still ahead, I thought I'd put together some of the grilling recipes I've developed over the years. 35 of them. They're pictured below in groupings, with the recipe links for you to click on just below the pictures:

 

Chicken, Chicken, Chicken

Caprese Chicken Kabobs

Marinted, grilled chicken meets caprese salad in this easy, flavorful dinner.

Jamaican Ranch Chicken

Mix up this simple 3 ingredient marinade in the morning, grill for about 20 minutes at night. Doesn't get much easier than that.

White Wine Mustard Chicken

Whisk together this 5 ingredient marinade, refrigerate with the chicken, then just grill when you're ready. Couldn't be easier.

Monte Cristo Skewers

Inspired by the Monte Cristo sandwich, marinated chicken and ham are threaded onto skewers and grilled.

Orange Teriyaki Chicken

This teriyaki marinade with the added hint of orange is a crowd pleaser

Onion Poppy Grilled Chicken

Just 3 marinade ingredients add so much flavor to a grilled chicken meal.

Seafood

Thai Shrimp Skewers

A warm weather lunch or dinner, Thai Shrimp Skewers is a marinated and skewered shrimp dish with red pepper and pineapple. A flavorful meal that grills up in minutes.

Grilled Scallops in Garlic Wine Sauce

Grilled sea scallops are served over rotini, tossed in a light sauce of wine and broth with garlic and green onions.

Glazed Salmon

A simple, light, flavorful dish. This glaze is everything!

Easy Grilled Halibut

A flavorful marinade and under 15 minutes on the grill is all you need for a quick healthy dinner.

Grilled Maple Balsamic Shrimp

Quick and simple, just marinate, skewer, and grill.

Orange Balsamic Salmon over Broccoli Slaw

Salmon is marinated, grilled and served over broccoli slaw dressed with the same marinade.

Pork: chops, tenderloin, medallions, and riblets

Creamy Horseradish Pork Medallions

Sliced pork tenderloin, marinated in a creamy sauce with a little bit of a kick, and grilled. Leftovers make great sandwiches, too!

Grilled Apricot Mustard Pork

Bold flavors are the key to these marinated, grilled pork tenderloin medallions. Slice and marinate in the morning, grill for about 15 minutes at dinner time.

Honey Peanut Pork Medallions

Pork tenderloin is sliced, refrigerated in a flavorful marinade, and grilled.

Beer BBQ Pork Chops

This sauce is so simple, and the grilled pineapple and red pepper are the perfect addition.

Tomato Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin, marinated in a tomato and wine sauce, then grilled.

Grilled Blackberry Pork Medallions

Marinated in and basted with a blackberry barbecue sauce, these pork medallions grill up in minutes for a delicious summer meal.

Whiskey Grilled Riblets

These riblets take some time but they are SO worth it. They start with a dry rub, are baked in the sauce, then grilled when ready. 

Grilled Dry-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Wrapping the tenderloin tightly with the dry rub imparts so much flavor. Refrigerate, then grill.

Here's the Beef

Grilled Skirt Steak

Packed with flavor, but another easy recipe. Marinate for up to 36 hours in the fridge, then grll in under 20 minutes, rest adn slice. Great for cookouts and parties too!

Grilled Steak and Pepper Pizza

Grilling adds so much flavor to your pizza. And they're fun to make!

Grilled Steak Roll-Ups

Thin slices of beef are stuffed with vetetables, rolled and grilled. Easy enough for everyday, fancy enough for company.

Grilled Asian Flank Steak

This flank steak is bursting with flavor. Marinate up to 48 hours, grill, and slice. A cookout favorite.

Sandwiches

Sweet Chili Turkey Burgers

Lower in fat, bursting with fresh flavors. A great addition to any cookout.

Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

Grilled eggplant is topped with cheese and vegetables, and served on a toasted Ciabatta roll.

Grilled Marinated Portobello Sandwiches

You won't miss the meat in this hearty vegetable version of a burger.

Pepperoni Pizza Burgers

Burgers and pizza, a perfect match.

Glazed Kielbasa Sandwich

Glazed kielbasa and vegetables are skewered and grilled. Tastes just as good over rice or mashed potatoes as it does in a sandwich.

Sides, Sauce and Seasoning

Italian Style Grilled Zucchini

Zucchini proves that grilling isn't just for the main dish. And this side dish comes together in minutes.

Simple Grilled Squash Packets

Only 4 ingredients go into this side dish. Chop, mix, and grill for a delicious main dish accompaniment.

Grilled Spiced Cabbage

Cabbage is drizzled with a marinade and grilled. Cabbage never tasted so good!

Grilled Mini Naan Poppers

A fun interpretation of Jalapeno Poppers that only takes a few minutes to cook on the grill. Perfect for an appetizer or side dish.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning Blend

This blend can be used as a dry rub on pork or fish, Mix it with vegetable oil to marinate chicken, or add to soups and stews.

Tangy Horseradish Steak Sauce

A bit of tang, a bit of a bite, a delicious enhancement to your grilled steak

Happy grilling. And chilling.

March in March: Fly on the Wall

 

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

February was finally over, the first day of March was here and I was excited. It had been a cold windy February, well, with a few very weird, almost hot day thrown in there just to keep us on our toes. I was more than ready for the month in which Spring would officially start.

On that day, I decided to play a joke on Hubs. I filled the coffee pot (yes, we still use a coffee pot) with root beer. Once it was flat, it looked like coffee.

Hubs (spitting his "coffee" into the sink): What the hell?
Me: April fools!

Hubs: That's next month!

Me: Caught you off guard, didn't I? 

It's no secret that I watch a lot of Boston sports. Not only am I a big fan of my home teams, but as an added bonus, the announcers are often as entertaining as the game.

Watching a Bruins hockey game in the late afternoon, I started laughing. Hubs was there, but paying more attention to his cell than to the game.

Hubs: What's so funny?

Me: How much do these announcers get paid?
Hubs: Probably a lot, why?
Me: I think I could do that job.

Hubs: What makes you think that?
Me: The brilliant statistical insight from this announcer.

Hubs: What did he say?
Me: As you know, the Bruins are up 1 - 0 in the third quarter. The announcer just told us that in this season, when the Bruins are ahead by 1 in the third quarter they either win . . . or they lose.

Hubs: You should send in an application.

I've talked a few times, at this time of year, about how much damage woodpeckers do to the side of our house. When we hear them, we have to keep running outside and shooing them away, but they still do a lot of damage.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard them on the side of the house for the first time since last year. I yelled to Hubs, who went outside to scare him off.

Me: Oh, no, here we go again, thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Hubs: Every spring, they come out of the woods and attack the houses along the woods line.

Me: Listen, you better go out there and have a talk with him?

Hubs: What would you like me to tell him?

Me: That we set our clocks forward, not our calendars

Hubs: Huh?

Me: It's only March 6, there are 13 more days until spring. The least he can do is abide by the rules of engagement.

Hubs: I'll be sure to mention that. Don't get your hopes up, though.

College Boy had decided he was hungry at about 10:30 pm. There were some leftover wings in the fridge so he stuck them in the air fryer. 

He came upstairs, Hubs was sleeping and I was reading my Kindle.

College Boy: Mom, I need you to come downstairs.

Me: No, I'm in bed, I'm warm, and I'm comfortable, just tell me what you want.

College Boy: I need to show you.

Me (exasperated): Just tell me.

College Boy (sounding exasperated with me): Fine. A big flash, sparks, I got shocked . . .

I had no idea I could still run that fast. I need to try out for the Olympic track team.

Me: Love you.

Hubs: Love you more.

Me: Always.

Hubs: 24/7, 365.

Me: Well, that's hurtful, but I guess it's best I know.

Hubs: What?
Me: Apparently, there's a day I'm unloved.

Hubs: What do you mean. I said 365?

Me: It's a leap year.

Apple Jelly Ham & Cheese

I was sitting at the desk in the kitchen. I keep a large calendar there, with everyone's schedule on it, each with our own color ink. I could not figure out why the schedules weren't working out. Then I finally figured out I hadn't switched over, and was looking at February.

Me (yelling): March!

I hadn't realized that at that moment, Hubs had come upstairs from the man cave. He turns the corner and walks into the kitchen, high stepping, with a confused look on his face.

Hubs: Well fine, I'll march, but I'm getting old, not sure how long I can keep this up.

I thought about telling him I was actually talking about the month, but watching him try to keep that marching thing up was just too much fun.

 

My mom has a few friends who she's known all her life. Obviously, my sister and I know them too.

One of them, a man in his 90s, friended me on FB years ago. And although he joined, and obviously he tries, he doesn't seem to get it. Often he will post something to his wall that is clearly meant just for one person, seemingly part of a conversation they were having. 

Usually, I just ignore it and move on. But last week he made a particularly confusing post to his wall.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not how this works.

Hubs printed out a March Madness basketball bracket for me to fill out. Out of all the teams, I only follow one, Purdue, so . . . let's just say I don't pick game winners the way most people do. It's more a matter of states I like or I've been to, or don't whole heartedly supposrt a rapist for president.

Me: I filled out my bracket. It'll make sense to no one but me.

Hubs: Pretty much everything you say makes sense to no one but you.

Me: Hey! That's mean.

Hubs: And true . . .

Me: And true.

We'd had a few warm days, and Hubs and I had been outside getting a head start on weeding in the gardens one Saturday morning.

That afternoon, we were in the den and heard a very loud noise.

Me: What is that? Sounds like it's coming from out back.

Hubs: Sounds like a chainsaw.

Me (looking out the back window): That crazy woman next door is out back weeding her garden with a chainsaw.

Hubs: You're kidding.

Me: No, she's just chopping all of her flowers and plants down.

Hubs: You should go tell her that's not how this weeding thing works.

Me: Have you recently taken out more life insurance out on me? 

Hubs (looking confused): No. Why would you ask me that?

Me: Well, let me tell you now, I'm not going out there and telling her what to do. Not on a good day, but certainly not when she's holding a chainsaw.

Our trash pickup is every Monday, but the recycle is picked up every other Monday. The day after it had been picked up, I noticed that the neighbor's trash can had been brought in, but his recycle bin was at the curb.

Me: I wonder why they have their recycle bin at the curb?

Hubs: Maybe they think it's Monday. 

On Wednesday:
Me: That's so strange, their recycle bin is still sitting at the curb.

Hubs: Maybe they think it's Monday.

This went on, on Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday. Now, I'm not saying I don't get days confused myself, but I've never thought every day was Monday.

Then on Monday:

Me: They brought their trash can out today, like the rest of us, but their recycle bin is still there.

Hubs: Well, it is Monday.

Me: I'll give them that. But it's the wrong Monday.

Hubs: Maybe they're just playing the odds, it'll be the right day eventually.

Me: Ah . . . the old "a broken clock is right . . ." strategy.

Hubs: Either that or the "hell with it, I'm too lazy to keep dragging it in and out" strategy. 

I know Hubs can relate to that one.

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Apple Jelly Ham & Cheese

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (makes 2):

8 slices leftover spiral sliced ham (can use thick sliced deli ham)

1/3 cup apple jelly

1 TBSP sweet hot mustard

4 slices seeded rye bread

4 slices baby Swiss cheese

1 TBSP butter

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Wrap the ham in tin foil and heat in the oven for 15 minutes.

*Whisk together the apple jelly and sweet hot mustard. Spread evenly onto the 4 slices of bread. Add a slice of Swiss on top of each.

*Remove the warm ham from the oven. Construct the sandwiches by dividing the ham onto 2 slices of the bread. Top with the last 2 slices, cheese side down.

*Heat the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the sandwiches side by side, and heat, pressing them down with a spatula now and then, until the bottom is browned.

*Lower the temperature a notch, flip the sandwich over and cook, pressing down lightly now and then, until the other side has browned. Serve warm.