Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Here we go – bravely onwards into 2013... and on over the cliff!

“Call it the not-so-happy new year.

Unless Congress wrangles a deal in the next few days, Americans will ring in 2013 with champagne, funny hats -- and a knock-you-off-your-feet cocktail of tax hikes.

The Washington-imposed financial headache goes beyond higher taxes. Due to the inaction on Capitol Hill, certain industries could be hit particularly hard by budget cuts and millions of taxpayers could be held up in filing their 2012 returns.”


My thoughts: If this were not my country, I'd be watching this 'theater of the absurd' and laughing my ass off (unfortunately, I am and I'm not). To those simpletons who actually voted for this idiot, I'll resign myself to follow you all to an abyss of unparallelled proportions.

Monday, December 24, 2012

A Kaiser roll type of ham sandwich!



The Subway is on the left!

What better meal deal for a man (or woman) that’s on a diet than a hearty ham on bread sandwich! Herein is a version of the kind of sandwich that Jared Fogle lost so much weight on and which is still advertized and sold by Subway! The only major difference is that the way I make mine is; 1) so much simpler and 2) way less costly (Subway’s 6-incher costs about $3 while mine came in at a miniscule $1.50)!

While the 6 inch sandwich that Subway makes may look a lot better (it sure does), we both still come in at about the same level of nutrition. Here’s a side by side comparison:


 Following is a simple recipe that anyone can throw together, lose some weight and save a little money:

My Ingredients:

1 Kaiser or similar roll
2 oz of honey ham (Oscar Mayer or similar)
2 slices of white onion
1 slice of dill pickle
1 tbsp of mayo

There are no directions given here! If you don’t know how to make a sandwich, then I’d suggest checking into a care center somewhere.

The bottom line is that you too can lose weight and save a little bit of money without giving up a great tasting meal!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

News not fit to print!



Yeah, that looks about right!
The FDA now pushing for acceptance of genetically altered fish!

The FDA wants everyone to know that genetically altered fish are okidokie to eat! This proclamation, from on high, coming in spite of other research to the contrary. My feeling on this is hey, if someone from the FDA wants to eat these things, then more power to them! Just please leave me out. Original Source: USA Today

Mealworms may be the food of the future!

Oh, this is just wrong!
If the cost of producing beef continues to rise out of sight, government food researchers are now banking on the eventual acceptance of ground meal worms either as an additive or eaten by themselves in products like hamburger. One rumor has it that large food chains, like McDonald’s, are already working in that direction. One person I talked to that eats them on a regular basis informed me that they do have a special nutty taste that takes getting used to! Original Source: ABC News


When asked, the public says sure let's go over the cliff!

Maybe they public has grown tired of all the talk going on in Washington over the last year that has resulted in nothing getting done about the Nation's deficit. So maybe it was no surprise that, when average citizens were asked what they felt the solution to our fiscal problems were, a solid majority voted in favor of doing nothing and thus allowing the sequesterization acts kick in. Perhaps many Americans now feel that since Washington can’t get it done, then perhaps a little bit of pain ain’t all that bad after all.Count me in!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Random thoughts on a slow day!


And then the flood gates opened…..
California 2020?

After voting, last month, to make Californians among the highest-taxed residents in the country, a debate has now been sparked as to whether or not a mass exodus will ensue.

Democrat and self-described icon Governor Jerry Brown successfully pushed the tax increase by suggesting that high-earners must shoulder the largest burden in bailing out the state, particularly its debt-ridden public school system. And boy, oh boy were they ever stuck hard…so hard that many of the top earners have now fled to other states like Nevada, Arizona and Texas where they have since poured billions into those economies.

Now, with massive Federal tax hikes slated to take effect in January, the feeling by many is that what had been a strong stream will soon become a flood. One scenario sees California rapidly sinking under financial waves of debt, as all too soon, the only residents left living there will be largely comprised of illegal’s and those on entitlement programs. Good luck to that Jerry!


The media and why people are tuning them out!

With the possible exception of stations like Fox News, you can forget about getting anything that even vaguely looks like objective and balanced reporting. Now if you’re looking for fiction, then definitely tune in to CBS or ABC. Or, if your tastes run more to the extreme left, then by all means give the people at MSNBC a shot. Just don’t expect to have anyone working there come even remotely close to telling the truth…about anything!

But wait! There’s more! In an effort to pile on even more of a visual and auditory insult, you’ll also want to pay attention to those incredible ads that at shown every five minutes. Personally, I like to group these atrocities into groups, including those that either insult your intelligence or want you to believe their doctors. That’s when they’re not trying to feed you junk to make your pecker hard. Plulleease. Thank God there’s a rental market where you can still snag a good movie or two.


A solution for taking care of the crooks and crazies!

It’s no secret that the US has a prison overcapacity problem. It’s also no secret that the country is rapidly filling up with wackos (ahem, sorry - mentally unstable) who are becoming increasingly violent. Taking care of them is time consuming and expensive with the average person costing upwards of 60k to house and feed in a given year. While there are just over 2 million criminals in prison, the number of mentally ill is thought to be much higher. Taking care of that many people is simply beyond the ability of the states and will soon even tax the deep pockets of the Feds.

So what to do? My solution would be to move all these felonious folks in troop ships and airplanes over to countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria where they can be set lose to run amok and do their thing! Those who do manage to survive for the duration of their sentences can then petition our government for a chance to return. Alternatively, they can elect to just stay and show the Muslim population some new tricks of their various trades.

An action like this would free up vast amounts of space here in the US and would not doubt present somewhat of a deterrent for anyone who would consider committing a felony. This win-win situation would also make for classic TV as new series with names like ‘Islamic Survival’ pop up everywhere which show our felons making funny blunders as they attempt to ‘engage’ their new found friends with their own unique version of the Brotherhood. I don’t know about you, but I’d watch!

Friday, December 21, 2012

Hobo meals are worthwhile!

Whatever name you call this meal deal; be it Hobo or Campfire, this recipe has a lot going for it! It’s tasty, easy to prepare, nutritious and cost effective! As an added bonus, cleanup is a snap! Wow!

Ingredients (per packet):

1 hamburger patty
1 strip of bacon
1 med potato cut up
2 carrots cut up
1 onion, quartered
1 wedge of cabbage
Salt and pepper
Heavy aluminum foil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using heavy foil, make a square about 12” by 16” in size (just eyeball this). Form a small patty out of the hamburger and wrap it with a strip of bacon. Cut up the veggies and arrange them along with the meat in the center of the foil. Use salt and pepper to taste. Carefully bring up the sides of the foil and make an airtight seal leaving some airspace on top. (Note: The steam generated during the cooking process helps to cook this meal). Place the meal into a shallow oven safe casserole dish (to help prevent leaks) on a center rack in the oven.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes, carefully remove the meal(s) and allow it or them to cool for at least ten minutes before opening. Open the top to vent and watch out for any steam! Place the packet on a plate and dig in!

Nutrition

Assuming that you take care to keep that ground beef patty down to a reasonable size and that you 86th the bacon, this meal turns out to be quite nutritious! (Hey! Throw out both meats entirely and I'm sure Mrs. Obama would embrace you in a fast and furious fashion….:)

A word about cost…

At the time of this post, our Nation is still basking in the warmth that was President Obama’s re-election! A man who was once is said to have said that ‘there’s no country I can’t bankrupt given enough terms in office.’ I have this to say about cost...

To wit, this meal contains only one truly ‘expensive’ item and that would be the ground beef. No problemo! You can save money by either cutting back on the size of the patty or by substituting whatever it is you can track, kill and grind up!

At right is a breakout of the per serving cost of this meal as of the end of 2012. So, for about two bucks per serving you can still enjoy a decent dinner at home!

Also, please note that all of the veggies can be grown right in your own backyard for very little cost and so can really help out the family budget for those of us living in a post financial cliff world!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Random Thoughts on the Eve of the End of the World as we know it!



It was the video and I have da pruf!

While State Department officials are getting the axe and Hillary (bless her soul), is recovering from a concussion, I have definitive proof that the Libya mess was caused solely by that darn old film ‘Innocence of the Muslims. You see fellow readers, the producer named Mark Basseley Youssef, was just now sentenced to a year in prison! Let them there Democrats now rejoice as the 'onus badonus' has been lifted off those pure shoulders of our so very President. And take note, you bad old Republicans, is so not a liar!

While he may not be fiddling, he definately is watching us burn!

With mere days left before the country goes over a cliff that will surely result in mass riots and the loss of our country in bankruptcy, our illustrious Leader Barrack Insane Obama is very busy doing anything and everything but addressing the spending problems in Washington. God bless this man – at least he is consistent! When recently asked about the budget, he was heard to say ‘what budget?’

To the scammers of Newtown…

May you scammers rot in hell or at the very least be caught and held up to the bright lights of media coverage! I’d really like for everyone to see what a true lowlife is all about…

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

BBQ Meatloaf


I happened across a menu item called BBQ Meatloaf that was created originally by Paula Deen, a noted restaurateur and famous chef, and thought I’d give it a try. The ingredient list was very doable and I had most everything on hand.

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds of ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 onion, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ bell pepper (added by me)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
16 ounces of tomato sauce
3 tbsp. vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup water if needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the beef with the breadcrumbs, onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper and about half the tomato sauce. Form this into a loaf and place it in a shallow pan. Stir together the remaining tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce and pour this over the meatloaf. Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with the pan juices.

Now that's what I'm talking about!
I did manage to follow this recipe pretty closely with the exception of that last part concerning the remaining tomato sauce. Rather than mix all that other stuff into the sauce, I elected to add it directly to the meatloaf. The only things that were poured over the loaf was that remaining sauce and some vinegar.

The end result was a nice looking meatloaf that tasted awesome! I also made a mental note to stop at the store and get a loaf of plain white bread so that I could enjoy one of life’s greatest pleasures….a meatloaf sandwich! Give this recipe a try! It’s easy to make and oh so good to eat!