Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Daily Tromp

Every day my brother and I take our dog for a walk in the county grounds. I took my camera this time to do a little documenting. 
Time to browse.

This is Caesar. He's a German Shepherd-dog. You were probably able to tell by the large staff he is bearing.




Anthony and his knapsack. 



What a cutie.




Caesar is a savage.


These are Milwaukee's first ever insane asylum. Some people think it's haunted; some people say think it's an eye-sore. I think it's awesome. These buildings are also known as the Eschweiler Buildings.







Hullo!



Well, it's autumn. 





Just sniffing'.



What a pretty way to end the walk.




Sunday, October 28, 2012

What do you think this is? Tortellini and Sausage Soup

 Oh yeah. That's right.



Reader, meet Tortellini Sausage Soup. Tortellini Saucy Pants, meet Reader.
This is hands down the best soup I have ever had in my entire life.



MMMMmmmMMM. Nom. 


Short history of the soup: I student taught in a private high school. There were only 98 students in the school so they did not have a lunch service. The different groups in the school would sign up for days and they would be in charge of the lunch for that day. My group, the Sophomores, made this soup every time. It is a recipe from a mom of one of my male students. That woman is a genius.


Ok. Enough with the story time. This is what you will need:


Tortellini Sausage Soup

1 lb Italian sausage
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic (2 tsp powder)
5 cans beef broth (7-8 cups)
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. dry red wine
2 c. chopped canned tomatoes 
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
15 oz. can tomato sauce

8 oz. package Tortellini 

2 T. fresh parsley
1 1/2 c. sliced zucchini
Grated parmesan cheese 

The process of making the soup is a little time-consuming but it is worth it.


First, remove the Italian sausage from the casing toss it in a pan and brown the heck out of it.




Reserve one tablespoon of the drippings and use it to sauté the onions and garlic.


Then begin throwing all of the ingredients except the last 4 into a kettle. I use a very large one because I double the recipe.



Bring all to a roaring boil. Then, calm it down and let simmer for 30 minutes.

After, the 30 minutes add the Tortellini, zucchini, and Parsley. 







Let simmer for another 30-45 minutes.


Dish it out and you may top it with some Parmesan.






Then...

Mangia! (Eat!)


Enjoy.



Thursday, October 25, 2012

Breakfast Burrito of the Angles

Just a quick little recipe. This is easy peasy and can be whipped up quickly.




Delicious.

First chop up some onion and any other veggies you fancy in your eggs.




Then scramble up some eggies (I use egg whites) and throw slap them in the pan.


Take a tortilla and throw it in the oven for a few seconds. After, put that bad boy on a plate and schalack it with some light sour cream (greek yogurt) and salsa.




Toss those eggs into the tortilla and add your cheese.




Roll it up and enjoy!




Then, devour!




Easy and low-fat texi-mexican breakfast for dinner.
Yum.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Dominican Republic

I haven't blogged in about 2 weeks. I've been little sidetracked with looking for apartments and other shenanigans about my life. The thing is that I probably should have been blogging because this little ditty is about me "finding myself". :) 

Well I've decided I would do a little bloggy blog about the Dominican Republic. I just had a two month hiatus in Santiago. I was teaching there and I was dealing with some stuff. Eventually I decided to make an occupation change. This was not because of the situation there, believe me, it was a long time coming.

Despite everything that was going on down there I absolutely loved living in the Dominican Republic. It was a mix of everything: city, campo (country), beach. It is very caribbean; looking around, you knew you were in on an island. The people are so nice and loving and they talk to you as if they've known you forever. 

What was the best part, you ask? Well that, my friend, was the Spanish. Speaking Spanish. All. Day. Long. Except for the times that I was speaking English of course, you know, when I was teaching.

Well I can't really show you the Spanish. I can how ever show you other little snaps. Enjoy!











Just beautiful. 
I miss it.


Wanna go there? You let me know. I'll hook you up (with information, of course).



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Chocolate Chip Wonders

My good friend B graduated with a degree in graphic design. The little lady is brilliant and really knows what she's doing. She received an interview for her dream job being a head of design. She went through a series of interviews and ended up being one of two people being chosen from. After a lot of antsy email and voicemail checking and countless "wait three more days" she got the job!!

So my friend E helped me do what I do best to celebrate special occasions like this: bake.

Look at this bad boy...

Nail polish is OPI: Jade is the New Black.

These are the Chocolate Chip cookies I have been making for years. 
This is my absolute favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies because it gives you a chewier cookie. 

The secret ingredient for the chewy extravaganza you ask?

 English Toffee. Nice crunchy English Toffee.

 And of course chocolate. 
I use milk chocolate, but you decide what you like best.

 Look at 'em. Best. Buds.

 I know you would just kill for this recipe so here it is:

Chocolate Chip (and Toffee (ssshhhh!!)) Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened (don't use that margarine stuff. You want the real deal.)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (12 oz) milk chocolate (or chocolate chips of choice)
1/2 cup English Toffee bits

--Makes about 42 delicious yummies.

What you will need is a mixer. I use this one. Yes, it does look old, but it is a fiery thing and it never ceases to make delicious tasties.


 I call it vintage. :)

First you want to mix the salt, baking soda, and flour together and set aside. 
Then cream the butter and sugars together. After slosh your vanilla in and add the eggs.


After you add your powdery dry mixture and it should begin to look like this:


Gingerly fold in your sneaky-delicious duo. 


Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray them so the dough does not stick. Then scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto your tray. I like to use a handy scooper like this one:




Make sure they are all nice and separated so we do not get mega-cookies. Unless, however, you would like large cookies. Do what you see fit. :)
 
Go ahead and slide those babies into the oven.


Bake them for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven and how chewy you like them. I need to bake them for 5 minutes then I spin the trays and switch oven shelves to make sure they bake evenly.

When they come out they will look like this. If you like a fluffier cookie, let them cook and scoop them onto metal cooling racks. 

If you are like me and you like chewier cookies take that tray and drop it on a flat surface. This will flatten the cookie and make it nice and gooey-chewy in the center. MMMMmmmMM :)


Scoop them onto a metal rack to cool.


Make sure you try a few before giving them as a gift. 


You know, make sure they're not poisoned. 


Yummmm! 
Congratulations B!