A Bookworm Creates

Sometimes it's really interesting to see real life mirror experimenting in the kitchen. Some of my friends are aware that I didn't get the job I was hoping for; maybe it's for a reason that I'm not yet aware of, but it gets old constantly trying for a position and never getting a chance to prove yourself at this job. So, what do I do?  Sit there and cry about it?  No. Okay, maybe I did for a few minutes.  No, I'm going to adapt. I'll take the Praxis tests for Economics and American/World History because I can, even if I don't use the endorsement. At least I tried, right? What does this have to do with the kitchen and cooking? Easy. Today I attempted crab cakes.  I don't particularly like crab cakes, but I thought I could make them without the green onions.  I don't like green onions. See evidence picture number one.  They fell apart.  Now, these are for dinner. I have a bowl of crab meat mixture mixed up and ready to be fried, but I didn't ...

Has it really been over a year since I last posted?   No, reader, not much has actually changed in the last year. Moving on... I spend a fair amount of on social media apps managing my etsy stop. It was one of these...okay,  fine, I was on Facebook and I have several cooking blogs that I follow. This one particular blog featured Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon. Easy enough AND delicious. Now, I did "cheat" and use frozen salmon, but it was still good. I just had to thaw it out. Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon 1. Preheat oven to 420. 2. Line a cookie sheet (I used a cake pan) with parchment paper. This helps with clean up. 3. Put salmon on pan, cover with parchment paper, and bake for 10 minutes. Now, this is where I had an issue. I removed the salmon and there was this white stuff coming out of it. It does in fact have a technical name, but it's fine. This white stuff is the protein cooking out of the salmon. The internet said that soaking the salmon in salt water for...

Maybe I should change my name to the Pinterest Blogger.   No.   I agree.   I’ll remain An Overthinker.   Makes more sense for me really if anybody else cares to think about it; too much thinking for me.   So, dinner meals in the house are getting a little stale.   Not literally, but there have been a lot of repeats lately.   I really should take on a more active stance in the kitchen, but every single time I try to make something I get usurped and my recipe gets replaced with another recipe that is nothing like that I was going for.   It’s usually more complicated too.   I end up leaving the kitchen and vowing to make another attempt later. Or I make suggestions and nobody says, “Yes! Try that!”   It’s always ‘meh’ or a shoulder shrug.   Or a kitchen take over.   Makes for a frustrated overthinker.   One of these, ‘meh, I don’t know’ recipes was for One-Pan Enchilada Pasta.   So I waited until nobody ...

            So, anybody that pays the slightest attention to my blog or gets to see my Pinterest pins knows how much time (or sometimes how little time) I spent on that site.   Sometimes something catches my attention and I add it to the ever increasing “to try” pile for things or recipes.   I really should divide my boards up into more specific things.   Like desserts.   Healthy.   Party foods.   Really, though, who has time for that stuff?   I don’t spend THAT much time on Pinterest.   (Looks away for a moment.)               Okay, really, everything gets put into the generic “Recipes to Try” regardless of healthy, dessert, snack foods, etc because I know that if it is a food item it will be on one board.   Sometimes I even get other ideas that are only slightly related to the item that was pinned and I hope that I remem...

Two blog posts in one week...I know, right?  Part One I've decided to take on a new challenge: marketing myself.  To be exact marketing what I create in order to sell some of the physical products.  Check out the FB and Etsy links in the navigation bar on the right.  I've linked everything together.  It made sense.  Maybe it'll make me actually post on Recipe Thursdays.  Create more and post the how to's and what nots.  Here's hoping that when subbing picks up I don't let things falter.  Here's hoping that this Etsy shop reboot has better results than the first time. Yes, I create.  I create a lot.  I suspect that I have a little bit of ADD.  Yarn. Jewelry. Food.  And now polymer clay.  Oh, and the lesson plans, but that is a bit stagnant as teacher position hunting isn't going very well.   It is October, but I still have to pay the bills.  I'm also feeling like I'm just typing for myself.  It...

My Mama's Chicken and Dumplin's A partial photo tutorial (because sometimes I'm lazy). 1. Gather ingredients 2. Cook the chicken. This might take a while. When finished cooking remove chicken from the pot. Tear or chop. Add chicken bullion or poultry seasoning (best option) to the broth. 3. Mix the dry ingredients together for the dumplings. Slowly add the canned chicken broth or 2 cups of broth from the cooking pot after the chicken is cooked and removed from the pot. Mix well. It should be the consistency of a biscuit dough.   4. Flour the board, counter, or whatever surfaces that you'll be using. Flour your rolling pin too. 5. Dump your dough on the board, knead a little to cost with flour. Make certain that there is enough for still on the board. Roll flat and about an 1/8th an inch thick; it will of up while cooking. Cut into strips about 1.5 inches thick and either square or rectangular in length. 6. Make certain that the p...

One Pot Wonders! My turn to cook dinner rolled around again and I had been searching Pinterest for ideas. No...don't groan. This is NOT Pinterest inspired. This is a one dish meal and a variation on a standby classic. I wanted to limit the carbs and have something that would travel and reheat well for my sub job tomorrow. I call this: I forgot to grab the broccoli before the picture. One Pot Wonder Ingredients: Boneless chicken breasts (used 3) Chopped broccoli (1 bag, but Dad requested more afterwards) 1 smoked sausage Pasta of choice (penne) Sauce of choice (Alfredo) Directions: 1. Start the pasta water. Get it boiling. 2. Cut up the smoked sausage. We tend to pick it out of the meal so I cut the rounds in half. 3. Cut up the chicken into chunks. 4. Cook. The smoked sausage is already cooked, but cooking both brings out the flavor. Stir occasionally. 5. While this is cooking, cook the pasta. 6. About 6 minutes before the pasta is done add the broc...