I entered this recipe in Pioneer Woman's recipe contest. It is one of my favorite dishes, but there is some contention about the name. I’ve called it Brown Spaghetti all my life along with my sisters, but a few years ago Mom decided Mushroom Spaghetti sounded better and has been attempting to correct me ever since. Whatever you call though, it is good.
1 lb Italian Sausage
Olive oil
½ lb mushrooms
Medium onion
Medium bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 10 oz cans cream of mushroom soup
Milk
Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and cayenne
Brown and drain sausage.
Chop up the mushrooms, onion, pepper, and garlic.
Dump a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet, add the mushrooms, onion, pepper, and garlic, and sauté until the onions are transparent.
Add the sausage and dump in the mushroom soup. Fill each of the cans about 2/3 full of milk, cover with your hand and shake to dislodge the rest of the soup, then add that in too.
Mix well then add about 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne, a few shakes of pepper, and a couple dashes of salt adjusting all to taste.
Mix well and allow to simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti noodles and top with parmesan cheese if desired.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Photoshopery
Alternate title: Why do I always get myself into these situations.
They decided at work that we need pictures of our former Directors/Commanders. This is great; I think they should have been there all along. The only problem was that it is sometimes hard to find pictures of someone who came and went nigh on thirty years ago.
Enter my direct supervisor, M, who was executive secretary for twenty some-odd years before being promoted to her current position about 2 years ago. As executive secretary, she kept a small snapshot of each of her "boys," as she calls them. They are all taped onto a paper with their names and hang right above her desk. For four of the Colonels, those were the only pictures available. Three of those came out pretty good: a little grainy and blurred, but what do you expect when you blow a 3 inch snapshot up to an 8x10 portrait? And they are between 15 and 30 years old anyway.
Then there was Col. Wilson:
The original 1.5 inch photograph was given a rough chop, then stuck to a sticky note which bore a large logo across it's center. This was scanned in exactly as it was, blown up to 8x10, matted, framed, and sent to us to hang on our wall-of-fame.
Oh, there was one more touch in that version which is lacking in my scan above. The photo was left on the main paper, which is crowded, so above the Colonel's left shoulder was a vertical bar of dark blue with large, sharply focused white stars - the edge of the next photo.
M and I looked at that and said something along the lines of "they can't possibly expect us to hang that on a wall of USMC former base directors." And then I said, "I have photoshop at home, if you'll give me your original there, I'll take it home and see if I can fix it." Maybe one day I'll learn to keep my mouth shut.
Four hours later I had this
A digital image, it took another whole afternoon of fighting the computer tooth and nail to make it print a nice glossy photograph.
It's an improvement though. Not the best I've ever seen, but good enough that it won't jump out and horrify me ever time I walk past that wall (which is fairly often).
I spent most of this morning affixing little brass plates with their names and dates of service to the bottom of the matting for each Colonel, and sticking more little brass plates to a nice black sheet of metal for the ones who are so old that there are no photos.
I am eager to see the final results when they get the rails hung and the whole shebang on display. I think it is going to look quite nice overall, and I'll be able to walk past it without having the horror above jumping out at me. Even if people walk past it and shudder at the awfulness, I'll know how much worse it could have been and that I did my best, and I'll be content.
I suppose that is why I always get myself into these situations.
P.S. I won one of the bloggy giveaways. I'll post more when I have it in my hot little hands.
They decided at work that we need pictures of our former Directors/Commanders. This is great; I think they should have been there all along. The only problem was that it is sometimes hard to find pictures of someone who came and went nigh on thirty years ago.
Enter my direct supervisor, M, who was executive secretary for twenty some-odd years before being promoted to her current position about 2 years ago. As executive secretary, she kept a small snapshot of each of her "boys," as she calls them. They are all taped onto a paper with their names and hang right above her desk. For four of the Colonels, those were the only pictures available. Three of those came out pretty good: a little grainy and blurred, but what do you expect when you blow a 3 inch snapshot up to an 8x10 portrait? And they are between 15 and 30 years old anyway.
Then there was Col. Wilson:
The original 1.5 inch photograph was given a rough chop, then stuck to a sticky note which bore a large logo across it's center. This was scanned in exactly as it was, blown up to 8x10, matted, framed, and sent to us to hang on our wall-of-fame.
Oh, there was one more touch in that version which is lacking in my scan above. The photo was left on the main paper, which is crowded, so above the Colonel's left shoulder was a vertical bar of dark blue with large, sharply focused white stars - the edge of the next photo.
M and I looked at that and said something along the lines of "they can't possibly expect us to hang that on a wall of USMC former base directors." And then I said, "I have photoshop at home, if you'll give me your original there, I'll take it home and see if I can fix it." Maybe one day I'll learn to keep my mouth shut.
Four hours later I had this
A digital image, it took another whole afternoon of fighting the computer tooth and nail to make it print a nice glossy photograph.
It's an improvement though. Not the best I've ever seen, but good enough that it won't jump out and horrify me ever time I walk past that wall (which is fairly often).
I spent most of this morning affixing little brass plates with their names and dates of service to the bottom of the matting for each Colonel, and sticking more little brass plates to a nice black sheet of metal for the ones who are so old that there are no photos.
I am eager to see the final results when they get the rails hung and the whole shebang on display. I think it is going to look quite nice overall, and I'll be able to walk past it without having the horror above jumping out at me. Even if people walk past it and shudder at the awfulness, I'll know how much worse it could have been and that I did my best, and I'll be content.
I suppose that is why I always get myself into these situations.
P.S. I won one of the bloggy giveaways. I'll post more when I have it in my hot little hands.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Waking up made easy(er)
Everyone who knows me will testify that I am a night owl. I will happily stay up until 2 or 3am but HATE getting up in the morning with every fiber of my being. I realize that's strong language, but I have strong feelings here.
Unfortunately, the summer job I got requires me to report at 0 six thirty hours in the morning. I knew I was going to need help if I was going to be civil, much less functional.
Since my egg and toast are ready at about 5:30 (my mother is very sweet), I need to be moving by 5:15. Rather then having a single alarm that goes off, then dragging myself out of bed and growling at everyone within reach; I have set up a three step system.
1. My clock radio comes on at around four thirty. It's tuned to a music station, and the volume is turned way down. I've never woken up to it, but it's enough to start pulling me out of really deep sleep.
2. At 5:01 my cell phone alarm goes off. Since the music has been on, I usually hear it pretty quickly, but I don't even attempt to get up or even open my eyes. I smack it to make it shut up, then reach up and turn on my reading lamp. The light further penetrates the fog, and I start to actually wake up.
3. Seven minutes later my cell phone goes off again. Sometimes I smack it one more time, but I'll usually get up then.
By the time my feet hit the floor, I've got nearly a 45 minute head start on full consciousness (it can take an hour and a half to get there), this means it doesn't take as long for me to get dressed, my outfit is less likely to look like it was assembled by a blind person, and most importantly, I don't end up growling at my family.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Local wildlife
I confess that I sort of cheated on that last post. Alright, maybe more than sort of. Actually, I had the code saved already so that all I had to do was paste and post. I really cheated. Tonight, I'm making a real post. Note that I did not say a good post, or a thoughtful post, or even a post with a point, just a real one.
On the day that I finally remembered to carry my camera to school, I was walking down an outside staircase with a retaining wall to my right. It had hundreds of flowers cascading over it thus:
I was walking down that staircase minding my own business when I heard a noise right by my ear. I turned my head a saw this:
Let's look a little closer
A bee. Of course at that point, I did the only natural thing - pulled out my camera and started taking pictures like a good blogger.
Unfortunately, the bee was much faster than my camera, so I only got one more picture of her (Useless trivia: All worker bees are infertile females.).
And with more of the flowers left in the frame:
Unfortunately, I have nothing insightful to say, so enjoy the pictures and try not to think about it too much.
On the day that I finally remembered to carry my camera to school, I was walking down an outside staircase with a retaining wall to my right. It had hundreds of flowers cascading over it thus:
I was walking down that staircase minding my own business when I heard a noise right by my ear. I turned my head a saw this:
Let's look a little closer
A bee. Of course at that point, I did the only natural thing - pulled out my camera and started taking pictures like a good blogger.
Unfortunately, the bee was much faster than my camera, so I only got one more picture of her (Useless trivia: All worker bees are infertile females.).
And with more of the flowers left in the frame:
Unfortunately, I have nothing insightful to say, so enjoy the pictures and try not to think about it too much.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
This is a post
Magic Magnate's Villa
 | |
Build YOUR Dream Home! |
and for variety from the Ferraries
I'm a Porsche 911!
You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.
Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.
Useless geeky thing I discovered:
Acme Klein Bottles - where yesterday's future is here today!
Friday, July 11, 2008
15 years
Blessed tagged me to do this meme.
Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you hadn’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…
15 years ago I was 8. I probably wouldn’t recognize anyone that I knew then and haven’t seen since.
1. I’ve gained close to 100 pounds and gotten a little bit taller.
2. My parents pulled me from the public school system and put me in a private school before beginning homeschooling from which I graduated.
3. We bought a house a few streets down from where we lived.
4. My dad got a promotion a few states away.
5. We sold the house, moved across the few states, and bought another one.
6. My older sister got married, and we still haven’t convinced her husband that he needs to move this way. I miss her.
7. I went to our local community college and earned two degrees.
8. I graduated at the top of my class, so they made me give a speech.
9. I’m now attending a state university and trying not to let it kill me.
10. I have a niece, Lil Sugar. She is the cutest child in the whole world, and lives way too far away. We still haven’t convinced her father that he needs to move this way.
I tag:
Daramis – Have fun with it.
Jessie – This one will require words.
Chris – Because I can
Lawrence – You haven’t posted in ages.
Anyone else who wants to do it.
Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you hadn’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…
15 years ago I was 8. I probably wouldn’t recognize anyone that I knew then and haven’t seen since.
1. I’ve gained close to 100 pounds and gotten a little bit taller.
2. My parents pulled me from the public school system and put me in a private school before beginning homeschooling from which I graduated.
3. We bought a house a few streets down from where we lived.
4. My dad got a promotion a few states away.
5. We sold the house, moved across the few states, and bought another one.
6. My older sister got married, and we still haven’t convinced her husband that he needs to move this way. I miss her.
7. I went to our local community college and earned two degrees.
8. I graduated at the top of my class, so they made me give a speech.
9. I’m now attending a state university and trying not to let it kill me.
10. I have a niece, Lil Sugar. She is the cutest child in the whole world, and lives way too far away. We still haven’t convinced her father that he needs to move this way.
I tag:
Daramis – Have fun with it.
Jessie – This one will require words.
Chris – Because I can
Lawrence – You haven’t posted in ages.
Anyone else who wants to do it.
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