Brainsprain.net

It’s been a long year.  I’ve lost a lot of weight, been to Disney World, watched friends move away, made new friends, started a new job, got a Wii, and learned to cook far too many dishes by adding Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Navy Rum.  It’s been a good year.  I hope the next one is even better.

Enough of my friends have asked me for this one I decided to post it. This way I also won’t lose it. It’s a variation of something I found at allrecipes.com and it is quite yummy.

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Navy Rum (seeing a trend yet?)
• 1 cup chopped pecans (Optional but yummy)

Mix sweet potatoes and sugar, mix in eggs, milk, vanilla, butter. Gradually stir in the rum.  Mix in the pecans if you like.   Pour into a 9×13 greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Add some of those jumbo marshmallows on top for the last 5 minutes or so or until they’re browned if you like, that’s what we decided to do next time.

Here’s one that’s totally NOT on my diet.  It’s incapacitating though, and a combination of other recipes I found plus a bit of a secret ingredient.  In a bowl, combine:

• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 1/2 T butter
• 3 T flour

Mix this up pretty good, then add:

• 3/4 c Light Karo
• 3/4 c Dark Karo
•  3 eggs
• 2 t vanilla (more isn’t bad)
• 1shot of Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Navy Rum (*Secret Ingredient)

Mix this up, and then stir  in 1 1/2 cups of pecans.  Pour this into a pie shell and bake it for 50 – 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let it completely cool, for at least an hour.  DO NOT eat it all in one sitting.

At the risk of this becoming a cooking blog… I offer this recipe in two flavors: one for something to do with leftover turkey, and one for those long winter nights between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What you need:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Onion, chopped big
• EITHER 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts OR about 1 1/2 cups leftover turkey
• 1 Tsp Cumin
• 1 Tsp Chili Powder
• 1 8oz bottle of Pace (I like Hot, but medium and mild work fine too) salsa
• 2 14oz cans of corn
• About 30 – 34 oz of Chicken Stock
• Lime juice (Fresh or bottled)
• Big bag of tortilla chips
• finely shredded Mexican cheese mix

Heat up the olive oil in a big stock pot.

If you’re using chicken breasts, throw them in and brown them really well on each side, and then take them out and shred them.

If you’re using leftover turkey, it’s probably shredded up anyway and it’s at more or less the same point as the chicken above.

Put the chopped onion in the pot and stir it up until it starts turning translucent, then add the poultry. Continue stirring, letting the turkey heat up or the chicken brown a touch more. When you’re confident the chicken is cooked pretty well, add the cumin and chili powder, stirring it up. After you get that mixed in really well, add the whole jar of salsa. Even if you use hot, it’s not going to make it terribly spicy so you’re okay. Stir until that starts to steam, then add the chicken broth and corn. Don’t bother draining the corn juice, it’s good for you. Keep stirring until nothing is sticking to the bottom, put it on medium heat or so and bring it slowly to a boil. Once it boils, take the heat down as low as it will go and start yelling that dinner is ready. Add 1 Tbsp – 1/8 cup of lime juice, however much you like. Err on the side of not enough, because you can always put more in. Spoon the soup into a bowl, put a nice layer of tortilla chips on top and then a good sprinkling of cheese. Warn those that take this that it was just boiling a second ago and giggle to yourself when they burn the roof of their mouths, but don’t let them catch you doing it. This freezes well and makes enough for 4 people.

I wake up lost
But a small voice says I’m here
I wake up thinking no one needs me
But a small voice says they do
I wake up feeling insignificant
But a small voice says I’m not
I wake up aching with lonliness
But that voice says I’m not alone
I wake up empty
But I know I am full

I want to believe that voice
But I wake up thinking it’s lying

I spend my day letting it convince me
I to go bed found, needed, important, befriended, fulfilled

But I wake up lost
I wake up craving validation
Hungry for attention
starving for that small voice
which some days
is too small
and too weak

My sister had her baby just a bit ago. Happy Birthday to my nephew Reese William Watkins. Everybody’s okay.

He’s 5 lbs, 17″ long.

Dad just called, Mandi’s resting between contractions.  I could hear the beep beep of the baby’s heart monitor.  It’s a waiting game.  Dad’s bet of 10:00pm is rapidly approaching.  Mom chose the oddly random 11:42, and I just said, “Before Midnight.”  More news as it is available…

Mandi is doing okay and got her epidural about 40 minutes ago, apparently.  She’s doing fine and I have no real news other than to say thanks to everyone for checking in on us.  I’ll keep posting updates as I get them.

Today I had a really important meeting. I found out I get to make some changes at work that I’ve been working for for a long time. Towards the end, my stupid phone rang. My mom. She’d have to wait. I quickly selected “ignore” on the phone and finished making my points. The meeting was over and I picked up my phone to listen to my voice mail. Before I could hit the button, my phone rang again. This time it was my sister. I answered, feeling a vague stirring of worry settle into my stomach and stretch up into my throat. My sister has preeclampsia and they were really hoping she would be able to carry the kiddo another few weeks, but decided today that it couldn’t wait. Mom and Dad are hopping in a car right now to head to West Texas to be there. Everyone’s a little uneasy. With Colleen out of the country, there’s not much for me to do but pace and worry. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, friends.

Yay! Happy Halloween from all of us at Brainsprain.net!