From the mind of a 20-something gal

Do you ever feel like your life is in a state of constant competition?

Be the first to get your degree.

Be the first to get a kick ass job.

Be the first to get engaged.

It is exhausting.

I've never been one to compete with others, but find myself often times comparing my accomplishments against those around me. And who's to say that being first satisfies your happiness? Whatever happened to "slow and steady wins the race"?

I recently read a very enlightening book. One that changed the way I see things. One that taught me that being smart correlates with how much you worry and I am a puppy dog, canary and sometimes a goldfish. Confused? Go read The Noticer by Andy Andrews. It will change your life.

Only you, and you alone, will be able to define your happiness. You cannot analyze each of your coworker's and friend's lives trying to live up to their standards. You will never find happiness this way.

That is why I choose to continue my pursuit of meaning in my life. What is my purpose?

I know the big guy upstairs has a plan that I cannot possibly imagine.

So I do my best to listen and respond when He calls.

He told me to take a job at Kansas State University. He told me there is an opportunity there that I need to explore. And He told me I need to take a shot at love.

I refuse to play the game and let competition consume me. Because it is not me. I will find my why in the best way that I know how and never give up on pushing my comfort zone to help me become a citizen of the world.

I wish everyone peace and blessings as we wrap up a very strange and tiring 2012. Here's to a new year and a new beginning in what may be the best to come! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Callin' All Cajuns

It's been a fast-speed kind of fall. All of the sudden the leaves went from green to neon orange to covering my car. It got a little colder and my hair protests by splaying into tangles (damn you, static!). It's days like today that makes me want to come home to a big ol' pot of warm, spicy goodness that'll stick to your ribs.

Everyone's got a bit of Cajun in 'em. Ever seen Disney's version of Princess and the Frog?




Yes, even this far north in Kansas, we've all got a bit of the bayou in us. There's no better way to get a Cajun kind of fall without a little jambalaya - crockpot style!

Crockpot Jambalaya

You will need...
2 chicken breasts
2 turkey sausage links
1 bag of frozen shrimp, thawed with the tails pulled off
1 box of Zatarain's jambalaya rice mix
28oz. can of diced plum tomatoes
Tabasco sauce
3 tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's, but Slap Yo Mama is equally as good too!)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

This recipe calls for a lot of spices but they are all meant for a purpose! 

Madame Crockpot. She has been with the family for generations and has given so much love, food and occasional body malfunctions. It happens. I started using a crockpot liner to help with the clean up. Love these! 

Take the chicken and cut into one-inch pieces. Set aside and make way for new meat. Yoo!

Le sausage. Looks more appetizing when it's cut up. I swear.

See? Cut into coins and set aside avec le poulet. (with the chicken. I'm using my French skills, can't you tell?)

Take the whole can of tomatoes and dump into the crockpot.

Add the chicken...

The sausage...

Next up, the seasonings! Start with a little minced onion flakes.

Oregano...

Are you channeling your Cajun mama now?

You should be.

She's telling you to go back in the swamp and ring that gator's neck for supper. 

Parsley...

Cayenne pepper for some heat!

A little bit of Tony Chachere's. This is the grand daddy of all spices! Trust me on this one guys.

Sprinkle in some thyme...

And freshly pressed garlic.

Stir ingredients to combine and get to know each other.

Let this go for about 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally. Go watch Princess and the Frog and get your inner-Cajun going. Maybe listen to a little Zedico music.

In the last 30 minutes of cook time, cook the Zataran's jambalaya rice mix separately according to instructions on the box. 

You'll also want to make sure the shrimp is completely unthawed and take off all the tails. We're making this easy to eat!

Once the rice has been cooked and shrimps have been detailed, throw both into the pot, and let it go for another 10-15 minutes so that the shrimp can warm up. 

Add a few shots of Tabasco.

I was feeling extra spicy so I put about 12-15 drops in.  

Hello, Louisiana!

Au Chocolat

I'm not known to have a sweet tooth. Give me a tall DP over ice and you've satisfied my sugar intake for the day. So when it came time to throw a chocolate bar themed office birthday party for one of our marketing moms, I racked my brain for a few cocoa-inspired recipes. I could think of no other sinful treat.

Chocolate Torte.

I first heard about this chocolate-y delight from a co-worker of mine back at the agency. He swears by it.

He swears a lot.

He likes the F- word.

Speaking of F- words. Did I mention this is flourless?

Perfect for our gluten-free guest of honor.

The recipe is simple and combines a total of six ingredients. The peeps over at Health.com have a version I tried here. 

If you're ready to impress your honey (or upper-management, in my case) try this not-in-a-box chocolate confection. The word "torte" alone exudes gourmet appeal you've always been looking for to leave a chefly impression.

Flourless Chocolate Torte

You'll need...
unsweetened cocoa, about 2-3 tbs.

2 (8-ounce) packages semisweet chocolate squares, coarsely chopped

1 stick of butter

5 large eggs, yolks and egg whites separated

1 tbs. vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar
1 spring-form pan (this is a pre-requisite, folks!)

An important tool to really get this put together - an electric mixer. Every single gal (and guy) should invest in one if you want to try your hand at a few confectionary treats. One day, I'll be able to afford those $400 Kitchen Aids. One day!

Coarsely chop up the semi-sweet chocolate bars and please refrain from devouring the entire chopping block of chocolate mess.

Dump the chopped chocolate in a medium saucepan and throw in a whole stick of butter, heat on medium-low.

And yes, I snuck in the "whole stick of butter" part. You don't miss a beat, do you?

Butter is mandatory! Amen.

While the chocolate and the butter are getting to know each other, take five eggs and separate them oh so carefully.

Take the yolks and add one teaspoon of vanilla into a medium-large bowl. We're bout to do some whippin'! And whippin' it good.

Using the electric mixer, combine vanilla and yolks. Yolks - sucha funny word. Let's see how the chocolate is coming along...

The chocolate and butter should be a complete unit of silky smooth goodness. Congratulations on resisting your inner most urge to stand right there with the spoon and go to town. Turn off the burner and set aside.

Take the egg whites and start whippin' them in a separate bowl. It'll be thin and frothy looking at first but keep going until the egg whites start to thicken and look a bit like whipped cream.

Add the sugar a little at a time and keep whippin' and whiskin' as you go. Your multi-tasking skills really come in handy at this part of the recipe. It'll thicken up and it's time to add to the chocolate!

Combine the melted chocolate and the whipped egg whites in a large bowl and gently fold in the egg whites. You don't want to take out all the fluff!

Get the spring-form pan ready by taking some butter and rubbing it along the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle the unsweetened cocoa on the bottom. This is the frame for your chocolate masterpiece. No? Too cheesy? Okay.

Carefully pour the mixture into the pan, spreading evenly. 

Put it into a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Let it stink up your apartment.

Let the smell drive you nuts. 

So much so that you have to open the oven door halfway through the cooking time just make sure it's still there. And it is.

After what seems like eternity, let the torte cool off on the counter. You'll need to wait (did she say wait? Dangit!) to let the pan cool down so you can take the rounded spring off. Is that what it's called? 

I'm not entirely sure. 

My baking vocabulary needs a little work. 

A spring-form pan is necessary for this endeavor since the torte takes on a brownie/fudge appearance and it's a bit tricky to take out of a traditional glass casserole dish. Many thanks to my swearing coworker for this fine baking dish.

Unleash the spring like you'd unleash your bra!

Unless of course, you don't wear one. 

In that case you might already be aware of this freedom and non-confinement bliss.

The torte is liberated. It is ready for a small knife, one large glass of milk and a handful of marketing guru's who'd like nothing more than to devour any and all chocolate in sight.

Thank you chocolate gods!

Straight from the Motherland

Okay, it's not my motherland. It's my neighbor's. Her name is Fran. And it's technically her mother's motherland. Make sense?

Fran has a big heart and it comes from Poland. The motherland. She taught us how to say cheers in Polish. This guy down yonder can teach you how:

But I did not venture the 50 meters or so from my parents house to hers for a language lesson. The purpose of our meeting was for an entirely different lesson on its own. I wanted to know how these Polish women cook. Specifically speaking, how they cook gawompkes. Ga-what?!

Gawompkes.

Spelled in its most literal sense. Gah-wohmp-keys.

Gawompkes.

You probably have no idea what a gawompke is. I shall share the wealth of knowledge I have gained in a short day's time on this treat.

Gawompkes are cabbage rolls, primarily stuffed with beef and pork. Interested? Keep reading...

These little babies are a labor of love - the cabbage has to be hand-selected by said Polish woman and if said Polish woman does not approve of it's greenness, the gawompkes process is dismissed immediately and nobody can eat them and we are all sad.

Luckily for me, it's summer in the Americas and green heads of cabbages are bountiful!

There are four parts to the Gawompke process:
1. Boiling the cabbage
2. Making the meat mixture
3. Creating the sauce
4. Rollin' (in a non-illegal substance way, c'mon people)


Step 1: Boiling the cabbage

Like I said before, green heads of cabbage are essential. You'll want to find about medium-sized little guys like this one:

Size is also important (get your mind outta the gutter!) I say medium and not large because you'll want them to fit in the pot for boiling. The bigger they are, the more time they have to spend in the pot and the process is slower. You'll want to try to boil several at a time if your cooking gear can accommodate.

Cut out the core so that when the leaves cook, they can easily separate.

Get a big pot, and I mean GIANT pot, for the cabbage. Get the water raging and carefully drop the cabbage into the water.

Let the cabbage boil and slowly, ever slowly, the leaves will soften and separate from the rest of the cabbage.

Poke the middle vein of each leaf with a knife. If it feels soft and the knife can slide easily into the vein, it's ready! Take a pair of tongs and gently lift out of the pot and lay in a colinder for straining out any excess water. Continue this process of letting the leaves separate and poking for softness until you reach the white center. The cabbage has provided its bounty at this point. You may save the white part of the cabbage for another dish. Cornbeef and cabbage, plain, polish sausage and cabbage.

Ya dig?

At the end of the cooking process, save the cabbage water. Why? Because we will use it for the sauce. And also because your Polish mama says so!

Step 2: Making the meat mixture

Combine 1 cup chopped onion and 1 cup chopped celery and cook over a small skillet with butter and olive oil until soft. You will add this to the meat!

You'll want to get two pounds of pork and two pounds of beef. About 1 cup of cooked white rice will go into this mixture as well. Small grain rice works the best, we used the Water Maid brand. Combine onion/celery, meat and cooked rice into a big ol' bowl. Grab one egg and throw it in there too. I don't mean literally. That would be bad, heh.

Take your big Polish hands that you may (or may not) have and go to town combining everything. Aggression, stress or shit goin' down in life? This is the part of the recipe that you can take all of it out on the meat. It works. It's fun. I feel better.

Set that aside.

Step 3: Creating the sauce

The sauce is what brings this around town. It is the glue of the gawompkes. In a medium sized pot, mix 2 cans of tomato soup (we used Campbell's), 3 cups of cabbage water and 1 bottle of ketchup or about 26 ounces. You may add any seasoning to the sauce if you'd like but at the House of Fran, we did it her way. And simple is best. Bring to a simmer until all ingredients are combined.

Step 4: Rollin'

This is best done at the kitchen table. Get a work station set up - bowl of the cooked cabbage leaves, bowl with the meat mixture and a cutting board to work on.

Take one leaf and lay it flat on your cutting board. You may take a small knife and cut off the bottom part of the leaf to create a straight line. Fill the leaf with a large spoonful of the meat mixture. Fold over both sides of the cabbage leaf and roll up, just like a burrito. Make sure the leaf lays smooth and everything's tucked in.

There.

You just made your first cabbage baby! Aren't you so proud?

You'll make more babies - probably about 30-40. Yowza!

Keep rollin' and remind yourself to stop and take a sip of your Bloody Mary. Because those are also delicious and good cooks reward themselves with a good cocktail.

Line up the cabbage rolls and a large dutch oven roaster. Create one solid layer on the bottom and then stack on top as you go. Keep going til you run out of cabbage leaves and/or meat mixture. (Tip: if you have extra meat left over, these are great to make meatballs out of)

Grab the pot of sauce and ladle over the rolls. Save about 2 cups of the sauce to use towards the end of the cooking process.

Put the roaster in the oven at 325 for 3 hours. This is a low and slow deal. Polish lady told me so. Check on your cabbage babies every hour and ladle more sauce over the top to keep them from drying out. After 3 hours, pull out the roaster and let the babies sit awhile to cool off. But who am I joking, you'll want to immediately grab the first dish you see and load up on a few rolls.

Savory, tomato-y, meaty, Polish-y. Welcome to gawompke heaven.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground round 86% lean beef
2 lbs. ground pork
2 cans Campbell's tomato soup
26 oz. of ketchup
3 heads of green cabbage
1 cup yellow onion
1 cup celery
2 tbs. butter
3 tbs. olive oil

Baby's Gotta Brand New Job! And Jalapeno Chicken Bites!

I've been working at an advertising agency for the past year and have experienced the in's and out's of working under high amounts of pressure, stress and was able to assist and complete more than 150 individual marketing materials (no, this is not me publicizing my resume - you can find that on LinkedIn!). And from it all, I learned just a little bit more about myself.

I value my personal time. Amen.

My positivity towards my coworkers goes around and comes back around.

I can control my sensitivity when it comes to business - hey, this industry gives you a thick skin!

And I couldn't have survived this past year without the love and support from the people I worked with, my friends, my family and my loving boyfriend. They've all experienced this journey with me. I knew the time had come to move on when I realized I was being consumed, trapped under the constant pressure to perform.

I put my name out there and 3 weeks later I landed a brand new job! I am so relieved at having found the new place, getting settled and reaching a new potential - once again focused on those dreams I've never left sight of. You might be wondering if I'm still in the advertising world. In a way, yes. I'm still in the creative department and still pushing out marketing pieces but working in an independent marketing organization. A.K.A the hours aren't crazy any more but still focused on creating unique materials for clients.

Now, enough with work because I want to share an easy recipe perfect for a small party or heck, pile these little guys up and make a meal out of it. They're addicting!

Jalapeno Chicken Bites

You'll need....
- Chicken breasts (2-3 depending on who's chowin' down)
- Cream cheese
- Cheddar cheese (grated)
- Jalapenos (finely diced)
- 4-5 slices of bacon
- Butter
- Vegetable oil

Take some chicken breast and slice it thinly and cut into strips.

Salt and pepper on both sides and add about 1 tbs. of cream cheese to the middle.

Next, take some jalapenos and dice it up. I used 1 fresh jalapenos but in the end, it didn't pack a lot of heat. I would recommend the sliced jalapenos from the jar - dice those for something a little spicier.

Add jalapenos on top of the cream cheese.

I did 2 versions, one without cheddar and one with. Believe me, cheddar also makes everything better.






















We all agree, bacon just makes everything better. Cut one slice of bacon in half, lay the chicken with cream cheese and jalapenos on top of bacon, and roll the thing into a ball. Secure with a toothpick.

Get a skillet on medium to high heat. Add a love of butter and vegetable oil (about 2 tbs.) and get it poppin'!

Get your bites ready to go and fry them up in the pan, turning the pieces about every 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through and browned on top. The cheese will start to ooze out but don't worry, this is the goodness every master chef must be patient with.

I served this with a little ranch but having them plain is equally satisfying. Bring these to your next social gathering and I promise you won't have any leftovers!