With a personal goal to try new things and push the limits of my cooking, I found a fun inspiration. It seems that Ancient Fire Wines and I have something in common; neither one of us are big pasta eaters. Now that’s not to say we don’t like pasta; we just couldn’t eat it every day. Ancient Fire Wines wrote a blog called Light & Easy Pasta Bake, and it looked wonderful. Now, I didn’t have all the ingredients in the house to make Jason’s pasta dish so I started scheming my own. It is such a fun thing to be able to take a risk and try something new, especially with cooking. You know the flavors you like and usually have a general idea of what tastes good together. That’s when the magic happens: trying combinations you have never tried before and coming up with something tremendous.

Now, just like Jason’s, my wife loves, loves, loves pasta! It’s very funny to read his blog and find these commonalities. It’s also fun to note that every once in awhile we like to make our wives happy and cook a little pasta. This dish is, according to my personal critic (my wife), one of the best pasta dishes I have made to date. Her exact words were, “You can make this any time!” And you  know, when momma is happy, we’re all happy. It’s a simple dish I threw together with random ingredients, and then we devoured. I am learning a great lesson in cooking. You have to take the things that are not your favorite ingredients (in this case, pasta) and find a way to make them their own. I am not a fan of red tomato-based sauces (I prefer cream white sauces). Also, I am a carnivore by heart, so almost any dish that is loaded with meat, I can take it a long way. When you try this dish be prepared for an amazing delight.

Italian Sausage & Linguini

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 Box Pasta, uncooked

1 Small Onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Italian Sausage Links, casing removed

1 Cup Button Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 Cup Olives, chopped

1 1/2 Teaspoons Italian Dressing Seasoning Blend (I used Good Seasons brand)

1 Cup Half & Half

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 Green Onion, diced

3 Slices Tomato, diced

Directions

1. Cook linguini to directions on the box.
2. In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until lightly opaque on medium-high heat.
3. Crumble sausage and cook until no longer pink (about 5 to 7 minutes).
4. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 more minute.
5. Stir in olives, Italian dressing mix, and half & half.
6. Bring to a boil; then simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
7. Add tomatoes and mix in right before serving (you don’t want to cook them, just warm them up)
8. Serve and garnish with green onions and Parmesan.
9. Enjoy!

Fear is like a brick wall, an intimidating wall that can keep us from achieving our personals goals. This wall can keep us from making a simple dish or an extravagant meal.  To some, these fears can be seen as little and insignificant, but, to most, they are real. Most of the time it’s the thought of making a dish that has never been tried before or making someone sick that can cause fear to strike.  People have the fear of cutting themselves or cooking too much food. These can all be true fear but with a little help can easily overcome.

The definition of fear according to *Wikipedia.com is that “fear is a distressing emotion induced by a perceived threat.” By their definition, they are stating that fear is a fight or flight trigger. You either push forward or run away. I like this thought process because it truly gives you a high-altitude view of what’s happening.  When you approach the kitchen, you usually have a few thoughts run through your mind. The biggest question is, “What’s for Dinner?” followed quickly by, “What do I do with what I have on hand?” As you look at the kitchen, you can begin to formulate a game-plan over what you want to cook.  Your mind begins to move forward and putting together ingredients that you can use to make a meal.

Here is where (for most people) fears begin to creep in. Whatever their brick wall is starts working its way to the surface. If they have a fear of cutting themselves, the knife block can look intimidating.  If they have a fear of making somebody sick, all the bacterias come to mind.  Or if it’s a fear of making the big dish, they begin to rationalize the idea of time, components, ability, skill, training and any other number of things that goes with that thought process.

Here’s a cool thing. . .  these types of fears CAN be conquered.  How?  By doing what a famous movie says and taking baby steps. Here’s how you do it.  Step one: determine what fear you want to overcome.  Get a clear picture in your mind what you want to conquer. Step two: set a time-frame for when you want to conquer this fear.  Today, next week, whatever it is, set a time and date. Step three: write it down. Write down your goal, write down your objective, and write down your deadline.

I want to be able to grill perfect hamburgers by next Sunday.

And the final step is to take action. Do something that will help you conquer your fear.  If your fear is making a particular dish, sign up for class or find recipes and follow their detailed instructions. If your fear is you’re afraid of cutting yourself, go to a local knife store and have them teach you how to properly use a knife. If you don’t have a local knife store, check the local universities schools colleges and see if they have beginners cooking courses that teach knife skills. If your fear is making somebody sick, then invest in the proper tools like thermometers and temp gauges and study the different meat temperatures or contamination processes. Make yourself a scholar of these things.

See, when we step back and look at our particular fear and begin to analyze why we have this fear, we begin the process of conquering this fear. I often hear things like, “I don’t know where to begin”; “I don’t have the skill”; or, “I could never do that!”  These are all negative thought processes. Sometimes you’ve just got to be your own coach.  Be the guy in the corner of the ring yelling and motivating you. Yelling that you can do it. Be the guy that says,  “You’ve got to do this! Fight! You CAN do this!” Talking to yourself may sound silly, but you will be amazed at the change of attitude you’ll have of wanting to accomplish and conquer your fear. It can be that simple.  So here it is.

Determine what you want

Set a deadline

Write it down

Take action

All this makes you move forward toward accomplishing you goal. If you goals are big goals like cooking a 7-course meal, accompanied by paired wine. Then set little goals along the way. Set a goal of making the Hors d’œuvres first or taking a wine class. Your fear of the kitchen can be conquered if you will develop a plan and implement it. You can’t sit around just hoping it will go away; you have to do something about it.

* Fear. (2011, March 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:50, March 31, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fear&oldid=418781421

Life’s a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don’t worry about what you don’t know
Life’s a dance you learn as you go

The longer I live, the more I believe
You do have to give if you wanna receive
There’s a time to listen, a time to talk
And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face
Seen the long-shot win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door
Picked myself up and came back for more

Life’s a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don’t worry about what you don’t know
Life’s a dance you learn as you go

I love these lyrics from John Michael Montgomery song life’s a dance. Every time I learn something new or face a new challenge, this song pops in my head. Growing up on trucking music (old-style country), I love the songs that tell a story. Since I have been married, I have expanded my music tastes and listen to everything from Broadway to Metal. But it’s the songs that tell a story in any genre that really get to me. Songs can invoke feeling of joy, hate, love, passion, grief, guilt, and pure empowerment. Ever been in a situation where the right song comes on and you begin to sway and get a vibe-like feeling? You get ramped up and feel like you can take on the world, songs like “Eye of The Tiger” from the Rocky movies. If that song doesn’t get moving, please check your pulse!

The cool things about songs is they can evoke so much emotion that they can be a key to accomplishing your goals. Have an important meeting coming up? Try listening to “Eye of the Tiger” or Eminem’s song “Lose Your Self.” Have a morning where you can’t get moving?  Listen to “You Gotta Want I,” Roberta Gold, from Fame.  Have a day when you just want to throw in the towel and sulk? Go listen to “300 Violin Orchestra,” Jorge Quntero. The trick is finding that music that can inspire you. Like the song, “I Can Only Imagine,” look for the Team Hoyt video on Youtube.

When you need that boost, find your best song and jam in car or with an mp3 player. In a matter of a few minutes you can have a completely different experience than you were having.

Breakfast Rolls (Breakfast Sushi)

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 10 Inch Flour Tortillas

1 Cup Creamy Peanut butter

2 Tablespoons Cinnamon Sugar Mixture (1/2 Cup Sugar plus 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon)

4 tablespoons of Syrup (we like the butter flavor)

Directions

1. Warm tortillas for 30 seconds in the microwave or in a skillet over medium high heat (if using a skillet 30 seconds both side)
2. Spread 1/2 cup peanut butter on each tortilla
3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar on each peanut butter topped tortillas
4. Roll it up like a sushi roll and cut into bite size pieces
5. Put 2 tablespoons worth of syrup in a little cup or drizzle over the top
6. Enjoy!

It’s definitely Christmas shopping time. My wife and I are elbow to elbow with the rest of the crazy shoppers out there. We have found some really great deals, and I am excited for this Christmas Eve and and Christmas morning. We have a lot of traditions in our families when it comes to Christmas. For instance, my wife’s family always opens their presents Christmas Eve; where my family opens them Christmas morning. This has worked out brilliantly when you have to get to both households for Christmas. My family opens a “funny” gift on Christmas Eve, and my parents are very good at finding the funniest presents for each of us. This tradition started when as kids we would be so anxious for Christmas morning mom and dad would let us open 1 present on Christmas Eve. We would be so excited to open that present, only to discover that it would be something like a note that says Merry Christmas or the like on it. It was great fun and now we look forward to it every year. In my wife’s family, they lay the presents under the tree as soon as they are wrapped, which is also great because it’s a whole new level of decorations. You get to see Christmas morning every day in December. It’s the traditions and spending time with the family that make Christmas so remarkable.

I watched a special on the History channel about the history of Christmas and how we got a lot of our traditions. I recommend everyone watch it. It explains how the secular world intertwined with the religious world to give us the Christmas of today. Things like why it’s celebrated on the 25th of December and why we have a Christmas tree (thanks, Vikings!). Another cool thing I found out was about the song, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” Man, that’s a crazy song! You should really listen to the lyrics. Carolers would stand in front of your house singing, and, basically, would continue singing or (worse) invite themselves into your house until you brought them something to appease them, like figgy pudding. It was not a nice thing, as is always portrayed in Christmas movies. It’s the funny things like that, that I enjoyed finding out.

Our last tradition that I have now inherited from my wife (and I am curious if anyone else does this) is that our TV stays on the Hallmark Channel all the month of December. Every show is a Christmas show, and my wife can’t get enough. Some of the shows are very corny, but, I will have to admit, most of them are heart warmingly good. What Christmas traditions do you have?

Peach French Toast

Serves 2

Right now is my favorite time of year for the weather. You wake up to a cool morning in the mid-50s, and it usually doesn’t go above the high-70s for the day (actually, it was 88 yesterday!). This coming weekend is a family tradition my wife and I just love, First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Texas. This is the one event you can guarantee that my family will always be attending, year after year on Halloween weekend. It’s like a garage sale on steroids. Heck, it’s like a flea market on steroids. You can get crafts, collectibles, and the junk all put on about a bazillion acres and, and they serve the crazy fair food that we all love. We have been doing this trip for going on 10 years. The RVs come out, and we set out to shop like nobody’s business. This is where we start our Christmas shopping each year. It’s almost guaranteed that you will find something for everyone on your shopping list. It might be the latest gadget on the market or that unique, silly metal sculpture of a donkey you just can’t resist (ugly damn donkey, Mom!). It’s amazing the things you can see and the silly things you sometimes buy. My wife and I have bought tons of decorations out there for our home, because, oh yeah, it’s like Kirklands, Marshalls, Ross, Hobby Lobby and Michaels on steroids,as well. It’s is so much fun, like a mini vacation each year, where you know you’re gonna spend more money than you can afford. . . and every dime will be worth it!

If you plan to camp out there like we do, take some friendly advice. Plan on working the phones for a long time to reserve a spot. When the phone lines open up for the RV spots, my mom and dad, with two phones each, begin tackling the task of securing our spots. Through non-stop dialing and constant busy signals, it’s a frenzy to make sure you get a spot. In fact, it’s so crazy that this year we didn’t even make it to our normal camping spot. It sold out within 10 minutes, so we had to settle for a secondary spot. The second spot is not bad; it is just a little further from the grounds, so a little further to carry all your stuff. If you ever get a chance put Canton, Texas, on your radar for the weekend before the first Monday of each month. This is when the First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Texas, happens. Bring some money and comfortable shoes and prepare to shop like nobody’s business.

Today’s recipe is something I was having fun with. I got a little creative and tried to make and a little breakfast package. It worked well, and I decided that I will make some mini frittatas this way, as well. Test

Bacon-Wrapped Egg Cups

Serves 2

Ingredients

6 Strips Bacon

5 Eggs

Mexican Cheese Blend

Manly Housewife Seasoning

Milk

Cooking Spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side. You want the bacon to set up but not  be crispy.
3. Coat 4 muffin tins heavily with cooking spray.
4. Wrap bacon around the inside of the cup, 1 1/2 strips per cup.
5. Fill each cup with 1/4 of the egg mixture.
6. Top with cheese.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until egg is completely set.
8. Enjoy!

Ever had that day where you felt like punching something? We all have at some point or another. Psychologists say you should, of course, do something more productive, like smashing an ice cube against a wall or punching your pillow. I say the heck with that! Put your gloves on and duke it out in the kitchen with your oven mitts, that is. It’s amazing the calming effect cooking can have on a person. Think about it. You can chop your frustrations away on an onion and cry at the same time. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. I know I have pounded, I mean kneaded, some dough a time or two. Who needs ice cubes or pillows? Whip up some bread dough and beat it to submission.
In all seriousness, there have been times where frustration, anger, and lack of a stiff drink have brought about some of our best recipes. I think it has to do with the desire to remove yourself from the current state of mind and be someplace else. At that point, you can be anyone you want, like a famous TV or celebrity chef or just a different you. It’s times like these that we can almost reach into ourselves and find the missing ingredient to what were working on. Realizing a pinch of salt or a tad more garlic and you just turned that dish in to a 5-star restaurant showpiece. Having any sort of nonviolent outlet is great, especially if you can share it with someone. Best of all, laugh like Tracy Todd says in her blog “I have learned that the best medicine to ease any negative emotion and most especially frustration is humor.”

Grab some friends for laughs and a good Sangria

Sangria

Serves a Crowd

Ingredients

1 Bottle Inexpensive Sweet Red Wine
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Triple Sec
2 Large Oranges
1 Large Lemon
1 Can Lemon Lime Drink

Directions

1. Pour wine Into large pitcher (we use large, refillable refrigerator-style water jug)
2. Add sugar, Triple Sec, and the juice of one orange
3. Mix until all sugar dissolves
4. Slice remaining orange and lemon into disks, and add to pitcher
5. Add soda
6. Chill  and serve in glasses over ice
7. Enjoy!