Italian Soup... with Sausage and Zuccini. Otherwise known as "Sid Soup"

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs hot italian ground sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
28 oz stewed or diced tomatoes
3 cans beef consume or beef stock
1.5 C water
1/2 tsp basil
2 medium zuccini, cut in half, then sliced
2-3 C dry pasta (bowtie, macaroni, shells, whatever you prefer)
2 tsp sugar
parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:

1. Brown sausage in the bottom of a large pan with a little olive oil.
2. Add diced onion and garlic and sautee for 2 minutes or until onions begin to turn clear.
3. Add water, tomatoes, beef stock/consume and basil to the large pot, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer on medium/high heat. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Add zuccini, dry pasta, and sugar to the large pot, and simmer, covered, for an additional 25-30 minutes (until pasta is cooked through but not mushy).

Garnish with parmesan cheese (cilantro also tastes pretty good on this soup).

Should make around 4-6 servings. And the leftovers are SOOO good.

Chicken n' Sausage Gumbo, Yum Yum!
Lots of you asked... so here it is. Oh and according to Calorie Count, this is around 450 calories per serving, even with the rice. Feel free to check my math, though. :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs chicken, cubed
1 lb hot louisiana link sausage, sliced
4 C chicken stock
3 tbs olive oil
1/4 cu flour
1 med onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 C sliced okra (fresh or frozen)
28 oz tomatoes (diced, stewed or both)
3/4 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste
3-4 C rice (brown or white) depending on how soupy or thick you prefer the gumbo

Directions:

1. Brown the sliced link sausage in a a pan with a little olive oil on medium/high heat. If the sausage is not pre-cooked, make sure it's cooked through, otherwise just heat it through.
2. Combine chicken stock, chicken, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, & worchestershire sauce to a large pot, simmer on medium heat.
3. Add the sausage to the large pot once browned on both sides.
4. Add 2 tbs olive oil to the sausage pan, keeping the sausage juices and olive oil that's already in there. Add a few tbs flour to the oils and stir on low heat to create a roux. The roux should be a pasty consistency, add more flour/oil until it looks right to you. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery to the pan, and stir on low heat until all the veggies are covered with the roux.
5. Combine the vegetables with the other ingredients in the large pot. Cover and cook on medium heat for 30-45 minutes. (You should start your rice in the rice cooker now, if that's your method of choice).
6. Add the okra and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until heated through.
7. Add tobasco/hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over 1/2 cup of rice.

Makes around 6-8 servings, depending on how big your bowl is. :)

We’re all born to broken people on their most honest day of living
and since that first breath... We’ll need grace that we’ve never given
I've been haunted by standard red devils and white ghosts
and it's not only when these eyes are closed
these lies are ropes that I tie down in my stomach,
but they hold this ship together tossed like leaves in this weather
and my dreams are sails that I point towards my true north,
stretched thin over my rib bones, and pray that it gets better
but it won’t won’t, at least I don’t believe it will...
so I've built a wooden heart inside this iron ship,
to sail these blood red seas and find your coasts.
don’t let these waves wash away your hopes
this war-ship is sinking, and I still believe in anchors
pulling fist fulls of rotten wood from my heart, I still believe in saviors
but I know that we are all made out of shipwrecks, every single board
washed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shores
so come on and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

I am the barely living son of a woman and man who barely made it
but we’re making it taped together on borrowed crutches and new starts
we all have the same holes in our hearts...
everything falls apart at the exact same time
that it all comes together perfectly for the next step
but my fear is this prison... that I keep locked below the main deck
I keep a key under my pillow, it’s quiet and it’s hidden
and my hopes are weapons that I’m still learning how to use right
but they’re heavy and I’m awkward...always running out of fight
so I’ve carved a wooden heart, put it in this sinking ship
hoping it would help me float for just a few more weeks
because I am made out of shipwrecks, every twisted beam
lost and found like you and me scattered out on the sea
so come on let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, just some tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

My throat it still tastes like house fire and salt water
I wear this tide like loose skin, rock me to sea
if we hold on tight we’ll hold each other together
and not just be some fools rushing to die in our sleep
all these machines will rust I promise, but we'll still be electric
shocking each other back to life
Your hand in mine, my fingers in your veins connected
our bones grown together inside
our hands entwined, your fingers in my veins braided
our spines grown stronger in time
because are church is made out of shipwrecks
from every hull these rocks have claimed
but we pick ourselves up, and try and grow better through the change
so come on yall and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, were just tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

iamlistener.com

I know what you're thinking... no posts for 6 months and then two in one day, is she crazy? Turns out I'm just lazy. In any case, here's another great inspirational site to make it up to you:

http://bookcoverarchive.com/

Chicken, Rice, Broccoli & Cheese Casserole (The Ultimate Comfort Dinner)
15 min prep. + 30 min cook time

Ingredients

• 1 package of fresh or frozen broccoli (approx. 12-16 oz.)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2-3 cups of cooked white rice (less rice for a soupier casserole)
• 1 lb. chicken breasts (can use canned if you are short on time)
• 8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 inch thick slice of Velveeta Cheese, cubed (I have no idea how much this is in ounces)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of french's fried onions (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1/2 inch pieces, cook over medium heat. I used poultry seasoning and olive oil for flavor. Set chicken aside in a large bowl when cooked through.
3. Use the same pan to cook the onions a little over low heat, add 1/2 cup of water and broccoli. Cover and steam until cooked to your preference (I like mine somewhat crispy so it doesn't turn to mush in the oven). Drain and transfer the broccoli and onions to the bowl with the chicken.
4. In the bowl, add milk, butter, cream of mushroom & cream of chicken soups, shredded cheese and Velveeta cubes. Fold in the cooked rice and mix the ingredients together.
5. Transfer the mixture from the bowl to a 9x13" baking dish, and cook uncovered in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
6. Optional: sprinkle the French's Fried Onions over the top of the casserole and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes (until crispy and golden-brown).

You can pretty much combine the ingredients in whatever way you find easiest. I've found adding the cheese to the still warm chicken and broccoli helped things melt together a bit before putting it in the oven (aka- no giant chunks of unmixed cheese in your casserole).

Enjoy, and let me know if you try this out!

(Adapted from this recipe via Allrecipes.com)

Breaded Pork Chops Stuffed with Gruyere and Asparagus

I would like to start by saying I had never cooked pork before, or asparagus... or used gruyere cheese. I had also never used Shake n' Bake (but I know it tastes delicious).

Ingredients:

• 2 pork chops. I used Costco style pork chops and these suckers were about 1 inch thick. Good grief they were cheap and tasty.
• 1 "bunch" of asparagus. I probably would have only bought 3 asparagus spears but Albertson's only sold them in a 25 pack. (Hence they also became a side dish).
• 1 gruyere cheese wedge. Well, really you need maybe an ounce of cheese. It's super expensive but soooo worth it.
• Shake n' Bake. You know, generic brand pork coating. Yum yum. (Also helped me figure out how long to cook the pork).
• Something like bread to go with it. Go ahead, you deserve a treat.

Cookin':

1. Get out the chops & preheat the oven to 425.
2. Chop up about 3 asparagus spears and a few little strips of cheese and set aside. Add more if you want 'em full, add less if that scares you.
3. Cut through the fatty edge of the pork chop with a sharp knife, creating a pocket for your treasures.
4. Coat the pork in a little water so the Shake n' Bake sticks.
5. Toss each chop in the Shake n' Bake (best to follow the directions on the box for this step).
6. Place your coated chops on an ungreased baking pan. Aluminum foil underneath is optional (I used a non-stick pan).
7. Stuff the chops.
8. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Mine had a tiny bit of pink in the very middle, but I'm still alive and they tasted amazing and moist. I did google "When is my pork cooked", and called my mom, just to make sure. Next time I might add another 2 minutes to the cook time.

In the words of Kurt Kroon, "I don't want to toot my own horn, but... beep beep." These are frickin' amazing. I can't believe this non-existant recipe worked the first time I attempted it. Much better than my terrible cell-phone-photography conveys.

Please tell me if you try it! Also post your ideas for recipes I should try. Think "healthy-ish comfort food".

When most of the fonts you download come from dafont.com, finding free professional fonts for download is a little like Christmas. Consider this a late Christmas present from me to you (or rather, from the people at 26plus).

1. Visit this website: http://26plus-zeichen.de 
2. Learn German. Just kidding, you don't have to.
3. Visit the following font pages: Plus, Sega, Melbourne, Superficial, Real Origami, Acid, Say it Fat, Singula, Fracmetrica Black, Edelsans
4. Download and Enjoy!