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Whew, I Made It to 2011!

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Jan 032011
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I really wasn’t sure that I would after the year that we have had around here. It was the year of breakage apparently.

The washer, the dryer, the vacuum, the stove, my computer and well…the list just keeps going (I kept wondering if I was going to be next). The year 2010 ended with a BIG bang when our heat went out at some point really early on Friday morning. Lucky for us we have a wonderful friend who specializes in Heat and Air issues. Unlucky for us we live in HickTown and Friday was a Holiday. Meaning, there was no place open to get any parts and everything had to wait until Monday. It hasn’t been too bad, the weather was relatively mild all weekend until last night when it got down into the low 20′s. We are also really lucky in the fact that we have a fireplace. We didn’t have a lot of wood on hand though which will be remedied as soon as I can order a load because after almost starting a war over 10 pieces of wood I never want to have to rely on anyone again, plus the guy that sells wood around these parts is pretty easy on the eyes! In other news, if you ever hear of an arsonist in HickTown you can rule me out. I have found out that I can not get the fire going nor can I keep it going.

So, without any regret…I say GOODBYE! to 2010. I am in no way sorry to see that year go. It was a hard year in many different ways and I think it had a very profound effect on everyone I know.

Hello 2011! Oh 2011, I hope that you have wonderful things in store for each and every one of us!

I really don’t make resolutions but I do hope to change a few things in my life this year. One of the main ones being my sleep habits. But for now I am going to raid one of the medicine cabinets and find something for this busting headache and curl up on the couch with my snuggie and all the dogs. And in case you ever need to know…dogs make great heaters!

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 4:26 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

George Foreman Smart Kitchen Multi-Cooker

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Dec 262010
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George Foreman Logo

George Foreman® was behind the industry that pioneered indoor grills that Knock Out the Fat™ and is doing it again with a line of revolutionary products to help consumers cook more healthfully. In July 2010, George Foreman® introduced the Smart Kitchen™ Multicooker!  The Smart Kitchen Multi-cooker looks a little like a rice cooker but is soooo much more! The 26-cup multi-cooker can sear and cook meat, stews and sauces, steams veggies and yes, it also cooks rice. That’s right, it cooks a multitude of things in many different ways.

Once your done cooking you can even serve directly from the cooker by removing it from the base…or you can of course transfer the food to a bowl if that is your preference. Either way, it works great. And, one of the great features of the Multi-Cooker is all of the different cooking options. The Intelli_Probe digital controls offer some presets for rice or steam plus variable temperature settings for searing, sauces, stews and more. That means that you can sear your meat and then chance the setting for a soup or stew all in one pot. Whew, that makes for a lot less dishes to wash and because the Smart Kitchen™ Multicooker is made with the George Tough™ nonstick coating, clean up is a breeze.  The accessories are all dishwasher safe  which I love!
It is offered for a retail price of  $79.99 but I have seen it on sale at a couple of online retailers. I think the George Foreman site even had it offered for half price! That makes it versatile AND affordable!

Smart Kitchen™ Multicooker

FEATURES

  • Easy-to-use one-touch digital Intelli-Probe™ controls has settings to make rice and steam vegetables as well as variable settings up to 500°F for stews, soups and sauces. The Smart Kitchen™ also includes a “Sear” button for meats, making it even easier to prepare a healthy meal in minutes.
  • George Tough™ nonstick coating for oil-free cooking. Also great for easy cleaning.
  • Kitchen-to-table removable pan allows consumers to cook and serve in one dish.
  • Tempered glass lid with adjustable steam vent for monitoring cooking progress and controlling steam.
  • Die-Cast Aluminum (5 quarts/26 cups).

Please stop by George Foreman Healthy Cooking and check out all their Products and Recipes

“I received the George Foreman Smart Kitchen Multi-Cooker as part of a campaign through Family Review Network to thank me for this post. All opinions are those of my own and were in no way influenced by any outside source. I was in no other way compensated.”

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 3:07 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ramblings of an ovenless household

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Aug 142010
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It has been interesting cooking without an oven to say the least. Planning every meal around only using the stove top and the crockpot has required some creative thinking at times. I really haven’t ever thought about just how much I use my oven…but I can guarantee that I will never take it for granted again.

Not thinking, I went and bought specific ingredients to make a recipe to share with all of you. I went to two separate grocery stores looking for one of the ingredients. I get home and start to put everything together…and then remembered that I can’t cook it. My oven doesn’t work. DUH Jyl!

So, I will be spending today looking for the part that we think we need to fix the oven. I do know that I have to order it because no one locally or in the surrounding areas carries the part that I need. It is at times like this that I could almost hate living in the country. Almost I said…the concrete jungle is no place for me.

Today, Tate is attending a karate tournament in Tennessee, he asked that I not go. He likes having that little bit of independence going on his own with the instructors from his studio. I was a little bit relieved that I didn’t have to make the long drive and spend the day sitting on the bleachers after wrenching my back several days ago. I am finally able to walk ALMOST straight again but I know that if I went I would be walking crooked once again. I just hope he tries hard, does his best and comes home with a first place trophy. He has been working really hard lately to attain that goal. He has several second, third and fourths but that first has been elusive so far.

Erin will be playing Park Ranger today. She starts back to college on Monday…she and I have both decided that this was the shortest summer ever. It just seems like it has flown by and we haven’t gotten everything done that we wanted to do. She has loved her job with the US Army Corps of Engineers and I am so grateful that she has been able to have the experience. I think her favorite part of her job has been being able to give people tickets.

All that to say…I am going to be home ALONE today!! WooHoo, that is a very rare occurrence, but since Bric also has some things to do it is going to happen today. Now I just have to decide how I am going to totally waste all of that time. And yes, I am seriously going to waste every minute of it doing whatever I want to do without being disturbed!

I hope you have a FABULOUS weekend!!

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 4:59 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I Give Up!

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Aug 052010
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This has been the craziest few weeks for me. Not only have we been busy, busy, busy but apparently someone has put some kind of bad juju hex on me. My dryer has been on the fritz off and on all year. We have had it repaired several times and now, once again…it is not working correctly. I am thankful that it is still working a little bit because not only did it decide to lay down and wheeze (it hasn’t completely died yet) but my vacuum cleaner decided that it hates us. It decided that it wanted to blow back all the stuff it has to pick up after us and make a really stinky smell that filled the house as a reminder to us that it is in charge.

Now, if that wasn’t enough…I was in the middle of cooking supper a couple of nights ago and my oven decided that it was tired of us as well. It laid down and completely died, it decided that it wasn’t going to limp along the least little bit, it had had enough, it was done.

Today, I was trying to retrieve a text message so that I could answer it and now my phone isn’t working. I can make and receive calls, but no texting for me. Then, as I was walking through the kitchen I looked over at my little window box that holds all my herbs and they had all died.

So, you see…I have some bad mojo, juju, whatever you want to call it going on around here. It isn’t like my appliances are old, none of them are over 4 years old…that is what is so sad. But of course they are all out of warranty. And as far as window boxes go, well apparently I need to put them where I will remember to water them. And that phone that isn’t even 3 months old…it makes me want to curse.

I will take full responsibility for the death of the plants in the window boxes planters, but as for the rest of it I am blaming someone else. I just can’t face the fact that might luck might just be that bad all on it’s on. So, whoever sent all the bad karma my way…PLEASE take it back.

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 12:03 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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