Cooking, Main courses

Chicken Strips in Marinade

Chicken Strips in Marinade is a great topping for rice.

Gather the following ingredients:

Raw chicken cut into long strips
A salad dressing, something with lemon or raspberry

Large storage bag
Small glass pan

Optional:
Rice, Uncle Ben’s Chicken and Wild Rice is a good choice

Marinade and chicken ingredients, yep just two
Marinade and chicken ingredients, yep just two

Place the chicken strips into the storage bag and cover with the salad dressing. Allow this to marinade for 30 minutes.
– If it sits too long the acids in the dressing will breakdown the protein in the chicken and make it mushy. Do not let it sit longer than a few hours. 30 minutes to an hour is optimal.

Chicken strips in marinade
Chicken strips in marinade

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the chicken for 30 minutes.

Serve over rice if you like.

Video link to this recipe: Chicken and Dressing with Rice

Wine

HAHN Winery

HAHN Winery – Pinot Noir

HAHN Winery 2013 Pinot Noir
HAHN Winery 2013 Pinot Noir

This 2013 Pinot Noir is pretty good.

4/5 stars on the Linda Scale.

The following notes are short and tend to be quickly taken after a quick sampling in the evening.

HAHN Winery has a pleasant and fruity aroma.  The taste is smooth, with a slight spice to it, perhaps cherry.

It is an easy wine to drink.  After 2 glasses no issues I had no issues.  The next morning I still felt fine.  Overall, not a great wine, but ok.  A drinkable wine.

If this was all I had I would probably serve it to guests.  As a smooth drinkable wine with no ill effects it isn’t a bad choice.

Cooking, Main courses

Cheesy Hash Browns with Ham

A side dish or a main course, cheesy hash browns with ham.

Gather the following ingredients:

1 (32 ounce) package of frozen has brown potatoes
A cooked ham steak or cubed ham or frozen leftovers
2 cans condensed cream of potato soup
1 (16 oz.) container of sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar Chees
Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 large glass pan or 2 smaller glass pans
Huge bowl

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Break the frozen hash browns by dropping it onto cement or a hard floor. Do not body slam the package. It doesn’t end well.

Slice the ham into small cubes.

In an extreme large bowl mix the cream of potato soup, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and the ham. Mix in the frozen has browns.

Cheesy Ham and Potatoes, ready to be cooked.
Cheesy Ham and Potatoes, ready to be cooked.

Transfer the mixture into the glass pan or pans.

Top with the grated Parmesan cheese.
– Do not use shredded parmesan cheese for this. It will burn.

Bake for a full hour.

Wine

Pinot Evil

Pinot Evil

Pinot Evil: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
Pinot Evil: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

This Pinot Noir at a cost of $5.99 is a great Chile wine.

5/5 stars on the Linda Scale

The following notes are short and tend to be quickly taken after a quick sampling in the evening.

Pinot Evil is a great deal at the cost.  The bottle is clever which is often a bad sign, but this wine won me over.

It has a very delightful smell with hints of cherry.  Overall is was a great wine for drinking.  My notes to do gush over this wine, but for the price it is hard to pass on.

This is probably ok to serve at dinner, but more appropriate for a night of drinking than a fine dinner.

Cooking, Main courses

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork for sandwiches made in a Crock Pot.

Gather the following ingredients:

Pork shoulder or tenderloin
Rub – Find one you like or combine chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and red pepper
Apple Cider Vinegar
BBQ sauce

Crock Pot

Buns

Optional topping:
Coleslaw

Cover the pork with the rub liberally. Place the pork into the crock pot, fat side down.

Pour 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar onto the bottom of the Crock Pot.
– Dot not pour over the meat.

Cook for 6-7 hours on low.

Pulled Pork with BBQ sauce, just stir.
Pulled Pork with BBQ sauce, just stir.

When the pork is able to be pulled apart with two forks remove it from the Crock Pot. Dump out the vinegar. Replace the pork and shred the meat.

Cover with your favorite BBQ sauce, stir, and cook for another hour.
– Sweet BBQ sauces can burn, and become bitter, if cooked too long in the Crock Pot which is why you wait until the end to add it.

Place the pulled pork between 2 buns and eat.

Add coleslaw on top of the pulled pork if desired.

Wine

Sterling Vintner’s Collection

Sterling Vintner’s Collection – Pinot Noir

Sterling Vintner's Collection Pinot Noir 2012
Sterling Vintner’s Collection Pinot Noir 2012

This 2012 Pinot Noir at a cost of $12.99 was extremely good.

5/5 stars on the Linda Scale

The following notes are short and tend to be quickly taken after a quick sampling in the evening.

Sterling Vintner’s Collection is one of the best wines I think I have tried.  The reason I say this is as I look through my notes on this wine I clearly enjoyed it more and more throughout the night.  I returned to my notepad several times to indicate I thoroughly enjoyed this wine.

My initial comments indicate Sterling Vintner’s Collection has a very pleasant smell.  Upon tasting the wine I note it tastes delightful and not bitter.

The following notes are word for word out of my journal:  Seriously a great wine.  One of the best wines I have had in a long time.  Seriously good.

I would not hesitate to serve this wine to guests.

Cooking, Salads

Coleslaw

A simple salad, coleslaw.

Gather the following ingredients:

Cabbage
Carrots
Miracle Whip
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sugar

Miracle Whip, sugar, vinegar, cabbage, and carrots
Miracle Whip, sugar, vinegar, cabbage, and carrots

Slice or chop the cabbage and carrots in a vegetable slicer.
– I don’t have one either. I chop the cabbage with a knife, bigger ones work best. I slice the carrot with a potato peeler.

Add Miracle Whip to cover the cabbage and carrots. Mix in 1 tbls. vinegar and 1 tbls. sugar to 1 cup of Miracle Whip.
– In my experience increasing the vinegar and sugar when increasing the Miracle Whip is not always a good idea. Especially the vinegar.
– It can take a surprisingly large amount of Miracle Whip to cover the salad depending on how covered you like the vegetables.

Stir and you are finished. Put in the fridge to chill.

Serve as a simple side dish or add to the top of a sandwich.

DVD

Hackers, DVD

Hackers, 1995

This is a bit of a throwback at this point, but at the time Hackers was a very fun and exciting movie.  A bit of a fight the system movie.  A young man is banned from using a computer until his 18th birthday because one of his previous hacks crashed the stock exchange by 7 points.  Back online he meets new friends to compete on more and more high end hacks.  They stumble upon a computer virus designed to steal and cause chaos and only they can help their friends from going down for the virus.

This film has excitement and is very fast pace.  This film is the embodiment of all true hackers, the good ones, not the lame ones.

4/5 for this one.  I highly suggest watching it if you come across it.  Just keep in mind it is from the ’90s.

For more information go to IMDB.

Hackers sketch
Hackers sketch
DVD

Gone in 60 Seconds, DVD

Gone in 60 Seconds, 2000

Eleanor, oh Eleanor, do you come in orange?

This film is great!  It has action, hot cars, excitement, and feeling.  Nicolas Cage plays Randall a legendary car booster that comes out of retirement to save his brother.  Angelina Jolie plays the love interest, but she is secondary to these beautiful, fast cars.

The excitement is multiplied by the deadline:  50 cars in 3 days, with a 1 night boost, impossible, or is it.

Yes, watch this movie.

5/5 for a great story, a believable love story, a ton of gorgeous cars, a great cast, a reason to care, and a great ending.

To find out more go to IMDB.

Gone in 60 Seconds sketch
Gone in 60 Seconds sketch
DVD

The Invisible, DVD

The Invisible, 2007

A young man, Nick Powell, is beaten and left for dead.  He is left in a limbo and only Annie can hear him.  We watch these two try to solve his murder and possibly save his life.

It is a strange premise.  It also it a lie.  The invisible is about a kid who is invisible in life and in near death.  You know you should care about him, but what about him is worth missing?  Is he alive or is he dead, who cares?  And Anne, sigh, oh Anne, wow, not sure what to say about her.

This is well filmed, but dull.  The premise is kind of interesting.  There is nothing good about this film, but at the same time nothing all that bad.  I just really wish it made me care more.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this, but it makes pretty good background noise.

I would give this a simple 3/5.

To find out more go to IMDB.

The Invisible sketch
The Invisible sketch