Picking a peck of peppers

We've cooked a variety of pepper dishes recently, thanks in part to our Sam's Club that sells a combo pack of six (two yellow, two red and two orange) for around $7, a great deal! They are pretty to look at, and I like the flavor a bit more than green peppers.

After making fajitas a couple of times, we decided to make some stuffed peppers. I remember my mom making delicious stuffed peppers filled with rice, tomatoes and hamburger meat. I added a new twist by adding corn, black beans, and tomatoes to the dish below. Another idea came from the back of a jambalaya box. I made the jambalaya with sausage meat and rice like I usually do, and then I stuffed the peppers with the jambalaya. Yummy!

The last recipe I made was Paula Dean's brunch stuffed peppers on Father's Day. I substituted turkey sausage for the bacon and used green peppers. Using green and red would make a nice Christmas brunch dish, and yellow and orange would be nice for Easter.

The peppers are easy to make, and there are plenty of leftovers that heat up nicely for a second meal. How many pecks of peppers can you pick?

In the blink of an eye...

Even though he looks so sweet and innocent above, we had a scare this morning with Cash. Sammie and Cash love being out on the back porch, and since it's been so hot recently, I only let them out in the early mornings. Sammie likes to clean herself while sitting on one of the chairs, and Cash enjoys watching the birds.

I check on them every few minutes or so just to make sure Sammie isn't walking on the railing and Cash is keeping his front paws inside. After making Herman bread, I looked out and couldn't see Cash. He likes to "hide" on the other side of an old orange desk that faces the bird feeders. I went and looked out our bedroom window and could see him more than halfway out. I called David, but it was too late.

Cash jumped down onto the ground. David immediately ran outside, and I was trying to coax Cash not to run down the hill or around the house. He sat on the ground happily eating grass, but got a little scared when David came around the corner and started to run under the porch. Luckily, David was able to grab him and lift him up so I could take him. David and Cash had clay all over their feet/paws.

Our neighbor cat Darwin had been under the porch since he has a bell around his neck that David heard, and Cash decided to jump down and defend his territory. Darwin ran to the front of the house and crossed the road, and I'm so thankful Cash didn't follow him. I've now realized that Cash is willing and able to jump down, so his time outside will be extremely limited. He doesn't have front claws, so it would be impossible for him to climb back up. I hate even thinking about what could have happened if I had waited a few more minutes to check on them.

This scare comes a day after he went into the garage while the garage door was up. We had returned home from grocery shopping and were unloading when he opened the cracked door to the garage and went out. David yelled at him, and he ran under the car. We were able to get him back in quickly, but after this morning's incident, I think it's time to take cat naps inside the house. My Crazy Cash!

Where did May (and the first week in June) go?

I know I haven't blogged in more than a month, and I'm sorry if the five or so of you who actually read my blog have missed my random ramblings. I haven't been motivated or inspired to write about anything.

So here's a brief update. I finished teaching at the beginning of May, and while I usually teach during the summer, I'm not this year. The additional salary would be very nice, but teaching every day for an hour and a half is time consuming, and I have a dissertation to write.

My brother Jason and sister-in-law Kristen visited us at the end of May. It was great to see them. They had been to Nashville and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg on their last child-free vacation for a while and stopped at our house on the way home. Kristen is due in mid-September with their first child, a boy they plan to name Judson. It's a name Kristen found when reading about Adoniram Judson, Jr., a missionary from the United States who was the first Protestant sent to preach in Burma in the 1800s. His work led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America. For some reason, they decided to go with his last name and not his first. :) I doubt he'd ever find Adoniram on a key chain.

We made an overnight trip to Asheville, North Carolina for the wedding of my graduate school colleague Angela. It was intimate and beautiful. I didn't take a lot of photos, but here's one of the yummy cake. The bride was beautiful. Congrats Angela and Greg!

We also had a great drive through the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. On the way back, we stopped and ate lunch at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg. It was the Sunday before Memorial Day, so it was very crowded, but we managed to find a parking spot and enjoy the delicious Dutch Diplomat and French Royale sandwiches.

It's been hotter than usual in East Tennessee, and we've already experienced some highs in the 90s. I'm hoping for a cool down very soon. Sammie and Cash still want to go outside on the back porch even in the heat. Sammie enjoys a cool drink of water when she comes in, and my latest trick is putting ice cubes in the water container. They like to "chase" them with their paws and seem confused when they melt so quickly.

Cash is still a bit on the crazy side, but we love him. He loves to lay on his back, with all four paws in the air and demand to be petted and loved. He'll stay in this position for a while until one of his humans comes along and caters to him.

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Dolly left us. We miss her and think about her often, but we know she's in a better place, and Sammie and Cash do a great job of loving us.

Survival of the fittest

We have a new cat who likes to call our back porch home. Darwin doesn't belong to us, but that doesn't stop him from jumping up and sleeping in the sun or taking shelter from the rain.

He wears a collar around his neck with his name and phone number on it. When he first showed up a few weeks ago, I called the number, and a young man, who lives several houses down our street, came and picked him up. He told me that Darwin sometimes gets out, and he was about to go look for him. Well, "sometimes" must mean every day. If Darwin isn't on our back porch, he is often sitting on the grassy hill down below. He's a very loving cat, and yes, he looks somewhat like Dolly.

I don't mind his visits except Sammie and Cash like to go outside and sun themselves. I don't want all of them out there together since Darwin has front claws, and I don't know his medical history. Cats can catch diseases from other cats, and I also don't want them to start a hissing contest.

It's as if Darwin knows how much I love cats and have a soft spot for them. I'm glad he enjoys the outdoors, but I worry when I don't see him for a few days.

In other cat news, my "brother" cat who belong to my parents has a new look since his hair was so matted and tangled.

My dad took Tiger to his annual check-up this week, and they recommended that he go hairless for a while. The vet tech called it the "lion look," and while he doesn't look like Tiger, it will hopefully allow the hair to grow back into a nice, shiny, clean coat.

I think my mom is still in shock about how her "son" looks. He's still a cutie though—just look at that bushy tail!

Salad time

During the spring and summer months, I enjoy making salads even more than usual. One of my favorite salads is a layered salad that my mom also makes. Not only is it pretty to look at, but delicious to eat.

I sent the recipe to David's cousin who has been working on a family cook book. I had forgotten what recipe I sent to her last year, but as soon as I saw it in the book, I knew the layered salad would be on last week's dinner menu. Yummy!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make it.

Layered Salad
In a clear trifle bowl layer the following ingredients starting at the bottom:
1/2 bowl of lettuce (about a whole lead of lettuce should work)
Purple cabbage (a small head will work)
1/2 cup green peppers
1/2 cup onion
Small can of peas (drained)

Combine a pint of mayo (regular or low fat) and dry original Ranch mix. Spread this mixture on top of the layer of peas.

Sprinkle on graded sharp cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and bacon bits.

Let sit overnight in fridge. While it's pretty to look at, you'll need to mix it before serving in order to distribute all the ingredients. This salad is best eaten within one day since the dressing can make it soggy. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Sara!

This post is about a week late since Sara celebrated her fifth birthday April 17, and we had the honor of attending her party at a kids inflated play zone area in Knoxville called Pump it Up.

If you don't remember who Sara and her wonderful family are, I was in the room when her younger brother Aljosha was delivered more than two years ago, and I was a witness at her parent's wedding last year.

Sara (in the blurred photo above due to her constant motion) speaks perfect English and loves being a five-year-old. The kids loved every minute of climbing, sliding, jumping and running. After about an hour and a half of playing, they went into another room to eat cake and open presents. Aljosha has grown into a little man who is determined to keep up with his big sister.

It's so cute to watch kids and their innocence at that age. As each child left with a goodie bag from Sara, they all hugged her. Sara had hugged each of them after opening their presents. One little girl told Sarah, "I love you Sara. You're the best friend a girl could ask for in the whole world." I agree.

Sara gave me a goodie bag as well, and Cash enjoyed trying on his new sunglasses for the summer season.

Elvis Lives!

After listening to the "American Idol" contestants sing Elvis songs last night, I decided to write about the Elvis living in our house, our snail. He might not look that impressive in the photo above, but he is HUGE. We purchased him the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when David's dad was visiting and decided to name him Elvis since he has a blue shell, and I'd heard Elvis singing "Blue Christmas" on the radio that week.

We've lost quite a few fish since then, and there are only about five left in the tank, but Elvis is going strong. He is the largest snail we've ever had in the tank.

Cash loves the fish, but he LOVES their food more. Every night when David feeds his "brothers," Cash is right there waiting on his appetizer. What's interesting is that Sammie didn't pay any attention to the fish until Cash arrived and started looking at them and swatting the outside of the tank. Now, it's her morning ritual to spend about 20 minutes gazing at them and trying to figure out a way to catch her breakfast. We're trying to teach them it's not a good idea to eat their siblings as a snack.

Did you get the joke?

I realize I'm late in posting a follow-up to my former post about the left-handed whopper at Burger King. I think most of you realized it was an April Fool's joke...a joke, however, from 1998. Burger King actually sent a press release to media outlets around the country and took out a full page ad in USA Today, announcing the new left-handed whopper.

I was working at WUFT-FM in Gainesville as the local host for the "Morning Edition" show. I checked the fax machine around 4 a.m. and saw this press release. I admit I was intrigued by the headline and lead sentence claiming Burger King had introduced a left-handed Whopper since I am left-handed. For a minute, I believed it, but then I realized it was April 1, and it had to be a joke.

Many people fell for the joke, and even went to Burger Kings around the country and asked for the left-handed whopper. Some who had seen the announcement ordered a "right-handed" or "normal" whopper.

I decided to reuse the press release 12 years later and see if an old joke can create new laughs. I recreated the press release and had both sections of my classes turn it into a news story. About halfway through each class, someone finally asked, "Is this real?" After some discussion, I told them about the original press release. I also mentioned how in 1996, Taco Bell announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania and had plans to remain it the Taco Liberty Bell.

About half an hour after one of my classes, I received an e-mail from one of my students who wrote, "Okay, I had to admit and thought you would find humor in this, but I just stopped by BK and bought a Whopper," and he's not even left-handed! :)

It's a great day for left-handers!

I just found out that Burger King has introduced the left-handed Whopper! I'm more of a Whopper Jr. fan, but it's still great that Burger King has embraced all of us south paws with this invention.

According to a press release from Burger King....

"America's most preferred premium hamburger will feature the trademark build of lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup and 4-ounce flame broiled hamburger patty, but the newly designed sandwich has been re-engineered to fit more comfortably in the left hand, thereby reducing condiment 'spills' for left-handed hamburger lovers. It is estimated that more than 1.4 million left-handed customers visit U.S. Burger King® restaurants each day.

The new left-handed sandwich will have all condiments rotated 180 degrees, thereby redistributing the weight of the sandwich so that the bulk of the condiments will skew to the left, thereby reducing the amount of lettuce and other toppings from spilling out the right side of the burger.

'We have always been proud of the fact that we offered 1,024 ways to order our flagship WHOPPER® sandwich. Now we are offering 1,025 ways. It's the ultimate 'HAVE IT YOUR WAY'® for our left-handed customers,' said Jim Watkins, senior vice president for marketing for Burger King Corporation.

It is estimated that approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population (or 42.5 million people) is left-handed, making this consumer group one of the largest--and one of the most over-looked--minority segments in the country."

Wow, I can't wait to try one. I think I know what's for dinner tonight!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope the luck of the Irish has been with you today, and may you find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The above photo is Sammie with her St. Pat's hat a few years ago. I think she and Cash are glad we didn't pull them out again this year.

Sadly, I didn't see any leprechauns today. However, I can remember a time when I was absolutely positive one had visited my kindergarten classroom. When we returned from recess, there was a piece of candy on the floor under each of our desk chairs. Our teacher, Mrs. Zedalis, told us a leprechaun put it there since she was in a meeting down the hall. And besides, if she had done it, the candy would be on our desks, and not on the floor, where the leprechaun would have left it because of his small size.

I can remember feeling so excited and wanting to see and meet a leprechaun so desperately, just like I always have wanted to meet Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Hmmm. I wonder if they have e-mail address and Facebook and Twitter accounts. A (little) girl can dream, can't she?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Take a listen to the 1982 World's Fair music

The 1982 Wold's Fair was in Knoxville, and after living here for four years, I can tell just how proud this city is to have hosted the event, and it should be. I remember my grandparents traveled from Florida to attend the fair, and they brought me a World's Fair teddy bear that I still have.

The fair went from May through October, and more than 11 million people came to Knoxville for the "Energy Turns the World" themed event.

A friend recently posted a link to the official songs of the fair. They are great to listen to since they were written and recorded in the early 1980s. You just have to listen: http://www.expomuseum.com/1982/audio/index.htm and make sure you click on the youtube video clip above for a World's Fair commercial. It's definitely a piece of nostalgia for those who grew up in Knoxville or attended the fair. Enjoy!

Sunny Spring Break...for now

It's been great weather in East Tennessee recently, with highs in the 60s and sunshine! Sammie and Cash are thrilled about the weather, and they love sunning themselves on our back porch.

The sunshine is short-lived since clouds have already formed again, and rain is expected tonight and into the weekend. At least I won't feel bad about staying indoors to work on my dissertation and grading. Spring Break doesn't exist for graduate students.

Gimme that Filet-O-Fish

Have you noticed that during Lent a lot of restaurants promote their fish entrees? McDonald's has the Filet-O-Fish on its menu year round, but the company advertises it extensively during Lent since the special is two fish sandwiches for $3 (and the special ends April 4, which is Easter). Last year's commercial with the singing fish on the wall was a hit, and it's back again this year in another form.



We had Filet-O-Fish sandwiches yesterday for lunch, and even though we could easily make them at home, there's something about getting one from McDonald's. The advertising works on us during Lent.

I've noticed that Arby's and Wendy's also have fish sandwiches right now for a limited time, but they are more expensive. Even if the fish is a better cut and larger, I think we'll stick with the Filet-O-Fish for tradition's sake.

Gunshots fired

It's been a week since a rather disturbing incident happened in our neighborhood, and it's one I won't soon forget.

I was sitting at our kitchen table working on my dissertation, where I could see the road down below that is the entrance to our subdivision. I heard a noise that sounded like a car backfiring, but I didn't think much about it. A few minutes later, and I'm not sure how many minutes exactly, I noticed two Knox County Sheriff's deputies pull into our neighborhood with their sirens blaring. They pulled over at the end of the first intersection and were clearly in a hurry to get out of their cars.

I called David into the kitchen and we watched as more deputies drove in, and we could tell something wasn't right. We used our binoculars to see better since we live a ways up the hill. We could see deputies running, and getting larger guns out of their trunks, but we still couldn't see what or who they were going after. Then we heard a series of gunshots...not just a few but at least 10 or more. I can remember asking David during the gunshots, what in the world could be happening? We could only see the deputies running, but we never saw who or what they were shooting at during this period.

By this point, more sheriff's deputies were driving into the neighborhood, and next came an ambulance and firetruck. We didn't know what was happening, but it was obvious someone had been shot. After a few minutes, knoxnews.com posted a very brief story online about deputies firing shots at a West Knoxville man who was threatening to commit suicide.

During the next few hours, more official cars arrived along with satellite trucks from the three local TV stations in Knoxville. There were around 15 deputy cars and other SUVs with flashing lights. It was surreal to see this happening, and the photo above doesn't quite capture all the traffic and uncertainty about the events. Initial reports said a man was trying to break into a house and then threatened suicide and a call to 911 was placed.

I was surprised that a couple of the local TV stations didn't add this information to their web sites as quickly as they should since they could easily confirm the information with the sheriff's office. It took one station more than two hours to post any story about the shooting. As a journalism educator, I'm constantly telling my students that the web is driving news. People go online to get their news first, and if it's not there, they go to another site, which is what I did.

You can read more about what happened at www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/feb/25/three-deputies-involved-in-fatal-shooting and a follow-up story at
www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/mar/01/3-knox-deputies-fatal-shooting-back-work/. To summarize, a woman called 911 to say her husband was suicidal, and she was afraid for her life. She stayed on the phone with 911 until deputies arrived. Deputies met the man outside, and he started firing, so they fired back. He later died at UT Medical Center.

While I didn't know this family personally, we see their company trucks coming in and out of the neighborhood on a daily basis. When we go on walks, we've seen them washing those trucks, so it's hard and sad to believe that a life was lost.

I realize this is a personal family matter, and I don't need to know why this man acted the way he did. His wife is a widow now, and his family is without him. It's just another example that shows how quickly life can change in a matter of seconds.

Brother and Sister Secrets

Even though Sammie and Cash still run around and chase each other at times (and it's usually Cash chasing Sammie!), they do enjoy each other's company.

I took these photos a few days ago while they sat together.

In this one, it looks as if Sammie is telling Cash a secret. In reality, she's just sniffing the side of his face and ear, but it's still fun to pretend they are actually sharing secrets.

 

Cash is returning a secret whisper in this one.

Speaking of secrets between a brother and sister, I have one. I'm going to be an aunt in September! My brother and his wife have let their special secret out about having a baby. Congratulations Jason and Kristen! Sammie and Cash are excited about their first human cousin, and we can't wait to meet Baby Beutke! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know it's the day after Valentine's Day, so I hope everyone had a love-filled Sunday. Thanks to our family and friends who sent us cards. It was also our sixth wedding anniversary. I love you David!

 

We decided to cook at home to save money and time since I'm sure the restaurants were crowded all weekend. We dined on seared scallops in a lump crab sauce with asparagus, baked garlic cheese grits and smoky portobello mushroom soup.  I also have started adding spices to the Herman bread I make, including garlic salt, Italian seasoning and cheese. Everything was delicious!

It's President's Day, but UT doesn't close. I don't teach on Mondays, so it didn't make much of a difference to me. It snowed overnight and into this morning, but it's already started to melt. 

 

Our Christmas poinsettia has held up well since we purchased it in November. The leaves are falling off rapidly now, but I still like the red color around Valentine's Day.

Six more weeks of winter

Punxsutawney Phil emerged earlier this morning on Groundhog Day and saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter weather. Whether you believe in this tradition or not, Tennessee experienced a lot of winter weather this past weekend, and we were in the middle of it. (Most of the photos I took were from inside the car for obvious reasons.)

We traveled to Memphis Thursday for reasons I'll explain in a future post, and we knew the weather might not cooperate. We thought we'd be there until Saturday morning, but the reason for our trip ended early on Friday, so we decided to leave around noon and make it as far back to Knoxville as possible.



I can now say I have seen snow and ice from one end of Tennessee to the other, and it's not an experience I need to repeat. David is a great driver, and Heidi is a great car, but most of the other drivers weren't sure how to handle driving on the icy slushy mess we encountered.

It took us almost six hours to drive 172 miles to Dickson, Tenn. We stopped around mile marker 100 to eat lunch, and most places were closed, but Chilis was still open. They were waiting on a call from the corporate office about when they could close. We tried to make it to the Nashville area, which was around exit 200, but as it grew dark, conditions worsened, so we stopped and spent the night.

The restaurants in the area closed early, so we ate sandwiches from a gas station...not the greatest, but that was all part of the adventure. During our trip, we saw numerous cars in ditches, a firetruck that was turned completely over and several semi trucks that had overturned. There were a few close calls when Heidi lost traction, but we made it!

On Saturday, we started the 200-mile trip home, and the roads still weren't that clear near the Nashville area. David spent almost 30 minutes trying to get the ice off the car, but cloth gloves aren't best for that. We used the car's heater to dry them.

As we made our way to East Tennessee, the interstate was a million times better. It still took us about four and half hours to get home, and we were nervous about driving up the icy hill we live on, but it was clear.

There is still snow on the ground, but the "blizzard of 2010" could have been much worse for us. They had initially said Knoxville could see up to 15 inches of snow, but it was more like five inches or less. It's just good to be home and have ourselves and our car in one piece.

News Quiz

The start of the semester means the start of weekly news quizzes I give to my journalism students. I tell them on the first day that I give these quizzes, not to torture them as some may think, but to prepare them to enter the world of media. Yes, they should know what's going on in the world as future media professionals, however, there is a much more practical reason.

Often times when they are applying for jobs, potential employers will give them a news quiz. I've had colleagues who have moved to the middle of nowhere and took a news quiz about local government, politics, the educational system, etc. as part of the application process. Also, when I toured CNN in Atlanta last year with my students, they told us that people applying for internships and entry-level positions must take and perform well on a news quiz. AND, they keep giving those quizzes in order for folks to move up the promotion ladder at CNN.

Here's the first quiz I gave today.  I think it's fairly easy, and most quizzes will probably be a bit harder than this one throughout the semester.  What would your score be? No cheating! :)

1. What’s the status of the rescue efforts in Haiti?
2. Who is UT’s new football coach?
3. The U.S. celebrated the birthday of who yesterday?
4. What’s the latest on Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien on NBC?
5. According to an article on tnjn.com, is there a feral cat problem in Knoxville?
6. What's the capital of Tennessee?
7. Name one thing you want to learn this semester in this class. Be as specific as possible since this helps me plan your assignments and activities.

Where in the world is Cash?

Can you spot Cash in the photo below? He blends in with the pile of laundry on our bed. I hadn't seen him in a few hours and started wondering where he was since he's usually in the same room as me. It took a few minutes of looking to realize he was sleeping comfortably among the clothes.

Maybe you can see him better in this photo since his yellow eyes stand out a bit more.

Sammie opted to sleep the afternoon away in her bed.

Thawing out

We had more than a week of freezing temperatures, and now we're warming up again. It snowed Thursday afternoon and into Friday, but the big problem was the ice. The roads in our neighborhood iced quickly since the ground was already so cold.

The snow started early Thursday afternoon, but by the time David drove home around 5 p.m., our hill was an icy sheet, and hardly any cars could drive up, so he parked in a lot next to the neighborhood pool and walked up.

Here are some of the frozen photos I've taken during the past week.

Our frozen driveway.

Cash still loves going outside when it snows. I think he would stay out there if I let him.

 

Snow shining through our lights on the back porch.

 

We also put up all our Christmas decorations last week. It's always more fun to decorate than to un-decorate.

We drove to Pellissippi State Community College to see the frozen fountain and pond.

 

My mom also celebrated her birthday last week, and we sent her some flowers. Thanks to my dad for taking this photo of them. Happy Birthday Mom!