It’s What Happens When You Google “Deliciousity”

Hello all! Welcome to this week’s installment of Cooking with Wordnerd.  (This program has been brought to you by sponsors of the NaBloPoMo, who remind you that committing to 30 posts in 30 days means just that, so you’d better have plenty of half-finished posts on hand OR have a lot of good recipes. )

Well, guys, you KNOW I don’t have that much stored away.  However, I live in Louisiana.  And one of the benefits of that is the fact that I learned to cook at a very early age and have been doing it for a long time.  So what I lack in writing fodder I more than make up with in the recipe department.

This is a favorite of mine.  It makes a lot, but the recipe is easily halved.  Serve in a bread bowl on a cool fall evening and prepare to just burst into tears at the sheer deliciousity.  (IS. TOO. A. WORD.)

CHEESEBURGER PARADISE SOUP

Ingredients:

6 Medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 Small carrot, grated

1 Small onion, chopped

1/2 cup Chopped green pepper

2 tablespoons Chopped seeded jalapeno pepper

3 cups Water

2 tablespoons Plus 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon Pepper

2 pounds Ground beef

1/2 pound Sliced fresh mushrooms

2 tablespoons Butter

5 cups Milk, divided

6 tablespoons All-purpose flour

1 package (16 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta), cubed

Crumbled cooked bacon

Preparation

In a soup kettle, combine the first nine ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and mushrooms in butter over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add to soup. Stir in 4 cups milk; heat through.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon.

ENJOY!

 

Sixteen Days Later

Ike is the first major hurricane to hit a U.S. metropolitan area since Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago.

~AP Writer

I beg to differ.

With the passage of sixteen days since Gustav hit Louisiana, I’ve become more and more angry.  And while I’m still concerned about what is going on in Texas, I’m having a really hard time with what’s going on here.

You see, WE also had a hurricane.  And the area I live in — a metropolitan area of almost 1 million people, yes, thank you very much —  was hit hard.  Extremely hard.  Hurricane Betsy, which hit the Baton Rouge area in 1965, is the barometer, if you will, by which we measure every other storm that has hit this area.  Hurricane Andrew.  Hurricane Katrina.  Hurricane Rita.  We suffered severe damage from each of those storms.  But none of them  – even Betsy – did as much damage as Hurricane Gustav did on September 1, 2008.

Trouble is, the media didn’t see it as an ‘event.’  Because we had a governor and a mayor this time around that saw fit to be proactive instead of reactive.  Because people in this area saw fit to heed the warnings and get out of harm’s way.  Because we took care of ourselves.  We didn’t spend unnecessary time and energy looking for the next tv camera.  We spent that time and energy picking up the pieces.  And when we were done, we helped our neighbors to pick up theirs.

Sixteen days later, many are still without power.  Sixteen days later, businesses are still closed “until further notice.”  Many small businesses will go under because they won’t be able to recover.  Sixteen days later, busy intersections in THIS metropolitan area are still working on the four-way-stop method.   Sixteen days later, this and this are what people are going through.

I guess if there’s nothing that will further the national media’s agenda, it’s not worth reporting.

 

Everything I Learned, I Learned From a Guy Named Gustav

• I learned that you can never be too prepared.
• I learned that the sooner you prepare, the better.  Let people make fun and say you are overreacting.  I’d rather be in the Walmart returns line than the food and ice line.
• I learned that many people still depend entirely too much on government to take care of them.
• I learned that my son, for all his cool swagger, is one helluva Monopoly player.
• I learned that being forcibly unplugged from tv, cellphones, computers, Twitter, blogs, and everyday life reintroduces you to those folks you took for granted — your family.
• I learned that I have the most incredible neighbors in the world.
• I learned that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich still tastes damned good.
• I learned that a hurricane can wipe out homes, cars, buildings, 80-foot trees, and even Walmart.
• I learned that a hurricane is no match for those effin’ lovebugs.
• I learned that you can meet some really nice people standing in line for a window air-conditioning unit.
• I learned that the right governor CAN, and DID, make all the difference.
• I learned that you are never too old to play Uno.
• I learned that a storm brings out the best in people.
• I learned that a storm can bring out the worst in people.
• I learned that I never knew how much I loved my too-small-and-in-need-of-updating house until I thought it was about to crash in on top of us.
• I learned that 95 mph winds make a lot of noise.  A LOT.
• I learned that the Stephenie Meyer trilogy is every bit as good as everyone said it was.

Finally…

• I learned that people who have disdain for blogging, and bloggers, haven’t met the people I’VE met.  Thank you, all.  For your comments, e-mails, text messages, Twitter tweets.  They meant more to me than you’ll ever know.

 

A Few Thoughts Going In

• I am thankful to have a sturdy home, a generator, and enough supplies to get through this
• I am thankful for a federal government that learned hard lessons three years ago and has implemented a much better plan of action as a result
• I am incredibly thankful for our new governor (who politely turned away talk of being McCain’s running mate because he has a state to take care of) — he has hit the ground running
• I am thankful that people who refused to heed the warnings and comply with mandatory evacuations three years ago are on buses and trains right now — getting the hell away
• And I am extremely thankful that I have the most incredible internet friends in the world — your comments, texts, e-mails, and especially thoughts and prayers mean more to me than you can ever imagine.  Thank you.  I mean, really, THANK you.

The storm should be hitting around noon tomorrow – I’ll stay in touch via e-mail and computer until we lose power.  After that, I’ll Twitter as long as I have a cellphone signal.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all my innernet peeps here in Louisiana and in Texas.  And to those of you in NC, SC, and Georgia?  Hanna might throw you guys a bit of a storm as well.  Love to all.

 

In Case You Were Wondering…

See the red dot?  That’s me.  Or, rather, where I live.  Roughly.  So while the coastal folks have it much worse (because of the storm surge), my area will get high winds (they’re usually still hurricane force winds when they hit our area).  The storm has shifted westward since this graphic, so we are really expecting more of a direct hit.  So…thanks for all the love and good wishes, and I hope that all of us escape this relatively unscathed.

Geaux Tigers!!!

 

In the Crosshairs

This is not cool, people.  A press conference by our governor, then by the mayor.  Get ready early, they say.

The logistics are mind-boggling.  Holiday weekend.  Evacuations from lower lying parishes and contra-flow from New Orleans in place as early as Saturday, while Southern Decadence still scheduled for N.O.  90,000 fans preparing to fill Tiger Stadium.

I have a generator, food, water, and a game plan.

But I don’t think I have the stomach for this.

Not again.

 

Counting Down

With apologies (again) to those of you who don’t care, I must tell you that LSU football kicks off in seven (yes, seven) days, seven hours, 22 minutes, and 48 seconds, against the always surprising Appalachian State Mountaineers.

So, with that in mind, here are a few totally random thoughts:

• No one really expects a repeat of our championship year we had (but stranger things have happened).
• The game will kick off at the height of lovebug season (if you know me, you know what this means — just don’t tell the Mountaineers about it; we want it to be a surprise…)
• Our possible starting QB started his college career at Harvard (yeah, THAT Harvard, not the Harvard that Tulane THINKS it is).
• I have resolved (heh) to avoid posting TOO much about football this year.
• HOWEVER. If we DO repeat?  All bets are off.
• And finally, the jambalaya header will return, eventually (considering I’m on a different computer now, however, and didn’t save the old one, it might be a while).
• In the meantime, enjoy the staredown.