Help a charity

Help a Charity

In today's society people get so wrapped up in doing things that they don't think that they can help. I think that's not the case at all. I happen to be a very busy person and I still want to help. Though I really don't have any of my time to donate right now and my pocket book is rather tight I discovered a way that I can help. My good friend Kristen told me about something she does to help that I have decided to adopt as well. She picks a charity every month that she donates $10 to. Its not too much to lighten your pocket book and it only takes but a minute. So this is my goal every month to pick a different charity to give my $10 to. In the spirit of breast cancer awareness month (October every year in case you didn't know) I donated my $10 this morning to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I think that was $10 really well spent. Especially when you consider how much pointless nonsense we buy for ourselves. So I challenge you to donate $10 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and help fight breast cancer. Its definitely a worthy cause.

If you have any suggestions for charities for me to donate to please leave me a comment.

Damn Hot Chili

Today was finally a chilly day after crazy heat in September. It didn't even warm up once! So Andy and I decided it was a chili kind of day (no pun intended). Lately we've been into hot food so we decided to make it Damn Hot Chili.

Damn Hot Chili

1 Mirasol Chili chopped
1 Red matured Jalapeno minced
1 Anaheim Chili chopped
1 lrg. Green Bell Pepper chopped
1 lrg. Onion chopped
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can white hominy
chili powder to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 lrg can crushed tomatoes (I used Eden Organic and they were really crushed like a puree so it ended up thicker than I intended but I prefer the chunky tomatoes so now I know)
1 lrg can V8

Lightly caramelize peppers and onions with seasonings. Once veggies are caramelized add all other ingredients and then add more chili powder to taste. Then let simmer on low to medium heat for an hour. Adjust temperature depending on your stove. I'm a sissy and I only like it so hot so you can adjust your spicy to your tastes. Andy is a Tabasco junkie so he made his a lot hotter. Then you can serve up your chili however you like it. Here are a few suggestions of toppings you can use:

• avacado
• vegan sour cream
• vegan cheese (I am not in favor of these I would just rather go without cheese)
• crackers
• roasted sesame seeds
• chopped onions
• make your own ideas and share them!

Constitution: 1 - Biggots: 0

Something I feel is pretty darn amazing happened yesterday. A federal Judge in San Francisco tossed out Proposition 8 deeming it unconstitutional. That's right this lovely lady, Judge Virginia Philips put an end to the disgusting policy of "don't ask, don't tell" for gays in the military. I think that is absolutely amazing. Personally at first I didn't understand why gays would want to fight for a country that denies their rights to be openly who they are while defending their nation. Then after I thought about it for a while I realized despite all our down falls we still live in a pretty amazing country and they are just doing their duty to help protect whats theirs. We still have to wait for senate to eventually make a decision but so far I say that the scoreboard is favoring the constitution and the freedom of sexual orientation. Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and I for one will be very happy when this nonsense is over and more attention can be paid towards more important things.

4 pepper sloppy lentils

As the weather is cooling off and my plate is getting fuller I have been using my crock pot a lot lately to cook while I'm at work. Today I made a variation of my grandmother's sloppy lentil recipe. It tastes just like sloppy joes but without the death of a cute cow. This time I sliced up a bunch of sweet potatoes in uneven slices (who wants uniform fries anyway?), seasoned them and made sweet potato fries. This recipe is usually better the next day after its had a chance to marry over night in the fridge but it's definitely good hot and fresh on day one. This recipe makes a lot so be prepared to have all kinds of yummy left overs.
2 cups of lentils (I prefer green but you can use whatever you like)
1 small green pepper chopped
1 small red pepper chopped
1 small yellow pepper chopped
1 med. yellow chili pepper chopped1 med. onion chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1 tblsp. garlic powder
1 tblsp. onion powder
1 tblsp. crushed red pepper
Chili powder to taste
1 bottle chili sauce (I like Hines but again whatever you like)

put all ingredients in crock pot except chili sauce. cover with water. let cook on low till lentils are tender but not completely done. check water throughout cooking, should be kept thick though don't add too much water. When lentils get to tender stage add bottle of chili sauce and let cook on low for another hour. Then usually you would let it cool and then refrigerate overnight to serve the next day. But again you can eat this right away if you'd like...I sure did!

*please by all means use this recipe if you like but do not try to take credit it for it in another blog or anything else as this recipe was created by my grandmother. Thanks.

Goodsearch

I just came across a very cool site in my never ending pursuit of knowledge. Goodsearch.com is a search engine that allows you to pick a charity of your choice for them to donate to every time you use their search engine. They even have a pretty cool tool bar that you can download so that you don't have to keep going to the site every time you want to search. Its such an easy way to donate to a charity when you're completely broke. Giving back has never been so easy!

World Vegan Day

Hey everybody! I just wanted to let all my wonderful readers know that November 1st is a day to celebrate! Its World Vegan Day! Show all your vegan friends and family that you care by eating vegan for a day. Also don't you want to make the animals happy?

Slow Cooked Stuffed Peppers

While at my personal trainer's last night (Stephanie Zoch is awesome!) she had some recipe cards out for her sister to look at and I saw one for slow cooked stuffed peppers and since I had some peppers at home I decided to try it. I just sort of memorized the recipe a little and then improvised from what was in my pantry and fridge.

2 cups long brown basmati rice
3 large green peppers
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 md. onion (diced)
1 tblsp. chili powder
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 can mushroom spaghetti sauce (I use the no sugar added kind or the low sodium)

cut the tops of your peppers off and clean out the insides. (I fed the remains to the guinea pig). set peppers aside. In a bowl mix all the other ingredients except the spaghetti sauce. Spray the inside of your crock pot or slow cooker with cooking spray (I use Pam olive oil spray). stuff peppers and stand them up at the bottom of the pot. Then smother with spaghetti sauce. Cook on low for 3-4 hrs. (or until rice is cooked through).

Looks smells and tastes absolutely amazing. Thanks Steph!

Attention Champaign-Urbana Citizens!

So today has been pretty much dedicated (unintentionally) to planning my honeymoon on no money. During this mind-numbing adventure I struck gold. Picture me now with trusty lap top and kitty side kick (who is more of a hindrance than a side kick as he won't stop laying on the key board) dutifully checking every website known and unknown to find the perfect activities. Low and behold I find the most amazing site in the whole world. Okay I'm getting a little carried away with myself but its still pretty amazing. 40 North/88 West is an amazing site that basically tells you about free or inexpensive activities that have everything to do with the arts and nothing to do with boring! I have always been a firm believer that Champaign-Urbana has its thumb on the cultural pulse but I never knew we had so much art at our fingertips. And hello! Did I mention it's free? Hey poverty stick that in your juice box and suck it!

Food Rules.

I just got done reading this really interesting book. Its called Food Rules by Michael Pollen. Its got something like 64 food rules to follow that are easy to remember and some are pretty common sense. I think the best rule was to never eat cereal that changes the color of your milk. I never thought of that before but it definitely makes sense. If you're trying to eat healthier or even lose a little weight you should definitely check this book out. Its pretty short so its an easy ready. I think I was done in like 2 hrs. You can get it for around $7 used on Amazon or check it out at your local library.

Etsy!

I am completely obsessed with the site Etsy! Everything is handmade or retro. Its completely amazing. I am in love with this toilet seat of all things. Everyone should definitely check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/49704196/through-the-looking-glass-seat

old sneakers

Ever look at your closet and think, "Wow, I have a lot of shoes!" Well usually when I have this epiphany I donate all the ones I don't wear to my local Good Will or Salvation Army. But who wants to wear my funky, old gym sneakers? No one that's who! But fear not friends I have found a solution just by browsing one of my favorite sites. Earth 911 is chalk full or useful recycling information. Its probably my favorite site to consult about everything just because here lately all I can think about is, "can I recycle this?" So basically what I'm saying is read this article and you will know what to do with your old stinky sneaker.

http://earth911.com/news/2010/07/12/how-to-recycle-your-unwearable-tennis-shoes/

-Brandy