Tipful Tuesday

It is time for another TIPFUL TUESDAY

Today is Grilling Tips, Just in Time for the summer grilling season!
Ross and I love sitting outside with the dogs, and nothing is better than getting all your cooking done while you're out there!

	Marinating quickly tenderizes meat and also adds additional flavor. Use roughly 1 to 2 cups of marinade for every 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of food. The marinade should completely surround the food. Cooked meat should never be returned to a cold marinade.
	A secret to tender, moist,tasty meat and fish is the cut you choose. The best cut for grilling steaks is a full one inch thick.
	Trim beef steaks to 1/8 inch fat--this reduces grease drippings to help minimize open flames. If you like your hamburgers juicy, go with ground beef that is about 15 to 20 percent fat. Have fish fillets cut from 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick--anything thinner will dry out too quickly. Pork chops should also be at least 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick--this cut is ready when the meat is no longer pink along the bone and when the juices run clear.
	For direct cooking on a charcoal grill, make sure there is enough charcoal to extend in a single layer 1 to 2 inches beyond the area of the food on the grill. Pour briquettes into the grill to determine the quantity, then stack into a pyramid for lighting. For indirect cooking, food is placed over a drip pan and the briquettes are banked either to one or both sides of the pan.
	Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are given off during combustion, so never barbecue indoors as these odorless, toxic fumes may accumulate and cause death.
	When using charcoal, douse the coals with the least amount of starter fluid as possible to light the fire. If starter fluid is unavailable, try using regular salad oil. Wad a sheet of newspaper and pile the coals over it, then douse the coals with the salad oil. Light the paper as you would using normal starter fluid.
	When roasting or grilling with a BBQ pit closed, open a can of beer and place the beer over the hottest part of the fire. The beer will boil and super saturate the air inside the pit with water vapor, beer flavors and alcohol. This will help in keeping the roasting meats moist, while adding flavor to the meat.
	Whenever barbecuing, use tongs to turn the meat. A fork should never be used as it will punch holes in the meat and allow the natural juices to escape, causing the meat to lose flavor and become chewy.
	When grilling meats, it is usually best to turn the meat only once. When grilling meat to a medium or greater doneness, use the lid to assist in cooking. This will decrease the cooking time by applying heat to all sides of the meat at once.
	Tomato and/or sugar based BBQ sauces should be added only at the end of the grilling process, since these products will burn easily and are seldom considered an internal meat flavoring.

Tipful Tuesday

I am trying to start a new weekly post in the hopes to more regularly post. So Introducing: TIPFUL TUESDAY! Here is this week's tip which I am borrowing from Kelsey at the Seattle Smiths. I know this one really got me back on my water drinking. It is just too easy to grab a soda or coffee but I enjoy water just as much, so I am trying to get back in the habit!

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

2. 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger.
3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.
4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

ARE YOU DRINKING THE AMOUNT OF WATER YOU SHOULD DRINK EVERY DAY??

Happy Easter

This Easter is a special one for Ross and I. It's the first holiday we are spending together. So far neither of us have been able to give up holidays with our families, but that all changes this weekend. Luckily we are going to my side first or I would probably be crying right about now.

I am looking forward to seeing my family. It has been awhile. I haven't seen my Grams and Gramps since Christmas! We also have little Kinsey's baptism on Saturday night. That will be fun! You can't go wrong with Easter. It is always a fun holiday. I'm sure there will be game playing fun and dogs galore! We are kenneling Cooper but Breega and Sophie will be along for the ride and our time with Breega will end. The dogs are now inseparable they're all going to be pretty sad pooches for awhile!

My return to Quizzes!

So I used to myspace, if fact my account is still out there somewhere in myspace land. Maybe I will go check on it one of these days! There was actually a point in time that I favored MS of FB, (INSANE, I know).

Anyway, on MS I used to do these quiz/survey things all the time. I loved them. Maybe I will re-post some of the better ones here one day! I found this ABC "survey thing" on a couple blogs, so here is my long awaited return to the quiz world! You. are. welcome.

A. AREA CODE : 701 (as is the whole State of ND)

B. BED SIZE: Queen, finally! After years and years of a full, I finally upgraded!
C. CHORE YOU HATE: vacuuming the stairs, yuck, I do that the least, which is saying a lot because I don't do any of them often!

D. DOG'S NAME: Sophie (short for Sophie Monster these days!)

E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: Vanilla Yogurt with Granola (and fruit when the good stuff is in season)

F. FAVORITE COLOR: Purple

G. GOLD OR SILVER: Silver
H. HEIGHT: 5'6"

I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: violin, piano, flute and piccolo - I am actually trying to get back into the violin, I want to start taking lessons again and long term goal is to try out for our city's symphony, baby steps.

J. JOB: lawyer by day professional tv watcher by night

K. KIDS: 0, phew

L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: loaded question, pass
M. MOM'S NAME: Charlene
N. NICKNAME: I don't have one, I sign a lot of things at work "SW" does that count? Probably not since no one else calls me that...
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: 0, phew
P. PET PEEVE: oh gosh, I get a new one everyday, a lot of them having to do with driving and no shows at work!
Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough. - Noah, the Notebook
R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Right
S. SIBLINGS: younger bro
T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: 8ish

U. UNDERWEAR: Always!
V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: Can't think of any off hand (I don't eat pork though)
W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: I am always late, it's something I am working on, I get distracted by the television and I am just slow in general. Ross hates this about me.
X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: a couple here and there
Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: I make yummy chex mix!
Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: I love panda and polar bears! I love penguins and otters and seals, I love giraffes and elephants and zebras and lions and tigers and camels and whales and manatees and alpacas and bison and every animal under the sun! I could go to the zoo all day everyday! There is just one I don't like (hint, they slither, YUCK!)

How Honest Are You?

Last week I was walking into work and found a Five Dollar Bill just sitting on the street in front of our entry. I work downtown on one of the busier streets in my little town. I am not trying to trick you into thinking I live in some metropolis. Just wanted to make that clear. But if there was a street that had foot traffic in my town, this would be it. I work just around the corner from our homeless shelter so you can imagine that from that alone we have walkers all around all day. So I really had no idea what to do with the money. I didn't want to leave it, that didn't seem fair! BUT I didn't want to take someone's money either. So I figured it was literally right in front of our door, chances are if it is anyone's it may belong to someone from my office. I decided, take the money and send out an agency wide email asking if anyone lost the money. So that is what I did. I got the expected, "It's mine, just kidding" responses and one "you are so honest" email. But bonus, no I think it is mine, for real, emails. So I was sitting in my office pondering what will I ever do with this fun found money, until I got an email about how I owe money to someone (not just me a bunch of staff on my team) for a thank you gift to a co-worker who was shifting positions and wouldn't be on our team anymore. So, easy come easy go, bye bye Lincoln, off to the jewelry store you went.

Yesterday at lunch we were talking about my found money and were thinking about sending out another one but replacing five with fifty to see if everyone would be just as honest.

What do you think? Would you do the honest thing and try to find the home of the money? Would it make a difference if it was five or fifty?

Hope it gives you something to think about.

Giveaway!

I love free stuff, in fact I was just talking about that at lunch yesterday. I will do most anything and go just about anywhere if it gives me free stuff (even if it is junk). Sooo...I came across a GIVEAWAY (which is not junk, btw) today at the Undomestic Momma. It is a gift certificate to Lisa Leonard jewelry. I love her style, it is really cute. For the record if I got the GC I would likely get the "be still" necklace. I am a nature junkie and it feels like that necklace captures the serenity I feel when I am one with nature.

So, go play along!

Happy Wednesday!

Top 2 Tuesday

Today is Top 2 Tuesday at the Undomestic Momma.

The topic this week is Top 2 Favorite Celebrity Styles.

Mine Are:

Rachel Bilson

I love love love Rachel Bilson. I think she has far better style than she is an actress but I wish I could afford to look and dress just like her!

My other Fav is
Kate WinsletI love Kate's style I think it is effortless and incredibly classic and classy.


*Thank you Google Images search for all my photos.