McEmergency? Try Some Relish!

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Apparently the folks in Florida take their McNuggets pretty darn seriously. After Latreasa Goodman ordered and paid for a 10-piece Chicken McNugget, she was informed that the McDonald's she was at had run out of the delicacy. In fact, she was so distraught she called 911 three times to report an emergency. THREE times!

In one of her calls, Goodman states, "The manager just took my money and won't give me my money back, trying to make me get something off the menu that I don't want. I ordered chicken nuggets. They don't have chicken nuggets, and so I told her, 'Just give me my money back,' and she tells me I have to pick something else off the menu. She is not going to give me my money back, and she don't have the right to take my money."

When police told Goodman the incident was not an emergency, Goodman insisted, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one. This is an emergency."

Really? Let me slap McDonalds' hand - shame on you! Your NO REFUND policy needs to be balanced with a little common sense. If a customer orders and pays for a specific menu item, and you cannot provide it, give them their friggin' money back.

Oh ... but Latreasa Goodman? You win the ME! ME! ME! prize. Your emergency took essential services away from people who were really in the midst of an emergency. I have no doubt the cost of your emergency to tax payers was at least 100 times the cost of your McNuggets. Are you really that selfish? You couldn't take names and write a letter to McDonald's Corporate offices making a formal complaint? At least you were charged with misuse of 911 and issued a citation, but something tells me that won't fix the problem.

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Just in case you ever find yourself distraught over missing McNuggets, I thought I'd post another recipe from my Relish! subscription. This one is a vegetarian dish (yes, Vixen and Garbonzo, you can eat this one too!) and was so tasty my family didn't even miss the meat! *EDIT* Those are basil parmesan bread sticks on the left, not chicken breasts!

Penne Pasta with Italian Vegetable Sauce

16 oz box penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 white onion , chopped
1 red bell pepper , cored, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper , cored, seeded and chopped
1 zucchini , sliced and quartered
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons garlic
2 tomatoes , seeded and chopped
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until cooked through but still firm to the bite. Drain and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium-high, heat oil and sauté onion, peppers, zucchini, and oregano for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until almost tender.

Stir in tomatoes, spinach, water, sugar, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, until sauce is reduced and thickened.

Serve pasta topped with the sauce and a generous portion of Parmesan.

Prep and cook time: 30 minutes per serving: 345 calories; 12 grams protein; 5 grams total fat; 6 grams fiber; 1 gram saturated fat; 65 grams carbohydrates; 0 mgs cholesterol; 22 mgs sodium

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Awards and Eats

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Let's start with the awards, shall we? Not that I'm anal retentive or anything, but I feel a strong nagging need desire to tackle these topics alphabetically.

This award was given to me by Another Suburban Mom. ASM said, "Always honest and thought provoking. One day her blog makes me *gigglesnort* the next day it makes me want to fly out to her neck of the woods and hug her. Never disappointing."

I have this weird little quirk where, as I read, I try to guess what the sentence will say before I finish reading it. As I was reading the last sentence of ASM's description of my blog, I just knew it was going to say, "One day her blog makes me *gigglesnort* the next day it makes me want to fly out to her neck of the woods and beat her senseless." Ha! I was wrong! Imagine that. Please note the cute puppies on this award as it's likely the only time you'll see such an "AWWWW" picture on this blog!

Then, on Sunday, ASM gave me another award. Personally, I think this was her way of cyber slapping me up along side the head while saying, "Jane, you ignorant slut Dana, my dear friend! Accept the damn awards, would you?!"

Of course, this wasn't the official verbiage of the award. The official statement read, "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.”

I think I just threw up a little in my mouth ... KIDDING! Actually, I am quite flattered to receive both of these awards, especially from ASM who is one of my very favorite "Not-quite-a-mommy-blogger" bloggers!

There are, of course, rules and requirements for these awards. ASM is really good at obeying following the rules, I am not, but I do want to sincerely thank her for being a regular and appreciative reader!

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You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned winning a one-year subscription to the meal planning website Relish! I have been diligently using that subscription and absolutely *love* it! I find that, with a specific list and plan, not only do I save time and money while grocery shopping, but we have far fewer leftovers.

There has been one "down" side. My family had become so accustomed to "processed" foods (i.e. frozen and prepackaged meals) that there has been a bit of an adjustment to the flavors and combination of fresh, innovative foods. What's surprising is that the resistance has not been from husband.

An example? I made a spinach salad with an oriental flair (oranges, avocados, radishes and a sesame oil/soy sauce dressing) that Cam was not at all thrilled about - he spent 37 minutes trying to gag down get down four bites. Yes, I'm an evil mother - I made him eat the salad first. He was so traumatized that he just couldn't eat anything else after that!

I thought I'd share one of the more "traditional" meals that was on my plan this past week - Calico Bean Soup (or, if you live in Minnesota, Lutheran Bean Hot Dish) and Homemade Cornbread.


Calico Bean Soup
Prep time: 30 minutes

6 bacon slices, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1/2 yellow onion , chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 16-ounce can Bush's baked beans
2 15-ounce cans butter beans, rinsed and drained

~ In a large stockpot, over medium heat, combine bacon, beef and onion and saute until cooked through. Add ketchup, salt, brown sugar, mustard and vinegar and mix well.
~ Add baked beans and butter beans and stir well into mixture. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until heated through and serve.

per serving (recipe makes 4 servings): 389 calories; 20 grams protein; 14 grams total fat; 6 grams fiber;5 grams saturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 48 mgs cholesterol; 910 mgs sodium

Homemade Cornbread
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time; 25 minutes

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

~ In a bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, soda, and salt. Add yogurt and eggs and mix just until blended. Pour into a buttered 8-inch to 9-inch square or round pan.
~ Bake until bread springs back when gently pressed in center, 20 to 25 minutes. Cut in squares or wedges. Serve warm.

per serving: 181 calories; 6 grams protein; 3 grams total fat; 2 grams fiber; 1 gram saturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 57 mgs cholesterol; 411 mgs sodium

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Virtual Cookie Exchange

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Welcome to the first, annual (I hope!) virtual cookie exchange hosted by Another Suburban Mom (affectionately known as ASM). And yes, I can say affectionately as I've shared a shower with her! No, not at the same time, but that's just a technicality!

Let me start by saying I have a new appreciation for food bloggers. It's nothing for me to string a few paragraphs of nonsense together, but putting together this post took time, and lots of it! Of course, I could have just followed ASM's directions and posted a short story and the recipe, but you know me, always a show-off an overachiever!

This is the short, sweet story behind my recipe. When Cam and I moved to Minnesota due to a corporate buy-out (Cam was 18 months old), I felt very isolated. Not only did I not know a single person there, but I didn't even know where the nearest grocery store was. Fortunately, I found a single moms email list (yes, that same email list that has since been my Achilles heal in regards to this blog) and met S and her daughter M. They became a lifeline, and dear friends, to Cam and I. S introduced us to this recipe about 10 years ago, and it quickly became a favorite of Cam's. In fact, I'm pretty sure he ate his weight in the damn things the first time he tried them. They became known as:

Cam's Chocolate Chip Balls

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup butter flavor Crisco
1 cup brown sugar (packed)

2 egg yolks (save the whites)
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. bag mini chocolate chips

Chocolate sprinkles (or mouse turds as they are known in our house)

Oops! Forgot to put the vanilla and the baking soda in the ingredients picture!

Cream together butter, Crisco and brown sugar.

Add the egg yolks, vanilla and baking soda.

Mix in the flour and mini chocolate chips.

Eat some of the raw cookie dough (get over your aversion to salmonella - live dangerously). In between eating bits of the dough, roll some of the remaining dough into 1" balls. Beat the egg whites with a fork. Dip the balls into the beaten egg white and then into the chocolate sprinkles.

Place about 1" apart on a non-stick cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

I can't imagine you'll have any extras, but if you do, these freeze very well!

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