THE Birthday Dinner for Lord Brignon and Other Random Thoughts......

Cadillac Cowgirl Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks with Black Bean Pico and Chipotle Lime Rice

This recipe is a little involved but A LOT worth it  I made this up for Gary’s birthday dinner and the results were amazing. This is a perfect light summer meal or for a special occasion, even. The Black Bean Pico can be prepared in advance with the avocado and Queso Fresco being added before serving (you know, so the avocado doesn’t turn that nasty brown color!). You could even make the rice ahead of time and them slowly reheat it and toss with the Chipotle Lime Butter. I also used some already prepared Pico de Gallo from HEB to cut down on my prep time. You can always make yours from scratch. Enjoy!!

For the Black Bean Pico:

8-10 oz of Pico de Gallo
1 large Haas Avocado, diced
14 oz can Black Beans, drained
¼ cup Lime Vinaigrette Dressing (I used Newman’s Own Lite)
2 oz Queso Fresco, crumbled (you can always use more…you can never have too much cheese!!)
¼ tsp Granulated Garlic (from Mild Bill’s)
¼ tsp Salt (plus more to taste if needed)

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and adjust for seasonings if needed. Cover and chill for an hour or so before serving. **If you’re making it ahead of time, combine everything but the cheese and avocado. Add those remaining ingredients just before serving**

For the Chipotle Lime Rice:

2 cups prepared Rice (I used Basmati)
2 Tbsp Chipotle Lime Butter (recipe to follow)
Chopped Cilantro for garnish, optional
Salt and pepper to taste

To the prepared rice, add the Chipotle Lime Butter, mix well. Taste for seasonings and add more butter, salt and pepper if needed. Should you not have a strong aversion to Cilantro, add a few tablespoons of chopped cilantro for color and garnish

For the Chipotle Lime Butter:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp Chipotle Powder (available from Mild Bill’s)
3 Tbsp Lime Vinaigrette Dressing

In a small bowl, combine the above ingredients. Taste for seasonings and adjust to your preference.

For the Tuna Steaks:

2 4—6 oz Ahi Tuna Steaks
1 tsp Chipotle Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Chipotle Lime Butter

Sprinkle each tuna steak with equal amounts of Chipotle powder and salt. In a large cast iron or non stick skillet, heat the pan to almost smoking; add the olive oil and Chipotle Lime Butter. Place the tuna steaks seasoned side down in the hot skillet and turn the heat down to medium high. Do not move it; allow it to sear for 2-3 minutes and then turn it over to sear on the other side. Remove from skillet. 2-3 minutes per side will result in a medium cooked tuna steak. Adjust the timing to 1-2 minutes per side for rare and 4-5 minutes per side for well. Should you want to cook it longer, turn the heat down to medium after you have seared both sides to keep the outside from burning and your house from filling with smoke :)

To serve, top the rice with a tuna steak and spoon the Black Bean Pico over the top. Pair with your favorite wine!


My child has started telling Catholic jokes. How freakin funny is that?!?!?!?!?

Monday, when we went to HEB in Waxahachie to get the stuff for Gary's dinner, Paige lamented that she was quite hot and sweaty. She proceeded to tell me she was going to take off her clothes.

Me: I don't think so.
Paige: Why not? I'm hot and that white stuff you put under my arms this morning isn't working.
Me: You mean the deodorant? You will still sweat a little, it's supposed to help you not smell.
Paige: I smelled my pits. I don't stink. But I'm hot and I want to take my clothes off.
Me: Paige, you are not taking your clothes off.
Paige: Can I take them off on the way home? I'll keep the window rolled up a little so no one can see my boobies.
Me: Fabulous.

I was able to get her to keep her clothes on for the ride home. Jesus....

Later that night after we had eaten dinner, we all settled in bed for Mommy/Baby/Daddy Private Time. I came out of the bathroom and Paige and Gary were already in bed. Paige had her Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington Ear Muffs. I laughed and asked her why she was wearing them. She says:

"Because this one (pointing at Gary) is going to start snoring any minute now and I don't want it to keep me awake."

I say....

"Then go get in your bed if it's going to bother you."

She says.....

"No, I want to have private time with you and daddy and when I wear my ear muffs and wear my sleep mask, I can sleep without being disturbed by Daddy's snoring and the light you keep on while you read."

Again, I say....

"Go sleep in your bed if you don't want to be disturbed."

And she says......

"I wouldn't be disturbed if Daddy wasn't so loud and you wouldn't keep the light on when you know I'm tired and need to go to bed."

I f*cking gave up at that point :)

I have been so unbelievably tired this week. I think the hormone shot has finally started to kick in. I guess I'll find out in a week or so..hahahaha.

Mild Bill's has three new blends it will be introducing in May - Mild Bill's Original, Mild Bill's Light and Lone Star Light :) They are all excellent additions to any recipe; two of them have a coarser grind while one is a finer grind with a really rich aroma. I'm excited!!

Have a good evening everyone....I'm going to have a glass of wine and read. In my bed. With the light on :)

Kelly

Conversations With The Spice Mistress

One of the best parts of my job is talking about spices and answering questions. Most of the time I know the answer and when I don't, I enjoy looking up the information in order to give a well informed answer. I get calls and emails each day asking questions about specific spices and other, more general questions. I've got some free time this morning before I head to the store, so I'm going to post the most frequent questions and answers on here. (Identities have been changed to protect the innocent...hahaha...kidding....just always wanted to say that!!)

Question: Is your Chimayo powder a blend or is it pure?
Answer: Our Chimayo is pure - it comes directly from a grower and only contains the Chimayo pepper. It is not blended with anything else and comes in both hot and mild varieties.

Question: Did ConAgra discontinue Gebhardts?
Answer: No....THANK GOD!! However, they did discontinue packaging it in 5 lb containers for some unbelievably strange reason that so many people (myself included) will never understand.

Question: How will I buy Gebhardts in bulk now? Did they change the recipe?
Answer: Buy a ton of those little bottles??? Kidding...but I had a moment there when all of this came out about the 5 lb containers that we might all be doing that! I am still able to order Gebhardts in bulk and can repackage it and sell it in any size a customer needs. I already re-sell it as San Antonio Original, but for my wholesale customers, I'll now have larger resealable poly bags in order to package it for those who need larger quantities and don't want a ton of 16 oz bags. While the recipe hasn't changed, there is always a formulation difference when you are blending something to be bottled in say a 3 oz container versus a 5 lb container. The bulk Gebhardts is sure to have a slight formulation difference (which is completely normal), but the recipe will remain the same and any difference because of the formulation difference will be slight. I would imagine the color will be a little different. I've always noticed a difference in the color between the 5 lb containers and the 3 oz bottles.

Question: I live in New York. Where can I buy your products?
Answer: Online at www.mildbills.com. I ship all over the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. While I would love to have all of our products in stores, I would no longer be able to control the freshness and quality of the spices in the manner to which our customers (as well as myself!) have become accustomed to. They would have to be prepackaged and quite possibly sit in a warehouse or on shelves until they were purchased. I would hate for someone to get old or stale tasting spices. We get so many comments regarding the freshness of our spices. To me, that is one of the most important things I can offer our customers!

Question: I'm out of Cowtown Light. Can I just buy Fiesta brand Light Chili Powder and use it? It's the same, right?
Answer: No, it isn't the same. Cowtown Light, like many of our other chili powders, are proprietary blends. That means that Mild Bill's owns the recipe and it is blended exclusively for Mild Bill's. You can't get it anywhere but Mild Bill's. Other "light" chili powders may be similar, but they won't be the same. While Fiesta is a great brand to use at home, the spices probably aren't fresh enough or potent enough for what you would want to use in competition chili.

Question: Why is shipping so high?
Answer: I know, shipping can be costly. There are a lot of factors and the constant rise in fuel prices is not helping things at all! The sad thing is, it's still cheaper to have something shipped to you than to actually spend money on gas to drive and go get it...plus the time spent doing it! I don't know about ya'll, but I will GLADLY pay shipping to avoid Christmas shopping!!! It's just not worth my mental health! But, seriously, I do recognize that shipping can be and has gotten expensive. The two things I recommend is combining orders with your friends and split the shipping costs. You can also save money by buying the largest size and splitting it up. If you're buying Gebhardts and you know you're going to need some after you go through the first small bottle, go ahead and buy four of them. Because of the new bottle shape, it costs the same to ship one as it does four because they no longer fit into the small flat rate boxes. I utilize the post office's flat rate and regional rate boxes every chance I get. Those are the most cost effective way to ship. For overnight shipping in Texas, UPS is typically the best way to go. The post office can be extremely expensive to ship overnight. Trust me, I sympathize with the frustration over shipping - I have to pay it too and it can really suck sometimes!!

Question: What are your store hours?
Answer: Typically, Wednesday - Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. The best thing to do is call and make sure I'm at the store before you head over. I may be running errands or picking up Paige from school. I'm there every day, so if those hours aren't convenient, I'm happy to open up on a day that works best for the customer.

Question: Do you still take spices to cook offs like Tamara did?
Answer: Yes, absolutely. I don't take them to every cook off I attend (she didn't, either), but you can expect me to have them at Ladies State, Mens State, and Terlingua. If we attend any Opens or Regional Cook Offs, we'll take them to those cook offs as well. I'm also happy to deliver orders to people at any cook off we are attending. Sometimes, people don't realize that our spices are kept fresh in a walk in cooler. I'm very hesitant to take them out, package them, put them in the trailer, carry them to a cook off, and then if they don't sell, put them back in the cooler prepackaged. That can potentially damage the quality of the spices and that's the last thing I want!

Question: Does Mild Bill's still travel to cook offs like before?
Answer: Yes! This has been a busy year for us and a huge adjustment. We have three kids (17, 12 and 8), two businesses and seven dogs! Sometimes it's hard to just pack up and head to a cook off like before. We love to cook chili and we love to travel to cook offs. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out for us to do so with our kids' different activities and business responsibilities. We missed attending Texas Open because of a health issue and we won't be able to attend SW Open because that is the same weekend as Polka Fest in Ennis. Our lack of attendance should never, ever be construed as a lack of support for CASI, a particular cook off or a particular area - sometimes life just gets in the way of the fun stuff!! We do our best to sponsor and support cook offs and Pods whether we can physically be at a cook off or not.

Question: Where can I find recipe and product ideas for your spices?
Answer: We have a recipe section on our website that is always being updated to incorporate our products into your favorite dishes.

Question: Do you sell prepackaged chili mix?
Answer: Yes! We have two - True to Texas and Gunpowder Chili Mix. True to Texas is a competition style chili mix that comes in three small packages and Gunpowder is a homestyle chili mix that is quick and easy to prepare.

Question: What is your favorite chili powder?
Answer: It would have to be Stockyards Special. I have been using since I started cooking chili and it is my absolute favorite. I love how it smells, how it tastes - it has a medium light color, light salt and will set your chili apart from the others.

Question: What is the best storage method for spices after I purchase them?
Answer: Spices do best in a cool, dark environment. If you have room in your fridge or freezer, they will keep longer in there. Consistency is key and you don't want them exposed to sunlight and/or temperature changes. You can keep the spices in the resealable poly bags they come in or put them in your own containers. Just make sure you get all of the air out before storing them.


I'd say I covered the most commonly asked questions. I can't tell you how much I love doing what I do. I was dying a slow death at T&B Demolition. I was convinced that I was going to either have a heart attack driving up there each day (hence the chest pains that started every morning at Singleton and Loop 12) or sitting at my desk dealing with the constant insanity. Mild Bill's has been a big change for me, but I love it and I love going to the store every day. God blessed me with a nose that knows and a palate that never does me wrong. I'm thankful that I get to do something now that uses both of those talents. While I know that I'm not changing the world selling spices, I've changed my life and probably my life expectancy. My nose and my palate don't always get put to use filling orders, but as I start blending more and more, it never fails to steer me in the right direction! Anyone can put spices in a bag, it's not rocket science. In fact, my stepson is helping me and he is fantastic! He's neat, clean, accurate and a quick learner and worker. If that sounded like a backhanded compliment, it wasn't meant to. I'm just saying that I'm thrilled to be able to put all of my spice knowledge to work doing what I'm doing. I feel like I have a real knack for what I'm doing and I love that it gets put to good use. What more can a girl ask for???

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. Today is my husband's 40th birthday. I've wished him a happy birthday and Paige is making a card for him at school. I can't wait to see it :) She's such a sweet baby. We were cleaning her room last night and I asked her to clean her bathroom. Her idea of cleaning her bathroom? Arranging seashells on the counter. Then she sprayed Oust Air Freshener in her room and I was afraid she had basically Napalm'd the Guineas. Fortunately, they survived. Do you ever get a song or saying stuck in your head that won't go away? For the past week, I've had the saying, "with friends like these, who needs enemies?" stuck in my head. Weird.

I'm off to my spicy world. Have a great day and enjoy this beautiful weather!!! I hope I get the chance to plant a garden this spring - I just need to find some extra time. If you have some lying around, will you send it my way???

Keepin it real, Ellis County style.....

Kelly

Salmon Veggie Scramble

I Literally pulled this one out of my.....

Well, you know! Hell yeah - how's that for brunch on the fly?? And it came out delicious!!!

Cadillac Cowgirl Veggie Salmon Scramble

6 eggs
6 oz sliced mushrooms
3 green onions, white and green parts, diced
Handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced
2 Tbsp butter or Smart Balance (I used SB)
1 5 oz package salmon
Feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, melt the Smart Balance or butter; add the veggies. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes and add the salmon. Turn the heat down to medium low and continue cooking until the salmon is warmed through and the mushrooms are tender. Add the eggs; turn the heat up a bit so that they will start to set. Once they begin to set, turn the heat back to medium low and gently stir to scramble and combine them with the veggies - don't overcook them! Once the eggs are set to your preference, remove from heat and sprinkle a handful of crumbled feta cheese over the top. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with toast. Viola!! (This will easily feed two adults or one ravenously hungry one)



Enjoy,

Kelly

Often Imitated, Never Duplicated

Good Morning!!!! Wow......the title of my blog post today entered my head just a few thousand times the past month!!! You know what else has entered my poor injured head? Tons of things to blog about and sadness that I haven't made time to sit down and actually blog. Oh, the conversations with Paige that have taken place the last month. Lots of one liners about panties - clean, dirty, are they even on? - a few really delicious recipes (one I can remember and will share today), restaurant adultery, scrapbooking nightmare(s), 1st Communion dress shopping (yes, my child went straight to the most expensive dress), Radiohead denial and lots of other goodies!!

Paige turned eight last December, so that made her eligible to cook as a Junior at the Cowtown Cook off. When she wasn't explaining to me that a two day trip didn't justify taking clean panties, she was worried about the other junior cooks. Were they aware that she was coming? Did they know she was cooking? Would they be scared of her ever increasing chili cooking domination? (You cannot make this shit up, people). I absolutely love my child. She asked these questions without the least bit of arrogance. She seemed truly concerned that the other junior cooks might fear her....it was so cute! Never mind that she was cooking against her sister that has won the damn thing now five times in a row. Not for one second did Paige think she would ever get anything less than 1st Place. Now tell me, when was the last time any of us had that time of unwavering confidence in ourselves? And stayed sweet while we had it? I've never been that confident in my life. I'm stubborn, but that isn't born of any super human confidence in myself, trust me! So poor Paige...and lucky Zoe. Zoe has never beat Paige. She almost didn't beat her this time. The sisters were tied and the computer showed Zoe some serious, 5 time winner kind of love! And first time cook Bubba, he placed an extremely respectable 3rd place. So very, very proud of all my kiddos! We had a moment with Paige where I was worried an intervention was going to take place because she didn't win, but all in all, good winners and good sports when they don't win 1st Place like they (okay, just Paige), thinks she should. I've got good kids and they're human - disappointment sucks and you have to learn to live with it. It's not going away!!

Congratulations to one David Manske. He won the Cowtown Cook Off for the very first time ever. I think it's interesting that he won that cook off after switching to Mild Bill's Spices. Coincidence? I think not. Definitely not!!!! Our spices rock. What else can I say??

Speaking of Mild Bill's Spices.....

Wait for it......

Haha!!!! Gotcha!!!! Ain't happenin - not here, not anywhere :)

Back to my tease - speaking of Mild Bill's Spices, I have partnered with a very cool online store as another avenue to market and sell our products. This will focus more on the jellies, preserves, salsas and seasoning mixes. As many of you know, I'm a little freaky about letting the spices out of my direct control and supervision, so none of the chili powders and spices will be a part of this new venture. I'm super excited about this and can't wait to share all of the details as they become available!

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned......

I committed adultery. On my favorite restaurant. I cheated on Pappas Bros. Steakhouse.

For the record, I do not consider going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse as cheating on Pappas. I love Ruth's Chris, but it's not even in the same stratosphere as Pappas, so I never feel bad about it. But, last night, Gary and I went to Al Beirnat's Steakhouse in Dallas. Was it good? Yes. Will we go back? Probably. Will Gary have a steak there again? Probably not.

Okay, we went for Gary's impending 40th birthday (of doom to him). He wanted to try a new restaurant and had picked two for us to choose from and we picked Al Beirnat's. I had heard a lot of good things about it, so I was excited to try it. We made reservations for 8:30 Saturday night and checked out their menu online. It looked delicious. I was somewhat giddy - they had Sea Bass. This was looking good. We got there around 8:15 and the place was PACKED. When you walk in, the bar is smack dab in front, so you can hardly get around to the hostess stand. While we waited for our table, we got drinks at the bar via a waitress and the drinks came to us super quick. We were impressed given how busy the place was. This restaurant was beyond loud. When they took us to our table, they originally had us in the middle of the dining room, and to my delight, sat us instead towards the back where it wasn't as loud. I was very grateful!! Their wine list is okay - again, I'm spoiled. They didn't have a big Zinfandel selection, but did have Seghesio and Rafanelli - two of our favorites. While skimming through the rest of it, I noticed that they had The Prisoner. I was thrilled!! We LOVE that wine! When I ordered it, our server let us know that he had a bottle of Abstract as well - it's also made by the Orin Swift Winery. We love, love, love that wine, so we asked him to bring that instead. We ordered mussels and clams as our appetizer and they were great. Gary isn't big on clams, but he liked these. One of their features last night was a red snapper on the half shell with portabello mushroom ravioli topped with a vodka cream sauce. It almost swayed me from my original decision - the sea bass with lobster risotto. I stuck to my guns and was NOT disappointed. The sea bass was incredible and prepared the way I love it - crispy on top and melt in your mouth underneath. The risotto was perfect with the little chunks of lobster. It was delicious. I loved my meal.

Gary...well...not so much. He ordered the Kansas strip, which I've never been a fan of. But, it was from a locally grown cow that had been fed an all natural diet and I was impressed that Gary wanted to eat local :) He ordered it medium rare with whipped sweet potatoes that were AMAZING!!! He ate almost all of his steak, but you could see him comparing it to his Pappas filet every bite he took! I didn't sample any of it (no more meat for me), but it looked delicious and he admitted it was good...but not as good as Pappas. He said that he really wanted the scallops and was pissed for not ordering them. Gary also ordered dessert - a peanut butter, banana and chocolate tart. He loved it. I had a cappuccino and it was good, too. So, yeah, we'll go back. Probably not on a Saturday night and Gary will get a seafood item next time :)

Will we tell our server at Pappas that we trifled? Oh yes, we'll tell him and we'll be very contrite!!

I didn't get to see Radiohead in concert when they were here March 5th and I'm still very, very depressed. I've been having private Radiohead concerts since then. It's not the same, but it will suffice. Gary erased the concert I had recorded on Directv a while back. That kind of pissed me off.

Paige had her First Communion yesterday. It was sweet, precious, perfect and just all around wonderful. All of her classmates look fantastic. The girls all had on their gorgeous white dresses and the boys looked so handsome in their little vests and suits and ties. It was just so sweet!!! The part that wasn't so sweet? The scary, crazy, nightmarish scrapbooking that took place leading up to the 1st Communion. Each child needed a scrapbook (or for all of you prepared moms out there, an updated baby book/scrapbook) for their Communion pictures, certificates, etc. Since I am not one of the aforementioned moms, I had to create a scrapbook. It was pure hell. I am not a scrapbooker. I managed to put a decent one together, but man....I SUCK!!!!

The easiest and best part of our preparations - the dress!!!! I looked online at Neiman Marcus's selection of Communion dresses and found one that was perfect. When I went back a week later to buy it, it was GONE!!! Not one to panic, I picked up Paige from school and hauled ass to the Downtown Neiman's and marched our redneck asses up to the Children's Department. I love Neiman Marcus and it is my most favorite place for guilty pleasure shopping - I knew they'd have the perfect dress and they did. Paige thought so, too. She picked out a $354 dress from the get go. Thank God I was able to talk her out of it. I wasn't going to spend that on a dress and I told her how much it was. She thought that was a lot of money too for a dress!! It was also not really Communion material - it was more along the lines of a flower girl or junior bridesmaid kind of dress. It also had scratchy material and once she realized that it would be up against her skin, she moved on. Thank God!!! So she tried on a few dresses and we found one we liked. The saleswoman checked the back for a few more and guess what? The one I had seen online was back there and available!!! Yes!!! Paige tried it on and loved it. And, it fit!!! I found a headpiece with a veil and since we already had the shoes, we were in business. She was so anxious to be able to wear her dress and she looked so pretty. We are so proud of her!!! We had her scrapbook, Rosary, 1st Communion book and Bible blessed yesterday as well. It was a really wonderful day for Gary and I as well. With the changes in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, the Catholic Church has opened their Communion to Episcopalians and Anglicans wanting to receive in the Catholic Church. It was very special to share Communion with Paige yesterday at St Joseph. Along with my parents and Gary's, Aunt Courtney, Aunt Kary, Wendell and Carole also joined us and we went to lunch at Johnny Carino's afterwards. It was a great day!

Oh....and then....THOSE BOOTS!!! OMG - I almost forgot. Gary was looking for a shirt to wear last night, so we went to Lone Star Western Wear since we were in Waxahachie. He didn't find a shirt, but I found a pair of boots that I shared "a moment" with. I put them in layaway. They are freakin amazing. I will be rocking these boots at LJT :)

I've stopped eating meat. I haven't had any chicken, pork or red meat in three weeks. I'm sticking with fish for the time being as I haven't decided whether or not I want to transition to a complete vegetarian or not. I'm feeling better, but for me, the most important thing is planning ahead. Something we all know I completely suck at doing. I'm still having some issues, but I can say that my acid reflux has completely stopped. I'm taking a new pill for it, and I know that has something to do with it, of course. But, I've got the kind of reflux that always seems to be more powerful than whatever RX I'm taking. This is working well so far.

I made Salmon cakes last week and they turned out great. Below is the recipe:

Cadillac Cowgirl Salmon Cakes

2 5 oz packages boneless, skinless Pink Salmon (I used Chicken of the Sea)
1/2 cup Mayo
2 cups plain Breadcrumbs
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp Mild Bill's Jalapeno Relish
1 tsp Mild Bill's Cajun Seasoning (or more to taste)
1/4 stick of Butter

In a large bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients together. Using a large skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Using clean hands, form the salmon mixture into 2 inch balls and then flatten into cakes about 1/2 an inch thick. You should get 8 salmon cakes. Place them in the skillet (depending on the size of your skillet, you should be able to get four in at a time) and fry each side for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Serve warm or cold.

I served ours warm with a salad. I ate the ones that were left over cold the next day. They were delish either way!

I cleaned my floors again yesterday. It was Saturday. It's what I do. Today, laundry. Tomorrow, laundry. Tuesday, laundry.

I HATE LAUNDRY. I HATE LAUNDRY. I HATE LAUNDRY.

Did I mention that I hate laundry? I BOUGHT Paige new underwear Thursday night. I did this for two reasons. I didn't want to do any laundry and I wanted to make sure she wore clean underwear Friday and Saturday as she put on her last clean pair Thursday morning. I guess I plan ahead sometimes.

Our laundry room is just the biggest waste of space ever. I've asked Gary to move the washer and dryer (what are those?? Kidding, sort of) into the garage. It can be done very easily because of where the washer and dryer are located in the laundry room. All he has to do is cut a hole in the bottom of the wall in the garage and run the hoses through there. Look, if we ever decide to sell our house (which we won't), then we'll move the shit back inside if we need to. But for now, screw the laundry room. It has a good size countertop and good cabinet space. It could be an office. Or, pause for dramatic effect....

A scrabooking room!!!!!!

All kidding aside, it could be put to better use as something else. An additional pantry or linen room. A supply room...all sorts of possibilities. Maybe I could keep our important documents in a file in their instead of giving them to Jeannie or my mom to keep since I can't keep up with a damn thing anymore. Sounds good to me!

I sold a trailer last weekend and the table that came out of it is going to be repainted and put in my bathroom. Sometimes I scare myself with my re purposing abilities. Fleeting, yes...but powerful when they come around and I catch them :)

I'm trying to think of something unbelievably delicious and not terribly time consuming to fix for dinner tonight. Red beans and rice, maybe? That pretty much simmers on it's own with little oversight. I was laying in bed this morning and thought to myself, "short ribs sound yummy...", and then I remembered no meat. So, I'm still thinking. Maybe a fritatta....or omelet? Hhhhmm......

The weather is beautiful today. I'm going to open up the house and let the last remaining acrid odors from my attempt to clean my oven escape my house. Let's just say that I will never again set my oven to self clean without opening it up to make sure a Saran wrapped plastic platter of brownies is not sitting in there completely unaware of the fiery death it is about to experience. I'll let you figure out the rest :)

Off to my alleged laundry room to look at it, walk out and close the door!!!

Have a spicy day....and spread your own special brand of joy and kindness!!

The Cadillac Cowgirl
(for today at least!)

Now THIS Is More Like It......

Happy Independence Day, Texas!!!!

Good Morning!!!! I am blogging from Coffee Creek RV Resort in Santo, Texas! I'm sure many wonder why in the hell I've brought my computer on a weekend getaway, but hell, I knew I'd be productive and by God I have been!!!

So far this morning I've updated the Mild Bill's website with recipes and a sponsorship policy and now I get to spend some well deserved me time with my blog. I wish I had brought the results from the Waxahachie 3 day CCO, but I didn't, so I can't post those other than to say Robbie Swart won Friday night, Frances Sullivan won on Saturday and Larry Russell from Shreveport won on Sunday. Kelly Killingbeck Walker won beans on Saturday, Paige got 2nd place Junior chili, Zoe got 3rd and Zoe's BFF Bailey won the cook off - her very first time to cook. I got 8th on Saturday and was really happy with that - we had 91 cooks! Hell Yeah.

I brought Pussy Willow Rose with me to Santo. I'm really loving this trailer. It's so much roomier than the Cowgirl Cadillac and the bed is super comfy. I also have a dinette and it's really great, especially right now, for setting up my laptop and working. It's extremely windy out here today and there aren't a lot of substantial trees around to serve as a wind block. As long as I don't blow over, it's all good. Got up this morning and had a great breakfast and visit with some sisters from Georgetown and the weather is beautiful. Last year, I went shopping in Weatherford and Grandbury, but I'm staying put this weekend. I'm leaving Saturday afternoon to head home for the Sokol 10k giveaway tomorrow night. In light of my recent pancreatitis and liver issues, I think I'm the assumed designated driver for tomorrow night's affair. That's okay....I can handle it. I think.

So I am on week two of the modified diet and alcohol abstinence program and it really sucks. I haven't been great at watching what I eat, but I've been better about my drinking. I even expect the box of wine I bought yesterday to last well beyond the weekend :) All kidding aside, I've been eating somewhat better, but I'm just in a funk about it. It's not my gall bladder, so it's not like it can be removed and problem solved! This is so much more of a lifestyle change (especially now that my liver is involved and I really don't want to hear any comments from the peanut gallery about it, thank you very much) than I've ever had to make. I just don't feel like making the significant changes that are being asked of me. I'm 38 - I'm supposed to stop drinking wine for the rest of my life? That's bullshit. I can give up a lot of the bad foods (easier said than done) that I love and that's going to be hard enough. But the wine, that's a dealbreaker with me. Call me what you will, but I love my wine and I just can't imagine not ever drinking another rich, juicy, spicy Cabernet Sauvignon again for the rest of my life. I'm in a serious dilemma. I've considered going vegetarian....but I have a problem with too much roughage - it's so hard on my pancreas. I would have to cook all of it beyond recognition for it to not bother me. I love doing South Beach, but it's too hard on my pancreas as well. So, I don't know. I guess I'm going to just keep drinking heavily until I figure something out :) There's always Jenny Craig food and I do love that stuff; it's just not convenient for me anymore now that I stay in Ellis Co. And don't even get me started on my malfunctioning hormone shot....jeez.....LOL!!

Last weekend, I made the most incredible dinner: Seafood Gratin. I had been looking at my New Orleans pictures that day and it made me think about the seafood gratin I had at Muriel's in Jackson Square. So, I went to the store and got all of the ingredients I wanted to use to make it. I then came home and produced an unbelievably delicious version of an incredibly rich dish. Please make this - you won't regret it. Yes, it's a little time consuming, but it is so worth it.

Cadillac Cowgirl Seafood Gratin

1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
4 oz Gruyere cheese, grated
½ cup plus a little extra white wine, I used a Sauvignon Blanc
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used the cocktail size)
8 ounces raw Swai or Tilapia, cut into chunks
8 ounces cooked crab meat, cut into chunks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced (about 4 carrots)
1 cup diced potatoes (cheat!!! buy the frozen southern hashbrown kind and use those)
1 cup panko (Japanese dried bread crumbs)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a large well greased gratin dish or pie dish on a sheet pan. To make the sauce, combine the stock, cream, ½ cup of the wine, and the tomato sauce in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and add the shrimp and fish. After 5 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp and fish to a bowl. Add the cooked crabmeat to the bowl with the shrimp and fish.

Continue to cook the sauce until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Mash 1 tablespoon of the butter together with the flour. Whisk the butter mixture into the sauce along with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Simmer,stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the grated Gruyere. Continue to stir until the cheese has melted. Set aside.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saute pan. Add the onions and carrots and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened. Add a splash of the wine, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender. Set aside.

Combine the panko, Parmesan, parsley, tarragon, and garlic for the topping.

Add the seafood mixture to the gratin dish and pour the vegetable/sauce mixture over the top. Carefully stir to combine. Add the topping to the dish and drizzle either melted butter or olive oil (I used olive oil) over the top to help it brown. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot with big chunks of warm bread, butter and you guessed it - wine!!

Now, is this a traditional seafood gratin? Probably not considering my use of the Gruyere cheese, but who cares? It's freakin awesome and I thumb my nose to the seafood purists who say no cheese with seafood!! You can also divide this among two or four smaller gratin dishes for easy to serve individual portions.

I bought an extra bag of shrimp when I was at the store and I used it the next night for our pasta dinner (again using cheese with the shrimp and shocking food snobs with my blatant disregard of "the rules"). I wouldn't really call this a recipe, per say. I cooked a pound of spaghetti and in a large skillet, I sauteed garlic and onion in olive oil. While I was doing that, I roasted 12 oz of shrimp in a 425 degree oven with salt, pepper and olive oil for about 15 minutes. After I pulled them out of the oven, I added them to the onion and olive oil (along with the olive oil, salt and pepper that I used to roast the shrimp), added the juice of one lemon, some red pepper flakes, and tossed that mixture with the pasta. I grated Parmesan all over the top of it and served it to my happy hubby for dinner. Viola!!

I better get back to doing nothing. Lord Brignon is manning the store today. He's going to cook at the Irving Elks Lodge tomorrow and Paige is going to Gammy's tonight. My little Juicy of Love and Deliciousness. We are preparing for her 1st Communion and it's going to be so much fun to take this journey with her. There are quite a few really sweet things we get to do for her as her parents and I'm really looking forward to it. I cannot believe that my miracle baby born at 30 weeks is 8 years old and about to have her 1st Communion. She's just so precious and weird and perfect and I love her more and more every day. God knew what he was doing with her; he totally got it right!

I hope everyone's weekend is as wonderful as mine is going to be. Enjoy the beautiful weather and steal some points if you are out there cooking chili. Mild Bill's appreciates all of it's customers. Check out our website for new recipes!!!

Keep it real...and keep it spicy!! (You can even keep it real spicy....oh Lord...sorry!! Can't help myself!)

Spreading my own special brand of joy and kindness,

The Cadillac Cowgirl