I didn't cry

It was my day off. That means I was busy, but busy in a measured way. I didn't swim. I'm giving that up till after Christmas. I miss it, but I just don't have the time. I woke up early. Maybe 4:30? Darn that internal clock. I stayed in bed for another hour. Emily stayed home. She had an orthodontist appointment and I knew her teeth would be hurting. I started the morning off by making three batches of Chillied Almonds. They are amazingly delicious. Take my word for it. Every year I plan to package some up in pretty bags to give as gifts. I serve them at my party and eat the rest. I buy the 3 pound bag of almonds from Sam's Club. They come out crispy and spicy and cause an addiction. I only had about 6 nuts today. I was very good.

Chillied Almonds
1 egg white
2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t chili powder
1 t salt
1 lb. whole unblanched almonds, about 4 cups

Combine seasonings in a small bowl and blend. Beat egg white until frothy in a large bowl. Stir in nuts and coat with the egg white. Stir in seasonings and coat nuts well. Spray a cookie sheet (jelly roll size) with Pam. Spread almonds on the prepared pan. Bake at 275 degrees about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and store in airtight container up to 3 weeks.

I was so glad I didn't make any stupid mistakes in the kitchen today. I made the Bourbon Meatball Sauce that I got from Kathy years ago. Here's part of the ingredients:


Bourbon Meatballs
2 cups bourbon
2 cans of beer
2 bottles of chili sauce
1 1/2 pounds of brown sugar

Simmer for a long time. I wound up with 6 1/2 cups of sauce after about an hour. Pour over meatballs. I used to make my own meatballs, but no more. I buy the 6 pound bag of frozen meatballs at Sam's Club. They taste as good as home made. I refrigerate the sauce till the night of the party. I went to the liquor store for the beer and bourbon. I wanted cheap beer, not the good stuff I'm serving at the party. Since I only needed 24 oz. the clerk suggested the tall can of Bud Ice. I remembered Andrew talking about Ice beer. George's beer of choice. Alcoholics buy it because it's cheap and maybe has a higher alcohol content?

I made my Chutney Cheese spread. Put together and refrigerated the ingredients for the Spinach Balls that I'll shape tomorrow. I had a brainstorm while making it. I saw something on the Today show about a woman who invented goggles to use while cutting onions. I had to mince 2 onions, which would produce a lot of tears. I wore my swim goggles! What a sight. No way you'd see a picture of that. I laugh just thinking about it. I didn't cry and will use them every time! Anyhow, I measured and put in containers all the dry ingredients for some of the other dishes I'll be making. Same with some of the wet. Did a lot of dishes!

Somewhere in there I took Emily to the orthodontist. She had her braces taken off November 2007, but her teeth are moving, especially the eye teeth. The orthodontist maintained that he thought they looked good, but wanted us to be happy. They look fantastic compared to what they looked like before braces, but I didn't expect them to move like this. His offer was to put the braces back on at no cost. She only had the top ones put on, and he used ceramic in the front. Emily's not real happy, but her boyfriend got braces and 4 teeth pulled last week, and her best friend Melissa has braces, so she's not alone. She's had a lot of soft food today.

For some reason I decided to bake cookies tonight. I have too many bags of Hershey's Cinnamon Chips. They're hard to find, and I think they only come out at holiday time, at least around here. I bought 6 bags a couple of weeks ago, then realized I had a bunch of bags from last year. I need to use them before the expiration date. I made cinnamon oatmeal cookies. Yum. I only ate 2, and I'll bring them into work tomorrow. Some people will be happy. I hope I can stay away from them.

I only work 6 hours tomorrow, and I'm off Saturday and Sunday. Next week I'll work Monday thru Wednesday. Lots of coffee days ahead.

I'm falling asleep. It's been a long day...Later!