Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

Everyone time I see this brand name at the local grocery store, my brain automatically assumes it's AI generated art struggling to make a complete word.

So, I've started freezing milk to cut down on food waste, and for the most part, it's working! There still more waste than I'd like, but at least I'm not throwing out a quart of buttermilk for a quarter cup of the stuff.

This year, give the gift of BEEF.

This Week's Plain Jane Meal (2/2): Ribeye Steak

Another super easy, super tasty quick plate for the week. Ribeye Steak with just salt and pepper, fried in a pan of olive oil. Maybe a dab of A1 sauce.

My pork easy meal is usually just sausages warmed up in the microwave.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

Tonight's Sunday Night Movie....

This Week's Plain Jane Meal #1: Chicken Guillet

I've been showing you all my fancy foods, but really my "Fancy Pants" meals are just one of four meals I make for the week. Usually my first is just the bread I baked. And depending on what protien is in the Fancy Pants Meal I make some simple meals using Beef, Chicken or Pork, whichever isn't in the Fancy Pants Meal.

Today it's "Chicken Guillet" named after the first meal Lissa Guillet ever taught me, as it's super easy to make, and really good to boot. It's so simple, I'm not even gonna give you a detailed recipe. You just don't need it.

Grab some chicken (I use boneless thighs), add salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper to taste (I tend to do 10 parts salt, 5 parts pepper, and 3 parts paprika and cayenne), and fry in a pan till done.

That's it. Simple, easy, and really tasty. I usually eat it with a banana or a side-salad because of my dietary restrictions.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

While I'm okay if my Christmas isn't white, I would like SOME snow this winter....

Was in Second Life and picked up a new green qipao to wear to replace my very very very old one.

When I wore it on my current brunette anime avvie, it was kind of missing something, and I realized it was my old red-hair. So I put it on, and sure enough, her red hair pops with the green silk. After putting on her old face, she kinda looks like a classy lady.

But then I thought - what if I put the redhead's old clothes on my current brunette avvie and...SHE'S ADORABLY TSUNDERE.

#secondlife

For the first time since the pinched nerve happened, my kitchen is actually CLEAN. Like, all dishes done, counters cleaned, even the floor cleaned. Kinda.

I almost bought these as my "fancy glasses" when I moved into the apartment back in 2021. Cause I don't care what you say, they ARE The Fancy Glasses.

This Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Beef and Cucumber Stir-Fry

The original recipe didn't season the meat, which left it as tasting kind of bland until I salted it myself, so I added a step for salting the meal. Otherwise, I really like this. I'm a sucker for cooked-but-crisp veggies. The prep takes a while, but the cooking part is fairly quick.

# Beef and Cucumber Stir-Fry
Help! My Apartment has a Kitchen

0.75 pounds sirloin steak
2.0 tbsp honey
2.0 tbsp soy sauce
0.25 tsp chili powder
1.0 whole cucumber
1.0 whole red bell pepper
4.0 whole scallions
3.0 cloves garlic
2.0 tbsp vegetable oil
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

1 - Slice the beef into strips 1/4 inch wide and 3 inches long, trimming away all the fat.
2 - Put in a bowl and mix with honey, soy sauce and chili powder. Set aside while preparing the vegetables.
3 - Peel the cucumber and slice lengthwise.
4 - Scrape out and discard the seeds.
5 - Cut into strips 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long.
6 - Wash the red bell pepper and cut it in half.
7 - Remove and discard the stem and seeds.
8 - Slice the pepper into strips 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long.
9 - Was the scallions.
10 - Cut off the root tips and top 2 inches of the green ends and discard them.
11 - Cut the remaining white and green parts into 1/4 inch pieces.
12 - Peel and finely chop the garlic. Set the vegetables aside.
13 - Heat half the oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat.
14 - Remove the steak strips from the bowl, keeping any remaining liquid (marinade) in the bowl, and add the steak to the wok.
15 - Stir fry for 1 minute; that is, stir continually with a large spoon or spatula so that the contents of the wok cook quickly on all sides.
16 - When the meat is no longer pink, return it to the bowl containing the marinade.
17 - Wipe out the wok so that any remaining honey doesn’t burn.
18 - Heat the remaining oil in the wok over high heat and stir-fry the cucumber, red bell pepper, scallions and garlic for about 2 minutes, or until the vegetables just begin to soften. They should stay fairly crisp.
19 - Quickly return the steak and any remaining marinade to the wok
20 - Season with salt and pepper to taste.
21 - Heat for 1 minute, or just until the steak gets hot and the liquid boils.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

Today's Bread: Cinammon Rolls.
OMG THEY'RE AMAZING. I was worried cause of the power outage making me have to hand knead the dough and lack of counterspace making the rolls a bit thicker than they should be, but taste wise? OMFG they're GOOD.

This recipe has pecans, however, I tend to not use pecans. Feel free to add 'em if you like. The addition of marshmallow is surprising, but it works....

# Cinnamon Rolls
Luby's Recipes & Memories
24.0 rolls

1.3333333333333333 cups warm water
2.0 tablespoons active dry yeast
0.5 cup granulated sugar [rolls]
3.0 whole eggs
0.25 cup butter (melted) [rolls]
0.5 teaspoons butter (melted) [rolls]
0.3333333333333333 cup nonfat dry milk
0.5 teaspoon salt
5.0 cups all-purpose flour
vegetable oil (as needed)
0.25 cup butter (melted) [filling]
0.3333333333333333 cup granulated sugar [filling]
1.0 tablespoon ground cinnamon
0.5 cup chopped pecans
0.5 cup miniature marshmallows
1.0 pound powdered sugar
0.5 cup evaporated milk
2.0 tbsp butter (melted) [icing]
1.5 tsp butter (melted) [icing]
0.5 tsp vanilla extract

Rolls:
1 - In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine water, yeast and sugar.
2 - Set aside 5 minutes to allow yeast mixture to become frothy.
3 - Add eggs and butter.
4 - Using the dough hook of the electric mixer, beat on medium speed until well-blended.
5 - Add dry milk and salt. Mix well.
6 - Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl.
7 - Leaving dough in bowl, lightly grease top of dough ball with vegetable oil.
8 - Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until doubled in size.
9 - Lightly grease two large baking sheets.
10 - Punch dough down and roll out on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle.

Filling:
11 - Brush butter over dough.
12 - In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over butter.
13 - Continue with pecans and marshmallows
14 - Roll dough up tightly, starting at long edge.
15 - Pinch dough to seal seam.
16 - Cut into portions
17 - Place, cut sides up, on baking sheets.
18 - Let rise in a warm place 1 hour.
19 - Preheat oven to 350°F
20 - Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Icing:
21 - Whisk together the powdered sugar, the evaporated milk, the butter for the icing and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
22 - Spread over warm rolls

#thisweeksmeals #baking #cooking

The ultimate carbs on carbs: pierogi.

Well...between the power outage while mixing the dough, having to hand knead it, throw it in the fridge and hope it would rise slowly (it didn't), not having enough room to roll out the down FAR more thinly, these look...........okay.

They smell fantastic, though. I ate the two small end pieces and the bread came out really good, too, despite having almost no cinnamon/sugar/marshmallow in them. That's a good sign cause that means the others will be super flavorful.

Glaze tomorrow after they cool, then off to the LGBTQIA+ Holiday Potluck with them!

Maybe after I have one more.

Update: I just realized! I've made stickybuns!

"Alright, let's get these cinnamon rolls started!"
:: power goes out ::
"Alright, let's get these pioneer cooking skills started!"

Remember when I said I worked on Third Party Half-Life stuff before release date? Lookie what I found in the archive. The discs passed around our company to create deathmatch levels....

I didn't realize it was like ten days before release date. But it was before the release date! :)

Wierd Stuff I Still Have Hanging Around, Exhibit 8378:

"The codename is Lonely...uh...Lovely Angel!" Found a Dirty Pair outfit in SL, and bought it immediately. Little embarassed by it....

...but only a little.

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