From the Kitchen of Couch Potato Man - Black Bean Tacos

Experience the thrills of TACO THURSDAY!!!  One of Jennie's favorites.  I make it almost every Thursday for her.  She loves it, well she says she loves it.  Its spicy, but the corn and onions help cool it down.  The tacos I made this week had avacado relish.  Very very good.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans

1 can corn

Poblano or Pasilla Pepper

Red Onion

Garlic

Serano Pepper (Optional)

Olive Oil

Salt

Black Pepper

Chili Powder

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Cumin

Cayenne (Optional)

Corn Tortillas

How its made:

Brush the poblano/pasilla peper with olive oil.  I grill it on my grill over medium/low heat.  Grill the pepper until its starts to blister.  Once its done place it in a ziplock back to steam.  In a pan with more oil, cook the onions until they are about to carmelize, then add the garlic.  Burnt garlic is nasty, so try not to add to early.  Add the drained black beans and corn.  Add chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Stir well, clumped up chili powder is really nasty too!  Cook on low.  The juices should start to thicken a little.  Add the poblano/pasilla pepper.  Stir again and then serve.  We use corn tortillas, but you can use whatever you want.  Jennie has made burritoes with the filling.

Some helpful tips that work great for me.

1.  When the pepper is in the bag, rub the bag with your hands.  This helps remove the skin better.

2.  Don't want greasy corn tortillas, I brush mine with oil and grill on the grill over medium heat.  Puts nice grill marks with a little crunch on them and they are damn good.  No complaints from the kids too!

3.  When I make avacado relish I add serano peppers to the filling instead of cayenne.  Careful!  Sometimes serano pepper are very very hot!

Enjoy!  I know we do!

Vacation Mode Day 1

Opps!  I reached Defcon 5!  All on Christmas Eve.  My first day of actual vacation.  THE FIRST FREAKIN' DAY!  I had high hopes that I would keep myself busy enough to make it pass the weekend.  TERRIBLE!  I did good in the morning.  I kept myself pretty busy.  I did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen a little to get ready for TACO THURSDAY.  Even tried to watch a little TV.  I cannot believe that there is nothing on during the day.  NOTHING!  What happened to all the game shows?  Is Springer not on anymore?  And seriously......no college football game?  I could have sworn the Weedwacker Bucket of Chicken Bowl was on.

First....I tried to make my kids pay rent.  They came into a little money, so they need to pay rent.  Who cares that they have been living rent free for years.  Who cares that they are only 11, 9 and 7.   Well Parker is 12 today.  Happy Birthday Parker!  They have money, they pay rent.  Well you know that didn't go well.  Running to mommy to tell on me.  Can you believe my kids actually tell on me???  MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!

Second......I don't even remember how it lead to this.  So it must have been really stupid and dumb.  Maybe some idiotic rolled up in there too.  I got Jennie to drop the F-bomb.  Yes she actually dropped the F-bomb with a conversation with me.  She never cusses.  Never ever.  I may have even received the stank combo evil eye.  But I was too scared to look at her.

Its Saturday, I'm still married.   I have slept in my own bed.  So its all good I think.  Knock on wood.  Saturday is a long day.  Is divorce court open on Saturday?  I hope not.

Happy New Year!

BTW:  Black Bean Vegetarian Taco Recipe post coming.  Now you can experience some of the thrills of TACO THURSDAY!

Vacation Mode!

Good morning!

Day 1 of my vacation and I'm up at 5:30 AM.  Thats right I said AM.  Oh well.....maybe by day 11 I will be sleeping in.  I don't know about you guys, but I get bored really, really fast when I'm on vacation.  My goal is to try and stay busy and productive. 

If I'm busy, I'm thinking.....

1.  I won't drive my wife so crazy, that she will make me go back to work and/or worse make me sleep on the couch.

2. My wife won't get so annoyed with me that I'm signing divorce papers on Saturday.

3. My kids will not be so frustrated that they will actually team up and work together and throw me out in the cold ass snow while I'm sleeping.

4. Too much Vietamese Death Touch on my kids that they go and tell on me which leads to 1 and 2.

I am committed to making my vacation actual vacation!   Couple things I'm looking forward to. 

1. Not getting my ass kicked when I play Parker in his racing games.  

2. Playing Star Wars with Jayton. 

3. Coloring and drawing with Khilee.  Lots of hugs and kisses too!

4. Spending some quality time with Jennie. Lots of hugs and kisses too!

Whats with all these list?  When did I become a list guy?  Oh well.....

Last night I watched Four Christmases and All About Steve.  I can't remember the last time I sat and actually watched a movie or two with Jennie.  It was very refreshing.  Four Christmases we both liked.  Its pretty funny.   All About Steve, Jennie liked it, me not so much. 

Expect more blog updates.   I'm hoping to update everyday.  Hopefully its way better than this update.

Merry Christmas!!!

BTW, how come no one says Merry Christmas anymore?  Its all Happy Holidays.  Have we become a PC, shadow tag, air hugging nation?  

The Good and Bad of Turkey Day!

Let me start by saying I love Thanksgiving.  Love everything about it.  It may be my favorite or a least top five.  Is Superbowl Weekend a holiday?  It should be one, it sure does feel like one.  So don't get me wrong.  I love everything about it.  If you love good food, Thanksgiving is pefect for you.  You like the Lions?  Probably the ONLY time you will see them on TV all year.  I love watching the beloved Cowboys on Thanksgiving every year.  Seeing old friends and family.  Family, friends, food and football!  How can that all be bad right?                                                                                                                             So I know what your thinking.  What is so bad, so evil, so awful about Thanksgiving?  Thanksgiving is a healthy lifestyle change killer!  I guarantee its on the FBI's most wanted list.  It has to be!  Thanksgiving destroys men and womens healthy lifestyle changes across the country.  Its pure evil I tell you!  After my 4 day weekend on feasting on Turkey Day food and leftovers, I gained 5lbs!  I feel like one of those balloons in the Thanksgiving Day parade.  Big, bloated, ovesized balloon waddling through the streets.  I'm the big ass Stay-Puft Marshmallow man in Ghostbusters.  Wrecking havoc on all the pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey and gravy in my way!

All is not lost though.  I knew there would be some aftermath.   I had prepared myself mentally to deal with this.  I must be totally honest (used car salesman speak), I didn't think it would be 5lbs.  I thought maybe 1, 2 at the most.  But what the hell! I enjoyed good eats for a few days!  Got back on track on the following Monday.   Starting working out again.  Not overeating.  Calorie watching.  By the end of the week I was down 2lbs.  In the past, the weight gain would have destroyed me mentally.  I would have gone over the deep end and ate everything in sight.  This journey has really changed me.  I've learned how to deal with these set backs.  You can't see me, but I'm patting myself on the back and giving myself a hug.

Before Thanksgiving:  234

After Thanksgiving: 239

Currently: 237

My goal world is to be 231 - 234 by the end of the month.  Thats 1-2lbs a week.  A very realistic goal.

Be positive and stay positive.

I Declare Today "Say No To Winter" Day!

I need to move!  Arizona, Texas, southern Nevada, New Mexico, Mercury.  Anywhere but in the freezer called nothern Nevada.  I can not stand this freakin' cold!  Cold wind!  You can kiss my (dolphin noises)!  Snow!  I got your snow right here!  Frost on my damn windows!  You can take your frost and shove it up your (fog horn)!  I already tired of it.  Where is the petition banning winter?  I will be the first one in line to sign it!  I'll sign it 100 times!  Send it to me stat!

TODAY I DECLARE "SAY NO TO WINTER" DAY!  Come on FOJ's (Friends of Jimbo)!  You know who you are!  You've seen them out on the streets in the snow with shorts!  Out in the 80mph artic winds with shorts!  The sideways rain with shorts!  Ice skating with shorts!  Jumping into the ice lake with shorts and no shirts!  Wait a minute, I think that's a different club.  I'm pretty sure they know where to stick it to winter!  Come on FOJ's!  Break out your hawaian board shorts, your t-shirts, sun hats, flip flops, sun dresses, mini skirts, short shorts!  Dust them all off!  Put them all on in defiance of winter!  Show them who's boss!  Do your "Go Away Winter" dance.  I'm with you!  Together we can fight this!

ARE YOU READY!  1...2...3....SCREW YOU WINTER!

From the Kitchen of Couch Potato Man - Penne with 3 Tomato Sauce

Here it is! The first test from the "Cooking Light" cookbook Jennie got for me. It was so easy to make. Only took about 20 minutes. Its perfect for the busy ass days we all have now.

The Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Penne
Sundried Tomatoes
Canned Diced Tomatoes
Roma Tomatoes
Garlic
Onion
Mozarella Cheese
Parsley
Basil
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

I swapped out the regular penne for whole wheat penne. Better for your heart. I swapped out the goat cheese for mooooo-zarella. I've never had goat cheese. I don't know if I even want to try goat cheese. The recipe called for 2 cloves of garlic, but Jennie and I love garlic so I think I put in 5, it may have been more. It said to garnish with basil, but basil with moooo-zarella and tomatoes are a perfect combo.

Its so easy to make. Anybody can do it! Saute the onions and garlic. Add the sundried tomatoes, canned tomatoes and diced roma tomatoes. Don't forget to salt and pepper!!! Cook it for about 20 minutes until the juices are almost gone. Stir in the cooked pasta. Add the diced moooo-zarella, parsley and basil at the end. Stir again and serve! Topped it off with some grated parmesan cheese.

It was so damn GOOOOOD! And surpisingly filling. I grilled Ciabatta (<---I think that's how you spell it)bread on the BBQ to serve with it. Grilled spicy Italian sausage would probably be really good added to it. Maybe add some crushed red pepper to add a kick if you want it to still be meatless. MMMMmmmmm GOOD! Enjoy

October Madness!

Wow! Man was I busy in October!

HALLOWEEN!!!! I love me some Halloween. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Its the one time or the year you can dress up crazy and no one cares. Its AWESOME! I love it! This year, we did a haunted house! Its been 3 years since the last one. And man was it great! (Video to come). Its by far the best haunted house we have done. We started building at the beginning of October and we finished a few days before Halloween. We opened the house for two days this year. It was great! I love scaring the kids and adults. Had some great scares this year. As Dallas would say, it was EPIC! I'm already counting down the days to the next one!!!!!!! 358 days left.......

Work day costume..... Halloweeen haunted house costume.....

Chili Cookoff at Peavine Elementary was great! I take two days off from work and I make chili with the class kids. Of course with Jennie's help. Its great fun. I look forward to it every year. Some good chili and some that were horrible with a mix of terrible. There was one that was so bad, I actually spit it out into the garbage, and then looked around for anything to get the nasty taste out of my mouth. Never new that the outside wall would taste so good! Of course I thought my chili was the best, but I only got spiciest this year. Oh well. I have 22 kids, so I still lots of chances to win one time!

Award winning chili. "Best chili ever" friend of Jimbo.

The job front in October was interesting. I'm starting to hate my job. Which is terrible. I bored out of my mind. I look forward to lunch and quitting time. I get so much exercise walking back and forth to the water cooler. Which leads to me going to the bathroom 84 times a day. There some changes in the workplace that has got me stressed out. Not work stress OBVIOUSLY, but what is going to be changing worried stressed out. I've been looking in Reno for another job for the last 10 months, but the job prospects in Reno are BLEAK. If the economy is changing for the better, I don't see it. I've decided to quit worrying about it. Lets see what changes happens. This is not the first time and Jennie and I seem to always figure it out for the better.

One of the many activites I do to past the time at work........sad.

October lifestyle updates. My October was terrible. I've been stress eating like crazy. I know what I need to do. I got little exercise. The good, I haven't gained any extra weight. The bad, I missed every single easy attainable goal I set for myself this month. Pretty pissed off at myself. I'm picking myself up, dusting off. Its a new a new month.

I saw this cookbook at the kids book fair. Jennie got it for me. I'm going to try some stuff in there, but with my own added JIMBOLIAS THE GREAT touches. More recipes to come!

Be positive stay positive. Good karma always come.

BTW! I'm terrible and updating this thing. I will get better.