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[tweetmeme] From The Classic Zucchini Cookbook: 225 Recipes for All Kinds of Squash I decided to try out

Tomato Zucchini Soup

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 Small fennel bulb or 2 celery ribs, minced
1 carrot, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ounce ham, minced (optional)
4 cups chicken broth or vegetable brother
2 cups diced and seeded tomatoes
2 cups grated zucchini
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, fennel, carrot, garlic, and ham.  (if using)  Saute until the vegetables are soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the broth and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes

3. Add the zucchini and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer until the zucchini is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

4. Serve hot.

Serves 4

I modified things a bit…

  • I used butter instead of olive oil
  • I opted to use 5 stalks of celery instead of the fennel or 2 celery ribs
  • I forgot to buy a carrot…
  • I used about 10 cloves of garlic
  • I didn’t use ham
  • I probably used about 6 cups of chicken broth and could probably use a bit more due to all the extra stuff I added – most of it absorbed the liquid….
  • I used a 24 oz. can of diced tomatoes
  • I used about 6 cups of zucchini
  • I added a 10 oz. container of sliced mushrooms
  • I also mixed in a pound of mini shell pasta

It came out really really yummy!
I highly recommend….

Do any of you have any good recipes that use ingredients from your garden?
I’d love it if you shared.
If you enjoy cooking, please feel free to join Rose’s Recipe Group over on Facebook.

Please comment and subscribe.

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The Weekly Re-cap: I showed you pictures of Isabella with her new Monkey Toy and my Dad entertaining.  I made Pesto and shared the recipe I used.  I tried sending a message on HootSuite and I shared a guest post called Who Will You Be When The Pilgrimage Is Over.  We discussed some good service I’ve received lately and lastly I made a request to all of you for donations for a Poker Run to benefit The Ronald McDonald House.

The Weekly Movie: Percy Jackson & The Olympians – The Lightning Thief – What I saw of it was really cute!  I need to go back and watch it again when I’m not distracted!

The Weekly Downer: Again – people who don’t return phone calls.  I have a contractor who I left a message for about 2 weeks ago.  Too late – even if he calls me back, I can’t do business with him.  If he can’t be bothered to call me when I’ve got paying work for him to do, he sure as hell isn’t going to call me back if there’s a problem after the job is done.

The Weekly Food: Pesto, Pork Chops, Steak & Cheese Burrito, Tomato Sandwiches….

The Weekly Interesting Fact: You can’t kill yourself by holding your breath.   (I guess I never thought about it, but it makes sense….)

The Weekly Birthdays: Tina Price, Joel Kuhn, Mariana Caglioti, Valleri James, Bridgette Almstead Garioli, Misha Gnazzo Yoshida, Carla Roberts Pryor, Tim Hoss, Jenn Boudreau, Kate Mostaccio, Diona Irish, and Melissa TatorI hope you all had wonderful birthdays!!  Leave a comment to let us know what you did for your special day!

The Weekly Activity: Interviews, phone calls, networking, and a motorcycle ride 🙂

Sofft - Floria

The Weekly Shoes: I love the shoes pictured above!!

The Weekly new people I’ve found on Twitter: TS Ensemble, Woo Themes, Glennpeter Jewelers,  and Jennifer Gish.

The Weekly Charity I’m Pimping: The No Destination Poker Run to benefit The Ronald McDonald House.  For donation information click here.

The Weekly Countdown: Days until Brenda returns to General Hospital: 5

The Weekly Hypothetical: If you had an over-abundance of tomatoes, what would you do with them?

Blue Flowers image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chitrasudar/2780206155/sizes/m/in/photostream/
Shoe image from: http://www.thewalkingcompany.com/brands/Product.aspx?ProductID=12144&pagetag=women_fashioncomfort&source=comfort
Percy Jackson image from: http://www.percyjackson.org/info/percy-jackson-official-site-updated/
Cake image from: http://www.giftacrossindia.com/cakes.asp

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This was originally posted on my friend Lynn Hidy’s website Up Your TeleSales on May 31, 2010.

Who Will You Be When The Pilgrimage Is Over?

Rose Niekrewicz-Winters is a friend of mine, I met when we were both on a bus trip with a band in Ireland…. ‘nuf said. Instead of telling you, I’ve asked Rose to share her pilgrimage and thoughts about it:

It’s been quite a long pilgrimage.  I’ve traveled through the past year and a half searching for a job.  Not just any job, but “the” job.  I know, I know – in this economy many would say I’m a fool to NOT just take any job.  What those people don’t realize is that if I just take any old job and then if it doesn’t work out and they lay me off, it could jeopardize my future unemployment status.  The bottom line is that I’m picky.

Who

Some may say it’s all about who you know.  I’ve found that sometimes that just doesn’t matter.  I have over 600 friends on Facebook, over 200 members in the motorcycle club, I’m in, thousands of hits to my blog, piles of former clients….  The list goes on and on.  Nobody seems to know anyone who is hiring.  I keep my ear to the ground because all it takes is 1 “right person” to drop your name at the right time.

Who I will be at the end of the journey is hopefully someone gainfully employed and happy at my job.  Push that angle aside and I’ll also be a person who took the time to get to know hundreds of people in the process and did good things for others along the way.

What

What did I do to keep my sanity?  I helped others.  I spent time working on a charity poker run for a girl with optic nerve cancer.  I helped some friends whose house burned down rebuild their lives.  I volunteered to help do work to open up the Double H “Hole in the Woods” Ranch in Lake Luzerne, NY.  I helped out a friend who was in a motorcycle accident. I supported a friend whose daughter has leukemia and tried to help her spread the word about a fundraiser for her.  I tell friends that I may have an empty bank account and can’t financially contribute to everything I’d like, but I do have time and a bank full of good karma!

When

When did I find the time?  Being out of work many people assume you’ve got all the time in the world to run around and help them with their errands.  There is nothing further from the truth.  I look at my schedule lately and wonder “when will I find the time to work when I get that new job?”  When you get extra time in your life, life decides to throw things at you to fill the time!

Where

Where do you meet the people?  Anywhere and Everywhere!  I talk to people every chance I get.  I make friends at a local coffee shop, on vacation, at concerts, at networking events, online, through other friends….  I keep saying it only takes talking to the one right person to land that perfect job….

How

How I’ve dealt with being out of work so long is a common question.  The answer is by keeping a positive attitude.  I always keep in mind that nobody wants to hire a complainer who’s crying in their beer all the time.  So I’ve been careful not to be that person. At the end of the How Far Are You Willing to Travel article in the A Chip Off the Block newsletter some questions were asked.

How would you like it to be instead?

Obviously I’d like to be employed.  I’d love it to be with a solid company that’s willing to recognize and pay for a quality employee.  Those $10/hour job calls just frustrate me to the point of asking “Did you even read my resume??”

How open to new, sometimes crazy sounding ideas are you?

I started my job search very focused on a sales job.  Later I reflected on my career and realized I was selling myself short.  True I’ve held many sales positions as of late, but I also have done marketing, data processing, management, etc.  So pigeon holing myself was a horrible thing to do!  I later realized that opening myself up to other markets and other professions was a great idea and now I tell people that I’m keeping my options open and I’d love to hear their ideas, no matter how crazy they may sound.

Just last night a good friend told me that another mutual friend counts on me for my ideas.  Apparently I’m her “think tank” and I never knew it.  I’m analytical and try to think three steps ahead and my friend doesn’t normally think past the first step.  She let’s things unfold as they happen.  I’ve learned in life to think about the future because your actions today can make or break things.

How much effort will you put in?

I work hard so I can play hard.  Everyone likes to make money.  They’d be lying if they said otherwise.  I like to do a job in the most efficient way and get it out of the way.  I put in the effort to get a job done right the first time so it doesn’t have to be revised 4 times therefore wasting valuable “play time.”

How does this fit into your goals?

This all fits into my goals.  My goals are to work hard so I can afford to play hard.  I love to travel (in fact that’s how Lynn of Up Your Telesales and I met and became friends), ride motorcycles, attend concerts, etc.  All of that is tough to do when you’re unemployed.  So I’m hoping my positive attitude and outgoing personality I’m putting out there will pay off with the job of my dreams!

How will you keep going when it gets tough?

That’s a loaded question if I ever saw one!  Things have gotten tough.  Life is tough.  The question is will you choose to have a “Whoa is me” attitude or a positive attitude?  Attitude is half the battle!  Times get tough and somehow it motivates me to work harder and put in even more effort than I had prior.

In closing the How Far Are You Willing To Travel article said:  “It’s your pilgrimage so there are no right or wrong answers – plus if you’re happy with the path you’re on, continue!”

I may not always be happy with the path I’m on, but I’m always aware of the next crossroad and am very aware that my life can be very different based on the choices I make.  All events shape the outcome of future events.  Just like Marty and Doc discussed in Back to the Future It’s all about the “Space Time Continuum”. Make every moment count.

Please comment and subscribe.

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Chelsea Clinton & Marc Mezvinsky to wed this weekend in Rhinebeck NY

[tweetmeme] I wasn’t invited to the Clinton/Mezvinsky wedding even though it’s up the road from my parents house in Rhinebeck, NY….  We will be down to spend time with my parents that day though.

The Weekly Re-cap: I showed you what I had for a 3AM snack and spoke about Mental Feng Shui.  We celebrated Miss Isabella’s 3rd Birthday!!  I told you about a study going on to track how many fireflies are still out there.  Michael & I attended the 5th Annual smAlbany Small Business Day and I shared a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

The Weekly New Season on TV: Project Runway Season 8

The Weekly Beverage: Raspberry Vodka & Sprite (made by Kristi Gustafson during her guest bartender event at Dale Miller to benefit Equinox, Inc. – They raised over $1,000!!

The Weekly Food: Pizza, Sliders Sweet Sausage and Leftovers!  (Real healthy huh?)

The Weekly Amazing Fact: According to Musicouch.com Time Warner Corporation bought the rights to the Happy Birthday song in 1998. So now a single use in a film or TV program will cost around $10,000!

The Weekly Birthdays: Chantel Weckesser-Schultz, Nicole VanWagner, Heather Skoda, Jennifer Kappeller, Jerry Papandrea, Ed Lass, Debbie DeCicco-Fiore, Carla Rozman, Phil Russo, Lisa Naccarato Schatzel, Dan Hubbell, and Kevin RyanI hope you all had wonderful birthday’s!!  Leave a comment and tell me what you did for your special day.

The BMW K1300 GT backed up to my Yamaha FJR 1300AE

The Weekly Activity: We went to Dale Miller for the Equinox, Inc. benefit where Kristi Gustafson & Steve Barnes were guest bartenders.  (They raised over $1000!)  Our friend Trish and her son came to visit for a day of BBQ and hanging out in the pool.  We attended the Lia Car Show, as well as the smAlbany Small Business Day as VIP bloggers.  We rode out to The Factory in Ballston Spa with No Destination, and we test rode a BMW K1300 GT at Max BMW Motorcycles.  We had a VERY busy week!!

The Weekly new people I’ve found on Twitter (some of them): ChesshireCat, Santino Rice, Tim Cronin, Rev. Alan Rudnick, Lydia Kulbida, Outspoken Media, Barkeater Chocolates, Merci Miglino, Sonja Stark, Lisbeth Calandrino, Dan Churchill, Larry Zimbler, Lauren Rose, and Squiggout.

LaDorka's National MS Walk 2009

The Weekly Charity I’m Pimping: LaDorka’s – National Multiple Sclerosis Walk
These women are incredible and walking for a good cause.  Please donate whatever you can.  They have a hefty goal.  Every dollar gets them closer to a cure for MS.

What are your plans for the weekend?
Please comment and subscribe.

Cupcake image: http://www.allthingscupcake.com/page/9/?s=ote
BMW & FJR picture by Michael T. Henry Photography


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smAlbany Small Business Day 2010

[tweetmeme] I started my day remembering a blog I’d read the night prior.  Tea Contains Less Caffeine Than Coffee on the Broken Secrets blog.  I couldn’t get my caffeine soon enough!  I rarely drink coffee, but when I do I get the caffeine kick I need.  Since I knew I’d be talking to people though – I did them all a favor and DIDN’T drink coffee.  Coffee breath stays with me all day — so I opted for Mountain Dew Typhoon instead.  (I needed something caffeinated to help me function on 2 hours sleep!)

College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering

Once Michael and I checked in at the registration desk and mingled some, we settled in to the auditorium at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering building (For those that don’t know it’s the big glass building at the corner of Fuller Road and Washington Avenue Ext. in Albany)

Below are some notes about the forums that were offered.
I found as I started writing this that it was VERY difficult to keep up with all the information the panels were presenting.  Many of the following sections will appear more as “notes” vs. a “narrative.”

Times Union:  Tools for Small Business Success

Speaker: Tena Tyler – News and Information Services Senior Editor 518.454.5324

To have your business information printed in the Times Union you need to understand your audience.  You need to know how to speak their language.  She stressed that a business needs to know when to call an editor.  If you’ve sent in a press release and two weeks have passed and it hasn’t been published, make sure you call in.  Tena stated that one of the biggest problems with small businesses in the region is that they don’t accept that online is a form of publication.  Many businesses are turning to Facebook and Twitter to market their businesses, but small businesses seem to be slower to use the online medium for marketing.

The TU wants to help small businesses in the region
If you have a story about your business: TUBusiness@timesunion.com
If you have a business event and would like it added to our business calendar: TUCalendar@timesunion.com
If you want your event to be in the print version – please contact them 3 weeks in advance
Eric Anderson – Business editor 453-5323

Speaker: Craig Eustace – Retail Advertising Manager 518.454.5529
Craig spoke about the paid marketing that the Times Union offers.
The Times Union now has Niche publications.
Life @Home – geared towards your home – design ideas, DIY projects, etc.
Healthy Life – geared towards women’s issues and things women would like to read about.
Explore – Where to go what to do – travel/tourism
In Motion – Automotive magazine
Vow – Brand New – Wedding magazine (Just launched Tuesday!)

You can advertise your small business in these publications to get your ad in front of a targeted audience.
Pay per click is also offered.  You will know how many people clicked on your ad.  It is track-able so you will know what your return on investment is.

They offer direct mail marketing.  They can provide demographic lists.  For example – If you’re a roofer – they can get you a list of all houses in the readership area that are 25 years or older.  You can target them and send your ad to those target customers.

Tim Cronin & Lisbeth Calandrino

Keynote Speaker:  Lisbeth Calandrino – Make It Happen
Lisbeth CalandrinoOwner of Lisbeth Calandrino Business Consulting, speaker, trainer, business coach and author of Red Hot Customer Service.

We have huge growth in the technology market in the capital region.

2 out of 3 jobs are created by small businesses

Earlier this month Sam’s Club did a survey of their small business customers.
“What is it that you need in order to stay in business?” was the main question.
The answer: MONEY!  Sam’s Club partnered with the National Business Association and the Small Business Administration to figure out how to get small business loans for the small business community.  If the small businesses don’t have money to maintain their businesses, it will directly effect Sam’s Club’s bottom line.  This act alone shows that Sam’s Club partners with their customers.

What do small businesses need around Albany?
Many have good business but it isn’t steady.
Figure out how to get your customer out to shop.
Consumers are afraid to shop.  Afraid to spend – need to save their money.
If you want to make it as a small business, you need to be a partner with your customer
It’s your job to be friends with you customers.

She quoted 212 – The Extra Degree by Sam Parker & Mac Anderson
“At 211 degrees, water is hot.
At 212 degrees, it boils.
And with boiling water, comes steam.
And steam can power a locomotive.”

Meet the Media Who Cover The Local Business News
Moderated by Lydia Kulbida from WTEN and Times Union Blogger

The Panelists
Larry Rulison
Lauren Rose
Mary Darcy
Mike Hendricks

Read your tweets and messages out loud.  Would you want to buy whatever your pitching?
Engage with your audience – have a fun personality.
Friend every reporter out there to get your name out in many forms of media.
Comment on the blogs, Facebook, Twitter….
Interact with your customers on Twitter & Facebook with personal tweets and comments.

Times Union – Panel on Social Media, Blogging and Your Customers
Moderated by Mike Huber – Interactive Audience Manager at the Times Union

The Panelists
Sonja Stark

Merci Miglino
Lissa D’Aquanni
Rev. Alan Rudnick
Vic Christopher

Questions that you should ask yourself prior to blogging are:
“Why should people read your blog?  Why should they care?
People blog for different reasons.  Some blog to market their business, others blog to build a sense of community.
“Careful what you put out there.  Count to 10 before you hit publish.”
“What degree do ethics play in a community?”
Rev. Alan Rudnick spoke about people who “hide behind the veil” AKA – Anonymous bloggers.
Merci reminded us that “Blogging is a knee jerk – reactive media.”
“If you don’t believe in your product, in yourself, and that you can cheer yourself out of a corner – you shouldn’t start a blog.”
“Be a follower OR have a following.”  Your choice.
They spoke about the recent “Ding Dong Ditch” incident that happened locally last week.  Why did it become such a firestorm?  It was a story that contained emotion.  It could happen to any home owner.    Social Media helped that story spread like wild-fire.  So much so that CNN picked up the story.

An audience member Karen McGowan spoke that she hadn’t considered a blog for her business until today.  The panel encouraged her to start blogging about her business Capital Interior Scapes an interior plant scape business.  By blogging she would humanize her business and she would appear as an expert in her industry.  She could post customer recommendations, pictures of plant-scapes she’d designed, lists of plants that people could consider and so many other things.

Going Mobile – The Mobile Revolution in Social Media
Presented by Rhea Drysdale of Outspoken Media and Verizon Wireless

Why is  mobile taking over everyone’s lives?
It makes our lives easier.

What is social media?
“Social media are media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques…  They support the democratization of knowledge and information and transform people from content consumers to content producers.”

Benefits of social media
New customer acquisition
Current customer outreach
Loyalty rewards
Corporate branding
Personal branding
Brand monitoring and management

They spoke about using Facebook, Twitter, Ning, Yelp, FourSquare GetListed and Know Em to market your business.  Go to these sites and fill out your business profile.  They stressed to fill in EVERY blank and as many keywords as are relevant to help your business come up in internet search engine results.

54% of the phone users in the local market use Verizon service.
30-40% of them are smart phones.
52% of the phones sold last week in his store were smartphones – ie. Droids, Blackberries, etc.

Top 10 Things Your Small Biz Website Needs in 2010
Presented by: Miriam Paska – Creative Strategist from Intellisites

She didn’t present them as a “Top 10” but some of the key points were:

Have a unique Design
You need to know who you’re competing against and what their web presence and marketing strategies are.
Keep your important information “above the fold”
You want the viewer of your site to see the important information without having to scroll down the page.
Use keyword phrases in your blog and on your website so you will organically show up on Web search results.
She also spoke about using Google Alerts to monitor the online activity of your company name.

Using Social Media For Your Job Hunt
Presented by: Alexis Grant

Use social media to:
Tap into your existing network
Expand your network s to include contacts at the companies where you want to work.

Facebook
Biggest online community – most bang for your buck – IT’S FREE!
People know you, like you, and WANT to help you
Great excuse to keep in touch with people who could help you

She stressed the importance of making small-talk first.  Don’t friend request someone and immediately ask them if their company is hiring.  Make some small talk and as the conversation evolves, your job search will be mentioned.

Alexis spoke about using your Facebook privacy settings to control what potential employers could see on your profile.    You want to be personal, yet still professional.

LinkedIn
Connect with professionals you might not want to see your personal life on Facebook
Your resume will appear on Google, showing potential employers what you want them to see.
LinkedIn has job boards as well as groups you can join based on your alma mater and industry.
You can find out background information about potential employers
There is an introductions feature that you can use to meet someone who a mutual friend knows.

Twitter
Network outside your circle of friends
Prove yourself as an expert
Hear about jobs
Keep on top of new trends in your industry
Make connections with companies and employers who may not have otherwise noticed you)

Tips when using social media
Fill out your profile completely
If you’re not going to do it well, don’t do it at all
Rather than being on every network – choose a few and grow quality followings

Thank you to Tim Cronin and Larry Zimbler for the invitation to be a VIP Guest Blogger at the smAlbany Small Business Day 2010.  I look forward to interacting with you in the future.

smAlbany Image from: http://www.smalbany.org
Mountain Dew Image from: http://thishelpdesk.com/mountain-dew-typhoon/
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering Image from: http://todaysfacilitymanager.com/facilityblog/2009/12
Tim Cronin and Lisbeth Calandrino image by Michael T. Henry: http://tcrpmg.wordpress.com

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[tweetmeme] The Weekly Re-cap: This week we talked about my guilty little puppy and the fish in my pool.  I informed you of a rude person who works at Colonie Center.  I told you about our yummy chicken, zucchini and mushroom dinner and discussed the results of the library usage poll.  Finally we talked about Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo coming back to General Hospital as Brenda Barrett and the Delmar Homeowners who tackled a kid for ding dong ditch.

The Weekly Movie: Mr Destiny, and Batman-The Dark Knight

The Weekly Downer: People not returning phone calls.  It’s rude and unprofessional!

The Weekly Food: London Broil, Chicken with zucchini and mushrooms over pasta, Dewitt’s steaks with baked potatoes (they were soooo good!!), cheesecake & birthday cake.

The Weekly Amazing Fact: A hummingbird weighs less than a penny!

The Weekly Birthdays: Adriane Powell, Tim Niekrewicz, Suzanne Marshall Akers, Scott Carpenter, Jennifer White, William Tragedy Yager, Paul Bolk, Jamie Lubman, and Terry McCann.  I hope you all had wonderful birthdays!  Leave a comment and tell us what you did to celebrate your birthday.

The Weekly Craft: I miss having time to do crafts….

The Weekly Activity: Searching for a job, interviewing and going to Michael’s gallery reception.

The Weekly new people I’ve found on Twitter: 5 Below, Red Robin, Will King, Ritter Sport, Marilyn Elmore, Dutchess County Fair, Vista Print, and NYSLabor.

The Weekly Charity I’m Pimping: As part of the Albany restaurant Dale Miller’s ongoing series of fundraising cocktail parties for area nonprofits, Kristi Gustafson and Steve Barnes will be guest bartenders from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday July 26th.  Dale Miller will donate 25 percent of the food and beverage sales in the bar during that time to Equinox Inc., the community-services agency best known for its Thanksgiving dinner.  You can RSVP on Facebook here.

The Weekly Countdown: 482 days until Breaking Dawn is released. How excited are you for this movie??

Weekly Grand Totals: I was awake for 36 hours straight and I finally crashed around midnight last night – hence why the weeklies are being published a bit later than usual.  Than you for your understanding.

What are you doing this weekend?
Please comment and subscribe.

Raindrop image from:  http://whiteboydancefloor.blogspot.com/2008/06/rain-rain-go-away-come-again-another.html
Hummingbird image from: http://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/hummingbird-sex.htm
Birthday cake image from: http://www.toward-the-goal.net/2007/06/

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This picture was taken before we combined with the pasta so you could see the main ingredients. It came out really delicious!

The pictures a little dim, but we had out first dinner with zucchini out of the garden!  Michael has worked so hard on making the garden a success.  He wrote a nice blog about things he learned from his first garden.  Check it out.

Here’s how I made dinner:

Boneless Chicken Breasts
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Butter
Chicken Broth
Garlic Powder
Beau Monde
Salt
Pepper
Pasta of choice – I used Penne

Make pasta to instructions on package.  While it is cooking do the following:

Chop up the boneless chicken breasts into cubes.  (I used 3 breasts)
Saute the chicken in some butter until they’re cooked through.
Remove from pan and cover to keep them warm.
Next saute the zucchini in the pan with butter.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Heat until they are soft, but remove them from the heat before they get soggy.
Then saute the mushrooms in butter. (YES, I KNOW I LIKE BUTTER!!)
Sprinkle with garlic powder, beau monde, salt and pepper.

Combine the chicken, zucchini, and mushrooms all in a pan together.
Pour in some chicken broth, about half way up the pan.  Heat until the broth is warm.
Combine with the pasta, mix and serve.

Do you have a garden?
Have you harvested anything yet?

If you have recipes to share, please visit my Recipe Group on Facebook.

Please comment and subscribe.

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The Weeklies ~ Week 29

[tweetmeme]

The Weekly Re-cap: We talked about how to kill mosquitoes and where to get yummy cupcakes.  I taught you how to cook a yummy meal that will feed you for days.  I told you who I thought should take their shirt off in the next Twilight movie.  I relayed a story of a man who helped feed some soldiers on their way to warIsabella showed off her work ethic and I told you my strategy to find treasures at yard sales.  Finally I put up a post about my 200th blog.  There we talked about my top 3 posts to-date.

The Weekly Guest Blog Posts: For the past 2 weeks Kristi Gustafson who writes the On The Edge blog for the Times Union has been on vacation.  While she was out she had scheduled guest blogs to fill the time she was out of the office.  Michael and I were featured in the following:  What Is A Friend?My Dog Is My ChildMeet Rose Winters (AKA Dozenroses13) & Meet Michael Henry (AKA: Michael @tcrpmg) Click the links, check them out, and comment away!

The Weekly Yay: Michael and the Times Union FINALLY launched the long-overdue Biker Blog.  Check it out and leave him some comment love!

The Weekly Read: I’m working on reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.

The Weekly Music: U2 – Even Better Than The Real Thing I heard the song the other day and can’t get it out of my head.  That’s not a bad thing.  I love the song!!

The Weekly Movie: Flight of the Navigator (1986)

The Weekly Time Waster: Google Chrome.  I tried using it a few weeks ago and it kept slowing down my computer and crashing.  So I stopped using it, but my Firefox kept getting hung up.  It shouldn’t take 5 minutes for a page to load.  It was worse than waiting for dial-up!  You can’t imagine how many times I was ready to throw something!  So yesterday I finally decided to uninstall Google Chrome and that seems to have been the problem!  (Yeah, I know, you’re shocked, I’m not putting any links to Google Chrome because I don’t want to encourage ANYONE to install it!!)

The Weekly Downer: There never seems to be enough time to catch up on reading all the blogs I love!

The Weekly Worst Piece of Crap on TV: Wipeout – If I want to watch people run into walls and fall on their face, I can watch myself in a mirror….

The Weekly Food: Italian Goulash, Moe’s Pulled Pork Rice Bowl, French Toast, and Potato Chips.

The Weekly Interesting Fact: In comparison to the size of its body, a Chihuahua has the largest brains among all the breeds of dogs. **

The Weekly Birthdays: John Conklin, Mike Rojas, Nadine Avery, Paul ‘Ozzie’ Cooper, Rory Woods, Wade Clark, Andy Sleurs, Rachel Armstrong, Darla Poisson, Melissa Markle, Sari Medick, Brandon Powers, Gino Balacic, Ismay Ashley, Terri Rossi, Kristi Gustafson, Yvonne Turchetti and an extra special 40th Birthday shout-out to Kerm Tristani.  I hope you all had fabulous birthdays.  Leave a comment and tell us what you did for your special day.

The Weekly Birthday Wish: Kristi Gustafson really wants an electric toothbrush 🙂

The Weekly Activity: Job search (Times Union Job Fair) and blogging.

The Weekly new people I’ve found on Twitter: I created a new Twitter name GiveAwaysForYou to post up giveaway tweets so they don’t flood my Dozenroses13 feed.  Hopefully one day I’ll be posting my own giveaways.

The Weekly Charity I’m Pimping: Kristi Gustafson will be guest bartending Monday July 26 from 5:30-7:30PM at the award-winning Dale Miller Restaurant.  Dale Miller is generously donating 25% of the bar proceeds from the evening to the programs and services of Equinox, Inc. For more information please visit the event page on Facebook.

The Weekly Countdown: Michael & Angela’s photo reception: 2 Days

Weekly Grand Totals: 100+ comments on the Let’s Ride 1st post in the Times Union’s Biker Blog which Michael writes.

The Weekly Hypothetical:

The Weekly Not-So-Hypothetical:  If I told you Michael wanted me to go outside with him so he could “show me his zucchini.”  What would you say?

Please comment and subscribe.

Wave & cupcake images from http://weheartit.com
U2 image from http://www.newszoom.com/search/read/inxs/inxs/7/02/
Interesting fact found at http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-chihuahuas-4040.html
Kristi Gustafson image from http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=313244&id=100000018647482

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The basil was fresh out of our garden 🙂

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Today was one of those days where I was running around like crazy trying to get a lot of things done.  So I decided to make a meal that will last us for a couple of days.  We can probably get 10-12 servings out of this so we definitely have leftovers whenever we make it and it’s so easy to make.

What you need.

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of ground beef.  I used 93/7
2  packages of mushrooms (I think they were 10 oz. packages)
Butter
1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes
1 pound of pasta (I used rigatoni)
8-10 leaves fresh basil
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (optional)

Prepare pasta to directions on the box.  I make mine al dente.
Brown the beef in a deep frying pan.  Drain out any excess grease.

Sauteing The Mushrooms

In a separate pan I saute up the mushrooms in a couple teaspoons of butter.
(I cut the mushrooms into quarters.)
While sauteing, I add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the mushrooms.


Next I put the can of tomatoes in the pan with the beef and carefully split the whole tomatoes with a spoon.
(Be careful, they’ll squirt all over your stove if you’re not gentle)
Once the tomatoes are heated, I add the mushrooms to the pan.


Tear up the basil leaves and add them along with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Combine with the pasta and enjoy.
(I like to sprinkle some shredded mozzarella on mine)

I hope you enjoy it.
Please feel free to join Rose’s Recipe Group over on Facebook.
Do you have any great recipes you’d like to share?

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Photo by Michael T. Henry Photography

We went to Bettie’s Cake’s Double Decker Bus today for brunch.  The bus is a 1963 Bristol Double Decker Bus.  The 2nd floor is seating, though in this hot weather it was too hot to eat up there.  The set-up was really unique.  This weekend they are parked in at 250 Delaware Avenue in Delmar, NY.  They change the location quite often (they’re mobile for a reason!) so check out their Twitter and/or Facebook to find out where they are.  I bet the owner Lorraine Murphy can tell you too!

Sierra had a peanut butter cup cupcake, Michael had a coconut cream cupcake and I had a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing.  They were all really yummy!  I also got an M&M cookie.  I’m eating it right now, and almost 12 hours after I bought it, it’s still good!!

Hopefully we can visit them again soon.

Do you have any unique businesses like this where you live?

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Photo by Michael T. Henry Photography

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