11:37 a.m. - 2006-11-14
invent this!
So I saw that commercial for the new Lexus car that parallel carks itself. My first thought: "Wow, that is amazing." My second thought: "Inventions are making us stupider."
Has anyone read The Time Machine, for pete's sake???? Surely you have, but if not, a quick summary of the relavent part of the storyline: The upper class of people who enjoy luxury, over generations, become weak and stupid because they don't use their minds or bodies to do anything, and they are essentially ruled over by the lower class who kept their faculties sharp by working and keeping the society going.
I enjoy it that I can parallel park, and I realize that probably I won't be teaching my children how to slide a car into a tiny space. (Pretty consistently I can fit into a space that is only about 6 inches longer than my car.) That makes me realize that our parents, at one time, probably figured they'd be teaching their kids to drive stick shift. Raise your hand if you know how to drive stick...one...two. Yeah, exactly. (Bev and Kelly are the only girls I know of who can drive stick on command.) I learned to drive stick at the age of thirteen, up at our cabins in the mountains in a 20 year old jeep with no doors or top. I could do it in a pinch, but since I don't do it at all regularly, I'm rusty at best.
Now, I could go out and buy a car that does not have automatic transmission if I wanted to, however, that would seriously alter my ability to talk on the phone and drink my starbucks while zooming down the parkway.
Apparently there is this new invention out that is a pen with a little computer in it that helps kids with their homework. Basically, from what I could tell, it does it for them. Just what kids need. See, my fourth graders at the tutoring program DO NOT know their times tables. I have had to teach them how to do "arrays" which are groups of dots that they can make and ultimately count when they don't know the answer. The reason they don't know their multiplication tables is because they do their homework with a calculator. Then they fail the test. They can't understand why they need to learn them (memorize) when this handy little machine does it for them. I get their point, but I NEVER have a calculator handy. And I'm grateful I memorized my times tables when I was 8 so that I can quickly figure out how many pizzas to order if there are 9 people eating who will probably eat, on average, 3 pieces each, minus 1 or 2 for little Kel who generally eats half the amount of the average, plus 2 for Kapoo who is a good eater, etc. So now, not only are there calculators to contend with when attempting to motivate 10 year olds to do their flash cards; there are also computer pens.
I also recently saw a commercial for some Bob Evans "home cooked" meals. Basically it's like pot roast you put in the microwave when you're ready to eat. I mean, microwaved pot roast?? I have a serious "no meat in the microwave" policy. Ew. The way chicken gets all rubbery and red meat tastes 2 weeks old? No, no. no. Unacceptable.
People, how difficult is it to throw a pound or two of chuck roast in the crock pot with a little beef broth?
In light of this unacceptable notion that cooking is too hard or takes too much time, how about sharing some recipes? I'm not much of a recipe person...I'm more of an estimator/make it up as I go person. But I can share a few easy staples if you're interested:
Pot Roast
2 pounds of chuck roast
1 envelope of onion soup/dip dry mix
3 cups of beef (or chicken) broth
A few splashes of beer (anything will work but a brown ale is best.)
Put all ingredients into crock pot on low. (Frozen or thawed is ok.) Cook at least 6 hours. 7 is best. No more than 8. Yum.
White sauce for Pasta
1 whole onion, chopped.
4 cloves of garlic - pressed
olive oil
flour
butter
half and half
chicken or vegetable or beef stock
parmesan cheese
Put a coating of olive oil in the pan. Just enough to coat it. Put a tablespoon or so of butter in the pan. Melt. Add garlic, onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir up. Add 1 cup of stock and 1 cup of flour. Allow to heat through. Add 1/3 cup of parmesan. Stir. Add garlic salt to taste.
You can add some pesto to make it a pesto cream sauce or some cayenne pepper to make it spicy. Or some sauteed red pepper to make it peppery. All of these are good with chicken and pasta. Throw in some artichokes or spinach to make it fancier. It's amazing with tortellini.
Easy enchilada Bake (serves 2-4 depending on how hungry you are)
(the easiest is to use the Old El Paso box kit but this way is easy too.)
1 pound ground meat (beef or turkey work equally well)
6 small-med sized tortillas (white and wheat work equally well)
1 cup cheese (cheddar or colby or jack)
Salsa
Enchilada sauce
sour cream
Cook meat in skillet. Add some cheese (if it doesn't sound gross to you, adding some Cheese Whiz works really well) and some salsa and some pepper.
Coat bottom of baking pan with salsa.
Take each totilla, put some meat in it, roll it up and set in the pan, seam down. Choose a pan that will fit the rolls snugly. Too much space and they'll fall apart. an 8 x 8 pan is good for 6 enchilada.
Pour salsa over all tortillas so everything is slightly moist, not soggy. (I kind of rub it on so it's not too wet.)
Cover with remaining cheese. Cover pan with foil.
Bake 20-25 minutes.
When you serve, it will be messy, so be careful. Put a dollop of sour cream on each enchilada.
Email me if you want more recipes. I've been cooking a lot lately.
