Friday, October 19, 2012

What a Knockout…Bacon Wrapped Pineapple!

Happy Monday and thanks you so much for your support on both the shirt slogan and the idea. I greatly appreciate it! I hope you had an awesome weekend as I know I did. The weather was great and we were able to get some things done outside (Christmas lights taken down, some of the flower beds weeded). I also got a little bit of shopping in, did some visiting and attended the annual home show. In addition to this, I did some weekly planning for zestycook.com both post and food wise for the week.

Now take a look at this – bacon wrapped pineapple topped with a homemade barbecue sauce. Talk about a killer appetizer. When I made this dish the last couple of times, the pieces of pineapple literally flew out of the baking dish. This really is a crowd favorite.

I am just guessing but I think the bacon has something to do with that.

Ingredients

1 Cup ketchup
1/4 Cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/8 Tsp. hot sauce
Salt and pepper
1 (15 1/2 oz.) Can pineapple chunks, drained
1 Lb. bacon, cut in half crosswise

Method

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in saucepan, stirring well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat, set sauce aside.

Wrap each pineapple chunk with a piece of bacon, securing with a wooden pick.

Place on rack in shallow roasting pan. (Notice how I forgot the rack in this picture. I actually took out all the pieces and added the rack. However, leave it to me to forget to take another picture)

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes then baste with sauce, return to oven.
Bake an additional 15 minutes until bacon is cooked.
Serve with sauce.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When cooking this dish, it is essential you place the pineapple/bacon on a rack for the grease to fall through below. If not the bacon will disintegrate off the pineapple and you will be left with just pineapple.

Zesty Clothing Update

Well it looks like “Get Zesty” is the winner of the new slogan for the clothing line. I am going to be working on setting up the store and having all the selections ready to go shortly. I will let you know when everything is finalized and purchases can be made. Once everything is complete, I will kick off the clothing with a fun little giveaway of some free stuff for you. I can’t wait to get started.

Question of the day: Have you ever tried bacon wrapped fruit before?

Easy Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Easy Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole

We love a good breakfast casserole on the weekends and when it's the type you can make the night before and just stick it in the oven the next morning makes it even better !
I love making things like this when we have overnight guests,it makes things so much easier.

4 c. Southern/country-style hash browns (cubes), completely thawed (if they’re not thawed, they won’t cook correctly)
1 12-oz. package bacon( I used Turkey bacon)
1 1/2 c. pepper jack cheese( I used Two cups)
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese( I used at least To cups)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 eggs
1 c. milk
about 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
about 10 turns freshly ground black pepper

Begin cooking bacon. While the bacon is cooking, place the potatoes in a 9×13″ baking dish or a deep-dish 9″ pie plate. Mix the cheeses together and sprinkle it over the potatoes. When the bacon is done cooking, drain it on a paper towel and reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Cook the onions in the drippings for 2-3 minutes or until they’re tender and fragrant. Spread the onions over the cheese mixture and then sprinkle everything with the crumbled bacon. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and, whisking constantly, pour the egg mixture evenly over the potato mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for 7-8 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly but not brown. Allow to stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Adapted..BestBites

Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs

Rated:

Submitted By: Angie

Photo By: RyansGirl21

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Servings: 6

"Marinated mushrooms and bacon-wrapped chicken chunks are threaded onto skewers with pineapple, and cooked on the grill!"

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons canola oil

10 large mushrooms, cut in half

2 green onions, minced

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast

halves - cut into chunks

1/2 pound sliced thick cut bacon, cut in

half

1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks,

drained

skewers

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, cider vinegar, honey, canola oil, and green onions. Place the mushrooms and chicken into the mixture, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.
2.	Preheat grill for high heat.
3.	Remove the mushrooms and chicken from the marinade and shake off excess. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes; set aside.
4.	Wrap the chicken chunks with bacon, and thread onto skewers so that the bacon is secured. Alternate with mushroom halves and pineapple chunks.
5.	Lightly oil the grill grate. Arrange skewers on the prepared grill. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, brushing occasionally with remaining soy sauce mixture, until bacon is crisp and chicken juices run clear.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/19/2012

Egg and bacon breakfast tacos | Ole Mexican Foods

Deep Dish Fastfood Pizza - Epic Meal Time

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.: Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation » President Obama’s Taxpayer-Backed Green Energy Failures » Print

President Obama’s Taxpayer-Backed Green Energy Failures

Posted By Ashe Schow On October 18, 2012 @ 8:25 am In Energy and Environment,Featured | 62 Comments

^[1]
It is no secret that President Obama’s and green-energy supporters’ (from both parties) foray into venture capitalism has not gone well. But the extent of its failure has been largely ignored by the press. Sure, single instances garner attention as they happen, but they ignore past failures in order to make it seem like a rare case.
The truth is that the problem is widespread. The government’s picking winners and losers in the energy market has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and the rate of failure, cronyism, and corruption at the companies receiving the subsidies is substantial. The fact that some companies are not under financial duress does not make the policy a success. It simply means that our taxpayer dollars subsidized companies that would’ve found the financial support in the private market.
So far, 36 companies that have received federal support from taxpayers have either gone bankrupt or are laying off workers and are heading for bankruptcy. This list includes only those companies that received federal money from the Obama Administration’s Department of Energy. The amount of money indicated does not reflect how much was actually received or spent but how much was offered. The amount also does not include other state, local, and federal tax credits and subsidies, which push the amount of money these companies have received from taxpayers even higher.
The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:

Evergreen Solar ($24 million)*
SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
Solyndra ($535 million)*
Beacon Power ($69 million)*
AES’s subsidiary Eastern Energy ($17.1 million)
Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
SunPower ($1.5 billion)
First Solar ($1.46 billion)
Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
Amonix ($5.9 million)
National Renewable Energy Lab ($200 million)
Fisker Automotive ($528 million)
Abound Solar ($374 million)*
A123 Systems ($279 million)*
Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($6 million)
Johnson Controls ($299 million)
Schneider Electric ($86 million)
Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
ECOtality ($126.2 million)
Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
Range Fuels ($80 million)*
Thompson River Power ($6.4 million)*
Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
LSP Energy ($2.1 billion)*
UniSolar ($100 million)*
Azure Dynamics ($120 million)*
GreenVolts ($500,000)
Vestas ($50 million)
LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($150 million)
Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
Navistar ($10 million)
Satcon ($3 million)*

*Denotes companies that have filed for bankruptcy.
The problem begins with the issue of government picking winners and losers in the first place. Venture capitalist firms exist for this very reason, and they choose what to invest in by looking at companies’ business models and deciding if they are worthy. When the government plays venture capitalist, it tends to reward companies that are connected to the policymakers themselves or because it sounds nice to “invest” in green energy.
The 2009 stimulus set aside $80 billion to subsidize politically preferred energy projects. Since that time, 1,900 investigations have been opened ^[2] to look into stimulus waste, fraud, and abuse (although not all are linked to the green-energy funds), and nearly 600 convictions have been made. Of that $80 billion in clean energy loans, grants, and tax credits, at least 10 percent has gone to companies that have since either gone bankrupt or are circling the drain.

Calif. official whose agency under-reported unemployment stats was Obama campaign donor

Calif. official whose agency under-reported unemployment stats was Obama campaign donor: Marty Morgenstern, the secretary of the California agency that substantially under-reported unemployment claims last week, contributed to President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential election campa

Delicious Coma: maple-bacon cinnamon rolls

Bacon Pecan Brittle » Dinner With Julie

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Frog on the lighter side

DO YOU REMEMBER JANUARY 3, 2007?

DO YOU REMEMBER JANUARY 3, 2007?

Remember that on October 9, 2007, 11 months before our "economic crisis" occurred (that was actually created), the Dow hit its highest point ever, closing at 14,164.53 and reaching 14,198.10 intra-day level 2 days later. Unemployment was steady at 4.7%. But things were already being put in place to create the havoc we've all been experiencing since then.

And it all started, as this email explains, on January 3, 2007.

This tells the story, why Bush was so "bad" at the end of his term.

Don't just skim over this, it's not very long, read it slowly and let
it sink in. If in doubt, check it out!!!

The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was
actually January 3rd 2007, which was the day the Democrats took over
the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the
110th Congress.

The Democrat Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the
first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.

For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy
that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this: January 3rd, 2007
was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress.

At the time:
The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB GROWTH

Remember the day...
January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House
Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate
Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months
later was in what part of the economy? BANKING AND FINANCIAL
SERVICES!

Unemployment... to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping
5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!

Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in
2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy.

And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie
Mac? Mr. OBAMA And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? Mr. OBAMA
and the Democrat Congress.

So when someone tries to blame Bush. REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007....
THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"

Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for 2008 &
2009 as well as 2010 & 2011.

In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused
them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough
on spending increases.

For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid bypassed George Bush
entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running
until President Elect Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a
massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budgets.

And where was Mr. Obama during this time? He was a member of that
very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he
signed the omnibus bill as President to complete 2009.

If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the
last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five
years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After
that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that
includes Mr. Obama, who voted for the budgets.

If President Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself. In a
nutshell, what he is saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted
for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since.

If you read this far, thank you. Now what will you do about it.

Remember, sending me a nastygram will accomplish nothing but termination of further e-mails.

What will you do about these facts?

The WHENS

This is way too important not to read to the end and then

Looking back thru the past 4 years, many "Whens" pop up. Read them all to better understand where we are going as a country….

WHEN - he refused to disclose who donated money to his election campaign, as other candidates had done, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he received endorsements from people like Louis Farrakhan, Muramar Kaddafi and Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it was pointed out that he was a total newcomer and had absolutely no experience at anything except community organizing, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he chose friends and acquaintances such as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn who were revolutionary radicals, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his voting record in the Illinois Senate and in the U.S. Senate came into question, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he refused to wear a flag lapel pin and did so only after a public outcry, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - people started treating him as a Messiah and children in schools were taught to sing his praises, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he stood with his hands over his groin area for the playing of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he surrounded himself in the White House with advisors who were pro-gun control, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage and wanting to curtail freedom of speech to silence the opposition, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he said he favors sex education in kindergarten, including homosexual indoctrination, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his personal background was either scrubbed or hidden and nothing could be found about him, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - the place of his birth was called into question, and he refused to produce a birth certificate, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he had an association in Chicago with Tony Rezco - a man of questionable character and who is now in prison and had helped Obama to a sweet deal on the purchase of his home - people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it became known that George Soros, a multi-billionaire Marxist, spent a ton of money to get him elected, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he started appointing White House Czars that were radicals, revolutionaries, and even avowed Marxist /Communists, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he stood before the Nation and told us that his intentions were to "fundamentally transform this Nation" into something else, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it became known that he had trained ACORN workers in Chicago and served as an attorney for ACORN, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed cabinet members and several advisers who were tax cheats and socialists, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed a Science Czar, John Holdren, who believes in forced abortions, mass sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Cass Sunstein as Regulatory Czar who believes in "Explicit Consent," harvesting human organs without family consent and allowing animals to be represented in court, while banning all hunting, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Kevin Jennings, a homosexual and organizer of a group called Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network as Safe School Czar and it became known that he had a history of bad advice to teenagers, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Mark Lloyd as Diversity Czar who believes in curtailing free speech, taking from one and giving to another to spread the wealth, who supports Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Valerie Jarrett, an avowed Socialist, was selected as Obama's Senior White House Advisor, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director, said Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher and the person she turned to most for inspiration, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Carol Browner, a well known socialist as Global Warming Czar working on Cap and Trade as the nation's largest tax, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Van Jones, an ex-con and avowed Communist as Green Energy Czar, who since had to resign when this was made known, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary could not be confirmed because he was a tax cheat, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - as President of the United States , he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, people said it didn't matter..

WHEN - he traveled around the world criticizing America and never once talking of her greatness, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his actions concerning the Middle East seemed to support the Palestinians over Israel, our long time ally, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took American tax dollars to resettle thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to the United States, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he upset the Europeans by removing plans for a missile defense system against the Russians, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he played politics in Afghanistan by not sending troops early-on when the Field Commanders said they were necessary to win, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he started spending us into a debt that was so big we could not pay it off, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took a huge spending bill under the guise of stimulus and used it to pay off organizations, unions, and individuals that got him elected, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took over insurance companies, car companies, banks, etc., people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took away student loans from the banks and put it through the government, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he designed plans to take over the health care system and put it under government control, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he claimed he was a Christian during the election and tapes were later made public that showed Obama speaking to a Muslim group and 'stating' that he was raised a Muslim, was educated as a Muslim, and is still a Muslim, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he set into motion a plan to take over the control of all energy in the United States through Cap and Trade, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he finally completed his transformation of America into a Socialist State , people woke up--- but it was too late. Add these up one by one and you get a phenomenal score that points to the fact that Barrack Hussein Obama is determined to turn America into a Marxist-Socialist society. All of the items in the preceding paragraphs have been put into place. All can be documented very easily. Before you disavow this do an Internet search. The last paragraph alone is not yet cast in stone. You and I will write that paragraph.
Will it read as above or will it be a more happy ending for most of America ?

Don't just belittle the opposition. Search for the truth. We all need to pull together or watch the demise of a free democratic society. Pray for Americans to seek the truth and take action for it will keep us FREE. Our biggest enemy is not China, Russia, North Korea or Iran. Our biggest enemy is a contingent of politicians in Washington, DC . The government will not help, so we need to do it ourselves.

Question....will you delete this, or pass it on to others who don't know about Obama's actions and plans for the USA , so that they may know how to vote on November 6, 2012 and the ensuing years?

It's your decision. I believe it does matter. How about you?

WHEN - November 6, 2012 comes, it will matter who you vote for!

OBAMA'S DAUGHTERS ARE 'SENIOR STAFFERS'? By Judicial Watch

I guess the Boston Globe and the NY times must have forgotten to print this. OBAMA'S DAUGHTERS ARE 'SENIOR STAFFERS'? By Judicial Watch this March. And the administration (the most open administration in history) had to be sued to get this through the Freedom Of Information act. Way to go Judicial Watch. " Michelle Obama Listed Daughters As “Senior Staffers” To Justify Expensive African Vacation and Safari October 5, 2011. Judicial Watch said the U.S. Air Force provided C-32 (a Boeing 757) modified by the military for the purpose of flying big-wigs around the world – to fly the First Lady and her entourage to and from Africa, at a cost of $424,142. Another $928.44 was listed as “bulk food” costs of providing 192 onboard meals for the 21 people who made the trip.

The obama daughters were listed on the manifest as “senior staff.” “This junket wasted tax dollars and the resources of our overextended military. No wonder we had to sue to pry loose this information .” The nation is suffering with the economy sputtering, the national debt soaring and Obama’s economic rescue policies not only failing but actively making things worse. Meanwhile, the First Lady justifies an expensive trip to Africa to take a vacation and safari with her daughters by saying it’s “official business” and even going so far as to list her children as “staffers.” The level of arrogance and dishonesty on display here is nothing short of shocking. But, er,“hope for change” and “yes we can..

It’s a true story. Check out this link...

http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-obtains-documents-detailing-the-cost-to-taxpayers-for-michelle-obama-s-family-trip-to-africa/

Obama Pics

New ones and they are good.

ANAGRAMS


	This has got to be one of the cleverest e-mails I've received in a while. Someone out there must be "deadly" at Scrabble. (Wait 'til you see the last one! It's gonna be hard to top because it fits to a "T") PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters: BEST IN PRAYER ASTRONOMER: When you rearrange the letters: MOON STARER DESPERATION: When you rearrange the letters: A ROPE ENDS IT THE EYES: When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE GEORGE BUSH: When you rearrange the letters: HE BUGS GORE THE MORSE CODE: When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM SLOT MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME ANIMOSITY: When you rearrange the letters: IS NO AMITY ELECTION RESULTS: When you rearrange the letters: LIES - LET'S RECOUNT SNOOZE ALARMS: When you rearrange the letters: ALAS! NO MORE Z'S A DECIMAL POINT: When you rearrange the letters: I'M A DOT IN PLACE THE EARTHQUAKES: When you rearrange the letters: THAT QUEER SHAKE ELEVEN PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters: TWELVE PLUS ONE MOTHER-IN-LAW: When you rearrange the letters: WOMAN HITLER AND FINALLY…. FOR THE GRAND FINALE: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA When you rearrange the letters: STRUGGLING INCOMPETENT LIAR Bet your friends haven't seen this one!!! DON'T FORGET TO SHARE THIS.

3 dimensional appearance

Before photo

A typical concrete & stucco facade.
Then the wall starts to take on a 3 dimensional appearance

This is Eric, in his element,

30' off the ground.

He does most of the artwork by himself
and researches, paints and designs each
project from scratch.
His wife Kathy, also an artist,
serves as project manager.
After photo

Finished product.

MORE BELOW!

Here are some more examples of Eric's projects

Before photo

Great American Crossroad - Bucyrus , Ohio

After photo

Before photos

After photo

Liberty Remembers

Hard to believe you're looking
at a flat 2-dimensional wall.
How to dress up a drab Shopping

Mall in Niagara , NY state.
Before photo

After photo

Also, look at the close-up of the left side
And the middle
(I wonder how many birds fly
into this wall on a daily basis?)

Indoor Murals at the

Hallway of Miller Brewery

Before
Miller Fermenting Rooms
Past meets Present in the Miller

Brewery fermenting rooms.

Hooks, clipboards and aprons were

added to the surface of the murals

to enhance the illusion ....
After photos

You're looking at FLAT walls!
Detail view looking down the illusional
hallway in the previous mural

SIMPLY AMAZING, ISN'T IT?
I wonder how many people walk into thewalls, while trying to go down a hallway
that does not exist!