How to pick the right guy for your Daughter.

This post is for all the Dads out there that are active participants in their Daughter's life.  The title may seem a little misleading but after you read this you will see the total truth of it.  So, in a free nation, how can you decide who is going to be the right guy to be with your Daughter?  Well, it's a little give and take, but you're not really picking the guy, you are influencing your daughter to make a better choice for herself.  That may seem a little vague so I'll explain it a little further.

My life experience has been that women that have an active male figure in their life, whether good or bad use that person when seeking out a partner.  If she has a good relationship with her father/male figure then more than likely she will base her decision of partner against him.  If that partner measures up or has similar properties, then there is a greater chance that she will pursue that partner.  This isn't ALWAYS the case, and I want to make it clear this isn't an *end-all* guide to make your Daughter marry Prince Charming.  

Here's a little food for thought.  Let's say that you are a pretty good Dad. You eat together, play at the park a few times a year, and watch TV together.  You probably have a good bond with your Daughter.  Now, drop the idea of having a "man-card" and try to find out something that truly interests her.  Mine like cooking and crafts.  If you can swallow your man-pride long enough to learn a few crafts that you can sit with her and talk about while doing them, you just increased your bond even further.  She will more than likely see that the guy who was already Superman in her eyes, drop his shield and go the extra step to be involved with her.  I have taken on many different crafting styles and will involve my girls when I can.  And if they say something out in public I don't cower down because it's something "girly".  I can stand by her and take pride in the fact that she's proud of what I've done.  If they ever ask why I do things that other men can't or won't do, I plan on telling them this: "Men can Bar-B-Que, work on cars, fix things around the house, mow the yard and work in the garden.  REAL men can do anything.".  Anytime I can do something that will make my girls want to tell the world, I know I am doing my job and making them proud, and that gives me the greatest feeling in the world.

Learning how to sew, crochet, or even cook so you can pass that along to your own girls isn't cashing in your *Man-Card*.  Your just ensuring that the guy who wants her later has an *Upgraded Man-Card* that compares to yours.  And that Sir, is how you pick the right guy for your Daughter.Don't tell her who to pick, set the bar so high that only the right ones can meet her expectations.

What to take away from this:

Don't be ashamed to learn something new.  Moms aren't the only ones who can teach their girls.  Teaching should be a dual-parent responsibility.  This won't apply to everyone, but it should apply to the majority, take it for what it's worth.

And as always be sure to do something for someone other than yourself.  Pay It Forward.

Homemade Chocolate Cake Covered with Ganache

I was sitting around the house today, and became bored with the TV and internet.  Most of the time when that happens, I end up in the kitchen.  I know I'm a "big boy", but I didn't go to the kitchen to eat.  I was on a mission.  I was there to cook.  But what was I going to cook?  I like trying to make new things just to see how it turns out, and if I want to change it around or add my own twist to it.  Well, if you made it past the title of this blog, you know I ended up making a Chocolate Cake.  When I got done, I posted this picture online:

Chocolate Cake covered with Ganache and dusted with Powdered Sugar.

I was proud of how it turned out and wanted to share it.  A friend of mine also thought it turned out well, and wanted me to post the recipe on here for her to try out as well. Before I go on, I want to take a moment and give my friend, Kim, a plug for her own blog at:http://kimberlydpegram1981.blogspot.com/.  She requested this, and has been a good friend over the years.  So when you get done drooling here, click on over and drool on her pages for a while and thank her for getting this recipe put up.

Now, on to the good stuff...

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Ingredients for Ganache:

• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions:

We'll start off with the cake.  Mix the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. 

Now add in the wet ingredients except for water..  Milk, extract, eggs, and vegetable oil.

If you are hand whisking you should do this next part VERY slowly, as you do not want to cook the eggs already in your batter. Electric mixer should be okay, but still go slow, don't just pour the water in.

Start mixing your batter, and slowly pour in the hot water.  Allow each portion of water to be completely mixed before adding more.

Once all of the water has been mixed you should have a slightly runny batter.  

You can use 2 9" round cake pans, a regular bundt pan, or if you have another cake pan of equal volume.  Either spray them down with Baker's Joy (or equivalent I'm not picky) or butter your pan(s) with butter and a paper towel and lightly flour them afterwards.

Distribute your batter to your pan(s), and place them in a pre-heated 350 degree oven on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes.  All ovens were not created equally, so start checking you cake after about 20 minutes.  I test mine with a bamboo skewer but toothpicks, and quite possibly for the older crowd that still uses "the broom whiskers" all will work.  Pull your cake from the oven, and when you put your skewer/toothpick/broom whisker into the cake and pull it out, it shouldn't have any wet batter on it.  If it does, put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes and test it again.  When I get a clean test, I test several areas across the entire cake, just to make sure it done evenly.

Now on to the Ganache.  This is really easy.

Pour you semi-sweet chocolate chips into a medium mixing bowl.

Add the powdered sugar to the chocolate chips.

Add the cocoa powder to the chocolate chips.

Put the butter and cream into a small saucepan and bring it almost to a boil.  Be sure to stir the entire time to prevent burning or scorching.

You can tell it's almost ready when you start to see it let off steam, and it continues to do so as you are stirring.  If you get it to boiling for a few seconds, don't worry, all is not lost.

As soon as it is ready, pour the cream and butter mix in with the other ingredients.

It might be tempting, but let it sit for about a full minute before starting to mix.  This will give the chocolate chips time to soften and allow an easier mix.  Now is also the time if you want to try out some of your extracts.  Maybe a touch of vanilla, or strawberry, maybe even a touch of coconut.  You don't have to, but it may just add another level of complexity to you tastebuds when it's time to eat.

Once it is fully mixed, drizzle it over the top of the cake.

I can see it now.  Someone has done this with a bundt pan and is thinking, "Why do I have all of this Ganache left over!".  You may have some left over with the other pan assortments as well.  It's not a mistake.  Don't flood your cake with the Ganache.  It is already a rich flavored cake.  The remaining Ganache is for plating the slices.  If you serve on small plates or saucers, spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of Ganache onto the plate, and then place a slice of cake on top of it.  As you can see in the picture above, I also dusted mine with a little powdered sugar after adding the Ganache drizzle.  You can add more powdered sugar to the slices, or whipped cream.  Pretty much anything that goes with chocolate.

I admit that I like sweets.  This cake sits pretty much in the middle of the road for me.  It's very rich tasting, but it's also not overly sweet.  Be sure to have an ice cold cup of milk on standby as the perfect drink to go along with this.  

If you think this may be too much chocolate, you can swap out the Ganache for a simple glaze.  In a small mixing bowl add 2-3 tablespoons of milk.  To this you will add powdered sugar a little at a time while whisking until the mixture thickens.  It is a very quick glaze.  You can also add a touch of vanilla to the glaze for a little extra flavor. You would then drizzle it over your cake like the Ganache, but I wouldn't sprinkle the powdered sugar on the glaze.  

If you have anything you would like to add, change, or remove, then share it below.  If you have tried this one out and want to share your opinions below please do so.  You can also request me to write about almost anything.  I read every comment that goes into this blog, and I regularly check my social networks.  Feel free to contact me at any of these places, and the next article I write, might just be on your idea.  I will also give credit like I did at the beginning of this article.

As always, remember to do something good for someone else.  Pay It Forward.

Who will you be tomorrow?

Yesterday I was the guy that works outside all day to try and make his home look presentable. Today, I'm the man that is enjoying some downtime with the kids. Who will I be tomorrow? Regardless of my chore or job for the day, I believe I am the same man. Every day I try to be a good role model for our future generation. Whether it's my children, other's children, or anyone else that notices me whether I know it or not. I'm not perfect and I don't claim to be. I watch scary/violent movies and I use foul language at times. In today's society, that is more acceptable than it was many years back. It doesn't make it right, but easier for people to swallow, so to speak. Many people would say I should be categorized under "A**Hole", and that would probably be true. But they would also have to say I am a fair and moral "A**hole". Only because of how stubborn I am about being as fair as possible and honestly trying to do the right thing. I try to instill these traits into the next generation, with the exception of the stubborn part. I default that to my genetic make up. If I can make my impact on just one person, but hopefully more, I think I have fulfilled my task that I charged upon myself.

I read an article several years back that talked about Adolf Hitler's DNA being used to clone him and creating another ruthless dictator. Without reciting the entire article, it pretty much said it would be nearly impossible because Hitler's entire life could not be forged from his DNA, but only by living the life Hitler actually lived. I thought to myself, "What would happen if Hitler was cloned, and I raised him?". Would one of history's most notorious people go from a German speaking Nazi rallying for world domination by eliminating all but "the perfect race", into a Southern speaking city boy with country upbringing that rallies for world peace by trying to infuse everyone INTO a (for lack of better wording) perfect race. By race, I am not talking about color, but the HUMAN race as a whole. I thought it would be funny and kind of cool at the same time. How would you have changed Hitler's clone if given the opportunity?

Using the example of Hitler from above, I would almost like to see it done just to prove whether good or bad is learned or genetic. My argument would have to be for learned. I honestly believe that the things we do today affects what happens tomorrow, and that we are truly in control of our own futures. Sometimes things happen by chance, which I leave to the variables of life. Nothing about life is 100% predictable. But I do thing it is "guidable". If someone wants to be rich, they have a few options. One would be, go to school, get your diplomas/certificates/degrees and pursue the money you desire to the top, or start your own business and run with it until you reach an apex. Another way would be to invent or create and sell your ideas or stories. Then there is my way. I chased the money, and even found it for a while. I made very good money doing a very easy task that only required a few weeks of training, and a keen eye for detail. After a few years I was laid off and that money went away. But I still feel I kept the riches, and here's why. Yes I made good money at that job, but that job is also where I met my wife, and started my family. A family is all I ever really wanted in life. I set forth the events in my own life and achieved the outcome I wanted. The only variable was applying for a job and meeting the woman I love which somehow fell in place within a year's time.

There was a whole chain of events that lead up to me having a family of my own, but I held the reigns for most of that journey. If you want the most out of life you have to jump up and grab it sometimes, or you will miss it altogether. Let nothing stand in your way when you find what you really want in life. Don't be anyone's puppet either. They have their own life to live, as do you. Make the absolute best out of what you have in life, and try to attain those things you want included in with it.

I know that life is complex, but it can generally be broken down into two paths. Good or bad. I even have my own ratio as to what I go by to determine whether someone/thing is good or bad. I use a 70%/30% rule. I even try to live my own life by this rule. I'll explain it briefly, and answer any questions below. It's pretty simple. 70 is more than half (using a 100% scale). 70 is also more than double 30 (30% completes the 100% scale). Now this is where personal judgment and morality takes over. When I try to judge whether I think a person or thing is good or bad I give them a score like you would a math test in high school. If that person or thing rates close to or above a 70, I deem that that person or thing is "good". I think that 30% is good enough to cover the negative stuff. For example, I'll rate myself. I would give myself between a 75 and 80. That gives about 20%-25% to cover the bad stuff I know I've done, and even the things that I've done wrong, when I felt it was for the right reason. I know a lot of people don't feel it's right to judge others. I don't walk around judging everyone. I use my judging system the same way a bank uses your credit score. If you have bad credit, they won't lend you money. If you have a bad rating with me, I don't need you around in my life. Same concept with a different application. Your credit score changes depending on how you manage your finances. A "credit score" with me changes depending on how you manage you choices in life. If you steal and lie, don't try to be in my life.

I hope that something I have written here will provoke some thought or inspire some positive influence in your life. I know that I talk about negative things, or things that may SOUND negative, but I always try to have a positive outlook or find a positive outcome when I can. I don't do it to the point of living in a fantasy, but sometimes when you're down, it makes life a little easier to cope with. There's no need to be down in life, cause it just brings you down. When people talk for a long time others say that person is long winded, so when someone types a lot, are they long-fingered? I think I have written quite a bit on this, and it's time to move on.


As always, do the right thing, and do something good for someone else. Pay It Forward.

How to make a Kickin' Chicken Stew

Part of my family's traditions when I was growing up was going to "Chicken Stews".  For some people a Chicken Stew is an event.  For others it may be the actual stew cooking in the pot.  For me it was being around the people I enjoyed being with, and getting to chow down on some good food.  A few weeks ago, I was telling my wife about the Chicken Stews I went to growing up, and she had never heard of them, and I proceeded to tell her what they were, and tried to show her...but there wasn't hardly anything online about it.  The only thing I truly found was a Wikipedia article that gave a brief description and I believe a 1-2 sentence basic ingredient list.  I was so disappointed in my findings that I set out to be quite possibly the first person to share this recipe online ( I doubt it too, but I can dream.  Besides, I couldn't find one, so it's a first in my eyes). So get your pen and paper and get ready to be schooled on the next best thing you may ever eat.

Before I move on to the ingredients and how to make it, I want you to know that I wish I had the photos and video to walk you through this step by step but I don't.  I will make this promise though.  If I get an overwhelming response to this post I WILL make a video from start to finish of how to do it.  I'm not lazy, but it is a pretty hefty task of cooking and trying to film by yourself with a couple of kids running around.  Okay, now on to the goods!

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole Chicken
• All Purpose Flour
• Whole Milk
• Butter / Margarine (Pref. Butter)
• Salt
• Pepper

Extra Stuff that makes it better:

• Chicken Stock (Homemade if possible)
• Chicken Bouillon Cubes
• Hot Sauce
• Saltine Crackers

If you are one of those people that measure out things to the exact drop and go strictly by a recipe, then you need to run and hide right now.  I cook by the seat of my pants?  Kind of.  I cook until the food looks and tastes right to me, and the may mean altering or changing stuff along the way to make it happen.  Cooking is really about preference.  I will give some substitutions along the way, but overall, I'm sharing this the way I would serve it to someone.

To start off, put your whole chicken in a large pot or crock-pot.  I prefer the crock-pot, but a pot is fine if your in a hurry.  You can use chicken breast instead of a whole bird but the flavor just won't be there.  Most of the flavor in this dish comes from the slow cooking on the bone just like a barbecue is done.

One you have the bird in the cooking dish of choice, cover it as much as possible with chicken stock.  I save my leftover stock from one stew to the next, which seems to intensify the flavor a little more.  Store bought stock will also be fine.  If you don't have stock on hand, or don't feel like getting any, water will work also, just add a couple of chicken bouillon cubes to the water.

Cook times vary on the chicken.  If you do the crock-pot method, you can put it on before bed, and you'll know it's ready by the time you're ready to cook dinner the following day.  If you cook it on the stove top, you need to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through.  When you start to break the chicken down, if you notice any pink or bloody spots, don't fear.  Keep on breaking it down, and add it back to the pot with some stock to cook a little longer until done.

Once the chicken is done, you have to remove the bone and shred the meat.  I usually cut the wings and legs off first.  Then I cut the breast and tenders away from the spine.  Always double check for little bones.  I do the dirty work of cutting all the meat away from the bone and cartilage, but I cheat when it comes to shredding it.  Shredding it by hand works good, especially if you use a fork or two.  I cheat.  I place my meat in a "Ninja" food processor, and cover all the meat with stock and *blitz* it a few seconds at a time to achieve a small but sizable shred of meat.

Now is the time to strain your stock and set it to the side for a minute.  If you use the processor method above, be sure to strain the stock first.

If you use the processor method, just pour your blended meat back into the pot.  If you shredded the meat by hand or other means, add it back to the pot, and cover with strained stock.  This is where preference seems to come into play.  I don't use all of the stock that I got from my chicken to cover it back with.  I tend to like mine a little bit thicker, so I lay off of some of the stock.  Bring your stock and meat up to a slight boil and add in about a cup of whole milk.

I use flour to thicken my stew.  The trick is you really shouldn't add flour to hot liquids because it just clumps and makes the stew lumpy.  A way around this is to pour about a half cup of whole milk and mix in enough flour to thicken the milk some.  It should be about equal parts milk and flour.  Now you can pour the flour/milk mix into the stew while stirring without getting the flour clumps.

Adjust the flour and milk to achieve the thickness you want.  Thicker means more flour, thinner means more milk.

Now for the butter.  I generally add a whole stick.  This is completely up to your butter preference.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  I also throw in another chicken bouillon cube or two for good measure. You can also add the hot sauce to it now, but we usually let everyone do that on their own because of the kids.  We also serve it over saltine crackers, but again that's just preference.

I know this might look like a lot, but it really isn't.  I was just trying to describe the steps in lieu of photos and video.  There isn't anything really hard about making a chicken stew.  Just remember to try not to rush it.  Take your time and take pride in your work.  When you take pride in it and love what you are doing, the food will speak novels via taste that your mouth could never explain.

If anyone out there was curious before about how to make this stew, I hope I quenched that curiosity well enough.  Feel free to ask questions below or on one of the social sites.  If you feel I left something out, please share it below for everyone else.

As always, do something nice for someone else and always try to Pay It Forward.

Who are you?

Who are you?  I know exactly who I am.  I'm that guy you may or may not have passed in the street.  I'm that guy that teaches his kids to stand up for what is right, by standing up for what he feels is right.  What is right?  Is something right based on your opinion?  Is it right because it sounds good? Maybe it's right just because it's right.

I know my last post kind of went slightly into a rant of sorts.  Oh well, I said my piece on it, and I still feel the same way, and it's time to move on.  I don't intend for my writings to be rants, but more along the lines of thought provoking.  Or you could call it brain prodding if you believe contrary to my ways, which is fine too.  I don't get into politics and votes and all that mumbo jumbo, which I will explain why later.  But interwoven in the political scene is something that catches my attention and bothers me at the same time.  I don't want to debate morality of the issue, but more so the concept behind it.

What catches my attention?  People starting their own campaign for elected positions.  I can see someone already holding the position and wanting to be reelected, which doesn't concern me.  But I feel that if someone is to be elected to a position the people should pick that person or persons and go from there.  Not so much the, I want to run for this title, and so do these guys, pick one of us.  I am also a firm believer in "job-advancement", where if someone holding a position does well, and would like to be elected for a higher position, they should be first in the running.  If I'm not mistaken many years ago holding a public office was a great symbol of pride bestowed upon an individual, where now it just seems to be about the money and the topics of debate.  It doesn't seem like anyone want to advance our country from where it was, but more like once someone is placed in a position, everything they do is geared towards the next PERSONAL advancement for themselves.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my country.  I spent 4 years in R.O.T.C. learning military values.  I served proudly in the U.S.Army and was Honorably Discharged.  I have read and even lived the ups and downs of the country I live in.  With that said, I want to see only the best for my country, and I don't think the tactics I observe from day to day are the right moves for that to happen.  What do YOU think should change to make our America the best it could be?

Why don't I get involved with politics, voting, this ballot and that?  It's pretty simple.  The entire format doesn't fit into what I feel is fair and right for my country, much less my county, district or state.  I alone cannot change how it is done aside from sharing my thoughts with others.  Maybe the right people will read what I have written and passed along and share it to the point that I start a movement.  A movement in what I believe is in the right direction.  At that point I will gladly stand with my fellow countrymen and women and help reconstruct our nation.  Hey, I may dream big, but at least I'm dreaming.  I guess my overall point for having nothing to do with politics is this.  If you only have choices A and B, and you don't approve of either one are you better off picking the lessor of two evils and hoping it works, or not choosing either and knowing you're not responsible for the messes they make?  I feel that sharing my thoughts with others may get some people out there to think outside of the box, and as a whole, we can make things better.  Until then, it's just hoping.

I want to know what you think.  Am I nuts for my way of thinking?  Should I just assimilate?  Do you have a different point of view to share with others? I'm all ears...oh, and part brain too.

That's all for today.  Please take a little time out of your day to do something nice for someone else.  Pay it Forward.

What about you?

My family and I were outside doing some yard work today.  It never fails, when I work outside my mind wanders to pass the time.  Here lately my mind keeps going back to the same topic.  I'm not going to share a lot of in depth information, but I will share enough to try and make an inspirational point at the end.  Hopefully someone out there will digest this and make some use of it.  Here goes...

It wasn't very long after high school I lost my father.  So I took every chance I could to surround myself with friends and family, and try not to feel down about my loss.  I really try to be an upbeat and happy-go-lucky kind of person.  I mourned and grieved like anyone else would who loses a close parent, but I also wanted to find a light to follow out of the darkness I felt I was embedded in.  I worked a regular schedule and tried to run a home.  In my free time I would find something to go out and do with my friends or family.  At the time I always had somewhere I could go, or something to do.So I would say I did a great job of occupying my time and staying busy to stay out of "the darkness".

What had started out as occupying my time seemed to take a slight twist which I loved.  I was the "Go To Person" for most of my family, and a few of my friends.  Anytime they needed something I was there.  If they needed a designated driver, I was there.  I was part of every family function, and never left out of anything.  I was the person that anyone could talk to in confidence, and could take a secret to the grave.  Everyone had my number, and I always answered.  I could go on for pages about the things I did or was, but I think you get the idea.

This went on for about 8 years or so.  That's a pretty good amount of time to be there for everyone.  That time seemed to honestly fly by because I loved doing it.  But now, let me introduce the dilemma.  I now have children of my own and a loving wife.  I feel that I have gone above and beyond in trying to include my new family in with my old family.  I have called, visited, met with, and anything else I could do to have my children know the rest of their family.  I feel like the family "I used to have" has no use for me now.  I have 2 friends that I actually talk to on a pretty regular basis.  I have family members that used to call me on a daily basis that haven't picked up the phone and called me in years.  I don't hold any grudges against them.  They all must have some sort of reason, whatever it may be.  But it does hurt that the closest people in your life seem to forget about you.

Now, hopefully it is time to pass on some motivation and inspiration.  I'm a grown man.  I can handle the situation I have been talking about.  I didn't write this for anyone's pity or sympathy.  I wrote this to make you think.  Is there anyone in your life that fit my description above?  Do you think you are one of the people I was talking about?  Who's that person you used to hang out with, but seemed to of lost touch with? Do you have any idea how it might just make that persons day to get a call or a letter, an email, text message, something that makes them feel remembered?  What if you tried to rekindle the relationship you once had?

My overall point is try not to become so self-absorbed that you forget about, not just the ones you love, but quite possibly the ones that truly love you back.  And just in case someone I was actually writing about reads this, I still love you like I used to.  I just hate it ended so soon.

And remember, do something nice for someone else.  Pay It Forward.