The Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc. has some great ideas to celebrate all the GI and Endoscopy nurses out there today. These folks work hard every day to help patients who are undergoing diagnosis and treatment for all sorts of disorders – from acid reflux to certain cancers. I agree – they deserve a nod of appreciation today!
I have to say, one of the coolest ideas I’ve seen has been a cake template that you can print off and take to a bakery. I would imagine it’s a big hit around the break room! Click here to learn more and download the template!
The NCAA Tourney is in full swing! Invite your friends over, and cook up a batch of the CalCas special March Madness Chili!
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon bacon bits
4 cubes beef bouillon
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.
I recently received an email from a co-worker that discussed some unique tips for safe driving in rainy weather. Spring is nearly upon us, and with it comes strong storms and heavy rains. Since we can’t always avoid getting out in the rain, I wanted to share a few interesting tips with you. If you try them out, please come back and let me know what you think!
1) If it’s raining heavily during the day, see how your vision can be improved by putting on your sunglasses. It will help cut down on the glare from the rain and “kickup” from other cars. Many people find that this is a very effective method to improve visibility in the rain.
2) Never use your cruise control in the rain. If you car begins to hydroplane while the cruise control is on, it can accelerate quickly if the tires lose contact with the road, resulting in a loss of control.
Two safety items I wasn’t aware of until today – please share them, who knows, you may save a life!
Just in time for St. Patty’s day, here’s a great guest post from Rebecca Stumpf:
Oh for the love of the Irish! It’s St. Patrick’s Day and that means corned beef and cabbage; a family favorite in our house! As I set out to write this blog I wondered about the actually history of St. Patrick’s Day. History.com and Wikipedia (extensive information) are both great resources of information.
Let’s start with Saint Patrick. He was born in Britain, taken hostage at the age of 16 and sent to Ireland. After escaping 6 years later he started his religious training to become a priest. After his ordination, he returned to Ireland to counsel those Christians living in Ireland and to set out on the goal of converting the rest. Instead of eradicating local customs, he wove in some of the nature based pagan traditions into Christianity. We are reminded every March 17 how much he was widely respected and loved by the Irish. Unfortunately, I do not have enough room to give all his history, so I encourage you to visit The History Channel and Wikipedia to read more about Saint Patrick.
Now, onto the St. Patrick’s Day feast! The Irish have observed this day for over 1000 years. Yet, it was those Irish immigrants who came to America that made this day into the festival it is with parades, food and lots of green beer, bread, popcorn and even a green river. Because, this holiday falls on a Thursday, most of us won’t have time to labor over cooking a brisket all day. So let the crock pot do all the work. Prepare and set it in the morning and come home to a wonderful smell (for some an acquired smell). Depending on how much time I have and how adventurous I feel, I may try a different recipe that incorporates more vegetables or extra spices.
This year, however, it’s simple and straightforward. One large (4 – 5 pound) corned beef brisket, one head of cabbage and 4 red potatoes all go into a crock pot on low heat for 8 hours. Make sure to set the brisket fat-side down, the fat will penetrate the brisket making it more tender and adding more flavor. Adding the spice packet into the crock pot is optional; however it does add additional flavor. Check out other corned beef recipes online to find one that your family likes.
As always, I’m very proud to hear when our company makes our customers happy. Here’s a nice little note from Carol W that fell into my inbox this week:
Had great success getting my car repaired. The actual charge was some greater than the estimate but California Causality paid without a complaint. I had called to tell them that I thought there was too much in the estimate, damages that they thought necessary and I didn’t, but my insurance assured me the car should be put back into good shape and they did not question the charges. Thanks to California Causality for all the years of protection we have had with our vehicles and our home insurance. It’s not the little lizard’s insurance but it sure works for us. Thanks again
The Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc. has some great ideas to celebrate all the GI and Endoscopy nurses out there today. These folks work hard every day to help patients who are undergoing diagnosis and treatment for all sorts of disorders – from acid reflux to certain cancers. I agree – they deserve a nod of appreciation today!
The NCAA Tourney is in full swing! Invite your friends over, and cook up a batch of the CalCas special March Madness Chili!
recently received an email from a co-worker that discussed some unique tips for safe driving in rainy weather. Spring is nearly upon us, and with it comes strong storms and heavy rains. Since we can’t always avoid getting out in the rain, I wanted to share a few interesting tips with you. If you try them out, please come back and let me know what you think!
Oh for the love of the Irish! It’s St. Patrick’s Day and that means corned beef and cabbage; a family favorite in our house! As I set out to write this blog I wondered about the actually history of St. Patrick’s Day. History.com and Wikipedia (extensive information) are both great resources of information.