A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

challenges

20 Days of Chill: Finale (Day 20)

Goodness did I have ideas.

The theme “finale” had me thinking about many things. Originally, it was going to be the return of Reggie.

But … bad news for Reggie. I couldn’t get into the flow.

Poor Reggie.

One thing I realized is … I have catching up to do. We’ve done 20 days of this challenge and I have barely been around to see other posts. For those who have been in my challenges before, you know there are times I get behind … but I will make it to all of them.

So my finale for this challenge won’t be for a bit, until I can get through every post!

That being said, one thing about this challenge, is I’ve seen it regress over the past couple of years. I still enjoy it – and this won’t be the finale for the challenge – but we definitely have fewer people participate. And I know that’s on me … I don’t get word out enough and I’ve visited fewer blogs than I used to.

That will need to change.

But that’s for another time.

There are too many things that are some sort of a finale. Sometimes it’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s a bad thing. Sometimes it just doesn’t matter.

I really have nothing. So I’m kind of just blabbing, which is funny if you think about it. I mean, here we’ve gone through 20 days of blog prompts, themes, and posts.

Twenty!

For those of you who have done each day, great job! This post will be a finale well worth celebrating! That means you are part of the way toward finishing my blogging challenge for this year. Will you participate in the others and make a run at it?

Come the end of those, that will be a great finale!

As for Reggie?

I will definitely find a way for Reggie to have a finale. It might happen in August during the 10 Days of Heat. Reggie isn’t done and the mystery still needs to be solved!

That’s a finale even I’m looking forward to!

*****

This post is part of the 2018 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! This is also part of the 2018 HooHaa Blogging Challenge. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: Pounder (Day 19)

Years ago, many of us in our … early 20s … used to go to this one bar quite a way out of town.

By the real name, it was the Meredith Inn. But we all called it “Uncle Andy’s,” after the owner of the joint. He was a classic old bartender/bar owner. The food consisted of picked eggs, frozen pizza, or chips/pretzels.

It was a bit of a dive bar. A pool table. Some fooseball. A back room where people could pick up beer to go. A lot of space that wasn’t used as well.

The TV was smaller, but there was usually news on it, and that’s what Andy watched.

What we were there for, though, was to throw back a few cold ones and that, usually, meant pounders.

Pounders, as we affectionately called them, were 16-ounce Genessee red eyes. This was a gut-bombing beer, that’s for sure. But when cold, it went down smooth, most of the time.

At one point, we had a solid crew. So we decided to make up “Inn Crew” cards. We went to a local printer (check the photos … this is old school) and had a bunch made up.

Our tag line?

“We don’t stop poundin’ til the pounders are gone!”

The few of us who were there a bunch, had some thicker ones made. Somehow, I found mine and I still have it.

Nowadays, I am not sure I could stomach a Genny, be it 12 ounces or a pounder. But I look back at those days fondly. They were fun and it was a nice part of my younger days.

*****

This post is part of the 2018 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! This is also part of the 2018 HooHaa Blogging Challenge. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: What’s cookin’ (Day 18)

The finished product! Yum!

Mmmmm New England clam chowder (errr… chowdah!)

This is, by far, my favorite type of soup. I don’t like Manhattan clam chowder. But New England… that’s chowdah!

I’ve made some different types of it in the past, but I had recently been scouring pinterest in the hopes of finding another one to try.

What I stumbled across was a slow-cooker recipe and, with a few small tweaks, I think I’ve found a great recipe that is well worth keeping.

If you want to see the original recipe at Baked by Rachel, click on the above link. I cut a few things out (namely red pepper flakes), and added more clams, as well as going with a shallot instead of just onion. Below is how I did it – and my thoughts on how I might change it up a tad more next time (and, mark my words, there will be a next time)!

Ingredients:

  • 3.5 cups of potatoes (I would have gone with the 4.5 in the original recipe, but didn’t have enough …)
  • 1 tsp garlic (I used minced)
  • 1 cup onion chopped (about half of mine was shallot)
  • 1/2 cup celery chopped
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 6-8 slices of bacon (I put a bit more than the original recipe)
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tbsp bacon grease
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 1/4 cup of half and half
  • 5 6-ounce cans of clams (I used more than in the original recipe
  • 8 ounces of clam juice (basically the juice out of two of the above cans of clams

What to do

Get everything prepped. It’s the best way to do it, isn’t it? Do all of your cutting and chopping and measuring. Get the clams ready and the juice. Peel the potatoes and put them into the size pieces that you like in your chowdah! (I like them a little smaller in mine).

Prepping!

And then …

Heat the olive oil in a decent size skillet. Then drop in the veggies, cooking over a medium heat. And it will smell divine. Once those onions get translucent, add the garlic and thyme for another minute or two, or until fragrant. Once ready, put all of that in your crock pot/slow cooker.

Now drop those potatoes in the crock pot, along with the clams, the clam juice and all the seasonings. Stir it up and take a whiff (hint: it smells good) and set your timer – 5 hours on high (that’s what I did), or the original recipe noted 10 hours on low.

If it didn’t smell good enough already, well, it’s about to get better. Cook all that delicious bacon. Get it nice and crispy. Take the 1/2 tablespoon of bacon grease and add it to the slow cooker. Chop up that bacon and add that to the pot as well (though, you should keep a bit of it aside, so you can have it on top of the chowder later!), cause … everything is better with bacon! Let everything continue to cook

With about 45 minutes remaining, add the flour to the half and half and whisk it really well. Like, take the time and do it right. Once you hit 30 minutes remaining, add it to the crock pot and let it cook the rest of the time.

When done – ladle some of that chowder out, have some awesome bread and enjoy how amazing this is. I mean, it’s crazy good. It also freezes pretty well, so portion it out and pull some out any time you want this chowdah!

Enjoy!

*****

This post is part of the 2018 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! This is also part of the 2018 HooHaa Blogging Challenge. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: Tropical dreams (Day 17)

Years ago, I never wanted to go on a cruise. I’m not sure why, but it just wasn’t anything that interested me. Maybe it was the thought of being on a boat for all that time. It’s not my “travel style,” per say.

Boy was I wrong.

A few years back, I had the chance to be the photographer of a friend’s wedding, which was held on a ship. That meant I was going on a cruise. It’s amazing how your tune changes when you barter services, isn’t it?

Though I had some nerves, it intrigued me.

On a ship, in the ocean, sailing toward the Caribbean. I’d get to visit a few different spots and it was something I got thinking about.

Turns out it was so worth it.

I had the chance to see different places and see some of the bluest waters I’ve ever laid eyes on. Sitting on the deck of my room at night as the ship sailed … the smells, the sounds … amazing.

Talk about tropical dreams.

The food, the drink, the people. Goodness, there’s so much to like about something like this. It also made me realize I want to travel at some point to one of these tropical islands and just spend a week there.

There are many tropical places I’d love to visit – such as Hawaii, the US Virgin Islands and more.

The top of my list, though, has always been the Maldives, a tiny set of islands situated in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean. Talk about tropical dreams though. The photos I’ve seen from there look amazing. The colors are so crisp. The weather looks divine. The beaches are dreams.

Yes, please sign me up.

Travel is a funny thing. Some days you might want a tropical paradise, others you might want to backpack Alaska.

But the reality is this – there’s never a problem with sitting on a beach somewhere, a cold one in hand, and staring out over a pristine ocean.

Well, I think, anyway.

I’m not sure if I will ever get to the Maldives. Maybe I will – maybe not. But while I’m on this Earth, it will remain a tropical dream to me. As long as the dream is there, there’s always a chance at reality!

*****

This post is part of the 2018 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! This is also part of the 2018 HooHaa Blogging Challenge. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: Guilty pleasures (Day 16)

We all have guilty pleasures.

Sometimes, it’s hard to pin down exactly what it might be. For some, it might be music. For others, it might be a game. Or an activity. Or food.

There are times a guilty pleasure might be embarrassing. Then there are times where … it’s just something you don’t always want to indulge in.

For me, it’s a certain food. It’s one that I can’t get too often in my area, so when I get it, I tend to cherish it. Add to the fact that I am trying to be a lot healthier, these items are also something that I have to watch in that regard as well.

My guilty pleasure (at least one of them), are French macarons.

Goodness.

If you’ve had traditional French macarons, you know what I’m talking about here. Each bite is delightful. The different flavors you can get are incredible. It’s almost a bit of heaven each time you chew down.

So.

Damn.

Delightful.

My goodness. Just thinking about them makes me smile.

Whenever I go to a city, I always try and look up if they have places to get macarons. The closest to me is in the Scranton area, but it’s a neat little store with amazing macarons. I’ve gotten them in Philly, New York City, Saratoga … I know there are a few other places.

This is my weak spot, though.

If you have never had macarons (and I’m not talking about those “macaroons” cookies), then I would encourage you to find a bakery that has good ones. When they are fresh, they are amazing. I like, too, that there seems to be a lot of room for flavors, which makes it even better.

Now I want some macarons.

How about all of you? Have you had some real macarons? Do you like? And what is your guilty pleasure?

*****

This post is part of the 2018 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! This is also part of the 2018 HooHaa Blogging Challenge. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!