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My Words For 2019 !

This year I decided to try something new and think of some words that I will apply to my life. These are the words that I came up with. 

Consistency

Value

Discipline

Connections 

Growth

Manifesting

(Note: I wanted to post this earlier but this new puppy parent life….whew, that will come in a later blog post)

When you hear each of these words, what do you think of?

For me I think each one will allow me to make some necessary changes in my life this year.

  1. CONSISTENCY: This is an important word for me, sometimes I start things and don’t see them all the way through, however this year I want to work on being more consistent in all things that I do.
  2. VALUE: I learned a lot about value over the past year. One thing is for sure value is very important to me, whether it is adding value to a situation or recognizing that you are not being valued. My key point for this word is to notice the value that I am adding to situations and to take note on if I am in turn being valued. This can apply to all sorts of things.
  3. DISCIPLINE: This is a key word for me. In the past few years I have been a little reckless, especially when it comes to eating and not working out. I am not saying that I am going on a strict diet or doing the “new year workout” routine (no knocking anyone that does) , but just working on making some simple changes in my life that help me get to the next level. This also applies to spending, saving, and personal growth.
  4. CONNECTIONS: One thing is for sure, I am a friendly person and I tend to meet people all over the place. I am working on connecting with people this year and growing new potential friendships/associateships (not a word, I know).
  5. GROWTH: In 2019 focusing on growth is important. I want to be the best me that I can be, so growth is an important part of this. I have noticed a change in my life in the past year and I realize that I am no longer the same person, but one that is constantly growing.
  6. MANIFESTING: To be honest, this wasn’t one of my original words, however one of my friends made a key point. Work on manifesting what you want to have/do in the future and utilize all of these other words to help you get there.

Well, that about sums up my words for 2019. Do you have any???? Share with me.

Cooking with Misstakenid: Quick Red Beans and Rice

I have been making my quick red beans and rice as a staple over the past couple of weeks so I decided to share with you. First let me say that this can be made with white or brown rice.  Also if you don’t like any of the ingredients you can make it without them, just use your seasoning to make it taste the way you want it to.

What you need(quick recipe):

1 can red beans

Rice or Brown Rice (your choice)

Onions (I use a sweet onion)

Turkey sausage/turkey bacon (can be made without meat or with pork products)

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Cajun Seasoning (I used Mad Chef’s Cajun Nola) ( You can find it here: https://chefgonemad.com/)

Garlic seasoning (Mad Chef’s Smoked Garlic and Herb Seasoning)

Make the rice first. Use one cup of rice to two cups of water bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. (If you want you can use boil in bag rice)

  1. Start with melting butter in a skillet (or you can use olive oil)

  2. Chop the sausage or bacon

  3. Chop the onions

  4. Sautee’ onions in the skillet until tender

  5. Add the sausage or bacon to skillet

  6. Add rice to skillet

  7. Stir to combine ingredients

  8. Next open the can of Red Beans, drain.

  9. Then add the red beans to the skillet.

  10. Season to taste.

Serve and enjoy.

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In case you missed it in the post you can find  the seasoning I used at this site:

https://chefgonemad.com/

 

Unscripted Durham’s Impossible Burger Review

I love a good burger. Well, let me say that I love a good burger that I can eat. I am unable to eat beef or pork so my burger choices are sometimes limited. However, I heard about the Impossible Burger in all of its plant based glory and I knew that I wanted to try it.

I couldn’t think of a better place than one of my favorite rooftop hangout spots in Durham, NC, the Unscripted Patio.

The menu highlights the burger at $10 it comes with vegan mayonaise, avocado, tomatoes, vegan cheese, on a bun.

I heard about this burger, so I wanted to try it for myself. I must say to be a plant based burger this was one of the meatiest plant based burgers I have ever tasted. It was very close to tasting like actual meat. Thick and filling.

It may be a little to “meaty” for some vegetarians, however for someone that just wants to go meatless for a thick and filling burger I give it 2 thumbs up. IMG_20180910_134645_959

 

 

CHEF HALES’ HOT CHICKEN REVIEW

I had a chance to visit Miami Beach over Labor Day weekend and stayed at the lovely Confidante Hotel. The onsite restaurant is called Bird & Bone and it’s claim to fame is having the best chicken in Miami.

I must admit I was a little skeptical as I am from the south and I have tasted some pretty good fried chicken in my life, but this chicken actually lived up to the hype.

For a $28 price tag on the menu it is listed as Chef Hales Hot Chicken: Florida Honey, House Mustard, Cucumber Pickle, w/ Zak the Baker Country Bread.  This meal only comes in one size, which turns out to be a half chicken.

I ordered this famous dish on a fairly busy restaurant night, but the chicken did not disappoint me at all. It was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside as if it had been fried to perfection. The mustard sauce bread and cucumbers add to the deliciousness of the dish and do not take away from the star, which is the chicken.

I will be honest I had been in South Beach all day enjoying my fair share of delicious beverages for the majority of the day and I knew that this was going to be my dinner. I took it to my room and sat down and indulged. You will want to eat the whole half of a chicken in one setting if you can. LOL.

You have to try it! I give Chef Hales’ hot chicken 2 thumbs up!!!

(I would like to note that the restaurant had no idea that I would be reviewing this meal)

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The Old Man Turns 71!!!

Birthdays are special.

When the Old Man reaches another birthday it’s always the “whatever you want”

approach.

This time was no different. This year we went to lunch. I chose lunch because I knew that he would want to go right to sleep after walking and eating.  

A couple of days before his birthday I asked what meal he would like.  He replied “ox tails”.  I thought of the options to sit down and eat ox tails in my town and I could only think of a few.  

I called The Palace International Restaurant on Broad Street in Durham, NC and they were able to comply with my request to serve oxtails for lunch. Now that the easy part was out of the way, I said “you will have your ox tails” . He was overjoyed.  

Found some mini loaf cakes at The Kupcake Fairy on Chapel Hill Road in Morrisville so he could have a little birthday cake too. 

One thing that I have realized about watching my Dad age is that simple things are the key to happiness. All he wanted for his birthday was to eat oxtails have a double rum and coke, get out of the house and laugh a little. That is exactly what we did. 

Let setup part of the day for you. I called him in the morning so that he would know what time I was coming to pick him up, this was how the convo went: 

Old Man:Today I am wearing a tshirt and shorts.

Me: Ok, if that is what we are doing I will wear something similar. 

Old Man: Yep, it is all about comfort, today is my day. 

Me: U are right. See you in a little while. 

I  pick him up and he is ready.  We have a birthday song walk jam session on the way to the car. We sing along to Old school jams on the ride. Drive through 2 mini downpours and make it to the restaurant right on time. 

Some friends and family arrive and we laugh and talk. Order some great meals and talk some more. 

Surprisingly he ate his entire plate of food and even started eating the cake .That was a great sight to see! 

We ride back to his house drive back through some rainstorms and get him home during some light drizzle. 

The best part of the day was taking him home and him saying, 

“I had a great day, it was off the hook!”  

Now we are on the road to 72. Look out now.

(If this is your first time reading then I should let you know, “Old Man” is an affectionate term for my Dad. Just in case you were wondering)

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mini cake action

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Oxtails with rice and collard greens.

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Me and The Old Man!

 

What’s in your snack pack?

One thing I have realized over the years is that when planning road trips I get the most enjoyment out of preparing a snack pack.

What is a snack pack? (You might ask) 

I define a snack pack as whatever snacks and drinks that you enjoy or will enjoy while riding in the car on a road trip, sitting on the beach, or in your hotel room when you arrive at your hotel.

Who inspired your snack pack? 

Many people ask where I got the idea for my snack packs and it came from My Aunt Sister. I heard a story about her going on one of her famous “casino bus trips” and one person that went on the trip spoke of this “cooler” that she carried with her.  He said she had the entire cooler full of sandwich meats, bread, sodas, snacks and whatever other food she wanted while she was traveling. He then mentioned that thanks to her cooler they managed to save money on food and with their excess money they were able to play some more games at the casino. After I heard this story, I asked my Aunt Sister about this special cooler that she had and she mentioned on every trip she went on, she took the cooler.

After hearing the story, I kept it in the back of my mind and once I started going on trips as an adult I started working on items that should go in my snack packs. Each one was different and catered to what I wanted for that particular trip.

The snack pack images featured below are from a recent beach trip.  (Items include: paper towels, napkins, plates, cups, a shaker, tequila, whiskey, margarita mix, hard cider, water, pineapple juice, ginger ale, cheese, mandarin oranges, triscuits, hummus, tortilla chips, turkey pepperoni, salsa, gummy bears, snickers bites, turkey sandwiches, and a few other things not pictured.)

What’s in your snack pack?

Let me know what you include in your travel snack packs.

 

 

***This post is dedicated to the memory of My Late Aunt Sister. After writing this post via pen, she passed away. I will always be grateful of the times we shared and the inspiration to my snack packs. RIP Aunt Sister  ***

Product/Service Reviews by Misstakenid

I am always recommending products and services to my friends, so why not start an official product review segment to my blog. This way I can share not only with my friends but share with my readers and social media followers as well.

If you would like me to review a product/service with my readers and social media followers please send me an email at misstakenid9@gmail.com.