Okay, so I sold out a bit perhaps. Or maybe not. It certainly doesn’t feel that way to me.

“Ummm, Jerry, you’re not making any sense.”

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah, sorry… I guess I was thinking and typing at the same time.”

I’ve been hearing about all of these “pay to blog” opportunities for a while now. Most involve blogging for someone else and then receiving a few pennies here and there based on reads. I decided the first time I saw these services that they weren’t for me.

Then there is the new breed in monetizing your blog. This usually involves choosing opportunities from a list and blogging about whatever the topic happens to be. OK… Far more appealing, since this is a food blog, and I have no interest in blogging about life insurance, unless I end up collecting some. (Which would be a horribly bad thing!) I signed up for two of these the other day, and am still trying to find something that’s related to food, cooking or household stuff that might actually be of interest to those of you who stop by.

I just stumbled on a third option. It’s called blogsvertise. This option is kind of unique. Instead of hunting through listings, they send them to me via email as an assignment. Then within 48 hours, I have to post an article on the topic here and after a grace period, they pay me…

Why do I think this is a good thing?

Simply, I put a lot of effort into what I write here. I aspire to make sure that it’s on topic, relevant to food, cooking and family, and that it’s something that people looking to read about those things might actually be interested in. If someone is willing to gimme a few dollars to write about what I’m already writing about, I’m all over it.

What I’m not all over is plastering this blog with anything that isn’t related to the topic. So please bear with me while I give blogvertise (and a few other companies) a try. I promise I’ll stick to the subject at hand. This is all about food, and I aim to keep it as much that way as possible! I’ll never put a sponsored article here that isn’t labeled as such. (Just see the category listing, it’s there!) And if they push me stuff that isn’t on topic, I’ll just reject it. If you need car insurance, I’m sure you know the address for the gecko.

I thought I’d let you know what I was up to, and give everyone a chance to check it out for themselves. It’s just possible that all the time and effort we put into these things could be worth something material, as well as being worth something in terms of personal satisfaction.

Did I sell out? Some people may think so. I’m not one of them. If using these services gives me inspiration to write better posts more often, it’s all worth it to me.

Peace… For now, I’m out. I’ll have something else up a bit later today…

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I’m sure that my female food blogging counterparts all have a recipe for these little pieces of goodness, but Mrs. seat of her Pants made these up for me last night and I thought I’d share. So please everyone, grab one… No, No. Don’t be shy. That’s better. Would you like some milk to go with those cookies?

Great! Now that I’ve buttered you up with some chocolate, I’d like to drop a shameless plug for something I am terribly proud of.

My wife’s first book is available for sale today! If you like sci-fi with a bit of suspense and romance, take a look. I’ve read it, and I guarantee it’s a fun read… (Even after the third round of edits.)

You can find her book here: Monday’s Child

Now, on to the cookie recipe…

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For all of you who are waiting for me to post links to you in the TT #1 entry, I’ll have it done by noon Saturday. Sorry for the delay, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of comments this week. I’ll be better prepared next Thursday!

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Thirteen Things You will never find in my kitchen! Tofu, in any of its varieties, to include Tofurkey, soy dogs or “faux meat” (With the possible exception of “Baco-bits”) Wine in a box. It’s not happening, ever. Garden Burgers – <shudder> (The occasional Bocca Burger may be found, however.) Anything at all bearing Martha Stewart’s name. to include cookware, utensils, textiles or any print materials of any kind. (Just not worth it in my opinion) Salted Butter. Mango or Kiwi fruit. I have nothing against them, I just can’t stand them. Bleu Cheese. (Unless someone can turn me on to a type of moldy cheese that’s mild enough not to make my nose run in terror.) Non-sugar or sugar free sweeteners. (If you want sugar, use sugar.) Wonder Bread. If I wanna’ eat school paste, I’ll eat school paste. Don’t try to disguise it as bread. Coconut Milk. I don’t know why, I’ve meant to try a few dishes that use coconut milk for a long time, but it just never makes it to the kitchen. Budweiser… Just because. Blech! An Iced-tea maker. I mean c’mon! Can’t you boil water? How ’bout sun tea? The madness must stop here! A George Foreman Grill. If I want to overcook something, I can find better ways than slapping it between two heated plates endorsed by a former sports legend. I tried George, I really did. I’ve gotta have just a little fat. I hope it doesn’t hurt your feelings. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Jamie Rebecca Lene Wylie Kinson Susan Helene Gottfried Courtney Janet Lisa Jen Rashenbo Christine Terra Robin Lisa Shannon Michelle Hasker Starla Frigga Crazy Working Mom Denise Lisa (Homesick Texan) Jennifer kellypea

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Roasting is one of the most basic ways to prepare chicken. It’s as easy as washing, seasoning and baking for roughly 45 minutes. The only problem is that after a few rounds, a simply prepared roast chicken is a lot like store-bought rotisserie chicken…

It gets boring.

This recipe came of the desire to bring the humble roast chicken to the realm of sublime meal, and I feel that it worked extremely well. You can use this recipe for any type of chicken, whether it be boneless-skinless or a butterflied Cornish game hen. I just happened to have a bunch of leg quarters lying about and needed a good use for them.

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Glazes are a wonderful way to add a lot of flavor to roasted or grilled meats. With very few ingredients and just a little effort you can turn the every-day into the extraordinary.

This is one of those glazes. With just four ingredients that can probably be found in your pantry right now you can use this to move any pork or chicken dish to a sublime new level, and it would most likely be exquisite on duck as well.

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Sometimes things just don’t go as planned, the other night was no exception. The plan was simple and I had high aspirations. I was going to introduce my wife to the epitome of cooking with wine, the extravaganza of culinary wonderment and simplicity that is beef bouguignon (beef burgundy). Not only would it be a wonderful dinner for a cold, rainy Texas night, but it was the perfect excuse to pull out my new casserole/dutch oven.

Unfortunately for me, that’s not the way things turned out. I don’t know if the cards were stacked against me, or if Elvis, Jimmy Hoffa and Robert Goulet got together and decided to play a prank on me. In any case, the dinner I planned was apparently not meant to be.

I was sure I had everything I needed. I’d been planning to make beef burgundy for weeks, and had stocked the ingredients well in advance. Here’s how it played out.

• I bounced excitedly into the kitchen to slice the beef… Not gonna happen, it was still frozen in the middle.
• I went to pull out the mushrooms… Ugh! Those were white mushrooms when I bought them, weren’t they?
• Fine, I can live without the mushrooms, I suppose. I’ll just grab the egg noodles… That I used last week for a pasta salad.

After sputtering expletives and downing one or two glasses of the Gallo Twin Valley Hearty Burgundy that I’d picked up especially for this meal, I gathered myself together and hit the internet for some ideas I could use with the ingredients that were in my pantry.

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I’ve touched on my love of barley before. It’s wonderful in combination with brown rice or beef (as the ubiquitous beef and barley soup is wont to attest.) I’ll be the first to admit that like most Americans, I hadn’t had much exposure to this wonderful grain except in soups, but I’m doing my level best to find ways to introduce it to as many people as possible.

So far, I haven’t had anyone turn their nose up at it.

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Some people get excited about jewelry. For some it’s new geek toys that get their blood pumping. For a foodie, it’s new kitchenware, and I just got some!

The lovely and talented Mrs. Seat of her Pants picked this beauty up for me the other day, and I get to try it out for the first time tonight. I’m excited, I really am!

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Memes are interesting things. Generally they’re simple, fun and generally quirky brain candy that add a chuckle to your day. The one I’ve just been tagged with isn’t that difficult, but it’s definitely not your run-of-the-mill “what’s your favorite color” variety, either.

It’s only fair I suppose, since I’d just tagged several great bloggers with the Thinking Blogger Award, that I’d get tagged as well, and by someone who hadn’t noticed I’d tagged her yet! (If that’s not serendipity, I don’t know what is.)

This time I got nailed by Lis at La Mia Cucina, who was tagged by kellypea at kellementology with a meme started by Alex Shalman. (And there, dear readers is all of the prerequisite link-love for this particular meme!)

The topic? Gotta’ Get Goals. The rules are pretty simple; write about the top 5-10 goals that you gotta’ get accomplished to say you’ve achieved your wildest dreams in life.

Wow.

I say that this wasn’t that difficult only because it’s been on my mind as of late anyway. had Lis hit me with this a month ago, I would have politely refused after staring at the monitor for a few minutes in abject terror, then going for coffee.

That was then, this is now.

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