In one of the latest in a recent string of strange decisions, the Food network decided to cancel Emeril Lagasse’s flagship program Emeril Live late last year.  I honestly don’t know what they’re thinking over in upper management there, but to simply let the personality that has given Food Network a vast piece of its overall popularity go seems like a very bad decision to me. Luckily, those of us who still have respect and admiration for chefs that actually cook, and are willing to share their knowledge with us have a haven on television in the Fine Living Network.

Most of you are probably aware that Fine Living picked up the contract for Molto Mario when talks with the network failed two years ago.  The same holds true for Emeril Live!  Which will now be carried on FLN every night of the week at 7:00pm e/p (or 6:00pm central, where I happen to be.) starting July 7th. We’re not talking re-runs here, either.  These are all new episodes of Emeril Live, and I’m glad that FLN has recognised that the viewing public isn’t always thrilled with the choices made by other networks!

Just as a little tidbit to whet your appetite, here’s a clip from the upcoming July 11th episode, titled “Emeril’s Farmers Market”

You can see more on the FLN Emeril Live Page, so feel free to check it out!

Just a note:  This is not a sponsored post or an advertisement.  The fine folks at 360i, the company that handles promotions for FLN contacted me to see if I would be interested in passing this along to you guys.  Since I feel that Emeril is someone worth the time to watch, I agreed happily!

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Are you in the market for some new bathroom fixtures?  How about a completely new bathroom?  In either case, betterbathrooms.com can help you out with their full line of Bathroom Suites.

I’m usually not one to say “I love this site!”, but in this case, I really do.  It’s simple to navigate, has a wonderful selection of really nifty fixtures and accessories and enough product photos to keep me satisfied.  I feel like if I ordered from them, I would know exactly what I was going to get and in an online shopping environment, that’s something a site can brag about.

For me, this is a site that’s just been added to my Google bookmarks under “when we get a house”.  As a military member, I can’t do renovations on the homes we live in on base, but we’re only about six years away from buying, so I’m very closely examining my options when it comes to home improvement choices.  I intend to move into a home I buy only once, adn I’m only going to use the best.  Period.

Whether you’re in the market for a new bath fixture, tub, shower head or faucet, give bathroomsdirect.com a shot.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at their selection.  I know I was. (In fact, the faucet on the site’s main page had me excited just looking at it.  And it’s rare for a faucet to have an “Ahhhh!” factor!) Definitely woirth a visit!

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Is an event that I missed out on, due to an inability to get cardamom in time to actually get it done.

Oh sure.  Ben gave an alternative, but really…  There is no substitute for cardamom, so I sat this one out.

So go check out what the Daring Bakers have been up to this month!  I’m hoping to join back in on the next round.

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I’m a day late to my own party!  This recipe was created for the Frugal Fridays Blog Event, hosted and created by yours truly and was supposed to be posted last night, but several things conspired against me.  First there was sleep deprivation.  Our son has hit one of those stages where sleep doesn’t seem to be something he requires much of.  since Mrs. Seat of her Pants holds down a job outside the house, I’m the one who stays up with the little hellion sweet child until I can get him to nod off.  three days of that was enough to have me nodding on the couch by 7:00 pm.

Top that off with the fact that my probe thermometer is either damaged or was inserted into the wrong portion of chicken ans I can add “Kitchen Disaster” to the list of things that held me up. For once it looked like everything was going to be ready at the same time.  that’s actually a rarity, especially when you’re making things up as you go along.  Last night it all looked perfect.  Right up until the time I cut the bird…

Now I love to see a big bunch of deep red juices come pouring out of a steak or a roast, but when it happens to be coming from a chicken…  Let’s just say it doesn’t thrill me.  Especially when I’ve already poured some of the pan juices into my side dish as well!  This little revelation set me back a full 30 minutes, since everything had to be heated past 200 degrees and held there for at least five minutes…  Fun!

In the end it all turned out well, just a little dryer than I would have liked.  It’s still a dish that I would recommend to anyone, and hey.  If you’re a vegetarian, leave the chrizo and chicken stock out of the rice.  It’s a gread veggie-friendly side.  Or add another good dose of black beans and it could be a main course.  Good stuff!

But how much did all of this set me back?  let’s see.

Chicken: $3.42
Herbs – Free, I grow them myself
Rice – approximately $0.25
Black Beans: $0.85 per can
Corn: less than 1/3 of a bag of frozen corn, so $1.09 / 3 = $0.36
Chorizo: 1/2 of a $2.99 package, so roughly $1.50
Chicken stock: 16 oz. out of a 32 oz. container @ 2.09 = 1.08

Everything else was pantry staples and the garlic was leftover from my last FF, so

Grand Total: $7.46 for a meal that would easily serve four.  In fact there is still a ton of rice left over!

Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

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Sorry for the lack of food today, guys.  I had some fires to putout on another site and that has taken most of my day.  I just wanted to drop a quick reminder that Frugal Fridays #3 will begin tonight at midnight EST!  Please feel free to join in and let us know just what you can put together for $10.00 or less!!!

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Even if you’ve got an ice maker in your fridge, chances are that you have a few old ice cube trays hanging out somewhere around your home or apartment.  Why not re-purpose those dust collectors into something that you can use on a daily basis?

No, Really, they’re good for more than just one or two things, and some of these uses surprised me in a very pleasant way.  I’m sure everyone knows that you can make Kool-Ade Jammers with them, but I think you might be surprised by a few of the other uses you can put them to.

Following are some ideas I came across on the Associated content Network and a few of my own.  I will of course post links to the original authors in the footnote.

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Potatoes are the unsung hero of any pantry.  The possibilities for turning this ruddy little blob of starch into something amazing seem to be endless and just about every culture uses them in any number of ways. Potatoes are both a min course option and the perfect side dish.  they can be presented as the star of the show or as a minor player on an ingredients linst.  They can be baked, boiled, mashed, smashed, pureed, diced, fried, sauteed and sliced into chips, all with excellent results.  But my personal favorite for preparing them lately is to very simply grill them off.

there’s something to be said for simplicity and dpth of flavor.  For allowing the ingredient to sing its own praises in its own voice without being muddled by other notes or melodies.  This, my dear reders is the potatos summertime opus.  Crisp and fluffy all at the same time, with a hint of sweetness to all of the erthiness that you would expect from this humble tuber.

The next tme you fire up the grill, consider inviting your local potato to the party.  you’ll be glad you did!

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If you’re going to take the time to make homemade hamburger buns, there’s no point in stuffing them with some ridiculous store bought patty. You’ve got to throw some big flavors in to make it worth the effort.For this round chicken marinated in Greek vinaigrette sounded like a plan, but what would I top that with?  Just throwing some lettuce at it would never do.

A quick look around gave me an idea.  In the crisper was some baby spinach that was definitely looking neglected and droopy and there were mushrooms on the counter from last nights dinner.  Perfect, chicken topped with sautéed spinach and mushrooms should make for a huge smile when she walked in for lunch. (One of the advantages of living on base.  I see my wife at least once through her workday!)

I grilled the chicken in this instance, but this could just as easily be made in a pan or grill pan.  I’m not a fan of clamshell grills, but if you are, go with the Foreman, I suppose.  It’ll be ready in a snap.  As for the potatoes on the side…  Well, I’m saving those for tomorrow, just because I love them so much that I think they deserve their own post…

Don’t you?

Now back to the sammich!

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I wish I could wear contact lenses. At one time I could, but unfortunately the glass lenses I wore in the 80’s to make my eyes a lovely shade of lavender also managed to make it impossible for me to wear them any more. (Keep them clean, people!)

If you can wear contacts and you’ve been wanting to try America’s #1 rated contact lens, the acuvue oasys, now’s your chance to do so, without ever leaving the comfort of your own home.  These lenses promise to eliminate dry, irritated eyes, which is something I remember vivdly from my lens-wearing days.  That promise alone should be enough to convince you to try them out.

Just pop over to this page, enter your prescription information and order a box.  You’ll like the prices, too.

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If you haven’t been by Matt Armindariz’ blog Matt Bites lately you may not have heard the news.  Thanks to California’s Supreme Court Ruling that reinstates same sex marriage, Matt and his long time companion finally have the legal right to tie the knot.  And they did on June 18th! To find out more about it, see his post here!

So to Matt and his new husband I send out my best wishes for a long and extremely happy life together.I wish both of you all the best in everything!

I leave Matt and his new husband with a traditional Irish wedding blessing:

Go maire sibh bhur saol úr

Or, in English: May you live/enjoy your new life / May your new life be long (Rough translation)

If you haven’t already, stop by and give a huge congrats!

(Note: This post is here in positive spirit and is sent from my heart.  For those of you with opposing viewponts, there are sites that will allow comments and posts from you.  I will not, so please don’t waste your time, mine or the time of my readers.)

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