Sweet, Sweet Music.... From My Car!

So, today I'm really excited because I got my new stereo system for my car! It's a Kenwood KDC-138 AM/FM/CD-RECEIVER. I've been waiting about a week for it since I ordered it online. Turns out that installing a Kenwood car stereo is actually not as hard as I was dreading. Well, I did have help from my personal auto body tech (Mike :P).

A little background on my car and why this Kenwood stereo is so awesome: I love to listen to music when I drive and I feel like I am constantly driving somewhere. So, when I bought my 1981 Mustang (awesome car by the way), I was more upset that it didn't have a stereo system than I was about it not having A/C! So I finally ordered my stereo and can enjoy my car rides again, even if I am dying in the heat! Now, I know that, not everyone is as into Kenwwod receivers, so, I know of a couple other links for you to check out. This one also has a 7" screen that's a DVD player and receiver. Or check this one out. Hurry though, I'm not sure how long they'll be there.

I decided to post a how-to for anyone who might purchase a new car stereo and need some help installing it... that way you don't have to pay a small fortune for someone else to install it.

*(A Step by Step How-To)*

http://www.ehow.com/how_866_install-car-stereo.html

*(A Visual Resource)*

Removing the Holding Screws for Car Stereo Installation -- powered by eHow.com

Good luck and enjoy your new (or old) car stereo!

Reflecting on Memorial Day

Okay, so by now I guess it's pretty obvious, Mike and I love to fish! So, naturally, this Memorial Day was a perfect day to do some fishing!

Mike, his dad, and I went to our "secret" fishing spot, set up the BBQ and started fishing. The guys were all excited because his dad just got his new Featherlight Spinning Rod fishing pole that he ordered off of the Internet. It's a nice fishing pole and it apparently did the job 'cause his dad caught 4 fish! But, we'll get to that later.

We BBQ'd up some steaks and my favorite, BBQ chicken. It was nice to just relax and chat about all kinds of things, relevant or not. We all got some good laughs at our dog's expense. He's afraid of the fishing poles so he kept running to the car every time someone cast out. It was good family quality time that we haven't shared in a while. I even learned a few pointers on grilling, like how to gauge cooking time by the thickness of the steaks. (I'm good in the kitchen, but grilling is really Mike's thing!)

*If you need some grilling tips, I found this great video on You Tube you can check out.*

Not only was the grilling going good, the fish were biting good too. As I said, Mike's dad caught 4 bass with his new fishing pole and Mike caught 3 himself. I only got a few bites here and there myself since the fish seem to avoid me. It was a catch and release kind of day, nothing sizable enough to take home.

Of course, Memorial Day isn't just for grilling and fishing. It's to remember the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice to make our great country free. Monday I remembered my brother, a heroic soldier. PFC Richard DeWater, 21, made the ultimate sacrifice April 15, 2009 in Korrengal Valley, Afghanistan. He was a good man and a great friend to all who knew him and he was most certainly a hero to be remembered this Memorial Day.

All in all, it was a good Memorial Day. A good family day full of fishing, food, stories, laughs, and, of course, memories of our beloved Rick. I hope your Memorial Day was as full of love and laughs as mine!

Amelia's Cajun Shrimp Boil Recipe

Shrimp Boil For 2 Lbs.

Ingredients:
Crab Boil 1 Bottle per 2lbs
Whole Garlic Clove 1 smashed and chopped in half
Celery 4 to 5 sticks 1 ½ to 2 in.
Salt 2 tablespoons
Sugar 1 tablespoon
Lemon 1 ½ whole lemons cut into halves

In a 16 quart pot, fill ¾ full of water. Add ingredients. Allow to boil until water is rolling. Add 2lbs of shrimp. Cook for a minimum of 4 min. to a maximum of 6 min. No more.
Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 15 min. to allow for the shrimp to absorb the spices. Remove from pot and enjoy.

After removing the shrimp, for an added Cajun flare, add corn and or red potatoes and let boil until done.

After using the secrets of on-line dating for women, and you find that someone you would love to impress, use this special cajun recipe.

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Happy Memorial Day.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

Great Fish Recipe!

It's getting hotter and the fish are biting! The Pecos River has been stocked with trout and Mike brought one home to prove it! I made a delicious trout dinner and I just wanted to share the recipe.

Honey Mustard Grilled Trout

Ingriedients

1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 large onions, cut in 1/2 inch slices
6 (6 ounce) fillets trout

Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Place onions cut side down on grill rack with sides touching. Arrange fillets on onion slices. Cover and grill over medium-hot heat for 5 minutes. Baste with mustard mixture. Cook 5-6 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork, basting frequently. Discard onion slices.

*Now I know a fishy smell on the fingers can be hard to banish, but it must be done! There are a few different ways:

1. Simply wash your hands with the juice from a lemon.
2. There are some proprietary products about 2in long, made from stainless steel that claim that they will rid your fingers of fish and onion smells. Simply wash your hands under running water, treating the product like a bar of soap. Surprisingly, I find that they do indeed work.
3. Save yourself the cost of purchasing the above item and simply rub your wet hands vigourously against the inside of a stainless steel kitchen sink! Again, much to my surprise - it works.*
   

   
   The trout was delicious! And not to mention that now would be the perfect time to bust out your best cutlery set and fillet knives and show of your true cooking skills! If you don't have a good set or are in the market for some, Titanium Pro Chef Cutlery is the best and most reasonably priced set I've seen out there thus far. They come with the Cyclone kitchen shears, a utility knife and a fillet knife, perfect for cleaning and filleting those fish! Hurry!! You won't regret it.
   

Speaking of Camping...

I just recently celebrated my first Anniversary with my boyfriend Mike. We decided to go camping at the Lake close to town, Brantley Lake. Well, we booked a month in advance to get the best camping spot. It had a gorgeous view of the lake and was really private compared to the other spots. I loved that this spot came with an electrical outlet, a bar-b-q and an awning covered picnic table. Friday morning we went and got all the stuff we would need (we had our tent already), food ice, and of course charcoal. We love to bar-b-q and we got some Angus beef to make killer hamburgers! By Friday afternoon, we were set to go!

Well, naturally, things didn't go as smoothly as planned...

A.- The weather was bad. Windy, cloudy and a light drizzle.... swimming was out.
B. - Worst of all things, NM had put a FIRE RESTRICTION in effect!!! A pretty pink tag that was tagged to our Bar-b-q read "No Charcoal, No Firewood" Great now how were we supposed to eat!

Needless to say we were a little distressed. Here we had booked a month in advance and now we couldn't even eat those oh so delicious Angus beef burgers we bought especially for our bar-b-q! Well after running around the campgrounds to see what other campers were doing, we noticed they had an advantage, PORTABLE STOVES! Why didn't we think of that?

Our fellow campers suggested we talk to the Campground host. (We called them the permanent campers!) Luckily the campground host was as down to earth as we had hoped someone who lived at a campsite would be haha. He told us he didn't even know those tags were there, he made a phone call and then informed us that the fire restrictions went into affect that morning and he was even a little bummed because he was preparing a bonfire of his own!

So how did we eat your wondering, right? Well luck was on our side this time and the campsite host told us that "as long as you don't burn the place down, I won't say anything." WooHoo! We bar-b-qued that night and the next day, thanks to that down to earth campground host. Next time we vowed not to chance it though, we did some research and bought our little portable stove like the other campers had! We bought the Nature's Quest Portable Camp Stove. Just click on that link to see it. It works great and was cheaper than a lot of other stoves we saw online. A definite recommend to anyone who is planning a camping trip, or just needs a portable stove!

So, the moral of this story... don't go camping unprepared!

Camping and Cooking

Initially, I want to go way back to establish relevance or at least some history that generated my interest and made me want to gain more knowledge. From back in the days of growing up, going on camping trips with Mom, Dad and my brothers, then, on to camping with the Boy Scouts of America, I have used or had learned to use the essential tools required of cooking. Preparing the food, which always required a good set of knives and other utensils. The Coleman portable camping stove, which took some doing, pumping it up and throwing a lit match at it. That was always fun to watch.
I really have always loved a camp fire. Setting around, enjoying some well cooked marshmallows or maybe just to stay warm during the early morning or late evenings. Loved that smell, too.
My interest in cooking grew even more when I was in high school as I was asked to become a cook at the Hillcrest Country Club, in Kansas City, by the chef and sioux chef. I was working as a dish washer there at the time and I guess they liked how hard I worked. So, one of the first things I had to do was to get a good professional knife set. All I could afford at the time was a chefs knife and a boning knife. A good set of knives that would last and keep a good edge didn't come cheep.
I worked hard to learn the business and get as as good as I could. I really enjoyed cooking. After working there for quite some time , the sioux chef told me we were going to be hired as a team, him being the chef and me the sioux chef at the Waikiki Beach hotel in Hawaii. Unfortunately, the chef, who was his dad, took ill and we were not able to go. Too bad, we were a good team. Soon after graduating high school I went into the military and made it a career. I worked as a precision electronics measurement technician, which I also really loved doing. Even in the military, though not a cook, I was always faced with the need to have to cook and I've always had a good kitchen cutlery set. One set that I can recommend is at: http://titaniumknives.totalwarehouse.com/. It's a titanium set, something that I'll blog on later.