Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Sunday Yummy

Super Easy & Super fast!

Dump Cake is an all time favorite in our 911 center. We cook it for Sunday dinners, holidays, birthdays or just because we feel like it. It can be literally thrown together in just a matter of minutes with minimal effort. Hot out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream on top or whipped topping and the afternoon perks right up.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling (or any other fruit pie filling you like)
  • 1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple
  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
  • 8 ounces chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1/2 cup butter

Directions

  1. In a 9x13 inch pan mix cherries and pineapple. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pineapple, and cherry mixture stir until just combined. Then sprinkle walnuts over top. Drizzle top with melted butter or margarine.
  2. Bake in a 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 35 or 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Things I've learned in the last year…


Things I've learned in the last year…..

Happy pills don't really make you happy.
Comfort food is no longer comfortable once you gain 20 pounds.
Your friends can only take so much.
If your tired of yourself you can bet on it everyone else is too.
Sleep is not over rated.
You can be broken where no one can see it.
Tough love is not always an effective course.
No matter how hard you try to hide something from your children, they know.
 
 
 
 

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Fundraising for a good cause



Charity is good for the Soul


I will be holding a 50/50 Raffle to benefit Mustaches for Kids Wilmington Chapter. I will be sponsoring Happy Wade, a family friend who is  Mustaches for Kids 2010's Rookie of the year.
Happy is an amazing family man that is also responsible for the annual golf tournament Play for Emily.
Tickets will be $1.00 per ticket or $5.00 for 6 tickets.
I will start selling tickets today. I will draw the winning name on Dec 6th.


Mustaches for Kids is a non-profit organization that has benefitted children's charities since 1999. The participants all shaved on Nov 15th and began growing their killer 'Staches, they have 30 days to collect pledges.
If you are local and can't get by the center to purchase tickets call or text me at
910-520-1957. I will be happy to deliver your tickets to you.
If you are out of town out of state, send me an email @ kkitchen911@gmail.com letting me know your interested. I will make arrangments to do the exhange via the poastal service.


Thanks to everyone in advance for being generous!!



~According to the journal Science, a team of economists and psychologists at the University of Oregon have found that donating money to charity activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure.

~Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.
Mother Teresa

~No act of kindness, no matter how small, is every wasted.
Aesop

~You will find, as you look back on your life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others.”
Henry Drummond

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words

Time for the Sunday Yummy

I am all about comfort foods! I love anything that can all be thrown in a pot or dish together and cook into something amazing. When cooking for a large group, like the 911 center, it is great to have something you can put together the night before and throw it in the oven when you get to work in the morning. Our center is manned with 12-15 people on good days. If I was making this for a Sunday lunch I would triple the recipe.
Most of all ENJOY an amazing meal with your coworkers one day soon.

Traditional Shepherd's Pie

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, finely diced
3-4 large carrots, finely diced
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
3 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 glass red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
6 cups of mashed potatoes, Not instant potatoes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 400. Saute carrots in the olive oil until they begin to get tender, add the onions and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the ground beef, season with the black pepper and thyme. Cook until browned then drain the fat. Add the butter and peas to the mix, allow the butter to melt. Sprinkle with the flour and stir. When the mix begins to thicken add the tomato paste, red wine and Worcestershire sauce. Allow this to reduce slightly and then add the beef stock. Simmer until you have a thick meaty gravy. Remove from the heat. Butter your 9X13 baking dish and add the meat mixture. Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over the top then brush with 1 beaten egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for approx 20 min or until the potato is nice and browned.
Serve it up with some hot rolls or biscuits to mop up all that yummy gravy!!

Enjoy!!!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Urban Dictionary of 911

911
1.) A number you call in an emergency and ONLY in an emergency!!!

- Your house is on fire
- Your having a heart attack
- Someone is breaking into your house

However, in the last few years it seems people think they can call 911 for almost any problem they have. (Example below)

1.) 911: 911, whats your emergency?
Crazy Chick: Ya, I'm at McDonald's and they told me there out of chicken nuggets, but I know their lying.
911: Oh my god...

911
The 'oh shit' button.
 
1.) I just killed my girlfriend!! Imma call 911!

911
1. A number you dial when there is an emergency, or if you are a duh-weeb, when you want to ask a question or report something that happened last week.

911 Call Taker
The unfortunate soul who answers 911 calls and is unable to make fun of you for it, or point out how dumb you are.

Your neighbor's lawn trimmings are getting on your lawn? The kids are throwing a superball near your car? Your 5 year old is out of control and won't go to bed? Your teenager isn't listening to you? The neighbors bush is too big? McDonalds didn't give you exact change? The car in front of you is driving slow on purpose? And it goes on, and on, and on...

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

You can't make this stuff up!

Some days I answer the phone and have to remind myself, this is job security! Some of the calls we receive are true emergencies, and need to be treated as such. However A LOT of the calls we receive start with "This isn't an emergency but". Then you have the callers that are having a true emergency in their own minds, this is what I'm talking about today. You cannot make up these kinda calls!

Caller: I need to report a homicide, I'm sitting in the lobby of the hospital with my boyfriend waiting to be seen, he needs to report his murder.
Me: Ma'am he is sitting beside you?
Caller: Yes, do you need to speak to him?

Caller: I need to report an assault
Me: What happened Ma'am?
Caller: David Lee Roth stepped out of my poster and touched me where he is not supposed to.
Me: Did you take the poster down and throw it away
Caller No, I still really like him.

After 20 min on the phone with a caller reporting a prowler
Me: The police are out front can you step to the door and meet with them?
Caller: Oh, well I'm naked, do I have to get dressed?

This one is not mine but I always laugh every time I hear it!
Caller: My husband is not breathing I need EMS!
Dispatcher: Okay Ma'am we need to do CPR, Get him flat on his back on the floor.
Caller: Okay, Harold! Lay down on the floor I need to do CPR on you!
Harold: Okay
Dispatcher: Ma'am was that Harold, your husband that just answered you?
Caller: Yes!!!

The list goes on and on!
Please Share your 'Ican't believe that call' moments with us. Everyone needs a good giggle once in a while!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

The Sunday Yummy


  • 3 cans Progresso Minestrone soup
  • 2 cans Rotel tomatoes and chilis (mild/medium/hot to taste)
  • 2 cans Ranch Style beans
  • 1 can beef broth
  • 1 onion
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1-2 tsp chili powder
Chop onion and brown with ground beef then drain well.
Mix contents of all the canned items in a large pot.
Stir in the beef, onions & chili powder.
Bring to a boil and simmer about 1 hour on low.


Eazy to make especially for a crowd!! It can be doubled or even trippled depending on who your feeding.
I goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches or cornbread.
It also freezes well


ENJOY!!

    

Beep Beep



Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Bus. It exists as certainly as Back stabbing and jealousy and gossip exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its tire tracks and heartaches.

A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, the bus will continue to leave tire tracks on hearts of adulthood.


Why is it in our line of work people feel the need to throw others under the bus? Are we not supposed to be a team and support each other? There is Drama Drama Drama rolling everywhere and no one tries to stop it. You have admin and supervisory people that encourage people to run and tell as opposed to stop and offer help. Maybe if people tried to help each other more often you would find the bus circling the center less and less, because things may have been done correctly the first time.
Why, when a trainee does not make it is the trainer blamed? This job is NOT easy and most people cannot do the multi tasking or handle the emotion stress that is caused from daily 911 calls. Being a training officer is stressful enough with out hearing whispers that your training was subpar or that you are a training Nazi. I don't know about your agencies, but in ours the training officers receive no incentive to train.
Why, when there is a dispatcher that is complimented others allow jealousy to step in? Just because a dispatcher has been complimented on an achievement or just a busy day done well we should not whisper and grumble about that achievement. We should recognize a job well done and be thrilled that someone was acknowledged! We work a hell of a job with little to no compliments be glad that someone actually got recognized!
We all have at least 1 person that is paranoid! Every whisper, every look, every visit to an admin office is about them. If you are not doing anything wrong quit worrying so damn much. The word may revolve around you, your family, or your friends at home however, here it is not all about you. Sorry to break it to you.

I will be sure to keep you all posted to the tire tracks I receive for posting this one. Someone is bound to think it is all about them.\

BEEP BEEP!!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Religion and such

Disclaimer: If you are religious and/or easily offended don't read this entry.

Now I know I live in the Bible Belt of the south, in a town where the words 'bless his/her heart' are not always nice. Just ask Urban dictionary.com :

1. bless your heart
1: phrase used by Southern women to excuse themselves for speaking ill of someone else.

2: an expression of sympathy or pity.

3: a polite way to respond to an ignoramus, particularly male, who showers upon you flattering but unwanted compliments.
1: "She's as ugly as a mud-fence, bless her heart."

2: "Well, bless your heart, that must have been terrible!"

3: drunk fella: "I think you're beautiful! Even if you were ugly, I'd STILL think you were beautiful!"

recipient: "...bless your heart."



Now with that being defined. I have gone through a rough patch, and yes, it has lasted much longer than it should have. People in my life have sent me encouraging words. However some phrases that are really starting to bother me:
God does everything for a reason
God will heal your heart
God will never fail you
Just pray and it will all work out
Knowing the different definitions of Bless your Heart causes me to pause and be concerned, are there phrases I don't know about???  Are they really saying something nice to my face and then snickering when I say thank you for the encouragement???

Another thing that that really gets on my nerves is the Facebook/Myspace/Twitter updates. Nothing is more irritating that the meanest, nastiest, back stabinist, ( I can make up ists forever!), drunkest, slutiest, wife/husband-stealingist person posting bible verses or God has my back status! Really!?!? Do you think because you say it your Holy or forgiven??? Give me a break! I am not religious, I don't claim to be nor pretend to be. However if you are going to speak the word of God practice it, don't just use it when convenient to you.

Okay I'm done. Sorry if I have offended you, I just felt the need to question these things. Back to normal operations!