So according to my rough estimate there are 112 days left until the thesis is complete. Sean told me that he would be defending mid Feb so I did my calculation based on Feb 18th. We'll keep this little calculation between me and my readers, since I know Sean doesn't read my blog.
So I suppose 112 more days of doom. I say doom because this is the most stressed I have ever seen him. He isn't sleeping well and can't stop thinking about his thesis. Watching him go through this just reaffirms my plan to not ever do a thesis. I occasionaly bring work home or think about work from home, but rarily do I lose sleep over work. I hope to keep it this way!
So keep your fingers crossed that Sean can get his rough draft done before New years and defend on time!
Showing posts with label Sean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sean. Show all posts
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Distracted
Sean's new TV came yesterday......that is my only excuse as to why there are no pictures. He wasn't home when FedEx came so we had to drive down and get it from their warehouse after 7pm last night. Once we get it in the house and out of the box his response was "Maybe it is too big!" I didn't think it was possible for a man to think a TV was too big. Keep in mind we got the 46 inch so it could be bigger. Granted we upgraded from like a 28 inch or something. So comparatively it is huge. So once we got it setup and working with the cable we were both mesmerized. I managed to unhook myself by 10:30 and go to bed Sean however stay up until I don't know when watching it. Hopefully that won't be a trend or this school thing might not go so well for him. Now I just have to figure out how this DVR thing works on the new remote and with Time Warner and we'll be all set!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A fabulous fried birthday
Sunday was Sean's 25th birthday! I told him that I would make him whatever he wanted for the entire day, food wise that is. So for breakfast he wanted to go to our local greasy spoon diner. They have fairly good and fairly cheap food. Sean had an egg, cheese, and sausage breakfast sandwich. I had the french toast. We course had ice coffee since they have excellent iced coffee!
For lunch we just had leftover from our dinner and Chili's the night before. Still tasty however. Now for dinner we went all out. Sean wanted Chicken fried steak with mash potatoes and cream gravy. I was absolutely terrified of messing this meal up so I did plenty of research and Sean even spoke with his mom about how she usually prepared it. Well with my recipes in hand and some help from Sean picking out the seasoning he wanted I jumped right in. Now keep in mind that I like to follow recipes to the T. I don't like to improvise and modify and I had never fried anything. Well even with my numerous handicaps the meal came out well! Sean thought it was pretty good so I'll consider it a success. I now feel more able to cook new things.
Below is the approximate recipe
Chicken Fried Steak
1 1/2 lbs Cube Steak (I didn't want to do the pounding)
2 eggs
1/2 Cup milk
2ish Cups Flour
Salt (~1/2 tsp)
Pepper (~ 3/4 tsp)
Cayenne Pepper (~ 1/2 tsp)
Garlic Salt (~1/2 tsp)
Paprika (~1/4 - 1/2 tsp)
Oil (enough for 1/4 - 1/2 inches in the bottom of pan)
In a shallow pie pan beat eggs and milk together. In another pie pan or bowl mix flour and seasonings. The amount of seasoning is up to you. Sean likes a lot of seasoning on things so I used quite a bit. Now sprinkle seasoning on each side of the steak. Again the amount and what is seasoning is up to you. Now one at a time dip the steak in the egg mixture allowing excess to drip off and put in flour mixture. Coat each side liberally with flour. For a thicker crispier outside repeat the egg and then flour steps. Meanwhile or in advance start heating the oil in the pan to fry. Be careful to get the oil hot enough but not so hot that is smokes. It should be popping a little but not smoking. On my stove I had the skillet a touch above medium. I think to get the best crust you should flour right before sticking it in the oil. I would also recommend only one piece at a time unless you're using a larger electric skillet. They need about 3-4 minutes per side. To keep warm while making the gravy I put them in the oven heated to 200 degrees on a broiler pan.
Cream gravy
~1/4 Cup grease from cooking steaks. (Keep as many bits as possible)
4-6 Tbsp flour mixture (leftover from steaks)
Milk (~1-2 cups)
Reheat oil on medium to medium low. Once oil is hot add flour. Mix well with whisk. Cook for 1-2 minutes to cook out flour favor. The flour is a thickening agent. So the consistency of the flour oil mixture should be a thick liquid. Pour in milk slowly stirring the entire time to avoid clumps. The amount of milk depends on the consistency you want. Cook 2-4 minutes to thicken. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve Steak with Gravy over top. Mashed potatoes are also good with this meal. :-)
Oh and no I won't make it for you. It will be at least several months before I make this again. To much effort and fat! Although quite tasty!
For lunch we just had leftover from our dinner and Chili's the night before. Still tasty however. Now for dinner we went all out. Sean wanted Chicken fried steak with mash potatoes and cream gravy. I was absolutely terrified of messing this meal up so I did plenty of research and Sean even spoke with his mom about how she usually prepared it. Well with my recipes in hand and some help from Sean picking out the seasoning he wanted I jumped right in. Now keep in mind that I like to follow recipes to the T. I don't like to improvise and modify and I had never fried anything. Well even with my numerous handicaps the meal came out well! Sean thought it was pretty good so I'll consider it a success. I now feel more able to cook new things.
Below is the approximate recipe
Chicken Fried Steak
1 1/2 lbs Cube Steak (I didn't want to do the pounding)
2 eggs
1/2 Cup milk
2ish Cups Flour
Salt (~1/2 tsp)
Pepper (~ 3/4 tsp)
Cayenne Pepper (~ 1/2 tsp)
Garlic Salt (~1/2 tsp)
Paprika (~1/4 - 1/2 tsp)
Oil (enough for 1/4 - 1/2 inches in the bottom of pan)
In a shallow pie pan beat eggs and milk together. In another pie pan or bowl mix flour and seasonings. The amount of seasoning is up to you. Sean likes a lot of seasoning on things so I used quite a bit. Now sprinkle seasoning on each side of the steak. Again the amount and what is seasoning is up to you. Now one at a time dip the steak in the egg mixture allowing excess to drip off and put in flour mixture. Coat each side liberally with flour. For a thicker crispier outside repeat the egg and then flour steps. Meanwhile or in advance start heating the oil in the pan to fry. Be careful to get the oil hot enough but not so hot that is smokes. It should be popping a little but not smoking. On my stove I had the skillet a touch above medium. I think to get the best crust you should flour right before sticking it in the oil. I would also recommend only one piece at a time unless you're using a larger electric skillet. They need about 3-4 minutes per side. To keep warm while making the gravy I put them in the oven heated to 200 degrees on a broiler pan.
Cream gravy
~1/4 Cup grease from cooking steaks. (Keep as many bits as possible)
4-6 Tbsp flour mixture (leftover from steaks)
Milk (~1-2 cups)
Reheat oil on medium to medium low. Once oil is hot add flour. Mix well with whisk. Cook for 1-2 minutes to cook out flour favor. The flour is a thickening agent. So the consistency of the flour oil mixture should be a thick liquid. Pour in milk slowly stirring the entire time to avoid clumps. The amount of milk depends on the consistency you want. Cook 2-4 minutes to thicken. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve Steak with Gravy over top. Mashed potatoes are also good with this meal. :-)
Oh and no I won't make it for you. It will be at least several months before I make this again. To much effort and fat! Although quite tasty!
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