That VP Debate Fly Made Me Start Blogging Again

 Hello friends!

    My, it has been a-WHILE! It has been a whole 8 years since I last posted. I give a sincere "welcome back" to everyone and I hope y'all are staying safe. And wearing your damn masks.

SO much has happened in these past 8 years so I'll bullet them below, in chronological order:

• Moved to DC in Fall 2016 through UCR's study abroad in our nation's capital program
• Interned at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• Assumed I would attend law school (LOL!!!!)
• Met my boyfriend at my internship
• Yes, we're still together
• Cried for 4 years straight after HRC lost the general election (still crying)
• Graduated cum laude with a BA in Psychology at the University of CA, Riverside in 2018
• I finished my last class in December 2017 but missed the deadline for graduation
• Don't worry, I attended my spring graduation in 2018
• During the summer of 2018, I started working at the National Zoo in Membership (DC)
• Moved in with the boyfriend in DC in December 2018
• Started new job at the National Abortion Federation in March 2018
• Here is where I realized we need more POC and representation in progressive organizations
• Started horseback riding at Wheaton Park Stables in Maryland
• In January 2020, I opened up my Etsy Shop! Check it out HERE
• MADE MY FIRST SALE MAY 2020 HOORAY
• Started new job at the American Psychological Association in March 2019
• No, I can't read your mind...
• March, 2020...
• April...
• May..
• Ju-
• Suffered many anxiety attacks (Rest in Power, George Floyd)
• Rest in Power, Breonna Taylor
• Lost my job due to budget cuts due to COVID-19
• July...
• Started Grad school at the American University studying Strategic Communications!
• Saw the fly meme explosion that followed the VP debate
• Biden's campaign started selling fly swatters...
• Wanted to buy said fly swatter...but they sold out
• Attempting to finish up art projects for my Etsy...
• Key word: attempting...

    And BAM! Now that we are all up to speed...what day is it again? Did I shower today? Did I shower yesterday? Where's my hand sanitizer...

Looking forward to blogging again! Time to give my Blog homepage a makeover...yikes

Raquel

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OR call them at 1-866-OUR-VOTE

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Kitchen House Rock: "Lazy J's"

HOORAY to my first food recipe post!  And when I mean first food recipe post, I mean MY OWN RECIPE.  And best of all, it's made in the CROCKPOT!

After turning to Ree Drummond and About.com for inspiration, I created my own recipe.
Well, not exactly.

I DID create my own recipe; however, I created it based on what my poor college self had in my poor college cupboards.
It's not all the time I cook for everyone, but when I do, I enjoy it.  I never knew where I found this love of cooking and baking.  But whenever I visit home, my mom always asks me "What's for dinner?" when I definitely remember that I was the one who always asked this.  Just some food for thought.  HA.

Only 2.5 lbs of our lovely ground beef...

For these past 3 months, my roommates and I have housed 25 lbs of ground beef in our freezer.  It was an impulsive purchase at Costco.  It just happened, it was weird.  You walk into Costco and find yourself in awe of all the food in BULK.  You float down the aisles admiring the grand columns of endless quantities of food.  Glorious.  And then you walk out $200 poorer and with a hell of a bunch of food YOU DON'T NEED.  Costco's marketing strategy is quite brilliant, I must say.

Now to the beef:  I've been slowly using the beef to cook for my roommates and I but one can only eat so many burgers...

Yes, I know, "Sloppy Joe's" are a form of burger, but I was lazy and didn't feel like slaving all day to peel potatoes, fry bacon, and grate cheese for potato, bacon, and cheese soup like I did once.

So this would be like my Sloppy Lazy's, Lazy Burgers, Sloppy Burgers, J Burgers, Sloppy J's...LAZY J'S!!! 

I dubbed these "Lazy J's" because I'm so lazy I can't write out J-O-E-'-S"  And I added the lazy just to highlight the fact I felt lazy today.  Pretty nifty how my mind works, huh?

 

Step 1

Heat up a medium/large skillet on medium.  Throw the garlic into the skillet and swish it around to cook.  Before the garlic starts to brown, throw in all the beef.  Cover and let sit for about 7 minutes.  The meat should begin to brown on its face-up side.  Mix the beef around in the skillet, trying to get the pink side down and cover and let sit for about 3 more minutes or until fully browned.

Throw it in your CROCKPOT.

Step 2

This flavor is an easy way out if you don't have tomato paste or onion.

Gebhardt is by far my FAVORITE Chili Powder!

Can't go wrong with all those additives and processed ingredients!

Throw in the rest of the ingredients!  I suggest the ketchup and sauce first and then the spices.  You can add however much more salt and pepper as you’d like. 

Step 3 

--> Cook lazily on LOW for about 4-6 hours.
Serve lazily on delicious off-brand hamburger buns :)

HOW LAZY IS THIS?

In case you were wondering, it didn't taste like pasta sauce at all!

Until next time, where I'll be lazily making some sort of breakfast concoction...in my CROCKPOT!

Love, Raquel