peep the progress update

kind of glad a bunch more of y'all haven't participated in this b/c it's a BITCH to update. but here it is.

UPDATE:

newest to hit the standings is my long lost friend from middle and highschool who runs a very popular blog about her life as a displaced georgia peach in the big apple. reading this makes me very jealous that i am not a single chick with a pimp job in the NYC, such a cool perspective on a life that started in the same place as mine (the hood) and yet has gone in such a fun and different direction (freedom, a career, etc.). she didn't actually email me the results of her cooking but she did do an entire recipe post of her own based on the "will you accept sexual favors in exchange for that?" pork chops. so i put her on the graph without her permission.

jesse's amazing meat (snicker) on display in a city neither of us has ever really been to...cool.

and what did miss milltini have to say about her meal?

We tried it a few weekends ago, and it most certainly did not disappoint. VOILA! A very yum chop with a surprise ingredient!

and if you read today's earlier post about lena keeping judah, you will know that she pity-partied her way to one sympathy point on the graph. see her submissions here.

second overall to send hers in a while ago was mrs. joanna futurewade. she blew me out of the water with 3 completed recipes. at first she only got credit for 2.5 since she wasn't IN any of the pictures and didn't write her review on 2 of them. but she smelled the finish line (hint: it smells like meat). i now have pictures and reviews (including a bonus meatloaf review), which makes joanna the first of what will (hopefully) eventually be two winners. she selected as her prize something that wasn't really allowed but whatever. she wanted a new toiletry bag and she wanted to meet judah.

with her leftovers in the lovely breakroom at work

Meatloaf - Thanks to Mariah's warning, I was very gentle with the chili powder, crushed red peppers, and cumin. If you just sprinkle a tsp or so of those, it doesn't taste like taco meat. I also used turkey bacon on top because I have high cholesterol, ha :-) This turned out to be so delicious and I really felt proud of the creation. Meatloaf is a staple meal and I felt like I accomplished something inside of me at the same time I was making it, as though I'm slowly becoming a wife, one meal at a time! I had a hard time touching the meat with my hands, so I used a spoon to mix it all around. The meat and eggs and junk just grossed me out. I served with cornbread, zucchini fries, peas and it was delicious! I topped it with bbq sauce and that was probably my favorite part. Brian liked the onions and requested more next time. So I'm really really happy with the meatloaf recipe! I feel like it's mine now!!

and joanna's meatloaf which looks a little more appealing than mariah's grizzled pic.

her initial review of the 'loaf:

It definitely tasted like meatloaf!!! Not taco meat. I used a teaspoon of chili powder, crushed red pepper, and cumin. Brian actually asked for more onions and mushrooms next time... crazy. I used bb [end of email]

[new email]

Excuse me, I didn't finish my sentence: I used bbq sauce on top and I LOVED it. I felt like a real wife making some real yummy comforting meatloaf, cool!

this girl knows the way to my heart; she also sent me a pic of the meatloaf before it was cooked, upon which she tried to make the bacon spell my name in roman numerals. just call me "KIIX", y'all

parmesean zucchini fries

Zucchini fries - I like them and make them all the time! But I prefer to dip them in honey mustard. Brian doesn't really like them because of the breading, but that doesn't bother me because I just make a veggie for him that I don't like... such as peas (gag).

mt. olympus dip of the gods

Greek orgasmo dip - This was my 3rd and unfortunately worst attempt at the greek orgasmo. I used roasted red pepper hummus which was lovely, but I just overdid the veggies on top. I think it's better when the hummus is a big deal. I need to fix that veggie-hummus ratio. I loaded up the veggies and the olives, onions, and others and it just overpowered everything. I also made it the night before our party... and it got so juicy and mushy by the next day. Next time I will make it fresh and eat immediately. I think I should've really dried out the red peppers and artichokes more and it would've been less juicy. I'll also make it with black olives next time because I didn't like the kalamatas. But the two times I've made this dip before, I've LOVED it and DEVOURED it! Grape tomatoes were awesome on top as another layer!

so here's what joanna shall be receiving for this particular giveaway (not including the myriad others she has lately won)

the flaccid handmade, crafty prize that joanna is receiving. its technically a shoe holder for your suitcase, but it looks pretty dop-ish to this girl, so it will do. if you have sharp eyes you will also note my as yet incomplete NCAA march madness bracket and a $5 off KY intense pleasure coupon (those babies don't come from just praying together, y'all). is there a personality test that you can do based on the contents of your desktop?

and the first result to hit my inbox was from mariah who made the meatloaf before the contest even started. mariah should be on the board with 2 points, but her good buddy, the daughter of zeus herself, miss lightening bolt katy b. got sick on the night they were gonna have porkchops together so that got derailed. and they have since started a comment-wall feud because mariah said katy was "lesser-known" than her infant son. so who knows if those friendship chops with ever be seared? DRAMA! here's her first submission:

so I totally made your meatloaf last week. Does that count? Here is the review: It tastes nothing like traditional meatloaf although the texture is the same. It tasted like taco meat. My only criticism is that it was WAY spicy (especially to a 2 year old). I am pretty wimpy but Noah even thought it was hot. I think it was the red pepper flakes. It made a ton of food. Last night we broke it into pieces, added black beans and cheese, and turned it into quesadillas and they were SO good. I really want to try the Jesse's "will you accept sexual favors in exchange for that?" pork chops. I'll let you know what Noah offers, I mean thinks. (haha) .

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besides being completely hilarious, mariah makes several great points. #1: the meatloaf is pretty spicy. but this could be helped maybe by lessening the amount of chili powder or omitting the red pepper. #2: "it tasted like taco meat" might not seem like a compliment to y'all, but from mariah to me, i think it is. mariah pointed out a while back how my frugal february meal calender designated taco night as; "TACOS!" so she knows that's a positive thing. i hope. #3: it makes a crapping TON of food. either half the recipe if you don't have another idea for the leftovers (love mariah's idea of quesadillas rather than mine of eating if for lunch the next 10 days).

yikes, mariah, great photography. really makes you drool and want to cook this immediately. (note: you're supposed to put yourself in the pic too, or at least something that tells me the pic is truly yours)

ORIGINAL POST:

cause i'm not just crafty with the needle and thread, but also with the spreadsheets and charts, i added a little gadget (the picture of the graph under the giveaway info) up and over there ----> to show the progress of our giveaway #55.

since the 2 winners will be the first 2 folks to send me pictures of themselves with any 3 recipes from this blog (including at least one from the giveaway post), i wanted everyone to be able see where they stand in the race to 3. this may end faster than would necessitate a graph, but i am a nerd and really enjoy excel.

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if you are going to send them, send them in as you make them instead of all 3 at the end so that we can watch the race unfold! even if you only make one thing and don't care about winning, i would love to hear your opinions and see your pics!