Recipe: Super Chili
Here’s a recipe I found in the Chili Lovers’ Cook Book that should help you warm up from all this cold Minnesota weather that we’ve been having. It is hearty and easy to make.
Super Chili
2 cups Pinto beans
2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion (diced)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup chile powder
2 quarts water
1/2 tbsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. whole cumin
1/4 tsp. cumin (ground)
4 dashes Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
2 cans El Paso tomatoes & green chile
Fresh or canned green chile to taste
Begin with uncooked beans. Cook beans by favorite method and salt.
In a large pot, brown the ground beef and onion. Spoon off all of the grease, except 1/2 cup. Add flour and chile powder. Cook for 1 minute. Add 2 quarts water and cook to boiling point.
Add the remaining ingredients and cooked beans (undrained). Cover, and simmer for 1 hour. (Makes 4-1/2 quarts)
Enjoy!
Barb
Posted in Cooking in your kitchen on January 18th, 2008 by Barb | | 0 Comments
Learning Links 01/16/08
The Green Building movement has become a popular topic of interest over the last couple years, as people are becoming more aware of the need to help sustain the environment. Many builders, remodelers, and subcontractors are educating themselves and taking steps to offer green building practices for their businesses. The natural stone industry has jumped on this new movement and is working to help educate the public. Granite, afterall, is a product of nature, and it makes sense to establish granite countertops as environmentally friendly for building officially.
Following are some links for more information on granite and green building:
- http://www.marble-institute.com/membership/newsletters/march2007electronicnews.htm#303286
- http://www.marble-institute.com/education/stonexpo2006_education.cfm#040405_session1
- http://stone-network.com/pressrelease/2006/nsc0601/index.html
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Posted in Business, Company, Granite, Learning Links on January 16th, 2008 by Barb | | 0 Comments
Communicating in a Fast-Paced World
I was thinking the other day, how could it be possible to be unable to get into contact with someone in this day and age? I mean think about it, we have land phone lines, fax machines, computers for emailing, instant messaging, cell phones, text messaging, and pagers.
At PGC, we depend on communication with our customers in order to get the job done properly and beautifully each and every time. With so many forms of communication available, we find that some customers prefer one form, and others prefer another form. I recently came across an article online, “Email Preferred Commincation Method for Execs“. In the article, the author discusses emailing as a form of communication. While it provides both negative and positive aspects, it has continued to rise in popularity over the past decade. The most overwhelming benefit for emailing here at PGC, is the immediacy and historical content that it provides.
Whether emailing, or text messaging is your communication preference, the key is to make sure to review your correspondence and follow-up if necessary. We should not become a society that cannot communicate the old fashioned way…face-to-face, or verbally!
Feel free to share…
Angie
Posted in Business, Company on January 15th, 2008 by Angie | | 6 Comments
Blueberries ‘n Cream Cheese Cake
Well, once a year, at PGC, it is my turn to bring the “birthday treat” for a co-worker. This year, I decided to try a new recipe. I went online and did a little research, and following is what I found. Turns out, it is quite similar to a coffee cake, and we all agreed you could substitute just about any type of fruit that you would prefer.
Ingredients
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup milk
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup water
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubed
Topping
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Cream sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk and water. Toss blueberries in remaining 1/4 cup flour and fold into batter with cream cheese. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan.
For topping: Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.
Feel free to share and ENJOY!
Angie
Posted in Cooking in your kitchen on January 11th, 2008 by Angie | | 0 Comments
Get A Rythym When You Get The Blues
“The Blues” …everyone gets them now and then. As peoples lives have become more fast paced and stressful, the blues have become more common place. While it may be normal for some people to feel down from time to time, it is important to find ways to boost your mood quickly, so you feel more like yourself fast.
I recently came across, “Sonic Health Boost,” an article in the January 2008 issue of Prevention magazine that mentioned that new research shows that music is a powerful way to boost your mood, ease pain, and helps you feel energized. “Good melody makes good medicine—dulling pain, reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, boosting mood and curing insomnia.” “Listening to music can ease depression symptoms by up to 25%, according to Cleveland Clinic senior nurse researcher Sandra Siedlecki, PHD,” as mentioned in the article. Music also seems to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
It appears that singer, song writer Johnny Cash, had it right when he sang, “Get a rythym when you get the blues.” So the next time you are feeling a little down in the dumps, don’t be afraid to crank up some of your favorite songs and…
“Get a rythym!”
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Posted in Uncategorized on January 10th, 2008 by Barb | | 10 Comments
