Welcome to My Blog

I wanted to extend a welcome to you!  Many of you know me for my alter ego Rachael Ray Redux, but I realized that in that venue I've limited my scope and hope to be able to rant and muse about everyting (and I'll still talk about Rachael Ray and recipes here).  So here I am!

Musings, you might ask?  Why musings?  When I looked it up, here's what came up: 

A product of contemplation; a thought. “an elegant tapestry of quotations, musings, aphorisms, and autobiographical reflectionsâ€� 

So, I got to thinking about tapestry and thought of the Renaissance/Medieval time frames.  Hence the theme of the site.  Well, and "musings" goes so well with "Merri." 

More to come - and I'm certain much construction.  Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to any insight or suggestions you may have to continually improve this site!

White Trash Vision

Now, some of you done talk about my fine and speshul jus. Any of you who partake in my elixur will know that it can give you some mighty fine powers of pursepshun. Things have a way of turning out how you want it when you've done drunk yerself into a frezy. I've had some of my friends done talk about this. Here is what they spoke of:

Family Pet Afore Dan's drank the speshul jus:

Family Pet After Dan's bender:

Ain't that some magic? How about this? This is my cuzin Beula Mae's boyfeller afore she drank the jus:

And lookee what a little jus will do fer him:

Well, it ain't much better, but she didn't drink enough, I reckon.

A since this is more like a food site, I recon I should show you what that thare Preston tried to eat. He had been on an 8 hour drunkfest and thought he was eating this:

This is what he actually chowed down on, and mind you it ain't purty:

That damn Preston ate up Bit-Bit!!! Brittany, she was done pissed. But that nice feller, her man Federline got her another one. They named him Bite-Bite, in memery of dat traguty.

Hmmm...I'll bet yer wonderin' why I put that damn picture there. Well, just gotta say I've had a coupln nips of the juice myself and find that picture to be, well, just damn freaky. Looks like my idiut ex, but my ex had the eyes tattooed right on his face.

Now, doncha all know that ole Hector loves a lookin' at them girly magazines. He had a few chugs of my magic jus and thought he was lookin' at this:

You may not have this learnin of Hector, but the poor boy can't read - not enough skoolin' for him. So here he goes thinkin' he's lookin' at a mighty fine piece of girlflesh and he actually picked up a copy of "I'm an Ugly Girl Dog:"

Now lastly, my ole man done decided that he wanted to get us a new home. Afore he and me drank my magic poshion, this is what our new surroundings looked like:

Now ain't that just a nightmare to yer eyes. Thank the good man upstairs we had ourselves a whole gallon of my joy jus. Once we drank it, our home looked much better:

Ahhhhhhh....now THAT's livin large, ain't it?

Love,
Ray Dawn

John Cusimano - Rachael Ray's MAN

There are a lot of people hitting my site due to their search for photos or information on John Cusimano, Rachael Ray's husband-to-be. He does vocals and guitar for his band "The Cringe" so I thought I would include a link to the band's bio page. John's picture is the one on the left. ENJOY!

http://www.thecringeband.com/bios.htm

How Jedi Are You?

:: how jedi are you? ::

I thought this was a cute little quiz - and can't help that I like the Star Wars movies! In light of III coming out in May, thought I'd take the quiz....I am Yoda. HEHEHEHEHEH

Thanks, Emma!

UPDATE: I know I'm probably behind the times, but the trailers at www.starwars.com are awesome. You should check them out!

A Joyous Easter to You!

I'm bleary-eyed as I finish up my Easter Sunday preparations! Easter baskets are ready, the Easter bunny stopped by to deliver those and to hide the eggs. I know the kids are going to be so excited in the morning! I've got one cake done, pie dough in the fridge, deviled eggs ready to be, um, deviled and strawberries ready to be put into a pie. So many of these things tradition that was set when I was a girl. I'm so happy to share them with my kids and hope they can carry on some of those traditions.

This is also a time to reflect on faith. With the passing of my mom in January, I have experienced so many things that affirm my belief that we are all here for a purpose much greater than we can imagine. I firmly believe that there is something beyond this life on earth.

God bless you and your family this Easter and always. May you find a moment to reflect on life and its blessings.

Hick - White Trash Poet Extraordinaire

I have this neighbor named Bette who dun lives across the way. Awhile ago, she sent me this right nice note about how us White Trash folks are infultratin' all necks of society, even high falootin' society. This is what she sent to me:

The National Poetry Contest had come down to the final two contestants, a Yale graduate and a redneck (also known as White Trash iffin you didn't know that) from Texas. They were given a word, then they were allowed two minutes to study the word and come up with a poem that contained the word. The word that they were given was "Timbuktu."

First to recite his poem was the Yale graduate. He stepped to the microphone and said:

Slowly across the desert sand
Trekked a lonely caravan;
Men on camels, two by two
Destination Timbuktu.

The crowd went crazy! No way could the redneck top that, they thought. The redneck calmly made his way to the microphone and recited:

Me and Tim a huntin' went.
Met three women in a pop up tent.
They was three, and we was two,
So I bucked one, and Timbuktu.

The redneck won hands down!!

See! I done tole you that we'd perversere (oh hell, we'd win)! Ain't no high society trash person gonna win with our wit and worldyness.

"White Trash" Wednesdays, Volume X

So ya'll, I'm a bit right late for my White Trash Wednesday bloggin - but don't ya reckon it's still Wednesday somewhere? Please pay a visit to my extended, inbred family over thar on yer right afore my paw gets his sawed-off mind-changer!

Love,
Ray Dawn

Real Life Wuz Here...

Hi All,

Seems as though I took a bit of a break from blogging (since Wednesday...ack!). In assessing the past few days, my only excuse is "real life." My hubby had his first run as a den leader for my son's Cub Scout Den (Den 1 - woo hoo!) and since it was at our house we had some fun getting the place presentable. I also made some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for the boys. Gotta keep that KitchenAid motor humming!

Lastly, I can't seem to focus much because of the events in Florida regarding Terri Schiavo. Who wants to think about recipes and cooking when this poor woman is being murdered by her own husband when all she needs to sustain her life is food and drink, just like you and me? My hubby is blogging like mad on his site about it and I encourage you to check it out. Blogging is a powerful thing and he stands keyboard-to-keyboard with hundreds of other bloggers who are equally as concerned and shouting out. Terri is in my prayers and thoughts every waking moment of the day. I can only imagine what she is going through right now, and am pissed off that one man thinks that he can terminate his own wife's life in an effort, I believe, to cover something up and to allow him to no longer live an adulterous life (I mean, he does have another "common law" wife and two children - he sure doesn't talk about *that* much in public, does he?). He'll face the true judge at the end of his life here on earth and be judged appropriately - no Florida judge for him!

I will be back soon - blogging my heart out. Thanks for hanging with me! :-)

Road Kill Cookin' - Water Fowl

Thought I'd share with you some recipes for White Trash Delicacies. Your chances of hitting water fowl are few unless you hit those parts of the backwoods that have swamplands or some other watery place. I reckon you would be best off iffin you borrowed BillyBob's 4x4 to wade through all that. Here's some bodacious bites that will set your heart aflight:Dakota Duck

Remove breasts from the ducks you've "purchased." Put in the glovebox and go home. Soak in a beer bath for several days in the styrofoam cooler you borrowed from Aunt Helen.Goodyear Goose

Simple. Fry that bad boy up in a nice turkey fryer. Hell - "purchase" a couple of 'em - your turkey fryer's got room!

Mix a couple eggs, salt, pepper, and dip meat in mixture. Roll in crushed saltines here - use them "extra" packs you can get at the fast food joints in town.

Fry 'em up in hot oil until they is brown, but make sure it gets cooked thru. There ain't nothin' gives you the scoots like undercooked water fowl! Serve on a bed of Ramen Noodles or store brand mac 'n cheese.... mmmmmMMM!

Use all yer Parts, cuz Parts is Parts

Lastly, I wanted to share with you fine folks that every part of your animal can get used when you are roadkill shopping. My Uncle Ernie, he done "purchased" him a cow (my uncle is the king of roadkill shoppin' - he done got this cow with a mini cooper - wasn't his mini cooper, don'tcha know, but boy howdy!). When he brought it home, his old lady went to work, and made sure she done used all the parts. Aunt Janine's hard work paid off:

"White Trash" Wednesdays, Volume IX

Yup! It's that time agin, boys and girls. Me and my kin are celebratin' our heritage and our double-wides. Please join us tomorrow for another episode of "White Trash Wednesday." This comes to you from my cousin's on the right. No dummy, your other right. Use that scroll bar! Thar ya go!

See ya'll tomorrow!

Taco Cheesecake Recipe

I was trying to organize some of my recipes tonight, and came across this one. If you ever need to bring a dish to a potluck or if you are having "Mexican food night" at your house, this recipe is AWESOME. It travels well and it is gone in no time!

Ingredients & Instructions

Mix together

1 cup crushed nacho chips (I use Doritos)
3 tbsp butter

Press this crust onto bottom of 9" springform pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Mix together

2 packages of cream cheese (bricks), softened
2 eggs

Add to this mixture

1/2 (or to taste) package of taco seasoning
1 4-oz can of chopped green chilies
1 package shredded taco cheese (I use the 4-cheese Mexican style cheese)

Pour the mixture onto the crust and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once the cheesecake has cooled, remove from springform pan and place in the refrigerator.

Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving and spread with sour cream. Add chopped green onion, tomatoes, black olives to garnish (I chop them very fine). Serve with chips (I use Tostitos Gold since they are nice and sturdy).

Enjoy!

A White Trash Vacation

Me and my family just got us back from our family vacation. We shore nuff enjoyed ourselves, other than a few little mishaps along the way. I done thought I'd share with all my buddies our pictures of the trip - iffin you'd like to go thar sometime yerself.

My old man and I wanted to take the kids somewhere right special. We loaded up the truck and headed out on our road trip. We took us some cheese curls and bologna sandwiches to tide us over. My old man wouldn't let me drive, but I did get to change the tire on Bertha - our truck. He calls her Bertha cuz she is such a smooth ride he says.

We kept driving and driving, and finally felt like the bologna and cheese curls weren't helping any more, so we stopped at our favorite eating spot "The Greasy Spoon." This was done out in the middle of nowhere, but boy do they serve up some mighty good chow.

We were about to our destination when we saw a sign for the Boxcar Willie Museum. Only by the grace of God (and a bunch of 8-tracks) are we getting by in this world since Boxcar left us in 1999. We had to go in. My fondest treasure is of this picture of Boxcar's beauty told in a wax statue:

Whilst I never did want to leave, my old man reminded me that the kids really needed to get to our vacation spot since riding in the back of Bertha gave them some darn awful windburn (not to mention the bag of cheese curls that blew out of Willie's hand and struck the window of the car behind us). Then, there it was. A beautiful sight - a sight that even Boxcar's Museum paled in comparison. The Billy the Kid Museum.

What I knew of the Billy the Kid Museum was the stuff of stories while us younguns gathered aroun' old Papy's knees. And everything he said was true. I even got to see Billy's burial marker. But most importantly, I got to see the 6 legged calf my Papy was buggeyed about. He was so right that you could stare at that stuff forever.

Well, we decided to set up camp for the night and stayed at the KOA. We love sleeping in the back of Bertha under the stars. I will say that next time I'm bringing the calomine lotion, damn chiggers.

Next mornin' we decided to head back. It was cloudy out so the younguns could avoid any more sunburn. 'bout an hour into the trip, we came across a carnival - one of them traveling kinds with the rides you love to be on because it may be their last run, if you know what I'm saying. Sure adds a thrill! Anyway, we met Eugene and Willie in the midway. They sure gave the kids some nice prizes, although I had to say no to the 6' stuffed banana. Smile purty for the cameras, ya'll!

Well, as you can reckon, me an my gang were dog tired. About an hour before home, the old man was hankerin' for something to wet his whistle. We were so excited to see a store at the top of the hill. We went in and there it was. The light was shining down on it so bright you'd have thunk it was on stage. My old man hadn't seen it for years and now, here it was. Mad Dog 20/20. Flavors upon flavors. The bottles all lined up so neatly, kept cold for him.

We got him a bottle of each kind. My old man was so excited he even got me a bottle of Strawberry Hill, my favorite. But I couldn't help thinking how some of that exotic lookin' MD 20/20 would taste and I could only hope the old man would give me a sip when we got home.

Well, we did get home, which is why I could share this will you fine folks. I reckon you must be mighty jealous of our expedition. But next time, we'll save some room for ya'll.

Love,
Ray Dawn

"White Trash" Wednesdays, Volume VIII

Howdy ya'll!

The gang is back tomorrow for another episode of White Trash Wednesday where us hicks get to make fun of our roots. Please join my fellow trash as noted on the right and kick back for some rip-roarin' fun!

Rachael Ray Factoids

One of the things I do as a blogger is to scope out how people find their way to my site. While, of course, Rachael Ray's name is my number one draw, closely following are items such as "Rachael Ray knife? or "Rachael Ray married?" or "Rachael Ray birthday?" or "Rachael Ray's ass?"  Well, after some investigating, I thought I could help out those looking for her knife, her birth date or her martial status. I'm sorry for those of you looking for her ass - that's something quite personal and I don't think I can help! You might try to find that FHM photo shoot she was in - I always see it on eBay.

Is Rachael Ray married? Not just yet. She is, however, engaged to be married to John Cusimano (he is a member of the band "The Cringe"). I've seen a few reports that they will be getting married in Tuscany / Italy and it will either be in the summer or the fall of 2005.

When is Rachael Ray's birthday? Every bio I have seen lists her birthday as August 25, 1968 (a child of the 80s, just like me!).

What Knife Does Rachael Ray Use? Well, prior to 2005 shows, she was using a Wusthof Santoko knife with a double hollow edge and grand Prix handle, as I described in my first post to this site. I was proud of the fact that I owned her favorite knife (I found it on eBay!). Well, in seeing the most recent 2005 episodes of "30 Minute Meals" I have seen her using the new knives from Wustof's latest collection - Culinar. It appears she uses Culinar's version of a santoko knife (oriental chef's knife) and it appears to also have a double hollow edge. The handle is sweet - sleek and smooth. Okay, I admit I'm drooling. I'm using the "Cadillac" of knives currently, but can't help but drool for the "Hummer" of knives!

I hope this helps out those of you who have found my site via these searches. I also encourage you to look around - there are some great tasting and simple recipes I have collected and shared here! If you have anything you are interested in seeing, don't hesitate to drop me a comment or an email!

Cheese & Broccoli Topping/Dip Recipe

This has to be one of the best recipes for an appetizer or as a side dish (paired with potatoes) to bring to a family dinner or potluck. I've been hounded for the recipe time and again.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 packages Kraft Garlic & Cheese Tubes*
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 box frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 stick butter

Instructions

Microwave all ingredients together or heat in a small crock pot.

*the cheese tubes are found with the refrigerated cheese - I find mine at Super Wal-Mart

My 2 cents: This is awesome served over cubed Italian bread or cubed Vienna bread. You could also dip veggies, crackers or melba toast. Lastly, this is an AMAZING topping for baked potatoes. It would also taste great served over roasted, cubed potatoes.

White Trash Wednesday: Cocktails for the Common Folk

Who has got the time to prepare them damn fruity drinks - blenders, ice, little umbrellas and a twist of lime? Ain't the purpose of drinkin' liquor to get drunk? Why waste yer time mixing all that stuff up when I can get you some simple recipes.

Stuff you need to have that will allow you to get drunk:

1 glass or empty mason jar (I like them big ole mason jars - holds a lot of spirit iffin I do say)
water out of the hose or the sink, depending on where you sit
a big ole bottle of booze

Here's recipes that'll get you to your pink elephant reality real quick like:

Jack Daniels & Water

Pour a few glugs of good ole JD in your mason jar. Add a splash of water. Drink.

Wild Turkey & Water

Pour a few glugs of that Wild Turkey in your mason jar (once your JD is gone). Add a splash of water. Drink until gone.

Mad Dog 20/20

Hell with the mason jar and water. Pour that smooth stuff right into your mouth from that bottle. Drink until gone, makin' sure you don't spill none.

Store Brand Scotch

Get the cheapest damn scotch you can find. Sit in your chair. Drink right out of the bottle until gone. Chase it up with a shot of water, iffin you are still awake at this point.

Who needs those confarndit cityfolk concoctions? We got the stuff dreams are made of right here!

"White Trash" Wednesdays, Volume VII

Ya'll,

We're at it again, I say. If you look forward to shooting the s&!* with some of my cronies, please pull up a chair and your whittlin' knife for adventure you won't soon forget (unless Jack Daniels has something to say about it!). Please be sure to see all my White Trash friends on that list on yer right - no, yer other right.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Spears

I have always been fond of asparagus. Until I tried this recipe, I had always stuck with the canned spears - I'm not particularly fond of "crisp" asparagus, so steaming really didn't do much for me. I saw an episode of "30 Minute Meals" with Rachael Ray - she did bacon-wrapped asparagus bundles. I had a slight variation on this theme by individually wrapping the spears in bacon and grilling them. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients

1 bundle of fresh asparagus
center cut bacon
EVOO to coat
salt and pepper to taste
juice of one lemon

Instructions

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus spears (they will give in the right place as you bend the spear). Coat with EVOO. Count the number of spears, and use enough bacon to allow for 1/2 strip of bacon to be wrapped around each spear. Wrap as tight as you can (I chose thin sliced bacon for this - it stretched a bit and remained snug). Season with salt and pepper. Place on hot grill, cooking until bacon is crisp and spears are tender. Toward end of cooking time, hit with the juice of the lemon.

I served this with country style BBQ pork ribs and baked potatoes. Very tasty!