Waste Not, Want Not: Sunday Night Quiche Tradition-Building

Last week I started a tradition I think I’m going to like.

We generally go grocery shopping every Sunday afternoon to prepare for the upcoming work week.  But then…there’s the refrigerator clean-out process that comes along with the stocking task.  And invariably, I find forgotten food tucked in the deep corners of our fridge that is generally still good but needs to be used ASAP.

Hence, the birth of my Sunday Night “Empty the Fridge” Quiche.  Last week, it consisted of: broccoli, about 1/3 of an onion, a small piece of smoked cheddar block I had to “de-mold” prior to grating, a bit of buttermilk, and 1/3 container of cottage cheese.  Oh, and eggs.

This week, I found half an old bag of frozen chopped spinach, I had some bacon that needed to be cooked, and I had local pullet eggs going out of date in three days.  I threw in about one cup of good shredded cheddar and I must say, it’s delicious (see the top featured photo above).

So, should you wish to follow suit and have breakfast ready to heat up every work day morning the following week, here is all you need:

1) Use your favorite pie crust recipe.  Make only enough for one crust. Continue reading Waste Not, Want Not: Sunday Night Quiche Tradition-Building

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On the Horizon: Cash It In–Tribal Impact

We all see them as we drive down the road. Huge buildings, with flashing lights, and parking lots that are always full – casinos. Once inside, the sound of slot gacor machines turning and cards shuffling offers an appealing atmosphere to those who wish to participate. While an individual hopes to win the next mega jackpot, Native American tribes automatically win money every time someone walks through the door. And with every dollar made from the casinos, Oklahoma’s economy grows too. If you also want to access various casino games anytime, there are online situs slot gacor games you can play. A premier online gaming platform such as daftar mpo888 is providing a wide range of entertainment options, including slot games, live casinos, and sports betting.

In this week’s video blog, we take a look at the how the gaming industry brings growth and entertainment to the state.
Andy Barth

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On the Horizon: Hire Our Veterans!

Many of our veterans are returning to civilian life but what are they returning to? Jobs that had been promised to them just aren’t there. I’m not sure really how employers are getting away with that. Yes they did hire someone to replace that man or woman who willing placed themselves in harm’s way for our freedoms but shouldn’t they have been told this is a temporary hire and as soon as that brave soul returns from wherever they have been stationed, the job will be theirs. Now yes, that would displace them, but if they were told upfront that it was only temporary, they would be expecting it and have a chance to begin looking for another job as soon as they heard the veteran was returning.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case and in this economy, jobs are scarce. So what’s a veteran to do? Well a group of Oklahomans was concerned about that very problem and decided to do something about it. The Oklahoma Department of CareerTech partnered with several other state agencies and entities across the State of Oklahoma to create a one of a kind hiring event geared towards Military personnel preparing for separation from active service, Guard & Reserve members and veterans (anyone who has ever served in the U.S. Military and received an honorable discharge).

In this week’s video blog, see how they are helping those who served our country and sacrificed all they had, including their jobs, to do so.
Alisa Hines

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On the Horizon: Dust to Dust

I am really looking forward to the upcoming Ken Burns PBS film on the Dust Bowl. I grew up hearing the stories of the “Dirty Thirties” from my parents who lived through what is referred to in the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name as the “worst hard times.”

While such hardships are a lifetime away, I believe we can learn valuable lessons from the Dust Bowl. The calamitous dust storms did wreak havoc, but the great migration depicted in “The Grapes of Wrath” was just as much about the economy as it was the environment.

In truth, less than seven percent of the migrants who moved to California did so because of the wind-ravaged Dust Bowl; the majority were refugees of a changing economy. A recession in farm country had farmers borrowing on the easy credit of the 1920s. Then in the 1930s, landowners began phasing out tenant farming and the sharecroppers it supported in favor of seasonal wage labor.

With unemployment during the Great Depression hovering around 30 percent, there were just no jobs to be had. Such an unforgiving economy had little room for the downtrodden, let alone an environmental disaster. We slipped into one of the bleakest moments in our nation’s history.

Today, we face our own set of challenges — probably nothing as severe as we saw in the 1930s, but still a transitioning economy. Jobs that once supported entire families on a single income have been blown away by the winds of change. A global economy and the rapid rise in technology have made today’s workplace quite different than the one I entered not that long ago.

As we continue to emerge from what was the worst recession since the 1930s, I can only hope we rise to the occasion as Americans, dust ourselves off, and face the challenges of today with the same character our forefathers showed.

In this week’s video blog, I want to share my family’s personal story of the Dust Bowl. My parents still inspire me. I hope they will inspire you too.
Rob McClendon

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On the Horizon: Chicken or the Egg

There’s a natural gas boom under way – and an interesting dilemma comes with it.
The United States produced a record amount of natural gas in 2011 – twenty-three trillion cubic feet — largely because of hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling. Pennsylvania more than quadrupled its natural gas output between 2000 and 2010 to 573 billion cubic feet – enough to heat every home in the state for eighteen months. Shale gas well output grew faster still, quadrupling nationwide between 2007 and 2010.

For the first time in my lifetime, it is possible that our country could become energy independent. American natural gas has the potential to fuel our cars and heat our homes. At less than half the price of imported gasoline, it will be a welcome relief at the pump.

But here is the dilemma. Which comes first, the cars that run on CNG or the gas stations that will carry it? CNG must be piped in rather than trucked, so every CNG pump along the side of the road needs significant infrastructure to get fuel. Oklahoma is leading the way in making the transition. With 90 fueling stations statewide, the state has per capita more than anyone else.

In this week’s video blog, we look at how state government and private industry are working together to take some of the pain out of the pump.
Rob McClendon

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.