Rob's Blog

Grape jelly chicken marinade

2012-02-07T18:36:00.001-05:00

Here's a quick recipe I threw together. This recipe I found somewhere online, actually had cranberry sauce, french dressing and dried onion soup mix. I didn't have any cranberry sauce, so I used something close: grape jelly. I marinated the chicken thighs in it over night and the entire day. Here's the recipe:

1 packet of dry onion soup mix

1 cup of French dressing

1 cup of grape jelly

Mix the 3 together and pour over chicken in a large glass baking dish. Cover in foil and refrigerate. The recipe suggested 8 hours or more. Bake at 400 for 45 mins. Depending on what kind of chicken you use (the original called for chicken breast), it might be longer. Serve chicken over rice (the sauce tastes awesome over rice). Enjoy!

Red Hot Chili Peppers new interactive music video

2012-02-06T14:06:00.001-05:00

This was too cool not to share. As you watch the video you can move room to room. Click the "show hints" to click on various objects around each room. You can also zoom in and out using the +/- buttons.

My Big Game (Food) Predictions

2012-02-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

I was telling someone the other day, who I thought would do well in the Super Bowl, and they quickly reminded me that the team I had picked, wasn't in the game. I did watch some of the playoffs, but it's been a couple of weeks, so I'm already rusty on the details.

What I do know is, for non-football fans and self proclaimed chefs, Super Bowl Sunday is the day to create some great junk food masterpieces. I have a game plan, and my roster set. I thought I'd share the lineup with you:

Oven Broiled Chicken Wings

I've done wings every way imaginable, but have never par-boiled them. This should be interesting. I'm also not sold on the "hot sauce" .. I'm thinking I might go with another marinade or flavor, but we'll see. Anyhow, this is the method I'll be using to cook my game-day wings (source):

1. Preheat the broiler. Place the wings in a large pot and fill the pot with water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then continue to boil for 10 minutes. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cayenne pepper sauce, lemon juice, and broth.

3. Transfer the wings to a broiler pan and broil 5 to 6 inches from the flame, until the skin begins to blister and brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the wings over and broil until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes more.

4. Transfer the wings to a baking sheet, drizzle with the reserved sauce, and toss well to coat. Place the baking sheet under the broiler for 1 minute to heat the wings and sauce together.

5. Serve the broiled Buffalo wings with extra hot sauce on the side, celery sticks, and the blue cheese dip.

Cheese Con Queso Dip

Probably the most unhealthy snacks of the day, and the reason I busted out a 10 mile run Saturday morning. I'm a sucker for cheese queso dip though, and it's a must on a big game day. I'm going to play with the amounts, as I'm definitely not going to make a huge batch of this.

Jalapeno velveeta cheese (I used Kroger brand)

Rotel diced tomatos with green chilis

Ground sausage (cooked)

Mix together the desired amounts and done. This is also really good in a crock pot on low.

Crab Rangoon

I've never actually made these, and never really even order them at chinese restaurants, but I do like them and have always wanted to try making them. From tasting them a few times, it's pretty easy to tell what's in them. Cream cheese, crab and maybe some green onion. I dug around and found some recipes and came up with my own concoction.

1 package of immitation crab meat

Cream Cheese (I'm using the 1/3 less fat version)

1/4 cup Green onions
1/4 tsp garlic powder
12 won ton wrappers (I'm using phyllo dough sheets, because I wasn't able to find the won tons)
My plan is to make up the mixture, and dab a tsp full in each wrap and fold up the edges. I'll probably brush them with oil, place them on a sheet of foil (non-stick spray of course) and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Feta Cheese Ball

I got this one from my favorite new food blog MyBakingAddiction.

INGREDIENTS:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
freshly cracked black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, combine cream cheese, feta cheese, olive oil, green onions, garlic, oregano and pepper.

2. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

3. Remove mixture from refrigerator and form into 1 or 2 balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

4. Serve with crackers, flatbread, olives, etc.

There you have it folks. My Super Bowl food line up. My guests consist of my wife and two toddlers. I'll need to start thinking about what I'm going to do with all of the leftovers! As far as the game? I'll have to go with the Giants, since they're probably the underdogs. The Giants are in it right?! :)

Parmesan Ham Appetizer Recipe

2012-02-04T19:03:00.001-05:00

I found some ham in the freezer that I smoked over the holidays, and thought it would be good in something. It has a real smokey flavor to it.

I dug around the net and found the following recipe (source):

Ingredients

1 carton (8 ounces) whipped cream cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 pound deli ham, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 unsliced loaf (1 pound) Italian bread

Directions

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, ham and garlic powder until blended.
Cut bread in half lengthwise; spread with the cream cheese mixture. Cut into 1-1/2-in. slices. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil 4 in. from the heat for 3-5 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Yield: about 1-1/2 dozen.

I made this pretty exact to the recipe. Instead of a large loaf of Italian bread, I instead opted for 4 small sandiwich sized loaves. The mixture tastes fanstastic. I'm testing this one out on a some of the dudes coming over tonight. I'll report back if they liked it. The reviews from the site I grabbed it from sold me!

Video - Rye IPA update

2012-02-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

This video was taken 2 days after brewing. The beer started fermenting right away, but didn't go nuts like this until a couple days later. Day 3 blew the top off. I typically use a blowoff, but didn't imagine this would be such an active fermentation. Lesson learned!

Dinner tonight: Chili Lime Chicken Thighs

2012-02-04T10:04:00.001-05:00

We eat a lot of chicken, and lately I've really been enjoying using boneless chicken thighs, over boneless chicken breasts. I like how they cook up, tender no matter what you do. They're smaller, and easier to work with if you're marinading them. And like I said, it's kind of hard to overcook and dry them out. With that said, I made a quick chili lime marinade this morning that they're already soaking in.

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lime juice (fresh is best, but if you don't have it go with bottled)

1/4 cup ground cumin

1/4 cup chili powder

2 tbs garlic (I used jarred minced garlic)

Mix together and coat the thighs in a large dish. Cover and soak in the refrigerator, turning them occasionally. Longer the better as they say with most marinades. I plan to grill these on indirect heat. I'll probably salt/pepper them at some point too.

Video - Chatting with my 3 year old

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Front camera iPhone (so I didn't have to look while driving!)..

Budweisers Super Bowl Commercial: Rec-League Hockey

2012-02-03T06:02:00.000-05:00

If you've not watched this yet, check it out. Especially for those that have played rec-league hockey. Pretty cool.

Corktown 2012

2012-02-02T04:30:00.000-05:00

The annual Corktown (Detroit) 5k is only about 6 weeks away. If you've not run this race, definitely try it. You run the St. Pats Parade route, so the streets are lined with people drinking beer and cheering you on. The cool part about the race is you get a free (Michigan brewery) beer at the finish line. It's worth sticking around to watch the parade (or people watch). The main drag turns into one big party during the parade, a really neat atmosphere, especially for that stretch of Detroit.

I've done this race the last few years, I'll probably go for it again. I'll definitely need to kick in some speed training if I want to compete with my time last year (23:24). It's pretty easy to sprint 3 miles though, especially when you know the reward at the finish line!

Anheurser-Busch: Is this really the best you can do?

2012-02-01T21:28:00.001-05:00

Picked up a six of the new Bud Light Platinum 6% released this week. I've read some news on it, and it's supposed to "rival" craft beers, with it's whopping 6% abv.

My initial thoughts: Shocked. Flabbergasted. Surprised. Amazed...... that they didn't try harder than this. I wish that I could save all of my friends money by saying "trust me guys, this beer sucks".. but I'll let everyone see for themselves. It's pretty bad. I expected a bigger body. I expected a little bit of malt. I expected just a tiny bit of flavor. What do we get? An amped up flavorless Bud Light. It's thin, light, very easy drinking, but seriously flavorless. It's so "thin" tasting that it has me craving one of my homebrews.
It's not like I really had my hopes up. I really don't want to spend too much $ supporting this company, but I felt I had to try it. I suppose if you were looking for a cheap way to get drunk, this might be your option. Definitely do some price comparison though, because for a couple bucks more, you could pick up a 6 pack of Founders Dirty Bastard. An 8.5% Scottish Ale with an awesome smooth malty taste, yet easy drinking and packs a solid punch.
I guess I could sum this post up by saying - Bud Light Platinum = Fail. Craft Beer = Win.

Buffalo Wild Wings - Family Night!

2012-02-01T20:32:00.001-05:00

We've been wanting to go to family night for over a month now. We've heard rumors of cartoons on the big screens, face paintings, balloons, and kid food specials. Every Wednesday would arrive with discussion of hitting up the family night would come up.. and of course, every Wednesday, someone would be sick, or something crazy would come up where we couldn't make it. Today though was different. The stars were aligned, no one was sick, and it was shaping up to be an awesome night out.

I arrived home to two happy kids. Madalyn announced "We go out Eat Daddy!" as soon as I walked through the door. We rounded up the usual necessities for going out to eat (which included a kids potty seat stuffed in the diaper bag) and headed off to Buffalo Wild Wings.

All went well for quite a while. Madalyn ate really well, both colored, watched tv, Jen and I caught up on some much needed conversation and I enjoyed some decent Michigan beer. Jen and I both talked about how roasting hot it was in there. It had to be 80. I even joked about how "this kind of heat is going to make kids puke."......

While Madalyn made her third trip to the bathroom, Christian and I chilled at the table. He squirmed around on my lap for a bit, and as I talked to him I saw a funny look on his face. I knew it the moment I saw it and the first thing I could do was put my hand out under his mouth. Immediately he filled my hand with curdled milk, but I figured out really fast that he had way more where that came from. I glanced at my potato wedge basket, and made the quick decision it wasn't worth sacrificing them, so I leaned him over the floor. What came next was like the Niagara Falls of curdled milk. If I could draw comic book drawing descriptions right now, I'd draw a "Splash" ... "Chunks"... "Kazamm!"...you get the point.

When he was done, he was fine. I cleaned up my hand the best I could, and we sat there like nothing happened. The waitress even walked by, and I didn't have the heart to tell her at that moment. Jen walked up, sat down and noticed the explosion before I even had a chance to tell her. Alls I got was a "oh my, what happened?!"... the sight of that alone cleared her out. She had those coats on the kids faster than I've ever seen her work. I don't think she realized the most important thing... I still had a half of beer left!

All worked out well, I stayed, paid the bill, finished my pint and gathered up the rest of our goods.

Christian doesn't seem sick at the moment, and Madalyn has already stripped her barbie of clothes (which, to be honest, she hardly had any to begin with).

We'll try and go back to one of those @BBwings kids nights, but, I'll probably wait a few weeks before I bring it up again. At least, until they rotate their wait staff...... I don't want to be known as the "puking family.".. ha.

Rye IPA

2012-01-31T15:52:00.002-05:00

Photo is me mashing in on my (late) lunch break. The mash will be just a little bit over an hour. The beer is a Rye IPA.

White Irish Drinkers - Netflix

2012-01-25T20:22:00.002-05:00

I was going to post the movie preview first, but to be honest with you, this band made the movie. They're called the Shillaly Brothers. Now, don't get me wrong, the movie rocked. It wasn't an award winner, but definitely worth watching. Here's the soundtrack:And, here's the movie preview:

Madalyn opens a Birthday Gift

2012-01-25T19:54:00.000-05:00

We had another birthday gift come in a couple days after Madalyn's party. She eye'd it up the whole ride home from daycare and continued to ask about it. I did what every parent would do, and leveraged eating dinner, on opening the gift. Let's just say she ate well that night. :) On a quick side note, I made the movie, while chilling on the couch - with my iPhone. The app is iMovie for iPhone. It's very easy to use, especially if it's just a small clip like this. The only issue is they don't have blank intro boxes (as you see here). I had to take a picture of my leg (covered up the camera lens), and insert it into the movie with the wording. It works, actually, Mister Bosch taught me that one. Anyhow, here it is - Madalyn opening a gift from the Bosch family. Notice her love for the sweater outfit, then how she drops it to get back to the Barbie. Figures!

Kill the Irishman - Netflix

2012-01-23T20:06:00.001-05:00

If you have Netflix, here's a good one. Kill the Irishman. A movie based on the life of Danny Greene. A 1970's Irish mobster from Cleveland. Check out the trailer. If you're a fan of action packed mafia type flicks, you'll dig this one.

iMovie for iPad & How to All Grain Brew

2012-01-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

I needed a reason to try out my new iPad iMovie app and have been meaning to throw together a "how to" for brewing beer, so here's a video. It's quick, and just still shots and me talking but it works. The app is really easy to use, I can see myself doing more with it in the future, especially with my iPhone.

Say Hello to Evi

2012-01-23T16:04:00.002-05:00

Evi is Siri for anyone with an earlier iPhone than the 4S, or Android users (yes, a dual platform app!) It's 99 cents in the App Store. I'm going to get it later this week, I spent too much $ on apps last week, I feel the need to wait a full week before I buy more. I already have this and a new browser (that runs flash) on the list to get for my iPad. Anyhow, here's a good article discussing the features of Evi.

Quit your job and make cakes!

2012-01-23T09:06:00.001-05:00

I told Jen this after seeing the finished product. She constructed this cake for Madalyn's 3rd birthday party this past weekend. We had the party at the bounce house in Monroe. I was pretty impressed with it though, especially for it being the first she's ever made.

I'm just out running officer!

2012-01-23T07:28:00.000-05:00

Before 6am I began hearing a helicopter hover around my house. I didn't think much of it, I figured it was just passing by. Around 6:30 I got ready to go running. I checked our local newspaper website, figuring we'd have something since this copters been hovering for well over a half hour. Nothing there. Must be some sort of training drill, I figured. I started on my normal route, and began seeing police lights off in the distance. Not long after the copter was pretty close to me, I'm guessing they spotted a guy running and alerted the crew. I went out near the busy road and continued running, figuring I wouldn't look too out of place, I mean, everyone goes running in the pouring rain at 6:30am right?! Within seconds, I was surrounded. A cop truck from behind, and two from the front, pulling up and jumping out of their cars with spot lights on me. One officer stood behind his door, I think he was on the radio. It was pretty obvious I wasn't who they were looking for. Maybe the reflective running vest did it, or my fancy GPS watch. Anyhow, the officer approached me, gun in hand. He asked where I was coming from. I told him where I lived, and that I was just out for a morning run. He directed me to head home immediately. I didn't ask any questions, I bolted across the street and headed home. Lesson learned. Next time a helicopter is hovering, just stay home!
*Turns out a gas station was robbed around 5am and the suspect fled on foot. Article here.

Crab Bisque

2012-01-22T14:31:00.000-05:00

Huge fan of Lobster Bisque (if you live in Monroe - McGeady's has a great one). I've always wanted to try making it at home, but of course I don't think I could afford to purchase lobster. Next best thing? Imitation crab. The base of this recipe is lobster bisque, and the meat, I used crab. It came out pretty awesome. Probably healthier compared to restaurant versions, this was way less buttery, still really tasty.

Ingredients

1 cup chicken broth
2 medium slices onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound cooked and cubed lobster meat
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

Directions

In a small frying pan place 1/4 cup chicken broth and the onion. Cook over a low heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
In a medium size pot over medium heat melt the butter. Slowly whisk in flour. Whisk until a creamy mixture is created.
Gradually pour in broth, whisking constantly. Whisk in milk, salt, onion, lobster meat, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper. Heat until soup is almost boiling. Do not boil the soup as the milk will curdle when boiled.

Source: All Recipes

Qrank iPhone game

2012-01-20T16:09:00.001-05:00

This is a cool app. It's a daily quiz where you earn points on correct trivia questions. What is really cool, are some of the questions are current event based, so if you pay attention to the news, you'll do better. Best of all Free!

Boil monitor

2012-01-19T02:31:00.001-05:00

As the saying goes: A watched pot never boils. A not watched homebrew pot boils... Over!

National internet freedom day

2012-01-18T11:56:00.000-05:00

There's a ton of great content coming out about SOPA today, here's a couple videos worth watching:

Hitler weighs in. Had to be done. He actually makes some very good points, watch and learn about what SOPA could do if passed. The day LOLcats died

Google and others protest SOPA

2012-01-18T08:46:00.003-05:00

Today Google, Wordpress and others are participating in a protest against House Bill 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act. If you've been living under a rock, here's Wikipedia's definition:

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as House Bill 3261 or H.R. 3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by House Judiciary Committee Chair Representative Lamar S. Smith (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill, if made law, would expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrightedintellectual property and counterfeit goods.^[2] Presented to the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the PROTECT IP Act.^[3]

Fortunately, Obama stepped in and saved the day; for now anyhow. There's a similar bill still out there, and probably more to follow. The internet is seen as the "Wild West" and everyone wants to take some control over it. I can understand the beef on piracy, but to put a ban on anything with a copyright, would be tough. Heck, this blog would probably get shut down for my use of the Google logo.
If you're feeling ambitious, do your part and write your state representatives. https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/SOPA/Blackoutpage.

Don't skimp on cooking spray

2012-01-17T22:07:00.001-05:00

In a split second while roaming the dollar store, I made the decision that purchasing Chef's Own $1 Pan Coating spray would do the trick for grilling and other cooking needs.

Well, let met just say, that this is one product you should avoid trying to save a buck or two on. Chef's Own sprays out as a normal non-stick spray, but it layers your pan with a light white foam layer. It looked somewhat normal as I made an omelette one morning. The problem was (and I was using one of my fancy supposed non-stick pans), when I tried to extract the omelette from the pan, it was a huge no-go. I had to scrape the edges and shove something under it just to get it out of the pan.

Here's a nice product description. Sounds promising! But I can tell you from usage, it's horrible. I keep imagining I'm spraying water over the pan or grill grates, because that's about all it does is get the grill grates wet. Everything always ends up sticking.

Epic Brownie Recipe

2012-01-17T21:18:00.001-05:00

I don't like to toot my own horn very much, but I know a good brownie when I taste one. These are moist, chewy, chocolaty and amazing. And,... they're easy! See the link below, the trick is to chill them immediately after cooking. The recipe suggest an ice water chill. What I've always done is wrap the dish I use to bake them, in foil. Spray with pam, bake them, then pull the foil/brownies out and shove them in the freezer to chill. That does it. But if you feel so inclined, follow the recipe link I post below, the writer swears by the method.

8 tbsp unsalted softened butter (1/2 cup)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate (if you're from Monroe - Flour Garden has the best cocoa)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Chill immediately for 20-30 minutes. Here's the site I've used, which has detailed instructions on the process of chilling the brownies. http://bakingbites.com/2006/01/cooking-school-perfect-brownies/
I've made these a ton over the years, and today was the first time I've actually botched them up. I had my 3 yr old helping me. She did very well, but between keeping her steady on the chair and yanking the bowl away from her as she tried to devour the batter, I inadvertently left out the flour. So what I ended up with is a gooey chocolaty pan of yuminess. Tasty, but too gooey

Method to moist chicken breast

2012-01-16T05:32:00.001-05:00

I've baked the last few bags of chicken breast, and it always ends up being a bit dry. I wanted to find a way to make a moister chicken breast so I dug around the net. The below I ran across before I found poaching, which will be another method I try soon.

This method I didn't believe when reading it. You basically cook it for 10 minutes, then shut it off for 10 minutes. I think it might work, but my chicken breasts were just thawed, still very cold. The first batch I made, they seemed like they weren't fully cooked. I heated them for another 7 minutes, then shut off the stove again. The second batch I used the same method, but went 15 minutes / 15 minutes instead just to be safe. They really did come out tasting awesome and juicy. My wife compared them to country fried steak - the flour gives it almost a thin breading, and I went a little heavy on the pepper. I also used Italian seasoning mixed in with the flour mix. Anyhow, this will probably be my new go-to chicken breast recipe!

1 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon freshly chopped herbs (optional)
Olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter

Equipment

10-inch sauté pan with lid

Instructions

1. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness with the handle or flat of a knife.

2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts.

3. Mix about a half teaspoon of salt in with the flour along with a little pepper. Chop the herbs finely, if using, and mix in as well.

4. Quickly dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, so that they are just lightly dusted with flour.

5. Heat the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil and butter. Let them melt, and swirl the pan.

6. Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for just about 1 minute to help them get a little golden on one side (you are not actually searing or browning them). Then flip each chicken breast over.

7. Turn the heat to low. Put the lid on the pan. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and walk away. Do not lift the lid; do not peek.

8. After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat. Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave the chicken breasts in the pan. Again, do not lift the lid; do not peek.

9. After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off, and tada! Soft, tender, juicy chicken breasts that aren't dried out in the least. Doublecheck them to make sure there is no pink in the middle. Slice and eat.

Source (here)

German Potato Salad

2012-01-15T10:32:00.000-05:00

A lady I work with showed me this recipe the other day. I haven't had a good German potato salad in so long, I decided to whip this together. It took a while, between boiling the potatoes, frying the bacon, peeling the potatoes,.. but it was worth it in the end. This is a pretty tasty recipe. I think I cooked my potatoes down a little too much, and I definitely used too many. It still tastes great, and got the wife approval - she said "this is addicting!"

Ingredients

9 potatoes, peeled
6 slices bacon
3/4 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 30 minutes. Drain, cool and slice thin.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside, reserving drippings.
Saute onions in bacon drippings until they are golden-brown.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, celery seed, and pepper. Add to the sauteed onions and cook and stir until bubbly, then remove from heat. Stir in water and vinegar, then return to the stove and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute. Carefully stir bacon and sliced potatoes into the vinegar/water mixture, stirring gently until potatoes are heated through.

Source: All Recipes

Thanks Big Al! Recipe: Big Al's Chicken Thighs

2012-01-15T07:07:00.000-05:00

Great recipe. I eyeballed the mixture and it still came out tasting great. For the egg substitute I just used a bit of egg whites I had in the fridge. For the oil, I used olive oil. I didn't let it marinade overnight either, more like an hour. Turned out great - it got the approval by my two year old daughter, so I know it had to be good!

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
10 skinless chicken thighs

Directions

In a jar with a lid, combine the vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, egg substitute, garlic powder, paprika, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Close the lid, and shake to blend. Place chicken in a shallow glass baking dish. Pour about 3/4 of the marinade over it, and reserve the rest for basting. Cover chicken, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
Preheat grill for high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the grill, and discard marinade from the dish. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. Brush reserved sauce onto chicken just before serving.

Source: All Recipes

Bells Hopslam Photo

2012-01-14T19:18:00.001-05:00

Yum!

Bruschetta recipe

2012-01-14T15:06:00.001-05:00

I've made this recipe so many times, and everytime it comes out awesome. I think the trick is, is to make it and let it sit over night. When you're ready to eat, make the bread. Watch them close under the broiler, they will burn fast! You can also use regular onions, you don't necessarily need to use shallots. Enjoy!

Bruschetta with Shallots

Ingredients

12 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 (1 pound) loaf Italian bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices

Directions

In a large bowl, toss together the roma tomatoes, minced garlic, shallots, basil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/3 cup olive oil.
Place the slivered garlic and 1/4 cup olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Slowly cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes. Discard garlic.
Toast the bread slices, and brush with the olive oil heated with garlic. Top slices with the roma tomato mixture.

Source: All Recipes

Bells Hopslam 2012

2012-01-13T19:07:00.001-05:00

Well, here it is folks. My fresh sixer of Bell's Hopslam 2012. I remember years ago, before kids, I'd go out and purchase a case of this stuff when it was released. @ $14.99 a six pack,.. what the heck was I thinking?! I've yet to crack into it, but will soon. This beer is best enjoyed fresh. If you manage to get some, drink it up quick! I bought this at Monroe Liquor Plaza - Monroe, MI.

New Shoes!

2012-01-13T08:37:00.001-05:00

Brooks Adrenaline GTS. It's probably my 7th pair of these, first time in red. They've gone back and forth each year between shades of blue and yellow. I kind of dig the colors. I ran in them this morning and they felt pretty good. My old shoes were probably nearing 1,000 miles (yeah I slacked on getting new ones far too long), so I was definitely due. I'll probably hold off on wearing them for a bit, at least through the snow, ice, salt phase of winter. Gotta keep them new for a little while!

Garden 07.31.10

2010-07-31T12:31:00.003-04:00

IMG00203-20100731-1210.jpg
Originally uploaded by robg2251

Garden is doing great. We're about to harvest the corn for a meal this week. Peppers, tomato's and cucumbers are going nuts!

The Garden 05.15.10

2010-05-15T19:32:00.001-04:00

IMG00835-20100515-1916.jpg
Originally uploaded by robg2251

Planted the garden today. Hot peppers, corn, tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, squash, spinach, celery and probably more.. I started off organizing it really well, leaving walking space.. then, hurried on the back half due to a sick kid. Watered it down and now it just needs to do it's thing! Can't wait.. love walking in the backyard for a snack. :)

Bro and sis in the same outfit

2010-05-05T13:01:00.006-04:00

Madalyn Rose Gorczyca - 01.21.09

Christian Robert Gorczyca - 05.01.10

Christian Robert Gorczyca - May 1st, 2010

2010-05-02T09:05:00.004-04:00

I started out my Saturday around 5:15AM. I had to finish packing things and meet some fellow homebrewers @ Harbor Inn & Ale for our first ever Monroe Big Brew Day. For those that don't know, I run a homebrew club in Monroe, MI called The Muskrat Mashers. We meet once a month and discuss techniques of homebrewing and styles of beer. I've been working on organizing this event for a while now. We had lined up around 7 brewers to come out, to make a total of around 70 gallons of beer. Big Brew Day is a national holiday in the homebrew world. The American Homebrewers Association organize this event annually, asking brew clubs from all over the country to get together and brew batches of beer.

I met the crew at the restaurant where we set up two large tents. Not long after set up the storms blew through. I headed home to grab a few more things, and came back, set up and started brewing. My plan was to finish brewing before everyone, so I could hang out, help others and chat with everyone.

Around 10, Jen called saying she was in serious pain and could barely walk. Lucky her parents were up visiting anyhow, she said she was going to go in to get checked out. I told her I was finishing up and would meet her up at the hospital. I rushed to finish, cleaned up fast (thanks to the brew club for helping out and packing me up quick!).. By the time I got up to the hospital, the doctor had decided to move forward with the C-section early. There wasn't any major complications, he said "There's something in there the baby's not liking, so he's pushing down." He said it could be a pinched nerve or something, but, rather than send us home and have her be in pain for two more days, he just decided to do it then.

Here I am in shorts, tshirt, sandals, baseball cap on, dirty.. not really ready for all of this, but I didn't have much choice! They handed me the scrubs outfit and started getting Jen ready.

It wasn't long until I was sitting there with Jen talking to her as they were working on getting the baby out. Pretty soon they told me to pop my head up to see the baby.. and not long after they were pulling him out. It's a boy! Very cool. What's funny is, last time we were pretty sure it was a boy.. so this time, we were kind of thinking it would be a girl. Regardless, we were thrilled. The lil' guy cried like crazy.. way more than Madalyn. I got to carry him down the hall to the nursery - have experience from Madalyn, so I wasn't nervous a bit this time.

Jen went to recovery and they cleaned him up. We got some time to talk about the names finally (we had a couple picked out, and I wanted to have Jen see him to decide on the name). She looked at him and said "Oh Rob he looks like Christian!".. Which was one of the names I actually came up with when talking about a name for Madalyn (before we knew she was a girl), and Jen really latched on to. We thought it would be neat to use the family name Robert as the middle name, and there it was. Christian Robert Gorczyca.

Christian weighed in at 7lb. 13 oz. 20 1/2 inches length. His color was a bit off after trying to feed him, so they took him and put him on a monitor and warmed him back up.. they said he was getting cold. The doctor ordered him to be in the nursery monitored all night, so the first night they kept coming in to get Jen to feed him in the nursery area. They ran a few normal tests on him, and everything checked out well.. He's looking good and is healthy.

We were really surprised by his long dark hair! Definitely momma's hair. What's cute is he has this dark brown hair, but the tips of a lot of it are blonde. Very neat looking - the nurses were saying it looks like he got the tips frosted.. a stylin' kid already! We can't tell yet what color his eyes are, they look brown. Hard to say. Very cute though and so tiny! I can't even remember now (and it's only been a year) Madalyn being that tiny!

So, that's the story of the big day. Madalyn came up to the hospital, but Christian was in the nursery, and they said she couldn't go in there to see him. So hopefully today we'll get to introduce the two. She's proudly wearing her "Big Sister" t-shirt. She was having way to much fun at the hospital too. Charming the nurses and pressing every button she could find… I had to keep her reigned in, so she didn't flip Jens bed over or something.

More pics can be found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorczyca

Madalyn talks on the ride home

2010-04-07T08:05:00.001-04:00

Our daily conversation on the ride home from daycare.

My first visit to Deerfield, Michigan....

2010-03-22T15:19:00.003-04:00

A guy I work with, Ray, comes running down to my office on Friday all excited. "DUDE, you will never guess what is this weekend!!!"... One thing led to another, we both talked the wives into it, and soon we were off in a two car caravan to Deerfield, MI to the annual Deerfield Testicle Festival. Below is a video and my short review of the experience.

The festival was packed. Uncomfortably packed. Thousands of people drinking beer and eating bull balls. You bought the "balls" in a meal, where you received a pile of beans (like bean soup), coleslaw, gizzards and about 5 or 6 deep fried testicles. Meal was $8. For being several years into it, the whole thing was just poorly laid out. You walk into this huge hall and immediately have to get in line for tickets. There were tons of people wanting to get in just to drink, or out to leave, so there's this massive bottle neck of people coming in the door, bumping everyone that was trying to get tickets. For people just walking in off the street, the smashed shoulder to shoulder crowd was a bit intense. Not to mention the confusion trying to buy tickets and understanding their handwritten sign on ticket prices and how many tickets you needed to purchase items. I'll chalk it up as being amateur testicle festival goers. :)

We managed to figure things out, get our beer, our meal and retreat outside in the cold, where we chowed down our meal pretty quickly. The testicles were heavily battered and deep fried. It kind of reminded us of calamari, chewy, but a softer center. Jen wasn't impressed, and opted out of trying any. The meal wasn't much, small portions of everything, it left us wanting more after the small amount. I guess though, they have to leave enough for everyone, but don't go there expecting the meal to fill you up, be ready to eat two of the "meals."..

Oh yeah, and definitely don't bring your family. We spend our summers going to church festivals, beer festivals, city/town festivals, etc., and this is the first one I've been to that is definitely not family friendly. It was basically a big "lets get drunk" fest. Which, I have nothing against, I just wasn't prepared for it, so we didn't stick around too long.

Will I go back? Probably. If I can talk more friends into going next year, no family, bring lots of money for a couple of the meals, then maybe I'll go. It's definitely something to tell the kids about someday..., or, maybe it isn't. I can just see them going off to school telling the class "My dad ate balls!"...

Inga says "Momma!"

2010-01-28T21:17:00.001-05:00

Inga is my mom's Miniature Schnauzer. I had some bacon I was eating and the dog was going nuts wanting some. I finally caved and gave it a piece. :)

Thanks Mr. Runner Dude

2009-12-04T06:43:00.002-05:00

A week ago, I ran my third Thanksgiving day Detroit Turkey Trot. The weather was good, low 40's. A bit windy, but could of been worse. I left Jen and Madalyn in Cobo and headed to the starting line a few blocks away to try and push my way to the front of the pack. I made it pretty close to the starting line, which, for this race is key. There were 12,000 or so running this year, and I wasn't about to get stuck behind slow pokes out for a fun jog (yeah, I'm competitive like that). I got off to a pretty good start after still having to weave around people, jump over curbs and avoid running/kicking feet. I finally settled in behind some relatively fast runners.
The course seemed a bit different this year, it seemed to go much faster than I remember in previous years. I remember thinking in the past "will this 6 miles ever end?!"..
The worse part about this years run was probably between 3-4 miles, running straight out Michigan Ave. It took us 1 mile out and 1 mile back, basically and running out was heading directly into the wind.

On my way back, just before the 5 mile mark, I was feeling a bit tired. I was running slower, breathing heavier and let out a big sigh. Just then, an older gentlemen running past me, who looked way more in shape than me, slows down enough to yell directly at me "COME ON MAN, YOU CAN DO THIS - YOU HAVE 1 MORE MILE TO GO, COME ON!!!"
I don't know what came over me, but a flood of emotions hit me. I flashed back to the previous month of 40 mile a week training runs. 5-6 a.m. long runs, speed training, running in the rain, cold, etc. I took a deep breath and my legs took off. I ran past the old guy and began zig zagging through the crowd, zipping past the 5 mile mark and sprinting that last mile to the finish line.

Dude. I don't know who you are, or why you felt compelled to say that to me, but you lit a fire in me. Sure, I didn't win anything or place all that great, but I did beat my last years time, which was my only goal. So thanks Mr. Runner Dude. I appreciate your inspiring motivational words.

===============================

Detroit Turkey Trot 10k - Time: 46:54 - Avg. Pace: 7:33 Min. Per Mile - 50th place age group (total 491), 530 place overall (total finishers 12,420).

Big Sister

2009-11-02T20:37:00.005-05:00

Madalyn got a new shirt... and to answer your next question; Yes, it means just what you think! :)

Rubby Ducky

2009-10-18T19:25:00.003-04:00

It's bath time tonight. Every bath night, I get to hear this song. I think for anyone my age, might remember this:

Race to the Big House - 10K

2009-10-04T14:23:00.005-04:00

Ran this race Sunday morning. Started @ 8 a.m. The course looped around Ann Arbor streets for about 3 miles, then back around again, then to the Michigan Stadium to finish on the 50 yard line. Weather was good, around 50.

GW and I lined up at around the 7 minute mark pace, just to get ahead of the slow pokes. I busted out and ran about a 7 minute the first mile, but slowed up a bit to around a 7:30-ish pace. The second time around, and up the first hill was rough.

As I neared the stadium at around the 6 mile point, I heard the sound of the Michigan theme song playing, which was really cool. I started sprinting at that point, slowed up a bit once I started dry heaving (haha - not sure why my body rejects to sprinting, but it does every time at the end of a race), then picked back up the sprint to the finish line. Running on the grass of the football field was so awesome.

Here's my final numbers:

Age group - 30-34
26th out of 108

Chip time: 47:53:1
Avg. Pace: 7:42 per mile

Total: 213 place out of 1336.

http://www.bighousebigheart.com/results/10korder_09.htm

I'll probably do this run again in the future, it was a lot of fun. I did quite a bit of speed training for this race also, which paid off (glad, because it really sucked while I was doing it!).

My new toy - Garmin Forerunner 305

2009-09-28T11:51:00.003-04:00

I kind of misplaced my current GPS running watch - Garmin 105 I think it was. So, I broke down and bought a replacement. The Garmin Forerunner 305. I found it on Amazon for $149.00 - with free shipping. If you run a lot, these GPS watches are a must. I can't imagine not having one. The old one I had is about 4 years old. It was doing some quirky things, and the watch band was basically rotting out on me. So, I was due. Yes.. I'm a geek at pretty much all of my hobbies. :)

Song stuck in my head...

2009-08-19T08:29:00.004-04:00

I think this song was in that mall cop movie I watched about two months ago - ever since, it's been playing through my head. Rather than fight the urge to get it out of my head, I decided to go with it. I downloaded it to my phone and listen to it all the time.. haha.

Wake up Madalyn!

2009-07-07T22:03:00.004-04:00

I'm now officially the king of baby talk. I guess it comes with the territory. Here we were at camp, Madalyn was in sleeping and Jen had me wake her up. She wasn't too happy when she finally woke up, but I mainly wanted to video her dreaming of eating. It's probably the best dream a baby can have, since I think it's gotta be one of their favorite things to do. :p

I'll try to blog more later. I don't seem to be on the computer as much in the summer, between running, brewing and now, kickin' it with Madalyn.., my computer time is limited! Anyhow, back to the Tigers game.. top of the 9th and the Tigers are in the lead.. woohoo!

First 1/2 Martahon - Dexter-Ann Arbor

2009-05-31T10:40:00.003-04:00

Dexter-Ann Arbor 1/2 Marathon. 1:45:45. 636th out of 2500 at an 8:04 avg. pace. I felt ok, for not doing any hardcore training for this race. I definitely will advocate NO beer drinking a week before a race.. That definitely helped me out. :) I might do this one again though, it was fun and a really nice scenic run. I'm going to use this race as a motivation for the Detroit Half Marathon... My goal will be to beat this time by a minute or two.

Half Marathon

2009-05-29T05:59:00.002-04:00

For the past three months, part of my morning routine Monday through Saturday has been to strap on my running gear and head out into the darkness. I can honestly say I haven't taken this training as serious as others, but I still managed to get up and go out running everyday.
The race I'll be running this Sunday morning is the Dexter-Ann Arbor 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles). Thirteen miles sure does sound like a lot, but it really isn't as bad as you would think. The training schedule I did, had me running up to 40 miles in one week, so I kind of got used to longer runs. I did most of my long runs (10, 12, 14 miles) in Angola, IN. Angola is the perfect place to train because of the huge, long, grueling hills. There were many times I was several miles from my campground running by Amish farms, trying like hell to make it up another hill where I thought about just laying down and hoping an Amish family would take me in and feed me pancakes.. haha.
Anyhow, I'm looking forward to my first 1/2 marathon. The race follows Huron River from Dexter, MI to downtown Ann Arbor, MI and from what everyone says it's an awesome run. The best part about it is, at the end, there is the "Taste of Ann Arbor".. which is a big event where you get to taste various restaurants offerings - as well as a beer tent (Arbor Brewing Co.) that I will more than likely be found at shortly after I finish. :) Well, my training isn't over yet.. time to go run a quick 4 miles before work!

Blowin' raspberries

2009-05-26T11:23:00.002-04:00

Madalyn learned a new trick in the past few days. She sticks her tongue out and blows. It must be pretty entertaining because she does it quite a bit. I sat her up Saturday morning and laid down next to her and she sat there blowin' raspberries for about 15 minutes.. spitting all over me. I'm trying to get her to do it on command, but then again, it's probably not the best "trick" to teach a kid.. :p

There's wood in my granola bar!

2009-05-13T07:58:00.002-04:00

Pretty cool response from the Quaker folks. I don't find the time to complain very often, unless I'm sitting in front of a computer, eating, and there's wood in my food. :) I kind of chuckled at their response about me asking to send the wood in to them.

Dear Quaker:
The numbers on my UPC code actually read 305080, however, the previous menu didn't accept that, so I left off the last zero. I was enjoying my daily Quaker Chewy 25% less sugar Chocolate Chip Granola bar today when I came across something that was not chewable. I pulled it out of my mouth and found three piece of what appear to be either wood or straw. It is not food, whatever it is, as it is too hard to bite into. I set them aside and later examined them and it does appear to be small slivers of either wood, straw or sticks of grain or something. I saved them, if you would like me to send them to you. Luckily I didn't swallow them as I'm sure that would not have been good. The edges of these foreign objects are sharp. Please let me know if you would like me to mail these to you. Thanks.

Rob:

We're sorry you found something in one of your Quaker Chewy Granola Bars that caused you concern. Your well-being and the reputation of our products for quality and safety are of the utmost importance to us. It's important that we know about your report and we're relieved to learn that you were not injured.

Many safeguards are in place in our plants to prevent foreign materials from coming into contact with the product. Screening equipment and inspection procedures should prevent an occurrence such as you reported. Our quality assurance team has been notified and your comments serve to stress the importance of our inspection procedures.

Please accept the coupons we've mailed you and our sincere apologies for any inconvenience related to this matter. Your coupons should arrive in about a week. Please be assured that we will always strive to produce high-quality products in which you can have complete confidence.

With regards to what you're holding on to, it won't be necessary for you to send them to us as we have all the information that's need for quality assurance. We thank you for thinking of us.

Thank you, Rob, for your business and loyalty to Quaker. We hope you'll continue to select and enjoy our products for many more years to come. After all, we know you have a choice of brands and always appreciate you choosing ours. We're confident your next Quaker Chewy Bar will offer you a pleasant experience.

Quaker Consumer Relations

Watching hockey..

2009-05-10T19:26:00.005-04:00

I snapped a few pictures while Madalyn and I were watching the Red Wings today. I goofed around in Photoshop and made this gif. Pretty goofy eh? Madalyn is infatuated with hockey and most of all baseball. If we ever need a babysitter, we're going to find a Tigers game.. she absolutely loves baseball games for some reason.

Let the playoffs begin!!

2009-04-15T11:59:00.011-04:00

I always say I should call my blog "stuff KC sends me." He always finds good stuff and sends them to me, so I can't take credit for a lot of links I post on this blog. Anyhow, this video had me cracking up. I laugh every time I watch it. I figured it was great timing since the playoffs begin tonight. Enjoy and... GO WINGS!!

The ol' Easter Bunny Funny...

2009-04-09T07:03:00.001-04:00

Dude, that's a sweet belt buckle!

2009-03-30T07:59:00.002-04:00

I owe Aaron a dollar, so I did what any good pal would do... I bought him a shiny new awesome belt buckle. For a buck! Man I'm a good friend.

Cork Town St Pats 4 mile race

2009-03-15T12:50:00.003-04:00

31:04 (according to my watch) 7:34 pace - standing in line for a 2nd free beer :)

*Edit: Final race results: Melanie: 38:32 (9:38 pace) - Me: 30:58 (7:45 pace).

The race was good. Taking off at the starting line was the same congestion you see at most races. I had to weave around a few people for the first half mile to finally settle in a comfortable pace. My first mile was around 7:06, so I knew I had to slow up some or I wouldn't be able to maintain a decent pace. The race took us right downtown, around campus martias and back again to cork town park. The way back was rough, but hearing people cheer was actually motivating. I also could smell beer in the air, since the bars were letting people spill out onto the sidewalks and drink for the day. I rounded the corner and saw the finish line and started to speed up. I couldn't bring myself to a full sprint at first, but managed to about the last 50 ft. or so, which paid off. My goal was to break 31:00 - and I did it. By two seconds, but still.. goal accomplished!!

Free beer was cool after the race. At first, I didn't want anything to do with it.. but I downed a water, and then the beer sounded good. They were serving Detroit Dwarf - by Detroit Brewing Co. Very nice touch giving out Michigan beer, I thought they were going to hand out coors light or something.

After our free beers, we met Aaron and Kevin at Slows. The place was hopping and Stone Brewing was there on the patio selling some awesome beers. They had a new one, that hasn't come to Michigan yet called Levitation. The streets were full of people drinking, walking around with open beers, etc. It was like the cops let everyone have a free-for-all for one day.

We watched some of the parade which was basically a bunch of bands, bagpipers and small floats. We had a great time though, I have some videos I recorded of it, but haven't put them up yet.

We went to Fort St. on the way home so Melanie could get her sour kraut balls. We went back to the DRB and had a few beers, played cornhole and teased Dan for missing his final playoff hockey game (he showed up an hour late for it). The Irish stew came out awesome too, definitely a keeper recipe. More pics here.

Irish Stew @ the DRB

2009-03-14T21:28:00.003-04:00

I might be having a few people over Sunday afternoon, so I whipped up a recipe I found online (Irish Beef Stew - Simply Recipes). It was pretty simple, but it calls for 1 cup of red wine. I hate when recipes call for that. What are you supposed to do with the rest of the bottle of wine?! Dilemmas. :) Anyhow, it turned out looking pretty good. It wasn't much to taste yet, because I didn't follow the recipe exactly, I threw it all together after browning the beef and tossed it in the crock pot. I'll turn it on in the morning and the DRB should smell awesome by the time we get home from the race.
Speaking of, I'm ready as ever for the race. I ran 4 miles yesterday in a time of around 7:55 min. per mile, which is pretty much what I was shooting for. Hard to believe I'm running that fast, because the first week or two of February, I couldn't run an 8:30 pace without dying and wanting to lay down in the Sav-a-lot parking lot.

So that's that. Run 4 miles, drink some beer at the finish line, head back to the DRB and eat some Irish Beef Stew with friends. Sounds like a great Sunday!

You need a rest!

2009-03-11T07:10:00.004-04:00

A couple buddies talked me into running the Cork Town St. Patties race on Sunday, March 15th. I had taken a month or so off after the Turkey Trot race/training, and was feeling pretty lethargic. Not to mention, it was mid-winter in Michigan with lots of snow and plenty cold. I can't remember what motivated me to get my running shoes back on, but I did. I thought it would whip me into shape if I ran every single day, no rests... (idiot).

On Sunday, February 1st, I set out to train for the Cork Town St. Patties race. My goal was to run every single day until race day. I started out on my treadmill, only to have the motor burn out the same week I started. I kept up my running though, outside, in the cold and snow.. (no kidding, I ran a few miles in blizzard conditions one day).

Jen said a couple times "You need to rest," after I complained of my legs hurting or being so exhausted. I couldn't seem to pick my pace up either, I think because my energy level wasn't able to rebuild itself.. especially when I started running twice a day.

Finally, after 35 days straight, I took a well needed rest. I got back on the road the day after the rest, and ran a strong 5 miles at a really good pace. I told Jen about how fast I ran and how good I felt after the run, and how I think that rest day really helped.. and I got the response I hear from her so often... "I told you so!" :)

Obama is Hitler?

2009-02-25T14:47:00.003-05:00

Someone recently compared Hitler and Obama and I laughed, assuming they were joking. But from seeing this, it sounds like people actually believe there's a comparison! I won't take it too serious though, this video IS from a comedy show. I'll go on believing people really aren't that silly.. :)

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Unusual Suspect

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

New business model: Sell your used mp3 files!

2009-02-24T12:51:00.003-05:00

Everyone has those mp3 files laying around that they aren't using. Get rid of them at my website!

I thought of this all by myself. It's going to make millions. I'm going to have a site where people can sell their used mp3's. I haven't quite figured out the details yet, but there could be an auction type thing, where people could bid on them.
The seller would make a profit, and a (large) cut of each sale would go to me.

I need to create some filter that all mp3 files will run through, to add skips and jumps to each one, you know, to devalue them a little bit. Some people are careful with their mp3 files. Not like me, I've thrown them on the floor of my car, my dogs chewed on them, etc. Maybe though, the good quality ones would go for more $.

As you can see, I'm still in the brainstorming part of this business plan, but the idea is a good one. I'll post back once I get some sponsors and have the site up and running.

:)

Yeah Madalyn, that's the internet..

2009-02-17T21:13:00.004-05:00

...crazy isn't it?

I got the summer bug today..

2009-02-11T22:06:00.002-05:00

Someone mentioned Bells Oberon today. That got me thinking of good summer beer, sitting around a campfire, playing the guitar. I sat around tonight going through YouTube vids of songs I play.. here's one of my fav's:

Bacon donut anyone?

2009-02-10T17:55:00.000-05:00

This site cracks me up, look at some of this food!! - Thisiswhyyourefat.com . Archive link at the top has pictures of more (yummy looking but probably very bad for you) food.

Here's to Buddy

2009-02-03T21:20:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite musicians and a definite inspiration that got me playing guitar was Buddy Holly. If you missed it in the news, 50 years ago today, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in a plain crash just north of Clear Lake Iowa.

Home at last!

2009-01-24T16:10:00.003-05:00

0124091459.jpg
Originally uploaded by robg2251

Well, Madalyn and Mama are home at last. They keep c-section patients longer since it's a surgery, so we we've pretty much been at the hospital since Tuesday night. Jen is doing good, besides being tired. She tried napping a bunch yesterday and kept getting interrupted by nurses and doctors. She's still in some pain, but the doc sent her home with pain pills. Her staples are out too, which she said didn't hurt a bit getting them out.
Madalyn is doing well, she lost some weight, which is normal. We get to visit the doctors toward the end of the week for a check-up.
When we got home, Jen gave her a quick tour of the house. It reminded me of Raising Arizona when they brought the kid they kidnapped home.. "And that there's the kitchen area where ma and pa chow down!"
I carried her up to her room and she opened her eyes just long enough to give the room a quick glance. I'm sure she didn't see anything, so the paneling walls that we discussed painting, but decided not to, were just fine with her. :p Right now, Madalyn's in her bassinet and Mama's taking a nap next to her in bed. I'm testing out the new baby monitor. I can hear Madalyn squeak every so often. :)
Hopefully she naps enough so she can enjoy her first ever Michigan vs. Michigan State t.v. college hockey game with her dad tonight. Her first of many!!

What a day!

2009-01-21T22:19:00.010-05:00

Well, today was the day. The doctor had to be out of town next week for a conference, and suggested inducing a week early. Since Jen had completed the full term of pregnancy, it seemed like the way to go. We discussed doing the natural thing, and possibly having another doctor deliver it.., but the more we talked about it and discussed it with other people, the more it seemed right to move forward with the inducing. In the end, it was a definite miracle we made the decision we did.
We arrived at the hospital shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday. I took Jen out to her last big meal for a while. Surprisingly, we ate a big ol' mediterranean lunch at the Marathon gas station on south Monroe St. Nadia's, I believe it's called. Awesome food. Anyhow, we were whisked into the waiting room where we sat, for nearly 2 hours. We were later told that there was an emergency c-section taking place, which took up all of the nurses who would have normally been helping us get prepped.
Finally, we were moved to a delivery room (317), where they prepared her to start the inducing procedure.

They first put her on Cervidil, which the doctor explained would "soften things up." This actually started small contractions, which was good. I kept her company all evening until around midnight, when we decided she would try to sleep, and I would go home to feed the dog and sleep for a bit. The doctor said they would start the Pitocin around 4 a.m.

I arrived at the hospital around 3:30 a.m. (after 2 hours of glorious sleep) to find Jen awake. She said they had just removed the Cervidil and were getting ready for the Pitocin. Like clock-work, they arrived at 4 a.m. to begin the Petocin IV drip.
More waiting.. We watched television, talked and tried watching a movie. The nurses were so fantastic we couldn't even believe it. They treated us like royalty. They came in every half hour or so to check on Jen to see how the baby's heart rate was and how she was holding up.

Contractions got stronger and she was really feeling them. She never was in serious pain from the contractions, but she explained them like tight cramps that lasted a while, then went away.

Throughout all of this, the nurses and doctor kept checking to see if she was dilating. Checking was a pretty painful process. It was the first time I realized Jen probably could actually break my fingers by crushing them together. Honestly, I thought they were going to break! Anyhow, she wasn't dilating whatsoever. The doc asked her a few questions and they both realized she had a cervix scraping procedure done a long time back (*edit - the procedure is called a LEEP of the cervix, which is a common minor surgery to remove cells from the cervix that are tested for cancer). Anyhow, the doc said that could very well cause scar tissue to accumulate around the cervix and it could never dilate.

They decided to give her the epidural and work to open her cervix manually. They made me leave the room for this part, which kind of sucked, but she did good with it - but said it hurt like hell. Pretty soon, her legs were tingly. They tried a couple more times with the cervix, and still nothing.

Around this time, the baby's heart patters became pretty irregular. The doctor explained that she was technically going through labor, but that cervix was just not going to open up for them. Since the baby's heart was showing irregular patters, he felt the best thing to do was to perform a c-section. He said the baby is getting wore out in there with all those contractions, and it's ready to come out.

Wow. Jen and I looked at each other like "holy shit, this is it!" I asked the doc around when this c-section might happen.. (I expected him to say "oh.. in a few hours.") No.. he says "right now!" That got my heart pumping. I called our mom's and let them know the news. I came back into the room and the nurses were scrambling getting things ready and moving Jen to the operating room.

They handed me this big white outfit to put on, it was like long sleeve, long pant overhauls. I jokingly asked the nurses if I had to take off all my clothes and put it on.. they all got a laugh out of that, and said "Only if you want to Rob.." :)
They whisked Jen off to the OR and had me get my scrubs on. About 10 minutes later, they brought me into the room where the procedure had already started. They had a sheet set up, blocking Jens view from her chest down. I had to walk by her stomach to get behind the sheet, and briefly caught a glance of obvious surgery going on. I can't remember feeling ill or anything, but Jen said when I sat down, I looked pale.

As the c-section went on, Jen was drugged up, but still fully awake and aware. She was feeling all of the pushing, prodding and such going on down there and was tensing up like crazy. It was so hard seeing her in pain, I was holding her hand tight and rubbing her arm, and cringing, holding my breath as she did. There was a nurse sitting by us telling her to breath.. I was glad she said that, because I realized I was holding my breath too.

Not long after, the doc says "Hey Rob, stand up and look at this baby." I stood up, and saw a head poking out of a cut in her belly.. they were slowly working it out. My eyes were probably as big as saucers. I promptly sat back down.. amazing, but not a scene I wanted to watch for too long.

Pretty soon, we heard signs of a baby in the room. I cut the cord, which wasn't as bad as I had thought. (*Edit - later the doc had told us the cord had become wrapped around the baby some. He said a natural birth may have caused some problems).
They carried the baby over on a table next to us. We were thrilled to see a baby girl laying there squirming her arms and legs. They weighed her, cleaned her up some and wrapped her in a blanket.
After Jen had saw the baby, they began giving her more drugs to ease the pain a bit more.

They handed me the baby and told me to take her down the hall to the nursery. I couldn't believe they were putting their trust in me to carry this child 50 feet down the hall, but I don't think I would have let go of that baby if my life depended on it! It was an amazing moment, carrying her, looking at her.. wow. I actually lost the nurse on my way and had to get directions from another nurse where I was going.. haha.

Jen was put back together and we later learned all about breast feeding. I was given a thorough lesson on changing a baby girls diaper (I still need to work on which way the diaper goes on) and we spent hours holding her and showing her off to the family that came to visit.

I really didn't want to leave tonight, but the dog had to be fed and I am going to attempt to get a few more hours sleep tonight, so I can be at the hospital bright and early in the morning to help Jen out.

Oh yeah, we named her Madalyn Rose. The name Madalyn was one of the very first girl names we picked out, only a month into the pregnancy. It stuck for us right away and we spent the rest of the pregnancy going back and forth on boy names. Up until 2 days ago, we had finally decided on 2 or 3 boy names. Figures that's the way it goes!

See more pictures on my Flickr page..more pics posted here too! and a video of me, who totally transformed to a mushy baby talking weirdo on my YouTube page. :)

Madalyn Rose Gorczyca

2009-01-21T16:10:00.001-05:00

Born today 01.21.09 @ 1:29 p.m. - 7 lbs 10 oz. 19 3/4" - Momma Jen doing good. Dad is quite proud. :)

I'm not a country fan..

2009-01-17T09:50:00.000-05:00

But, this song rocks. Our favorite pal @ the VFW, Charlie, plays it every time we're there and sings it. We like it so much, we sing it with him. Good times. :)

Cow Tongue

2009-01-13T16:00:00.004-05:00

This is a bit late, but I figured everyone would want to see this picture. My friend Nick is an amazing cook and for the past couple of years, we've hosted "Cow Tongue Taco Night" at Dayton Road Brewing. The night was a success and the taco's were amazing. The picture above is the tongue before it was cooked. Makes my mouth water just looking at it!!

I posted this last here - here is an old band from my hood.

The UnNamed - Cow Tongue

Macbook wheel

2009-01-09T22:32:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm probably the last to blog about this, but it's too funny not to save on my blog so I can laugh at this sometime in the future. If you're into Mac's - this will crack you up.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

The Snuggie. Are they serious?!

2008-12-28T21:30:00.002-05:00

Aaron and I saw this commercial the other night and now I keep seeing it. The beginning cracks me up, the lady struggling with that darned blanket. Even funnier is later in the commercial, a group of people wearing the Snuggies out at a ball game. They all look like their in some strange cult. If you order now, you get a free transformer light gadget thing that looks completely useless!

Analog to digital conversion

2008-12-18T17:34:00.002-05:00

*thanks for the vid Matt D! Funny stuff.

Ultrasound 4-D images

2008-12-09T19:19:00.001-05:00

Ultrasound 4-D images
Originally uploaded by robg2251

Isn't it crazy the technology they have these days? This is our little one, due January 29th. He/She did pretty good for some of the pictures, but slowly started bringing up the hands and covering its face up. We got some cute pictures though. They print them for you, so this is a cell phone picture of a print. I imagine someday they'll be able to save them as JPG files and email them..

Anyhow, what's your guess? Boy or a girl? We can't tell. Everyone keeps seeing us and saying "Oh yeah, it's a boy for sure." I don't think anyone has said it's going to be a girl, so.. maybe we'll prove them all wrong and have a girl! Anyhow, there He/She is! You'll see more come February!!

Turkey Trot 2008

2008-11-27T09:03:00.002-05:00

10k is done. went alright.. finished running a 7:55-ish pace. haven't got final time yet.. but damn am i sweating!

(edited) - My sister and I both ran this. She had a great run coming in 211th out of 526 in her age group. Her time was 60:32 with an avg. pace of 9:03. I managed to finish in 48:54 coming in 80th out of 403 with an avg. pace of 7:53. No wonder I'm sore today!

Psycho Bitch - Poor Bailey

2008-11-19T18:48:00.000-05:00

Found this dude listening to the Brewing Network. Gotta learn this one... :)

This ones for you Nick..

2008-11-18T23:06:00.002-05:00

My buddy Nick, who is doing a few yr. stint up north right now introduced me to some badass metal bands. I remember sitting in the backseat of his truck, driving along, listening to this song for the first time. Nick was head banging and shaking his fist in the air to this song as he drove down the highway.. I thought, holy crap, that song rocks.. I need to remember that band! Since then, they've been a favorite. When Nick comes home, this song will be-a-rockin for him..

A tip for Verizon users out there

2008-11-13T09:42:00.003-05:00

My phone has been acting up lately. I've been getting text messages a day after people sent them. I called and had probably the best conversation ever with a customer service representative. She gave me the following tip:

Since I hadn't updated my phone in so long, she had me do the following:

*228 - then choose option 1. This reprograms the phone.

She then went on to explain, you should run an update on your phone every single month since Verizon is constantly updating towers all over the country on a daily basis.

*228 - then choose option 2. This updates the service with area towers.

I'm setting a calendar reminder once a month to run the update.

New World Order

2008-11-07T13:32:00.001-05:00

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

*Thanks Joe, this cracked me up!

I lost a truck sale!

2008-11-04T17:51:00.002-05:00

I put on my voice mail a universal message for every caller. It says something like "Hello, the caller you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message. And, don't forget to vote for Obama! I have my number in the paper trying to sell our truck. Maybe he'll be calling me back tomorrow... Take a listen:

	Voicemail You'll Love Share this ...

Photo Gallery: NHL Goalie Masks

2008-11-03T12:29:00.003-05:00

Click the image to see the photo gallery.

Good Food

2008-10-31T10:10:00.004-04:00

We don't make mistakes often, but when we do.. they are good ones. Check out this clipping from Tuesday, October 28, 2008 - Classified section:

Is this a political blog now?

2008-10-30T20:17:00.008-04:00

No, this blog isn't turning into a political blog. In fact, November 5th, it'll go back to normal silly random postings.

I'm the last one that has ever really cared about politics. I even figured I would be ignoring this years election, as I have quite a bit in the past. I never understood why people felt so passionate about the presidential pick.

Eight years ago, I was a young and crazy 25. I decided that would be the year I wold go out and vote. I didn't spend too much time researching candidates, I just went with who I thought was a safe pick at the time. I stood in line in the rain at 6:30 in the morning waiting to cast my vote. I voted for Bush.

Over the past eight years, even more so in the last couple years, we've all watched the economy go to crap. Jobs lost, housing market decline, auto industry taking a dive, gas prices souring, etc. I never jumped on the "blame Bush" bandwagon, but I continued to hear it over and over again.
It really hit home when the company I work for started experiencing the effects of the economy. Consumers were spending less with local businesses, so the local businesses cut back on advertising. The past couple years have been pretty rough in our industry, and it's far from being resolved.

With all that said, I really paid attention and did a lot of reading this election. At the beginning, I didn't have a clue who I was going to vote for. I did, however know which way I leaned in beliefs. I've always leaned toward the liberal side of things when I'd take those "who to vote for" tests on the internet. The more I listened to the candidates and read article after article, the more I knew McCain wasn't my guy. In fact, the Republican party hasn't really impressed me.

Again, I'm not even going to pretend I'm an expert on political parties and who is better. But, what I do believe is: We should spend less money on foreign affairs (war), and more on our own country. We should spend more money on the development of technology (China has taken this over, which means a ton more money moving into that country). I don't agree with tax breaks that benefit the wealthy. I disagree with shipping jobs to another country and giving tax breaks to companies doing it. I disagree with funding another countries (Iraq) healthcare system, yet when a uniform system is suggested for our country, it's socialism. I agree whole heartedly with developing alternative fuel methods (something I've only recently heard McCain mention).

The list goes on, but the real thing that matters to me most in the up and coming years is the economy. John McCain readily admits he's better at military and foreign policy, than he is at economics (that and he doesn't use a computer! boooo!). What really stood out to me was Obama was constantly talking about his plan for the economy, while McCain and Palin took turns poking jabs at Obama for his lack of experience, for his ties to militents, for this and that. It really got old. I don't want dirt on either candidate, I want facts on how the economy is going to be fixed! In fact, and many conservatives actually agree, the core beliefs aren't even a big factor in this years election (those of you fretting about abortion and gay marriages).

Last night I watched Obama's 30 minute commercial. He spent quite a bit of the program discussing his plans for the future. To be fair, I watched an interview with John McCain on Larry King Live. I wanted to hear McCain discuss his plans for the future. What did we get instead? McCain complaining about Obama's campaign funds. McCain trying to explain the tension between him and Palin. McCain discussing Obama's ties to militents. He did however admit he did not think Obama was a socialist, but he did say he thought his ideas are of socialist nature. Needless to say, I was once again disappointed.

I'm definitely not an expert on politics, but I can honestly agree that the last 8 years haven't been good. Will Obama fix everything? No, probably not. But I just can't see another 4 or 8 years of the same thing. With a guy that voted 95% of the time, the same as Bush, you better believe things aren't going to change much.

And there you have it. My first and probably last political rant... maybe. :)

Whack Job

2008-10-29T06:10:00.004-04:00

Only days after several John McCain aides were quoted calling Sarah Palin a "diva who had gone rogue," Politico reports that a senior McCain advisor has now referred to Palin as a "whack job."

More here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5032745.ece (All over the news. Heard it first on Fox News this morning).

Good pick McCain.

Wassuuuppp (They're back)

2008-10-27T09:33:00.000-04:00

Just what does the mayor of Wasilla Alaska do?

2008-10-21T18:53:00.002-04:00

Yes, this is pure comedy straight from the Comedy Central channel. However, the lady in this video is actually the current mayor of Wasilla Alaska. Sounds like they got a tough job up there. I had to post this after hearing about Palins' latest interview.. I'm no politics nerd, but I really find it hard to believe people think she's ready to potentially lead this country.

Talk to your parents now about not voting for McCain...

2008-10-15T10:33:00.002-04:00

McCain Free White House - Click Here

Take On Me: Literal Version

2008-10-07T18:17:00.001-04:00

Remember this song? Listen to this version. I always wondered what was going on in this video.

Vote for Rob!

2008-10-07T14:58:00.004-04:00

A friend sent me this and I was like.. holy wow how'd they do that?! Click the image to watch my video, or click here to make your own. Be sure to make one with your friends name, email it to them, and ask - "why didn't you tell me!?".. :p This could be hours of fun.. haha.

Me & Larry Bell

2008-09-28T15:36:00.002-04:00

Me & Larry Bell
Originally uploaded by robg2251

Jen and I went to Bells this past weekend for an American Homebrewers Association rally. I signed up to be a member, which, my only main reason was to get this homebrew magazine subscription Zymurgy (it's a good read!). I met some awesome people, and had a chance to meet and chat with Larry Bell. He was a really down to earth guy, telling stories and talking beer with us all. I tried their double Oberon 9%, as well as the cherry stout and others. They made us a spiced stout and a dopplebock for the event, both were awesome.

More pictures here. Video 1. Video 2.

Indiana running...

2008-09-27T07:24:00.000-04:00

The scariest Indiana run i've done yet. Pitch black.. running down back field roads. I could hear deer breathing, grunting and stomping as I ran by them before they ran off. Sun came up after 3 miles.. made rest of run eaisier. :)

Redwings Pre-season - Wednesday, Sept. 24th!

2008-09-23T10:36:00.003-04:00

I haven't checked if this is on T.V. yet, but they're playing Montreal. Holy wow, it's hockey season again. See schedule here.

The real Oktoberfest...

2008-09-23T10:13:00.003-04:00

Here's a photo gallery of the real Oktoberfest this year in Munich. I'm sure just a little bit better than the DRB's. :) Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Oktoberfest @ The DRB - Success!

2008-09-22T13:44:00.002-04:00

Oktoberfest @ Dayton Road Brewing was a definite success. I found out after already planning the party, that Munich's Oktoberfest started the same day, so it made it even more festive. Here's the run down:
- 60 brats were consumed.
- Around 10 lbs of german potato salad
- More than 16 gallons of beer
- One bottle of Jaeger
- A lot of cornhole was played, and, if I remember right, I think my team won!
- The cops never showed up
- A door to door sales guy did, and drank a beer with us
- The live accordion music was a hit
- Can't recall the time the night ended, but I do remember finding it pretty humorous watching the empty keg rolling off the roof of the garage.

One thing we (Jen) forgot were the pretzels! So, I may have to have another Oktoberfest 2 celebration and just feed everyone hot/baked pretzels and mustard. :)

Click here to see the pictures.

Baby likes and dislikes...

2008-09-17T09:57:00.003-04:00

As an almost new father (4 mos. to go!), this pregnancy thing has been a learning experience. I find myself cooking and waking up 3 times a night when she makes trips to the bathroom. The other thing she started probably a couple months into it was telling me what the baby likes and dislikes. Here are some examples:

- "Baby likes breakfast sausage".. Who'd of thought a baby would crave breakfast sausage?! Daisy (the dog) and I were standing around the stove around 6 a.m. this morning slowly cooking turkey sausage.. (yeah, much healthier than normal sausage).

- "Baby doesn't like loud Metallica".. This one almost offended me. Jen back stepped slowly out of the garage last night as if there was some radio active material in there. I had to turn the music down to appease "the baby."

- "Baby wants Taco Bell... Now!".. I was jumping out of the car to buy some beer in Indiana, when I got this line. We rarely eat Taco Bell. I looked at her and said "are you serious?!".. she confirmed. Apparently, hard taco supremes are now a permanent food group in her diet.

- "Baby doesn't like riding in the civic".. well, deal with it! It's great on gas. So it's a little loud, rides like a skate board, has no shocks and grinds gears every so often, it still rocks and rolls. I had to put my foot down on this one.

And my absolute favorite, is.. - "Baby loves to sleep in" .. This one made me laugh. Jen sleeps in longer than anyone and always has. I can get up, go for a run, shower, run errands, do lawn work and other odds and ends before she rolls out of bed. If baby likes to sleep in, I imagine now she'll be sleeping all day on weekends!

Tailgating fun..

2008-09-15T07:34:00.002-04:00

Well, they lost. Bad. But, we still had a lot of fun. We woke up around 6 a.m. Saturday morning after beer drinking 'til around 1:30 a.m. We all piled in the van and headed to South Bend, Indiana. We set up in the pouring rain and I grilled breakfast burritos for everyone. We drank beer all day, grilled, met some nice people, then watched the game on a t.v. from the van. I think we'll do it again in a couple of years, but we're going to make sure Michigan has a better football team next time.

See pictures here and video below.

Hail to the victors

2008-09-11T22:33:00.002-04:00

Sure the team might be going through a growing spurt this year, but I'm still a loyal fan. This weekend, a pile of us are loading up a van with coolers of beer, meat, cigars, cornhole and more beer and are heading to South Bend Indiana to watch Michigan beat Notre Dame. It's going to rain the forecast says, but we don't care. We're going to tailgate, enjoy the day and cheer on Michigan. If you need to get pumped up for the game, watch the video below. I'm sure I'll be posting some flickr pictures throughout the day and the Sunday after the game, so stay tuned. Go Blue!!!

Palin/McCain video - hilarious

2008-09-03T23:00:00.003-04:00

Since I'm on a roll of posting videos, figured I'd share this one with ya'll. Cracked me up (even more after watching Palin speak tonight).

The internets down!!!

2008-08-27T12:48:00.002-04:00

Our internet went down for half the day on Monday. It reminded me of this video:

German American Festival 2008

2008-08-25T20:45:00.000-04:00

Sucker for sandwich's..

2008-08-25T09:07:00.003-04:00

Click the photo to see an awesome gallery of sandwich's found around Detroit. I guarantee you'll be hungry after looking at them all. :)