A Butternut Nut (OUTSPOKEN_Diva's Favorite Recipes)

If you can't see the video, Click HERE

This recipe could be for Breakfast or Brunch

Butternut Breakfast Hash

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground sausage
• 3 cups butternut squash, cubed (I use frozen, it cubed already)
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ cup broth or stock
• 2 cups spinach
• Fried Egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add the sausage. Break the meat into small pieces with a spatula. Brown until fully cooked.
2. Add the butternut, onions, oregano, black pepper, and sauté for about 2 minutes.
3. Add broth and then place a lid on the pan but leave it tilted open some. Let cook for 5-7 minutes or until butternut is softened.
4. Add the spinach leaves and cook until they are reduced down for 2-3 minutes.
5. Serve immediately while hot.
6. Add a fried egg to the top.

Most people know I love a good meatless meal. Make this on a lazy & slow day and enjoy.

Shrimp & Rice Stew

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice
• 1 tablespoon butter (do not use margarine)
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning (preferably salt-free)
• 2 Tblsp apple juice
• 1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen carrots
• 1/2 cup frozen butternut squash
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach
• 2 cup cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 3/4 lb cooked deveined peeled large (21 to 26 count) shrimp, thawed if frozen, tail shells removed

Directions:

1. In a 10-inch skillet, cook rice in butter over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until rice is golden.
2. Stir in water and Italian seasoning. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer until rice is almost tender.
3. Meanwhile, in a 2-quart saucepan, cook apple juice, onion,n, and garlic over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Stir in frozen vegetables. Let cook until warm for 5-10 minutes Add remaining ingredients.
5. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.
6. Stir cooked rice into shrimp mixture. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender

Making a quick meal never hurts anyone.

Chicken with Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Squash Skillet Meal

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup diced butternut squash
• 1 cup halved Brussels sprouts
• 1 (5.6 ounces) package Knorr® Rice Sides™ - Chicken

Directions:

1. Season chicken, if desired, with salt-free Italian seasoning or salt & pepper. 
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken, stirring occasionally, until chicken is thoroughly cooked & brown, about 5-10 minutes, adding garlic during last 30 seconds cook time. Remove and set aside.
3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the same skillet and cook onion, squash, and Brussels sprouts until vegetables begin to soften and start to brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in Knorr® Rice Sides™ - Chicken flavor and prepare according to package directions.
5. Stir in cooked chicken.
6. Serve Hot.

I have so much fun making these dishes. If you try them, let me know.

As Always Talking to You Adult Terms!

 

Boil? No! Sautée! (OUTSPOKEN_Diva's Favorite Recipes)

If you don't see a video, click HERE

Easy Skillet Turnip Greens

(For Mustard & Collards also)

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium sweet onion diced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 pound turnip greens, rinsed well, and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft.
2. Add garlic and cook for one minute.
3. Add turnip greens, vinegar, sugar, and pepper and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

What? You don't consider Spinach a leafy green? LoL 

Easy Sautéed Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic (6 cloves)
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 Lemon

Directions:

1. Rinse the spinach well in cold water to make sure it's very clean. Spin it dry in a salad spinner, leaving just a little water clinging to the leaves.
2. In a very large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, but not until it's browned. Add all the spinach, pepper to the pot, toss it with the garlic and oil, cover the pot, and cook it for 2 minutes.
3. Uncover the pot, turn the heat on high, and cook the spinach for another minute, stirring with a wooden spoon, until all the spinach is wilted. Using a slotted spoon, lift the spinach to a serving bowl and top with the butter, a squeeze of lemon. Serve hot. 

And for good measure, let's share a good Cabbage recipe

Slaw Sautée

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1 package of coleslaw mix
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into 2 pieces
• Red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Heat a 12" skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until the onion is softened about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir, cooking an additional 30 seconds.
2. Turn heat up to medium-high heat and add about 1/3 of the coleslaw mix. Stir to mix onions and garlic with the coleslaw mix. Now leave it alone and let the mix start to brown, but be careful not to let it burn. Using a spatula, turn the mix over and let other side brown slightly. Season lightly with a dash of salt.
3. Add another 1/3 of the coleslaw mix and 1 tablespoon butter. Flip mix again after a couple of minutes.
4. Finish with remaining coleslaw mix and last tablespoon of butter. Once the mix is browned to your liking, add salt to taste and pepper, if desired.
5. Remove from heat, season with red pepper flakes, if desired. Serve.

Alright, that's how I sautée leafy greens. Were you already making greens in this manner? If so, do you do anything differently? Please share! And if this is your first time, when you make any or all these dishes let me know.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

At Some Point... (October Awareness)

We need to talk about Breast Cancer & Domestic Violence. But I don't know if we know how to. Every October we jump up with our awareness ribbons & facts. Every October we are off to our marathons. Every October we tell our stories. But what did we do from November through September? 

How many "Get Out That Relationship" conversations are we actually having?

When will a man having Breast Cancer stop being shocking?

Are we even paying attention to the colors anymore?

At some point, we have to look at these grand performances once a year and take this time to do the work on what can be done all year long in the real lives of people suffering from Domestic Violence & Breast Cancer. 

I say "We". I had this post written out in July because one of those social media advice-givers said he didn't know any women that had been abused but only women abusing men. I also recently saw the daughter of a man I know died from breast cancer. I remember the vile ways he was talked about because he had "titty cancer" (Yeah, a term a woman used in the gossip back then.). I remember being shocked & yet silent. That had to have hurt him & his family back then.

And have I done anything of substance about those things? *sigh* All I did was say "Hey Girl" to the daughter. Didn't even ask how her mom & siblings were doing. Yeah if drag y'all, I have to side-eye myself, also.

We got another year to do & talk about things differently.

Hopefully & Prayerfully, We Will!!!

Until then...

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

FYI

For anonymous, confidential help, 24/7, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or  1-800-787-3224 (TTY). If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

The Komen Breast Care Helpline

1-877-465-6636 or email helpline@komen.org

23rd Season of Big Brother Had The Cookout

Reverse Racism Means No Racism

A well-known "Me" fact is I am a Fan of the competition reality show, Big Brother. Muh Diva is a total fan and I decided to watch with her for Season 5 in 2004. A good-looking houseguest named Marvin Latimore (the creator of the Big Brother Backdoor plan) caught my eye, but all the mind screwing in the game caught my heart. Marvin didn't win that season. No Black person won that season, the previous 4 seasons, or the 17 seasons after it. The 18th season I watched Big Brother, Season 23, was the game-changer.

Fueled by the facts & a former houseguest, Dayvonne Roger's speech about there never being a black winner in the show's history (Subsequently, Big Brother 23 is the first season of Big Brother after CBS' pledged to ensure that 50 percent of the houseguests on their unscripted series would feature BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) contestants.), 6 houseguests, who are Black, on Big Brother 23 formed an alliance called "The Cookout".  (Why that name? The Cookout metaphorical gathering of the black community usually exclusive only to blacks. Thank you, Urban Dictionary.) It was formed on Day 1. There have never been more than 1 or 2 (3 in an All-Star season) blacks in the house. It was quite obvious to Tiffany Mitchell, Xavier Prather, Hannah Chadda, Azah Awasum, Kyland Young, & Derek Frazier that they needed to join forces in the game. The objective was to make it to be the Final 6 players in the house to ensure there would be a Black winner in the game. The plan 1) Never be seen meeting up (Because like in society, most times in the game it is thought that the POC are working together. Whether they are or not. Most of the time, Not) and 2) Every alliance member must have a non-alliance partner (unsuspecting) to shield them in the game.

Unless you have been living under a rock you know The Cookout was Successful. They are Big Brother history makers. They survived 10 other houseguests being eliminated to be the Final 6. That is in no way an easy feat. 1) You or someone you are close to must win competitions to control the house. 2) You can't be a target of anyone in control. 3) Everyone in the alliance must be trusted. 

Ok, Ok The Cookout didn't get everything right. They failed at Trust before & after becoming the Final 6. I know there could only be one winner of Big Brother for the season, but 2/3 of the alliance was selfish. Some sub-alliances weren't formed soon or well enough.

And there were Kyland & Derek, one used harsh insults, especially the B-word when frustrated with women, including Tiffany, Hannah, & Azah in the game & one tried to egg on a fight with Xavier when he was evicted. But The Cookout fulfilled their goal, nonetheless.

Oh, The Cookout angered some of the "fans". It was accused of Racism. Funny because Big Brother was accused of racism & microaggressions so many times in previous seasons. There have always been All-White alliances. I mean there was Season 5 where an All-white male alliance lied to the only Black person in the house, Marvin, and said he was a part of them so they could receive his votes. I don't remember him working with them long. There is Season 21 when 2 of the first 3 houseguests evicted were Black.

And let us not forget Season 15, where the secret code name for the black man named Howard was"the black mamba" and "the dark knight and a white female houseguest called the hair of the sole black woman, Candice, "greasy-ass, nappy-hair" And when confronted yelled, "What You Gon' Do Black Girl" over & over & over. And those are some examples where racism affected the Black people in the game. There were offenses done & said to other non-white houseguests, homophobic slurs thrown around, and sexism showed previously in the game. To the point where some former houseguests were fired from their jobs because of their hateful actions. But when 6 Black houseguests form an alliance...

Why do I watch this show? Because believe it or not, this Mind-Screw of a game is a microcosm of our world.

It was a good season. An interesting example of the show's motto, Expect the Unexpected. Because at the end of last season, I wouldn't have ever imagined anything like it. 

Congratulations to Xavier Prather (a rather nice-looking guy *blushing*) on winning Big Brother 23! Congratulations to America's Favorite Player, Tiffany Mitchell! And Congratulations to The Cookout! Long Live The Cookout!!!

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

Best of Restaurant Bias: The Chicken List

If you ever ask me to fry chicken & give me a whole chicken, It's getting Fried Whole. The sound of breaking bones...

Anywho...

I'm not a major fan of most "Best of" lists, especially when it comes to restaurants. Chicken lists are useless in my opinion Despite stereotypes, the movies like Birth of a Nation shoehorn in,

Most people of every race, creed, religion, sexuality, & age eat chicken. Everybody has an opinion about chicken, strong ones. Trust me, pay attention in July when Fried Chicken Day arrives, after their grandmother's or mother's, the restaurant arguments get heated. I think any chicken lists need to take the Chick-Fil-A cow approach. Just tell the readers, Eat More Chicken!

Golden Chick For chain restaurants (Ok/Tx Region) this is good chicken.

It's consistent in taste. And it offers roasted chicken, also. Oh and enjoy the smell of the rolls baking.

Whiskey Britches When I spoke of this restaurant in the brunch list post, I made it a point not to tell about the main dish I have at this spot. The chicken is good on biscuits. The chicken is good as sandwiches. The chicken is good with mac & cheese & fries. The chicken is good.

Henderson *sigh* In spaces non-North of Main street in Dallas there is a constant discussion on who reigns supreme in Fried Chicken in the city. There are only three choices offered, Hall's, Henderson, and Rudy's. Many swear by Rudy's. Few like Hall's. I am in the numbers that love Henderson.  It's tender, tasty, and not over-salted. Fries & Chicken are so hot it toasts the bread on the bottom of the basket. I only eat at the Fair Park area location but I've only heard pretty decent buzz on any of their locations. One warning...Don't go hungry. This tastiness makes you wait for it. The others do, also, but my tastebuds only will wait for...

Well, I've clucked enough about this list. What restaurant yard bird (chain, local) do you prefer in your city or town? The comments sections here and on the social media site you see this on are open for your faves.

Oh yeah...Eat More Chicken!!! And Eat it fried in Moderation.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

Baking Soda + Rubbing Alcohol or Lemon Juice & Make a Paste

Y'all Have Forced Me to Tear Y'all a New Washcloth.

As a Fat Black Woman, this "We Don't Shower All the Time" topic kinda irritates me. Trust me, comments come if you have any off scent moments when you look like me. And that is because I am both fat & black and because I am a fat & a black woman. I remember watching the movie, Mississippi Burning & the documentary interviews and it showed White people saying they think Black people didn't bathe. I think it's because Black people were sweaty because of the physical labor jobs many worked and that Black people were walking a lot because of the Civil Rights Bus Boycott. And all races think all Fat people of all races stink. But you know, Fat-Shaming based on stereotypes is still an allowed dialogue & mindset. And before you say I should be saying "Plus Size" instead of Fat, smell bad once, and listen to what adjective is used. You might get called Big.

Like many, I am tired of looking up and one particular race, White or Caucasian speaking & acting like their hygiene & grooming practices aren't weird to most POC & other non-POC alike. I remember when I found out washcloths weren't used by that race on The Tyra Show.

I was confused. In college, I shared bathroom spaces with four White female students, I thought I saw washcloths in their spaces. And washcloths are still being sold so, I took that info with a grain of salt. But then social media became the force that it is and up pops up, "We (White people) don't wash our legs & feet. We let the soap run down". I almost wanted to say it was b.s. because those shower shoes with the scrubbers exist. Then I thought about that product is an "As Seen on TV" item and it's a novelty to most. So, I had to believe them.

Then the "celebrities" like Dax Shepard & Mila Kunis had to start talking about their lack of hygiene practices. *sigh* On Twitter, I made mention of what our Black foremothers & forefathers warned about what they thought white people smelled like (add breath like baloney). And the famous just insist on proving them right. And lo and behold white rapper, Paul Wall said, hold on, me too. Yeah, Paul Wall, the former BHM (Big Handsome Man (He had gastric surgery in 2010)) who's career in a part of the music industry that is predominantly Black, doesn't bathe often or wear deodorant (Something about the aluminum, Hence why I titled this post as I did. Hope that alternative helps him). I hope the grandchildren & great-grandchildren of any 85+ racists don't tell them about Paul Wall's non-bathing ways. I can literally hear them blaming one particular race for corrupting him.

And these Entertainment & News outlets keep reporting this stuff like it is a fun chuckle. But with the same fingers type how bad bullying is. A lot of bullying is caused by the belief in stereotypes. And there are a few of those false beliefs about who is clean or not. But Hey, keep making the headlines because the "clean" folks of all races are bored.

Just Shut Up & Bathe, Everybody!!!

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!!!

But I Have Thought About It

I hate non-communicated event no-shows. The crap is rude. And nothing is worse than when you make reservations for them still have to pay for them. Once I had reserved a table for 6 for my birthday. 4 of us showed up but we were charged gratuity for 6. And it was clearly in the restaurant terms and agreement. And I asked the attendees the day before and I got a yes from everyone. There was never an apology or even an "Oh, we forgot.", for not making the event. But there was visible interaction with the pictures posted on social media.

*sigh*

I haven't invited them to anything since. Matter of fact, I think most people have one time not to come to an event I'm hosting & not communicate and I no longer consider them as people I want to have at any celebrations I host. And yes, that is one of the reasons why you see the same faces in my pictures. I like reliability & communication.

Then this precious couple's story came across my newsfeed, Read about them HERE.

I think the fact that the couple checked 4 times before booking the island wedding and the 8 said they would be attending makes me side with the couple the most. It’s very bad etiquette to RSVP and just not show up without any communication. The couple, parents, or whoever is paying has to pay for your dinner because you're a head that is counted.

In some of the comments, people are using the Covid-19 pandemic in their reasoning to call the couple petty. But these types of things happened before the year 2020. And it's about time we stopped making excuses for rude behavior. People don't stick to their word anymore. And they're not being held accountable for it. I want to good for the newlyweds for sending that invoice.

I think this is only an issue or a discussed debate because no one has done it before to the masses' knowledge. This couple sent fake invoices, but one day somebody will send real ones. I doubt I will have a large wedding celebration that will require strict RSVPs (Just one for an estimated headcount with a promise of Absolute punctuality & Being in the moment aka No Cameras & Going Live). But if I do, accountability will be held. I probably let my guests know there is 72 hours fail to show notice in the fine print on the invitation with the No jeans sweatpants, or sports attire dress code on there.

So, what is your opinion on this topic? Leave them in the comments of the blog post or on the social media site you see this one. All non-hateful, respectful, civil remarks are welcomed.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!