Pepper Shrimp Alfredo

I made Pepper Shrimp Alfredo the other night. It was pretty good. As usual I made a few changes.

I put fat free half and half instead of cream.

I also used 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper because it was so hot.

I also added more mushrooms.

Pepper Shrimp Alfredo

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, diced
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 (15 ounce) jar Alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter together with the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened and translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, red pepper, and mushroom; cook over medium-high heat until soft, about 2 minutes more.
3. Stir in the shrimp, and cook until firm and pink, then pour in Alfredo sauce, Romano cheese, and cream; bring to a simmer stirring constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir drained pasta into the sauce, and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

He's Sick and Tried

I have to agree with Bill Cosby. To bad I am suck in the middle and will have to see how it all plays out.

"I'm 76 and I'm Tired"

I'm 76. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National
Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some some serious
health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly
40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my
income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as
though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired. 

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who
don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take
the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to
earn it. 

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day
I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and
daughters for their family "honour"; of Muslims rioting over some slight
offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't
"believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning
teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the
genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and
Shari'a law tells them to. 

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must
let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques
and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia, New Zealand, UK,
America and Canada, while no one from these countries are allowed to fund a
church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab
country to teach love and tolerance.. 

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help
support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ
rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses
or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off? 

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all
parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful
mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught.
I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. 

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and
actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination
or big-whatever for their problems. 

I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and
early 20's bedeck them selves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making
themselves un-employable and claiming money from the Government. 

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 76.. Because, mostly, I'm not
going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for
my granddaughter and her children. Thank God I'm on the way out and not on
the way in.

Love that stands the test of time

Rites of the Catholic Church

Here is an explanation of the Rites of the Catholic Church. It is an EWTN supported page.

Here are a few videos of different rites of the Catholic Church. These are short videos but can give you a taste of the different rites.

Just a few pictures with the names of the Rites.
(Not all of the info is exactly correct but it does show how diverse the Catholic Church is.)





Byzantine Catholic Mass done in English
(We have one in Houston. It is called "Saint John Chrysostom." Click here to view their site.






Tridentine Rite Mass (Old Latin Mass)
(The FSSP is about to build a new Church in North west Houston. It is not yet built.)

(Ignore what the PBS person says he's wrong on a few points. Just watch the rest. The priest explains it quite well in my opinion.)



Here is an old video of the Tridentine Mass.
(It is also explained. Narration by Bishop Sheen).





Maronite Liturgy

We have a parish in Houston. "Our Lady of the Cedars" click here to view their website.



Anglican Use Mass
(There is one "Our Lady of Walshingham" in Houston also but they didn't have a mass video. To see Our Lady of Walshingham, which I think is nicer, click here. Thought I might be a bit bias seeing I attend Walshigham fairly regularly.)



Syrian/ Syro-Malabar Rite Catholic Church
One of the priest at St. Theresa's in Sugar Land is a Syro-Malabar Rite priest but I've never heard him do the Rite.

(following 2 videos)





Ethiopian
(I was unable to find an actual mass but I believe this might be a part of a mass.)

Now come on Catholics in the USA step up too.

Returning to meatless Fridays. Catholics in England and Wales are being asked to return to meatless Friday's year round paired with prayer. We all know that the UK is far from a Catholic country. In fact Europe as a whole is losing their Christian values and becoming more secularized. We as Americans are quickly following in their footsteps. Why is this? We have lost all forms of religious practices and are slowly losing our rights to express our religious beliefs even if we wanted to outwardly express those beliefs.

From the Catholic side of things our USCCB are a bunch of spineless individuals unwilling to steadfastly stand up for true Catholic beliefs and practices. Too many local bishops would rather go with the flow of our popular culture instead of returning to our Catholic traditions. Few are willing to stand up against the mindless hordes and those so call "Catholic" leaders who are Catholic by name alone. It is terribly embarrassing for me to look at these politicians who claim to be pro-choice Catholics, or pro-gay marriage Catholics. These are not within the bounds of the teachings of the Catholic church. Yet they are allowed to act as if they are because no one in authority really stands up and says "No, I'm sorry, You are in mortal sin and their for can not receive communion. O and by the way you've excommunicated yourself by your actions. You will be allowed to rejoin the Body of Christ when you turn from your sinful ways and repent."



If each one of us who truly believe in the Catholic faith stand up for our faith maybe we can change the tide. That means really educating ourselves about what The Church really believes and not just blindly following what our pastor, or even the bishops claim that we believe. We are all educated individuals, seek the truth for yourself. Believe even when it's hard or someone we love is sinning and by following your faith might be hurt. Sacrifice, pray, and study the scriptures with guidance. If we all learn to stand up and do what we know is right, then maybe we will have a chance to turn the country around and not have to follow in the footsteps of great fallen empires such as the Romans and the Greeks.

One really easy way to take the first step is to sacrifice and offer that sacrifice up. This could be something as simple as not eating meat on Friday's, taking the time to go to daily mass, or even just offering up the little sufferings we all experience in life. It doesn't have to be a giant step, just a tiny step in the right direction. If everyone started with these tiny steps we as a culture might stand a chance.

I pray that you will stand with me and follow Christ's teachings as revealed by our Catholic Faith.

Prayers for a friend of mine and her family.

A friend of mine and her family need your prayers right now. She and her husband are pregnant and are in the process of moving to Fl. This past week she has been spotting and yesterday she went to the ER because it had gotten worst. There she got some discouraging news. Her husband is already in FL (driving the truck there cross country this past week.) She and her two little ones are staying with her parents but were planing to fly to FL later this week. Please keep her and her family (especially the child she is carrying) in your prayers.

Here is her Blog post about it. It has more details about the situation.

Thank you to all my readers for keeping them in your thoughts and close to your hearts at this difficult time in their lives.

New Kitten

My mother-in-law's neighbor's friend found a kitten/ small cat in her pool. It was drowning in the pool when she pool it out. She called me up and asked if we wanted a kitten. The Baron and I decided on an outside cat but the Baron is all worried it's to hot and that she will run away. So she's been staying in the bathroom at night and in the computer room off and on during the days. We have to get her fixed before we put her outside so we don't end up with lots of little kittens. My parents are not ok with animals in the house so she should be moving outside pretty soon. (Well as soon as I find a cheaper place to get her fixed.) For now I've got a 4 to 5 month kitten living in two rooms of my house. She is really pretty calm for a young cat but she does have her moments of insanity.


Here are a few pictures of her.




We were going to have a naming blog entry where everyone could suggest and vote on a name but it seems like her name will be Nony, short for Anonymous which is what the Baron named her.