Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Crumb Topping for Pies

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dry ziti pasta
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
  • 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
  • Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
  • In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
  • Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Crumbs



Crumbs are an American television sitcom starring Fred Savage and Jane Curtin that ran on ABC from January 12, 2006 to February 7, 2006. It also starred William Devane, Maggie Lawson and Eddie McClintock. The show's slogan is the normal American family turned upside down. Savage played a gay screenwriter who leaves Hollywood to return home to take care of his mother, who had recently been released from a mental institution after trying to run over her husband after he left her for a younger woman. And, it turns out; the young girlfriend is also pregnant. Much of the show takes place at the family's restaurant.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Brewer's Blackbird


The Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) is a medium-sized New World blackbird, named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.

Adults have a pointed bill. Adult males have black plumage; the female is dark grey. The male has a bright yellow eye; the female's is dark. They resemble the eastern member of the same genus, the Rusty Blackbird; however, the Brewer's Blackbird has a shorter bill and the male's head is iridescent purple. This bird is often mistaken for the Common Grackle but has a shorter tail. The call is a sharp check which is also distinguishable.
This bird is in a different family from the Eurasian Blackbird.

Their breeding habitat is open and semi-open areas, often near water, across central and western North America. The cup nest can be located in various locations: in a tree, in tall grass or on a cliff. They often nest in colonies.

These birds are often permanent residents in the west. Other birds migrate to the southeastern United States and Mexico. The range of this bird has been expanding east in the Great Lakes region.

They forage in shallow water or in fields, mainly eating seeds and insects, some berries. They sometimes catch insects in flight. They feed in flocks outside of the breeding season, sometimes with other blackbirds.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Least Bittern


This bird's underparts and throat are white with light brown streaks. Their face and the sides of the neck are light brown; they have yellow eyes and a yellow bill. The adult male is glossy greenish black on the back and crown; the adult female is glossy brown on these parts.

They show light brown parts on the wings in flight.

These birds nest in large marshes with dense vegetation from southern Canada to northern Argentina. The nest is a well-concealed platform built from cattails and other marsh vegetation. The female lays 4 or 5 eggs. Both parents feed the young by regurgitating food. A second brood is often produced in a season.

These birds migrate from the northern parts of their range in winter for the southernmost coasts of the United States and areas further south, travelling at night.

They mainly eat fish and insects, which they capture with quick jabs of their bill while climbing through marsh plants.
The numbers of these birds have declined in some areas due to loss of habitat. They are still fairly common, but more often heard than seen. They prefer to escape on foot and hide than to take flight. These birds make cooing and clucking sounds, usually in early morning or near dusk.