I had a craving for some nachos..so I made some! Om nom nom nom...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Here is a simple, yet elegant recipe for homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu. Your friends will love it!
Take some boneless, skinless chicken breast and pound them with a kitchen mallet until the chicken is approximately 1/4 inch thick. Next, pepper both sides of the chicken breast. After you are done with that, take some cooked smoked ham and place a slice or two on top of the chicken followed by a few slices of Swiss cheese. Finally, roll up the chicken like a fruit roll up and use a tooth pick to hold everything in place. You can bread up the chicken roll with bread crumbs too at this point.
Set the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is done on the inside. If you want, you can place some Swiss cheese on top of the chicken towards the end of the baking cycle for more cheesy goodness! There is also the option of pan frying it but I haven't tried that yet.
Take some boneless, skinless chicken breast and pound them with a kitchen mallet until the chicken is approximately 1/4 inch thick. Next, pepper both sides of the chicken breast. After you are done with that, take some cooked smoked ham and place a slice or two on top of the chicken followed by a few slices of Swiss cheese. Finally, roll up the chicken like a fruit roll up and use a tooth pick to hold everything in place. You can bread up the chicken roll with bread crumbs too at this point.
Set the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is done on the inside. If you want, you can place some Swiss cheese on top of the chicken towards the end of the baking cycle for more cheesy goodness! There is also the option of pan frying it but I haven't tried that yet.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
HDR first attempt
Here's my first attempt at HDR photography. Excuse the poor framing, I wasn't even paying much attention to what was going on in the shot, I just wanted to see if the technical aspects of this shoot would work.
First, I had to set my camera (Canon 450D/Rebel XSi) into the correct mode. AEB (Automatic Exposure Bracketing at +2/-2. Then, I picked a location to shoot that had nice contrast in lighting, lots of shadows and highlights. I used a release cable and a tripod so the camera would stay steady and shot away. I used the stock 18-55mm kit lens at ISO 200 (I should have just used 100) using 1/2, 2, 8 sec exposure times (camera automatically did that) at f/4.5.
This is my result!
The settings in Photomatix were a bit overwhelming at first so I really had to get in there and play with it. I'm not happy about the amount of noise I see in the sky and that annoying lens flare right in the middle, but all in all it came out not bad for a first attempt.
First, I had to set my camera (Canon 450D/Rebel XSi) into the correct mode. AEB (Automatic Exposure Bracketing at +2/-2. Then, I picked a location to shoot that had nice contrast in lighting, lots of shadows and highlights. I used a release cable and a tripod so the camera would stay steady and shot away. I used the stock 18-55mm kit lens at ISO 200 (I should have just used 100) using 1/2, 2, 8 sec exposure times (camera automatically did that) at f/4.5.
This is my result!
The settings in Photomatix were a bit overwhelming at first so I really had to get in there and play with it. I'm not happy about the amount of noise I see in the sky and that annoying lens flare right in the middle, but all in all it came out not bad for a first attempt.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
dslr and photoshop
Recently I bought a Canon 450D (Rebel XSI) during my trip to Shanghai and begin my amateur photography hobby. My favorite lens right now is the 50mm f/1.8. Its a really cheap ($100) lens and if you're thinking about starting photography I highly recommend it. One of the main reasons I like it so much is because it takes great low light shots due to its large aperture. GET IT.
Here's a picture I took of Yuki in my apartment with our average light bulbs that give off some what of a yellowish light.
Notice the picture color seems a little off because of the yellow tint. It almost looks sepia aside from the lavender in the background on Queen's backpack. If I wanted to print this picture I would need to fix the color first.
Now by no means am I a Photoshop expert, but with simple color balance adjustments (ctrl+b) I've turned that picture in to this:
This is a real quick (2 min) color adjustment and it probably could look even better if done by a professional. In this picture you can really see the blue in his right eye and that lavender in the backpack looks a lot better, also my ACU pattern backpack doesn't look so brown. If I were to print this picture, this version would be it.
Here's a picture I took of Yuki in my apartment with our average light bulbs that give off some what of a yellowish light.
Notice the picture color seems a little off because of the yellow tint. It almost looks sepia aside from the lavender in the background on Queen's backpack. If I wanted to print this picture I would need to fix the color first.
Now by no means am I a Photoshop expert, but with simple color balance adjustments (ctrl+b) I've turned that picture in to this:
This is a real quick (2 min) color adjustment and it probably could look even better if done by a professional. In this picture you can really see the blue in his right eye and that lavender in the backpack looks a lot better, also my ACU pattern backpack doesn't look so brown. If I were to print this picture, this version would be it.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tater Tot Casserole
This is a great casserole for the kids or for people like me who refuse to grow up. Brown the 1lb of ground beef with the veggies and dump it into the casserole dish. Add cream of mushroom and chicken on top along with a layer of tater tots. Bake at 400 degrees for 3o minutes or until the tots are brown. Finally sprinkle some cheese on top if you'd like.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Deep Thoughts
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard when he lives in the jungle without a razor?
Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is
not enough?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
What is the speed of darkness?
Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every
two hours?
If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars
to look at things on the ground?
Did you ever stop and wonder......
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze
these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'
Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat
the next thing that comes outta it's bum.'
Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a
horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point
to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?
Why does your Obstetrician, Gynaecologist leave the room when you get
undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?
Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same
tune?
Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is
not enough?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
What is the speed of darkness?
Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every
two hours?
If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars
to look at things on the ground?
Did you ever stop and wonder......
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze
these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'
Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat
the next thing that comes outta it's bum.'
Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a
horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point
to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?
Why does your Obstetrician, Gynaecologist leave the room when you get
undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?
Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same
tune?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Safety
I want to remind everyone that no matter what your hobbies are, whether it'd be mountain climbing, BMX dirt biking, cooking, or knitting, safety is paramount. I recently added a long overdue safety item to my car since now I'm using it beyond what it was normally designed and engineered for. The original designers engineered my vehicle specifically for trips to the grocery store and back. Over the past 4 years, I've re-engineered it for Time Attack.
Hello BC rated in-car fire extinguisher, it's a pleasure to meet you =)
Hello BC rated in-car fire extinguisher, it's a pleasure to meet you =)
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