Los Amigos District Dinner

I was invited to a District Dinner last night to receive an award. This is the second dinner and award I have received, but my first was from before I blogged. This dinner was at the all new Outdoor Education Center inside Irvine Park in Orange. The facilities were very nice.

Here are the awardees from Troop 1201 in order: Scott Allan, Lisa Vaughn, Irene Rassmussen, David Ahia, Kim Messbarger and Steve Herbets.

I received the Extra Mile Award. I am not sure who may have nominated me and for what service in particular, but I am grateful for the nomination and recognition. I think the Scouting Programs (both Boy and Girl Scouts) offer tremendous benefits to our youth and I am proud to support the organizations.

Along with the award, I received a VERY nice coffee mug. On one side is the Boy Scout emblem and on the other side is the Scout Oath. The Scout Law is shown in bands around the top and bottom. Click on the pictures for a closer look.

Fried Potatoes

I was told before I got home tonight that I would be on my own for dinner, and have to find something to feed the boys too. I looked around at the available ingredients and spied the bag of potatoes in the closet. Fried potatoes seems to be a semi-regular stand-by for me since we usually have potatoes around and don't use them fast enough. On top of that the kids actually like my fried potatoes, at least most of the time. The problem is that I never make them the same way twice.

Ingredients:

• Chopped onion, celery and/or garlic - whatever is available.
• oil for the bottom of the skillet.
  
• potatoes, pre-cooked in the microwave, and cubed to about 1 inch or so.
• seasoning - usually includes salt, paprika, pepper, crushed red pepper, (onion or garlic powder if you didn't include those above) and anything else that suits your fancy for the moment.

Heat skillet with oil. Dump the chopped veggies in and lightly brown in the oil. Dump the potatoes in and stir to mix with the veggies. Keep turning potatoes over as you add the seasonings. The paprika gives a nice color and should be evenly distributed. Keep turning until the potatoes are completely cooked.

A friend of ours provided a large container of Pappy's choice seasoning which contains all the seasonings that I've mentioned above and a few more. I use a lot, so the results are a tad salty. This is a good choice if you have it and want more consistent flavoring.

This evening I threw the potatoes in a bowl, added a number of jalapenos from a jar, and dumped half a can of chili over top. Very tasty.

Big Telescope

As promised, here is a picture of my 'new to me' telescope. I put it back together today and had my daughter snap off a shot so that I could share with you. I am still missing a piece; seems that the knob to adjust the focus is missing, so it is not usable yet. But I hope to turn it to the sky soon!