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MUNDANE MYSTERIES: What Makes A Breakfast “Continental”?

Let’s be honest: the best part about staying in a hotel isn’t the free toiletries or the crisp sheets on comfy beds…it’s the free breakfast. The best place to start your day is at an all-you-can-eat buffet, after all. But what makes a continental breakfast “continental”.

American-style waffles & bagels don’t have anything to do with it. “Continental” breakfasts were actually modeled after the light morning meals common throughout the European continent. Hence, the word “continental.”

As hotels popped up across the country, they began offering a lighter alternative to our usual, heavy American breakfasts, serving up things like coffee, juices, breads, pastries, and fruits. It was a 100% win-win situation for everyone involved: not only did the buffet please European tourists’ palates, but it was also cheap & easily provided by pretty much all hotels.

This wasn’t the kind of meal that we Americans were used to, though. In fact, when hotels first began serving light breakfasts in the late 1800s & early 1900s, American eaters were outraged. They wondered, “Where are the greasy, juicy sausages…along with the copious amounts of eggs?” Thanks to advice from the national publication Harper’s Weekly, though, those thoughts were ultimately banished from American minds (and stomachs). U.S. travelers eventually warmed to the idea, and thus “Continental” breakfasts became the hotel staple we’ve all come to know & love.

Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send a message via social media (just search Andy Webb Radio Voice), or shoot an email to [email protected].

{Katie’s Baby Blog} Terrible Twos?!

Lily is getting increasingly rambunctious…lol.

Are the “terrible twos”, starting a month early!? Why can’t it wait to start until after she ACTUALLY turns two?! My sweet little baby that only sometimes got into stuff is now into EVERYTHING. I’m talking about double the amount she was. Have you seen the video of the toddler cooking with his grandma? Yes…that’s her. She would do the exact same thing….maybe I should re-make that video haha.

I’m having to hide and put everything up lately. Thing that she may have never noticed before, now she wants to get down and get into.

AND get this…this girl is SO SMART…she knows how to open all of the child safety locks. I swear she watches us one time and then she can do whatever we just did.

I made the mistake of putting the snack drawer down low. Now every time I turn around in the kitchen she either has the box of goldfish out or her little hand in a bag of M&M’s.

Also…do they ever stop and slow down and just snuggle with you on the couch anymore? She literally loves to just run circles around the room and chase Zoey until they’re both ready for bed. I just sit and watch at this point. I’m too exhausted to try and get her to sit still for a minute. Hey…at least she’s tired by bedtime!

 

<3 Katie Ryan

{Katie’s Kitchen} Honey, Apple, Bacon, Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Brought to you by Catoctin Mountain Orchard.

Looking for a new “fall” spin on your classic grilled cheese sandwich? Well here it is!

Start out by baking bacon in the oven until its crispy!

For this recipe I used sourdough bread and buttered the outsides of each slice. Then, (I did not have this) you can spread apple butter on the inside of half of the slices of bread.

On top of the apple butter, evenly layer the cheeses, apples, and bacon ( I used cheese slices instead of shredded, but shredded melts better). Drizzle honey over top of the apples and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Add the top piece of bread with the buttered side facing up.

If you have a panini press then use that! They will taste even more amazing. I used a pan on the stove with butter and cooked until melted; flipping the sandwich once.

YUM!!!

Ingredients:

  • 8 slices sourdough bread
  • 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons apple butter
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded havarti cheese
  • 1 honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
  • 8 slices cooked bacon
  • honey, for drizzling
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

 

 

Get Paid to Review Fall Scented Candles!

Do you spend 3 hours in the candle aisle when fall rolls around? This is the job for you! Wishlisted.com is looking for someone to smell fall scented candles and review them. Not only do you get to keep the candles you’ve reviewed but you get paid $250 and receive a $50 Starbucks gift card and a cozy blanket. HELLO, A PUMPKIN SPICED DREAM!

The deadline for applications is October 14th, 2020 at 11:59pm EST. If you’ve been selected, They’ll let you know on October 15th or within 7 days of that date. Apply here.

Qualifications include:

  • Must LOVE candles and consider yourself a candle connoisseur!
  • Are fall PSL obsessed
  • Not afraid to share strong opinions (Lookin’ at you Karen!)
  • Can receive deliveries of multiple packages (UPS, Fedex, etc.)
  • Are over 18 years old and a U.S. resident

{Katie’s Baby Blog} Lily’s Favorite Things

Now that Lily is almost 2, she is into a lot of fun new things!

She still loves being outside, but now she loves to play “get me”…her little game like chase. She will say “Mommy, get me!” and then turn and run from me until I “get her” and pick her up and swing her around. So, we love to play that game when she’s not chasing her friends around outside at daycare.

She also loves to read her books herself now. She won’t always let me hold her and read to her, which makes me a little sad sometimes, but I love that she is so into her books. We have a new “potty” book that we started reading so she can start getting used to the idea of using the “big girl potty!”

She’s OBSESSED with Elmo and Abby Cadabby; so every night we watch Sesame Street and have to fast forward to Elmo’s World so she can watch that before she goes to bed. She has all of the characters as stuffed animals (a sweet gift from her Aunt) and she loves to snuggle and play with them. I even got her an Abby Cadabby costume for Halloween! It’s SO CUTE, so when it arrived, I tried to try it on her….nope. She wanted nothing to do with it. So we will see how that goes…

Jumping on and off of things is a new thing she likes to do, too. She tries to scare me and then laughs at me for making a shocked face when she leaps off of our ottoman onto the couch like superman. This girl wants to jump off of everything…I really have to watch her. She likes to jump off the bottom step, off the sidewalk onto the grass, off her climbing equipment in the playroom…pretty much anything. Luckily nothing that’s too high!

<3 Katie Ryan

{Katie’s Kitchen} Halloween Boozy Screamsicle Shake

Brought to you by Catoctin Mountain Orchard.

Getting in the spirit of Halloween? I am! So I decided to try this yummy “boozy” shake recipe as dessert!

Grab your blender and your favorite tall glass!

Start out by dipping the rim of the glass in chocolate sauce, then rolling the sides of the rim in crushed Oreos.

Then, add 1 qt of orange sherbet to the blender, 3/4 cup milk and 8oz of vanilla vodka. Blend on low.

Go back to your glass- drizzle the inside sides of the glass with more chocolate syrup. Then, pour in your shake!

Add whip cream and sprinkles to the top and you’re ready to sip away!!!

Ingredients: I got the recipe here! 

Chocolate sauce

Sprinkles, Orange & black

Whipped cream

6 Oreos
3/4 cup milk
1 qt. orange sherbet 
8oz vanilla vodka

Is Skipping Meals Good For You? Results May Vary.

I LOVE to eat. Cajun food, in particular, but basically, if it’s high in carbs and/or protein, I love stuffing it into my face-hole.

Moderation’s never been my strong-suit. But, now there’s new research to indicate a link between eating too much at dinner & taking in more calories during the day with having a poorer overall diet. This latest info states that it’s best to eat your bigger meals earlier on in the day, before keeping it as light as possible at dinnertime.

For me personally, though, I do the exact opposite. Since 2012, the year I lost 100+ lbs., I’ve done two things:

  • Exercise (cardio + some weightlifting)
  • Eat only 1 meal per day (usually just dinner).

Breakfast, even a light one, has ALWAYS made me feel sluggish. Lunch, too, makes me hit an energy-zapping midday wall, with no opportunity to nap it off. The daily work schedule can also make it difficult to exercise regularly, though that’s manageable by making time & taking the opportunity wherever & whenever works for your individual schedule. You HAVE to make time, though…nothing good & lasting comes without some sort of sacrifice. But, following those 2 guidelines, I went from a fluffy funny fella to a lean, mean, Radio-guy machine. That’s what worked for me.

The bottom line, though, is this: what works for me might not work for you (or anyone else). Everybody’s different, and deserves to do & get what’s best for him or her. The key? Trying something, anything, until you find what works for you. As all those ad disclaimers repeatedly say, “Individual results may vary”. Try eating only breakfast throughout the week. Then, try eating just lunch for a week. Maybe even try what I did, just to see what works best for you. See if you can manage to conquer the whole “moderation” thing, which still eludes me to this day. Carve out some time in your day to walk around your neighborhood, or around your office. If you can, and are physically cleared by your doctor to do so, give the old weightlifting a go. Do something, anything, regularly. And start doing it soon, because you’ve only got this one life to live & make as great as possible, for as long as possible. Strangely enough, the better you are to yourself, the more time you tend to have to be better to yourself. Funny how that works, huh?

Whichever mealtime you choose to keep, though, try to include some Cajun food. It probably won’t help you lose weight, but it sure will make you feel better while you’re eating. Trust me.

Mmmm…red beans & rice with sausage. How long ’til dinner time?

— Andy

Emmy Awards Recap: Schitt’s Creek Makes History!

Or should we call them the PAND-Emmys?

Finally something good in 2020! This year’s Emmy Awards has quickly become my favorite of all time. Between Schitt’s Creek making history winning all NINE Emmys in the comedy series category and Zendaya for becoming the youngest Emmy winner EVER…my heart was exploding! So well deserving. Oh, and let’s not forget honoring essential workers and a Friends reunion teaser! If you missed it, catch the most memorable moments below!

 

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