Cornering the STOCK market...

Foreword...I forgot my bag containing my blog brainstorming notebook at work. I decided to publish this post sitting in the edit hopper...

Before I get into the stock market, let's talk about the HEEBIE-JEEBIES floating around! Last week at work (I teach Special Education students by the way.), I witnessed three students spontaneously projectile vomiting in various areas around campus. And not to mention, my students arrive daily, bright and early with fluids leaking like a faucet from their nose.

AND to top that off, I attended a staff development meeting last Tuesday afternoon and sat in front of a fellow teacher who violently coughed the ENTIRE time. At one point when I heard the teacher grasping for air, I started to turn around and offer my CPR and first aid services. Yes, the coughing sounded just that horrific. After that meeting, I felt as though I needed to get tested for TB, H1N1, and every other alphabetical disease known to man.

People, hear my plea...KEEP YOUR SICKNESS TO YOURSELF! STAY AT HOME...GEEZ! And PARENTS, KEEP YOUR SICK CHILDREN AT HOME! WHEN YOU SEND YOUR KIDS TO SCHOOL SICK, YOU PASS IT ON TO THE TEACHER, WHO SOMETIMES PASSES YOUR KID'S HEEBIE JEEBIES TO HER OWN FAMILY...GEEZ! My hands look like a Louis Vuitton bag from constantly washing them over and over and over and over again! I stay away from open flames for fear my hands might  burn baby burn  from the amount of hand sanitizer I use on a given day.

So, on to the stock market...

Once again, I made shrimp "fried" rice; so, my Mom suggested that I boil the shells and make a shrimp stock. And so I did:

I dumped the shells into a pot and boiled them for about 15 minutes.

After separating the shells from the stock using a strainer, I poured my shrimp juice into ice cube trays. Depending on my culinary needs, the shrimp cubes allow me to use a small or a large amount of stock.

I usually purchase low sodium stock, but making my own stock allows me to control the sodium level of my culinary creations. With my condition, I try my bestest (not a real word) to vigilantly monitor my sodium intake. Last month, I boiled my Christmas turkey carcass and used the stock to make many dishes:

• chili
• a variety of soups
• jambalaya
• chicken and pasta
• you name it

So, do you know any other tricks...like the shrimp cubes...that make life easier? Please share! 

Dinner Delights!

Tonight I tried something new I saw on TJ's Test Kitchen, pierogies! I found these babies in the freezer section at Target. The inside of the dough like "casing" contains potatoes. You can bake, fry, grill, boil, and saute the pierogies.

3 pierogies, 3 points. 

I served my pierogies with chicken breast w/diced tomatoes and okra!