Low Country Boil

I am about to share with you the greatest of all Southern treasures: the Low Country Boil. A peppy, flavorful dish you'll want again & again. It's a simple mix of great things that everyone pretty much loves & probably the easiest recipe I've ever seen (other than that cereal stuff...I keep adding the milk first!).

The Low Country Boil (based on the seasoning used in the boil) was "invented" by a former coach of USC (that's S. Carolina, Trojan fans) & uses kielbasa, shrimp, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and onion. Some recipes also use crab legs, though I've never had that one.

Now the seasoning will be the tough part here. For those of you who have a Bi-Lo, you're in luck! The seasoning can be found in the spice aisle. For those of you relegated to the frozen wastes of the northern plains...well I can tell you what's in it, but not much more than that. E-mail me if that's the route you want to take.

OK, so here's the recipe:

You need:
1 large boiling pot (2 gallons, not that pansy 1 gallon deal)
1 6oz pack of Low Country Boil seasoning
3 Hillshire Farms turkey kielbasa
3 1/2 lbs of new (red) potatoes, cut in half
12 pack of cut corn-on-the-cob
1 large white onion, quartered (sweet vidalia if you can get it)
1 1/2 lbs of shrimp (peeled, tails on)

Boil the water, adding all of the seasoning.
Add the potatoes, onion & let sit for about 15 minutes.
Next, add the corn for about 7-8 minutes.
The kielbasa goes in next for about 5 minutes.
Lastly, the shrimp is added for about 6-7 minutes.

After about a total 30 minutes at a boil, remove from heat & drain most of the water. Keep about 16oz of the water to place at the bottom of the serving bowl (optional) for bread dipping. Traditionally, the Boil is dumped out on a table cloth & you just take what you want. For more refined, New England-types, serve in a large pasta bowl.

Note: the corn absorbs most of the heat in the seasoning. While it's not very hot, it will leave a little warmth on your lips. For reference, a jalapeno will have more burn on your lips than this seasoning.

Update

My apologies for the previous post. That sort of writing isn't my normal sort of rambling & it certainly wasn't entertaining in the least. My emotions have been silly lately & not all of them fun.

I talked to HR & then the hospital on Friday. It turns out (as Mrs. Who correctly guessed) the insurance company "screwed up" because the billing was done in a somewhat awkward order. The hospital has informed me that I owe $103 total. That relieved feeling will be complete when the bill is in my hands. It seems my previous post title deserved no sarcasm...I'm pretty darn lucky.

Also, I'd like very much to say that prayer works! I'm still recovering, so it's helpful to know being able to talk about it & ask for a little more patience & courage to heal is met with such Grace.

Lucky Me

I wish I could say all was well. OK, yes, the tumor is gone & I'm essentially in good health, so there's nothing bad there.

I just got the 1st bill for my initial stay in the hospital - from 9/10 - 9/12. That's when I had the seizure & they kept me in for pre-op. $948 & change ($500 is the deductible).

This, despite the fact I already paid the hospital a $500 deductible AND $300 more that went towards my PPO's maximum $1000/yr out-of-pocket.

Someone please tell me why I might pay over $2000 in one year when my insurance is supposed to limit my expense to $1000 (not counting deductible, of course)?

Never mind the fact I'm crushed at having to leave SC after two months (not all of which was fun & games) & have t come back to Iowa. The thing that has my guts wrenched in a knot is the fact I wanted to save up & move back down there when I can drive again but now the money may just not be there.

I'm in freaking tears over this. It feels so much like I'm trapped in a prison & can't get released. Being dependent on others sucks because I feel like a walking inconvenience. The thought that, after all this horrible stuff my family was put through, I may come up short on the needed funds to move down there & be with them is just too much.

God, please give me the patience, courage & just plain luck to somehow get through this so I can be where my family is.

Now I'm Worried

Sign seen at a local church:

DON'T LET WORRIES KILL YOU,

LET THE CHURCH HELP.

Well, gee, that particular parish has me sold. I wonder if their minister's last name is Kevorkian...

Hapkido will return - I promise

A long time ago there was a guy we called Hapkido, some called him Hap, some called him other things too but most of them weren't able to speak through swollen lips the next day. I digress....

As many, 'Many' as in most of the CrunchTime Readers ...well my 3 readers and I think a couple of Hap's too.... ahh ... Anyway... I digress again.
As many of you already know, Hap took a trip a couple of states away to see his family and had a health episode dealing with "a benign growth (non-cancerous, thankfully) on the membrane surrounding the brain" it was "pressing between the frontal & parietal lobes on the left side" of his thick skull. opps sorry buddy had to take the shot as you were not here to defend yourself. I know I know When you get back I will have my new running shoes on....I digress..thricely.

So in leiu of his valid health concerns I have sidelined my usual sarcastic political banter to keep this venue of communication open and distraction free so he can get any information out to you his virtual family.

You have no idea how ugly it is getting. When Hap first turned me into his Blogger Minion, I felt the power of the written word mixed with the freedom of speech and expression and the power to smack the mainstream media back in their own chops for the crap that they invent as news....and then it happened....the Starwars Theme song of Darth Vader's March kept getting stuck in my head. DumDAdum dumDATdumdumDatdum dadatdum.... Kinda like for normal people when they hear 'The Girl From Ipanema' you know the one..... sometimes sung as 'The Girl with Emphezima' .....and they hear it and then they sing it for the rest of the day....no? .... ah just me then sorry..... I digress.


Where was I?... oh yeah Hap.

I have spoken with him and he did say that he is doing well and that he is enjoying therapy. On a side note: I did a little investigation myself and I discovered that there is a real hot nurse who is 'probably' taking real good care of him and her duties include feeding and giving sponge baths. Now sources cannot confirm that she is giving HIM the sponge baths nor can they tell me that she is actually taking care of HIM. But comeon! What else could keep him from his virtual family. That must be the reason. The sources could not even confirm if she was actually hot..they sent a pic. I will let beauty lie in the eye of the beholder and you can see for yourself.



Hap. Come home soon. We miss you and the Blogger in me cannot remain silent much longer with out causing physical harm to someone or myself. ...oh yeah and the DL list is really piling up.