Shop Local: Iron Empire

As my son gets older, what we can & can't do together is changing. More specifically what he wants and doesn't want to do with his mother is the issue. While I can't see why it's such a horrible thing being seen in public with your mother, it obviously is for a pre-teen boy. It's not like I'm one of those mothers who insists on hugging and kissing my kid, but it's still not cool. With that being said, I ran across Iron Empire Clothing's first ever "Kids Build a Tee Workshop" and asked my son if he wanted to do it. Surprisingly he agreed, probably because it wasn't "in public."

We came up with an idea ahead of time which helped. When we walked in we were greeted by the staff and they had a table all ready to go. They explained how to pick your t-shirt color / size and the ink and where to draw. It was very organized. My son drew the basketball player on the paper, we had a couple re-starts, but in the end he handed in the finished product. We looked around the store and picked up a couple items, they were having a sale, who could resist? They have t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, work-out wear, all with a good selection of colors and sizes. They also work with a number of schools across the area printing spirit wear and other school-related pieces. We were also fortunate enough to meet the owners, Jamie & RJ, who talked a bit about the store, sales and what was coming Black Friday. The store location was easy to get to and easy parking, overall it was a great experience. And if you're not a shop-in-person kinda of person...that's ok, you can order on-line.

They are planning on having another "Build a Tee Workshop" which I would recommend trying. I might even create a t-shirt next time too. It was fun for my son and I to try something new and different and if he was ok hanging with his mom for it, yours might be too.

Iron Empire Social Media Sites:

Website: https://ironempireclothing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ironempireclothing/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ironempireclothing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ironempireinc

Link to picture courtesy of Go Erie.

A Superhero Movie with Eye Candy for All

Growing up I didn't read a lot of comic books, I was more into Nancy Drew, The Black Stallion and then couldn't get enough of Stephen King. I knew who most of the main superheros were but didn't know the difference between DC Comics & Marvel. I'm well aware this statement just made comic aficionados cringe, but honestly when I was growing up there wasn't a lot of focus on female superheros other than making them look hot. There was Wonder Woman & Supergirl but they never did much for me as far as inspiration goes. With that, let's jump ahead to the present where DC Comics & Marvel are raking in cash because they've managed to take what was on the pages of a comic book bring all that excitement to the big screen. It appears the public loves superheros, combined with great CGI and taking on all the evil that threatens our world, it's a formula for success.

The latest DC Comics has to offer is Justice League which I watched last night. See, my son wanted to go with his friends and see Pixar's Coco which I wasn't in the mood for. So I ended up at Justice League. At first I thought it would be weird going to a movie by myself, but I saw plenty of other grown-ups doing the same thing. Phew! The movie started to roll. Overall I was entertained and it kept my attention, 98% of the time. Was it the best superhero movie, no. Did it have some good parts, yes. Would I recommend it, maybe.

Here are the three best things about the movie: 1. Superman without his shirt on, 2. Aquaman without his shirt on, and 3. Wonder Woman.

Ok, the fight scenes were fun. The one-liners were decent. But there were parts I had issues with. True DC fans, please chime in since I'm not as well versed on how the characters were truly written. I thought they could have done more character development for Cyborg, I liked the actor they cast in the role, Ray Fisher, but explaining how he got to where he is was limited. I know only a short amount of time can be aloted when introducing characters, but it seemed too short. The major disappointment for me was The Flash. Maybe I've been spoiled by watching the CW's series The Flash and have enjoyed their character development and the fact that the series didn't turn him into an uber-dweeb (for lack of better words) like the movie did. Basically he was the comedic relief and that's not the character I'm used to seeing. I did however love the Stephen King reference to Pet Sematary he made when bringing Superman back to life. But my big hang-up with The Flash was his running form. I know that sounds really nit-picky but if you've ever run, especially if you were a sprinter on a track and field team, you were hounded about your running form. IMHO there is no way that The Flash could run fast with the form he had, it's horrible. 

While I'm still on the fence about Ben Affleck's portrayal of Batman, but I do like that they gave Wonder Woman a good amount of screen time. I like the concept of each team member having to work together to win, that none of them could win alone. Overall there was more good than bad from an entertainment perspective. It's PG-13 due to the violence aspect, not a lot of profanity or blood and gore, making it an ok family movie. Do you have to see it on the big screen, up to you. An HDTV would do it justice (pun intended) and let's be honest, nothing beats being able to pause a movie when you have to pee.

Recipe Review: Thirty Minute Skillet Baked Ziti

Being a single mom presents many challenges, the one I face most often is keeping my kid fed between working and the multiple sports and activities. Heck this is challenging for any family. So I’m always on the lookout for quick, simple meals that actually taste good. One of the problems I’ve run into is simple meals sometimes end up tasting bland and then no one wants to eat them. This recipe not only uses just a few pans / utensils (easier clean up, woohoo) but my son went back for seconds, a win all the way around.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced (you can also use pre-minced from a jar)

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (want a bit more heat, add more pepper flakes)

Salt & black pepper to taste

1 – 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

3 cups water

12 ounces (3 ¾ cups) ziti

½ cup heavy cream (half & half, crème fraiche or a mix would also work)

½ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup fresh, minced basil (you can substitute 1/8 cup of dried basil)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (feel free to add more if you like things cheesy)

Tips: You will need an oven-proof skillet (deeper than a frying pan) or a 2-quart casserole dish. Measure water and pasta before you cook. Prep the parmesan and basil as the pasta simmers.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 475, you’ll want the rack to be in the middle.
2. Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes and ½ tsp salt in skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant (~ 1 min).
3. Add tomatoes, water, ziti and ½ tsp salt to skillet, cover and cook for 15 – 18 min until at a rapid simmer and ziti is al dente. Stir frequently.
4. Stir in cream, Parmesan and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella over top and transfer to oven.
5. Bake ~ 10 min until cheese has melted.

Remember: use an oven-mit when removing skillet from oven. You’re probably going, “Well duh!” but trust me, I’ve forgotten a time or two and it hurts, OUCH! The handle may stay cool when on the stove; it definitely won’t be coming out of the oven.

Ideas / Variations

• Add black olives, pepperoni, mushrooms – will begin to taste like a baked pizza
• Replace ½ cup of water with ½ cup of Vodka to make a Vodka-Cream sauce
• Add 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced and sauté with garlic. Replace cream with red wine. Add ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarse chopped with basil for a Puttanesca sauce.
• Serve with roasted broccoli, cauliflower or a nice tossed salad.

If you have any other ideas or variations, we’d love to hear from you. Enjoy!