I Feel Like I'm In High School Again

So before I do anything else, I must post a recipe.  I will explain why I had to post it after I write out the recipe.  Here you go!

Mini Cheeseburger Salad with Yellow Mustard Vinaigrette (Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray)

One package of ground beef (I always buy the leanest I can)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (eyeball it)
1 T Worcestershire sauce (pronounced workestershire shauce)
2 t steak seasoning blend or some coarse salt and ground black pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Any kind of cheese you like on your cheeseburgers (I usually use provolone cos it's not as fatty as cheddar)
3 large hearts romaine lettuce (I actually usually just use iceberg)
1 cup sliced pickles, drained - whatever variety you like on burgers
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

Dressing:

3 T yellow mustard
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T finely chopped chives (optional)
2 T drained salad pimentos (optional)

Preheat a grill pan or a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium high heat or heat up your outdoor grill

Combine the meat with the onion, Worcestershire sauce, and steak seasoning.  Form 2 inch meatballs then flatten them into patties.  Drizzle formed mini patties with extra-virgin olive oil to keep them from sticking.

Divide cheese into the number you need for the burgers.  Place patties on preheated cooking surface.  Cook the burgers for 3 minutes on each side and then add cheese to melt over patties.  Outside, close the grill to melt.  Inside, tent the cheeseburgers loosely with foil to melt.

Coarsely chop romaine and combine with pickles and tomatoes.

Whisk together the mustard and vinegar.  Stream in the olive oil.  Add the chives and pimentos of desired.  Stir to combine.

Place salad in bowl and then top it with 4 mini burgers.  Drizzle vinaigrette over top.

You may also add other burger toppings if you want.  Onions, crumbled up bacon, mushrooms, etc.  I usually just stick with the basic recipe in order to keep the calories/fat down.

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And there you have it.  That's the recipe.  Now, do you wonder why I posted it?  Well, it's because . . .one of my Twitter peeps and I were talking about what we were preparing for dinner last night.  Twitter you say?  Yes, I did say.

I have been blogging for a while now, and I thought it would be nice if I could get a few readers who maybe weren't my family and friends.  Not that I really expect to have a very successful blog or anything, but still.  It's fun to try and expand my readership, right?

So I reached out to one of my favorite fellow bloggers, The Creative Junkie.  I just love her blog, and you should check it out.  Particularly since her post today is titled We bought a new washer and dryer and that's why my boobs are crooked.  Got to be funny, right?  Right.  Anyway, this lady was super nice, and very helpful, and of course funny.  And as one of her suggestions, she told me to try and sign up for Twitter.

Now I was on Twitter once before, and it didn't go very well.  But it has nothing to do with what I am about to talk about.  It is not something I would prefer to share on here.  Or anywhere for that matter.  So I was a bit reluctant to get back on.  But I thought about it, and I thought, well why not. 

So I signed up.  And I talked to myself for the first week I was on there.  And my sister.  Because I had no idea what I was doing.  I almost gave up.

But then I asked my fellow blogger about it and all, and she gave me some pointers.  Now I talk to three or four people.  And that's nice.

But it's kind of hard.  You go on there, and you follow a bunch of people.  Mostly movie stars and stuff at first, because it is kind of difficult to actually find people you know on there unless you know what they "call" themselves.  (Can you tell I'm still a big-time Twitter newbie?)  I admit.   I am still struggling to figure out why people love Twitter so much.

I hope my Twitter followers will not automatically shut this blog down and unfollow me.  Cos it would be really lonely to go back from the 4 followers I have (that's not true, but I don't have many more than that!), back to me and my sister.  I hope they hear me out.

Right now, I feel like I'm back in high school.  And that's not a good feeling to have.  I feel like I'm walking down the hall and people aren't giving me a second look.  Which of course makes me wonder if a zit the size of Alaska has appeared on my face.  Or maybe I have a booger hanging out of my nose.  And I see these people all talking back and forth, and I'm catching snippets of their conversations, but I can't quite get in to be a part of the conversation.  I'm just thankful there's no gym class on Twitter, because I'd delete my membership lickety-split.  That is for sure.

So, for any of you Twitter peeps out there.  If you can clue me in on how Twitter works, it would be appreciated.  My sister keeps talking about "Twitter Etiquette".  What the heck is that?  How do I get some?  I don't have to have a million followers, or follow a million people.  Seriously.  I just honestly don't feel like I am getting my money's worth out of Twitter.  Oh wait.  I don't pay anything for Twitter.  Well, you know what I mean.  What am I not getting?

I will say that I do follow some very neat people.  One of them is @RVAfashionista.  I know that one day, she is going to show up unannounced at my house and perform her own version of "What Not to Wear" on me.  You watch.  I look forward to it though, because my birth control outfits have got to go.  She is also the one I wrote out the recipe for. . .

I also am following a few authors such as Rebecca Rasmussen, Michele Young-Stone, and Beth Hoffman.  They are very nice and we have had a few fun chats.  Especially Rebecca and me.  She knows I want to publish my book in a big way.  And she's very encouraging, and that's so nice. 

So as you can see, I do have some good things to say about Twitter.  It's not all bad.  Other than sometimes wondering if I smell bad, or if I have a post-it note stuck to my ass that says, "kick me".  Feeling like I'm in high school again is not a memory I wanted to relive all that much.  So I implore all my Twitter friends reading this to, once again, please offer up any tips you may have to help me enjoy my Twitter experience more. 

Happy day everyone!