Friday, October 29, 2010

Weekend Recipe: Halloweeen Treats for the kids & for the adults!

Pumpkin Cookies for the Kids

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter flavored shortening
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
  •  
  • 1 (16 ounce) container cream cheese frosting

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter flavored shortening and sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then stir in the pumpkin puree. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla instant pudding mix; gradually mix into the pumpkin mixture. Roll into walnut sized balls and place them 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
  3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow to cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 170 | Total Fat: 9.2g | Cholesterol: 6mg

 

Red Death Cocktail for the adults

Ingredients

  • 1 fluid ounce sloe gin
  • 1 fluid ounce Southern Comfort liqueur
  • 1 fluid ounce vodka
  • 2 fluid ounces lime rum
  • 1 fluid ounce triple sec
  • 1 fluid ounce amaretto liqueur
  • 1 fluid ounce Galliano liqueur
  • 1/2 fluid ounce grenadine syrup
  • 6 fluid ounces orange juice
  • 1 cup ice cubes

Directions

  1. Pour the sloe gin, Southern Comfort, vodka, rum, triple sec, amaretto, Galliano, grenadine, and orange juice into a cocktail shaker over ice. Cover, and shake until the outside of the shaker has frosted. Strain into a tumbler filled with ice.

 

More Recipes & Halloween Treats

Weekend Recipe: Smokey Chipotle Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup hickory flavored barbeque sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
  • 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, minced, or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons hickory flavored barbeque sauce

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until smooth, then whisk in 1/3 cup barbeque sauce, garlic, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, kosher salt, black pepper, celery salt, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce until evenly smooth. Mix in the onion, oatmeal, and ground beef with your hands until evenly blended. Pack the mixture into the prepared pan. Brush the top of the meatloaf with 2 more tablespoons of barbeque sauce.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Footnotes

Cook's Notes
Everyone's tolerance for spice varies, so feel free to change it up. I like medium spice, my husband prefers milder. Both of us were happy with the 3 seeded chilies; it was not "hot", but had a great smokey flavor. If you want more heat you can increase number of chilies, or do not remove seeds.

For sandwiches the next day, heat slices of meatloaf on a griddle or frying pan to crisp it up. Add additional barbeque sauce. Serve on heated sandwich roll (onion is great) with a slice of swiss cheese. If you prefer a cold sandwich, try a simple chipotle-mayo dressing.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 306 | Total Fat: 16.2g | Cholesterol: 130mg

What to Drink?

Wine Merlot

 

   

More Recipes: AllRecipes.com

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wednesday book selection: Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success

Technology has really changed everything and searching for a job has been one of the things that has been inpacted greatly. I discussed this in Monday's blog post in detail. Job search now has moved past just showing you qualifications.  Job seaching now is about how well you present or brand yourself.  Part of this branding includes your personal Social Media presence in addtion to your online persona. 

I discussed in a previous blog about creating a Google profile for yourself. It is reported that a very high percentage of employers Google their prospective employees.  A great way to start creating a positive brand for yourself is setting up a FREE Google Profile.

That brings us to our Wednesay's book selection, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success.

Monday, October 25, 2010

WHY are you still using a Traditional resume in a digital oriented world?

The Internet has grown so much in the past few years and the direction has moved away from the static web and toward the Social Web. It is an understandable transition since, by nature people are social creatures.  So, it is also quite understandable that we would extend our job search efforts to Social Media as well. Traditional resumes are less effective because more people are utilizing Social Networking avenues to present themselves to their future employers. This presents a challenge to those that have not been utilizing new technologies to market themselves.

So a few alternatives to a traditional resume that you should look in to are Video Resumes, VisualCV, The Social Resume and of course your LInkedIn Page. To read more about those options check out these two articles on Mashable. Check out Alternatives to a Traditional Resume and how to Build a Social Media Resume.

WHY are you still using a Traditional resume in a digital oriented world?

The Internet has grown so much in the past few years and the direction has moved away from the static web and toward the Social Web. It is an understandable transition since, by nature people are social creatures.  So, it is also quite understandable that we would extend our job search efforts to Social Media as well. Traditional resumes are less effective because more people are utilizing Social Networking avenues to present themselves to their future employers. This presents a challenge to those that have not been utilizing new technologies to market themselves.

So a few alternatives to a traditional resume that you should look in to are Video Resumes, VisualCV, The Social Resume and of course your LInkedIn Page. To read more about those options check out these two articles on Mashable. Check out Alternatives to a Traditional Resume and how to Build a Social Media Resume.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Weekend Recipe: Tofu and Rice Stuffed Peppers



Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 (12 ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and diced
  • 1 3/4 cups marinara sauce, divided
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
  • 2 orange bell peppers, halved and seeded
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 8 slices tomato

Directions

  1. Place rice and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes, or until tender.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and stir in garlic and tofu. Cook about 5 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup marinara sauce, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook and stir until tofu is evenly brown.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  4. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, press an equal amount of rice into each pepper half. Layer rice with remaining marinara sauce, and 1/2 the cheese. Press equal amounts of tofu into the pepper halves. Place 1 tomato slice on each pepper, and top peppers with remaining mozzarella. Arrange stuffed peppers in a baking dish.
  5. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted. Serve 1/2 of each color pepper to each person.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 554 | Total Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 38mg

What to Drink?

Wine Pinot Grigio

More Recipes at AllRecipes.com

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wednesday book selection: The Twitter Job Search Guide

I posted a very popular segment about the role of Social Media in your job search in Monday's blog and I wanted to offer some additional avenues in the form of a book that would allow you to work from that idea. I am a lover of Twitter as well as other Social Media avenues and there are lots of creative ways to find a job and expand your network by using 140 characters. How cool is that? So check out the blurb below to give you a little insight on the book, The Twitter Job Search Guide.

This groundbreaking guide from three leading career experts will show you how Twitter can energize your job search and advance your career in just 15 minutes a day. Join millions of users who in few characters than a standard text message have exponentially increased the size of their personal and professional networks by changing ideas, demonstrating subject matter expertise, enhancing their reputation, and developing a fan club.

Also a few additional tips:

Check out 100 Hashtags to use when searching for a job.

Check out TweetAJob

One more TwitJobSearch

Happy Tweeting!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Are you using Social Media to find your NEXT Job?

Social Media has touched every avenue of our lives it seems.  I am starting to believe that nothing will ever be the same, but why would we want it to be?  I love the thoughts of reaching out to engage others by way of Social Media.  As hard as it is for my oh so nerdy side to grasp, not everyone wallows in the thoughts of eating, breathing and barely sleeping for Social Media. As a matter of fact it seems that there is a rather high percentage of people that have not utilized Social Media in their job search efforts. The statistics say that only 41% of people are using Social Media as an avenue to trade their old boss in, oops I mean search for a new job.

For those that choose to wallow in the normal everyday way of life, and opt NOT to eat, breath and barely sleep in efforts of embracing Social Media, I wanted to share some of the cool Social Media sites that may make your job search a bit easier. One of the top Social Media Sites for finding a job is LinkedIn. I LOVE LInkedin because it is a total resource for professional networking, it allows you to create a profile, link in your other social media and join groups that may be great for your career. To see some of the others check out the TOP TEN list of Social Media sites to find a job.

 

In the mean time if you have a job that you are challenged by feel free to check out my new blog that allows you to vent about your work challenges. The site has a bit of a fun and interactive QR code twist.

Happy Job hunting and let me know how you make out. Feel free to post comments, negative, positive or indifferent. :-)

 

Friday, October 15, 2010

Weekend Recipe: Spinach Lasagna


Video Recipe: Watch The Video then make the dish

Ingredients

  • 20 lasagna noodles
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 3 cups ricotta cheese
  • 2/3 cup grated Romano cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 3 cups tomato pasta sauce
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
  3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. Drain excess liquid and cool. Boil spinach for 5 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach.
  4. Combine ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, spinach, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg in a bowl. Add cooled mushroom mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Lay 5 lasagna noodles in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread one third of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times.
  5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Cool 15 minutes before serving.


Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 416 | Total Fat: 16.5g | Cholesterol: 63mg

What to Drink?

Wine Sangiovese

More Recipes on AllRecipes.com

 

 

Thursday, October 14, 2010

CEO's not really feeling the Social Media Love

When engaging in Social Media the thoughts are that everyone is doing it. After all why wouldn't they? Who wouldn't want to engage more? What companies wouldn't want to connect with their client base?  Well it seems that there are many companys that do have a certain degree of engagement; however there are a very high percentage of CEO's, in particular that have NOT embraced the trend of Social Media Engagement. 

PR firm Weber Shandwick, found that 64% of CEOs at the world’s 50 largest companies aren’t engaging with social media.

Is it that the CEO's are challenged or are they just that old school?

READ MORE below...

 

socialceos

Bill Gates interest in Virtual worlds is growing...What does this mean for the future of web?

A little while ago I read about a Virtual World called Vivaty and was a bit excited about where they were going with the premise.  The thought behind Vivaty was that, in a Second Life-esq (Yes I just made that word up ) way it would allow it's users to become a part of a 3D environment. Vivaty seemed to merge a 3D environment like Second Life with Social Media. Imagine my excitement as a lover of Second Life and Social Media. I was in Cool Nerd heaven at the thought.  Notice that I keep speaking in the past tense.


Well, I recently read that Vivaty went to the 3D world afterlife as in gone, finished and no longer operating afterlife. My disappointment was GREAT until I read that the one and only Bill Gates purchased Vivaty. This led me to believe that not only was there hope for me being able to experience Vivaty for myself, but that the future of Virtual Worlds just became a bit brighter.


I have been reading more about the purchase of Vivaty and I discovered that Bill Gates is strongly pursuing purchasing Second Life as well.  Wow and double WOW. If this is indeed the case the future of Virtual worlds may very well be brighter than anyone ever imagined.

 

I have been reading that 3D environments will be play a large role in the future of web because they allow users to immerse themselves in their web experience. It seems that we may indeed go down this path if these acquisitions are any indication. I am looking forward to what comes next.


Read more about the purchase of Vivaty and possible purchase of Second Life.  Also, you can also visit Anise Smith Marketing  on the web and on Second Life.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wednesday book selection: Blogging, Citizenship, and the Future of Media

Wednesday's book selection is about Blogging, I say that with an odd chuckle in an "I'm so glad I amuse myself" sort of way.  I do in fact find it particularly amusing that you are reading my blog in which I share my opinion about a book that some else wrote about blogging. I find that strangely funny.  Sidenote I'm sure that there's a rule somewhere that says I can't use the word blogging that many times in such a short span of time.

So, anyway I selected Wednesday's book because I have found that blogging has unexpectedly played a larger role in my life than I had originally anticipated. At one time I was like BLOG, for what? Now I do find it quite liberating as it allows you to open the doorway to dialogue about many subjects.  This is one of the things that the book will go into but in more detail.  It will go into how blogging is affecting our every day lives, how things have changed and how it will effect us moving forward. So read more more about Blogging, Citizenship and the Future of Media. 

Monday, October 11, 2010

10-Plus Business Trends That Are Thriving Even in This Economy

When we think of starting a business the economy always plays a role In our choices. Although the economy is pinched there are still some industries that are still thriving even in this tough economy. Surprisingly all things Texas are included on the list of areas that are thriving. READ MORE....

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Facebook Privacy

 

I will be the first one to express my excitement about the growth of technology.  After all how could I not, it's such a wonderful and so very powerful thing. However,  to quote a great "Man", we know,

With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility.

 

YES I DID JUST QUOTE SPIDERMAN.  This quote is very fitting as we do hold a lot of power in our hands when using forms of technology, and accessing social media sites. We have had lots of controversy over the responsibility of social media sites to maintain and respect our privacy. One of the things that I did notice was that the people that were ranting and yelling the loudest had the weakest privacy settings that i've ever seen. Facebook has amazing privacy settings in place, we just HAVE TO USE THEM.

Well, this prompted me to created a very easy to use FREE eBook a few months ago to help people address and utilize the privacy settings that Facebook has in place. I recently revise the eBook to address some changes due to Facebook Places.  This ebook is FREE and available for download from the link below.

Download The newly revised Facebook Privacy EBook.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Web 3.0 The Semantic Web..is it here?

The Internet is constantly growing and changing however we tend not to notice, as the changes are mostly gradual.  However as you reflect on the subtle changes that have happened since the popularity of the web that emerged in the 90's, you will realized that there have been significant changes since that time.

As one of the early adopters of the web and all that it had to offer in the 90's I have recently REALLY noticed the changes of late.  Early web, or Web 1.0 consisted of people really becoming comfortable with finding information and data online. Websites lack sophisticated graphics, were very word intense and very informational.  The emergence of Web 2.0 assumed that we have advanced beyond basic comforts of finding the information and pushed us into interaction with that data. Web 2.0 is considered the Social Media Age and we are swiftly coming to the peak of that phase.  Moving forward quickly into Web 3.0, or the Semantic Web, pushes us directly into the age of immersing ourselves in the Data. It is said that the web will become a place that allows data to interact with other data with the purpose of creating an easier and more personalize web experience. As a technologically forward thinking person AKA as a self admited nerd, I look forward to seeing and interacting with the Semantic Web. 

I would love your feedback; post your thoughts in the comments section or on my Facebook Page.

A parting thought:

  • Web 1.0 introduced us to the Data
  • Web 2.0 Help us engage with the Data
  • Web 3.0 Data engages with more Data

Watch the Video below to see more information about the transition from Web 1.0 - Web 3.0

 

 

Weekend Recipe: Red Pepper-Salmon Pasta

This looks absolutely YUMMY!  Remember if you make any of the recipes post pictures on our Facebook Page.

Ingredients

  • 4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons minced jalapeno peppers
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta

Directions

  1. In an 8 inch baking dish, arrange filets in a single layer. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Tightly cover dish with foil. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Cook until fish is opaque, but still moist looking in thickest part, 12 to 14 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, in a blender, smoothly puree red peppers, parmesan, cornstarch, chili, and garlic. Add cilantro and chicken broth; whirl to blend.
  3. Pour pepper mixture into a 10 inch frying pan. Stir over high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to keep warm.
  4. Cook pasta in 3 quarts boiling water until tender to bite, about 7 minutes. Drain, and return to pan.
  5. Stir juices from the baked salmon into red pepper sauce. Mix 1 1/2 cups sauce with pasta. Spoon pasta onto plates. Top with fish, and drizzle with remaining sauce. Serve.

More Recipes at AllRecipes.com

 

What to Drink?

Wine Chardonnay
Cocktail Filthy Martini
Chilled Non-Alcoholic Cherry Limea

Click here to watch the video about Choosing Salmon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Facebook Groups: Creating a HUGE BUZZ

One of the few things that was lacking with Facebook was the underdevelopment of Groups. I've always wondered what was the purpose of Groups?  I mean you have Facebook pages, then you have Community Pages. GROUPS just never seemed to serve a purpose, so I was never a fan.

However now Facebook has revamped Groups and it is starting a very loud Buzz of excitement about the new features that are offered. It is essentially, a little community within your group of friends that can share discussions, notes and even chat among the group members by using the Group Chat feature. Read more about this new and buzzworthy revamped Group option that Facebook has rolled out.

I always have topics that I talk about that have a dozen or so of my friends participating in on my wall at any given time. One is The Philadelphia Eagles and the other is  QR Codes Marketing So usually before the introduction of the new Groups fuction, I would have to make sure I hid those feeds from my friends that may not have an interest in either. 

So of course, in all of my excitement, I went ahead and created two groups, one for the Philadelphia Eagles and  The Future of Marketing by way of QR Codes.  

The Great thing about this is as stated before is that this presents the opportunity to create little niche groups within your network for discussions, dialogue in an open forum style.  So I hope to see you in my group, but most importantly I'd like to see you take the new and improved Facebook Groups function for a spin. Let me know what you think on my AniseSmith Facebook Page , Join the fray in the QR Code Marketing Group or Create a Group of your own.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wednesday book selection: Googled: The End of the World As We Know It

I was one of the very early adopters of The Internet, when there was just text and very minimal images, in about 1997 or 1998.  I was amazed and awestruck at the amount of information that could be found, literally at my finger tips.  The more technology expanded and grew the more my interest in this amazing technology grew.  At one time there were many search engines just milling about in harmony to be used by enamored geeks like myself. There was, of course Yahoo, but there were also others such as LookSmart, DogPile, Metacrawler and AskJeeves just to name a few.

...and then comes along the big Pacman of Search, GOOGLE which literally gobbled up it's competiton with it's superior services and vast technological reach. Google has taken hold and not let loose in may years. If there is a such thing as being a player in the game, Google is NOT a player but the GAME itself.

So my Wednesday book selection is, Googled: The End of The World As We Know It.

 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

That would be a YES to Google TV

 

As we become more and more technology focused our access to more and more cool gadgets become more abundant.  At one time we were happy to have a television with color (yes I threw myself under the age bus on that statement) now people have fancy flat screen televisions. At one time we were happy to be able to record by way of Betamax (yes age bus again) now we have Tivo and DVR.

 

This brings us to computers and the advancements we've made since the times of the old MS-Dos systems.  We are all quite aware of how that has grown in the past ten years, hence my ability to have something called a blog and your willingness to read what I have to say voluntarily.

Well, how about the merging of all things amazing an otherworldly within the technology industry. The merging of TV, Computer, Internet and all things searchable will be a thing of the very near future. That would be a YES to Google TV. Read More...

 

Check out the video below:

 

Monday, October 4, 2010

Want to start a business? How about an EBay business

When I think in terms of starting a business I think of maybe a coffee shop, online business and maybe even some kind of Marketing Company :-) However a business that is the easiest and probably most overlooked business that a person could start is an eBay business. You can literally start an eBay business within a matter of minutes by setting up an seller account on eBay.  It may take all of 5 minutes.

After taking five minutes to set up your account now take a look around your house, I'm sure there are LOTS of things to get you started on your way.  You can sell books, clothing, trinkets and that oh so special green beaded sweater that you got in 1999 for Christmas that you were to kind to regift. Someone could very well be looking for that exact green beaded sweater.

Also a great source of eBay gold to sell could be found at your neighborhood flea markets, closeout shop, thrift shops and salvation army. People that may really thrive selling on eBay are fashionistas that have an eye for sales, know where to find the clearance items and know what price to sell those items for. However non-fashonistas have a huge area to sell within as well. You can even sell your services on eBay.  Read more about getting started... and Check out the video below.

Just keep in mind as you raid your home for things to get your eBay business off the ground One mans trash is another mans treasure.

 

Friday, October 1, 2010

Weekend Recipe: Tandoori-Style Chicken

Video Recipe

What is Tandoori-Style Chicken?

Tandoori refers to the super-hot clay oven used to cook a lot of Indian bread and meat. You probably do not have a tandoori oven at home, but you can replicate the effect by cooking the chicken directly under a very hot broiler.

Tandoori-Style Chicken Ingredients

Tandoori chicken is made by marinating large chunks of chicken in a sauce made of yogurt and many spices. We will make the yogurt sauce in a blender. Add:

  • 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
  • 1 small onion, cut into chunks
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 turmeric
  • 1/2 black pepper
  • 1/2 coriander
  • 1/2 cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Blend this together until it is smooth.

Marinate the Chicken

Place the chicken chunks in a heavy-duty sealable bag, then pour the yogurt over them. Get all the air out of the bag and seal it, then place the bag in the refrigerator. You need to let the meat sit for at least eight hours, and the yogurt will make it incredibly tender.

Broil the Chicken

When you are ready to cook, heat up the broiler. Remove the chicken chunks from the yogurt and place them on an oiled broiling pan. Discard the rest of the yogurt. Cook the chicken under the broiler for 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the chicken once while cooking.

To see more recipes go to About.com