#let’s start with heating up some frozen chicken

[corroded-hellfire]

Gimme A Break - Eddie Munson x Reader

An As You Wish Story

Collaboration with my beloved @munson-blurbs

Summary: A trip to the grocery store has you running into some familiar faces--and one not so friendly.

Note: Let Brittany bashing commence!

Warnings: talk of body image

Words: 2k

[As You Wish masterlist]

In your opinion, there’s no such concept as a bad time for soup. The dead of winter, the stifling heat of summer—it’s all good. 

The fall weather that’s rolled into Hawkins has inspired you to try your hand at making some from scratch, bringing you to Bradley’s Big Buy on a Sunday afternoon. You’re inspecting a bag of carrots for freshness and tossing them in the cart haphazardly when you feel a sudden thump against your leg. 

“Wha—” you start, ready to confront whoever was careless enough to ram into you. Your scowl immediately softens when you see the two smiling faces looking up at you. “Oh, hi boys!”

Luke, unsurprisingly, is the one who ran into you at full speed. Ryan is a few paces behind his bull-in-a-china-shop brother, but his expression is equally happy. 

You crouch down to give each of them a hug. The way they both wrap their arms around you radiates love’s warmth, and it melts your heart. 

“Are you buying anything good?” you ask, knowing they’ll be wholly unimpressed with your basket full of vegetables. 

Luke nods vigorously. “CHICKEN NUGGETS!” He bellows, drawing irate glares from nearby shoppers. “Daddy has a cool-pon.”

“It’s coupon,” Ryan says with a gentle roll of his eyes. 

You’re still stuck on the mention of their dad. Eddie’s here? And you don’t have on a lick of makeup—of course. 

“Where is Daddy?” you ask, looking up and down the aisle in the unlikely event that you missed him. 

“He’s uh…” Luke trails off, scrunching his nose as he searches for his dad. Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” crinkles over the PA system after being interrupted by a call for assistance in the frozen food department as Brittany appears at the end of the aisle.

An irritated voice calls out from the end of the aisle. “What’s taking you two so—oh. You’re here.” Brittany crosses her arms over her chest, huffing out an impatient sigh when she spots you. 

Luke pipes up, still attached to your leg. “We can’t find the asper-, uh, aparag, the um…”

“Asparagus,” Brittany corrects him as if the five-year-old should be able to pronounce words perfectly by this age.

“Oh,” you say, turning to exactly where you know the asparagus is. “Here you go.”

Ryan gladly takes it from you with a grin. Huh, maybe there is a Munson who shares your affinity for veggies. It certainly isn’t Luke—or Eddie, for that matter. 

“You’re the best!” he says cheerfully, placing it in the cart that Brittany’s been pushing.

“Boys.” It almost sounds like she’s admonishing them for being kind to you. She looks at you with unkind eyes. “Maybe you should work here instead of for us,” she says, trying to play it off as a joke, but you can tell there’s some underlying threat. 

Luke is not amused by this, his little fingers digging into your leg as he clutches onto your jeans even tighter. “No! She has to be our babysitter forever and ever!” He pouts, eyes welling up with tears at the mere mention of you leaving. 

“Maybe not forever,” Ryan points out, always the practical one, “because one day we’ll be grown-ups with our own kids—”

“And then she can babysit them!” Luke declares, proud of his idea, loosening his grip on you. 

Brittany shakes her head, immediately eschewing the notion. “C’mon, let’s get going,” she says tersely. “Dad’s gonna be wondering where we are.” The cruel curl of her lip serves as a painful reminder of what’s hers; more specifically, what isn’t yours. 

As if on cue, Eddie meanders out from a nearby aisle, a canister of quick oats tucked under his arm. He’s wearing gray sweatpants that lay low on his hips and leave little to the imagination. Somehow on this brisk autumn day you have sweat beading along the back of your neck as you take him in.

“You’re So Vain” fades out on the speakers above, only to start playing the infectious opening notes of “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel.

“Britt, I couldn’t find the old-fashioned kind, but will this—oh, hey,” Eddie says, stopping in his tracks to acknowledge you. “You here to make sure these gremlins don’t lock themselves in the ice cream freezer?”

Luke grins, lets go of your leg, and takes your hand proudly in his as if it was somehow all his doing that you’re here in the grocery store the same time as they are. 

“Hi,” you greet before realizing you have a dopey smile on your face. “Uh, yeah. And it seems like I got here just in time. This one here almost had the lid off a rocky road before I caught him.” You shake Luke’s small hand in your own for emphasis and the boy wrinkles his nose up at you, the spitting image of his father.

Eddie chuckles and goes to respond, but his wife cuts him off.

“I guess those oats will work,” she says as she takes the canister from him—or snatches it, more like. “Come on, we didn’t even get to the dairy section yet.”

“Or,” Luke ventures, his hand gripping yours tighter in the chill air of the produce section, “we could get a cow in the backyard and get our milk that way.”

Eddie chuckles. “Hard pass, little man. We had to bring in reinforcement just to handle you and your brother.” He looks over and winks at you. 

It takes all of your strength and will power not to immediately vomit right then and there at the wink. Such a simple gesture from this man has you ready to lose all control of your body. 

Brittany huffs, clearly annoyed at the interaction. How dare anyone be having a conversation in her presence that doesn’t revolve around her? 

“Well, we need to keep shopping.” Brittany turns on her heel, spotting a red bag of fun-size KitKats in her husband’s other hand. “And put that back. The last thing you need is more junk food.” Her eyes flit down to his stomach, which has softened with time and a steady diet of pretzels and Mountain Dew.

The tips of Eddie’s ears turn pink, and he tries to hide them behind his curls. He clears his throat, the whole time avoiding your eyes, and tosses the KitKat bag onto an empty spot of a nearby shelf. He’s clearly embarrassed, but you’re seeing red. Fury scorches you from the inside out and it’s so potent that it might just dry up some of the vegetables around you. There have been many times in the past where you’ve wanted to tell Brittany off, but this one takes the cake. The callous yet truthful words rest on the tip of your tongue, but you know it would only make the mess bigger for everyone involved. You don’t want to add any extra stress for Eddie. Brittany is the one who should be embarrassed for treating her husband that way, not Eddie. That man is drop dead gorgeous and he still would be if he inhaled a bag of those KitKats every single day. 

Leave it to Luke to break the tension that he wasn’t even aware of was surrounding them all on this produce aisle. The young boy spies a can of spinach on the shelf and snatches it up, staring at it with wide eyes.

“Will this make me strong like Popeye?!”

“Sure, sweetie,” Brittany says, not paying any attention to her youngest son whatsoever. 

Brittany turns and heads towards the end of the aisle, no goodbye to you, no saying where she’s going, just leaving and assuming the guys will follow behind her. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow after school, right?” Ryan asks, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.

“I’ll be there,” you assure him, booping the tip of his nose. He gives you a quick, strong hug around your middle.

Luke, still holding on to the can of spinach, blows you an overdramatic kiss which you pretend to almost drop into a bed of lettuce. The little boy giggles and it’s one of the best sounds you’ve ever heard. 

Eddie takes a step closer to you, still feeling the sting of embarrassment, and speaks in a soft voice. “We, uh, should get going.” Eddie clears his throat. It kills you to see how Brittany zaps the life out of him. “I’ll—we’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“I’ll be there,” you promise once again. 

Eddie offers you a small smile before turning to his sons. 

“All right, come on. Let’s catch on up to Mom.”

The boys don’t look too enthused about that, and it warms your heart that they’d rather stay here and hangout with you. 

“Bye guys,” you say, waving to all three of them as they head down the aisle.

Once they’re gone you heave a heavy sigh. Being in Brittany’s presence for two minutes was exhausting enough, you have no idea how those three manage to live with her.

You try to refocus on your shopping, however impossible that might seem now. When you’re checking over the items you already have and look back up at the shelves, you spot the red KitKat bag that Eddie had wanted to buy. There’s no hesitation at all to pick it up and add it to your pile of groceries.

The Munson car isn’t hard to spot as you step out into the parking lot of the store. You see it almost every day and the gorgeous, familiar looking man loading groceries into the trunk is also a huge indicator. 

Not surprisingly, Brittany is in the car while Eddie does all the work. The boys are in the backseat and from what you can make out of their silhouettes, they’re arguing with one another. They’re kids, they’d probably be more of a hindrance than help to Eddie. But Brittany could at least be doing something. 

Steeling your nerves, you take a deep breath and head over to him. 

“Eddie?”

His head whips around. “Hey,” he says with a small smile. “Everything okay?”

“Mhm,” you nod, summoning all of your courage and handing him the candy. “You left these on the shelf.” You try to play it off casually, but the slight tremble in your voice gives your nervousness away. 

He starts to take them but pulls back. “I probably shouldn’t,” he mumbles, shoving his hand into his pocket. “Britt’s been on me to lose the ‘dad weight’ for a while.”

You shake your head, mostly to keep from opening your mouth and saying something about his wife that you’ll regret.

“I think you look good,” you say. “Um, like, you don’t need to lose any weight.” You’re perfect the way you are, you ache to tell him, but you shouldn’t. You can’t. 

Eddie senses that you have words unspoken, but he doesn’t press further. “Well, um, thanks.” He takes the bag and opens it, grabbing two before giving it back to you. “Can’t get caught,” he explains with a laugh. 

You grin at him, an idea already taking form. “I’ll bring one each day I babysit. Sneak it in like contraband.”

“As long as the boys don’t find it first,” Eddie chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. “The last thing they need is more sugar.”

You agree with a laugh. “Deal.”

Eddie tucks the KitKats into his jacket pocket. 

“Thank you, by the way,” he says softly. 

“No problem. Just some candy,” you shrug. 

He shakes his head. “No, it…” he trails off. “Just…thank you.”

You smile as he ducks into the driver’s seat, and you walk back to your own car. As you pack up the back with your groceries, you mentally calculate how long this bag of KitKats will last if you bring Eddie one every day that you work. You purse your lips as you slam the trunk closed.

“That’s not nearly long enough for my liking,” you mumble to yourself as you slip into the driver’s seat.

Once you put the key in the ignition, the car rumbles to life and the purr of the engine sounds like it’s coming from your brain as it churns out an idea. 

You smile to yourself and shift your car into gear.

“Guess I’ll just have to buy some more bags of candy.”

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Rimming Freminet

Pairings: Freminet x reader

Warnings: Male!reader, dom!reader, sub!Freminet, rimming, angst, hurt/comfort, friends to lovers/FWB

Genre/Format: Smut; Oneshot

Author's Note: A request from a few months ago that I misinterpreted. Here's the rimming version for you, anon! As usual Freminet is 20+

Check out the trans Freminet version!

Please check my blog title to verify whether requests are closed or not! Thank you!

The words fell from his lips often. “I'm weak...I'm not strong enough...if only I were stronger, then maybe I could protect the ones I love...I need to get stronger!”

You couldn't stop the empathetic ache in your chest whenever your friend uttered those words. After all, you knew all too well what that felt like. That stinging guilt from thinking that you could have done something differently. You could have been faster, stronger, shouldn't have done that, should have done this...you beat yourself down until those thoughts hinder any potential progress

You've been there too, so that's why you wanted to help him. Offering to train him, pass along a few techniques, tricks, and tips from your time out in the field

Freminet was just a tad reluctant but eventually he agreed, promising to work hard during each session. A handshake sealed the deal as you grinned at him, excited to tutor your friend while also spending more time with him!

The first session was a bit clumsy. You said “Don't hold anything back” and Freminet hadn't planned on getting cold feet but... standing before you with his hefty weapon clutched between his hands? And you, his best friend, standing opposite of him with balled fists and your shining vision ready to unleash a skill? A shaky breath slipped between his lips while his arms unconsciously lowered. How could he seriously charge at you? He knows that it's just training, that you'll both come out of this with only minor injuries if anything. He knows that. But some deep recess in his mind won't let him move

From your perspective it really seemed like the beginning of a panic attack. Freminet looked as though he were glued in place, wobbly muscles giving out and releasing his grip on the claymore while his chest heaved. You immediately straightened up, disappearing your weapon before rushing over to the paralyzed boy and cupping his cold cheeks in your hands. The surge of warmth from your touch appeared to melt Freminet right out of the frozen state that he'd been in as his hands lightly covered yours, apologizing for chickening out after you took the time out of your day to meet him like this...

“No, you don't need to apologize, Frem. It's ok. Don't push yourself, alright? Let's just leave it there for the day and relax, we can work through this another time, yeah?”

The sigh of relief was instantaneous as your reassurance calmed the cryo user's nerves. With a huge weight lifted from his chest Freminet breathed a quiet reply, “Yeah...ok. Thank you, y/n.”

-

A few weeks had passed and your training sessions gradually improved to the point where Freminet and yourself could clash weapons with no problems. You spent days helping him overcome his anxiety about sparring with his friend and now you were able to help him work through his problem areas. Speed training, technique tweaking, incorporating his clockwork friends into his attacks. Everything was taken into account with your training. The one thing you didn't account for was the way your body reacted to being pressed up against your friend, or the thoughts that began to run through your mind as you watched Freminet in the heat of battle; Sweaty. Panting. Groaning. On his knees sometimes. That fierce glint in his eye whenever he charged at you...

-

Frigid ice collided with your elemental skill as elemental particles dispersed in the air, reacting with one another while the two of you stood on opposite ends of the training ground. Locked in heated combat for over an hour now, the effects of this rigorous match were starting to show as attack times became a hair slower, muscles ached, breaths became far heavier, and less skills were thrown

Despite all of this, neither of you were willing to give in. Freminet's glare was as sharp as ever; and your playful smirk never left your lips. For the nth time today your friend charged towards you with his claymore held tightly, yelling a battle cry with the intention of finally knocking you down and defeating you. Alas — though you were just as exhausted as he was — you weren't willing to give in just like that

Exhaling a hot puff of air, you prepared to dodge and counter Freminet's terrifying strike. As his heavy sword swung at your head you ducked underneath and to the side, swiftly positioning yourself behind him and using his own momentum to knock him to the ground. You hovered over your friend and pinned one arm behind his back, effectively preventing him from using his weapon or skills easily

“Heh, looks like I win, huh? Unless you think you can break free?” You said triumphantly, daring the boy to turn this around on you somehow

Freminet squirmed under your grasp. He looked like a sea turtle trying to move through sand as his limbs flailed, though it was ultimately no use. You had him pinned enough to keep him down. “N-no... can't...too tired...” He wheezed, slumping onto the ground and giving up all resistance

“I figured... honestly I'm pretty tired too...” You replied. Though that was true, pressed up against Freminet as you were in your current configuration, something sent a surge of energy throughout your aching body. Being in a battle filled with adrenaline and constant quips and teasing on both ends like that got you pretty worked up...there was no hiding nor denying the bulge in your pants anymore. Not while it was poking your friends ass...

Neither one of you dared to say a word right now. Freminet let out one hushed squeak when he realized what was so hard behind him, but the two of you froze in place afterwards. It was blatantly obvious what was happening and you couldn't hide it now. So instead, you just whimpered and shifted your weight so that your hips pressed into him further

“Frem, I...ngh-! Mmm...aaahh~ ” You couldn't stop the moan that slipped out when your friend pushed back against you, gasping as your cock pressed against his hole even through his clothing. “Oh- oooohh ffuuuck~ ” You moaned, humping Freminet right in the middle of the training grounds, panting along with him as lingering adrenaline fueled your hips to rut against each other greedily

“Y-y/n...ah! O-ooohh...” He gasped softly, wishing that you would maybe do something more...hoping that you might give in to whatever feeling caused you to suddenly hump him. Freminet wasn't entirely ready to admit to the feelings that had grown over the years, but right now he didn't really care about the consequences. He wanted you to do more

You felt your cock throb within your pants and you uttered an, “Ah fuck it...” under your breath. Within seconds you had tugged Freminet's pants down and exposed his twitching hole, causing him to shiver as sweaty bare skin was exposed to cold air. Just the sight of his pretty hole — begging to be eaten out by someone's wet tongue and mouth — had drool dripping from your lips. You used your free hand to grope at the soft flesh of Freminet's ass, pulling it a bit to spread his little cheek and expose his hole even more, which earned several whines from your friend

“Shit, Frem...can I?” You asked hesitantly, yet eagerly. Desire building up with every passing second

Freminet didn't know what to think of this... his mind was racing, which in turn caused his heart rate to speed up, pounding in his ears as a long silence fell over the area. He'd never done anything like this before...had no experience in this field yet...but something deep within his gut screamed at him to say yes. He needed it. He didn't even know what he needed. He just needed it. He needed it! Gods yes please– whatever you're asking permission for just do it already! Just–

“Y-yes! Yes...give it to me, y/n~ ” That tone was the sluttiest thing you'd ever heard come out of your friend's mouth...and god did it turn you on...

Immediately, you leaned down and began lapping at Freminet's ass like a thirsty dog. Sucking on his hole as it clenched around nothing, sloppy wet noises filling the air from your mouth the whole time. You finally let go of his arm, confident that he wasn't going to attempt an escape now, and grabbed his tiny hips, pulling his ass further against your face. Suctioned onto his body like the suckers on a tentacle as your tongue licked every bit of his sensitive rim

“Ah-Aaahh—!! Oh my...aaahh~ ” The cryo wielder moaned, rocking his hips back while you continued, neither one of you showed any signs of stopping as your bodies found a rhythm together. You stuck your tongue out and held it in place, moving only your head up and down while Freminet let out another pretty cry. His fingers dug into the ground below him as a new and exciting feeling spread throughout his body

Eventually you pushed your tongue into the wet orifice, breaching Freminet's virgin ass and pulling a shrill scream out of the boy — who made no effort to protest and instead grunted in pleasure before arching his back even more, allowing you to have a better angle for eating him out. Your tongue probed in and out of his little hole while you rubbed his soft cheeks, squeezing the tender flesh and watching it squish in between your fingers

Thank the archons that you picked a day where the training grounds were usually empty, because if anyone walked in on the two of you they would find an embarrassingly obscene picture...

They'd find Freminet's smaller frame arching into every flick and drag of your tongue, torso pressing into the ground while he chased every ounce of pleasure, moaning like a porn star while drool poured from the corner of his mouth–

And they'd find you; pressing your entire face against the smaller man's ass as your wet tongue penetrated his hole. Slurping and kissing the orifice while you also moaned loudly, squeezing Freminet's cheeks and lightly slapping them every so often, eyes rolled back and a huge bulge straining against your pants while you shallowly humped at the air

At this point neither you nor your sparring partner cared about volume control or who might pass by. All your horny brains knew was that they craved the feeling of pleasure. Ushering you to reach around Freminet's tiny waist and take hold of his cock — leaking precum in long, glistening strings that pooled on the floor and clung to his shaking thighs

“Aa-aahh!! Y/n...th-that's my–” Freminet squeaked, unable to prevent himself from thrusting his little hips into your touch. Chasing the sweet relief as your fingers smeared sticky precum all over his cock head and along the shaft. He felt his entire body tremble when you began to stroke it, another source of lewd noises adding to the symphony of sex that your beings performed

Another shaky breath from Freminet told you that he was probably close. So you sped up your ministrations and lapped at his puffy hole faster, moaning against his skin. Sure enough, as your wrist twisted with an upward stroke, Freminet's voice cracked and his dick twitched before shooting a thick load of cum onto the ground. His hips continuing to fuck into your hand sloppily until it hurt–

You eventually unlatched your mouth from his ass, though if you could have you would've eaten him out all night long. For now though, you'd give the boy a rest. Although...

There was one teensy problem.....your dick was painfully hard and you didn't cum, unlike Freminet...

While you don't want to pressure your friend or make things even more awkward between you two, honestly you were about to bust at any moment. If he lets you slip it in just a little bit — just the tip, even — then you'd probably cum right away...it would be over quickly. Just push in a little, cum in your friend's ass, and pull out–

Freminet seemed to notice how you were lost in thought, calling your name quizzically until you blinked back to the present. “Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine... it's just uh...um, gimme your hand for a second?” At your request, the boy extended a hand out behind him. As it came into contact with something hard, Freminet gasped, the blush on his cheeks returning tenfold. You had placed his little hand on your clothed cock

You pressed his palm down harder, hissing at the spark of pleasure. Beginning to hump his tiny hand as it barely covered your hard member. “Ya feel that? That's all because of you, Frem...I feel like, if I don't cum soon–” A desperate moan spilled from your mouth as Freminet squeezed your dick, now rubbing the outline all by himself

“Pl-please, Frem...can I? ” You whimpered, bucking into his touch as the need to release grew even more

“Y-yes...put it in...give it to me, y/n”

Reblogs are extremely appreciated <3

[wizzard890]

Hey guys I invented a soup to use up all the leftovers in my fridge last night, and it turned out insanely, blisteringly good, so I’m gonna call it Emily’s Vaguely Thai-Inspired “Oops Everything Is About To Go Bad” Soup, and tell you how to make it.

INGREDIENTS (note: don’t be precious about the amounts, adjust as needed, I’m not your mom. you’re an artist and the heavy-bottomed dutch oven is your canvas)

three cups of any hearty mushroom, sliced (I used white and baby bella)

a stalk of lemongrass, bashed to reveal the tender insides and cut in two inch lengths

five large carrots, diced in rounds

one knob of ginger, around the size of your thumb, minced

three garlic cloves, minced

one red thai chili, diced

one large yellow onion, diced

fresh cilantro

3 cups veggie stock 

3 cups chicken stock 

(you can use better than bullion in water for either of these in a pinch, and if you want to bulk up the veggie stock, add all the trash bits of the onions and garlic and carrots and ginger and the tough outer leaves of the lemongrass with some peppercorns and star anise and let that puppy simmer for like ten minutes before straining.)

two giant handfuls of any sturdy leafy green, like bok choi, kale, or spinach

three eggs

one lime

fish sauce

coconut or brown sugar

frozen dumplings of any kind

gochujang paste

INSTRUCTIONS

add a few tablespoons of neutral oil to a large soup pot over medium heat

once the oil is shining, add the garlic, thai chili and ginger and sauté until fragrant

add the lemongrass and the onions, and continue to sauté until the onions are soft and translucent

in go the carrots, the zest of one lime, and three heaping tablespoons of your gochujang, stir stir stir until everything is tender and the paste has worked its way into all the nooks and crannies. 

pour in the strained veggie stock, bring to a boil, then down to a simmer. cover, and continue to simmer for ten minutes.

remove the lid, stir the reduced broth, and add your mushrooms and your chicken stock. make sure it’s all well combined. 

we’re going to start adjusting the flavor now: add two tablespoons of fish sauce, and a tablespoon of coconut sugar (brown will do if that’s what you have).

cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

add more gochujang plus the juice from your naked lime and chopped cilantro to taste.

now you add your frozen dumplings and your greens and just keep an eye on them until they cook through. 

meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl and scramble them with a fork. pour them into the soup in an even, unbroken stream while you stir. this will give you those pretty egg-drop ribbons.

serve in deep bowls and garnish with more cilantro and lime juice.

NOTES: like I said above, nearly everything in this recipe can be substituted, save for the aromatics, and if you’re a vegetarian you can just double the amount of veggie stock, instead of adding chicken stock. 

[starstruckunknown-princess]

I’ll Do Anything

Pairing: Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Warnings: None, just fluff!

Summary: After a mission with Steve goes awry, you end up with a massive cold so Steve stops by to take care of you.

Word Count: 857

A/N: Fluffcember Day 5! I’m loving the love these fics are getting, seriously I’m flattered. Hope you reblog/follow/like this one! Enjoy!

Your entire sinus cavity felt filled with lead, the pressure causing a monstrous headache. You were surrounded by used tissues and half-drunk mugs of tea that had all gone cold. Your body ached all over and your throat burned when you tried to swallow. 

“Damn you, Rogers and your stupid muscle-y frame. Cracking the ice and shit, being all superhuman and not getting sick but guess who gets to feel like shit for a week? Me!” You mutter to yourself as you haul your comforter over your shoulders as you sit up on the couch, looking for the remote.

On a mission last week, you and Steve had been chasing a HYDRA agent across a frozen river. You both had thought it was frozen solid, but the second you’d gotten too far away from the shore you found that it wasn’t. You’d both plunged into the icy water, and now the universe was kicking you while you were down. Not only had you lost the agent you were pursuing, but now you had the worst cold you’d had in a long time.

“Well if that’s how you feel,” Steve’s voice sounded from behind you. You turned sharply and saw him at the door to your apartment, holding a steaming pot of something between two oven mitted hands. “I guess I’ll just bring this back upstairs.” 

“Wait, no! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. Don’t leave!” You croaked and Steve chuckled, moving toward the stove in your kitchen and placing the pot on top of it.

“Tony’s got you isolated, huh?”

“I’m surprised he even let you come see me. Who knew Stark was such a germaphobe?” 

Steve chuckled. The sound was music to your ears. “I’m sure he’s got a full decontamination shower waiting for me outside the door.”

Laughing hurt, but you did anyway as you pulled the comforter along with you, getting up from the couch to go investigate exactly what Steve had brought, but the supersoldier was on you faster than you could blink.

“No way, you need to rest,” he said, gently taking your shoulders and steering you back to the couch. 

“Can I at least know what’s in the pot?” You asked, eyebrow raised.

Steve brushed some of your hair out of the way and cupped your face in his palm. His fingers were warm on your skin and if you hadn’t been so feverish you would’ve noticed how your body heated at his proximity. Your eyes closed against the touch, leaning into it like a cat and wishing he would touch you like that more often. Preferably when you didn’t feel like death warmed over.

“It’s chicken noodle soup, secret family recipe. You want a bowl?” 

You only nodded. His hand disappeared and the warmth with it so you opened your eyes and watched him ladle two bowls of soup. He brought them over and sat next to you, closer than he normally would’ve, you noticed, and you couldn’t help but lean against him a little, curling your body around the steaming bowl and further into your blanket.

The two of you ate quietly, the only sounds in the room from the show you’d been binging and the gentle clink of spoons on the ceramic bowls, followed by gentle slurps. The quiet was comfortable, though, and neither of you felt the need to break it.

When you’d finished, Steve collected your bowl and brought them over to the sink before coming back and collecting all the mugs you’d accumulated on the coffee table. 

“You don’t have to-” you started, but he interrupted.

“I know, but I want to,” he smiled up at you and your heart skipped a beat. “It’s the least I can do after plunging you into that river.”

“I was just kidding, you know, I don’t actually blame you.” Your voice followed him to the kitchen sink where he dumped out the mugs and loaded them into the dishwasher.

“I know. Doesn’t mean I don’t blame myself.”

You whipped around, noting his tense frame and the white-knuckle grip he had on the rinsed bowl. He blamed himself for so much, and you just had to run your mouth and add to his grief. You reached out your hand and gently said, “Hey, come here.”

Steve complied, leaving his chore. His large fingers wrapped around yours. You tugged him toward you, sitting him on the couch next to you. “I really don’t blame you. I’ll be fine.”

“I just don’t like seeing you hurting, doll.” He traced his hand over your cheek again and you swore that if he kept doing that you would, indeed, start purring. “Wish I could do something.”

“You can.”

“Anything.”

“Cuddle me?” You fluttered your eyelashes up at him and a smile split his face wide open. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and you threw your legs over his lap. You rested your head against his broad, muscled chest and listened to his heartbeat while whatever you’d been watching kept playing. Eventually you fell asleep, wrapped in Steve’s warm embrace, and even though you felt like garbage you’d never felt more content.

[toomuchracket]

omg can we have you looking after flatmate matty when he’s sick?? maybe bringing him cold medicine and helping him shower and giving lots of extra cuddles🥺

so its like mid-morning you're like up and dotting around the flat and you're kind of concerned because matty still isn't up yet (this is before you're together btw). like you know he wakes up later the night after a show but this is pushing it. and you're hesitant to go into his room in case there's someone with him, but every time you've gone past it's either been him snoring or just total silence, so you figure he's alone. you knock and open the door slightly, and poke your head round to see matty wrapped in the duvet SHIVERING despite the heating being on. you go over and he's like "babe i really really don't feel well" and his voice is all scratchy, and he's SWEATING. and you feel his forehead and he's burning up so you get him up and like manoeuvre him into the bathroom (he's so weak he can't stand by himself) to the shower to try and shift his fever. and even ill matty's still joking like "you know, i didn't picture this being the scenario in which we first showered together, but ok" and you pointedly ignore the fact he's just admitted to thinking about you and him in the shower together and just try and get him undressed in the most dignified way you can. and you're like "if you can face away from me i can hold you up without you having to compromise your modesty. i'll have to see your bare arse but that's nothing new" and matty's like "annoying that you've seen my bum and i haven't seen yours" and you're like "stop thinking about me naked and focus on feeling better" and he's like "those two things correlate it's fine" and you're like "jesus christ" but internally you're all !!!!!!! and the heat of the shower seems to soften the congestion in his chest so he's coughing this like awful awful cough and all you can really do is rub his back while holding him upright and doing your best not to look at him naked (but because he's so ill your overwhelming feeling is concern, not lust, so you're fine). anyway, the shower seems to revitalise him a little bit, so you leave matty to dry off and get dressed in his room and run to make him a cup of tea and get some soluble paracetamol. he has a bit of a tantrum about the latter, and won't force himself to drink it unless you sit and cuddle him afterwards to make him feel better (which melts your heart), so you end up sitting on matty's bed with his head in your lap, softly blow-drying his hair (so his cold doesn't get worse) while you watch my neighbor totoro (aka the best film of all time if u wanna feel better). when matty starts to fall asleep, you manoeuvre him onto the pillows and let him nap, while you go to the kitchen and start to reheat a batch of chicken noodle soup you'd made and frozen especially for situations like these. forty minutes later, though, you hear matty literally crying out your name and run back in a panic. and you're like "what's wrong sweetheart?" and he's actually crying a little bit holding your hand like "woke up and you weren't next to me" and you have to hold onto the bedframe to stop yourself keeling over at how heart-aching that statement is before you say "i'm sorry, babe, i was just getting you some soup. give me 2 minutes and i'll bring it to you". and matty pouts and says "promise you'll only be gone for 2 minutes?" and you're like "yes, i promise" and he reluctantly lets you go and get it. and then when you come back he has the soup then he's like "can you just please stay and cuddle me for the rest of the day?" and you're like "ok. but if i get ill, healy..." and matty's like "if you get ill, i'll take care of you. i'll always take care of you" and then he falls asleep on you again, leaving you sitting there heart fluttering lol <3

[hellishcuisine]

Mamans Jambalaya

Originally a recipe made from scraps, today jambalaya is a staple dish in every Creole family! This version stems from my mother, dear reader; I urge you to treat it with respect, otherwise I need to turn up at your house °W° (this is a joke). Since I live in Central Europe, some traditional ingredients are not accessible to me. Furthermore, I have to deal with certain allergies.. feel free to change back the indicated substitutes and make sure to let me see your results. I am dying to!

Ingredients (for ~6 servings): - Seasoning mix (see here) - 6 medium chorizos (substitute for Anduille sausage) - cut into ~1/4`` pieces - 3 big chicken breasts - cut into roughly the same size as the sausage - 1 medium capsicum (green) - roughly chopped - 3 sticks of celery - chopped to the same size - 1 big yellow onion - chopped to the same size - 1 habanero (yellow) - finely chopped - Cloves of garlic to taste - finely chopped or crushed - 2-3 tb Tomato paste - 2 cans of crushed tomatoes - Hot sauce to taste - 2-3 bay leaves - 5 cloves - Piment to taste - ~20oz vegetable or chicken stock - Rice

What to do when First, you want to sweat and caramelize your chorizo. Do not overcrowd the pan! In this case, I roasted two batches over medium heat for ~5min on each side. To quote my favorite online chef "Love it, leave it alone!"

Leave the grease in the pan and transfer the sausage into your pot; you will use the grease to brown your chicken! I personally put in some pieces of chorizo in with the chicken and cover everything with a generous helping of seasoning mix... Do not overcrowd the pan! Depending on your stove, this takes ~5min on each side. Do not worry if the center of your chicken is still raw-ish, we will boil it out later.

Again, transfer the meat into your pot. Now starts the fun part - we're caramelizing the holy trinity (onion, capsicum, celery). You need some neutral cooking oil and medium high heat. Let it sit and bleed. My celery was frozen, so do not worry if yours does not bleed as much! Make sure to taste check and adjust your flavour profile if you need to. The trinity can be a little bitter (which I personally prefer!); a bit of honey can balance it out. Once the trinity is softened and some of the excess moisture has evaporated, add the garlic and the habanero and let it become fragrant. Once everything is incorporated well, transfer it to the pot.

I personally like frying off my tomatoe paste, but that is optional! Add it to the pot together with the crushed tomatoes and the stock; add rice (depending on what kind of rice you chose, calculate it to balance with the stock). Add the bay leaves, cloves and piment and let it simmer over low heat for at least 30mins.

If you did everything right, this is the final product. Add some more seasoning mix and hot sauce to taste and enjoy!

[lostlegendaerie]

Backyard Chickens: A Master Post

So you want your own little dinosaurs to eat your table scraps and make breakfast for you in the sunny months. Well! I am here to provide a quick starter to getting your own flock set up - and yes, for urban chickens as well.

Things to consider:

What can you have? Local laws usually dictate how many chickens can be kept per household/acre. Laws can vary by state and city. Look this up first. You can usually keep more bantams (miniature chickens) than their full-size cousins, and with chickens being so social I do recommend bantams for urban/suburban yards.

What weather will they be exposed to? Indoor chickens can generate a lot of dust, but small outdoor coops can be difficult to heat safely. Dual purpose breeds are usually more cold-hardy than layer varieties, and everybody likes fresh water and shade in the heat. Frozen water bottles left outside to thaw can keep birds cool, too.

What will eat them? I have had little losses to foxes, personally, and more to neighborhood dogs. Raccoons are nearly everywhere in North America and will tear open fences to eat your babies. (I would know. I've had to deal with the aftermath.) Rabbit hutches are a good starter for bantams, but a good coop made of wood and a yard made of hardware cloth or dog fence panels (and with netting on top for hawks/owls) will keep out most things. Weasels/mink will fit through gaps bigger than an inch, so be careful of that, too.

What do they need? Chickens love to scratch and forage (and some can fly short distances and modest heights) so if you're letting them on the lawn be prepared for them to eat it - no pesticides on that turf! At night, they prefer to sleep on perches/something with a bit of height to it and do best locked in their coop where other critters can't eat them. A place to nest and lay their eggs in their coop (otherwise they will find their own little secret place, God help you find it) and a place to dust-bathe (like chinchillas) to help keep mites and lice out of their feathers. They'll also need some grit and calcium - crushed oyster shell (or their own eggshells) will help.

Where can I get them? Many farm and feed stores like Tractor Supply Company will sell baby chicks during the spring, but if you're looking for specific bantams or unusual breeds I recommend checking out your State Fair or a Poultry Association show [American version located here] and check it out. They're free admission, generally, and almost every show has people who bring birds to sell. While the demographics tend to slant pretty "red" I have seen plenty of blue hair and pronouns at poultry shows. Facebook can also be a great resource.

How do I get everyone to get along? Chickens are notoriously territorial, with a vicious pecking order that make Mean Girls a documentary. Chickens who are raised from chicks together will get along best, but if you need to add more I would introduce two or more at a time (so the newbies have a friend) and put them in a nearby yard/cage for a few days until everyone has worked out their opinions through the bars of a cage. Some breeds are sweeter than others (buff orpington) and some are.... spicy (Plymouth rocks).

Saro's Personal Breed Recommendations

Dual Purpose (cold weather) - Black Australorps , Buff Orpington, New Hampshire Reds are all generally pretty good natured and calm. The platonic ideal of a chicken.

Layer breeds (warm weather) - Leghorns are the go-to, but I have a soft spot for Hamburg as well. And of course, who wouldn't love a chicken who lays dark brown (Marans) or green/blue (Ameraucauna) eggs?

Bantams - D'Anvers with their little beards are my all time favorite and have the biggest personalities in my experience, but Old English Game (even more zippity) and Black Sumatras (all black, even down to the skin, and shockingly calm in hand) are high on the list as well. And everyone loves the fluffy-faced Silkie or feather footed Cochin.

Hopefully this is enough to get you started! Feel free to send me questions or add on with a couple of your own tips (especially non-US people and those with indoor chickens). I've been raising them for eggs, pets, and for show since 2005, but I am always eager to learn.

[cylentlycrafting]

Creamy Chicken and Shrimp Pasta Recipe

Something new I'm doing, which is my recipes I normally post on Instagram!

This recipe makes 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

2 TBSP of all purpose flour (Used: unbleached all purpose flour)

2 TBSP of margine or butter (Used: Smart Balance Olive Oil Spread)

8 TBSP of oil (Used: Great Value Classic Olive Oil)

3/4ths of a container of Frozen Seasoning Blend (it's an onion and pepper blend from Walmart that also contains celery and I believe parsley)

10oz of pasta (Used: Barilla Protein Spaghetti)

3 Cups of Half and Half (Used: Great Value Fat Free Half and Half)

One bag of frozen broccoli cuts

1 lb of fresh, extra large shrimp

2 lb of diced chicken breast (Used: Perdue Diced Chicken Breast)

One Frigo parmesan wedge, grated.

Seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, Accent, and poultry seasoning. Can use salt to replace Accent, I cook my foods to fit a low sodium diet.

Utensils used: clawed spoon, 2 big pots, a large frying pan, tongs, spatula, cup measure, tbsp measure.

First things first, you're gonna want to mix one TBSP of flour with poultry seasoning, onion powder, black pepper, and garlic powder. Right after, get a big pot boiling with enough water for your pasta. I tend to just follow box directions.

Get 2 TBSP of olive oil heating to medium high heat (like between medium and six) in a large pot, you'll want one you can eventually add ALL your ingredients into, so keep that in mind. Cook your diced chicken in batches, making sure to not overcrowd the pot. I used 6 TBSP in all to get it all cooked, and each batch took roughly ~10-15 minutes each.

While your chicken is cooking, finish your pasta, and set it to the side in a strainer. Make sure to reserve half a cup of pasta water. Go ahead and throw your shrimp into some seasoning: black pepper, A LITTLE cayenne (a very small amount goes a long way), garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and accent/salt.

If the chicken's coating starts making a really bad black patch on the pot, you can scrape off some, but do NOT remove any from the last batch. Once all the chicken is done, you're gonna add the butter/margarine to the chicken pot. When it's melted, add your seasoning blend to it.

After the seasoning blend cooks down, add your other tbsp of flour and STIR!!! You're making a roux, don't let it burn! It'll be done when it's like a dark brown paste. Add pasta water, stir, then add your half and half and parmesan. Turn to medium heat.

While still occasionally stirring your cream sauce, get a frying pan out. Put one TBSP of olive oil in it and get it to medium high heat. This is what you'll be cooking your shrimp in; do not put the shrimp in the oil until it sizzles! Shrimp should only need 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping only once. You'll know they're done when the skin starts to curve out and turn where it used to be blue! Add the other TBSP of oil when the previous one burns off.

*IF using cooked, just add it to cream sauce when you add your chicken, and instead use the oil for your broccoli.

Add broccoli to shrimp pan. CAREFUL, it's going to pop and crack and be very angry as it's frozen broccoli going into a hot pan. Be careful!!! You only need it to cook enough to take some of the bite out.

While broccoli cooks, add shrimp, chicken, and pasta to your cream sauce. Add broccoli once it's done. Let it thicken up a little, then serve!

(This recipe is freezing friendly! I used it in meal prep and it was just as delicious after being frozen!)

[barkspawn]

If you're up for it - Shane comforting Amelia, with the prompt “Do you– can I– do you want to be held?” I LOVE YOUR ONE SHOTS THANK YOU!!!

Uh hey. I'm sorrryyyyy.

Also I'm going to attempt to do this on mobile. If it's awful I will edit on PC.

Amelia hung up her phone and threw it onto the bed, letting out a frustrated groan. She hardly talked to her father, but on those brief calls every few months, he never failed to be a dick.

Every time they spoke, without fail, he would find every negative thing in her life and chastise her for it.

She’s lived in Stardew Valley for nearly a year and she was doing well enough but is genuinely starting to get the hang of things now. She finally had a good amount of gold and supplies to run a proper farm and raise some chickens and maybe even some larger animals.

Her crops this fall were incredible. She made more than she had ever yet and she was proud.

Until the talk with her dad, where he pointed out that she was making a lot of stupid mistakes. He told her she didn't need to focus on chickens since she was too clueless to install an irrigation system. She already made plans to set that up and was waiting for the materials to come in. It wasn't already done though, so of course she was inadequate.

Frustrated, she resolved to turn her day around.

A shower.

She wanted a hot shower to relax her muscles and relax. With a sigh, she pulled off her dirty overalls and underclothes, looking at herself in the mirror. She was toning her body a bit, it seems, but she still got so caught up on the “pudge” of her belly, as her mom called it.

She threw the clothes in a heap into her hamper and made for the shower. She turned the water on hot, pulling her hair from the tie and climbing in. The heat from the shower was everything. It felt incredible on her sore muscles… until about two minutes later.

The water suddenly ran cold.

Amelia let out a yelp at the sudden change, clinging to the far side of the shower.

Is this seriously happening?

She groaned, still having to rinse off her hair and body.

It took far longer than it had to, her body more tense than when she started. She hurried to dry off, freezing from the cold water and the fact she’d forgotten to light the fireplace.

Winter would come in a few days, so it was already cold. At least she had this round of crops to get her some gold for the coming winter.

She lit the fire as soon as she could, the warmth bringing her much needed comfort. She closed her eyes and sighed, taking the moment to herself before she had to make her way in town.

Amelia was putting her shoes on as she heard Loaf barking at something. She sighed and went out the door, panic washing over her.

“No, no, no!”

She ran down the stairs to her porch as she watched a handful of crows fly off. Her scarecrow lay on the ground, presumably knocked down in yesterday’s storm or by Loaf. She really didn't want to, but she walked over to look, at least four pumpkins gone.

With a sigh, she stood the scarecrow back up, not even in the mood to be upset about it. It's a little less gold… She hoped.

She went back inside to grab her phone, figuring a walk might calm her down. She groaned, noting the crack running along her screen.

Great, now I have to call Z-Mobile too.

She checked her phone, a text from Sam canceling their plans for later, Vincent having gotten pretty sick.

The rest of the day was filled with little inconveniences. A snag in her sweater, a splinter in her hand, not being able to find her hoe that she just upgraded, and the list goes on. The sun started to set, and she tried to make some basic, crappy frozen meal, but the microwave won't work. It just wouldn't power on. She nearly screamed.

Instead, she grabbed the bottle of wine from her fridge and walked out the door and down toward the forest. She moved to sit on the small pier of the lake.

She closed her eyes for a long moment, trying to let the sound of the crickets and bullfrogs calm her. She took the wine and just stared at it.

It had a cork.

She just looked at it, her mind just blank. She would throw it into the lake if it didn't take so long to make. Instead, she let herself yell in frustration, burying her face in her hands.

“Whoa, bad day?”

She heard Shane behind her and nearly fell into the lake and would have if he hadn't reacted fast enough. Her eyes already stung with tears.

“Uh, yeah. Just.. A really bad day,” she started ahead, the only thought she had was how she should have listened to that damn fortune channel this morning.

“I feel ya…” Shane started, holding up a cooler, “don't have a corkscrew, but I can offer a cold one?”

She smiled up at him, “please?” she sighed, watching as he sat awkwardly, cross-legged on the other as he handed her a beer.

“I don't think I've ever seen you anything other than happy,” he started, “well, maybe a little pouty, but that doesn't count.”

“Just… One thing after another today.”

He nodded, “trust me. I understand those days. Sorry you got one.”

She cursed those first few tears that fell, glancing at Shane, who looked uncomfortable as all hell. With a sigh, she stood.

“Here, switch places with me. I think the edge is too close for my luck today.”

He smirked, joking, “well hold on tight and ill walk you over here.”

She hated this. She hated that it even got to the point where she was crying in front of her best friend who she happened to have feelings for. He held out a hand to help her over the little pile of things on the pier, hearing her sniffle as she came closer.

He looked over her face, noting the shine of tears she tried to hide.

“Shit, Oats…” he put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to break. She let out a cry and he pulled his hand back, worried he would somehow make it worse.

“Do you–” he started, losing that thought as she tried to apologize, her face in her hands.

“Can I–” he started, not knowing what to offer. What could he possibly do to make it better? Jas liked hugs.. But she's a child. He thought back to the last time he was that distraught and how Marnie was there and just–

He put his hands on her shoulders, his voice gentle, “do you want to be held?”

She looked up at him, eyes puffy and red as she slowly nodded before the dam broke once more.

He stepped forward and let her cry into his chest. She sort of seemed to curl in on herself, her hands gripping the front of his jacket. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, making sure not to hold on to her too tightly, but firm enough to know he was there and would always be.

His heart ached as she cried, every ounce of stress coming out in a wet spot on Shane’s shirt. Eventually, she slowed, her breathing evening out. She moved to wrap her arms around him, returning his firm hug with a tight embrace.

“Do you want me to let go?” he heard her mumble into his chest.

“Nah, not until you're ready to. I'm not going anywhere.”

“I don't know what I did to deserve you… But I'm so thankful right now that you came.”

“You know I'm usually only here or at the saloon.”

“Maybe I just knew I needed you around. I'm sorry.”

“Oats, you had a shit day. You needed to cry and that's fine. I'm not gonna leave you alone to cry over a cork,” he joked, resting his cheek on her head, “plus, it's kind of cold and you're like the best little space heater.”

She laughed, “At least I did something right today.”

“Hey, don't do that,” he pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, “I know you and I know that you are the most impressive person I've ever met. Look at how far you've come with your farm! How huge you are to this community!”

She looked down, causing him to tilt her chin upwards with his finger, “your good days far outweigh the bad. Next time you have a bad day, call me. I don't like that you're all upset.”

She gave a small smile and pulled him in for a tighter hug, “thank you, Shane. It really means the world…”

“Don’t mention it,” he sighed, returning the tighter hug, “and I really mean that. I can't have people thinking I've gone soft.”

[larcenywrites]

How would young!Tony and older Tony react upon finding you curled up in a little ball in bed whimpering and crying because your period cramps hurt so fucking bad :(?

He would would be very concerned, and with good reason. He may not know much, but nothing should hurt that bad unless it requires a doctor or something, surely 😣 and may try to recommend it, though that doesn’t exactly help right now :/ tbh he’ll definitely cuddle up to you, and will probably want to just lay on top of you if you let him 🥺 he doesn’t know if it’ll help, but he is warm and cuddly and heavy so maybe it does a little 🥺 and he’ll play with your hair or wipe away/kiss the tears on your cheeks :( he’ll probably also do a lot of research on his own to see if he can do anything! But it’s kinda hard when you don’t know exactly how it feels :( so he may feel a little shorty and useless bc if it :((

But real talk rq, it’s normal to have annoying cramping a day or two of your period, but super bad cramps (especially consistently) is not, especially if it’s also accompanied by a really heavy and/or irregular flow! I recommended starting on a vitamin D supplement + an Omega-3 (provided you are not on any blood thinners, as omega supplements can interact negatively). Of course, I can’t recommend a dosage, as that depends on many different variables like age and weight and what not, so always do research! It is always smart to talk to a trusted doctor or medical provider about awful period symptoms if available, but often times they wanna prescribe birth control first, which is fine if you’re comfortable with it and believe that it’s right for you, and also be sure to do your research on it as well as talk with the doctor! But if BC isn’t an option, many of my friends that I have recommend those supplements to have seen improvements :) though, consistence is key, and it may take 4-6 weeks to start working. I would also recommend finding a good Women’s multi vitamin (I like Garden of Life’s Multivitamin Code:Women, it says 4 a day but I take 2!) as they are created with plenty of zinc and B vitamins, which greatly nourishes the ovaries and zinc may also help suppress ovarian cyst development. I also recommend Peruvian red maca root (make sure it’s Peruvian and not the weaker Chinese version, and make sure it’s the red. I use The Maca Team company, via their website, and take 3 raw capsules a day), provided you don’t have any thyroid issues or sensitivities, but again, always be sure to do your own research and/or talk with a medical provider, and to talk with them if you have any medications or medical conditions. Maca root may be too expensive, however (especially when you’re buying it with other supplements), and multivitamins (especially the brand I use) and omega-3s can also get pricey depending on your dosage and preferred brands and where you live, but Vitamin D is often cheap and easily available, and is the best place to start, as it greatly benefits every part of the body! Another great habit to get into is making sure to work avocado, blueberries/strawberries/raspberries, spinach, and/or sweet potato into at least one meal a day, as those are considered superfoods as well as hormone balancing foods! Chicken, eggs, turkey, and low mercury fish are also very good for that, provided you are able to eat meat. Frozen and canned works just as good, as long as they don’t have too much sodium or added sugar! However, I am aware that this can be an expensive option, especially if buying with supplements. If you’ve had your blood work recently and know that the issue isn’t low levels of any vitamins or minerals, be sure to talk with the doctor, as there are some cases where BC is really your only option, but that doesn’t mean you have to take it of course. It just depends on your level of comfort with your period or with taking BC, if anything at all seems to help in any way (such as Tylenol, heat pads, etc), and whether or not you have any specific medications or known medical conditions. I also recommend non-carbonated kombucha for the bloating (among other things) 😘 provided you don’t have IBS or similar digestive distress issues, and aren’t sensitive to oxalates (in particular, getting kidney stones due to high oxalate levels). But if you’re a first timer, don’t drink more than like half a measuring cup or a single measuring cup, and don’t drink it really fast 😅 And keep in mind that while it is vegan and gluten free, there are low but existing alcohol levels, should that be an issue! And no, not enough to require an ID or to get drunk lol. Again, if you have any medications or medical conditions, always be sure to do research and/or talk with your medical care provider! And overall, be sure to stay hydrated on your period (and all the time really)! It can help with headaches and cramps, and is overall important.

I hope everyone here is 18+, but in case you aren’t, you should definitely ask a doctor before following any of this advice and also do research. Also, often times periods are most painful within the first 3-5 years of getting it, as hormones are new and constantly changing with a growing body. I also recommend you not be on this blog if this is the case 😅

I was once in a rough spot with horrible cramps to where I’d was crying or on a few occasions sick and a very heavy flow, and absent periods for up to 80 days even. It’s unfortunate how little info or care is provided to us, even by doctors :( I suffered for years until I kinda just started doing my own research and it took a good few years to get into a good spot and figure out what I needed and what I didn’t. I wish you all good health and hope you can all find the best routine and supplementation for your bodies and cycles :)

[naked-bee]

Paprika Hendl Recipe

Joining in the Dracula Daily mania, I tried out a chicken paprikash recipe (modified to fit my preference for whole chicken and minimal prep). It turned out super delicious so I figured I'd share!

INGREDIENTS 2 onions, coarsely chopped 1 bulb of garlic (10-20 cloves, peeled but left whole) 1 whole chicken (4-5 lbs - don't forget to defrost if frozen and remove the neck & giblets from inside if present) 1/4 cup butter 2 tbs paprika 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper pinch of red pepper flakes 1.5 cups water 1/4 cup flour 1 cup sour cream

ROAST Preheat oven to 350F Put onions in a pile at the bottom of a roasting pan Put some of the garlic in the pile and some inside the chicken Put the chicken on the pile Melt butter then mix in the spices Brush butter-spice mix all over the chicken Pour water into bottom of pan Cover pan and put in the oven Roast until done (thigh temp above 175F, juices run clear, and/or meat is falling off the bone - in my oven this takes 80 minutes) Remove chicken onto serving platter

SAUCE Scoop first two cups of pan drippings into a measuring cup and let settle Skim fat (nominally 1/4 cup) and put the fat in a saucepan Add 1/4 cup flour (or adjust to match volume of fat) and mix over heat until smooth Turn up the heat and add the reserved liquid drippings Cook until bubbly and starting to thicken Add the rest of the drippings and onions and garlic Remove from heat and stir in sour cream

SERVE Carve chicken and serve pieces with sauce

[persephinae]

ok, so i was in the mood for lamb stew, however I did not have any lamb medallions, just ground lamb meat. so i googled recipes for lamb meatball stew and found this

however i made mine slightly different as i had to use what I had in my pantry

my recipe:

preheat oven to 325

in a large dutch oven, pour in idk about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (don't be stingy) on medium heat

then throw in about half an onion roughly chopped and sauté until softened (I use spanish onions)

while sautéing, season generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, cumin, oregano (it smells so goooooood)

once softened, add a small can of sliced carrots and one small can of mushrooms (add additional seasoning as needed) - i use canned carrots because i hate frozen carrots (they have just an ughhhh texture for me) and I didn't have any fresh carrots

sauté and marry it all together for a few minutes

I also added half can of diced italian seasoned tomatoes (garlic, oregano, basil) - because i had to use up my left overs, but you do you

sauté it a bit more and then add about 1/3 cup of good red wine

let that simmer for a bit to cook off the alcohol

then add about 6-8 cups of beef broth (enough broth to cook meatballs in)

re-season to taste (i added a bit more salt, garlic, & thyme, then added a sprig of fresh oregano from my plant)

add 2 bay leaves

then about 1/3 cup or so of frozen spinach

while that's cooking you make your lamb meatballs

defrosted 1 lb of ground lamb, put in bowl with about 1/4 cup of italian style bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, cumin, shawarma seasoning, oregano

the recipe called for uncooked rice, but I used one of those single serving ready to go rice portions and added about half that container to the meat mixture

i threw the rest of the rice into the soup to cook

While mixing your meat: add 1 egg then mix all your ingredients together by hand and start forming meatballs to drop in your simmering hot soup

once done, put the lid on your dutch oven and throw that bad boy into the oven for about 25 minutes for the meatballs to cook

serve with fresh crusty bread

the soup smells and tastes amazing, absolutely best broth

the only thing i might change going forward is I might bake my meatballs a bit beforehand for a nice crust, then throw them in (i'm italian/sicilian american and grew up baking my meatballs)

this all makes a big pot of soup that could feed 4-6 people, or if it's just your little old self, you can freeze some portions for some other cold day

edit: for anyone who's interested and are able to afford it, I HIGHLY suggest getting some shawarma seasoning in your pantry for cooking lamb or chicken

[curvycarbivore]

Ricotta and Sausage Stuffed Manicotti (Vegan)

Yield: 5 servings | Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 40 minutes | Total time: 1 hour

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Hungry Planet plant-based meats are truly nutritious, featuring fewer calories, less fat, no saturated fat, and no unnecessary ingredients. The sausage crumbles are especially one of my favorites; they're so easy to add to any recipe and will turn your boring jarred pasta sauce into a deliciously meaty meal. Hungry Planet also offers other easy-to-cook-with plant-based meats like grilled chicken strips, Thai meatballs, Italian sausage meatballs, and more. Find them in the freezer section at your local Sprouts Market and Shop Hungry!

Ingredients:

1 box (8 oz) of manicotti noodles

1 package (8 oz) of Hungry Planet Italian Sausage™ Crumbles

1 tbsp cooking oil (grapeseed or canola)

1 block (14 oz) of firm tofu

3 tbsp vegan cream cheese

1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese, divided in half

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach (or 1/2 cup of frozen spinach)

1 jar (25 oz) red pasta sauce

Directions:

Lightly grease a 9x13, 3" deep pan or glass baking dish and set aside.

Start by boiling the noodles.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the entire box of manicotti noodles.

Boil the noodles according to the "al dente" instructions on the box, usually for about 7 minutes.

Once they are cooked, turn off the heat and carefully remove the noodles from the water. Lay each noodle out on a fresh towel to dry, making sure they are not touching each other.

While the noodles are boiling, prepare the sausage crumbles.

In a medium sized bowl, add the entire jar of red sauce. Set aside.

Heat a medium sized frying pan on the stove over medium heat.

Add 1 tbsp of oil to the pan.

Add the entire bag of Hungry Planet sausage crumbles to the pan and quickly mix to coat the crumbles in the oil.

Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes or until the sausage crumbles are just defrosted (do not overcook since they will be baked in the oven).

Remove half of the sausage crumbles and add them to the bowl with the red sauce. Mix and set aside.

Add the spinach to the frying pan with the other half of the sausage crumbles and cook until the spinach has wilted (or defrosted if you're using frozen).

Remove the sausage/spinach mixture from heat and set aside.

Next, prepare the tofu ricotta filling.

Remove the tofu from the package and gently press it with a kitchen towel to remove some of the excess moisture.

Place the tofu in a large mixing bowl and use the back of a fork to break it up into fluffy crumbles.

Add the cream cheese, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, oregano, garlic powder, and salt to the tofu and mix until everything is evenly combined.

Gently fold in the entire sausage/spinach mixture to the bowl with the tofu.

Now that you have the boiled manicotti noodles, ricotta sausage mixture, and sausage red sauce done, it's time to stuff the manicotti.

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Using a small spoon, fill each manicotti noodle with the tofu mixture. Try to fill about 10-12 noodles (you need less filling per noodle than you think, maybe about 2.5-3 tbsp per noodle).

Place the filled manicotti noodles in the greased baking dish.

Once all the manicotti noodles are stuffed, top them evenly with the sausage red sauce mixture.

Sprinkle the other 1/4 cup of mozzarella shreds on top of the red sauce.

Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

Remove from the oven, uncover, and let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Top with some fresh basil leaves or oregano for a garnish.

Tips and Tricks:

The Hungry Planet sausage crumbles can also be defrosted in the microwave! Simply microwave them on high for about 1 minute, then mix in the roughly chopped spinach and microwave for another minute or until the spinach is wilted (or defrosted).

Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Reheat leftovers in the microwave for 2 minutes or until the manicotti noodles are warmed through. Top with extra red sauce and cheese if desired.

[fatherlessmoth]

TW FOOD AND RECIPE

Low Carb Friendly Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Burrito

Hi! I've never put any recipes on Tumblr but I made this by accident and wanted to share. I'm diabetic and in ED recovery, and this is what I had for breakfast!

Ingredients -1 boiled egg -Carb balance flour tortilla -1 slice of turkey bacon (or more if you want some on the side) -Green giant's teriyaki chicken and broccoli frozen bag -Soy sauce -Vegan butter (I use smart balance) -Light sour cream -Chopped green onions (dried or fresh) -Garlic powder and pepper to taste -Anything else you wanna add! Put a small skillet on the stove on medium. Add your green giant contents, I used about a handful and a half for this measurement. Add a teaspoon of vegan butter and let that sit for about a minute. Add your soy sauce to taste, I eyeballed it. (do not add salt! regardless of if you use low sodium soy sauce or regular, it'll severely oversalt it). Add about two tablespoons of sour cream. Add a little bit of water at time to make almost like a sauce, but let it cook. Let that cook on medium heat uncovered while you go to the next step, keep an eye on it and add more water if it starts to look dry.

Chop up your boiled egg. Slice it into thin slices, then cut those in half/aimlessly chop like I did. Add your seasonings to the stir fry first, stir it around make sure it's coated and make sure it's not too dry, then add the egg. Stir it around, then put the heat on low-medium (not too low) and continue to add water if it dries out while cooking. When it's done, all of the veggies and chicken should look darker brown. Check the bag for what temp the chicken has to be and use a thermometer if you have one (I didn't so I just winged it).

Lay your tortilla flat. Put the contents of your stir fry in the middle, if you made too much to fit then you'll have some on the side. Tear off pieces of your turkey bacon and putt it on top, add any sauce or cheese you like. Roll your burrito. Enjoy!!

(the reason I didn't add timings for anything is because this is exactly how I did it. i'm not a cook. i just threw this all together and it was so good and healthier that i had to share.)

[spooniechef]

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto (1-2 spoons)

Another recipe that’s great for leftovers and fairly easy to cook apart from a little bit of prep-faff is risotto. It’s very forgiving, very versatile, and nicely filling as well as tasting nice. I do it rather differently than the recipe I found on the BBC Good Foods website, but I still have issues with the BBC, so I’m actually really good with that, especially when my tweaks can make it easier and in some cases cheaper.

Here’s what you’ll need

1.4l (5 1/2 cups or so) chicken stock

300g (1 1/2 cups or so) arborio risotto rice

250g (2 cups or so) chestnut mushrooms, sliced thickly

140g (1 cup or so) chicken (see notes)

1 large onion, diced

50g (1/4 cup or so) butter

150ml (half a cup or so) dry white wine

85g (1/3 cup or so) smoked bacon lardons (also see notes)

More notes on possible substitutions and the like here. For instance, I didn’t want to spend obscene amounts of money on smoked bacon lardons, so I improvised with cooking bacon instead. Same basic principle, but about £1.50 cheaper, so it works for me. As for the chicken ... well, it says to use cooked chicken but I’ve found that cooking the chicken at the same time as the lardons (or equivalent) go into the pan works just as well, if not better; it gets more of the flavour into the chicken itself. I’ll make notes of when the chicken goes in depending on whether it’s cooked or raw.

Here’s what you do:

Put the butter into a large pan; add the lardons (and chicken, if raw), and fry for five minutes on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until the onions are soft and clear but not browned

Stir in the mushrooms, cook for about 5 minutes; then stir in the risotto rice and cook for another 2 minutes or so until the rice starts going transparent.

Pour in the wine and let it boil off. Then start adding the chicken stock in increments - add about a quarter of the pot, let that boil down, and keep adding more chicken stock and letting it boil down until the rice is cooked and most of the stock has been absorbed. (You’re looking for a rice pudding sort of texture; you can add maybe a cup of frozen peas when the last quarter of the stock goes in, if desired.)

Stir in the chicken (if cooked) and let warm for another couple of minutes, then let stand for a few minutes to let the rice soak in a bit more moisture (you can add about a half-cup of parmesan cheese and some parsley at this point if desired).

Serve.

Like I said, easy recipe. Only a few spots where I might make notes:

You’ll notice there’s a lot of “if desired” in here. As I said, it’s a really versatile recipe and I imagine you could replace the chicken with a lot of other meats, especially, say, cooked prawns in place of cooked chicken. You could probably also use a less expensive mushroom, but you’d probably have to give it a little less time cooking, since chestnut mushrooms are a little sturdier than your average closed cap or button. I normally add in some frozen peas and skip the cheese and the parsley, but that latter mostly because there’s no decent dairy-free substitute for parmesan (the butter in this is enough, thanks) and parsley, while easy enough to do because of my thriving parsley plant, isn’t entirely my thing. Just play around with the recipe; as long as you’re doing the thing where you cook the rice until translucent before you start adding liquid, and add liquid in stages, you’re probably fine whatever you do.

It really is the early stages where this one can get painful; stirring raw risotto rice so that it all goes translucent-ish at about the same time without any of it burning takes a lot of effort. Thankfully the rest of the recipe mostly makes up for it, which is why 1-2 spoons. It’s a single-spoon recipe if you have some of the things that make life a lot easier in the kitchen (a mandoline for dicing the onion, an egg slicer for the mushrooms, using pre-prepared chicken so you don’t have to dice it on the day), and a two-spoon recipe if you don’t.

So there you have it - a slightly faffy but overall fairly simple recipe for a good solid rice dish. Let’s hear it for batch cooking!

[riflebrass]

I've been saving up some drippings. I think there's two large packs of chicken thighs and two racks of ribs here. After chilling and skimming off the fat I was left with about 3 cups of meat jelly so I used it to make broccoli and beef.

I had a 2lb bag of frozen broccoli I let sit out all afternoon to thaw out.

I also had a chuck roast that was about 2 1/2lbs. I cut it down into bite sized pieces then seared it in a soup pot. I didn't want to over crowd the meat so I worked in batches and it took 3 to get the job done. Once the meat was dark on the outside I dumped in a chopped onion and the meat drippings.

I didn't season the meat prior to searing because I was worried the drippings might have a lot of salt in them already. It turned out to be a good call. The drippings were just salty enough for me. I added some pepper for a little extra heat then when the juices were nice and hot I turned it down to a simmer then let it go,

After simmering for an hour and a half the meat was nice and tender so I mixed up some corn starch and water and mixed it in to thicken up the sauce. I brought it up to a boil and dumped in the thawed out broccoli. At this point I just turned off the heat and let the temp of the meat and sauce cook the broccoli.

I decided to make some rice to go with it. If you're really new to rice the rule of thumb is 1 part rice to 2 parts water. The important thing is to rinse the absolute shit out of your rice. If the water coming out is still white and cloudy just keep going. Mix your hand through it and rub it against itself to scrub off all the starch. If you don't the rice comes out really gummy and gross. Then feel free to season the water before cooking the rice. I put in the last of the butter on the counter, maybe 3 tbsp?, plus some salt, and some garlic powder with 4 cups of water and 2 cups of rice. I put most of the food in some pint tupperware. About a cup of rice then about a cup of beef & broccoli. I filled up 6 tupperware and had just enough left in the pots for my dinner.

Overall I like how it turned out but I could have timed it better. I was expecting to have to simmer the meat for 2 hours to get it tender so it was basically done by the time I got started on the rice. By the time the rice was done the rest of it was cold. Still tasted pretty good and the meat drippings made the sauce nice and rich.