For agreeing to a 2 year contract, I rec'd the 3 services, High Definition TV on the fiber optic system, fast Internet and my phone, which included voice mail, etc. I also got all of the Premium move channels, including all of the HBO, Cinemax, The Movie Channel, Flix, Epix, Encore, Showtime, and I mean all of them, free for the 2 years.
They also sent me, a $400 Visa card. My bill is about 114.00 month. Sweet deal, good service, life was good.
Not so fast.. along comes the Black Plague of cable companies, aka Frontier Communications, who bought the Florida, Texas, and California market from Verizon, and our services have about died from the disease.
I am so not joking.
My Internet speeds have come to a crawl, some days reminding me of the ole dial up. Sometimes I am getting "Server Not Found" messages, even yesterday when I tried to log into my account with Frontier. My phone is working fine, most of the time, except for my Voice Mail, is not working all the time, sometimes my answering machine is getting the missed messages. I used to have Caller ID on the TV screen, no more.
Ah, the TV, and all those great things I had, hit or miss. My favorite service, is Video On Demand, which included all of the channels series I could watch at my leisure. These are either non existent still, over a month later, with promises every week, that it will be up to date by...... ( insert date or time frame), never happens.
At first all of our efforts to reach the company online, were met with chat reps in other countries. I chatted with a rep named Unique and one named Lice. Now, no offense to other countries, at all, America is full of immigrants from other countries, however 1. A rep of a US company providing service here in the US, has to have a total grasp on communicating in English. 2. After chatting with Lice for over 30 minutes, I needed a shower as I was itching form the name Lice. Now, WHO names a child LICE? Isn't lice like universal for parasitic bugs that live on skin and hair? Enlighten me here.
Then, after waiting in queues of over 300 people waiting ahead of me, while filing my nails, then polishing my nails, then making coffee, 2 bathroom trips ( coffee has to go somewhere), and prepping dinner, I finally get through to someone, to more false promises, more excuses, and a promise of a credit for services , that I still have not rec'd.
Then, I get switched to another rep in the middle of this " conversation", to be told they want me to start all over, they know nothing about this , until I tell them I have copied the entire chat with the first rep, ohhhhhh, hmmm, OK, let me see. We can send a tech to you, as we see you are still on the Verizon network, and we need to " upgrade" you to ours. What????????????
OK, how, why, when. Well, blah blah blah, and there may be a service charge for the tech. OH HELL NO!
They try to tell me I have a contract to fulfill, as I had a 2 year commitment to Verizon. Yes, I did, and you are NOT Verizon, I am under NO obligation to you, nor am I obligated to pay a bill for services I am not getting. If I did have a contract with your company, and you try to hold me to it by charging me an Early Termination Fee, I will sue your company for breach of contract. Contracts work both ways, and you are not keeping up with what I am " contractually" signed up for. Then we get the hem, the haw, the do you want to call a supervisor? Not yet, however, I will not pay this current bill.
Well, that is that for now, but, there will be more to come. As one of my favorite chefs used to say
" Wooeeee!
"I NEEDED something sweet to eat last night. I mean I NEEDED it. I am a Type 2 Diabetic, and I am careful not to eat too many sweets, and keep my carbs in check. But, I NEEDED something sweet last night.
I had just bought 15 Dozen Eggs at GFS. Why did I buy 15 dozen eggs? Simple, they made me an offer I could not refuse. $9.99. um, yes. With all the cooking I do, and my helping make meals for Meals on Wheels and breakfasts for the Homeless, I will use those eggs.
I used some of those eggs to help my sweet tooth, by making Cheese Blintzes, and served them with Strawberries and a little bit of sour cream.
Recipe:
Filling: Traditional ( I use this one)
- 1 3/4 cups cottage cheese or farmer's cheese ( I use farmer cheese)
- 2 cups (15-ounce container) ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest OR 1/8 teaspoon lemon oil ( optional, I did not use this time)
- 2-3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups
Instructions
- To make the crêpes: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk all of the crêpe ingredients together to make a smooth batter.
- Place the batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour or longer, in order to relax the gluten.
- Heat an 8" (or slightly larger) crêpe or omelet pan until a drop of water skips across the pan. Lightly grease the pan, and pour a scant 1/4 cupful of batter into the middle.
- Tilt the pan and swirl the batter to completely coat the bottom with batter. Cook until the crêpe is opaque and set.
- Transfer the crêpes, "uncooked" side down, to a sheet pan or rack to cool. When you stack them, stack them "uncooked" side down, so that this side will be on the outside when you roll them.
- To make the traditional filling: Place the cottage cheese and ricotta cheese in a colander lined with cheesecloth, or in a yogurt cheese maker. Let drain for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, pressing down occasionally. With some brands of cheese you'll only remove 1 or 2 tablespoons of liquid, while others may give up 1/4 cup or more.
- For a smoother, creamier filling, blend all of the ingredients in a food processor. For a more traditional, grainier filling, simply mash the cottage cheese with a fork, and stir in the remaining ingredients. ( I did the mash and stir)
- To assemble the blintzes: Use approximately 3 rounded tablespoons filling for each 8" crêpe. Place the filling about 2" from the top of the crêpe, fold the sides in, fold the top down, then loosely roll the crêpe into a log.
- Heat a medium-sized frying pan, and melt in it about 2 tablespoons of butter till it's sizzling. Saute the blintzes until they're lightly browned and heated through.
Video to help figure out how to make the crepes, and fold the Blintze
Ok, his may look a bit better than mine, and also if you pay attention, there is another recipe in there.
Top these with some powdered sugar if desired, or serve with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, warmed up and /or a dollop of sour cream. ( Or all of those:) )
For a nice side dish with a meal or brunch, try the Potato Blintz, which serve well with apple sauce or sour cream, and a little bit of salt.
POTATO FILLING:
4 potatoes (peeled & cooked)
2 onions (chopped & sauteed)
1 egg
Salt & pepper to taste
2 onions (chopped & sauteed)
1 egg
Salt & pepper to taste
These crepes can be used for many purposes. I also make my manicotti shells from this batter and process. Think, no breaking dry tubes, boiling, and having fresh easy to fill and roll manicotti. Yepper.
- Manicotti Cheese FILLING:
- 2 cartons (15 ounces each) ricotta cheese
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- pinch of nutmeg, optional
Tips:
Top with meat sauce, or Sausage and Peppers
Fill with a ground beef and cheese filling
Experiment with fillings, such as for Chicken Canelloni
4 cups
finely chopped cooked chicken
2
(8-ounce) containers chive-and-onion cream cheese
1
(10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 cup
(8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup
Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
3/4 teaspoon
garlic salt
Mix together, and make rollups place seam side down in greased casserole dish. Top with sauce as desired, such as a Cream of Chicken, or Mushroom Sauce, OR....
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
1
(3-ounce) package shredded Parmesan cheese
Ingredients
2
(7-ounce) jars roasted red bell peppers, drained
1
(16-ounce) jar creamy Alfredo sauce
Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired. Mangia!!
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