Quick Chicken Quesadillas
Next time you’re scrambling to come up with a quick yet satisfying casual meal, consider making 5 Minute Quesadillas!
Ingredients
- Flour tortillas
- Salsa
- Mexican cheese mix or your favorite cheeses, shredded
- 1 rotisserie chicken (whatever flavor/seasoning you prefer), breast/thigh/wing meat shredded or sliced thinly
- Optional: cilantro
- Optional: serve with extra salsa and/or sour cream
- Makes 8 – 10 quesadillas
Shred as much chicken as required: a single breast will provide enough meat for 3 to 4 quesadillas. Spread cheese mixture on one half of each tortilla, top with chicken, salsa, cilantro if preferred, and more cheese. Fold over, and heat in a saucepan over medium heat until cheese is fully melted and tortilla is browned a bit; repeat on the other side. Serve with refried beans, black beans, rice, or whatever you prefer.
A couple of quick photos: first, assembling a quesadilla. You can include whatever you like or have on hand, for instance a few jalapeno slices or chopped chiles if you want some extra heat, or perhaps some guacamole…
I cover the quesadillas with a clear cover to trap the heat and ensure that everything is heated through and the cheese fully melts. When the first side is browned a bit, flip it over for another minute or two.
When my wife is out of town and I need to come up with something quick for dinner, this is one of the things I’ll make. They’re super easy, can be tailored exactly to your tastes, and really only take a few minutes to pull together! Give them a try!
A neat line of men’s and women’s canvas & rubber boots and shoes, moderately priced, via Cool Tools. See the line here: Palladium Boots
I recently ran up against the nastiest piece of malware I’ve ever encountered – Windows Security Suite – (which of course has nothing whatsoever to do with Microsoft or Windows). In a word, the program makes your computer seem completely infected and compromised, to the point where you can’t launch your browser, Task Manager, your anti-virus software, or much of anything.
Also known as Windows Defender virus, the program launches numerous – and I mean TONS – of popups which politely suggest that you are hopelessly, irretrievably FUBAR’d. …and of course, it offers to sell you a program – for $49.95+ – to clean up your computer. …hence, “ransomware.”
YMMV, but I was able to find a way to defeat it, and effectively remove it from my PC (This is a Dell Inspiron running XP.) I discovered that if I rebooted the computer, it took the malware 40 seconds or so to actually start running – and launching popups. Knowing this, I rebooted the computer, launched Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore as quickly as I could, and restored the computer to its state 3 days ago.
That seemed to clear things up, other than my McAfee AV program was acting a bit strangely. I re-downloaded the software (it then ran normally), and performed a full scan of the hard drive, which produced absolutely nothing.
Then I downloaded and ran a scan using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which identified 2 issues with the Registry and 2 infected files and removed them.
These were the Registry issues:
Registry Data Items Infected:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center\AntiVirusDisableNotify (Disabled.SecurityCenter) -> Bad: (1) Good: (0) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center\FirewallDisableNotify (Disabled.SecurityCenter) -> Bad: (1) Good: (0) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
And the two infected files:
Files Infected:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\certstore.dat (Trojan.Agent) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
C:\Documents and Settings\Kevin\Local Settings\Temp\svchost.exe (Trojan.Agent) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
Everything’s OK now.
I’m not sure how the system became infected, but I imagine it was from an email or perhaps a questionable website. In any event, it was not an enjoyable experience.
Keep this in mind, should you encounter a similar problem.
The Highs: .Impeccable quality, thoughtful features, distinctive good looks, surprising capacity
The Lows: .Sticker shock
The Verdict: .An interesting entry into a field with a lot of alternatives
Consider the “personal carry-on item.” Airlines typically define your personal item as a “purse, briefcase, camera bag, or laptop computer,” and note that it must fit beneath the seat in front of you or the overhead bin. When dimensions are provided for personal items, the allowable length+width+height total typically can’t exceed ~36″ to ~37″ (these dimensions vary by airline).
These guidelines provide a great deal of latitude when it comes time to select your personal carry-on: messenger bags, purses, backpacks, laptop bags, book bags, smallish overnight bags, simple canvas totes, even shopping bags – all qualify. For our recent trip to Europe, my wife used a large purse as her personal item, and I used a small Pacsafe backpack: both worked well.
Wading into this crowded field is Tom Bihn, with the aptly named Co-Pilot. Measuring a mere 12″ x 10″ x 5″ (300 x 255 x 125mm), it boasts typical Bihn high quality materials, and the seamstresses at the Bihn factory have once again done their thing: I defy anyone to find a missing stitch or crooked seam on a Tom Bihn bag – every one I’ve seen and used has been perfect.
But with so many options available to travelers, does the Co-Pilot make sense? Is it a reasonable value? Before we attempt to answer these questions, let’s take a quick look at the bag’s specs and a photo tour of its features.
Specifications:
- Exterior made of U.S. 1050 denier Ballistic nylon or Japanese Dyneema/nylon ripstop fabric
- Lined with ultra-lightweight yet tough Dyneema/nylon ripstop fabric
- #8 YKK Uretek “splash-proof” zippers
- Meets domestic and international airlines’ personal carry-on item size standard; easily fits in overhead compartment of CRJ commuter planes
- Overall dimensions: 12″ x 10″ x 5″ / 300 x 255 x 125mm
- Volume: 10 liters / 600 cu.in.
- Pass-through sleeve for slipping the bag over a wheelie’s handle; doubles as a magazine or book pocket
- Weight: Ballistic nylon: 17.2 ounces / 485 grams; Dyneema/nylon: 11.2 ounces / 315 grams
- One “o-ring” in each of the three front compartments; one “o-ring” in main compartment
- Main compartment can accommodate a netbook or iPad
- Carry by comfortable, Poron foam padded handle
- Included Standard Shoulder Strap; upgrade to an “Absolute Strap” for $20
- Comes with a package of Cord Zipper Pulls — you can remove the metal zipper pulls and replace them with cord pulls if you desire
- Made in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
A photo tour
The Co-Pilot features 4 compartments: 3 on the front of the bag, and one main compartment in the rear. (This sample is done in the “Steel” ballistic nylon / “Solar” (yellow) Dyneema color combo.)
All compartments sport an “O” ring for attaching key straps to retain your keys or any of the myriad of pouches and organizer cubes offered by Bihn. The front left compartment features an Ultraseude-lined pocket for your digital camera, iPhone, or music player. I wish it had more than one such pocket, as I typically travel with a several gadgets that require a degree of protection.
The middle compartment is perfect for a water bottle or collapsible umbrella; it features a grommet in its floor to prevent condensation or spills from pooling in the bottom of the compartment; clever.
The right front compartment has 4 pen slots and is otherwise wide open. Perhaps this reaction is unique to me, but I’d give up two of the pen slots in favor of a few compartments for airline / rental car / hotel membership cards. Yes, I use CardStar on my iPod Touch, but sometimes it’s handier to just grab a card. Also of note is how the “solar” interior helps making finding objects easier.
The next couple of photos show two different views of the rear, main compartment, specifically designed to accommodate the iPad and/or a netbook. There are two pockets on the rear wall that are handy for paperbacks and similarly sized items. The balance of the compartment will accommodate an iPad, netbook, and 8½” x 11″ papers or pamphlets. Note that this compartment is not padded – so you’ll need to use a protective case of some sort on your netbook or iPad.
You’ll also notice a small paperback in a pocket on the very back of the bag – more about that in a moment.
In the image below, I’ve added a manila folder; with a bit of coaxing, the zippers can be closed around it.
On the back of the bag is a pass-through sleeve for mounting the bag on the handle of a wheelie; zipping the zipper at its bottom (below) converts it into a shallow pocket for magazines, thin volumes, or perhaps a folded newspaper.
The padded handle is comfortable, and is mounted in the center of the bag for efficient weight distribution:
#8 YKK Uretek “splash proof” zippers are used on all four compartments; I would prefer that the twin zippers on the main compartment were of the locking variety, for those situations where I’ve stowed the bag in the overhead, and/or have dozed off; the cost differential would be minimal.
This last point may be moot, however: it should be noted that the zippers used on the Co-Pilot – even if the pulls are locked – can easily be spread, as shown in this sequence (click for close-ups):
A final comment on this point – casual thieves may be foiled by locking zipper pulls, and perhaps that’s enough. But someone who’s determined enough to spread the zippers as shown above, would probably just swipe the entire bag. If you may fall asleep during your flight, hook your shoulder strap through the seat frame, and put the bag where someone would have to jostle you to get to it. I”ll offer a couple of additional thoughts on this subject a bit later in this post.
The shoulder strap D rings on the Co-Pilot are molded polymer, unlike the plated steel used on Bihn’s larger bags, likely a weight saving measure. Bihn’s standard strap is included; the wonderful Absolute Strap is a $20 upgrade.
Below, the water resistance of the ballistic nylon and splash-proof zippers in full display:
A few thoughts about the Co-Pilot…
When we went to Italy a couple of months ago, I used a Pacsafe Metrosafe 350 as my personal item. During the trip, it contained:
- Canon S90 digital camera
- Trip Planner booklet
- Excerpts of two Italy travel guides
- A copy of Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar
- iPod Touch, earbuds
- Frequent flyer cards
- My iGo universal charger kit – for use with our netbook, iPod, and my BlackBerry
- Sunglasses case and sunglasses
- Reading glasses in a hard case
- Asus netbook in its neoprene cover
- “Regular wallet” with backup credit card, driver’s license, etc. (removed at security checkpoints, by the way)
- Little notebooks, pens, magnifier, etc.
An obvious test was whether all of these items would fit in the Co-Pilot. Everything did, although there was no convenient way to store my ff/membership cards. The Co-Pilot’s four compartments were a plus from the standpoint of finding things quickly, although things were rather tight in the main compartment. The Pacsafe bag offered an extra water bottle compartment even with the bag fully loaded with these items; but with the Co-Pilot, I ended up using its center front compartment for my sunglasses case, so, no water for me!
The comparison to the Pacsafe backpack raises another point. By definition, the Co-Pilot is a bag intended for carrying (among other items) electronic gadgets; its total lack of security features is a disappointment. You could easily have $1000+ worth of electronics in this bag, and I’m surprised that Tom hasn’t come up with a clever solution to security.
(A final note on security and the Co-Pilot: if you lock the two pulls on the main compartment to the pull on the center front compartment, both compartments are secure – you can’t spread the zipper far enough to get anything of substance out of the main compartment. Similarly, if you lock the zipper pull tab on either of the front “end” compartments to the pull tab on the center front compartment, they’re basically impenetrable. You just need to own a couple of small TSA – or other – padlocks.) I’d prefer a more elegant solution, of course, and hope Tom will consider this for the future.
In a similar vein, I would prefer that the pass-through had a zipper on the top as well, converting it into a more secure pocket. This is the approach Red Oxx uses on the PR series, and it works well.
Although I haven’t highlighted this aspect thus far, this bag is light. With a heavy duty strap and all the items listed above inside, it weighed 9.6 lbs. (4.4 kg). The bag itself weighs just over a pound in ballistic nylon, and about 11 oz. in Dyneema.
Does it work?
As a personal carry-on item, the Co-Pilot certainly works. I was a bit afraid that it’d be a bit too purse-like, but once I saw it in the flesh, my concerns disappeared. It’s a good looking, capable little bag, and I’d be comfortable traveling with it anywhere. Bihn seems to achieved the impossible: designing a bag that’s manly enough for most guys, but not to a degree where it’d be objectionable to many women: incredible.
If your packing needs didn’t include much in the way of books or paperwork, you could certainly carry a lightweight shirt and a change of underwear in the bag for a quick overnight trip. And I imagine the design is scalable, should Bihn wish to come out with a slightly larger, laptop capable version.
My enthusiasm for the Co-Pilot is tempered, however, by the fact that there are so many other alternatives out there, some of them less expensive and just as capable, if not more so.
- The Pacsafe backpack I took on our trip is $80, for instance, has numerous security features, as well as greater capacity (if needed, I can squeeze my ThinkPad T42 in it).
- The Red Oxx Gator is $5 less than the Co-Pilot, but comes with the heavy duty Claw strap, and features closed cell foam padding (the Co-Pilot has none).
- Bihn’s own mid-sized Synapse backpack is only $10 more, but boasts 19 liters of capacity, nearly double that of the Co-Pilot.
Yes, these are all different bags with different feature sets, but they all have one thing in common: they meet the airlines’ “personal item” requirements, and as such, I believe these comparisons are fair.
No doubt the Co-Pilot will resonate with some travelers who will fall immediately in love with it, much as I did with the Tri-Star. It’s a great bag, is impeccably made, and is distinguished by both neat features and remarkable capacity, but I keep finding myself wishing that the price was somewhere south of a Benjamin. In fairness, I should note that as with all Tom Bihn bags, the Co-Pilot’s abundance of features equates to a hefty labor content, no doubt driving cost – and price – upward. Ultimately, whether it works for you will depend upon the nature and frequency of your travel.
See it here: Tom Bihn Co-Pilot. $110, made in the U.S., available in several colors
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If you occasionally bookmark recipes on sites like allrecipes.com, foodnetwork.com, epicurious, and others, you owe it to yourself to take a few minutes to check out Beta site Plummelo.
How the site works is simple: once you’ve created a FREE account and installed a simple widget (doing both takes just seconds), when you find a recipe you want to save, just click on the Plummelo browser button, and it’s saved instantly (ReadItLater users, note: it functions in exactly the same way).
Your recipes are stored in your account, and if you wish, you can also view recipes that other Plummelo users have saved. At present, Plummelo works with 41 popular recipe sites, and its developers are adding new sites each week. Here’s a quick shot of some of the recipes I’ve saved into my Plummelo account:
As you can see, there’s a “Shopping List” button which adds any recipe you wish to, what else, your grocery list. As with some recipe sites, one of the slickest features is that you can scale recipes right in your shopping list. In this case, I’ve doubled the recipe so that it will serve 8 (vs. 4 as originally written):
When you print your list, it is configured in a handy supermarket section-by-section format:
The site will shortly add a Meal Planning feature, which should boost its usefulness considerably. Also of note is the site’s blog; if you’re a foodie, check out Plummelo’s Facebook page as well. As of right now, the site is Free and without ads, although it’s likely it’ll feature advertisements in the longer term.
You can check out Plummelo by clicking here: Plummelo – Collect Recipes, Plan Meals, Get Shopping Lists
For a list of the recipe sites that are supported by Plummelo, click here.
Ouch. After a wonderful start, this has been a frustrating year for me on the golf course. Not because of my play, but I’ve had some nagging injuries that have bothered me: I apparently have carpal tunnel syndrome in my left hand (although this seems to be improving), and I’ve tweaked my back (i.e., pinched nerve/muscle spasms) twice in the last few weeks. It’s getting old. And clearly, so am I.
That said, here are some interesting articles I’ve come across recently:
Your iPhone or Android smartphone may be watching what you do a bit more closely than you’d prefer: check out What your phone app doesn’t say: It’s watching – from USA Today.
Sticking with the phone theme, if you travel internationally, you ought to check out Avoiding a Large Phone Bill When Traveling – at The New York Times.
We all carry some sort of first aid kit when we travel, but look at the kit for someone who travels for long periods of time while doing volunteer work in developing countries, and you’ll find some things you might not have known exist – like a “temporary filling” dental repair kit, for instance. This list is from Charyn Pfeuffer of the Global Citizen’s Project: How To Pack A First Aid Kit For Travel - at Matador Goods/Matador Network.
Project Managers (and anyone else who needs to get stuff done!), check out Five Best Personal Project Management Tools – at Lifehacker. (Make sure you check out Tom’s Planner – a Gantt chart-style free app that’s especially easy to use, even for the technically challenged).
No explanation required: 10 Ridiculous iPhone Accessories – @ Mashable.
Have a great week!
