Prepare Your Ovaries...

Here she is! My niece Naomi!

I KNOW!!! Right? Look at those toes! And that fuzzy little head! In that second picture she looks just like my sister. Which is good. Both because she's a girl and because her big brother is the spitting image of his dad.

I'm dying that I don't get to see her anytime soon. I've been searching airfares trying to find something that was justifiable. No such luck. Especially when you factor in bringing 1 (or 2) children with me and the fact that I'd also have to rent a car. Costs add up fast. I'm going to start playing the lottery. Keep your fingers crossed for me, KThanks!

In other news, and because I'm sure you're sick of hearing about it...I need HELP over at the other site. Pretty please? Thanks, lovelies!

Well, I'm off to clean my carpets in preparation for a gaggle of pre-schoolers descending upon my house tomorrow. I'm going to be baking as well. This recipe from Cooking Light. Grandmaother and my Aunt gave it two thumbs up. Or this one, which I found while I was searching for the link for the other one. I'm a sucker for anything lemon...and almond. I suppose it will depend on if I can find almond paste and how much it costs. Sounds like I have quite the exciting day planned! Enjoy your day!

Friday "Recipe" 5-2-08

I teased you about it yesterday. I know it's been occupying your thoughts. Every waking moment, you've been wondering, just dying to know, WHAT my crazy dinner concoction was. What titillating bit of food wizardry am I going to throw your way this time? Well, my dears, without further ado, here you go:


Soft Tacos. I KNOW! I'm awesome. Something totally new, cutting edge, trendy. But these aren't just any soft tacos. They're special. Special Soft Tacos. That's what they are. Just for you. Meg's Special Soft Tacos.


Here's what you need:


1 lb. ground beef (or turkey if you so desire)
Taco Seasoning
1 package burrito size flour tortillas
1 package pre-shredded cheese
1 package Fresh Express Salsa Ensalada Supreme


Other items you may wish to have on hand:


Hot Sauce
Taco Sauce
Beans
Rice


Here's what to do:


Brown the meat & season according to package directions.
Warm the tortillas for 1 minute in the microwave, between wet paper towels
Mix ONLY the Lettuce and the Salad Dressing


Now, make your tacos! My prep went like this:

Tortilla with meat. Followed by cheese (so it can melt). Followed by lettuce w/ dressing. Followed by tortilla strips, salsa, taco sauce & hot sauce (or whatever combination of this you so choose.) Simply replace the meat with beans and/or rice and you've got a yummy, flavorful veggie soft taco/burrito type thingy. Couldn't be any easier...and the best part?! The salad dressing isn't THAT fattening. At least not as fattening as other salad dressings.


There you have it! Okay. So I know that now that I've BLOWN YOUR MINDS with my ingenious combination of soft taco/burrito/salad, you're wondering just how I came up with this idea. It's simple enough. The grocery store had a coupon for $4.00 off your purchase if you picked up ground beef, shredded cheese, a salad kit and a pack of tortillas. $4.00 is a nice savings right now, what with blasted grocery prices being so high, so I hopped on it. As I got the lettuce out for the soft tacos and the salad out to have with the tacos, I thought to myself "Self, why use two different lettuces? Why not just use the Salsa Ensalada Supreme Salad as the lettuce for your taco's and kill two birds with one stone?" "Why SELF!" I exclaimed (in my head) "That's a FABULOUS idea!" and another meal was born unto my household. Plus, I even REMEMBERED to use the coupon when I got to the grocery checkout, so double score!

I must leave you now. But don't forget to read my post from yesterday. It's filled with lots of stuff that's probably only funny if you were there for it and none of you were. Well, maybe a couple of you were, but most of you weren't. So, it might not be funny. But I do request your advice and I know how much you love giving advice.

Friday recipe - 4/11/08

They're BAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!!

After 4 (or was it 5 or 6 or 7) weeks of NOT HAVING A STOVE, I finally have one! A NEW ONE! A BRIGHT, SHINY, SPANKING NEW Stove/Range/Oven-y Thingy. It's BE-U-Tiful. And, I've been using it. In it's short lifespan in our home, it's already baked abuncha dozen cookies (I can't tell you how many because they're all gone and my hips & ass aren't talking), 2 loaves of banana bread, Dream Dinners Chicken Parmigiana & Garlic Bread, Dream Dinners Cider Braised Pork Chops and AMomTwoBoys Best Ever Chicken & Pasta*. It will be used, lovingly and often. As opposed to some OTHER stoves I've heard about recently.


Anyhoo, I thought I'd share a recipe with you. I KNOW how much you all used to love, honor, cherish and adore my recipes and how you've all missed them so. Did you really even realize they were missing?! Whatever.

So here you go...AMomTwoBoys BEST EVER Banana Bread

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Oil

2 Eggs

1 Cup (2 medium) mashed ripe bananas

1/2 Cup Dairy Sour Cream

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 Cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

Heat Oven to 350. Grease & flour bottom only of 9x5 loaf pan.

In large bowl, beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream & vanilla. Blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. Add to wet ingredients with baking soda & salt until just moistened. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 50-60 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely.

I get in trouble if I make this and don't add chocolate chips, so do so if you wish.

*AM2B's best ever chicken pasta is only a recipe in my head and will most likely never be shared here. Not because I'm all secretive about it's goodness, but because it consists of measurements like "some wine" and "a little cream". That doesn't really translate well.

Happy Baking!

Friday Recipe & Friday Morning Potluck

You're all in for a treat today. I've got SO much on my mind that I'm going to forego my usual Recipe posting only and steal copy June Cleaver Nirvana's Monday Morning Potluck. We're hosting a Friday edition.

To start, and because I KNOW you guys rely on my Friday recipe's, I'll direct your attention to this:

Looks down right YUMM-O-LICIOUS, doesn't it?

That, my friends, is Santa Maria Tri-Tip. You can find a recipe and tips on how to find it in your area (it's not known as tri-tip throughout the country, just in our little corner of the world) here. And btw, I don't smoke mine. Don't tell anyone around here, because that's TOTALLY ILLEGAL (kinda) but we just BBQ it on our good ole Gas Grill. Santa Maria is GASPING! Shhh...it'll be okay. So there's your recipe.

Now onto a fashion question, which may or may not ignite STRONG debate. And, if I had the time to wait for next week, I'd totally ask Tootsie Farklepants for her advice, but I don't have that kind of time. I need to know NOW. What are your feelings on Crocs?

A certain family member (who reads this blog, comments, and shall remain nameless) who is currently visiting, was SHOCKED yesterday when my stepmom their spouse and I informed him them that Crocs, while comfortable, are not, necessarily, uh, fashionable. At all. But, that's just our opinion. What are your feelings? Please leave a comment, or, at the very least, vote in the poll to your right. Your individual poll choice will remain secret, much to my chagrin, as I have NO WAY of figuring out who voted what. Damn. Gracias, amigos/amigas.

Next...please leave the above fashion question at the door. Or, as they would say in Court, strike that from the record, when you begin this next section. Cleared your mind? Okay good...continue on.

Dylan recieved his first Birthday present yesterday from my Dad and Stepmon who are currently visiting. It's this:

And it's AWESOME. He's been busy taking all kinds of pictures, which, after we finally got him to point the camera in the right direction (see self portrait below) he's starting to master. See for yourself.

DJ did not take this photo, but it was declared his "favorite." I think it's my favorite, too. The girls look pretty good. Even considering the use of a massive white nursing bra.

Plus, this means he'll keep his grubby little paws off my camera. Which may even be used to convince DJ to agree to the purchase of a new camera. Specifically this one:

I'm going to need a lot of luck with that. A LOT.

And finally, Sweetney had this video posted on her site. Cracks me up. I thought about saving it for Make Me Laugh Monday next week, but couldn't keep it to myself that long. It's funny. And sad. Scary, really. Kinda brings me back to this post that I wrote a few weeks ago.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, that tiny little frivolous number? The number of US Troops killed in Iraq? It's 3,973 now. And also, in case you're wondering, and I know I'm going to hear from "Anonymous" or someone else about it. I DO NOT support the immediate withdrawal of US Troops, although it does sound mighty wonderful. We went in there and got them into this mess, we need to clean it up. I just hope we can figure out a way, rather quickly, to get most of our people out of there and still be able to get things settled down. Saddam Hussein was an asshole who did very bad things to people living in his country. And because I don't want to discount the loss of innocent Iraqi life, since January 2006 approximately 38,817 Iraqi civilians & Iraqi Security Forces have been killed.

Moving on to something that really is FUNNY and highly inappropriate....one last YouTube Video. This was a submission for Make Me Laugh Monday a few weeks ago and it cracked me up. It was submitted by AFRo.

Happy Leap Day!

Friday Recipe - 2/22/08

Because it's supposed to rain here today and because it's snowing/icing elsewhere in the country. Or at the very least it may well be damn cold where you are.

Oh, and because anything by Paula Deen, especially with this much butter, must be good. And it's SUPAH easy. You, yes YOU can do this. Especially if you buy frozen, chopped onion. It'll save you a step, and as far as I'm concerned, not having to chop onion is a HUGE advantage. Oh, and if you're a vegetarian, you can just use Vegetable Broth instead of Chicken Broth. But you probably already knew that.

Chef Jack's Corn Chowder

Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 small celery stalk, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups white corn kernels, fresh or frozen
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt 1 stick of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir to make a roux. (Stir constantly, don't let the rue darken too much or you'll have to start over 'cause it'll taste icky) Cook until the roux is lightly browned; set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, combine the corn and chicken stock in another saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the boiling stock with the corn (a little at a time) into the saucepan with the roux, whisking briskly so it doesn't lump. Return the skillet to the heat and bring to a boil. The mixture should become very thick.

In a small saucepan, gently heat the half-and-half; stir it into the thick corn mixture. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste. Just before serving, cut the remaining stick of butter into large chunks. Add it to enrich the soup, stirring until the butter melts.

*Now come on, that's easy, right? And don't let the term "Rue" scare you. It's simply equal parts of butter (or other fat like olive oil) and flour that you mix together and use to thicken soups and stews, or sauces. That's not scary, is it? Nope...it's yummy.

Friday Recipe - 2/8/08

Yum. Yum. Yum. Easy. Easy. Easy.

No really, these are SUPER easy and SO FREAKING good, I don't even know what to say. Get thee to the grocery store, buy the ingredients and make them for breakfast TOMORROW. If you don't, you're on "A Mom Two Boys" Time-Out and, trust me, that's not where you want to be.

Orange Rolls

2 Cans Refrigerator, Flaky Layer Bisquits

1 Stick Butter, Melted

1 Cup Sugar

2/3 Cup Orange Juice Concentrate, Thawed

(or Zest of 2 Oranges)*

Mix Butter, Sugar & OJ in a pie dish. Slosh** individual biscuits around in the mixture so they're good & coated.

Place them in a greased Ring/Bundt pan, side by side***

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, until Golden Brown

(Then turn oven down to 350 and bake for 10 more minutes)****

Invert pan onto serving plate & Enjoy*****

Easy Schmeezy, Right?

*OJ is WAY easier than zesting the oranges, but it's totally up to you.

**That's a technical term, prepare to get messy

***On their side, so they look like this lllll not like this 00000. Does that make any sense?

****OR, you can cut them into quarters, before you slosh them, and just throw them into the pan. If you do that, bake them at 450 for 10 - 12 minutes.

*****Be sure to dump them out while they're still warm, or you'll have a bitch of a time getting them out of the pan. Just ask my Crazy Aunt Dawna.

Friday Recipe- 2/1/08

Here it is. The one you've all been waiting for. You've been waiting for it, right?

AMomTwoBoys BEST EVER LASAGNA

Okay, really it's from Bon Appetit's March 2004 issue.

Smoked Cheese & Sausage Lasagna

Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound Italian sweet sausages, casings removed
2 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped
2 cups chopped onions
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can Italian-style tomatoes in juice, tomatoes chopped, juice reserved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil


Lasagna:

12 10x2-inch lasagna noodles
1 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 cups (packed) coarsely grated smoked mozzarella cheese, divided
1 large egg
Olive oil


For sauce:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage; sauté until browned, breaking up with fork, about 6 minutes. Add prosciutto; stir 1 minute. Transfer mixture to bowl.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and next 4 ingredients. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add tomatoes with reserved juice, basil, and sausage mixture. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

For lasagna:
Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet.

Stir ricotta and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella in bowl. Season with salt and pepper; mix in egg.
Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with oil. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce evenly over bottom. Arrange 3 noodles atop sauce. Spread 3/4 cup cheese mixture thinly over noodles. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over. Repeat with noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce 2 more times. Cover with 3 noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Chill.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake lasagna, covered, 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

***

Now, wipe the drool off your chins. Good. Get your ass to the store, buy the ingredients, a good bottle of a heavy red wine (or two) and enjoy.

And for a certain vegetarian someone (you know who you are) - when you're pregnant and begin craving meat, THIS is what you'll want. Trust me.

Friday Recipe- 1/25/08

Happy Birthday DJ!


For DJ's Birthday, I offer you two of his favorites:

Beer Margarita

Recipe courtesy of Semi Homemade & Sandra Lee

I know...Wha? It sounds kinda gross, but trust me! It's YUM-O, as Rachael Ray would say. So good on a summer's day. Or a rainy, wintery day. Really, anytime.


1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup coarse salt
2 (12-ounce) bottles your favorite beer, chilled (I use Corona, & not the light crap)
1/2 cup frozen concentrate limeade, thawed
1/2 cup chilled tequila
Ice cubes

Rub lime wedges around rims of 4 margarita glasses. Dip rims into salt to coat lightly. In a medium pitcher, combine beer, limeade, and tequila. Fill prepared glasses with ice, then with margarita mixture. Garnish with remaining lime wedges. Serve immediately.

Sugar Cane Skewered Shrimp, Marinated with Lime, Chili and Chives
Recipe Courtesy of Curtis Stone, Take Home Chef on TLC

Disclaimer: I HATE, with a passion, seafood of any kind. My husband does not feel the same way. So, as a gesture of peace & love I made these for our big 4th O'July Bash. They were a hit with the seafood loving crowd. I share them with you now in honor of his birthday. I'm that giving and generous.

Ingredients:
3 limes

2 red jalapeno chilies, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)- I used green

½ bunch fresh chives, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

16 uncooked jumbo shrimp (about 1 pound/500 g), peeled and deveined

1 8-inch/200 cm stick of sugar cane

**DUDE, even living in CA I could not easily find sugar cane sticks, so I just used wooden skewers, which I pre-soaked. I'm sure I missed out on the "wow" factor, but who really gives a whoop?

Avocado Lemon and Organic Yogurt Dip (see the recipe that follows)

Method:
Grate the peel from 2 limes into a large bowl. Stir in the, chilies, chives and salt. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Drizzle the oil over and toss to coat again. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes. Trim the bark from the sugar cane and discard. Cut the remaining sugar cane into 8 splinter-like skewers. Thread 2 shrimp on each skewer. Prepare the barbecue for high heat. Grill the shrimp until just opaque in the center, about 2 minutes per side. Halve the remaining lime and squeeze it over the shrimp on the grill. Transfer the skewers onto a platter and serve with the dip.

Avocado, Lemon and Organic Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:
2 large ripe avocados, peeled and pitted

3 tablespoons/45 ml fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1/2 cup/120 g natural organic yogurt

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
Using a potato masher, mash the avocados with the lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth and creamy (alternatively a food processor can be used to make this dip extra creamy). Whisk in the yogurt. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper.Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with the shrimp.

Friday's Recipe Teaser

Speaking of Food TV- Simply Homemade was just on. Her cocktail totally reminded me of my FAVORITE cocktail that she's ever made. It's yummy. It's inventive. It's not something that sounds good, but OH DAMN is it GOOD. DADGUM GOOD as the Pioneer Woman would say.

You're curious now, aren't you? Well, you'll have to wait. Until Friday.

Friday Recipe, 1/11/08

Creamy Parmesan Pasta with Turkey Meatballs


Ingredients
Turkey meatballs:

1/2 pound ground turkey breast
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large egg white
Cooking spray


Remaining ingredients:

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons water
5 cups hot cooked fettuccine (about 10 ounces uncooked pasta)

PreparationTo prepare meatballs, combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl. Shape turkey mixture into 20 balls. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add meatballs; browning on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan.

Add wine and green onions to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes. Add whipping cream, cheese, and water; reduce heat to medium, and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add pasta, and cook 1 minute, tossing to coat. Place pasta on each of 4 plates, and top with meatballs.


**Next time I make this, I'm probably going to try this with frozen turkey meatballs because I think making meatballs is a pain in the ass. I'll just be sure to brown em up real good so I can still use the seasonings from the pan. I also thought that the 1/2 chopped green onions seemed like too much, so I used less. I was wrong. The 1/2 Cup the recipe calls for would have been perfect.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups pasta and 5 meatballs)
writeNutrient();
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 499(27% from fat); FAT 15.1g (sat 8.5g,mono 4.1g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 26.4g; CHOLESTEROL 76mg; CALCIUM 151mg; SODIUM 595mg; FIBER 4.1g; IRON 3.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 62g
Jill Melton ,
Cooking Light, APRIL 2000

Friday's Recipe-1/4/08

That's the first time I've written 08 this year. Fun. Too bad I'm starting it off Half-Assed. I can't come up with a good recipe for today. And, quite frankly, given the nastiness that has been passed around this house in the past week, I'm pretty sure you don't want to eat anything I'd cook anyway.



So, I send you to this. I promise it's the last time I'll link to her for at least a week. I promise.



I think the Lasagna looks good. Or the Cinnamon Rolls. Or the Olive Bread. Or the Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich. Or the Pico de Gallo. Or the Chocolate Cake.



There you go. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Dessert, but not necessarily in that order.



Bon Appetit

Friday's Recipe-12/28/07

This is one of my favorite appetizers. They're yummy and they're made of spinach. Who'd a thunk it?

Spinach Balls

2 packages frozen spinach, cooked & drained
2 cups herb stuffing, crushed
1 onion, chopped
6 eggs, beaten
3/4 Cup melted butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix all the ingredients and form into big bite size balls. Bake 20 minutes at 350. May be frozen after baking.

Due to Popular Demand...

Okay, so really just my sister. But, this IS a really good, easy recipe, so I thought I would bestow it upon you before Friday's Recipe. Once again, lucky you.

These are the cookies that one of my MOMs friends made that I mentioned in this post. They've won over DJ big time and everyone who ate them at my in-laws yesterday liked them as well. My sis made them today, and as she shared in one of her comments, she has some tips for you. Her 2 year old asked for seconds, so that has to count for something as well!

Missouri Cookies:

2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Milk
4 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (Chunky or Smooth)
3 Cups Quick Cooking Oatmeal

Combine sugar, milk, cocoa & butter in a large pot & bring to a rolling boil. Allow to boil for 1 minute then turn heat to low. Add vanilla & peanut butter and stir until melted. Add oatmeal and mix well. Drop on wax paper using 1 oz. scoop (I used a Tablespoon). Yields 4 Dozen cookies.

**Tips: Allow to cool completely before you dig into them. The texture is weird before the Oats cook completely.
As my sister mentioned: "I used my connections to get next Friday's cookie recipe and I have some advice you'll want ahead of time: 1) 3T of cocoa can be substituted using a 1 oz. square of baking chocolate. 2) You'll want to check that you actually HAVE 3 cups of oatmeal before starting. Having two and removing 1/3 of your "batter" sucks. 3) After all this, you'll have to refrigerate the cookies because they'll be really soft. Don't get caught in the same quaqmire. Buy cocoa and quick oats ahead of time!"
Now, you don't need too refrigerate the cookies if you make the cookies according to the directions above. She had to because she didn't remove enough batter for her reduced amount of Oats. Got it? Good.

Now, get to cooking, & Enjoy!

Friday's Recipe Potluck-12/14/07

A few recipes to make a festive Friday night...dinner? BAhhh...who needs it? There are enough calories & fat included in these to make up for missing dinner. Plus, I guarantee you won't be able to stop eating the glop long enough to eat anything else. Oh, and I just realized that ALL of the food groups are (loosely) represented in the recipes below.

To start

Coconut Rum Mojito

I've loved the Mojito ever since my honeymoon to the place the world forgot, also known as Los Roques. Yummy. Didn't think it could get much better until I discovered it with Coconut Rum. Oh, Lord, who's going to have to drive home, cause it sure won't be me!?

3 cups fresh mint leaves
3/4 cup sugar (to taste)
8 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
24 ounces Coconut Rum (Malibu or similar)

Garnish
4 imes, cut into thin slices
Club soda

In a pitcher, add the mint, sugar, and lime juice and muddle with a wooden spoon to crush the mint leaves.

Stir in the rum, making sure the sugar has dissolved, then add 4 cups of ice.

Top each tall glass with club soda and garnish with lime slices and make sure some mint goes into each cocktail.

Next:

Glop

My friends and I LIVED on Glop in High School. So Good. Even my co-workers at my old snooty hotel job loved this stuff. And it was our JOB to sell people on expensive, hoity-toity food.


1 Block Cream Cheese
1 Can No Beans Chili (I don't know why No beans, I'm sure that would be good too)
1/2 - 3/4 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Spread Cream Cheese on bottom of pie round, or similar sized baking dish.
Spread Chili on top of Cream Cheese
Top with Cheddar Cheese & Microwave or Bake until heated through (the hotter the better).

Serve with Tortilla chips & more Mojitos.

Finally:

Paula Deen's White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies

I made these for my MOMS Club Cookie Exchange. They were yummy, and I learned a few tricks of the trade along the way to make them fool proof. See *** items below for my tricks. If you're not opposed to fruit in dessert (that was DJ's complaint), these are sure to please!

1 stick butter, softened*
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup candied cherries**
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Batter should be stiff.
In another bowl, combine nuts, cherries, and white chocolate. Then add to batter, stirring only to blend. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on wire rack.


*The colder the butter, the better the final product. So, leave the butter out so it's not rock hard, but don't put it in the microwave. Your cookies will flatten out if the butter is too warm. I'd even recommend putting the dough in the fridge in between baking & ALWAYS use COLD cookie sheets.

**The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup candied cherries. I personally don't feel that's enough, so I do 1 cup & cut them in half. That way, you're pretty much guaranteed a cherry in every bite, plus they're that much prettier.



Enjoy!



BTW, I totally stole the idea for the "potluck" from her. Who needs to have original thoughts when you're surrounded by creative people?!

A Blog Milestone

I got my first link! My "Blog Buddy" featured my Strata in her post today. Ha! See, some people outside my family really DO read this!

Friday Recipe -12/7/07

This is, quite possibly, my FAVORITE thing to eat. EVER. I limit myself to eating it once a year (I don't want to know how much fat or how many calories a serving contains), so it's kind of taken on this rock star status for me. I. LOVE. IT. It's the ultimate comfort food for me. It is our traditional Christmas morning brunch item, which I'm sure, is why it's such a big deal to me. So long as I live, I will have Sausage Strata EVERY Christmas morning. And this version of it, too. There will be no messing with the recipe. Feel free to experiment on your own time, but don't mess with MY Strata. It could get ugly, Christmas or not.

Sausage Strata

The Night Before:



8 Slices of White Bread

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 1/2 lbs. Browned Breakfast Sausage (not Maple Syrup flavored), cut up

4 eggs

2 1/2 Cups Milk

3/4 tsp. dry Mustard



Cut the bread into cubes and place it at the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Top with cheese and then sausage.

Mix milk , eggs & mustard. Pour evenly over bread, cheese & sausage. Cover & refrigerate overnight.



In The Morning:



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.



Mix 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup & 1/2 Cup of Milk. Pour over casserole & bake for 1 1/2 hours or until hot & bubbly.



Serve with Mimosas & enjoy!



**I'm sure if you wanted to use low fat cheese & reduced fat cream of mushroom soup you could. It would certainly not be as good (in my opinion). The only concession I've ever made is to use turkey sausage instead of pork sausage. That's Yummy. MMMMMM....I CAN'T WAIT! Only 17 days to go!

Friday's Recipe: 11/30/07

Fresh Vegetable Penne

Okay...so I admittedly haven't made this. But, it sounds yummy and if I thought there was even a CHANCE that I could get DJ to eat it, I'd make it in a heartbeat. So, I make you all my taste testers.

Tip: Buy already peeled & cubed squash to make it super easy.

Ingredients
1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

Vegetable cooking spray

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 cup chopped leek (about 1 medium)

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half

16 ounces uncooked penne pasta

1/2 cup frozen baby sweet peas

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/4 cup shredded Italian three-cheese blend

Garnish: fresh sage leaves

Preparation:

Place squash cubes on a large aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle squash with 1 teaspoon oil, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Toss to coat.

Bake at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes or until squash is tender and golden, stirring occasionally.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add leek, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Process butternut squash, vegetable broth, and half-and-half in a food processor until smooth.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and oil. Add peas to boiling water during last 2 minutes of cooking time; drain. Return pasta and peas to pan. Stir in leek mixture, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped sage, and crushed red pepper. Add processed squash mixture, tossing to coat. Sprinkle with Italian three-cheese blend. Garnish, if desired, and serve immediately.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Nutritional Information:
CALORIES 386(11% from fat); FAT 4.8g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 14g; CHOLESTEROL 3.3mg; CALCIUM 132mg; SODIUM 1149mg; FIBER 6.1g; IRON 3.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 73g

Ellen Wade, Roanoke, Virginia ,

Southern Living, APRIL 2005