Friday, December 22, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
BoB Time Again
'Tis the Season in more ways than one! It's time for the annual Best of Blog Awards.
I was honored enough to have won last years' Best Cooking or Recipe Blog award and it has been an experience that tops my All-Time-Best list. I've met people I never would have met and been offered opportunities that would never have come along had it not been for the BoBs.
Jim Turner pours his all into this endeavor and any help or support that you can offer him would be appreciated in a big way.
Get on over to the Best of Blogs website and check things out.
I'm looking forward to a great time this year!
I was honored enough to have won last years' Best Cooking or Recipe Blog award and it has been an experience that tops my All-Time-Best list. I've met people I never would have met and been offered opportunities that would never have come along had it not been for the BoBs.
Jim Turner pours his all into this endeavor and any help or support that you can offer him would be appreciated in a big way.
Get on over to the Best of Blogs website and check things out.
I'm looking forward to a great time this year!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The REAL Gift of Food
There is no gift I enjoy so much at Christmas as the edible kind. Whether it's a full Hickory Farms breakfast, Friendship Soup from my sister-in-law or a tin filled with lovelies such as Grandma's Chocolate Squares and fudge from my mother, nothing fills the bill like a gift of food.
I've given them myself over the years; a loaf of fresh Challah bread; a colander filled with utensils and makings for a pasta dinner; a simple brown lunch bag decorated by my children and packed with various cookies and a packet or two of hot cocoa mix.
I intended to post fabulous gift recipes and ideas but I thought instead that I should call attention to the real gift of food.
While a basket of goodies from Dean & Deluca might be nice, a gift certificate for a supermarket or a few bags of everyday groceries would go farther and mean more to someone who really needs it.
So, before you pack up your favorite cookie mix and tie on a bright ribbon, give some thought to someone you may know (or not know!) who might benefit from a gift of real food. If you don't know anyone there are agencies and churches who can direct you to a family or individual who would be more than grateful to eat this Christmas.
One more thing; people need food every day of the year...see if you can grow your heart to encompass a few extra months of the year~I know I need to.
I've given them myself over the years; a loaf of fresh Challah bread; a colander filled with utensils and makings for a pasta dinner; a simple brown lunch bag decorated by my children and packed with various cookies and a packet or two of hot cocoa mix.
I intended to post fabulous gift recipes and ideas but I thought instead that I should call attention to the real gift of food.
While a basket of goodies from Dean & Deluca might be nice, a gift certificate for a supermarket or a few bags of everyday groceries would go farther and mean more to someone who really needs it.
So, before you pack up your favorite cookie mix and tie on a bright ribbon, give some thought to someone you may know (or not know!) who might benefit from a gift of real food. If you don't know anyone there are agencies and churches who can direct you to a family or individual who would be more than grateful to eat this Christmas.
One more thing; people need food every day of the year...see if you can grow your heart to encompass a few extra months of the year~I know I need to.
Friday, December 01, 2006
The Good, The Bad and The Quick
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, food is at a minimum here lately. Not all of it has been bad but the good is so sparse I felt like I had nothing to share. I remembered a recipe that I tried out this year for Thanksgiving and knew this was one to pass on.
The Good:
First, if you don't get the Kraft Food and Family magazine, sign up for it! There are some great ideas and recipes in there that you don't want to miss and this recipe came from there.
I love Crab Rangoon but didn't have the time to make and deep fry individual pastries so this seemed like a good alternative. They were awesome. I didn't have time to get to 2 stores for T-Day shopping so I picked up 12 oz. of imitation crab at the store I was at and chopped it fine for this. I also added a bit more green onion than called for and opted for regular mayo since I wasn't buying the light stuff for a single recipe.
We got a total of 36 with a doubled recipe.
Baked Crab Rangoon
Printable Recipe
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 12 servings, one wonton each
1 can (6 oz.) white crabmeat, drained, flaked
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup KRAFT Mayo Light Mayonnaise
12 won ton wrappers
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix crabmeat, Neufchatel cheese, onions and mayo.
SPRAY 12 medium muffin cups with cooking spray. Gently place 1 won ton wrapper in each cup, allowing edges of wrappers to extend above sides of cups. Fill evenly with crabmeat mixture.
BAKE 18 to 20 min. or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through. Serve warm. Garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.
The Bad:
Apple Pie from canned filling and frozen crust.
Nobody here likes apples cut so thick that you need to cut them again to eat or thick pie crust. 'Nuff said.
The Quick:
Chicken Nugget and Pasta Parmesan
Printable Recipe
1 lb spaghetti or other pasta, cooked to desired doneness
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce-24 oz or so
1/2 bag of Aldi's frozen chicken nuggets or a pound of your favorite pre-done frozen nuggets
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a lasagna or other rectangular baking pan with cooking spray.
Toss cooked pasta and 1/3 jar of sauce together and spread evenly into pan.
Top with chicken nuggets (I got 5 to a row, 6 rows) and top with remaining sauce (I thinned mine a bit with water since I'm too Scot to leave any behind in the jar) and sprinkle with parmesan.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes until nuggets are heated through.
This was a complete fluke on one of my first nights home with baby and the kids loved it. I've made it once since then too and even if it isn't gourmet or exactly healthy, it was a real lifesaver!
The Good:
First, if you don't get the Kraft Food and Family magazine, sign up for it! There are some great ideas and recipes in there that you don't want to miss and this recipe came from there.
I love Crab Rangoon but didn't have the time to make and deep fry individual pastries so this seemed like a good alternative. They were awesome. I didn't have time to get to 2 stores for T-Day shopping so I picked up 12 oz. of imitation crab at the store I was at and chopped it fine for this. I also added a bit more green onion than called for and opted for regular mayo since I wasn't buying the light stuff for a single recipe.
We got a total of 36 with a doubled recipe.
Baked Crab Rangoon
Printable Recipe
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 12 servings, one wonton each
1 can (6 oz.) white crabmeat, drained, flaked
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup KRAFT Mayo Light Mayonnaise
12 won ton wrappers
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix crabmeat, Neufchatel cheese, onions and mayo.
SPRAY 12 medium muffin cups with cooking spray. Gently place 1 won ton wrapper in each cup, allowing edges of wrappers to extend above sides of cups. Fill evenly with crabmeat mixture.
BAKE 18 to 20 min. or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through. Serve warm. Garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.
The Bad:
Apple Pie from canned filling and frozen crust.
Nobody here likes apples cut so thick that you need to cut them again to eat or thick pie crust. 'Nuff said.
The Quick:
Chicken Nugget and Pasta Parmesan
Printable Recipe
1 lb spaghetti or other pasta, cooked to desired doneness
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce-24 oz or so
1/2 bag of Aldi's frozen chicken nuggets or a pound of your favorite pre-done frozen nuggets
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a lasagna or other rectangular baking pan with cooking spray.
Toss cooked pasta and 1/3 jar of sauce together and spread evenly into pan.
Top with chicken nuggets (I got 5 to a row, 6 rows) and top with remaining sauce (I thinned mine a bit with water since I'm too Scot to leave any behind in the jar) and sprinkle with parmesan.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes until nuggets are heated through.
This was a complete fluke on one of my first nights home with baby and the kids loved it. I've made it once since then too and even if it isn't gourmet or exactly healthy, it was a real lifesaver!
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