Elle's New England Kitchen

First up, the chicken. This recipe is my take on my good friend Molli's recipe. What could possibly be bad about chicken, pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella? Nothing! And this is another extremely easy one. How easy? It doesn't even have measurements. Just eyeball it and use as much or as little of something as you like. This is one of those meals that my husband ate with lots of approving noises, lol. That means he's really enjoying what he's eating!

Did I make my own pesto? No, though I do in the summertime. For this chilly New England girl, Trader Joe's is my wintertime pesto savior. Thank you, TJ's! I used fresh tomatoes, also from TJ's--but if you can't find any decent ones, go ahead and try canned. Then it really becomes a pantry dinner! I usually keep shredded cheese in the freezer, too, so if you do that--along with a jar of good pesto, a can of diced tomatoes, and add a pack of boneless chicken, you can have this one on the table with little effort.



Here's the recipe, and like I said--there are no exact measurements. Use as much breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese as you need to coat your chicken. Same with tomatoes, pesto and cheese--use your own judgement.

Caprese Chicken

To print this recipe, click here!

boneless chicken breasts, filleted
kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
a couple of beaten eggs
breadcrumbs
grated parm (some to mix with breadcrumbs, some to sprinkle on chicken)
pesto
sliced tomatoes (or drained canned, diced tomatoes if that's what you've got)
shredded mozzarella




Heat oven to 375.
Fillet the chicken breasts if you haven't already. They cook faster, and stay juicier. Trust me on this.
Sprinkle them generously with the salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders.
In a plate, mix some grated parm in with the breadcrumbs.
Dip the chicken in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs.
Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-med. high heat, then add some oil to the pan-about 2-3 tbsp.
When the oil is hot, add the chicken.
Brown 3-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
Remove pan from heat, and then slather the tops of each breast (the chicken ones, not yours, lol)
with some pesto--as much as you like.
Top each one with sliced tomato, then sprinkle each with parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 3-4 minutes, then if you want some color on your cheese, turn the broiler on-broil for 2-3 minutes. Watch it carefully, though!





Look at the gorgeous Boule Bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day! I can't remember the last cookbook I've gotten so much use out of, seriously.
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Random Thursday Thoughts:

Twitter.

It's so much fun! I didn't think I'd get into it at first, but you know what? It's addictive. And I've made some good friends using it, too! It's a great way to network and get to know people with the same interests as you. If you want to follow me, click here: @elleskitchen

Hello to all my Tweeps!

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The mailman.

Whatever happened to that old saying? "Neither wind, nor rain, nor sleet, nor snow..." Now, I know how hard letter carriers work. And yeah, they do have to be out in some really crappy weather. But what do you do when your letter carrier...sucks? (I know, not ALL letter carriers suck, so no hate mail, please!) We had a great mail carrier at our previous house, but the one we got when we moved? ugh. He's an old, crusty dude. Grumpy, too. We STILL get mail from people that lived here three families ago! No matter how many times we tell him they don't live here and haven't for years. We get the neighbor's mail, they get ours, sometimes we get none at all, and then the next day, get two days worth. sigh. I think every single person on this street has called and filed complaints about him. So we have to put up with all of his issues, but God forbid there's 5" of snow at the street end (thanks to that last pass from the plow) of an otherwise clear front walk and porch. We get no mail that day, and a note the next day. "Not delivered because not shoveled." freaking grrrrr!
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Glad I got that off my chest. Thanks for listening! :)

Happy Thursday! I have a couple of thoughts in my head, and need to get them out. Too much rattling around in there.

The first is addressed to the Patriots fans that had the balls to boo the team and leave the stadium before the end of last Sunday's game. What were they thinking? We have been spoiled by being lucky enough to have Tom Brady go this long without any huge injuries. And here are just a few of their stats:

1963, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

Thank you Rauzulu's Street for those stats.

The Patriots also have a record 21 regular season game winning streak, just broken on Sunday. So they have a bad day, and these spoiled rotten fans in the stadium jump ship and disrespect the team that has given New England so much these last years.

You guys suck. What happened to supporting your team? Do you think booing them makes them mad so they'll work harder and win? No, it's a slap in the face, and I'm embarrassed for you. Everyone's trying to be first to show up to the Super Bowl celebration parade through Boston, but one loss and they're jumping ship.

I for one, will proudly wear my official Belichick hoodie and watch every game, and cheer for my team, win or lose. They've worked so hard for us, and it's time for us to step up and support them.

My husband says I take football too seriously, hehe. Funny, right? A husband telling his wife she takes football too seriously. hahaha! He teases me and says we should now pick whatever team is doing best and root for them.

I think he almost felt the daggers from my eyes boring into his very soul.

And I know, a lot of people hate the Patriots and Belechick. But don't hate me for loving them--they're my team!

Rant #1 over. hehe!



Next up--rude 4 year old kids. Sitting in the dentists waiting room yesterday, waiting for my daughter to have some stuff done. There's this little boy there no older than 4, maybe a young 5. He is wreaking havoc in the toy area, tossing stuff around and being loud, like a 4 year old boy will do. I'm fine with that. But his mom, instead of sitting right near him and quietly telling him to behave, is sitting directly behind me, and YELLING across the entire waiting room "Gavin, knock it off!" "Gavin, cut it out!" You get the idea.

So then little Gavin--with a cherub face--comes walking over to where I'm sitting. Down a few seats from me is a man, minding his own business and waiting with his young daughter. Gavin comes around to this guy and looks up at him. I'm thinking he's going to say hi or some other sweet little thing.

No. No, no, no and no.

He looks up at the nice man and says "Hi douchebag!"

Knock me over with a feather. I gasped, and loudly. I was shocked! The man was so taken aback, that he didn't know what the heck to say. We looked at each other and gave the silent "WTF?!"

Did his mom say anything? Keep in mind, she was right behind me, so there's no way on God's green Earth that she didn't hear him. So did she say anything to sweet little Gavin?

Not. One. Word. If at that moment, he hadn't had his name called to go back and see the dentist, I'd have given an earful to his mom. No such luck.

I can forgive the kid, because you know, kids will hear something and pick it up, then say it to anyone and everyone. It happens, right? What I can't forgive, is the mother that let it happen and didn't say a word to him. He'll never learn not to say it if she doesn't tell him not to.

Mr. Nice Man looked at me and said "You know, if they aren't taught respect, they don't show respect."

Amen, Mr. Nice Man. Amen.

Rant #2 done.


And third--Pork Egg Rolls, because this IS a food blog, no?



These are a real favorite around here. I can even bribe my sister in law, Orietta, with these. (Hi Ori!) They are so simple. A little time consuming, wrapping them and all, but so worth it. I always double the recipe, because if you're going to the trouble, you may as well make more and have extra. And they won't be around long, let me tell you. If you can't eat them all, you'll most likely find someone that will help you. Or freeze them for another day. Oh, and since the filling is precooked, you can taste and adjust seasonings before you fry them all up and realize you have bland egg rolls!

These are from Everyday Food and a good, basic pork egg roll. But feel free to change things up here and there if you like. I added water chestnuts, not for flavor, because they have none, hehe, but for some crunch and texture.


Pork Egg Rolls


1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbs brown sugar
veg oil (for frying)
2 napa cabbage, about 2 1/2 lbs, thinly sliced
water chestnuts
8 med carrots, coarsely grated
8 minced garlic cloves
2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1 smallish can of water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
coarse salt and ground black pepper
2 lb ground pork
12 green onions, thinly sliced
32 (6-7" square) egg roll wrappers
2 large egg, lightly beaten

dipping sauce for serving



In a small bowl, combine soy, vinegar and sugar.

In a large skillet, heat 1 TB oil at med. high. Add cabbage carrots, garlic and ginger, and water chestnuts, season with salt and pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes, stir occasionally.

Raise heat to high, add pork and soy mixture. Cook, stirring, until pork is done and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 min. Transfer to a plate to cool. (I made the filling a day ahead and kept it in the fridge, but for faster cooling, spread the filling on a large rimmed baking sheet.)

Working on a flat surface, put down 4 wrappers, keeping the others covered with damp paper towels. With a pastry brush, wet the 4 sides of the wrapper with the beaten egg. Put 1/3 cup of filling in the center of each wrapper. (don't be tempted to overfill)

Fold the point of the wrapper that's facing you over the filling, tucking the corner under the filling. Fold both side corners in so it looks like an open envelope. Tightly roll the wrapper to close and press to seal the edge.

At this point, you can freeze them: Freeze in a single layer at least 2 hours, transfer to a ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To fry, increase cooking time by about 3 mins per batch.

They say you can also bake these at 400° on a lightly oiled, rimmed baking sheet. Brush egg rolls with a bit of oil and bake till golden, 10 minutes. If baking from frozen, bake 15 minutes. (I have not tried this!)

For frying, I used a deep electric skillet. I like it because it's easy to control the temp of the oil. Pour in enough oil to be about an inch or 2 deep. Heat the oil to 350° and working in batches of 6, fry about 3 minutes on one side and flip the rolls, frying for about 2-3 minutes more. Remove to racks placed over paper towels to drain. Bring the oil back up to 350 degrees between batches. Serve with dipping sauce.






I don't have a special dipping sauce recipe, I usually just wing it till it tastes good:

Soy sauce, sesame oil, a little ginger, a bit of garlic, and a bit of brown sugar. Mix it all up and adjust to taste.


So that's it for this week's Thursday ramblings. Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for a Cinnamon Overload Apple Crisp recipe...

Cuban Picadillo--have you ever had it? So. Damn. Good. And very easy to make, too. It's also versatile. Serve it as is, with a fried egg on top if you like, and rice and beans on the side. Serve it on buns, like a sloppy joe, or wrap it up in dough and make empanadas. Don't those look delicious? I usually double this recipe so we can make empanadas with half of it, but I didn't think of doing that this time. (In a hurry making my grocery list, I suppose.)

I've tried a few recipes for it, but have settled on one from David Rosengarten, in It's All American Food. It has the elements I love in it--raisins (yes, raisins!), olives, hard boiled eggs, and chorizo, along with a good helping of spices to bring out wonderful flavor. Chorizo should be pretty easy to find--scroll down a bit on that page to see the varieties. If I can find it in my grocery store, it can't be too hard to get, hehe.

Is this authentic Cuban Picadillo? I have no idea. I'm sure it's like chili or spaghetti sauce, and there are millions of versions out there, but this is the one we like the best. Feel free to change it up, and add or take things out. But I have to say--try not to mess with the cinnamon, raisins and olives (If you do, I'll find out about it. I may be forced to come to your homes and make this for you, with those things in it!). They add SO much flavor. The olives and raisins play off of each other so well--you get a little tart taste from the olive, and a little burst of sweet from the raisins. I leave out the capers (1 TB) in this recipe because we don't like them, and the almonds (1/3 c toasted, slivered)--if I have them, I add them, and if I don't, it's no big deal. These would both be added at the same time as the eggs and lime juice, if you want to add them.

Cuban Style Picadillo (adapted from It's All American Food)

You can easily double this, and it freezes beautifully!

2 TB olive oil
1 lb ground beef (I use ground turkey)
1/2 pound chorizo, chopped in small pieces, or removed from casing
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 TB ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup beef stock
1 TB sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped green olives with pimento
2 TB cider vinegar
3 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1-2 TB lime juice

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef or turkey and chorizo.
Cook about 10 minutes, stirring often, until nicely browned. Drain if you like--I usually do, but leave a little oil in the pan, or add a bit more olive oil.
Add onion and bell pepper, saute about 10 minutes.
Add garlic and spices, saute about one minute.
Add tomatoes, beef stock and sugar. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
Add raisins, olives, and vinegar, simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
Add chopped eggs and lime juice and season with salt and pepper, simmer for a couple minutes to heat eggs up, and serve.

I served it this time with sweet potato and beet chips.


A Six Word Memoir

Toontz at Okara Mountain has tagged me for a Six Word Memoir. Check out her blog--that girl makes some gorgeous food! Basically, it's just six words that describe you.

So let's see...

E--Excellent!
L--Loving
L--Lazy, sometimes
E--Exciting

I--Intelligent
S--Spoiled

Now I tag six more blogs--I'm choosing new additions to the Foodie Blogroll. Hopefully you'll go and say hello to them--they are all really great blogs! So here you go--more blogs to read. Your boss won't mind, I checked ahead of time. ;)

For the Love of Cooking
B More Sweet
Life After Gluten
M E A T C H I P
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Tarheel Table

Where to start today? I guess with the food, since that's what we're here for. :) Two nights ago, we had Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette. It's one of our favorites, another tried and true. The recipe is from Ina Garten. I love her recipes! I've never had one fail, and her stuff ranges from "pull out all the stops for guests" to "let's have a bowl of soup, salad and bread for dinner." You can look at the books of hers that I have in my Amazon shop.

It's really simple, too! And you can feel good serving it to guests--it's special enough for company. The chicken is dipped in flour, then egg, then a combination of bread crumbs and fresh grated parm. Try to grate the parm finely, because you want it to stick to the chicken, and mix well with the bread crumbs. The vinaigrette takes maybe two minutes to whip up, and is tossed with the greens at the last second. Then the cool, tangy greens are piled over the warm chicken. The tastes and textures all come together for a delicious dinner.

You can also see it on Canarygirl's blog. Her photos are awesome! And her food, omg, her food is the best! Want to torture yourself with some good food porn? Go check out her site--you won't be sorry!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Lemon Vinaigrette with Fresh Greens

Ina uses arugula, but this is good with any mixed greens or even spinach, as we usually have it.
This serves 6, but usually boneless chicken comes in packs with 3 half breasts (it's like the hot dog/hot dog bun ratio--wtf!),
and I fillet them rather than pounding them out, and I still end up with 6 pieces--good for
leftovers. Less work, faster cooking time, and it doesn't dry out.

Side note on filleting:

I always fillet chicken breasts. They cook faster, so they don't have time to dry out.
Well, I suppose they could, if you really try to overcook them, but
they only need a few minutes per side. If they're thin, 2-3 minutes per
side is good, and if they're thicker, like the kind you get from "new
and improved" mutant-sized chickens, they take about 5-6 minutes per
side. And it's so easy to fillet them, too! Just put your chicken on a
cutting board, get a good sharp fillet knife, and place your palm over
the chicken breast, like the way you're supposed to cut a bagel but no
one ever does? "Hello? 911? Bagel emergency! But please stop off first
and get me a new bagel...I seem to have ruined this one..." So you've
put your palm over the top, and then you slice the breast horizontally
from the thick end of the breast, to the thin one. See? Easy, and
injury free!

Back to the recipe!


1/2 lb    fresh arugula (3 large bunches) OR greens of your choice
1/4 cup    fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/2 cup     olive oil
1/2 tsp    kosher salt
1/4 tsp    fresh ground black pepper
1/4 lb    chunk of parmesan
6    boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup    flour
1 tsp    kosher salt
1/2 tsp    fresh ground pepper
2    extra large eggs
1 1/4 cup    seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup    freshly grated parm cheese
1 Tbs    butter
2-3 Tbs    olive oil



Wash and dry your greens.
In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper.
Set aside to toss with greens right before serving.
That couldn't be any easier, right?  Now on to the chicken...
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Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Pound the chicken, or fillet it like I mentioned above. (this is really
important for fast cooking and juicy chicken.)
Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate.
In a bowl, beat the eggs with 1 tbsp water.
On a second plate, combine the bread crumbs and parm.


Dredge the chicken in the flour, dip in the egg, and then dredge in the
crumb/parm mixture, pressing lightly.


Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the chicken for 3-4
minutes on one side, depending on thickness, then turn and do the same (3-4
minutes) on second side until no longer pink and nicely golden brown.
Toss the salad greens with enough vinaigrette to coat them, add more if you
like.
Place chicken on dinner plate, then place a mound of salad over each chicken
breast. Shave some parm with a vegetable peeler over the greens and serve immediately.

Up Next--One, the song...

I'm a kid of the 80's. Yep, the big hair, the funky colors, the music, the movies...I loved it all. I still love U2! They've been around almost forever, haven't they? They have great lyrics, amazing songs...they are just timeless. Anyway, their song "One." Great song, right? Did you ever hear Mary J. Blige cover it? I saw her do it live on some show. Gave me goosebumps. Really! It's on her album The Breakthrough. I didn't even know they did a version of it together! And where did I first hear it? Are you ready?

In the grocery store! hahaha!! My grocery store plays the best music! Except when they try to sneak an Ashlee Simpson song in to cause my ears to bleed. ugh.

I urge you, no--I'm telling all of you to go to whatever music service you use and download the song. Right now. You won't regret it. The Amazon clip is so short. I'm listening to it right now and getting goosebumps again, hehe. SO good. And how gorgeous is Mary?



And finally, Zen's Freaking Chimichurri Sauce...

I posted about it here.

And you can see it on his site, too. Check out his blog! Great food, and funny stories. He's very entertaining!

The sauce...it's addictive. Two nights ago, we had the parm crusted chicken, right? Delicious as is, but I happened to have some more chimichurri in the fridge, because we've been having it on pork chops, too, which we have at least once a week (use the same rub that you use on the steak). I was thinking I'd put some it on my chicken, and my husband comes in and says "HEY! Let's put some chimichurri on the chicken!" We are of one mind, I'm telling you. Except when it comes to 70's cop movies. Blech. He can have them. I'll read instead., hehe.

The chicken went from delicious to sublime! This is one recipe I'll have in rotation all the time. The rub and chimichurri sauce are made from simple, everyday ingredients that you can easily get, at any time. I can't wait to start grilling so we can put it on more stuff! Thanks, Zen! muac!



Hey, I just checked! It's 62° (about 16 C, i think?) --we're having a heatwave, hehe!

First up--guacamole! Is there anyone that doesn't love fresh, cool, chunky guacamole? Anyone? Bueller? Ok, I guess there's gotta be at least a couple of people that don't like it. So more for us!

Guacamole is one of the easiest, and most satisfying things to make. It's so freaking good. The trick is to get good avocados. I always get Hass avocados, but in a pinch, the bigger, green ones are good, too. You can read everything you ever wanted to know about avocados here. If you're buying Hass, look for the darker, almost black ones, that yield a bit to a little squeeze. If they're all hard and green, you can ripen them at home pretty quickly in a paper bag. But be careful--they're funny little things and go from "We're ripe, yay!" to "Um, we're just going to lie here and get moldy...in the next sixty seconds, ok?" ugh!

So cut them in half carefully, from top to bottom, whack the pit with your knife, carefully! and twist it out. Take a knife and carefully cut lines vertically and horizontally while the halves are still in the peel. Then run a spoon under and around the flesh and scoop it out. Did I mention to be careful? Please do!

So here we go! I've made this so many times that I don't use a set recipe or measurements. You can eyeball your avocado/tomato/onion ratio. And if you hate tomatoes or despise onions (but why would you?) you can skip those. Your guacamole won't mind.

Guacamole

3 avocados
1 lime
1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 medium tomato, chopped and seeded
1/2 a small onion (red, white, sweet--doesn't matter)
1 jalapeno, remove seeds and ribs if you want it mild--leave them in if you like it hotter
chopped cilantro
coarse salt

Get your avocados ready, and put the chunks in a medium bowl. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half over the avocado. Add the garlic to the bowl and mash it all up some more with a fork, but leave some chunks--chunks are good!

Add the tomato and onion and some salt, then cilantro and jalapeno. Oh, leave out the cilantro if you hate it-- I'll forgive you. Mix it up and give it a taste, and add more lime juice if it needs it. I usually use almost one whole lime.

When you've got it just right, cover it and put it in the fridge to let the flavors mingle amongst themselves. About 1/2 an hour or so. But if you're like us, you'll grab a bag of corn chips and sample some (ok, a lot) before it even hits the fridge. And don't bother with this business of sticking an avocado pit in the guacamole to keep it greener, longer. It's a lie. From the Save the Avocado Pit People--SAPP, for short. Put a bit of plastic wrap right on the surface, and keep it in the fridge. It'll last into the next day, but no longer than that. And if it's a little discolored on top, just give it a stir.

Serve this with chips, in wraps, over a spicy salad, on tacos, in burritos, etc.



Next up--The Foodie Blogroll! Have all you food bloggers joined yet? What are you waiting for? It's a very cool way to get more exposure for your blog, give you more traffic, and a good way to get to know other foodies like yourselves. PLUS you'll find more great blogs to read!

There are three requirements:

1) Your blog must be at least one month old with at least five posts. (I joined one month to the day after I started blogging, hehe.)

2) Your blog must be at least 80% about food.

3) You have to put the Blogroll in your sidebar in plain sight where it can be seen by Jenn, the genius who started it all. It's nice and not in-your-face. See it in my sidebar, there on the right?

Here's a blurb from Jenn, on Foodieblogroll.com:

Why Should I join The Foodie Blogroll? What’s in it for me?

The Foodie Blogroll is the first of its kind and is one of the fastest growing online communities for foodies. With over 1000 members spanning the globe in less than a year, there is a reason for its popularity. It is the first blogroll created just for foodies like you. When I started my food blog, I went looking for a blogroll for food and cooking related websites and there were none to be found. So I decided to create my own! This is all about building the best community online for foodies! Imagine what having over 1000 websites linking to you can do for your blogs traffic and Google or Technorati ranking.

A great benefit for joining is a forum for members (and other foodies alike) to hang out with each other and get to know each other and talk about our favorite subject – FOOD. There are also contests and your blog could also be featured as part of my Finest Foodies Friday – where I feature the best blogs from the Foodie Blogroll! If you are not a member, you can’t be featured.

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And there's forums on her site, too, for contests and getting to know other bloggers. So drop Jenn an e mail and get started soon!



And lastly, Today's Tunes!

I've been listening to Puddle of Mudd. I love these guys! It's a great album, lots of fun, and really, don't we all know at least one Paranoid Flake?

Also in rotation the last couple of days is Flyleaf . I love this album, too. Definitely makes kitchen time (what I mean is cleaning time) more enjoyable.


Being served soon: Brownies, Cornbread and Tuna Orzo Salad. But not all together, because... ewww. hehe. Stay tuned...

Dinner

I didn't take any photos of dinner last night, but it was pork chops. They were delicious, but my husband got home from work kind of late, and he was hungry, so I didn't worry about pulling out the camera and getting pics. I'll tell you how I make perfect, juicy chops, though.

I use a seasoning called Amazing Taste,
and it really IS amazing! They have one for pork, poultry, burgers, beef, seafood, and one called Malibu, which is an all purpose blend. It's the only thing I use on my chops. I also use the burger one in ground turkey, and it makes awesome burgers, and the poultry one made good burgers in a pinch when the store was out of the pork one.

So, here's how I make the chops (I always buy center cut boneless chops, and try to get them at least an inch thick):

1. Heat the oven to 375°.
2. Heat on oven proof skillet on med. high.
3. Rub the chops generously with the Amazing Taste Seasoning.
4. Add a bit of oil to the pan and get it good and hot.
5. Add the chops to the skillet and saute for about 3-4 minutes on one side, or until they're
browned enough to release from the pan.
6. Turn them over, and saute for about 3-4 more minutes, depending on thickness of the chops.
7. Now put them in the hot oven for about 3-4 more minutes.
8. Check the temp--they should be from 155°-160°.
9. Take them out of the pan and let them sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.


Ooooh looky, they have shaker containers with more flavor varieties!


Free e Cookbook for a Very Good Cause!

From now until the end of March, Barilla will donate $1 for every download of their celeb cookbook to America's Second Harvest. It has recipes from Stanley Tucci, Natalie Portman, Mario Batalli, Marisa Tomei, Debra Messing and Chris Daughtry.

Get your copy here!

You can help the hungry by just doing a few clicks--it couldn't be easier! I already downloaded mine, and it's a nice little book.

Thanks to Katy at sugarlaws for posting about it!


Dogs


I had a little chat with Erin this morning, from ErinCooks.com,
about my Corgis. We have two of them, Hammy and Phoebe. We got Hammy, or Hamilton Bloo-regard Q. Kazoo last February. His name? I wanted to name him Hamilton, after the squirrel in Over the Hedge:


And my kids wanted to name him Bloo, after Bloo-regard Q. Kazoo, from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends:


So we compromised. My (3 year old at the time) son wanted to name him Toast. I couldn't imagine yelling "Toastyyyyy" to call this dog in from the (fenced in) yard, so I let him down easy, and convinced him that Hammy was very cool.

I started thinking about what a little fuzzball he was when we brought him home. He's a tri-color-- black, tan and white.

Baby Hammy:


Soon, we decided we needed another Corgi. A pal for Hammy. In May, we went to Maine to get Phoebe. We met her brothers and sisters and her mom and dad. There was one little girl that looked just like Hammy, but she was already reserved. Not a problem, because there were lots of other little fuzzballs vying for our attention. Oh, and Hammy was with us. He was so sweet there--he just knew these were his kind of dogs!

We picked a sweet little girl who immediately loved us. She's a sable corgi. Baby Phoebe:

She even loves books, so she fit right in!

The night we brought her home, we were out in the backyard with the two of them, and Hammy pulled out all the stops trying to impress his new best friend. He was running around at top speed, and doing all of his tricks. It was like he was saying "Look! Look at me! Soon you'll be able to do all of this, tooooooo!!!!!" hehehe

Did she care? Not one bit. She acted that way that all girls know...hard to get. She didn't care one teeny bit what his tricks were, because soon, she'd be in charge, anyway. And she was. Now, when she wants to go out, Hammy has to, as well, simply because she wants him to. He's a good boy, and will...ahem..."generously" move so she can get the good spot in the sun. But he doesn't mind, because they are truly best buds.


You can read more about Corgis here.

And I'll give you a few more photos of my puppies:

They really are sweet little dogs, and I can't imagine not having them.

Enjoy the rest of your day!