Dirt Therapy

I have discovered a new use for the Christmas lights that have been hanging on my house since the Christmas of 2001. No, it's not to wrap them around my husband's neck and strangle him because they're still there (although that is a thought). I used them this evening to light my way as I weeded my front flowerbed. I started at five and finished around eight. It was dark out the entire time, hence the need for lighting.

Yes, I realize its not Spring yet. Yes, I could see my breath as I yanked noxious weeds and joy of joys, discovered that what I call my flowerbed is in reality, my cat's bathroom; Unfortunately, I wasn't wearing garden gloves at the time.

But that's not the point. The point is that I have begun my dirt therapy for the year. It's my time alone. No one will bother me, because not one person living under my roof wants to work in the yard. I'm safe from interference, except for my husband who kept insisting that I come in and have some dinner, for crying out loud, and was I nuts? It's freezing out here, and shouldn't I have a coat on? As tempting as chocolate chip pancakes for dinner was (it was my six year-old's turn to make dinner), I begged off because I didn't want to come in to eat, get warm or put a coat on. I was happy outside playing in the dirt. Did I mention that it was quiet? It wasn't the dirt so much as it was the quiet. It gave me time to reflect upon things not generally reflected upon during my busy week.

Like why does my Black Lab dig up things in my cat's bathroom and... Uh, never mind. That really doesn't bear reflecting upon. But other things came to mind that did; like why did the transmission on my van blow exactly one month to the day that the warranty on it expired? Do they install a timing device when they give you a warranty that insures expiration before breaking down? Oh look, kitty's been over here by the rose bushes too. Hmm.

Running my fingers through the wet dirt I discovered that some of my bulbs were beginning to send up shoots. Maybe they wish it was Spring as much as I do. Oops, that was a flower stalk, not a weed. Well, it's not like I can see things very well in the dark with only Christmas lights for illumination. Weeds one, bulbs zero.

I realized that I was talking to myself, but decided not to let it make me feel silly. I mean, its not like being out in 38-degree weather in just a tee shirt and jeans, running my hands through kitty-doo and dirt in the semi-darkness is considered grounds for commitment. Oops, that wasn't a bulb, that was a kitty offering. Where's that dog?

Grimacing as I knelt on soggy grass, I thought about the microwave that just died and the dishwasher that refuses to wash dishes, but is fully capable of baking food on dishes with such force that it's removable only with a sand blaster. I'm considering tossing everything and just buying paper plates.

Ah, lovely wet dirt, therapy for my soul. Peace and quiet and time to ponder the fact that if I removed all the dead plants and broken planters that have adorned my front porch for months, it might induce my immediate neighbors to believe that we weren't actually trailer trash. Of course that would mean I'd have to scrub off the remnants of last summer's plum fight from the front of the house as well. But I know that once I start I won't be able to stop. It's like when you wipe off a spot on a cupboard door in the kitchen; it becomes readily apparent that there is now a clean streak in the middle of all the grime. Does this mean I'll have to scrub the entire front of my house? Uh oh, that wasn't a bulb I just picked up.

Dirt therapy is something I heartily recommend to all of you. Take some time to get in touch with nature, to commune with Mother Earth. Send your bare hands deep into the dark earth and you'll come away with more than just dirt under your nails that won't come out no matter how hard you scrub. You will come away with peace of mind, a slight case of hypothermia, and a life long aversion to Almond Roca. That darn cat.

Nonstick Frying Pan - 4 Tips on Making Sure Your Non Stick Frying Pan Will Last a Very Long Time

With just a little extra care, your nonstick frying pan can give you years of cooking pleasure. In this article you will discover how easy it is to preserve its silky smooth cooking surface.

Tip 1

Many cooks do not know that non stick cookware was designed for only special types of foods. They love it and use it for just about everything. However, the nonstick frying pan was designed specifically for delicate foods like; pancakes, eggs and omelets.

For sautes and general everyday cooking, you'll want to reach for a regular frying pan (i.e. one without a non stick surface). An iron skillet is ideal for the workhorse on your stove and enables you to choose the right tool for the right job. This will insure that your non stick pan will last a very long time because you will not be prematurely wearing the surface down.

Tip 2

It's important to remember that these fragile foods don't require nearly as much heat as your heavier general cooking. One of the instructions that came with your pan probably stated that it is best to never set a cooking temperature above medium when using these pans. That's because the nonstick surface is subject to scorching under high heat conditions which will impair its nonstick properties. So remember, "medium" heat.

Tip 3

To further protect the surface, it is important to always use the proper utensils. Wood, rubber or plastic utensils are perfectly acceptable, but never use metal which would surely produce scratches. This wouldn't necessarily affect the nonstick properties, but it would destroy the beauty of your pan.

Tip 4

This one may surprise you, but never place your non stick cookware in the dish washer or use a strong detergent. Although, some manufacturers do claim their product is dish washer safe, for the longest surface life, cleanup should only be done with a soft sponge and soapy water.

A quality nonstick frying pan is truly a joy to use and here you have the basics for preserving its life. When you follow these 4 simple tips in caring for that pan, it will provide you with many years of nonstick cooking satisfaction.

Belgium Waffle Recipe

There is more than one Belgium waffle recipe because there is more then one Belgium waffle. The name Belgian waffle, or more precisely "Bel-Gem" waffle, was created in New York at the 1964 World's Fair by Maurice Vermersch and his wife.

Vermersch started making waffles when living in Belgium before the outbreak of World War II. He started two restaurants in Belgium and business went so well in Brussels that Vermersch decided to head to New York Fair.

The waffle that most Americans would think of as a Belgian waffle is known in Belgium as gaufre de Bruxelles, "the Brussels waffle".

Waffles are considered typical of Belgium, which boasts several varieties with somewhat different waffle recipes.

The Brussels waffle is based on a batter raised with yeast -- as opposed to most North American waffle or pancake batters, which are raised with baking powder. The yeast raising changes the chemistry of the batter, producing a tenderer crumb in the finished waffle than a baking-powder raising can. The yeast and the beaten egg whites which are folded into the batter work together to produce a light crisp waffle.

Directions for Basic Belgium waffle recipe:

1. Take a cup of milk and heat it until it is lukewarm then mix in your yeast. You can now leave the yeast standing for a while.

2. In the mean time - melt the butter, but stop as soon as it melts, don't over heat it or even burn it - you will lose the taste.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and beat the egg whites until you get snow.

4. Now take a big giant huge bowl and throw in all the flour, vanilla sugar (one sachet) and some salt. Make a hole in the middle of the flour and fill it with melted butter, dissolved yeast and egg yolk.

5. Mix while you are adding milk (and some mineral water if you want). You should mix it really well so there are no lumps. The question you might ask here is how dense should the dough be, how much milk? It should be thick, think pancakes and then make it a bit thicker.

6. Gently mix the beaten egg whites into the dough.

7. Leave the dough to rest and rise at room temperature for a while. How long? Until the volume of the dough doubles or even triples! We told you to take a really big bowl. If you are in a hurry then wait for 30 minutes to one hour, but if you can, make the waffle dough in the evening and leave it overnight.

8. Use the oil to grease the waffle iron (which should be very hot) so your waffles don't stick to it and pour the dough in it. Bake the until they turn golden brown.

The Liege waffle is also known as the Luikse wafel in Vlaamse and as Lütticher waffeln in German.) It's more or less oval - shaped, a thinner and smaller waffle than the Brussels waffle.

The Flemish waffle: It depends on where you are in Flanders but there are regional variations which all have their own texture and taste. Worth trying warm with a sprinkle of sugar or for a touch more indulgence, try them with a dollop of cream, hot chocolate or jam sauce. Beautifully light, Flemish waffles make the perfect snack or desert.

Break The Routine With Some Cooking Games

Cooking games are gaining in popularity at bridal showers, home parties for direct sellers like The Pampered Chef and Tastefully Simple and other such get-togethers when people do want to cook or see someone cook but don't want it to be boring.

Here are some cooking games you can try at your next girl's night out or even a couple's dinner so that you all get to eat homemade food while having fun at the same time.

Cooking in Reverse

This is a popular cooking game as instead of cooking something from a list of ingredients provided to you, you actually have to write down the ingredients from the dish served. You can obviously tell the main things like whether it is chicken with broccoli served with noodles. But the sauces and seasonings used and how everything was put together can be a challenge. Depending on the skill and interest level of your friends, you can take it up a notch by even asking them to provide the quantity of the ingredients used and giving a prize to the person who ends up being closes to the original recipe.

Mixing Courses

Mixing courses is a fun cooking game because it lets you really think out of the box. It basically means finding innovative ways to serve breakfast staples at dinner and salads instead of dessert. How you whip up pancakes and waffles as a dinner entrée and how you can make your dessert the first thing on the table and a salad the last is up to you. That is what the cooking game is all about. It even gets people thinking of creative ways of incorporating cereal on pizza and orange juice with filet mignon.

Blind Tasting

This is a very old but still popular cooking game and is very simple. You basically blindfold the testers and ask them to guess what they are sampling. Always be sure of allergies anyone may have as you wouldn't want to ruin your party with someone being rushed to the emergency room as they were allergic to strawberries, peanuts or shellfish. Also, some people may have religious or other dietary restriction such a being a vegetarian so always be sure you know your guests likes and preferences. You could add a fun twist to this by getting a blindfolded friend chew on a jalapeño or some other spicy thing and see him clench his teeth!

The possibilities are endless when you have fun food and friends in the equation. Have fun!

you can as that is a very good antioxidant.

Helpful Tips

1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you're filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon. A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for businesses, but service stations don't have temperature compensation at their pumps.

2. If a tanker truck is filling the station's tank at the time you want to buy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the tank is being stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be transferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car's tank.

3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because the more gas you have in your tank the less air there is and gasoline evaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm.

4. If you look at the trigger you'll see that it has three delivery settings: slow, medium and high. When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping at the slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping. Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return path for vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapor, which is being sucked back into the underground tank so you're getting less gas for your money.

Hope this will help ease your 'pain at the pump'.

5. Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth.

6. Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home", can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have to worry about pets or small children being harmed!

7. If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two, Viola! It unseals easily.

8. Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. This was featured on a cooking channel and it really works.

9. Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

10. To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

11. Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

12. Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep mosquitoes away. Another remedy is to spray yourself with mouth wash.

13. To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

14. Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ** ta da!--static is gone.

15. Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Add your ingredient such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

16. Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

17. Can't afford to pay high prices for pot pourie? Trim some of the tops and buds off the flowers of your choice. place in a glass jar with the lid loose but covering the opening. Add Rosemary, Thyme and cinnamon and then shake it good. Open the jar. As the flowers dry out, they will fill the room with scent.

18. When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

19. The heating unit went out on my clothes dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL....the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire and potentially burn your house down! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer last at least twice as long!

20. Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

21. To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

22. To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Article by: matthew

New Ideas For Chocolate Cake Recipes

There's very little in life that has the potential for happiness that chocolate cake recipes do! Just reading them over and, better yet, looking at a photo can start a person drooling. Oh, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Chocolate cake recipes are not all equal; some can be dry and some can be flavorless. But some can be just right. If you have a basic recipe that calls for milk or water, substitute some coffee to perk up the flavor (pun intended!)? Try using some of the new extra dark cocoa powders, to make your chocolate cake recipes more intense. Sour cream is always a good addition to chocolate cake recipes, too, making a cake so moist that it doesn't even need frosting -- you can just dust it with confectioners' sugar, which makes for a beautiful presentation.

Probably the most famous of all the chocolate cake recipes is the Brooklyn "Blackout Cake," which is frosted with a pudding-like fudge icing and then coated with chocolate cake crumbs. Those who've eaten it can be transported to Nirvana simply thinking about it! After all, you don't name a cake after the darkness unless it's particularly deep and rich and delicious!

Arguments about supposedly authentic recipes continue to this day. But even without the exact details, you can take the best ideas from the various chocolate cake recipes and make a "Blackout Cake" of your very own. If I were going to make one, I'd bake it in a 10" springform pan, rather than in 2 8" layers. And while the cake was baking, I'd bring out my jar of Chocolate Pie Filling and Dessert Mix to help me to make the perfect frosting.

Makes the best product I've found in all my years of cooking and baking; it's even low in fat and comes in a jar for freshness -- it's hard to beat that! So I'd mix up the recipe provided, but substitute coffee for the milk and use a bit less liquid than the provided recipe calls for to make the pudding thicker. Then, once the cake had cooled, I'd spread it lovingly with my pudding/frosting, and then sprinkle chocolate cookie crumbs on top ... sigh. I'd better go start baking -- if I may say so myself, this sounds like it has the potential to be one of the best chocolate cake recipes around!

Use Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps' Training Habits to Supercharge Your Real Estate Investing

In his quest for a record 10 Olympic gold medals in swimming, Michael Phelps trains to win. After watching Michael Phelps' training routine, I realized that real estate investors can utilize his techniques too.

The keys to Michael Phelps' training are:

1. Prioritize the Day

Michael Phelps has every minute of his day scheduled. Not one second is lost. Phelps is either swimming, eating, or resting. He always knows what he must do.

One way for us to be prepared to do what we must do, is to rise early and to plan our day. Make a list of things to do. Number the list with number one being the most important item to accomplish today. Then take your list with you and check off each item as it is accomplished.

2. Fuel for Work

Elephantine quantities of food are Michael Phelps' fuel. According to Phelps, for breakfast he eats, 3 Sandwiches of fried eggs, lettuce, tomato, cheese, fried onions, and mayo. One omelete, a bowl of grits, 3 slices of french toast with powdered sugar, and washes that down with 3 chocolate chip pancakes. Phelps goes for quantity, not quality.

Our fuel is what we feed our brain and our spirit. Focus on real estate books and also on books that inspire you to achieve greater heights.

I am presently reading "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, a book that inspires the mind to examine life in a new way. I like Tolle's observation that we categorize the things that happen to us throughout the day as either "good" or "bad". Yet Tolle points out the what we perceive as "bad" can actually lead to see the interconnectivities of the universe, in other words, to see the bigger picture.

3. Focused Effort

Michael Phelps doesn't practice swimming all day long, he goes in spurts. Like Phelps, we should devote different times of the day to different tasks. For example, my day consists of:

-5:00 am: walk the dog and collect my thoughts in the fresh morning air

-5:30-6:00 am: read informational and inspirational material

-6:00-7:00 am: write articles and work on books

8:00 - noon: work day job

noon - 1:00 pm: deal with REI issues, make phone calls, pick up mail at PO Box, go to bank, visit properties that are for sale

1:00 - 5:00 pm: back to day job

5:00-9:00 pm: time with family

9:00-10:00 pm manage blogs, websites and email

On weekends I can spend a little more time with my real estate business.

4. Make Time to Relax

Phelps, like many young adults, spends large chunks of time playing video games. That's how he relaxes. I relax by going for walks, reading, and spending time with my wife and kids.

Don't push yourself too hard. Enjoy the life you have for someday it will be gone. Don't be caught unprepared like William Soroyan, who said, "Everybody has got to die, but I always believed an exception would be made in my case."

The Benefits of Homeschool Cooking

If you've taken on the challenge of homeschooling your children, you probably already know the importance of finding interesting and unique ways to teach them new concepts and to give them a chance to practice old ones. But you may not have realized the answer is as close as your family kitchen. Below are some of the benefits your little students can get from learning via cooking.

Math and Cooking
Anyone who can cook can do math - it's that simple. So much of what you do in the kitchen involves doing math and that's why children can learn through following simple recipes. Take, for example, the dreaded math topic of adding fractions. When kids have to learn it by looking at numbers on a page, it can be difficult. However, if you decide you're going to make a double batch of chocolate chip cookies and all of those ingredients (most of which are written as fractions) need to be doubled, your son or daughter can find great motivation in learning how to add those fractions together. They wouldn't want to come up short on the chocolate chips, would they?

Science and Cooking
If you've watched many cooking programs, you may have already become familiar with the magic of science that is at work daily in your kitchen. Helping your students see that science and giving them the okay to experiment with it can be a great learning experience. It will also make for fun lessons they won't soon forget. For example, you could teach the children about the three stages of matter: gas, solids, and liquids. You could boil water and watch it evaporate. You could freeze water to make it into a solid. And you could use water in its liquid form as part of cooking. If you have several students, ask them to predict how long it would take for an ice cube to become water vapor on the stove top.

You can design experiments that show what happens to cookies if you leave out the baking soda or the flour. My daughter got first hand experience with this very thing last weekend when we ran out of flour and I was too lazy to run to the store. Pancake mix is not a good substitute.

Literature and Cooking
Another fun way to use cooking in your homeschooling lessons is by incorporating it into your studies of literature. For many years, schools across the country have been serving green eggs and ham to celebrate the Dr. Seuss classic. Your child could prepare the same thing with a little bit of food coloring.

When your kids are reading stories about children in different lands, find recipes for the foods that kids eat in those countries. You can create a whole unit study revolving around a foreign country, and cooking up the native food is a educational winner.

Another idea is to set aside a certain part of the day for literature discussion. You and your students can prepare a snack while discussing the book your kids are reading. It's a good way to get them used to discussing books.

Art and Cooking
One of the other nice things about the kitchen is that it's a great place for kids to show off their creativity. Children can use traditional food items, such as uncooked macaroni, to create artwork.
They can also make pancakes to look like a butterfly or a mouse. Ask your kids to create a sugar cookie then decorate it so that it serves as a model of a human cell.

Banana Bread Is So Easy See Amaryllis Of Hawaii Loves To Cook By Marilyn Jansen

Amaryllis starts with seven ripe bananas mashed into a bowl. She sifts flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. She creams together butter and sugar, adds a 1/4 cup of honey and a tsp. of vanilla to the butter mixture, then adds the lightly beaten eggs. She combines the wet and dry ingredients and adds a cup of chopped walnuts, a cup of raisins stirred in at the end, and pours the batter into 2 oiled loaf pans, or several mini loaf pans to bake at 350 degrees 45-60 minutes until done! Sometimes she adds yogurt or 1/2 cup sour cream to the mixture. Many quick breads, like pumpkin bread and zucchini bread, are done this way. It's so easy!

7 ripe mashed bananas

2 & 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 sticks butter at room temperature

1 & 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup honey

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup crushed walnuts

1 cup raisins

Banana Pancakes

Anyone can make beautiful banana pancakes.

Use fresh flour and baking powder. Sift dry ingredients.

1 & 1/2 cups flour

1 cup milk

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking powder

2 bananas, sliced

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

Mix wet into dry ingredients just until blended. Add bananas and ladle onto a hot oiled griddle or pan. You know it's hot enough when a drop of water bounces off the pan.
Let bubbles appear on the pancakes before you flip them.
Drizzle with syrup and dust with powdered sugar.
Try blueberries, apples, peaches, or mango in pancakes or wrapped in crepes!

Basic crepe batter
2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. oil

Lightly beat the eggs, stir in milk & oil, gradually stir in flour and salt. Beat until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
Brush a 7-inch crepe pan with oil and heat until hot. Stir batter, add scant 2 tbsp. batter to pan & quickly tilt to cover bottom of pan. Cook crepe, turning over until lightly browned on both sides. Makes 12

Have Fun and enjoy the fresh wonderful fruits.

Buying an Electric Griddle

To some making pancakes or cooking burgers is an art. Getting the perfect pancakes or the French toast golden brown, or searing the burgers to juicy perfection is not the simplest of tasks. What makes it so difficult, the batter or beef, the heat, or the flipping technique?

Those all may play a big roll in cooking a perfect juicy burger or browning a pancake just right, but one thing that really makes a difference is the surface you cook on. When you cook pancakes, French toast, burgers, or almost anything like that, the best way to cook them is on a griddle. A burger would probably do better on an outdoor grill, but if you don't have one or if it's rainy or cold outside, a griddle is the next best thing.

Buying a griddle may or may not seem like a daunting task to you. It all depends on how you are with shopping and in the kitchen. If you are good at both, you are often in more of a rut. If you love to cook and know all the latest technique, you want to spare no expense and get top quality. If you are a penny pincher, you will look for the cheapest you can find. If you are both, you are stuck somewhere between the best of the best and ending up with a piece of junk. It's hard to find that middle ground.

First decide if you want a plain griddle to use on your stove or an electric griddle. You can get a round griddle just like a sauté pan, but it is flat with little to no edge and has more space. This is good if you don't cook large quantities. If you only make pancakes for you or you and one or two other people, a round griddle is the way to go. It doesn't take up space and is easier to clean, and yet you still get a great cooking surface.

If you have a big family that you cook for or cook for a lot of people often, a large griddle or large electric griddle will work better. You can get a large griddle that you use on your stove that is also a flat surface. This is good if you have limited counter space. If you cook several things at once and are using your stovetop, an electric griddle is best. You can place it on a counter so that you have more room to cook plus you can fit a lot on it at once.

Which ever you choose, base it on how you cook and how often. When you get the right pan that works best, you will find cooking much easier and more enjoyable!

Baby Shower Cake Recipe and Tips

Most people love a baby shower. It is celebrating the coming of a new baby. I have a baby shower cake recipe that is simple and relieves some of the stress for the hostess in preparing the refreshments. And, it is homemade. I also have included some tips for the shower, after the recipe.

Baby Shower Cake Recipe

Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix (White)
Follow the recipe on the back but use 4 eggs not 3
For the measurement of water use 1/2 water and 1/2 milk
Beat the required amount of time until the cake batter is satin
Bake according to directions using a rectangle pan
Curly Ribbons, Blue, Pink and Yellow
2 cute baby rattles

When the cake is cool, put it on a cake cardboard (you can cut your own cardboard to fit the cake and cover it with freezer paper). Then, ice the cake with a Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting but add a little yellow food coloring to make the icing a pale yellow. Carefully place the curly ribbons on the cake and arrange the two baby rattles at the top of the ribbon. When it is time to cut the cake, take the ribbons and rattles off of the cake and have some of the yellow icing that you made, handy to repair the frosting damage, if any, and serve.

Tips

1. On your invitations, ask your guests to bring 1 item, in addition to their gift, such as travel baby wipes, baby T-shirts, lavender baby wash, or baby shampoo to put into a large basket at the door when they come in. Specify what item they should bring or you will end up with 18 baby rattles and nothing else. You can present this to the mother-to-be as an added bonus and it is very practical. You can get one of those baskets that can later be used as the babys' laundry basket. Decorate it with pretty ribbons.

2. As the Hostess, a great gift to present to the mother-to-be, is a massage. She can use it after she has the baby to relieve the stress of the birth. This is very helpful and worthwhile for the new mother.

3. Buy a couple of baby lullaby CDs and play them when the guest start arriving and during the shower, then, present them to the mother-to-be at the end of the shower.

Most of all, have a lot of fun and make a lot of wonderful memories!

BBQ Chicken Recipe - How to Make the Most Tender BBQ Chicken

BBQ chicken recipe ingredients

2 x 4-5lb roasting chickens
Olive Oil
Dark Soy sauce
Black pepper

Marinade the roasting chickens first by basting them with equal parts of olive oil, dark soy sauce and crack over about half a tablespoon of black peppercorns. For best results place the roasting chickens on the upper rack area of your BBQ smoker at around 250f to 300f for around 4 or so hours until the internal temperature of the chickens reach 180f.

Tend to your smoker once or twice during the smoking process and top up with wood chips as appropriate. Don't forget to add some extra water to the smokers water pan to ensure that your chickens are getting a light moist smoke throughout the whole cooking process.

Once the chicken has cooked properly, remove the whole chickens from your smoker and wrap them in some plastic freezer bags or aluminum foil and leave the birds to rest for around 30 minutes or so.

Now that the chickens have had plenty of time to absorb the flavours and rest, remove them from your wrap, and gently pull off the tender meat and discard the BBQ chicken juices. A Weber Smoky Mountain or Big Green Egg are ideal smokers for 2-4 medium sized roasting chickens but you can use any smoking apparatus that you have to hand and cook as many as you wish according to the amount of people you have to feed using the same recipe.

Cooking "low-and-slow" on your smoker or grill is the best way to go if you are looking for the best tasting BBQ chicken. Lowering cooking times and turning up the temperature will allow you to serve your meats faster to your guests, but the results will not be as good.

Once you have removed the wings and legs, carefully cut along the breastbone of each chicken and cut it into a few pieces to your liking. You should notice how tender the meat is as you will observe all of the remaining moisture in the meat because you have cooked your chicken to perfection. It is now time to serve the meat to your guests and enjoy that delicious BBQ chicken taste.

How to Make a Paella Dish

Paella is one of the most sell-known Spanish dishes. This popular dish originated in Valencia but is now known around the world. The original dish consisted simply of available meat and vegetables, but this original dish has now seen many variations. The recipe for paella spread other areas of Spain and then far beyond the borders of Spain as people began to travel to and from the country. As the popularity of the dish increased, so did recipe variations. The preparation and serving became more elaborate in terms of servings and ingredients used. There are even several variations of the dish throughout Spain alone. In the coastal areas, shellfish and a variety of other fish caught locally are often used. Rabbit, mussels and lobster are less common variations but still fairly popular in some areas.

A basic paella recipe is cooked in a large, shallow, flat pan called a paella pot. You can find paella pots on the internet or in kitchen supply stores. Most cook paella dishes on the stove, but it is still cooked over an open flame in some areas as the original recipe calls for. Rice, saffron and olive oil are the three main ingredients. As mentioned earlier, the original dish is made of what vegetables and meats are available. Of course, variations of the dish are easy depending on what types of meats and vegetables are used. The dish can be garnished with rice and fresh vegetables.

To make a basic paella dish, stir fry the meat and vegetables in olive oil. Once the meat and vegetables are done, add rice to the pot followed by boiling stock. Boil this mixture of rice, meat and vegetables and, once it is cooked, remove the pan from the heat. You then need to let the dish set for some time to allow the rice to absorb the remaining liquid.

Traditionally, in Valencia, any meat available was used with rice as the only consistent ingredient. For instance, seafood was often used in the coastal areas while rabbit or duck were used in other areas. The paella recipe initially spread to other regions of Spain, but as people traveled to and from the country, it spread to South America, North America and the Philippines. As its popularity increased, the variations and preparations became much more

This dish continues to be a mainstay of the Valencia people who still take it very seriously. Depending on the ingredients used, it is served with either red wine or white wine. It is typically placed directly on the table and guests serve themselves to the delicious meal. Leftovers are not a concern when it comes to paella since the dish is excellent even when eaten the following day.

Be sure to try local variations to the paella dish as you travel through the regions of Spain and, especially, if you are ever in Valencia!

5 Dynamite Low Carb Breakfasts

Fake French Toast

Ingredients
2 eggs
4 T ricotta (or cream cheese)
dash cinnamon and nutmeg
2 pkt Splenda

Heat frying pan. Mix all ingredients together. Melt some butter in small frying pan and pour batter in, spreading a little. Brown on one side, and flip, and brown other side.

Serves 1 big eater @ 4 carbs
This tasted more like a pancake than French toast, but was great, especially with maple syrup. if it's difficult to flip, cut the pancake in half.

Luscious Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
1/4 cup soy protein isolate
dash salt
little water

Beat eggs well. Add cottage cheese and beat. Add soy powder and salt. Mix well. Stir in a little water, so the batter is not quite so thick. Heat oil in a frying pan, and when hot, spoon pancake batter in. Spread it around a little so pancakes are not too thick. When bubbly on top, turn, and cook until bottoms are done.

Serves 2 @ 5 carb each

Sausage and Egg "Muffin"

Ingredients
6 oz Ital. sausage
6 eggs
1/8 cup heavy cream
3 oz cheese
OPTIONAL: salsa, bacon, onion

Preheat oven 350. Spray 3 super large muffin tins with PAM. Cut up links and put two in bottom of each tin. Mix eggs and cream and salt & pepper. Pour some in each tin. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Pour remaining egg mixture in and sprinkle with rest of cheese. Bake about 20 min.(time may vary) until eggs are done and golden. Remove from oven and let sit few minutes. Use spoon to remove "muffins".

Serves 3 @ 2.3 carbs
W/O Sausage: 3 @ 1.6 carb
These puffed up about 2" and were really tasty

Fake French Toast II

Ingredients
2 eggs
dash cream, dash water
dash cinnamon
1 pkt Splenda
1 oz pork rinds (about 1/2 2.25 oz pkg)

Beat all ingredients except rinds. Crumble rinds and let soak in egg mixture until thick gloppy batter. Heat butter in frying pan, and pour in batter, spreading around pan. Fry until brown on one side, flip and brown other side. Serve with maple syrup.
Serves 1 @ 2.3 carbs
This was pretty good, but if you hate pork rinds, don't try it. The flavor is not real strong, but it's there.

Almond Vanilla Pancakes

Ingredients
5 Tbsp. almond flour (you could also use other nut flours or even soy flour
1 Tbsp. sour cream
1 Tbsp.water
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
couple of pinches Splenda
1 Tbsp of Vanilla Syrup
2 Tbsp. Oil

Mix all the above together. If the consistency is too thick for your personal taste, splash on a bit more Vanilla Syrup. Pour on nonstick griddle surface (spray spatula with Pam, because they can be a bit difficult to turn). Recipe makes 2 large pancakes. You can use butter or maple syrup on them.

Leftover Holiday Turkey Recipes

If you're looking for ways to use up your holiday turkey, look no further! Here are some easy ways to dress up and re-use cooked turkey. These recipes are great following the holidays, or any
time you have any leftover turkey you want to use up.

Turkey Noodle Dinner

2 to 2 1/2 c. uncooked extra wide egg noodles
1 1/2 to 2 c. cooked turkey, cut into chunks
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 t. dried parsley
1/2 t. curry powder
1/4 t. thyme
any leftover cooked vegetable
salt and pepper to taste

Cook and drain noodles in 3 qt. pan with lid. Add rest of ingredients to same pan and cover. Cook on medium-high heat until warmed all the way through, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't scorch.

Hearty Turkey Pot Pie

Pillsbury All-Ready pie crust
3 T. margarine
1/2 c. diced peeled potato
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. sliced celery
1/2 c. sliced carrots
1/4 c. frozen peas
1 can cream of chicken soup
dash pepper
1/4 t. sage
1/4 t. rosemary
1 1/2 c. chopped turkey
1/2 c. grated cheese

Melt margarine in skillet. Saute vegetables 5 minutes. Add soup, spices and cheese. Pour into pie crust and top with upper crust. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and
bake an additional 40 minutes.

Turkey Enchiladas

4 c. cubed turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 small cans tomato sauce
2 cans green chilies
1 can cream of chicken soup
6 flour tortillas
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Mix cubed turkey, chopped onion, tomato sauce, and green chilies together and pour onto flour tortillas. Fold and roll tortillas and place in greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Heat soup and sour
cream. Pour over tortillas and sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Healthy Biscuits - A Quick, Easy Way to Start the Day

If biscuits and gravy are a favorite breakfast treat, then nobody has to sell you on the idea of baking biscuits in the morning.

We're not talking about those that originate in a refrigerated tube, of course, but the real thing, made from scratch. The smell of such delicacies baking in the morning can rouse a reluctant kid out of bed on school mornings.

But most people don't need another time sucker in their morning routine, nor in the dinner routine, when a quick side dish to go with a stew, chowder or soup is required.

What you do need is a quick, easy way to make biscuits, pancakes, waffles and more. While there are numerous mixes on the market, they may be little more than flour, salt, baking powder and water. It's easy to make your own biscuit and pancake mix out of ingredients you know will provide healthy, solid nutrition.

In the U.S., a biscuit is a small form of bread made with baking powder or baking soda as a leavening agent rather than yeast. Biscuits, soda breads and corn bread are sometimes referred to as quick breads to indicate they don't need time to rise before baking. Sweet variations of the biscuit are sometimes called scones.

Add more liquid and maybe an egg and some oil to a standard biscuit recipe, and it becomes a pancake batter. A little more egg, and you have the makings of a waffle.

Since they're all quick breads, the main difference between most biscuits, pancakes, waffles and even dumplings is the amount of liquid added and the method of cooking. A good biscuit mix should be able to accommodate most of these recipes.

For best results, use a double-acting leavening agent in your biscuit mix.

Single-acting baking powders are activated by moisture, so recipes with this product must be baked immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to the dough or batter, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven or on the griddle.

For biscuits, add just enough water to milk to create a soft dough, knead lightly, roll or pat flat and cut out rounds. If a touch of extra liquid is added, the doughs texture changes to resemble very stiff pancake batter, so that small spoonfuls can be dropped onto the baking sheet to produce drop biscuits, which are more creative in texture and shape.

For pancakes or waffles, mix the wet ingredients first, then add the mix to the liquid and stir briefly. Overmixing will result in tougher cakes, so its OK to leave lumps. Let the batter sit for a few minutes before pouring by 1/4 - to 13-cupfuls onto a hot griddle or waffle iron.

Few items in your baking pantry will be as versatile as a good biscuit mix.

Dumplings

2 C basic biscuit mix

2/3 C milk

Mix together until a soft dough forms, then drop by spoonfuls onto a boiling stew. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover and cook another 10 minutes. Makes about 10 dumplings.

Healthy Biscuit Mix

5 lbs all-purpose flour, minus 4 C

3 C whole wheat flour

1 C flax meal

1 C soy flour

2½ C dry milk

¾ C double-acting baking powder

3 TBS salt

5 TBS wheat germ

½ C sugar

2 TBS cream of tartar

4 C shortening

Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl, and stir well. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Biscuits

1 heaping C healthy biscuit mix

About 3 TBS water

Combine mix and enough water to form a soft dough in a mixing bowl. Shape into a ball, knead about 10 times on a lightly floured surface. (Don't overknead or the biscuits will be tough.) Flatten out and roll or pat to ½-inch thickness. Cut dough into biscuits, put on a greased cookie sheet or in a greased cast iron skillet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until browned. Yields 5 biscuits.

Pancakes

½ C milk

1 egg

1 TBS vegetable oil

1 C healthy biscuit mix

Combine first three ingredients, blend well. Add biscuit mix, stir until smooth. (If thicker batter is desired, add more flour.) Drop batter on lightly greased hot griddle, and cook until pancakes are browned on both sides. Yields about five 4-inch pancakes.

Basic Biscuit mix

10 C all-purpose or bread flour

1/3 C baking powder

1 TBS salt

2 C shortening

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. With two knives or a pastry blender, add the shortening in spoonfuls and cut it in until the mixture is the texture of coarse cornmeal. Keep mix stored in a labeled, tightly closed container. It will keep on the pantry shelf for up to six months in dry weather. In hot or humid weather, it is a good idea to refrigerate the mix.

Yields about 10 cups of mix.

Have A Pancake Party!

Are your kids tired of clowns, piñatas, and pin the tail on the donkey? If you are fresh out of party ideas, don't worry, there is always breakfast. Huh? Yes, breakfast. You can have a pancake party! Throwing a pancake party is something different that your child's friends probably haven't had. It is fun and unique and very simple! Keep reading to find out how easy it is to throw a pancake bash.

You can begin by choosing your pancake theme Of course it will be pancakes, but are you going to make pancake shapes, colored pancakes, pancake people, etc.? You can be as creative as you would like. It could be a chocolate pancake party and you can have the kids make chocolate pancakes and use chocolate chips and other chocolate treats to decorate the pancakes. You might decide to make huge pancakes in a cake pan and have them use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Or you can be simple and make regular pancakes but have lots of different toppings for them such as fruit, candy, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Next, you will need to purchase your ingredients and supplies. Wait until you know how many kids will be coming before you do this so that you have enough but not too much. Make a list and use a recipe to make sure you don't forget anything. You will need basic ingredients such as flour, eggs, and milk, but also make sure you have enough supplies for the kids to use such as spatulas, spoons, bowls, and pans. Of course, you will also need serving supplies such as utensils, plates, napkins, and cups. Use fun colorful tablecloth designs or colors that will match what you are doing. For example, you can do a tropical theme with colorful fruit and tropical decorations and use a lot of fruit with the pancakes. If you are coloring the pancakes, use bright colored tablecloths, cups, plates, and napkins.

Have a plan before the party. If the kids know you don't know what you're doing, they might go crazy and take advantage of the situation by making a mess. Set up individual stations for each task. Have one group measure the ingredients, another mix, and another pour on the pan. Make sure the kids aren't too young that they can burn themselves on the pan. You might want to do this part yourself or have plenty of supervision around. Have each of the kids dress up their own pancakes.

This is a perfect idea that you can personalize. Have the kids draw their names in batter or in icing on the pancakes. Let them each use different colors. Have available many different toppings and let them do whatever they want. Make sure to warn them when you think some foods won't go well together so that they don't waste food because it tastes bad. You can even have party favors such as baking utensils or cookies.

Have fun with this party idea. You might even want to switch from pancakes to French toast or waffles, or include them all! The point is to get them involved. They will have lots of fun and maybe even learn a little about baking.

The Ultimate Time Management Tricks

Learning effective time management skills can dramatically change your life. If you have kids then you really need to know how to best manage your time, so that you can keep up with all of the demands that kids can dish out. There are lots of time management skills that you can learn and utilize that can keep you in the stress free zone.

If you`re the type of person who has poor time management skills, then you probably feel that your life is crazy, unorganized and chaotic. You might run late all the time, which makes your friends, personal life and business life suffers. You might also take on too much which can leave you feeling like you`re about to lose your mind. Luckily there are some solid tips that can help you discover ways to better manage your time.

The first thing you should do is make a to-do-list for your next day. And you should write every detail down. From walking kids to school, dog walks, breakfast making, coffee run. And beside each task, you should write down how long it takes you and how long it could take you ideally. Making a visual list will let you see what you have to do and it will enable you to visualize what exactly you have to do.

You might find that after making a to-do-list that you realize that you have actually penciled in way too many things for your morning. You might learn that you can`t possibly get all those things done, and it might motivate you to reschedule some tasks. This is actually a positive thing. Now instead of falling behind and running late, you will be able to accommodate all of your tasks effectively.

Now looking back at your list and your time frames, see if you can break tasks down into small steps. For example, is there anything about breakfast that you can do to make it easier and faster for you and your family? Are there quicker breakfast ideas? Are you making them pancakes and eggs every day? Or are the kids just slow cereal eaters? In this case, you could wake up the slow eaters up earlier, or you could make breakfast meals faster, such as shakes, cereal bars and so on. You could also prepare breakfast meals and have everything cleaned up the night before.

Another key factor in managing your time is staying on time. That means that if your to-do-list involves grocery shopping before work, then you need to give yourself a realistic amount of shopping time. Are you doing a big shopping or a small one? Is your goal realistic to your time? Can a big shopping really fit into the half an hour you might have scheduled in before work? If you set yourself up for failure than you will only feel bad about yourself. Plan realistic goals and time frames. Remember that you`re not a super hero!

Time management works best if you have a day planner and keep track of everything. Write down a list of things you may have to do at work. Give yourself time frames to get things done and have a backup plan for anything that you can`t get done on time; lunch breaks, take home work.

Considering Daycare? Consider the Pros and Cons

When you're a parent it's a difficult decision to know whether to send your child to daycare or not. We have provided many of the pros and cons of sending your child to daycare for your consideration. In our opinion, nothing replaces the day-to-day interaction that you can provide with your child. We also believe that some interaction with other children either through occasional daycare, part-time, or through play-groups and other educational learning programs are invaluable. We also recognize that Mom or Dad also needs to have a break and occasional daycare can provide that for them. What we don't believe in is a baby or toddler being in someone else's care for eight hours or more a day everyday! That's not fair to your child. So with all that in mind, please consider the pros and cons listed below. And may you make the right decision for your children and yourself.

UPSIDE of Daycare:

· Always more than one person available to watch, care for, supervise, and feed your child

· Interaction with other children

· Develop social skills at an early age

· Kid's days are pretty much scheduled, routine, and consistent

· Daycare centers don't call in sick

· Kids receive a lot of mental stimulation

· Your house stays neater (although my son can make a mess in minutes)

· The kids enjoy the change of scenery and toys

· Cost is less than for a nanny

· English-as-second-language kids have more exposure to English

DOWNSIDES of Daycare:

· Nighttime baths vs. possibly every other day

· Laying out their clothes

· Packing nutritious lunches vs. fast food snacks

· Morning rush to get out of the house on time

· Allow extra time to make the stop and drop-off

· Your child screaming, "Mommy don't go!!"

· The guilt and bad feelings because you're leaving them behind

· Less one-on-one attention from caregivers

· Potential personality conflicts at the center between parents and staff

· Potential personality conflicts between the children

· Ethics taught are the centers or the caregiver

· Values taught are the centers or the caregiver

· Possibly no ethics or values taught at all

· Political influences are those at the center/school

· Less bonding between parent and child

· Child learns early on that you won't be there for them when they need you

· You don't get to see and experience all the "firsts" that your child goes through

· You can NEVER recapture those things you miss

· When your child has a boo-boo you're not there to make it better

· When your child is excited about what she/he has learned, you're not there at the moment they want to share it with you

· When they're not feeling well you leave them to someone else to care for them

· When they're sick no one will baby them like you will

· More exposure to health issues: ringworm, lice, and colds/flues

· You're not there to kiss away their tears

· You're not there to waylay their fears

· You're not there to set their wild ideas back on track

· No opportunity to have a spontaneous day

· No time to do "nothing at all" together

· To experience the joy of holding and watching your child sleep for hours (hopefully)

· You're not there to teach them to climb a tree

· To explore the bugs and insects

· To plant a seed and watch it grow

· Playing "what do you see in the clouds"

· Less time to go to the beach, woods, hiking, swimming, biking, skating, etc.

· No time to just "play"

· To be your kid's playmate

· To experience getting to be a kid all over again with your child

· Seeing and experiencing life through the eyes of your child

· No time to make pancakes in the morning

· No time to bake real cookies

· Not there to put a band aid on the invisible oweee

· Not get to see your child's imagination develop

· Not get to see their personal development as much as you could

· Don't get to see them beaming with pride at their BIG accomplishments

· Infants and toddlers spending 6-8-10 hours a day away from Mom or Dad

· The cost of daycare is an added expense: financial and emotional

When you work, at the end of your day, you just won't have the energy, patience or the time to spend with your child in the manner you should or would like to. Your job becomes the first priority and the child the second. They get what's left over if there is anything left to get. How do you like it when you are second fiddle to someone you care about and love?

Parents say, "Oh, they don't mind. He likes the babysitter a lot. He'd rather I went to work." That may be true, but chances are he's never experienced having you at home full-time to know what that is like. There can't be a comparison! Children so love unconditionally, they will put up with even the worst of circumstances and still love their parents. Because children only want to be loved, cared for and valued themselves.

Ask yourself this question: "If you chose to continue working when you have a choice not to, why did you have the children if you didn't want to raise them yourself? I know some people truly don't have a choice. But many choose to continue working even though they could make do on one salary or move to an area where they could manage financially. Our society has become so accustomed to having two incomes; we no longer think we have a choice not to work. Imagine this, in one year; if you spent five dollars less per day you will save $1825. That's one less cup of special coffee per day. If you spend ten dollars less per day, you will save $3650 per year. How much do you spend per day on lunches in your family? A large delivered pizza can easily run close to $20. One fast food meal for a family of four could easily be close to $25 or more. Where could you save money? The question is, are you willing to for the sake of your kids?

Add up all the possible costs of day care and compare to the costs and benefits of working. The most important cost of all to consider is that special time spent with your children. What is the cost to them? In a recent interview of Jane Fonda with 60 Minutes', Lesley Stahl, Fonda said, "I was not a good mother. And then, you end up paying for it later."

According to 60 Minutes, Jane created a school program to persuade teenage girls not to get pregnant, and to teach girls who are pregnant how to be better mothers. She created this program because of the mistakes she's made in her own life, and because of the mistakes her parents made raising her.

"If you don't have a parent or an adult, a teacher or a mentor ... really see you, really love you, 'Yes, there are things you do I don't like, but you're fantastic, you're good enough. I love you.' If that never happens to a child, the child assumes it's her fault and tries to compensate for it," says Fonda.

Don't make the mistakes you have experienced or you have seen others experience just because you don't look far enough ahead. Look at the bigger picture, look ahead ten years or so and imagine what life will be like with your children later on.

I say this, "If you don't have time for your children when they're young, they won't have time for you when you're old."

What Are Crepes and How to Make Them?

Crepes are thin pancakes, which are usually made from wheat flour. The word derives from the Latin word for curled. Crepes originate from a region in the northwest of France called Brittany but they are now popular all over the world, including in the Americas. Crepes are usually served with cider in Brittany and they can be filled with savory or sweet fillings. They can be used in many holiday recipes or served as a snack.

Popular savory crepe fillings include any combination of mushrooms, cheese, ham, spinach, asparagus, eggs, artichoke, meat, chicken, and ratatouille. Sweet crepes are served as desserts and these might contain sugar, melted chocolate, whipped cream, custard, sliced soft fruit, maple syrup, or lemon juice.

Crepe Suzette is a very famous French recipe. This is a crepe with Grand Marnier or a similar liqueur, as well as grated orange rind. Dessert crepes are usually rolled up and baked, sauteed or lightly fried. A lot of chefs like to wrap Beef Wellington in a crepe. This seals in moisture and prevents the pastry from becoming soggy.

Crepes Around the World

You can compare crepes to Indian dosa, African injera, or Mexican sope, which are all very similar. Crepes are often served at carnivals and fiestas in areas of Spain and they are sometimes made with pork blood instead of milk in the Spanish region of Galicia. Crepes are popular throughout Eastern Europe and they can be eaten with honey, quark cheese, sugar or fruit jelly.

Crepes are served at Candlemas in France, which is on February 2. There is a legend that if you catch a crepe in the skillet after tossing it in the air with your left hand, you would become rich that year, but only if you are holding a gold coin in your right hand while you do it!

Crepes are enjoyed with lemon juice and granulated sugar in the UK on Shrove Tuesday because they are a good way to use up milk, sugar, and eggs before the forty days of fasting during Lent.

Making Your Own Crepes

Crepes are best planned ahead because the batter should rest for one to twenty four hours before you use it. This lets the gluten relax and encourages the flour to soak up the liquid, which eliminates air bubbles. If you want to use the batter right away, make it in the blender and it will not have to rest.

The basic crepe recipe is half a cup of flour and half a cup of milk to one egg, as well as a pinch of salt. You can use a nonstick pan or a crepe pan but an expensive crepe pan is not essential. Coat the pan with a thin coat of oil or butter and then heat it over a moderately high heat. Use an offset spatula to distribute the fat, or tilt the pan.

Use a ladle to add a thin coat of crepe batter to the pan. The thinner the batter, the better the crepe will be, and you can help to make your crepes thin by tilting the pan as you add the batter. When the edges start to pull away from the pan, lift and flip it using your fingers.

The second side of the crepe will be ready in a few seconds. Transfer the crepe to wax paper and allow it to cool. Put a sheet of wax paper between each crepe you make, to stop them from sticking to one another. You can then serve the crepes or store them in a plastic bag in the freezer or refrigerator.

Change Your Online Dating Profile - It's Like Flippin' Pancakes

The beloved pancake isn't that hard to cook, but it does involve some attention. And so should your profile if you're involve with online dating websites. So let's review; when making pancakes what happens? They get flipped. It usually happens about four times. When you first the pour batter it just sets there for a minute or so to get a nice form, and once that's done you do your first filp. Boom, now you're cookin'! After that side is "done" you usually do one more flip back to the original side to further the cooking and change the color from light brown to golden or darker brown. Then one last flip to balance the whole thing out.

Guess what? With online dating profiles you need to be doing that kind of refinement to your profile. On my blog I've written about the idea that you can only be "new" to a dating site for so long and then you're kinda old news. Unless you do a flip, and thereby revamp your profile. You can actually take that revamping opportunity to go in a couple of directions. If your first profile is successful and getting people to contact you, you might want to ask those folks what they liked or what caught their eye. Then consider rebuilding the profile with the new input once you've gotten a FEW different opinions.

Another direction you can go with a flip is a total makeover. As I said, you're only new once-sort of. In my opinion there are a few online dating profile "models" that come up quite a bit. There's the "Hey I just stopped by because a friend said it was cool, so I just threw this profile together on a lark." And there's the "Here is every single fact about myself, and now let me tell you in great detail exactly what I'm looking for." And there's the "I'm ever so witty and clever." The last kind of dating profile that comes up a lot is the bare bones; which is usually just a line or two and it might include a photo or it might not.

So you've not doubt seen (or built) these type of profiles yourself, so why not use them all? In your first attempt include one or two pictures with one type of profile, if that doesn't generate some responses after a few weeks do a flip and switch to another profile type while adding a new photo. And keep going like that. This gives you a better chance of not only finding people who may have overlooked you before but it's also a great way of keeping your profile fresh.

Make These Light Blueberry Scones For Breakfast, Brunch, Or an English Tea

Whether you want something different for breakfast, you are planning a brunch or you just want to enjoy tea (or coffee) and a scone with friends, try this recipe for Light Blueberry Scones that is even diabetic friendly. This lightened version of a scone cuts about 250 to 300 calories from the usual scone by replacing butter with canola oil, whipping cream with low-fat milk, eggs and all-purpose flour with reduced-fat biscuit mix, etc. Now that is special!

LIGHT BLUEBERRY SCONES

3 cups reduced-fat biscuit baking mix

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup canola oil

3 tbsps Splenda Blend for baking

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1 to 2 tsps cinnamon/Splenda mixture, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking mix and pastry flour. Cut the oil in with a fork or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the Splenda Blend and blueberries; mix lightly.

Beat the yogurt and milk together in a small bowl; add to the flour mixture. Stir just until blended and a soft dough forms. Over-mixing will make the scones tough! If the dough seems too dry add a little milk, one tablespoon at a time. Flour your hands and pat the dough into a round shape or use a rolling pin and roll into a 1 1/2-inchs thick circle. Score the circle into 16 wedges.

If desired, mix some Splenda Blend with some cinnamon to make 1 to 2 teaspoons of mixture. Sprinkle over the dough.

Place on the prepared pan and bake 10 to 12 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from the oven and cut the wedges apart. Bake another 3 or 4 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Edible Fruit Arrangements - A Great Way to Treat Your Guests

Edible fruit arrangements have been around for quite some time now, and chefs of many restaurants have used this technique to treat their guests. However, if you are looking to treat your guests in a novel and attractive way also, an edible fruit arrangement for your dining table would be a great choice.

It has generally been noticed that when a fruit arrangement has been done nicely, guests hesitate to pick fruits from there and eat because they do not want to spoil the arrangement. They do not realize that the main purpose of that arrangement was that guests could eat from there. If you have invited guests over for dinner or will be inviting them sometimes soon, you can begin making your arrangement for the dining table with a vase or a plate. After you have selected a nice piece of utensil to hold the fruits, you need to look for the different types of fruits that you would be decorating the utensil with.

The most common fruits used in a decoration are strawberries, pineapple, grapes and apple. You can also use parsley leaves to add a little bit of greenery to the decoration. Other things that may be needed include flower shaped cookie cutter, pair of scissors, bamboo skewers and a knife.

You can cut the pineapple into small piece and the use the flower shaped cookie cutter to give them shapes of flower. Then you can use the bamboo skewers to pin to the pineapple flowers and place in the vase or plate. Other fruits can be used to add color and variation to the decoration.

Making Red Velvet Cake Balls

A few months ago, I attended a gathering where they served cake balls. After tasting a few different types of the balls, I came home and worked on duplicating the recipe here at home.

I tend to go for the easy recipes, so I began with a boxed mix of Red Velvet Cake Mix. We look for cake mixes on sales and stock up when the stores have sales. You literally follow the baking instructions on the box. I used a square Pyrex casserole dish to make the cake. Make sure the cake is cooked through. For me, this required the maximum suggested cooking time. Once cooked, allow the cake to cool completely. I allowed it to cool for about an hour.

Now comes the fun part. If you have kids, they'll love this part. Take this cooked cake and crumble it into a large mixing bowl. You want the entire cake completely crumbled. The red on your hands will wash out.

Now, take one can of ready made cream cheese frosting and mix with the crumbled cake. Again, we buy the frostings when they are on sale at the store. If you prefer, you can make your own cream cheese frosting from scratch. I used a spoon to mix it all together. Some of the recipes I've seen suggest using your hands. Since I am often serving food, I prefer to not use my hands and instead use utensils and elbow grease.

Get a baking sheet and line it with waxed paper. It's now time to make your balls. One box of cake mix mixed with the one can of frosting should make about forty or forty five balls. I used two cookie sheets for the balls.

Once you've made the balls, pop the cookie sheets into the refrigerator so that the cake balls chill. I left them in about two hours.

Prior to removing the cake balls from the refrigerator, it's time to get your dipping chocolate ready. My choice is always milk chocolate. I've seen these red velvet balls done with white chocolate also. My daughter prefers a dark chocolate. We use whatever we have in the house. Sometimes it's baking chocolate, sometimes it's baking chips.

When I melt chocolate, I mix the chocolate with oil. If you have a stick of Crisco, that works great. Otherwise, I've used plain old vegetable oil. The oil makes the chocolate a bit thinner, making it easier to coat the cake balls.

I work with a small amount of chocolate at a time, since the chocolate re-hardens. Take the cake balls one by one and dip them in the chocolate, coating completely. Place the cake balls back on the wax paper lined cookie sheet and put back into the refrigerator to chill.

Repeat until all cake balls are covered in chocolate. Remove from the refrigerator just before serving.

These are very sweet, but there is no way anyone can eat just one.

Having Overnight Holiday Guests? Serve Them Eggnog Pancakes Or Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche

Cooks always like to know they have served their guests something different than the usual but that is also tasty. If you are having overnight guests during the holidays or you are planning a holiday brunch serve your guests these Eggnog Pancakes. Using boxed mix and commercially prepared eggnog, making these little treats is quick and easy. Or make this Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche. The quiche goes together quickly and leaves you free to visit while it bakes for 45 minutes.

EASY HAM AND CHEESE QUICHE

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 tsp salt

dash of pepper

3 eggs

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 cup cubed ham

1/2 cup biscuit baking mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 or 10-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the milk, butter, salt and pepper. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the milk mixture. Add the biscuit mix and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate; sprinkle with the Swiss cheese and ham. Using the back of a large spoon, gently press the ham and cheese into the mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

EGGNOG PANCAKES

2 cups boxed pancake mix

1 egg

1 1/2 cups commercially prepared eggnog

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of nutmeg

Lightly grease griddle and turn heat on so it will be hot for cooking. Put pancake mix into a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, eggnog, vanilla and nutmeg together. Stir egg mixture into pancake mix just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Turn pancakes when bubbles form on top. Cook until second side is golden brown.

Enjoy!

A Recipe For Delightful Beef Enchiladas

I came up with this straightforward recipe the afternoon of this writing. I wasn't able to discover a beef enchilada recipe that used the ingredients I hoped for, so I chose to try a little inventive cooking of my own. I removed the enchiladas from the oven a little while ago, and I can tell you that they are scrumptious.

The final result was 2 pans full of yummy ground beef enchiladas. There are 4 very big enchiladas in both baking dishes. I covered one of them securely with foil and placed it in the deep freeze. It will be easy to reheat for a quick dinner at a later date. If eight very large enchiladas are too much for you to make use of within a short amount of time, you could easily cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
1 packet taco seasoning blend
2 teaspoons chili spice
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup water
2 cups prepared brown rice
10 ounces of enchilada sauce
16 ounces of mild salsa
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 package softened cream cheese, 4 ounces
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, well drained
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
8 10 inch tortilla wraps
small carton sour cream, optional

Preparation:

Brown ground beef in a large frying pan until no longer pink. Add chopped onion and continue cooking until onion is translucent. Drain.

Add the packet of taco seasoning, chili spice, pepper and water to the ground beef mixture. Continue to cook over low to medium heat until a little thickened, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to low. Blend in prepared rice and salsa in the skillet and keep cooking slowly until just about all of the water is consumed. Set aside.

Using a medium sized bowl, mix cream soup, enchilada sauce and softened cream cheese. Stir until smooth. Put aside.

Set out two 9x13 glass baking pans. The pans don't require greasing or cooking spray.

In the center of each tortilla wrap, place approximately 1/2 cup of the hamburger mixture. If you have an excess of meat mixture, simply add some more mixture to each tortilla wrap. Add about two teaspoons of kidney beans to tortilla. Add 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Roll up tortilla and place seamed side down in the 9x13 baking dish. It'll take four enchiladas to fill each pan.

After all 8 enchiladas are full, rolled up and put in the baking pans, drizzle half of sauce mixture over the center of both baking pans. Spread the leftover cheddar cheese on top of both pans. Place in 325 degree oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top layer of cheese is melted and mildly browned. Serve with a spoonful of sour cream, if desired.

As mentioned before, this recipe makes extra large sized enchiladas. It may seem like an awful lot of sauce mixture, and a large quantity of cheese, but I guarantee they come out beautifully. I used flour tortillas only because that's all I had at hand. I'm sure this would work just as well using corn tortillas.

In case you do not have two 9x13 glass pans, three 9x9 baking pans could work quite well. I can't suggest working with metal baking dishes, as the enchiladas will start to taste like metal if they remain in the metal pans for quite a while. Obviously don't use metal pans if you ever need to freeze one of the pans of enchiladas.

In the event you don't like kidney beans, you could go with pinto beans, black beans, chili beans or re-fried beans. I wager hot chili beans would certainly give them an added kick. I only selected kidney beans because of the fact that I love them.

In case you are an olive addict like myself, I bet they could be a superb ingredient to add. It's too bad that I am the only olive enthusiast in my own family. This meant olives weren't an option for me. A handful of chopped bell pepper scattered on top of the layer of cheese would enhance the look of the dish. Do some experimenting and add your favorite foods as you desire.

In addition, this dish is just right for an evening meal dished up with a green salad and garlic bread. Enjoy the dinner!

How to Make Rasgulla

Rasgulla - yeah, yummy! Rasgulla is a very popular sweet dish in India. It is made of paneer (cheese) flavored in sugar syrup with rose essence. It is best to refrigerate and serve chilled. You can impress you guest serving chilled Rasgullas. In this article, I am telling about how to make Rasgulla at your home. Here is Rasgulla recipe.

Ingredients used in making of Rasgulla - a famous Bengali sweet

Milk - 1/2 liter
Refined flour also called Maida - 2 teaspoon
Citric acid dissolved in water or lemon juice
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Rose essence - 2 or 3 drops

Method of making Rasgulla

- First of all take milk in a pan and boil it. Remove from heat.
- Now add citric acid or lemon juice. You will see milk separates into white fleshy materials and water. Drain out water and keep fleshy materials carefully. Fleshy materials are known as Chhena or Paneer.
- Add maid to Paneer and kneed and kneed again.
- Make small balls of equal size of the dough and keep into separate pot.
- Now, make sugar syrup. Mix sugar and water in a separate pot and boil them carefully.
- Add paneer balls to the sugar syrup and cook for 15 - 20 minutes with lid partially covered.
- Remove the pot from heat and leave them to cool.
-- After cooling add rose essence 2 or 3 drops for fragrance and taste.
Refrigerate and serve chilled and earn appreciation from your guests.

By following these methods you will be able to make Rasgullas at your home. Try these methods to make Rasgullas at your home. I will tell you recipe of making Gulab Zamuns in my next article.

How To Make Old-Fashioned Raw Potato Pancakes

I have made all kinds of pancakes. There are pancakes made from leftover mashed potatoes and ones made with instant potato flakes. A flat pancake made with boiled, riced potatoes is known as Lefse. They are all good to eat and made basically the same way except for Lefse which calls for a special technique and utensils. Raw potato pancakes are just a little different as they are more of a savory dish.

To make potato pancakes I use large russet potatoes, a hand grater, a large bowl and a cast iron griddle. I peel the potatoes and place them in a large bowl of cold water and let them soak for 5-hours. This will get a lot of the starch out of the potato and make a better pancake. I make sure the potatoes are completely covered with the water.

The proportions for the pancakes are important. For every 2-cups of grated potatoes I use 2-well beaten eggs, 1-tablespoon of flour, a pinch of baking powder, 1/2-teaspoon salt and 1/4-teaspoon pepper. I mix the eggs and dry ingredients together before I grate the potatoes. If the potatoes stand without being in the batter they tend to start turning black, so I only make enough batter for 2-cups of grated potatoes at a time.

After the potatoes have soaked for 5-hours I grate them one at a time, leaving the whole potatoes in the water until they are grated. When everything is mixed together I put large spoonfuls onto a hot buttered cast iron griddle. I cook them over medium heat until they are golden brown on both sides turning over only once.

Sometimes I grate a little onion with the potatoes and add a sprinkle of nutmeg to the batter. It gives a little different flavor. I like to serve these with pork roast and applesauce.

Healthy and Balanced Barbecue Chicken Mix Kabobs Recipe

This is another swell recipe for your barbecue's list.
As we know, meat make up of a large portion of food we grill during our barbecue.
However, in order for us to enjoy a healthy and balance meal, we need to consume vegetables.
Therefore, this chicken mix kabob is a combination of meat and veggie which give you the necessary nutrient for a healthy meal.

Ingredients

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serving Size: 4

- 4 strip of chicken fillets 150g

- 2 1/2 piece of hotdogs (optional)

- 1/4 small yellow onion

- 1/4 red capsicum

- 1/4 green capsicum

- 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce

- 1 1/4 teaspoons of sugar

- 2 teaspoons of dried margoram

- 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

- 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill leaf

- 2 teaspoons of olive oil

- 8 bamboo sticks or skewers

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

Preparation

1. Cut the red capsicum, green capsicum into 1.5 inch pieces. Cut the yellow onion about 1/2 inches width. Place them into the mixing bowl. Add the 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of dill leaf tips and sprinkle some salt and black pepper into the bowl, and stir to coat well. Put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour

2. Cut the chicken fillets about 1.5 inches pieces and place the chicken fillet into another mixing bowl (Not together with the vegetables). Add in 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 1/4 teaspoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt,1 teaspoon of dried thyme and 2 teaspoon of marjoram, stir to coat well. Put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

3. Cut the hotdog into 3 equal pieces. Fill bamboo sticks /skewers with pieces that are uniform in size and leave a little space between pieces so everything gets equally and thoroughly cooked. Don't overload bamboo stickers /skewers with food packed tightly together.
You are free to arrange the pieces in any order.
(My Kabob combination: Onion, Chicken fillet, red capsicum, chicken fillet, green capsicum, hotdog)
Put the Kabobs in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill.

Outdoor Grilling Method

1. Let then heat to stable first before setting the kabobs on the grill.

2. Turn the kabobs frequently as they're grilling. You have to grill for about 12 - 15 minutes (depending on the actual temperature) before serving

Oven Grilling Method

1. Set the oven mode to toast and preheat the oven to 180C before setting the Kabob on the grills.

2. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

This article is provided by I love that Recipe.

Smoothie Drinks - How to Make a Tasty One

Every year, more and more people are turning to living a healthier lifestyle. If you are one of the individuals that have not made that step yet, then you are definitely missing out on some amazing benefits. One such benefit is how wonderful a well-made smoothie can be. Not just any smoothie will do. No way. Smoothie drinks, how to make one that tastes good, is the key to enjoying a healthy and delicious drink.

There are many vitamins and nutrients in smoothie drinks. How to make one that provides those vitamins and nutrients and still pleases the taste buds is another story. While experimenting can lead to a new tasty drink, if you make a bad tasting smoothie, you may not be willing to give it another try. So if you are new to making smoothie drinks, how to make one that you will like should be given some thought so that you will enjoy the experience.

Here's a tip:

Think about the fruit you like. Do you prefer strawberries and bananas? Do you like passion fruit? The sky is the limit. Smoothie drinks and how to make one that will have you craving another and another is not that difficult especially if you start with your favorite fruit. If you prefer vegetables, there are many smoothie drinks, how to make one with vegetables, that are simple to create.

There are a number of cookbooks and websites with recipes for smoothie drinks how to make one to suit you that should not be difficult to find. Once you have found a recipe, purchase the ingredients and create it according to the instructions. Always follow the recipe the first time you make it. Once you know what you like and don't like about the smoothie drinks, how to make them will be easier. Just change the recipe to fit your taste. That's really all there is to it. Smoothie drinks, how to make a tasty one, is really about finding one that suits your mood, your style and your taste.

Smoothie drinks are great for any occasion. If you are attending a friend or relative's party, take along a pitcher of his or her favorite smoothie drinks. How to make them healthy and tasty is easy enough and can be a great way to enjoy the party and maintain your healthy lifestyle. If you are lactose intolerant, then smoothie recipes with non-dairy ingredients are what you should be targeting. Smoothie drinks how to make them the way you like, and still get the best nutritional value, is a benefit worth experiencing.

What To Do With Those Overripe Bananas

What to do with those overripe bananas that are too ripe to eat? When your bananas have more black spots then yellow. When the stems look like a ripcord, just about to rip. Why not make Banana Nut Cookies.

This morning as I strolled into the kitchen I noticed the bananas on the kitchen counter were turning black spotted. My first thought was to make banana bread. But then I realized this was a perfect opportunity to create a new cookie recipe.

Throwing caution to the wind I started to create a cookie recipe out of my tried and true banana nut bread recipe. I added a few more ingredients and added to some ingredients and subtracted from some ingredients. Then I began baking. The first batch came out shaped like cookies, but was fluffy like cake. They tasted pretty much like banana nut bread. Not bad, but not what I was trying to create. I then added more butter and sugar to make them a little crisper and sweeter. What makes a good cookie into a great cookie? Chocolate chips. I added a bag of quality chocolate chips. Quality is the key word here; the quality of your chocolate chips can either make or break a good cookie. This batch was good but needed some extra texture. I didn't want to create a cake cookie. I wanted to create a cookie. The next batch I added coconut and oats. Wow, what a difference! The coconut and oats not only added texture, but added crispiness and chewiness too.

What was that old saying? Something like, "when life give you lemons make lemon aid." In other words, when life gives you overripe bananas make banana nut chocolate chip cookies. Any time you have fruit taking the southern route there is always a recipe, let me say a cookie recipe to create.

Cream together:

2-cups butter

1-cup sugar

1-cup packed brown sugar

2-eggs

3-bananas

½-cup sour cream

After the above ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, mix in:

1½-tsp. baking soda

1-tsp. baking powder

½-tsp. salt

4-cups flour

Mix all these ingredients together well. Now I'll give you some options to add, but you will need to add at least some of these ingredients if not all of them. When baking cookies everyone has their individual tastes. It is always advisable to make a new cookie recipe your own. Add things you like and subtract things you don't. Who knows your cookie may turn out better than the original recipe.

1-cup nuts

1-11.5 oz. bag of chocolate chips

1-cup coconut

1-cup of quick oats