Just "Eat It"

Thank goodness for Dr. Seus' "Green Eggs and Ham" book. I've used it for quality time around the house, but I also quote it from time to time when introducing a new food, or when trying to convince one of my three children that we REALLY have had a certain food for dinner before! My two favorite quotes"EAT THEM, EAT THEM, YOU WILL SEE!"  & "TRY THEM, TRY THEM, AND YOU MAY I SAY!" (Thankfully my other children normally chime in and encourage the obstinate child at this point.)

This comes to mind because yesterday as I was in the grocery store, in a flurry of things to get done that day, I decided to get the simply standby for the kids' lunch- hot dogs.  What kid doesn't like hot dogs.... um, apparently my 4 y.o. son. In the car he informed me that if I "put hot dogs on his plate" he would cry. Yes, he told me this, in no uncertain terms.

Perhaps I should introduce the kids to the Michael Jackson-inspired, Weird Al Yankovic song "Eat It"

Some of my favorite lyrics from his song are:

"Don't want to argue, I don't want to debate

Don't want to hear about what kind of food you hate

You won't get no dessert 'till you clean off your plate

So eat it

Don't you tell me you're full

Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it" 

Taste of Home Cooking School

Last night I attended a Taste of Home Cooking School, hosted at the Gwinnett Civic Center. This was my 3rd time attending the show, and just as enjoyable as ever! Everyone who attends received a goody bag filled with magazines, coupons, flyers and samples of products- this time we got a 4 oz. sample of Mahatma brown rice, and a 8 oz (juice box sized) of Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock.

The highlight of the night for me, was watching our ever- hilarious instructor, Michelle Roberts demonstrate how to cook about 10 items from the "Brand Name Cookbook" magazine that as included in our goody bag. Here's what Michelle demonstrated this year:

Buffalo Chex Mix
Upside Down Banana Pecan French Toast
Gingered Carrot Soup
Bacon, Cheddar and Chive Scones
Apricot Beef Stir Fry
Corn Bread Stuffed Turkey Breast
Sausage Stuffed Red Bell Peppers
Chicken Balsamico
Cookie Dough Truffles
French Cranberry-Apple Pie



By far, the most tempting treat of the night was the Cookie Dough Truffles.... the tip here (if you don't have a fancy schmancy candy-fork is to use a plastic fork and pop off the two middle tines so that the chocolate can drip down carefully.  (Truffle photo taken from the TOH website)


** I searched the TOH website for all these recipes, but only found a few so far, I'm assuming they'll publish the recipes after the cooking school tour, but I'm not sure.

Happy Cooking!

Tortilla Pinwheels

As I gazed into my seemingly empty refrigerator I was reminded of a recipe my mom had made AGES ago when I was growing up. My mom was making appetizers for a party, and needed something small, simple, and spectacular looking. I'm not sure where she saw the recipe or got the idea from, but since then I've seen the same basic recipe on the internet and in cookbooks.

Take room temperature tortillas and slather on some cream cheese to the edges. Layer on some deli meats and baby spinach, cheese, or any other toppings you'd like, and then roll the tortilla up. My mom then sliced the tortilla into "coins" (no tooth pick necessary since the cream cheese kept it all together) but I ate it the other day just as a delicious wrap-- mine wasn't quit so colorful as the examples below (mine was only cream cheese, ham, and american cheese) but it really hit the spot!

Ironically on the same day I recreated this long-forgotten creation a friend blogged about a similar dish she'd made (thanks SCHPINKY) and so-doing she gave me the courage to blog about this simple, yet delightful treat. The photo is neither HERS nor mine, I found it online- but it gives you an idea as to how you can take the basic tortilla pinwheel and make it your own, with various deli meats and flavored tortillas. One recipe I found (while looking for photos) suggested avocado dip instead of the cream cheese, and another recipe added powdered ranch mix to the cream cheese.... YUM-O! Experiment away my friends, and let me know what you think.

Food Memories- Potatoes on the Stove

For some reason I've been thinking about my own personal "comfort foods" lately.

My first comfort food comes straight from my mom.... it's aptly named Potatoes on the Stove, and the recipe (if you can even call it that) is incredibly simple, yet the results is superbly delectable. She used to make it for us mostly on rainy days as a way to warm us up and cheer our moods.
Slice potatoes thinly on a mandolin slicer, and heat on a cast iron skillet until the potato is somewhat translucent, turn with a knife or fork and heat until the potato is slightly browned. Remove from skillet and top with butter, add salt to taste. Best eaten piping hot!

I AM alive... here's proof

So about the time I took on the great idea of this blog, I got a second job.... which then turned into a full time job, which has now scaled back (just a LITTLE bit) to a part time job of about 32 hours a week. My carefree days of cooking have gone basically kaput, since I now get off work at 5PM and have to trek home. (Yes, I'm aware of the fact that other mothers have been doing this for decades, but for ME this is new territory.... I was the typical SAHM who got a part-time job on the nights/weekends when the kids were asleep... but not anymore!)

With all that gibberish being said, I'm hoping to get back

into cooking some more, with simple recipes that help save time. This post in fact, is about one such product which has helped me save time over the past few weeks.

I've been a fanatic of Fast Fixin chicken products for literally YEARS, (I'm a mother of 3, so I've bought my share of chicken nugget packages) but I recently stumbled upon their beef meatballs. (I PROMISE this is not a paid advertisement, I'm simply giving a review of a product.) In a word, these meatballs were "yummy" and even far-superior to other pre-formed meatballs I've tried before. OF COURSE homemade meatballs are better tasting, since you're able to customize them to your family's specific tastes and preferences, but these meatballs were great. I cooked them a little longer than the recommended cooking times, but that's because I prefer my meatballs to have a crispy crunch to them. They are good alone, in a meatball sub, or smothered in sauce on top of spaghetti (yes, cue the music.)

And since I'm singing the praises of Fast Fixin, let me tell you that not only do they help outschools with their Home Team Rewards program, but they also have a loyalty program called Fast Fixin Fanatics which allows you to redeem 10 Fast Fixin UPCs for a coupon good toward your next purchase.