If your family is anything like ours, you can never go wrong serving comfort food. After all, what's more soothing than chicken pot pie, fried chicken and chicken fried steak? Ahh!!
But wouldn't it be nice if there was a quicker, healthier way to get classics like these on the table? The folks at Southern Living and LouAna want to help you do just that. They've joined us to give away three, approximately $32-value gifts including their latest cooking inspirations.
Each prize package contains:
Southern Living's Comfort Food Made Easy cookbook - Features more than 140 incredibly easy and delicious recipes to answer your need for down-home cooking, fast, with tons of gorgeous photos and tips on how to whip up impressive dishes on a tight schedule. Each of these stress-free family favorites has been triple tested by Southern Living experts to make sure they're simple for the busiest cooks to pull together. (Oxmoor House, March 2014, $21.95/Paperback)
LouAna 100% Pure Coconut Oil - Swapping LouAna Coconut Oil for other oils or butter can make many dishes healthier without giving up flavor. It has no coconut smell or taste so no one will be the wiser. But it's vegan and contains beneficial fatty acids, zero trans-fats and no cholesterol. ($10)
You could learn quicker, healthier ways to prepare comfort food FREE thanks to Southern Living and LouAna.
We're giving away 3, approximately $32 prize packages containing their latest kitchen inspirations. Each includes a 288-page Southern Living comfort-food cookbook and LouAna coconut oil for healthier cooking.
Click "Read More" for details on how to enter. Contest* ends June 19!
I never travel without my iPad. Yeah, I'm swimming against the Boomer male stereotype that says I'm supposed to be a Luddite sloth (Ok, maybe during football season) but I take my high tech toys with me when I hit the trail.
An excellent way to serve Tex-Mex at a casual gathering is to fill the table with an array of dishes, such as these three empanadas, piquant pico de gallo and creamy guacamole--served with homemade tortilla chips, of course.
I saved the beer!
Now that summer is here I'm spending a lot more time around the grill - chicken usually, but we're also fond of good Gulf shrimp (yummm). We don't get to the beach as much as we'd like, so when I fire up the grill my go-to entrée is usually chicken.
Since it's a kitchen staple, we keep a Zip Lock bag full of grilled chicken breasts in our freezer at all times. Why? After a hard day slaving away in the blogosphere, it's a quick and easy dinner!
If Charlotte wants to whip up some of her famous chicken enchiladas, she's ready to go. It's also great in her spicy chicken cheese dip, grilled chicken salads, chicken spaghetti and even by itself with a side dish of her special Mac & Cheese.
This recipe is super easy and if you know a guy who likes to grill, it's something he can do to help out in the kitchen. Bonus!
Bob and my mom have one big thing in common (besides loving me!): they're both crazy about chocolate. And this Classic Chocolate Cream Pie is among their favorite desserts.
Makes you wonder who had this bright idea.
Netflix' new original series, Orange is the New Black, returns June 6 for another 13 episodes. The edgy drama features brief nudity, language and adult situations. If these things bother you, then I'd stick to Inuit Pawn Stars on The History Channel or House Hunters Intergalactic on HGTV.
I try not to snack between meals, but there are times when you just gotta have something to eat. Nutritionists say that it's really OK to eat several small meals a day. The operative word is "small". Here are four easy to prepare snacks that come in under 100 calories.
...but an hour later I was hungry again.
About a year ago, Charlotte and I decided to remodel the ranch house. It wasn't an easy decision. I'll confess my first thought was "let's just drive a bulldozer through the front door and call it a day." Calmer heads (and we know we're talking 'bout Charlotte here) prevailed.
It wasn't that it was a bad house - not in an Amityville Horror kind of way - but more like a "what's the limit on my Lowe's card?" way. We're talking plumbing, electric, roofing, paint, sheetrock, carpentry, brush-clearing...all stuff that had to be done before we could even think about putting some lipstick on this piglet.
Well, we did that stuff. And by "We" you know I'm referring to many talented and skilled professionals who do this for a living. I am, after all, the only man in Tarrant County who had to have his car towed the one time he tried changing his own oil. If I'd done this myself, I'd still be trying to pry the 1960's paneling off the living room walls.
Mineral makeup maven Jane Iredale was practically in our backyard last week. She visited Soft Surroundings in Southlake, TX, where I was first in line to try her summer launches and chat with the natural cosmetics guru. (Sure, it was FUN but please tell Bob I was working!)
My slow cooker gets a workout on Tuesdays. That's the night I meet eight of my best girlfriends for book club and, if we're busy like always, Bob and I eat afterwards.
This enchilada stack recipe is perfect for those nights. Besides answering our constant craving for Tex-Mex, this slow-cooker sensation gives us a hot meal that's ready as soon as I hit the door.
It includes tasty, homemade chili con carne sauce, flour tortillas and plenty of cheesy goodness. I like using fresh flour tortillas from Rosa's Café, our favorite for fast Tex-Mex, especially since Bob often volunteers to pick them up! But soft-taco size (eight-inch) tortillas from the grocery store also work well here.
If you bake only a few times a year, it is most likely for a loved one's birthday.
And some are just prisoners of love...
Want a sweet way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Try these Mexican Wedding Cakes from Esther Brody's The 250 Best Cookie Recipes (Robert Rose Inc, September 2013, $19.95).