Did you ever stop and think that what you eat has an impact on how you look?
On second thought, maybe it IS!
Your holiday table will be so happy if you have this side dish snuggling up to your turkey, ham or whatever the main attraction happens to be. Not one, not two, but three cheeses and a crunchy breadcrumb topping make this gratin the comfort food to end all comfort foods. But before you get too comfortable, red chili flakes add a kick that will have you up from your chair looking for another serving.
And he's really pissed.
I have a love/hate relationship with Bob's Tommy Bahama shirts. I love the way they look and feel (so soft!). But I hate taking care of them.
At least that's what Steven Tyler told me.
Christmas snuck up on me this year. We spent a week at the beach celebrating Thanksgiving and Bob's birthday. I should've started checking off my gift list the very next weekend but I was too busy enjoying the candlelight tour and other festivities in Granbury, TX. (What a fun girls' getaway!) Now, there're under 15 days left and I've done precious little shopping.
We all have our favorite holiday movies we watch this time of year. Sure, there are the classics (Miracle on 34th Street, I'm pointing my finger at you) but there's a treasure trove of underappreciated gems that'll get you in the spirit of the season. Here are 4 Charlotte and I will be watching between now and New Year's Eve.
Charlotte and I are both cancer survivors. It's not something we're necessarily proud of **except for the "surviving" part** but, it's something we carry with us every day of our lives. Keeping healthy has always been part of our DNA and we've discovered that eating right is an easy place to start.
Won't anybody help this tree get home for the holidays?
Between now and New Year's we'll all be taking a lot of photos. Our NY son, Cole, has grudgingly come around to the idea that Charlotte will be snapping loads of pictures of him with his friends and relatives when he's in town. Hey, that's what you get for being an only child. Suck It Up.
After a relaxing Thanksgiving break, Bob and I returned home to a ton of to-dos. Work, bills and bank statements had piled up while we were out of town. Christmas cards, shopping and wrapping had to be juggled with all my regular chores. And I was scrambling because my sweet mother was about to have back surgery and I might be needed in east Texas anytime.
I was tempted to forget cooking until I stumbled on this quick-and-easy Chicken Chili Macaroni recipe in Rose Murray's 125 Best Chicken Recipes (Robert Rose Inc., Feb. 28, 2014, $19.95). Got half an hour? That's seriously all you need to get this one-pot delight on the table.
You just brown ground chicken and garlic in a skillet. Drain any liquid. Then stir in stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, Mexican spices, macaroni, and fresh or frozen green beans. I couldn't find Mexican stewed tomatoes as recommended so I substituted Hot Mexican Chili Powder for the regular version and added 2 tablespoons green chilies to up the heat factor.
There's no chopping involved other than dicing the canned tomatoes. Plus, everything cooks in one big pot so cleanup is simple. Make that super simple if you pull out something non-stick like Kyocera's Kyo Glaze Ceramic Fry Pan. With this sleek skillet (thanks for the free tester Kyocera!), you can use metal utensils without fear of scratching the interior and food slides right off. It works both on top of the stove and in the oven (up to 400o F) and has a great stainless steel handle. Hand washing is recommended but that's no biggie because even Bob, who wants to put everything in the dishwasher, noticed how easy this slick pan cleans up. (12" fry pan $64.95 at KyoceraAdvancedCeramics.com)
Remember how hectic holidaying with the kids was when they were very young? And now that your children have little ones of their own, you wait for that awkward moment each year when they ask you to take them off their hands so they can jet away for a week of relaxing.
Didn't anyone ever tell her that Santa sees everything?