Rachael Ray

A lot of people will be hitting the road this weekend which means break out the car vacuum - road trip snacks are in order. Skipping fast food on the highway and packing a cooler not only saves money, but everyone will feel much better when you reach your destination. Some of my family’s favorite road trip snacks are popcorn, cereal, cut up fruit and veggies, grapes, cheese sticks, and I usually make some muffins and a sweet treat like cookies or brownies. I also try and bring some usually “forbidden” foods - ie, candy (Spree and Mentos are favorites around here), marshmallows, or yes, my kids love Pringles. I am sure to have set meal times when we have [...]...

My daughter is 10 years old and attends public school.  She is in fifth grade and the other day she came home with a note saying the school was going to talk to the class about “hygiene”.  At first I worried they would cover topics I wasn’t ready to discuss with my 10 year old, but I called the teacher and she assured me they were first, separating the boys and girls, and second, only talking about things related to puberty.  Still, some of these topics are sensitive so I wanted to make sure she was getting the right message and from the right person. I have spoken to my daughter about the things that were to be covered, so there [...]...

To answer my own question, I definitely think the term “bullying” is thrown around indiscriminately these days. Examples? A child crying bully when their 4th grade classmate decides to not be their friend anymore. Bullying? I think typical behavior for ten year olds. I tell my kids if someone doesn’t want to be their friend, it’s the other kid’s loss - find someone nice to hang out with. Bullying is so overused as a term that when I reprimanded my daughter the other day, she accused me of “bullying” her. The term has become a catchall for any unwelcome behavior or conflict. By no means am I downplaying the existence of bullying - it has been happening for years, but didn’t have a [...]...

The unofficial start of summer is just days away YEAH!!!! So it’s time to get a couple of our most visible and used areas in our outdoor oasis preened ‘n cleaned and share a few easy money saving remedies for getting rid of some of summer’s most some stains. WHITE PICKET FENCE-BRING OUT THE MAYO An iconic home feature that once upon a time symbolized the American dream. Nowadays the good ole wooden ones have been replaced with PVC which are much easier to clean…thank ye lord! Here are a few quick n easy tips that even Tom Sawyer might have used if he and Huck were around: Get a power nozzle for your hose and use the mega power button so dirt [...]...

Those of us familiar with the fabulousness that is tahini may know it as that rogue jar of peanut butter-ish spread that we pull out every few weeks to make hummus.  I promise you, though, that this staple of Middle Eastern and North African kitchens has a wealth of potential far beyond a run-of-the mill cracker spread. Tahini is an Omega-3 & Omega-6 rich paste made from ground sesame seeds that can often be found in the same area of the supermarket where olives, capers, and salad dressings are shelved.  Don’t be alarmed if you pick it up and it looks separated – that’s completely normal!  Just like natural peanut butter, the solids will separate from the oils over time.  What [...]...

As if lunch duty isn’t hard enough… Parents also have to master the art of the after school snack. And as most of us will attest, it’s harder than it sounds. Snacks have to be fast and easy because the clock is ticking. Homework, chores, sports and other activities are all demanding attention from your child (and probably you). They have to be nutritious because… Well, they just do. And they have to strike the right balance of fueling your kids through the rest of the afternoon without leaving them too full for dinner. For all those reasons, my No. 1 go-to after school snack for my son is yogurt. It’s healthy, filling (but not too filling), fast and easy (he can [...]...

My daughter turned 13 earlier this month and when a friend said to me “how is that possible that you have a teenager?” I looked in the mirror and was not at all surprised. I am so pleased by the person she is becoming - lovely, sensitive, funny, generous, kind. All of the work that my husband and I put in early on seems to paying off - with all three of our children. They are (usually!) fun to be around, pleasant company - I think at its simplest, that’s really the gist of parenting - raising kids who are good people. My newly teenaged daughter loves chocolate, but she also loves my lemon squares, and I don’t make them very [...]...

Now that the temperature is going up it is salad season. I try to eat salads all year long but there is something about putting on a pair of short short that makes me what to ban the bread and get on the fresh band wagon. So here is one of my favorite fresh, tasty and filling salad ideas that are just perfect for the season. And because Salmon is just as tasty served room temp this one could be great for entertaining out-of-doors! Salad Baby arugula, 1lb Mushrooms, 2-3 generous handfuls, sliced thinly Cippolini onions, 3-4, coarsely chopped 1 cucumber, quartered 1 container of cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 head of garlic, minced Black cherry balsamic vinaigrette, 1 tbsp Olive Oil Salt and pepper to taste Watercress Sauce 1 large bunch of [...]...

I’ve been thinking deeply about grilling. I mean deeply! I am working on a new recipe for a milk-braised pork loin that I want to finish over hot coals, with some kind of milky glaze of a kind never yet invented. I was planning on writing about it here, with a recipe at the end, when I realized that a lot of people were asking me grilling questions, and none of them were about bizarre, complicated dishes. They wanted to know how to make burgers; how to make steaks; most of all, they wanted to know how not to screw up, especially with all their friends and family looking on. So I am calling an audible. I will get around [...]...