Rachael Ray

I drink a lot of water - a few years ago I started drinking it with lemon after I heard an interview with Denise Austin (remember her of the exercise videos of the 80’s?) and she said she starts every day with a room temperature glass of water with lemon - before coffee - to get things going. Sounded good to me and I have been doing it ever since. Then a few years ago I dabbled in the Flat Belly Diet which has its patented “sassy water” as a core part of the program. It’s a refreshing blend of ginger, cucumber, mint, and lemon and while the diet didn’t last very long, I still make a pitcher of old [...]...

My mom has always loved coconut cream pie. Her birthday was last week and we met for lunch at a local deli and lo and behold, there was coconut cream pie in the dessert case. We talked about getting a slice for dessert in honor of her bday, but ran out of time. I decided to take a stab at it for Mother’s Day and it was delicious, even though there was no chocolate involved. Anything that is a vehicle for whipped cream is worth having in my book. I happened to have a refrigerated pie crust dough in the fridge so I used it and no one noticed it wasn’t homemade (at least no one said anything - what good guests:-)). Coconut Cream [...]...

I hate to admit that my kids are huge fans of the refrigerated cinnamon rolls in the biscuit-type tube. So easy, so fun to whack the tube and open it up, full of ingredients I can’t pronounce with lots of consonants. That said, I’ve stopped buying them but that doesn’t mean my kids have stopped asking for them. I wanted to make some quickly last weekend which means I needed a recipe without yeast so I could avoid rising time (and yeast - I am a yeast-a-phobe). I had all the ingredients on hand, plus the recipe was super quick and took no time to whip up. The dough was veeeery soft however and required a ton of flour while rolling it [...]...

I remember having congo bars when I was little so I was psyched to stumble upon this recipe online a few weeks ago. I have made them three times since - a testament to how crazy good they are. They are thick, rich and “toothsome” - thanks to lots of butter and all brown sugar - no white. Call them blondies, call them chocolate chip cookie bars (another favorite recipe - calls for melted butter though which results in a different texture - still good, mind you). For the life of me I cannot track down the origin of the name congo bars - if anyone has knows, please post! Congo Bars (click here for printable recipe) Ingredients 2 3/4 cups all purpose [...]...

I am usually all about making dishes completely from scratch, but last week did me in, and some corners needed to be cut. The stomach bug hit all three kids in succession over the course of five days, starting with my son who needed to be picked up from a slumber party at 2 am, and ending with my daughter who was sick in bed on her 12th birthday, while the family party in her honor continued downstairs. My daughter’s favorite meal is from a much loved local restaurant - Chef’s - and she always orders spaghetti parm. I decided to try and make it at home in her honor, while she battled through the stomach flu upstairs. It took no [...]...

I am always on the lookout for a new muffin recipe - I came across this newest one that looked somewhat healthy but delicious and decided to give it a try. They are chock-full of fruit - strawberries, blueberries, and banana - but I am sure they would work well swapping in any fruit you want. You could switch raspberries for the strawberries, fold in chopped apple for the blueberries - there are tons of possibilities depending on what you have on hand. As with all recipes that call for nuts, feel free to leave them out. Sunny Morning Muffins (from a recipe by Sunny Anderson, foodnetwork.com) (click here for printable recipe) Ingredients 1 cup strawberries, chopped 1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons 1 1/2 [...]...

I volunteered to bring in cookies the other day but was short on time (what’s new). I made these toffee squares which were equally delicious but took a fraction of the time. They remind me of a favorite dessert from my high school lunch room  - “chocolate squares” - which is actually a good thing. My high school randomly had amazing food: fresh baked bread every day, amazing french toast, grilled bagels with fresh cream cheese. Holy carbs. Chocolate squares were the main course of many a high school lunch. Anyway, these toffee squares are quick and easy - highly recommended. Toffee Squares (adapted from a recipe from thepioneerwoman.com) (click here for printable recipe) Ingredients: 2 sticks butter, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 [...]...

Hot fudge sundae cupcakes. I can’t believe no one thought of these before. Vanilla cupcakes topped with a chocolate ganache layer and a dollop of whipped cream to finish them off. The recipe I used from Joy the Baker called for full size cupcakes but I made mine mini which was perfect - one bite of deliciousness. Then you don’t feel so badly eating two (or three). Hot Fudge Sundae Cupcakes (from a recipe by Joy the Baker.com) click here for printable recipe. Vanilla Cupcakes: from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook makes 12 cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes Ingredients: 1 cup flour a scant 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda pinch of salt 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup whole milk 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions: Preheat oven to [...]...

From www.bored.com Are You Bored? Try These Things: Act like a spy / secret agent for the day Act like you just met your friend for the first time Act profound Ad lib Add some strawberries to your ice cream Adopt strange mannerisms Alphabetize the food in your fridge Announce your candidacy for President. Annoy total strangers Apply for a unicorn hunting license Appreciate everything Archive the Internet to 3.5″ floppy disks (low density of course) Arrest yourself Ask a question nobody can answer Ask embarrassing questions Ask for seconds Ask people how to pronounce their name Ask people if they want to see your “belly button treasure” Ask people if they’ve seen your head Ask stupid questions. Ask the person in front of you to marry you. Ask why At the bottom of escalators yell “MY SHOELACE!” Attract lightning Award yourself a Nobel Peace Prize Baby [...]...