Rachael Ray

I was watching this video of Rocco DiSpirito from a Rachael Ray show appearance where people asked him for help in the kitchen.  One mom had a picky eater child (the mom could have been me) and he suggested she grind up kale in a food processor with tomato sauce and use that on a homeade pizza rather than just straight tomato sauce.   I was very suspicious when I first heard him suggest this, but then this past weekend, sure enough I found myself about to make a pizza and thinking of his idea.  So I shoved a huge handful of kale and a couple of basil leaves in a blender with my sauce that I had made previously (and [...]...

This year marks a milestone in my house-my daughter sold her first box of Girl Scout cookies as she is now a Brownie.  The truth is, she called my mother and I asked my co-workers and friends and we sold a respectable number of boxes.  Of course I had to buy one of each for our household and finally I decided it was time for me to choose my favorite Girl Scout cookie.  So I lined them up (see above) and took one bite of each.  Here’s the guide: If you have the same kind of circumstance I have, with your dining room table filled with these cookies, I am interested in hearing what your fave is.  Here were my choices [...]...

Okay, parents, the pressure is on. We all want our kids to eat well and be active, yet sometimes aren’t sure how to get there. Who do kids look to when it comes to modeling habits and behavior? Well, parents of course. It’s hard to expect your kids to jump into a plate of broccoli when you are hitting the drive thru or choose to go out for a bike ride when you’re sacked out on the couch for hours on end. Healthy eating habits are easier to pass along to kids if you start them young. If you keep junk food out of the house and make sure to stock the fridge with healthy snack options like fruits, vegetables, and yogurt, [...]...

We have allergies in my family, but some of them are just coming out now that my kids have reached ages 4 and 6.  When they were babies, the food allergies were obvious, but the seasonal allergies that my husband has, started to appear in my daughter when she turned 5 in a big way, and this year, I am thinking my son might have them too. It’s hard to tell if the sufferer has alleriges or a bad cold because when Spring comes in like a lion, the symptoms are the same.  There’s sneezing, stuffy noses, coughing, and itchy eyes.  Rubbing the eyes to relieve the itching could result in an eye infection or a sinus infection. My daughter even [...]...

One thing my picky eater son is sure to eat is a good ole hot dog. I grew up eating one brand that is still my guilty pleasure. It’s called Sahlen’s and like Gennessee Cream Ale, you can only get this dog in upstate NY. In fact, you can’t even get it East of Rochester, NY-Syracuse has its own famous brand. I started giving my son Applegate Farms chicken hot dogs one day-they’re nitrate-free, organic, hormone-free, yada yada yada. He loved them intensely and I felt I had found a food I could give him every day and not worry about. Each dog is 70 calories and has 4.5 grams of fat. Here are the [...]...

Alright people, apparetly 4 million of you have purchased this item and it haunts me.  I  first heard of it when my 4-year old son came running to tell me we should get it and that the whole family can use a Snuggie.  I ran in the TV room and watched the commercial and I almost felt guilty because I kind of see how this thing could be an amazingly cozy piece of clothing.  It reminds me of being in college and throwing a coat on backwards when cold and too lazy to put on a sweater.  But then again, wouldn’t a simple blanket do the trick? Who has one and what is it like?  Is the Snuggie all its cracked [...]...

I purchased Katie Lee Joel’s cookbook, The Comfort Table, after I saw her win the Burger Bash last year. Luckily I was there to sample the winning burger and it was truly divine. Not at all what I would expect in a burger, more of a patty melt, but good tasting all the same. So I bought the book and have to say it’s simply adorable. There’s all of these cute photos of Katie Lee prancing around with her mom and friends and sitting at a cafe sipping coffee. But in addition, there are great recipes and stories weaved together, painting the picture of a young country girl from West Virginia happily observing the female [...]...

Today a rare thing happened.  I found myself in my house.  Alone.  My husband took the kids over to a neighbor’s house and left me home to do whatever I wanted.  This doesn’t happen often, or really ever.  If I am without them, it is usually because I am running an errand, working or cooking.  So guess what I did with my free time?  I vacuumed!  I started to clean the house, set the table for dinner, get a start on cooking and then I stopped myself and took a deep breath and sat down to surf the internet a little and just let my mind go.  I realized that we all need to take a little time to just [...]...

I was reading about Rachael’s return to Austin and the SXSW party coming up and it inspired me to try one of the dishes from last year-the Cornbread-Topped Bourbon BBQ Chicken.  I thought this looked easy and frankly, not something I would normally make, so I decided to give it a try. First you essentially make your own BBQ sauce.  This immediately made me think about the summer coming and all the grilling we do and the store bought BBQ sauce we get.  It’s so easy to make your own.  Its like salad dressing in that sense.  So you saute onions, garlic and eventually tomato paste and smoky paprika (I had none so I used sweet paprika and cumin).  Then you [...]...