Kissimmee: Go for the Pie- Stay for Everything Else

April 25 & 26 brings the Great American Pie Festival to Kissimmee. With entertainment, childrens pie making sponsored by Crisco, cooking demonstrations and the Never-Ending Pie Buffet it’s well worth the $10 entry fee (visit piecouncil.org for more info.)

Of course Kissimmee has more to offer than pie- and I’m not even talking about “the mouse”. The downtown area is historic with war memorials, antique shops, and colorful murals depicting the town’s history. And don’t miss the huge Monument of States, a massive structure comprising stones from every state in the U.S. and many foreign countries. And though the shopping isn’t free, it costs nothing to look.

Of course Kissimmee is all about fun. Theme parks, local fairs, historical complexes, concerts, car shows, shopping, eating… You can't avoid it!

So go for the pie and stay for the fun. Right now Kissimmee is giving away three (3) weekend getaways for two. Each getaway is 3 days/2 nights. And two (2) weeklong vacations for four (4). Drawings will be held on or around 4/1/09, 5/1/09 and 6/1/09. I’ve entered (who doesn’t love a free vacation?), you should too…

Lasagna Any Night

I absolutely love lasagna. What's not to love... Melted cheese, meat, noodles... All good stuff. And, honestly, you can toss together a pretty good lasagna in an hour or so.

But, if you don't have an hour I have a great option that I found in Kraft Food & Family. Lasagna goodness in under an hour. Toss a quick salad and you have a complete meal.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef (or use Italian Sausage for more spice or ground turkey for less fat)
2 green peppers, chopped (optional- I opted out)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1-2/3 cups water
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters (I use Barilla but **you can use regular noodles)
1 cup Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

Brown meat in large saucepan; drain.

Add peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to boil. Stir in noodles; cover.

Cook on medium-low heat 10 to 15 min. or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

**Want more ooey-gooey cheese? Stir 1/2 c. Ricotta in before adding Mozzarella.

**Substitute 12 regular lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces, for the oven-ready noodles. Increase water to 2 cups and cook 30 min., stirring occasionally.

I Love Me Some Food Network

While we’ve been in Massachusetts we’ve had access to something that we don’t have at home. Namely cable TV. And while the girls have enjoyed Nick Jr and the Disney Channel (ok, I’ll admit to enjoying the Princess Diaries movies & the Lizzie McGuire Movie while we were here) what I found myself watching most was the Food Network.

I love Alton Brown. And Guy Fieri. I even found myself sucked in to a Food Network Challenge marathon involving cakes. Ah, yes, I’m sucked in easily… But those cakes… Oh my gosh! It’s like sculptures with fondant.

I have a feeling we may all go into withdrawal when we get home. I even looked into the Charter HDTV-a-Day sweepstakes. They are giving away one 22” flat screen TV every day in April; new and upgrading customers are eligible. There is also an amazing grand prize package that includes a 52” LCD flat screen HDTV, a Home Theater System, and one year of free Charter Digital Cable® service with HD programming.

If you already have your internet, phone or cable service through Charter just bundling your services together will get you entered. It’s worth looking into if you’re in Charter territory.

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival is Coming!

We spent the day in Plymouth, MA yesterday. Our tour guide (the wonderful Leo from Jenney Grist Mill where he still grinds 150 ponds of corn a week with the mill stone) recommended we stop in the Richard Sparrow House, the oldest house in Plymouth. Inside the house is an amazing gallery of pottery, jewelry and other hand made items.

And it was there that I found a perfect giveaway: Pewter Teaspoons from Metal Morphosis

Aren't they gorgeous? Bloggy Giveaway Carnival is the first week in May (4-8), and I have great giveaways planned for all my sites so make sure you get the updates via reader or email!

Until then I encourage you to check out the Jenney Grist Mill and purchase some of their stone ground corn (proceeds support the mill and the restoration of the Jenney House and Bakery) and The Sparrow House gift shop.

The Fluffiest Pancakes I've Ever Made

I love pancakes. Love, love, love them. But I have never been able to make a pancake that I think is better than I can get out of a box (gasp!). I know... But it's true. I've never found the perfect pancake recipe.

Well, I can't really say never because I found a recipe in Family Circle that made the fluffiest pancakes I have ever had. And I can honestly say that I won't be making pancakes from a box again.

A little note about these *fluffy pieces of breakfasting heaven... The batter is very thick. After I poured into the pan I spread the batter out with the back of my ladle. Keep the pancakes on the small side for best results. You may be tempted to not whip the egg whites. Yes, I know it adds a couple of minutes; this is what makes the pancakes so fluffy. For a little added fun **make faces in your pancakes.

Ingredients

* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (optional, I didn't use it)
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup milk
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* Butter, maple or pancake syrup, confectioners' sugar, for serving

Directions

1. Heat a griddle or large pan to medium heat. Heat oven to warm (180°F) and place a foil-lined baking sheet inside. Only do this if you plan for everyone to eat together. In my house I serve the pancakes straight from the griddle.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and allspice. Separate eggs and whisk egg yolks in small bowl with milk and oil.

3. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites to stiff peaks, about 1 minute. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Fold in egg whites in two additions, until no white streaks remain.

4. Using a ladle, drop 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter onto heated griddle. Repeat, spacing at least 1 inch apart. Cook 1 minute, or until bubbles in batter pop and remain open. Carefully flip pancakes and cook an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute.

5. Transfer to baking sheet in warm oven; repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm with butter and syrup or confectioners' sugar, if desired.

* I'm not sure you can really appreciate just how fluffy these pancakes are. Even with this photo attached.

** if you're interested in "making faces" with your pancakes... Spoon the "face" onto your hot skillet. Let it cook 30 seconds or so, until the edges begin to get golden. Pour more batter over the face. Cook as directed.

*** If you like berries in your pancakes drop them on the pancake just before you flip it.

Bee Well and Raise Money

Because I love to cook it just makes sense that I love to eat what I cook. Which isn’t always the healthiest of foods. (Hey, they’re called comfort foods for a reason!) I do my best to even out my eating with activities, mostly walking as A) it’s easy, B) it’s free, C) my girls can come along and D) we’ve been “on vacation” and away from my elliptical machine.

Recently I heard that Bumble Bee Foods launched BeeWell Miles , a program that pays $0.15 for every mile logged into that site to help Breast Cancer Network of Strength provide emotional support to those who will, most likely, die of breast cancer.

I’m a big supporter of breast cancer issues; my grandmother was diagnosed late last year and had a radical mastectomy within a week of her diagnosis. She has been cancer free since then but you just never know when it may come back. That she was also the first in our family to be diagnosed with cancer, well that made the diagnosis just a bit scarier.

I received a pedometer the other day and wore it on one of our outings (we’re doing a lot of exploring while we’re in Massachusetts). We visited Battleship Cove and spent the better part of 4 hours exploring every nook and cranny of battleships and submarines. Can you believe I logged 10583 steps? That’s 5 ½ miles, which donated $0.90. That may not be a lot, but it will certainly add up as this program runs through October 31, 2009. Since we are really active in the summer I figure I can donate about $200- just for doing what I do anyway, walking.

Bonus Stuff

If you’re on a mission to lose some weight (aren’t we all) there are great features on the website, like seeing how your caloric input and output offset each other. Or log in your favorite walking route to get the mileage or share it with others. And if the benefit of donating to a great cause isn’t enough for you each time you log in miles you could automatically win one of 15,000 prizes.

Grilled Chicken with Sesame Noodles (in Peanut Sauce)

I'm not really sure why this recipe was titled the way it was - which is to say without mentioning peanuts in the title- as I don't think the noodles are so much sesame as peanut-y. So I modified the title a bit.

I also made a couple of changes, which I will point out when they come along. The initial recipe came from Cook's Country in an unsolicited free trial issue. This is an easy recipe to toss together and doesn't even require a grill- I used the broiler. If you have more time I would recommend letting the chicken marinate for half an hour.

Ingredients

3 cloves minced garlic
2 T minced fresh ginger
1/2 c soy sauce
3 T rice vinegar
2 t hot sauce (I halved this as the girls don't like things too spicy)
3 T light brown sugar
2 T toasted sesame oil (if it's regular sesame oil, or even peanut oil, it will be ok)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lb)
1/4 c peanut butter
salt
1 lb fresh Asian noodles (I have no idea where to get fresh Asian noodles. I used dried Asian noodles, they looked like spaghetti. Or just use spaghetti. If you use dried noodles you want 12 oz.)
6 scallions, sliced thin (I omitted these, too. Honestly, they're only for color.)

Instructions

Bring 4 quarts water to boil over high heat. In a small bowl whisk garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, brown sugar and oil. Toss chicken with 3 T garlic mixture (I would marinate it for half an hour). Puree remaining garlic mixture and peanut butter (I love my Magic Bullet
for this!) until smooth.

Add 1 T salt and noodles to boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain well, rinse under cold water and drain again. Toss noodles,peanut sauce & scallions in a large bowl. Adjust seasonings.

Grill chicken breasts over high heat until cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side. (I broiled for about 6 minutes per side). Slice and serve over noodles.

Note: The next time I make this I'll probably steam some broccoli to toss in. It will add some color & nutrition. Snow peas would probably be quite good, too.