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I've done quite a bit of online shopping the past 5 days and I noticed several "junky" kitschy kitchen appliances that folks don't need. What caught my eye about the S'mores maker is the word "old-fashioned". Um, to make s'mores the old-fashioned way you need a stick and a campfire -- I don't see that here. I assume this next product is popular with people who always want the corner brownie. Does the manufacturer of the cupcake maker also sell a muffin machine? I don't know about a muffin maker, but there IS a cake pop maker! Cake pops are a trendy novelty treat right now. If you're doing it the "hard" way, without a special machine like the one above -- as I've read about it, never having done it -- you bake a cake and crumble it. You mix the crumbs with frosting and roll them in balls. You plunge a lollipop stick into them and freeze them, then you dip them in chocolate and sprinkles or other decorations. Moving on ... How...

Happy Thanksgiving! I made my 8-year-old a pumpkin pie smoothie and a Thomas' cranberry bagel this morning before she went to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with her grandmother next door. PUMPKIN PIE SMOOTHIE 1/2 banana (peeled, frozen, diced) 1/3 cup pumpkin puree 1/3 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt 3/4-1 cup vanilla almond milk Few shakes of pumpkin spice or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon allspice Few shakes of cinnamon (optional) Pinch of cloves 1 teaspoon vanilla 4-5 ice cubes Sugar to taste -- I added 1 tablespoon. Combine all in a blender. Serves 2 people. I can't attribute the recipe because the re-pinner on Pinterest didn't give the original source. However, I added the sugar myself -- it needed something a bit sweeter.

I thought I broke the cranberry sauce. When cooking, I don't usually work from memory or make things up as I go along. And certainly not when there is a holiday meal at stake. I wanted to make the cranberry sauce today and I couldn't find the magazine with the idea I had read. So I risked spoiling the sauce and struck out on my own, using the recipe on the bag of cranberries as a guide. To the bag of Ocean Spray cranberries, I added 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water, per the directions. But then I wanted to add 2 cups of frozen mixed berries I had. And I felt like the sauce needed orange juice and cinnamon. So in went 1/2 cup OJ and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. I set it to boiling on the stove. It looked like a lot of really runny liquid. I worried for many minutes and tried to calm my fears with the mantra "It'll cook down. It'll cook down." It cooked down. When I poured it out into a bowl to cool, my husband tasted it and pronounced it good. Whew! So it is ch...

It was a dark and stormy night -- again! The mid-Atlantic states have seen several days of nonstop rain. This morning, knowing I was going to be gone for most of the day, I put this recipe in the Crock Pot. Everyone came home to a house filled with mouth-watering aroma. I was running late so we made regular mashed potatoes -- not the recipe listed below with roasted garlic and Parmesan. I'll try that next time. There WILL be a next time! Even the 8-year-old said "This one's a keeper!" The pork chops were so tender even she could cut them with her fork. The only negative thing I will say is the "gravy" isn't very thick. But the whole meal was delicious. I added slices of Italian bread with butter and my Aunt Louie's homemade and canned elderberry jelly. Mmmmmm! RANCH HOUSE CROCK POT PORK CHOPS WITH PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES 6 pork chops, 1/2-inch thick 1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning 10-ounce can Cream of Chicken Soup 4 pounds peeled, cubed potat...

It was a dark and stormy night, we were returning home from different activities and I needed a quick dinner. These ham and cheese sliders, paired with canned tomato soup, hit the spot. They are so yummy! (Well, my 8-year-old doesn't want the sauce touching HERS next time but her father and I like it!) I think the poppy seeds make them look so elegant they could be heavy hors d'oeuvres at a holiday party. I can see them appearing at a Super Bowl party too. I found this idea on Pinterest and got the recipe from http://itsallinmyheadstefsblog.blogspot.com. I made some changes, which I will put in parentheses. HAM AND CHEESE SLIDERS 24 good white dinner rolls (I used King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls) 24 pieces good honey ham 24 small slices Swiss cheese 1/3 cup mayonnaise AND 1/3 cup Miracle Whip (Knowing the picky people in my family, I didn't add any dressing. They can add their own if they want.) Poppy seed sauce (I took the previous blogger's advice and made half this ...

I saw this on Pinterest. Spray your Belgian waffle iron with cooking spray and let it heat. Place four canned cinnamon rolls on the iron and close the lid, pushing down slightly. Cook for 3-4 minutes. I worried the rolls would be doughy inside but they weren't. The only advantage I see to baking the cinnamon rolls this way is that, in summer, you wouldn't heat up your kitchen by turning on the oven. Though they have a crispy exterior, they taste much the same as oven-baked, which reminded me: I don't like canned cinnamon rolls.

Bacon makes everything better. Seriously, bacon is not the only thing that makes this Brussels sprouts dish palatable. Use the "petite" Brussels sprouts that are sweeter and more tender. The cranberries are very "Christmas-y" against the green dish and add more sweetness and nutrition. Lauren Graham of Morgantown brought this as her covered dish today to a scrapbooking crop held at Mountain Mamas Retreats . This is very good and I will serve it to my family soon -- maybe as a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner side dish. BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH CRANBERRIES & BACON 5 slices bacon 1 14-ounce bag Hanover Steam-in-Bag Petite Brussels Sprouts 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup dried cranberries Chop and fry bacon. Steam Brussels sprouts according to package directions. Add to bacon. Add cranberries and broth. Cook until the cranberries plump and the broth evaporates/absorbs.

The following post on NPR's food blog The Salt got me thinking that instead of just learning about the farm bill and talking about it (as the story recommends) or going to a pointless mass demonstration, use your dollars to protest against Big Food. Buy as much as you can from neighbors or local producers. See what you can get along without or make from scratch such as processed foods you might have previously purchased. From Wall Street To Big Food, Occupiers Are Hungry For Change by Eliza Barclay Not all the people who have been protesting in New York's Zuccotti Park are trying to Occupy Wall Street. Some are trying to Occupy Big Food, and are ready to march. That includes boycotting that Thanksgiving icon, the Butterball turkey. So far that group is tiny, with just two women: Kristin Wartman, who's a writer and nutrition educator, and Erika Lade, a graduate student in New York University 's Food Studies Program. But OBF has a blog and a Twitter feed and a goal: ...

My 8-year-old daughter brought home some classwork from school and I just had to share it because it is food-related. I delight in her wit and insight daily. "If I could make an unappetizing pizza, I would start with the crust. It would have celery inside the crust. Then I would put peas, harvarte, pumpkin, acorn nuts and chopped up apples." by A, age 8 She likes these ingredients individually (well, maybe not the acorns) and in other dishes but what makes it unappetizing is combining them. Her father hates peas. What other 8-year-old in my area knows about or has had Havarti??? I'm so proud. Thanksgiving Acrostic Poem by A, age 8 Turkey Hot potatoes Apple pie Nuts Key lime pie Sweet cranberry sauce Giving Thanks Ice cream Vegetables Ice Tea Nice food Glad to be me I'm glad she's her too.

Bear with me ... there's a recipe in here. Thanksgiving is in one week. Since the beginning of the month, some of my friends on Facebook have been posting each day something for which they are thankful. I've thought about doing it but it seemed a little forced or hollow for me. I have always felt this way when I've been asked to tell what I'm thankful for at someone's dinnertable (this is not a tradition at my house) so I usually say 4-wheel drive (I am!) and coffee. But this week I have had experiences that illuminated things I am thankful for that I take for granted. I am grateful my husband does not raise his hand or his voice in anger toward me. I learned of a family in my community that has to carry buckets of water to bathe and another family that has neither bathroom or kitchen sinks or a kitchen table. My trailer is a castle compared to where others live and I need to stop being ashamed of my circumstances. While I am watching the checkbook balance and worki...

The Gourmet Cupboard is one of those home-party baking-mixes companies, like Tastefully Simple. I hadn't heard of The Gourmet Cupboard until I met one of their reps, Sarah Jones of Eglon, WV -- the only one I know and one of eight in my state. I've tried some of The Gourmet Cupboard's products and I will probably order some more. Do you need a mix to make these things? In many cases, no. Is it easier? Sometimes. Is it cheaper? It can be -- especially if nuts are included. These are time-saving and mostly reasonably priced -- most mixes are about $4 or $5 each. One, probably the most expensive, is $7.50. A pound of their flavored whole-bean coffee is $15.50; ground is $17.50. Way too steep for me. Of all the things I've tried, the Chocolate-covered Cherry Hot Cocoa for $4 (makes 8 cups) is about the only thing I don't like. My opinion is that this is cherry Kool-Aid mixed with hot cocoa mix. It's rather fake-tasting and unnaturally red. I would not get it again. ...

The Blue Moose Cafe is a coffeeshop in Morgantown. When I was food editor at the local newspaper, we did a series of restaurant features. Each eatery had to give us a recipe. That's how I got this savory, healthy little wonder. My meat-and-potatoes husband doesn't mind that this burger isn't beef and even my 8-year-old likes it. BLUE MOOSE CAFE BLACK BEAN BURGERS 1 15-ounce can black beans (drained, rinsed, and mashed) 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped 1/2 cup corn (whole kernel) 1 cup cooked rice 1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 teaspoons cumin 2 teaspoons oregano 1 teaspoon paprika 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste 2 teaspoons olive oil Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Saute corn, roasted red peppers, and all spices in the cooking spray. Add cooked rice and mix thoroughly. Add hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Remove from heat and let cool. Add black beans and bread crumbs and form into patties. Brown pa...

Having Italian heritage I'm proud that I can make sauce and gnocchi from scratch, but I learned it on my own from cookbooks, not from family. Gnocchi is an Italian potato dumpling. If you have made noodles, this is very similar. My daughter prefers these sprinkled with just grated parmesan cheese and she could eat almost a whole box of the storebought kind by herself. It's handy that I know this recipe. Mixing the dough is not hard but the slightly time-consuming part is forming the gnocchi into rounded shapes and marking them with the tines of a fork by pressing them against the fork with their cut ends out. I work ahead by cooking extra potatoes and mashing them without butter or milk or seasoning when I make mashed potatoes for one dinner. Then I have them for the next day when I start to make gnocchi. To cook them, you drop them in boiling water. They are done when they float to the top. POTATO GNOCCHI 4 cups mashed potatoes (without added milk and butter) 2 cups al...

Before you say "Geez, Cynthia, couldn't you take a more appetizing photo?" let me tell you this picture is worth a thousand words and all of them are "Blech!" I tried the new Philadelphia Original Cooking Creme and it is disgusting. This is the Lemon-Broccoli Rice with Chicken. Just looking at the photo now a few months after I tried it makes me feel queasy and like there's a brick in my stomach. The way-too-cheesy sauce makes this heavy and so rich you can stand only a few bites. Do not buy this. You could make a lighter, more appetizing and more healthful sauce with a couple of tablespoons of butter, a couple of tablespoons of flour and some fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth. I also bought the Tomato & Basil Cooking Creme and made the Easy Skillet Lasagna with it. (Sorry, no photos.) It was almost as icky. These are new convenience products that I won't waste my money or my calories on. These recipes sure make a lot of food though -- way more ...

It's the weekend! Bake something! I got this recipe from my Aunt Lois. I didn't write down a frosting recipe with it so perhaps there is none. If you have to have frosting, find a cream cheese one. But I like this cake unadorned except for a crunchy top. Plus, with 2 cups of sugar, it's sweet enough to not need frosting. GERMAN APPLE CAKE 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 cups chopped apples 1 cup nuts -- pecans or walnuts are equally good 1 cup raisins Preheat oven to 350. Lightly mist a baking pan with cooking spray or brush with shortening. Mix all dry ingredients together. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla and stir. Mix in the apples, nuts and raisins. Batter will be thick! Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour.

One of my guilty pleasures -- the Hero Burger -- is gone from the market. A Hero Burger is two hamburger patties on a six-inch hero sandwich bun, topped with grilled salami and ham, cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomato and grilled onions if you wish. Late this summer I noticed that the Dairy Mart in my town became a Mountaineer Mart. Throughout the fall more Dairy Marts and All Star Expresses in my area became Circle K convenience stores. The Hero Hut sandwich stations in them closed. Finally this week I noticed that the standalone Hero Hut restaurant in Sabraton has also shuttered. Chico Enterprises sold 26 stores to Circle K and at least one to Mountaineer Mart. From now on, I will only get Hero Hut's signature sandwich, my guilty pleasure -- a Hero Burger -- if I make it myself and then it doesn't taste quite the same. Hero Huts have been around since my childhood, if not before. I'm sad to see them go.

When I worked for a newspaper, the employees compiled their favorite recipes into a cookbook that they sold to raise money for the United Way. This recipe was on the same page as two that I contributed. It is flavorful, fast, can be light and elegant enough to serve for a special meal. I serve it with rice and stir-fried mixed vegetables. HONEY LIME CHICKEN 1 20-ounce can pineapple slices 2 whole chicken breasts, split (I get boneless) garlic salt (I use garlic powder) 1/4 cup honey 2 tablespoons soy sauce 4 tablespoons lime juice 2 teaspoons cornstarch Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons of juice. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt/powder. Broil until cooked. (I sometimes use my grill pan.) Combine pineapple juice, honey, lime juice, soy sauce and cornstarch in saucepan. Cook, stirring until thickened. Add pineapple to sauce. Heat through. Spoon over chicken. Source: Cooking for a Cause, contributed by Marian Fisher

Here is a yummy, easy and not-very-expensive (when you find pork chops on sale) from-scratch dinner. I've made this recipe regularly since I found it in the January-February 2010 issue of Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious magazine. Apple dumplings would be a good dessert. Consider corn muffins for your bread. On this particular night, I served the Maple Pork Chops with steamed broccoli, but a really good side is lime carrots (recipe follows). MAPLE PORK CHOPS 4 boneless pork loin chops (6 ounces each) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 egg 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs 3 tablespoons butter Sauce: 1/2 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons cider vinegar 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, beat egg and ginger. Place bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip chops in egg mixture, then coat with crumbs. In a large skillet, cook pork in butter over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on eac...

And now for something different ... . If you like food -- and why else would you be reading a food -- I wager you like to find out where your food comes from. You read or you watch the Food network. Here is a book you HAVE to read. Now, don't let the fact that it's Young Adult fiction put you off. I don't usually read that genre either. But I was drawn to the giant pumpkin on this book's cover in Frostburg's Main Street Books and once I read just a few paragraphs of the story, I was hooked! This book is delicious. The writing is so good I tasted only a little bit at a time even though I wanted to scarf it down in one sitting. I didn't want it to be gone -- I was trying to make it last. The writing is so bright I can't say enough about it! The humor is dry. And the story is one I've never explored. Ellie is on a quest to grow the biggest pumpkin in Iowa. A lot about this story will resonate with growers and farmers and anyone who has ever entered anything...

Today I share more recipes from my pal, Karen Bright, Nutrition Outreach Instructor for WVU Extension Service in Preston County. If you want to save money and cut preservatives out of your food, try these from-scratch mixes. I have used the homemade Bisquick for biscuits and pancakes and it works just like the store-bought mix. I have also used the cream-of-whatever soup mix in casserole recipes. BAKING MIX Use this homemade mix in any recipe calling for Bisquick or other commercial baking mixes. 8 cups flour 1 1/4 cups nonfat dry milk powder 1/4 cup baking powder 1 tablespoon salt 2 cups shortening or 1 cup canola oil Combine flour, milk, baking powder and salt in a very large bowl. Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse corn meal. Store in tightly covered container in the refrigerator. CREAM-OF-WHATEVER SOUP MIX 2 cups powdered nonfat milk 3/4 cup cornstarch 1/4 cup instant chicken boullion (can also use powdered vegetable stock if you can find it) 2 tablespoons dried onion fla...

Even good cooks can still learn something. I'm getting a little bored in the kitchen and I need to find some new favorite recipes to add to my repertoire. So on Tuesday I'm going to attend FREE cooking classes from 10:30-noon at the WVU Extension Service Preston County office behind the courthouse in Kingwood. That is if the instructor will have me -- The introductory class started last week. You can join me. I'm going to call ahead to make sure she has room for me and you should too. The number is (304) 329-1391. I've taken Karen's classes before. She is the Nutrition Outreach Instructor in the Family Nutrition Program. Her lessons are hands-on, money-saving and healthy. She amasses ingredients, assigns recipes and the students spend the class time preparing them. At the end, everybody eats. And they take home copies of the recipes and sometimes prizes. In past classes, I have cooked something featuring ingredients from every state. But this series of classes takes...

This is a perfect fall recipe using fall flavors. I made it as soon as I brought home my 50 pounds of Kennebec potatoes and 50 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes from the family farm of my childhood friend, Debbie (Davis) Crawford. I wrote about the Davis sisters at the Davis Bros. Farm last year and reprinted the story here . The cider makes the beef incredibly flavorful. I'm sharing this so you can savor it too. I also like how the stew is served in a bowl of mashed potatoes. This is food for meat-and-potatoes men, but the cider and white-cheddar potatoes give it a gourmet flair. My business partner told me her husband would love it. I have to plan to have them over for dinner. ELSA'S CIDER BEEF WITH CHEDDAR SMASHED POTATOES 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) 3 tablespoons butter 2 pounds top sirloin, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large onion, chopped 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 1 pound turnip...

This recipe comes together quickly and is hearty and tasty -- three of my favorite things. You could make it meatless or swap out the beef for ground venison or ground turkey. The recipe is from spice company McCormick. I found it in their Recipe Inspirations line -- pre-measured spices in a pack with the recipe on the back. You do not have to have the Recipe Inspirations product to make this recipe. I have included the measurements for you below. From that line, I would like to try their version of the Indian dish, Chicken Tikka Masala. BEEF QUESADILLA CASSEROLE Makes 8 servings. Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes 1 pound ground beef 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can (8 3/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, undrained 1 can (4 1/2 ounces) chopped green chiles, undrained 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (op...

This chili is as nutritious as it is delicious. We had it on a cold day and it hit the spot -- very filling. I had leftover roast pork so I cubed it and stirred it in instead of the turkey. The pork, black beans and cumin gave it a Cuban feel. And I served it on cubes of cooked Yukon Gold potatoes from Davis Bros. Farm in Masontown, WV. I didn't have to use the potatoes but I wanted to. The 8-year-old ate it with no complaints. I liked it because it's made in a Crock-Pot for those busy days. BLACK BEAN 'N' PUMPKIN CHILI 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced 3 cups chicken broth 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained 2 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey 1 15-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon salt In a large skillet, saute the onion ...

I can't call this a product review because I've never used this product BUT I HAVE tasted the bread it makes and I pronounce it yummy. I recently attended the Taste of Home Cooking School in Morgantown to advertise my new business, Mountain Mamas Retreats , Weekend Getaways for Crafty Ladies. Our booth was beside the EZ DOH booth. The EZ DOH is a plastic bucket with a hand-cranked dough hook (called a kneading piece) on it. It's a manual bread maker fashioned after an antique bread bucket that EZ DOH's founders, husband and wife Ginny and Dave, bought at a garage sale. Ginny told me she was a chef or caterer and made bread in the big bucket but longed for something smaller to make only 1-2 loaves and also to give her friends who asked her to teach them how to make bread. Ginny said her EZ DOH invention is ideal if you want a little help mixing and kneading bread and you either don't have or don't want an electric bread machine. Find out more about the EZ DOH and...

Here are two ways to get pumpkin pie flavor without making a pie. The "hot" recipe isn't really a dip -- it's Crustless Pumpkin Pie. I broke a cardinal rule by making this recipe for the first time when I was serving it to a group. It was just "OK" not fabulous and it took longer to cook than the recipe said so I had guests waiting for dessert. The leavening in the Bisquick made it cake-y and puffed. I would omit it next time -- I don't see where it's really needed; you're essentially baking pumpkin pie filling in a crock-pot. And it did not make the house smell like baking pumpkin pie all day while it cooked. We barely smelled it. But, because I promised my friend Jeannie I would post it on the blog for her, here it is. May your experience with this recipe be better than mine. 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup Bisquick-type mix 2 eggs 2 Tablespoons butter, melted 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon 1...