<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843</id><updated>2012-02-16T01:48:33.834-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Is This Made With Love?</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>16</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-7006492922615156467</id><published>2008-12-18T11:05:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-18T11:27:25.342-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi-UAyQOI/AAAAAAAAA-g/ufTOfbSRWeg/s1600-h/CIMG3232.JPG"&gt;Island Pork Tenderloin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi-UAyQOI/AAAAAAAAA-g/ufTOfbSRWeg/s1600-h/CIMG3232.JPG"&gt;My friend Penny gave me this recipe and told me it was her family's favorite, so of course I had to try it!! And boy was it tasty..I did change up the dressing a bit because it was a little too tart for me, after sweeting it up a bit I added some homemade ranch to it and it was creamy and so good. Also, make whatever kind of salad you want, I think I added broccoli and craisins to mine. I don't think you can screw it up, the meat alone is so good. And if you don't want to serve it over salad you don't have to, try rice or red mashed potatoes, I'm sure you won't be dissappointed! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi-UAyQOI/AAAAAAAAA-g/ufTOfbSRWeg/s200/CIMG3232.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281212704452919522" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi97HlC-I/AAAAAAAAA-Y/x1fa7N5o8Ew/s1600-h/CIMG3231.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi97HlC-I/AAAAAAAAA-Y/x1fa7N5o8Ew/s200/CIMG3231.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281212697770527714" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi9X7D2jI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/x5l1HoKBCQ8/s1600-h/CIMG3230.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi9X7D2jI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/x5l1HoKBCQ8/s200/CIMG3230.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281212688322779698" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Recipe&lt;div&gt;Island Pork Tenderloin&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;16 oz. pork tenderloin&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 tsp. salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/4 tsp. pepper&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 tsp. chile pepper&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 tsp. ground cumin&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 tsp. cinnamon&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;2 tsp. olive oil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/4 c. brown sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 Tbs. fresh minced garlic&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 Tbs. tabasco sauce (optional)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together, salt, pepper, cumin, chile powder, and cinnamon. Coat pork with spice rub. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in skillet over moderately high heat and brown pork turning about 4 mins. Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and tabasco and pat on top of pork. Place in roasting pan or 9x13 pan and cook for 20 mins.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt; This can be made into a salad that is so yummy.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1 sm. can mandarin oranges drained&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1 c. fresh spinach&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 red bell pepper sliced thin length wise&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1 c. cabbage shredded&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;Dressing&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;2 Tbs. fresh lime juice&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 Tbs. orange juice&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 Tbs. dijon mustard&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/2 tsp. cumin powder&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/4 tsp. salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/8 tsp. black pepper&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1 Tbs. oilve oil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Brown sugar or honey to sweeten. I also added homemade ranch dressing to make it creamy and is was soooo good.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Slice your pork and serve over salad and top with dressing!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-7006492922615156467?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/7006492922615156467/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=7006492922615156467' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/7006492922615156467'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/7006492922615156467'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/12/island-pork-tenderloin-my-friend-penny.html' title=''/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SUqi-UAyQOI/AAAAAAAAA-g/ufTOfbSRWeg/s72-c/CIMG3232.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-7045278234139768290</id><published>2008-09-19T07:51:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-09-19T08:05:44.946-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Berry Good Smoothie</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SNO8sIw-P7I/AAAAAAAAA4g/UDytZxtdq-M/s1600-h/CIMG3098.JPG"&gt;Oh what a slacker I have been! I have so many pictures and recipes I've yet to post out of pure laziness!! And I admit, I haven't been cooking quite as often since being prego, nothing at home seems to sound very good at times. Or maybe it's just the preparing and cleaning that doesn't sound so good...Anyhow, I'm going to try to be better so here is one recipe I've been meaning to post. I have been craving smoothies. So we went to Costco and picked up some bags of frozen berries and strawberries, and I have only made one so far!! SO I need to get blending. The nice things about smoothies, are that you don;t have to follow a recipe, you can wing it and put in anything you want. I actually just got an e-mail from a friend chalk full of smoothie recipes some even made with oatmeal! I actually want to try that one, maybe I will today. I'll let you know how it goes. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SNO8sIw-P7I/AAAAAAAAA4g/UDytZxtdq-M/s200/CIMG3098.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247745457269915570" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;I love these little serving dishes. We usually reserve these for our tea parties, but they were the perfect size for my kids and their appetite!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SNO8sRRkApI/AAAAAAAAA4o/M9JymXbezmU/s1600-h/CIMG3099.JPG"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SNO8sRRkApI/AAAAAAAAA4o/M9JymXbezmU/s200/CIMG3099.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247745459554091666" /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SNO8sRRkApI/AAAAAAAAA4o/M9JymXbezmU/s1600-h/CIMG3099.JPG"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SNO8sRRkApI/AAAAAAAAA4o/M9JymXbezmU/s1600-h/CIMG3099.JPG"&gt;Topping these with whipped cream made these extra yummy.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Recipe&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Very Berry Smoothies&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;1c. mixed frozen berries or fruit of your choice&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;1c. vanilla yogurt or another flavor&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;1c. crushed ice&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;orange juice or another juice added for desired consistency&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Blend all &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;ingredients&lt;/span&gt; and top with whipped cream and additional berries&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-7045278234139768290?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/7045278234139768290/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=7045278234139768290' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/7045278234139768290'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/7045278234139768290'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/09/berry-good-smoothie.html' title='Berry Good Smoothie'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SNO8sIw-P7I/AAAAAAAAA4g/UDytZxtdq-M/s72-c/CIMG3098.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-6110518002158579789</id><published>2008-07-16T19:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:35.807-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Brandy enhanced Alfredo Sauce</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;So Bartel had been bugging me to make some Fettuccini Alfredo, well I didn't have all the ingrediants that I usually use, like shallots, white wine, and fettuccini noodles. So we improvised and came up with this yummy cream sauce that had the kids licking their plates...&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6rVEmBZnI/AAAAAAAAAic/LDoqrhgi2Bs/s1600-h/june+food+012.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223800996295173746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6rVEmBZnI/AAAAAAAAAic/LDoqrhgi2Bs/s320/june+food+012.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Careful not boil&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6rV8Dt3oI/AAAAAAAAAik/qhtTHFuxpOA/s1600-h/june+food+013.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223801011183672962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6rV8Dt3oI/AAAAAAAAAik/qhtTHFuxpOA/s320/june+food+013.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Brandy..hiccup!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6rWbPAe8I/AAAAAAAAAis/rsLzXfosUTY/s1600-h/june+food+016.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223801019552529346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6rWbPAe8I/AAAAAAAAAis/rsLzXfosUTY/s320/june+food+016.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; I should of filled the bowl with more pasta to make it prettier, but it was my bowl, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to finish it...or worse, I could finish it!!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Brandy Alfredo Sauce&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 Tbs. roasted red pepper oilve oil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 lrg. cloves garlic minced&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 c. brandy&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 c. heavy cream&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 c.  fresh parmesean cheese&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;salt/pepper to taste after adding the cheese which adds salt.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Heat oil on med low. Sate garlic until soft. Add Brandy cook until "Au Sec" (almost gone) add heavy cream stir. turn down heat add cheese. Taste, season. Will thicken upon cooking then, cooling. Toss with cooked noodles just barely coating them. Top with more fresh cheese.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-6110518002158579789?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/6110518002158579789/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=6110518002158579789' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/6110518002158579789'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/6110518002158579789'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/07/brandy-enhanced-alfredo-sauce.html' title='Brandy enhanced Alfredo Sauce'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6rVEmBZnI/AAAAAAAAAic/LDoqrhgi2Bs/s72-c/june+food+012.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-5626146021371332491</id><published>2008-07-16T18:52:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:36.830-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Piggy Spaghetti</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;SO we love pasta around here. And today before we headed out the door to the water park, I remembered I had thawed some pork sausage and needed to cook it up tonight. So I pulled out my crockpot and started adding ingrediants to make a red bolognese sauce. Now, My Co-co loves red sauce, Bartel hates it!! So Co-co was excited for dinner and BArtel was happy with plain noodles with butter and parmesean cheese. Until I made him try the sauce.....He had two more bowls of pasta!! It's a perfect blend of savory, sweet, creamy,  and spicy. My family loved it. I am sooo full. I hope you enjoy it too. And I hope I got the measurements right, I kinda added this and that, so make it to your taste, that's most important. Ciao'&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mQ6llFqI/AAAAAAAAAiM/c_cEk3LUIWI/s1600-h/pasta+002.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223795427331348130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mQ6llFqI/AAAAAAAAAiM/c_cEk3LUIWI/s320/pasta+002.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Yummy Ham, Sausage, and Bacon&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mRK1_YjI/AAAAAAAAAiU/0k-EQNL2BlI/s1600-h/pasta+003.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223795431695147570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mRK1_YjI/AAAAAAAAAiU/0k-EQNL2BlI/s320/pasta+003.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; I wish I had some fresh basil. Oh well, it was still tasty!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mGF3pd-I/AAAAAAAAAh0/3y3R2UNEemQ/s1600-h/pasta+005.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223795241381361634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mGF3pd-I/AAAAAAAAAh0/3y3R2UNEemQ/s320/pasta+005.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; More ham (my son)....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mGltNS_I/AAAAAAAAAh8/FABUVRre6jw/s1600-h/pasta+007.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223795249927506930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mGltNS_I/AAAAAAAAAh8/FABUVRre6jw/s320/pasta+007.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Annie wanted a pic too..&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mG8B_21I/AAAAAAAAAiE/QchLqcK17mY/s1600-h/pasta+006.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223795255920286546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mG8B_21I/AAAAAAAAAiE/QchLqcK17mY/s320/pasta+006.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; And Co-co.....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Pasta Bolognese&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;28 oz. can diced tomatoes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;15 oz. can tomato sauce&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 Tbs. dried basil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 tsp. dried rosemary&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 tsp. oregano&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 tsp. parsley&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 - 2/3 c. sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; 1 Tbs. salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2-3 shakes red pepper flakes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 bay leaf&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;chopped olives (1/2 small can)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 carrots chopped&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 onion chopped&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Combine all ingrediants in crock pot. Cook on low for 3 hrs. Remove Bay Leaf. Blend in blender till smooth.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;In a deep pot fry 1 lbs. sausage until cooked. Add sauce. Add 1 c. chopped deli ham. Add 2 tbs. real bacon bits (soft kind). Add olives. Add 1 c. heavy cream. Taste. Season with salt or sugar as needed. Serve and top with fresh mozzarella and parmesean.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;You can add the Mozzarella to the noodles when ready to serve, then top with sauce, my kids just don't like the fresh stuff so I keep it separate so they don't waste it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-5626146021371332491?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/5626146021371332491/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=5626146021371332491' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/5626146021371332491'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/5626146021371332491'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/07/piggy-spaghetti.html' title='Piggy Spaghetti'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SH6mQ6llFqI/AAAAAAAAAiM/c_cEk3LUIWI/s72-c/pasta+002.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-8770284123612873122</id><published>2008-06-29T12:31:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:37.325-08:00</updated><title type='text'>French toast, Eggs And homemade Buttermilk Syrup, breakfast of the Champions!</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="left"&gt;I Love breakfast!! It's the reason I get up in the morning, it's the reason I have a hard time starting diets. It's just delightful to me. There's nothing like getting up after a long nights sleep (yeah right) and eating something yummy to start your day off. My kids love french toast, especially if it's covered in the "white syrup" aka: Buttermilk Syrup. My mother inlaw gave me this recipe and I love it, I also made a switch to almond extract, it just takes it to the next level, you can eat it by the spoonfuls... And it's it's great on everything, I should try it on veggies, maybe my kids would finally eat them! But really, oatmeal, icecream,pancakes, bread pudding, malt o meal, pretty much anything breakfast or dessert like. Now the eggs, Iam not really an egg girl but I saw a show of the "barefoot Contessa" and she did her's differently with baked eggs but using the same herbs and boy, what a difference it made. They tasted so fancy. My son has become a little egg coniseur telling me the last time I made them, "they were good but, there was just a little too much basil!" For heavens sakes, everyone's a critic. This french toast is really good with thick yummy texas toast or french bread too, cooking time will just be longer. I made up the whole bag, and saved leftovers in the fridge and toasted them up in the toaster oven for the kids the next day, and they were as good as new plus, the house smelled so good, like I was making them fresh from the griddle. I have pictured some coconut syrup that was brought back to us from Hawaii from a friend, sooo yummy. I'm working on my own version, because I know this bottle won't last here too much longer!&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGfjesNQBaI/AAAAAAAAAf4/xjd2Jg8yuog/s1600-h/june+food+011.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217388809734325666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGfjesNQBaI/AAAAAAAAAf4/xjd2Jg8yuog/s320/june+food+011.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGfjfCTIqvI/AAAAAAAAAgA/42oKYPfnOi8/s1600-h/june+food+008.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217388815664589554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGfjfCTIqvI/AAAAAAAAAgA/42oKYPfnOi8/s320/june+food+008.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;French Toast with Herbed Scrambled Eggs &amp;amp; Buttermilk Syrup&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 Loaf Favorite Bread ( I used grandma sycomores white)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;6 eggs beaten&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 Tbs. Vanilla&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. heavy cream&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 c. orange juice&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 tsp. salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 Tbs. cinnamon and sugar mixture&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Mix all ingrediants. Heat griddle to 350 cook until browned.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Herbed Eggs&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;6 eggs beatened&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 Tbs. milk&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 tsp. basil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 tsp. thyme&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 tsp. rosemary&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 tsp. salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Beat all together (for fluffier eggs, which I didn't do in pic, beat with electic beater until frothy.) Cook on med-low heat. The slower the better.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Buttermilk Syrup&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 cube Butter&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 c. buttermilk&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 tbs. karo syrup&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 tsp. baking soda&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 tsp. Almond or vanilla extract ( I prefer Almond!)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Mix first 5 ingrediants in sauce pan. Cook 5 mins, remove from heat add extract. Enjoy!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-8770284123612873122?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8770284123612873122/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=8770284123612873122' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8770284123612873122'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8770284123612873122'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/06/french-toast-eggs-and-homemade.html' title='French toast, Eggs And homemade Buttermilk Syrup, breakfast of the Champions!'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGfjesNQBaI/AAAAAAAAAf4/xjd2Jg8yuog/s72-c/june+food+011.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-8394932154650430588</id><published>2008-06-26T20:39:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:37.709-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Gooey Caramel Corn</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;Oh, ooey gooey caramel corn, how we love you!! This is one of my favorite desserts. But it has to be gooey, not crunchy, this is very impotant!!! And the great thing about this recipe, it tastes great even after it's  been sitting out all night! A few things though, don't mistake evaporated milk for sweetened condensed milk!! Sometimes this is a common mistake, you want the gooey milk. Also, get buttery microwave popcorn, the butterier (is that a word?) the better in my opinion. And make sure most importantly, don't let in kernals sneak into the batch!! There is nothing worse then biting into caramel corn laden with kernals, it's annoying and you might break a tooth, if this happens, I do know a good dentist... I want to give credit where credit is due, I got this amazing recipe out of our UOP cookbook when we were in dental school. The wives put this together and I love it, I hope you do too!&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGRiiWYm0kI/AAAAAAAAAfA/QzIgvErRhk4/s1600-h/june+food+001.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216402610665738818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGRiiWYm0kI/AAAAAAAAAfA/QzIgvErRhk4/s320/june+food+001.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGRiiadgUmI/AAAAAAAAAfI/DE8wsghnotU/s1600-h/june+food+003.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216402611760026210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGRiiadgUmI/AAAAAAAAAfI/DE8wsghnotU/s320/june+food+003.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; Gooey Caramel Corn&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Mix In pan over low heat:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 lbs. brown sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. light karo syrup&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Add 1 cube butter and 1 can sweetened condensed milk, and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and slowly bring mixture to a softball stage with your candy thermometer. Pour over about 3 bags of microwave popcorn( or 2-3 gallons of popcorn) Stir and mix as you pour over corn. I do this one bag at a time, so my bowl doesn't overflow. If you must have a crunchy caramel corn you can add 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows to ingrediants.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-8394932154650430588?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8394932154650430588/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=8394932154650430588' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8394932154650430588'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8394932154650430588'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/06/gooey-caramel-corn.html' title='Gooey Caramel Corn'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SGRiiWYm0kI/AAAAAAAAAfA/QzIgvErRhk4/s72-c/june+food+001.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-6905283642705001007</id><published>2008-06-25T09:39:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-06-25T09:42:49.244-07:00</updated><title type='text'>More to come....</title><content type='html'>This week I have some great recipes for you.....&lt;br /&gt;A request for gooey caramel corn...&lt;br /&gt;Easy healthy Salmon dinner...&lt;br /&gt;Yummy french toast with buttermilk syrup and herbed scrambled eggs&lt;br /&gt;Fall off the bone BBQ pork spare ribs...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Keep you posted!!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-6905283642705001007?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/6905283642705001007/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=6905283642705001007' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/6905283642705001007'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/6905283642705001007'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/06/more-to-come.html' title='More to come....'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-7374858380542931080</id><published>2008-06-22T11:00:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:38.210-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Summertime Pasta Salad with a kick!</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;For memorial Day, we had another family come over for a little BBQ. I had made this the week before without the corn and artichokes, that is what is pictured here. But when I made it for the second time, I was lacking some ingrediants so I threw in artichokes,corn and I think black beans too. It was really good both ways! Make sure you try the dressing before putting it on, to check for spiciness, I like mine more spicy so I added crushed red pepper to it! Be creative it's a pasta salad anything goes! &lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6TXCVw_GI/AAAAAAAAAew/1T2HMR1uDts/s1600-h/pasta+salad2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214767442516048994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6TXCVw_GI/AAAAAAAAAew/1T2HMR1uDts/s320/pasta+salad2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Make sure you taste it then salt it before serving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6TXdG8gwI/AAAAAAAAAe4/yyADmoSmZfw/s1600-h/food+002.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214767449701647106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6TXdG8gwI/AAAAAAAAAe4/yyADmoSmZfw/s320/food+002.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Spicy  Southwestern Pasta Salad&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 lbs. Pasta cooked in salted water drained and cooled do not rinse&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 cup chopped broccoli&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes drained&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 handful mushrooms quartered&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 pkt. ranch dressing mixed according to directions chilled in fridge&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 avacado diced&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 tbs. bacon crumbles&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 can artichoke hearts drained and chopped&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 c. frozen sweet corn&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 can black beans drained (optional)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;salt/pepper&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;crushed red pepper&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 sm can green chili verde sauce &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Combine ranch dressing with green chili verde sauce. Combine rest of ingrediants together except for avocado and bacon. Toss thoroughly, add dressing to your liking. Mix. Top with Avocado, and bacon crumbles.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-7374858380542931080?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/7374858380542931080/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=7374858380542931080' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/7374858380542931080'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/7374858380542931080'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/06/summertime-pasta-salad-with-kick.html' title='Summertime Pasta Salad with a kick!'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6TXCVw_GI/AAAAAAAAAew/1T2HMR1uDts/s72-c/pasta+salad2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-1704267274238019278</id><published>2008-06-22T10:33:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:38.955-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Who Needs A Panini Press?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;Father's day came and went by so fast! I didn't get a chance to make breakfast in bed for Bart so we made him lunch in bed! When I was at Walmart the day before I picked up some "Sundried Tomato dipping oil, with balsamic vinegar" I thought this would give my mayo a nice touch so I mied a bit in to give it a little zest, much better then plain ol' mayo! I don't have a panini press, and I don't plan on getting one. My cast iron grill pan works great! Just add some weight of another pan on top and voila! Panini press! We served his linch with some of his favorites too, Doritos, Coke Zero, and a tea cup of milk for dipping his Oreo's!&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6NUJHsS7I/AAAAAAAAAeI/6IUe0L70E9k/s1600-h/june+08+005.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214760795726695346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6NUJHsS7I/AAAAAAAAAeI/6IUe0L70E9k/s320/june+08+005.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Homemade panini press!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6NUunGIYI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/yHywhEzY4TE/s1600-h/june+08+007.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214760805790523778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6NUunGIYI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/yHywhEzY4TE/s320/june+08+007.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;So yummy, my kids wanted one too!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6NUiDewlI/AAAAAAAAAeY/YYAjdjHt82w/s1600-h/june+08+006.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214760802419917394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6NUiDewlI/AAAAAAAAAeY/YYAjdjHt82w/s320/june+08+006.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; The recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Turkey Panini with Sun dried tomato mayo!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 crusty french roll cut lenghtwise&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2-3 Tbs. Mayo&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 Tbs. Sundried tomato oil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;sliced Sharp cheddar cheese&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;3 -4 thin slices sundried tomato turkey&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 tsp. honey mustard&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;3 slices dried salami&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;banana peppers&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 tsp. bacon crumbles&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;sliced avocado &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;sliced tomato&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Heat cast iron grill pan to med heat. Assemble sandwich to your liking. Spray heated grill with Pam. Place on heated grill and place a heavy pan on top of sandwich. Squish down. Cook for a min. or two then carefully turn over with tongs. Cook 2 mins. Or use a panini press if you have one!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-1704267274238019278?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/1704267274238019278/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=1704267274238019278' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/1704267274238019278'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/1704267274238019278'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/06/fathers-day-came-and-went-by-so-fast-i.html' title='Who Needs A Panini Press?'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SF6NUJHsS7I/AAAAAAAAAeI/6IUe0L70E9k/s72-c/june+08+005.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-4718827784707275609</id><published>2008-04-25T13:56:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:39.320-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Fudgie Wudgie Brownies!!</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;So I was checking out my girlfriends blog, and she had eaten at this place called "The Farm of Beverly Hills" and apparently they had they best brownies ever! Well I  guess enough people agreed with thie statement and requested the recipe from "Epicurious" and lo and behold they posted the recipe. So I thought I'd give it a try beings that the only recipes for brownies i've ever liked are the boxed ones, because they were never cakey. I hate dry cake-like brownies. If I wanted cake, I would make one!! So I gave them a whirl and holy fudgey-ness!!! Forget the frosting, you seriously don't need any, these hold their own, you may however, want to invest in a large glass of ice cold milk to wash it down!!What I loved the most besides their obvious fudge -like qualities, was the hint of saltiness in them.I didn't have to add any extra! I usually change one or two things in recipes that I try, but I can't think of anything I would do differently, except...and some of you may cringe, I would like to try it with some nuts..I'm a very nutty kind of gal, some toasted almonds or pecans would do the trick, or maybe coconut? The possibilities are endless!!! So many choices, I can hardly handle the turmoil going on inside, I may just have to make these again soon. SO Thank you Coleen for the recipe link....I knew your love for sweets could benefit me.&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBJGp_Wv9RI/AAAAAAAAAXY/4E_-mbQdIrs/s1600-h/food+007.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193291007507035410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBJGp_Wv9RI/AAAAAAAAAXY/4E_-mbQdIrs/s320/food+007.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; A little blurry, but I was in a  hurry to eat it!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBJGq_Wv9SI/AAAAAAAAAXg/Dyq0mupCHt0/s1600-h/food+009.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193291024686904610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBJGq_Wv9SI/AAAAAAAAAXg/Dyq0mupCHt0/s320/food+009.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Check out the gooey-ness....&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Chocolate Fudge Brownies&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Makes 20 brownies&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;3 sticks of unsalted butter cut into pieces&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;12 oz. fine quality bittersweet chocolate-not unsweetened, chopped I used Bakers Semi-sweet&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;6 large eggs&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 1/4 c. cake flour- not self rising&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. plus 2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process) I used Hersheys&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;3 c. sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 tsp. salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 13x9x2 inch metal baking pan, knock out excess flour. Melt butter with chocolate in a large metal bowl over a double broiler (or a pan of barely simmering water) stirring until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Sift together flour and Cocoa powder in a separate bowl. Add salt and sugar. Stir in chocolate mixture, mix well. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven until top is firm and a tester inserted into center comes out with crumbs adhering (40-45 mins) Cool completely in pan on a rack anout 2 hrs, before cutting into 20 squares....if you can wait that long.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Brownies keep layered between wax paper in air tight container, 5 days.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-4718827784707275609?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/4718827784707275609/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=4718827784707275609' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/4718827784707275609'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/4718827784707275609'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/04/fudgie-wudgie-brownies.html' title='Fudgie Wudgie Brownies!!'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBJGp_Wv9RI/AAAAAAAAAXY/4E_-mbQdIrs/s72-c/food+007.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-8988973152756020825</id><published>2008-04-25T12:38:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:39.829-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Chow Down, Potato and Corn Chowder with Basil</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;I Love soup!! Even when it's 90 degrees outside!! This soup was really easy. I was looking in my fridge for dinner ideas and I saw a container full of corn, that I had made the night before and forgot to serve...yes I do that alot. Then I saw some red potatoes and onion and a ton of different breads that we had used 2 nights before when we had a fondue night. So I decided to make some kind of chowder, and the cooking began. About 45 mins later dinner was ready to serve! Annie loved it she ate 2 bowls, the crutons were the best part, no wait the soup, no.. the avocado? Ok, you can decide. It was super easy, and if you follow the cooking process, you don't have to use corn and potatoes, use broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, whatever! Be creative and have fun!&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBI05fWv9PI/AAAAAAAAAXI/3_K0iIORiJ0/s1600-h/food+004.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193271482585707762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBI05fWv9PI/AAAAAAAAAXI/3_K0iIORiJ0/s320/food+004.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Yummy ripe avocados!! Mmmmm so good!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBI05_Wv9QI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/Q6b8zpxR9-o/s1600-h/food+005.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193271491175642370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBI05_Wv9QI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/Q6b8zpxR9-o/s320/food+005.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Look at those honking crutons!!!  So good when they soaked up the soup!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Recipes&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Potato and Corn Chowder with Basil&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 med onion minced&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 clove garlic minced&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 Tbs. basil infused oil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;32 oz. chicken stock&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 c. white wine-no sipping&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/8 c. flour&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 c. red skinned potatoes med dice w/skin on&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 bay leaf&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 lb. corn -fresh or frozen I mixed white and yellow for multi color purposes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 c. fresh basil rough chopped or 2 tsp. dried basil - I didn't have any fresh so I used dried&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. milk warmed&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 c. heavy cream warmed- I just mixed it with the milk then heated it&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 avocado sliced-optional&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 Tbs. crumbled bacon&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Heat oil in stock pot saute onion and garlic until soft but not browned. Add flour to make a roux cook  slowly for about 4 mins do not brown. Add Stock, bring to a boil stir to make sure it is smooth. Add the wine-hiccup! Add potatoes and bay leaf, simmer until potatoes are tender. Add corn and basil return to a simmer. Stir in warmed milk and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Avocado, bacon, and crutons. Eat.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Seasoned Crutons&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Cube desired amount of bread. I used seasoned french breads and foccacia bread, and bread with cheddar cheese baked into it. Drizzle with basil oil or regular olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat frying pan and toss in bread and stir until golden. I'm sure you can bake/broil these in the oven too and they would turn out just fine.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-8988973152756020825?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8988973152756020825/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=8988973152756020825' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8988973152756020825'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8988973152756020825'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/04/chow-down-potato-and-corn-chowder-with.html' title='Chow Down, Potato and Corn Chowder with Basil'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SBI05fWv9PI/AAAAAAAAAXI/3_K0iIORiJ0/s72-c/food+004.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-8246011677630405928</id><published>2008-04-24T11:41:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-24T12:20:16.767-07:00</updated><title type='text'>My Girl friends</title><content type='html'>I have to say, growing up I wasn't blessed with an abundance of girlfriends. I had a best friend Sherece-Love ya, and many boy-friends. My best memories are with Sherece, I never laughed like I laughed with her. And we would laugh over the dumbest things, once I was driving and had, had enough of my icecream cone and went to toss it out the passenger window where she was sitting, and wouldn't you just know that the stupid window wasn't down like I thought? It seriously stuck there then slid down to the floor....It probably wasn't as funny as we made it out to be, but that was just us. I still giggle thinking about it...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As an adult, I am over whelmed with the amount of good girlfriends I have. Sherece lives a million miles away now- ok, not a million but Canada feels that far away. And I feel so blessed to have made so many friends since being married. It feels like the competitiveness of the teenager years have pretty much gone away, which has opened up many doors to great friendships. I have in no way replaced Sherece, I've just added a few more friends like her, which makes it easier to be so far from her. I just want to thank all my friends, neaar and far, for being my friend. I know I'm easy to like and everybody pretty much wants to be me....riiight. But seriously, I am grateful for you and your differences I love my life the people in it have made it so wonderful and fun. Thanks Girlfriends....&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-8246011677630405928?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8246011677630405928/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=8246011677630405928' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8246011677630405928'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8246011677630405928'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-girl-friends.html' title='My Girl friends'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-82667612716475983</id><published>2008-04-23T14:46:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:40.094-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Husbands Favorite Icing...</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA-vj_Wv9OI/AAAAAAAAAXA/LImFusRi4W8/s1600-h/german+chocolate+icing+001.jpg"&gt;German chocolate cake is my favorite. Over this past weekend our family had the flu bug. Upon being nursed back to health my husband had a request "can you please make me a cake?" Absolutely, was my reply I know he loves german chocolate too so that is what he got. Now, I totally cheated and used a box mix, I haven't found a homemade recipe that I absolutely love yet. But I did however make this yummy eat out of the gladware frosting. We've been eating it by the spoonfuls!! It's good on just about anything, even vanilla wafers!! The cake is long gone, I made a bundt cake and we just topped it with the frosting, I have leftovers so I'm thinking about german chocolate brownies later this week? &lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192561928218604770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA-vj_Wv9OI/AAAAAAAAAXA/LImFusRi4W8/s320/german+chocolate+icing+001.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;German Chocolate Frosting&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;3 egg yolks&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. evaporated milk&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 1/3 c. chopped nuts&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 c. butter &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 tsp. almond extract&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2/3 c. sweetened shredded coconut&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 tsp. salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Melt butter in sauce pan, add sugar, milk, and egg yolks. Stir until thickened. Add remaining ingrediants. Cool.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;If you are not a big coconut fan, no big deal leave it out. And I actually ran out of pecans so I added sliced almonds and it worked just fine, I think it turned out prettier. Also, I love adding salt to my sweets, it takes it to a whole new level, so add the salt and taste, you may want to add more, this was a guesstimate, so start out with a little and then add as needed, I like the flavors to end with a taste of salt, not too much, but you do want to taste it.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-82667612716475983?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/82667612716475983/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=82667612716475983' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/82667612716475983'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/82667612716475983'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/04/husbands-favorite-icing.html' title='Husbands Favorite Icing...'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA-vj_Wv9OI/AAAAAAAAAXA/LImFusRi4W8/s72-c/german+chocolate+icing+001.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-8625499902770268748</id><published>2008-04-23T07:25:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:15:40.857-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Aye,Aye, Cap'n Crunch Chicken Tenders &amp; Coconut Shrimp with Apricot dipping sauce</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;So I looove Cap'n Crunch Cereal, I will eat it any time, anywhere, And with most anything. In fact, the other day I got this great recipe from "picky palate" for "Girlscout thin mint cookie cheesecake bites" and boy were they good, but then I sarted thinking, "I bet this would taste great with Cap'n Crunch, and it did! By the way have you tried the cap'n crunch shake from Carl's Jr? ....mmmmm. Don't try to eat a whole one- holy full tummy!!! I didn't have to eat for 3 days!....But I did anyway. Back to the food, I made this the other night and my son said "this is the best dinner you've ever made!"  Not so sure about that, clearly he's forgotten about my past culinary works of art! Just kidding , but it was pretty good. So, if you don't have cap'n crunch you can use Oh's cereal too, I had to use a little and it worked just fine. For the shrimp, I like the "Japanese Panko Bread crumbs" To me they taste better then regular bread crumbs, plus they are finer in texture. You can find them with the Asian food in the grocery store.&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA9HBPWv9LI/AAAAAAAAAWo/Cu1Re-TMfTQ/s1600-h/cap+n+crunch+chicken+002.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192446982008861874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA9HBPWv9LI/AAAAAAAAAWo/Cu1Re-TMfTQ/s320/cap+n+crunch+chicken+002.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA9HBvWv9MI/AAAAAAAAAWw/uSy_7vd84B8/s1600-h/cap+n+crunch+chicken+003.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192446990598796482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA9HBvWv9MI/AAAAAAAAAWw/uSy_7vd84B8/s320/cap+n+crunch+chicken+003.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA9HCPWv9NI/AAAAAAAAAW4/qBsBkqkb8bI/s1600-h/cap+n+crunch+chicken.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192446999188731090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA9HCPWv9NI/AAAAAAAAAW4/qBsBkqkb8bI/s320/cap+n+crunch+chicken.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Recipes&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cap'n Crunch Chicken Tenders&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;8 thawed chicken tenders&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 cups capn' crunch&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 tsp. salt/pepper&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 tsp. onion powder&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;3 eggs beaten&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with pam. In a food processor pulse cereal until fine. Add seasonings, pulse to mix. Place in bag or shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg wash, then toss to coat in cereal place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 mins until cooked through.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Coconut shrimp&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;8 large shrimp peeled and deveined- I took the tails off&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 bag of panko bread crumbs&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 c. sweetened shredded coconut&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;salt/pepper&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;oil for frying&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;3 eggs beaten&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Heat oil -about 1/2 inch or so, on med high heat in shallow frying pan. In food processor, combine bread crumbs and coconut, pulse to mix add seasonings, mix.Place in small bowl or bag. Dip shrimp in egg wash, then toss to coat in bread crumbs. Fry in pan until golden then turn and repeat on other side.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;Apricot Dipping Sauce&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 Tbs. Water&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 Tbs. cornstarch&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 c. apricot preserves&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2c. vinegar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/3c. packed brown sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;In a small bowl bowl whisk water and cornstarch until dissolved. In a sauce pan over med heat, combine jam, vinegar, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Add dissolved cornstarch; stir until thickened, adding more water until desired consistency. Remove from heat and let cool.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;* This sauce is really tangy. I would suggest for a sweeter sauce, using orange marmalade and decreasing the vinegar to 1/4 c. and increasing the brown sugar to 1/2 c. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-8625499902770268748?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8625499902770268748/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=8625499902770268748' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8625499902770268748'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/8625499902770268748'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/04/ayeaye-capn-crunch-chicken-tenders.html' title='Aye,Aye, Cap&apos;n Crunch Chicken Tenders &amp; Coconut Shrimp with Apricot dipping sauce'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA9HBPWv9LI/AAAAAAAAAWo/Cu1Re-TMfTQ/s72-c/cap+n+crunch+chicken+002.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-6495625993713038441</id><published>2008-04-22T16:08:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-12T16:16:00.292-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Tuned Up Tuna</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;Tired of same ol' tuna with mayo and salt and pepper? I took a recipe idea from "Everyday Italian" and modified it to my own liking. Instead of mayo I made a quick hummus. You can usually find hummus in most grocery stores if you are not up to making your own. The basil oil I bought at "Costco" it came in a 3 variety pack, garlic, basil and red pepper. I use these all the time! The tampenade, comes in many varieties, find a flavor you like and experiment, I found mine at "Trader Joes" I know "Super Target" also carries many varieties. Look in the deli section or try where the spaghetti sauces are in your local supermarket. My husband really liked this new take on tuna, it was pretty easy and you can add your own flare to it if you like.&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA5wdPWv9GI/AAAAAAAAAWA/lF-tx-9nqC4/s1600-h/food+pics+001.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192211068045227106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA5wdPWv9GI/AAAAAAAAAWA/lF-tx-9nqC4/s320/food+pics+001.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA5wdfWv9HI/AAAAAAAAAWI/Jmpkfs0N4fw/s1600-h/food+pics+003.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192211072340194418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA5wdfWv9HI/AAAAAAAAAWI/Jmpkfs0N4fw/s320/food+pics+003.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; The Recipe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;2 cans chunk light tuna in water drained&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 handful black olives sliced&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 tbs. basil flavored olive oil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;salt pepper to taste&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 can fire roasted tomatoes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 handful fresh baby spinach&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans) for hummus&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/4 c. red pepper and artichoke tampenade (basically a spread)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1/2 ripe avocado sliced&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;1 french roll &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Drain tuna. Separate with fork. Add oil, oilves and tomatoes. Season, taste. Rinse spinach, pat dry. In food processor pulse chickpeas with tampenade until smooth, you can add a little oil if you want it a bit thinner. Taste, season if you want. Slice avocado. Toast french roll, spread hummus on both sides. Top with tuna, avocado, and spinach. Serve with extra hummus and pita chips.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-6495625993713038441?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/6495625993713038441/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=6495625993713038441' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/6495625993713038441'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/6495625993713038441'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/04/tuned-up-tuna.html' title='Tuned Up Tuna'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/SA5wdPWv9GI/AAAAAAAAAWA/lF-tx-9nqC4/s72-c/food+pics+001.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107089983698233843.post-5854113892027276673</id><published>2008-04-22T15:40:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-22T16:02:31.235-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Welcome!!</title><content type='html'>I'm so excited to finally start a blog that I can totally focus on food and fun girl talk! I love cooking and I love sharing stories of everyday life, it seems that I have more then my share of tales to tell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On this new blog I will be sharing favorite recipes I've found, created and have had shared with me! And don't worry I'll give credit where credit is due. Like the Big Chef on Ratatouille, I believe "anyone can cook."  I'll share cooking tips that have helped me and will be happy to answer any questions that you may have,to the best of my ability that is, just because I attended "Cooking School" does not mean that I know everything, and I am not afraid to admit it! But I will do my best!&lt;br /&gt;I will also try to do my best providing photos of recipes. We have a really great camera that I can use, only problem is, my husband thinks it's really great too and uses it for work...I mean what's more important taking pictures of teeth or food? Where are his priorities?!! I tell ya'... oh well my little point and shoot will have to do! At least you'll get the general idea of how things look. I hope you all enjoy and visit often, I'll try to update as often as I cook!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7107089983698233843-5854113892027276673?l=isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/feeds/5854113892027276673/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7107089983698233843&amp;postID=5854113892027276673' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/5854113892027276673'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7107089983698233843/posts/default/5854113892027276673'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://isthismadewithlove.blogspot.com/2008/04/welcome.html' title='Welcome!!'/><author><name>rvan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13686486975528757706</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeZFRbuihLA/TKP7I3ulqOI/AAAAAAAABR0/aVIm9ZyMLR8/S220/Van,B+(53+of+315).jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry></feed>
