A Cruel Easter Prank

Here in the land of ice and snow, what a cruel prank to play.

Cheesy Volcano Meatballs

Every once in a while, my wife likes to have meatball subs and fries as a bit of a treat. Next time she gets the craving, I will serve her these.  As always...Kraft Recipe, Kraft Ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. (450 g) lean ground beef
• 6 Ritz Crackers, finely crushed (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese
• 3/4 cup pasta sauce, divided
• 50 g (1/4 of 200-g pkg.) Cracker Barrel Old Cheddar Cheese, cut into 12 cubes
• 4 hot dog buns

Directions:

• Mix meat, cracker crumbs, Parmesan and 1/4 cup pasta sauce. 
• Shape into 12 balls, using about 2 Tbsp. meat mixture for each.
• Place, 2 inches apart, in shallow pan sprayed with cooking spray. 
• Press 1 cheese cube deeply into centre of each meatball.
• Bake 14 min. or until meatballs are done (160ºF). 
• Meanwhile, microwave remaining sauce in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec. or until heated through; spoon into buns. 
• Fill with meatballs.

The Fifth Season

Today's post takes us outside.  It is time to talk about the weather. We have the four typical seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. But here in our little corner of the world, and perhaps it is shared in yours, we have a fifth season.  And no I am not talking about the old joke - construction season.

As winter comes to an end, but spring has not quite taken over we have pothole season.  My wife and I were out for a drive today, and I see that this year is going to be a bumper crop.  I have driven on country roads that were much smoother than some of the streets in the city.

Pothole season is that time of the year when it is starting to get warmer during the day, but is still cold at night.  Or in our case, at least this year, where we alternated between a few days of warmer weather, followed by a trip back into the deep freeze for the next few days.

The layer of ice that has covered everything for two months has started to melt.  The water drips down into cracks in the road.  Then when the temperature drops, the water refreezes.  Then repeat, over and over again until a hole is formed.

Of course if it was only one hole, then it wouldn't matter.  But there are many, many, many holes. There are big holes, small holes, deep holes, shallow holes, and yet more holes still forming.

The city will send out the patching crew, but it likely won't be for a few weeks yet.  After all, the season is just starting.  Otherwise they would be patching and repatching the same holes over and over.

K-Cup Reused

The K-Cup, a self-contained brewing system for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and more, produces only one cup at a time, can't be recycled as a whole unit due to the structure of the cup.  There are ways, however, that they can be reused around the house.

• Clean out K-cups, add a little bit of water, and fill them with fresh herbs. Stick them in the freezer and keep them on hand to add to soups and sauces.

• Reuse K-cups as organizers for office and craft supplies.

• All you need is a little glue and a thin piece of cardboard to turn a K-cup into a one-of-a-kind stamp.

• Cut holes in the bottom of the K-cups and add them to a string of Christmas lights for a year-round decorative garland.

• Use K-cups as tiny planters for an indoor herb garden.

• Hang them from the ceiling for ethereal, tiny hanging planters.

• K-cups make perfect molds for tiny kid-perfect popsicles.

• A K-cup holder, plus some empty K-cups, makes a great hair accessory organizer.

Potato And Tomato Bake

A tasty twist on the potato side dish.  As always...Kraft Recipe, Kraft Ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 3 tomatoes (1 lb./450 g), cut into thin slices
• 3/4 lb. (340 g) baking potatoes (about 2), peeled, cut into thin slices
• 1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
• 1/2 cup Kraft 4 Cheese Italiano Shredded Cheese
• 2 Tbsp. Kraft 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Arrange tomatoes alternately with potatoes in concentric circles in 9-inch pie plate sprayed with cooking spray, overlapping slices and rows as needed to form even layer.
• Drizzle with dressing; sprinkle with cheeses. 
• Cover.
• Bake 1 hour or until potatoes are tender and Parmesan is lightly browned, uncovering for the last 10 min. 
• Let stand 5 min. before unmolding onto plate.

Much Ado About Nothing

I do not have a topic for today's post.  So if I may borrow from "Seinfeld", this post is about nothing. It was not that I did not have anything to write about, I have not run out of ideas yet.  It was just that there was nothing that I felt I really wanted to write about.

As pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in a week, I thought about a Pre-Spring Cleaning post.  But even the thought of starting to prepare for such a monumental task seemed daunting on a cold wintery morning.  Perhaps I will leave that one until they start playing pre-season games.

I considered writing a post about the wonderful Valentine's Day I spent with my wife.  We did not do anything super special, but had a pleasant quiet day at home. So there really wasn't much to write about anyway.

I thought about posting a recipe for today's post.  I have a bit of a backlog of them that I want to get on here.  Then, I realized that I posted a couple last week, and another two this week just seemed like too much.

So here I am with left with nothing as today's topic, and as there really is nothing to write about nothing, I guess we have reached the end of the post.

This Is How To Shop

Truthfully, I do not mind going shopping with my wife.  For every women's clothing store I must endure, she endures a visit to EB Games or HMV.  In department stores, I can check out the electronics, sporting goods, and toy departments.

However, a recurring posting on Facebook has offered up a variety of ways for a husband to keep himself entertained while his wife shops...

• Set all the alarm clocks in housewares to go off in 5 minute intervals.

• Walk up to an employee and tell her, in an official tone, "Code 3 in housewares" then watch to see what happens.

• Move a "Caution - Wet Floor" sign to a carpeted area.

• Dart around the store, looking around suspiciously, while loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.

• Hide in a clothing rack, when people start to sort through, yell "Pick Me! Pick Me!"

Catalina Chicken & Corn Soup

This morning it is -15 with a windchill of -24. There could not be a better time for a good hot bowl of soup for lunch.  As always...Kraft Recipe, Kraft Ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. (225 g) lean ground chicken
• 1/2 cup Kraft Catalina Dressing
• 4 cups 25%-less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (14 fl oz/398 mL) cream-style corn
• 1 can (12 fl oz/341 mL) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. cold water
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 green onions, cut diagonally into thin slices

Directions:

• Mix chicken and dressing.
• Bring next 3 ingredients to boil in large saucepan; simmer on medium-low heat 10 min., stirring frequently.
• Mix cornstarch and water until blended; whisk into soup, stirring constantly. 
• Bring to boil on medium-high heat; simmer on medium-low heat 1 min.
• Whisk chicken mixture gradually into soup; simmer 1 min.
• Gradually whisk in eggs until blended; simmer 3 min. or until soup is thickened and chicken is done, stirring constantly. 
• Serve topped with onions.

Slow-Cooker Smothered Chicken with Bacon & Onions

I thought this looked like a nice, hardy Saturday night kind of supper.  As always...Kraft Recipe, Kraft Ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 8 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 onions, cut lengthwise in half, then sliced crosswise
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1-1/4 cups chicken broth
• 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 lb./1.4 kg)
• 3/4 cup Philadelphia Savoury Garlic Cooking Creme
• 6 cups egg noodles, uncooked
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

• Cook and stir bacon in large skillet on medium heat until crisp. 
• Remove bacon from skillet with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. 
• Drain all but 2 Tbsp. drippings from skillet. 
• Add onions to drippings in skillet; cook 15 to 18 min. or until onions are golden brown, stirring occasionally and adding flour, pepper and half the bacon for the last minute. 
• Whisk in broth. (Onion mixture will be thick.)
• Add chicken to slow cooker; cover with onion mixture. 
• Cook on LOW 4 to 5 hours (or on HIGH 2 to 3 hours). 
• About 15 min. before ready to serve, cook noodles. 
• Drain noodles; place on platter.
• Transfer chicken to platter, reserving onion mixture in slow cooker. 
• Stir cooking creme into onion mixture. 
• Top chicken with onion mixture, parsley and remaining bacon.

The Right Stufz

I realized, this morning, that it was Thursday and not Wednesday like I thought. Somewhere I have lost a day this week.  Today's post is kind of a hodge podge of three different things, that in the end come together as one.

Sometime last year, on one of our favourite shows "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives", I saw a recipe for what was called the Christmas burger; a turkey burger, stuffed with stuffing.  Sadly, the exact recipe was not included on the show's website.  This was thought one.

This past Christmas, my wife got me the Stufz stuffed burger maker for Christmas. She bought it at the as seen on TV store.  Likely for much more than what the original on TV price was.  For my birthday, I am hoping to get the Stufz for making stuffed sliders.  This is thought two.

My final though is about shopping.  Last fall my wife and I got a membership at our local Costco store.  There are a lot of things that we do not buy there, such as dairy and produce.  We cannot go through it fast enough and it spoils.  But we have found they offer good deals on items that we need regularly, such as dish soap and toilet paper.  Their meat department is also a common stopping point.  For example, last night we bought (about 4kg) of ground turkey for $10.00.

This brings me to the part where these three separate thoughts come together as one.  Some time over the weekend I am going to make my wife and I stuffed (with stuffing) baked turkey burgers.

A Creation In The Making.

I have always been a firm believer in following the rules.  Whether it is waiting my turn in line or following the directions of a recipe.  However something happened this week that has challenged the latter.

This past week, my wife has been craving chocolate cake.  Over the weekend, she found the Nanaimo Bar mix we had bought at Christmas time.  It was as close to chocolate cake as anything we had in the house so she made it.

The bottom of the bars turned out to be almost the chocolate cake she was craving.  By the time she spread out the filling, she was disappointed at how thin a level it made. While attempting to spread out the top layer of chocolate, it got mixed a little with the filling.

My wife was very disappointed in this mix.  What we ended up with could best be described as a Nanaimo Brownie. This is where I am determined to bend the rules a little bit.

Next time, I am going to skip the step of spreading the filling out.  I am going to mix it with the top layer of chocolate instead.  Instead of accidentally making Nanaimo Brownies.  I am going to create them.