Congrats to Lesley from Lesley’s Kitchen blog! I used the Random Number Generator to select a number from the entries, and Les in NE was the winner of the Honey I’m Home apron from Simply Aprons. If you weren’t the winner and are still interested in an apron, head over to Simply Aprons soon. Julie just added a couple of gorgeous new designs! Thanks to those of you who participated. The recipes you sent in were fabulous! Stay tuned… another foodie giveaway is coming up soon!

I have decided to make Giveaways on my blog a regular thing. I have scooped up some really great “foodie” items, so stay tuned for more! Until the next giveaway, head over to THIS post to enter to win the Honey I’m Home apron from the Simply Aprons etsy store. Deadline to enter is 11pm CST on Friday, May 9th!

I know I have said it before, but I have a wonderful husband. He is kind, generous, caring… if I want something, he usually gets it for me. Kind gestures are plenty. When it is chilly outside, he will bring me my robe and towel… straight out of the warm dryer so I can step into it after my shower. If I have one of my typical fountain drink cravings (has to be from certain gas stations, certain ice, certain cups…), he kindly humors me and picks me up a soda from one of the few places that meet my very picky standards. He does the laundry, helps clean up after dinner, is a wonderful dad, and is an all around great guy.

So each and every week my husband does kind things for me, and how do I return the favor? By continuing to have some version of tacos on our menu. Great for me! I love tacos! Hubby? Not so much. Since the beginning of our marriage, hubby has made it very clear his detest for tacos. He doesn’t like raw tomatoes, he hates just about any kind of bean, sour cream and guacamole. He is one of the few people in the world who doesn’t go crazy for Mexican food or even Tex-Mex. I, however, love all things Tex-Mex and Mexican and so do my kids. This is why on a weekly basis, some form of taco type dish hits our dinner table. You really can’t find anything easier that is as filling as tacos.

Every week, hubby sits down to dinner with a sigh and struggles through yet another taco meal. What can I say? He is so much nicer to me than I am to him. As the youngest of five, I have a bit of a selfish streak and I don’t believe I should eliminate making what I like for dinner just because he doesn’t like it.

If you are on the “I like tacos” side like me, then let me share this quick and easy (plus light!) taco salad recipe from a back issue of Cooking Light magazine. If you don’t like tacos, tough! You can just sit there and pout while the rest of us enjoy.

Three Step Taco Salad (Cooking Light Magazine, July 2003)

1 pound ground sirloin
1 (1.25-ounce package) taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
2/3 cup bottled salsa
8 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
4 cups (4 ounces) bite-sized baked tortilla chips
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 (15-ounce) can kidney or black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sliced ripe black olives ( I omit)

Cook the beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.Combine sour cream and salsa in a small bowl.

Combine the beef mixture, iceberg lettuce, tortilla chips, tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese, and beans in a large bowl. Drizzle the sour cream mixture over the salad, and toss gently. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese and black olives. Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

CALORIES 217 (24% from fat); FAT 5.7g (sat 2.3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 16.8g; CHOLESTEROL 34mg; CALCIUM 171mg; SODIUM 757mg; FIBER 5g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.1g

First of all, did you know that National Apron Day is May 14th? If you don’t have an apron to wear, you had better get one quick! Head over to the Simply Aprons Etsy store and snatch one up, or enter to win the Honey I’m Home apron in Dine and Dish’s first giveaway! Click HERE for more information.

This morning my six year old woke up and was moping around before school, claiming “my tummy hurts”. He wasn’t running a fever, he ate a good breakfast, and was feeling good enough to torment his sisters. We walked up to school, I kissed him goodbye and all was well. All was well except for the small nagging in the back of my head about his tummy hurting. His actions told me that he was feeling okay, but my instinct told me that maybe I should have listened to him.

Fast forward to 10:30am, I am just getting ready to go and pick up the middle munchkin from preschool, and the phone rings. Sure enough, it was the school nurse. “I have Jacob in my office… he just got sick in class.” Ugh… “No, he didn’t make it to the bathroom, but he seems to be okay at the moment. How soon can you pick him up?” I was up there within minutes, feeling horrible that he had to be embarrassed in class simply because I didn’t listen to my instinct and keep him home. Bring on the mom of the year award, again!

Over the past week I have been tormented by the Epicurious widget on my blog. A photo of some gorgeous Lemon-Raspberry cupcakes kept tempting me, and I knew they would be in my future soon. For some reason, the urge to bake overwhelmed me this afternoon, so I decided to give the Lemon-Raspberry cupcakes a try. I love raspberry anything… my kids, however, haven’t developed the taste for raspberries yet. They prefer things on the mainstream line… strawberries, bananas, grapes… kid fruit. As you know, I am usually a “follow the recipe” kind of gal, and I rarely get creative in the kitchen doing my own thing. Unlike some of you, I have yet to develop that great kitchen instinct. Well, today, with these cupcakes I made a minor change. Nothing major, because you know, that would be a bit of a stretch for me. I don’t want to get out of hand or anything… can’t be getting all crazy like that in the kitchen just like that!

I trusted my instinct and decided to change the raspberry to strawberry and then topped them with a banana slice. Strawberry combined with banana is one of my favorite flavor combinations, and trusting my instinct with these cupcakes resulted in a dessert that was not only tasty, but a hit with my kids (or at least the two who weren’t losing their lunch).

I may have not had my instinct mojo going this morning when I sent my son to school, but I got it back this afternoon with these yummy cupcakes! This recipe is so versatile, you can trust your own instincts and use your own fruity flavor combinations. Now, go get crazy!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes from Epicurious.com

I think it is high time that we have a giveaway here at Dine and Dish. Don’t you agree? My dear and enormously creative friend, Julie, recently opened an Etsy store to showcase her fun and whimsical new aprons. She brought me over one last week as a gift and I knew just then and there that one of her half aprons would be the perfect first Dine and Dish giveaway. Julie’s aprons are high quality, well crafted, and they have so much personality… just exactly what we want in the kitchen!

I thought and thought and thought about how I should conduct this giveaway when it hit me. I need some help from you all, and if you help me you will be entered into the drawing to win the “Honey I’m Home” apron from Julie’s store, Simply Aprons.

I recently started a weekly column over at the family friendly site, Blogged In. The new column is a fun one and is all about weekend cooking. Our weekday schedules are hectic, but as time passes and the kids get older and more involved in things, the weekends are catching right up. The new column, Dishing It Up Weekend Style, gives me the chance to share some of our favorite weekend menus with you. The concept is to share ideas that will help families to gather around the table, even on the weekends when the door is revolving with people running in and out.

This is where you come in. I would love to have you share with me some of your favorite weekend recipes. In return, I will promote your blog and recipes in my column giving you complete credit, and you will be entered to win the prize. Please take the steps below to be entered to win:

• First, visit Julie’s Etsy store and take a look at her gorgeous aprons. She will be adding more designs soon, so go ahead and bookmark it now as a favorite. Oh - and Mother’s Day is coming up! Julie’s aprons make a great gift for Mom!

• Email me at kristen at dineanddish dot net (replace at with @ and dot with .). In your email include the link to at least one main dish recipe and one side dish or dessert recipe that you think makes a great weekend dish. In the email, please include:

Your name and your blog name (with link)
The names of your recipes, including the permalink to where they are on your blog
A written note within the email that gives me permission to link back to your blog through my column, and if you are oay with it, to use your recipe photo on the printable recipe sheet (with credit back to you).

• Leave a comment in the comments section of this post saying that you have emailed me your recipes and would like to be included in the drawing
• All entries to win this apron must be received by 11pm CST, Friday, May 9th. The random drawing will be held on Saturday, May 10th and the winner will be notified by email.

I am excited to see what kind of things you all cook up on the weekends! Thanks for participating.

I recently started a ritual with my kids each morning in which during breakfast I tell them a story about my childhood. They sit perched on the edge of their chairs, waiting to hear about the silly things I did when I was their age. I think at the ages of 6, 4, and 2, it is difficult for them to grasp the concept that their old mom was ever little like them. They crack up hysterically with each story, and I can only imagine that it is because they are picturing that “little me” as the me now.

During our story time yesterday, I hit the mother load of coolness in their eyes. My story was about a time when I was four or five years old. I went with my mom to the beauty parlor where she got her hair done. As she was doing her thing, getting beautified and chatting with her stylist, Cheri, I kept myself busy eventually making my way over to the gumball machine. My mom always gave me a penny for a gumball (yes… back in the day it was only a penny to get a piece of gum out of a gumball machine!) and I reached into my little purse and pulled out the penny to get myself a piece of gum.

As I put the penny in and turned the shiny silver knob, one piece of gum came out. Then another… and then another. Each time I even slightly turned the knob, another piece of gum would come out. I remember standing over in the corner by the gumball machine snatching up gumball after gumball after gumball and putting them in my purse. Eventually my purse was stuffed full of gumballs and the machine was almost empty. I remember the purse vividly, I remember the gumball machine vividly, and I remember sneaking out of the salon with my purse full of gumballs and the secret all to myself.

I have no recollection of my mom finding out about my gumball theft and I don’t remember much more about my gumball adventures. I do remember trying again and again each and every time we returned to the salon to get the same results and much to my disappointment, the gumball luck fairy only struck once.

When I finished the story, my kids were so excited, shouting and asking questions… “What did you do with all that gum?” “Did you eat it all right then?” “Did you have to share it with your sister?”, etc. They could not even fathom the gum ball heaven I must have been in. It is every little child’s dream to be buried in candy and in their mind, I had hit the jackpot.

I had an abundance of gum balls and it is a memory that is as clear as yesterday in my mind. As an adult, abundance is also a good thing, but the abundance that we long for is much different than simple gumballs.

This past week, I had an abundance of fruit. A hungry trip to Costco resulted in huge containers of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and more. My family loves fruit, so we have no problem going through fruit quickly, but with this fruit I had plans. I wanted to use it to create the various tarts I was in the mood to have! You have been privvy to the white chocolate fruit tart… now, you can see the other way I used up the abundance of fruit… with Fruit Pizza Mini Tarts.

Abundance is a wonderful thing… but be forewarned. The part of the story I kept to myself and did not share with my kids had to do with a few nights later, with my purse full of gum hoarded under my pillow, I fell to sleep with a piece of gum in my mouth and woke up with it stuck in my hair. I had to go to the same salon to get my hair chopped short to get all of the gum out of it. Yes, God does have a sense of humor, doesn’t he? He also has a very sneaky way of teaching us a lesson when we think we have gotten away with something.

Fruit Pizza

• 1 (18-ounce) package refrigerated cookie dough
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or other flavoring (almond, orange, or lemon)
• Any assortment of fresh fruit and berries
• 1/2 cup orange, peach, or apricot preserves
• 1 Tablespoon water

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an ungreased 14-inch pizza pan with cookie dough cut in 1/8-inch slices, overlapping slightly. Bake 12 minutes or until light brown; remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract or other flavoring; spread over cookie crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese layer in any design you want (use your imagination).

In a small saucepan over very low heat, make a glaze by heating preserves and water. Brush glaze over fruit, making sure to cover the fruit that will turn dark. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make sure to head over to BloggedIn to read a feature interview of yours truly! Lauren, the interview was a lot of fun. Thanks for thinking of me!

When I think about Tart’s, I think about a crazy aunt who often jet sets off to Paris and brings everyone back exotic gifts that cannot be found anywhere in your hometown. She is always traveling on glamorous adventures, leading a life of glitz, yet always keeps an element of mystery to her life. Her life makes church goers blush and tends to seem a bit risqué.

Pie’s, on the other hand, always conjure up a vision of down home comfort…. wearing your favorite fleece pj’s, snuggled up under a favorite quilt, sitting by the fire and absorbing a great book. Family picnics, church bake sales and old fashioned bakeries always come to mind when I think of pies.

While all the June Cleavers of the world were making pies, the Glamourpuss was baking tarts. So, what will you think of me when I tell you I have been on a major tart kick lately? Will my reputation as a family friendly blogger go up in smoke? Do you think I am longing for a different life… wishing to jet set and be a part of glamorous adventures in worlds beyond my own? Well, not so much… The truth is I purchased a few new tart pans and was eager to try each of them out. I have made three different kinds of tarts in the past week, and although not as comforting as a slice of apple pie, they are just as delicious, if not a little risqué. If you are willing to risk your clean as pie reputation, I suggest you take a walk on the wilder side of life and delve in to the world of tarts. Everyone deserves a little glamor in their life.

Five Star White Chocolate Fruit Tart (from Recipezaar.com)

¾ cup butter, softened

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ cups flour

1 10oz package white chocolate chips

¼ cup whipping cream

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

Assorted Fruit

1. Heat oven to 300°F.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Blend in flour.
4. Press the mixture onto the bottom and up the side of a 12 inch round pizza pan.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just lightly brown.
6. Cool completely.
7. Carefully melt the vanilla or white chocolate chips and the cream either carefully on the stove on very low, stirring constantly, or in the microwave.
8. Beat in the cream cheese.
9. When crust is cool, pour on the melted chocolate/cheese mixture, spreading evenly.
10. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve–at least 3 hours.
11. Slice the fruit of your choice and place on the tart in an attractive manner.
12. This is best eaten the same day it’s made

I had a most wonderful evening last night. Sandie, over at one of my favorite food blogs, Inn Cuisine, and I finally met. Sandie and I are both from the Kansas City area and we have been chatting on the phone for the past couple of months. We have been talking about getting together for awhile now and it was Sandie who planted the thought that we should go to the Harvesters Forks and Corks benefit event in downtown Kansas City together. A couple of food obsessed food bloggers meeting at a food and wine event? It sounded like a perfect idea to me!

Last night when we met, I seriously felt like I had known her forever. Sandie, her mother-in-law (who happens to be one of the sweetest and coolest MIL’s I’ve met), and I were in complete euphoria as we went from booth to booth tasting some of the most amazing food and wine from the finest establishments in the Kansas City area. From a delicious sweet corn and crab bisque, to some amazing scallops, to a most interesting basil chardonnay sorbet, we enjoyed a night of gorging ourselves for charity. Tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.

What I enjoyed the most about our time together, besides the instant friendship, was being with other people who have such a great appreciation for food. People who take a bite of things and explore the flavors of each morsel they taste. I have no idea how much food we ate and how much wine we sampled, but I do know that by the end of the evening, and well into today, I was still feeling completely stuffed. We felt a bit guilty eating so much when we were at a charity even to raise money for the hungry, but we couldn’t resist all of the incredible food.

One lesson we did learn… always eat dessert first. By the time the hours had passed and we made it around the Grand Ballroom, the one thing we were on a hunt for was gone. The famous Creme Brulee, that we heard everyone raving about, had been snatched up by all of the other attendees. Don’t feel too sorry for us… we managed to have plenty of other desserts. So many that it was impossible for us to try them all. It is my goal in the next few months to try and recreate the Carrot Cake Roll that I tried. Oh…My… Gosh! Delicious!

Thank you Sandie and Linda for such an enjoyable evening. I look forward to having a new foodie friend and to our Forks and Corks outing being an annual event! Next time we’ll remember to go for the dessert first!

The weather here in Kansas City is finally gorgeous. We have been having sunny, mid 70 degree days. Those of you who have been with me for awhile know how thrilled this makes me. I have made no secret of my detest for winter, so finally having days that are as close to perfect as I think we get in Kansas just makes life all the better!

Yesterday we spent the entire day..from sun up to sun down, outside. The kids played and played and played. We all got our first sunburns of the season (apparently a requirement with fair haired, fair skinned kiddos) and came inside at the end of the day absolutely exhausted.

So, on days like this, what does everybody crave for dinner? What is the official meal of carefree spring days? How about a big, steaming bowl of hot chili? No?? Yeah… chili in 70 degree weather is just about as much of a perfect match as Star Jones and Al Reynolds… which is not a match at all.

Being the rule breakers that we are, our family did enjoy big steaming bowls of chili for dinner. The reason being I have had this recipe from the March 2008 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray bookmarked for quite some time and I couldn’t stand the thought of waiting until winter comes along again to give it a try.  It won the magazine chili cookoff and for very good reasons. This chili is hearty, robust and soooooo good. I think it just might be our new go to beef chili recipe.

If you are happily kissing winter goodbye, but want to savor one or two more comforting recipes from the winter months, I say go for it. It just gives you that much more to look forward to trying again when the colder months return.

Tex-Mex Corn Chip Chili (March 2008 issue of Rachael Ray Magazine)

45 min | 10 min prep | SERVES 6

We lost a friend to cancer yesterday afternoon. Crissy was the wife of one of my husbands high school best friends. She had a daughter, Gracie, six years ago and then found out just shortly after that she had cancer. Cancer has been a part of her life since then. Crissy fought a very valiant fight… always keeping things real and soldiering on.

Tonight, as I reflect on Crissy and her life, I cannot help but think what power cancer has over people. The power of cancer is a scary thing.

• Cancer has the power to make a woman who is full of life… outgoing, boisterous, and funny… lose all of her external spark and vibrance.
• Cancer can make a mother, who knows that her time is short and fearing the memory of her will be lost, plead with people around her to “No matter what, please let Gracie know I was a great mom and I loved her very much.”
• Cancer has the power to make a man throw out the notion that showing emotion is not acceptable. Distraught at the thought of life without his partner, cancer has the power to make a man overcome with the desire to make things better and to wish that he could do anything to turn back time. A widower at the age of 34, cancer has the power to make us all realize how truly unfair life can be.
• Cancer has the power to make a husband cling to his wife. After spending time and being witness to what his friend is going through, cancer has the power to make a husband plead with his wife “no matter what happens, please don’t die before me.” Cancer makes us realize how lost we would be without one another.
• Cancer has the power to make a precious six year old girl, who has never known her mom without cancer, be forced with the harsh reality that this time it is different. Mommy won’t be coming home with you tonight to tuck you in and dry your tears.
• Cancer has the power to bring people together, to fight for the cause and to hopefully bring a cure home soon. Like the LiveSTRONG day A Taste of Yellow Event, hosted by winosandfoodies…I can guarantee the food blogging community will do their part to raise the awareness of the devastation and power of cancer.

I know that Crissy is now a spunky, beautiful angel, lighting up heaven’s gates. Crissy will be missed by all who knew her, and will be remembered for her strength, smile, character and most of all… the impact she made on her daughters life in the short amount of time.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

45 min | 20 min prep | SERVES 10 -12

I was thinking tonight how much my husband and I view time differently. He, like many men, is one of those people who can sit down and watch the same movie… over and over and over again. I, on the other hand, rarely will watch the same movie twice. I think that there are so many movies out there I haven’t seen, why would I spend time watching the same movie again and again? Of course, I have those few favorites that I will watch more than once, but seriously… my husband can get just as glued to the TV the first time he watches something as he does the hundredth. You can ask him a question while he is watching Star Wars Episode I for the twentieth time and he seriously has to pull his eyes away to answer the question…like he has no idea what is going to happen next. Oh and another thing… you know that television sports channel that shows old college football games? He can watch those football games over and over as well and still get excited about them! Here I am with a mile long list of never seen television shows on TiVo and he is watching a football game from 1980 again.

My husband, unlike myself, is one of those people who knows how to maximize the time he has as well. He can get more done in an hour than I can get just sitting down and thinking about what I need to get done in an hour. He has some kind of overactive efficiency gene or something. He amazes me that way!

An example of his overactive efficiency gene in action could be the dinner we made together today. We had a whole chicken in the fridge and since I am a whole chicken weenie (meaning the thought of putting my hands under the skin of a chicken or inside the cavity completely grosses me out), he got pulled in to help. The recipe we used is very straightforward… nothing fancy or difficult. However, by the time I even had the first couple of steps done, he had done everything else, including cleaning the prep dishes. He probably updated our will and designed our next house in that time as well… I probably was too busy pokeying along with my part to take notice.

Anyway, this is not a recipe that requires a whole lot of efficiency and unless you are a “whole chicken weenie” like me, really doesn’t involve pulling someone else in to help out. It takes a couple of hours to cook, so if you want, prep the chicken, pop it in the oven and then sit down and watch Harry Potter, again. Either way, when it is done, you will feel very efficient having a delicious, moist and flavorful dinner ready for all to enjoy.

Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken (from Recipezaar.com)

2¼ hours | 20 min prep | SERVES 4

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. On a work surface, mince the garlic with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
3. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl and whisk in the lemon juice, rosemary, sweet paprika and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, whisk in the olive oil.
4. Using your fingers, gently loosen the skin from the chicken breasts, thighs and drumsticks; try not to tear the skin.
5. Season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper and put the chicken in a roasting pan.
6. Using a small spoon, pour all but 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mixture under the skin of the chicken, rubbing it into the breasts, thighs and drumsticks.
7. Rub the butter under the skin of the breast meat.
8. Rub the remaining 1 tablespoon of the seasoned oil all over the chicken and season it with salt.
9. Put the reserved lemon halves in the cavity of the chicken and tie the legs together with twine.
10. Roast the chicken for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices from the cavity run clear and the chicken is browned and crisp.
11. Let the chicken rest in the roasting pan for 15 minutes.
12. Tilt the chicken to drain the juices from the cavity into the pan; transfer the chicken to a carving board.
13. Pour the pan juices into a bowl and skin the fat from the surface.
14. Strain the juice into a small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
15. Carve the chicken and serve with the pan juices.