I have had quite a day and I am so exhausted. If you are curious, click here to find out why.

This is going to be a super short post today, but I had to share this recipe with you that Kirsten over at Home Cooking Adventures shared last week. The recipe is so easy and incredibly good!  We will be making this time and time again. Thank you Kirsten!

Pork Loin Roast with Hoisin-Sesame Sauce:
(serves 4)
1 2.5 lb pork loin roast
Olive oil as needed
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbs fresh minced ginger
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1/2 c orange juice
1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 green onions, sliced

Directions:
Salt and pepper roast liberally and brown in a saute pan with olive oil on all sides. Place into a roasting pan and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes (until internal temp is about 140). Remove and cover with foil and let stand for about 10 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, drain most of the oil from the saute pan and retain any brown bits. Saute ginger until fragrant, then add remaining sauce ingredients (except green onions). Simmer until thickened, then add green onions. Cut pork into slices and top with sauce and additional green onion slices for garnish. Serve immediately.

Jennifer over at Nutcase 101 challenged her readers last week to show the contents of their fridge. I promised her I would do it, but I am a little nervous about it. No… my fridge is not a scary dirty pit… it is almost the opposite. My fridge is always bare. How can someone who considers themselves to be a good cook have a bare fridge? Well… like all things in life, it stems back to my childhood.

(Mom, I’m going to out you here. I don’t mean any disrespect at all and since I know you are you and won’t take it personally, I’m writing about this)

I grew up in a house with a full fridge. Yes… we were blessed with great meals, leftovers and lots of food available. The problem with that full fridge was that you never knew how long something had been in there. My mom cooked almost every single night and we had leftovers almost every single night.  That results in lots of tupperware containers full of food. Sometimes on fridge cleaning days things would get missed. I’d later open up containers that had been in the fridge to discover some sort of science experiment taking place. Because of that, I have a serious aversion to leftovers. I cannot eat them. Whatever my husband doesn’t take to work gets tossed out. If something is even near the expiration date, it gets tossed out. I clean out my fridge on a 2-3 times a week basis…scouring the contents for anything even remotely old. The result?? A very bare fridge for a family of five.

 What can you learn about me by viewing the contents of my fridge? Let’s find out.

Top shelf: 3 containers of sour cream… I keep buying it because I keep forgetting that I have some at home. Lots of eggs = lots of baking.  Amoxicillin - the kids have been sick and are on 2 times a day for 10 days meds.

Next shelf: Turkey & sliced cheese: The kids often have sandwiches for lunch. Pepperoni and pizza sauce - for our once a week pizza creations.

Next shelf: Pork Loin - on the menu for dinner tonight.  Yeast - for all the bread baking I do. Light Country Crock - for all the bread we eat! Feta cheese - my favorite salad topper.

Bottom shelf: 2 big jugs of Margaritas…a necessary mommy treat for anyone with small children. Tortillas - an everyday staple in our house. Canned biscuits - for when I want to make Monkey Bread quickly. Bagged salad - my lunch everyday.

Top drawer - Lots of fruits and veggies and some shredded cheese.

Bottom drawer - Diet coke and beer

Door - Look at all that butter (salted and unsalted). Can you tell I like to bake? Salad dressings, condiments, milk, whipping cream, half & half etc. There is a lot more stuff in the door than I usually like to have, but since it is all still quite a ways out from their expiration date, it all gets to stay.

There…that’s done! Like Jennifer, I’d love to challenge the rest of you to do this as well. We’ve shared photos of our kitchens… now let’s see what is behind those closed fridge doors!

One last thing before I close today. It is Monday and that means it is time to join the gang over at Organizing Junkie in their Menu Planning Monday event. I usually do a half month menu, but I didn’t have a lot of time to plan this weekend so I’m just doing the plan for the week.

Monday - Kirsten’s Pork Loin Roast with Sesame Hoisin Sauce 

Tuesday - Mom’s Spaghetti and Meatballs

Wednesday - Pepper Steak 

Thursday - Tuscan Chicken 

Friday - Four Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp 

Saturday - Kung Pao Chicken 

Sunday - Roast with potatoes, onions and carrots 

I tend to be one of the first people I know to try new products. Yes…I am a complete sucker for a new idea. I will try something new before the buzz about it hits the streets and the reviews are out on whether the product is great or a bomb. It should come to no surprise then that I snatched up something new to me this week. Reese’s Premier Baking Pieces. These are miniature versions of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup candy bars that are so popular and mini miniature versions of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup miniatures. Got that? Basically, they are really tiny Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that are suitable for baking. They are bigger than the Reese’s Peanut Butter ice cream toppers but smaller than the miniatures.

I picked up a couple of bags to take home, anxious to give them a try. I had my doubts though… how could these cute little things bake without melting? Would the peanut butter / chocolate combo overpower the cookies? Would I be left with a blended mess of chocolate / peanut butter / cookie gooeyness?

I decided to give these little baking pieces a try by using the basic cookie recipe on the back of the bag. The result? Well…let me just say this. I made these as a dessert for our church fish fry tonight, and I know they aren’t going to last until then. Once my husband comes home and tastes them, they’ll be gone. Not to worry…I mixed up another batch and hid them where my husband and the kids can’t find them.

These little morsels stood up to the heat of the oven and held their shape perfectly. The flavor blended well with the cookie. With each bite you get a burst of creamy peanut butter and chocolate flavor.

There are so many great baking options with this product. If you go to Hershey’s website you’ll find several new recipes using this ingredient that will tempt you. From beverages to tarts, the possibilities are endless.

From Hershey’s website, www.hersheyskitchens.com, here is the recipe for Reese’s Premier Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Cookies:

Ingredients:

• . 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• . 1/3 cup butter flavored shortening
• . 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• . 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• . 1 egg
• . 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• . 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• . 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• . 1/2 teaspoon salt
• . 1-1/3 cups (8-oz. pkg.) REESE’S Milk Chocolate Baking Pieces Filled with Peanut Butter Creme

Directions: 1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Beat butter and shortening in large bowl until well blended. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar; beat thoroughly. Add egg and vanilla, beating until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in baking pieces. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 3-1/2 dozen cookies.
CHOCOLATE COOKIE VARIATION: Decrease flour to 1 cup; add 1/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa.

We are going on day seven of sick kids. Of course, my children decide to get sick when the weather turns nice. We have gone from freezing temps to mid 60’s in the matter of a week. Unfortunately, they have all been too sick to get out and really enjoy any of it.

I am also going on day two of no caffeine. I know two days doesn’t seem like much, but when you are stuck at home with sick children and aren’t getting much sleep at night because of it, two days seems longer than the entire Lenten season!

I was needing a little sunshine in my life today. I really wanted to drive down to McCormick’s and order one of their chocolate bags. If you haven’t had a McCormicks and Schmick’s chocolate bag, you are missing out on pure heaven. The chocolate bag is just that… a milk chocolate bag filled with creamy white chocolate mousse and fresh fruit.

I would love to have a copy of that recipe or at least something close. Today, I decided to try to recreate the mousse inside of the bag. I browsed several recipes and decided to give this one a try. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even close to the one from McCormicks. It was really good, but not as creamy or as chocolatey as the mousse I was trying to duplicate. It tasted just like white chocolate whipped cream. Nothing special, but not horrible either. It may have been better with fresh berries on top, but I couldn’t take the kids out to run to the store, so I just did with what I had.

From NewItalianRecipes.com, here is the recipe: 

Mousse di Cioccolatto Bianco (White Chocolate Mousse)

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 T cold water
8 ounces good quality white chocolate (you can usually find this in the baking section of your grocery. Or, even better, use a really great white chocolate such as Ghirardelli).
3 cups whipping cream
3 T sugar
2 t almond extract
Fresh mint sprigs for garnish
 

Preparation:
Put gelatin powder and cold water in a small dish and let sit for 10 minutes to soften.

Melt chocolate and ½ cup of the whipping cream in the top of a double boiler, stirring all the time. Stir in the softened gelatin, mixing well, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl to cool until just warm, about 10 minutes. Don’t let it sit too long or the chocolate /gelatin mixture will become too firm.

Chill a large bowl and a whisk or mixer beaters in the freezer for 30 minutes before you are going to whip the cream. Whip the remaining cream in the bowl with the whisk or electric mixer for 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and the almond extract, and continue beating until the beater leaves soft traces on the surface and the cream holds its shape when lifted with the beater, about 2-3 minutes.

Stir ¼ of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining cream, 1/3 at a time, being careful no to over blend. Spoon the mousse into individual dessert bowls and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. To serve, decorate each serving with a sprig of mint.

This White Chocolate Mousse is perfect for that rich meal like lasagna, spaghetti, and the like. Your guests will love it!

It’s a fact of life that relationships come and go. Some relationships are meant to last forever. Others…not so much.

Prior to meeting and marrying my wonderful gem of a husband, I had a few relationships that I imagined at the time would last forever. As time went by it became obvious that forever was a very, very long time and that I’d be lucky if that particular relationship would make it another week. I’m not pointing blame at anyone as to why those particular relationships didn’t work out. It is all about give and take and then giving a little more. When it gets to the point where you are giving way more than you are taking, or taking way more than you are giving, you know it’s time to let it go.

When you go through the often painful process of letting a relationship go (aka breaking up), there are certain things that go through your mind and as an ex-couple you have to figure out. Who gets to "keep" the mutual friends? Who gets the dog? Who gets to keep going to your favorite hang out spot? Who gets to keep the giant movie collection that you purchased together? 

As much as I love friends, dogs, hang out spots and movies, in my last relationship prior to my husband I really wasn’t worried about any of that. My worries were one sided…. how do I get my hands on his family cookbook before this is all said and done? You see, my "ex" came from a long line of Italian heritage. His mother had 10 sisters and 2 brothers, all whom were incredible, authentic Italian cooks. Several years prior the 12 of them plus Nanni and Great Nanni had teamed together to create a cookbook full of some of their favorite recipes. It was a true treasure and one of those cookbooks that you turn to for just about any recipe you need. There were recipes in that cookbook I knew I had to have. He could have everything else….just please let me have the cookbook. (Don’t worry… I didn’t take a family heirloom or anything. His mom had a whole box full of the cookbooks at her house… he could get another one easily.)

Having some of the recipes I have in this cookbook now make this past relationship all worthwhile. One of those recipes is for his mom’s cheese bread. I remember visiting her house and always being welcomed with a fresh from the oven loaf of cheese bread with homemade marinara sauce. Mmmmmmm….

So, when letting go of a relationship with someone remember the good times..the memories…the laughter…the lessons learned. More importantly, remember to grab those favorite family recipes before they are out of your life for good!

Italian Cheese Bread

This recipe calls for Jarlsburg Swiss, Cheddar and Parmesan cheese. You can use any combination of cheese to satisfy your personal taste. Often times, I’ll substitute the swiss for mozzarella because that is something I always have on hand.

1 cup shredded Jarlsburg Swiss cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp coarse black pepper

2 Tbs softened butter or margarine

1 1/2 pound bread dough (I use a fixed (with more liquid) version of Mario Batali’s Basic Bread Dough recipe but frozen bread dough can be used as well) 

In a warm oven, let the dough rise until double. Combine cheeses and pepper and set mixture aside. Roll the dough onto a very lightly flowered board into a 10×16 inch square. Spread softened butter over the entire surface of dough. Sprinkle the cheese/pepper mixture over prepared dough and roll up beginning at the 16 inch side. Fold the ends under and place on a greased cookie sheet with the seam side down. With a sharp knife cut about 3-4 slants diagonally across the top. Place in a warm oven and let rise until double again. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Serve plain or with marinara dipping sauce.

I have made pies in the past. Apple pies, pumpkin pies, strawberry pies, etc. Pies are not my favorite thing in the world to make, but I still make them. Why? Because my husband, besides being an ice cream guy, is a pie guy. He loves pie.

When Cook sister announced the theme of the event "Waiter, there’s something in my.." as pie, I knew I’d be able to participate. Should I make a pie I’m comfortable with…one that I’ve made before? Should I branch out and try something new? Should I expand my abilities some…take a risk?

I decided to branch out of my two crust comfort zone and make a pie with meringue. My Grandma Sumner made the best meringue pies…surely that pie making gene was passed on to me. I was certain that I would be a natural meringue pie maker.  With a couple of Vanilla Cream pie recipes in tow, I gave my  mom a quick call to make sure I understood everything I needed to understand about making a meringue pie. My mom, who inherited the meringue pie making gene, offered up some significant and helpful advice. After hanging up with her, I felt I had the confidence, ability and the genes to make a great Vanilla Cream Pie.

I followed the recipe exactly and things seemed to be moving along quite well. When it was time to whip the egg whites into shape, I got out my handy hand mixer and began beating the suckers. 10 minutes into the beating and my peaks were there, but not as stiff as I thought they should be. I soldiered on for yet another 5 minutes and still…peaks, but no stiff peaks. I decided it was good enough. My arm was getting tired from holding the mixer and I had other things to do besides beat the heck out of egg whites all day. I spread the meringue carefully over the vanilla cream pie, being certain to "seal" the meringue at the edges like my mom advised. I carefully plopped the pie in the oven, set the timer, and went about cleaning up the kitchen. When the timer for the pie went off, I peeked into the oven and was very pleased. The pie looked pretty good for my first attempt.

A couple of hours later, I was out with some girl friends. We were on our way to see the movie The Queen when my phone rings. I noticed the call was from my husband at home, so I picked it up.

Him - "Ummmm…did you look at your pie before you left?"

Me - "Yes! It looks good, doesn’t it? Don’t eat it OK? It is for after dinner."

Him - "You must not be looking at the same pie."

Me - "What? What do you mean?"

Him - "Kristen…the pie has these brown liquid dots all over the top, like someone sprinkled Pepsi all over it and the top has shifted. There are big gaping holes around the edge and the meringue is starting to liquefy or something. Should I do something with it?"

Me…perplexed - "It looked great when I left. I’ll have to wait until I get home to see."

After the movie (good!), I headed home to check out the fate of my once perfect looking pie. I have no idea what happened, but my husband was right… it was not a pretty site. How can something that looked pretty good right out of the oven turn into something so frightful merely a few hours later? Those of you pie experts out there, can you please enlighten me?

The pie wasn’t pretty and ended up being a flop. The taste of the pie was great…reminded me almost of Grandma’s. What do we do here at our household with flop’s? We stick them in the blender with ice cream and milk and make them into milkshakes. So, last night instead of having vanilla cream pie for dessert we had vanilla cream pie milk shake.

My Grandma Sumner would have been proud of me for attempting something new. Being the resourceful woman she was, she also would have been proud of us for taking a flop and turning it into something not so floppish.  Hopefully, I can channel her pie making skills a little better the next time I attempt to make one of her signature pies.

Did anyone out there watch Grey’s Anatomy last night? Surely they are just teasing the viewers, aren’t they? I mean, seriously, if a show is named after your character, you’d think that would guarantee you some sort of job security, right? They can’t kill off Meredith. You can bet I’ll be glued to the TV next week to find out what the "devastating conclusion" is. Seeing Dr McDreamy all torn up….*sigh*. Watching Dr McSteamy and Alex show their more sensitive sides…*sigh*. Hearing Cristina talk about how Meredith is her "person"… *sigh*. Although gross, watching Izzy regain her status as a surgeon and getting off probation…Such a great show.

The show theme last night was all about disappearing. If you disappeared, if you went suddenly missing, would anyone notice? Would your lack of presence cause anyone to stop an wonder where you were? I would like to think that I would be missed. My children would wonder where that crazy woman is that makes their breakfast, drives them to school and tucks them in at night. My husband would miss me, although he would probably survive a lot better than I’d like to admit. I have family and friends that would miss me too. Neighbors would miss the random baked goods that show up at their door on a weekly basis. I would be missed.

I know that one thing my entire family misses once it disappears is anything made with ice cream. If I want my husband to do something for me, if I want to seduce him into thinking  something might be a good idea, if I want to get on his good side, I make something with ice cream. Add chocolate, caramel and whipped cream and the man is pretty much putty in my hands. One dessert that more than does the trick is Ice Cream Sandwich dessert. This is one of those desserts that you take places and everyone asks for the recipe. I’m typically embarrassed to give the recipe out because it is so incredibly easy.  Once this yummy dessert disappears, you’ll have people falling all over themselves to seduce you into making more. That is why the Ice Cream Sandwich dessert is my entry into this months Sugar High Friday, theme "Sweet Seduction".

Make desserts like this and I guarantee you, if you were to disappear, you would be missed. Here’s the recipe…use it to seduce someone you love!

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

19 ice cream sandwiches
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 jar (11-3/4 ounces) hot fudge ice cream topping
1 jar (11-3/ ounces) caramel ice cream topping
1 cup salted peanuts (optional)

Cut one ice cream sandwich in half. Place one whole and one half sandwich along a short
side of an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. pan. Arrange eight sandwiches in opposite
direction in the pan. Spread with half of the whipped topping. Spoon fudge topping by
teaspoonfuls onto whipped topping. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup peanuts. Repeat layers with
remaining ice cream sandwiches, whipped topping, caramel ice cream topping instead of fudge and peanuts (pan will be full). Cover and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving. Cut into
squares.

Yield: 15 servings.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine’s Day. My husband took the day off of work and we had a nice relaxing day just hanging out at home. I had to go to the school Valentine’s Day party and I had a meeting in the afternoon, but besides that it was a nice relaxing day at home. We decided to skip the crowds and stay home for dinner, which was fine by me. It seems like more often than not, eating at home is much better than paying a high price for less than average food at a restaurant.

For dinner, I made a delicious new recipe… Chicken with Garlic Sauce. It was an easy dish to put together and it was a nice enough meal to eat by candlelight. Romantic? Not really with the three kids around. Special? Of course! The kids thought it was a great dinner and lighting the candles and putting on the soft music was such a treat for them. I think I’ll do that more often.

Now, on to today. I’m taking care of my good friends 2 kids today while she works up at the school. When I asked her kids earlier in the week what they wanted me to make for lunch, they requested my French Toast. It wasn’t a surprise because they request it all the time. I love it too, so I was more than happy to oblige. To me, French Toast is comfort food of the breakfast variety. Some people like theirs with powdered sugar, some like it with maple syrup, some with fruit compote. Me? I grew up having it sprinkled with granulated sugar and that is the way I still enjoy it today.

Here’s the recipe, taken from Recipezaar:

Fluffy French Toast

You know those food courts that are in the mall? They are often filled with restaurants full of bad things for you. Fried food, high sodium, grease, trans fats, sugar, etc. etc. I will be the first to admit that mall food isn’t my favorite thing in the world. I often cringe when I find myself at the mall with my kids and it is meal time. They start begging for something to eat… something in the "not so good for you" category. Food courts are convienent, but not always the best place for healthy options.

I will also be the first to admit that I do have some mall favorites. Growing up, a big old slab of Sbarro’s pepperoni pizza was my answer when someone would ask me what my favorite food was. When I was pregnant with my first child, I became addicted to the Kung Pao Chicken at Panda Express. When I was pregnant with Ella, my third baby, the pretzel bites at Pretzel Time were a favorite and because I had two other kids, they quickly became a favorite of theirs as well.

We’re snowed in today. Another lovely snow day in Kansas City. You all know how that makes me feel. I knew I was in trouble when shortly after waking up, Kelly started begging for pretzel bites. Jacob soon got on the bandwagon and started hounding me about going to the mall to get pretzel bites. As good as they sounded, there was no way I was going out in this weather simply to satisfy a food craving.

I have made homemade pretzels before and they were pretty good. I decided to give them a try for lunch today. I used a bread machine recipe, which made it easy for me to get some work done this morning while my bread maker did the other work. When the dough was done and the pretzels were shaped, I decided to cut some of them into "bites", put some pepperoni and mozzarella on some others, and leave some of them just plain with coarse salt.

This was a great lunch… my kids were so excited that Mommy had made pretzel bites like at the mall. I was happy that they stopped begging and making a trip out in the snow wasn’t necessary. 

I was so excited when I opened the March 2007 issue of Food and Wine magazine. The first reason I was excited is because a letter I wrote to the editor about undertaking the Food and Wine 100 Tastes to Try in 2007 was published. The second, even more exciting reason, is that right after my published letter to the editor, there was a letter from Neil Penick in San Francisco. The letter expressed disappointment in the fact that Food and Wine magazine listed one of their must try tastes as a Malt Ball cake, but didn’t provide a recipe for the cake. Well, the editor came through and published the recipe, straight from the staff at Brooklyn’s Baked.

Anxious with anticipation of trying this cake out, I decided to make it today. It was cold and rainy outside and I needed some chocolate. I had all the ingredients on hand and decided to go for it. The recipe calls for 3 8 inch cake pans, but I decided to use 2 10 inch pans instead. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. The result? A very, very moist and tender cake with a frosting so rich that licking the spatula after making the cake will give you a bit of a tummy ache. (Yes… I admit it… I’m a spatula licker!) I really enjoyed this cake, but I know that I wouldn’t be able to eat an entire slice without feeling ill from the richness. (The frosting has cream, 1 pound of butter, Chocolate, and corn syrup…get the drift on how rich it is?) This is definitely the kind of cake you want from a restaurant. Rich, satisfying, chocolatey and there’s only one piece. One slice is definitely more than enough.

For the recipe, check out the March 2007 issue of Food and Wine magazine, page 24. Until then, anyone want some cake??