Do you ever hear of a business idea and think, “That is just genius… why didn’t I think of that?” I do that all the time. In fact, I often have these brilliant ideas and then do nothing with them only to have someone come along later and make millions off of the idea.

I have a new business idea that popped into my head this weekend, and I am going to run with it, finally. I wrote out a plan of sorts today and just need to figure out the next steps. However, figuring out what those nexts steps are is the hardest part. But, this time, I am going through with it. I know I can do this and I have confidence in the idea. I just need to feel the fear of failing and do it anyway. If any of you have any know how in this and know of any resources to use to get started, I would welcome the advice!

Speaking of “Why didn’t I think of that?”, how about this recipe for a ham and cheese rolled omelet? I think it is absolutely genius and it was so easy to make. Mix it up, pop it in the oven, and after a few finishing touches you have a yummy and impressive breakfast on the table. Genius, I tell you… absolutely genius!

Baked Ham and Cheese Omelet Roll, from Recipezaar

30 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 4 -6

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup cooked ham, chopped or
• 9 slices of any deli ham
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

When I was a young girl, I did not like to eat anything messy. Hamburgers were condiment free. I couldn’t stand Barbecue because of the mess it made all over your hands, face and clothes. I ate my ice cream only out of bowls… not out of cones because I hated to have melting ice cream dripping on my hands. I always had my mom cut off my corn from the cob because I didn’t want pieces of corn on my face and in my teeth. I have never been a “dip things in ketchup” kind of gal, always opting for no dip or sauce of any kind.

I guess I was a bit of an odd kid that way. I didn’t mind dirt and mud, but messy food was out of the question. I am still a little bit that way, but have gotten over a lot of it as I have gotten older. Still, if I could keep from getting messy as I ate, that would be my preference.

That is one reason why I love these Cheddar Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers. They are so good and no condiments required. If you aren’t into the whole condiment thing, these burgers will be right up your alley. To kick up the flavor without kicking up the mess, replace the pepper with cayenne pepper and the salt for some garlic salt. Just remember to grab a napkin to wipe the drool off your chin as you watch and smell them while they are grilling. You’ll need it!

Cheddar Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

25 min | 15 min prep

SERVES 6

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 lb ground beef
• 12 slices bacon
• 6 hamburger buns, split

Ugh - in the last couple of days, my computer got hit by some kind of virus or trojan or something. I still don’t know what it was, but it caused serious havoc in my world. To make matters worse, I tried to fix it by downloading what I thought was a legitimate spyware program, which ended up being virus fueled as well. I have wasted so much time on computer problems this week. I was about to lose my mind when I stumbled upon a great computer repair help board called, Bleeping Computer (appropriate name, isn’t it?). Thanks to the helpful tips of some of the forum posters, my woes are gone.

This morning I was knee deep in annoying computer problems and didn’t even want to think about breakfast. But, guess what… the kids thought they needed to eat. Can you believe their nerve? When times like these strike, I go for pure simplicity. Something quick, healthy and full of vitamins. The best part is the kids have noooooo idea that I am cramming nutrition down their throats. They think they are having milkshakes for breakfast and because of that, I am the coolest mom in the world!

If you need a little simplicity to start your morning, give a breakfast smoothie a try. There are plenty of options out there, but this tasty Blueberry smoothie is one of our favorites!

Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie

5 minutes total | 5 minutes prep

SERVES 1

• 2/3 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 banana, sliced and frozen
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup ice cubes

1. Put ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until smoothie is at your desired consistency.
2. For a thicker smoothie, add additional ice cubes.

So, you love smoothies? Here are some other great smoothie recipes from food bloggers around the globe:

• Breakfast Smoothie, from Food for Thought
• Pomegranate Smoothie, from Eat Me, Delicious
• Creamsicle Power Smoothie, from Food Blogga
• Chocolate Strawberry Banana Smoothie, from GreenLiteBites

Our stimulus check arrived in the mail yesterday…. exactly 10 minutes before our mini van decided it knew exactly what we should do with that money, and sputtered and died. Is that not Murphy’s Law or what? We bought our van new in 2003 and have not had to take it in to the shop for anything other than the routine maintenance required of vehicles. We get a hot little amount of cash in our hands and, POOF, $700 later that hot little amount of cash in our hands dwindles down to much, much less.

At first I was irritated… I mean really ticked off. Then, I took a breath and stepped back and thought a bit. I could go down the “why does this kind of stuff always happen to us?” road but instead decided to change my perspective. We are lucky that this happened to our van the day it happened because we knew as soon as we got the total repair bill that we would be able to pay it without dipping into any special funds (aka to me as our “ocean fund” and to my husband as our “oh shit” fund). The money that we needed was right there in our mailbox and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

So, my post today serves as nothing more than a reminder to shift your perspective before you react to things. Remember that there are always people out there who have it worse off and who still manage to wake up each day and smile. From their perspective, there are people in the world who have it far worse then them. It is all how you look at it.

I cannot think of any way at all to tie this into a recipe, but will tell you that if you do as I did and bake this bundt cake into 4 mini loaf pans instead of the bundt cake pan, you will have enough cake to go around and can share some with the people you love, are thankful for, or who need a new perspective on life. A kind act from you, like giving someone down on their luck a delicious chocolate loaf, can shift their perspective and help them to remember that they are pretty damn lucky… life really is good.

Decadent Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake (From March 2008 issue of Cooking Light Magazine)

Glaze:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chocolate-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons butter

Cake:
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. To prepare glaze, combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cool completely.2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. To prepare cake, drizzle oil into a 12-cup Bundt pan; coat pan thoroughly with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour, shaking out excess. Coat prepared pan with cooking spray.

4. Place 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 6 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

5. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 3 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Beat 2 minutes. Fold in chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Swirl batter using a knife.

6. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately pour glaze over cake. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate; cool completely. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.

So, you like Bundt Cakes? Check out these other great recipes from the food blogging community:

• Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake, from Joy the Baker
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake, from Whipped
• Luscious Lemon Bundt Cake, from Stephanie’s Kitchen
• Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake, from Foodaphilia

I am always warning my kids not to spill things… “Don’t spill that… chocolate stains”. So, many times I’ll get the question asked of me by my kiddos, “Mommy, does this stain?”. I’m not sure if they are asking because they want permission to spill something, or if they are going to gauge my response in advance before they tell me that they spilled something.

So, yesterday when I was making breakfast and had the blueberries out on the table for them to help themselves to, I heard my 4 year old say under her breath, “Uh ohhhhhh”. Then, I heard the words, “Ummmmm, mommy? Do blueberries stain?” It was at that point that I turned around to see my two year old (who you know has been a challenge lately) covered from head to toe in a blueberry stain of a mess. I am not exactly sure what she did with those blueberries… I’m assuming she used them as body paint… but she sure had fun doing it.

Luckily, I had enough remaining blueberries left from her experiment to make this tasty Blueberry Coffee Cake from the May 2008 issue of Cooking Light. This cake is moist and flavorful… and the turbinado sugar on the top really makes this recipe complete.

Worth any stains you might endure (and the extra baths and loads of laundry), this cake is a delightful breakfast treat.

Blueberry Coffee Cake is my entry in Cook Sister’s Event - Waiter, there’s something in my… berries, featuring fresh berries of the season.

Blueberry Coffee Cake, from the May 2008 issue of Cooking Light

1 hour | 10 min prep

SERVES 8

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk
• cooking spray
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Yesterday afternoon, the two year old in my family had a meltdown… in the middle of the grocery store. Let me tell you, it was a lovely site. First, refusing to wear her shoes and then refusing to sit in the cart, my normally sweet and laid back daughter completely lost it. Running off, laying in the middle of the aisles and screaming at the top of her lungs, she really let everyone within a ten mile radius know that she was not happy. I would attempt to pick her up, and she would  scrunch up her legs, pushing me away, and would scream even louder. Three kids, lots of grocery store trips, and this was my very first time to experience such a show firsthand.

Most sane mom’s would pick up their child and leave the store with their groceries un-purchased. Me? Nope - I continued to let her make a scene simply because I had these luscious, juicy, aromatic peaches in my cart and I couldn’t bare to walk out of the store without them. Women, who apparently have never had children or who were as terribly annoyed as I was kept giving me dirty looks in the checkout lane. But, as stubborn as my two year old, I refused to leave without my peaches.

And I can honestly say… all the dirty looks, all the built up frustration, all the cussing at my husband for traveling for work this week which lead me to go to the store with my three kids in the first place… all of that was well worth it when I took my first juicy bite.

In fact, I may even brave the store with the temper tantrum thrower again tonight. This simple recipe (even though my whipped lemon cream had a meltdown of its own) is worth any embarrassment I may face.

Peaches with Lemon Cream, from Simple & Delicious August 2008

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add the brown sugar, vanilla and lemon peel; beat until stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Brush cut sides of peaches with oil; place cut side down on grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until peaches are tender and begin to caramelize.
Place peaches on dessert plates; fill with lemon cream mixture. Yield: 6 servings.

When I was in the 4th grade, I have a very clear memory of finding my baby book and opening it up only to find a hospital bracelet, a lock of hair and a few miscellaneous notes about my birth weight and length. As the youngest of five kids, I felt like I had been quite slighted. It was my general assumption that my siblings probably had baby books full of memories written in them. As a young child scorned, I took the matters into my own hands and proceeded to fill in the missing pieces of my baby book. I made up the adorable things I did when I was young… my first words (which according to my documentation was a big long sentence), my reaction to my first taste of baby food, even my first steps. In my best 4th grade writing (trying to make it look like my mom’s, you know), I made up quite the fictional childhood.

For those of you who were with me over at my old blog on Squarespace, you might remember that I had a regular side blog going on, Dishing It Up Family Style. It was in that blog that I documented the life of my kids…their accomplishments, challenges, hysterical moments, etc. If you were a regular reader of that blog, you may also have noticed that my last blog post over there was at the very beginning of 2008… over six months ago.

I had so much fun fictionalizing my own baby book, that I am leaving that job up to my kids when they get older. I have been horrible about keeping those things updated, but seriously… with a purpose in mind. I did not do Jacob’s because I didn’t want the other two to feel cheated if I didn’t get to theirs. So, instead, I’ve left the expectations really low so that none of them are too disappointed when they get older. (Plus, I contribute regularly to a therapy fund for them… with me as their mom, I guarantee they’ll need it!)

I do have a feeling though that when my kids are older, and are flipping through Mom’s old photographs, that they may feel a bit miffed about the fact that I have more documentation of the food we ate together then their actual childhood. So, it is partly out of guilt, and partly out of a genuine longing to capture these moments, that I am re-launching Dishing it Up Family Style. The newest post will be up in the next couple of days. I hope you will join me there!

The winner of the Roast Chicken and Other Stories cookbook is Grace of the blog,  A Southern Grace. Grace’s comment number was chosen by the Random Number Generator. If you haven’t made it over to Grace’s blog, do. It is full of yummy recipes full of that Southern charm that I adore!

Congratulations Grace. Thanks to all who entered. We will have a new giveaway coming up soon!

I am a very visual person. I love to have recipes with photographs… it makes the recipe that much more tempting and desirable. Often times, I will be flipping through a magazine and will fall in love with a photo of a recipe, only to take a look at the recipe and realize that I really don’t care for some of the ingredients in the dish. This does not happen very often, as I am not a very picky eater, but when it does sometimes I am still lured in just enough by the photo to throw out my picky qualms about an ingredient and to try the recipe anyway.

This happened recently when I was flipping through June/July 2008 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. A photograph for an appetizer called “Sky Blue Potatoes” caught my eye and I immediately was intrigued. Then, I took a look at the ingredients and noticed that the “Blue” in the recipe title actually came from the fact that Blue Cheese is one of the prominent ingredients. I have never been a fan of Blue Cheese. I have always wanted to be, but each and every time I try it it just does nothing for my tastebuds. I was still being tempted by the photo, so I decided to make this appetizer anyway.

This appetizer was not a huge amount of work, but to do all of that work only to discover that you still do not like blue cheese is a little disappointing.  I don’t know what I was expecting my tastebuds to do…did I really think they were going to make a big whopping change, just like that? Actually, yes… yes I did. I just thought that I’d make the recipe, take my first bite, and suddenly be in love with blue cheese! It didn’t happen, folks. In case you are wondering, I still am not a blue cheese fan.

This appetizer got a thumbs up from the Blue Cheese lovers who tried it. If you are of the Blue Cheese loving group, you’ll love this appetizer. If you are not, I’ve done the work for you and can tell you… blue cheese still tastes like blue cheese no matter how tempting the photograph!

Sky Blue Potatoes, from Everyday with Rachael Ray, June/July 2008

(First of all… are you already having Tastespotting withdrawl like I am? Luckily Food Gawker has stepped in to take over where Tastespotting left off! Check it out!)

As someone who writes for a food blog and other food related sites, and someone who also loves to read food blogs, I can admit that often times I will make something simply because I believe it will be good food blog fodder. This train of thought often leads me to leave out those things that might be more ordinary. (Okay - what is ordinary to me and what is ordinary to you may be completely different things, but just go with it, please.)

My husband and I attended a party on Saturday night and we were asked to bring an appetizer and dessert. It was an outdoor party, so I knew that I wanted something light and refreshing.. something that could withstand the heat if it got too hot. Chocolate was out. Frozen desserts were out. Anything with a lot of cream or dairy products was out. As I took a look through my “I will make this someday” list, I stumbled upon the Golden Buttermilk Cake with Strawberries recipe and thought I should give that a try. But, then, I hesitated. It seems like such an ordinary cake… how I would I spin it in to a blog post? What could possibly be entertaining about a plain old buttermilk cake?

Well, blogging thoughts thrown aside and the desire to mark another thing off my list taking precedence, I decided to forgo the excitement of an extraordinary dessert and go for the ordinary. After I photographed my little slice of cake, I slipped it back onto the serving plate and we headed out to the party.

I learned a very good lesson that day. Sometimes the ordinary really is extraordinary, just disguised under a simple facade. I set the cake down with the dish of cut up strawberries next to it, went with my husband to scout out a place to put our stuff, came back to get some food and noticed that my cake was almost all gone! The party had barely even begun, and people were snatching up little slices of my ordinary cake and topping it with the strawberries and were passing up things that were much fancier. I hurriedly snatched up a piece and my husband and I sat down and both mmmmm’d our way through each bite.

This cake does not need fanfare. It does not need fancy words or an elaborate description. It just needs you to give it a try and you can discover for your self how wonderful ordinary can be.

Golden Buttermilk Cake with Strawberries - Cooking Light, March 2007

1 cup cake flour (about 4 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup egg substitute (I used one egg as I was out of egg substitute)
2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
4 cups sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place 1/3 cup granulated sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg substitute; beat just until combined. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition. Stir in vanilla (batter will be thick).

Spoon batter into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Sift powdered sugar over top of cake.

Combine berries and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes. Serve berry mixture with cake.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cake slice and 1/2 cup berry mixture)

CALORIES 193 (29% from fat); FAT 6.3g (sat 3.8g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 16mg; CALCIUM 75mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.4g; SODIUM 253mg; PROTEIN 3.5g; FIBER 2g