I haven’t always been a good cook. I have always tried, but it took me several years of trying before I wasn’t setting the kitchen on fire every time I stepped into it. About the fire, you think I’m kidding don’t you? Its true. Keep on reading.

To give you a little background, we will head back to my younger years. I was in middle school and my mom, who had raised 5 kids, had decided to go to college at the age of 50. She graduated from undergraduate school and then went on to get her Masters degree.  During the school year she taught at the local elementary school and during the summers, she took classes towards her Masters degree at Pittsburg State University. On summer mornings, my mom would get up and set out to school, leaving my older sister and I at home.

We were on our own for lunch. My typical meals, I kid you not, were a) Miracle Whip sandwich foldovers (one slice of bread with Miracle Whip, folded over), b) pizza sauce with mozzarella cheese mixed in and heated up in the microwave, c) fried tortillas. My mom had other things for us to eat, but I usually went with one of my own “gourmet” options.

I did a pretty good job of making the Miracle Whip sandwich fold overs and the pizza sauce with mozzarella creation. It was the fried tortillas that got me into trouble the most often. For the fried tortillas, I would put the oil in the pan, turn the burner on, then run downstairs to watch As The World Turns.  Nine times out of ten, I would get caught up in the show and would be pushed out of the TV trance only by the sound of our smoke alarm blaring. I’d run upstairs to find flames shooting up in the air from the heated oil, would grab the baking soda that mom left by the stove, dump it on and put out the fire.

This happened frequently… I’m talking 2-3 times a week. Looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t burn our kitchen down. Even more surprising is the fact that my mom didn’t ban me from the kitchen! Instead, she would come home to the baking soda covered stove and floor and know that I had been attempting to cook. Eventually she made a rule that if something was on the stove, you had to stay in that room.

My cooking abilities have improved over time. I firmly believe that it may be because I stopped frying tortillas. I found out that some things never change this evening when I set out to make what was on the menu - Fajita Skillet. The first step in the recipe had me frying up strips of flour tortillas. I did a batch, put a little salt on them and the kids came running in and devoured them. Since that batch was gobbled up, I decided to do another batch. I cut the strips, heated the oil then added them to the pan. Soon after the tortilla strips were added to the pan, one of the kids hollered and needed something. I ran into the other room to help them and was there for a bit when an old familiar smell drifted into the air. The smell was of burning oil and blackened tortillas. Sure enough, when I ran into the kitchen, flames were shooting up into the air. Grabbing the baking soda was old hat to me and putting out the fire was second nature - kind of like riding a bike.

Unless you like the excitment of catching your kitchen on fire, I would put the “stay in the room when hot oil is on the stove” rule in place in your house too. The fajita skillet recipe is a great one, but not worth replacing your kitchen for!.

Fajita Skillet adapted from Taste of Home Magazine

• 2 flour tortillas (10 inches), cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 medium green pepper, sliced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped

In a large skillet, fry tortilla strips in 2 tablespoons oil on both sides for 1 minute or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
In the same skillet, cook the chicken, beef, green pepper, onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin and pepper in remaining oil for 3-4 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and vegetables are crisp-tender.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and lime juice until smooth. Stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in pineapple and tomato; heat through. Serve with tortilla strips. Yield: 4 servings.

Are you hungry for more fajita recipes? Check out these recipes by food bloggers around the blogosphere.

• Bluefish Fajitas from Beyond Salmon
• Slow Cooker Fajitas from Diannes Dishes
• Amazing Veggie Fajitas from Gillian’s Goodies
• Fajitas Your Way from The Humble Housewife

I launched Adopt a Blogger #2 last week. Blogging friends, we have some eager food blogging newbies who need an experienced blogger to adopt them. Thanks to those of you who have already stepped forward. For the rest of you veteran bloggers, here are the top five reasons why I think you should adopt a blogger:

1. Adoption is cool. If you go the adopt a blogger route, it is much less expensive and you don’t have to travel internationally to pick up your adoptee.
2. Under most circumstances, your food blogging adoptee will come already potty trained.
3. How often do you get to completely influence someone without actually worrying about what kind of adult they’ll turn out to be?
4. Deb from Smitten Kitchen, Lydia from The Perfect Pantry, Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes and Peabody were all adoptive parents last go around (along with a whole slew of wonderful people!). If they have the time to adopt a newbie, you do too!
5. Oprah Winfrey has a mentor. Michael Phelps has a mentor. Wouldn’t you like to be a mentor too?

Lydia from The Perfect Pantry (who adopted 2 bloggers last time around) had this to say about her Adopt a Blogger experience.

“I just want to tell all the more experienced food bloggers out there that adopting a blogger is a wonderful thing. I’ve adopted two bloggers. The time commitment is only what you can do, and it’s so rewarding to watch your adoptive blogs grow. Please sign up!”

I am not going to beg… at least not yet… but I hope you will consider taking a part of Adopt a Blogger #2. Help a fellow food blogger get their wings and mentor someone today! Sign up by commenting on THIS post.

Just for kicks and grins, here is what we had for dinner tonight. I made some minor adjustments (didn’t have colby jack cheese, so used what we had on hand… cheddar and mozzarella) and I completely changed the tomatillos and chilies to a can of rotelle. I know - nothing like tomatillos and it is probably a bit sacreligious, but it is what I had on hand and it turned out great! This is a very versatile recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Chilaquiles (from Cooking Light Magazine)

2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers, divided
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (11-ounce) can tomatillos, drained
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine chicken, green onions, 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, Parmesan, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Place milk and next 3 ingredients (through chiles) in a food processor or blender; process until smooth.

Heat tortillas according to package directions. Pour 1/3 cup tomatillo mixture into bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 corn tortillas in dish, and top with half of chicken mixture. Repeat layer with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture, ending with tortillas.

Pour remaining 1 1/2 cups tomatillo mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Intrigued by tomatillos? Check out what these food bloggers are doing with them:

• Tomatillo and Black Bean Salsa from Kaylyns Kitchen
• Avocado and Tomatillo Salsa from Cafe LynnyLu
• Pork and Tomatillo Stew from Daily Bread Journal
• Homemade Guacamole with Tomatillos from A Veggie Venture

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• Two more days to enter the Dine & Dish giveaway for your very own set of Envirosax. Check out the details here.
• Something I found hilarious, and so very handy. Check out Inn Cuisine’s post on The YouTube Movement Against Chip Clips.
• Obsessed much? My son is a tad bit obsessed with the Olympics and Michael Phelps. At least my kiddos learned something from watching so much TV! Dishing It Up Family Style is here.

My grade school friend, Jennifer Treiber, was the daughter of our school cafeteria cook. You know how most people complain about school food? Well, I cannot relate to such nonsense. Our school cafeteria had the best food. Poor Boy sandwiches that I have never had anything compare to. Chicken Supreme that was too good to be wasted on the grade school palate. Cinnamon rolls that were so ooey and gooey they would practically melt in your mouth.

I would often go over to Jennifer’s house to play and would end up staying for dinner. When I was there, her mom would always make us homemade chicken strips and french fries. It was her special meal that she would make when I was there because she knew how much I loved them. I had never had chicken strips and fries that tasted so out of this world delicious!

Birthday’s were a pretty big deal in our house growing up. My mom, who was also a fantastic cook, would always let us choose what we wanted for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would choose things like Funnel Cakes for breakfast, and my mom would happily oblige.  Chocolate cake for lunch? Sure… coming right up. One year, whatever year it is when you become a major brat, my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner. When I told her that I wanted homemade chicken strips and french fries she delivered. When she placed my wish meal out on the table, I took one look at the chicken and fries and balked… “I don’t want your chicken strips and fries. I want it to be like the kind Mrs Treiber makes!” Being the age of bratiness, I didn’t take one single bite. Can you imagine how much my mom probably wanted to smack my smug little face? I am sure she was so proud of making exactly what she thought I wanted, and here I go and repay her by being a complete jerk.

I am sure I hurt my moms feelings (sorry mom!), but even after that show of ungratefulness my mom called Mrs Treiber to find out what her secret was. The fries were normal homemade fries, deep fried and salted to perfection. The chicken strips? Schwans. Yep… the chicken strips that I raved and raved about and stabbed my poor mom in the heart about were frozen, deep fried, Schwans chicken strips!

I cannot make homemade french fries of any kind without thinking of Jennifer, her mom and that birthday dinner. I can tell you that tonight, when I sat the fries out on the dinner table, my four year old took one look and said “I thought you said we were having french fries with dinner… I want fries like McDonalds, Mom!”

And what is it they say about paybacks? I have a feeling, I’m about to find out!

Zesty Oven Baked Fries, from Recipezaar

A little bit of housekeeping…

I admit… I was torn to see school start this year. It felt like the summer just flew by. Maybe that is something all moms say once they have kids in school, but I truly feel like summer was gone in a blink.

As sad I am to see school back in session, I am truly excited to get back into a somewhat more manageable routine. We may have more things going on during the school year, but at least we are on somewhat of a schedule.

Along with that schedule comes the challenge of finding time to sit down to dinner as a family each evening. During the summer we would eat dinner early or eat late or eat out… we ate dinner together, but it varied greatly as far as times. Now with school getting out at 4pm, and after school activities starting soon after, I am hungrily looking for delicious recipes that can fit into our ever tight schedules.

I recently found this recipe for Asian Lettuce Wraps on another food blog and now I can’t find the blog. Luckily, I did a search on All Recipes and found the same recipe. (If I commented on this recipe on your blog, please let me know and I’ll link this back to you.) I love this recipe because it gives me something besides tacos and spaghetti to use ground beef with. It is a fun, hand held dinner and it can be made in a jiffy. With recipes like this in my repertoire, I feel like I can finally get into the groove of things!

Asian Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps, from Allrecipes

• 16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons minced pickled ginger
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Interested in other recipe versions of Lettuce Wraps? Check out what these food bloggers have to offer:

• Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps, from Picky Palate
• Quick Chinese Lettuce Wraps, from Chaos in the Kitchen
• Ginger Chicken Lettuce Wraps, from The Village Voice
• Five-Spice Turkey and Lettuce Wraps, from Culinary in the Desert

There is still some room for you in the Adopt-a-Blogger 2 event. Veteran’s especially… come on out and mentor a new blogger! Click here to sign up.

My family loves fish. Well, I am not sure if that is exactly true. My family loves fish that does not taste like fish. If the fish has a fish flavor, the fish is not loved. However, if I can spice up and drown out the fishy flavor of the fish, then the fish is gobbled up. So, my family likes fish as long as it tastes nothing like fish. Make sense?

Last week I saw a tip that said “To capture the flavor of your fresh caught fish, soak it in milk”. So, is this to actually keep the fresh fish flavor of the fish then? For those people who actually want their fish to taste like fish? I guess for those of you who live near the coast and have access to fish fresh from the sea, then fish tasting like fish is actually not a bad thing? Here in Kansas, we can get fresh from the pond catfish, but trust me… you don’t want it tasting fishy. Deep fry and season the hell out of that sucker so it tastes nothing like the pond it came from!

Anyway, we have non-fishy tasting fish at least a couple of times in our house. Cod, because of the ease to make and the ability to simply get rid of the fishy fish flavor, is a favorite. If you like your fish to not be fishy then give this non-fishy flavored fish recipe a try. You won’t even know you are eating fish, which makes me wonder.. why not just eat chicken?

Lemon Baked Cod (from Recipezaar)

35 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 4

We have been working hard here in the Dine & Dish household to lessen our environmental footprint. We have been taking small steps and are easing our way into the habits that will hopefully help our future generations to live in a thriving environment.

All this green business can be very confusing and it has taken us awhile to catch on. We are trying though and hopefully with our efforts we will continue to build an interest in our children about the significance of how an even small step can make a big impact.

• About a year ago, we purchased reusable fabric tote bags for our grocery shopping trips. 9 times out of 10, I forget to take them into the store, and only remember when I am checking out. So, I tell the clerk to just put my groceries in the cart and I will bag them at the car. When I do actually remember to take them into the store, I feel like I have accomplished something big that day. Yay for me… remembering my fabric tote bags.
• We have replaced almost all of our light bulbs with those ugly energy efficient compact florescent light bulbs. Why do they have to make those things so darn ugly? Still, I feel a little burst of pride every time I see my little ugly light bulbs.
• We have attempted to stop the junk mail. We get so much crap in the mail that immediately gets tossed (or recycled if applicable). Hubby doesn’t get to browse the Victoria’s Secret catalogs anymore, and I don’t dream shop out of the Pottery Barn catalog anymore. Sacrifices…I tell ya’.
• Recycle. We do recycle. Our town has a great curbside recycling program and they make it so simple to take part in recycling. It is a bit of a challenge among my family members to see who can recycle the most things during the day. Sometimes I’ll open things up just so I can win in the daily recycle race in our house. Shhhhh!
• Freecycle. How many of you know about Freecycle? This is the most fun I have ever had helping the environment. When I get on my decluttering binges, I almost always choose to Freecycle the items I am decluttering. Now, you do have to watch out for your serial Freecyclers/Freebie Hunters… those people who respond to each and every item you post. I can only imagine the fire hazard their homes are with all their freecycled goodies stashed around. The truth is, they are probably becoming millionaires Ebaying and Craigslisting all of the stuff they have received.
• Reuse. This is where I have to draw the line. My mother-in-law is probably the best “reuser” I have ever met. We will often drive up to the farm to find ziploc bags and tin foil hanging on the line to dry. She doesn’t have Tupperware. Instead, in her cabinets, you will find butter containers, sour cream containers, ice cream pails, etc. She hand washes all of her disposable flatware and plates. To do my part, we are trying to limit our use of disposable things. Napkins are now cloth, we try to not use disposable plates/flatware. I, however, cannot get into washing my tinfoil, plastic wrap and ziploc bags. Heathen as I am, I just can’t do it.

So there you have it… just a few of the small things we are doing to go green. We implement new things all the time. I know we aren’t as accomplished about this as some of you, but hopefully with each baby step we take, we are making a difference.

Speaking of green, I have to tell you about this meatloaf from the now infamous Table Talk Cookbook by Carol McManus. Yes, I’m still completely and totally loving this cookbook! Carol told me via email that she has been making this meatloaf to serve to her family for the past 25 years. This is a time tested recipe that I can now attest to being the very best meatloaf recipe I have ever tried. My children, who can be somewhat persnickety about hidden veggies, didn’t even complain about the “seaweed” in the meatloaf. In fact, I was preparing to sit down when my six year old said “Mom, you had better try this giant meatball. It is so good!”.

Go green. Green is good, people. Really good.

Hide-the-Spinach Meatloaf from Table Talk by Carol McManus

1 Tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 8oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and with water squeezed out

2 lbs ground chuck or sirloin

2 eggs

½ cup dried Italian breadcrumbs

½ tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small skillet, warm olive oil over low heat. Add onion and sauté until soft but not browned. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more. Add spinach and sauté for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked spinach, mixing thoroughly.
4. In a 9×13 inch baking pan (glass is preferred), shape the meatloaf into a rectangle. Bake for about an hour, taking care not to overcook or the meat will dry out. The meatloaf can be a little pink in the middle.

Spending a vacation in a South Texas retirement community brings on some interesting observations from a 34 and younger point of view.

• Just because older people have bigger ears, does not mean they can hear better (keenly observed by my 4 year old).
• For older men, shorts and knee-high socks seems to be the hottest trend of the season. Black socks with white tennis shoes? Even hotter!
• Speeding through the retirement community, on a golf cart, at a careless speed of 15 miles per hour can bring people out of their homes to check out what all the raucous is about.
• It would be a rare occasion that you would find a 20 year old male with a small dog named Pudding, Fifi or Muffin. Apparently, in this retirement community, the smaller the dog and the foofier the name, the better.
• Putting little kids in front of the retirees immediately elicits ohhhh’s and ahhhh’s from their mouths and requires an immediate pat on the head to be given to the little ones. “Enjoy them while they are young… it goes by so fast”, is wistfully mentioned at some point during the conversation.
• These people are so happy. Yes, there are the old biddies who have nothing better to do than complain, but for the most part living surrounded by palm trees and not having to go to work every day seems to bring out the best in people!

We are enjoying our vacation despite hurricane Dolly interfering. We had one great day at the beach… every thing about it was perfect. The rest of our week will most likely be spent indoors and inland as the skies are dark, the wind is high, and the rain is pouring down.

In the meantime, I have a beer can chicken recipe to share with you that has absolutely nothing to do with this post. Enjoy!

Beer Can Chicken

1¾ hours | 5 min prep

SERVES 4

• 1 (4 lb) whole chicken
• 1 (16 ounce) can beer (tall boy)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons dry rub seasonings (your favorite)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

The kids, my fun and crazy Aunt Rose, and I are off on a 16+ hour road trip tomorrow to visit my parents at the very southern tip of the big old state of Texas. I think when my parents retired down near South Padre, they decided to really test us to see how much we love them… would we travel that far to visit them regularly? Mom and Dad - we love you. 16+ hours in the car with three kids under six will hopefully convince you of that

I am looking forward to seeing them, relaxing some, and hanging out on the beach… making sand castles, frolicking in the waves, and just being away from everyday reality for a bit. Of course, as my vacation luck would have it, they are supposed to get some kind of tropical storm there. I hope we have at least a few good sunny days!

If not, we will still have fun. I will make mom make up for the unfortunate weather by cooking us some of her delicious homemade shell macaroni and cheese. Comfort food at its finest!

Grandma Sugar’s Shell Macaroni and Cheese

SERVES 4

• 3 cups Velveeta cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups medium pasta shells
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

So, you are craving comfort food? Check out these other Macaroni and Cheese recipes from some other great food bloggers:

• Macaroni and Cheese with Gruyere and Tomatoes, from Andreas Recipes
• Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese, from A Year of CrockPotting
• Spicy Baked Macaroni and Cheese, from Genesis of a Cook
• Macaroni and Cheese with Vegetables, from My Diverse Kitchen

Carol’s cookbook, Table Talk, continues to be extremely popular in my house. My love for this book has only increased with each recipe I try! I have decided that it would only be fair to give one of you the chance to win a copy of this fantastic cookbook. For dinner tonight, we had Tried and True Meatballs with Zingy Red Sauce. My husband’s comments, “These were the best meatballs with sauce and pasta you have ever made!”. Want the recipe? Get the book

Gathering together at least once a day for a family meal is very important. Because of that, I am also going to include in this giveaway Food for Talk by my friend Julienne Smith. Food for Talk is a box of conversation starters for families and friends to use at meal time to get the conversation flowing.

Entering to win is simple. First, head over to Carol’s website and check out Table Talk. After you have done that, come back and leave one comment on this post. Please fill out the form with your name, email address and blog address. If you don’t have a blog, that is fine. Just make sure you let me know how I can get a hold of you.

All entries must be received by Midnight CST on Wednesday, July 23rd.

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