Author: Elizabeth

Last weekend, I was thrilled to be invited to attend the International Home + Housewares Show held at McCormick Place in Chicago. I drove down to Illinois on Saturday, spent the night at my friend Lisa’s house, then Sunday morning, we drove into Chicago for Day One of the show.

I have never seen anything like it, ever. It was over 700,000 square feet, over 2,000 exhibitors, and a total of 13 MILES of booths. My poor aching feet!   McCormick Place has three buildings, and each one featured a different type of product. There was the Wired + Well building, with electronics and home healthcare, Clean + Contain with cleaning and storage, and Dine + Design with tabletop and kitchen essentials.

There was also a cooking theater and cooking demos by chefs like Mario Batali, Todd English, Ellie Krieger, and Paula Deen. I happened to be near the area when Paula Deen was taking questions from the crowd, so I took some pictures:

Here’s Paula, you can see her husband in the background under the Kitchen Aid sign. The man on the left is John McLemore, he’s the CEO of Masterbuilt Mfg. and was at the show introducing Masterbuilt’s new Indoor Electric Turkey Fryer (it makes the juiciest turkey I’ve ever had!)-

Speaking of John McLemore, I have to tell you this funny story – when Lisa and I walked up to his booth, he had just pulled a turkey out of the fryer and was cutting the breast meat into little bites for people to sample. I took one, popped it in my mouth, and said something like “oh my gosh this is the best turkey I’ve ever had!”  Now, at the time, I didn’t realize John was the CEO of Masterbuilt, and I didn’t see the person behind him with the video camera. John is from the South, Georgia I think, and his catchphrase is “Dadgum, That’s Good!”. So he says to me, would I look right at the video camera and say “Dadgum, That’s Good!”. So, I do.

Then, Lisa and I walk around the booth some more, we’re looking at all the different turkey fryers (one uses no oil!), and John comes up to me again, asks me to look right at his camera, take another bite of turkey, and then say “Dadgum, That’s Good!” AGAIN. I really, really hope that it isn’t going to end up on some blooper reel at the Masterbuilt end of the year party or something 🙂  He was really very nice about it. How could I resist such charming manners and that great accent? 🙂

I saw so much at the Home Show that really, the only way to do it justice is to split it up into a few posts. I have so much I want you to see!

You’ve probably heard the buzz about the health benefits of antioxidants – natural enzymes that can help improve immune function and reduce the risk for cancer and heart disease. However, did you know that blueberries are the #1 antioxidant fruit? In fact, a serving of blueberries has even more vitamin C than an orange!*

Don’t wait until summertime to enjoy blueberry’s health benefits and their sweet delicious flavor. Here are three foods available at grocery and/or health food stores that include the delicious and nutritious blueberry!

Bear Naked’s Peak Flax Oats and Honey with Blueberries: Bear Naked’s new Peak Flax Oats granola is a delicious soft-baked blend of whole grain oats, luscious blueberries, hearty flax seeds and is sweetened naturally with honey. Just like all Bear Naked granolas, it is made with 100% pure and natural ingredients and without any cholesterol or trans fats—a perfect snack to keep your taste buds happy and your body even happier.

Kashi’s Heart To Heart Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters Cereal: Kashi’s Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters cereal is a delicious blend of crispy oat flakes and crunchy oat clusters made with sun-sweetened wild blueberries. Similar to other Heart to Heart offerings, this cereal supports healthy arteries and blood pressure, making it a breakfast your whole body will enjoy.

Honest Tea’s Pomegranate Blue: Honest Ade Pomegranate Blue harnesses the flavor and power of antioxidant-rich organic fruits. Made with less than half the sugar and calories of other juice drinks, it’s refreshing and just a tad sweet—so drink to your heart’s content!

What’s your favorite food that includes blueberries? Leave me a comment!

I’ve been feeling really blah about meal planning lately, I don’t know why.  I’m making it super easy on myself this week and using recipes from Kraft, visit www.kraftrecipes.com to find thousands of them. I’m a fan of the “Budgetwise” category. Here’s the recipes I’m planning to make this week:

Easy Shepherd’s Pie, Crescent Rolls

Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese, Corn, Garlic Bread

Shake ‘N Bake Pork Chops, Steamed Broccoli, Stove Top Stuffing

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, Chi Chi’s Corn Cake

Tacos, Refried Beans, Chips and Salsa

Pizza

What are you making this week?

On a post I wrote about Marinara Sauce, I got this comment:

www.studioflorist.com
Thank you very much for the Tips with fresh flowers presented on your site! I did as it is written there and the flowers that my beloved presented me are still alive! And besides now I know the meaning of all the flowers! And I am even thinking of becoming a florist myself! Thank you, studioflorist.com!

WOW. My post about Marinara Sauce made this guy want to become a florist! I’m the best blogger EVER.

March is National Nutrition Month, and thanks to Del Monte, I have a great recipe to share with you for Simple Marinara Sauce. It’s my absolute favorite comfort food, a bowl of perfectly cooked thin spaghetti noodles topped with a delicious, fresh-tasting tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. YUM.

Did you know?:
Studies have shown that tomatoes, which are packed with vitamins and lycopene, may help reduce heart disease risk and protect against certain types of cancers.  You might think that taking lycopene alone will help protect heart health – not true! Lycopene works best when combined with all of the nutrients and vitamins in a tomato.  In fact, canned tomatoes (such as Del Monte Stewed Tomatoes) contain more nutrients and lycopene because they are pre-cooked, which enhances their nutritional content.

Tip: add a healthy fat like olive oil to your meal to help your body absorb those nutrients.

Instead of cracking open a jar, check out this simple marinara sauce from culinary cutie Dave Lieberman – toss it on top of pasta for a nutritious and easy meal your kids will love! Happy National Nutrition Month!

Simple Marinara

Recipe courtesy of: Dave Lieberman, campaign spokesperson for Del Monte “Value without Sacrifice,” Chef and Author of The 10 Things You Need To Eat

Ingredients:
· 1/4 cup olive oil
· 4 large garlic cloves , very finely chopped
· 1 can (28 oz.) Del Monte® Stewed Tomatoes, Italian Recipes
· 1 can (8 oz.) Del Monte® Tomato Sauce
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· 1 teaspoon sugar
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, no longer than a minute. Add the undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, sugar, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes longer.

Combat Wintertime Blues: Serotonin is Sunshine for Your Brain

By Judith J. Wurtman, PhD and Nina T. Frusztajer, MD,
Authors of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs–Nature’s Own Appetite Suppressant–to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain

The long days of winter can cause depression, fatigue, increased appetite, decreased interest in work and social activities, and a significant need for more sleep. This cluster of symptoms is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Whether you experience all these symptoms of SAD or just a general feeling of the winter blahs, don’t blame it on the holidays, after-holiday bills, cabin fever or endless ice storms. There is a physiological reason behind these seasonal changes: The activity of a brain chemical called serotonin seems to be altered during the seasons of the year when there are fewer hours of sunlight. And this decrease in serotonin activity seems to be behind the urge to crawl into bed at 4pm with a bag of cookies and the remote.

Antidepressants that activate serotonin have also been prescribed for SAD. They may relieve the mood symptoms but might leave behind an unwanted side effect: weight gain, which is one of the symptoms of SAD (making swimsuit season a dreadful time of year despite the return of long days of sunshine).

The better way to cope with SAD is to boost the brain chemical serotonin – Nature’s Own Appetite-Suppressant

We all have serotonin in our brains, although women have less than men. When serotonin is functioning normally, it keeps us emotionally stable and also turns off our appetite so we eat less. The natural way of increasing serotonin activity is to get the brain to make more.

Boosting serotonin activity naturally may be the most practical and slimming option. There is a single way to make more serotonin: Eat sweet or starchy non-fruit carbohydrates at the right times during the day.

When carbohydrates that contain very little protein or fat (such as a potato without the sour cream or butter) are eaten, serotonin is made in the brain.

Insulin is involved in this process. As soon as the carbohydrate is eaten, changes occur in the blood driven by insulin secretion. The result is that an amino acid, tryptophan, enters the brain very quickly and, just as quickly, is converted to serotonin. One potato can lead to a better mood, more energy, less sleepiness and a controlled appetite.

Winter is long but the effects of eating a potato are short. There is one problem with this eating solution to the winter blues: The boost in serotonin probably doesn’t last more than 2-3 hours. Once the effect wears off, the blues may return. The answer is eating by the “sun clock.”

* Eat foods that will maintain your mental alertness such as protein, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products during the light hours (i.e. breakfast and lunch), and
* Switch to serotonin-producing carbohydrates when it becomes dark.

You will not overeat because the serotonin that is produced will switch off your appetite.

Chasing away the winter blues is not only easy — it’s delicious. Here’s what a typical day of eating looks like:

Sunshine Meals

Breakfast:

* Scrambled egg beaters
* Whole wheat English muffin with jam
* An apple

Lunch:

* Grilled chicken with a mixed green salad and balsamic vinaigrette

Sunset Snacks and Dinners

4pm snack:

* Low-fat granola bar

Dinner:

* Pasta with roasted vegetables and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
* A cup of minestrone soup

After-dinner snack:

* Skinny Cow fudge bar

When you need to boost your brain serotonin levels, eat a low-fat, low-protein carbohydrate snack such as half a bagel, a cup of oatmeal with brown sugar, or 3 cups of low-fat popcorn. Finding serotonin-friendly snacks is easy. Just check the labels to make sure that a serving contains between 100 to 120 calories, 20 to 25 grams of carbohydrates, no more than 1 to 2 grams of fat, and no more than 3 grams of protein. If your favorite snacks don’t come in single-serving sizes, pre-package your own and toss them in a briefcase, handbag, glove compartment or a desk drawer. Options include:

* Breakfast cereal
* Low-fat biscotti
* Fat-free Fig Newtons
* Fat-free mini-meringues
* Low-fat popcorn
* Pretzels
* Baked potato chips
* Baked tortilla chips
* Rice cakes, rice crackers, and baked rice snacks
* Fat-free hot chocolate
* Granola bars
* Pita Bread

* Eat one snack 3 to 4 hours before dinner. If you feel the need for an evening snack, enjoy one 2 to 3 hours after dinner.

* On any day the sun is out, try to get outside around noon for at least 10 minutes. A sunbox is another option, as long as you sit in front of it in the morning for at least 10-20 minutes (it mimics early morning light).

* Drink plenty of non-caloric beverages and avoid alcohol.

* Exercise — even if you don’t feel like doing so. Physical activity will give you more energy. Get out and walk. If the weather is too cold or inclement, take a brisk stroll around the mall. Check out the exercise DVD’s at the library and follow the prompts at home. If you belong to a gym and you don’t have the energy to get there after work, go over the weekend.

* Make sure you get the sleep your body craves. A 20-minute afternoon nap can be very refreshing (make sure it’s over by 4pm so that it won’t interfere with nighttime sleeping). Also, you may want to aim for an earlier bedtime in the winter months.

Boost Serotonin to switch off your appetite and turn on a good mood.

©2009 Judith J. Wurtman, PhD and Nina T. Frusztajer, MD, authors of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs–Nature’s Own Appetite Suppressant–to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain

For more information, please visit www.SerotoninPowerDiet.com.

I would love to have my Easy Salsa Chili recipe published in the Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook, will you please vote for it?

You will need to create a login account for the site, but it’s a great site anyway with a ton of recipes. Thanks everybody!

Please pardon the odd look of the site while I figure out a way to make this Lifestyle theme work here. I thought I could fix it up myself but now I think I’ll have to ask for help.  I’m not sure about the red  background and the blue border, don’t be surprised if your return visits here show completely different colors on a daily basis 🙂

I planned seven meals yesterday morning,  including last night’s dinner going into the weekend.   As always, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie, the home of Menu Monday, to post a link to your meal plan or see hundreds of others!

Sunday:  Oven BBQ Chicken breast, mashed potatoes, corn

Monday: Sloppy Joes (Manwich), oven fries, green beans

Tuesday: Tuna Casserole, biscuits, peas

Wednesday: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, garlic bread, corn

Thursday: Burritos, chips with salsa

Friday: Pizza Night

Saturday: Chili, Corn Muffins

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Here are this week’s questions from Val at Fun, Crafts and Recipes:

1. Name two items on your kitchen counter.
2. What’s in your sink now?
3. What’s on your stove now?
4. What’s in your oven now?

And here are my answers:

1. Coffeemaker and Toaster
2. Dinner dishes
3. A DiGiorno Rising Crust Pizza
4. A DiGiorno Garlic Bread Pizza

Feel free to play along in the comments!

Please pardon the mess around here while I try to find a new theme. The old theme I was using is no longer being updated, and it stopped cooperating about 3 WordPress upgrades ago. I’ve been making do so far, but I’m still looking for something that works out of the box.

One of the biggest problems I’m having is that themes that work in Firefox will often be totally messed up in Explorer. I use Firefox pretty much exclusively except for lately when it’s been crashing all the freaking TIME, so I’ve been forced to use Explorer instead. Blogs look totally different in Explorer than they do in Firefox!

Anyway, that’s why the theme here keeps changing, because I’m trying to find something that looks good.  Thanks for your patience!

Help my recipe for Easy Salsa Chili make it into the Foodista.com Best of Food Blogs Cookbook! Please vote by clicking this badge! edited to add: I’ve been informed that you will have to create an account for Foodista in order to vote.  I hope everyone knows how much I appreciate it!

EASY SALSA CHILI

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds ground round
3 cans dark red kidney beans, liquid drained
24 ounces thick and chunky salsa (mild, or as hot as you like)
16 ounces canned tomato sauce
Garlic powder
onion powder
salt

Directions:

Crumble the ground beef into a large pot.

Sprinkle liberally with salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Brown the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Drain any grease by dumping the meat into a colander in the sink, then wipe out the bottom of the pot if necessary.

Put the ground beef back in the pot.

Add the 3 cans of drained kidney beans, the jar of salsa, and the can of tomato sauce.

Stir well to combine and taste to adjust seasonings.

Turn the heat up to high until the surface of the chili starts to boil, stirring occasionally.

Once it comes to a boil, cover the pot and turn the heat down to medium low, just enough to keep the chili simmering.

Simmer about an hour, stirring occasionally.

If you vote, please let me know in a comment! Thank you my lovely readers!

While browsing blogs over the weekend, I came across this recipe post – http://lifeasmom.com/2009/03/urs-pasta.html

She makes a huge pot of tomato sauce, lets it simmer, and then adds UNCOOKED italian sausage links and lets those simmer in the sauce for two hours. I’ve always browned ground italian sausage and then added the tomato products to it.

Now I’m really curious to see if cooking it Jessica’s way will make my sauce taste that much better!

My cupboards and refrigerator are bare, so I need to stock up on pretty much everything this week! I’m headed to Aldi so I can get a lot of food without spending a fortune ( I love you, Aldi!).  I’m basing this week’s menu on foods I know Aldi has in stock. Also, my husband thinks their salsa makes better chili than the name brand I was using in my Easy Salsa Chili! Mmmm, Chili. That needs to go on the menu too 🙂

Monday: Tacos, Chi Chi’s Corn Cake, Refried Beans, Chips and Salsa

Tuesday:  Chicken Kiev and Cordon Bleu (Aldi), Au Gratin Potatoes, steamed carrots

Wednesday:  Meatloaf, mashed Potatoes, peas

Thursday: Spaghetti, garlic bread, corn

Friday: (no school) Lunch – Turkey Club sandwiches, chips, apples Dinner -Pizza Night

Saturday: Chili, Corn Muffins

What are you making this week? Tell me in a comment!

So That’s How the Moon Changes Shape!, by Allan Fowler, gives simple explanations to young readers about the different phases of the moon.  It explains that children may think that the moon changes it’s shape, but helps them to understand that it is sunlight reflecting off of the moon.  There is a moon calender that shows how the moon may look on any given day of the month and a great graphic that shows the moon orbiting around the earth.  Although very simple and basic, this book would be excellent to share with a young class that is learning about the different phases of the moon.  Now children can understand how the moon changes it’s shape!Curriculum Connections
So That’s How the Moon Changes Shape! is a great teaching tool for introducing the phases of the moon.  It also has great pictures from space that further show the different phases of the moon.  Perfect for a third grade class that is beginning instruction on moon phases (VA SOL 3.8 a)  This book gives simple explanations and could really help students that are having troubling grasping the topic.

Additional Resources

• Phases of the Moon Handout –  Great fill in the blank worksheet for students to identify and correct name the phases of the moon.
• Moon Phases Interactive Graphic – Moving graphic that shows the moon orbiting the earth and what the moon looks like during the different phases.
• Moon Phases Simulation – Allows teacher to control the movement of the moon around the earth.  Each day of the month is available to show the way the moon will look.  Great interactive tool for teacher and students.

Book:  So That’s How the Moon Changes Shape!
Author:  Allan Fowler
Page Design:  Sara Shelton
Publisher:  Children’s Press Chicago
Publication Date:  1991
Pages:  31
Grade Range:  1-3
ISBN:  978-0516449173

 Introduction and Summary

Waiting for Wings, written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert, is a wonderful book for young learners that explains the life cycle of a butterfly.  With beautiful illustrations and simple explanations, Waiting for Wings is a great teacher’s resource for teaching life cycles.  We can see the butterfly start as a tiny egg, then turn into larvae, then spin into a chrysalis and finally we see the beautiful butterfly emerge.  Vivid illustrations of flowers and butterflies are in the book as well as an identification guide for students to find examples of flowers and butterflies outdoors.

Curriculum Connection

Waiting for Wings is a great resource to use for a kindergarten or first grade lesson on life cycles.  The bright illustrations are wonderful for young elementary learners.  The identification guide in the back would be great to use in a hands-on activity.  Students could go outside and identify butterflies and flowers that may be around the school yard.  (Virginia SOL K.7)

Additional Resources

• Butterfly Unit  – Great unit on butterflies with science activities, songs, poetry, art activities, math activities and language arts activities.

• Life Cycle of a Butterfly Lesson – Lesson on identifying the four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly

• Life Cycle of a Butterfly Booklet – Small booklet for children to cut out and label each stage of butterfly life cycle.  They can then put the pages in order and make a small booklet to keep.

• Butterfly Coloring Pages – Various pages of butterflies to color.  Great for kindergarten.

General Information

Book:  Waiting for Wings
Author:  Lois Ehlert
Illustrator:  Lois Ehlert
Publisher:  Harcourt Books
Publication Date:  2001
Pages:  36
Grade Range:  K-1
ISBN:  978-0-15-202608-0

Sound: Loud, Soft, High, and Low, written by Natalie M. Rosinksy and illustrated by Matthew John, is a colorful book about all of the different ways that sound is made.  Written especially for young learners, the author gives elementary definitions of how different sounds are made and why they sound the way they do.  She gives examples of loud and soft sounds, such as the whack of a baseball against a wooden bat or the soft pitter patter of raindrops against a window.  Wonderful examples of echo, high and low sounds, and sound waves are given so that young children may understand this topic.  Science experiments pertaining to sound are listed in the back of the book.
Curriculum Connections

Sound:  Loud, Soft, High, and Low corresponds to Virginia SOL 1.2 B – Objects may vibrate and produce sound.  This book could be used when giving an interactive lesson on sound.  Musical instruments could be used to give examples of high and low sounds by plucking guitar strings, striking a triangle or using small drums.  The book could be read and then different sounds could be played to have the children understand the concepts in the book.

Additional Resources

•  Sound and light activity – Teacher submissions on what activities they use during their sound units.  Also gives wonderful examples of activities for a light unit.

• Sound and vibration lesson – A great lesson with multiple sound activities.  Uses tuning forks and music to illustrated how sounds are made.  Also a bit of a history lesson on Ben Franklin.

• Sounds like Science – Guitar activity – Hands-on activity using guitars and sound waves.  Introduces ideas such as frequency and sound vibrations.

Book:  Sound:  Loud, Soft, High and Low
Author:  Natalie M. Rosinsky
Illustrator:  Matthew John
Publisher:  Picture Window Books
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 24
Grade Range: K-2
ISBN:  978-1-4048-0335-0

I am not at all ashamed to admit that boxed meals with the word “Helper” in them appear on our dinner table once a month or so. This recipe that I found on BettyCrocker.com  uses a box of Chicken Helper Fettucine Alfredo with extra ingredients added to kick up the flavor. I think it sounds good!

Chicken Alfredo with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 box Chicken Helper® fettuccine Alfredo
1 cup hot water
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup chopped dry-pack sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and onion; cook 15 to 18 minutes, stirring onion frequently and turning chicken once, until onion is tender and juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F). Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, fill 2-quart saucepan 2/3 full of water. Heat to boiling. Stir in contents of uncooked pasta pouch (from Chicken Helper box). Gently boil uncovered about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender; drain. Set aside.
3. In same saucepan, mix hot water, half-and-half, tomatoes and contents of sauce mix pouch (from Chicken Helper box). Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened.
4. Cut chicken into slices. To serve, spoon cooked pasta onto serving plate. Arrange chicken slices and onion over pasta. Top with sauce mixture. Sprinkle with basil.

Love to cook Mexican food? Food Network introduces Marcela Valladolid ,a mother and professional chef who has a fresh take on Mexican food and is dedicated to sharing simple and authentic recipes in her series Mexican Made Easy, premiering Saturday, January 23rd at 9:30am ET/PT. Marcela, inspired by her dual Mexican and Southern California upbringing, transforms conventional ideas of the cuisine into healthy and easy-to-prepare Mexican meals. Whether serving a home-cooked dinner to her son or entertaining friends and family, Marcela brings to the table fresh flavors that fit all tastes. Here’s the schedule I have so far:

Premieres: Saturday, January 23rd at 9:30am ET/PT – SERIES PREMIERE!

“Weekend Brunch”

Join Marcela for a brunch worth getting out of bed for including mouth-watering Chilaquiles Casseroles, crispy tortilla chips bathed in a roasted tomatillo sauce, drizzled with sour cream and melted cheese. Then, Marcela delivers the brunch-must menu item, ‘No-Brainer’ Eggs Benedicto with a fast and easy-to-make chipotle hollandaise sauce. Adding a fresh pot of Café Mexicano lightly spiced with brown sugar, cinnamon and a twist of orange peel, Marcela creates a wickedly good weekend brunch.

Premiering Saturday, January 30th at 9:30am ET/PT

“Game Day Grabs”

Marcela has the perfect playbook for putting together Mexican-themed snacks for the big game. First up, Marcela’s classic Game-Winning Guacamole with Fresh-Baked Tortilla Chips. Her Smokin’ Shrimp Skewers marinated in smoky chipotle sauce and her honey glazed Sweet & Spicy Drumettes brushed with a chile ancho and pecan sauce, round out the line-up. Marcela then makes a batch of refreshing Micheladas, cold beer served in chilled mugs with a little salt and lime juice thrown in.

Premiering Saturday, February 6th at 9:30am ET/PT

“Cuddle Cuisine”

With Valentine’s Day approaching, Marcela designs a cozy, romantic, winter meal that is sure to warm up hearts and bellies. Marcela prepares a Butternut Squash Soup that has a kiss of chipotle flavor, followed by a tender Ancho-Crusted Rack of Lamb served with a mint jelly sauce. For dessert, Marcela puts a fresh Mexican spin on a classic strawberry pie with her Sweet Strawberry Tartlets.

Premiering Saturday, February 13th at 9:30am ET/PT

“Family Favorites”

Perfected over a lifetime, Marcela opens the family cookbook and shares some favorites including authentic Baja-Style Beer-Battered Fish Tacos served with a fiery, fresh tequila-infused Drunken Salsa and lemon cream sauce. For dessert, her family’s ultimate Choco-Flan, half chocolate cake and half flan drizzled with a creamy caramel-like topping.

disclosure: information for this post provided by foodnetwork.com

From marthastewart.com, found through delish. I’ve never seen a pot roast recipe that called for tossing the carrots and onions with a cornstarch/water mixture. I would also add cut up baking potatoes as well.

Martha Stewart’s Slow Cooker Pot Roast:

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon(s) cornstarch
8 medium carrots, cut into thirds
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoon(s) Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1.In slow cooker, stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Add carrots and onions; season with salt and pepper, and toss.
2.Sprinkle roast with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables, and drizzle with Worcestershire. Cover; cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 10 hours).
3.Transfer roast to a cutting board; thinly slice against the grain. Place vegetables in a serving dish; pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired. Serve roast with vegetables and pan juices.

Another yummy-sounding sauce recipe from the Good Morning America website:

Rocco DiSpirito’s Marinara Sauce:

Ingredients
# 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
# 6 garlic cloves, minced
# 1 large yellow onion, cut into small dice
# Salt
# Crushed red pepper
# Two 28-ounce cans tomato puree
# 1/2 cup water
# 1 small piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
# 1 large sprig fresh basil
#
Cooking Directions

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. When the pot is hot, add the olive oil. Add the garlic and onion, and season them with salt and crushed red pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and garlic are translucent, about 4 minutes.

Add the tomato puree, water, and Parmigiano-Reggiano rind to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 25 minutes.

With the back of a knife, bruise the basil and stir the sprig into the sauce. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Season with salt and crushed red pepper to taste, if desired. Serve, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

* Courtesy of “Now Eat This”

Before: 1.5 g fat, 80 calories
After: 0.9 g fat, 55 calories
Protein: 2 g
Carbohydrates: 9 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Fiber: 1 g
Sodium: 137 mg