Chocolate Pilgrim Hats

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves 10

To make our cute Thanksgiving pilgrim cookie hats, place 10 fudge-stripe cookies,  chocolate-side up, on a tray lined with wax paper.

Heat 2 cups of chocolate chips in the microwave on medium power, until melted.

Thin to drizzling consistency with a bit of cream and a tsp of butter.  One at a time, stick a wooden toothpick into a large marshmallow, dip it into the melted chocolate, and place it in the center of the cookie. Use another toothpick to hold down the marshmallow and pull out the original toothpick. Drizzle with more chocolate, if necessary, to completely coat the marshmallow.

Chill hats until the chocolate sets. Use decorator icing to create belt buckles on the front of each hat.

Going gluten-free can be a challenge, but you can do it! Your health (and your family’s health) is worth  the extra time and energy.

One of the easiest ways to regulate the gluten your family receives is to host events yourself. Have the open house at your place—you’ll have more control over what goes on the table and can point out (to your family) which foods are on the gluten-free list. Make sure there’s a big tray of raw veggies, one type of chip that is gluten-free and some sliced cheese. That way, you’ll know there’s something to eat!

Nobody needs to remind you that it’s cold and flu season. And most definitely, nobody needs to remind you that the H1N1 virus (formerly known as swine flu) is causing a panic around the world.

Whether or not you’ve had a flu shot, everyone’s awareness about germs has been raised this year. I keep a pump bottle of hand sanitizer on my desk, and lots of people pop in and use it. Here’s another way you can keep germs at bay: disinfectant wipes. They come in pop-up containers and individually wrapped packets.

The whole point is to clear away germs in a way that hand sanitizer and spray can’t. Disposable wipes have direct contact with surfaces and can give you peace of mind when you’re around germ-y areas: public waiting rooms, hotels, rest rooms and all around the house.

Because they’re portable, you can keep one with you at all times—because you never know when a contagious person may have been one step ahead of you.

Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus refrigerating
Serves: 10

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs caramel topping, divided
1 Honey Maid Pie Crust
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs Planters Pecan Pieces, divided
1 cup cold milk
2 (3.4 oz) pkgs Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Directions:
Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle  with 1/2 cup pecans. Beat milk, pudding, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spread into crust. Refrigerate 1 hour.  Top with remaining Cool Whip, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.

Recipe and image provided by Kraft Foods.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Beat Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter, spread, sugars, egg and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients at low speed just until blended. Divide dough in half.

Roll each dough half about 1/8 inch thick on well-floured board with well-floured rolling pin. Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 7 – 9 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool completely on wire racks. Re-roll dough trimmings to cut additional cookies. Decorate, if desired, with icing, decorative sprinkles and candies.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Cookie: 34, Fat: 1 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g), Cholesterol: 3 mg, Sodium: 43 mg, Carbohydrates: 5 g, Fiber: 0 g, Protein: 1g

©2009 Unilever WEST08 16094

Taco salad. Easy peasy. Anyone can make it and it tastes just fine. But if you’re going to make taco salad the centerpiece of a homemade dinner, here’s the secret to making AMAZING taco salad: it’s the dressing. The dressing ties it all together and turns it into a salad experience—one you’ll remember and share again and again.

So this weekend, why not try our special Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad? It’s simple to toss together, even after a busy day. But the flavors will transport you…and after that, restaurant taco salad just won’t be good enough. Trust me.

Chipotle Chicken Taco salad
Serves 4

Prep time: 34 minutes

Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 Tbs minced chipotle, canned in adobo sauce*
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tbs lime juice
1/8 tsp salt

Salad:
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (about 2 breasts….maybe from a rotisserie chicken?)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup diced avocado
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
1 (8 oz) can corn, drained

*Chipotle chile: If you’ve never used this product before, look in the Mexican foods aisle. It’s in a small can. The sauce is what’s hot and spicy.

To prepare the dressing: combine all ingredients and let stand a few minutes while you prepare the salad. This will blend flavors. Note: if you like hot foods, add some of the adobo sauce from the chilies. Go easy with the adobo: just a bit!

To prepare the salad, combine all ingredients. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss again to coat. Serve immediately.

For a more special salad, place the lettuce on a large plate and arrange the salad ingredients in separate mounts on a plate; then drizzle with the dressing.

Good for diabetic and gluten-free diets (always read product labels to be safe).

Nutritional Information
Calories Per Serving: 249,   Fat: 8 g (2 g  Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 50 mg, Sodium: 550 mg, Carbohydrates: 25 g, Fiber: 7 g, Protein:23 g.

© 2009, Brookshire Grocery Co.  Nutrient counts are rounded to the nearest whole number.  All dietary and lifestyle changes should be supervised by a physician.

You don’t know how or when it happened, but somehow your cat is expecting kittens. Mark your calendar for four months from now: your cat needs to be spayed! But in the meantime, what do you do to help things go smoothly?

Here’s the good news: you really don’t have to do much. Cats rely on instinct and they’re pretty good at just knowing what to do. Mother Nature is pretty amazing! It takes 9 weeks (rather than 9 months) from start to finish and in that last week, your cat will need extra food and water. You’ll also want to provide several secluded nesting areas, complete with soft, cozy towels. At the same time, be prepared for the fact that your kitty might prefer to make your bed her home base.

The birthing process usually only lasts an hour or so, but if you see any signs of distress, call your veterinarian for help. And once those kittens are born and weaned, be vigilant! Cats can mate several times a year; don’t forget to schedule that appointment with the vet!

Do you ever wish you could buy something as all-purpose and healthy as “instant food?” The closest thing I’ve found to instant food is eggs—yup, Grade A large, sold by the dozen. And as fortune may have it, Brookshire’s has large eggs on sale this week!

Save money, save time, save calories, save stress—all with a dozen eggs. Really! There’s the obvious breakfast of scrambled eggs, but have you ever had breakfast for supper? An omelet or frittata or quiche is perfect for that, since you have a bit more time for cooking and prep work.

But how about taking those scrambled eggs and turning them into breakfast tortillas? You can make them in bulk, and save in the fridge for freezer and you’ll have a super-speedy breakfast choice. It’s cheaper and faster than stopping at a fast food restaurant or gas station—so that qualifies it as ‘instant food,’ in my book!

Other choices? Hard boil a handful of them and you’ll always have an instant snack or dinner in the fridge. Take the hard-boiled eggs and make deviled eggs or egg salad.

When you can get eggs for two dollars (or so) for a dozen, that comes out to only about 16 cents per egg. Now THAT’S a bargain, no matter how you cut it!

Make this adorable Thanksgiving turkey from your kitchen!

The body is a spaghetti squash and the head is a pear.

Make the face with a piece of squash for a beak, raisins for eyes and bell pepper for the waddle.

Cut red bell pepper feet. Use cheese cubes and seedless grapes to make tail feathers, and fill in the gaps with pepper slices. Gobble, gobble!

Items needed:

1 Bosc pear (for the head)

1 spaghetti squash (body and beak)

Cheese cubes (tail feathers)

Red bell pepper (waddle, feet and feathers)

Green and yellow bell pepper (feathers)

Raisins (eyes)

Seedless grapes (tail feathers)

Bamboo Skewers

Toothpicks

Prep time: 30 minutes

Directions:

Cut a thin slice from the bottom of the squash so that it doesn’t roll. Using a section of bamboo skewer, attach a pear head to the squash body, as shown. Attach a squash triangle beak, raisin eyes and red bell pepper waddle to the head, with sections of toothpicks. Cut red pepper feet and set them in place. Make feathers by skewering cheese cubes and seedless grapes. Insert the skewers near the back of the turkey’s body. Cut side feathers from bell peppers and pin into place with toothpicks.

Nobody has proven that basting keeps a turkey moist, but most people do baste.

If you baste, use butter or fatty pan drippings. They contain proteins that help the skin brown. Don’t baste with water or broth. They create steam, which softens the skin. Don’t baste in the last 30 minutes of cooking.