(brownie on left is recipe #1, center and right brownie is recipe #2 with no almonds added to center brownie)

Notes – Mary Kennedy sends goodies to the troops every month.  She put in a request for me to work up some Blond Brownies that would ship well.  The first recipe Blond Brownies #1 are wonderful but I don’t think they will ship very well.  I don’t think the cream cheese would travel very well.  The recipe for Blond Brownies #2 is also wonderful and there should be no problem with shipping.  This one can easily have taste changes.  The chips can be changed to white chocolate, peanut butter and even chocolate.  The nuts can be changed to pecans or walnut.  Flavor wise, I have to say I like both equally.

View both recipes by going to Martha’s Recipes

I’ve received notice that Stir, Laugh, Repeat will soon be on it’s way to the LA Times Book Festival.  The Festival is in April and draws over 100,000 people.  Author’s on the Road will be attending the festival, promoting books and handing out book markers.  Thank you Author’s on the Road!

I want to share another great Amazon review for my cookbook Stir, Laugh, Repeat

This is the cookbook you’ve been waiting for,

By	Mary Kennedy (east coast)

Like many cookbook collectors, I’m always on the lookout for a new cookbook and I’ve found it in Stir, Laugh, Repeat. The range of recipes is enormous, and all of the selections are fun, easy and a joy to prepare. I can see that the Coconut Loaf Cake is going to be a family favorite, with Pina Colada cake also at the top of the list. This is a fun book and the recipes are terrific, I also love the comments that Martha includes. She offers little stories about her experiences making the recipes, the reactions of the taste testers,etc. Whether you’re looking for something fabulous to take to a party (Coconut Ice Box Sheet Cake)or a quick recipe for Sunday breakfast (Monkey Bread) you are bound to find something here to delight you! I had tried several of Martha’s recipes on her website and just had to have this book.

Today I told one of the men at work that I planned to make pork chops for dinner and wished I could come up with a really good but simple recipe.  He suggested seasoning the chops with Taco seasoning.  At first I thought UGH!  But the more I thought about it the more I decided to give it a try.  So, I mixed together about 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 a package of Taco seasoning.  I sprayed a large frying pan with non-stick spray and fried my chops.  I wasn’t really hungry, which was good since I didn’t expect much from this combination.  Boy was I wrong.  They were delicious!  By mixing the seasoning with the flour the taste was toned down perfectly.  It also gave me another idea.  I think I’ll making a tenderloin seasoned with Taco seasoning. 

This cake is PERFECT as it is but if you find you must make a change or two you might add some spices such as allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon or a mix of your favorite flavors.  You can use pecans or walnuts, I used pecans.  You can make the cake in a 13 x 9 baking pan instead of a tube pan.  Something else I like to do is apply half of the icing while the cake is still hot, poking holes in the cake allowing some of the icing to run inside.  I then add the rest of the icing after the cake cools.  If you make yours in a baking pan you can easily do this but remember to adjust your cooking time according to your pan. View the full recipe by going to Martha’s Recipes

Picante Chicken & Rice Bake

From: Campbell’s Kitchen
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 45 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 jar (16 ounces) Pace® Picante Sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup whole kernel corn
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
Paprika
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Stir the picante sauce, water, corn and rice in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with the paprika. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 375°F. for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Sprinkle with the cheese.

If you don’t have Cheddar cheese on hand, you can substitute an equal amount of shredded Monterey Jack or a Mexican cheese blend.

Nutrition Information

Nutritional Values per Serving using Pace Picante Sauce: Calories 381, Total Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 4g, Cholesterol 81mg, Sodium 1015mg, Total Carbohydrate 43g, Dietary Fiber 5g, Protein 31g, Vitamin A 11%DV, Vitamin C 0%DV, Calcium 13%DV, Iron 15%DV

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!