Thanksgiving books

Here are three great children's books about Thanksgiving:

Pilkey, Dav. 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving. New York: Orchard Books, 1990.

While on a field trip to Farmer Mack Nugget's farm, students decide to save the lives of 8 gobblers cleverly named Ollie, Stanley, Larry, Moe, Wally, Beaver, Shemp, and Groucho. This funny book is by the author of the Captain Underpants series. For maximum comic effect, read this one aloud.

Jackson, Alison, and Judith Byron Schachner. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 1997.

This one always gets a big laugh in story time. Children love chiming in to guess the next rhyming word.


On a more serious note . . .

Cohen, Barbara, and Daniel M. Duffy. Molly's Pilgrim. New York: Lothrop Lee & Shepard Books, 1998.

Author Barbara Cohen won the National Jewish Book Award for this bittersweet story about a third grade girl from an immigrant family. Be prepared to cry.

Low calorie foods: the good, the not so bad, and the downright yucky

Click on the images for calorie counts.

The good:










Did you know that McDonald's only serves reduced fat ice cream?







Although it's not advertised on the label, toaster strudels only have 190 calories!






Publix runs out of these delicious carrot cakes in seconds flat.

Sometimes I serve Lean Cuisine meals on little plates and pass them off as tapas.

The not so bad:










Hungry Girl approved!

These soft tortillas are perfect for fish tacos.






Publix brand multigrain waffles are so good that they don't need butter or syrup.

and the downright yucky:










Blech!

Deep Dish

Deep Dish is part southern chick lit, part foodie fiction, and part romantic comedy. If you liked Jennifer Weiner's In Her Shoes, you will probably like this book, too.

Andrews, Mary Kay. Deep Dish. New York: Harper, 2009.

Top 5 list

Top 5 things I don't like that other people seem to love.

1. Chocolate

2. Louis Vuitton

3. The History Channel


4. Family Guy

5. Books about vampires

Cooking

Cooking is not my forte, but here are some original recipes that aren't half bad:

Breakfast quesadilla
put one corn tortilla on a plate
cover with shredded sharp cheddar cheese
sprinkle on some raisins
zap for 45 seconds












Pierogi casserole
put frozen pierogi in a Pyrex lasagna dish
pour on a jar of alfredo sauce
add broccoli florets for color
cover with bread crumbs
drizzle with melted butter
bake














Foamy chai latte
pour a lot of Splenda into a glass
add a chai tea bag
add boiling water
add well-shaken vanilla soy milk
don't stir or you'll lose the foam









Carrot cake
prepare batter according to directions on Duncan Hines mix box
add shredded coconut
add walnut pieces
add golden raisins
add shredded carrots
add pineapple chunks
bake and cool
frost with 2 cans of Duncan Hines cream cheese icing








Grainy corn muffins
Prepare batter according to instructions on the Jiffy mix box
stir in canned corn and corn meal
bake