Pages

.

Dennys Art Sanctuary: Animation: Cute Valentines Day Doodle From Google


GoogleValBoard_01


Dennys Art Sanctuary: Animation: Cute Valentines Day Doodle From Google: From Denny: This is a delightful, animated, funny video about what women really want. Hint: It isn't about the type of gifts, what brand name they are or how much they cost. It also addresses relationship equality and how materialism isn't always the answer to life's dilemmas - even with the help of Google searches!
Enhanced by Zemanta
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Dennys Art Sanctuary: Coolest Guitar Duet: Four Hand Exchange

CSC - Guitar strings
Image via Wikipedia
Dennys Art Sanctuary: Coolest Guitar Duet: Four Hand Exchange: From Denny: This is the best guitar video I've seen in a long time. It's from the Brazilian Music Institute. As the performance opens it sure looks funny as the man puts his hands over the shoulder of the woman holding the guitar. Then you see four hands playing at once - and the music is as wonderful as the image is funny! Makes you wonder how long it took to practice the piece and not get all tangled up doing it.
Enhanced by Zemanta
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Lasagna Rolls (Chicken or Beef)


I ordered Lasagna Rolls at Olive Garden a while ago and they were delicious!  I wanted to make them at home for my family.  I thought the kids might like their lasagna rolled up for a change.  I googled "lasagna rolls" and found that there are a gazillion recipes out there.  I looked over quite a few and decided to mesh them together into my own.  

Ingredients (printable recipe)
6 lasagna noodles
1 lb. cooked chicken (white meat preferred)
OR 1 lb. cooked ground beef (seasoned with freshly ground pepper and salt)
1 (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesean
1 egg
1/2 Tablespoon McCormick Italian Seasoning
Your favorite spaghetti sauce (2 cups)
1 cup shredded mozzerella/provolone mix
Directions
Prepare lasagna noodles, drain and place on a greased (sprayed) cookie sheet, cool. Mix cheeses, egg and Italian seasoning. Pour 1 cup of sauce in baking dish.
To Assemble: On 1 lasagna noodle spread 1/6th of cheese mixture over noodle, place a few pieces of chicken or beef and roll up. Place seam side down in sauce. Continue with remaining noodles. Pour remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with mozzerella/provolone mix. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

recipe inspirations: Cooks.com, Taste of Home, Betty Crocker

I doubled this recipe and made 6 chicken and 6 beef rolls.  I like that this is a basic recipe that can easily be changed.  My husband suggested I try Italian sausage next time.  I would also like to try these with spinach inside.   

The Results...
Did everyone like their lasagna rolled-up?  Yes!  Our family liked both the chicken and beef lasagna rolls, but we preferred the chicken ones.  Everyone told me this was a 4 star (out of 5) recipe, except for my little 4 yr. old.  She said it's a 10 out of 5 stars recipe!  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture after these baked.  Just imagine these rolls steamy hot with melted cheese oozing on top, yum!  Now there are a gazillion and one Lasagna Roll recipes. :)

Here's a few ideas I picked up from looking at all those recipes:

*If you're into freezer meals, this is a good option.  You could freeze these individually and pull out as many rolls as you need. (chattymichelle.blogspot.com)

* You can also make lasagna rolls in the microwave. (Kraft recipes)

*There are many different filling ideas.....spinach (Taste of Home), prosciutto (Foodnetwork), turkey (Allrecipes), pork, Italian sausage, tofu (Eating Well), mushrooms (Foodnetwork), short ribs (Foodnetwork), so many possibilities!

*You could also make these with a cream sauce instead of a tomato sauce. (Allrecipes)

This recipe is shared at Mom's Test Meal Mondays @ Mom's Test Kitchen
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Beautiful and Easy: Decadent Chocolate Mousse Pie


Photo provided by Spice IslandsFor a delicious chocolaty dessert to celebrate Valentine's Day, try Decadent Chocolate Mousse Pie. It combines a chocolate crumb crust with semisweet chocolate chips and heavy cream -- a combination sure to appeal to most palates.





From Denny:  I love searching through the recipe databases of various companies promoting their food products.  You never know what gems you will find to inspire you to try something new or tweak a family favorite.

The recipe database at Spice Islands is a real treasure trove of goodies - and I've only started on the dessert section!  Color me into the Well Impressed Corner. :)


All this delectable recipe requires is an already prepared chocolate crumb crust you can purchase at your grocery store and then melting the chocolate chips into some of the heavy cream in a microwave.  You add your cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Yeah, I know, but what about adding the powdered sugar?  Did you forget it?  How they handle that is first they cool down the chocolate-cream mixture by placing it in a bowl over another bowl of ice and water.

Then you pull out your trusty electric mixer to whip up the remaining whipping cream into soft peaks.  Add the powdered sugar at this stage.  To keep the volume going on the pie so it looks beautiful mounded up in the pie shell, you first stir in one-third of this whipped cream into the warmer chocolate mixture.  This also equalizes the temperature of the two mixtures.

After that you carefully fold in the remaining whipped cream ever so gently.  Folding into a mixture is a slower rounded motion, not a fast slicing motion like stirring.  Remember those Julia Child episodes with Jack Pepin or the movie about her?  Julia could opine on the importance of proper folding technique for a good 15 minutes of air time.  Yeah, like that.

Once everything is gently combined you spoon it into the pie crust and chill.  When it's time to serve feel free to garnish with additional whipped cream, shaved chocolate or chocolate sprinkles and maybe some fresh berries for beautiful color contrast whether you serve it plain or adorned with more snowy white whipped cream.


Decadent Chocolate Mousse Pie

Serves: 8 - Makes 1 (9-inch) pie
Ingredients:
1 (9-inch) prepared chocolate crumb crust
1 1/4 tsps. ground Saigon cinnamon, divided
1 (12-oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
11/2 cups heavy cream, divided
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Sprinkle chocolate crust with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Combine chocolate chips and 1/2 cup whipping cream in a medium-sized microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high (100 percent) for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and vanilla extract.
3. Chill chocolate mixture in an ice water bath, stirring frequently until chocolate is cooled to room temperature.
4. Beat remaining 1 cup whipping cream on high speed of electric mixer, gradually adding powdered sugar, until soft peaks form. Stir 1⁄3 of the whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Gently fold in remaining whipped cream; spoon into crust. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or until set. If desired, garnish with additional whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles or fresh berries.






Subscribe in a reader to Romancing The Chocolate

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place.  A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 


* * * Be sure to check out the Romancing The Chocolate Amazon book store for cookbooks on chocolate!

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!


Subscribe in a reader to Romancing The Chocolate

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place.  A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 


* * * Be sure to check out the Romancing The Chocolate Amazon book store for cookbooks on chocolate!

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Enhanced by Zemanta
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Swirly Baked Apples

Is this month really half over already?!  I guess it's about time I tried something new.  Swirly Baked Apples from Martha Stewart, let's see what you got...

Ingredients (printable recipe)
1/2 stick unsalted, softened butter (1/4 cup)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 medium apples (I used Gala) skin peeled in a spiral
Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Stir together butter, sugar, oats, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  Set aside.
2.  Scoop out the center of each apples with a melon baller, being careful not to go through the bottom; discard cores.  (I used a baby spoon to get all the core out.)  Fill each apple with oat mixture, dividing evenly.  Transfer apples to a 9-inch non-reactive baking dish (I used glass).  Add 1 cup water to the dish to cover bottom of apples by 1/2 inch.  Cover dish with aluminum foil.  Bake until apples are soft, but not mushy, 40-45 minutes.  Serve warm.

Source: Martha Stewart

I misread this recipe when I made the first batch of baked apples.  I thought it said 1/2 cup of butter and I put a whole stick in the bowl, Oops!  They were still tasty, but very buttery.  I made another batch being careful to follow the directions as written.  This is one of those recipes that makes your house smell yummy and brings the kids into the kitchen to ask "what's in the oven?"  We all had to be patient while these cooked and cooled slightly.

The Results...
How 'bout these apples?  My apples didn't turn out as pretty as the ones on Martha's website, but they were still delicious!  These warm, buttery, sweet, cinnamony apples were worth the wait.  Everyone either liked or really liked these apples (3-4 star ratings).  I liked that these were easy to make using ingredients I already have in my cupboards.  Swirly Baked Apples, c'mon over to the Family Favorites list!
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Visual Insights: 57 Best Of Clever Romantic Valentines Day Photos

Children's Valentine, 1940–1950
Image via Wikipedia
Visual Insights: 57 Best Of Clever Romantic Valentines Day Photos: From Denny: Check out the cutest and funniest pet photos for Valentine's Day.

Then it's on to artistic creative photographers trying to figure out how to capture the theme of the day. It's tough to come up with something new and different for such an overdone theme as hearts. I especially like the ones of men walking across great distances in the cold weather clutching flowers for their ladies.

There are crafters and artists with creative turns on the theme, with links to their blogs. Not to be missed are the cupcake, cake and coffee food photos. One is a plate of rose petals with a fork.

Be sure to click on the photos to go to the photographers' flickr pages and blogs where they discuss their art process or the situation for the photo.

I sure had fun going through 2700 photos to do this post because so many made me laugh and others were food for inspiration. Happy Valentine's Day!
Enhanced by Zemanta
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Dennys Funny Quotes: 61 Best of Funny Mardi Gras Photos

Mardi Gras (04) - 24Feb09, New Orleans (USA)
Mardi Gras (04) - 24Feb09, New Orleans (USA) (Photo credit: philippe leroyer)
Dennys Funny Quotes: 61 Best of Funny Mardi Gras Photos: From Denny: Who said Valentine's Day had to be a bummer for the folks flying solo during this holiday? These funny Mardi Gras photos, mocking just about anything and everything that moves, will certainly bring a smile to your face.

So, if you know anyone feeling blue from this special day for lovers, send them this post full of funny photos that will have them laughing in no time.

Since it's 2012 and the whole world figures the Mayan Prophecy of the End of the World is at hand, well, we have the solution in Louisiana: party on. Our philosophy? You might as well go out in style 'cause you can't do anything about it anyway.
Enhanced by Zemanta
reade more... Résuméabuiyad