Sharing the Healthy and Fun Loving Foods We can ALL enjoy

Not by Bread Alone are we Living, Together !

Through the ongoing growth and progress of our Community, we will be updating these pages with many items of interest !

MIKE's Favorite Chili
oh, maybe I should also acknowledge The American Heart Association's
Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook hummm page 136
note: this is even better if cooked the day before you eat it.. oh, and no spoons allowed...... nice big low salt or salt free, baked chips of your choice...wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!! and for the non-meat eaters... I have substituted for the beef using meat substitutes..... it is delicious!!!!
1 pound very lean (diet) ground sirloin --- or meat substitutes!!
2 large onions, chopped
2 - 4 cloves (not whole garlics as I did the first time) minced
2 8 oz. cans of no-salt-added tomato sauce (I use diced tomatos umm)
1 & 1/2 cups of water (less if you used diced tomatos)
3 tablespoons of chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh oregano OR 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) I pass on this one pass.... pass
2 15 oz cans pinto beans... rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional) sometimes I do... sometimes I don't
1/4 cup cold water
eat with chips.... low salt or none and oven baked if possible.. use good judment here... no sense cooking this and eating it with unhealthy chips.. okay..... ready now??? Lets go......

Heat a heavy, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and saute, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Note... I have cooked this chili using meat substitutes.... it is wonderful!!!!!!!! Pour contents of pan into a strainer or colander lined with paper towels. allow fat to drain out... if you used the diet lean meat... there will be no drainage...... yeah!!!
In a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute 2-3 minutes, or until translucent. Add meat, garlic, tomatos sauce or diced tomatos and 1 1/2 cups of water (or 1 cup if using diced tomatos). Simmer 20 minutes or so. Stir in chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, oregano, pepper, salt, pinto beans and black olives (optional). Allow to simmer an additional 30 - 40 minutes (per the book) but......... I go for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the neighbors come knocking looking to eat...... I mean... if you are going to do it.... do it right... but keep checking the water level. Humm,, see, I am cooking this as I am typing... and it is now 1 & 1/2 hours since I started it and it is smelling soooo good about now. Anyway... it says to take cornstarch and mix it in with the 1/2 cup of cold water and stir it into the chili mixture to thicken and to cook an additional 3 - 4 minutes. I usually do not have to.... plenty thick after 2 - 3 hours cooking. Okay,,, it is done... serve with chips however..... I highly recommend that you stick this in the fridge and serve it the next day.... it is even better. However, after cooking it the time I do the smell is into your closet two floors up so when everyone gets home... they want to eat it now!!!!!!!!

MIKE's Secret Liver & Onions
Get out two large frying pans... put olive oil in both...you cut up potatos and put in half the pan.. the other half of that pan you put in two large cut up onions and 2 - 4 cloves of garlic.... now you get out your thawed calves liver.. and you cover in flour and put in pan on medium.... after 6 - 7 minutes around Medium High and then turn the liver and put on more flour.. now.. here comes the good part..... you take the onions and garlic from pan no. 1 and cover your liver... and you pour 1/2 cup of red wine over all and put on the lid.. allow to simmer for 5 - 7 minutes... when that is done dish up, sit back and enjoy.... Mike

And Gloria Says:
I just tried this today, and it is EXCELLENT!
If you like cabbage rolls, you will love this casserole!
Cabbage Rolls
2 lbs ground beef 1 cup chopped onion
28 oz. jar of tomato sauce 3 1/2 lb. uncooked cabbage, chopped
1 cup uncooked rice 2 (13.75 oz) cans beef broth
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, brown beef until redness is gone. Drain off fat. In a large bowl combine onion, tomato sauce, rice and cabbage. Add meat and mix all together. Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour broth over mixture. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake in oven for 1 hour. Stir. Replace cover and bake for another 45 minutes.

Beautiful Flavors and Healthy * Grilled Grouper With Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

The full flavors of this compound butter go well with any grilled fish. Serves 4
1 1/2 pound Grouper filets
4 ounces Butter
1/4 cup Sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Basil, fresh, chopped
Allow the butter to reach room temperature. Soak the tomatoes in warm water until soft. Drain and add to food processor. Pulse until pureed. Add garlic, basil, and butter and pulse until just mixed. Place on wax paper or parchment and roll into a cylinder. Refrigerate. Grill fish. Thinly (1/4 inch) slice the prepared (cold) butter. Place two slices on top of hot fish. Serve immediately.

Blogging to Attract Customers

Drive traffic to your listings with your Auctiva Store blog.

About the Author

Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with power sellers and other market experts.Other Entries by this Author

Want an easy way to promote your products and generate more clicks on your eBay listings without spending a dime or lots of time studying search engine optimization? Try blogging.
It's easier than you might think. If you have an account with Auctiva, then you already have a blog page. When buyers open your Auctiva Store, the Blog tab will display on the upper right corner of the page. To view and manage your Auctiva Store and its blog page, simply log in to your account and click on the Store tab. A link to your store (e.g.,


http://store.auctiva.com/auctivausername)


will be shown.
Blogs are one of the most valuable, yet underused features of Auctiva—likely because users feel they either don't have the time, the technical know-how or anything interesting to say. But that perception is beginning to change. According to Kevin Kinell, Auctiva's vice president of engineering, Auctiva users create more than 100 blog posts every day and nearly 18,000 have posted at least one blog entry.
"I was kind of shy about blogging at first," says Michelle Coulter, owner of Michelle's Merchandise and an avid Auctiva blogger. "I didn't know how to promote my stuff."
Coulter now blogs every listing to boost exposure to her items. Each time she creates an eBay listing, she copies the item description into a new blog entry, spices it up with additional comments, adds a title and some keywords, and enters the item number to associate the blog to the item she has just listed. Just a few extra keystrokes later and she's created an entirely new, and free, advertisement.





http://www.auctiva.com/?how=aff_maggiesart

“Every night, Auctiva submits new blog entries to Google Directory to drive natural traffic to your site”
Here are some tips to ensure your blog gets read by search engines:

Mind your META tags. META tags are the words and phrases that search engines use to decide how to place your site in their indexes. Your META Title is probably the biggest factor in determining which keywords will find your listing on major search engines such as Yahoo! and MSN. META Keywords are additional relevant terms that people might use to search for an item like the one you're selling. Sprinkle those same keywords throughout your blog. Auctiva's technical support team recommends repeating keywords three to four times on the page.

Link to your blog and store. The more links you have pointing to your blog, the higher search engines will rank the page. So if you have other Web sites or blogs, or you participate in discussion forums, paste in a link to your Auctiva Store and/or blog. Include the URL in all your correspondence with buyers, on your business card, on your shipping invoice and so on, to help drive additional traffic to your store.

Use a custom domain. This will get you a higher ranking on Google—and it looks more professional to your customers. Customers can e-mail you at that domain and messages will go directly to you. Instead of "http://www.auctiva.com/stores/viewstore.aspx?id=awesomedude," wouldn't you rather customers see "http://www.awesomedude.com/blog.aspx?" Plus, it's a great way to promote your brand and encourage repeat buyers.

Custom domains are available for Auctiva Stores for an annual fee of less than $10. The sign-up can be found under the Stores tab on the Auctiva site. If you purchase a domain through Auctiva, Auctiva will automatically link it to your store.

Update often. Updating your blog helps keep your keywords and items current for people searching the Web. Adding new information encourages search engines to crawl your pages more often. Whatever form your blog takes, keep entries relevant to what you are selling. This way, the Googles of the world will start to see you as an "expert," and rank you higher in searches.

So, why not give blogging a try? You have nothing to lose—but potentially much to gain.

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Sharing the Healthy and Fun Loving Foods We can ALL enjoy

Members are asked to submit any of their favorite Comfort and Relaxing Food ideas with credit given to whomever may be required.
{{{{{Healing Foods For Body & Spirit}}}}}
Thinking of quality menus with the Busy Lifestyle in mind and Positive Family Nutrition as the Primary concern.
The Key *= resistance to Fast Food and attention to Good Food, FAST
* * * Let The Party Begin * * *

Starters & Finger Foods (careful now! Qj^)

Rann Replies with a Classic
Texas Caviar
Los Barrios Restaurant Recipes from Chef and author Emeril Lagasse
Ingredients
2 - 16oz cans of black beans
1 - 16oz can of corn
1 - 16oz can of garbanzo beans
Approx. 8 medium tomatoes diced
1 medium green pepper diced
1 red or white onion diced (medium or to taste)
2 - 4oz cans of diced green chiles
1 jicama peeled and diced
1 bunch of cilantro finely chopped
1 - 32oz. jar of your favorite salsa (optional)
juice of 4-5 fresh limes
2-3 cloves pressed garlic
3 diced avocados
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate several hours then serve with chips at room temperature.
Note: You may add or delete any of the ingredients. This is a fun recipe to experiment with.

SALADS
Mike D. shares this "Joy of Cooking":
This uncooked seasoning can be used on Pasta, about 2 Tablespoons to a portion, with equal parts of butter; or 1 tablespoon to a dish of minestrone or on a baked potato. It can be made in advance and stored in a cool place. Run a film of olive oil over the top before covering, and store refrigerated.
BASIL PESTO
In a food processor, combine:
1 & 1/2 C. Fresh Basil Leaves, cleaned and destemmed
parsley may be substituted, but the flavor is
VERY different, (duh!)
2 cloves Fresh Garlic
1/4 C. Pine nuts
Add, until it forms a thick puree:
3/4 C. thinly grated Parmesan cheese
When the mixture is really thick, add very slowly, stiring constantly:
About 3/4 C. Olive oil until the consistency of creamed butter.

I love this spread on French Bread crustades, stuffed in cherry tomtoes, as a garnish for grilled Tuna, the possibilities are ENDLESS.......................

It actually makes a GREAT dressing for cheese tortellini mixed with diced red bell peppers and used as a salad

Link to GREAT Gifts for Family & Friends

Link to GREAT Gifts for Family & Friends

ANY THREE ITEMS BOUGHT THE SAME DAY FROM THIS E-BAY WEBSTORE ENTITLES FREE SHIPPING * for COMPLETE Catalog of items Available for ANY GIFT GIVING REASON LQQK HERE ! ! !

Where is the Calcium?

Where is the Calcium?

Milk is commonly thought to be the Premier source of Calcium, but many other foods contain calcium। Consider that a cup of cow's milk contains about 300 milligrams of calcium. The following portions of foods each each supply the indicated amounts of calcium:

1 C. collard greens 148 mg
1 oz. Swiss cheese 262 mg
10 dried figs 269 mg
3 oz. Sardines 372 mg
Even such foods as turnips and kidney beans contain some calcium. Official opinions on calcium needs vary and in the US, the suggested daily calcium intake is 800 mg for kids 4 to 8 years old, 1,300 mg for 9 to 18 yr olds and 1,000 mg/day for Adults. In the UK, amounts are somewhat lower depending on ages and the recommended amount for Adults is 700 mg/day
To learn more about Nutrition WITH and for your children through a wonderful interactive site, Visit and Bookmark the link connected to the main title of this Blog entry Title

Then, there ARE some Secrets about Bar-B-Que, Carolina Style.....

Secret BBQ Sauce
1 bottle Kraft "Honey Flavored" BBQ sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Cola type carbonated Beverage...we use Coke or Dr Pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Texas Pete Hot Sauce
Adolphs unseasoned meat tenderizer (use amount recommended on bottle for the amount of meat that you are marinating)
Mix all ingredients together....we heat the honey in the microwave for a minute or so to make it easier to stir in with other ingredients.
Stick the meat with a fork making many holes for the sauce to seep into the meat.
Marinate chicken, pork, or beef in Secret Sauce.
Cook on grill at medium heat...a hot fire causes the sugars in the sauce to char very fast.
Also, you can bake your meat in a 350 degree oven until done......I just marinate the meat in a baking dish...then slide it into the oven (cover dish)
My husband is responsible for the creation of this sauce...he uses it on everything he grills from hamburgers and hotdogs to boneless chicken breasts. He brushes it on meat that isn't marinated....ie...hotdogs hamburgers shrimp
Dee Wright

Some Interesting Tomato Sauces and

Some Interesting Tomato Sauces and EASY Meals ARE TOPS !

As the Group becomes more involved and excited about sharing, the quantity and diversity of the ideas shared increases. Join In Today...............

I would but don't use a recipe! I just do it with what I have usually tomato sauce, or that Italian stewed tomato sauce, I like one small can of tomato paste it helps take the edge off the acid for me and sweetens it a mite. I always start with fresh clove of garlic, then chopped onions. I put allot of Italian herbs in too!
I add some Black strap Molasses too! hehe did that to make sure youngest got her IRON and cook it in a Cast Iron Skillet..
I guess I inherited some above from my MO born Mom! lol.. No Italians in this family! ha! But don't ask for a recipe OK! lol.. Warm Hugs, Jamie
PS I use this sauce for; Spaghetti, Ravioli, and pizza (We love French bread cut in half spread some butter then put the sauce on and add cheese! (Pizza Bread)
YUMMmmmmm...........
And Then, Cheefsfan1 CAN........................
Meatballs
2 Pkgs. Mendozoli's (or your favorite store brand) Mild (or Hot) Italian Sausage (not bulk....the kind that looks like bratwurst).
Cut into "meatball size" chunks and brown slowly in skillet. Add a small amount of olive oil if your sausage is lean. Cook until done through. Set aside.
For the Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
2 large onions, chopped
1 cluster (not clove) garlic, chopped
1 green (or red) bell pepper, chopped
1 lb. button mushrooms, sliced or chopped (optional)
olive oil (for sauteing)
2- 28 oz. cans Hunts Choice-Cut Diced Tomatoes
2- 28 oz. cans Hunts Tomato Sauce
2- 10 oz cans Ro-Tel Mexican Festival Diced Tomatoes (with lime juice and cilantro)
1/4 cup oregano leaves (or 1/2 cup fresh chopped oregano)
2 Tbls. Basil leaves
2 Tbls. Rosemary
1 Tbls. Thyme
2 Tbls. cumin
Dash of sugar (to bring out flavor)
Dash of salt (to bring out flavor)
Preparation:
In large Dutch oven or stock pot, put in enough olive oil to cover the bottom for sauteing. Heat oil to medium-high. Add garlic and saute approx. one minute until oil is "garlic-flavored". Add onions, green (or red) bell pepers, and mushrooms (if used). Saute until tender-crisp.
Add remaining ingredients. At medium-high heat bring just to boiling stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 4 to 6 hours, longer is fine too.
Add the meatballs the last 30 minutes of cooking.

(Note: for those of you that like a more tomato chunky sause....in the last 30 minutes you can add another 28 oz. can of Hunts Choice-Cut Diced tomatoes).

(Note 2: for those of you that like a hotter-spiced sauce (like me), you can add either a can of Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes, or Ro-Tel Extra Hot Diced Tomatoes for the last 30 minutes, OR chopped jalapeno's or habenero's to taste).