A hot & hearty breakfast

Yes, the weather's been warm lately, but a hot, hearty breakfast is a great way to start the weekend. So, after hours doing work on my computer, and two cups of coffee and a slice of toast, I fixed myself a real breakfast: grits, scrambled eggs, and turkey sausage. It's a simple, delicious breakfast that's suitable any day.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

This is a quick, delicious Chicken Parmesan recipe I found from Allrecipes.com. It uses just four ingredients and is ready in minutes. I wasn't sure if I should serve red or white wine, but I had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc that went well with this dish.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

1 (700 ml) jar pasta sauce
6 tablespoons KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups KRAFT Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Pour sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan. Add chicken; turn to envely coat both sides with sauce. Cover
3. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is done.
4. Top with remaining cheeses; bake 5 minutes or until mozzarella is melted.

Serving Suggestion: Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.

Note: I used one of my favorite marinara sauces: Trader Giotto's Tomato Basil Marinara from Trader Joe's. I suggest letting the dish cool about 15 minutes after it's done to allow the sauce to thicken.

Fun, Fun, Fun at SJSU Alumni Event

I recently signed up on the email list for the San Jose State Alumni Association. It's a great organization to be a part of, and they host a variety of events. This evening, the Alumni association hosted a free event at San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose, with a variety of hors d' oeuvres. Alumni members, and guests were in attendance, as well as a career coach who offered one-on-one advice to individuals looking for career advice. I had my resume critiqued, and this was the highlight of my evening. I sold one of my cookbooks, too, to someone who loves good, down home, family recipes like me. It was definitely time well spent! And, I won a gold-colored San Jose State Alumni license frame in a raffle, something I've always wanted. I'll definitely be going to more alumni events in the future.

Comfort Food for Cinco de Mayo

I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a nice Mexican meal of homemade tacos and Spanish rice! It was a delicious meal and simple to make.
I browned a mixture of ground beef and ground turkey (about a pound) in a skillet and drained the excess fat. I returned the meat to the skillet and added a package of taco seasoning and 3/4 cup of water and let it simmer til the sauce thickened.
While I was browning the meat, I fried some corn tortillas for a few seconds on each side in a pan of hot vegetable oil, then let then rest on paper towels.
I filled each tortilla with re-fried beans, meat, and a Mexican cheese blend.
For the Spanish rice, I sauteed 1 cup of white rice, 1/2 cup of onions, 1/2 cup of celery, and three teaspoons of garlic in two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Then, I added about 2 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon, 8 ounces of tomato sauce, (1) 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, and (1) 15 1/4 ounce can of corn. I seasoned the rice with about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, and chili pepper, brought the mixture to a boil, then lowered it a simmer for about 20 minutes.
Delicious, yes! Difficult to make - not at all!
Look for all my comfort food recipes in my cookbook, "Everyday Comfort Foods with Family and Friends," $8.95 available at IUniverse.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and Amazon.com.

Two Seattle's Best Coffees no longer at Target

I love Seattle's Best Coffee and have tried most of the "Levels". If you're like me, you probably have a favorite (or two). For me, it's Level 1, Level 2, and Hazelnut. But on a recent visit to a Target store in San Jose, I noticed the Level 1 was on clearance for $3.02, so I purchased a bag. I'm not complaining about the price, but I'm disappointed it's no longer available. But, I know I can find my favorite "Levels" at another grocery store.

Fun Party at Bath & Body Works

I love a good party, and though this one didn't offer any food, it made up for it with free gifts. If you receive emails and fliers from Bath & Body Works, you know they've had quite a few "parties" lately where free gifts are given with purchase. I didn't attend the last few but decided to attend the one yesterday at Oak ridge Mall in San Jose. I didn't stay long, but I had fun while I was there. I matched all five of the popular scents correctly in a game and entered my name for a drawing. There's been so many wonderful new scents coming out lately at Bath & Body Works that it's been hard to not buy one (or more). I limited myself to one item and bought a Paris Amour body lotion (and received a shower gel free, plus a free mini body lotion in one of new scents: wild blueberry tulips. Oh, did I mention I got 20% off, too! What a deal.

Quick and Easy Stir-fry

Stir-Fry's a great way to use vegetables you may toss out. My stir-fry dishes are never the same because I like using different vegetables each time. Whatever's in the refrigerator goes in. This time, I had a variety of vegetables: celery, onions, red bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, and fresh ginger. Day-old rice is best, but I often cook the rice in chicken stock about 30 minutes before cooking the vegetables. The end result is always tasty and delicious! You can find this recipe in my cookbook, "Everyday Comfort Foods with Family and Friends", $8.95 available at IUniverse.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and Amazon.com.