Make your graduation gift the one that actually gets used

View at Picasa beauty girl jumping in field under blue sky15-Jul-2006 08:47, Canon Canon EOS 350D DIGIT, 5.6, 70.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 100

The Mama Says, ‘No More Frozen Pizza!’ recipe kit is a unique collection of easy-to-prepare, nutritious and delicious recipes for new cooks. The easy-to-follow directions and photos of the completed dishes inspires them to turn fresh (and affordable) ingredients into healthy meals.

Help the new college grad in your life say “no” to processed food and “yes” to cooking quick and nutritious meals.

View at Picasa Canon Canon EOS-1Ds Mark I

It Only Looks Like A Pizza Box.                                           Inside are recipes for main dishes, sides and salads

Each recipe card features a photo of the dish on one side; the other side has a list of ingredients (many are pantry staples), cooking directions, and an equipment list.

Order Today. Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” is available online at Target.com and Amazon.com.

View at Picasa jumping couple in field under clouds15-Jul-2006 10:36, Canon Canon EOS 350D DIGIT, 9.0, 30.0mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 100

Give the hip gift that teaches skills for a lifetime.

Photo credits: BEAUTY GIRL JUMPING IN FIELD & JUMPING COUPLE IN FIELD UNDER CLOUDS © Anatoly Tiplyashin | Dreamstime.com

Quick and Easy Supper Recipe

View at Picasa Farmer’s Market near Bra, Italy — home of the slow food movement14-Jul-2007 11:27, CASIO COMPUTER CO.,L EX-Z600, 4.6, 15.3mm, 0.008 sec

  My sister Becky is a salad dressing maven.  With a dash of this, a splash of that, a little of something else, a sprinkle of herbs, whisk, whisk, whisk and viola she creates the most divine homemade dressings. Her most requested salad dressing is a combination of EVOO, vinegar, Dijon, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious. Building on her salad dressing I created a marinade for chicken.  This is the perfect family meal or can be spruced up for company.  I made this dish when my Aunt and Uncle were visiting from Ohio on a Sunday afternoon. It’s the perfect meal for family, company or a busy weeknight.

Over Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients
•    1/3 cup olive oil
•    2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
•    Juice of one lemon (reserve the shells)
•    2 heaping tablespoons white wine (or vinegar)
•    4 or more sprigs of fresh rosemary
•    1 sweet onion or shallot, cut into quarters
•    1 3 – 5 pound roasting chicken, rinsed, patted dry, giblets removed
•    1 cup chicken broth (optional for sauce)
•    Salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk mustard, oil, lemon juice and wine in a small bowl. Place 3 sprigs of rosemary in the center of a large roasting pan and place the chicken on top of the sprigs. Place remaining sprigs of rosemary, the lemon shells and the onions quarters inside the chicken. Pour the mustard mixture over the chicken to coat inside and out. Roast until the thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (depending on the size of your chicken).  If using a cut-up fryer, bake for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.

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  When the chicken is done, transfer to the platter to rest for 10 minutes before cutting or serving. Remove lemon shell and rosemary sprigs. You can make an optional sauce with the pan juices by spooning off the fat from the juices and discarding rosemary sprigs.  Place the roasting pan over two burners on the stoves over high heat.  Whisk in additional liquid (approx 1 cup wine, broth, water). Boil until reduced to 1 ¼ cups, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

•    2 tablespoons olive oil
•    Salt and pepper
•    1 teaspoon dried herbs (your choice Italian, Herbs de Province, Marjoram etc)
•    2 medium sweet onions or 1 large fennel bulb, each cut into 8 wedges
•    3 medium zucchinis, cut into circles
•    1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into thirds

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  Note: Small fingerling, creamer (red) or any other small potatoes are also ideal for oven roasting along with many other root vegetables.

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  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Whisk first three items in a large bowl. Toss onion or fennel, zucchini, and carrots with olive oil mixture in bowl. Spread seasoned vegetables out on baking sheet. Roast until tender and beginning to brown, stirring twice, about 1 hour. Place around chicken on the platter. Serve with sauce.

Be creative in your herb selection. You can also use whole sprigs of rosemary, oregano, thyme, etc along with a sprinkle of paprika. When pinched for time, I’ve also reserved two tablespoons of the EVOO/Dijon as a marinade for the vegetables.

It’s Graduation Season

Just a quick reminder: Graduation is an important step in a young person’s life. And whether you are a family friend or relative you want celebrate the achievement.

While stores don’t offer college graduation gift registries, you can find that perfect gift for a college graduate. Since they are starting fresh they need a variety of things to help them make the most their newfound independence. Your practical graduation gift will help them set-up their first apartment, learn to cook for themselves and avoid a life of calorie-filled take-out meals.

What better gift for a recent college grad than something for their first post-college home – perhaps something for their kitchen?

Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!”
Save someone you love from a life of frozen pizza!

Available online at www.mamasays.us

I know today is Cinco de Mayo.  I know I’m supposed to blog about mexican food, beer, tequila.  But I figured that since everyone else in the blogosphere is doing that, I’d take  a slightly different path today and talk about something a bit nearer and dearer to my heart – college graduation.

My second son just finished his last class at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.  (Whoo hoo, go Michael!)   So that got me thinking about a lot of different things.  One of those things was that I needed to get a bunch of college graduation gifts because it means that his friends are also graduating this month.

I randomly and totally unscientifically surveyed a number of graduating kids, and here’s what I heard about getting them a gift:

The #1 gift request is MONEY.  Surprise.

The #2 gift request is something that will help them live on their budget as they head off into apartments next year for grad school or work.  Shamelessly, I asked them about the Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe box.  YES!! They proclaimed, something great like that.

The #3 gift request is for something fun – like DVDs or music downloads or a whole bunch of movie tickets - something that they’re going to really want to do/see/listen to but won’t have any extra money to spend.

The #4 and #5 gift requests are money.  Again.  A recurring theme. Big surprise.

So why not do whatever you can to help these young adults fend for themselves in the real world next year, and give them something they really want – like a chance to feed themselves, stay on their budgets, have a little extra pocket change, and have a great time doing it.

Create your own escape

Lines at HandF Bakery – Peachtree Farmers Market Atlanta View at Picasa Lines at HandF Bakery – Peachtree Farmers Market Atlanta12-Sep-2008 21:00, CASIO COMPUTER CO.,L EX-Z600, 2.7, 6.2mm, 0.005 sec

Mama Lynn…looking forward to Sunday morning. After several weeks of tough economic news and the seemingly endless campaign, I’ve promised myself a day free from talk shows, news programs, and the like. Tomorrow will be my day to get caught-up on reading, organizing and some fall gardening.

I plan to start the day on the screened in porch with a cup of coffee and my favorite sections of the paper (I’ve been setting them aside all week). On the top of the stack are the Wednesday food sections from the New York Times (NYT) and the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC).

I’ve been following the Dinner Dare feature in the AJC. In this new feature a local chef is dared to create a dinner in 30 minutes. This week, the AJC Dinner Dare is with Linton Hopkins (he’s part of the team behind H&F Bread Company, Restaurant Eugene and Holman & Finch Public House). For the dare, Hopkins created a one-pot dish of braised chicken thighs. Can’t wait to read the details; I love one-pot meals and one-bowl dinners!

And since, it is Sunday, I will make a beeline for the New York Times Magazine to see what food is profiled while hubby dives for The Week in Review.

Have you been following the buzz from Mark Bittman’s October 8th blog Bitten No-Knead Bread? The recipe is receiving rave reviews, which leads this experienced brick-maker to believe that this recipe will be the cure to my inability to make a decent loaf of bread.

View at Picasa Granville Island Public Market – Vancouver, BC06-Sep-2008 07:02, CASIO COMPUTER CO.,L EX-Z600, 2.7, 6.2mm, 0.017 sec

A quick note of thanks for your emails regarding the Mama Says, No More Frozen Pizza! recipe collection. We appreciate the feedback and are thrilled to hear about how your nieces, nephews and recent college graduates are enjoying their gift.

Mama Says…in the news

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If you want to know where to go, what to eat, what to do, what’s (and who’s) in and out, what to wear and what’s REALLY going on in our big city, you absolutely have to read Atlanta Magazine. It’s THE repository of style, dining, fashion, shopping, real estate and much much more.

And in case you’re wondering what Jennifer Senator is blogging about today on Bites and Flights, you’ll just have to go and check it out. (I’ll give you a hint…..MAMA SAYS, “More Frozen Pizza! ….go check it out!!!)

Groovy.