We've been HACKED!

Our MSN email account was hacked! This has NOT been a fun experience at all. What a pain in the you-know-what. It's been 3 days now and I still can't regain access to our account. If any of you use free email services like MSN, Yahoo, etc., be so careful. Make sure you have all of your securities in place and have all of your recovery information written down somewhere. One of our big problems is that Danny created the account a few years ago and he can't remember the answer to his "security question." It too could have been compromised, we're not sure, but it won't accept the 2 answers he thinks he would have given. Because we use the "free" MSN service getting help is a complete joke. You cannot talk to a live person, everything has to be done on-line and it is ridiculous. Anyway, we are working on it and have switched our email account over to Comcast. (we should have done this months ago, duh!)

I sent out an email to all of our contacts that I could recover, if you didn't get that email then I don't have your address. Please email us your address.

cdamador@comcast.net

Happy Days Are Here Again

This is my all time favorite song from Glee. Turn off the music and the bottom of the page and enjoy Kurt (Chris) & Rachel (Lea)in this amazing classic.

My new Food Bible

I finally got my new "food bible!" It's called The Illustrated Cook's Book of Ingredients. It is AMAZING. Everytime I open it I swear I can hear the angels singing from heaven. The information on everything food related is so useful. The photography makes your mouth water. I can't stop looking at it. If you love food, you need this book. I promise, I wouldn't steer you wrong here.

Irish Meat Hand Pies

1 T. olive oil
1/4 head green cabbage, shredded
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 lb. red potatoes, diced
1 lb. ground beef
3 T. tomato paste
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt and pepper
1 cup beef broth
2 pie crusts (homemade or ready roll store bought)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet saute cabbage, carrots and potatoes in the olive oil. Cook until beginning to brown, about 12-15 minutes. Add ground beef, cook breaking up meat while stirring, until meat is cooked through. About 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, worchestershire sauce, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and broth. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Lightly mash mixture with a potato masher. Let cool completely.

(sorry couldn't get the pic to turn the right way)

On a lightly floured surface, roll each crust out a bit to make slight thinner. Using a circle cutter cut out as many circles as possible. Roll remaining dough together and repeat until all of the dough is used. Put a dollop of the meat filling on one side of the circle. Moisten the entire edge of the circle with water and fold over into a moon shape. Press the edges to seal. Use a fork to seal edges further.

Lay pies on a foil lined cooking sheet. Cut slits into the tops of each pie to allow the steam to release. Brush tops of pies with either milk or egg wash to aid in browning. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate the cooking sheet halfway through cooking time.

Luck 'o the Irish

We had a really fun St. Paddy's Day this year. I hadn't gotten a new recipe through cooking club, Irish Hand Meat Pies, and I really wanted to make them. My sister had recently made a Shepards Pie for cooking club also, so the fam got together and with combined efforts came up with a y-u-m-m-y St. Paddy's Day menu. I made the hand pies, Irish soda bread and a dessert called Queen of Pudding. My mom made corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes, and green jello salad. My sister made her Shepards Pie. My mom had the table decorated with shamrocks and gold chocolate coins, very cute!