Martha A. Cheves's Blog, page 163

Festival Results

The Mint Hill Art in the Park Festival was great. I took my Fruit Salad as a sample dish from my cookbook Stir, Laugh, Repeat and it went over better than my Cracker Bars that I normally take to my book signings. It was hot and the salad was a refreshing treat that everyone loved.

Now for those of you keeping up with the $25.00 contest. My book sales are now up to 16. It's getting close. Remember, the person who buys book #25 will receive their choice of $25.00 cash or a $25.00 Amazon Gift C

Fruit Salad for Afternoon in the Park

Today I'll be at the Mint Hill Afternoon in the Park Festival. Normally when I do book signings I take my Cracker Bars to serve as a sample recipe from Stir, Laugh, Repeat. But due to them being made with white chocolate, combined with the heat, I decided to do a variation of my recipe for Chuck's Fruit Salad. The recipe for Chuck's Fruit Salad found in Stir, Laugh, Repeat, is a an "example" recipe. As with all of my recipes, I offer ingredient change suggestions making the dish fit your own

Keeping Lettuce Fresh

Last April I had the pleasure of doing 2 book signings in Florida. What really made this a special trip was being able to meet a very special lady and her family in person after talking to her for almost a year on the computer. While there, Lillian cooked dinner for myself and a friend that took the trip with me. I love a good salad and usually have a head of lettuce in my refrigerator at all times. But, more often than not, my lettuce goes bad before it's all used, especially if it's leaf le

Cooking Tip - Spinach

When I make a dish that requires spinach I've always used what I call my "twister towel" to remove excess liquid. This towel is used for nothing but my spinach. I would place the spinach inside the towel, hold it over the sink and twist the liquid out. I've retired my "twister towel." There is an easy, less messy way that brings the same results.

Place your spinach evenly on a plate. Take another plate, of the same size, place it on top, bottom side down. Press the two plates together whi

Nutty Coconut Pie

I love coconut so when I made this pie you could say I was in "Pie Heaven." It's simple, full of coconut as well as nuts (I used pecans but walnuts would work just as well) To view the full recipe click on Martha's Kitchen Korner in the right sidebar.

Contest

I've decided to have a contest. Tomorrow I'm mailing out 5 copies of my cookbook Stir, Laugh, Repeat. Sunday I'll be at a 1 day festival in Mint Hill, NC doing a book signing for Stir, Laugh, Repeat. This is how the contest will work. The person that buys book #25 will receive a $25.00 bonus. It will be the winner's choice. You can take $25.00 in cash or $25.00 in an Amazon gift card. Now think about it. I'm already up to book #5. That leaves 20 more books to sell. I have the festival c

Cooking Tip

Quick Tip - The next time your recipe calls for cooked rice, try substituting cooked barley. I've found this to work great in everything from stuffed bell peppers to chicken and rice dishes. Don't know if you like barley? There's a simple way to find out. Cook up a small amount. If you are making a chicken and rice dish, spoon just a little of the chicken mixture into the barley and taste. It's really good and it's good for you.

Chicken & Wild Rice Roll Ups

[image error]
Last weekend I found Deli chicken on sale. I bought 1/2 lb., made a sandwich for lunch, then tried to decide what to do with the rest. Remember my motto is to "Think with your taste buds." I think I need to add something to that. Think with your eyes and imagination too. While going through a magazine I ran across a recipe for stuffed chicken. Then it hit me! Why not use Deli sliced chicken?! It's already cooked. It's thin sliced so you don't have to pound the chicken in hopes of making

Baked Chicken Fingers

Most kids love chicken fingers and so do I, but I've found that most of the pre-packaged types are made from minced/chopped/pressed chicken pieces. I really prefer the more pricy whole pieces of chicken so I know exactly what I'm eating. It is convenient to just pull a bag out of the freezer and pop them into the oven. But there is also a simple way to make your own and still not spend much time in preparation.

Now and then I find boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale and I usually stoc

Lemon Carrots

I've just posted a quick and easy recipe for carrots glazed in a lemon sauce. To view the full recipe click on Martha's Kitchen Korner in the right sidebar.