Panko crumbs galore!

It's a wonderful lesson for my children as they watch their cousins tweet away, unfiltered, creative and free. That's what youth is all about these days, is it not? Which is why they are not allowed to have cellphones. Panko-crusted chicken nuggets on the other hand, totally accepted fare in our conservative household. It's funny, one moment you're marinating very specifically cut chicken breasts in 2 T Worcestershire, 2 t onion powder, 1/2 t each of garlic powder and salt, and 1/4 t pepper. Thirty minutes later you're patting dry said nuggets, dredging them in 1/2 c flour, 3 egg whites whisked until foamy, and 2 c panko crumbs (pre toasted for 10-12 min at 475) mixed with 1 T canola oil. Ultimately, baking them on a wire rack at 475 for another 10-12 min. Recipes like these are not only healthy, but provide that schadenfreude you'd been missing your whole entire life, 'lil nuggets of karma. Much less vulgar and arrogant though.

Diff'rent strokes

If you're the type to Christmas shop all-year round, finding security in a gift closet filled with perfect things for everyone, well, take pride. That kind of foresight will get you far in life, it might even win over relatives and close friends, but mostly it just makes you look good. Prepared for all of life's disasters and uh-oh's is a good place to be in the scope of things. Something to strive for, definitely. On the other hand, if you just wander into libraries hoping to find perfect books on non-fiction new release shelves, only faintly wondering what it is you have against all other genres, but mostly fiction, you'll likely conclude two things. One, that a busy, fulfilled mom like yourself (unless you're a gay male masquerading as a straight husband, then please, excuse me) values non-fiction truth over fantasies written by strangers, talented though they may be. And two, no time. I mean, I would probably LOVE to get lost in a novel-that-everyone's-reading as much as anyone, if I had the time someday and gave it a chance. But instead, I'm stuck loving the hell out of whatever America's Test Kitchen's latest offering is...even if it IS Comfort Food Makeovers involving substitutions like Greek yogurt and lower fat cheeses that make all that deliciousness possible. Yum and AMEN!

Condemnation and a cure

A sentence of six months in prison over the course of six years, a husband and wife will alternate serving March and Septembers. A faith healing family who prayed for the the cure, lost their daughter to diabetes, prolonged high blood sugar over weeks, probably fueled with fluids laced with sugar. Not everyone can consume 15 grams of carbohydrates and supply a unit of insulin to cover it. Probably sees insulin, like all doctors, as a false idol, or something. Best news ever, however, scientists at Boston's Children's Hospital have figured out the molecular pathway where the immune response occurs that attacks the beta cells that produce the insulin, and results in juvenile diabetes. Other research promises to the nth degree without guaranteeing, that a vaccine will be developed to prevent this childhood atrocity from even happening. The disease CAN be reversed, the beta cells can be reborn, it's a miracle of science beyond comprehension. Spread the Word, and thank our Lord.

Dining in

This cheesy chicken and rice soup IS classic, in fact it reminds me of a similar hot dish experienced late in my college career, early on in my budding romance with my hubs,...only it was called California Medley. It was the same chicken-and-cheesy concoction, but with a bag of California Blend vegetables mixed in, something to the likes of sliced carrots, broccoli spears, and cauliflower florets. I'm SO gonna make this and find inner peace with the tablespoon of butter that goes into every serving. Not that I'm obsessed with butter ratios per serving, but definitely paying attention. Not the kind of attention people should pay to their teenagers' Twitter accounts, what with all the break ups and make ups and swearing going on. I mean, what land of well-raised children allows them to spend every moment broadcasting to the world such nonsensical strewn pronouncements. Must be 2013, or some similar justification.

Chicago girl

I can't be entirely sure if this next pasta dish landed in my lap so instantly because the Internet is so great or because prayer works amazing wonders in our lives. It felt like the latter after my recent plea to pasta, you know, to stand-up and be more representative of their race and all. And lucky for even me, only one link away from The Sisters Cafe was The Picky Palate, which in her archives featured Grown-up Spaghettios. I'll admit when I first saw this recipe I instantly thought, "I'm going ghetto". It was more of a threat, to go ghetto, and I pondered that ditalini and tomato sauce combination for about three days, realizing with more and more joy that this dish also contained our favorite, grilled chicken, along with a stick of butter and a cup of cheese. Hidden Valley Ranch enthusiasts everywhere will be glad to know a tablespoon of ranch dip mix is secretly mixed in. Now I don't know if it was the ditalini itself that was being like, I'm all cute and tiny rings, or if the outspoken cheese was getting all gooey-like, but the three fifteen ounce cans of tomato sauce definitely brought warmth to my soul. It comforted.

Easiest sauce ever

When you have a large family like I do, six kids ages 2 to fifteen, you sometimes insist on allowing inspiration to creep in at the very last minute. Standing in the kitchen gazing into empty space, your core knows a table filled with splendor is in order, your kids, your family's memories, are deserving of your best. You are so glad that during your last trip to the grocery store you indeed grabbed two pounds each of ground beef and ground pork. You stuck them in the back of your fridge, not your freezer, because you just knew from past experience that if all else fails, whipping this up couldn't fill plates any easier. I mean, browning beef and pork together, with a previously diced onion of any size, like child's play, right? Draining the hell out of it with paper towels (never pour grease down a drain!), hot and potentially dangerous, but certainly doable. It's the mixing in of two jars of Giada's Creamy Tomato sauce (available only at Target) that gets you every time, I'd suppose. The noodles? Well if al dente goes by any other name than PERFECT, I'd like to know.

Leaning towards Thai

Not that I'm an expert or anything, on foreign cuisine or flavors. I just know that I love the idea of peanut butter, ginger, and red pepper mixed with spaghetti noodles, and sesame seeds and oil. Almost as much as combining black beans with corn, onions, and jalapeños, being one who tends naturally towards cilantro and Mex-in-general. At times, and I totally know you won't understand this, I want to be led from the start by an inviting rice or a good pasta, radiatore and cavatappi currently in wait for my easiest sauce ever,...gently persuading the large elbows to finally have it out with medium shells...skillet Mac-and-cheese, paired with Mel's Sloppy Joes, a memory made to stand forever.