Cranberry Salad

2 (3 ounce) packages cherry flavored Jell-O® mix
1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Directions

1.Drain crushed pineapple and save 1/4 cup of the juice. Dissolve gelatin in 2 cups of hot water. Stir in cranberries and crushed pineapple. Pour 1/2 of the mixture in a bowl and leave at room temperature, set the other 1/2 in the refrigerator until firm.

2.In a separate bowl mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, reserved pineapple juice and chopped pecans. Spread mixture over chilled gelatin.

Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Pour the room temperature gelatin over the top of the cream cheese layer and refrigerate until set.

Creamy Corn Pudding

1/2 cup butter, melted 2 eggs, beaten 1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn 1 cup sour cream Directions 1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish. 2.In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish. 3.Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

Crockpot chicken and veggies

Sometimes you just need some chicken soup. This veggie-loaded crock-pot recipe has everything you need!  Ingredients 1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved  1/2 tsp. salt  1/8 tsp. black pepper  Two 14.5-oz. cans (about 3 1/2 cups) fat-free chicken broth  One 15-oz. can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed    One 14.5-oz. can stewed tomatoes (not drained)  2 cups bagged coleslaw mix  2 carrots, chopped  1 small onion, finely diced  1 cup frozen peas  1/2 tsp. fresh thyme 1 bay leaf   Directions Evenly season chicken with 1/4 tsp. salt and the pepper. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and stir. Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours or on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Remove the chicken and place in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot and stir into the soup. Season with remaining 1/4 tsp. salt. Serve up and enjoy! Makes 10 servings PER SERVING (1/10th of recipe, about 1 cup): 150 calories, 1g fat, 570mg sodium, 15g carbs, 4.25g fiber, 5g sugars, 20.5g protein For more Tips & Tricks from Hungry Girl, sign up for the daily email! http://www.hungry-girl.com/ Like Hungry Girl on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/HungryGirl Follow HG on Twitter! http://twitter.com/hungrygirl

Sinus/ear infections

CAYENNE PEPPER WILL UNBLOCK EUSTACIAN TUBES 5/6/2006: Jack from Toledo, Ohio writes, "IF YOU SUFFER FROM SINUS HEADACHES, THIS WILL GIVE RELIEF IN 30 SECS TO 5 MINUTES DEPENDING ON HOW LONG YOU'VE HAD IT. IT WILL ALSO STOP AN ASTHMA ATTACK; TAKE 2, 8OZ GLASSES, FILL ONE WITH COOL TO COLD WATER THE OTHER WITH NO MORE WARM TO HOT WATER YOU CAN SWALLOW IN ONE GULP. IN THE HOT WATER, PUT 1/8 TO 1/4 LEVEL TEASPOON OF "CAYENNE POWDERED RED PEPPER", MIX VERY WELL, THEN PICK UP BOTH GLASSES, DOWN THE HOT WATER AND RED PEPPER IN ONE GULP "QUICKLY". AS SOON AS YOU'VE DONE THAT, PUT THE COLD WATER INTO YOUR MOUTH AND RINSE VIGOROUSLY AND SWALLOW, REPEAT THE RINSE WITH COLD WATER UNTIL YOUR MOUTH IS WARM TO HOT, QUIT RINSING, FILL YOUR LUNGS WITH ALL THE AIR THEY CAN HOLD, AND HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN, THEN LET THE AIR "SLOWLY OUT YOUR "NOSE" REPEAT THE BREATHING EXERCIZE 4 TO 5 TIMES, BY THE FIFTH TIME YOUR PAIN WILL BE GONE!! IF YOUR EUSTACIAN TUBES ARE PLUGGED UP THEY WILL OPEN IN A FEW MINUTES, AND YOU'LL FEEL YOUR SINUSES DRAINING DOWN YR THROAT, YOU'LL NEED TO BLOW YR NOSE BECAUSE THIS WILL DRAIN YOUR SINUSES. THIS WILL ALSO GIVE UP TO 32 HOURS OF ASTHMA RELIEF AS WELL AS CLEANS YOUR BLOOD OF IMPURITIES WHILE YOU SLEEP."

Blue Moon Cupcakes

(makes ~15 cupcakes)

3/4 a stick/6 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs, room temperature
4 oz buttermilk*
6 oz Blue Moon beer*
2 tsp vanilla
zest of one orange
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp baking soda

* Here's a very important tip that I wish I was someone had thrown out there prior to my diving into the cupcake-making process. Unfortunately, I ended up learning the hard way: 1 shot glass does NOT equal 1 ounce. 1 shot glass actually equals 1.5 ounces. Thankfully I had plenty of buttermilk and Blue Moon beer, so I didn't need to run to the grocery store when I had to restart my cupcake batter after Step 3.

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Melt butter and set aside to cool down.

3) Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, beer, vanilla, and orange zest in one bowl, and mix together the sugar, flour, coriander, and baking soda in another. (Here's another tip: You can make buttermilk by combining 1 tbsp lemon juice and enough milk to add up to 1 cup. So easy!)

4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two parts, using a mixer to combine. Add the melted butter and combine.

5) Pour batter into cupcake cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.

I initially attempted to make the Blue Moon cream cheese frosting that was posted with the cupcake recipe. Somehow, I ended up with a huge clumpy cream cheese mess. I'm not sure what went wrong here (although I suspect there's a typo in the recipe). Prior to executing a mad dash to the grocery store for additional frosting supplies, I decided to change my frosting approach. Since the first attempt didn't pan out, I went online in a search of an orange-flavored cream cheese frosting replacement. Ten minutes later, I found...

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted slightly)

1 package(s) (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon(s) fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon(s) grated orange zest
5 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
1.5 oz Blue Moon beer

1) Blend the cream cheese, butter, orange juice, orange zest, and Blue Moon in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium speed, until smooth.

2) Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy -- about 3 more minutes.

The actual recipe calls for the frosting to be chilled until time for use. Since I was running late for the party, of course, I just used it right away. I don't think I've frosted cupcakes this quickly in my life! However, I think the frosting would have been significantly firmer (and probably prettier) if it had been chilled. I guess that mean I need to bake these again!

Pasta Pascal

5 TB olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb angel hair pasta

Directions:

1. In medium skillet over medium high heat, saute' garlic in oil 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in onion and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 3 to 5 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. Toss hot pasta with tomato mixture. Serve.

Brazilian Chicken

4 Chicken Breasts w/ skin and bones
1 TB balsamic vinegar
1 TB olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large Ziploc bag add all ingredients and mush around to get chicken and marinade well incorporated.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours - preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 500*

Place the chicken in a metal baking pan, skin side down, and dispose of remaining marinade. Cook chicken for 10 minutes, then turn over and cook another 10 minutes. Chicken should be done through but may require a little extra time depending on the size of the chicken breast.