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For the cake 2 cups baking mix 2/3 cup of milk 2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg 1 tart green apple, cored, peeled & sliced For the topping 1/3 cup baking mix 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 tablespoons butter (diced & kept chilled) Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 8" square pan or 9" round pan. In a mixing bowl, beat baking mix, milk, egg and sugar until smooth. Spread the batter in pan and insert the apple slices evenly throughout around the cake. In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients with a fork. Spread over top of cake. Add butter dabs evenly over the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown, testing with a toothpick.

1 pound pearl onions, about 1 inch in diameter 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups chicken stock Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon sugar Blanch the onions in boiling water for one minute. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Slice off the ends; slip off the skins. (You can skip this step if you are using pre-prepared frozen pearl onions.) Sauté the peeled onions in one layer in 2 tablespoons butter until lightly browned. Add chicken stock, salt, and sugar. Cover and simmer slowly 25 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover, bring heat to high and boil off excess liquid. Remove from heat and fold in remaining butter.

For the Stuffing -- 10 slices bread, lightly toasted 1/2 diced celery 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 small shallot, diced 1 small Granny Smith apple, cored & diced 5 strips bacon (cut into 1/2 inch pieces) 1 tablespoon thyme 3 tablespoons fresh chives (chopped) 2 tablespoons sage (chopped) 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (chopped) 1/4 cup fresh parsley (chopped) 2 Eggs 3 tablespoons lemon juice For the Pork -- 2 pound pork loin 8-10 slices bacon salt pepper For the Sauce -- Pan drippings 1 cup blackberry jelly ½ to 1 cup red wine (merlot works best) 1 shallot, chopped 4 cups chicken stock 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Preheat oven to 350°F. To prepare the stuffing, in a large bowl, tear the bread into small pieces and set aside. In a large skillet, fry the chopped bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and add to the bread. Add one tablespoon butter to the skillet and saute the celery, garlic, shallot & apple until tender. Pour saute mixture over the bread. Mix in herbs an

What to make of the birthers , tenthers , teabaggers and Palinites ... I take some issue with Carter, Dowd and other pundits . What I see is not so much the rabid KKK hooded racism of the pre -Civil Rights Movement era, but the cranky "Archie Bunker" bigotry variety. Let me explain... Their behavior rooted in a stubborn refusal to change -- their world is the way it is and always will be, no matter what evidence is shown them. They don't like change. They don't want change. And they're mad as hell that despite their raging at the ocean, the tide is still coming in. The angriest cling to illusions of privilege that they never enjoyed or had a remote chance of getting -- and their only recourse is to blame people and groups that have moved on and up for their lot. They prefer to be willfully ignorant of the real world around them and adamantly refuse to acknowledge reality even when it smacks them in the face. Most will continue to make political mischief on an in

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Moral Kombat www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

2 cups flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon cloves 2 eggs, beaten 2 cups applesauce 1 cup vegetable oil (canola or safflower) 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup raisins Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease & flour a 13x9 baking pan. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add eggs, applesauce, vanilla and vegetable oil. Mix well. Fold in raisins and mix until raisins are evenly distributed. Pour into baking pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.

If teabaggers in Medicare-provided wheel chairs demonstrating for the end of government-run health care weren't humor enough, we'll always have birther nut-job Orly Taitz. On the heels of being reprimanded by a judge for filing frivolous lawsuits (and begging for additional contempt charges) -- her client in said suit wants nothing to do with her and is threatening to file a complaint against Taitz for her "reprehensible and unprofessional actions," it will be at least the second Taitz faces in the California bar. Now, Orly fires back with the only thing she knows: the ex-client's letter is a forgery !

Of course, we've had hand sanitizer and tissues in all common areas, meeting rooms, etc. since the threat of avian flu a couple of years ago... even so, it's definitely keeping the topic front and center -- everyone looks funny at anyone who coughs or sneezes.

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1/2 cup lemon juice Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook beans in boiling salted water in large uncovered saucepan on medium-high heat 7 minutes or until tender-crisp. Drain and rinse with ice water. Place green beans in a casserole dish. Toss with lemon juice, butter, basil, oregano and lemon peel. Cover and set in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 150° or "warm".

What an ass.

4 chicken breasts halves, skinless, boneless 1/4 cup flour 1/8 teaspoon. salt Black pepper, freshly ground (to taste) 1 cup sliced mushrooms 2 tablespoons sliced green onions 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 lemon -grated peel and juice 1 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup dry white wine 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch wide strips. In shallow bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. Toss strips in flour mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet, cook mushrooms and green onions till tender; remove from skillet. Add remaining butter. In same skillet, brown chicken pieces on all sides over medium-high heat. Lower heat, return mushroom mixture to skillet. Carefully add the broth, white wine, lemon peel and juice, and marjoram. Cook uncovered, over medium heat for several minutes, or until sauce thickens slightly. Serve with potatoes and green beans.

Or just how much of an idiot is Glenn Beck? (Rhetorical question.)

Great for breakfast or serve warm with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar + 3 tablespoons, divided 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt Zest of one orange 1 large egg, lightly beaten 3/4 cup buttermilk 2/3 cup vegetable oil (safflower or canola work best) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (note, if frozen, do not thaw the berries as this will let the juices bleed into the batter) Preheat oven to 375F Position rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non stick cooking spray 12 - 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups. In a large measuring cup whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract. In another large bowl combine the flour, 3/4 cups sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Gently fold in the blueberries. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. (Do not over-mix the batter.

The ending is truncated, but I can't wait to hear the rest of the album if this debut single is any indication...

A really simple way of making and serving polenta that works well with many dishes -- and a great change of pace from mashed potatoes. 4 cups water Salt to taste 1 cup medium-grain yellow polenta 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup cream cheese Heat water lightly seasoned with salt to a boil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Quickly whisk in the polenta until fully incorporated. Lower the heat to a low simmer, add the butter and allow the polenta to cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Finish by stirring in the cream cheese and salt to taste.

The woman complaining about "twisting Scripture" without any apparent attempt at irony is rather priceless... but then again, most bible-thumpers aren't really known for critical thinking or recognizing when they're beyond parody.

It's fifty-five years late , but a welcome posthumous recognition of his humanity. Alan Turing was a gay man who saved the world from the madness of the Third Reich by breaking the Enigma Code... he was the father of modern computing and laid the groundwork for today's breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. The "Turing Test" is still the defining set of criteria that will distinguish when artificial intelligence actually matches humans. Despite this here is what happened to him (from Wikipedia): In January 1952 Turing picked up the 19-year-old Arnold Murray outside a cinema in Manchester. After a lunch date, Turing invited Murray to spend the weekend with him at his house, an invitation which Murray accepted although he did not show up. The pair met again in Manchester the following Monday, when Murray agreed to accompany Turing to the latter's house. A few weeks later Murray visited Turing's house again, and apparently spent the night there. After Murray h

4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1 egg white 1 cup chopped spinach (uncooked) 1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese, drained 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded 1-1/4 cups tomato sauce 2 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1 tablespoon dried minced onion 6 oz. spaghetti noodles, cooked according to package directions, and drained Preheat oven to 375°F. Place each chicken breast between plastic wrap; lightly pound with flat side of meat mallet to about 1.4 inch thickness. In bowl stir together egg white, spinach, cottage cheese, and half the mozzarella; spoon on chicken, leaving 1.2-inch border. Roll up from narrowside. Place, seam sides down, in 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Combine tomato sauce and tomato paste, garlic, oregano and onion. Spoon mixture over chicken. Bake, covered, for about 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to the oven. Continue to bake, uncovered, for another 25 minutes more or until chicken i

Thankfully, it's for 2 weeks only...

Blogging sporadically during the dog-days of summer, but now that Fall is here... it's time to get back in the habit of regularly blogging (versus just updating my Facebook status.) With that in mind, I couldn't help but enjoy Kathy Griffin's take on the whole Kate is Enough saga.