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Welcome back, Patch Blogger!
Well here we find ourselves approaching Academy Awards time and you might be thinking of hosting a viewing party. Here are two dips that are sure to please your friends. So here goes: Slow Cooker Reuben Dip Ingredients: 1 16oz jar sauerkraut, drained (don't use the bagged kind - it's too bitter) 1 8oz block cream cheese, softened 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese 2 cups shredded corned beef 1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing Directions: Combine everything in your slow cooker and cook on high for 45 mins or about 1 1/2 hrs on low, until hot and cheese is melted. Serve with rye crackers. Easy …
  "A 'traditional' male might enjoy egg-and-bacon pie if his wife served it to him; a quiche-eater, or Sensitive New Age Guy would make the dish himself, call it by its French name quiche, and serve it to his female life partner to demonstrate his empathy with the Women's Movement. He would also wash up afterwards." ~Bruce Feirstein (author of "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche") I live with two males, ages 35 and 7. These two love to eat but give me zilch when it comes to suggestions of what to make for dinner. (I hear this is a very common situation in households all over the world.) So, tired of …
"When someone asks if you'd like cake or pie, why not say you want cake and pie?" ~Lisa Loeb For Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a cookbook devoted solely to pies. Now I love a freshly baked pie as much as the next gal, but I avoid actually making them due my subpar baking skills. A chocolate cream pie is about the best I can manage. Thumbing through the beautiful photographs in this book, though, was definitely inspiring. It inspired me to ask my husband to make one. Luckily, he was up for it and made the most delicious-looking pie in the book. Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Pie. Just typing …
  As we head into the third week of January we've started to grow accustomed to our new, healthier routines. Right? Well, hopefully anyway. Having a salad for lunch every day can get boring so it's about time to mix things up a bit. How about some soup? Soup makes for a warm and satisfying lunch but unfortunately can be high in fat and calories. With just a few substitutions you can make soups that are good for you and still have great flavor. This is a revamp of my Shrimp and Corn Chowdah recipe. Switch to buttery spread, low fat milk and low fat broth, omit the bacon and cream of corn. Then…
  "Fondue sets, martini shakers and juicing machines: three things the world could live completely without." ~Douglas Coupland My in-laws gave my husband and I a juicer over the holidays. This was after I saw it unopened on a shelf in their basement and asked a few times if they were ever going to use it. Subtlety may not be my strong suit, but who cares? I got a juicer! My boy, E, was anxious to give it a try so we threw some pineapple and baby carrots we had in the fridge together and hoped for the best. End result? Delicious! After doing some research I found out that carrots are the …
  Editor's note: Cooking With Sheila is Concord Patch's new culinary column by gourmand Sheila Duggan Chabot. Keep an eye out each week for a new great recipe.   "If only one could tell true love from false love as one can tell mushrooms from toadstools." ~Katherine Mansfield One of my best girls, Miss T, came for a visit the other day and offered to make stuffed mushrooms. I was thrilled, since that is one of my favorite appetizers (that I very seldom make since my boys hate 'em.) As she unloaded the arsenal of supplies from her Market Basket bag I took pause. Crabmeat, shrimp, celery... …
 
 
 

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