a new nothing with a speckled handle

i love bread.  i love all kinds of bread.  warm or cold, white or wheat.  i make breadsticks quite often, especially when i need to jazz up some leftovers.  you see, i'm not really a leftover kinda girl.  i think i got that from my dad.  my dad can eat something one night but then must have a few days of space in between partaking of that same meal for a second time.  i used to think it was strange, and for some things i still do think it's strange (i think i could eat some form of cafe rio/taco salad every day of my life and never get sick of it).  but for leftovers, i wholeheartedly agree with my dad.  i need some space. unfortunately, i think i'm passing that on to my kiddos.  so lately when we've had leftovers in the fridge i've been making something new to add with those leftovers and it makes the meal brand new again.  isn't that exciting?  these breadsticks are so delicious, though, you might want to make them every night for a few weeks and then

this is the chili of winners.  my friend made this last year for a halloween chili cook off and won the "most-unique" prize.  to me that means, "better-than-your-average-beef-and-bean chili" award.  it really is.  the original recipe comes from cha cha .  "who's cha cha" you ask? who knows.  but she's come up with a mighty fine white chicken chili recipe.  be sure to bake up some cornbread and serve it with the chili.  (i finally found my favorite cornbread recipe the other day and must share on another post!) i have posted my version of the recipe, with only a few adjustments to the spiciness.  happy chili cookin'! 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tsp fresh jalapeno, finely chopped 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers 2 tsp ground cumin 1

sorry i've been m.i.a. for a while.  i haven't really been m.i.a.  i just moved across the country in the middle of the first trimester of my third pregnancy and i've been a little wonky the past few months.  (ask my husband)  while in the throngs of packing up our house full of junk, er... things, i just couldn't keep up with all my responsibilities, so the blog had to go...temporarily.  plus, i mean really, along with all the yucks of those first few months like feeling like your stomach is turning inside out and you can barely keep control of your balance and you don't even want to think about food, i had a strange aversion to all things cyberspace.  even the thought of facebook or checking my email or this blog sent me into a spin of nausea.  strange, i know.  i can't really explain it.  i do have a friend who said when she was pregnant she had a strange aversion to certain people.  anytime she saw someone in particular, it would make her si

hi.  it's been a while!  we put ourselves on a little summer hiatus and i, for one, refuse to believe that summer is over.  the storm clouds are coming and the cold, crisp breeze is out there.  but i'm going to be in summer mode for just a little while longer.  this smoothie is actually a good one for any time of year, especially right now when the seasons are changing.  if you're a fan of dipping graham crackers in milk, like me, you're going to love this smoothie!  and if you use a low fat or skim milk you keep it pretty healthy! pour milk into ice cube trays and freeze until solid peel one banana (or a bunch of bananas if you use them often for smoothies) and place in a freezer bag and freeze until solid. in a blender, add: 6-7 frozen milk cubes 1/2 -1 frozen banana 1 T peanut butter about 1/3 - 1/2 cup milk (just to help it blend to your desired consistency) 3 large graham crackers (or however many you like!) vanilla protein powder (if desired) blend