I wouldn't believe it but these have gone over like gangbusters TWICE for my kids (12,7) and husband.

KALE CHIPS

Ingredients
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.
With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

allrecipes.com

Instant-read thermometer a must have USAToday.com - What's the best present to give the cook who has everything? The one thing they don't have, and the one thing both chefs and food safety experts say they desperately need — an instant-read thermometer. "It's something you can be pretty sure most people don't own, or if they do own one, they don't own a very good one," says Jack Bishop of America's Test Kitchen, a popular cooking show on PBS. Old-fashioned meat thermometers rely on metal actually expanding and turning the temperature dial. Digital instant-read thermometers use electronics and are faster and generally more accurate. The instant-read digitals use slightly different technology than a regular digital thermometer, so be sure to look for ones that say they are instant-read. Older dial thermometers take "forever" to register the temperature, says Bishop. And they're not always accurate. But a quick-read thermometer can make your food taste better and help you avoid killing your guests from a food-borne illness. Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has "a drawerful" of food thermometers because they're always being handed out at conferences she attends. One night she decided to test them all "and the only one that gave me a meaningful reading was the instant-read," she says. Asked if she actually uses them, she says "of course I do. The other night for dinner we were making New Orleans Cajun Whiskey Sauce for bread pudding, so we had to make sure it got up to 160" to kill any possible salmonella in the egg yolks. Out came the thermometer and the dinner party finished with a flourish and no worries that anyone would end up in the hospital. The thermometers, costing anywhere from $20 to $89, pay for themselves, says Bishop. "If you buy a 50 lb. roast for the holidays, do you really want to overcook it?" he asks. Continue: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/safety/story/2011-11-29/The-perfect-gift-for-any-chef-an-instant-read-thermometer/51473068/1

Hi, I'm Momwich - I've been a mommy blogger since my gorgeous daughters were 6 and 2... fast forward a few years and several thousand dollars in girl scout fees, cheer uniforms and orthodontics and they're now 16 and 12 - and I'm still blogging about my parenting fails :) http://www.momwich.net

5 real, fast, delicious meals from around the U.S. Eatocracy - Rachael Ray, Robin Miller and Martha Stewart all whip up some quick-and-easy meals on TV, but for those of us who aren’t gifted in the culinary sense, they might not be that simple. Well folks, CNN iReport has answered your cooking prayers. We’ve collected real recipes from real people as part of the cultural census for CNN's Defining America. For each night of the busy workweek, we’ve selected five fast, delicious meals that won’t eat up too much time or leave you scratching your head. Arturo Navarro of Chula Vista, California, can make a meal of scrumptious salmon, brown rice, and spinach salad in 15 minutes flat. The salmon cooks in virgin olive oil for three minutes on each side. In the meantime, he washes and prepares the spinach, tomato, bell pepper, and avocado salad – a favorite he makes a few times a week. “I’ve changed my diet since last May, so I’ve been eating salmon; better nutrition than what I ate before,” he said. He now prepares fresh meals each day. Michelle Chu’s typical weekday dinners usually consist of a protein, veggies and of course, dessert! She and her boyfriend, who live in Richmond, Virginia, recently visited Omaha Steaks for the first time and were sold on the tender meat. “It’s something we eat frequently because it’s filling, easy to prepare and tastes great.” Chu’s meal of steak, asparagus and whipped sweet potatoes took about 30 minutes from start to finish. And, she ended the meal on a sweet note – angel food cake drizzled with raspberries and Biscoff spread. Are we in heaven yet? Keep reading: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/07/06/ireport-5-real-fast-delicious-meals-from-around-the-u-s/?hpt=hp_bn8