Miracle on Christmas Eve in stores today! And Easy Chocolate Clusters...

Today is release day for MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS EVE! I always get so excited on release day. It's so cool to go into a store and find my book. Sometimes I sign them, sometimes I just "visit" them :-) My youngest LOVES to go find them, turn them face out or put them in a more visible place. That's his job--find Mom's book. Today, I need to go to the grocery store, so I think I'll wait till after I get him from school, just so he can do his job.

And, eHarlequin posted my Dear Reader letter, which has the Easy Chocolate Clusters recipe (I posted that one on the blog last year, but it's been a while and if you're a new reader here, you might not have seen it). If you have to bake for your school's cookie walk or need a fast, easy, mega-quantity dessert, this one is IT. I make this all the time for our school's cookie walk because it makes a TON and it's so super easy. I mean, it uses a Crock-Pot. There's almost no labor involved.

That's MY kind of cooking ;-)

Last night for dinner we had Italian Herb marinated pork chops that I bought from a local meat shop. They were awesome. I'll have to figure out how they did that. It wasn't just Italian dressing--there was a lot more involved there than that. But they were good :-)

I've also been taking a cue from that trend of sneaking good stuff (almost all the docs on Oprah talk about it) into your meals and adding flaxseed at every turn. DH and I aren't getting any younger, so we need it, for sure, and the kids could always use more fiber (school lunches are just a complete carb fest). I find it cooks up and becomes really soft, so when I sneak it into Chicken Pot Pie or Beef Stew, you hardly notice it. Yesterday, I put some into those Green Giant Green Beans in Butter Sauce, then cooked them. No one said a word. The seeds softened in the cooking process, but still had their uh, intended result :-). If the kids ever ask, I'll tell them it's a new seasoning.

I know, I'm a crafty mom ;-)

Shirley