• 2 (7 ounce) cans jalapeno peppers
• 6 ounces shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
• 1 pound pork sausage, hot
• 1 (5.5 ounce) package spicy seasoning coating mix

1. Slice peppers lengthwise, remove seeds and core; fill with cheese.
2. Roll out sausage with rolling pin, between two layers of plastic wrap. Remove plastic from sausage, and wrap a thin coating of sausage around each jalapeno.
3. Roll peppers in spicy seasoned coating mix.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 to 25 minutes or until brown and sizzling and cheese is melted.

Five minutes in the microwave and you've got an appetizer on the table.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
• 2 ounces pepperoni sausage, chopped
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, and basil.
2. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with green pepper, pepperoni and olive slices. Cover, and microwave for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

• 100% beef hot dogs
• Poppy seed bun
• Yellow mustard
• Sweet relish (of the neon green variety)
• Freshly chopped onions
• Dill pickle slice / spear
• Tomato slices
• Sport peppers
• Dash of celery salt

• 12 chicken wings (about 2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons bottled hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Salt (optional)
• Pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup dairy sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or white vinegar
• Crumbled blue cheese (optional)
• Celery sticks

1. Preheat broiler. Cut off and discard tips of chicken wings. Cut wings at joints to form 24 pieces. Place chicken pieces in a shallow nonmetal pan.
2. For sauce, in a small mixing bowl stir together melted margarine or butter, hot pepper sauce, and paprika. Pour mixture over chicken wings, stirring to coat. Cover chicken and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Drain chicken, reserving sauce. Place chicken pieces on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, if desired. Brush with some of the reserved sauce.
4. Broil chicken 4 to 5 inches from the heat about 10 minutes or until light brown. Turn the chicken pieces; brush again with the reserved sauce. Broil for 10 to 15 minutes more or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
5. Meanwhile, in a blender container or food processor bowl combine sour cream, mayonnaise or salad dressing, the 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, garlic, and vinegar. Cover and blend or process until smooth. If desired, top dip with additional crumbled blue cheese before serving. Serve with wings and celery sticks and dip. Makes 12 appetizer servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 delicata squash, halved
• lengthwise and seeded
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place the squash, cut sides down, in a baking dish. Add 1/8 inch water in baking dish, cover with foil and bake 35-40 minutes or until tender. Cool.
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until onion is softened but not brown.
3. Scrape the squash out of the flesh and add to onions. Add the stock and heavy cream. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
4. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream
• cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black
• pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
• pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
3. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Ingredients

• 14 ounces raw lobster tail
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 7 green onions, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 4 cups fish stock
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 whole black peppercorns
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh
• tarragon

Directions

1. Cut the lobster tail in half lengthwise.
2. Melt half the butter in a pan, add the scallions and onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft but not colored. Add the carrot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the lobster halves, fish stock, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface as required.
3. Remove the lobster from the stock, cool slightly and take the meat from the shells. Set the lobster meat aside, crush the shell and return it to the pan. Continue simmering for further 40 minutes. Strain the stock, then strain again through a sieve lined with 2 layers of damp muslin or cheesecloth.
4. Cut some thin slices from the lobster to use as a garnish and set aside. In a blender, blend the remaining lobster flesh with a little of the strained stock until smooth. Mix the flour and remaining butter to a paste. Add the pureed lobster to the pot along with the flour paste, tomato puree, sherry, cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well.
5. Add the tarragon and the remaining stock and cook, stirring continuously, over high heat until the soup boils and thickens. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve garnished with the reserved lobster and some sprigs of tarragon, if desired.

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
• 3 pounds chicken legs
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Fresh dill, chopped, for garnish

1. Special equipment: Slow cooker
2. In slow cooker, stir together onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and paprika. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of insert.
3. Rub garlic halves over chicken, then sprinkle chicken with pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. In medium saucepan over moderately high heat, heat butter and oil until hot but not smoking. Add chicken pieces and brown, turning occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker (do not clean pan), layering chicken on top of onion mixture.

So we all ate too much good food over the holidays and now we need to lose some weight. Here are some ideas on how to get rid of the weight.

• BBC has some tips on how to lose some weight.
• Burn 300 calories in 30 minutes
• 100 weight loss tips
• MSN's Weight Loss Section
• All in One Ab Moves
• Lose 10 Pounds in 5 Weeks
• What is a healthy weight loss goal
• Weight loss stretches that work

• 1 c  sour cream
• 1 t  chives
• 1 t  vinegar
• 1/2 t  onion
• 1 t  fresh dill weed
• 1/4 t  kosher salt

Combine sour cream, chives, vinegar, onions, and dill in a food processor.  Process until smooth and well blended.  Season to taste with salt. Serve slightly chilled.

• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup green onions -- chopped
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese -- shredded
• 2 tablespoons jalapeno slices -- drained
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

The New York Times puts together 101 meals that can be ready in 10 minutes of less.

99. Cook a couple of pounds of shrimp, shell on or off, in oil, with lots of chopped garlic. When they turn pink, remove; deglaze the pan with a half-cup or so of beer, along with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, rosemary and a lump of butter. Serve with bread.