Just when I thought I was safe. I thought that I had all of my tailgating and outdoor partying supplies covered. Nope, not going to need anything new  this year!

Then, I spot this little baby. I already have one of the original ones. But this one is special. NO POWER CORD. Gasp! Can it  be? They made a cordless Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker! Yes and its brand spanking new. Just in time for football season and setting up your party outdoors now that the evenings are getting cooler.

Trust me, it’s a whole lot easier to hose your patio or deck off than it is to have your carpet cleaned after a party. Some people tend to get a little "clumsy" sometimes after a couple of margaritas or daiquiris. You know who you are.

And talk about being the envy of your tailgating friends. Just wait until you whip this baby out and start mixing it up. Here’s the low down on the specs along with a link to get a free gift with it.

FREE Salt & Lime Tray w/purchase of Margaritaville Explorer Cordless Frozen Concoction Maker. Code: CHILLIN9G

Now, speaking of tailgate envy. This is another new invention from the folks at Margaritaville.  A full size propane grill with a swing arm that attaches to  your trailer hitch! No more hibachi-sized grills for your tailgating. Now you can grill for your group all at the same time instead of in batches.Sweeeeet! Here are the specs for the grill and a coupon code for a free gift to go with this one.

FREE Grill Cover w/purchase of Margaritaville Tailgate Grill. Code: GRILLIN9G

Product Features:

• Grill system includes: full size propane grill and heavy duty steel swing arm.
• Heavy duty steel swing arm system fits into a standard receiving hitch.

Now, if you decide to do what I  did and get both the Margaritaville Explorer Cordless Concoction Maker and the Margaritaville Tailgate Grill, use this code for all of the free gifts.

FREE Grill Cover & Salt & Lime Tray w/purchase of Margaritaville Tailgate Grill & Cordless Frozen Concoction Maker. Code:PARADISE9G

Is it just me, or does it look like Christmas came early this year?

LET THE OUTDOOR CELEBRATIONS  BEGIN!

A lot of people go through life never having to read the label on a food package. They have great health, they’re not overweight and the family gene pool is a good one.

The same can not be said for the rest of the population. A lot of people must keep track of every morsel that they put in their mouth. Ailments range from high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, food allergies, obesity and everything else under the sun.

Common sense just tells you to "read those labels" on the food you are buying for yourself and your family. But what do you do if the labels you are checking are wrong?

If you are a breast cancer survivor, then you know by now that, in some cases, soy is your enemy. What if your label leaves soy out of the ingredient list? That wouldn’t be earth-shattering and you can compensate for it, but what if you’re allergic to peanuts and a manufacturer leaves that one off the label? Now, we’re talking major problems.

These things happen on a regular basis. A visit to the USDA website confirms it. Just check out the Food Recalls link at USDA Food Safety And Inspection Service and check it out for yourself.

Since the first of June, there have been 18 food safety recalls. The reasons for the recalls are:

• listeria
• under processing
• mislabeling
• foreign materials
• e-coli
• salmonella
• undeclared ingredient
• undercooked

Now, that’s some list. I don’t know about you, but it sure makes me want to cook my own food from scratch instead of buying processed food. But, don’t take my word for it, go and take a look for yourself.

I am not a rocket scientist, but I do have enough common sense to pay attention to the news regarding a food recall. It can really be a matter of live or death.

I don’t have to worry about it too much, though, since I am a "from scratch" cook. When you cook from scratch, your main concern is freshness of ingredients, proper cleaning and proper storage. That’s it! Making your own pizza or buffalo chicken wings is not hard. (Hint: Yep, they were in the recent recall list) Just grab a recipe and do it.

Once you start to cook using natural ingredients instead of convenience foods, you’ll see how much better you and your family feel. Just the piece of mind is worth it.

Before we know it, fall will be here. A time of great scenery, football games, football parties, holidays and family get togethers. If you’re like me, everyone always seems to wind up at our house.

That’s not a problem, actually, I love it! I love to cook and I love to cook for a crowd.  A lot of my recipes are designed to serve 10 or more people, and this is one of them.

I know that when you take your first look at the ingredient list, you’re going to say "YUCK", but, I promise you, that you will be pleasantly surprised by the wonderful flavor of this soup.  That’s why I named this one "Soup Surprise", because it is.
                           Soup Surprise

Serving Size  : 16
  Amount  Measure       Ingredient — Preparation Method
——–  ————  ——————————–
   2      Lbs.            Ground Beef
   1      Medium     Onion, diced
   2      Cups          Carrots, Grated
  48      Ounces     V-8 Juice
  30      Ounces     Cream of Celery Soup
  32      Ounces     Luck’s Pinto Beans with Liquid
   1      tsp.              Lawry’s Garlic Salt
   1      tsp.             Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt
                               Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Heat a large stockpot on medium heat and brown the ground beef. Drain the ground beef well to remove all of the fat.

2. Add onions and lightly sauté.

3. Combine remaining ingredients with the ground beef and onion in the stockpot.

4. Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
———————————————-
 Calories: 583
 Calories From Fat: 243
 Total Fat: 27.5g
 Cholesterol: 73.1mg
 Sodium: 4798.6mg
 Potassium: 1045.5mg
 Carbohydrates: 61.6g
 Fiber: 9.8g
 Sugar: 11.8g
 Protein: 25.6g
 My Points: 13.5

Cooking Tip: This makes a large pot of soup and is better the second day than the first, if that is imaginable. Freeze the leftovers if you have any.

Comments: These ingredients sound a little bit strange but,  I promise you, this will taste like one of your prized Chili recipes.

This recipe was given to me by a friend that was spending the weekend with us. She knew I enjoyed cooking and wanted to give me a new recipe to try. I have to be perfectly honest and say that had she not been there and insisted that I try it, this recipe would have just gone into my collection file. Boy, am I ever glad that she insisted that I try it. It is now one of our family favorites. Thanks, Dana!

Serve this with crackers or cornbread to round it out. You won’t be disappointed.

This is one of our best recipes for appetizers. My favorite way to serve this is in the shape of a ball, like a cheese ball. Once the overnight refrigeration has been done, cover the salmon ball with freshly minced parsley. It makes a beautiful centerpiece and the parsley is a nice contrast for this creamy appetizer. Just follow the recipe below.

This one really is tops on our list of make ahead appetizers. You can make this in any shape your wish. I have made this in the form of a salmon loaf recipe, just use a square container instead of the rounded container. Add the parsley just as you would on the rounded version. This can also be used as a salmon dip. Leave it in your container and serve with crackers.

You just can’t have too many appetizer recipes and a salmon appetizer recipe can jazz up your party. Everyone gets tired of the same old cheese ball at every gathering. This adds a little imagination to the mix. Finally, a salmon recipe with a kick.
 
                            Salmon Ball

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient — Preparation Method
——–  ————  ——————————–
  16      Ounces        Salmon, Fully Cooked, Pieced and Chilled
   8      Ounces         Cream Cheese, Softened
   4      Tbs                Lemon Juice
   4      Tsp               Onion, Grated
   2      Tsp               Horseradish, Grated
   1/8    Tsp              Worcestershire Sauce
   1/8    Tsp              Liquid Smoke
   1 1/2  Cups          Parsley, Fresh, Minced

1. Mix all ingredients, except the parsley, together in a mixing bowl.

2. Line a rounded storage bowl with plastic wrap and pour the mixture into the bowl. Press mixture firmly into the bowl and use a spatula to smooth the top to make a solid base.

3. Refrigerate overnight.

4. Just before serving, mince the parsley. Lift the salmon ball from the storage bowl and put it flat side down on your serving platter. Cover the ball with the parsley, pressing it all around the sides and the top to make it stick to the ball.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
———————————————-
 Calories: 154
 Calories From Fat: 102
 Total Fat: 11.3g
 Cholesterol: 44.9mg
 Sodium: 110.9mg
 Potassium: 260.1mg
 Carbohydrates: 2g
 Fiber: <1g
 Sugar: <1g
 Protein: 11.3g
 My Points: 3.95

Cooking Tip: You can use canned salmon instead of fresh if you wish. Make sure you drain the salmon and remove the skin and bones.

Cooking Tip: Serve this with your favorite crackers.

Comments: Attractive enough to be used as a centerpiece.

We’re having meatloaf for dinner tonight. Now, some of you may be thinking "meatloaf, yuk". But, you haven’t seen my recipe. It stars ground beef, tomato sauce, vegetables, all of the necessary ingredients to produce a perfect meatloaf and, ah yes, CHEESE. Cheese is that secret, soul comforting, ingredient that moves meatloaf out of the mundane category and into the "Can we have meatloaf tonight?" category. Without further ado, here’s the recipe and I added my video below the recipe to show you step by step how to make it.

Spicy and stuffed with cheese. The way meatloaf should be.

3 Lbs.         Ground Chuck   
6 ounces    Cheddar Cheese, Shredded   
2 slices       Bread, Toasted and Pulled Apart   
1/2 Cup      Green Bell Pepper, Diced   
1/2 Cup      Celery, Chopped   
1    Onion,  Diced   
2    Eggs,   Beaten   
6 ounces   Tomato Sauce   
 
1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients except the Cheddar Cheese in a bowl large enough to mix the ingredients together, approximately a 4 quart size. Use a spoon to mix with so the heat from your hands will not warm the mixture. It is easier to work with if it is as cool as possible.

2 Line a drip pan with foil and use a rack over the pan so the drippings can drip through.

3 Place half of the mixture on the rack and shape into a rectangle. Press on the edges to form a ridge all the way around, similar to making a pie crust.

4 When the base is formed, evenly spread the shredded cheese over the flat part of the base.

5 Place the remaining meatloaf mixture in flattened sections over the cheese. Use your hands to spread the mixture to a thin layer, covering the whole base.

6 Press all the way around to seal the cheese inside the meatloaf so that it doesn’t come out while the meatloaf is cooking.

7 Bake in the preheated oven for one and a half hours.

8 Remove from oven and let stand for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
  
Servings: 8
 
 Cooking Tips
If you want this to be an Italian Meat Loaf, add some Italian seasoning to the mixture and substitute Mozzarella Cheese instead of Cheddar Cheese.
 
 Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 serving
Percent daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
           
Amount Per Serving       
Calories   395.94   
Calories From Fat (51%)   201.59   
    % Daily Value
Total Fat 22.08g   34%   
Saturated Fat 9.09g   45%   
Cholesterol 177.26mg   59%   
Sodium 401.96mg   17%   
Potassium 726.61mg   21%   
Carbohydrates 6.92g   2%   
Dietary Fiber 1.07g   4%   
Sugar 2.38g       
Sugar Alcohols 0.00g       
Net Carbohydrates 5.85g       
Protein 40.40g   81%   
MyPoints 9.5

The video shows you step by step how to make the meatloaf.

This cool little toolbar is truly a life saver. I get sick and tired of using the same recipes over and over again. The Life123 Recipe Toolbar helps me get over that feeling. I have a world of top-notch recipe sites available to me in an instant right there on my computer toolbar.  All  I have to do is click.

It will search 20 of the most popular recipe sites at your bidding, like The Food Network, Rachael Ray, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Cooks.Com, Pillsbury and many more. Want to try a new meatloaf recipe? Just plug ‘meatloaf" into your search bar and, voila, they’ll find new recipes for you.

Even better than new recipes, they also have food videos! I love watching videos. They show you step by step how to prepare the recipe.

Then, they have printable coupons, a calorie counter and more cool stuff, like a daily dinner feature to help you get great ideas so you can answer that inevitable question "What’s for dinner?" with pride instead of  dread.

They put everything at your fingertips. Coupons to save money at the  grocery store, new recipes, videos and more. It really is a versatile and indispensable tool.

I know what you’re thinking. "Wow, I’ll bet this thing is expensive." Well, it’s not. How about FREE?   Yes it’s free. All you have to do is click here and you’ll be taken to the Life 123 Recipe Toolbar website and you can download this baby.  It won’t cost you a penny.  How great  is that?

So, shake those meal planning blues and get excited about cooking again.