A carrot recipe for those who don't like carrots...

I have to admit, I am not a carrot lover. I really, really dislike cooked carrots. I'll eat an occasional raw carrot, but only if there's some dip or I feel the need to be virtuous (or I've just been to the eye doctor ;-). However, I could sit and eat a full bowl of "Copper Carrots"...

Copper Carrots

2 lbs carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 sm bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 can condensed tomato soup (I prefer Campbell's)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 cup sugar
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Cook carrots until just tender (nuke 'em, boil them, whatever works for you, just make sure they're not too cooked). Drain. Cool. Place the carrots, onions, pepper in a layer in a deep bowl (sounds fancy, but I just dump them in the bowl - you can make them look pretty by layering them in a glass dish if you'd like). Combine the remaining ingredients in the blender (or use a hand mixer, I hate to clean blenders!). Pour it over the carrot mix. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight... if you can wait that long! If you can manage to let them sit for 24 hours, they are at their best.

Over the years I've tasted a variety of different recipes for Copper Carrots. I think everyone who has ever made these adds their own touch. I usually leave out the salt and pepper as it doesn't seem to matter one way or the other, maybe because the soup is already salted. I cut back some on the oil also. I don't like a lot of bell pepper and my version of the moment sometimes leaves them out altogether. I have added yellow, red and green bell peppers, too. Nice color combination!

Let's see, what else have I added? Grape tomatoes once, red onions instead of yellow, broccoli (lightly cooked so it's not too crisp, absorbs the marinade), fresh green beans (blanched)... you can see that this is one of those adaptable recipes! My favorite onion in the concoction is Vidalia as they're nice and sweet.

Now that I'm not using sugar I'm thinking about trying it with Splenda or Truvia. We'll see how that experiment works!

Do you have a favorite version?

This is an old stand-by recipe and it used to show up often at family gatherings and church socials... I'm not sure if it's as popular these days. Who knows, maybe I'll revive the trend by posting it on here. - jmd
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Outdoor Cooking Sparks New Ideas for Thanksgiving Meals

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Americans are rethinking tradition this Thanksgiving with more than 70 percent of consumers saying they would opt out of the oven and instead grill (18 percent), smoke (25 percent) or fry (28 percent) their turkey, according to a new poll by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA). Turkeys can be fried in less than an hour, smoked over low heat for several hours or even cooked on a grill – each option offers a mouthwatering meal packed with juicy flavor and crispy taste.

According to the National Turkey Federation (NTF), an estimated 46 million turkeys will be cooked this holiday. Based on HPBA consumer poll responses, that means up to 32.2 million turkeys could be getting the boot from the oven! Americans agree that grilling, smoking and frying are preferable to the oven for a number of reasons:

* Allows you to try something new (54 percent of respondents)
* Gives you a more tender or juicy turkey (54 percent of respondents)
* Frees up space in your oven for other cooking (53 percent of respondents)
* Easier clean up (52 percent of respondents)

“More than one-third of Americans plan to cook some part of their Thanksgiving meal outdoors this year,” said Leslie Wheeler, HPBA Communications Director. “Americans look forward to cooking their holiday meal outdoors for its savory results and no muss, no fuss approach. Whether it’s to start a new family tradition, to try a new recipe or even just to free up space in the oven, more and more people are turning to grilling, smoking and frying for their Thanksgiving feast.”

Whether consumers plan to grill, smoke or fry this year’s whole turkey or turkey breast, HPBA and NTF offer preparation and cooking tips to ensure a safe and delicious Thanksgiving meal.

Tips for Outdoor Cooking and the Ultimate Turkey Experience

* Check to make sure the grill, smoker or fryer is in working order.
* Be sure to read the owner’s manual for safety precautions.
* Stock up on enough charcoal, propane, oil or wood chips needed to cook the meal.
* Be sure to use the grill, smoker or fryer outside only – never indoors and make sure that it’s set-up on a flat, stable surface, preferably on a protective grill pad, and away from any combustible materials.
* Purchase a whole turkey according to the weight recommendations in your grill’s, smoker’s or fryer’s owner’s manual.
* Thaw the turkey completely and pat it dry. Cook the bird un-stuffed.
* Brine the turkey for increased flavor and moisture.
* Outdoor cooking times depend on many factors: the size and shape of the turkey, the distance from the heat and the outside air temperature. Allow more time on cold or windy days and at high altitudes. Allow less time in very hot weather.
* Have a food thermometer handy to measure the internal temperature of the bird; the temperature should be 165° F to 170° F in the breast and 175° F to 180° F in the thigh.

Don’t Forget The Trimmings!

Beyond the bird, seven in ten Americans admit that they would like to see grilled side dishes on their Thanksgiving platters, including grilled vegetables (51 percent) or grilled bread, fruits or desserts (18 percent). While the turkey is the centerpiece of the meal, Thanksgiving’s savory side dishes and trimmings can all be cooked outdoors. Try America’s Outdoor Cooking Experts Bill and Cheryl Jamison’s recipes for crispy smashed potatoes, grilled apples slices or grilled vegetable orzo, available at www.hpba.org.

For more recipes and tips on grilling, smoking and frying turkey, visit HPBA at www.hpba.org or NTF at www.eatturkey.com .

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New Cookbook Encourages Families To Cook Together While Learning About Internet Safety

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC), it’s important for families to have conversations about serious subjects like safety while doing something positive together – like cooking. Just in time for June, which is National Internet Safety Month, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (Red Robin), the gourmet burger experts, and NCMEC have teamed up to provide families with a resource to discuss the rewards and risks of Internet use – “The Next Gourmet Burger Kids’ Recipe Contest” Cookbook. The new cookbook is filled with tasty kid-invented gourmet burger recipes and important NCMEC Internet safety tips. The cookbook will be sold for $5 online at www.redrobin.com until Aug. 10, 2008, and profits* benefit NCMEC.

“As kids’ Internet use continues to increase, so do parents’ concerns about Internet safety. Cyberbullying, social networking and online gaming have created new risks for today’s kids, making it important for parents and guardians to find a way to talk about Internet safety as a family,” said Robbie Callaway, co-founder of NCMEC. “Cooking offers an excellent opportunity for families to spend time together doing something fun, while also talking about this important issue.”

According to NCMEC’s latest online victimization research, approximately one in seven of the youth online, ages 10 to 17-years-old, has received a sexual solicitation on the Internet. As summer is the time when kids nationwide typically spend more time surfing the Internet, learning now how to successfully approach the topic of online safety can help families protect their kids and keep them safer. Examples of NCMEC’s Internet safety tips found in Red Robin’s “Next Gourmet Burger Kids’ Recipe Contest” Cookbook include:

Keep the computer in a common room, and away from places like a bedroom or basement.
Go on the Internet with your kids and let them show you what they like to do online.
Know who your children are talking to online and set rules for social networking, instant messaging, email and Webcams.

Set time limits for computer use and make sure your children have interests other than the Internet.

The cookbook also includes more than 50 kid-invented gourmet burger recipes submitted in Red Robin’s second annual “The Next Gourmet Burger Kids’ Recipe Contest,” and also includes celebrity recipes from AnnaSophia Robb, the 14-year-old star of “Because of Winn-Dixie” and “Bridge to Terabithia,” and Chef CJ Jacobson from Bravo’s “Top Chef 3: Miami.”

Twelve-year-old San Diego, Calif., resident Joey Yarwick was the grand prize winner of the contest with his “Au Brie Burger a la Francais,” which was selected from more than 10,000 gourmet burger recipes Red Robin received from kids ages six to 12. Yarwick’s winning burger is made with ground sirloin, brie cheese, au gratin potatoes, butter, cream, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper.

“We are honored to support the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children through the sale of our second annual ‘The Next Gourmet Burger Kids’ Recipe Contest’ Cookbook because of the tremendous work NCMEC does to support kids and families,” said Eric Houseman, Red Robin president and chief operating officer. “It’s gratifying to share our passion for gourmet burgers in a way that also helps families talk about such an important issue like Internet safety.”

Each gourmet burger recipe included in the cookbook was selected because of its inventive combination of gourmet ingredients and fun flavors. Peaches, artichokes, honey, pesto and chow mein noodles are just a few popular gourmet burger toppings suggested by kids that can be found in the cookbook.

For more information about Red Robin and its “The Next Gourmet Burger Kids’ Recipe Contest” Cookbook, please visit www.redrobin.com or http://newsinfusion.com/video_details.php?videoId=180. To learn more about NCMEC and their Internet safety resources, visit www.missingkids.com or www.NetSmartz.org.

A story to make us appreciate all of our choices!

CC Note: Some years back my ex-husband and I started our married life together in the military (he served - 82nd Airborne as in the story below, I supported). Money was often short and MREs helped to fill in the gaps when it was a choice between groceries and rent. Ah, the good old days of canned foods with whatever I could find to dress it up and make it palatable. Yum. So thankful to be able to run to the grocery store or stop at a local restaurant or drive through! The days of MRE banquets are long gone, but this story brought back memories and helped to make me appreciate today's many culinary options!

Soldier Cooks up Morale in Afghanistan

Soldiers on the front lines are used to meals, ready to eat -- high-energy, high-calorie packaged meals with little emphasis on taste.

Army Spc. Dairo Orozco, of the 82nd Airborne Division's Company F, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, is the cook for paratroopers here, and his skills bring an extra touch to the MREs and unitized group ration meals the soldiers eat.

"A (UGR) is just precooked stuff you put in boiling water for about 45 minutes to an hour, and presto," said Orozco, a 25-year-old Queens, N.Y., native. "You just set it and forget it."

Orozco, called "Roscoe" by the soldiers, arrived at this firebase in the south of Afghanistan's Ghazni province in November.

"I was selected to come out here to do the big Thanksgiving Day meal, because the brigade commander and command sergeant major were coming out," Orozco said. "I never got replaced, so I did the same for Christmas and just stuck around."

Even though it's not hard to please a platoon of paratroopers used to dining on MREs, Orozco has culinary arts in his blood. "My father and uncle are chefs," Orozco explained. "My father is the food production manager at Gate Gourmet, an airline catering company, and my uncle is an executive chef at Intercontinental Hotels."

While Orozco doesn't have the facilities and resources to create gourmet meals, the soldiers at Nawa appreciated his efforts during the holidays.

"Christmas dinner was great," said Army 1st Lt. Mordechai D. Sorkin, 3rd Platoon leader, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "He's pretty creative; (he) makes do with minimal resources and makes some pretty good stuff."

With a UGR as the canvas for a culinary masterpiece, it's usually difficult for Orozco to constantly rise to the challenge, the Army cook said.

"Pizza-baked spaghetti is the No. 1 product right now, but not by choice," Orozco said. "One of the better UGR meals is the buffalo chicken and lemon chicken, but most of our food stock consists of pizza bake."

Orozco said pizza-bake spaghetti, a meal consisting of meat chunks, noodles and pizza sauce, tops the soldiers' list of worst entrees, but added that he tries to make the meals as enjoyable as possible.

"Roscoe puts a lot more effort into the food than just dropping it in the water, so we're not really eating the same thing every time," said Army Spc. Jeremy A. Clark, 4th Platoon, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "He's done the best he can with what we have."

Luckily for the paratroopers in Nawa, Orozco has enough knowledge about the local food and spices to make a meal from scratch.

"Probably about once a week he goes out to get local food and cook it up," Clark said. "He's a real good cook, and I think it helps out a lot with the guys' morale."

Orozco said he originally joined the Army for culinary arts, but the service dropped that military occupational speciality and changed everyone in it to food operations specialists.

"The Army hasn't been exactly what I was expecting, but it has made me more mature," Orozco said. "I may not have learned much more about culinary arts than I already knew, but I know I'll make better decisions once I get out because of my training."

(Author: Army Spc. Nathan W. Hutchison serves with 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)