What's For Supper Ya'lll - Carne Asada!

Carne Asada is a Mexican recipe for marinated, grilled beef served in in tortillas. This is not your run of the mill taco. This is a flavorful and delicious meal that is great for any occasion.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:
2 pounds skirt steak
12 flour tortillas
1/2 cup tequila
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 medium onion chopped
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 cup salsa
1 cup guacamole
2 teaspoons Tabasco

Preparation:Mix juices, garlic, onion, tequila, Tabasco and pepper in a bowl. Add meat and marinate both sides. Cover and refrigerate, turning meat over occasionally. Let steak marinade for 6 to 8 hours. Preheat grill. Place a few drops of water on each tortilla, stack and wrap in aluminum foil. Place on grill. Remove meat from marinade, reserving marinade. Place on grill. Turn steak and tortillas once during cooking. Brush steak with remaining marinade. Cook to your liking (12 to 15 minutes for medium-rare). Cut into thin slices. Place a few slices of steak on each tortilla with salsa and guacamole and serve.

It's okay to eat vegetables that don't talk!

Looking for a meaningful project to do with your kids this weekend? Plant a small garden!

My daughter and I stumbled across these at Lowe's this week! Veggie Tales Garden Kits!! So precious! They have every vegetable you can imagine and the best part is their slogan: "It's okay to eat vegetables that don't talk!"

You can buy the kits, or you can buy the individual seed packets. The price seems to range from $1.99-$10 for the whole kit!

Get outside and do something that will teach your kids the value of planting their own food!

Divas Item of the Week - Hot Tops! for Haiti

Help support the children of Haiti!

$2.50 from the purchase of each Hot Tops! for Haiti goes to Haitian relief organizations. Please specify at the time of ordering if necklace is for boy or girl. Also indicate pink or black suede cord.

These children need your support!

Entertaining Tip - Handle Your Cookies With Care

Handle Your Cookies with Care

Cookies are a great dessert for many reasons.

First, they go great with milk. Second, almost everyone, young and old, has a favorite cookie. And for the host they are a great make ahead treat that can be served as part of a dessert buffet, on top of ice cream, or just offered with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

If you decide to make cookies a part of your dessert menu, be sure to store them in an airtight container such as a plastic storage container, cookie tin, or even a plastic bag. But before you store freshly made cookies, be careful that they are completely cooled, and any frosting or decoration has completely dried. This way you can be assured they won't be soggy or spoiled when you finally put them out for serving.

About.com

DIVA FIND: Little Divas - Fashion Sticker Time!

I stumbled across this great sticker fun for my 3 year old. She hasn't stopped playing with it for 2 days!

It's the Melissa and Doug Sticker Collection - Fashion! With over 600 stickers, 10 pages of fashion and lots of room for creative interpretation, let your little diva show off her fashionista skills!

I bought mine for $10 at the airport, but found Amazon carries it for just $5.74! Melissa and Doug also carries a Pink and Blue Sticker collection. The pink set include princesses and other girly stickers while the boys have firetrucks, reptiles and other fun boyish designs.

A local toy store in my area also recommended I try the Usborne collection of stickers. They, too, seem to have a huge range of sticker games and fun!

Let us know if you have any fun sticker games we can check out!

I met a lady on a plane last night that was in the wig business. She got me thinking about the time Kristi needed a wig after cancer treatment. I thought Kristi would appreciate me passing on this information to others who may have the same need.

Free Wigs for Cancer Patients
5 Places to Get a Free Wig During Cancer Treatment
By Pam Stephan, About.com Guide
Updated July 31, 2009

Chemotherapy fights cancer but it also causes hair loss. Radiation therapy to your head can also cause hair loss. And that leads us to the need for a popular head covering -- a wig! A wig can cost from $40 to thousands of dollars. But when your budget is already strained by the cost of surgery and other treatments, even a $40 wig on sale may seem out of reach. Fortunately, there are ways to find free wigs. Here are five places to look for a free wig during cancer treatment.

American Cancer Society1-800-227-2345The American Cancer Society accepts donations of wigs, which they collect in wig banks at their local chapters. These wigs have been cleaned and kept ready for use. If you have no health insurance and are in need of help, contact your local American Cancer Society office and ask about patient services. Some of the wigs are distributed through ACS and some are given out at local Look Good Feel Better meetings, along with cosmetics and head coverings.

CancerCare1-800-813-HOPE (4673)
As part of their Women's Cancer Program, CancerCare offers financial assistance and counseling, support groups, and patient education. They also provide free wigs and breast prostheses to women who have lost their hair or a breast as a result of their cancer treatment.

Breast Cancer Network of Strength1-800-221-2141
When the Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization changed its name to Breast Cancer Network of Strength, it didn't change its mission. BCNS provides wigs, prostheses and mastectomy bras to women whose budget just won't stretch to cover the cost of those items. Contact them to find out where the closest affiliate office is located that has a Wig & Prosthesis Bank. BCNS offices often have salons where women can try on items before taking them home.

Crickett's Answer for Cancer1-301-935-4411
This nonprofit organization provides free wigs, mastectomy products, mastectomy and lymphedema massage, facials, and other pampering services, as a way to keep a woman feeling feminine and beautiful despite losing her hair and/or breasts. Crickett's was founded in honor of Crickett Julius, who passed away in October of 2006, only four months after being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at the age of 39. Crickett's is based in south central Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. areas. Carole Trone, a co-founder of Crickett's says, "We provide assistance to women all across the U.S. We mail or email an enrollment packet, and then either order wigs online or arrange for other products or services with vendors in the client's local area.

"Canadian Cancer Society1-416-961-7223
In Canada, Pantene Beautiful Lengths and the Canadian Cancer Society have joined forces to encourage women to donate their hair for wigs that will be made and distributed to women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. Pantene provides the hair requirements, a donation kit, and advice about how to hold a hair cutting event. Six ponytails are required to create one wig, which will be given away through the Canadian Cancer Society.

Pay It Forward
When your hair has grown back and you feel ready to show off your chemo curls, donate your wig to a cancer support organization, so someone else can enjoy it. If you have trouble finding a place that will take donated wigs, contact your local hospital and ask if they have a cancer clinic - they may be looking for donations of cancer care items. You may also donate money to registered charities that supply wigs to women who are in treatment for breast cancer but cannot afford the price of a wig. Having a flattering wig can help a woman feel that she looks attractive -- this can lift her spirits greatly during a time when she is fighting cancer. After a wig has served you well, consider giving it a new life with another survivor.

What's For Supper Ya'll - Taco Ring

Serves/Makes:8

Ingredients

1/2 lb (.2 kg). ground beef, cooked and drained
1 1.25 oz (35 grm) package taco seasoning mix
1 cup (225 ml) shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp (30 ml) water
2 8 oz (224 grm). pkgs. refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 med. green bell pepper
1/2 head lettuce, shredded
1 med. tomato, cubed
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml) whole pitted black olives, sliced
1 cup (225 ml) salsa
sour cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (200 C.).
Combine meat, seasoning mix, cheese and water in 2 qt. batter bowl.
Arrange crescent triangles in a circle on a 13" round baking stone, with bases overlapping in center and points to outside (there should be a five inch diameter circle in center).
Using medium stainless steel scoop (approx. 2 T) spoon meat mixture over rolls.
Fold points of triangles over filling and tuck under base at center (filling will not be completely covered).
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Using V-shaped cutter, cut off top of bell pepper.
Place bell pepper in center of ring; fill with salsa.
Mound lettuce, onion, tomato and olives around pepper.
Using easy accent decorator, garnish with sour cream.
Cut and serve.

Hearts For Haiti NJ 2010 - Unite and Inspire

I want to introduce you to a wonderful organization - Hearts For Haiti NJ 2010 - co-created by a friend of mine, Lauren Cantor!

It all started as a discussion between a mother and her child. Elle Cantor, a third grader at Torey J. Sabatini Elementary School in Madison, New Jersey, was watching “Good Morning America” with her mom, Lauren Cantor, as part of a daily morning routine before school. On this particular day, the GMA team was covering the story of the the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Elle was very disturbed by the images she saw on television, especially those of the Haitian children, so she asked her mother how she could help. Like many other children affected by this disaster, she started brainstorming about how to raise money in her school. Her initial ideas included a lemonade stand, a bake sale, and a toy sale; then she came up with the idea to have an art sale at school. With the assistance of her mother, the idea was expanded, and the concept for Hearts for Haiti was born.

The concept: Recruit local artists to create original art inspired by the tragedy in Haiti. These designs would then be converted into 4×6 note card replicas of the original art and sold at Torey J. Sabatini Elementary School in time for for Valentines Day. Eventually, some of the designs would also be made into T-Shirts and sold at the school, as well. As soon as the first Madison artist committed to the project, Lauren pitched the idea to Elle’s school Principal, Michael Post. He liked it so much that he asked to share the idea with some of the other Principals in the school system, and Dr. Richard Noonan, Superintendent of The Madison Public Schools . What started as a small fundraiser for one little elementary school, within hours turned into a fundraiser for the entire school system.

In a period of just one week, the word spread even further. The response was awe-inspiring. Fifteen local artists willingly enlisted, businesses joined in as sponsors, private Madison schools signed up to implement the fundraiser in their own schools, and residents generously volunteered to roll up their sleeves and jump in to help. With the support and endorsement of the local chapter of the American Red Cross, The Madison Chamber of Commerce, several Madison schools, local and family owned businesses and a very talented artistic community, our small suburban town of Madison, New Jersey, with a population of approximately 16,500, banned together to rally for the cause. Miraculously, Elle’s idea for a single elementary school fundraiser turned into a major community initiative.

(the above text taken from Hearts For Haiti NJ 2010 website)

Also, if you'd like to support Hearts For Haiti NJ 2010 by purchasing a Hot Tops!(tm) Bottlecap Necklace, go to www.cookies4acause.com/shop. In the comments section of your order, specify you'd like $2.50 from the purchase of your Hot Tops!(tm) to go to Hearts For Haiti NJ 2010.

Make Up 101 - Rosy Radiance

Creating a natural, rosy radiance.

When applying blush, you want the color to look soft and natural, as if it comes from within. Read below for tips on how to put on make-up.

1. Tap or lightly blow on the applicator brush to remove any excess blush before applying to prevent a harsh and uneven application.

2. Apply your blush on the apple of the cheek and carefully blend towards your natural hairline.

3. If you have two shades, apply the darker one on the apple of the cheek first, then use the lighter shade to highlight. Blend well so there is no visible line between colors.4. Highlight your temples, forehead and chin.

Tip: To know "where to glow" bend over for 30 seconds, then slowly stand up. Where your cheeks are flushed is where you are meant to blush. Apply your blush there and it will be naturally rosy every time.

Tip: Cheek color should be used to enhance your complexion, not to change your natural skin tone. Use sparingly for daytime, then add more or a deeper shade for a more dramatic nighttime effect. For special occasions, dust a lightly frosted powder over your cheekbones for a subtle but alluring glow.
Tip: Make sure to blend your blush into your foundation well or it will tend to look unnatural and add the appearance of 5 years to your looks.

A night of Glamour and Giving!

We're Back!

And we're stronger than ever! Sorry for the long sabbatical!! This past year has been wonderful and full of changes. My son was born last April and since then we've been on the go!

The Divas In The Kitchen has had a major overhaul and is spreading like wildfire! There are so many divas out there doing so many good things!

Then, there is HOT TOPS!(tm) - our bottlecap necklace fundraiser! We customize these bottlecaps to fit any design or logo, sell them to charities, schools and organizations, and help them raise money for their own cause!

Also, we're getting to re-launch our website: www.thedivasinthekitchen.com. Thanks to our web designer, Brent Friar of BNR Branding, we will have a new look coming soon.

Thank you for visiting us and start tuning in again!