Can you feel that grease dripping from the corner of your mouth onto your hands as you take a bite? You try to slurp in that gooey oil before it trickles down to your hands but instead you are forced to lick your fingers. How about those greasy fries layered in fat waiting to clog up your arteries. The juicy hamburger oozing with creamy mayonnaise intertwined with the thick sweet and sour sauce. Heck, we mind as well go the full nine yards and finish it off with a chocolate chip fudge sundae! I don’t know about you but I felt a little sick to my stomach just thinking about that grease earlier! Just another typical meal for most people on the go or picking up their food at a fast food joint.

What if I were to tell you this meal includes a beautiful scenery, fun event, taste great, served within 60 minutes, and most importantly it’s healthy! Since spring is here lets invite our friends, family, and neighbours for a delicious barbeque!

Let me begin with our entr?e and this is one of my favourite dishes to start off my meal attack. Why I enjoy this one so much is because of the variety of meats and veggies on the skewer to get us warmed up.

GRILLED MEAT & VEGGIES ON SKEWERS

Choice of combination:

Combo 1: Vegetarian skewers-Zucchini, eggplant, pineapple, and peppers. Sauce includes 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon chopped basil, and 1 teaspoon rosemary.

Combo 2: Boneless chicken with mushrooms, oranges, and peppers. Sauce includes 1 ? cup of olive oil, 2/3 soy sauce, ? cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 2 tablespoons dry mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, and 1 ? teaspoons minced parsley.

Combo 3: Sirloin steak with onion, mangos, and peppers. Sauce includes 2 cups of salsa, 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper.

Combo 4: Pork tenderloin with apples, onions and cherry tomatoes. Sauce includes ? cup cider vinegar, ? cup margarine, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 ? teaspoons dried parsley, 1 ? teaspoons dried oregano, and ? teaspoon pepper.

STEPS

1. Marinate the cubed meat in a healthy dressing you desire and ensure it is marinated for about 1-2 hours for more taste. Be creative with the sauce and you don’t have to use the ones I’ve recommended as you may have other ideas. Go ahead and design your own sauce if you feel you have something healthy that is brewing in your kitchen. Reseal the meat in a bag for 1-2 hours.

2. Place meat and vegetables/fruits on a skewer. Brush over the meat and vegetables/fruits with extra dressing.

3. Grill for about 15-20 minutes turning once. Optional choice to serve with brown rice.Voila the grilled meats and veggies are ready to be served to your guests! That is just the beginning and I am just starting to enjoy myself. Onto our next dish which is the grilled salmon with fiesta sauce. You can choose whatever secret sauce you want and in this case I chose fiesta because this is one of my favourites. I highly recommend you try it once and I know you won’t be disappointed! These days it’s so simple to make your own healthy marinated sauce rather than buying it in the supermarket. You can design your own family special sauce and who knows you may have a product that can be a hit on the market! All I have to say is it getting hot in here or is it me?!

GRILLED SALMON WITH FIESTA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1. Salmon Fillet

2. Fiesta Sauce includes ? cup light soya, ? cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoon of lime juice, 2 tablespoon of rice vinegar, ? teaspoon of sesame oil, ? teaspoon of thai curry paste, and 2 teaspoon of fresh ginger grated.

DIRECTIONS

Brush each salmon with the fiesta sauce and grill it on a medium heat level. Flip the salmon over once it turns pink which is approximately 5-6 minutes each side. Once the salmon is done, drizzle the fiesta sauce over the grilled salmon again.

Alright, I didn’t forget about you seafood lovers! After two successful meals we can move on to something tasty and on the lighter side of things. Folks, how about some grilled lobster!

GRILLED LOBSTER WITH ASPARAGUS

INGREDIENTS

1. 2 (10 ounce) rock lobster tails

2. 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

3. ? cup olive oil

4. 1 teaspoon salt

5. 1 teaspoon paprika

6. pinch of white pepper and garlic powder

7. 5 medium asparagus spears trimmed per serving

DIRECTIONS

1. The grill should be at a high heat

2. Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl and mix it in with the olive oil. Whisk both ingredients while continuing to add the salt, paprika, white pepper, and garlic powder. Split the lobster tails lengthwise and brush the flesh side of tail with the marinade. Brush over the asparagus as well.

3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Placing the tail flesh side down and cook for about 10 minutes. Turning once and continue to add the marinade frequently over the lobster and asparagus. The asparagus will be grilled about 4-6 minutes or until crisp tender.

A simple lobster dish that is delicious. There is no need for melted butter and the taste is unbelievable! Just make sure you really cut half way through the lobster meat lengthwise so it cooks in the middle. Also make sure you baste constantly to keep it moist.

Now, was I going to leave you helpless to not include the most important dish of the meal? I was just saving enough room for my stomach for the long awaited arrival of my beloved desert! We can finish it off with a fresh watermelon, fruit salad, fruit kabobs, and bowls of grapes or cherries to satisfy our needs. Or if you are like me we can make it a perfect ending by indulging ourselves in a sizzling fruit salad if that peaks your interest? Ok, let me dig into this a little further how simple this desert can be.

SIZZLE MY DIZZLE FRUIT SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1. Homemade Sour Cream-1 cup low fat ricotta cheese, 1 cup low fat yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, pinch of red pepper and salt, 1 tablespoon of Kool-Aid Orange Sugar Sweetened Drink Mix (combine ingredients in food processor and chill in refrigerator)

2. 1 medium pineapple that is peeled and cored. It is sliced into wedges.

3. 1 medium papaya that is peeled and seeded. It is sliced into wedges.

4. 2 medium bananas sliced diagonally

STEPS

1. Preheat the barbeque and ensure it is nicely greased at medium to high temperature.

2. Grill fruit 3 minutes per side or when it is lightly browned

3. Add additional toppings if you like with ? cup of blueberries and raspberries to the grilled fruit platter.

4. When done place the fruit on platter and drizzle the homemade sour cream mixture onto the fruit.

That was just music to my ears hearing the fruits sizzle. So, who needs cookies, pastries or even chocolates for desert? Just thinking about it, chocolates won’t blend with our party anyhow because we are too smoking hot! Our poor old chocolates will just melt away in the heat!

So, there you have it and that is a simple, fun and a healthy barbeque with our loved ones. I doubt there will be any leftovers but if you do have any, you can keep it in the refrigerator to have it the following day or store it for the week. Make your colleagues go crazy and bring it into work having them go delirious. One look at their own lunch that they just picked up at a fast food place will have them salivating over your food. One word of caution is to protect your food with your life and once you leave your lunch unguarded, I won’t be surprised if it’s missing from your desk!

Richard Chan is a Health and Fitness Life Coach promoting harmonization with the mind, body, and soul. An individual that is keen in precision training to his clients resulting in optimal results. For more information you can visit http://www.flex-fitness.com.

When it comes to authentic Mexican recipes, you can expect good, old fashioned goodness in every bite. With the popularity of Tex-Mex cuisine across the globe, you can get a wonderful combination of Tex-Mex and this wonderful cuisine that is filled with healthy stuff we all depend on to keep our families and friends safe and healthy. Good, old fashioned healthy is what each bite will be, and the best thing is that these taste absolutely delicious!

Take this King Ranch Chicken Casserole straight from one of the largest ranches in Southern Texas. This is an original recipe with a few things added for convenience, but the taste is something you will not forget anytime soon.

When preparing this delicious piece of southern comfort, be sure to gather all the ingredients beforehand. You will want to insure the chicken has been cooked thoroughly! Also, be sure to include the right type of onions for your taste. You can add more onion if you like as well! The best thing about this authentic Mexican recipe is that it is easily customizable to fit you and your family’s needs. Just make what you need be that more or less!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

8- 8” corn tortillas, divided

Chicken broth

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1- 14oz can cream of chicken soup

1- 14oz can cream of mushroom soup

1 tbsp chili powder

3 to 4 pound fryer, cooked, boned and diced

1- 12oz pkg shredded American cheese

1- 10oz can chopped tomatoes & green chilies (Ro-Tel if available)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a 10×14 inch greased casserole oven dish, layer half the tortillas dipped in hot chicken broth, just long enough to soften. In a skillet, saut? onion & bell pepper in butter. Stir in soups, chili powder and diced chicken. Pour half the mixture over the dipped tortillas, then half the shredded cheese. Repeat layers: tortillas, mixture & cheese ending by pouring the tomato-green chilies over the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. This casserole may be frozen and reheated! If freezing, be sure to wrap appropriately, or use an appropriate sized glass dish with lid.

Tip: this casserole might be the best-loved recipe in Texas.

Historical fact: The King Ranch may be the most famous spread in America and the largest ranch in the US established in 1853. Today, the ranch covers more than 800,000 acres in South Texas. Inasmuch as King Ranch has been a historic innovator in the fields of farming and ranching, the ranch has also made an indelible mark as a true innovator in environmental stewardship.

When it comes to authentic Mexican recipes, you will definitely find this chicken casserole a favorite. You can make it ahead and freeze it or you can make it the day you plan on serving. What you need will be there thanks to a recipe that is built to suit. In fact, you may be surprised at just how easy this is to make, but you will find that the taste makes it all worthwhile.

More about Annie Dubois and great Mexican food or gift boxes can be found at Mexican Food & Gifts To Go.

All of us have our preferred choices. Of these, Yoyo quilt is my obvious choice. Yes admittedly people would differ as yoyo quilts are the most intricate to make of all the varieties.

But then Yoyo quilts are the most intricate for that very reason. Let’s be all clear that Yoyo quilts take impervious time to make and thus are not meant for impatient and beginners. During the 1930’s & 40’s these quilts were at the prime in recognition and their time seems to be here again now.

These quilts are basically small rosettes containing cotton. The technique involves assembling and sewing material into a circle. The rosettes are then stitched into a predetermined pattern. Printed materials are commonly used for making yoyos.

The choice of fabric is not limited as ironing is not required for these quilts and therefore batting type can also vary. Many a times a large fabric is used as a cover for yoyos, some do it as they do not like their special yoyo to get spoilt while using it while others just like to preserve the quilt for longer use.

Yoyo quilts like other quilts are the result of our imagination of colors and patterns, they can be made as per your perference . If you like your yoyo to serve as mini cushion on your sofa or like a bed cover then slight adjustments of not adding batting and backpack shall do it.

Be clear that initially the art of making a yoyo quilt can be difficult to learn but gradually once you have got accustomed to the steps it shall not take much time.

It’s always important that the supplies are ready before hand. Beautiful designs added with color variations give the yoyo quilt an elegant look. Here are the steps to craft a yoyo quilt.

1. Before you do anything have the size of the quilt in your mind and thereafter make a spherical cut-out pattern twice that dimension and an extra 1/2″. A cardboard cutout will act as a guide.

2. Place the cut-out pattern to your right or left hand side of the fabric depending on your writing hand and then using a pencil create a highlighted area around it. Allow space of 1/2″ between circles.

3. Create circles of size ? inch after the line.

4. It is recommended that a quilting thread be used or else if you use a regular thread then sew with 2 strands. Tie a knot at the last tip of the thread and take it upside from behind while folding underneath the ring on the line.

5. Keep stitching on the line of the circle, folding underneath the seam allowance further.

6. As you keep stitching you shall reach the start point again, there pull the thread so that it all collects within a rosette. the yoyo should have an opening in the center

7. Few backstitches will help secure the thread, tie a knot so that the thread is not lost.

8. All the excess thread should be cut off then re-knot & start another yoyo.

9. Place the yoyo in front of you in rows in a manner that reflects the kind of design/pattern you want to make.

10. Now sew two yoyos. Stitching can be done either from the middle or any side. Do this again until all rows are done. Now sew all the rows to form one piece.

11. What you can also do is sew the yoyo with a larger material, then adding batting to it & adding finishing touch to the edges.

Discover free beginner hand quilting instructions and expert quilting lesson by Jennifer Walter, the owner of successful quilting site at http://www.quilthowto.com

Hair loss in women is most often very gradual and is more easily affected by hormonal changes, medical conditions, and external factors. Hair loss in women is no less distressing than in men. In fact many women become very self conscious about their thinning hair and can be very uncomfortable in the presence of others.

Around two thirds of women have some type of hair loss at one point or another in their lives. Unlike men, women do not usually go bald. More often women’s hair loss is limited to the thinning of the hair especially around the crown area. A receding hair line is rare in women. Thinning for most women usually appears around middle age, which is when most women begin to produce less estrogen. However, thinning hair can begin for some women at a much younger age. It usually starts with the hair follicle becoming thinner, revealing more skin. Then the hair will begin to fall out at a rate that is higher than one hundred strands a day (fifty to one hundred is typical hair loss).

Reasons for hair loss include physical, emotional, and genetic conditions. Hair loss can occur from many common causes that most women do not even think of. The causes are varied and can depend on many factors. Here are some of the more common factors so you can identify what may be causing your hair loss.

The most common is stress. The number of women who suffer from stress and hair loss is growing. Our daily lives are full of stressful activities concerning the job, the home, family, friends and relatives. Stress leads to various health conditions which cause hair loss. Traumatic events such as surgery, death of a family member, divorce, or shock after an accident, can cause female hair loss.

Also, taking a new medication, such as high blood pressure medications, birth control pills, antidepressants, and blood thinners, may make your hair fall out as well, so if it is three months after you started taking these pills (three month is how long it will take for you to notice a major change) and your hair is falling out you may want to call your doctor.

Along with stress and medication, another reason for hair loss could include: poor diet, sudden weight loss, lack of proper nutrition, iron deficiency, vitamin deficiency, thyroid imbalance, major illness, chemotherapy, ringworm, and some fungal infections.

Hormonal changes in the body are a common cause of hair loss for women, such as the increase of testosterone occuring during menopause. Progesterone is another hormone that precisely targets the hair during menopause. Progesterone levels decrease due to the lack of ovulation in the female body. It compensates by producing extra androstenedione, which prevents hair growth. Usually hair will return to its original thickness following menopause.

Coming off birth control pills and pregnancy can cause hair loss. Women may experience hair loss 2-3 months after having a baby.

Harsh hair treatment such as pulling with brushes, tight braiding and styling with irons and straighteners can be a cause of female thinning hair. Thinning hair can also be the result of chemicals in certain styling products.

Finding what has caused your hair loss will greatly increase your chances of finding the right treatments to help re-grow your hair.

If you would like to read more about the causes and treatments for women’s hair loss make sure to visit Women’s Health-Hair Loss.

Modern needlepoint derives from the canvas tent artwork that was quite popular during the 16th century and the shadowed wool work in bright-colored yarn that was a craze during the 19th century. In Early American civilization, young girls usually made cross stitch or needlepoint works that normally consisted of a blessing on their families in combination with the numbers and alphabet. This ritual of passing showed not only their ability in stitching, but their literacy as well.

Selecting the canvas is one among the most vital aspects of planning a needlepoint work. Another important thing involves picking out the stitch or stitches to be done in the fabric from among the five basic categories of needlepoint stitches. Even though the two aspects rely upon one another, we will deal with the needlepoint canvas. The size and type of the canvas utilized will have a bearing on the quantity of detail in the blueprint of your work. Apparently, the more elaborate the project, the better the gage of canvas.

Many kinds of needlepoint canvas are used. Double thread and Single thread canvas are with sufficient holes or spaces to let big threads to move through without frazzling. Usually canvas is classed by thread count per inch or mesh sizes. Sizes differ from 5 to 24 threads every inch; standard mesh sizings are 10,12,14,18, and 24. The three kinds of needlepoint canvas available in the market are interlock, penelope and mono.

Mono canvas is available in the broadest diversity of colors (particularly on 18 mesh) and is woven plainly, with one woof thread passing over and below one warp thread. This type of canvas has a good scope for open and manipulation canvas. It is normally used for hand-colored canvases. Penelope canvas is having two threads nearly aggrouped conjointly in both woof and warp. Since these threads can be separate apart, penelope measurements are usually stated in two numbers, like 10/20.

Interlock canvases are having stable mesh intersections although they come with single threads. This happens as the woof threads, break up at the intersection points and enwrapping the warp threads. Interlock canvas is usually employed for impressed canvases. Silk gauze which is a kind of interlock canvas, comes in small frames for tent stitch work. Silk gauze is widely available in 32, 40 and 48 count, while rarely 18 count is sold and 64, 128 and some other counts come handy for miniature needlework.

Designs available in the market for needlepoint work are made in different ways. Charted Canvas, Hand-Painted Canvas, Free-form and Printed Canvas are widely available. In Hand-Painted Canvas, the designer paints the design on the canvas, or painted according to their directions by another person. Some canvases are stitch-painted, wherein each and every thread intersection is fastidiously painted in order that the stitcher has no uncertainties on what color is required to be used with the intersection. They may also be hand-painted, in which case the canvas gets painted with hand and the stitcher will be required to employ his own judgment on the colors to be used in case a thread intersection is not painted intelligibly. Hand-painted needlepoint canvases let the stitcher use his creativity more with unique stitches and threads as he is not required to rely on a separate chart. In the United States this is the most common kind of needlepoint canvas.

You can Buy Needlepoint Canvas and other Needlepoint accessories from http://www.buyneedlepoint.com/

If I ran the world, I’d outlaw rap music because - it isn’t music. It’s negative, violent, police bashing, women debasing, trash talk. It’s the kind of talk that would have gotten my sons sent to their rooms for an extended period of time. This, of course, would have been followed by complaints that such treatment was unfair - but maybe that’s where rap comes from - from boys thinking they got a bad rap.

When I see a car with an array of dents and scratches, I think bad driver - but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the drivers of those demolition-derby-dropouts are just unlucky victims of others’ motoring mistakes. If I ran the world, drivers would get a notch in their license plates for every accident they caused. The more notches in a license plate, the more we’d know to avoid that car - thus reducing the number of “cartastrophes”.

In 1956 the Department of Agriculture introduced the four, basic, food groups - meat, dairy, grain, and fruits and vegetables. In 1992 the groups were revised and presented in the shape of a pyramid, with fats, oils and sweets at the top. The pyramid itself was revised in 2005. Fats, oils and sweets were removed and dairy was changed to milk - but it’s still not right. There should be four, basic food groups; and they should be canned, frozen, prepared and take-out.

Then there’s politics. Everyone knows politicians bend the truth in their speeches. They tell people what they want to hear and what will get them votes. I would subject politicians to the Pinocchio Test, which would make their noses longer when they lied. This would make it much easier for voters to choose candidates and I don’t see why the candidates would be opposed to this. Don’t they all have a nose for news?

To avoid noses that were so long that politicians would trip over them, I would require politicians to put both hands on the Bible when they were being sworn into office. That way we could see if their fingers were crossed.

Of course, if I ran the world, I’d change the way politicians are elected. I’d eliminate the Electoral College and super delegates. I’d eliminate the possibility of candidates winning because they had the most delegates - as apposed to having the most popular votes. One person, one vote - isn’t that the way we vote for American Idols?

KNIGHT PIERCE HIRST takes humorous looks at life.
Take a minute to make yourself smile at
http://knightwatch.typepad.com

The Oxford English Dictionary contains 616,500 words and 10,000 - 20,000 of those are in the average person’s vocabulary. Unfortunately, a large percent of those words are only in our recognition vocabularies - not in our everyday speech. Maybe that’s why greeting cards are a seven and a half million dollar business. Maybe we’re willing to pay $4.99 for a card because we’re short on words.

The Miriam Webster Dictionary has more than 100 new words and phrases in its 2007 edition. For example, a sandwich generation is a generation that simultaneously cares for aging parents and growing children. A soul patch is a small spot of beard under a man’s lip. Polyamory is the practice of having more than one openly romantic relationship at the same time. Because the English language is constantly growing, dictionary publishers will never get the last word.

The English language is also confusing. An allusion is a direct reference and an illusion is a misconception. Bimonthly is every two months and semimonthly is twice a month. Few is small in number and less is small in amount. Precede means comes before and proceed means move forward. Then there’s flammable and inflammable, which mean the same and alright, which doesn’t mean anything because it’s not a word - all right?

Because our language is confusing, words get mixed up; and we get malapropisms. “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore”, “You can observe a lot by watching”, “Ninety percent of the game is half mental” - Yogi Berra is famous for malapropisms. Most men have to try to be as good as their word, but Yogi is better than his.

Puns are phrases that deliberately exploit confusion between similar sounding words for a humorous effect. For example, a Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother. Or … a gossip is someone with a sense of rumor. I grew up in a family of punsters. No, I should rephrase that. I survived a childhood of punishment.

People started playing with words in 1913. That’s when Arthur Wynne created crossword puzzles. Eleven years later almost every American newspaper had a crossword puzzle. Their popularity led to Scrabble and Sudoku. Fifty million people try to unpuzzle these puzzles every day, making them the most popular word game in the world. Crossword puzzles can’t get any more popular than that unless cross words are used in heaven.

KNIGHT PIERCE HIRST takes humorous looks at life.
Take a minute to make yourself smile at
http://knightwatch.typepad.com