So I’ll just say it – I saw MC Hammer in concert in Oakland – his home town.

[For more, click below.]Yes it was the early 90’s, and it was insane. I probably lost 10 pounds from dancing, and his dancers probably lost 50 pounds. I don’t think they ever stopped dancing. It was crazy!

So where is the Hammer nowdays? Well, I just found out he’s on Twitter – That came via Brent telling me & me discovering it online all around the same time last year. He’s got a site called dancejam.com a community of dance-jammers (so to speak) getting together uploading and voting on dances.

Hilarious!

Use whatever measurements you like. It’s basically really good-flavored turkey meat, macaroni & cheese.

Olive Oil
Ground turkey meat
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried Italian-spices (Used Emeril’s Italian spice mix)
Crushed red pepper (use liberally!)
Red Onion (1/4 of a large one, or 1/2 a medium one…)
Garlic (2 cloves or so, minced)
Bell pepper, chopped (whatever color you like!)
Whole-wheat macaroni
Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (mmmm… or whatever cheese you like)

Start boiling the macaroni! Fry up the turkey meat in a little bit of olive oil. Season with salt/pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian spices & crushed red pepper. When the turkey meat is just about done, add red onion & garlic & bell pepper. (If you’re daring, add some jalapeno too!) You’re not really sauteing the veggies. Just getting them a little soft. (or cook them as long as you’d like). Once the turkey is brown & the veggies are cooked, turn off the heat. Spoon the turkey mix over the cooked macaroni, adding some shredded cheese. Mix & eat!

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
2 (14.5-ounce) cans of no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with their juices
1/4 cup finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh dill
1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.Heat the oil in an oven proof skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until the tomato juices thicken.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, dill, and shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the feta over the top. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and cheese melts, about 12 minutes.

(By Ellie Krieger)

-@mspore :0)

—————————————————————————–

ORANGE CHOCOLATE DELIGHTS

2 cups sliced almonds, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (I used semisweet)

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the almonds, flour and zest in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar, butter, cream, and honey in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the almond mixture. Cool the batter for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using 2 teaspoons of batter for each cookie, spoon 8 mounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart (the cookies will spread). Flatten the batter slightly with your finger.

Bake the cookies until they are lacy and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Gently slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a rack and cool completely. Transfer the cookies to paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter, lining the baking sheets with clean parchment for each batch. (The cookies can be made up to this point 2 months ahead. Cool completely, then store airtight in the freezer. Defrost before continuing.)

Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Spread the melted chocolate over the bottom of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Repeat with the remaining cookies and chocolate.

<<Originally called “Florentines” & taken from FoodNetwork.com… Wish I could take the credit!>>

Charred Chili Relleno with Green Rice

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, divided
1 bay leaf
2 cups white rice
4 large poblano peppers
6 ears corn on the cob or 3 cups frozen corn kernels
3 tablespoons corn, peanut or vegetable oil, divided
1 red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained well
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, eyeball it in your palm
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 pound spinach leaves, deveined and coarsely chopped
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 limes, zested, juiced
1 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese, Asadero or Monterey Jack

Preheat broiler or grill pan to high.Heat about 3 1/2 cups stock in a sauce pot with a bay leaf to boiling. Add rice, cover pot reduce heat to low and simmer 18 minutes until tender.

Place poblanos under broiler or on hot grill and char evenly all over, 15 minutes.

While peppers and rice are working, scrape the corn off the cobs or defrost frozen corn and dry by spreading out on clean kitchen towel. Heat 2 tablespoons light oil in a skillet over high heat. When the oil smokes or ripples add corn, onion, jalapenos and toss until the vegetables char at edges and onions are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high and add in garlic, fire roasted tomatoes and season with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another minute or 2 then turn pan off.

Place the cilantro, spinach, scallions, lime zest, half a cup of stock and a tablespoon of oil in food processor and process into coarse green paste. Stir into your rice pot in the last 3 to 4 minutes of its cooking time.

Sprinkle the lime juice over the corn mixture.

Split the charred peppers open but not in half with small sharp knife then scoop out the seeds with a small spoon. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish and stuff each split pepper with lots of the corn mix, top each pepper with 1/4 cup cheese and place back under broiler to melt and char the cheese.

Serve peppers on beds of green rice.