Nearly 17 million children in America and almost one in four struggle with hunger.   With the way this economy has been, more and more families are having a hard time putting healthy food on the table every day.

Thankfully, I didn’t grow up hungry. My dad had a great job with great benefits and we were never without food.  It’s sad to know that many children in our country go to bed hungry and don’t know where their next meal will come from.

The Bread Art Project was created by The Grain Foods Foundation to help increase awareness of the hunger problem in the United States and raise money to Share Our Strength organization.

I was  recently invited to The Bread Art Project event in New York City by Jennifer James from the Moms Blogger’s Club to join her and other bloggers to help launch the 2nd annual Bread Art project.  I was thrilled to be a part of this wonderful project. First of all, I was going to learn about this great organization, second of all, I was going to see “old” friends and meet new bloggers and lastly, meet Melissa d’Arabian from one of my favorite shows on the Food Network, 10 Dollar Dinners.

At the event, Melissa told us how she struggled with hunger as a child and how hard it was to see her mom (a single parent) work hard to try to give her kids the best in life by working towards a college degree and working full time to earn a living.  She also taught us some of her tips and tricks on ways she gets her children to eat more grains.

1. My kids like sandwiches without crusts, so I am constantly cutting them off sliced bread.  Instead of throwing them away, I save them in resealable freezer bags. I use the crusts to make fresh and fluffy bread crumbs.
2. Don’t overlook bread as a base for sweet snacks!  Just spread a baguette with a smear of butter and add a small piece of chocolate.
3. Grill, roast or sauté the bread until golden and serve in a large basket with dips, spreads, grilled veggies, cheeses and garlic-infused olive oil.
4. Check the bulk aisle for more unusual grains to try when they go on sale. Quinoa is uber-hip right now. It is a complete protein and the crunchy, nutty taste is crave-worthy.
5. Keep different varieties of pasta in your pantry for weeknight meals that are as nutritious as they are quick. It is a complete protein and the crunchy, nutty taste is crave-worthy.

We can all help out by visiting breadartproject.com and create your own “Bread Art” from one of your stored pictures or create a brand new one from the site.  By doing that, you are donating $1 for each bread art project you save on the site.  In 2009, visitors who created bread art on the site helped raise over $25,000 for Feeding America.  This year’s goal is to raise even more for Share Our Strength and they are on their way.  So far, they have over $30,000.

The Grain Foods Foundation will donate $50,000 (up to $100,000) to Share Our Strength plus an additional $1 for each qualifying Bread Art submission received at breadartproject.com now through June 30, 2010.

Below are my favorite recipes that I tasted at the event.  I can’t wait to make it for my family.

Takes a look at my bread art and a collage that I made from the event:

I often wonder if I’m the only person that always, without fail, go over my budget when it comes to food shopping. I don’t know what it is.

I think I’m doing it right.  Before I leave my house, I always start off with a list. I go in the pantry and see what’s missing and I do the same in the refrigerator.  I leave with cash in my purse (it saves me more money, in my opinion), my coupons and my list.

Once I’m at the store, I try to stay on track with what’s on my list.

This has to be one of the best Thanksgivings ever for my family and I.  There were no recipe mishaps (had many of those), every dish was made with love and was not rushed (had many of those too) and for the first time my husband helped me with almost every dish we made.

Plus, no drama. That in itself, is the best thing in the world.

I’m truly blessed.

At first I thought we were going to be stressed out because we had so many dishes planned but once I wrote everything out on a piece of paper, we made it through.  Dish by dish, we took our time, talked and kissed — it was really nice.

Although it was only 6 of us (hubby, our 3 kids, my sister and I), we had a feast and had a great time talking and passing food.  I think we could’ve fed the whole neighborhood with all the food we made.

Curious to know what we had for our Thanksgiving meal?  Here’s what we made:

• Turkey (made in a Reynold’s bag; which came out so juicy)
• Pernil (Pork Shoulder)
• Arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas)
• Homemade Sausage stuffing (recipe was from a wonderful Irish woman)
• Homemade gravy (that hubby and I made from the turkey juices)
• Pasteles (My good friend gave me a bunch)
• Mashed Rutabaga (It’s like turnips; Again, this recipe was from a wonderful Irish woman)
• Mashed potatoes
• Biscuits
• Potato Salad
• Green Beans with Sweetened Cranberries
• Cheesecake
• Pumpkin Pie
• Peanut butter & Chocolate Mousse Pie

My 4 favorites (yes, I have 4 b/c I could not pick just one) were the mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing & rutabaga. YUMMY!!

I think we’ll have food for the next week but I am not complaining.  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope you all ate really well.

Now how is that Turkey Coma coming along? I know I was in one. LOL

So, how was your Thanksgiving? What did you eat?I would love to know

It’s hard not to like Martha Stewart.  You’re bound to buy something that has her name written on the package.

Why?

Because she is everywhere and she can decorate your whole house with her line of EVERYTHING!  Believe me, she has some great looking towels, tablecloths, curtains, bedspreads, kitchen stuff, bedroom stuff -  the list can go on and on and on.

Today, I received an email from Sirius radio that I wanted to share with all of my readers.  Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, there’s lots of planning going around for almost every family.  If you don’t have any ideas of what to cook, I have a special treat for you all.

Thanks to Martha Stewart, click HERE to download a free Thanksgiving Hotline Cookbook filled with recipes from the most famous, top chefs around.  You’ll find recipes for Soups & Starters, Sides & Salads Turkey & Entrees, Desserts, Wine, Liquor and Entertaining.

That pretty much sums it up for all your Thanksgiving needs and much more!

So go check it out, save it on your computer and start planning your menu!

***On Sirius radio, you can hear Martha on Channel 112.

Well, if you’re like me, then you like eating at restaurants.

There’s nothing better than having someone serve you hot food and then take your plate away so someone else can wash it.

You pay for your food, leave a tip, get up and leave.

No mess to clean up afterward and definitely no dishes to clean.  Now that’s what I call service.

But when I  do go out to eat, I often wonder how the clean the kitchen is.  I wonder if the chefs are clean, if they’re wearing gloves while touching the foods and if there are any bugs or rodents crawling around (yuk).  If I think about it too much, I get grossed out and lose my appetite.

If you’re in the New York City area, I have a solution to your worries about dining out.  If you’re dining out in one of the boroughs in New York, there’s a place where you can see if there are any violations at your favorite eatery.  Click here to find out!

My husband went fishing yesterday and this is what he caught:

Trout saying hi.

We're eating him/her tonite!

I buy something, forget about it and and then it goes bad.

Like on Friday, I bought ground chicken to make Rachael Ray‘s Buffalo Meatballs (they’re so good) for the Superbowl.  I wanted to make them on Saturday so I wouldn’t have to make them on Sunday.

On Saturday night, my daughter asks me if I was still making the meatballs, I told her I’ll make it on Sunday since I made Chili in the crockpot today (Saturday).  She says ok.

Sunday comes along and I am exhausted.  Why? Because my 3 year old daughter was up throwing up nasty phlegm at one in the morning.  So my daughter asks me again, are you still making the meatballs today? I said, maybe.

I remembered that night that I didn’t make the meatballs.  You know when I decided to make it?

Yesterday morning!  And you know what? It smelled HORRIBLE!! I couldn’t believe it.  I was so disgusted and upset.  Wasted food down the drain; $5.00 worth of ground chicken to be exact.

DAMN! I hate that!

Did you ever have a situation like this?  If you did, I’d like to know.

Just thinking about the menu for tomorrow’s feast already has me comatose and sleepy.  I am also very excited at the same time.  This will be my first Thanksgiving cooking EVERYTHING. MYSELF.  I may get some help from my husband so I can’t take ALL the credit.  I’ll have him make the mashed potatoes and whatever else comes to mind.

Right now, I have the Pumpkin Pie in the oven.  It smells so good in here.  I can’t wait!  I was going to make it from stratch but I’m planning to make Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake from scratch.  So buying a frozen Pumpkin Pie is so much easier for me.  It’s my first time making this cheesecake so I hope its good.

Next thing I’m making today is the Sausage Stuffing.  I got that recipe from my Sister in law’s mother in law.  She’s Irish and I think she makes the best stuffing I have ever tasted.  She gave me the recipe about 5 years ago and I’ve made it so many times.  My whole family loves it.

I’m also making some Rutabaga with butter.  That is also a recipe I got from my Irish mother in law…LOL  All I do is peel the Rutabaga, cut it up in cubes and boil it in water and sugar for about an hour.  Then I just mash it up like I do mashed potatoes and that’s it.

Last but not least, the turkey.  This time it’s not a Butterball Turkey but it is a Perdue.  I got it at Bj’s.  It should be good, right?  Anyway, I’ll be seasoning my turkey today.  I wanted to have it seasoned for at least two days but I bought it last night.  I rather have it seasoned over night then season it the same day.  I usually season turkey and chicken with poultry seasoning, Adobo (can’t have a meal without this in a Latina’s home), black pepper, garlic and onion powder.

Tomorrow, I’ll cook the rest of the food.  I’m hoping to have everything on the table by 3PM.

So, here is the full menu:

So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? Are you staying home or traveling?  What’s on the menu?  Send me a comment and let me know. I would love to know what others are eating on this special day!