Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) . Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake it, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine the half- and- half, eggs, sugar, flour and salt and mix well. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in 3/ 4 cup of the toasted coconut and the vanilla extract. Reserve the remaining coconut to top the pie.

Pour the filling into the pie shell and chill until firm, about 4 hours. Top with whipped topping and with the reserved coconut.

This is the second time I' ve made this, the first time following the recipe to the letter. . . it was very good. This time I made two Egg Mc. Muffins ( used ramekins, the perfect size) and cooked for about 2- 1/ 2 minutes on high in the microwave. The omelet was in between a slice of American cheese on the bottom and Canadian bacon on the top and sandwiched onto a toasted English muffin. This time I used Southwestern Egg Beaters ( 1/ 4 cup for each sandwich) which tasted delicious.

With the two ramekins going into the dishwasher and hand washing one small skillet for the Canadian bacon, the cleanup was easy ( no more messy egg rings to scrub! ) . This is now my go- to method for making Egg Mc. Muffins, love it!

My grandmother was born and raised in the South, so though I grew up in the North, I grew up on peach cobbler and peach crisp. This recipe is good but perhapes mis- named. The recipe results in something more like a cobbler than a crisp. If you want something more like a COBBLER this recipe is GREAT.

But if you are looking for a crisp I have the following suggestions. The first time I made the recipe I followed it exactly.

The second time I made it I adjusted it. When I made it the second time I doubled the amount of peaches, and made only half of the topping. ( The recipe makes a lot more topping than is needed. ) I also changed the topping a little bit. I added a cup of oats. I doubled the cinnamon. I used only 1 1/ 2 cubes of butter instead of 2 cubes.

Instead of 1 1/ 2 cups of white sugar I put in 3/ 4 cup brown sugar and 3/ 4 cup white sugar. I also drizzled honey on top of the crumb topping before baking it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) .

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.

Combine potatoes, ham, corn and parsley; set aside. In a saucepan saute onion in butter for 2 minutes, stir in flour until blended well. Gradually add milk and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over the ham mixture.

Stir to mix well. Pour into greased 11x 7 baking dish. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer until cheese melts.

I made this for my husband with guinness ( his favorite) . I scaled this down quite a bit but used enough beer to get it to the consistancy I wanted, I didn' t measure it. I also sprinkled some paprika on top for color.

I' m giving this four stars based on what my husband thought of it ( I didn' t try any, I' m pregnant and don' t really care for beer anyways) . . . he said the first few bites were weird but it grew on him and he thought it was good. I don' t know if its something he' d ask me to make again but he did eat it all in one sitting!

Whisk together the extra- virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, parsley, garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/ 2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the tilapia fillets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper in a bowl. Add the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and toss well.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium- high heat, and lightly oil grate.

Remove the tilapia from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the fillets until the fish is no longer translucent in the center, and flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve the tilapia topped with mango salsa.

I found a Rosemary crusted goat cheese at the market.

It is a firm cheese like cheddar.

WOW! !

I was so blown away by this cheese, that I forgot about the mozzarella and didn' t think it needed the cream cheese. I sauteed the shrooms, added some sliced onions, garlic salt, pepper and the Balsamic. Reduced it and assembled this wonderful creation! Please forgive me, as a side note.

About this cheese, I liked it better cold then warmed but I am still trying to get used to the flavor of goat cheese. This was a delicious and very unusual quesadilla! !

Thank you Rudechack

Regular green bean casserole is delicious enough, but this green bean casserole takes it to a whole other level.

Why? Because it& # 8217; s tricked out with some of Chef John& # 8217; s favorite French onion soup flavors. And it& # 8217; s so easy to make! You& # 8217; ll caramelize the onions, create a simple white sauce with butter, flour, and cold milk.

Then you& # 8217; re on your way! See a quick technique for cutting the ends off your green beans and a great trick for slicing onions for this casserole.

One of the secrets to this recipe is gruyere cheese added to the top! See how it& # 8217; s done! Get Chef John& # 8217; s recipe for .

Working in 2 batches, place 1 quart ice cubes in a blender.

Add 1/ 2 can limeade, 6 ounces tequila and 2 tablespoons Cointreau. Blend at highest speed until drink is almost smooth. Pour into a pitcher and repeat with remaining ingredients. Store in the freezer. To salt the margarita glasses, pour a single layer of salt on a salad plate. Moisten each glass rim with lime; dip each rim in the salt.

Pour margaritas into each glass; garnish with lime. Serve immediately.

Though tucked away in the southeastern corner of the state, not readily accessible by major interstate, Walla Walla has nevertheless emerged from & quot; hidden treasure& quot; status into one of the Pacific Northwest' s hottest wine destination spots. The town of Walla Walla is a charming, vibrant winemaking community and the wines made here are second to none. The Walla Walla Valley AVA stretches over undulating hills and across the state line into Oregon. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the most planted red varietals, with Syrah gaining ground.

Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese are coming along nicely, too. Chardonnay and Gewrztraminer are the big whites in the area.

Walla Walla is notable geologically because it is here that water from Ice Age floods backed up at the Wallula Gap and the resulting slackwaters deposited deep beds of fine- grained silt and stone on top of ancient basaltic lava.

2 ( 3.

5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix 1 ( 15. 25 ounce) can whole kernel corn Dairy, Eggs and Milk Meats, Fish and Seafood 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked 7- 1/ 4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves Pasta, Rice and Beans 9 ounces Arugula, raw 1 bulb Fennel, bulb, raw 20 cloves garlic, whole 2 ( 14. 5 ounce) cans chicken broth 1 ( 10.

75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

This recipe is absolutely AWESOME! !

My husband is a hunter and unfortunately I' m not fond of anything that has a hint of & quot; gamey& quot; flavor. I' m always looking for a new way to disguise deer meat but I' ve found that with many recipes I still can' t & quot; fool& quot; myself. Not so with this one! The only substitution I made was deer meat for the ground.

It came out perfect and I agree with other reviews, it has WAY more flavor than the store bought. This will go in my permanent recipe collection.

Definitely a keeper! We can' t wait to see what happens when we add jalapenos and cheese!

I made this dish for my family and it came out great. Even the kids ages 2, 4, 4, & amp; 10 loved it!

I followed the recipe as is with a few adjustments. The first being that I didn' t use toothpicks to hold the rolled chicken together, but rather once I rolled them I pan seared the bottom and top of the chicken in a very little EVOO & amp; butter before putting the slice of prosciutto ontop and into the baking dish.

I also as suggested by another review, broiled the chicken for 5- 10mins on HI to crisp up the prosciutto. I made a white wine butter sauce to put ontop of the chicken after I plated the dish. I will put up a recipe fpr the sauce.

My favorite room in the house is my kitchen because I love to cook, I especially enjoy baking. During the week after working long hours I put together quick and simple meals, or something from the slowcooker or pressure cooker. But on the weekends I am in the kitchen for hours. I am partial to cakes and frostings, although I have to say making my own breads has become a new passion for me. When my family tells me they love what I have made for them. When I started trying to make my own breads they were terrible, they actually looked more like biscotti.

But after investing all the time and ingredients we had to eat them. They have improved greatly, but they are still not where I would like for them to be.

This has been an eventful week. I told you last week that I wasn' t riding my bike and would tell you why in a later post. I also didn' t walk my daily 4 miles this week. I suspected I had a stress fracture in my foot.

I had one several years ago in the same foot, so I knew what it felt like.

It took me a week to get an appointment, but I wore my boot from before because my foot hurt. . . badly. My appointment was this morning, and sure enough, it' s another stress fracture. I' ll be wearing my boot for 4 more weeks. & nbsp; While I didn' t walk or ride my bike, I did go to my 2 days of personal training and did pilates at home the other days.

The pilates doesn' t raise my heart rate like walking did. & nbsp; I was very bummed for about 3 days about all this. Normally, when I host a pity party, I have plenty of unhealthy food available, but not this time. When I went to weigh in today, I had lost only . 2 of a pound.

At least the scale is going in the right direction. Plus I have found other things to be grateful for: & nbsp; 1) For Pete' s sake, it' s a stress fracture, not cancer or a brain tumor! & nbsp; 2) I have to wear a boot, not a cast. & nbsp; 3) It' s my left foot, not my right driving foot. & nbsp; Now, on to recipes I found this week that fit in with eating healthier. My meatless entree this week was& nbsp; . I decreased the lemon juice to 1 T.

Both my husband and I enjoyed it. & nbsp; It is 9 Points. Plus according to the nutrition stats.

I didn' t put extra parm on top of my dish, but my husband did : ) A wonderful slaw that I thoroughly enjoyed was& nbsp; . It uses Splenda and apple cider vinegar. The best part? According to the nutrition info, it is 1 Point.

Plus, but I really think it could be 0 points. It' s a great way to get some veggies in. I had another delicious meal this week: & nbsp; & nbsp; ( 5 Points.

Plus) , & nbsp; & nbsp; ( 5 Points. Plus) , and Green Beans ( 0 Points. Plus) . I added red peppers and onions to the kabobs. I will definitely make them again this summer. ( I know- What was I thinking taking a picture on a polka dotted plate? But my husband grilled and plated them.

He wasn' t about to wait for me to change plates so I could get a better picture. He was starving! ) The Orzo and Rice was really good.

It was much better than just regular rice and didn' t compete with the main entree. I liked it! I tried a new smoothie this week, & nbsp; . I used 1 room temp banana ( instead of 2 frozen ones) , 1/ 2 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp. cocoa ( instead of 2 T. chocolate syrup) , and a packet of Splenda. Fruits are 0 points, so this entire smoothie comes in at 3 Points. Plus.

Do you need an incentive to drink more water? This& nbsp; & nbsp; might work. Actually, it grew on me.

I don' t care for it as a tea because it' s not strong enough. But it works great as a flavored water. I subbed Splenda for the sugar so 0 points. Here' s my favorite new recipe find, & nbsp; . I honestly thought it would be similar to taco soup, even though the seasoning was different.

But OH MY, it was much better! The Rotel tomatoes made it spicy and the cabbage made it sweet. Delicious! I subbed Quorn for the ground beef. As is, it was 7 Points. Plus, but with the Quorn it was only 4 PP!

How are you doing on your personal weight loss journey. . . or on eating healthier? I' d love to hear, and as always, be sure to leave me some healthy recipes you' ve found lately.

Noting that the U. S. populations of Hispanic, African- American and Asian students were increasing, Obama said that failing to properly educate them and close the " achievement gaps" would be growing problem. A question on clean energy provided the president with the opportunity to reiterate his call for increased spending on research and development, as well as setting standards so that specific portions of energy come from clean energy sources. When asked about possibly legalizing drugs to save law enforcement costs and reduce drug- related crime, Obama said he opposed outright legalization but favored treating the issue as a public health and safety problem.

The goal should be to shrink the demand for drugs by changing attitudes instead of being too strongly focused on arresting and imprisoning people, Obama said. In addition, Obama called for more resources for programs to help people dealing with drug addiction and other problems, noting that it can take six months to get into drug treatment programs in some cities. Obama spent Wednesday visiting solar and wind energy companies in Wisconsin to tout his push for increased government investment in clean energy as a growth industry of the future, a major theme of his speech the night before. Along with Obama' s You. Tube interview, Vice President Joe Biden answered questions from the public in a Yahoo interview Thursday, and four top administration officials participated in online discussions answering questions submitted via Facebook, the online social network.

Profile of and interview with physician assistant and polio survivor John C Welton, who works in palliative care unit at Bronx Montefiore Medical Center, caring for patients with progressive, incurable illnesses like terminal cancer; Mr Welton believes his appearance and use of thick metal leg braces lets his patients know that he is someone who can empathize with their situation; photo May 5, 2008

HBO, Netflix, Pandora and the NBA are just a few of the big- name brands teaming up with Google for the rollout of Google TV. The web giant' s " multimillion- channel TV" system is expected to launch some time this fall. Run by Google' s Android operating system, it will let users view all kinds of Web content on their televisions.

The partnerships were announced Monday on Google' s official blog. The post announced that other deals are in place for Web sites to optimize their content for Google TV. CNN. com is one of those sites as are others, including TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, owned by parent company Time Warner.

Nashville, Tennessee ( CNN) - - When Ryan Wallace got a diagnosis of at age 2, his parents never thought they' d hear him speak. & quot; He used to make noises.

When he wanted something he would just point, & quot; says Ryan' s father, Gerald David Wallace. & quot; Or he would scream. & quot; Therapists say that' s not unusual for someone with Ryan' s condition.

According to doctors, many children with autism have difficulty understanding information from the outside world. & quot; The brain' s ability to process information comes in from the eyes, ears and other senses during infancy, & quot; says Dr.

Mark Wallace, an expert on sensory processing who directs the Vanderbilt Brain Institute who is not related to Ryan. & quot; If that [ ability] is compromised during the early developmental period, you will never be able to really gain full function in these systems. & quot; Because these children lack the ability to understand this auditory information, it can prevent them from developing any form of language and therefore their ability to communicate.

Some stages of autism make it hard for children to comprehend sounds, words, expressions and even inflections. & quot; That' s the thing that parents often notice first in their children [ who have autism] . They can' t talk, & quot; says Dr. Stephen Camarata, a professor of hearing and speech science at Vanderbilt' s Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences. & quot; But the hidden side of this is that they also have a lot of difficulty understanding, comprehending, auditory comprehension, listening. And so when a child' s autism is experiencing somebody talking to them, it' s a lot like somebody' s talking to them in a foreign language, & quot; he says.

That can be frustrating for their parents, because at a time when most little ones should be learning to speak, their children can' t form words. Many of these parents seek out programs that claim they can help children with autism speak. Doctors warn that can be risky. & quot; Families who have a child with autism face daunting challenges, says Camarata. & quot; Because of this, they are often going to leave no stone unturned in their searches for solution. Unfortunately, there are a lot of fringe treatments out there, they aren' t effective and haven' t been scientifically validated. & quot; In the case of Ryan Wallace, now 7, his parents knew at an early age that something was wrong and they needed to intervene. & quot; He was a healthy baby boy, but then things started to change, & quot; says Amy Wallace, Ryan' s mom. & quot; It was around 18 or 20 months we noticed, he was really happy and then he wasn' t& quot; according to his dad. & quot; You could see it in his pictures, as he goes from infant into toddlerhood the smile kind of fades away.

And then he wouldn' t look at you. He would just stare into space.

And we had no clue what was going on. & quot; Ryan wouldn' t talk. He' d grunt or if he became emotionally upset, he' d have what his parents called & quot; meltdowns& quot; and would start screeching. His parents didn' t know what to do or how to handle him. Fortunately, when doctors told them Ryan had autism, they immediately got him into speech and occupational therapy. & quot; We looked everywhere to find him help, & quot; says Amy Wallace. & quot; We finally got him into the Susan Gray School, which is for special- needs kids at Vanderbilt. & quot; While at Susan Gray, Ryan' s therapists and parents decided to enroll him in a new research project that was scientifically evaluating programs designed to help kids with autism learn to speak, including sensory integration therapy. Sensory integration is an occupational therapy designed to improve communication skills by placing a child in a room specifically designed to challenge all his or her senses.

In the study, Ryan is shown pictures on a computer screen and asked to name and identify the items. The procedure is repeated over and over. He also is given a story that includes all the words he has seen on the computer and at the same time works with a therapist. & quot; So, children learn how to comprehend through interacting with toys, interacting with pictures, and then an adult or another person is talking to them and giving them information about what they' re seeing and experiencing, & quot; explains Camarata. & quot; It' s very repetitive so that the child has lots of opportunities to learn the meaning of each of these things they' re interacting with. & quot; The study is twofold. Once Ryan has gone through his therapy, he' s fitted with special headgear that records his brain language sensors while he watches a video that incorporates the words he' s just learned. By getting a picture of the brain, it gives doctors an insight into how the autistic brain works. & quot; The idea is that when you learn a new word you see it and then somebody tells you the name of it and then you link these things in your long- term memory, & quot; says Camarata. & quot; People with autism have a very hard time doing that. & quot; Sensory integration therapy advocates say the widely used program' s constant stimulation helps children with autism learn to speak.

But sensory integration therapy is controversial because there' s very little scientific data on its effectiveness. That' s why, Camarata says, it' s important researchers investigate sensory integration therapy and other therapies to see whether they are effective. & quot; When these parents are seeking answers, & quot; Camarata says, & quot; we as researchers can come to them with answers that have been tested and validated scientifically. & quot; Since Ryan has been working with sensory integration therapy, his parents say, his progress has been remarkable. & quot; He' s initiating more. He talks and engages in conversations. He isn' t afraid and comes up to people and says, ' Hi! ' & quot; Amy Wallace says with a smile.

Ryan' s father, Gerald, agrees. & quot; That' s huge for us. And he says, ' Love you, ' and now he says, ' I love you. ' You can' t ask for more. & quot; The project, which was funded through a two- year, $ 670, 000 federal stimulus grant, is still enrolling children. Sensory integration therapy is just one of many therapies that Camarata, Wallace and their staff hope to investigate in order to prove their worth.

Camarata wants to provide scientifically proven help to families touched by autism. & quot; I see so many therapies and programs out there that don' t work, and they prey on the desperate needs of families. That' s wrong, & quot; he says. & quot; We are finally starting to get to the point where we can test different interventions and see what works and what doesn' t work. If it helps these children, than we need to let parents know. If the therapy doesn' t help, than it needs to be exposed for what it is. & quot;

( CNN) - - A top adviser to Tim Pawlenty' s presidential campaign apologized late Wednesday for making a reference to Michele Bachmann' s & quot; sex appeal& quot; during an interview. Vin Weber apologized for the remarks originally made in an interview with The Hill newspaper regarding Bachmann. & quot; She' s got hometown appeal, she' s got ideological appeal, & quot; he said. & quot; And, I hate to say it, but she' s got a little sex appeal too. & quot; Weber, a former co- chairman of Pawlenty' s political action committee, issued the apology in a statement distributed by the Pawlenty campaign. & quot; I made a mistake that was disrespectful to my friend Congresswoman Bachmann, & quot; he said. & quot; I' ve been a Bachmann supporter in her Congressional bids and I apologize. I was not speaking on behalf of Governor Pawlenty' s campaign but nevertheless, it was inappropriate and I' m sorry. & quot; Bachmann, 55, formally announced her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination last week.