Thanks to everyone who entered this year’s bracket challenge. If you’re anything like me, your brackets were busted early on, but we had a few folks who knew a little more than the rest of us!
Congrats to the following winners!
1st Place – Carole Anne B. – iPad 2
2nd Place – Scott H. – $200 Visa Gift Card
3rd Place – Suzanne C. – $100 Visa Gift Card
Keep your eyes open for the challenge next year, and more fun contests on our Facebook Page!
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning (depending on your location, anyway) – and what better way to spend it than making some healthy, delicious whole-wheat pancakes with your family. The basic recipe is below – and you can check out all kinds of cool variations and additional recipes at AllRecipes.com.
Spring is in the air – and it’s time to start talking about some healthy springtime food options. This spinach salad is a quick and easy way to get some healthy greens on your plate just in time for swimsuit season!
The NCAA Tourney is in full swing! Invite your friends over, and cook up a batch of the CalCas special March Madness Chili!
Ingredients
Just in time for St. Patty’s day, here’s a great guest post from Rebecca Stumpf:
Oh for the love of the Irish! It’s St. Patrick’s Day and that means corned beef and cabbage; a family favorite in our house! As I set out to write this blog I wondered about the actually history of St. Patrick’s Day. History.com and Wikipedia (extensive information) are both great resources of information.
Let’s start with Saint Patrick. He was born in Britain, taken hostage at the age of 16 and sent to Ireland. After escaping 6 years later he started his religious training to become a priest. After his ordination, he returned to Ireland to counsel those Christians living in Ireland and to set out on the goal of converting the rest. Instead of eradicating local customs, he wove in some of the nature based pagan traditions into Christianity. We are reminded every March 17 how much he was widely respected and loved by the Irish. Unfortunately, I do not have enough room to give all his history, so I encourage you to visit The History Channel and Wikipedia to read more about Saint Patrick.
Now, onto the St. Patrick’s Day feast! The Irish have observed this day for over 1000 years. Yet, it was those Irish immigrants who came to America that made this day into the festival it is with parades, food and lots of green beer, bread, popcorn and even a green river. Because, this holiday falls on a Thursday, most of us won’t have time to labor over cooking a brisket all day. So let the crock pot do all the work. Prepare and set it in the morning and come home to a wonderful smell (for some an acquired smell). Depending on how much time I have and how adventurous I feel, I may try a different recipe that incorporates more vegetables or extra spices.
This year, however, it’s simple and straightforward. One large (4 – 5 pound) corned beef brisket, one head of cabbage and 4 red potatoes all go into a crock pot on low heat for 8 hours. Make sure to set the brisket fat-side down, the fat will penetrate the brisket making it more tender and adding more flavor. Adding the spice packet into the crock pot is optional; however it does add additional flavor. Check out other corned beef recipes online to find one that your family likes.
One last note, for those of you who despise corned beef or want to try something new, you might opt for what may actually be as close to an Irish traditional dish of boiled bacon and cabbage! Check out this link for the history and recipe of this other great dish.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day and don’t forget to wear your green!
As always, I’m very proud to hear when our company makes our customers happy. Here’s a nice little note from Carol W that fell into my inbox this week:
Had great success getting my car repaired. The actual charge was some greater than the estimate but California Causality paid without a complaint. I had called to tell them that I thought there was too much in the estimate, damages that they thought necessary and I didn’t, but my insurance assured me the car should be put back into good shape and they did not question the charges. Thanks to California Causality for all the years of protection we have had with our vehicles and our home insurance. It’s not the little lizard’s insurance but it sure works for us. Thanks again