While the Blogger is away, the sister will play.

So I thought that since Monika is off serving the people of Haiti with her awesome nursing skills, I would hijack her blog and post the recipes that I made on Saturday night when some friends came up from Connecticut to visit.

Roasted Cornish Game Hens - found on foodnetwork.com

· 1 tablespoon salt
· 2 tablespoons lemon-pepper
· 1 tablespoon dried basil
· 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 6 Cornish game hens, about 1 1/2 pounds each, rinsed and dried thoroughly
· 1 green bell pepper, large dice
· 2 stalks celery, large dice
· 1 onion, large dice

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil and poultry seasoning. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with some green bell pepper, celery and onion. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.

So these were really good and tasty. I was amazed how much meat was on these. Jordan slept through the whole evening, which was nice because we were able to relax a little.

Maple-glazed Carrots

This on page 320 of the Taste of Home Cookbook (for those of you lucky enough to have this book)

12 medium carrots, peeled and julienned (Jon asked what julienne was and I told him that someone name Julie Ann was coming over to cut up my carrots. He didn’t laugh)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup orange juice
5 tablespoons maple syrup
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

In a large saucepan, bring 1in. Of water and carrots to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine the cornstarch and orange juice until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Drain carrots; transfer to a serving bowl. Pour glaze over carrots; gently stir to coat.

So these were not good at all. Robert and Lisa said they were good but I think they were just being polite. After thinking about this for the past couple of days I think that I only put like 3 or 4 tablespoons of maple syrup in instead of the 5. But the glaze was not really like you would think a maple based glaze would be. It was really orangey and not a smooth texture.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog, I know that I am not a witty as our dear friend Monika but I felt the urge to carry on in her place.

At posting time: Monika and her merry band of missionaries are stuck in Miami and are waiting out yet another big storm that is hitting Maine. Our thoughts are with them and we are so pleased with the work that they accomplished during this mission trip. Love ya Ka!!!