Aprons have been a cook’s best friend for hundreds of years. Men and women have both used cooking aprons. In the past kitchen aprons were associated with women, staying home, cooking for their family.  The aprons covered most of the dresses these women wore. More emphasis was given to its function which was that of protecting the outfit worn inside from gathering dirt from everyday household chores. Since there were no washing machines or advanced cloth materials that were easy to wash in those days it was essential to protect them by wearing them.

You see almost all housemaids, waitresses, and butchers wearing aprons. Today’s ones unlike in the past are more into fashion than just functionality. Aprons for all kinds of people are available such as kids, mens, bridal aprons, mother-daughter apron sets, one sided aprons, reversible aprons, teen aprons and so on. The various designs by TAYGA Aprons makes the apron wearing experience a fashion statement thus making the process of household chores, like cooking, rather interesting.

Thus aprons that have evolved to be more of a fashion statement from its functionality in the past never would go out of fashion. It is one thing that keeps evolving and is often found in most houses.

Please look through our cute cooking aprons in the photos section of our facebook page.

Ingredients:

6 oz cream cheese

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

3 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

1.5 cups fresh raspberries

6 oz chocolate pie crust (I use pre-made Oreo crust)

2 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup whipping cream

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With your kitchen apron on, beat cream cheese in medium bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth.  Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well.  Arrange 1 cup of raspberries on bottom of crust.  Slowly pour cream cheese mixture over raspberries.

2.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool on wire rack.

3.  Melt the chocolate chips with 1/4 cup whipping cream in a small saucepan over low heat.  Cook and stir until thickened and smooth.  Remove from heat.  Spread over cheesecake.  Refrigerate 3 hours.  Top with remaining 1/2 cup of fresh raspberries and serve.  Refrigerate leftovers. 

-Peg

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
• 4 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

1. In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don’t bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

-Peg

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked chicken breast strips

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cut into cubes

1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso chopped green chiles

12 Old El Paso flour tortillas for soft tacos & fajitas (6 inch; from two 8.2-oz packages)

2 cans (10 oz each) Old El Paso green chile enchilada sauce

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 oz)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in center. Stir in cream 

cheese and chiles; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until blended and cream cheese is melted.

3. Spoon chicken filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with cheddar cheese.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.

Makes 12 enchiladas.

I was lucky enough to receive Dinner for Busy Moms in the mail today.  What a great book! It is not a cookbook, but a strategy guide full of tips on how to streamline food shopping and how to organize your pantry.  It also explains how to get kids involved in the process.  Those who know me well will know that I will LOVE reading this book.  This is a magazine type read with side bars and tips. 

My friend, and author,  Jeanne Muchnick states, “It’s not about what you’re serving that matters, it’s that you are sitting together in the first place.”  Jeanne is a “normal” mom that admits to having a messy house, a car full of snack wrappers, a huge stack of books and magazines by her bed, and a crazed, multi-tasking life she calls “controlled chaos.”  After her daughter told her she liked eating at her aunts house rather than at home, Jeanne decided she needed to be better about the needs of her family, rather than working on her deadlines.  Jeanne says, “I am often so busy with work and errands and life in general that dinner became something that fell by the wayside.”  We can all relate to that! 

Jeanne shares the same vision as TAYGA.  Spending time with family is important!  Sitting down for meals and catching up on your day should be a priority.

You can find Dinner for Busy Moms on our site.  Don’t miss out on this book!  Tie on a pretty apron and whip up something fast for your family!  Don’t forget to check page 168 to see the sidebar on TAYGA Aprons!

-Peg

Mexican Cream Cheese Rollups

8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2/3 cup pitted green olives, chopped
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can black olives, chopped
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas -green will add great color!
• 1/2 cup salsa

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, green olives, black olives and green onions.
2. Spread cream cheese mixture in a thin layer onto each tortilla. Roll up tortillas. Chill about 1 hour, or until the filling is firm.
3. Slice chilled rollups into 1 inch pieces. Serve with salsa for dipping.

Our mother and daughter matching apron sets are the perfect mother’s day gift for a mother with young children.  Our aprons are made in the USA and machine washable.  What a great gift to show mom you care!