William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"

According to historians' best guess, William Shakespeare's 450th birthday would be today, Wednesday, April 23, 2014. Stratford-Upon-Avon is a town synonymous with William Shakespeare where he was born and grew up there.

Love Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

by  William Shakespeare

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Ree Drummond a.k.a. The Pioneer Women http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Check out her blog and follow her tales of life with Marlborough Man and four children. She is a wonder woman who has a cooking show, authors cookbooks and home schools her children. The family lives on a ranch in Oklahoma. 

Chicken Taco Salad

Cook's notes: A easy dinner that will please all ages. It has color, crunch and bursts with flavor.  

adapted from Ree Drummond
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups prepared Ranch Dressing 
• 1/4 cup salsa (as spicy as you like)
• 3 TB. finely minced cilantro
• 2 TB. dry taco seasoning mix
• 2 whole boneless, skinless cooked chicken breasts, diced
• 1 head green leaf lettuce or two regular heads, shredded thin
• 3 whole Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup grated Pepper Jack Cheese
• 1 cup of corn
• 2 whole avocados, diced
• 3 whole green onions, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• Tortilla chips, crushed slightly

Directions:

• Cook chicken breasts sprinkled with 2 TB. dry taco seasoning mix
• Combine ranch dressing and salsa cover and refrigerate at least one hour
• Assemble the salad by layering shredded lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, corn, avocado, green onion, cilantro, and crushed chips on a big platter. Drizzle the dressing all over the top

When you’re going to sauté garlic, slice it rather than mincing it — it's less likely to burn that way.