One of the easiest (and fastest) ways to make a tasty treat is by whipping up a batch of Rice Krispie treats. With only a handful of necessary ingredients, the process is, quite honestly, beyond simple. You’ll need marshmallows (or marshmallow fluff), butter, a large sauce pan and – of course – a box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal. There are also a variety of different ways to “dress up” your Rice Krispie Treats for the holidays or for other special occasions. If you’d like to learn more about making these yummy treats, check out Mahalo’s How To Make Rice Krispie Treats page!

If you have a little more time, you might want to make popcorn balls. Add some mini marshmallows to the recipe, and you’ll be able to call them “Popcorn Snowballs”!

The event will be held at The Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV from January 1-5, 2010 where hundred’s of teams will compete for a grand prize of $50,000. If you missed out on qualifying this year, the qualifying tournaments for the 2011 World Series will begin in March 2010, so its not too early to start practicing your beer pong skills. Mahalo can help you get ready with its in-depth guide to How to Play Beer Pong. If you are heading to Vegas for the big event, you’ll want to check out the information Mahalo has on great Las Vegas Buffets that will stretch your dining dollars, so you don’t wind up surviving about Burger King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s for the 4 days you’re in Sin City.

If this still seems like too much work, why not try a cookie swap, where you bake several batches of one recipe, and then trade with friends?

For great mashed potatoes, most people start with a Russet, although some prefer Yukon Gold potatoes. Heat your milk, and mash the potatoes before whisking in the hot milk and butter. For smoothest results, use a ricer rather than electric beaters or a potato masher.

Mashed potatoes can be kept warm over a double boiler, or in a crockpot, or made ahead in a casserole that’s reheated before serving, if you don’t want to mash them immediately before serving.

Here are some celebrity mashed potato videos you may find interesting. While its not unusual to find Martha Stewart in the kitchen, who would expected to see Snoop Dogg or http://www.mahalo.com/snoop-dogg mashing spuds?

This year, a number of restaurants and retailers are offering specials to veterans and active duty members of the military on November 11, 2009. Here’s a run down of a few of them:

Not all special offers are limited to November 11. Golden Corral is offer a free entree to veterans and active duty military from 5-9 on November 16. New England veterans can take advantage of Acton Chiropractic’s offer of one year of free chiropractic care to all veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan.

October is a great month for apple picking.

Apple butter or apple jelly can be processed in a hot water bath after its made, and can be stored at room temperature for up to a year.

Apple crisp is a great dessert, and can be frozen before its baked. The easiest way to do it is to line your baking pan with foil before you make the crisp. Place the baking pan will the crisp in it in the freezer. When its frozen solid, remove the foil wrapped crisp from the pan, and insert into a plastic bag. You use reuse the same pan to freeze several crisps. When you want to bake the crisp, remove it from the freezer, peel off the foil, and pop it in to the baking pan. Increase the cooking time to an hour, and you’re all set.

Apple pies can be prepared and frozen before they are baked…or you can just prepare the apple pie filling and freeze it the same way you did the apple crisp. Just pop the filling into a prepared pie crust when ready to bake, and increase the cooking time by 30 minutes.

Applesauce can either be processed or frozen. My family prefers frozen apple sauce, as they feel it tastes “fresher”, but it will be good either way.

Hopefully you’re inspired to wander out into an orchard this weekend, and gather some apples of your own!

College professor is the #3 Job on Money's Top 50 2009 List

If you’re just interested in financial compensation, the top 5 jobs by pay are Anesthesiologist (median income $292,000), Obstetrician, (median income $222,000) Psychiatrist (median income $177,000), Sales Director (median income $140,000), and Attorney (median income $115,000).

There was also a category for the least stressful jobs – and these jobs also paid fairly well. The least stressful careers were considered to be Education Training Consultant (median income of $77,800), Physical Therapist (median income of $74,300), College Professor (median income of $70,400), Software Developer (median income of $79,400), and Technical Writer (median income of $67,400).

You can access the full list at CNNMoney.com.

1. If you’ll be having people over for a long event, such as a football game, consider a ”Stone Soup” party.  Just like in the story, you start a large pot of boiling water, and each of your friends brings something for the pot.  You can assign foods, or be true to the story and allow every one to donate what they like.  You’ll need about 2 hours for the soup to cook.
2. You can have a potluck soup party, by asking each of your friends to contribute their favorite soup.
3. If you’re feeling energetic, you can cook several soups yourself.  Consider making a variety of different soups, such as New England Clam Chowder, Vegetable Soup, Tomato Soup, Mushroom Soup, Lentil Soup, or Chili.

Provide bowls, flatware, a green salad, and cornbread, biscuits, or homemade bread, and you’ll have the foundation for a great evening with friends.