Fall is here and as soon as it gets cold and cloudy we all want to make something warm and toasty in our ovens that haven't been used for many months. This is usually a good time to run a self cleaning cycle. Remember to remove your oven racks before you run this cycle. The high temperatures can ruin the oven racks and these are very expensive to replace. You also don't want to run the self cleaning cycle right before a big cooking event like Thanksgiving or when you are having a dinner party. We often see service issues with ovens after this cycle is used. Sometimes this causes problems with the door lock or the control panel. It is a good idea to crack a window and stay home for the 3 hours while this cycle is on. When they cycle is done and for some reason the door doesn't unlock after the oven has cooled turn the circuit breaker to the oven off for a few minutes then turn it back on. This sometimes resolves the issue. If not call us for a service call.

This is my favorite summer time recipe. You can serve it alone or it makes a great side dish with Salmon or Steak. From start to finish it only takes 20 minutes. Here is what you will need:

1 cup shell pasta or elbow macaroni

1 lb. frozen cooked shrimp, thawed, or 1 lb. cooked shrimp

1 cup chopped red sweet peppers (red bell pepper)

1/3 cup bottled creamy onion or Caesar salad dressing

2 Tbsp. snipped fresh dill (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 6-oz pkg. baby spinach

4 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain.

2. In an extra-large bowl combine pasta, shrimp, and chopped sweet peppers. Drizzle with the salad dressing; sprinkle with dill. Toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Divide spinach among 6 shallow bowls or plates. Top with shrimp mixture and cheese. Makes 6 main-dish servings.

EACH SERVING: 247 cal., 10 g total fat (4 g sat. fat), 156 mg chol., 435 mg sodium, 17 g carbo., 2 g dietary fiber, 23 g protein. DAILY VALUES: 72% vit. A, 95% vit. C, 9% calcium, 23% iron.

I refrigerate and serve cold.

Enjoy!

Front Load Washers have had a bad reputation over the last several years. If you google front load washers you will read several bad reviews on them. When they first reappeared in the market about 13 to 14 years ago, manufactures were in such a rush to have a front loader available that there were some minor yet major details that they did not pay attention to. You will read about mold. This was a huge issue. Water would sit in the rubber boot/door seal and there was no way for it to drain. There was also no air vent so that water would sit there and get sinky and cause mold. Mold would spread thru the entire machine and was impossible to get rid of. This would make clothes and other fabrics stink. If you had this happen to you you are probably so soured by it you will never buy a front load washer again.

Today these machines are built better than ever. Manufactures like Maytag and Whirlpool have now had several years to work out all of the bugs and they finally got it right! There is now a drain in the rubber boot/door seal as well as an air vent. With the machines built today we no longer see this issue. I still recommend you leave the door cracked open after doing laundry and the use of hot water and bleach is very important to assist with keeping the machine clean and odor free. Whirlpool makes a washing machine cleaner called Affresh that also helps eliminate odor causing residue which works great. Tide also makes a wonderful cleaner that removes hard water and soap scum build up.

So if you have had problems in the past give these machines another chance. I strongly feel that front load washers do a better job at cleaning and the water and energy savings can't be beat. From a service stand point we strongly support Maytag and Whirlpool as they are built here in the USA. My top pick is the Whirlpool model WFW94HEXW. It is a 5.0 cubic foot washer with a spin speed of 1,400 RPM's. It has an excellent suspension system and it great for upstairs laundry rooms. This machine is extremely quiet and built like a tank. If I were to purchase a new washer this would be the one I would buy.