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Monday Musings: It’s over and done…have a cookie.

26 Aug
All's quiet as we prepare for the first day back to school, back to routine.

All’s quiet as we prepare for the first day back to school, back to routine.

Well folks, that’s that.

Summer’s over, at least for us. The best two months of the calendar year have flown by, but they’ve been two wonderful months, for sure.

Tomorrow is the first day back to school.

We’ll be starting our first year where both our elementary kids are on the intermediate hallway. No more primary grades. Ever.

We’ll be starting our last year of middle school for our first kid. Next year…high school.

Yikes.

On a happy note…only ten more months until summer.

To celebrate, let’s have a cookie.

A couple of weeks back I tried out a new recipe, modified it for our needs, and it was a huge success. So today I’m sharing that recipe with you. Enjoy your week, munch on a cookie, it makes everything seem better.

These were in a new cookbook I received from a family friend recently. Everyone loved them!

These were in a new cookbook I received from a family friend recently. Everyone loved them! They’d make a great after school snack!

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

(with our modifications in italics)
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter (we use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk (we use skim)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cup white flour (we did one cup of white and 3/4 cup wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional and I did NOT add it in)
2 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking or old fashioned rolled oats
1 pkg. Semisweet Chocolate morsels
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional and I did NOT add it in)
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar.
Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, milk and vanilla.
Beat at medium speed until well blended.
Add flour, baking soda and salt.
Beat at low speed until soft dough forms.
Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 9-10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12-13 minutes for a crisp cookie (I DID TEN.)
Let cool for 1 minute before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely before storing.

Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.

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Fun Friday: Spanish Flan

23 Aug
Subliminal message for me.

Subliminal message for me.

Elizabeth wanted me to make flan.

Really badly.

She saw flan featured on “Sabrina The Teenage Witch,” and figured if it was so great on the show, enough that an entire episode was devoted to it, then it must be so great in real life too.

I had to make it.

She even found me a lower-fat recipe so that we could make one that everyone in our family could try.

We bought the key ingredients.

They sat on our counter for weeks.

I kept forgetting.

It’s not like I don’t ever do *anything* around here.

So I finally told her to get a piece of paper and write me a note and leave it on the table for the next day, a Friday.

I think instead of a note, I got a reminder poster. It was easily a 9×12 piece of paper.

But it worked, I remembered.

How could I forget, with a note like that?

That next day we set to work, making our flan. I personally LOVE flan. I love anything flan-like. Puddings, custards, things like that. Love them.

So I was very excited to try this out.

Recipe or science experiment? Both!

Recipe or science experiment? Both!

The recipe was easy enough to follow and it was one of those that was like a science experiment. I love that too. The sugar had to be cooked on the stove until it turned a light caramel color and liquified. The kids had never seen that before. It was neat to see and to show them.

The other very cool thing about this recipe was that you cook the flan “right side up” but you serve it upside down.

Once the sugar was liquified, Elizabeth poured it into a pie plate and it hardened right away, which was also very cool. (Cool to see, but hot to the touch, which we learned the hard way.)

She mixed the rest of the ingredients, poured them on top of the hardened sugar and then it was ready to bake for one hour.

Elizabeth was very excited that we were finally making her requested recipe.

Elizabeth was very excited that we were finally making her requested recipe.

Although the prep is relatively quick, the cooking and cooling parts in order to get to the eating part take some time.

While the flan cooked we ate our lunch, and while it cooled, we went and ran some errands. We came back hungry, perfect timing for trying out our new dessert.

I had a little bit of trouble getting the flan out of the pan. Although it was cool and we’d flipped it upside down, it wasn’t coming out. However, using a technique only known to soon-to-be-fifth-graders apparently, Elizabeth banged on the bottom of the baking dish which was now facing bottom up, and out it slid.

“See Mom? I told you that would work. I told you to do it my way,” she said.

This is how our flan looked when it came out of the oven, before we flipped it over.

This is how our flan looked when it came out of the oven, before we flipped it over.

I’m a big “I told you so” person too, so I can’t disagree. She did, in fact, state that I should try banging on the bottom of the dish.

We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon snack. We had both Cool Whip and Whipped Cream available for topping off the flan, since some people like one or the other. I had to restrain myself from having more than one piece. I was trying to lead by example, but I really wanted at least two slices. I had to walk away. Literally.

Before I share the recipe that Elizabeth found with you, I have to share one more funny tidbit. The girls had recently seen the movie “Napoleon Dynamite,” which is a really silly movie, but the kids got a kick out of it. In this very silly movie there is a character named Lafonda. Having just seen the movie, Elizabeth decided she would actually name her Spanish Flan.

The name she chose: Laflanda.

And now, without further ado, here is the recipe she found for Spanish Flan, on one of our favorite sites: Allrecipes.com.

Our finished product, Elizabeth's special request: Spanish Flan.

Our finished product, Elizabeth’s special request: Spanish Flan aka Laflanda.

Ingredients
(From Allrecipes.com)

Recipe makes 1 – 9 inch round

  • 1 cup white sugar

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color. Carefully pour hot syrup into a 9 inch round glass baking dish, turning the dish to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour egg mixture into baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
  4. Bake in preheated oven 60 minutes. Let cool completely.
  5. To serve, carefully invert on serving plate with edges when completely cool.

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: DIY Pasta

14 Aug
Choose your own toppings. You can have all of it, some of it or none of it!

Choose your own toppings. You can have all of it, some of it or none of it!

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s awfully hard to come up with new and exciting meals AND please the taste buds of five different people.

Last week we were having the “what to have for dinner” dilemma again. It was a nice night and warm, so we didn’t want to heat up the kitchen a whole lot by turning on the oven.

Don looked around and sized up the refrigerator and pantry situation.

It was looking like pasta.

Again.

But wait! Not just plain old pasta. Not again. Not this time. Even though plain old pasta would make a couple of people pretty happy, there were others of us who were craving something bigger and better.

So Don came up with a compromise.

DIY Pasta. A pasta bar of sorts. Build-your-own pasta dinner.

He boiled up some linguine, made up a quick marinara sauce.

I liked it all!

I liked it all!

Then, he sauteed some shrimp and veggies; a whole bunch of different veggies all mixed together. He used Valerie’s cast iron skillet to cook them up.

The house was smelling wonderful!

And the best part: we were going to be eating outside on the deck, a favorite summer treat that we do as often as we can.

Once everything was finished and ready to go, we lined it all up on the outdoor table in a row.

You could have plain pasta.

You could have pasta with sauce.

You could have pasta with sauce and some veggies or lots of veggies or veggies and shrimp!

You could add cheese on top, or not.

It was truly a customized meal, and it was fun to watch the kids build their pasta dishes.

I, of course, ate it all. I took linguine, added sauce, and threw my shrimp and veggies on top with some cheese.

It was another A+ meal by Don, and we all enjoyed whatever part of it we chose to eat.

So if you’re looking for something fun and different this week, look around your pantry and  your fridge and see what you can throw together to create your own DIY meal!

The kids had fun building their own pasta dinners!

The kids had fun building their own pasta dinners!

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Tracey’s Pork Schnitzel

7 Aug
This was a delicious new meal for us!

This was a delicious new meal for us!

My mom discovered the Tracey’s Culinary  Adventures blog several months ago and since then she has tried some of her recipes. When she loves them she passes them on to us. Tracey also happens to be a local blogger so I enjoy sharing her blog with others.

Today’s recipes is one of those that my parents tried and loved, and sure enough we loved it too.

When my they tried Tracey’s Pork Schnitzel, they made just one change. Here is what my mom wrote to me:

“We tried this tonight and thought it was a winner. The only thing we did different was to deglaze the pan with white wine and lemon juice once the pork was cooked and out of the pan. Then we poured that “sauce” over the pork.” 

Don did the same thing when he cooked our meal and it was wonderful. I served this with couscous, homemade applesauce, and sauteed green beans. I’d definitely make it again. We actually purchased thin cut pork chops from Aldi’s so we didn’t need to pound ours at all.

Tracey’s blog is full of great recipes and I encourage you to check it out!

Here is the recipe as she has it on her blog. She had taken it from the May 2013 issue of Cooking Light magazine:

Pork Schnitzel
from Cooking Light, May 2013

4 (4 oz) boneless center-cut pork chops
1/4 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Using a meat mallet (or whatever you have – a skillet or rolling pin would be fine), pound each of the pork chops until they are 1/8-inch thick.

In a wide, shallow dish, beat the milk and egg with a fork until combined. In a second dish, stir together the breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic powder, and pepper. Season the pork chops on both sides with the salt. Dip in the egg mixture, coating both sides and letting the excess drip off, then transfer to the breadcrumb mixture, covering each side with an even layer.

Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until shimmering. Place two of the pork chops in the pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until the coating is golden brown and the pork is cooked to your desired doneness. Transfer the pork to a plate and tent to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining tablespoon of oil and the remaining two pork chops.

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Monday Musings: The value of a staycation

5 Aug
I felt like I was away on vacation yesterday, even though we were less than an hour from home.

I felt like I was away on vacation yesterday, even though we were less than an hour from home.  Photo credit: Caroline Cowart

Yesterday was Sunday, and on that one day, three very random and totally unrelated things happened to me that really got me thinking.

The first thing happened on the way out of church in the morning. Our priest was sitting on the bench near the walkway as we walked to our car. He said to me, “Are you guys around this week or do you travel?”

My somewhat cynical answer was, “Yes we’re here, we never travel.”

Because in general, we don’t often get to take trips. We stay close to home other than the occasional visits to out-of-state family, which we do enjoy whenever we get the chance to do it.

Once home, we were sorting out our plans for the day, and what we’d originally planned on doing got nixed because one of the girls has Swimmer’s Ear, something we’d totally forgotten about when we were making our water-based plans.

We thought about what we could do instead, last minute, and I remembered that we had five free passes to The Breakers, a mansion in Newport, RI, about 45 minutes or so from here, courtesy of the reading program the kids participate in at the library. Of the five of us, only Caroline had been there on a field trip with the teen library program a couple of years back, and other than Caroline, the kids had never been to Newport even though we live so close to it.

So we grabbed some coupons for dinner, our cameras and sweatshirts, and jumped in the car.

On the way there, I was texting continuous photos of the ride, over the bridges, crossing the bay, and into Newport, to my out-of-state friend, Paula. She’d mentioned that visiting Newport was on her bucket list, and so I was helping her to “see” it along with us.

“Imagine that?” Don said to me on the way. “People hope to see Newport one day before they die, and here we are jumping in the car at the last minute, on our way there right now. We’re so lucky.”

He had a point. We *are* so lucky.

We arrived in Newport, taking the long way through town to show the kids the sights. In the car, they were bursting with excitement as they took in the sights around them.

They were giddy.

We may not live in a mansion but we can visit one whenever we'd like to!

We may not live in a mansion but we can visit one whenever we’d like to! Photo credit: Don Cowart II

We toured The Breakers inside and out, for free, along with tourists from all over the country and even all over the world, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We had an inexpensive dinner at a local restaurant with our coupons, without breaking our budget. Then we hopped back in the car and went to enjoy the streets of Newport.

It was a gorgeous night. We had a blast. So much fun.

And we felt like we were on vacation.

We had.The.Most.Fabulous.Day.

We watched the sun setting over the bay. We saw yachts, went window shopping, heard a live concert from some of our favorite bands, went to an arcade, bumped into friends, had ice cream, and I even splurged and bought the kids Newport t-shirts ($10 for all three, I couldn’t resist!)

And later on, when I posted a photo on Facebook, a friend of mine from high school commented on it, noting how wonderful a staycation in Rhode Island can be.

She too, was right. We are incredibly lucky, living in the Ocean State. We can be to the beach in less than an hour, all summer long. We have many, many free summer events taking place throughout the season. The scenery is incredible, no matter where we are. The food is amazing; we get to eat many delicacies that people travel hundreds of miles to get a taste of.

Without leaving our home state, we are blessed with a vacation, or as my friend Sarah said, a staycation, that can’t be beat. Many people would give anything for what we have.

And so last night when we arrived home, happily exhausted from our amazing day, I rethought my cynicism from that morning’s answer to our priest. I’m not normally a cynical person, and I do try to count my blessings on a daily basis, being thankful for what I have rather than wanting for more. But this time, I think I needed a reminder.

Several reminders.

We may not travel often, per se, but we do get around and we are incredibly blessed to live where we live, to have what we have and to be able to do what we do, without a whole lot of effort or expense. We don’t need to rent a beach house, board a plane, or take a vacation week off from work.

We are incredibly lucky.

We are blessed.

What are the chances we'd get to hear the Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth while we were walking through Newport?

Listening to the bands: What are the chances we’d get to hear the Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth while we were walking through Newport? Pretty good!

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A delicious weekend breakfast: Baked Eggs

29 Jul
These were absolutely fabulous!

These were absolutely fabulous!

This past Saturday I was in the mood for something different for breakfast. I wasn’t sure what, but I knew I didn’t want the same old thing.

While I was pondering what I was in the mood for, I remembered that when my kids slept over my parents’ house last, they had mentioned a new baked egg breakfast they’d tried. My mom found it in “Dash” magazine, and it had ham in the muffin cups with the eggs cracked inside, and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. The kids had loved it and I’d been meaning to try it here ever since.

At the same time, I also remembered that Alex’s new “High Five” magazine had come in the mail this week, and that coincidentally, the recipe had been one for baked eggs as well. It was slightly different in that it didn’t call for ham on the bottom but instead had diced tomatoes and shredded cheese.

So, I decided to combine the two recipes. The bake time and temperature was the same for both recipes. The only difference was the ingredients and we liked everything the two recipes called for.

They.Were.Amazing.

Fabulous.

Delicious.

We loved them.

I highly recommend you try these out the next time you are craving something different for your breakfast. They’d even be great for a brunch.

Fast, easy.

Into the oven they went. One pan, couldn't be any easier!

Into the oven they went. One pan, couldn’t be any easier!

Here’s what I did:

1) Spray each muffin well with nonstick spray.

2) Place a slice of ham in the bottom of each muffin well. I actually used deli ham that was sliced in half. One half into each spot.

3) Place about a teaspoon or so of diced tomatoes on top of the ham. (One large vine ripened tomato was enough for all 12 portions.)

4) Sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese over the tomatoes. (I used nonfat cheddar.)

5) Break one egg into each spot.

6) Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on each.

7) Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until the yolks are as firm as you desire and the whites are cooked through.

Serve with toast or an English Muffin if you’d like.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Strawberry English Muffin Fruitwiches

24 Jul
English muffins: not just for breakfast!

English muffins: not just for breakfast!

A while back I posted about Elizabeth’s cookbook and I posted one of the recipes we’d tried at the time, a tuna salad recipe. Since then we’ve had it for lunch and even for dinner!

Today, I thought I’d post another recipe from that same cookbook, one that we have had for lunch and for dinner this summer, and one that we’ve also modified slightly to meet everyone’s different taste buds. It’s a great summer meal because it is cool, doesn’t involve using an oven, and uses a great summer fruit: fresh strawberries.

The ingredients for this are simple, no matter which way you choose to make it. You need:

Fresh sliced strawberries

an English Muffin

Strawberry jam

Goat cheese, cream cheese, or peanut butter

Elizabeth's cookbook of choice

Elizabeth’s cookbook of choice

The directions are even more simple!

“Split an English Muffin and lightly toast the halves. Spread the cut side of the bottom half with softened goat cheese or plain whipped cream cheese (we also have done peanut butter). Top with a thin layer of strawberry jam, followed by a layer of thin strawberry slices. Cover with the top half of the muffin, jam side down, and press gently.”

We prefer to do open-faced sandwiches, in order to have more fresh strawberries! This sandwich has been a hit every time we’ve served it, and it’s easily modified for everyone.

Next time you’re looking for a summery lunch or a cool dinner (or maybe even a yummy summer breakfast,) give these English Muffin Fruitwiches a try!

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Fajita Quesadillas

10 Jul
Fajita Quesadilla veggies

I love the look of fresh vegetables when they’re mixed up and cooking!

ORIGINALLY POSTED JANUARY 25, 2012:

Today’s recipe is again, one that I did not grow up with! Imagine that, four recipes in two days, and not one of them was from my childhood! This recipe is a combination of recipes from two different people and it makes a great meal or an appetizer for a football game.

We actually had never had quesadillas at our house until about four years ago or so. Elizabeth had a friend at preschool whose house we used to go to for playdates often. My friend Jody used to make cheese quesadillas a lot when we went over for playdates. (In fact, this past fall I featured my friend Jody’s Butternut Squash Soup, which was also a playdate lunch. And just so you know, my traditional playdate lunch at my house is mac & cheese from a box with chicken nuggets. we were spoiled at Jody’s!)

Anyway….we started making quesadillas at our house on a regular basis. You can put anything in them so we’ve done just cheese, chicken and cheese, tomato/chicken/cheese, peppers/beef and cheese, and we’ve done bbq chicken/onion/cheese. However, on New Year’s Eve this year my sister in law Jessica made us Fajita Quesadillas which had all kinds of peppers, mushrooms, onions and cheese, and they were so fabulous!! We had to try them at home. So last week, we had them.

Cook up some chicken tenders first. Then shred or dice the cooked chicken.

My sister in law and I are both lucky because we both live near an Aldi’s and you can get everything you need for your Fajita Quesadillas at Aldi’s.  The ingredients vary, depending what you’d like in your quesadillas. You need soft flour tortillas, we use the large ones.

This is another meal where I pull out some frozen chicken tenders, so convenient! Cook them up if you’d like chicken in your quesadillas.

While your chicken is cooking, grate a bowl full of cheddar cheese (a block of cheese is usually plenty.) Slice up your veggies and cook them on top of the stove.

We use a countertop griddle to make our quesadillas two at a time.

Once you’ve got your ingredients pre-cooked, you’re ready to begin the last step. Butter your soft flour tortillas on one side and lay it on the griddle, in a frying pan, or use a Quesadilla Maker (which we do actually have also, but we prefer the griddle most of the time because we can make two at a time.)

Butter one side of the top flour tortilla and place it on top of the others on the griddle and flip (we have a big metal spatula for flipping!)

Once both sides are golden brown and the cheese inside is melted, you’re ready to cut your quesadillas into triangles and eat them!

finished quesadillas

Once the quesadillas are golden brown, cut them into triangles and eat!

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A Sweet Treat for a Summer Snack

8 Jul
These barely had any time on the plate before they were devoured!

These barely had any time on the plate before they were devoured!

We tried a new snack recently. I’d seen a recipe somewhere for chocolate covered apricots. I love dried apricots, and I love chocolate, so I thought this would be worth a try. When the time came though, I couldn’t find wherever it was that I saw the original recipe so I Googled them and came up with one from About.com. It called for nuts, but I omitted the nuts and doubled the recipe since I had two bags of apricots to use.

The recipe was fast and easy and made a yummy snack. I’d definitely make them again. There are lots of fruits you can dip in chocolate including strawberries and bananas. I’ve also seen recipes for chocolate dipped kiwi, and since my kids love kiwi I thought I’d try that in the future too, so be on the lookout.

In the meantime, here’s the recipe as we tried it from About.com, modified for our nut-free preferences.

Enjoy!

I melted my chocolate in a double boiler on top of the stove.

I melted my chocolate in a double boiler on top of the stove.

Ingredients: (we doubled this recipe)

  • 24 whole dried apricots
  • 2 ounces (1/2 cup) toasted almonds, finely chopped
  • 6 ounces dark chocolate

Preparation:

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil. Place the chopped almonds in a small bowl. (if using)

2. Temper or melt the chocolate in a medium bowl. (I did a double boiler on top of the stove.)

3. Holding an apricot by the tip, dip most of the fruit into the melted chocolate, swirling to ensure even coverage. Remove it from the chocolate and drag it along the lip of the bowl, removing excess chocolate.

Dried apricots are a pretty healthy snack, before you add the chocolate! We used semisweet chocolate.

Dried apricots are a relatively healthy snack, before you add the chocolate! We used semisweet chocolate.

4. Pat both sides of the chocolate-dipped apricot on the chopped almonds, covering both sides with nuts.

5. Place the candy on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat for the remaining apricots.

6. Place in the refrigerator to set the chocolate for approximately 10 minutes. If the chocolate has been tempered, the candy can be served at room temperature, but if it has not, it should be kept refrigerated until served.

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Macaroni & Shrimp Salad

3 Jul

This macaroni and shrimp salad is something we look forward to all year long!

ORIGINALLY POSTED JULY 11, 2012: 

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for the perfect side dish to go with the cook-on-the-grill type of meals that happen all summer long. Today’s recipe is one of those perfect side dishes.

As always, it’s super-easy and super-delicious. And as is typical, it’s originally from my mom. She’s been making it ever since I can remember and we’ve been making it on our own for years as well.

You can tell that this photo is of my dish because I actually do put my tomato/cucumber/olive salad in a separate bowl so that nothing runs together, and also because I eat absolutely nothing on my hot dogs. I barely eat the bread. But, I eat every speck of that macaroni salad!

Try this recipe out for your next cookout, I know you’ll love it as much as we do!

MACARONI & SHRIMP SALAD

INGREDIENTS

2 cups elbow macaroni (in general we use a one pound box of pasta and adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly as well.)

2 stalks celery, thin sliced

1 can tiny shrimp, rinsed

3/4 cup Miracle Whip

celery salt to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

This is a great side dish to bring to those summer dinner parties and cookouts!

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to directions.

Add in shrimp, Miracle Whip and spices.

Cover and cool in refrigerator completely before serving.

Enjoy!

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