I admit that when I first saw Leeann's (2 Nuts in a Shell) photo of the bears in a boat, I thought that the boat was a sled and that the two groups of bears were in a race to make it to the bottom of the hill/pate. If they were a bit more reclined, it would be a luge competition.

Boat or sled, the concept is adorable and Leeann was able to use it to successfully get her child, Jaden, excited about celery - a challenge right up there with luge.

The same idea would be really cute with any animal from a box of animal crackers or the concept could be taken one step further by using a healthier boat passenger. Any ideas for veggies that look like bears?

I was surfing around my friend Jade Walker's site today, and I didn't realize that she had a "Favorite Recipes" section, where she gave the recipe for something that she's been enjoying lately. Right now she has up Pop Pot Roast, which sounds like a damn good recipe for pot roast.

It's made with dried spaghetti sauce mix, which I think is an interesting twist. And it's made with pop! That's soda to some of the world (and "tonic" to those in the Boston area).

I know that in some places Thanksgiving stuffing is called "dressing" when it is not cooked inside the turkey, but where I grew up everyone called it stuffing no matter how it was cooked; it was what went into it was much more important. My stuffing is much like a hot, crispy bread salad and uses bread, onions, celery, sage, apples and dried fruit for a mix that is half savory and half sweet. Because it is not stuffed into a bird, but baked in a casserole dish, it seemed prudent to go all-out and make the dish vegetarian. It will still be enjoyed by the meat-eaters, especially if they are they type that puts gravy on their stuffing anyway, and will provide an option other than straight veggies for vegetarians.

One of the best things about leftover chicken is that it is perfect for making sandwiches with. Actually, just about any leftover meat (or vegetable) can be incorporated, somehow, into a sandwich because bread and condiments go a long way in making old food seem as good as new. A good illustration of this is this Chicken Salad Sandwich from Cheap Eats. The sandwich is dead-easy to make, mixing shredded chicken, diced celery and green onions with mayonnaise, salt, pepper and a dash of paprika. Once you have the basics, you can augment the filling with hard boiled eggs, dried cranberries or raisins, lettuce, tomatoes or bell peppers. Ever budget-conscious, Cheap Eats also served the sandwich up with a side of leftover smashed roasted garlic potatoes, but as for all sandwiches, a bag of chips makes a perfect acceptable side dish.

Ants on a Log is a kids snack food that has been around for a long, long time. Though I never personally saw the resemblance, it gets its name from the fact that the raisins dotting the celery are supposed to look like ants. On a log, obviously.

These are very simple to make and your kids should be able to make them by themselves (with a dull knife or spoon, for safety) without supervision. Simply wash and dry several stalks of celery. Spread some with cream cheese and some with peanut butter, then dot them with raisins and dried cranberries, though any kind of dried fruits will work beautifully. The Ants on a Log can be prepared at the last minute or in advance and they're a great addition to party food. Not only are they a fairly healthy snack for the kids, but the grownups will enjoy them too.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]