Your great room layout is almost identical to mine. My room is 17'2" from the edge of the kitchen to the hearth. I think that is enough room, although you could certainly go a couple feet deeper if you like. My island will also be 4 feet from the edge of the kitchen the other way, so I think you could put furniture *almost* to the back of the edge of the kitchen and still have a 3-4 foot walkway easily. I am figuring the back of my couch at about 13 feet away from the hearth, so the front edge of a 3 foot deep couch would be 10 feet away from the hearth- just like you are planning. The main walkway in between rooms is along the sides IMO, not in between the island and the couch. I should add, we are putting the tv in the builtins next to the fp, not over the fp. This post was edited by illinigirl on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 8:26

Just put it in boiling water. I am sure it doesn't even matter but I was told to bring the water to a boil and then put it in so that is the way I do it. You can season the water if you like, salt, pepper, spices etc.....I have only heard of one person that said her DH didn't like the taste. I can't really tell the difference but then I always use mine with seasonings like for tacos, sloppy joes, enchiladas, or in a casserole. The important difference is in the fat content. Bioling it will take sooooooooo much fat out of it.....Just try it once, you have nothing to use.

This is overwhelming. I've read through the recipes - wow - so many yummy burgers to try - esp. Mexican burger, chicken, tuna, and a good old-fashioned classic cheeseburger has never looked as good as many of the ones right here. Here are the recipes for the Pacific Rim Burger and Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro. My motto is "you can never be too rich, or have too much cilantro." By the way, this is my third time trying to post this - the internet has disconnected midway. So third time's the charm: Pacific Rim Chicken Burgers With Ginger Mayonnaise Recipe #65297 This recipe came from Kristine Snyder, Kihei, Hawaii, and was the $25,000 grand prize winner in the National Chicken Cooking Contest. by Sharon123 4 servings 25 min 15 min prep 1 1/4 lbs ground chicken 2/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 green onions, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon asian hot chili sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce 4 teaspoons honey 4 hamburger buns with sesame seeds, split and toasted 4 leaves red leaf lettuce 1 cucumber, peeled,seeded,halved and thinly sliced lengthwise Ginger Mayonnaise 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger 2 teaspoons lime juice 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt MIX chicken, panko, egg, onions, cilantro, garlic, chili sauce and salt in a large bowl. With oiled hands, form into 4 patties. Mix together teriyaki glaze and honey in a small bowl. In large nonstick fry pan over medium high heat, place 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken and cook, turning and brushing with teriyaki glaze, about 10 minutes or until done. PLACE burgers on toasted buns and top with lettuce, cucumber and Ginger Mayonnaise (recipe follows). Garnish with additional cilantro and cucumber slices. Ginger Mayonnaise: MIX 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish, 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1 clove garlic, minced and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. My notes: omit the salt. The teriyaki sauce already has plenty. And one cup of teriyaki/honey mixture is way more than you need. I used less than half. The recipe also makes more ginger mayo than you need, but it's delicious on fish and other things. Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro: 2 lbs. waxy potatoes (like red bliss) scrubbed kosher salt 1/2 cup evoo 1/2 tsp. fine grated lemon zest 3 tBS. lemon juice fresh ground pepper 1/2 cup lightly packed chopped cilantro 2 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced (or 1 shallot minced) Bring potatoes to boil in large pot of salted water. Then lower to simmer. Cook, partially covered, until tender when piecered with a fork - about 25 minutes. Drain and let cook slightly. While the potatoes are warm, slice them about 1/4 inch thick (no need to peel, but discard pieces of skin that come off on their own). Put half the potatoes ina large serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon zest and juice, 1 tsp kosher salt, and several grinds of pper. Drizzle half the dressing over the potatoes. Add the remaining potatoes to the bowl, drizzle the rest of the dressing, and toss gently with a large rubber spatula to combine well. Add teh cilantro and scallions and toss gently again. Taste and add more salt as needed. serve warm or at room temperature. I better submit this before it disappears. Thanks Michelle for putting this together. Lynn. PS okay I'm tempting fate by continuing to type, but I have to mention that the idea of having oil on your hands when forming the chicken patties was fabulous. It gave the patties just enough oil to bind them and protect them in cooking. Anyone else ever heard of this technique?

Lets face it&get real, l.e.d. lites suckk!!!, i can thinkof thousand reasons why, i hate them on cars!!¡ they blind me @ nite, hard too see on comming traffic, they dnt illuminate streets, like my beloved Halgoen,they are ok on somethings, i like my l.e.d. headband lite, god help us all wth the future, long live halgoen!! easy on the eyes