While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday. Get your mini hotdogs in a row because April 24 is National Pigs in a Blanket Day ! Pigs in a blanket, that favorite party appetizer and the answer to “What can I bring?” everywhere, have become a simple American staple. A product of convenience cooking, these little pigs are as tasty as they are easy to make. The “pigs” can be anything from hot dogs to Vienna sausages to link or cocktail sausages and the “blanket” is often biscuit or croissant dough. Kids love this treat that's easy on the palate because it's like a baked corn dog, and party-goers like it as an appetizer because it's a classic finger food. But if you're considering pigs in a blanket for breakfast, that usually means sausage links wrapped in pancakes. In the U.K., pigs in a blanket are made a little bit differently. Cocktail sausages, different from the ones we get here in the U.S., are wrapped in bacon and served as a typical accompaniment to Christmas lunch. And across the world, there are variations on pigs in a blanket, sometimes leaning more towards the sausage roll side of things, because wrapping meat within dough or pastry has long been a satisfying substitute for a hot meal. So celebrate with your own variation, party or no party! If you want to jazz up the flavor with cheese but skip out on the questionable ingredients found in some hotdogs, try these cheesy pigs (or turkey dogs) in blankets . A little bit healthier and huge on flavor, this snack will give you a reason to celebrate.

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National pigs in a blanket day

Official drought zones are declared in a further 17 English counties, as a warning comes that water shortages could last until Christmas.

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Drought may last until Christmas

Official drought zones are declared in a further 17 English counties, as a warning comes that water shortages could last until Christmas.

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Drought may last until Christmas

In Egypt, Easter is celebrated today according to the Orthodox calendar. It is a rather strange holiday as it sets off a bit of schizophrenia in the country. Unlike Christmas, which is a national holiday, it seems to many that Easter is a regular day.

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Easter Wisdom and Egyptian Hope

On Dec. 25, 1964, as Mitt Romney enjoyed his last Christmas break as a high school student in Michigan, two Mormon missionaries visited Darius Gray in Colorado Springs and asked him whether he had any last questions before joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read full article > >

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The Genesis of a church’s stand on race

On Dec. 25, 1964, as Mitt Romney enjoyed his last Christmas break as a high school student in Michigan, two Mormon missionaries visited Darius Gray in Colorado Springs and asked him whether he had any last questions before joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read full article > >

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The Genesis of a church’s stand on race

“Community” will return to NBC in mid-March, ending the “streets ahead ” comedy’s forced hiatus that began after the Christmas episode aired in December. Creator Dan Harmon broke the news on Twitter : “What you call 8:00, we call home. Community returns to Thursday nights on March 15th.” Megan Ganz, a writer for the show, put it a different way : “We’re back! We’re Backstreet Boys. We’re Burt Bacharach. We’re Back To The Future. We’re back.” Read full article > >

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‘Community’ is back, everyone is happy

From Oliver Twist to A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens highlighted poverty and squalor. But did he really help change things?

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Did Dickens really save poor children and clean up the slums?

From Oliver Twist to A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens highlighted poverty and squalor. But did he really help change things?

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Did Dickens really save poor children and clean up the slums?

All but one household in Sodeto, Spain, held at least a piece of a winning ticket in the Christmas lottery’s huge first prize of $950 million, the biggest ever.

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Sodeto Journal: Tiny Village of Sodeto Wins Big in Spain’s Lottery

Tesco reports a fall in UK sales over Christmas and says it expects “minimal” profit growth in 2012, as other high profile retailers also report tough times.

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Tesco festive trade ‘disappoints’

Supermarket group Sainsbury’s has reported another “record breaking” Christmas as sales rose modestly on last year.

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Sainsbury’s sales hit new record

Troubled retailer HMV reports a sharp fall in sales for the Christmas period but notes a slowing in the decline of its music and film business.

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HMV reports Christmas sales slump

The Leveson Inquiry into press standards is to hear evidence from senior figures in the newspaper industry when it resumes for the first time since Christmas.

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Leveson to hear from Sun editors

Third time’s a charm. Drew Barrymore is reportedly engaged to her art consultant boyfriend, Will Kopelman, according to Us Weekly and People. The couple, who have been dating for at least a year, got engaged in Sun Valley, Idaho, over the Christmas holiday, according to the magazines. Us offers a sweet quote from a Kopelman “insider” — “He’s madly in love and knows she’s The One” — while People lets us know that they ate organic salads at a local cafe. Read full article > >

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Drew Barrymore reportedly engaged to Will Kopelman