Memoirs from My Kitchen..

Happy Mother's Day!

2013-05-12T11:56:00.000-04:00

It doesn't matter if the kids in your life call you mom, aunt, purr or bark, love is love.

Mother's Day is bittersweet for me and I don't really celebrate, it's just another Sunday in my book. My first Mother's day as a mom was my first without my mom. I only had my mom for seventeen years, some are blessed to have their moms longer, some less, some never knew their moms at all.

After almost 18 years I still remember all the things my mom did for me, the lessons she taught me and most of all how much she loved me unconditionally.

To all the wonderful mom's out there, I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Help stamp out hunger Saturday May 11,2013

2013-05-07T14:36:00.001-04:00

It's easy to help:

1. Collect and bag non perishable food items

2. Place by mailbox for letter carrier to deliver to a local food bank or pantry.

Facebook.com/StampOutHunger

Chickpea salad with parsley, lemon and sun dried tomatoes

2013-04-25T13:56:00.001-04:00

Sorry I've been so MIA lately. Sheesh.

My cousin had a dedication party for my nephew Noah two weekends ago. With less than a week to prepare it was a little crazy but we managed.

I was in charge of the cake and making salads. I made a vanilla cake with a cookie dough center and I also made a tortellini salad as well as a chickpea salad and all were a huge hit.

I'll post about the cake another day, this cake came out well but not exactly as planned. Noah's birthday is coming up in a little more than a month and I'll be doing a similar cake but with a twist.

I went and doubled both salads but about half an hour in I'd realized that clearly wasn't enough. Next time I'll have to multiply the ingredient list by probably 4-6 times.

Chickpea salad with parsley, lemon and sun dried tomatoes
(From Bon appétite)

1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbs cumin seeds

2 15.5oz cans chickpeas
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
1/3 C thinly sliced oil packed sun dried tomatoes (I found them already julienned in a jar)
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Combine oil and cumin seeds in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool completely.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add cumin oil and toss to blend. Season salad with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Best if made the night before. Bring to room temp before serving.

*the next time I make this I'll probably add a little red onion and instead of canned use dried beans that I've prepared in advance.

Twelve days was all it took...

2013-04-12T15:16:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the generosity of my friends and Dan's friends we raised enough $ to get my Jeep all fixed. For weeks I haven't been able to drive much and last Friday when we took my truck to the first mechanic his diagnosis was pretty bad. After getting a "second opinion" from a mechanic friend he deemed her absolutely fixable, we just needed to raise the funds since major repairs were something that was out of our budget.

Today, I was overwhelmed when I got the message about the final donation. I sat at my desk and cried tears of joy over the amazingly generous donation from an anonymous donor. My friends have far exceeded the expectations I had when Dan started this. I thought he was crazy! Who's going to help me fix this old Jeep?

My friends, that's who. My friends who want me to be in a safe car and not have to constantly worry that my truck is going to cause me to get into an accident because my tires are bad, a swaybar link is broken on one side, the Axle needs replacing and the list goes on. (I'll tell y'all something though, I know way more about this Jeep than I ever thought I'd know about any car in my life, lol)

Now I have the money to get these major repairs done and I can be safely back on the road "Truckin'" We're getting all the parts together and plan to get her all fixed up in the next two weeks :)

Help us save Chuck the truck

2013-04-01T19:34:00.000-04:00

Lalala Lemon Bars make me happy :)

2013-03-02T16:53:00.001-05:00

Look at this sunshiny yellow, how could this Not make you happy?

(Ok, granted, I hate yellow, but I LOVE lemon)

I went to the local wholesale store with my sweetie last weekend on a grocery/stock up run and they had lemons for $2 a bag (8 lemons in a bag, that's a bargain considering at the grocery store they're up around $.75 each) I knew I wanted to make lemon bars, I haven't made them in ages!! Today when I left to do my regular Saturday chores I took 2 sticks of butter out of the freezer and knew by the time I was back they'd be up to room temperature so I could get the lemon bars dome when I get home.

This recipe is super simple and So good!

Crust

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 lemons, juiced

1. Preheat oven to 350°f
2. In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
4. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool.

Home with sick kid... what to do?

2013-02-22T09:53:00.000-05:00

The kid hadn't been feeling well the past few days but when he called me on Wednesday afternoon and said he felt horrible and didn't want to even play basketball with his friends I knew he wasn't feeling well. When I came home from work and he was in bed sleeping I knew he really was sick. My kid never sleeps during the day after being up and about. I felt his forehead and he was burning up :( My kid rarely gets sick but when he does, it hits him hard.

After sleeping most of the afternoon Wednesday and then getting up at 2am with him tossing his cookies and with yet another blazing fever (we don't have normal fevers in my family, the first fever this kid ever had was 104 when he was a year old and I rushed him to the ER). I called his pediatrician yesterday morning (and seriously, I LOVE his Dr. She is the best, never overbooks and never has patients waiting more than a few minutes for her) She called him in and not 5 minutes later walked out and said he's got the stomach flu. Lovely.

Since there's really nothing she can give him she said just lots of fluids and no dairy for the next few days. We stopped at the grocery store for Gatorade and ginger ale and as I was putting everything away when I got home I had an idea. Since I was home I may as well clean out my pantry.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm horribly disorganized. I try, but sometimes I just get lazy. I was home, I had really nothing to do so I may as well do something productive. I started to pull all the junk out of the pantry and realized that I have a bit of a problem when there were bags and bags and a box of shopping bags. Sometimes I just toss them in the recycle bag, but sometimes I shove the bags in other bags and wind up with a thousand grocery bags, well.. they're all gone now, out with the recyclables that got picked up this morning.

I neatened up the shelves, moved the big heavy mixer onto the floor since the shelf I had it on seemed a little wobbly and put the Gatorade I got the kid onto the top shelf (He's tall at almost 6'2 and still growing) I keep most of the bottled stuff on a lower shelf but considering he's already gotta duck to get into the pantry I'd do him a favor here ;)

My pantry is a little bare. I need to hit the wholesale store soon to stock up on non perishables really soon. I have a pantry stock checklist that I need to print out and work on because it really is a lot easier to make a quick dinner with a well stocked pantry :)

Little holes in all my shirts... now it all makes sense...

2013-02-20T14:10:00.001-05:00

ALL of my shirts have little holes in them, right at the bottom. This has plagued me for years and I had no idea what was causing it. Cheap shirts? Poor quality? Possibly. I buy most of my shirts at Old Navy, or at least I used to. Their selection lately has been less than flattering clothing and with me shrinking into a size Small in old navy shirts nowadays I've gotta go shopping for new clothes soon. But I digress.

The little holes plaguing all my shirts like this

It didn't even cross my mind that it could be my kitchen counter causing this until I was reading through this article at lunchtime from Faith in The Kitchn and saw this Is Your Kitchen Causing Holes In Your Clothing?

I have plenty of aprons and kitchen shirts and I'm not opposed to wearing them regularly, but I really only use them when I bake. I suppose that's gonna change now (or as soon as I revamp my wardrobe, which will be very soon!)

Quaker real medleys

2013-02-13T10:17:00.001-05:00

Running through Walgreens I stopped and thought it might be a good idea to grab some cereal or something because I tend to not eat in the morning. I saw these Quaker real medleys and thought oatmeal is always a good idea.

Holy cow was it fantastic!! Apple walnut oatmeal+ was the one I grabbed an it was loaded with bits of apple, big pieces of walnuts and big dried cranberries. It was quick to pop into the microwave with some milk (I do not like water in my oatmeal).

This was a good filling breakfast and I will definitely buy this again! Totally worth the $2.

It probably would have been a good idea to show a picture of the full oatmeal, but I didn't think of doing a post until it was almost gone. Oops. It's good stuff 😊

Lean Cuisine serves up lunch with their Chef’s pick entrees

2013-01-29T12:51:00.000-05:00

As part of the Daily Buzz Food program I was given the opportunity to check out the new line from Lean Cuisine. I don’t usually buy pre packaged food but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to check out a convenient lunch that I could eat at my desk and with all the new offerings what’s not to love?

I got my coupon in yesterdays mail and this morning on my way into work I stopped at the King Kullen grocery store down the road and was a little disappointed in the selection this grocery store had. I went with the Chicken Makhani when I couldn't find the chile lime chicken (which was what I would have preferred). In this particular grocery store the only Chef’s pick entrees they had to choose from was the Chicken Makhani or the Chicken Carbonara. They have a pretty impressive lineup of meals to choose from including Steak Tips Portobello; Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce; Thai-Style Chicken; Chicken Marsala; Lemon Chicken (which my BF insists is their best one, I'll have to try it for myself); Orange Chicken and Chicken Pecan are among just a few of the entrees you have to choose from.

After the suggested 5 minutes in the microwave and 2 minutes resting it was time to sit back down at my desk and have lunch.

It was... meh.

For 300 calories it was filling, there was plenty of rice, the chicken was moist and tender but the serving of chicken seemed quite small and the peas and carrots were almost nonexistent. The sauce was terribly bland and that was a shock to me because as it was cooking it smelled fairly good. Upon eating it though, it could have used more seasoning and if I was home I would have added seasonings to it.

I would like to try the Chile lime chicken if I happen to come across it while grocery shopping. I won't make a special trip to the store to find it though.

I have partnered with Lean Cuisine through DailyBuzz Food to help promote their new line of Chef's Pick products. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you Lean Cuisine!

Win a Funky Chunks Winter Soap Collection

2013-01-16T08:49:00.002-05:00

I have to say, undoubtedly, this is some of the best handmade soap out there. Straight from the Jersey Shore :o)

Enter for a chance to win!

Win a Funky Chunks Winter Soap Collection

Enjoy the crisp and clean scents of the winter season in this soap collection. We've brought together four soaps that represent the best of the winter season...
Turkish Delight - sweet and sexy
Snowball Fight - snowy and spicy
Bombay - fun and bright
Lavender and Tonic - herbal and crisp
All wrapped up in their very own gift box - ready for gift giving...or for keeping all to yourself.
There are no shipping costs for this giveaway...after all a giveaway should be free, right?!
Stop by our website at funkychunks.net to see the complete description of the soaps we are giving away.
Good luck!

Giveaway ends on Jan 29 at 11:59 PM EST

This giveaway will be awarded on Jan 29. Don't miss your chance to win!

Merry Christmas!

2012-12-26T11:30:00.002-05:00

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

I had a great Christmas eve and Christmas day visiting with my family and yesterday I cooked Christmas/birthday dinner for my guy and the kid :) Guaranteed I will NEVER forget his birthday ;)

I've done SO much baking over the past few weeks and it was all so totally worth it to see the excitement on everyone's faces when I walked in with platters loaded with cookies and home made marshmallows.

I've thankfully got the week off work to relax, decompress and spent time with the two most important guys in my life.

Dear Blog Friends,

2012-12-17T09:44:00.002-05:00

Christmas cookies

2012-12-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

So far this year I've started my dough making early so as to not drive myself crazy by making dough and baking all in the same day like I've done the past few years. There is an obscene amount of cookie dough in my fridge... But I'm a girl on a mission as I've got more than a handful of friends I'm gifting cookies to that I need to get out next week! (OMG 11 days 'till Christmas People!!)

Last night I made a chocolate dough for chocolate candy cane cookies. I saw this cookie come up one day in my FB news feed and automatically bookmarked it and added it to my Christmas cookie list. This is a completely new cookie I'm trying out this year, but as someone who doesn't always follow the rules instead of using regular cocoa powder in the dough I decided to throw caution to the wind and use the Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder and see how it comes out. I'm sure the filling for these cookies is going to be super sweet so with the dark chocolate.. Mmmmm. The dough is dark.. black as coal and I can't wait to get these cookies in the oven tonight and see how they taste!!

This dough came together really quick, I was done in less than 15 minutes, put the ball of dough into a Ziplock bag and put it in the fridge with the rest of the Christmas cookie dough balls that are chilling.

This is a recipe from Bon Appetit, a magazine that I've been a subscriber to for at least the last 12 years.. one of my very favorites :)

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

Filling

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 drops (or more) red food coloring

1/2 cup crushed red-and-white-striped candy canes or hard peppermint candies (about 4 ounces)

Directions:

For cookies:

Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg. Add dry ingredients; beat until blended. Refrigerate dough 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out dough by level tablespoonfuls, then roll into smooth balls. Place balls on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Using bottom of glass or hands, flatten each ball to 2-inch round (edges will crack). Bake until cookies no longer look wet and small indentation appears when tops of cookies are lightly touched with fingers, about 11 minutes (do not overbake or cookies will become too crisp). Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer chocolate cookies to racks and cool completely.

For filling:

Using electric mixer, beat powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add peppermint extract and 2 drops food coloring. Beat until light pink and well blended, adding more food coloring by dropfuls if darker pink color is desired. Spread 2 generous teaspoons filling evenly over flat side of 1 cookie to edges; top with another cookie, flat side down, pressing gently to adhere. Repeat with remaining cookies and peppermint filling.

Place crushed candy canes on plate. Roll edges of cookie sandwiches in crushed candies (candies will adhere to filling). (Cookie sandwiches can be made ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.)

Chocolate chip blondies

2012-12-04T11:44:00.001-05:00

I have a confession.

Before Saturday night, I’d never made blondies before. I wasn't interested. I thought it was just a brownie without chocolate for the most part. Well, I was wrong for sure!! The first batch was gobbled up in no time, and if you follow my FB page you would know that on Sunday I baked a second batch and brought half to my BF to share with his co workers and the other half was gone by the time I got home (I am constantly amazed at the amount of food the teenage boy consumes)

This recipe is super simple, easily doubles and by lining the pan with parchment there is very little cleanup

½ Cup (1 stick) Butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup chocolate chips

Line an 8×8 pan with parchment (it’s not going to be perfect, but when you put the batter into the pan it will smooth out)
Beat butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes
Beat in egg and then vanilla
Add salt, stir in flour and chocolate chips
Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°f for 20 minutes, or until set in the middle.
Cool on rack before cutting .

Cyber... Tuesday?

2012-11-27T10:59:00.001-05:00

Looks like a lot of the sales from yesterday have been extended. When I have time today I'll post some more links, I just didn't have time yesterday as it was crazy busy in the office with just two of us.

I made use of a Williams-Sonoma GC I had yesterday with their free shipping on everything I was able to grab a few things which was great since I never get to the mall (mainly because I hate it).

It's Cyber Monday.. shop away!

2012-11-26T10:33:00.002-05:00

I have been inundated with emails about Cyber Monday since last week, and the sheer amount of emails in my inbox right now is more than slightly overwhelming.

So, I decided instead of just deleting all these emails I'm gonna go ahead and share this all with y'all.

Here goes... feel free to shop away.

SmartBargains: Cyber Monday Markdown Mayhem-Up to 90% OFF Sitewide‏ and Free shipping

Body Central: Deals under $10! Shop 'til your mouse breaks (FREE SHIPPING ends today)‏

Betty Crocker Store: Last Chance Cyber Savings of Over 70% on Calphalon‏

Mario Badescu Skin Care: Free Shipping, up to 20% off + Free Gift for Cyber Monday – Hurry!‏

philosophy: cyber monday sale! free gift ($90 value) + up to 50% off + free shipping‏

Overstock.com: CYBER MONDAY - 10% OFF COUPON‏

Big Dogs: ALL Graphic Tees 50% Off – TODAY ONLY! | Cyber Monday Special!‏

FAO Schwarz: One Day Only! Save $15 on a Muppet Whatnot, Plus Free Outfit!‏

MyJewelryBox.com: Top 10 Cyber Monday Deals Plus Save 25% Sitewide and Free Shipping‏

ThinkGeek: ThinkGeek's Cyber Monday begins... now!‏

Toys"R"Us: Starts Now! Cyber Monday Sale - Save up to 70%!‏

Walmart: Super-colossal Cyber Monday starts today. And so do the savings.‏

Party City: Cyber Monday: Free Shipping on All Orders! Today Only‏

Disney Store: Cyber Monday Savings with 25% off! Today only!‏

Mark.:

Babies"R"Us: Cyber Monday Sale! Save up to 40% on Thousands of Items!‏

Cable & Gauge: Cyber Monday Free Shipping No Minimums‏

Foot Locker: Cyber Savings - 15% Off Online Plus New Markdowns Just Taken!‏

Linens-N-Things Cyber Monday Bedding Blowout Sale | 39.99 Bed in a Bags‏

Fairytale Brownies:

Save 20% Sitewide - No minimum. Savings on merchandise only.

Enter priority code CYBER20 as you enter the checkout process.

Offer is valid Monday, November 26, 2012 only.

Black & Decker: Cyber Monday: Up To 50% OFF + FREE Shipping

Things That Make Scents Cyber Monday Save on Shipping! Use Coupon Code: CYBERMONDAY

ULTA.com: It's HERE! Our Biggest Cyber Monday EVER!

Shutterfly: Cyber Monday Exclusive. Get up to 50% off, plus an extra 20%

My Starbucks Rewards: Cyber Monday only: $20 off + FREE two-day shipping

Yummie Tummie: LAST DAY: 30% site wide sale ends tonight - shop Heather's holiday picks now

CHEFS: Super Prices For Cyber Monday!

Fossil: Get Your Gifts With Free Overnight Shipping On All Orders!‏

Famous Footwear: BOGO 1/2 Off + 20% Off + FREE Shipping! Today Only!‏

Williams-Sonoma: Today Only! Save up to $180 on a New All-Clad Pan Exclusive, In Stores & Online

Bath & Body Works 25% Off Entire Site - Online Exclusive Cyber Monday Deal for You!‏

Lillian Vernon: Our BEST Offer of the Year is Here: SAVE 20% on ANY Order!‏

Bits and Pieces: TWO DAYS LEFT: SAVE 20% On Everything, Including All Our Best Sellers‏

Piperlime: 20% off sitewide ends today! | our gift IT list…a sublimely edited guide to gifting.‏

Alloy: Today Only: FREE SHIPPING. No Minimum Purchase + Everything On Sale!‏

Carol's Daughter: Cyber Monday: Save up to 25% + Free Shipping!‏

talbots.com:

50% Off 1 Full-Priced Item. Online, Today Only!‏ * Use offer code: HOLIDAY 50%

Benefit Cosmetics: TODAY ONLY! The Best Deal of the Season!‏'

OshKosh B'gosh: Pack up Your Cyber Sleigh

jcpenney: Hurry Cyber Monday Deals & FREE SHIPPING NO MINIMUM End At Midnight!‏

DHC for Beauty and Health: ONE DAY ONLY: 10% OFF SITEWIDE!‏

gap.com It's Cyber Monday! 30% off—BIG savings at all 5 brands‏

Petco: 25% Off Site wide - Crazy Cyber Deals ❶ Day Only!‏

The King Arthur Flour Company: SAVE 20% on gift-baking essentials

There are more... lots more, but I've gotta get my butt in gear here at work... around lunchtime I'll post more, there are still tons of emails coming in!!

Tis the season for 30% off BassBuds High Performance Earphones

2012-11-24T15:57:00.000-05:00

Jeez the weeks have been just Flying by lately!! I blinked my eyes and it was time to go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving and for the first time in Years I made Thanksgiving dinner and it was GREAT!! I made dinner for the two most important guys in my life, my kid and my amazing BF. We cooked together, we feasted and then we napped until my cousin called for me to go and babysit her little ones so she and her hubs could go and do that black Friday shopping madness that I want absolutely no part of.

So, Bassbuds you say? I mean it's right up there in the title, isn't it?

The Lovely people over at BassBuds asked me if I'd like to try out their new high performance in-ear earphones, they have a mic + MP3 controller and are compatible with all smartphones. With one of the largest colour ranges on the web, there's a pair of BassBuds to suit all your style preferences.

I got a pair of Limited Edition white ones.. They're so pretty! And the sound quality is AMAZING!!

I did mention something about $30 off didn't I?

Discount code $30.00: BB59830 Which you'll use here: http://www.bassbuds.net/usa/

Bassbuds have an integrated high-quality microphone with Call/MP3 controller (compatible with all smart phones) (I have an iPhone 4S and I'm even able to get Siri to work with this!)

Crystal clear HD audio vua the Advanced Crystaltronics Virtual Surround Technology

Genuine Swarovski Elements embedded into the design

Anti-tangle, durable, double-wrapped cable (I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this)

Precision-cut, high quality aluminum housing

Gold-plated 3.5mm audio jack for optimum connectiviy and sound quality

I will definitely be getting a pair of these for my Kid in Blue (his favorite color)

BassBuds come in over 20 different colors to suit your style, so check them out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Discount code $30.00: BB59830 http://www.bassbuds.net/usa/

Snovember This is so not cool

2012-11-08T14:22:00.002-05:00

Since the weekend they've been predicting a Nor'easter to come through NY.. like we needed that after Superstorm Sandy... but since nobody can control the weather in it came. Yesterday morning it was 29° when I left my house and by the time I got to work it had started to rain, by 11, it was snowing -_- The snow started to get progressively heaver as the day went on and when the ladies came back from lunch I decided it was time for me to get out of here since I'm still taking public transportation until I can find an open gas station in my area and fill up my Jeep.

We lost power for a bit last night but luckily it came back up after an hour or so but school was cancelled for today by a phone call from the principal around 10.

This morning I got dressed and put my boots on to get ready to walk to the bus stop once again and there was a good 6" of snow on the ground.

This is NOT a winter wonderland.. at all.

It was a very heavy, slushy snow and the poor trees can barely handle it.. there were more lines down as I was walking along. We definitely need a break from this crazy weather.

Dumplings!!

2012-11-07T11:48:00.000-05:00

I made a pot of chicken soup the other night to use up the rest of the chicken I had bought before it spoiled and it'd been sitting in the fridge until last night when I was so cold after walking home from the bus stop because there's no gas around my area at all and my Jeep's been sitting parked by my house for 2 days now and I'm taking the train to work.. it's just what I've gotta do for now.

.......But anyway... the chicken soup..

I went and heated up the soup last night, picked out the bones and thought to myself this soup need Dumplings... so I headed to the recipe box...

Dumplings:

1 Cup All Purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs butter
1/2 C Milk

1. Stir together Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar & Salt in a medium size bowl. Cut in butter until mealy and stir in milk until you've got a soft dough

2. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling soup/stew/broth cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not take off the lid while it's cooking!

Soft fluffy dumplings :)

HI!

2012-11-03T12:32:00.002-04:00

Jeez it's a little dusty around here.. sorry about that.

This has been a bit of a chaotic week with Sandy barreling through NY, leaving a good part of my area without power for days. I was down for 2 1/2 days and finally got Cable and internet back on Thursday night but at my office we're still without phone and internet service.

There are lots of huge trees down all over the place and horrific flooding in many areas.

I'm here.. I'm safe and all's good over here for the most part. Once trucks can get out and fill our stations with fuel and our grocery stores with food things will be sort of normal around here. I'm guessing by the middle of next week things should be better, grocery shopping yesterday was weird to say the least. I've never seen grocery store shelves empty before O_o

I'll be around more soon.. Thanksgiving is coming up (yikes, already!) and it's going to be Christmas cookie time before ya know it.

If you were affected by Sandy at all, stay safe, be strong and anyone who wasn't affected by Sandy if you've got the means to help in any way it's greatly appreciated. whether it's a monetary donation, food, or clothing lots of people lost everything in this superstorm that barreled through.

To donate blood to the Red Cross, you can schedule a donation time or for more information, visit redcrossblood.org or call (800) 733-2767.

To make a financial donation to the Red Cross by visiting redcross.org, calling (800) 733-2767, or texting the word redcross to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

To donate to the Salvation Army, go to disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/give.
To help Staten Island, donors can go to tunneltotowers.org to learn more about the fund and where to send donations.

Apples? Oh yeah, I've got apples

2012-10-03T13:13:00.004-04:00

We went on a road trip on Sunday to Maskers Orchard up in Warwick, NY. That place is HUGE and holy cow was it Packed! We've never been apple picking so this was an awesome adventure for the Kid and myself.

My only disappointment? No animals out anywhere =/

Oh yeah, I've got apples.. there's a few dozen in this bag

Baked apples? Yes please :o)

Well, you can't have a baked apple without Vanilla ice cream.

baked apples:

Preheat oven to 350°

Core the apple and add 1 tsp brown sugar, a little bit of apple or pumpkin pie spice (or just some cinnamon, whatever you've got)

Cook for 20-25 minutes and Voila! Dessert :)

I sat my apples in a muffin pan so they would stay stable when I took them out and all the gooey goodness inside wouldn't be lost in the pan if they toppled over.

The creamiest Mac&Cheese I've ever had

2012-09-06T21:01:00.005-04:00

I've seen this recipe kicking around Pinterest for a while and I've been wanting to try it, but whenever I get myself ready to make Mac & cheese I either forget to look for it or it doesn't even cross my mind. But... I've had Mac&Cheese on my mind for days and last night I made up my shopping list with cheese right up at the top. I've been actively browsing pinterest all week looking for new recipes and ways to cut my grocery budget a bit and I've come across this recipe and variations of it at least a dozen times each day.

It's super simple, like slap yourself in the forehead and wonder why you'd never thought of this.

I found the basic recipe a little boring.. but, I didn't eat all day and I was starving when I got home so I didn't even bother putting the Mac&Cheese in the oven to bread and bake like I usually do. (I had a choice between putting gas in the old Jeep or using the money to buy myself lunch this week.. guess which one won?)

The next time I make this I'm going to make a few tweaks, but here is the basic recipe. This does not make enough for a big family meal, but can easily be doubled or tripled. It was enough for the kid and I for dinner though :)

Super Creamy Mac&Cheese

2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups small or medium pasta shells
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard or 1/4 tsp nutmeg (I actually used both, I always do)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I omitted this because I'm allergic)

The original directions called for cooking the pasta in the milk until simmering and then boiling it for an additional 25 minutes. That is WAY too much cooking time for pasta in my book.

I brought the pasta and milk to a slight boil and then covered it and cooked the pasta according to package directions (about 10 minutes) After the time was up I left it covered for about an additional 5 minutes then I stirred in the cheese, waited for it to cool a bit and then dug in.

*I'll make this again soon with revisions because like this, it's slightly boring and not as cheesy as I'd like.

I don't have all the answers... BHG bakeware inquiries

2012-09-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

A reader had sent me an email on Saturday night regarding a post I made in March, 2011 about the Better Homes and Gardens Non-Stick Bakeware 5-Piece Set. This was bakeware that was sold exclusively by walmart and, in my honest opinion some of the best non stick bakeware that I've ever used (and continue to use today, it's still in perfect condition, I use it for everything).

I couldn't find any information from the Better homes and Gardens site, if you click on the bakeware or appliances tab you are automatically redirected back to the cookware (which by the looks of it is something else that's been discontinued because it's clearance priced and no longer available). I took it upon myself to contact BHG and see if I could get some answers. I tweeted them and also left a post on their Facebook page

Me: Have you discontinued the cookware/bakeware/appliances? I honestly was shocked by their answer and lack of details:
BHG Live Better Hi Ashley – Yes, the BHG cookware, bakeware and small appliances have been discontinued. Thanks so much for being a fan!

I followed up by asking why it was discontinued and never received a response.

I use my bakeware all the time, I use my grind and brew coffee maker every day and my stand mixer is used every time I bake something and for the marshmallows I love to make (and hate to eat). I'm honestly shocked since they are all very good products.

GLADE EXPRESSIONS® (I'm a BzzAgent)

2012-08-24T10:53:00.000-04:00

I'm a Bzzagent So when I got an invite to the Glade Expressions campaign this morning I jumped on the opportunity to try these new products. I love when my home smells good, but it's honestly not always easy with a 65 gallon aquarium with 2 bratty turtles sitting in my living room. Trust me, no matter how good the filter is, it's always going to have some kind of odor. I have a scented oil plug in right under the aquarium to keep the odor at bay and it works very well, but sometimes I'm a little iffy about what kind of fragrance to use in my home.

Glade is here to solve that problem, they create their scents without the use of harmful ingredients:

What’s NOT Inside Matters Even More
If we wouldn’t want it for our family, we wouldn’t ask you to use it near yours. We’ve excluded more than 1,500 potential ingredients from our fragrance ingredients palette. Using our palette, SC Johnson does not formulate its products with:
Alkylphenols (APs)
Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs)
Diacetyl
Formaldehyde
Nitro musks
Peanut or tree nut derived ingredients
Phthalates including DEP, DBP, DIBP, DPP and DEHP
Or any known carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxins listed by the U.S. National Toxicology Program, the European Union’s REACH and Substances of Very High Concern programs, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Carcinogens, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Stylish new oil diffusers that release long-lasting, true-to-life scents
Glade Expressions® Oil Diffuser releases a combination of long-lasting fragrances, without the hassle of electricity. The oil diffuser infuses layers of true-to-life scents throughout even the most open living spaces. The trendy holder matches décor perfectly, making it a convenient and stylish home-fragrancing option.

Glade Expressions® Fragrance Mist comes in a new stylish holder that releases a longer-lasting, finer mist of fragrance. The gentle mist creates layers of true-to-life fragrance that opens up note by note. The chic, newly designed holder blends with your décor for a burst of fragrance that’s always out and available. Just squeeze to spray; then refill the holder with your favorite fragrance.

I'm really excited to get my BzzKit and try out these great new products :)