Sneak Peak Product Review

We ladies have so many things to do in our busy lives. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, husbands, pets and even outside jobs. It leaves very little time to ourselves. Most of you know that I love paper crafts, cooking and spending time with my family and pets. I also like time saving inventions that allow me more time to do the things I love. I managed to fumble around the internet and found a great site called CSN Stores that offers so many wonderful products from cooking gadgets, teapots to kids bedding.

CSN Stores also has a site called cookware.com. They have a terrific selection of many useful kitchen gadges from small appliances to dinnerware. I am so excited that I get to review this cool Cuisinart Egg Cooker. It boils up to seven eggs from hard to soft consistency and poaches up to three. We eat a lot of eggs in my house as they provide great protein for a healthy diet. I can't wait to try boiling eggs and thinking what a great item to have for spring.



I highly suggest you check out CSN Stores for your shopping needs. They can save you time to do things that you like in life. You can even get free shipping on many items. Have a fun filled day and happy shopping!

Quiche Pancetta with Spinach & Smoky Gouda

I experimented a little today and created the following Quiche dish. I wanted a quiche with a rich taste that incorporated spinach into the mixture. I wasn't sure how the following recipe would turn out but it was absolutely delicious! This recipe makes two deep dish quiches so remember to split the ingredients for both pie crusts. You can serve one and freeze the other for later if you like. Let me know if you try making this dish and if you liked it as much as I did.

Recipe as follows:

2 deep dish pie crust
8 eggs beaten
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 lb pancetta chopped
salt and pepper
16 oz of heavy cream
1/4 cup of milk
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of juice
1/2 cup smoky gouda cheese sliced into slivers or thin cubes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute onion and pancetta in skillet until onions are cooked. Add spinach to warm and remove skillet from stove. Mix beaten eggs, cream, milk, salt and pepper in mixing bowl. Using whisk mix ingredients well. Layer the pancetta/onion/spinach mixture in the pie crusts. Place cheese over top of mixture covering it across. My cheese was sliced and then crumbled. Pour egg and milk mixture over the top and bake for 45 minutes until browned as in the picture below. Let pie set up 5 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh green salad or fruit. Enjoy!

Lettuce - Cleaning & Keeping Tips

I love lettuce and several varieties of it too! My family and I love to make salads for dinner. Anything from taco, chicken, steak, to small dinner salads. Let's face it; salad is a staple in my house.

Salad is wonderful if you have the right ingredients and your favorite dressings to boot. Lettuce is readily available and so easy to clean. I always purchase a head of green leaf lettuce and iceburg so that I can mix them up. I also buy Romaine and darker leaf lettuces on occassion. It just depends on what I am making for the week.

I have tried the pre-washed bag salad mixes and single bag varieties but honestly I do not like them. To me the lettuce doesn't have much taste and it doesn't keep very long in the bags they come in. If I have to purchase these I try and use it all immediately.

I just finished washing and spinning my lettuce that will keep for a week. I have iceburg and green leaf pictured below. I wash with really cold water and remove the core on both varieties. I use a salad spinner to spin the iceburg. I spin several times and then lay a paper towel on my counter or chopping board. I place the lettuce on top of the towel and let dry. Drying the lettuce is the key to keeping it longer in your refrigerator. I allow mine to dry for an hour or so. I repeat the process with the green leaf lettuce and allow it to dry also.

Once dried I then place the lettuce in a green vegetable bag keeper (I use separate bags for each variety of lettuce). First, I place a clean dry white paper towel in the bottom of the bag. This allows any moisture to be absorbed. Then I place all the lettuce in the bag and place in my refrigerator in the veggie keeper section. I used to use the plastic lettuce keepers but I simply don't have room for those in my refrigerator and find the lettuce does not keep as well for me. Now you are ready to fix a delicious salad any day of the week! Hope you find my tips helpful.












What better compliment to a salad than a big, red tomato!

All American Hamburger

My hubby and I ride our motorcyle when we have a nice weekend day. Sometimes we stop and eat at places that are way off the beaten path. This past Saturday we managed a ride and stopped at a place that I don't even remember the name. Anyway, they had the best hamburgers I have ever ate! Doesn't this look delicious? I couldn't even finish it.

Basic White Bread

I pulled my Hitachi bread maker out the other day and decided to make a large loaf of bread. I used the recipe included in the recipe book from the manufacturer. It made a fantastic loaf of bread and is great plain or toasted!

Here's the recipe:
1 1/8 cups tap water
3 cups bread flour (I used King Arthur unbleached white bread flour)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dry milk (I used Carnation)
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast (Bread Menu) or 2 tsp (Bread Rapid Menu)

Plug the machine in and let her bake!

A Cupcake Recipe Book Video

Isn't this recipe book just adorable? I decided to make a video so that you could see the entire book. It is for cupcakes and each recipe begins with a letter of the alphabet from A-Z. I participated in a swap on Split Coast Stampers last year and we swapped recipe cards. I chose to do two recipe cards so that I could give one book away to my daughter for her birthday. The other one I plan to keep for myself!

If you like this video and would like to see more leave me a comment. I am thinking about showing how to use the Bind It All for making this book.

I would love to hear your comments. Please forgive me if the video is a little rough around the edges. I am using my new camera and still need to figure out how to use my tripod so I am steadier.

Hot Crab Dip

I apologize for not updating this blog. It has been awhile. I am going to strive to be better at it in 2010 and post some yummy recipes.

Since the weather is pretty chilly, I thought the following recipe would be appropriate for a great appetizer spread. It is quick to make and extremely tasty!

Hot Crab Dip

1 lb jumbo lump crabmeat, free of shells
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup green onions, minced (optional)
5 to 6 roasted garlic cloves or 2 cloves minced
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients in a casserole and gently stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot with crackers or toasted bread.

Let me know what you think if you try it!