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Our CSA share began last week. That makes me so happy.
Anyone got any good recipes for baby asian greens? We have had 2 bags come in so far and we have had a frittata and a....frittata. Which were both really good, but I think we are ready for something new.
We also received some spring mix. Super tasty. Do you have a salad spinner? I didnt either, till we began to get all the greens. I would just do the normal rinsing of the leaves and then pat them dry in a clean towel. Not knowing at all what I had been missing out on this whole time. Crisp, crunchy leaves of goodness. First tho, before we got the spinner I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own spinner. Because I am so cool like that. So, I washed all the greens and put them in a towel and pulled all the corners together and then....spun it around really fast like a windmill. Yeah, didnt even think about the fact that the water had to go somewhere whilst I was spinning the towel...it proceeded to fling water all over the kitchen walls, cabinets, and myself. G thought this was great fun. He wanted me to do it some more. Hey, at least I was able to keep the greens in the towel, right? They did end up really crispy tho. This is what led to the purchase of the OXO salad spinner.
It is a really large bowl with a basket in it for the greens and then the lid portion has the device that causes the spinning action. The best part I think is that it has a push button spinner instead of a crank spinner like I have seen before. It also has a stopping device on the top so you can actually make it stop spinning instead of just waiting for it to slow down on its own. The bowl has a little rubber ring on the bottom to help it stay steady on the counter while you are using it. Since the bowl is clear you can actually watch the water being spun off the greens into the bowl. Pretty neat.
At any rate, if you can help me out of my frittata rut...let me know a good recipe.
My youngest happens to be quite afraid of many noises. He has always been a little wary of loud noises or even of what he thinks may make a loud noise. The situation seemed to get worse when Shawn had to use the big air compressor one day. He brought it into the house and flipped it on and G was scared to pieces. He ran over to me and cried and cried....to this day he still sees the compressor and moves away from it. He will tell you that daddy had that in the house and it made a loud noise.
Well, since we have moved into the house I have purchased a little Bissell stick vacuum to have on hand for all the hard floor surfaces. It does a really great job and it seems to hold quite a bit of debris. It is really light to use and and even easier to empty out. It does have to be plugged in, so we have to move the plug around while we clean up so we can reach everything. The biggest plus, it is not very noisy. Just a little noisy, as G would say.
I am trying to help him with the noise fear by letting him use things that he seems to think are noisy. The first time I used the little vacuum was when he was up in his seat at the counter eating and I started it in the dining room. I tried to start it in the kitchen and he was having no part of that. The second time he was off playing in the den and just kept his distance. Better, right? He wasnt like an amoeba attached to me! The more I used it the more he seemed to be okay with it. We are up to this right now:
He has conquered the hair dryer and on his way to the little vacuum....I think it may be time to bring in the big guns...the full size vacuum.
After much research and even more saving I am finally the proud owner of 5 Kleen Kanteen water bottles. I have 4 18 oz ones designated for the big kids and the adults and a 12 oz one for the little guy.
I also purchased the sports caps. Kleen Kanteen offers various interchangeable lids, including a flat top, a loop top, and then the sports cap one. Which is pretty much like what you may see on a sports water bottle. The kind that you pull up on and then suck the water out. The nice thing about it is that is has a little lid that clicks on the mouthpiece so it doesn't get covered in unnecessary dirt and germs.
The bottles are great. The openings are wider than some of the other stainless bottles out there. That means that you can fit regular sized ice cubes in there and also clean it much easier. The water stays nice and cool and it tastes much better than having been in a plastic water bottle. It really helps the water to have that fresh, cool taste. Making you want to drink more. Which, is a good thing, I would think!
The 12 oz bottle had the option to come with a sippy cup adapter and we have that as well. It is nice when your little ones are smaller and need that over the sports cap style. My little one is right about 2 now and he sees me using the sports cap and, of course, he needs to use it, too. So, the sippy adapter has seen its day, I think!
One cool thing I found for the Kleen Kanteen is the Built NY insulated sleeve that I can put them in to keep your drink cooler. It also prevents the bottles from getting dinged up in case you drop them. That is a nice feature if you have kids. The sleeve is made out of the stuff that they make wet suits out of, so it pretty much absorbs the condensation from the bottle. As you can guess, the stainless has a tendency to condensate quite a bit. I purchased the 12 oz sleeve to go with all the bottles that we have. For the 12 oz bottle it fits in there leaving enough room on the top that my little guy can use it as a handle. For the 18 oz one it is taller so there is not as much space left on the top...you cant use it as a handle as easily, but it is still more than worth having. Another great feature of the sleeve....it is machine washable! Just throw it in the washer and let it hang to dry and you are good to go.
Compared to a plastic water bottle, the price tags on these puppies are a bit higher. BUT, I have to say well worth the extra dough. The water tastes so much better and you arent contributing to the insane amount of plastic usage in this world. You dont have to worry about buying prefilled plastic water bottles all the time and then worry about making sure they get recycled.
Kleen Kanteen gets a huge thumbs up from me and my gang.
One of my fellow bloggers and lifetime friends has emailed me and asked me to give the ins and outs of my Kitchen aid mixer. Mwah? What do I think of it and why does she need it? Well, you just need it. Does there have to be a reason? I feel that mine doubles as a priceless kitchen tool and a beautiful work of art. ART, I say. That should be enough right there for you to jump on the band wagon.
What can you do with it? More like what can't you do with it? The main and most obvious, mix. Stir, whip, blend. Do you need some fresh whipped cream? You got it. Pull out your handy whisk. Need to make some muffins? Then the paddle is what you want. Egg whites, no problem. (Okay, now I am beginning to feel like that guy on the infomercials that wears the chef hat.) Like to make bread? It comes with a dough hook. Virtually kneads the dough right in front of your eyes.
Those are pretty much the standard things you can do. BUT, it has a bajillion attachments. Like the ice cream maker. Which my husband uses every week. Some fresh cream, vanilla, eggs(if you want)...set it to mix and next thing you know...you have fresh ice cream. It has, are you ready for this one? A pasta attachment. Make the dough, feed it thru the pasta piece and voila....thin, even sheets of pasta dough. Then you can also purchase different pastas cutters. We have the fettucini one. You can grind your own meats, make your own sausages, and strain fruits and veggies. The latter is nice if you are into canning and preserving food. The list goes on and on.
There are, of course, varying sizes that you can get. I have one of the largest. I use it all the time. Really. I can make like dozens and dozens of cookies at once. When you have 3 kids and 2 parents with a sweet tooth that is very important. When we get moved into the new house I am going to be branching out and trying my hand at bread making. Hot, steamy loaves of artisan breads. I am sure I will have to go thru tons of flour and many trials before I get a good loaf, but hey. What's life if you dont have any goals?
The one and only one down side that I can think of for my specific model is that I would really prefer it to have a tilt back head instead of a bowl-lift. The tilt back heads are just easier, I feel, to negotiate and much easier to clean.
So, any recipe, big or small. It can handle the job. Once you try it you will have to have it. Once you have it, you will not know how you ever got along without it.
So, I got to take my sexy man of a husband out to get some new clothes. A much needed event. After seeing him still sporting clothes from high school....he was due! We, well okay, I, picked out some great things for him to wear. New zapatos, too!Fast forward to today. I was catching up on the laundry. Something I seem to do every day...altho it seems I never actually catch up. There is always something in the hamper. I have lessened the craziness of it by really going thru alot of the families clothing inventory. Purging, if you will. How many clothes must one have, really? That has helped tremendously. New things that my husband and I are purchasing are of a higher quality in hopes that they will last longer. The kids...we still hit the sales racks and the resale shops. They grow so fast....Back to the laundry....the new things we purchase I also do not dry. Not only does it conserve on energy(and I am all about that) I am hoping that it will prolong the life of the items. After the items had dried I had to get out the iron. Okay, here's the thing. I really do not iron. I have never liked it. And in the past I had purchased things that I knew would not need ironing. I mean, I know how to iron. My big brother showed me how. He has always been in the restaurant business and has to look all seamless and fab. So, I pulled out the iron and the board...I began the process...fill it up with water so that the steam will help pull out the wrinkles. Let it heat up. Okay. Ready. Get the shirt all ready to iron. Its all nicely laid out on the board. Pick up iron. Move it around. The goal is to get the wrinkles out, right? This is taking forever. I mean forever. I am going over and over them and they still seem to be there. Ughhh.
Hubby offers to go out and get me a new iron. What? A new iron? Are you kidding? This one is an heirloom. I have had it since we were married. My ma got it for me. From the Goodwill. How can I get a new iron? That is just crazy. Okay, you twisted my arm. Go ahead.He returns from the store. With this. The Sunbeam Steam Master 4214.
This is like the iron from the Gods. Or as my husband pointed out a saying from Wil Smith.
Old and Busted.
New hotness.
Did you know that irons arent supposed to leak water when you use them? Did you know they are supposed to get so hot that you cant touch them? And steam? They actually steam. That is amazing. Mine had holes to steam, but you pushed the button and the steam just came out at random moments in time....never one of them being when I actually needed it. More like after I had set it up and was moving my shirt around on the board. And it has a retractable cord. No more trying to figure out how to get the cord to stay all wrapped up on the iron.
Needless to say, I was in pure awe of the new appliance. As were the kids. Oh wait, maybe they were just in awe at seeing an iron. The mere appliance confused them. That's pretty bad, huh?
Over here, she has issued a challenge. Well, okay, not really in a mean way. More of in a green way!
See what you can do to participate. Even if it is just using less ziploc baggies and more reusable containers. Or getting your juices in concentrate or in glass bottles like she has suggested. Or how 'bout using refillable water bottles instead of all the disposable ones?
These things are the greatest! They eliminate the need to use ziploc baggies in your lunch bag. And the best part....they serve as a clean place mat on the dirty lunchroom table. Who isn't up for less germs on your kids food? Or yours for that matter! I purchased 4 of them quite some time ago and have been totally impressed. They hold up to the kids, the wash, and the usage over and over everyday. They come in all kinds of great patterns and stuff. I happened to go with the earth friendly design as it is not lined with PVC.
The owners are super friendly and go out of their way to help you and answer any questions that you may have. In fact, I ended up placing my order incorrectly and they were ever so eager to make sure that I was taken care of and that I was happy with everything. Total thumbs up!
I wanted to get some yummy air fresheners for the house. One, because I like to smell them, but this time around I mainly want my potential home buyers to think that I have just baked fresh gingerbread!
Who knew there were so many choices? Like most things in my everyday life, I like to see if there is a healthier or safer alternative. I spotted these and out of every thing there they seemed to be the best as far as fewest chemicals go. Then I saw the price tag and was in awe. I mean 8 bucks? For an air freshener? If it were just for my sniffer, I would go the ol' cinnamon sticks in the water and heat on the stove trick. I was, however, not so sure how that would go over with people walking thru the house and looking at every single thing.
The price seemed a little steep to me, but I dove in and began sniffing. Now, I have never smelled a fig. I like to eat them, but when I eat them I never really thought of them as an air freshener type smell. I passed on that one. The lavender one was way too strong. I really enjoyed the apple vanilla one, but you could only get it in a refill and I needed the whole shebang to start out. So, I ended up with gingerbread spice and sweet water.
Now, if you have read my blog at all you know that I have a strong aversion to used water. So, my instinct was to wonder how does one find sweet water....and where can I get it. I sure hope that after I use this thing it doesn't smell like used water...does used water smell? I am sure some does.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and plugged them in. The smells are nice, but not too overpowering. They say they will last 8 weeks....I will keep you posted on that part! My main hang up with them is that I wish I could get some that don't have to be plugged in. I like to conserve energy. It is what I do. The only other form I could get them in at this particular store was candles. I didn't like the idea of that since I wouldn't be home when I needed them to be making my house smell pretty. I do see on their website tho that they offer them in aroma rings. That may be a way to go. Of course, I would have to see if they were recyclable!
The last few months we have been having our milk delivered right to our front door. I have to say that I am loving every minute of it. How cool is it to have a milk carrier drop off fresh milk in the morning right in time for breakfast.
The Oberweis Dairy milk comes in 1/2 gallon glass jars and they leave it right on your front porch in a dairy box. (It appears to be mostly like a cooler.) The first delivery you get you pay a one time fee for the dairy box and they leave it chock full of whatever you have ordered. The dairy box is yours to keep after that. You simply rinse out your milk jugs as you use them and put them in the milk crate (that they supply) and set the milk crate and your dairy box outside and the next time they fill it all up again!
They normally deliver once a week, but they have it nicely set up online so you can adjust your deliveries and change your orders. As long as you do it by 10pm the night before your delivery day you can add items or take them off as you like.
We like the fact that the milk and some of their other products are hormone and antibiotic free. This enables us to give our family great, healthy products without having to pay the premium price for certified organic.
One of the neat things I think is that every once in a while they will leave free samples in your box so that you can try out different products. I have to say that a couple of our favorite things are the fantastic chocolate milk and I love the fresh butter quarters.
Thanks to Oberweis Dairy for helping me offer my family high quality, healthy products to eat.
My friend, Mindy, always has the neatest stuff. She's always the first one of us to buy something new that has just come out so she can try it. It is a small goal of mine to buy something before she does and then call her and tell her all about it. Normally, she says "I know, I have that." or " Yeah, I saw that on T.V."
A long time ago I was visiting her and she had this body wash that I really fell in love with. I used it all the while I was there and it made me happy and I smelled pretty. I, being a frugal person, don't frequently buy stuff like that. So, it was a nice treat when this Christmas she gave me some as part of my gift. There was also an added bonus of body lotion to match.
Imagine my surprise when she then tells me that she got it at Big Lots. That is a closeout store around this area. I had a rush of panic and then elation. Panic because if it's at Big Lots than that normally means it won't be available anymore. Elation because (and this is where my frugal gene comes in) I was thinking off how many bottles I could stock up on at a really good price. Could I possibly be one of the few who liked this scent and it just didn't make the cut?
The next day we headed out to run errands and went to Big Lots in search of New Year supplies. We headed to the soapy, smelly aisle in hopes of finding my loot. My adrenaline was running strong and she calls out to me that she found it.....do you think they had any of my scent left? NO!!! I was bummed, but we stood there and smelled all the others they had. I did end up picking out a couple of new scents, but they didn't compare to the Vanilla Plum.
Fast forward to today. I was online and came across this. They didn't stop making my scent after all. It is just in a new package and now instead of listed as Soothing it's listed as Uplifting. *sigh* I feel so much better now. I haven't even used the one in the new package yet and I already feel Uplifted.
Back to Basics folks...please don't scare me like that again.
Everyone else...pick up a bottle and try it. They have alot of different scents to choose from. The soap doesn't dry out your skin. It foams up into a nice, bubbly lather and it doesn't leave you feeling sticky when you're all done. They also have matching lotions for all the scents as well.
Take it from me. It works well as a gift, too!
I have to tell you this story.
I have this friend named Mindy who I commonly refer to as the kitchen gadget queen! She has every imaginable kitchen tool available. I visit her house often and usually stand there and talk about how I would like to have this or that...altho I don't want to spend the money on a new tool when the way I do things work just fine.
She has had these cookie scoops for quite sometime and I always see her use them, but am always skeptical as to how they could possibly be better then my way. My way she would refer to as archaic. The 2 spoon method. You know, scoop the cookie dough up with one spoon, scrape it onto the cookie sheet with the other spoon...
What should I receive from my loving husband as part of my christmas present? 3 different sized cookie scoops. They are made by Oxo.
I decided to make cookies the other day and pulled out my Oxo cookie scoops. I have all 3 different sizes, but chose the middle size to make my cookies. Can I just say that these things are amazing!!! It is so much faster and the cookies are all the same size and totally porportioned. I can fit more cookies on my sheet and they look so pretty when they are done baking. The cookie scoops are easy to squeeze and can go right in the dishwasher when you're done. How easy is that?
I was so excited that I had to call Mindy while I was making my cookies and let her know how much fun I was having and how much easier and faster it was. She, of course, says, "I've been trying to tell you!" "You were always so skeptical!"
So, go out and get some of the Oxo cookie scoops and bake away! I'm telling you it will be a fun time had by all. Watch out tho, if you use the small cookie scoop you will end up with bite size cookies and that could be dangerous...you might not know when to stop eating!
I would have to say my first entry has been prompted by my great find of Robeez shoes. I had heard of them before, but since my kids were older there wasn't really a need for them. However, when my youngest son was born and began to become mobile I began my search.
I found their website and browsed online, but decided to try to find them here in my own neighborhood. I found a few locations on their website that carried them around here and headed out. First things first. I had a pit stop to make at Target. It so happens that Target carries their own brand of a leather shoe that is similar to Robeez.
I will sometimes get sucked in by the off brand because it tempts me by the difference in price. I had my son with me so I tried them on him......having nothing yet to compare them to I opted to go for the Circo Baby Infants Leather Shoes for $12.99. They are blue with a green star on them. We finished up and went home and he has been wearing them ever since (about 3 weeks so far.)
Christmas came and went. My family happened to be staying at my in-laws. My father-in-law and I have an annual tradition the day after Christmas where we go to a store in his area called Kaleidescope . We like to pick out really cool Christmas ornaments at half the price! What should there be towards the back of the store??? A rack of honest to goodness Robeez. You should have seen my excitement. After much contemplation and discussion with my FIL, we went with the giraffe pair for $26.00.
I have to say that I should have opted for the Robeez from the get go. They are more expensive, but clearly much better made. They are more narrow than the Target brand so they stay on his feet better. The Target brand ones have lost a lot of their color near the tips of the shoes and have cracked pretty badly. The Robeez are still looking great. The soles on the Target brand have began to wear away...almost like when a sweater pills up. The soles on the Robeez look like brand new.
My thanks to the Robeez folks!! I will pass on the word that they are the shoes to get for the little ones!
