Product Reviews

My first product review:o)

For my birthday i had asked Brandon for only one thing, and he bought me two of them and i couldn't be happier!

At Target they sell Giada De Laurentiis cookware and bakeware. I LOVE Giada. She is my favorite chef. So of course i would have been happy with anything of hers, but i specifically wanted her bakeware set.

This is a picture of the set.

I especially love the handles on the 13x9 and loaf pan. It makes it so much easier to hold on to.

I have used the ramekins for serving salsas and dips and the mugs are awesome soup bowls because they are so big (or a really big cup of coffee;o). I have used both 13x9's i have at the same time plus the loaf pans for pound cake.

Everything cooks up perfectly in them and they come clean so easily!

They work great in the oven, microwave and dishwasher.

They are a heavy ceramic and very durable. I have already dropped a couple of them and no breaks and not even a chip!

One of the sets Brandon got had a small chip in the pie plate, so i emailed Wilton(the makers) and i had a replacement plate in 3 days and i got to keep the chipped dish (i will still totally use it)! I am super satisfied with their customer service.

I think the best part of this whole set is that it was $52 but when Bran went in to get them, they were discounted to $39.99! What a steal!! If you were to buy them separately the 13x9 alone is $20! So we got a great deal on them and i couldn't be happier. 

My grandmother also bought me Giada's Bamboo Cutting Board from Target for my birthday.

I LOVE this cutting board! It is huge! It measures 20"x16"x1".
I love that i am able to roll out my dough for cutting on it. Usually i have to just do it on the counter, which i have never liked, no idea why.
Its super light so i am able to move it around to wherever i need it without struggling.
Its super durable. I always worry that i'm going to cut a wooden board when using my nice knives, but on this bamboo, there isn't even a mark.
I am very satisfied with this board, it was $24 well spent.

This is all i have of Giada's collection so far, but i intend to work on getting ALL of her items...maybe even her crazy expensive knives;o)
These are the items i plan on asking for for Christmas...

2 Qt. oval baker

2.5 Qt covered casserole dish

10pc Red aluminum cookset - this is a want, but not likely a get cause its pretty expensive.

Canned Apple Pie Filling

I love this recipe. I needed something that if Friday came and i didn't have anything to take to church on Sabbath i could make really quick and easy.
So i decided it would be nice to have pie filling on hand.
So i found this recipe and it is fabulous!!
The syrup can be made without the apples and canned and stored then when you want to make your pie, you just slice the apples into a pie crust and pour some syrup over it and bake it.
OR you can heat the syrup and pour it over pancakes and waffles.
OR you can heat it up and dip some sliced apples in it.
There are so many ways you can use this recipe, which is why i love it so much:o)

This recipe makes 4 quarts and 4 pint jars worth, or 12 pint jars. You will need 1 quart and 1 pint, or 3 pints to make 1 pie. So the recipe can do 4 pies:o)

Ingredients:

• 4 c. sugar
  2 tsp. cinnamon
  10 c. water
  3 tbsp. lemon juice
  1 c. cornstarch
  1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Slice your apples and keep them in water with 1/2 cup lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. I found its easier to slice the apples before you start the syrup because you want the syrup to still be hot and bubbly when you jar it.

Put all ingredients in a big pot/sauce pan on the stove and bring to a boil.

Pack cold apples in jars.

Pour hot syrup over apples leaving 1/2" of head space. This is very important because otherwise when you process them the sauce will bubble up and ruin the seal.
This recipe left me with 1 extra pint jar of syrup which i stuck in my fridge to use as syrup for pancakes this weekend;o) If you have any left over you can put it in a jar and process it as well and store the same as the pie filling.
Process for 20 minutes in hot water bath.
Remove and allow to cool completely.

When your ready to make your pie all you have to do is put it in your prepared crust and bake it!

Chili Cheese Empanadas

Chili Cheese Empanadas

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups shredded nacho or taco flavored cheese
1/3 cup diced or crushed green chilies
1 package of 2 refrigerated pie crusts
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
chili powder

Combine cheese and green chilies in small bowl.

Unfold 1 pastry crust on floured surface. Roll into 13 inch circle.

Cut dough into rounds using a 3 inch cutter, rerolling scraps as necessary. Repeat with remaining crust.

Spoon 1 teaspoon cheese mixture in center of each dough round.

Fold round in half, sealing edge with tines of fork.

Place empanadas on wax paper-lined baking sheets; freeze, uncovered, 1 hour or until firm.

At this point you can place them in a plastic food storage bag and freeze up to 2 months.

To complete recipe, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place frozen empanadas on a cookie sheet sprayed with oil.
Beat egg and water in small bowl; brush on empanadas.

Sprinkle with chili powder.

Bake 12-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

Serve with salsa and/or sour cream.

This is a great recipe to make ahead of time and you can just pull them out of the freezer and have dinner in less than 20 minutes!

Carpet Powder Recipe

Carpet Powder

Ingredients:
1 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Corn Starch

Mix those 2 things together, put in a jar and poke holes through the top. Sprinkle on your carpet about 30min before you plan on vacuuming to freshen your carpet!
You can also add a drop of essential oil to it to add a scent to the carpet and when you vacuum it will release the scent into the room:o)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Sorry i haven't posted up anything in a while. We went on vacation (which i threw up through 3/4 of) and this week i have been busy getting everything back in shape, plus yesterday was my birthday and my hubby has been sick for the past few days...so yeah...lots on my plate.

I know i know, this is not a "cooking" recipe, but its still a recipe! lol
This is saving me SO much money!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

Ingredients:
Ivory soap bars (plain with no scent or you can use Fels Naptha or another plain soap bar)
Baking Soda (get a big box)
Borax
OxiClean powder (or cheap equivalent) (this is an optional addition)

Okay this is so simple and cheap its crazy. The Ivory soap i got a 12 pack for $3, the Borax was $3 and the Baking Soda was about $2 (and i got the huge box!) and the OxiClean was $2 at the Dollar Store.

Take and finely grate 3/4 of a bar of the soap in a big bowl, add 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Baking Soda and optional 2 scoops OxiClean.
Toss with a fork and store in a large jar.
Use 2-3 Tablespoons in your wash (HE frontloaders you only need about 2 Tablespoons, i use 3 in my top loader).
Now this will leave you with a lot of stuff left. Total what you bought should give you around 5 of these recipes. I made up all of mine and put it in a huge old pickle jug. This will last me about 6 months!! You save SOOOO much money and your clothes come out smelling and looking clean and fresh!
You can also add a drop of essential oil to 1 recipe then toss to scent it. I have a jar of Lavender scented and a Spearmint Eucalyptus jar for my bedding.
Here are some photos of when i was making mine:o)

Donuts and Donut Holes

Homemade Donuts


Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
Vegetable oil for frying
Cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar for dusting

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

In another bowl combine milk and melted butter.

                                      

Using a mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick (about 5 minutes).

                                      

Add milk mixture; stir with wooden spoon to combine.

                                      

Add flour mixture until you can no longer stir, then take and finish mixing it with your fingers.

                                      

Cover dough with plastic wrap; place in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness.

                                      

Cut dough with a floured doughnut cutter, or a 2 1/2" round cutter then a 1 1/4" round cutter.

                                      

Fry 2-3 doughnuts at a time in deep hot oil for about 2 minutes on each side or until brown. Keep an eye on them, though, because they can cook faster.

                                       

Using a slotted spoon, remove doughnuts and place onto paper towels to drain.

Repeat with remaining doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Coat still warm donuts in cinnamon sugar mixture 

                                      

or dust with powdered sugar.

                                       

Serve warm or reheat in a microwave 8-10 seconds each on high.

                                        

Moist Almond Cake

Moist Almond Cake


Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 - 1 1/2 tsp almond extract (depends on how strong you want the almond flavor)
1 1/4 cups milk (i used Silk Pure Almond milk in Vanilla)

1. Grease and flour two 9 1/2"x1 1/2" or 8x1 1/2" round cake pans or grease one 13x9" pan; set aside.
In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixer, beat butter on medium for 30 seconds.
Gradually add sugar, beating until well combined, 2 minutes or so.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in vanilla and almond extracts.

Alternately add flour and milk, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

Spread batter into prepared pan(s).

Bake for 20-25min for the 9" pans, 30-35min for 8" pans, 25-30min for 13x9" pan, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool layered cakes for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack then remove from pans and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
Or place 13x9 cake in pan on wire rack; cool throughly.
Frost or dust with powdered sugar.

It turned out so soft and moist!