Because my life is anything but normal....

Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Dec 18, 2014

Grazia Reusable Silicone Baking Cups - Review



We all know that I have a tendency to burn down my house 
when I cook.... 




  That's not really true, but I used it as an excuse for half of my life because I didn't know how to cook much less bake something. All of my cooking involved fervent phone calls to my mother where she walked me through making a meal step by step, and half of my meals involved plating take-out from a local restaurant as quickly as I could before my husband arrived (I giggle every time I watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith). I had very firm thoughts on how I should be as a wife and cooking was at the top of the list. My first attempt at cake for my spouse looked like a blackened lump and I never wanted to do it again. I can still hear the smoke alarm going off while I sobbed over the scorched cake pan.

  Honestly though, it took years until I started learning to make more involved recipes and making simple deserts and cookies WITHOUT lighting anything on fire or setting off any smoke alarms.

  The point of the story is, I went through all of that and my husband doesn't even like cake. Not even a little. I didn't have to pretend to be able to cook anything anyway because the man can't even cook mac-n-cheese out of a box, he was grateful for a warm hot dog! Over the years, I've picked up cooking. I like food, I just don't like making it. I still don't bake cake, but I will make the occasional cupcake if a child asks me to.

  Anyway, the current crave at my house is muffins. My kids don't want to eat anything else for breakfast on school days. Their problem with breakfast is that they have to get up a few minutes earlier to eat. We decided muffins were a great compromise because they're not really unhealthy, they freeze well, and they're portable. My only problem with muffins is that my kids take those little paper liners and throw them at or around my trash can.


  Now that I'm done rambling, I have a review! 



  I recently received Grazia silicone baking cups to try, and they've kinda changed my life.
 They're so useful!

  The first things we all noticed was how very bright and colorful these are. They're easy to see on a shelf, and my kids love the fun colors. The colors came in handy for us because we each picked a color for our muffins... you know, so no one steals our muffins instead of eating the flavor they picked. Big problem around here.






  The other great things about these silicone cups are that they are microwave, dishwasher, oven, and freezer safe. So if you're like me and you freeze your muffins, the process is seamless. You can bake them, toss them in the freezer, and thaw them without having to remove the cup! Then they get tossed in the dishwasher instead of getting thrown around the trash can like paper liners. They're non-stick so you can eaily get your muffin (or whatever you bake) out without your muffin falling apart or having to scrape part of it out of the bottom of the cup.


  Another great feature is that you don't have to use muffin tins. You can if you want to, but you can just as easily toss these on a baking sheet or a cookie sheet and shove them in the oven. It's simpler and there is less clean up involved.





  Now, I do have one downside that I noticed and its not a big thing or a deal breaker. These don't cook exactly like a muffin tin. They cook more evenly instead of outside to inside. So if you're like me and your mentality is "if I accidentally overfill one, it will have a bigger top", you'll need to watch that when you use these cups. Unlike traditional tins, when you overfill these, you have a 70% chance of your muffins collapsing on themselves rather than rising higher. Not a big deal, but worth noting.







  I have to say that I fully recommend these. They make my mornings smoother and take away some of the little annoyances I have with baking muffins. They're reusable, environmentally safe, BPA free, and have a lifetime guarantee. If you're like me and are looking for less hassles, these are for you.











** Disclaimer**
I was provided a product or coupon for testing and review purposes. In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note that all opinions are my own and I will only endorse items which I truly feel are of value to my readers.




Sep 8, 2011

Healthy Food Fight!

I'm sure we all know cooking and eating healthy can be kinda tough.
Through SheSpeaks.com I heard about the Aetna Healthy Food Fight
Aetna is providing healthy tips from a nutritionist, cooking and eating tips from Bobby Flay, among many other things. They have tons of recipes from Bobby Flay, The Culinary Institute of America, and everyday people.

Visit the Aetna Healthy Food Fight and explore all the wonderful recipes and other helpful features of their site.
I particularly love the "Healthy Recipe Analyzer". You can enter your recipe/ingredients and it'll rate how healthy your recipe is! You'd be surprised at how many recipes aren't as healthy as you think they are.

Another great feature is Aetna's "Fast Food Alternatives". Unless you're like me and you get sick just thinking about calories and fat, you probably grab fast food now and then. I personally have a hard time cramming down any "fast food" beyond Subway, but my husband has no issue eating a Double Whopper with cheese *shudders*.
If you're on the run a lot and you have to grab fast food, this tool is for you! Not only do they recommend a healthier alternative to some of your choices (such as getting vegetable pizza instead of deep dish), they also include the calorie count AND tell you how long you'd have to walk to burn off those calories!

You can also submit your own healthy entree recipe to compete against others.
Three top qualifiers from each region will travel to the Semi-Final recipe cook-offs.
The Semi-finalists will cook their dishes in front of a representative from The Culinary Institute of America and local VIP judges. The winner from each region will receive an all-expense-paid trip to New York City to compete in the Final Cook-off judged by Bobby Flay. Four Finalists will be competing before Bobby Flay and other VIP judges. The winner of the Final Cook-off will receive a grand prize of $10,000 worth of groceries donated by Recipe.com!

So, if you have a great healthy recipe, join the fight and submit it! If you don't have a healthy recipe, check out the Healthy Food Fight recipes and try something new.
While you're there, you can also enter for a chance to win a set of Circulon gourmet cookware!


I'm hoping some of the tips and recipes Aetna has provided will help my family be a little healthier. They're all junk food addicts and its hard to get them to eat anything that could possibly be good for them. If your kids are the same, give this healthy alternative to Fruit roll-ups a try! No dehydrator needed. My kids love fruit leather!


Apple Spice Fruit Leather
Yields one 11”x17” pan of fruit leather
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 5-8 hours at 170°F

INGREDIENTS
1 25-ounce jar of applesauce
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

INSTRUCTIONS

    Preheat oven to 170°F.
    Line an 11”x17” jelly-roll pan or lipped cookie sheet with greased parchment paper (wax paper will smoke in the oven) or a silicone baking mat.
    Spread the puree until it’s about 1/4” thick. Pick up the pan and tilt back and forth until it’s evenly distributed.
    Bake in the oven for 5-8 hours. Rotate the pan halfway during the baking time to ensure even drying. Timing will vary depending on the fruit used. It’s ready when it’s smooth and non-tacky.
    Let it cool, then cut in strips with scissors or a pizza cutter. Stack or roll them and store in an airtight container or a zipper storage bag. I roll them with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they "peel" like real Fruit Roll-ups.

Tip: Store in a cool, dry place. You can store fruit leather for up to a year in the freezer, six months in the refrigerator or a few weeks at room temperature.

Other ideas/alternatives:
  • Spread a thin layer of melted caramel over the fruit leather and allow it to harden a little before rolling.
  • Cut fun shapes with cookie cutters, stack on parchment paper and tie with a ribbon to make a unique hostess gift or a lunch box surprise.
  • Spice up a can of pumpkin with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves for another twist on fall-inspired fruit leather.
  • Puree a can of peaches or other canned fruit in the blender for a quick option that requires no washing and slicing.
  • To sweeten fruit leather, add a couple teaspoons, or to taste, of vanilla, sugar, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup.
  • You can adjust this recipe for just about ANY kind of fruit! All you need is fruit puree (seasonings can make a difference!), sweetener, and a little tweaking of the recipe cook time (some fruits cook faster than others). Feel free to experiment and share! My favorite is plain strawberry (pureed fresh strawberries, sweetened to taste). Mixed berries are great as well.

**Disclaimer:
I do not receive any monetary compensation and all opinions in this blog are mine and mine alone.

    Jun 11, 2011

    What happened to Jalapeno poppers?


      
      Now, I'm usually not a picky person, but there are some things in life that make me picky. My latest complaint is jalapeno poppers.

      I had a strange craving for some cheddar cheese jalapeno poppers. It came out of nowhere. It struck me hard and fast, and of course I was left reeling since I haven't had poppers since I was a teen. Hell, I haven't had many deep fried ANYTHING since I was a teen. But the craving was there none the less and I had to do something about it.


      Skip to the grocery store. Freezer section. I grab a box of TGI Friday's poppers. I take them home, I cook them.... I'm thoroughly disappointed :/
    They're not very popper-y. They're not really spicy at all. I was left feeling like I ate a deep fried hunk of green pepper with cheese. This did not fulfill the craving. I had to try again.
    Skip back to the grocery store. Freezer section. Another brand, another disappointment. I tried 4 different brands of poppers at this point and they weren't what I needed. Don't get me wrong, they didn't taste BAD. They were just missing that "bite" that I was craving.


      Some people don't like spicy or hot things, and I understand that. I happen to have a large tolerance for hot-n-spicy, but its not exactly what I was looking for. I'm looking for that nice "whoa this has kick" taste. I don't want to burn my face off, but I want to feel like my poppers aren't sissies. xD


      Last night, to my surprise, I was browsing Wal-mart. Its family movie night, and I decided that pizza rolls were the way to go. Next to the pizza rolls, I see something called "Snapps SnackBites". I'd never seen them before (not that I pay much attention to things around me most days), so I decided to check them out. I noticed they had "Cheddar Cheese Pepper Bites". Thinking they may be just what I need for this week-long craving, I grabbed a box along with our pizza rolls.



      I get home, and I inspect the box. These aren't jalapeno poppers. They're some kind of diced jalapeno and cheese mixture that's been breaded. I'm thinking "this can not be good", but I put on my big girl panties and I toss them in the fryer anyway, refusing to read the ingredients or nutrition information because I know I'll chicken out. Two minutes later and they're done. They LOOK like jalapeno poppers. They SMELL like jalapeno poppers. Do they taste like jalapeno poppers?

      I tentatively put one in my mouth and bite down. They have "THE TASTE", that "bite" I was looking for! The texture was different, the cheese wasn't the highest quality (kinda tasted a bit like cheez whiz), but it had that flavor I needed to satisfy my weird popper craving. Why, oh, why can't real jalapeno poppers taste like this?

      Anyway, I still haven't looked at the nutrition information. I'm scared. As if deep fried jalapeno poppers aren't bad enough for you, I'm terrified of what this cheez-whiz-ish concoction contains. All I can say is that my popper craving is gone and they satisfied me. I doubt my arteries will thank me, and I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of extra Pilates to make up for this.... but I'm no longer hovering in the freezer section of my grocery store like a mad woman.


      I understand that food companies have to cater to all kinds of different tastes. I also understand that not everyone has the same tastes as me. What happened to jalapeno poppers? Are they genetically engineering less spicy jalapeno peppers for these food companies? Have my tastes changed so very much? There's different hot levels of hot sauce, why can't companies make different hot levels of other things so everyone can enjoy them?