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Gift Ideas for Cooks

Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler: One A-Peeling Kitchen Gadget!

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Ingenious! This Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler is going under the 2019 Christmas Gifts for Cooks Guide category but, let’s be honest here, this is something most of us will want… not just before Christmas, but also before Thanksgiving. Kangaroo Eggs (Deviled Eggs to most of you, but one of my daughters started calling them Kangaroo Eggs when she was little and they’ve been Kangaroo Eggs in our family since. Come on, how could they NOT be?) are a staple of our family gatherings. Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July – hmmm, now that I think about it, they’re at get-togethers as much as I am.

The only thing I hate about making Kangaroo Eggs (Deviled Eggs) is the peeling. Hate it with a passion. Some have a beautiful gift for shelling a hard-boiled egg without causing any damage to the egg, itself. They’re peels even look like works of art. My youngest daughter, Stephany, is the world’s most gifted egg artist. Every egg, perfect. Every peel, long and glorious. She doesn’t even chip a nail in the process.

I do NOT have this gift. Like, at all.

That’s why I am very excited about the Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler, on the left.

I’ll soon be making these popular eggs and everyone will think Steph made them! I may or may not let them in on my secret.

Multi-Hard Boiled Egg Peeler Description:

  • Peels 1-3 eggs in under ten seconds. Quick, simply & no mess.
  • Egg Stripper spins and rotates in water to loosen and remove egg shells.
  • Simply fill the egg stripper base with water up to the water fill line. Add hard-boiled & chilled eggs. Close & shake it up and down (but not too hard!) for about 5 seconds.
  • Seeing the white of the egg indicates that egg shell was loosened enough and the egg will be ready to slip out of its shell.

The Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler is available in two sizes – the small allows you peel 3 eggs at once, while the larger one accommodates 5 eggs. Since I make mine in batches of 12, I’m just ridiculously anal enough to go with the smaller one, as 3 is a factor of 12…. 4 spins around the block will get the job done.

And they thought I never paid attention in math class. Obviously I did…. that day.

For those who want to REALLY make Kangaroo Eggs (Deviled eggs) as simple as is legal, check out the Dash Egg Cooker.


Bee-U-Tiful Glass Honey Dispenser (Sorry, I Had To….)

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I eat honey as often as any self-respecting bear.. more often than the intermittent fasting bear crowd.

My Honey Obsession Checklist

  • in hot tea
  • honey mustard dressing
  • on oatmeal
  • on toast
  • drizzled over hot cornbread
  • in yogurt
  • drizzled over freshly fried chicken (add a little red pepper flakes for a real knockout!)
  • a little warm honey drizzled over bacon & eggs is Heavenly
  • I have even been known to drizzle warm honey over pizza – it is AMAZING.

Judge me, if you must, but it will not slow me down!

The only drawback to my honey fanaticism is the sticky little containers – even those shaped like bears look (and feel) unsightly. I was actually on Amazon yesterday shopping for Orange Blossom Honey (have mercy!) and I saw the beauty pictured to the right.

Can you say TOTAL game-changer?!

The Glass Honey Dispenser promises me that it will not drip, it will keep my honey (even the extra-special kind I order from Amazon) fresh and fabulous – and that it will look gorgeous doing it.

This bee-utiful hive-shaped glass dispenser would make a wonderful gift idea for anyone who loves honey.


Gorgeous Pfaltzgraff Football Platter

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The gorgeous Pfaltzgraff Football Platter shown here isn’t just on my gift-giving list this year, it’s at the top of my, “Buy for my own darn self” list as well.

My family celebrates any and all seasons, days and occasions as we can. What can I say? We love to eat, love to laugh, love to make a lot of noise and look for a reason to do all of the above at once.

Football season was made for families like this one!

Whether it’s college football or the NFL, weekends just become a lot more fun this time of year, don’t they?

Product Description from Amazon

  • This rectangular Football Platter will be a big winner on game day
  • Designed to look like a football field, this platter is perfect for serving your guests lunch meat and cheese, hors d’oeuvres and more
  • Football platter measures 17 inch long x 11 inch wide
  • Crafted of ceramic
  • Use & Care: Microwave and dishwasher safe

I’m picturing so many delicious things on this gorgeous platter…. pigs in blankets, cookies, brownies, sandwiches, chips, cheese and crackers… and, just like that, I’ve made myself hungry.

See Pfaltzgraff Football Platter for more information and a closer look. This is a beauty.


FUN Pig Molds for Pig Collectors

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  I have a few things I love to collect and pigs are one of them. Not the real kind, unfortunately. My cats draw the line at sharing their food, attention, cuddles, or beds with anything that snorts.

When I found these adorable Pig Molds on Amazon, I knew I had to tell y’all about them because I’ve heard from many of the food blog’s readers who love pigs as much as I do.

First is Piggy Pop (pictured to the left).

Piggy Pop makes Pigs in Blankets easy peasy.
Product Description

  • Use any dough or pancake batter
  • Fast, fun and easy
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Easy as fill, insert and bake!
  • BPA free

Piggy Pop provides a cute and creative way to make Pigs in a Blanket and then some. This is a silicone baking pan that bakes 12 pig shaped treats at a time. Simple and easy to use, you simply fill each of Piggy Pop‘s molds with pancake batter or dough, add the cocktail franks and bake.

Piggy Pop comes with a recipe guide that includes 12 tasty recipes. The baking pan is oven safe and heat resistant up to 500 ° F.  I love the fact that it’s dishwasher safe.

Pig-Shaped Pancake Molds

Next up – Silicone Pig Pancake Molds (pictured to the right). I love these just as much as Piggy Pop. My grandbaby, Maddox is absolutely obsessed with Pigs (and with adorably making the “oink” sound!) and I cannot wait to make him pig pancakes!

Product Description

  • Make breakfast more fun with pig-shaped pancakes; bake 2 at a time with this set
  • Stainless steel curled tail functions as a stay-cool handle; folds flat for storage
  • This silicone mold is heat resistant up to 500F, BPA free
  • Dishwasher safe so cleanup is a breeze
  • Designed in the USA

Candy Molds

Last, but not least, the Perny Silicone Pig Candy Molds (left). Again, I am SO anxious to make Maddox pig candy. It’ll be the first Halloween candy I make and you bet it’ll be used for many Christmas candies!

With these adorable molds, you can make 20 pig-shaped candies (or chocolates, jell-o, ice cubes…) at once. The molds are BPA free and made from high quality 100% food grade silicone.

These are safe for use in the oven, freezer, microwave, and dishwasher.

Simply pour your favorite recipe in the mold, prepare, and cool completely. Then turn it upside down, this flexible silicone candy molds offers a non-stick surface that allows the sweets to pop right out with a little push from the bottom.

If you prefer another animal, when you click through, you’ll find other animals and shapes available on Amazon.


Winco Hamburger Smasher and Turner: Perfect for Diner-Style Burgers

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Winco Hamburger Smasher and Turner

I love burgers. There, I said it. I love them more than words can even say. In fact, I wouldn’t spend too much time searching for words because that would be time taken away from eating burgers.

My favorite way to fix burgers is “diner-style,” just a food blogger cool way of saying, “burgers that are smashed into an iron skillet.”

Before we found  the HANDY as HECK Winco Burger Turner above (or as I call it, my smasher), it was a headache to smash the burgers into the skillet. I’d try to get my spatulas to go along with the plan, but they just weren’t built for it. You should’ve seen me, holding the spatula in one hand and placing a mug on top of the spatula with the other hand. The spatula took a beating, the mug felt anxious, and the cats laughed. Embarrassing.

This crazy cool and inexpensive little tool has made life a lot easier. It’s also perfect for the grill – gets the burgers nice and flat. This makes them cook quicker and, in my opinion, makes them tastier.

Product Description from Amazon

  • Stainless steel construction
  • Wooden handle
  • Winco products range from tabletop to kitchen utensils to food preparation supplies
  • Winco products are used by all foodservice and hospitality industry experts worldwide

See Winco Burger Turner for more information!


A Wonderful Gluten-Free and Vegetarian Cookbook: Whole Bowls by Allison Day

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Whole Bowls Cookbook by Allison Day

Whole Bowls Cookbook by Allison Day

When I had to quit eating wheat and gluten (as well as cooking, baking, smelling, and dreaming about them), I had to adopt and adapt. Adopt a new way of eating, cooking, and serving meals and adapt to every single change or be a miserable cuss.

I have no intention of being a miserable cuss… so adapt, I did!

One of my favorite sanity savers and means of serving meals became (and remains) “Bowls.”  Some call them Buddha Bowls and others call them even fancier names. Me.. well I’m a simple gal from Kentucky, so Bowls suits me just fine.

My middle daughter, Brittany (who happens to be a beautiful vegetarian – more on that in a minute), knew how much Bowls mean to me and gifted me with the gorgeous cookbook you see here, “Whole Bowls: Complete Gluten-Free and Vegetarian Meals to Power Your Day.” This cookbook could not be more up my alley! Not only are there MANY (countless, really) great gluten-free recipes but they’re ALSO vegetarian, meaning I can make them for Brittany to enjoy as well.

Only fair, right? After all, she bought the book!

Above, I referred to the recipes in this cookbook as “countless.” Obviously, the actual recipes can be counted – I’ll tell you why I insist on calling them countless! Each and every recipe in Whole Bowls can be tweaked and switched up to your individual tastes. For example, “Loaded Baked Potatoes with Baked Beans and the Works” (page 157), calls for russet potatoes, you can easily use sweet potatoes. If a recipe calls for quinoa, you can use brown rice.. if a recipe calls for white rice, you could use cauliflower rice… and on and on. I would recommend making each recipe exactly as given – but, after that, get creative. It’s your Bowl, after all!

There are also recipes for out of this world sauces that can be incorporated into the bowls they’re recommended for as well as other bowl recipes (whether in or out of this particular cookbook). A few of the sauces are Pumpkin Seed Sauce, Homemade Mayonnaise, Balsamic Glaze, and a Chive Oil (page 109) that is extraordinary on just about anything and everything. In fact, I have a special glass bottle in my Amazon cart I’m buying solely for keeping some of this oil made up and handy.

I love that author Allison Day has made Whole Foods such a gorgeous cookbook (they’re somehow more enjoyable to use, aren’t they?) and that the recipes are completely gluten-free. I also love that they’re basic – deliciously creative, but yet “doable.”

{Continued Below…}

Other AMAZING Recipes Include:

  • Mac and Cheese with Smoked Tofu and Baked Tomatoes
  • Mediterranean Pasta with Arugula, Peas, Yellow Tomatoes, and Feta
  • Roasted Pears with Whipped Goat Cheese and Maple Pine Nut Brittle
  • Hummus
  • Coconut Dreamy Whip
  • Homemade Nut Butter
  • Spring Rice Bowls with Chive Oil
  • Holiday Bowls with Stuffing, Sweet Potato Latkes, Brussels Sprouts, and Balsamic Glaze
  • Greek Mushrooms Stifado with Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
  • Miso Meal in a Bowl
  • Black Beans with Butternut Squash, Black Rice, and Chimichurri
  • Three Bean Garden Salad with Asparagus and Coconut Dressing
  • Curried Falafel with Kale Salad
  • Winter Chopped Salad
  • South of the Border Bowls with Walnut Meat and Grilled Avocado
  • And many, many, many more creative, delicious, and nutritious recipes.

About the Author


Whether you choose to eat gluten-free or the choice has been made for you, you will absolutely love Whole Bowls. For that matter, you’ll love it if you eat gluten with wild abandon! This is just a fun, exciting, and delicious cookbook. I highly recommend it to everyone.

{A few more words about Bowls below the picture…}

Bowl

A few tips I’ve picked up along the path of my relationship with Bowls:

  • If you’ve given up wheat/gluten for health reasons, to cut calories, or because you’re on a particular “diet,” you don’t have to give up flavors because of it. Get creative! Sloppy Joes, for example don’t have to have buns – they can just as easily be served over potatoes (baked, mashed, roasted..) in a bowl with pickles and onions on the side. Same with Pulled Pork or any other “sandwich” you need to deconstruct. Even Egg Rolls can be deconstructed and presented, beautifully, in bowls.
  • We all know how nutritious vegetables are or us. I won’t insult your intelligence or bore you unmercifully by going into their virtues. One of the wonderful things about Bowls is that you can “sneak” beautiful, colorful, and healthy vegetables in to the mix without compromising the taste. I love to keep avocados on hand because they add SO MUCH to bowls. They look great, taste great, and are healthy to boot.
  • Spiralized vegetables aren’t just beautiful in Bowls, they’re also filling and fun to eat. Kids, especially, love different sizes, shapes, and textures.
  • Roasted vegetables are also fun to throw into Bowls – they give a delicious contrast in flavors alongside cooked or raw vegetables and grains.
  • Bowls are IDEAL for those of us who keep and insist on using leftovers. Leftover corn is one of my favorite things to pop into bowls.
  • A “mock” KFC Chicken Bowl technique I love – Put Mashed Potatoes into the bowl(s), top with cooked yellow corn, chicken (omit if you choose), and brown gravy. I love to make and add a little vinegar coleslaw to the side, too. It’s outrageously good.
  • When buying bowls for… well… Bowls… look for wide-open bowls, usually called pasta or salad bowls.  Bowls can make a gorgeous presentation – I like to use white bowls, often, but have also fallen in love with colorful ones.
  • Bowls are ideal for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Breakfast bowls are another favorite. Potatoes, bacon or sausage, eggs, broccoli, and cauliflower bowls make a breakfast that’s worth getting out of bed early for even on a Saturday.
  • Once you go down the Bowls rabbit hole, you’ll wonder what took you so long! Again, Whole Bowls is a wonderful source for inspiration and countless ideas.


T-Fal Cookware: Their Non-Stick Pans are a Personal Obsession

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T-fal Non-Stick Fry Pan
This beauty is a personal favorite, my 12″ Non-Stick Fry Pan from T-Fal –the inventor of non-stick! This beauty came from Target, but T-Fal can also be ordered (easily) on Amazon.

T-Fal “Thermo-Spot” technology is something that was new to me, but now I’m completely hooked on it. The Thermo-Spot shows when your pan is ready to use… kind of like the red light that lets you know when your oven is good to go.

It’s amazing to me that someone hadn’t thought of this long ago. Leave it to T-Fal.

I also love that T-Fal Initiatives take the non-stick game to the next level. Seriously, everything slides right off of these pans. I love to make “cheese clumps” for salads and soups – which is simply putting little mounds of shredded cheese onto a skillet and letting them brown and crisp up a little. You’d think these guys would spell DISASTER for clean up, but T-Fal pans, they literally slide right off the skillet and into the dish.

 

As you’d expect from someone who has a food blog, I cook every single day of the week. In fact, when our cats need to find me (to play, feed them, scratch their heads or cater to them in any manner), the first place they look is always the kitchen. Come to think of it, the same’s true for every member of my family… except for the scratching heads part, the human members of my family seldom as for such a thing.

As an avid cook, I have had up close and personal experience with all manners of pots, pans, and cookware in general. If a new cook were to ask me to recommend ONE pan she/he should buy to begin their kitchen collection, I would recommend T-Fal. I love many different pans (including my beloved iron skillet collection), but this is the brand I’d most often recommend.

Why? In a word – perfection. T-Fal cookware is perfect in every single way.

Read more about T-Fal non-stick pans and their ingenious Thermo-Spots on Amazon.


T-fal Non-Stick Fry Pan

Curtis Stone Dura-Bake Nonstick 3-Piece Sheet Pan Baking Set

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We frequently buy kitchen gadgets, gizmos, small appliances, pans, dishes, and all things “COOKING” from the Home Shopping Network. One of the reasons is the convenience – see it, buy it, get it, use it… all without venturing into a single store. I’m not going to lie – I’m wild about that.

The main reason,  however, is the fact that they feature the best products imaginable. They often sell Curtis Stone pans and, as someone who spends a lot of time cooking, I can tell you – they aren’t just great – they’re phenomenal.

A recent purchase was this great looking Dura-Bake Nonstick 3-Piece Sheet Pan Baking Set (mine are even red, like the ones pictured here). They’re available on Amazon now, too, which is also crazy convenient.

The unique and divine Carbon steel with Dura-Bake nonstick coating makes these sheet pans not just gorgeous, not just excellent to cook with, but also easy to clean. Nothing sticks. I love that they come in three different sizes, too. Sometimes you just don’t need a great big pan – other times, only the big guy will do.

I’ve used mine for biscuits, pastry puffs, roasted vegetables, baked fish, fries, bacon-wrapped asparagus, garlic bread, cinnamon toast… They’re perfect each and every time. I love the easy cleanup and the performance but I think my favorite thing may be much more simple and shallow that the rest…. They’re gorgeous!

The largest one is ideal for most frozen pizzas – not that you or I would ever resort to something like frozen pizzas. But IF we did… well, it’s perfect. 😉

Below is bacon-wrapped asparagus I recently made on one of the pans in my set. As you can tell, I didn’t use parchment paper (something I’d normally ALWAYS do with traditional cooking sheets). It’s absolutely unnecessary with these pans simply because they clean up so easily.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus on a Curtis Stone Sheet Pan

Product Description from Amazon:

What you get: 17″ x 12″ Sheet pan 15″ x 10″ Sheet pan 13″ x 9″ Sheet pan

Basic Measurements: 17″ x 12″ Sheet Pan – Approx. 17-1/2″L x 12-1/2″W x 1″H; 15″ x 10″ Sheet Pan – Approx. 15-1/2″L x 10-1/2″W x 1″H; 13″ x 9″ Sheet Pan – Approx. 13-1/2″L x 9-1/2″W x 1″H Base Thickness: 0.7mm

Material Composition: Carbon steel with Dura-Bake nonstick coating

Use and Care: Oven Safe Temperature: up to 450 degrees F

Care: Dishwasher safe, but hand washing is recommended

Features: Dura-Bake nonstick coating

Takes the successful nonstick capabilities of Dura-Pan nonstick and applies them to Curtis’ range of bakeware. Specially formulated multiple-layer nonstick coating engineered for added strength and durability. Offers improved nonstick performance in comparison to traditional nonstick bakeware. Provides premium food release when baking and easy cleanup 8 times stronger than unreinforced nonsticks. Versatile pans Perfect for baking, roasting and cooking one-pan meals Ideal size for baking a batch of cookies or cooking a sheet pan supper. Set of 3 sheet pans Includes a small pan, medium pan and large pan. Provides a perfectly sized pan for every dish. Carbon steel construction.

See Dura-Bake Nonstick 3-Piece Sheet Pan Baking Set for more information. These would be IDEAL for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Pig Pallet Art Wall Hanging: Pig Collectors, You’ll Love This

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I’ve promised to always show you fellow pig lovers and collectors when I find irresistible pig decor or kitchen items.  This one is a beauty.

The Pig Pallet Art Wall Hanging combines two of my favorite things – pigs and a rustic look. Love it!

The Pallet Art measures approximately 9″ by 12″ and comes ready to hang with a saw tooth hanger or wire picture hanger. These are hand cut and painted so they will vary slightly, making them one of a kind… something that makes it even better in my book.

Click through the link above or picture to the right for more information.

(Continued Below the lit up pigs!)

Pigs on Hutch

Part of my pig collection now sits on top of the hutch in our kitchen. My grandbaby LOVES pigs and he LOVES lights… so pigs and lights, it is!

eBay is a great place to find vintage pig collectibles, as are Hobby Lobby and Amazon.

Pigs on Hutch


Cookware Protector Sets: Absolutely Ingenious, No Doubt About It

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Cookware Protector Set

 

TJMaxx gets me. They just really, really get me. So much so that they’re often a few feet ahead of me when it comes to knowing what I need. Honestly, I’ve lost track of the times I’ve meandered through the store and found things I had no idea I needed! Which is exactly why when any of my daughters and I go, we allow time for at least an hour of wandering and shopping.

The males in our family seldom are up for this – except for the 10 month old. He doesn’t have much of a choice.

The Core Kitchen Cookware Protector Set (link to other Core Kitchen Protector Sets on Amazon) jumped out at me on a recent trip. The bright colors caught my eye and I had to take a closer look.

Each set comes with three colorful cookware (or plates, bowls…) protectors. They’re designed in a way to simply and beautifully cushion your pans or dishes and protect them from scratches.

I wish I’d had these many, many, many scratched pans ago.

If you live near a TJMaxx, look for these beauties – they’d make brilliant additions to your own home as well as fun and useful gift ideas for the cooks in your life. There are also many different color combinations available on Amazon.