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Gift Ideas for Cooks

Wonderful Sandwich Cutters for Delicious “Uncrustable-Style” Sandwiches

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Uncrustable Style Sandwich Cutter

Sandwich Cutter (Amazon link)

If you have kids of any age in your family, you may already be familiar with the wildly popular, delicious, and… well… a little costly… Uncrustables. They’re sold frozen and you can conveniently thaw one or more as needed (they thaw VERY fast.. much to the pleasure of hungry kids). My oldest grandbabies absolutely love them. They fit in their little hands perfectly, allowing them to roam from one thing to the next to the next to the next.

My grandbabies love the peanut butter and jelly ones, so I buy the strawberry and grape varieties often. Only problem is, they don’t come cheap when compared with good old-fashioned jelly, peanut butter, and bread. But the sandwiches (even when cut into winsome triangles) don’t make these little cuties smile as much and, frankly, my world is consumed by making them smile.

I found something on Amazon that makes us ALL smile even more. Me because they’re fun, economical, and (most importantly) make my little buddies smile EVEN bigger because they’re involved with creating their own “Uncrustable-Style” sandwiches!

The Sandwich Cutter (Amazon link) allows you to choose your own fillings – just be sure you don’t overfill because the goodness will come through the roof! Peanut butter & jelly, Nutella – with or without the peanut butter, ham and cheese, cheese blends, pimento cheese, chicken salad, tuna salad… the options are nearly limitless.

The instructions are given very clearly and simply on the back and there’s even more information on the Amazon page when you click through.

One of the coolest things is you can use this tool to make up a LOT of handheld little sandwiches and freeze them. They’re just as good after being frozen as they are when fresh. It’s kind of magic, if we’re being honest.

The fact that kids can help you make them is one of the biggest attractions. I am ALL for getting girls and boys involved in food preparation and in making discoveries in the kitchen. These handheld sandwiches are IDEAL for school lunchboxes, taking to the office, afterschool snacks, and even a quick breakfast.

They’re available on Amazon….. Sandwich Cutter (Amazon link)… and can be used again and again and again and again. Each “again” adds up the money saved! This would make a wonderful gift idea for anyone on your list.

Uncrustable Style Sandwich Cutter Instructions

See Sandwich Cutter (Amazon link) for a lot more information and photos!


Have You Invested in a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer Yet?! Here’s Why I Think You Should….

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Ironically, in spite of ALWAYS saying, “You’ll only be as great a cook as your tools and ingredients allow you to be,” I put off buying a KitchenAid stand mixer for years. And years.

The very person who consistently pays more for most ingredients and who grabs every new kitchen gadget that hits the market put off buying something because it, “… seems so high.”

If I didn’t do a great deal of baking, it’d be more forgivable but with a large family, there are always birthday cakes to make, homemade icing to throw together, candies, pies, and whatnot. And that in’t even counting Thanksgiving and Christmas – my annual grand finales!

I knew Kitchenaid stand mixers were gorgeous and knew the brand had one of the best reputations in the business but I  honestly assumed my handheld mixer could do anything it could and I knew it was far cheaper. More on the faulty assumption in a minute.

Earlier this year, my youngest daughter got a Kitchenaid stand mixer (Amazon link) and immediately began to rave about it. She’s one of the rare humans who does as much baking and cooking as I do, so when she recommends something, I listen. I decided to test her Kitchenaid out with something I make each week – Homemade Whipped Cream. My husband and I love it in our coffee (as well as on ice cream, cakes, cookies… heck, I’ve even seen him eat it right out of the bowl!).

(Continued Below the Whipped Cream!)

Homemade Whipped Cream

Homemade Whipped Cream (Recipe) 

First of all, I fell in love with the fact that all I had to do was put all of the ingredients into the bowl and that the Kitchenaid did the rest. My right arm marveled at something being beaten without it feeling the burden.

However, if the results had been the same, I would have stayed loyal to my handheld for the rest of my life.

The results were not even remotely the same. My homemade whipped cream has always been delicious but this time it had a MUCH better consistency – a consistency that made it look better and, somehow, even taste better. I remember picking it up with a spoon and thinking how much it looked like store-bought whipped cream. My handheld never did that!

Then it hit me… if the Kitchenaid stand mixer (Amazon link) makes this big of a difference with something as simple as whipped cream, imagine the difference it can make with cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, divinity, fudge… that was it. I was sold.

Yes, a Kitchenaid stand mixer  is more expensive than hand held mixers and, yes, for most of us, they’re somewhat of an investment. But here’s the thing, if the meals we make for our loved ones aren’t worth it, nothing is.

I would never recommend anything to my readers that I don’t absolutely love and use. I’d never suggest you buy something unless I knew you’d love it – I’m just not built that way.

I 100 percent believe you will love a  Kitchenaid stand mixer (Amazon link) and recommend buying one before Thanksgiving and Christmas show up in your home! From what I’ve read, other stand mixers do not hold a candle to the Kitchenaid brand, so I wouldn’t get sidetracked there, if I were you. Kitchenaid is a household name and know I know why.

See Also: Recipe for the Best Whipped Cream!

KitchenAid

KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Halloween Dishtowels: Yes… My Mind IS Already on Halloween!

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How cute and colorful are these Halloween dish towels (Amazon link)??!! From everything I’ve seen (online and in stores), plaid is huge this year. Personally, I love it every year, but I’m seeing it everywhere this year – especially in black and white.

One of my biggest kitchen quirks and obsessions is dish towels. I celebrate each season with coordinating towels on the oven handle for show and in the drawer for go!

I can’t wait to add this set of three beauties to the rotation.  They’re 100 percent cotton, machine washable (tumble on low in a dryer) and measure 18×28 inches.

While I plan to use them in the kitchen, they’d also be ideal for a bathroom.

See Halloween dish towels (Amazon link) for a closer look and for more information. These are just so darn cute!

 

ADORABLE Halloween Candy Dishes

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It’s September 1st so, in my little world anyway, that means it’s officially Halloween Season! It’s such a deliciously fun time of year, why wait for October when you can start now and have TWO months of fun instead of one?!

This incredibly creative and adorable Witch Broom with Hats (Amazon link) set is available on Amazon and I couldn’t throw it into my cart fast enough. I, personally, envision candy in the little hat dishes but they’d be just as wonderful with pretzels, popcorn, nuts… just about anything you can imagine.

Features:

  • Perfect for a Halloween buffet or to sit out all autumn.
  • This great-looking, tabletop broom props three ceramic, pumpkin-shaped bowls for serving up all kinds of goodies from candy to popcorn.
  • Very unique… I’ve never seen anything quite like this!
  • It brings a fun and festive Halloween atmosphere to your whole home.
  • A beautiful, eye-catching addition to any room… okay, maybe not the bathroom… unless, of course, you put colorful miniature soaps in the hats.

See Witch Broom with Hats (Amazon link) for a closer look. You’re going to love this as much as I do!

Porcelain Butter Dish for Perfectly Spreadable Butter Every Single Time

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Most of the time I write about products, foods, or drinks I have already tried but ever now and then (like today) I have something on my mind I’m so excited about I have to tell you about it or bust.

The handsome Porcelain Butter Dish with a Bamboo Lid (Amazon link) you see here was just tossed in my Amazon cart with the flair of someone who spends entirely too much time on Amazon.

I can’t wait for it to arrive to put it to use. When it’s safe and sound in its new home, I’ll come back here and add photos and thoughts, but for now, I was simply eager to tell you about this beauty as well as butter dishes in general.

Butter dishes used to be a common thing in kitchens. I’m really not sure how or why we gravitated away from them! They originated sometime in the 1800s and, while it certainly didn’t go that far back (!!!), I remember them being used by both of my grandmothers.

I love the idea of butter being available to be used JUST as it should be used… completely spreadable! I’ve run into the cold butter blues three times recently:

  1. My youngest daughter made me some delicious gluten-free strawberry and blueberry muffins a few days ago (no idea how I got so lucky to have her for a daughter, but I’m never sending her back!). Even when the muffins were warm, the cold butter didn’t spread – it just sort of chucked itself on there. It was an even bigger disaster when I tried to butter a cold muffin. I had to break off pieces of butter and place them strategically onto said muffin.
  2. I had a piping hot bowl of oatmeal and, after adding butter, it was no longer piping hot but just kind of warm.
  3. Okay, three words: gluten-free bread. Or would that be two words?? Anyway, if you’re familiar with gluten-free bread, you know it’s not at all easy to live with. If (Heaven forbid!) you want to butter it, it will fall apart faster than a 13 year old girl who’s certain her life is over when her friend moves away.

Each of these situations would be completely taken care of with a butter dish – the butter will be room temperature and ready, willing, and able to be spread on bread, muffins, or biscuits or added to a hot bowl of oatmeal without giving it the big chill.

Anyone who (like me) only uses butter would never even think about asking, “Why not just use margarine?” but others unfamiliar with the superiority of the taste and health benefits of butter might be tempted to ask this very question. If you’re still in the margarine crowd, I beg you to start buying and using real butter. The taste is so superior it’ll blow you away.

A few of the things I love Most About this Butter Dish:

  • Perfect Groove for the Knife Right in the Lid. The knife is always handy to use when you need it, so you don’t have to go digging through drawers like a frantic kitchen elf. There are few roles I hate assuming more than a frantic kitchen elf looking for something she needs right now!
  • Large Size. I’ve seen some butter dishes where you’d do well to get half a stick inside – this one has more than enough room.
  • Porcelain. This gorgeous Butter Dish is porcelain, meaning it’s easy to clean and made to last.
  • Perfect for any Decor, or Color Scheme. I admit it, I change the “vibe” or “energy” of my kitchen often – each season and holiday brings with it its own special colors, knick knacks, and festivity. This great looking butter dish will go with cupid’s hearts, spring flowers, Easter eggs, summer bouquets, Fourth of July flags, ghosts and goblins, turkeys, snowmen, Santa, and everything in between. In fact, the notorious elf on a shelf might just use this for his first perch this season. Seems like something he’d do.

Click through for a closer look at the beautiful Porcelain Butter Dish with a Bamboo Lid (Amazon link).

 

Wooden Salad Bowls: I am Completely on a Mission to Find One!

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Salad

Bacon Salad

One of the things most associated with me is my intense love for salads and soup. In winter and fall, it’s soup… in spring and summer, it’s salads. We are officially in salad season now, so my mind is utterly consumed with new vegetable and ingredient combinations and possibilities, new ideas for dressing recipes, etc.

This year I have something else consuming my salad-loving mind…. wooden salad bowls – large AND individual serving size. Basically I want ALL THE WOODEN BOWLS and I want them now!

I just bought a small set of wooden bowls on Amazon for food prep, yogurt, and sundaes. When they were delivered, I discovered that I loved them even more than I expected to. So… yeah… now I’m on a mission to greatly expand my wooden dish collection.

Below are a few of my favorite ones I’ve seen on Amazon. When you click through, of course, you will find a goldmine of others to choose from.





See why I’m so obsessed?!?!?!

T-Fal Signature Nonstick 12 Piece Cookware Set

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When it comes to pots, pans, and kitchen appliances (big and small), I am as brand-loyal as it gets. I figure, if I’m going to spend money on something, I want to make certain it’s something that…

  • I’ll love
  • will serve me well
  • will last
  • won’t make me regret it!

T-fal is one of the names I go to again and again and again. I have never bought a T-fal product and regretted it for a second. In fact, each time I use a T-fal pan, I ask myself, “Why would anyone buy any other brand?”

A bit overly-dramatic and flowery, but true.

Oddly enough, I have never (yet) bought a T-fal collection of pans. I always buy them piece by piece which, if we’re being honest, doesn’t make a lot of sense because that’s a sure-fire way to spend more money than if you bought them in a great collection.

The T-fal Signature Nonstick Cookware Set  (12-Pieces) pictured  here is making me see the error of my ways and I can’t wait to add it to my already healthy T-fal collection. I love that this set includes a Dutch oven and griddle – I don’t have either one of these and can’t wait to cook pancakes to celebrate their arrival in their new forever home. I make pancakes, fried eggs, and French toast regularly and a griddle is absolutely the way to go.

T-fal Signature Nonstick Cookware Set Features

  • Set includes: 7.75 inch and 11 inch fry pans, 1 quart and 2 quart sauce pans with lids, a 5.5 quart Dutch oven with lid, a 10.25 inch griddle, and a spoon, ladle, and slotted spatula
  • Dishwasher safe: Easy to clean and dishwasher safe cookware set; Nonstick interior and exterior for low fat cooking and easy cleaning
  • Use and care: Safe for all cooking methods except induction; PFOA, Lead, and Cadmium free. Wash the frying pan in hot water and washing-up liquid to remove any dust. Dry it and rub a little cooking oil into the non-stick coating before using for the first time
  • Heats evenly: With our thermo spot indicator, know when our T fal pan is ready for use; Oven safe up to 350 Fahrenheit
  • Ergonomic heat resistant handles for a comfortable grip; Vented tempered glass lids trap in heat and moisture

The fact that T-fal is easy to clean and dishwasher safe make me love it even more.

See  T-fal Signature Nonstick Cookware Set  (Amazon link) for a lot more details, pictures, and a video explaining the brilliance of the T-fal Thermo Spot. As soon as my set arrives, I’ll post the review. I don’t have to tell you what an AMAZING Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift this would make!


Summer Kitchen Towels, for that Summer State of Mind!

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I told my youngest daughter, Stephany, recently that I don’t think I’ve ever looked so forward to spring and summer in my life as I did this past winter. I mean, for one thing, I absolutely love winter and everything about it (Christmas, snow, fuzzy sweaters, hot chocolate, soup, curling up under a warm throw while watching movies with my husband…)

And yet, all January and February, all I could think about was baseball, grilled hamburgers, my flower beds, trips to the lake, watermelon, butterflies, bees, and feeling the warm sun on my face.

Suffice to say, I am as happy as a cat in a bed of catnip now that the weather is warmer!

As I’ve often said on the food blog, I love to decorate seasonally – changing towels, knick-knacks, and so forth with the seasons and upcoming holidays. I’ve been looking on Amazon for more summerlicious kitchen towels and…. tada!… like any shopper who puts her heart into her work, I have had success.

I’m including a few of my favorite towel finds, here, in case you are as ready as I am to embrace summer like it’s never been embraced before!

Details for the Watermelon Towel Set Above:

  • Polyester
  • Imported
  • Soft Material : 100% High-quality durable fibers, machine washable & tumble dry, ultra-soft so they won’t scratch your delicate cookware, plates, pots, or pans
  • Highly Absorbent : Absorbent enough for drying, cleaning, scrubbing or achieving any other household task. Keep absorbent even after multiple machine cycles
  • Includes : Brand new set of 2 stylish dish towels/tea towels 18 X 28 Inches (45cm X 75cm), long-lasting durability and performance
  • Kitchen Decor : Add flair to your kitchen decor with Artoid Mode colorful kitchen dish towels. Perfect for all of your daily drying and cleaning kitchen jobs
  • Unique Cute Design : Printed with stylish, unique and cute patterns. It is the perfect combination of seasonal decor and daily cleaning

I also love the Hello, Summer towels pictured on the right. I’ve already ordered popsicle molds to make plenty of healthy popsicles for my grandbabies (as well as the grown-up family members who love them just as much). Not only can you use organic juice to make healthier popsicles, you can add bits of fruit and even use yogurt to make creamy popsicles. I’m pretty sure I’m as excited about them as anyone.

These towels will be perfect for a popsicle-filled summer!

These colorful polyester kitchen towels, like the ones above, come in a set of two and measure  18 X 28 Inches (45cm X 75cm).


Great New Obsession: Silicone Loaf Pans!

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Silicone Pans

Silicone Loaf Pans

These Silicone Bread Loaf Pans are my newest obsession. Obviously, these silicone pans are available in many colors, from many different companies but these beauties happen to be from SILIVO, sold on Amazon. I’ve always been a huge Amazon shopper, but since the pandemic, I shop almost exclusively online and Amazon is the one I trust the most. They proved their reliability again this past Christmas – of the different online stores I ordered gifts from, they are the only one who had everything delivered in time to wrap and give for Christmas.

I’m still waiting on a few things (that I ordered in November) from Zulily! I know it’s a pandemic and things are slower… but dang.

These silicone pans are everything you hope for them to be when you buy them – they bake perfectly, nothing sticks (HATE STICKING!), cleanup is a breeze, and… to be perfectly honest.. they just look downright gorgeous in the cabinets.

Product Description from Amazon:

  • Set of 2：2 pack silicone bread&loaf pans
  • Multi-Purpose:Size:8.9×3.7×2.5 inches
  • Perfect for Bread, Cake, Brownies, Rice crispy treats, Meatloaf, Cobbler cake, Lasagna, Fruit cakes, Quiche, Pot Pies and more
  • 100% Food Grade Silicone: The silicone cake pan constructed of high-quality Eco-friendly 100 % pure food grade silicone, conforms to the American quality.
  • Non-stick Pan: The flexible silicone and non-stick finish allow for easy and quick release of baked goods and desserts, stain- and odor-resistant.
  • Easy Life: Fridge,Microwave & Oven safe
  • Operating temperature:-20℉~450℉(-30℃~230℃).
  • Easily hand wash by warm soapy or put in dishwasher.

While the Silicone Bread Loaf Pans are ideal for bread (lemon loaves, zucchini bread, banana nut bread, sourdough bread, cranberry orange bread..), my favorite uses may be meatloaf, brownies, and fudge. It may seem unusual to cook brownies in a loaf-size pan, but I had rather divide my brownie mix among two loaf pans than one 8×8 pan – you get more uniform cooking. Nothing messes with a chocoholic’s day quite like baking brownies that are smooshy in the middle and hard around the edges.

Silicone pans, by their very nature, make it all but impossible for brownies to pull off this trick.

I love the same approach to fudge and, again, the silicone beautifully keeps anything from sticking.

(Review Continued Below…)

Silicone Bread Loaf Pans

Silicone Loaf Pans

You can click through to take a closer look at the beautiful Silicone Bread Loaf Pans  shown here. While there, be sure to check out the other silicone cookware and kitchen tools. I am on a mission to cover my kitchen in silicone pans and gadgets – I love them that much.

Testing them out will give me something to do while waiting for my Zulily order!


An INGENIOUS Way to Prepare and Eat Chicken: Where Has this Method Been all My Life?!

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Chopped Chicken Buffalo Burgers

Chopped Chicken Burgers, Topped with White Cheddar Cheese

I’ve become somewhat obsessed (make that pretty darn obsessed) with something lately that began as an experiment and ended with a full-on feeling of, “Why haven’t I been doing this forever?!”

Quick little backstory: I have a hiatal hernia which, while not a huge deal, can be annoying when it comes to certain foods – dense meats and bread in particular. Imagine trying to get a meatball through a coffee stirring straw… that’s how these foods can feel when you have a hiatal hernia that happens to be acting up at the time.

I had given chicken up entirely for quite a few months when I saw a cooking video on YouTube from one of my favorites, Sam the Cooking Guy (I’ll post this particular video below because I very much want you to see it). In the video, Sam took chicken and, using only his knife, cut it up exceptionally small, then formed patties with it in his hands and cooked it pretty much as you would a hamburger.

The first thing to hit my mind was that this process should make the chicken less “dense” and, since it’s the density that gives me problems, it may actually allow me to add chicken (which I love) back into my world.

I was so intrigued that I LITERALLY drove to the store and bought some chicken to try that very night. I was kind of holding my breath about a few things:

  • I found it hard to believe that it would stay together for me and actually make a chicken burger (it DID!).
  • I was afraid that my hernia would act up, even though the process made the chicken “feel” less dense (it DID NOT!)

I’ve used this process now about 7-8 times and come to love it even more each time. I normally make the patties and fry them in a little combination of butter and olive oil (my “go to” for cooking almost everything in the skillet), however today I used a combination of butter and avocado oil and they were amazing.

(Continued Below…)

Chopped Chicken

Seasoned Chopped Chicken, Ready to Party!

I’ve cooked chicken this way for…

  1. Chicken Parmesan – I add rosemary, basil, and thyme to the chicken and top it with marinara sauce and cheese. Delicious.
  2. Buffalo Chicken Burgers (Pictured Above) – Cooked as I normally do but topped the patties with buffalo sauce and blue cheese, and served, of course, with lots of celery.
  3. Regular Chicken burgers – cooked as it is in the video below. It makes outstanding chicken burgers.

Naturally, if you don’t have to eat gluten-free, like me, feel free to put your chicken burgers on buns. I imagine that would be crazy delicious!

(Continued Below….)

Chicken Thinly Sliced

Thinly Sliced Chicken will Cut Your Chopping Time in Half

A Few Tips:

  • If you’re able to buy thinly sliced chicken, doing so will cut your chopping time in half.
  • Most of the time, I chop in green bell pepper and onion (the combination is crazy good with these chopped chicken burgers) but they’re outrageously delicious without extras too.
  • When you’ve formed the balls, use a large spoon to “gently pat” them down, forming burgers (picture below).
  • When chopping my chicken, I season him on the chopping board- my reasoning is that, as I cut through him, the seasonings reach every nook and cranny.
  • Paprika is one of my favorite seasonings to use for chicken burgers – along with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, they turn out delicious each and every time.

Chicken Burgers

Use a Spoon to Flatten the Burgers Gently Into Place

While I use a plain old chopping board and sharp knife for making these chicken burgers, I’ve been researching meat grinders and found one on Amazon for under $40 (pictured below).

While I don’t at all mind using my knife and cutting board on the weekend, suppertime on weekdays need to be prepped and on the table fast. Last time I was cutting (and cutting and cutting!) the chicken, I reminded myself to check for meat grinders.  Because of the nature of raw chicken, I want one that’ll only be used for raw chicken. I think my food processor would probably do the trick, but frankly, I like keeping anything and everything I use for raw chicken separate from everything else.

Yes, I know it’s a ridiculous way to be – but it’s a mental wrinkle I can’t quite iron out.

So, I researched  meat grinders, price-checked, and all that jazz and have found the one I love (pictured on the right).

This is the Homeasy Meat Grinder (Amazon link) and should make food prep my weeknight chicken suppers quicker. This food grinder is equipped with 4 stainless steel blades and 2 modes to choose from.

You can chop or grind a variety of foods such as onions, meat, ham, garlic, onion, small herbs…

It’s equipped with a stainless steel bowl. The joint connection between blade and the main body is made of stainless steel unlike other plastic one thus the blade is not easy to break off.

While this is the one I have decided to go with, there are, of course, many different meat grinders on Amazon – different sizes, different prices, some manual/some electric. You can find exactly the one you’re looking for.

I look forward to giving this grinder a forever home in my kitchen – I promise it a steady diet of chicken.

Here’s the Sam the Cooking Guy Video: