I love to read other blogger reviews and giveaways! You may see some of my easy cooking tips and recipes, but you definatley will see other blogs I like and maybe even some info on giveaways!

Monday, April 18, 2011

I finally got a crepe pan!

I have been making crepes for my family for several years now, but always using my regular cooking pan.  However, my wonderful hubby recently purchased an everyday crepe pan which he purchased on Amazon for $25.  I was so happy to have one as it makes flipping the crepes much easier!   For those of you who may be thinking that crepes are too hard to make, you are wrong!  Yes, the first several crepes I made were not pretty, but still tasted good.  You get the hang of it the more crepes you make.  Personally, I love the versatility of using crepes.  Desert crepes, cheesey crepes, or even flavored crepes are all hits on my household.

My fridge was stocked full of fresh fruit after a visit to our local farmers market, so I choose to make homemade whipped creme and fruit filled crepes.

The crepe pan I am using is Cuisinart Model#623-24 10" pan.

To make a simple crepe mix, I use this recipe:
Ingredients
3/4 cup cold milk
3/4 cup cold water
3 eggs
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil

In a blender or mixing bowl with whisk, combine all ingredients except for the cooking oil till it's thin in consistency. Refrigerate the batter for at least 1 hour. Lightly brush the skillet with oil and place over medium-high heat. I make sure the pan is hot then simply pour about 1/4 cup of batter in the middle of the pan and quickly tilt the pan in all directions to evenly distribute the batter. You want the pan to be coated with the mixture, but thinly coated.  It should not be thick, like a pancake.  When slightly brown on the underside, turn the crepe with a spatula onto the other side and cook for a few seconds. Remove from pan by sliding it out gently onto a plate.

You can sprinkle the plate with some powered sugar, then place some fresh fruit or preserves on the inside.  Fold the crepe over and add more topping.

I included some fresh homemade whipped cream, but you can omit that if you prefer.  My filling was so simple.  I simply sliced up some fresh strawberries, added some lingonberry preserves which i microwaved for 30 seconds, then mixed them together.

Royal Treatment from Elegant Touch & Biolage

I want to share a great experience that my fellow Mommy Blogger singleparentretreat was lucky enough to share with me!  The royal treatment from Biolage and Elegant Touch Salon was just wonderful for a mommy's evening out and not to mention, my hair! We were given a deep conditioning treatment and a beautiful hair styling by the staff at Elegant Touch Salon.  Yes, they treated us like queens!  Yummy pastries, good conversations, and such a cute salon with lots of style (no pun intended).  In addition, they even sent us off with goodies! 
I would also like to thank SheSpeaks for coordinating the event.  

Click on my heading for photos and more information!


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Reviews and Giveaways

The other day  I had such a great surprise in the mail. A fantastic $15 Starbucks Gift Card!!  No wait - you d on't understand!  I am a Starbucks junkie!  So this was such a perfect gift for a stay at home mom on a budget.  My fellow blogger and friend at  singleparentretreat recommended me to a blog/site on a few occasions and I finally got around to checking them out.  The first time I was poking around their site, I found a giveaway for the card and decided to enter.  Wow!  I truly am one of those people who never win anything so t his was such a nice surprise.  Well, this leads me to my new addiction of looking for great reviews and giveaways on the web.

It sounds corny, but truly I have also educated myself on some great products and vendors out there I never knew existed before.   You can learn how to save money, eat cheap, buy green products, get car deals, household tips, unique gifts, and anything you could possibly think about.

A special Thanks to Phillymomstimeout for my gift card!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Green Bean Recipe Courtesy Paula Deen

I loved this recipe because it was easy and healthful. I was looking for something specifically for green beans (which i bought fresh ones yesterday. This was made for lunch which i served along side a sausage and cheese quiche that I made this morning. My kids loved it, but one of them felt it was a bit "bitter". I attribute this to the garlic, so I would make it again but minus the garlic. Did I mention, it was easy too!

Last year, Paula came to our state fair and of course we got tickets to see her! My 6 year old absolutely loves to watch her on TV so it was so exiting to watch her watching her live. No joke, but if you ask her if she wants to watch Paula Deen or Hannah Montana, she will literally respond - "a little bit of butta!" Did I mention she really loves Hannah too?

Get the recipe

Sharing one of my favorite products - Alexia Foods

Well, Today I came across a great excuse to go buy more great frozen Sweet Potato fries from Alexia Foods....a $1 off coupon on 1 item! I love coupons and savings so I jumped on this opportunity. I printed my coupon and I think I'm going to try their new Sweet Potato Puffs (or tater tots to most of you out there!).

I just love incorporating sweet potatoes in when I can because my entire family does not like baked sweet potatoes. So, buying a frozen product helps! We all do love their sweet potato fries and now I have an excuse to buy tater tots! Yippee!!

Alexia Foods