Dig it: Big Bad Food Processor… I love it!

I bake.  It’s who I am, it’s what I do.  However, pie crust has always been my nemesis… that is until a new love came into my life.  His name is Hamilton Beach 12 cup food processor and we are in love (at least I am!)

You see, I have attempted many a pie crust over the years and they have always been, shall we say, a disgusting mess.  Then one day while watching the food channel I saw Emeril make a pie crust in the food processor.  Hot dog!  I could do that!  So I set out to get a food processor.  But do you have any idea how much those things cost?  They had inexpensive ones for around $35, but most of them were more like $150 which made me think the cheap ones MUST be crappy.  So I settled for a little 3 cup food processor.  DON’T FALL FOR THIS!  Those things are about as worthwhile as a big knife but take 3 times as long to clean.  Plus, they are barely big enough to chop a peanut, let alone make a pie crust!  So I continued buying frozen pie crust from the grocery store and insisting to everyone that I made it.  Deceitful, I know, but I did bake it!

Finally, about a month ago I’d had enough.  I was going to get a big food processor.  I still can’t afford a kitchen appliance that costs $150, so I decided what the heck, I probably won’t use it that much, I’ll just get a cheap one.  And let me tell you!  I made the best pie crust ever!  Then I made the best scones ever!  Then I made a whole bunch of other stuff that I used to mix up by hand and it was the best ever!

So the moral to the story?  If you don’t have a big food processor, you need one.  And don’t you dare spend a bunch of money on one with a fancy label, because Mr. Hamilton Beach is all you need!

Dig It! Bissell Little Green®ProHeat

There’s nothing that I like more than cleaning up dog poo out of the carpet.  Except of course when dog steps in poo and then runs to the front door, and poos some more.  Yeah we had a sick dog this weekend.  And needless to say IT WAS AWESOME.  Saturday Dustin spent the morning cleaning up, and Sunday was my day.  So 6am here I am giving poo dog a bath, and then spending copious amounts of time trying to clean everything up.  When I think to my self…tiny baby girl crawling around on floor…yeah I need something more effective.

Enter Bissell Little Green ProHeat.

(also found out if you are going to go to Walieworld on a weekend, 7:30am is an excellent time to do so)

Got home, spent 1.7 minutes taking it out of the box and putting it together.  and I was off and running.  Very easy to use, love the Rotating TurboBrush, wouldn’t get one without it.  Cleaned up fairly large, 8 inch squared, and then small ones say a foot shaped poo print, and I was very pleased with the result.  The only thing I would recommend to Bissell is a more ergonomic handle.  Say if you are going to clean spots in the bedroom, down the hall, huge spots in the living room, and a hidden one in the kids room, you need to be able to do so comfortably.  Overall, I am in love with it, and look forward to tackling some high traffic areas before company comes!

Dig it! Pandora.com

I have a confession to make.  I heart my Laurie Berkner Band Pandora Radio station(two links in the sentence, check them out unless you know what I am talking about then read on my friend).  Yes, I am tempted to listen to it when I don’t have kids around.  And no that doesn’t make me proud.  BUT it does make me happy to have a station to play when we want to dance, or color, or…whatever that has super happy music, that is awesome for both kids and parents to listen to.  I have used Pandora for a while, but was trying to think of fun stuff for Ben and Mara and I to listen to.  I totally dig it.  Give it a listen, or just make up a station of your own. (if you don’t know what Pandora is, seriously check them out)

Error: Barbie Mermaid Falls bathtoy

Yesterday was my kid’s fifth birthday. ! Yeah ! Five ! *Astonished eyebrow raise*

For the last year she has been obsessed with idea of taking a giftcard and getting to pick out a toy from Target all by herself after her cousin got to for his birthday. She talked about maybe getting a play guitar or a dress up outfit and I was sort of pumped about either of these options SO I got her 30 bucks to spend and we went  after school to Target. After much deliberation she choose this. I hate it! We got home with a matching Barbie mermaid you can buy separately and she instantly wanted to get in the bath with it. SHE WAS SUPERPUMPED! First of all- none of the suctions really work on it.UGH! So it falls down constantly. I reattached it the the wall maybe thirty times last night.  And the barbie doesn’t actually fit in the swing and the swing breaks every five minutes. Oh yeah, and the slide falls off too. Alot. More than acceptable. Today I set it up for her in the kitchen in a  plastic tub so she didn’t dry out from another bath (In Minnesota, body moisture is the holy grail) and she is currently playing with it. As I sit here I can hear it falling off the side of the tub or breaking but Ella has quit asking me to fix it because she fears I am very close to throwing it in the snow. Its a horrible little toy. Don’t buy it. It will only cause heartbreak.

Trial: Hershey’s Bliss

Today I picked up both the milk chocolate and dark chocolate versions of Hershey’s Bliss. The verdict is good and okay.  I am a big fan of dark chocolate, but I would pass these up next time. They aren’t bad by any means, but there is better dark chocolate out there in the same price category.   The milk chocolate version on the other hand is worth picking up.  The milk chocolate has a very rich taste and a nice smoothness that makes it different than say a kiss or chocolate bar.   It is a nice sized serving, so you really feel like you had a nice decadent break.

Success! Making Caramel Popcorn with no Corn Syrup

So tonight I wanted to make some caramel pop corn, but as my title states, I had no corn syrup….what’s a girl to do? Well after a quick google search I discovered Honey Caramel Popcorn, and holy crap is it good!!  Pretty quick and easy too!  I would totally recomend as a slightly different than you are used to snack!  I liked it so well in fact I sent a couple of bags over to the new neighbors.  Here is the recipe.  I used the zest from a whole medium sized orange which ended up being more like 2 teaspoons, and it wasn’t too much.  I would highly recomend keeping it in though, as quirky as it sounds, it actually adds the  + to this already A recipe!

Honey Caramel Corn

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 quarts popped corn

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Melt butter in LARGE pan, stir in sugar, honey and salt. Cook and stir until mixture comes to boil. Reduce heat to medium boil without stirring about 3 minutes to 250 degrees. Remove from heat stir in baking soda and orange peel, put popcorn in large bowl and pour mixture over corn while stirring. Turn on to cookie sheet bake for 45 minutes stir every 15 minutes. Let cool. Break up with hands. Store in airtight containers or resealable plastic bags.

Homage to Target and IKEA

Well the holidays are over, and the wrapping paper is recycled and the leftovers are done and spoiled in the back of the fridge, and the tree is by the road. City of Minneapolis will pick that up right? Hmmm, that seems important to know…

Jenny and me had the super awesome opportunity to spend time together over Christmas and luckily we got to spend time at both Target and Ikea. Some of our favorite bargain/cute cheap crap stores. Here are a few highlights from both store recently.

At Ikea I bought a kick ass Lazy Susan (or Lazy Susie as my weirdo husband calls it)  for my round dining room table. It has turned out to a really nice serving tool and plus adds a little more focus to centerpieces on my table. I also bought these for the second time now and I love them. They are the perfect size for most any snack for both the kid and the mom. And they are cute.

For Target- I have to admit. I am obsessed with their Home Design Event.  Sigh. I could spend tons there but alas, I have nones.  I am particularly obsessed with this mirror.  If I had $99.00 that mirror would be hung in my living room like yesterday. I normally don’t get pumped about new furniture and especially Target furniture- but I think the style of this special event is really beautiful.

 

Next week I am writing a post about my love/hate relationship with Apple. It’s going to be SO Jekyll and Hyde. Stay tuned!

Trial Update: Relish!

I know I am late in following up my trial of the grocery/menu service Relish! but I can’t make up my mind.  Some days I like it, some days I don’t.  So here is what I think:

Do like: New recipes, nice concise list that tells me exactly how much of what I need to buy, menu possibilities for the whole week so I don’t have to think I just pick one and cook,  easy to generate menu and list, easy to make exactly enough for that meal, don’t usually have a lot left over, or not enough to feed everyone.

Don’t like: Some of the recipes take way too long to make on a regular weeknight, so if I am not careful I either have a disaster meal because I am trying to hurry it, or we eat at 7:30 (which is too late for little man), concise list is only for dinner so if we want to eat breakfast or lunch or hey even a snack, my concise lists ends up with lots of Jenny’s scribbles adding stuff in here and there, no ability to customize (I wish I could pick and choose the sides as well as the main course, there are some things we will just never eat, and I really like plating a vegetable with every meal).

So is it a sucess?  I don’t know.  It isn’t an error, and for now I am keeping with it…. so I will post an update if I finally make up my mind.

Success: Beating cold weather static

I have longish hair and I hate how cold dry weather means crazy static.  In and out of coats all day, add to that scarves, and sweaters…yeah ridiculous. I pretty much constantly look like I have stuck my finger in a low voltage eletrical outlet.  Last winter I decided to try storing my hairbrush in a dryer sheet.  After brush my hair,  I just wrap one around it, and throw it back in it’s basket.  By the end of the day I do have some static.  But I don’t start the day out with static, and it controls I would say 85% of the shocking properties of dry coldness on any given day.  In my book that = success.

Dig it!: Fisher-Price Shake and Go Racers Batcycle

So while shopping for a birthday present for my nephew who turned 5, I found this Batcycle.   He likes cars and trucks and all things that go vroom, but I have a hard time finding anything cool and different that isn’t a million bucks.  But this one is cool.  And I know this because I had to get Ben one too…. It is a great addition to any 2-6 year olds vehicle collection.  You simply switch it on, pick it up, give it a good shake, and Batman is off to save the day!  Complete with engine revving sounds, and cool Batman sayings, the more you shake it, the further it goes.  Also good to know, it works equally well on carpet and tile, and rarely tips over.  I think it would be the perfect stocking stuffer for any little ‘un this year.   Just make sure to switch it off before stuffing, as even the tinyiest bump will cause Batman to start his engine.