Sliced just right

Tip Tuesday:

Well summer is soon to be upon us and I'm loving all the strawberries in the house! Today is Tip Tuesday and to be honest with you I'm feeling kinda fresh out of tips lately. That was until I found myself asking, "what little things do I do to save me time." I just happened to be using my egg slicer to cut strawberries. It's a simple thing to share but I've learned that this thing can save a lot of time cutting. It not only cuts strawberries beautifully but also olives, kiwi and of course hard boiled eggs. I have the Pampered Chef model but I'm sure any egg slicer will do. Maybe you knew this already, but if not ~ now ya know :-)

As always if you have a tip to share ~ drop a comment or send me an email!

Confessions of a True Addict

Yep, true confessions of an addict. An addict of cheese! I'm a cheese monster at it's worst. Don't believe in such a thing?.... keep reading. While compiling the weekly shopping list it hit me - I love cheese waaay to much. Well let me clarify I'm not a big fan of stinky cheese like Blue or Gorgonzola. BUT Cheddar, Swiss, American, Munster etc. etc. etc., oooh and nothing beats warm baked brie. And though it's not really a cheese what about bakers cheese in cheese danish - mmm. Ok I slid that one in, LOL.

Being pregnant I miss some of the softer cheeses that I enjoy to eat like Laughing Cow. Yes I'm one of the weirdos who enjoy mixed greens with strawberries, figs and warm toasted goat's cheese topped with an almond vinaigrette. I'm a big fan of unwrapping the warm baked gooey goodness of brie smeared on wheat crackers. Oh trust me, the ultimate date with The Mr. is a good hike up to the top of a local mountain where there's a clearing, and hunkering down for a nice romantic snack of (red wine, baked brie w/ wheat crackers, stuffed grape leaves & grapes) [salivating] cheesy goodness.

It was the sales flier that brought me to this realization of being a total cheese addict. I opened it to see if cheese was on sale. OK Seriously! I buy shredded cheese and stick a pack in the freezer b/c I'm always using cheese in something. I know - it's true I'm a cheese addict. I even find myself loving Cheez-Its and Goldfish type of snacks. Let's not forget the classics like momma's homemade mac n' cheese. I make a killer one, or grilled cheese (with real not processed cheese singles).

And as you might have guessed I have to incorporate my fair share of non-binding foods to my diet. Things like Fiber One cereal, phobic yogurts and fiber in my water bottle are a must to counteract the grand amounts of digested cheeses. Maybe that's a little TMI for you. It's not something I'm necessarily proud of and therefore am not blog bragging about. LOL, however I'm probably the only blogger you know that will give you the resources of Cheese.com, where you can find everything and anything you ever wanted to know about, yes cheese. And what about the website I Love Cheese, where they have a special tab just for folks like me - cheese lovers! I have to recognize the first step in addiction is admitting the problem. So here I am on the internet taking my first step - Hi, I'm Rebecca (pause) and I'm addicted to cheese.
I hope you are seeing the humor in this.

Here's an honest to goodness true story. While visiting my sister out in TX, sitting in front of the tube flicking channels b/c not a thing was on- life was good. It was about 10:30 pm and my sister and her husband were shortly on their way to bed, but staying up to try to be a bit more hospitable. My sister, tried to stay awake even though her eyes were closing due to being a new mother, was giving the channels one more surf.
In a flash my mouth said, "Stop here"!
It was either Discovery or Food Network featuring a show on - you guessed it, cheese. Now I have to inform you that both my sister and her husband are lactose intolerant. Though they like cheese, they go without and don't really miss it. That would be torture for me! We stuck with the show on cheese probably due to the excitement that had burst out of my mouth. You might be surprised to know, they stayed with me as we learned about how Swiss gets its holes.
Interesting to me, it was indeed. Needless to say they didn't stick around to finish watching the program in its entirety. Off to bed they went yawning their good nights. Ah, well. Though the cheese program held their interest all of 15 min (with commercials), an hour later I on the other hand was full of cheese facts and random knowledge. Is that sick or what? Yeah, I know! LOL!
So what's a girl to do? Will this addiction eventually catch up with me? Should I consult my Dr. on the long term effects of cheese overdosing? Should I even be considering these things?

LOL, I hope this made you chuckle. Happy Wednesday!

OK, so everyone's got a vice. Maybe yours is more the confessions of a chocoholic? Drop me an email or comment and do share!

My-Goodness Meatloaf!

I mean, meatloaf muffins :-)
So I saw this elsewhere and can't take credit for the idea but, and it's a big but I have added my own variation to the original recipe.

Meatloaf is so easy almost goof proof, and yet can get so boring after a while. Soo I opted to mix it up a bit and (like my bio states) experiment by cooking meatloaf in muffin pans. When I came across the idea it was a plug for easy perfect meal portions - fun for kids. It's true I love to have these on hand so I make extra and keep some in the freezer. I don't eat beef so I make mine with either ground lean turkey or chicken. I also add in extra veggies so I don't need to think about adding a vegetable when serving them at a later date. Usually I'll put chopped onion rather than using onion powder, chopped broccoli and carrots in addition to the standard meatloaf recipe.

I have no special recipe that I use to make my meatloaf muffins. I usually use the old standard Better Home & Garden cook book's version and shave down the cooking time from 45 min. to 15/20 min.
When ready to plate we usually toss some roasted sweet taters on the side with sea salt.
I hate touching meat so I use this tool to mix the meatloaf together. Yes another great kitchen gadget that I love, made by none other than The Pampered Chef. As previously mentioned, it's the cool kitchen gadgets that I get use that keep me interested in cooking. That and hunger pains. LOL

So I'd be silly not to at least leave you with the base meatloaf recipe after all this.
From Better Home & Garden Cook Book:

1 egg
1/4 C whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 C milk
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped carrots
1/4 C chopped broccoli
1/2 teasp thyme, basil, oregano and or sage
1 Lb ground meat of choice (beef, chicken, turkey)
2 tblsp Ketchup or to your liking

A Mexican twist is to sub taco sauce or salsa in place of ketchup and corn, green peppers sweet onion in place of the other veggies mentioned. Oh and I also use some taco seasoning & cilantro in place of the Italian basil, oregano seasoning. Breadcrumbs are replaced with crushed tortilla chips. Because I am a firm believer everything is better with cheddar, I top these muffins with cheddar. I'm still experimenting with this but, here's about what's worked in the past.

1 C chopped green bell pepper
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C corn (frozen works just fine)
1/2 C tortilla chips finely crushed (Fun, place measured chips in ziplock bag releasing as much air as possible, seal and walk over the chips to crush - it's rewarding)
1/4 C taco sauce or salsa
2 tsp taco seasoning (from packet)
1 Lb ground meat
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp dried cilantro

Everything gets mashed together except cheddar goes on top. I pop these muffins in the oven for 15-20 min at around 350 and presto, we've got din din.

I must admit that I don't really measure all the time while cooking. At times I use a little more taco seasoning or salsa. Kinda a give or take sort of thing. I'm sorry if that frustrates you. I've never been the kinda cook that plays by the rules. I've had my share of goofs but for the most part I often wing it :-)

I'd love to hear if you have a family favorite meatloaf recipe or tricks to spice up an old familiar family favorite.
Cheers to fun times in the kitchen!

Mixin' It Up In The Kitchen

Ok so I am willing to admit that I'm not the best in the kitchen when it comes to creating and serving five star meals but, I will confess that I'm addicted to kitchen gadgets. Whenever The Mr. steps in to assist I'm always saying, "wait stop, there's a tool for that job". I think it drives him a little bonkers.
So the night before last was taco night. I have not had the mix n' masher for very long and so when I get to use it I'm like a little kid in a toy store. The Mr. chuckled when he overheard me saying, "wow I love this thing it really works!" I was so enthused that I figured I would share it with my blog readers.
Mix N' Masher in use,
So the concept is that you mix and mash your ground meat as it cooks just as the name suggests. In my opinion it keeps the ground meat from clumping and evens out cooking. If you are interested in getting yourself one you can purchase from The Pampered Chef. My friend and consultant Megan would be more than happy to help you obtain one. On the other hand you may think I'm quite silly for even mentioning it. Believe it or not I think it's all the wonderful kitchen gadgets I get to use that keep me enthused about cooking. I'm quite a sucker for them, especially when they get the job done, easier, quicker and more efficiently. L.O.L, this probably won't be the only gadget to make it's guest appearance on my blog. Happy cooking!

Fun Find for the Bakers

Bake Or Break

I'm not one to say I honestly like to bake. I'd rather cook than bake and play with flour. I'm not very confident and the thought of working so hard only to put on a few extra pounds in desserts doesn't interest me that much. Oh don't get me wrong, I love sweets! After all I'm of Danish descent. I always tell The Mr. that it's not my fault that I love cheese danish - it's in my blood. LOL. Yes I love eating the sweets just not much of a baker. Though every now and again I give it a whirl.
I found this blog today and just about fell off my chair when I read the subtitle, Adventures in Amateur Baking. Sounds like me all right. A fun find you might enjoy. For a recipe off this website, click on the link above to visit the site. Than click under the recipe's title for a printable format - I like that set up! We've been snowed in for the day so I thought I'd try to find some kitchen inspiration. Boy those Caramel Bars are quite the tease aren't they :-o