Perfect Bacon Everytime

I love bacon! I like to buy My bacon from the meat section by the pound, it's usually a lot cheaper than commercial brands. I got 1lb of bacon ends at my local grocery, for 1.43

Growing up most of us ate bacon that was pan fried. If you want diner perfect bacon cooking it in the oven is the way to go. I like to cook a whole package, save the liquid gold & put into plastic bags. This makes for quick breakfast & lunches

Preheat the oven to 375

Cover your cookie sheet in foil & lay you bacon strips out flat.
Cook for 20-25 minutes. The bacon will seem soft, but as it cools it will crisp up nicely
After cooking bacon in the oven, trust me You will never go back to frying. It's easier,tastes better & looks better.
Perfect bacon everytime!

* remember to save the drippings (liquid gold) put in small Tupperware & store in fridge. Use it to fry potatoes, sautée green beans or for refried beans


Enjoy!

Easy spicy Meatballs

1lb ground beef
1cup Italian bread crumbs separated in half
1 egg
Crushed chili flakes ( to taste )
1/4c grated parm
Garlic salt ( to taste )
1tbs each dry basil,oregano,rosemary & majoram

Preheat oven to 400

Mix all ingredients together with you hands, using half of bread crumbs. Use a Tablespoon to portion out meat mixture. Roll into balls and roll into reserved bread crumbs. Place into muffin tins & back for 15-20 minute until golden brown


** rolling in breadcrumbs adds a nice crust & helps to soak up sauce.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup Balsamic Vinegar

The Perfect storm..Who would have thought that vine ripened tomatoes & vinegar would make America's # 1 top selling condement.
So where can Heinz go from there? But try & Pefect, perfection, they've added balsamic vinegar to the mix & upgraded basic ketchup. This gives the tomato sauce a deeper more sophisticated color, texture & flavor profile that is very versatile.

Have u tasted this masterpiece?
Pefect for fish..meats, veggies & sauces....

Taco Bell Doritos Taco Loco

Taco Bell is trying some new things this year & has been putting Doritos Taco Loco in the test market.
They are bringing snackers aka smokers lol...two favorite foods together Doritos tortilla chips & Taco Bell tacos.
Switching out their plain corn shell with Your choice of Doritos Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch flavored Taco Shell

Hmmmm...are they reaching too far, or is this a match made in paradise?

What are Your thoughts?

Pizza Hut Dinner Box

Pizza Hut is rolling out the deals since the recession & has decided to market a meal called the Dinner Box, this includes:

2 medium rectangle 1 topping pan pizzas that are cut into squares

8 wings of your choice

5 pieces of garlic parm breadsticks

With mariners & ranch or Blue cheese

For 19.99 this is a great deal & can feed up to 4 people!

Heinz Ketchup Dip & Squeeze

Ketchup packs but better ;) I love ketchup, it's Americas #1 condiment.
Heinz Dip & Squeeze merges restaurant packets and the dip cups into one.
It holds 3X the amount of sauce. You can tear off the top & squeeze out the ketchup or pull back the label and dip into it.

Love em..great for lunches

Smirnoff gets Whipped & Fluffed

Smirnoff has released two new flavors to the world of flavor vodkas: Fluffed Marshmallow & Whipped Cream.
The face of smirnoffs Two new drinks is Miss Amber rose

Happy hangovers...

La Jefa Tequila

Somaya Boss Reece of VH1 Love & basketball is releasing her own Brand of Silver tequila appropriately named "La Jefa" Translation: The Boss! Look for release & distribution late 2011, early 2012
You Go Girl. I'll drink to that

*Pictures courtesy of Somaya Reece

National CupCake Day!!

Today is National CupCake Day. So in Honor of the sweet treat someone decided to go Big....

Baked over the course of 12 hours, the gigantic cup cake was made from 200 lbs of flour, 200 lbs of sugar, 200 lbs of butter and 800 eggs.
When covered with frosting and custard, the one-of-a-kind dessert boasted 2,000,000 calories.

EggNog

Holidays are official once You break out the eggnog. A holiday beverage made from raw eggs,milk,sugar & spice. Many companies make it, I personally grew up drinking Bordens eggnog....but it's just as easy to make at home. Add brandy,whiskey,rum or cognac for a grown up version.

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/3 cups low-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 dash ground nutmeg

Blend ingredients in a blender. Serve well chilled. Alcohol optional

Carls Jr. Goes OREO

Towards the end of November Carls Jr. united with Americas #1 cookie to create a delectable dessert. Sometimes the best things in life are simple. They took two 3inch Oreo wafers & sandwiched them between scooped vanilla ice cream! I love that this is hand scooped & packaged in store. This sandwich will set You back 1.49 & 250 calories. Enjoy!

My favorite holiday cookie

This is the perfect time of year to dust off the old rolling pin & mixing bowl. I have fond memories around Christmas. My mother baking me cookies that would melt in My mouth with each bite. "Pan de polvo" Also know as Mexican wedding cookies, A shortbread cookie coated in cinnamon & sugar. This special cookie has been passed down many generations.
Eva Longoria who is also from my mothers hometown of Corpus Christi Texas loves "Pan De Polvo". Here is her delicious rendition of this Hispanic tradition :


Ingredients:
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups butter-flavored shortening
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup, plus 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 325°F. 2 In a saucepan bring to a boil cinnamon sticks and 1½ cups water. Let cool. Discard cinnamon sticks. Refrigerate liquid until chilled. 3 In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 4 In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening, vanilla, ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup cinnamon "tea" until light and fluffy. Stir in flour mixture. 5 Roll dough into 1" balls. Place 2" apart on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until slightly browned around edges. 6 In bowl combine 2 tbsp sugar and ground cinnamon. Dip cookies while still warm in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Makes 3 dozen.

Whats Your family's holiday tradition?

*photo courtesy of inStyle magazine

Keeping it kosher..when it comes to salt

The easiest way to better Your cooking is to use great quality salt & pepper.
You would be suprised at the difference proper seasoning can make.

Kosher salt has a less chemical flavor than standard table salt and contains less sodium, teaspoon for teaspoon. Kosher salt also adds great texture to finished foods

Try swapping out regular salt for kosher salt...you won't be disappointed

Roasting Garlic as easy as 123

Happy Thanksgiving Friends & family!! Hope this post finds you in cheerful spirits.
Today I have for you 3 easy steps to roasting garlic. This is perfect for adding to mashed potatoes & veggie purees

•Slice garlic across the bottom, exposing all cloves in side & leave skin intact

•place on a square of foil.. Add oil & kosher salt. Fold into a pouch

•place in a 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes.. It will be like butter, you can then squeeze right out of skins into potatoes as you mash.

Nothing like freshly roasted garlic to amp up your tatars.

Enjoy!!

I yam what I yam.. The sweet potatoe!

Whether you call them yams or sweet potatoes, It turns out that sweet potatoes and yams that we find here in the States are really all sweet potatoes. What we think of as yams are called this by mistake. It started long ago when the slaves were brought over and identified sweet potatoes with the “nyami” from Africa. The name stuck and we’ve been eating em ever since. To further the complication, neither of them are really potatoes at all! They are both tubers

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) come in two main varieties here in the States. One has a golden skin with creamy white flesh and a crumbly texture. The other has a copper skin with an orange flesh that is sweet and soft. All sweet potato varieties generally have the same shape and size -- they are tapered at the ends and much smaller than the yams.
The USDA decided to label them as "yams" to differentiate the two varieties

Holiday Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a crowd pleaser across the board. To make your spuds extra special around the holidays I like to add extra flavors & textures
Here are a few pointers for tantalizing taters

• use 2lbs of potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold for their great color & texture) boil skins on in kosher salt water for about 45 minutes. Drain. Then peel if desired

•Add 1 stick of butter or 1/2c of olive oil to the potatoes.

•Add 1cup of dairy ( milk, half/half, buttermilk or 1 1/2c of plain yogurt or sour cream )

• Choose a flavor base ( herbs, roasted garlic, chipotle )

• optional ( shredded or crumbled, cheddar, parm, Gouda or goat cheese, mustard or horseradish)

• Festive toppings ( olives, bacon, scallions, carmalized shallots, parsley or dill)

The possibilities are endless & delicious. Just remember to have fun with it. Trial & error. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mix N Match stuffing

Thanksgiving day doesn't need to be stressful. Take the time to make your favorite dishes from scratch. Recipes are made easy buy mixing & matching different flavors that you like.

•choose a bread of your choice
( white,hawaiian,multigrain,sough dough, cornbread)
•mix ins (mushrooms, wild rice, apples, butternut squash, kale/greens,
•Meats (sausage, bacon, pancetta,chorizo)
•optional extras ( shredded cheese, dried fruits, chopped nuts )

Cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes, preferably stale. If your using fresh spread cubes on a cookie sheet, bake 20 min in a 300degree oven.

Melt 1 stick of butter add 2 cups chopped onions, leeks, 2 cups diced celery with 1tbs each minced sage & fresh thyme. Season to taste, cooking until veggies are tender. Add 3 cups of broth.

Beat 2 eggs with 1/4 c chopped parsley, stir in bread cubes add vegetable broth mixture & mix ins

Transfer to buttered 4 quart baking dish. Dot with butter, cover with foil & bake for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Uncover & bake 20 more minutes. Enjoy!

Whats your favorite combos? I personally love cornbread with leeks,apples and sausage

Classic Turkey Gravy

With Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow I wanted to give out some pointers for FABULOUS GRAVY!

No matter what type of gravy You prefer, the rules are the same:

• 1/2c fat (meat drippings,butter)
• 1/2c flour
• 8c of liquid such as stock or broth ( upgrade store bought broth by boiling with bay leaves, onions, garlic & herbs. Then strain before using )

This will make 8 cups of gravy

For flavorful gravies always Degrease your pan to remove fat from the pan drippings saving only the flavorful juices ( use a degreasing cup if you have one )
Deglazing is a way of saving the yummy bits that are left in the roasting pan. Add liquid to the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen the brown bits. Add them to the saved juices

Make a roux by cooking a mixture of equal parts fat & flour until golden brown. This will act as a base & thickening agent for gravy

Street King energy drink

Came across these two energy shots today from 50cent. I can take or leave him as a rapper, but business wise he is pretty much genius.
I love energy drinks as much as the next person. I Felt even better about the purchase (3.65 per bottle) when I found out for every bottle sold Street King gives to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide one meal for a person who would otherwise go without.

PROS:
•Packaging is sleek & stylish
•Flavors are great (grape/orange mango)
•Sugar Free
•has an average caffeine buzz
•Thumbs up for feeding children

CONS:
• Does not list caffeine content
• a bit on the weak side

Halo Bars

Deliciously deceptive Halo snack bars are certified organic, less than 150 calories, low in sugar, no dairy & 100% vegan. Natural whole food ingredients. These are great In between meals or on the go for children and adults. Big indulgent flavors without the guilt! 1.59

4 delicious flavors:

Rocky road
S'mores
Honey graham
Nutty marshmallow

Find them at probar.com
Nordstroms
Whole foods grocery

Bringing home the Bacon & drinking it

Calling all Bacon lovers...

In a world of apple,citrus,berry,cherry & even cotton candy flavored vodka comes a carnivores dream come true :
Bakon Vodka!

A smokey bacon flavored, premium potato vodka, that will set u back 30.00

This would make a knock out bloody mary..B.L.T martini or Elvis Presley cocktail ( just think of the possibilities )

What mixed drinks would u like to add a little bacon flavor to?

Chicken Adobo

Adobo is the name of a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat or seafood marinated in a sauce of vinegar and garlic, browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade.

This is a very delicious dish that I grew up eating.

2 1/2 lbs. chicken (whatever u prefer)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. vinegar
2 c. water
Whole peppercorns ( to taste )
1 1/2 c. soy sauce
2 bay leaves
4-5 peeled Idaho potatoes ( optional )
Tbs vegetable oil

Brown chicken in large pot with oil.
Place the rest of the ingredients in the pot and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Serve hot over cooked rice with green veggies, such as broccoli, bok Choy or green beans. It can also be cooked in a crock pot on low setting all day. This easy recipe can be prepared ahead and it freezes well. Serves 6 to 8.

National Sandwich Day!

Thursday is the 293rd birthday of John Montagu, otherwise known as the 4th Earl of Sandwich – credited with inventing the luncheon standard of sliced bread with tasty fillings. In his honour, the US celebrates National Sandwich Day, so it seems an appropriate moment to ask you to name your favourite filling – whether it be on rye, in a sub, on a bagel, toasted or cold.

Papas and Eggs

Today we have a simple & tasty meal, One that I personally grew up eating. A breakfast comfort food called Papas & Egg.
My grandmother still make this for My grandfather. This dish is always Yummy & filling. Papas & Egg is a simple dish that consists of pan fried potato(papa) and eggs scrambled together. This dish is very versatile and can be customized to your liking. You can add bacon, sausage, onion, peppers, cheese, salsa, sour cream. You can eat this with toast or roll it into burritos or tacos. Depending on what you have on hand.

Today I will add onion. Gather your ingredients.

Eggs
Potatoes(I grew up using Idaho)
Fat ( veg oil, Manteca or bacon fat)
Seasoning(salt,pepper,garlic salt)
Optional items

•wash & peel potatoes
•cut potatoes into even bite size pieces. I like to chip away at the potato with my knife. Just as my grandmother does.
• heat pan with fat & add potatoes,cook until tender
•season potatoes well
•add extras & cook until potatoes are golden brown
•crack & whip eggs with wisk or fork
•pour eggs over potato mixture and scramble until eggs & potatoes no longer look wet
•top with Your favorite hot sauce & enjoy!

Qream with a Q

Pharell better know in the Music scene has paired with Diageo (same company behind Diddys Ciroc) & decided to branch out into the adult beverage world..yes folks: Alcohol
Not just any alcohol, but one especially made for woman. The working girl to be precise. A vanilla cream based liqueur that is 95% lactose free in Peach or Strawberry. And it's actually low calorie indulgence. The name of the drink derived from it being a cream liqueur, using a Q in the spelling, for ‘Queen’.
The drink is like strawberry milk bended with vodka...I think it would be great in a blended cocktail

Have u tried Qream? What do u think?

*photos courtesy of Qream

PUMPKIN Smash SmoOthie :)

Thank You Jamba Juice for the return of Pumpkin smash!!
This smoothie is absolutely delish, if You happen to Adore all things pumpkin, as I do.
This smoothie is seasonal so it's only available for a limited time.bummer...oh well absence makes the heart grow fonder (take the McRib for example) there is just something extra special about elusive items..their just worth waiting for
Ingredients are: pumpkin purée, vanilla frozen yogurt, soy milk & spice

It's seriously like pumpkin pie through a straw ( yea that goOd) & super easy to make @ home if u don't have a Jamba close by.

Go to Jambajuice.com for your local store & coupons


FunFacts:

*Jamba Juice offers Pumkin Smash seasonally every fall until January

*Pumpkin is a great source for Beta-Carotene, wich the body turns into vitamin A. It also contains a hefty amount of Fiber, Vitamin C & Iron

*Soy milk contains the same protien proportions as Milk. It's a good source of lecithin and vitamin E

Have u made a smoothie @ home? What are your favorites? I'd love to hear from you.

Once You Go Black.......

I'm a sucker for cool packaging, I can admit that. I love innovative, new & unique items especially when it comes to food & drinks...This water was no exceptions. Luckily for me This water was way more than a pretty shell, after some research, I knew all there was to know about this special H2O that has been flying off the shelves across the country.
Well first off the bottle is actually clear... It's the water that's black. Okay I know what Your thinking.. Gross!! Who would want to drink black water?!!

"This spring water is actually blended with high quality Fulvic Acid (a plant derivative ) which is naturally black in color. No artificial dyes, colors or additives are added. Fulvic acid is critical in the growth of plant & cell life, helping the Transportation & absorption of nutrients. Fulvic acids small molecular structure allows for the fast absorbtion of over 77 trace minerals, elements, powerful electrolytes, antioxidants and free radical scavengers."

So Black water..pretty different, Right! I don't mind different with a purpose..so I dug a little deeper into this Fulvic acid to see what was so special that I'd want to down Liquid Darth Vader.

First off its certified organic & kosher. It has a PH of 9.0 & is oderless & tasteless. It taste just like plain old water . Fulvic Acid is sometimes referred to as the miracle molecule & is known for balancing & energizing cell life. It's getting a lot of buzz lately for its healing properties in human & animals. It has a strong antibacterial property that speeds up recovery times. Helps focus & gives energy. fulvic Acid is believed to be an aid to a host of problems such as Acid reflux, digestion problems and removing toxins from the body. I have even heard fulvic acid being used in studies for cancer,autism & Alzheimer's.
Everything I've read has been positive. It's a little expensive, but if it works it's priceless


Have You tried blk.?