Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Cookies - Review

     It's still the weekend, so in my personal opinion I'm still on time with this. Haha Today however I am going to ramble on about cookies. What's not to love right? Even more so I'm going to talk about something new that my wife found and purchased, and I couldn't keep my hands off of.

     I always knew that they had the chocolate filled wafer rolls, and the dark chocolate, but I was thrilled to learn that there is a French Vanilla flavor one. Those who know me know about that weakness. It's such a bad habit of mine that for a few months I was drinking French Vanilla flavored coffee, with matching creamer. So yes, I am an oddball. Anyway, I never knew that they had these and happily dug into one.

     After a few days I realized I needed to go out and buy her another container due to the fact that most of the package had been eaten. I keep swearing the cats did it, somehow she doesn't believe me. 

     5/5 Stars on this one for the fact that between the light wafer like cookie, and the not overly sweet cream, they just blew my mind.

     2 wafers is the serving size (who follows those? oh wait, I'm supposed to.) and only 120 calories (45 of those from fat) But for all of you diabetics out there good news, for those 2 cookies, it's only 18 grams of carbs!

     The ingredients list you might not want to read, it has a lot of goop in it. So these are for sure just as a treat not a meal. 

     Overall there was nothing I really didn't like, only complaint I could make is the broken bits of these fragile cookies at the bottom, but they work like chips, those yummy little bits go great on something else, like ice cream! 

     Also there is no recipe today for these because they are just perfect all by themselves.

~Skadia, the cookie eating panther

Libby's Canned Pumpkin

     What's better in fall than the warm taste of pumpkin? Now, who had time to make their own pumpkin puree? Not me that's for sure. So I wanted to make some pumpkin buns for our (very early) Thanksgiving dinner. Figured what did I have to lose, it was only an $0.88 can of pumpkin. I was very surprised.

     5/5 Stars

     Ingredients: I was very surprised (and had to research a bit more) to find out that the label was right, 100% pure pumpkin.The reason I find this so shocking is because it was very very sweet. Almost like it was mixed with brown sugar already. But for only 40 calories on a half cup serving and 9 grams of carbs, it was perfect to help these buns become diabetic friendly. (Natural sugar is always a better choice)

Why I liked it: Mainly, it was super easy to work with and for the price I couldn't ask for a better product. Another reason I did like it was the punch of flavor it had. Sense it is nothing but pure pumpkin, it was nothing but flavor as well.

What  I didn't like: For me, it was possibly a tad too sweet for my personal taste. But natural sugars again and I will take those over processed stuff any day, so no other complaints.

Pumpkin Buns

1/3 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons butter

1 large egg

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree

2+ cups of all purpose flour (Add extra a tablespoon at a time till dough stops sticking)

2 1/4 (or one packet) Active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar (optional but is used to bring the yeast back to life for puffier rolls.)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

dash of salt to taste

Add milk and butter in a large microwave safe bowl, nuke for about 30-45 seconds until butter is melted into the milk. Add the sugar and yeast and let it sit for about 10 min or so. Once that starts getting good and foamy, add the egg and pumpkin to the wet mix, and stir to combine. Once that's all together add in all your dry ingredients. You can sift these if you want, but I am to lazy and had a full meal to make as well so I skipped it. However I would say it would add some good texture to the buns. Once dough is all together and not sticky (oh how I hate sticky on my hands!) grease the top by putting a bit of oil in the bowl and flip the dough to coat. Let that sit for about an hour until it doubles.

Split into rolls. I got about 9 fist size rolls out of this recipe but you could very well make it as a loaf too. Let them sit on the pan for another 30 min and double again in size.

Bake at 325 for about 15-20 min. You will know they are done when you tap the top, it will sound hollow. 

Let cool only for a moment, then serve.

Hope you enjoy!

~Skadia the writing pumpkin noming panther.

Neglecting this poor blog.

Yes I know it has been neglected and I have been thinking of ways to bring it back. With working 3 jobs now it has become hard to keep up on it, but I shall continue to try and try again. Tomorrow I have a day off, so I'm going to work on a review of some food products and share a recipe to go with it. So lets see if this can keep me going.

Where have I been all my life? (good question there)

So once again another month has passed us by and I have neglected all of you and your quest for food information. Truth is, I lost interest, and time, lots and lots of time. Working two jobs and running a business on top of that has had me drained a lot more lately. My cooking drive has dropped (almost rock bottom!) and overall I am just not feeling it. Even with fall being my favorite season and with it pounding on my front door, I just couldn't drag myself to do much. Only exciting things I have done was make some peach-mango jam, turned out pretty well. But that's been it.

However in all this horrid news there is a small ray of light. I have been thinking (well dreaming I guess you could say) about moving out of my current house and having one of my own. With that dream sparks my love of food and cooking again. So I will bounce back, might take some coaxing, but I'll be around more. I was thinking of maybe even doing some product reviews and some more saving tips. We shall soon see. Here's to October being a better month.

~Skadia, the lost panther.

Side by Side

Today I want to share with you all some information that came to light due to talking with a dear friend. Times are tough and money is tight right? We all want to get more for less. Why then are you still shopping at high end stores? Now a place like Whole Foods is a whole different class due to different products. However, when shopping for Ball Park hot dogs, every store will have them, and that brand will be the same at Walmart, as it is at Target or Jewel. Now without coupons or sales Walmart sells these for just under $2. Targets exact same hot dogs are $2.99! Now you may be thinking well it's only a dollar. You're right! Let's break this down. If you buy an average of 50 items, and there is a .20 cent difference on those items, that alone is $10 saved. Now lets think, what else could you buy for that same $10 that you couldn't before? Another 3 packs of hot dogs!

So right there price matching is going to help you a lot, what will help even more is if you decide to go with the generic brand. Then add in that sweet rewards card and you will be surprised how much you can save, without having to sacrifice anything!

~Skadia the making sense of things panther.

Take Advantage of Memberships!

So with a few extra bucks in my wallet I decided to go shopping, and wow I can't believe how much I saved with just their rewards card! My original total was well over $40, not bad, but we can do better, my final total was $32.11 after tax. Now well some might say it depends on what you buy, and your right. I found a cat litter that was buy one get one free, so exchanged my generic brand for that, spent more upfront, but saved a lot (almost $9!). Now my employee discount was fur sure a small help, saved me about $2, but my card saved me almost $14! Totaling my savings to just under $19 or 39%. Not to bad for a days work. Ha. So take advantage of those saving's cards and in store deals, and don't be afraid to switch brands, you never know, you might like it.

~Skadia, the money saving panther.

A bit of Personal News

I have been MIA again, I know while trying to figure out what to talk about I got distracted. I am now up to working 3 jobs! The newest one is at a grocery store. So now I will be reviewing more products and talking a bit about that as well as my normal food information.

I also will leave you with a quick money saving tip!

Always buy in bulk when  you can. Get it home and package it however you want, but buying in larger sizes will cost more up front, but price per ounce is always cheaper.

~Skadia, the super busy panther.

A job at a Bakery

Well this is more news than an actual post with tasty information. I recently applied for a job at a local baker, seeing as I love food, and am actually happier baking a cake from scratch than a box. Having done this kind of work prior I know what will be expected. It's not easy by far, but it's for sure a challenge I am all up for. I will continue to share my food love with you all seeing as this blog is really making me proud. I also would love to hear what you guys are thinking. What you would like more info on, what you want more of? Like recipes, reviews, money saving tips? Just let me know and I'm happy to gather some more info.

~Skadia, the baking panther

A treat!

Sorry for disappearing for such a long while. Life happened. For now, enjoy this tid-bit I came up with.

The day was good, a nice day off, I didn’t have to go into that stuffy office today. A cool breeze drifted through the window, a wonderful foreshadow of fall that would soon be with us. A cake would be perfect right now. I hoisted myself from the chair and scuffled over to the pantry. Next to the flour was a box of mix. My hand went for that and paused, I have all the time in the world. I then snagged the large bag of flour and placed it on the counter as I gathered everything else I would need for my mission. 

With everything before me I pulled the biggest bowl I had from the cabinet and pulled out a one cup measuring cup. I was not about to dirty more than I needed to. 

The back of a dull butter knife scrapped against the top of the measuring cup as every ingredient was leveled. Eggs were carefully cracked into the mix, and a lone egg shell had to be plucked out of the batter.  My arthritis cramped my hand as I mixed the cake batter by hand with a fork. One minute went by, then another, and after three pain full minutes my art had finally come to life. 

One pan should do just fine; a large square one will hold it all. Baggie over my hand, lard touched every inch of the pan. A dusting of flour would insure that it wouldn’t stick. All of the goo fit neatly into the pan, leaving plenty of room to rise up nice and fluffy.  The oven beeped, all pre-heated, as I dipped my pan into its fiery maw. Looking at the clock I made a mental note of when to check on it.

Twenty minutes wafted by and it was time to check in upon my hard work. It looked great, smelled amazing, but when I tapped it, not quite done just yet, a few more moments and it should be just perfect. 

My T.V. show was almost over anyway, by that time the cake should be ready. The final credits tracked up the screen and I rushed to my oven. Snagging a hot pad on my way, I excitedly flung the door open and pulled out the now finished cake. I turned it out to let it cool and my heart sank.

Two minutes too long and the bottom was burnt. Burt that couldn’t be covered with sickeningly sweet frosting. Burnt that meant all my hard work was for naught. With an angry shove the now burnt art, was being stuffed into the garbage can. Still warm, still burnt. The smell of cake still lingered and the taste was still being craved. I went back to the pantry, and grabbed the box of cake mix, only to start all over again.

Simple Homemade Jam

Now with 100% less cooking! Yes, you read that right, homemade jam, with no cooking. Sounds too good to be true, I know, but I found this recipe in my current issue of Woman's Day magazine and figured I would share it. Please note, I did not try this, I just wanted to share it with you all.

Basic quick no-cook jam:
Fresh Fruit        
2 Cups superfine sugar (I'm going to assume powdered would work)
2 teaspoons lemon zest        
 3 Tablespoons Ball RealFruit instant pectin


Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, toss together the fruit lemon zest, juice and any additional ingredients.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and pectin. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the fruit, then fold and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Using a potato masher, lightly crush the fruit mixture for 1 minute.
3. Transfer to 8-oz freezer-safe jars (about 3/4 cup per jar), leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top of each jar.
4. Refrigerate for at least 3 days before serving or freeze for up to 1 year. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Once open, consume within 1 week.

Variations:

Mixed berry jam:
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 oz fresh raspberries
12 oz fresh blackberries
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
     Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions, decreasing the lemon juice to 1 Tablespoon.

Blueberry, orange and lime jam:
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 navel oranges, cut into segments; segments chopped
2 pounds fresh blueberries
2 teaspoons lime zest
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
     Omit the lemon zest and juice and decrease the total sugar to 1 cup. In a bowl, toss together the orange zest, oranges, blueberries, lime zest, and juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Using a potato masher, lightly crush the fruit mixture and let sit for 15 minutes. Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions, mixing only 3/4 cup sugar with the pectin.

Vanilla, nectarine and raspberry jam:
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 pounds nectarines, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound raspberries
     Scrape out the vanilla seeds into a large bowl. Add the nectarines, and toss with the lemon zest and juice and 1/4 cup sugar; let sit for 15 minutes, then toss with the raspberries. Prepare the jam according to recipe instructions, mixing only 1 3/4 cups sugar with the pectin and stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Do not mash.

 Plum, ginger and lemon jam:
3 pounds red plums, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger finely grated (1 Tbs)
     Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions.

Apple, strawberry and mint jam:
2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2 inch peices
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup fresh mint
     In a bowl, toss together the strawberries, lemon zest and juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Fold in the apples and mint and let sit for 15 minutes. Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions, mixing only 1 3/4 cups sugar with the pectin.

~Skadia, the jam loving panther.

Women's Day Review

Well, I took all the time I could on it, and I must say as far as from what it advertised, I was not impressed. While they had some great articles including one on how to make your own jam (an easy version!) and yes it was cheep, just wasn't for me. I would for sure say to go try it for yourself, but I wouldn't say go run out and grab a subscription.

Woman's Day

I was wondering around Wal-mart today after taking some change into the bank, bought myself some cat food, well it's really for the cats, but you get the point. As I was checking out I noticed a magazine, now I'm not one for blowing $5 for this type of thing. However, this one was only $1.99, and it said something about trimming my grocery bill, and exclusive coupons, so I figured why not, there has to be at least one recipe in here that I will have to try. So now here I sit rattling on about it, when I could be reading. So I guess tomorrow I will let you know if it was worth it or not. Happy Cooking!

~Skadia, the rambling panther

Basic Rolls

     Sundays are generally known as a family day. No matter what religion or what place of the world you live in, there is always a wonderful feeling of getting together with loved ones for a relaxing day. Even a general family dinner can be nice. Want to make it extra special without spending a lot of money? Simple fix is home made bread. Now yes, it's a drawn out process, yes there are other frozen or pre-made breads on the store shelves. But they are by far not the same at all. If you have ever had home made bread, I'm sure your mind is traveling to that wonderful smell that fills the house as the yeast rises, and the mad fight for that first wonderful piece, maybe even like in my house even the fact that there will be no leftovers for tomorrow breakfast.

     I'm going to share with you a recipe that I tried out yesterday, I personally made a few tweeks, but either way it's a super simple recipe and it doesn't take all day! Sense I am not happy with my version yet, I will just give you what the book's version for now.

What you'll need:
1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 F)
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
1 cup warm milk (110-115 F) anything much warmer than that will kill your yeast.
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

     In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 teaspoon sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in the milk, shortening, salt, egg and remaining sugar. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.

     Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm (I like adding humidity to this personally) place until doubled, about 1 hour.

     Punch the dough down. Divide into 18 portions; shape into balls. Place in greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

     Brush tops with melted butter and top with poppy seeds if desired. Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.



Source:Taste of Home winning recipes V1 

I do hope you enjoy a little bit of baked love.

~Skadia, the baking panther.

The Wonders of Water

Water, it's so simple but yet so good for you. The human body itself is made up of 80% water, so think how important it is to your body. Without water organs can shut down and you can even 'fry' your brain due to dehydration. Well we can't let that happen, so keep on reading for tips on how to stay hydrated this summer.

You want your daily goal to be 12-8oz glasses of water every day. Thats a total of  96 ounces of water.

Now what else can water do for you, check this out.
It can naturally suppress appetite
Prevents water retention and bloating
Helps muscle tissue work better
Helps rid the body of toxins

Ok now I am hoping now you are starting to wonder how you can get more water in. Oh did I also mention adding water to your diet can actually help you lose weight? Right, lets get going.

• Drink 1 glass every hour while you are at work. 
• When you crave anything drink a glass.
• Use a straw, you will take larger sips.
• Water down your fruit juice with some water.
• If you go to the bathroom, replenish by drinking another glass.
• Drink 2 glasses between each soda you drink.
• Drink 2 glasses with each meal.

What else can I drink? Who wants to always drink water all the time. Sometimes you have to switch things up. You can keep drinking your morning coffee, or even an iced tea. Herbal tea is a great choice as well, and normally are light enough so that you don't need sugar. Club soda and Sparkling water are always good choices as well.

So now, go enjoy your summer and stay healthy and hydrated!

~Skadia, the hydrated panther.

Restaurant Review - Red Lobster

Well I am happily back from our min-vacation. I was extremely excited that I was able to take my partner out for her birthday. We are not often able to get out but when we do, oh we love our choices. She adores seafood and I swear I could eat my weight in crab legs. So we generally try to make it out for seafood once in a while. Our normal locations are Chinese or Italian, nothing to spicy. I decided instead of fighting for a topic for today I figured I'd review Red Lobster and see what you all think of it (my review!). Without further ado let me introduce you to my experience at Red Lobster.

What is Red Lobster? Well you might be asking this right now, so how about a little background. It's a high class seafood joint. They stretch across the United States and possibly elsewhere but location is not my cup of tea. (That's for sure peppermint.) The one I want to talk about is the one that is Pueblo Colorado. It was right off the highway and super simple to find with a lot of good parking. It was the first time I didn't have to cross a busy road to get into one. haha. It was a Wednesday at 6 pm and I figured it would be pack, however I was happily surprised with no wait time. While there is no real dress code, it was for sure an upper class type of place. Similar to Olive Garden if you are familiar with that.

The atmosphere was wonderful. All of the staff was very friendly. Fish and sea fair items adorned the walls and it had a wonderful feel too it. A soft almost natural light created a perfect dining atmosphere. It's not really a kid friendly place, but they were very happy to accommodate them with child's place mats and crayons. It was also a very quite environment for how many people were there.

Now that I have you interested in maybe heading over there, let me give you all the juicy details about the menu. They recently got new ones in and it included a wonderful fresh fish menu, consisting of all the fresh catches that were brought in that day. It also held their current promotion, and my personal favorite, Crabfest. There appetizers were all pretty well seafood friendly things like crab dip, and lobster pizza, but they also had simple things like general mozzarella sticks. Their dessert selection was slightly lacking, but luckily not fish related. Simple things like cheese cake and apple crisp were there just in case. Now while most of the menu is seafood don't worry there are also some wonderful chicken dishes. Not a lot of variety there but at least they are on it. I personally enjoyed the wonders of crabfest while my partner enjoy what's called seaside trio. It was a dish containing lobster, crab, and shrimp. As far as any other specialty diet need like vegan or what not, I would ask the location about it prior, it didn't seem to accommodate things like that. It was also interesting to learn all the shrimp is fried together. So be careful if you have any allergies especially to coconut. All of our meals however did come with salad and choice of side.

The meal we ate was generally simple, no crazy special orders. We try not to make a servers life difficult. All of the food was good save for the asparagus. My Aunt (who was with us) ordered it. It's only available during it's peek season and they still charge extra for it. Now I don't mind paying for something like that, however when it comes to me cooked wrong, I get a little annoyed. It was very woody and fibrous. When we brought up the problem staff was happy to fix it and refunded me the money.

On the note of staff fixing problems, lets talk about them. They are a major part of the restaurant so lets give them their spot light. All of them from hostess to manager was extremely pleasant. All of them had a smile on their face. The manager walked around a few times checking on tables and was very involved with his business. The waitress was happy to fix any problems and kept our drinks full. (To me that's very important.) The food was out quick and was still hot when we got it. All wonderful.

Now for the real thing on everyone's mind. Well how much is this going to cost? I wish I could say it was cheep, but sadly it is for sure an upper class restaurant. Great for a special occasion or just a once in a while treat. If I had a great paying job, well then I would personally make a habit of it considering in Colorado good seafood is not easy to find. The average plate runs about $20, with drinks being about $3. So estimate about $25-$30 per person in the group. For our table of three the bill was over $80. We each got an entree, drink, and a salad. My aunt also got a bowl of soup. That's it, no booz, no appetizers, nothing crazy.

My overall opinion for this visit was wonderful, the kind staff and good food offset the price. Also, it was for a birthday, so the price isn't the important part. We all had a great time and went home full. They also gave us some of their amazing garlic cheese biscuits to take home.

Rating:

Staff: 5/5 They were willing to help work us through a menu that was unfamiliar to us.
Food and Presentation: 4/5
Ambiance and Decor: 5/5
Quality of Service: 5/5
Favorite menu item: Seaside trio
Kid Friendly: No (this is not a place to bring a group of little ones for a birthday party)
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Overall Rating: 5/5

While we did have a problem with one food item they were happy to fix it. So thank you Red Lobster.

Cheesy Rice-getti

So we all know how road trips go. They are a ton of fun with (normally) awesome people, and that wonderful fast food you live off of. Well ok, that last part isn't so great later, but at the time, it was so there. Now that you are out of a moving car, you're not just hungry, but tired as well. Who want's to cook at that time?! (Other that this crazy panther.) Well here is something quick for a great pick me up, or even just a quick after work fix. This recipe makes a lot of food, so you may not need it all, but feel free to break it in half and go from there. Also it's cheap, to feed 6 people with this it only cost me about $14. Even better, it's a complete meal.

Gather these first:
1 small (8oz) block Velveeta cheese
1 small white onion
2 packs (2 sausages each) smoked sausage (or similar)
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil (or your own favorite)
2 Tablespoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon white sugar (or brown sugar if you have it)
Hot cooked rice (or even shaped pasta)

Start cooking:
Start your onions cooking in a large frying pay with a little oil on medium heat. Cook those down for about 5-10 minutes. Then add your can of diced tomatoes. (Don't drain them.) Turn the heat up to medium high and cook another 10 minutes. While that is cooking cut up your sausages. I personally cut them into slices then into quarters, but it's however you want them. Once those are cut dump them into your onions and tomatoes and turn the heat back down to medium. Add in all your seasoning. Dice up the cheese while that cooks. Add your cheese and drop the heat to low. Mix until all the cheese is melted. Serve on top of rice.

Enjoy!
~Skadia the traveling panther

(I will actually be on a trip for the next two days with no access to internet. So I shall see you all when I return!)

15 Cooking Tips for the Weekend

First of all I am happy to announce that I am going to get this little project on a schedule so you all know what is coming out and when. It will take a week or so, but you're smart, you will see the pattern. I will also be adding more pictures, so look forward to that.

For this weekend I'm going to leave you with 15 of my favorite cooking tips. Little things that are golden little tidbits for a life in the kitchen, enjoy!

1. Make yourself some mint ice cubes. Just add lose mint to the ice cube tray for a great addition to your iced tea, lemonade, or even a great way to cool down your hot coco.
2. Savory Starters- When you have a free day, get some butter, soften it (don't melt!), and add in herbs and spices that you use greatly. Then roll it up in wax paper and freeze. Use this as a simple way to flavor dishes right from the start!
3. Wanton Wrappers- Keep a pack around, they are great for stuffing just about anything in and cook up quickly in many different ways. They are also super simple to work with.
4. Lemon juice is great to keep that sliced up apple from browning. It also works for potatoes, and bananas as well.  
5. To have a nicely level top on your cake, bake it a little longer, but drop the temperature about 25 degrees. You will love the difference.
6. Also a great way to save money! Buy your bread when it's on sale and store it in that extra freezer that's sitting in the garage. Bread will last up to 2 months in the freezer and it will save you a few extra bucks.
7. 3 teaspoons = 1 Tablespoon. Also make sure you are not using actual tableware, the measurements are not exactly the same.
8. Don't have cake flour? No problem, just substitute all purpose flour, for once cup cake, use 1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons of normal all purpose flour.
9. 1 lemon = 1/4 cup juice.     1 orange = 1/3 cup of juice.
10. Soup to thin? Easy fix, just add some instant potatoes to your soup of stew to thicken it right up.
11. Freeze your meat if you want to cut it in thin slices, it makes it much easier. 
12. Always use shortening to grease pans. Butter will brown and burn your food. Lard will work great as well.
13. Fill an empty sale shaker with flour for quick and easy dusting, for work surfaces.
14. To prevent cheesecake from cracking, place a pan of water under it in the oven.
15. Always add your salt to water once it's boiling.

I hope you find at least one of these tips helpful over the weekend. Now off I go to test new recipes!

~Skadia, the always cooking panther.

Almost Perfect Pancakes

There is nothing better than waking up to that first cool day after a long summer heat wave. Temps drop from the 90's and 100's down to a low 70 and the air is crisp. Not quite fall yet but a good relief from that dreaded heat. Finally it's cool enough to start cooking again. What's better than pancakes? They are perfect carriers of butter and syrup, or maybe even some fruit compote. You can even fill them with flavor by adding seasonal nuts or even jam. You just can't go wrong with them.

Yesterday was a crazy day, go to work, come home only to have to go back to work later that night. I needed something simple and filling that could feed an army and placate a two year old. (Don't get me wrong I love when family visits, but there is only so much picky, spoiled two year old I can take.) Breakfast is always my go to on days like this. Where the air is cool and it reminds me fall is almost here (most bakers favorite time ever!) and with everything going on what could be easier.

Most of you right now might be reaching for that box of pancake mix, ready to get flipping some flap jacks. Just wait a minute, from a box? Really? Why? Oh right because it's easy. Well let me tell you how easy it is to make that mix yourself. Trust me, it's not only super simple, and I bet you have everything you need on hand, but it has so much more flavor. (Yes pancakes do have their own flavor.)

Basic Pancakes:
 
2 Cups of all purpose flour
4 Tablespoons normal white sugar (you can change this for your own liking, but don't remove it, trust me it needs that little sweetness, and honestly, it's not as much as you think.)
1 Teaspoon salt, table or kosher, or even sea salt is fine, for this I personally prefer the plain old table
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 Cups Milk
4 Tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for frying

Directions:
Simply mix all dry ingredients together, then add in the wet and mix thoroughly. When you feel that your batter is mixed let it sit for 5 minuets then stir again. You want this batter to look more like actual cake batter than how that box stuff turns to almost a liquid. If it's a little too stiff, feel free to add more milk, one table spoon at a time. This batter also should be fairly smooth by the time you are done with it. Lumpy batter always confused me, who wants to bite into a clump of flour?!

In your frying pan heat up about 1/4 an inch of oil. Yes we are almost going to deep fry these, but trust me, the texture is amazing. Nice crisp outside, but so fluffy inside. Now that your oil is nice and hot (I would say just under medium heat, roughly a 3 or 4 for an electric stove.) If your oil starts smoking, stop right there, turn it off and let it cool before you go any further. That means the oil is too hot. So now your pancake is cooking, wait for it to start bubbling and the edges will start to look slightly dry, that is when you flip it. Be careful so that you don't splash that oil back at yourself. Cook a few more moments then it's done. Repeat with remaining batter and eat them however you want!

While these pancakes are not perfect, it will make any morning perfect. Weather if it's just with a cup of coffee or the whole family. They are so simple to make from scratch, really. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

How to get the Best Deals on Produce!

I just want to toss around a few simple ways to get more healthy veggies for your buck.

The simplest way, is to find out what is in season. Different fruits 'bloom' at different times, making them much easier to get, hence the lower price.

Watch to see if an item is priced per item or by the pound. You might think it will cost only .99 cents but at the register it may ring up for $3!

Now going a little off of what was just said about price per pound. Always keep in mind how many you are feeding. Fresh fruit and veggies go bad much quicker than canned. So if you are the only one eating carrots for the next week, don't get the 20# bag, unless of course you will eat all those.

Another simple thing to help you save money is learn how to can. It's not very hard at all, but can save you a lot of money. You can either 1. just grow your own food, and save it, or take notice when you're most used produce items go on sale, stock up and can them. Then on their off season you will still be enjoying them at sale prices.

~Skadia, the fruit loving panther.

I'm Not Cooking Tonight!

A quick guide to eating out.

Some nights you just don't want to cook. Some nights, you don't have too. Keeping in mind how a balanced diet works. While cooking at home might be more cost effective, sometimes it's just nice to go out, not having to worry about cleaning up after, it's nice some times. Just like I said, keep portions in check. Like if you get a hamburger, don't get the frys. Most places have wonderful healthy options now a days so just keep your choices open.

Those Bad Diet Days

We all have bad days at dieting, your friend handed you a soda or cookie and it would be rude right? Well don't worry, there are ways to deal with it.

First off, don't panic, it's not the end of the world. So you messed up, we all do. All you can do is pick yourself up and move on. Not backwards, but forwards. Beating yourself up over a small 'mess up' isn't going to help you. So you ate a cookie? It was good right? Well enough.

Another way you can help cope with that is to improve the rest of your day. Ok so that Cherry Pepsi was amazing, drink an extra glass or two of water that day. The cookie, first one you had in months, but it was so good. Have a salad later that evening before bed. It all goes back to a balanced diet. Now don't get me wrong, eating a cookie every day will spoil just about any diet, so just be mindful of what you eat and drink and everything will work out just fine.

Another wonderful tool to help you on your journey, keep a food journal. But I will get to that in it's own post. (well worth it too!)

Skadia, the panther who will go enjoy the fair!

5 Simple Tips to Save Money on Food.

Everyone has to eat right? Yup, but do you really have to spend all your money on just food? Now that is where you are wrong. Let me give you a few pointers on saving a few bucks.

1. The simplest way to save money on your food bills is stop eating fast food. Yes it's quick, and yes they have a dollar menu, but lets break it down real quick. For two people: each wants a drink, so $2 right there, even if we stick to the dollar menu and get two McDubbles (with cheese of course!) that's another $2, then add tax. Bringing your rough total to about $5. (not even counting gas to get there!) SO  now lets cook something at home, something simple and easy but yet cheap. A box of pasta (that can be used at least 2x for a party of 2) costs about a buck most anywhere, well you need sauce, lets just get a jar of meat sauce, about $2 for that. Water you get from your tap so nothing there, now, dinner for two boils down to about $3 total! That is also counting for that extra pasta in the box. Now $2 what a big difference. You might not think so but doing this once a week can save you over $100 in just one year. And that's only if you get dollar menu items. Also your homemade food is much healthier for you.

2. Watch for sales. Might seem simple but really do watch for them. Maybe another brand is on sale this week than what you might normally buy, try it! It doesn't mean you have to stick with that brand, but even some sales drop prices below generic brands. If you know you like an item and it can be stored, buy a few extra, even just 2 or 3 of an item can lead to some savings. At least enough to buy a Kit Kat at the register.

3. Be mindful of proportions. Again going back to your basic dieting ways, eating more often but smaller servings. What would have been one whole chicken breast, is now divided into two meals, making your buck stretch a bit farther.

4. Get nutrient dense food. Find ways to add nutrition to your diet as often as you can. Like add beans to a meal to help with fiber and protein one day instead of hamburgers. It's a great way to even have again your smaller meals. Some veggies with hummus and a few crackers great way to fill you up.

5. Don't waste your money! Don't toss your well earned money away on still things like pre-cut veggies. Some stores will charge upwards of $7 for those containers with just a few stalks of celery and a carrot or two. You could save yourself $5 and just buy the items and chop them yourselves. It might take a few more minutes but well worth it in the end.

I hope these tips help you get started on getting more bang for your buck, enjoy!

~Skadia, the shopping panther

Grilled Ham and Cheese

A super simple and delicious sandwich I enjoy making as often as I can. I personally use cheese that I enjoy, if you like something else, replace it! Just try to keep a nice heavy break like wheat or rye.

2 slices of bread
Butter
1 slice sharp cheddar
about 2 Tablespoons parmesan  cheese
1 Slice of mozzarella
3 slices of deli shaved ham

Heat up a skillet while you butter the bread on one side of each slice. Layer the cheese and ham and grill. Just work it like a normal grilled cheese. You can also use a grill press if you have one.

A Balanced Diet

No, I don't mean a cookie in each hand. A real balanced diet full of protein and energy producing carbohydrates. You need both to keep your body working properly. A well balanced meal, consists of, one serving of  meat or a protein, one serving of a "slow" carb, and one serving of a "fast" carb. Now what is a fast and slow carb mean? Very good question and one I can answer! The simple version is how slow or fast a carbohydrate converts itself into sugar. Slow carbs are things like salad and other non-sugar filled veggies. I will be covering this list in more detail at one point or another. A slow carb is anything starchy. Like pasta, rice and bread. Now yes even though those are normally considered as the "bad" carbs of the world, and while to many can be bad, you still need them.

For simple measuring the average protein is the size of your palm. That can be anything from eggs, to steak, to even tofu (for those of you that can eat that stuff.). Now for slow carbs over all you can eat about as much as you want, so it's good to use a salad as a filler in your meal. Fast carbs on the other hand, your rice, bread and pasta. Those vary so if you are ever sure, just go with about a hand full, roughly one cup. Bread for a snack, (we talked about prior snacking through out the day, are you doing that? If you missed it, check here, Snacking) just go with a slice, but for a meal, go a head and feel free to make it two. (Like a delicious grilled ham and cheese) With pasta and rice, stick to just a basic serving. If you have diabetes try and stick to brown rice and whole grain pasta. Even if you don't, some of the options are pretty tasty.

Now you may be wondering what about my sweets? I won't give up my ice cream! Me neither so don't worry. There is a wonderful saying, all things in moderation. Have your ice cream! Just treat all that sugar as a fast carb in your diet. Lets say you have eggs for breakfast and throw some veggies in them. Great! Instead of hash browns, have a sweet roll, or doughnut. Instead of your baked potato for dinner, save that for ice cream.

It's about making healthy smart choices in your day that will make a difference. Also you will be amazed at how much flavor some foods can add. Try some zucchini in your eggs with some parmesan  cheese next time.

Happy, Healthy Eating
~Skadia

What I'm All About

What I want to bring to you is my experience with cooking and food. I want to show you how to live a healthy life without giving up all of the food that you love! I know, it sounds to good to be true but bear with me. I personally have low blood sugar levels meaning I have to watch what I eat. On the other hand I grew up with my mother being diabetic and she refused to take care of herself claiming that "she wasn't going to give up eating the food she loved." Well she may be eating the food she loves but she is now fighting obesity, as well as high blood sugar with insulin injections. It breaks my heart. Today I start my own transformation that has been in the works for over a year now. While I was never seriously obese, I wasn't healthy either. Today I am down forty pounds and have kept it off for more than three months. I'm going to not only share how to live a healthy happy life, but how to save money on groceries, and even share recipes that will help you stay fit and living!

I first would like to start out with some basic tips that can start your new life. That's what this is all about right? Having a long healthy life filled with energy and happiness.

Contrary to what some people think we as humans are officially grazers, we are meant to pick food and much all throughout the day. So while you might think snacking will ruin your appetite, it will actually help curb it! What do I mean by all this? Simple, if you eat when you wake up, have a snack between that and lunch, you are not nearly as hungry and will instinctively eat less at lunch. Now it might all be starting to make sense. Another misconception I'd like to debunk now is eating less will make you thin. You're right! It will also make you dead. Your body is not made to be starved. The longer you go without food the more your body stores for later due to the simple fact of, it doesn't know when it will eat next. It's amazing how we are made to survive.

So get your snack on. It may be as simple as a handful of mixed nuts, or a piece of fruit, or even maybe half a sandwich. At first it's going to sound silly, but watch after a week or so, you will almost never be actually hungry. Another perk of this is that you are getting your nutrition throughout the day giving you more energy. That perfect fix to that 2 p.m. feeling.

So this is the beginning of change. I wish you the best of luck!

~Skadia