Potato Peeling by Mary Anne

Here's an easy way to peel potatos... it's basically the same thing you would do to blanch a tomato or another veggie, but what a great tip! And a bonus - it's Mary Anne (Dawn Wells) from Gilligan's Island!

Gadgets We Like: Palm Zester

My mother in law got me this great palm zester for Christmas and I love it! There are many more key lime pies in my husband's future (his favorite dessert!) because it its so much easier to do the zesting with this little gadget. It fits perfectly on your fingers and catches all the zest in a neat little container. It's also dishwasher safe!

You can find your own (in one of three pretty citrus colors) at Sur La Table!

Kristy

Crock Pot Sante Fe Chicken

Photo: Gina's Blog - (mine's not this pretty)

End Product: Slow cooked shredded chicken with corn, tomatoes and black beans.

Tip: Prepare the night before and turn your crock pot on in the morning for an easy weeknight meal.
Bonus: This happens to be a Weight Watchers recipe that I just thought sounded good. I got it from my friend Krista's cooking blog - and she got it from Gina's blog - which is all about weight watcher's recipes! It's low fat and low in points.
Serve: over rice with chopped scallions, fresh cilantro, fat free sour cream (not for me, but an option!) and/or reduced fat cheddar.
Prep Time (for Kristy = slower than average): 12 minutes



Ingredients:
24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste



Directions:
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice (extra pts).

Vamped-up French Toast

Who doesn't love a great stack of French Toast?

A great way to vamp up your regular French Toast into a sweeter, better version of itself? Add a dash or two of vanilla to the beat eggs before you dip the bread in. 

I promise you'll taste the difference!

SuperCook Recipe Finder

Whether you're about to move (as in my husband and I's case), needing to lower costs for the month, or just anxious to use some of those ingredients that tend to just sit in the pantry for weeks without being used... this is the website for you!

SuperCook is a search engine for recipes using the ingredients you already have at home! Once at the website, you simply type in the green box an ingredient you have and click "Add" to add it to your list. You can have as many or as few ingredients added to your list as you would like.

I would suggest grouping lists together to get the best return of recipes. For example, typing in "Angel Hair Pasta," "Parmsean Cheese," "Chicken," and "Mozzarella," then clearing these ingredients out before you try something like "Cubed Steaks," "Steak Sauce," and "Salsa."

Check it out, and enjoy!

A scoop above....

Imagine the pretty possibilities with this fancy little ice cream scoop! Your guests will think that same carton of Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream is gourmet when you scoop it out in this fancy shapeand add some fresh rapsberries and chocolate sauce. Excellent gadget!

Find it here - courtesy of HWTM.

Cooking with Magnets

A recent article explained the up and coming use of cooking with magnets! It's officially called "induction," where heat is generated as long as the right pots and pans are placed on top of the stove.

The article goes on to explain some of the reasons why this new eco-friendly choice is a great option if you're doing a home renevation or wanting to switch out your kitchen appliances:

"Safety – Because the cooktop only works when there is a ferromagnetic pot on top of it, there isn't much risk of the kids accidentally burning themselves by touching a burner, even if the stove is on, and it also won't react to a dropped utensil which may hit the burner. That being said, you could burn yourself if you touch a burner immediately AFTER use, or if you touch the pot itself.

Speed – The magnetic action allows for a "boost" of power that can boil 6 cups of water in under 3 minutes.

Responsiveness - The burner reacts quickly, giving the responsiveness of a gas cooktop (cooling and heating).

Cleanliness – The clean lines of a glass top electric plus because it stays cool, spills don't cook on the top.

It's just wicked cool - Let's face it, just sounds cool when you say you cook with magnets. And I can't even tell you how many times, during a family gathering, I had to demonstrate how fast the water would boil."

Of course going green with your cooking would require a new set of pots and pans that would interact with your new stovetop in the correct way. However, Ikea has a wonderful line of ferromagnetic cookware for absolutely fantastic prices. Go here to see an example.

Source & Photo: Real Simple