Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer
This is one of those toys that you never think about but every household should have.  When it comes to making apple pies, grilled ham and apple sandwiches or turkey and ham wraps, this more than cuts your prep time in half and it can also be used to make super cool potato spirals like this one:

Zyliss Palm-Held Pizza Slicer, Red Every house should have a pizza slicer because they are for so much more than slicing pizza! We use ours for cutting grilled cheese sandwiches into strips and serving them as finger food, cutting pancakes easily and in the blink of an eye and of course slicing pizza    Plus, this one is super pretty and fits right into the palm of your hand. At under $10, this is a steal.

Puffy Muffin Top Pan

We all know that the muffin top is the best part of the muffin. Cut out the middle man with this nifty little pan.  You could also use this for cupcakes!

5-Quart White Crockpot, slow cooker

It's a crockpot… there are entire websites devoted to it.  Need I say more?  I do.. okay, if you don't have one, your kitchen is nowhere near complete. (there are some way more amazing and techy-digital-esque crockpots that cause me to drool but, we're sticking with under $25 here people)

12-inch seasoned Cast Iron Skillet

You knew this was coming.  I'm a Texan.  Cast Iron is a must.  You cannot call yourself a cook in the south without one.  Trust me, this is the greatest kitchen pan of all time.  If you're lucky, you have a Granny who's passed one down from generations long gone by, if not.. this pre-seasoned skillet is an absolute steal at less than $20, these babies are priceless as far as I'm concerned.

All in one timer and digital thermometer

Whether it's medium-rare steaks, chicken, pork chops or timing your 15 minute cleaning spree.. this digital thermometer timer is a MUST HAVE! It's combining two kitchen must haves into one sleek, useful and easy to read tool and really is a steal at $18

Wilton Easy Flex Silicone Spatula 3 Piece Set

Silicone is one of the greatest kitchen friends ever.  Multi-size spatulas are a necessity and for under $7.. this is a fantastic set.

Rubbermaid Storage Set

This is the exact set that is in my cabinets right now and I paid more than $20 for it.

Hot Air Corn Popper I really think that every kitchen should have a hot air popper.  This popper is under $21 and is worth at least triple that for the flavor and the memories. Fresh popped popcorn is a standout memory of my childhood and the taste.. oh my word the taste.  No bagged popcorn can replicate it.  And I say that with all the knowledge (and disclosure)  that I love love love bagged popcorn

12-inch electric skillet

Okay, this one breaks my barrier by $10 BUT, my electric skillet is almost 2nd in my heart to my cast iron skillet and I cannot live without it and you cannot get a good one for under $25.  Forgive me? Yes, yes you will

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Christmas is a time for giving, we all know that. Luckily, giving doesn't mean spending all your hard earned cash at the local mall. Giving your time, effort and love is just as important (okay, so MORE important) than all those gadgets and shiny things you find in the store. This year, give nuts.

These nuts are just as tasty as the ones you find in the shopping malls this time of year. You know the ones I'm talking about. Just as you walk through the doors of the mall you can smell them. They're impossible to resist! You must follow your nose to the sugary, spicy, roasted nuts.

This year, rather than paying over $1.00 for an ounce of roasted nuts, why not make them yourself? Oh, because you can't? It's too hard? You don't know how?

Actually, you can. It's simple. I'll show you how.

These nuts are so simple to make and you get great results with ingredients that you most likely have on hand. Please. Make these. You will not be disappointed.

Just grab a big can of nuts, any will do. Almonds, pecans, peanuts, mixed nuts, whatever. I used mix nuts. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

Dump 'em in a big bowl, pour in a beaten egg white, stir it up and dump on the sugar and spice. Mix it up, pop the nuts in the oven for 30 minutes or so and all of your dreams will come true.

These are yummy right out of the oven (be careful, though, they are hot), but they store perfectly which makes them perfect little Christmas gifts. A big jar of nuts wrapped in a pretty ribbon? Best Christmas gift ever.

If you'd rather give store bought gifts this year, that's fine too, but be sure to make these for your next get-together. You'll be a hero.

Sugar and Spice Candied Nuts
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 2 pounds nuts (any kind, I prefer mixed)
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 2 tbsp water
• 2/3 cup dark-brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (you could use paprika if you're a scaredy-pants, but the cayenne works well)
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Add nuts to large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites and water until frothy. Pour over nuts and stir to coat all the nuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugars, salt, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Pour over nuts and stir to coat. Spread nuts in a single layer on a parchment (or wax paper) lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and separate nuts if they are stuck together. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.

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George at World’s Healthiest Foods (a site I go to again and again for nutritional information) writes:

If you want to use olive oil for cooking, we agree not to use extra virgin olive oil as it has a lower smoke point than others. We’d use virgin oil, depending upon the temperature. We use extra virgin olive oil in cold dishes, so that its fatty acids and antioxidants aren’t destroyed.

And because I forgot I got a reply, I emailed again and received an even better response:

Until we see studies indicating otherwise, we will choose to play it safe when it comes to heating extra virgin olive oil. The phenolic antioxidants that they feature are simply too important to risk potential damage through unnecessary heating. The 200-250 F (93-121 C) temperature range is the one we feel safest with when it comes to the heating of extra virgin olive oil and protection of its phenols. This temperature range will work well for making sauce or for the warming of a dish that has extra virgin olive oil added just before this warming stage (but not during the actual cooking or baking process).

And from the Weston A. Price Foundation site:

Those fats and oils that are appropriate for cooking or sautéing and will withstand fairly high temperatures are those that have been in use for thousands of years, including olive oil as well as the more stable saturated coconut and palm oils and the animal tallows. An oil such as sesame oil with its special heat-activated antioxidants can be blended with coconut oil and olive oil to form a very stable good cooking oil.

Huh?  So now EVOO is the best for sauteeing?  I’m lost!

So I ask another question:  Are There Still Health Benefits to Virgin Olive Oil (and is that a better choice for heat)?

Virgin Olive Oil and Cooking

World’s Healthiest Foods says this:

A study published in the European Journal of Nutrition indicates that virgin olive oil provides significantly greater protection against free radical damage to LDL cholesterol-one of the first steps in the initiation of atherosclerosis.

Now I consider:  I’m reading that virgin olive oil has some health benefits. I understand that extra virgin may be sketchy at best at high heat, and I’m not always so good at watching my sauteeing closely.  Virgin olive oil has a higher smoke point (420 vs. 375, according to Wikipedia), so it seems that it would be safer to use in cooking and roasting. I can roast some Yum-O potatoes at 400 and feel safe.  Right?

Visit Kitchen Stewardship for my best deal on EVOO and coconut oil and a discussion with the chemist at Soaper's Choice, my new fav place to buy bulk oils.  See  A Good Deal on Top Fats (Or, Why I have 63 Pounds of Coconut and Olive Oil on my Porch).

For now, somebody should tell Rachel Ray to quit sauteeing in EVOO, don’t you think?

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This is a delicious  recipe for a great comfort food, pear butter . I adapted my crock pot apple butter recipe, using different spices for the pear butter. It isamazing. It is not as heavily spiced as apple butter and the flavor of the butter is lightened with fresh lemon.  Star anise, ginger, and nutmeg complement the pears so nicely and make it a very comforting flavor you can enjoy all year long. Making the pear butter in the crock pot is extremely easy. It will fill your home with the most lovely fragrance. Just add about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for every pear. Pack your crock pot full of pears, so you will have lots of pear butter to can. You can adjust your seasonings to taste. This recipe will produce almost 4 pint jars. It makes the perfect gift for the holidays, just tie a pretty ribbon around the lid. (more…)

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• 6 large sweet potatoes (about 4 lbs)
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 3/4 C melted butter
• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 C orange juice
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Peel potatoes; cut potatoes, lemon, and orange into 1/4-inch slices.

Place potato slices in a lightly greased 11×7 baking dish; arrange lemon and orange slices over potato. (I use the tip of a knife to pop the seeds out of the lemon slices.)

Combine melted butter, sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour mixture over potato mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 1 hour.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 1 1/2 hours, basting often with pan juices.

Serves 8-10 people who will "ohhh and ahhh" over it!

originally posted on Milk Breath and Margaritas

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I emailed a couple websites and browsed others, only to get a yes and a no on the same question.  *raspberries* to that!

Nonetheless, we might as well trudge through the jungle of information together.  I wrote a post on How to Buy, Use and Store Olive Oil: Some Precautions when we looked at EVOO as a Super Food.  I was left unimpressed with what I found and felt there were still more questions to be asked.  The discussion in the comments at this post at Kelly the Kitchen Kop inspired me to keep looking.  Here are the questions to which I’m looking for answers:

• Is it Safe to Saute with Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
• Is it Safe to Roast Vegetables with Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
• What Happens to EVOO when Heated?
• Can I Bake (Bread, etc.) with Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Safe Under Heat?

California Olive Ranch actually wrote a whole series of posts to answer my questions.  You can find them here and here so far.  They give an unequivocal yes to all heating with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I don’t know that I’m convinced, though, because I have to run the source through my “smart-media filter” and remember that they’re trying to sell a product.

I strongly disagree with some of the info in the first post, because one expert says that heating an oil to its smoke point is “not harmful, per se,” whereas my research tells me that hitting the smoke point oxidizes the oil, creates free radicals, and can damage your system working to cause cancer, heart disease, yadda yadda.  Not exactly what I’d call “not harmful”.  I feel like their experts are mostly focusing on flavor, where I want to know about my health.

I did appreciate this breakdown (from the second post) when considering roasting potatoes with EVOO:

The temperature of the oven or stove top is not the same as the temperature of the food being cooked. For instance when you roast a turkey in an oven set at 325 degrees F, the heat does not make the turkey also 325 degrees. Instead you roast the turkey at 325 degrees until it reaches the temperature of 165 degrees (or so).

However – the 165 is internal temp.  What happens to the oil on the OUTside of my potatoes?  More research needed!

Find out more next week in a second installment of EVOO news!

Visit Kitchen Stewardship for research notes and more tips on how to make small changes in your kitchen to balance your time, your budget, the environment, and your family's nutrition.

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I had never  made it myself,  so I called her for the recipe and with some minor adjustments, was able to create a large, warm pot of the feel-goods.  Try it out on your family! 

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 rotisserie chicken from your grocer's deli
• 1 24 oz. bag frozen egg noodles (I used Reames)
• 1 lg. onion, chopped
• 3-4 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 12 oz. bag baby carrots, sliced (approx. 4 c.)
• 2 tbsp. dried thyme
• 3 tbsp. dried parsley
• 6 c. reduced-sodium chicken stock
• 5 c. water
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, add butter.  Saute onions in butter approx. 3 min.
2. In the palm of your hand, rub the dried herbs with your thumb to release the oils.  Add dried herbs, salt and pepper.  Continue sauteing another 3-4 minutes.
3. Add stock and water.  Bring to a boil.
4. Add noodles, carrots and celery and return to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium/medium-low, cover and simmer for 25 min.

The soup is pretty much ready once the vegetables and noodles are cooked through.  I find that taking the lid off after the 25 min., turning the heat to low and allowing the soup to continue coming together for about another 20 min (or longer if you have it) makes for a better soup.  It may need added salt & pepper depending on preference.  Also, there are smaller bags of Ream's noodles available.  To make a smaller pot of soup, just scale back on the rest of the ingredients.  If you want your soup more "brothy" you could always add extra water and/or stock.

Variation:
Purchase a raw, whole chicken and allow to boil in 10 C. of water along with the celery, carrots, onion and herbs.  Once the chicken is cooked, pull it out and add the egg noodles to the pot, cover and simmer 20 min.  Meanwhile, shred chicken and add back to the pot.

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My first Thanksgiving as a married grown-up, I decided to cook the complete dinner for my family. It was a chaotic day of cleaning, cooking and preparing to host a much smaller feast. The next time around, I was a lot better prepared. My mom actually thanked me for creating the most relaxing Thanksgiving she'd ever experienced. I have continued to use the plans and timeline year after year, even as our guest list has grown, to enjoy the day with my family. I hope these tips help you have a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving feast.

Decide on your menu in advance. In fact, start writing it down now! This will allow you to purchase ingredients over the next few weeks, rather than rushing into the crowds the day before and spending too much money. Write each recipe on an index card. Compare your recipes to see which ones will cook well together and which ones will compete for oven time. You want to set up your day so that everything is ready and warm at the same time.

Be sure to consider which items can be prepared in advance. For example, you can cut vegetables for a relish tray the night before or chop ingredients for a casserole. I usually bake pies a day or two before Thanksgiving, and make my noodles a week prior. It is also helpful to start with a clean kitchen. Empty the refrigerator, take out the trash, empty the dishwasher & sink.

Take a look at your cookware and decide which pans & dishes will hold the appropriate recipes to prevent needing a dish twice at the same time. On your recipe/index card, write down the appropriate dish and the cook time. The night before, lay out each dish you will use along with the appropriate recipe. This way if someone wants to pitch in on Thursday, the recipe is at their fingertips. On the big day, you can relax, have fun and enjoy a hot meal!

Last year's Thanksgiving Menu Plan:

• Turkey-foil roasting pan
• Ham-Rival roaster
• Cornbread Stuffing-in bird/bread crock
• Mashed potatoes-6-qt pan/6 Quart Crockpot
• Gravy-2-qt pan
• Egg noodles-4-qt pan
• Green bean casserole-9-inch baker
• Green beans-round crockpot
• Sweet potato casserole-9×13 baker
• Broccoli salad-white dish
• Fruit/Veggie Tray-Chillzanne platter
• Dinner rolls-large bar pan
• pumpkin pies-pie plates

The Thanksgiving Dinner Plan

Sunday:
• Move turkey and ham to refrigerator for thawing
• Make and dry egg noodles

Wednesday:
• Bake pumpkin pies
• Cut fruit & vegetables
• Thaw rolls
• Fill salt & pepper shakers

Thursday:
7:00am make cornbread stuffing
7:30 am stuff turkey
7:45 am turkey into oven
8:00 am ham into roaster
8:15 am green beans into crockpot
8:30 am Breakfast
9:30 am peel & boil potatoes
10:00 am Mash potatoes; transfer to crockpot on warm
10:15 am prepare sweet potato casserole; refrigerate
10:30 am prepare green bean casserole; refrigerate
10:45 am prepare broccoli salad; refrigerate
11:15 am Set out fruit & veggies for snacking
11:30 am Make tea; refrigerate
12:00 pm Remove turkey from oven, transfer broth to stockpot
12:15 pm Casseroles/dressing/rolls into oven
12:30 pm Add noodles to broth
12:45 pm Carve turkey/Make gravy
1:00 pm Dinner!

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With the recent change in seasons and the even colder weather just around the corner, I have been craving some serious soup.  The minute that first chill hits the air, my cravings go from crisp salads and ice cream to hearty soups and pumpkin pie.  You don't have to be a nutritionist to know that the canned soups that are stocked on the shelves at your local grocery are laced with obscene amounts of sodium.  Even when scanning some of the "healthy" varieties, the sodium was astronomical.  So, I decided to try my hand at a homemade soup.  Potato was sounding pretty good that day.

There are so many different types of potato soup that are out there: the cheesy, the creamy, the pureed, and so on.  I tend to favor a creamy, non-cheesy potato soup that has huge hunks of potato in it, so I knew I was going to want to make that style of potato soup. My usual MO when it comes to wanting to make something for the first time is to scour about 10 – 15 recipes and from them, culminate what I want to cook.  I was seriously shocked at how delicious and easy this came out to be!  You have got to give it a try!  There is no blending, pureeing or hours of simmering here, which I saw plenty of while scouring.  Just easy, creamy potato soup.

Ingredients:

• 3 c. diced potatoes (don't bother peeling them)
• 1 c. sliced carrots
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 of a large onion, diced (or one whole medium)
• 4 tbsp. flour
• 2 1/2 c. milk
• 4 c. of low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, cut into pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put the potatoes, carrots and chicken stock in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add pepper and salt to taste.  Once boiling, reduce heat and continue to cook until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes).  In a small saute pan, saute onions in the butter for about 3 min. (you only want to sweat out the onions, not caramelize them), stir in flour and continue cooking about a minute.  It will look a little scary.  Slowly whisk in milk.  Lower heat, add cream cheese and continue whisking until the cream cheese is incorporated.  Add cream cheese mixture to the simmering vegetables.  Continue to simmer on medium-low heat until ready to serve.  This recipe makes about 4 good-sized servings.  I usually double it and make a huge batch for work-week lunches.

Extras:
I threw 4 pieces of bacon into the oven at 375 for about 15 min. and crumbled them on top along with shredded cheddar and chives.  You can use any kind of potato.  I have used both Yukon gold and red skin – equally delicious.

Lower Calorie Options:
Swap regular cream cheese for 1/3 less fat cream cheese and use skim or 1% milk instead of 2% or whole milk.  You could swap olive oil for butter but beware, I did it the second time I made the soup and it did not yield the same creamy consistency.  Also, I would not go for the fat-free cream cheese, as it does not melt well.

image credit

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Pretty caramel apples are always a great treat and super easy to make! Dipping them into your favorite candy bar makes them extra special. YUM!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Caramels
• 8 whole Apples
• 8 whole Wooden Sticks
• 3 bars Your Favorite Candy Bar
• 1 cup Melted Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Melt the caramels in a microwave safe dish for about 3-5 minutes until melted.
2. Put sticks in apples (you can use real sticks from outside for a rustic touch)
3. Melt chocolate in microwave
4. Chop up your candy bar
5. Dip apples in caramel and roll in the candy bar
6. Place on a pretty cupcake wrapper and pipe chocolate over your apple (use a plastic baggie for this, just cut the tip off the end)

Enjoy!!

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