Hey! I have an idea for a series of posts!

I think I have signed up and used about all the daily deal sites there are currently on the Internet. This is how I explain having over 3000 emails in my email inbox.  It's all those daily deal emails. Because I haven't met a deal site I wasn't willing to give a try, I thought I'd share my feedback for you, in a series of blog posts called "Hey! I have an idea for a series!"

1. Groupon.  Who doesn't know what Groupon is at this point? AmIright?  Or is that incorrect? Should it read: Who doesn't know who or whom Groupon is at this point?  Yes, I'm cracking myself up now.  Any who...

Groupon is great if you like to go do stuff, I would say make sure that you only buy Groupons that you are sure you can use in a short time frame.  For example, The Man bought oil changes in February.  A set of 3 oil changes for $39.95.  Yes it is a great deal, but we moved in May, so only 1 of the 3 oil changes got used.  Not such a good deal.

So if you Groupon, make sure to read the fine print, and make sure it is a place you can go to within say 6 weeks of purchase. 

One HUGE con to Groupon is the annoying writing they use for their deals. Are you familiar?  I bet there is a Facebook page dedicated to the antifans of the Groupon Prose.  ***runs off to check***

Well there aren't any Groupon Copywriting Is Lame pages on Facebook.  This leads me to one of two conclusions.  I am the only person who doesn't like their attempts to seem 'hip and cool' OR Facebook censors groups who would discuss how lame Groupon is because Groupon probably buys lots of targeted ads from Facebook.

Yes. Major Conspiracy it is.

Final verdict: Skip the deal descriptions if they annoy you, but make sure to click and read the fine print before you buy!

Just Needs Some Spinach

I like to try the recipes I find in the paper next to coupons. This fondness for a deal with a recipe lead me to a new recipe for chicken from Swanson Flavor Boost.

You can click below to see the original recipe or you can read on to see how I doctored it up.

 My version:

1 1/2 tbsp Meyer Lemon Infused Oil (divided)
1 lb boneless chicken breasts cut into strips. (I cut it while it was still mostly frozen so it was easier to cut)
1 8oz package of mushrooms, sliced.  I think I will try baby bella mushrooms next time.
1/2-1 tbsp Garlic Garlic
1 pint grape tomatoes
3 green onions sliced white and green parts about 1/3 cup
2 packets of the Swanson Flavor Boost concentrated broth
2 tbsp of water

Next time I'm going to add a bag of baby spinach to the ingredients. I think it will be great with addition. I will cook the spinach at the very end of the cooking process.

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until well browned, stirring often.  Remove the chicken from the skillet.
• Heat the remaining oil in the skillet over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and cook until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add the garlic, tomatoes and onions to the skillet and cook and stir for 1 minute.  Return the chicken to the skillet.  Stir in the concentrated broth and water and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
Must have pasta?  You could spoon this over pasta if you'd like.

 the original recipe is clickable below.

Campbell's Kitchen: Chicken with Grape Tomatoes & Mushrooms

The quicker picker upper.

Bounty One Sheet

Three kids and pets, plus my love of cooking from scratch equals a constant need for paper towels. Constant!

So I was really excited to get a couple of coupons to try the latest and greatest paper towel from Bounty.

Why me?  How did Bounty know that I am always buying paper towels?  Well they don't follow me around or monitor our trash, I received the coupons because I belong to Vocalpoint and am part of their "Be the First Program".

So how does the Bounty work?  Is it as described? One Sheet?  Well, I used it for a spill of orange juice.  Anna (AKA Trail Mix) Trail Mix spilled about 1/2 a cup of the stuff onto our counter.  It looked like too much for One Sheet, but I was pleasantly surprised that one sheet did the trick.

You know what this means?  A roll of the Bounty should last longer than the generic store brand I usually purchase because it is the cheapest. And if it lasts longer, I can get the Bounty, use less, use a coupon and probably have a few extra pennies to add to the Family Rainy Day Coffee Can.

So Do You Know Lenin's real name?

Last week The Man and I went to trivia night with some of the members of my new networking group the Tri-State Business Women.  This local sports bar type place, has a weekly trivia game hosted by a DJ. 

Now listen, it isn't that easy bar trivia you might play when you go down to the Buffalo Wild Wings. It's not a bunch of multiple choice stuff.  This is old school.  You write down your answers on a piece of paper and hand them to the DJ.  You use a pencil and people don't google answers.

You would think with the event being so retro, I would have been able to indulge in an ice cold Zima.  I put a wiki link in there for anyone under 25 who might be reading. 

Alas, Zima was discontinued back in 2008 and not even playing retro trivia can bring it back to life.  Interestingly, I learned on wiki that Zima is Slavic for 'Winter'.  This segues right into the Bonus Trivia Question we ended the night upon. 

What is the real name of Lenin?  Not John Lennon of the Beatles. The other one, Lenin the Communist Russian Leader.  Look I don't even know his first name.  I thought he was a one-namer like Cher or Madonna.

Turns out his first name is Vladamir and his real last name is  Ulyanov. Why did he change his name? I do not know.  The wiki is long and was compiled by some smartypants with lots of Russian Characters that are indecipherable to me.

We are going back for more trivia one Thursday soon, to wash the taint of our Epic Russian Fail away! We want to win! 

And on the subject of wins, I got a link for a nice Living Social Deal for Grab Green a great website to find greener cleaners!

Pay $15 for $30 to spend on non-toxic cleaning products

Shipping is not included. Shipping is a flat rate of $6.50

Grab Green Living Social Deal

I burn my hands twice in one week.

The first time I burn my hands, it was definitely a 'shame on me' moment. I was attempting to create a scrumptious dish from Frank Stitt's Southern Table Cookbook in my own kitchen.

The recipe is called Lowcountry Red Rice.  I was very excited to try it and I was extra excited because The Man said he thought he would really enjoy it--if I made it with shrimp.  So I dove right in and made it as directed.  One thing I didn't do was put gloves on to chop up the jalapeno peppers...

So for two days after I made the dish, my hands felt like they had a sunburn.  I gave myself a first degree jalapeno burn! 

Icing on the cake was that I accidentally purchased and used jasmine rice instead of basmati rice and The Man didn't like the dish because he doesn't like jasmine rice and I know that.  My dish was doomed to fail from the moment I left the grocery store.

So here are my tips for making Lowcountry Red Rice.  Which was very good and is one of those dishes that tastes fabulous fresh or leftover the next day.

1. wear gloves when chopping the jalapeno peppers.
2. don't get the wrong rice.
3. I don't have a third tip, but to hear how I burnt myself again just a few days later, scroll down past the recipe.

LOWCOUNTRY RED RICE

• 2 cups peeled seeded chopped tomatoes, with their juices (or substitute canned, reserving the liquid)
• 1/4 lb bacon, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 celery ribs, finely diced
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 poblano peppers or 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (or canned low sodium broth, or a combination of half chicken, half shrimp broth or bottle clam juice)
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 small bunch basil or 1 small cilantro, leaves removed
• 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. 1
   If using fresh tomatoes, drain them in a sieve or colander set over a bowl to catch their juices; set juices aside.
2. 2
   In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is beginning to crisp; with a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.
3. 3
   Return Dutch oven of drippings to the stove; add the onion, bell pepper, and celery; saute until softened, about 10 minutes (add a little oil if the bacon fat seems insufficient).
4. 4
   Add the jalapeno, poblano, tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme to the pot; season with salt and pepper to taste; simmer for about 10 minutes, until the peppers have softened.
5. 5
   Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the broth with a scant 1/4 cup of the reserved tomato juices (discard any remaining juice) and add salt to taste.
6. 6
   Bring to a simmer; add the rice, return to a simmer, and stir a few times.
7. 7
   Decrease heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook until the rice is tender, about 16 minutes.
8. 8
   Add the rice to the vegetable mixture, along with the bacon; taste for seasonings.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/lowcountry-red-rice-417289#ixzz1yHygjNVP


**********
Then just 48 hours after my hands stopped tingling with pain, I was again in the kitchen , preparing a lovely repast.  There I was taking out the perfectly roasted potatoes wearing my dollar store oven mitt and suddenly, my right hand was a mass of pain.

 Did I drop the potatoes?  No Ma'am, I got those on the stovetop, whipped off my mitt and plunged my hand into cold water.

Lesson here, if your hubby buys a set of oven mitts from the dollar store, don't actually USE them.

#Wordless Wednesday!

Driving up to Youngstown, OH for my grandma's funeral this past wknd, we got to drive through a couple of mountains. Loooonnnnggg Tunnels in VA.

Observations from a South Sider.

So here we are down in the South.  Down here it's real Country. So we've been a trying to assimiate. 

This is our broken washer or it's our broken dryer,  On the back porch.  I said to the Man, let's roll that baby out front where it belongs and make it a planter. We could put some tomato plants in there. 

Now you know I'm kidding about the whole 'crap on the front lawn, we live down South now' but, the man and I do need to figure out what the heck to do with our appliances that no longer work.  See around here, you are your own garbage man.  You are also the one who sorts your recycling --no throwing it all in a bin for future sorting, no sir.

It's a good thing The Man and I didn't make our living as Garbage Pickers up North, cause down here there isn't a garbage day where everyone rolls out their trash to the curb.  Here you drive your own trash and recycling to the landfill.  At the landfill you sort your recycling and get it weighed.  So you pay for your trash by the pound.

The Man says since it's such a PITA to get rid of trash, it has created a thriving Thrift Store environment. People want to keep the amount of trash down.  I think it is because there are so many part-time residents that they forget what they keep in their houses here and bring duplicate stuff and then they don't want to take the extra stuff back to their main homes.

I suggested we just start burning our trash. The Man didn't find me humorous in the least.

So file this post under stuff you don't think about until you move to a distant land.  Speaking of moving to distant lands, I will have to ask my friend Tracy who just moved with her family to Kenya about the waste removal system in her new country.

Rainbow!!!!!!!!!!! Wordless Wednesday!

tell me this picture isnt' made of win.

Deadlocked By Charlaine Harris Review and Giveaway

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I imagine since this is book 12 in the series, that if you are reading my review you have an interest in the series. Furthermore, assuming you are up to speed on Sookie Stackhouse and the people of Bon Temps, let me share some non-spoilery review notes.

1. The synopsis of the book listed above is really not reflective of the actual book. Once again, I wonder if the people who are responsible for the book jacket/summary actually read the books they summarize.

2. I was extremely happy that Sookie's Can-Do spirit returned. I didn't enjoy Dead Recokoning because Sookie was so depressed.

3. I officially don't like the who will be Sookie's HEA mystery. Too much angst for me. I'd rather have the mystery minus the romance drama.

4. Lastly, I missed Eric and Pam. There is a large empty void in the book .  Not enough word count devoted to my favorite vampires and in my opinion, in the book and too many scenes with recently introduced humans.

Perhaps the reason for number 4. is foreshadowing that Sookie will work to be an 'average' bar owner and eschew the supernatural world in Charlaine's  final installment Dead Ever After?

Note: It's important to mention that I am a hardcore fan of the series. I read the fan fiction, I watch that awful HBO True Blood, I hang out at The Sookierverse Blog.

Now that I am done with the book, I want to give it away!  Comment below on your favorite Sookie Stackhouse Novel AKA Southern Vampire Mysteries Books and one winner will be chosen from the comments to get my hardback copy! 

Three quick things:
1. Be sure to put your email with your comment.
2. I'm mailing it Parcel Post.
3. Be a pal and follow my blog!

This is the copy I am giving away, see it has a prettier cover than the version pictured above!






View all my reviews

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is the title of a documentary my husband stumbled across over the winter on Netflix.  He greatly identified with Joe Cross the director and main actor of the film, and set off to start juicing.  Isn't that a funny word.  I wonder if it is really a word? Previous to this film I thought juice was strictly a noun.  Now it has become not only a verb, but a health movement.

Presently, The Man has fallen  back off of his small, shaky Healthy Living Band Wagon (HLBW).  I'm telling you, three of the wheels have done fell off.  So it is some amazing timing that I just received a BzzAgent Campaign invite to the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead BzzCampaign. 

What is Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead?  It's a movie Joe Cross did as he spent several months on a juice fast while road tripping across the USA.  Joe had some chronic health problems and was about 80 pounds overweight.  He took a pile of pills daily and his health was still sinking fast. So he decides to go on an all fruits and veggie fast.  He uses a juicer and fresh fruit and veggies to make his juice.

I find the whole movie a real cautionary tale, for me it is like The Biggest Loser.  I don't want to ever have to go on The Biggest Loser because I don't want to work out for 28 hours a day.  With Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, I don't want to go on a months long juice fast.  I like to eat my food not sip it. I imagine most people are like me and don't want to go on a complete long-term juice fast.

That is what is great about Joe's movie.  You can reboot your life with full on juicing or you can take a more moderate approach but still greatly benefit. At his website there are resources covering the whys and hows of juicing and most importantly you can see how 'everyday' people have used juicing to improve their health.  By adding juicing to your lifestyle you will greatly increasing your intake of quality nutrients leaving you feeling better. 

The best part is that after you watch his movie at the link above you can check out the tools and info that are part of the whole Join The Reboot lifestyle.  There are tons of great resources.  I'm going to be checking out this article on  A Kitchen Garden.