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Kroger’s New Chocolate Chip Cookies

Once again I’m reviewing a product from bzzagent.com.  I really like this review/product test site. If you like to try new things for free you should check them out!

Today I’m reviewing Kroger’s New Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies. I got two free boxes to eat. Plus some coupons which I used to purchase cookies for holiday gifts.

At my Kroger these cookies are only $2.50 a box, which isn’t bad for cookies.

I thought they tasted pretty good. They have lots of chocolate chips so my 3yr old actually ate the entire cookie instead of just picking the chocolate out. I do wish they had a soft variety though. The cookies are crunchy and I prefer chewy but they were still pretty good. However, if you leave a cookie out all night it will be soft in the morning. (of course I ate it stale, it had chocolate in it!)

At $2.50 a box they’re cheaper than Nabisco cookies which is nice. The Kroger cookies are larger though, meaning you’ll probably only get one instead of three if you open the box in a group.

This year, I bought some to give to teachers as Christmas gifts. It’s an inexpensive, edible gift. And everyone loves cookies. I was already planning to do cookies of some sort and when I tried these I decided that they were just what I was looking for.

All in all, a pretty tasty cookie. And a great Christmas gift for teachers!

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Style Find

Today, I’m just doing a quick review on a clothing site. Stylefind.com. I’m testing out this site for a site called bzzagent.com, but don’t worry, I don’t have to say anything special, just what I think.

Pros: for this site, they have a lot of fun features, a find your shape jean selector, style suggestions such as what’s new in style, a page of my favorite stuff, and a lot more. It’s a fun site to play around on and see all the styles.

Cons: The clothing on this site costs way more than I am willing to pay. The cheapest pair of jeans I saw was $80. I realize for some people, this is a great deal, but for me, with two kids who stain my jeans within weeks of purchase, I just can’t justify spending this much on clothing.

So, go check it out for fun, but don’t get attached to the clothing, it won’t be good for your budget.

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Roasted Beef, Mushroom, and Barley Soup

I made this soup last fall and love it! I’d been thinking about making it again and when I found mushrooms and stew beef on sale today (no I did not use sirloin steak as the recipe calls for) I decided that I had to make this soup again.

The kids are napping, and I just finished eating a bowl, and it was just as good as I remembered it!

Unfortunately (or fortunately for me) my husband does not like mushrooms so I’m planning to freeze most of this in individual serving sizes so I can enjoy it for lunches throughout the winter.

I discovered roasted soups last year and I love them! Roasting the meat and mushrooms in the oven before you add the ingredients to the soup brings out a lot of  flavor. It adds a pan to wash but it’s definitely worth the extra dish.

Roasted Beef, Mushroom, and Barley Soup

1 lb Sirloin Steak (I used stew meat) cut into 1/2 in pieces
1 pound mushrooms cut into 1/2 in pieces
2T olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 C low-sodium chicken broth (I used beef broth – and it was not low sodium) or water
1/2 C quick-cooking barley
Handfull of chopped parsley

Heat oven to 425, toss meat, mushrooms, and oil in a roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast until beef and mushrooms are browned, about 30 minutes.

Transfer to a medium pot and add broth, parsley, and barley. Bring to a boil and simmer until barley is soft, about 13 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Chicken Barley Soup

While not a fan of cold weather I do love trying all all sorts of new soups this time of year. The nice thing about soup is it freezes well and it’s usually a one pot meal! My first new soup of the season turned out really well. We ate half and I froze half for later this year when I’ve run out of soup recipes to try!

Chicken Barley Soup

1T oil
4 carrots, diced small
4 celery stalks, diced small
1 med onion, diced small
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 in pieces
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 T thyme
1 C quick cooking barley
5oz baby spinach (5 cups)

1. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, heat oil over medium0high. Add carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until chicken is opaque at edges, about 2 minutes.

2. Add broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Stir in barley. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until barley is tender and chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

3. Add spinach and cook until wilted, 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Few ingredients, simple, and easy to make, and very tasty!

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Burt’s Bees Natural Skincare

My latest product test from BzzAgent has been Burt’s Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin. They sent me two full sized products. A face cleanser and a face lotion. I was in the market for a new face lotion so I was really excited to try this out!

I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and I’m really happy with it. After my second child I’d been having trouble with my face breaking out, and I’ve never had trouble with this before. And the Burt’s Bees Natural face cleanser and lotion haven’t given me any trouble. My face has completely cleared up. And it’s gentle enough that I even let my child try it out on her face when I’m doing mine.

At $15 a bottle they’re affordable and I plan to buy more when I use up my current bottles of product.

Want to discover more about Burt’s Bees®? Head to burtsbees.com/sensitive to find a complete product list (for your whole body), special offers, and information about Burt’s Beest.

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My New Etsy Site

I have finally opened my new Etsy site. If you’re not familiar with etsy it’s an online site where individuals can sell vintage items and/or handmade items made by themselves. You can rate the sellers once you purchase from them so it’s pretty easy to see if you’re purchasing from a reputable seller or not. I’ve made several purchases off of this site and never had any trouble at all. Most people are happy to make a sale and want a good rating so they can make more sales so they’re going to make sure you’re happy.

I also have so much fun just browsing the site and looking at all the cool stuff people have made!

If you want to see what I’m selling without going to Etsy you can see it on my blog here.

I have a few more things planned that I haven’t posted yet, some hairbows for little girls, bibs, burp cloths, baby quilts, and more! I’ll be posting updates as I get those finished and for sale.

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Dutch Apple Pie

So, Cayenne pepper is my new favorite spice. I made an apple pie yesterday and I couldn’t resist using it. Before you think, oh, no!, spicy apple pie. Don’t worry, I didn’t use that much! I’ve discovered that a tiny amount of cayenne pepper adds flavor to sweet foods without being spicy.

I was making a dutch apple pie and when I went to make the crumb topping I discovered that I was out of brown sugar. The pie was already sitting in the pan ready to go and I really didn’t want to make a crust for the top. So, I improvised:

1 C Sugar
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/2 C shredded coconut
4T unsalted butter

Blend well and sprinkle on top. It was quite yummy! The pepper adds flavor without adding spice, and without it I think using the white sugar would have been a bit too bland for the top of my apple pie.

I also tried a new crust, which actually turned out! I have trouble with my crusts being too tough. I think I overwork them. Use oil instead of butter, so you mix it all together with a fork and then press it into the pan instead of rolling it out. My crust was actually flaky for once!


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Apple Pecan Cake

I tried out this cake recipe yesterday. Unfortunately, I sent it to work with my husband before I got a picture. However, it was delicious, easy to make, and contained all ingredients that I keep on hand so I’m going to post it without a picture.

I got this recipe out of this month’s Everyday Food magazine. This is my favorite cooking magazine. Most of the recipes contain ingredients that I can identify and the recipes are not too time-consuming to make. A must with little kids!

This recipe did use a large number of bowls, which my kids appreciated since they got to lick out every one of them 🙂

Apple-Pecan Cake

1/2 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
3/4 C pecans, chopped
2 1/2 C all purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 C all purpose flour, and 1 C wheat flour)
2 t baking powder
1 t nutmeg (I did not add this – I don’t usually like the aftertaste of nutmeg)
1/4 t salt
3/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1/2 C plain yogurt
1 1/3 C sugar
1 t orange zest
3 large eggs
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9in square pan. Line with parchment paper, butter parchment. In a med bowl, toss apple and pecans with 2 T flour to coat. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, combine applesauce and yogurt.

2. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar, and orange zest on high until light and fluffy, 3 min, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions applesauce mixture, and beat to combine. Fold in apple mixture. Transfer batter to pan and smooth top.

3. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 20 min. Using parchment, lift cake from pan. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

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$10 for Plum District

Plum District, an online deal site is offering $10 gift certificates to everyone who signs up. Making $30 worth of custom tags only $5 or $40 worth of baby clothes only $10. A pretty good deal!

Plus other deals such as wall decals for only $4 after using your $10 gift certificate.

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Free Photo Book from My Publisher

I’m always looking for free photo books. I usually have to pay shipping but I think that $9 for a book is a whole lot better than $30!

I just tried out My publisher for the first time. I do a book a year for each of my kids. One of my girls just turned 3 last month so I was pretty happy to find this deal. My Publisher is offering new customers $20 off any purchase.  They have books, cards and calendars so you can make and purchase anything you want.

I received my photo book in the mail today and I’m very pleased with it. I can’t wait to show it to my little girl!