Do you love cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables? If so, you might be wondering what the best way is to clean these items. Making sure your produce items are properly cleaned is the best and safest way to enjoy them, and doing this only takes minutes. If you want to be sure you are enjoying the cleanest produce, take a peek below at 7 tips for cleaning produce. You will be amazed at how easy it is. 1. Buy a vegetable peeler Many contaminates can find their way into vegetable skins and even if washed, can still hang on. Buy a quality vegetable peeler so you can remove the peels from items such as cucumbers, zucchini, and of course potatoes prior to preparation. 2. Rinse peeled vegetables Just because you removed the dirty skin, you still need to wash the inside of your produce items. Rinse the items under running water for a good 30 seconds so clean away any debris or dirt, even the stuff that is too small for the eye to see. 3. Buy a produce brush A … [Read more...]
Grocery Shopping In NYC Has Just Gotten Easier! @PeapodDelivers #Giveaway #Ad
I'm going to get right to the point, I am an extremely busy mom. Not only do I have a full-time career as a New York City public school teacher, but I am also the mom of two active boys, I publish a successful blog, and I am married to a wonderful man. All of these roles are wonderful but they keep me on my toes and often wondering why there aren't more hours in a day. I just don't have a lot of time and I am always looking for ways to simplify my life. That is why I was so excited when I found out that Peapod’s recent expansion in NYC means that every zip code in all 5 boroughs is now able to experience the time and money savings Peapod has to offer! Let's be honest, grocery shopping can be a very time consuming task and it's a necessary evil because we all need to stock food in the house and feed our families. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be very difficult to squeeze the time in to go food shopping. In NY, Peapod offers the best of the suburban grocery store … [Read more...]
Homemade Meatloaf And Ketchup Recipe
When I was growing up, there were certain recipes that my mother would prepare regularly that she had learned how to cook from her own mother, my grandmother. Many times, my sister and I would come home from school and sit with her in the kitchen telling her about our day as we helped her prepare dinner. One of her favorite recipes was for homemade meatloaf and I was always intrigued by how she mixed all the ingredients together in a large bowl and kneaded her hands throughout the mixture to blend them all together. These are the recipes that I prepare in my own home for my children. Not only do they remind me of happy times during my childhood, but they also help me to carry on family traditions with my boys. They also will often descend upon me in the kitchen to tell me all about how their day went at school. The best part is that they love meatloaf as much as I did when I was a kid and will usually clean their plates when I serve it to them. Hopefully your family will … [Read more...]
Make Fresh Shrimp Salad Bites For Your Next Dinner Party!
I am a huge fan of eating shrimp and always have been for as long as I could remember. Don't laugh but I often think about what a tragedy it would have been if I had been allergic to shellfish. I can't imagine what life would have been like without trying shrimp at least once during my life. Even though I love shrimp, I'm not such a big fan of recipes that force me to spend hours in the kitchen cooking. When it comes to this Working Mom, I want to prepare dishes that are going to be easy to make, nutritious, and delicious to eat. That is why I am sharing this Shrimp Salad Bites recipe with all of you. This appetizer can also be the perfect afternoon snack because it is so light and fresh. Also, it takes just minutes to prepare and contains flavorful and delicious ingredients. SHRIMP SALAD BITES RECIPE Yields: 30 servings as an appetizer / 4 servings as lunch Ready in 10 minutes. Ingredients: 3⁄4 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and tails removed 2 … [Read more...]
Bring Your Family To Burger King This Month For Angry Birds™Merchandise! @BurgerKing #Ad
We experienced the first major snowfall of the season here in New York City today. Of course, in our home that also means that the cold weather will cause our youngest son to suffer from asthma throughout the winter. Right on time, he got sick last night and we had to take him to the pediatrician this morning. On our way out of the doctor's office, he asked me if he could have a treat for being such a good boy and I replied that he could. I knew that the perfect reward was to take him to Burger King to enjoy a kid's meal because they are featuring Angry Birds™ Merchandise all month long! Our local Burger King is really beautiful as it was recently remodeled and is very family-friendly. If you live in or plan to visit the Bronx, you should definitely stop by and grab a bite as it is located at 1590 Hutchinson River Parkway. Since my son wasn't feeling well, I knew this was the perfect inviting environment to get him to eat a little something and drink so he could stay … [Read more...]
Do You Know What Ingredients Are In Your Favorite Sauce? @Victoria_BKLYN #Ad
My great grandfather was from Naples, Italy on my mother's side. As a result, many of the dishes that my mother prepared for us when we were growing up were Italian recipes. I can still remember how delicious everything smelled when she had pots boiling on the stove and us kids would walk in and out of the kitchen hoping that dinner was finally ready for us to devour. Back then, most foods were made from scratch, including sauces. As a Working Mom, I want to recreate all of the delicious recipes that I enjoyed when I was a kid but I just don't have the time to spend hours cooking in the kitchen. Recently, in my quest to prepare those traditional Italian dishes that my mother used to make, I found Victoria Premium Pasta Sauces which is the first major pasta sauce brand to put their all natural ingredients on the front of their label. This makes a big difference to me because, although I don't have a lot of time to cook, I still want to give my family healthy foods without … [Read more...]
Tips For Preparing Lobster And Hosting A Lobster Party! #FDLobsterParty @FreshDirect #Ad
*I wrote this post as part of my participation in a blog tour on behalf of FreshDirect and received compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own. Many of you are aware that I grew up in a small fishing town in Spain called Mera. My grandparents had a condominium directly across the street from the beach and I would often go fishing with my grandfather for fresh fish in his boat. Those are my earliest memories of the taste of fresh seafood because it doesn't get any fresher than fishing it out of the ocean yourself. We would bring our catch back to my grandmother and she would season and prepare it for cooking. I can't even begin to describe how delicious the scents were that filled the entire house while she was cooking. One of my favorite dishes that my grandmother prepared was lobster. Fresh lobster that is properly prepared can be tantalizing to your taste buds. Unfortunately, many people like to eat … [Read more...]
Celebrate Soccer Season With The Perfect Pair Of Foods! #GolazoKraft #CollectiveBias #Shop #Ad
*I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. Soccer is a beloved sport in our home. My husband and I are both of Latin descent and we have lived in our native countries of Spain and Puerto Rico where fútbol is the national pastime. Every four years when that big soccer tournament comes around, we really enjoy predicting which teams will make it to the end and, of course, cheering for our own countries' teams. This past week, we all got together at my mother's house to watch Spain play. Unfortunately, they were unable to win and move forward in the competition. Although we were all disappointed, we still managed to have a great time together and to enjoy each other's company along with some great food. I normally arrange with my family members a list of dishes that each person will bring when we get together to watch soccer … [Read more...]
We Celebrated Our Son’s Eleventh Birthday At @Benihana Restaurant! #BeniKids #Ad
*I participated in this campaign on behalf of Benihana. I received a promotional item to facilitate this review and as a thank you item for participating. All opinions are my own. This past week, we celebrated our oldest son's eleventh birthday. It's hard to believe that he is even that old because I can still remember the precise moment that I laid my eyes on him for the first time. He was absolutely exquisite with bright blue eyes and a shock of red hair that I couldn't believe that he was really my baby. You see, I had wanted to become a mother for four years before becoming pregnant with him but it took us a long time to conceive. Now he is a tween and I feel blessed to be able to witness his transformation into a young man. He has his own distinct personality and sense of humor and I see so much of myself and his father in him. This year, he wanted to go somewhere special to eat for his birthday and, since he has been wanting to go to Benihana Restaurant for … [Read more...]
