Delicious Low Calorie Popcorn As Easy As 1, 2, 3

In our household my husband and I share a love for cooking. This week my wonderful husband taught me a wonderful new trick for Popcorn!

Do you LOVE popcorn, but hate the calories and the expense involved with microwave popcorn? Don't own an Air Popper? Neither do we. In our attempt to eliminate "uni-takers" (quoting Alton Brown) from out kitchen, we ditched the Air Popper about 8 years ago. Face it, all it did was pop pop-corn and take up space. Bye bye air popcorn popper!  Well wipe away your tears and prepare to enjoy Air Popped popcorn again WITHOUT the air popper. You heard me correctly! Read on :-)

You will need:    

1. 1 lunch size brown paper bag
2. a 1/2 cup measuring cup
3. Popcorn
4. Microwave
5. Serving Bowl

Step 1:  

Measure out 1/2 cup of Popcorn

 Step 2:

Place popcorn into the paper bag.

Step 3:

Fold the top of the bag over twice to seal

Step 4:  

Place bag of popcorn into the microwave
as pictured above.

Step 5:

Cook at regular setting for 3 minutes.
(monitor popping as microwaves may be different)

Step 6:

Remove from the microwave, pour into a bowl, and ENJOY!

Easy as  1/2   cup popcorn  for 3 minutes in the microwave.   (1, 2, 3)  

Have a SWEET Week!

A Few of My Favorite Ornaments

Last night we kicked off our Christmas Season by putting up the family Christmas tree. I say "family" tree because you see in our house we typically have at least 5 trees inside the house. We had more before the oldest two moved out and took their trees with them. Today I will concentrate on the Family Tree that sits in the living room. This is the only "real" Christmas tree in the house. The other trees are artificial ones.

Decorating the family tree always makes for a happy trip down memory lane. Each ornament has a special memory attached to it and it is fun to recall them and share them with each other. Today I share with you a few of my favorites from over the years. Keep in mind that each ornament is hand made by a member of my family . Enjoy!

A Trip to Rhode Island

Good morning fellow bloggers! This morning I am writing to you from the state of Rhode Island. Smithfield, Rhode Island to be exact. It started out as  a  pleasant trip planned months in advance. We painstakingly searched for flights and jumped on the tickets as soon as we found what we felt was a rock bottom deal. Then we were lucky enough to find yet another deal on a rental car. The hotel part was easy, we would stay at our favorite hotel in Smith Field; The Hampton in Smithfield.  Well it used to be our favorite...

What started out as a pleasant family trek to visit the in-laws, soon took a turn for the more UN-pleasant. We arrived at our final destination Friday night after being on a plane for 4 hours and sitting in airports,trains, and subways for another 4 hours while we waited on a connecting flight. Word to the wise, if you can avoid connecting flight ins DC like the plague! We started out being 20 mins early for a 1 hour layover. However, by the time we traveled to the OTHER SIDE of the airport to the gate of our connecting flight, we barely had time to woof down what was supposed to be a Calzone. However I am positive it was really a clump of rubber that was being cleverly disguised in a puddle of some red sauce like substance and wrapped in a doughy shell. Even the few bites I was able to consume set like a lead weight in my stomach for the remainder of the night.  I should of opted for the Deli sandwich. After all, how can you mess up a sandwich? Right?

I have decided that other than air travel, airports are excellent sources for three things: Getting robbed, Being Physically or Verbally Assaulted, and for People Watching.  Although I have experienced all of these while inside of an airport, luckily this trip I was able to People Watch. For those of you have never been to the Dulles Airport, it is extremely busy! Picture an assembly line that is stuffing people into airplanes as if they were they were squirting the creamy filling into the center of Twinkies. Yes, it is that congested. At one time I witnessed three flights load from the same gate withing 15 mins!  The one humorous point was provided by my LittleSnowflake. The man at the gate announced over the speaker:

 "Now boarding fight blah,blah,blah to Newark."  "Last call for Newark." 

At this point my LittleSnowflake tuned to me and asked in her most "angelic voice":

"Momma, are we going to Manure?"

The gentleman sitting next to us over heard her and jokingly(or at least I THINK he was joking) said to me:

"Ah, she has been there before?" 

 Well, my family is awake and has now joined me for breakfast. So I will say good bye for now and I am off to grab some breakfast before we head out to Massachusetts to pay a visit to Plymouth Rock.

A Delicious 6 Point Dinner

With the economy the way it is, many of us are scrambling to make our family food budgets stretch as far as we can. This week I found and tried a delicious way to present left over Meat and Veggies.  I used Chicken and Broccoli and when paired with a fresh green salad turned it into a delicious 6 point dinner.

Super Easy Chicken & Broccoli Pie

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients

 9 oz of  broccoli 

1 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese 

1 cup of cooked chicken ( you can also use canned chicken if you prefer 2 five oz cans)

1/2 cup of baking mix ( I use my own but you can use Bisquick)

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 eggs

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400°F.  Spray a 9 inch round glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle the broccoli, chicken, and 1 cup of the cheese into the pie plate.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, pour the remaining ingredients (except 1/2 cup of cheese) and stir with a wire or fork until well blended. 
4. Pour wet mixture over items in the pie plate.
5. Place in oven and bake for 35 to 38 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle come out clean. 
6. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese over the top of the pie and return to oven for an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
7. Remove from oven and let stand for approximately 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information:

1 serving: Calories 260(calories from fat 140), Total Fat 15 g(saturated fat 8 g, trans fat 1/2g), Cholesterol 125 mg, sodium 580 mg, Total Carbohydrates 12 g (dietary fiber 2g, Sugars 5 g), Protein 19g

Making a PRETTY Pie

It's that time again folks! The air is getting a bit nippy and the leaves are changing colors and starting to fall to the ground. This weekend, you will notice little creatures running around dressed in various costumes going from house to house begging for treats to fill their buckets and pillow cases.

Yes, my dear friends, fall is definitely here. Soon we will all be celebrating this joyous time of year by gathering around a table that features the guest of honor...The Turkey. A table where we will feel obligated to stuff ourselves with the yummy food that has been set before us by our host, but don't forget to leave room for desert!

In my opinion the turkey gets way too much attention. For me the best is definitely saved for last. the "Grand Finale" of the wonderful feast...The PIE!

I would like to share with you today a very easy way to jazz up your fruit pie. One word my friend...crumble. It is so simply yet folk go crazy over it. When they see this pie they will think that you slaved for HOURS. Yes crumble is the easiest way to jazz up any baked goods: pies, quick breads, muffins. I'm not sure, but could probably even use it on cookies. Heres my quick recipe:

Crumble Topping

1/2cup quick-cooking oats

1/2cup packed brown sugar

1/4cup butter or margarine, softened

1. In small bowl, mix topping ingredients until crumbly with fork; set aside.
2. Wait until about the last 10 minutes of baking and take out your pie. Sprinkle the crumbles over the entire surface of the pie. Return to the oven and bake for the remaining 10 minutes or until slightly brown.

Enjoy!

The Holidays are Coming!

Of course for most of us this is not REALLY news. However for others that reality doesn't hit until November 26th when they hurry out the door at midnight to catch the Black Friday sales.

This year I am getting a jump on the Holidays by enrolling in a "Holiday Boot-camp" that is going on at Etsy. Danielle, on of the admins over there is hosting this Boot-camp to help sellers get ready for the Holidays and hopefully build up their sales arsenal. What does this mean for YOU the customer? It means reminding the SELLERS how important you are to us (of course I really don't NEED that reminder *smile*).

Every week we will be given an assignment. In order to keep myself accountable for my "homework" I have decided to take you along on my journey.

Week One: Write a Mission Statement

Hmm, WHAT is a Mission Statement? It is very simple actually. A Mission Statement simply states WHY you are in business. WHAT is our business goal? After a bit of thought this is what I have come up with:

LittleSnowflakes will provide high quality, great tasting treats to their customers. In doing so we will strive to use locally grown ingredients when possible. LittleSnowflakes cares about their customers and will make sure they are up to date with all of the most current food safety regulations by keeping their licenses up to date and continuing to practice Safe Food Handling.

The ultimate goal for LittleSnowflakes is to create REPEAT customers!

Denise DelVecchio
Owner/Operator of LittleSnowflakes

Weber Grill Accessories You Need to Know About

By Joshua Martindale

If you are a proud owner of a Weber grill then you have one of the finest quality cooking devices in the world. Weber is well known for its wide range of grills in different series. The grills have different special features along with the specialized power-up mechanism to cater to the users' needs. The grill can be powered with electricity, gas or even charcoal. It is also famous for its customized tuning for getting the desired results.

Grilling food outdoors in the company of your family and friends will be a great enjoyable experience. You can also have the satisfaction of producing fine quality food using the Weber grill and its accessories. For getting to know more about the Weber grill accessories you can take a look at its catalog. You will be able to find a list of products that are compatible to the grill that you have bought. If you are looking to buy them for cheaper rates you can browse the Internet to find some good deals.

The following are some of the accessories you need to look for: grilling tool set, rotisserie, customized carts and grates. The grilling tool set will usually contain spatula, fork, basting brushes and tongs. These are used for dressing up the pieces of meat you have to grill. Using these you may have to apply butter or other marinates on the meat to enhance the taste. A rotisserie is the metal stick you insert in the food item and place it in the grill. By buying a specialized one for your grill it will improve the quality of grilling and make your meat crispy or juicy according to your preference.

You need to have special grates because they will allow the right amount of smoke to pass through your food or meat. This insures that the meat will be properly cooked with the balanced taste of both marinates and the smoke. The tenderness of the meat will also be retained. Customized carts are used for chopping the garnishes you will be using at the final stage. You can place the portable Weber bbq grill on these and take it along for special private parties. There are specialized sections to place the custom rails which will help you to organize all your grilling tools.

When you have all these accessories in place you can amaze all your guests with your special grilled dishes and also complete your cooking in a short time span without any hassles. So before you start making use of your special grill ensure that you get all the accessories in place to assist you in cooking.

Are you looking for Weber grill parts to enhance your barbecuing experience? Find out more about what is available in Weber grill replacement parts at my site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Martindale

Speaking of Summer treats. Check out some of my favorites from Team EEAT! You can have any of these delicious delites delivered straight to your mailbox. Let Team EEAT do the cooking and you just sit back and enjoy your Summer :-)

Pico Salsa
from: A Thyme 2 Bee Comforted

Snickerdoodle Cookies
from LittleSnowflakes





Palm Tree Crystal Barley Hard Candy Lollipops
from Sweet Lollipop Shop