Products and Sites I Like

I'm constantly doing blog posts where I sneak in mentions of things I like, not that I get paid for any of that, LOL, but I figured I should do one big post about these things. And again, I don't get paid by any of these people or products. I just like them.

* For a one-stop coupon site, try Coupon Mom. She was on...Oprah, I think. She did this huge shopping trip for like $40. Made my weekly savings feel pitiful, though I do take pride in what I manage to save every week. I just can't throw the coupons away. It feels like I'm tossing dollars into the trash. I have this great pad of grocery planning sheets I got free from someplace that lets you list your menu at the top, then the stuff you need to buy in groups at the bottom. It keeps me on track at the grocery store. My whole menu is planned around meats on sale, and I do believe in stocking up on big-ticket items. Anyway, CouponMom also has a blog that has lots of free and reduced dollar offers, too.

* The new Levi's Perfectly Slimming Jeans. They slim. Perfectly. Cheapest at Wal-Mart. Get 'em in a dark wash, as the folks at What Not to Wear will tell you, and you'll look even slimmer.

* Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer. OMG. This stuff is DA BOMB. I really, really, really hate cleaning the shower. I mean, who likes doing that job? This stuff does what it says and takes virtually every inch of soap scum off, and leaves everything squeaky clean. I had to do a tiny amount of scrubbing on some stubborn areas, but that was it. Most of it was done entirely by those magic little scrubbing bubbles. If you click on the link, there's a one dollar off coupon.

* The Braun Hand Blender. I know I've talked about this before in my recipe posts, but I seriously use this thing three or four times a week. I use it for EVERYTHING. Grinding nuts. Shredding cheese. Making mashed potatoes. Making dressings, sauces...you name it, if it'll fit in the food processor, I make it there. If the hand blender will fit in the bowl, I use it. It's small, it's powerful, and easy to wield. No need to get out the monster Kitchen Aid mixer. If you don't have one, demand Santa bring you one ;-)

* My favorite recipe magazines are Taste of Home, Rachael Ray (though I probably only use about 8 recipes an issue, they're usually 8 winners) and Bon Appetit. The entire Taste of Home family is really good. Woman's Day has some good ones, but not nearly enough recipes per issue. And I don't have time to read anything else, LOL. I do get Gourmet, but it's mostly too complicated and time-consuming stuff for me. I'm a "get it done, so I can eat it" kind of cook.

Tell me, what products and websites do you like? Do you have any new things that you've tried that you totally love? Please share! I love finding new things to try!

Shirley

Upside Down Chicken

For all those who think Im a gourmet cook just because I write romantic comedies with recipes, let me assure you I am not :-) I just cooked a chicken last night -- and marinated it -- all upside down. I'm standing there, trying to shave off some breast meat and wondering why I kept hitting bone.

I should not be behind a pilot light, that's for sure. :-)

Anyway, I had to cook it so long that the extra marinade ended up becoming charcoal in the bottom of the pan. However, I had a no-scrub solution: Easy Off Bam, the purple bottle. I whine enough here about bad companies, this time I wanted to tout a really great product (FYI, I found it at Wal-Mart for two dollars less than the grocery store). I get nothing from the folks at Easy Off for saying nice things :-) but wanted to tell you I just love this stuff. Spray it on, let it sit, and in a half hour or so, the stuff comes off. It works way better than the Dawn spray on self scrubber and is a whole lot more fun than scrubbing myself :-)

Tonight's mission is meatballs. DD wants spaghetti and for her, I might even do the homemade sauce, my mom's recipe. We'll see how the writing goes, though. With a book due in a few weeks, sauce in a jar is more and more likely :-)

Shirley