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A Busy Mom's Kitchen A Minute with Noel |
Greetings!
Where we live, the temperatures here in the valley of the Sierra Foothills have been extremely warm. We have been having 90-103 degree weather almost everyday! With the temperatures like that, our family has been doing everything we can to beat the heat and stay cool!
I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen?" This week I will share some wonderful recipes, tips, and more to help your family stay "cool as cucumbers"! Popsicles are a favorite treat at our house. The kids love making their own. Williams Sonoma has a Zoku Quick Pop Maker that I love and it's very simple to use. Can you believe it makes popsicles in 7 minutes! Fun, and coolness all in one--that's my kind of treat! See you in the kitchen! |
In The Kitchen 
To help with your everyday cooking, I've chosen some kitchen tools and tips to share with you that will benefit your day to day cooking.
Grocery: I love fresh corn during the summer. While shopping this past weekend, Corn-on-the-Cob was on sale for $0.25 each at Safeway. What a deal!
Have you ever tried The Pampered Chef's Corn Butterer? It made buttering my corn SO easy last night! How do you butter yours? Do you roll the whole cob on a fresh cube or use a knife to slather it down with butter? Or maybe you have your own creative way!
I was also intrigued with a new selection of Greek yogurt while shopping, it's called Chobani. This brand of yogurt was also on the list of Fitness 2010 Healthy Food Awards. Right now they have a coupon on their site, Buy two, get one FREE. I've also included a link in my freebie section of the newsletter. They even have a selection for kids!
Shopping:
I have some frugal finds for the kitchen. How about $5 or less Kitchen Gadgets? After all, who wants to spend a lot of money on things like makeup, household cleaners and moisturizers, when you could better funnel that money toward new clothes for fall, a family vacation, or to your savings account.
Our Nylon Kitchen Scrapers, starting at $2.75~The purpose of the pan scrapers is to clean the stoneware. However, over the years, I have used the nylon pan scraper to gently remove items from my floors, ceramic tiles and counter tops. You can scrape the tool along surfaces without leaving any marks.
A Finger Guard at $5, will keep those fingers safe while your slicing and dicing. |
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Family Time
 Despicable Me is a surprisingly thoughtful, family-friendly treat with a few surprises of its own.
I'm sure you can tell by now our family enjoys getting out and doing things as a family. Over the weekend we had a wonderful family outing. First, we took the kids to see Despicable Me in 3-D. Truly a family movie filled delight and laughter.
After the movie, we went on our first school shopping spree. It's time to start thinking about Back To School. Now is the time to start bargain hunting and looking for those great deals. We were able to stock up on school supplies, starting at just $0.25! Backpacks and those much needed lunch boxes were also on sale.
Don't forget, in August, I'll have lots of ideas to share with you on Back To School. |
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Featured Recipe: Citrus Butter Shrimp Toss
While the rice pilaf cooks in the microwave, prepare and grill the shrimp and asparagus. Everything will finish cooking around the same time.  |
Ingredients:
1/4 medium yellow onion 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter 1 cup (250 mL) uncooked jasmine rice 1 3/4 cups (425 mL) chicken broth 1/2 cup (125 mL) water 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt 8 oz (250 g) fresh asparagus spears, trimmed 1 lb (500 g) medium uncooked shrimp (41-50 per pound), peeled and deveined, tails removed 1 tbsp (15 mL) plus 1 tsp (5 mL) Citrus & Basil Rub, divided 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter 1 garlic clove, pressed 3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped jarred pimento peppers
Directions:
Prepare grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat. For pilaf, chop onion with Food Chopper; place onion and butter into Rice Cooker Plus. Microwave onion mixture, uncovered, on HIGH 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Add rice, broth, water and salt to cooker. Microwave according to package directions.
For shrimp, in Stainless (2-qt./2-L) Mixing Bowl, toss shrimp with 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the rub. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine butter, remaining 1 tsp (5 mL) rub and garlic. Microwave butter mixture on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted; add pimentos and mix well.
Brush BBQ Grill Basket with vegetable oil; preheat on grill 3 minutes. Add shrimp and grill, covered, 4-6 minutes or until shrimp is opaque, turning occasionally. Remove basket from grill; add shrimp to butter mixture and toss to coat.
Meanwhile, grill asparagus spears 5-7 minutes or until cooked but still slightly firm. Remove asparagus from grill.
To serve, cut asparagus on a bias into 1-in. (2.5-cm) pieces; toss with rice. Serve shrimp over pilaf.
Yield: 4 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 330, Total Fat 11 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 235 mg, Carbohydrate 23 g, Protein 33 g, Sodium 1070 mg, Fiber 2 g
U.S. Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 1/2 starch, 4 low-fat meat (1 1/2 carb)
Cook's Tips: For an easy way to cut asparagus spears on a bias, line up the spears on the cutting board, then angle the spears on a bias. Cut the spears on a bias into 1-in. (2.5-cm) pieces using the Utility Knife.
Grilling the asparagus adds depth of flavor to the pilaf.
Recipe Note:
If desired, lemon pepper can be substituted for the citrus rub.
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Noel's Kitchen Tips.com
 | Here is a recap of what we shared on the blog last week, just in case you missed a post or two!
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Noel Chapman
Noel's Kitchen Tips |
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| Cookbooks & Kitchen Digests |
A Busy Mom's Guide To Family Meal Planning E-Cookbook | Get your copy today for 25% off by visiting HERE and selecting coupon code:7150. |
The official desciption:
Isn't it worth the investment of effort and time to gather your family to the dinner table?
Want to make that special connection with your kids?
As a Busy Mom myself I share tips and tricks in the kitchen to Revitalize family meal times and give Busy Mom's like you more time to spend with those you love!
What makes spending time in the kitchen even better are shortcuts in food preparation from useful tools to cookware.
Get ready for an unforgettable experience as I share with you how to create those memorable family meal times, in my first E-Cookbook........
A Busy Mom's Guide To Family Meal Planning Fast Recipe Ideas For Busy Moms On The Go
Just click the above link to get yours today! |
Join the Family Meals
Matter Cooking Club
on Facebook. Just
click on the icon
below:
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| Busy Mom's Kitchen Freebies | |
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Chobani's Greek Yogurt: Buy two, get one FREE coupon, click HERE. Limit coupons to 3 per person/computer.
Baskin Robbins: Buy-1Get-1-FREE Soft Serve Cone. Go HERE to print your coupon for Buy-One-Get-One-Free Soft Serve Ice Cream Cone! A great way to beat the heat!
Welch's just released a *HOT* new coupon for $1.50 off any ONE Welch's Healthy Start 100% Refrigerated Juice! Go HERE to print yours out! (You should be able to print it twice).
"Like" The Cheesecake Factory on Facebook and print your coupon for $1.50 slice of cheesecake on Thursday July 29th. Dine-in Only. ALSO, July 30th is National Cheesecake Day and you can get ANY SLICE for HALF PRICE at The Cheesecake Factory!
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