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Weekend Review: Tofurkey Sandwich 'Meat'

12:12PM / Saturday January 22, 2011

I recently decided that although I do not eat much meat, I had started to eat a lot of shaved chicken on my sandwiches. I really wanted to focus back in on my vegetarian-ness, so I decided to try out Tofurkey Sandwich 'Meat'. This comes in all sorts of flavors like hickory smoked, roasted, etc. I decided to just go with Roasted Flavor.

First Thoughts: This looks like old bologna, and smells like dogfood....maybe this was a bad decision....

Upon tasting I realized that if you could get over the look and smell, you were good to go, because this was delicious. I would say that it is even better than the chicken sandwich meat! I use this just as I would normal sandwich meat, but I feel much better about sticking to not eating poor animals. (and I am sure the tofu was treated more fairly and in better conditions)

Star rating: I would give this 4.5 stars - the only reason it didn't get 5 was because of the smell :)

Popovers

12:40PM / Friday January 21, 2011

There is this local TV channel that I watch a lot...mostly because it's one of the few channels that we get, but it does have a ton of really great cooking shows. The channel is called Create, and they have everything from travel shows to cooking shows to DIY shows.

There is one show in particular that is called Cooks Country. This is a show that is set in a test kitchen. They go over all sorts of recipes and figure out how to perfect them. My husband and I were watching one day as they were making popovers. Here is where I am about to be VERY embarrassed. Not only have I never heard or eaten a popover, but I also had no idea that they were one of my husbands favorite foods!

Of course, now that I have been thoroughly embarrassed, I had to make them. I do not own a popover pan, so I tried to make them in my muffin pan...this would have worked wonderfully but I decided to be a lazy chef and skip the part where you take the vegetable shortening and rub it on the pan along with a dusting of flour... I decided instead to use muffin liners. This was not a good idea, and I do not recommend it. We couldn't even peel the popovers out of the cups, no matter how hard or long we tried.

Cooks Country does an amazing job of saying how to make these, and I found their directions to be wonderful, so here is the ingredients list, and please take a look at their site for the complete how to. I promise that it's not as difficult as it sounds, they are just very thorough in their directions.

Ingredients:

Vegetable Shortening

3 Large Eggs

2 Cups low fat milk, warmed

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 cups bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

http://www.cookscountrytv.com/recipes/login.asp?docid=17844

New Things!

05:25AM / Friday January 21, 2011

There are a few new things that will be happening for Gabriella's Goodies. The first thing, is something that I am very proud of, and very excited about! I have recently opened a Cyber Storefront on Etsy.com, where I have listed a very small amount of goodies for sale. There will be more to come very soon, but unfortunately some things will not be able to be sold because of shipping issues. However, this is a step in the right direction for my business. You can check out my storefront at:

www.etsy.com/shop/briesgoodies

I have also decided to add 2 weekly features to my blogs and to my facebook and twitter pages. Starting next week, there will be a Tuesday Tips posting which will feature tips about cooking, healthy living, and the kitchen for everyone to enjoy. AND a Weekend Review section, where I will be reviewing one new item a week. This may be a new item that I have started to use, or something new on the market that I wanted to try out (or just something that I love and want to share)!

I know that you may be thinking that with all of these new additions that there won't be any time for me to blog about new and favorite recipes...don't fret. My passion is still cooking and baking, so I will make sure that I am still writing about recipes. I cannot ever forget the point of this blog, which is to compile recipes for a cookbook. But, I think that the things I have added will only help that process.

Please feel free to check out my Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gabriellas-Goodies/112814968749057

Cheerio Mix

01:55PM / Friday January 14, 2011

Snacks are something that I crave all day, but rarely eat because I know that most of them aren't very good for me or my body. Certainly, there are things like peanuts and granola that are pretty good to snack on, but of course those aren't things that always taste the best.

I stumbled across this recipe for a Cheerio snack mix in a calendar that was sent to me, and it looked pretty yummy...besides having some dried berries and nuts in it :) So I have revamped the recipe to make it geared towards my sweet tooth, but still kept it pretty healthy!

Ingredients:

1 egg white

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 cups Multi Grain Cheerios

3 tbs melted peanut butter

Chocolate chips

Beat egg white in a large bowl until light and frothy. Then slowly add brown sugar until all the lumps are out and its smooth. Stir in cinnamon until combined. Then add cheerios and make sure that they all get coated. This next step is the one that you can play with. I added chocolate chips, but you could add dried fruit, nuts, etc. Then spread this mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and place in a 350 degree oven for about 10 - 15 minutes. As soon as it comes out of the oven remove the cheerio mix from the hot sheet pan (I just removed the entire parchment paper and put it on the counter). Then I drizzled the peanut butter and placed the whole thing in the refrigerator to get completely cooled. After about 30 mins, break it up into pieces and serve.

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

12:48PM / Monday January 10, 2011

As I have said many, many times, the slow cooker is my bestest friend! It has been so cold here in the northeast that all I have wanted to eat is soup, and I don't even like soup most of the time! But there is nothing better on a cold day that to cozy up on the couch under blankets and eat some delicious soup (especially if it's easy to make)! I found this recipe for a Slow Cooker, Vegetable Minestrone soup, and it looked too easy to pass up. I, of course, edited the recipe slightly, and was so thrilled by the outcome of this soup, that I have to share it, and make it frequently. I think this may become one of the staples in my diet this winter.

Ingredients:

4	cups vegetable broth
4	cups tomato juice
1	tablespoon dried basil leaves
1	teaspoon salt
1/2	teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4	teaspoon pepper
2	medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
2	medium celery stalks, chopped (1 cup)
1	medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 1 1	cup sliced fresh mushrooms (3 oz) small can corn can Southwest Style corn (contains corn, beans, red bell pepper)
2	garlic cloves, finely chopped
1	can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2	cups uncooked rotini pasta
	Shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

Add all ingredients except for cheese and pasta into a 5-7qt slow cooker. Set on low for 7-7.5 hrs. During the last 20 minutes of cooking, add in pasta. Finish cooking. Once done, add to a bowl and top with cheese. I also added a side of garlic bread!

*recipe influenced by http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/cooking-method/slow-cooker-vegetable-minestrone.aspx

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Weekend Review: Tofurkey Sandwich 'Meat'

Popovers

New Things!

Cheerio Mix

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

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