Who Knew Deviled Eggs Were This Easy?
The Short Answer to that question is…
probably everyone but me.
BUT, for everyone else out there who has never attempted to make deviled eggs,
because, like me, you thought they were
‘so complicated’ and
‘kinda gourmet’,
But really you think,
‘Why make them when you can buy them already made in the grocery store, and even-in-a-cute ‘deviled egg container’? …
Well, I’m here to tell you- Deviled Eggs are incredibly EASY to make,
Incredibly QUICK to make,
And I’m sure you have all the ingredients in your pantry already…
READY? Here we go-
Boil eggs.
Cut them in half.
Remove the yolks,
and mix them with
Mayo,
mustard,
and a touch of vinegar…
Yeah, that’s it…
Add a touch of paprika on top for a nice little spice.
And Yeah, that’s it.
I’m feeling like,
‘How have I been alive for this long and never knew this? How can I have been a mother for this long and never attempted this before? Who knows how many ‘hard’ things out there… are really pretty easy?! I bet you poached eggs aren’t that hard either!’
So now you know,
and you’re the Cool Mom… with deviled eggs for snacks!
This May be a Little Random But- Here’s How to Open a Pomegranate
How does one go about cutting a pomegranate?
Yes, this is a little random, but stay with me for just a second… last week I bought a pomegranate to show my son. He had seen one on TV and he’d never eaten one, so we got one at the store.
But, I got it home and cut into it, and immediately had bright red pomegranate juice going all over my kitchen counter…
Needless to go into any more detail- I ruined the pomegranate and thought, “Why don’t I know how to cut open a pomegranate?”
Fast forward to last night- Andrea from Andrea’s Recipes twitters about pomegranates-
which is a little weird, in a good way, because I hadn’t bought a pomegranate in about a DECADE, before last week,
I twitter her back asking her how to cut one open (because she knows everything about food and cooking)
She twitters me this site that has everything you need to know about pomegranates!
So, How do you cut open a pomegranate? Here you go-
How to Open a Pomegranate
Pomegranates may seem intimidating, but they are easy to open. This efficient procedure for opening a pomegranate has six simple steps:
- Cut – With a sharp paring knife, cut off the top about a half inch below the crown.
- Score – Once the top has been removed, four to six sections of the pomegranate divided by white membrane will be visible. With the knife’s point, score the skin along each section.
- Open – Using both hands, carefully pull the pomegranate apart, breaking it into smaller sections.
- Loosen – Over a bowl of water, loosen the arils and allow them to drop freely into the bowl. The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top.
- Scoop – Use a spoon to scoop out the pieces of white membrane that have floated to the top of the water.
- Strain – Pour the arils and remaining liquid through a strainer.
Enjoy your pomegranates… they actually make festive decorations in your kitchen this time of year!
We made it 3 weeks before purple grape juice spilled all over…
Well, we made it 3 weeks in this household before purple grape juice was spilled all over my son’s brand new, white, uniform shirt…
3 THINGS I’VE LEARNED IN 3 WEEKS FROM WEARING UNIFORMS TO SCHOOL:
* Suggest that your son change out of his uniform when he gets home from school
* If he is tired and doesn’t want to- ‘make it a rule’ that he changes out of his uniform, when he gets home from school
* Have a BIG bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide on hand, at all times, to get out stains (I do. And Hydrogen Peroxide does get ANYTHING out of clothes. You may have to soak the shirt, etc. in a bowl, but the stain WILL come out.).
** Note: I realize this picture is not of grape juice, it looks more like cranberries and cranberry juice, but I couldn’t find grape juice images on the internet… Who knew grape juice images were so rare?
Oyster Rules
Ahhh, it’s summer! Seafood… my favorite, is in it’s prime! Or is it?
According to Grey Goose Vodka, OYSTERS are best when ordered in months that contain the letter ‘R’
Oh well, I’m still ordering them! I don’t even drink vodka, so why listen to Grey Goose?
Enjoy your oysters! Remember, they are best when local!
The Wonderful World Of Ketchup
It’s red, it’s gloopy, it tends to get on everything from kids’ faces to clothing, but I have gone from a ketchup hater to lover…
The smell of ketchup made me sick when I was pregnant- literally. And even now, if I was ever captured by terrorists and locked in a cell, all they would have to do is put a big blob of ketchup very close to my nose for an extended amount of time and I would ‘sing like a canary’, not that I know any State secrets.
But now, I have come to love ketchup, and have it in my home at-all-times-
Why, you may ask…?
Click Here to Continue Reading at DC Metro Moms-
THYME OUT for Easy, Great Dinners! and BananaBlueberry readers get 10% Off!
I just happened upon a great find for DC Area Moms…
it’s called Thyme Out!
I showed up (unannounced as a mom-blogger), I simply went in as a mom, on the recommendation of a fellow preschool mommy.
Thyme Out has prepared dinners, lunches, sides, a freshly-made-and-frozen section and the list goes on!
Before I go into how good this food is and how many options they have to choose from…
Let me just tell you-
This is a ‘Mom Business’ !!!!!
Missy Carr is a mom of 3 kids, ages 4-7 and a chef! She created Thyme Out in 2006 to help families eat better, healthier food without the stress of dinner preparation.
Check out the Thyme Out Website because it is very easy to get around and tells you all you need to know about menus and ordering online and even delivery!
And I almost forgot- Thyme Out has ongoing PROMOS AND COUPONS!!
I ALSO noticed on their website calendar that they are offering FREE DELIVERY On Saturdays during May,
AND YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE!
I really like that Thyme Out has Ready-To-Cook Family Size Meals! This is really nice as we move into Summer, when family schedules tend to be less structured, thus lending themselves to last minute pizza and fast food orders… Don’t order Pizza! Just swing by Thyme Out, or order online- for healthy family dinners!
** Thyme Out also customizes meals, so if there is a food allergy in the family, they can customize the meals to be “safe”. They work with many families with nut and gluten allergy especially.
Soon, they’ll be adding a
Thyme Out of Town menu designed for taking meals on vacation.
When I went in I picked up some Sweet Potato Fries… I just put them in the oven, according to the directions, and served them as part of dinner.
Thyme Out is right by the intersection of Rockville Pike and Nicholson Lane.
It’s 11401 Woodglen Drive, off of Nicholson Lane, behind Chili’s, and the phone number is 240. 221. 2777.
Check out this great meal alternative for Moms, created by a Mom!
Mention you are a BananaBlueberry reader and get 10% off any order!
And Last But Not Least, ENTER BANBLUE10 (ALL CAPS and then the number 10) for 10% OFF when ordering online!
*$50 minimum, cannot be combined with other offers… and this is good through June 30th!*
DC Metro Moms Party with ‘Top Chef’ Spike at his ‘Good Stuff Eatery’
What do you get when you cross-
Good Food,
Beer,
MILKSHAKES,
A Bravo Top Chef,
and those wild and crazy DC Metro Mom Contributors?
Well, a FANTASTIC time, of course!
The place? Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill! Good Stuff? Are you kidding me?
I love this place- look up at my blog title… I love ‘good stuff’ !!
‘Bravo Top Chef’ contestant Spike Mendelsohn showed off his culinary skills last night for DC Metro Mom contributors. This is his new restaurant, specializing in burgers and fries and salads and other comfort food. I love that there are delicious milkshakes on the menu and
I especially love that I got carded when I ordered a beer!!
There’s Spike with some of our lovely DC Metro Mom Contributors…
He’s super nice, and talented- I loved my salad!
Everyone had fun; we always do when we get together…
Most of the seating is upstairs, I like this layout…
And there’s the infamous famous Jessica (A Parent In Silver Spring) holding her beer…
What a fabulous time: good food, good friends.
Spike’s new restaurant serves really good food and is reasonably priced…
AND he is working right now on opening a ‘pizza joint’ next door- SUPER COOL!
Thank you to Quaker Oats for appreciating Moms!
EASY Dinner Side Dish- It’s so easy, it’s not even a recipe !
From time to time I find great ideas for dinner on blogs. As everyone knows, there are cooking blogs, and mommy cooking blogs and blogs about cooking, etc. etc. I’ve even had the pleasure of meeting a fellow DC Metro Mom Contributor who has a fantastic cooking blog…
This ‘recipe’ is for the rest of us…
It’s not even a recipe-
* Just get Plum Tomatoes from your grocery store (all stores have them), they’re just tomatoes that are more oval in shape and a little sweeter, it seems
* Slice them and serve them with slices of cheese and a little vinaigrette…
YOU’RE DONE!
I slice them and put them on a little platter with slices of cheddar cheese, provolone and I usually have mozzarella cheese sticks in the fridge, so I slice those up too. Use whatever you have, let your kids choose, and then drizzle a little vinaigrette on them!
During the winter I usually bake the tomatoes in the oven for several minutes and let the cheese melt over them- this takes just minutes too!
See, I told you- a healthy side dish in 1 or 2 minutes!
These are the kind of ‘recipes’ I like!
Enjoy!
“Why Make It, When We Can Buy It, Mommy?”
Another thing I’m unconsciously teaching my son…
My little Guy and I planned to surprise my Big Guy by making him his favorite dessert the other day-
Angel Food Cake! We had all the ingredients at home, and by all the ingredients I mean: angel food cake mix and water.
We had to swing by the grocery store for a couple of items before we went home from school. We were walking through the bakery section when my son EXCLAIMED,
“Mommy, Look!” He had picked up a freshly baked Angel Food Cake.
“This is perfect! We can get this for Daddy!”
And we were going home to BAKE him one…
I explained to my little one that we already had the ingredients at home to bake Daddy the cake, which he already knew, and that it would be fun… and then he hit me with it:
“Why make it, when we can buy it, Mommy?”
I think that if there was a ‘Mom School’ I’d surely be in detention right now, writing,
‘I will teach my son the value of making things more, and the value of a dollar’ on the chalk board a thousand times.
How to Bake and Store- Soft, Gooey Cookies Every Time
My son and I made cookies last week. We bake a lot. He loves the measuring, pouring, etc. etc… He doesn’t seem to like the clean-up, but that’s a post for another day- we’re working on that.
So, how do you make your cookies soft? You take them out of the oven a couple of minutes early-
You’re done. Yep, that’s it. I learned this from my mother-in-law who bakes a lot. Yes, mystery solved.
But that’s not THE REALLY IMPORTANT PART of this post…
How do you KEEP cookies soft and tasting great? Well, I’m here to share the wisdom and the bloglove…
I learned how from THE COMMENTS I received from a DC Metro Moms post I did way back in December of 2007 on gooey cookies…
In whatever container you store your cookies in- put a piece of bread in the bottom. I never knew this before and I’ve been doing it since and it TOTALLY works. The bread becomes stale and hard and the cookies stay soft!!!!!
So sometimes it takes me awhile, like over a year, but it occurred to me while taking a cookie out of the tupperware container and it still being moist and soft a couple of days ago, that I should share this great tip! And it’s so fantastic that I learned this amazing tip from comments to a post!
So thank you to another Nicole in California, KenandBelly over in the UK, and Andrea’s Recipes right here in the DC area for great comments! I know this took over a year, but I just want to say thank you again for your helpful hints!
Goodbye to subpar cookies- Let the baking begin!
-
I Was In The 2012 Show !
Check Out …
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Nicole’s Book
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