A New Favorite Product and Home and Family Friday
It all starts with this tool. It looks like a giant apple cutter.

On to Home and Family Friday…
Let’s see some great projects from the week. I’d love it if you’d grab my button and become a follower.
Lovin’ My Mandoline

Do you own a mandoline? Do you use it? Or is it one of those things it the back of the cupboard you can’t reach. If you have one, and you don’t use it, it’s time to dig it out of the cupboard.
I use mine all the time to slice zuchinni and carrots. On Easter, I tried a new recipe for scalloped potatoes. I didn’t love the recipe, but I did love the way my potatoes sliced. I’m not too good with knife chopping skills, so slicing this many potatoes would have take me an hour and they certainly wouldn’t have been sliced this perfectly. With my mandoline, it took less than 3 minutes.
A Really Smart Product
Just before Christmas I discovered this set of measuring spoons at Storables. BRILLIANT!
Home and Family Friday is Back!
First off, I need to answer a few questions. Last week there were a few questions about where I purchased things and how much they cost. Here are the answers. (You’d think I would get the hang of this blogging thing and just remember to put info like this right into the post. )
This Really Sucks!
Literally. This vacuum really sucks. A few months ago our old vacuum saw its last days. It had served us well. When looking for a replacement, my first thought was a Dyson. Oh, how I wanted the Dyson Animal. Then came reality. “I’m sorry, HOW MUCH is that vacuum cleaner?” As much as I wanted that Animal, $500 just isn’t in the budget for a vacuum.
We started researching other brands and read lots of reviews. Over and over, the LG kept popping up. I know the LG brand, but I had no idea they made vacuum cleaners. The decision was made. We said no to Dyson and yes to LG. We didn’t buy the top of the line. We are usually middle of the road buyers, and that held true for the vacuum as well.
I’m telling you, this vacuum sucks! I vacuum quite frequently because we have a dog and many children running around our house. I am always SHOCKED by the amount of gross, disgusting, dust, dirt, and dog hair this vacuum picks up. I empty the canister after each time I vacuum, simply because I can’t believe how much dirt accumulates in just a few days. Yep, that’s everything my vacuum picked up TODAY! (And I just vacuumed 2 days ago.) It’s official. My family is disgusting.
Lovin’ My All-Clad
If you’re not familiar with All-Clad, then you need to get out from under your box. I mean, you should talk to the sales ladies at William Sonoma. There is a lifetime guarantee on these pans! Even though this pan cost as much as 15 years worth of pans, I will NEVER have to replace it!
The New Slow Cooker
As much as I loved this crockpot, when it came time to buy a new one, I was ready to try something new. I have shared several recipes and favorite features of my crockpot. The things I loved about the crockpot shown above are size, ability to program, and the keep warm feature. I would say I have used this at least once a week for the past three years. Today I discovered it was cracked and no longer usable.

Here’s what I ended up purchasing, after lots of online shopping and reading of reviews. This is a Hamilton Beach, 6 quart, programmable slow cooker. I ordered it on Amazon for $44.99. It has a meat thermometer built into it, and it will actually turn itself to warm when the meat is cooked to the desired temperature. My favorite feature is the locking handles and lid. The handle snaps onto the lid, making it spill proof and easy to transport. Are you wondering why I would be so excited to transport my crockpot? Come springtime, we will LIVE down at the baseball field. We will spend hours, upon hours, at baseball practice or games. We will be cold and hungry and SO HAPPY that mom fixed dinner before she left for work and then put the crockpot in the back of the car. Yep, I’m thinking ahead.
Happy meal planning!
My New Pampered Chef Product
One of my teaching partners is a Pampered Chef consultant. After seeing the wonderful things she makes with the Pampered Chef rice cooker, I decided I needed one.
We’ve been loving quinoa lately. Costco sells a big bag of it and it will probably last us forever. Today I made the quinoa in the rice cooker, threw in a few diced veggies, and some leftover chicken from last night. Dinner is served.
Wait until you see the yummy chocolate cake you can make in this… IN 8 MINUTES!
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/gregoriogrub Contact Angela if you are interested in any Pampered Chef products.
