Author: Franca Schulte

Many products and brands will come and go, but there are certain ones that will remain a constant in our lives.  Lenox is one of those brands.  When I hear the name Lenox, it takes me back to my childhood.  I recall times of hearing about crystal clocks, Christmas china, and beautiful collectables.  Lenox has become a trusted name in home design.  For this reason, I was pleased when I was asked to review the Lenox 12 Days of Christmas dessert plates and mugs. Each 12 Days of Christmas mug and dessert plate bears a different design inspired by the popular Christmas carol, and is accented with holiday holly berry and garland.  The collection is crafted of Lenox ivory fine porcelain and includes a nice box that could be used for gift giving and storage.

Post from: Blisstree

Lenox Christmas China Review & Giveaway

Since it is winter time, I have been doing lots of experimenting with different kind of soups. I have had soup almost every night this week before my main meal! It fills you up so you eat less for dinner and is very healthy! The problem is is that I have started to run out of soup ideas! I have done the chicken, asaparagus, broccoli, I even tried a white carrot soup! I didn’t even know white carrots existed till I found them in the farmers market. What will I try next? Corn soup!

I found this corn recipe on an eating healthy blog! JanetGoodRichMethod.

This soup is about a 1-2-3 step soup – makes things easy.

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 cups fresh corn off the cob
Shred 2 cups corn in the blender or food processor
250gm chicken (optional) crabmeat is also wonderful in this soup
2 eggs
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. fresh ginger chopped fine
pepper to taste
1 – 2 tbs. Cornflour mixed with 2 – 3 tbs. cold water (if you like a thicker texture use the larger amounts)
Chopped spring/green onion tops to garnish

Bring stock to a boil. Add all ingredients except egg and cornflour mix. Reduce heat & simmer for 8 minutes. Add cornflour mix and simmer for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with so0me pepper and you are good to go!

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Chinese Corn Soup

Sandwiches are one of my favorite food groups! Ok I know, I can’t really categorize a sandwich as a food group, however a good sandwich will have something from each food group inside! You have your bread, protein, cheese as your dairy and vegetables! In this particular sandwich I use Pita bread as my bread, turkey as my protein, and  provolone as my cheese! Vegetables are up to you but this sandwich tastes delicious with just simple lettuce and tomato.

First cut the pita in half, and open both sides. Be very careful when doing this because you don’t want a hole in your pita! I then layer both sides with some honey mustard (honey mustard goes great with turkey. You can always use regular mustard if you are not a fan of the honey). I always put down the cheese first because I want the cheese to be against the bread. That lets the cheese melt easier if you wanted to go ahead and toast your pita. Next I put down the lettuce because it is the most difficult to space throughout. The comes the turkey, and then top it off with the tomatoes. It doesn’t really matter what order you top things but this is how I always make my sandwiches.

To make this sandwich extra delicious, you would toast it on a grill or panini press. Pita breads can sometimes be a bit dry, so if you toast it, the cheese melts and the bread is a little bit crunchy. Add some potato chips on the side or if you are sticking to a more healthy route use carrot sticks!

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Turkey Pita Sandwich

Over the weekend my dad and I visited St. Lawrence market, the local market here in Toronto. We wanted to pick up something nice for dinner and after a lot of umming and awing at all the different selections of meats, we came to a decision. Pork tenderloin it was. My Dad makes a mean pork tenderloin and we both realized we hadn’t had it in a long time so that made our decision easy.

This recipe isn’t hard at all, you just have to be patient and cook with care! You also shouldn’t be counting calories with this meal beacuse it is not one of the healthier pork tenderloin recipes. Pretty much all you need is butter, white wine, creme and mushrooms.

The trick to this tenderloin is to cook it slowly. Once you get a large pot out, you have to melt a whole lot of butter on low (you be the judge at how much you would like). Once the butter is bubbling a little bit you can put in the pork and close the lid. This process can cook the tenderloin a lot faster than you think so make sure you keep an eye on it. Once the pork is a nice golden brown, you can pour in a generous amount of white wine. Dry wine works the best however any white will do. Your pork will now be cooking in almost a stew like but most of it will be evaporated by the end. Let your pork sit there for about 20 – 25 minutes. When you think there is about 5 – 10 minutes left, add in the creme and mushrooms. Salt and Pepper to your liking throughout the entire process.

This is really a flavorful pork tenderloin and works nicely if you are looking to make something with an already added sauce. Works nicely to serve with mash potatoes and some sort of greens (either green beans or asparagus).

Enjoy!

Post from: Blisstree

Dad’s Pork Tenderloin

There are not many vegetables I don’t enjoy, however brussel spouts have never been my favorite. Ever since I was little, every Thanksgiving and Christmas there is a big pot of brussel sprouts on the table. I don’t know who started this tradition, probably my mom, but my sisters and I always had to have 3 brussel sprouts. It was the worst part of the meal and I always dreaded brussel sprout time. I used to spend most my meal scheming as to how I was going to get rid of my 3 brussel spouts this time. One year it was shoved into my mashed potatoes, another year I just removed layer after layer of each till there was nothing left of it, and I’m pretty sure a plant was involved one year. I just find them very bitter and doesn’t add taste to anything you pair it with.

Image: sxc.hu

Well to my surprise, I can say now I actually like brussel sprouts. I must be getting older beacuse I bought brussel sprouts on my own account and promised I would try something new to see if I could like them. I found this recipe on a weight watchers blog called Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes which swears that if you don’t like brussel sprouts, after this recipe you will. I decided to put it to the test. It was truly amazing but the oil and garlic really take the bitterness out and add flavour that you would never imagine. It’s something different and a very nice added touch to a plate with bangers and mash. Tip: If you are trying to keep healthy substitute pork sausage with turkey sausage and instead of mashed potatoes try a cauliflower puree. My Dad almost didn’t even notice the difference!

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: about 1/2 cup • Calories: 82 • Points: 1 ww point

* 1 lb Brussels Sprouts (outer leaves removed and washed)
* 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 shallot, minced
* kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Finely shred the brussels sprouts after thoroughly washing. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil. Add shallots and sauté about 2 minutes, add garlic and saute until golden. Add brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and sauté on medium-low for about 4-5 minutes.

Simple and Healthy! What more could you ask for during holiday season!

Post from: Blisstree

Brussel Sprouts can Be a Good Thing!

I’m one of those people that once I try something new and love it, I then make it all the time. Lately I have been making such a simple yet delicious side dish that I even save leftovers as a snack the next day. I feel as though zucchini is often over looked as a vegetable, same goes for eggplant but that’s a different story! Zucchini is very healthy for you and not as expensive as other vegetables can be. This recipe is so simply it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients.

Image: sxc.hu

Ingredients:

Zucchini
Garlic (1 clove, sliced)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Leeks (optional)

Directions:
1. Cut the zucchini up either in slices long ways, or like you would cut a cucumber. I prefer the longer strips but here I went with the half circles. (The strips are easier to eat as finger food as a snack the next day).

2. When the zucchini is still raw, sprinkle as much as you want of salt and pepper over the zucchini. The salt soaks in giving it a nice flavor once it is cooked through.

3. Add olive oil to a pan and let the oil heat up. Once the oil is nice and hot add the garlic. (You will know the oil is hot enough if it sizzles when you put the garlic in).

4. Add the zucchini (and leeks if you are using them) and mix for about 5 minutes. Add some more pepper and salt if you would like, and if you are feeling adventurous try adding some curry powder or chili pepper. However just plain salt and pepper is sometimes even more flavorful.

5. Keep stirring until the zucchini has turned a nice golden brown. I like mine a little bit more brown so leave it in the pan a little longer.

And presto  – something to add a little green to the plate other than salad or broccoli!

Post from: Blisstree

Don’t forget about Zucchini!