Microplane Grater Review

I received a Microplane 45000 Gourmet Series Coarse Grater with an incredible attachment as seen in the picture on the left. Let me just say, I am in love. I have been mincing my own garlic for as long as I can remember. Tonight I grated 7 cloves of garlic in less then a minute. I must admit, when my husband sat down to eat dinner tonight I had to show him how amazing this product truly is. I grabbed a clove of garlic and let my Microplane go to work. I needed a coarse grater because of my vast amount of mincing garlic and finely shredding my parm. cheese. It makes kitchen prep fly by. Obviously you can also use it as a zester for lemon, lime and oranges too. Whatever you would like coarsely grated this would be perfect. (Cheese, Coconut, Garlic, Lemons, Limes and Chocolate)

Let me give you some information about Microplane. Microplane began in 1990 in Arkansas and it all began with a housewife making a cake. Microplane made metal with etched holes and was not exactly sure of their clientele. One day a women named Lorraine Lee was making a cake she decided to use the tool her husband brought home and zest an orange. That was the beginning of a permanent spot for Microplane in the household kitchen.

Not only is the Microplane grater phenomenal, but it is affordable. The 4500 Gourmet Series Coarse Grater is only 17 dollars and the fabulous attachment is five dollars! The site is: http://us.microplane.com/. Check the site out and browse.

My final take on Microplane grater is it is simple to use, versatile and and does a phenomenal job. It can be simply used without the attachment or you can easily snap the attachment on the grater. I enjoy the attachment because it adds and extra safety element. The Microplane grater also has a huge handle making it easy to grip and for safety. Like I said before, I grated (minced) 7 cloves of garlic in less then a minute. I am so happy and elated this will be staple in my household.

Pictures of My Spicy Rice Noodle Slaw and Spicy Shrimp Wraps 2 Ways

I am OVER the moon for Oikos!

Greek yogurt? What is that? I was not sure what Greek yogurt was until I watched the food network and they mentioned it occasionally. THEN....I encountered Oikos. What an amazing encounter!


Oikos is an organic yogurt made by Stoneyfield Farms. It has no fat and only 80 calories per 5.3 oz. !! Who would no want to cook with it?

I even tried it by itself and it was AMAZING! It was very thick and creamy!! I created two recipes with this yogurt in mind. Both turned out amazing. Ask my kids.

The first thing I created was a fruit dip. My girls love fruit and every type. I brought home blueberries, peaches, apples, bananas, plum, oranges and pineapple on Wed. from the farmers market. Because of this, I made a fruit dip. I figured the girls can dip their apples and pineapple into the dip. The second thing I made is a blueberry cake using Oikos and even an icing also using Oikos. It turned out better then I could ever imagined. Remember to strain it. The thicker the better. Enjoy the recipes and Oikos!!!

Fruit Dip

1 cp. marshmallow creme

1 5.3 strained honey Oikos yogurt

1 TB. honey

1. Mix it all together well and serve with a variety of fruits!!!!

Blueberry Cake

3 cps. blueberries

1 stick of butter (I have been using I can't Believe its not Butter Baking )

2 cps sugar

1 5.3 Oikos Blueberry strained

2 cps. Milk

2 1/4 cp. flour

3 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt.

1. Cream the sugar, eggs, yogurt and milk together. 2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the wet ingredients. Preheat oven on 325

3. Toss the blueberries in a few tb. of sugar and put at the bottom of a 9x13 greased pan. Add the cake mixture. Bake for about an hour. Until brown on the top and tooth pic comes clean.

Oikos Blueberry Icing:

1 5.3 oz. Oikos Blueberry

3 cps. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat 1/2 cp. sugar at a time until creamy. Drizzle on top of each piece of the blueberry cake. Yummy!!!

My Moms Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This is a family favorite. This is a quick, easy and amazing meal. My husband and the babies love the recipe too. I can't lose!!! This is a meal my mom handed down to me. She made this when I was little. I omitted a few ingredients, because my husband hates mayo and cream of chicken.
This is great...Try it!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

1 1/2 lbs. shredded chicken (Bake on 350 with salt and pepper until easily shreds)
1 Chicken Stuffing (follow the directions on the back) 1 lb broccoli (steamed), cut bit size pieces
1/4 cp. mayo
1 can of cream of chicken
2 cps. Cheddar cheese
1 cp. panko
4 TB butter
1. Put the shredded chicken at the bottom of the casserole dish. Add the stuffing (follow cooked by following directions on the box). Add the broccoli, mayo and cream of chicken. Add the broccoli mix as a third layer. Top with the cheese and panko. Dot with butter.
2. Bake on 350 until bubbly. About 30-45 minutes.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread with a Twist

I love Heavenly Housewife @ http://www.donutstodelirium.com/. She shared a recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Bread. I made it once and posted it below. Well, I was craving it again and decide to recreate the recipe but add a streusel topping. Wow! What a breakfast with a hot cup of coffee. THANK YOU HH!!!

You can find the recipe on her site. I added a streusel topping which was:

1 stick of COLD butter

1 cup flour

1/2 cp brown sugar

1/2 cp. sugar

1. I combined them in the food processor until it was crumbly. The size of peas.

It is so awesome. I also used cake flour and AP flour. It turned out almost like coffee cake.

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies. OH MY!

Okay! I will come clean! I LOVE baking!I love baking even MORE with my girls in the kitchen. Alex loves to break eggs, sift flour and breaking the butterfingers into bit sized pieces..BUT most of all she loved the mixing spoons when we where done cooking! I remember when my mom was in the kitchen and my twin and I loved the beaters! It was the one thing we looked forward to when she was in the kitchen. I must admit, my passion for cooking and the kitchen has come from my mother. My mom made everything from scratch and loved being a SAHM and making great dinners for her family of six. I want to pass on that passion on to my baby girls.

Anyway, these cookies are above and beyond what any words could describe. I suggest to try the recipe. AMAZING...ENJOY!!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies

2 sticks of softened butter

3/4 cp. peanut butter

1 1/2 cps. of sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 cps. flour

1/2 cp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3 Butterfingers (the Regular sized bars) candy bars chopped

1. Cream together the butter, pb, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda.

2. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold in the butterfingers.

3. I added a heaping tablespoon for each cookie onto a pan. Baked on 350 for 8-10 minutes. I pulled them out when they were a little soft. They hardened as they cooled.

SO YUMMY!!!!!

Butterfinger Ice Cream for the Girls

My girls went to the DQ for the first time two weeks ago while we were on a mini vacation. Alex loved the Butterfingers blizzard!!! I recreated it for them!!! You will be surprised at how much this tastes like the DQ.

If you are wondering why there is no eggs......I tried eggs and my hubby hated it last month. To be honest, it taste really good without the eggs.

Needless to say, my girls love it! They could not get enough. My littlest Bailey was trying to get her fingers in Alex's bowl the entire time she was eating. Alex was an awesome big sis and shared. The bowl was licked clean 5 minutes later.

Hope you enjoy.

Butterfinger Ice Cream

2 1/2 cps. of heavy cream

2 cps. whole milk

1 cp. sugar

2 tsp. of vanilla

3 cps. diced butterfingers

1. I mixed the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla in a separate bowl then I add it to my ice cream maker. I churn in for about 30-35 minutes.

2. When it is done I add the butterfingers fold it in and put it in the freezer for a few hours. OR you can serve it right away. It tastes JUST like a blizzard/