Peep Peep

It’s Easter time and that means one thing in the world of candy, Peeps of all colors and shapes are on store shelves. Back in “the day” I remember eating several of these fantastic mounds of glistening sugar elasticity at a time, but now I can’t get even one down me. I’m not sure what has changed since then. Is the replacement of, *gasp*, real sugar with HFCS? Or perhaps a completely reformulated “recipe”? No, I think it’s the fact that, though these are by far the prettiest candy creation around, as an adult I see past the facade. I actually care about the taste of them and not just how fun they are to play with, err eat.

This year, I won’t be buying any Peeps, but I will leave you with a picture of the display I passed at a local store. If this doesn’t shout “SPRING”, I don’t know what does!

Crazy for Cranergy

I will say that I am very picky about drinks.  I love water, but I need something in the morning to grab and go, to take to work or out shopping with me.  I used to just resort to a fountain Dr. Pepper since I don’t like most juices, until one day my friend suggested I try Cranergy.  She raved about it, but the final selling point was when she said her boyfriend loved it, because if Mr. Skeptical liked it, I knew it had to be good.  It was a little hard to find at first, but now I’ve seen it everywhere from the grocery store to Target and Wal Mart, and they more recently brought out a new flavor – Raspberry.  It labels itself as an “Energy Juice Drink” and only has 50 calories per 12 oz serving.  It’s really sweet and yummy, the perfect alternative to regular juice in the morning and gives energy without the side effects of other energy drinks.  Nate was skeptical becuase it has green tea extract, and he is a tea hater, but he’s addicted too.  You have to try this!

 

Barefoot Contessa to the rescue

Chicken is something that I’m kind of weird about. I like baking it..I just HATE touching it. I’m absolutely paranoid about samonella. I get tired of only baking/grilling chicken breasts so I’m trying to branch out and cook more with whole chickens, thighs, legs, wings, whatever.

A few weeks ago I watched an episode of Barefoot Contessa where she was making a chicken dish. I don’t remember what it was – it was filled with butter and all kinds of things that I can’t eat and I was grading papers, so I wasn’t paying that much attention to it. However, she did teach me a new trick that I tried last night. She said that when baking a whole chicken (or thighs – any piece with skin on it) you should pat the chicken down with a napkin or cloth to remove excess water. Then apply your sauces, seasonings, whatever. She said it helped the outside of the chicken get crispy and the seasonings to lock into the chicken. (Many people may know to do this, but this was the first I had heard of it.) I have overcooked chicken because I don’t like it soggy on top so this was something I had to try out.

Last night I baked some chicken thighs and tried out her suggestion. It worked! I lightly patted the chicken with a paper towel and then added a little olive oil, baracho bean seasoning mix, and minced garlic. Baked it for about 35 minutes at 375. (my oven runs HOT, so if you try this you might have to cook it longer) It came out perfect! I also steamed artichokes and asparagus to go along with it. Our plates looked beautiful. My camera battery was low – hence the absence of a picture. (story of my life…perfect photo opp…low or dead battery on camera)

Another new successful technique…