Click on this link to get your 30% off coupon, but hurry, it's only good thru Sunday, May 1!
I Needed This More Than I Realized…
5 days ago
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Maybelline Superstay 24 Lipcolor Review with a $2 Coupon!
Here's Why You'll LOVE it!
- No crumbling, caking, no fading, no feathering and no transferring
- 2-step lipcolor in one pack
- Micro-Flex formula glides on and looks gorgeous all day.
- 30 vibrant, runway-inspired colors, divide into four shade families: Reds, Plums, Pinks and Naturals
- Lasts throughout your non-stop 24 hour day.
- All-day color in just two steps: Long lasting base coat and Moisturizing top coat balm.
- Found in most drug and big box stores like (Target and Walmart) with a suggested retail value of $9.99
"For best results you will need to apply the liquid color to your clean, bare lips. Allow a full two minutes to dry, then apply ultra-conditioning lip balm to seal in softness. Reapply lipbalm as needed. Remove with an oil-based makeup remover."
Now, on to the review and coupon!
My husband and I spent this past weekend wine tasting in Paso Robles, CA. I decided this would be the ultimate test of a long lasting lipcolor. One of the most important things about wine tasting is that you don't wear lip color that will transfer to the glasses. I usually don't wear lip color when wine tasting, but decided to put Maybelline SuperStay 24 to the test. It passed on all counts! I applied the lip color in the morning at 10am and we headed out. Just like all long lasting lip color, it feels extremely dry when you put it on. Maybelline SuperStay 24 has the moisturizing balm built right in the applicator (on the other end of the lip color), so it is handy all day. I did have to reapply the moisturizer several times to keep my lips feeling soft. There was no transfer of lip color to the glasses and my lips still looked great after two wineries. Then we had lunch... in all honesty, I did have to reapply my lip color after lunch because I ate a juicy, yummy Gyro sandwich (juicy being the key word... juicy = greasy and lots of wipes of the mouth) I haven't found any long lasting lip colors that will stand up to anything greasy (I guess that is why it says to remove with an oil-based makeup remover). So I reapplied and we headed out to 2 more wineries. My lip color looked fantastic at 4:45 when we returned to the hotel. We had to rush to dinner and luckily, I didn't need to reapply my lip color (see the picture below), just a quick swipe of the moisturizing balm and I was off for the night!
Click HERE for your $2 Coupon for Maybelline Superstay 24 Lipcolor!
Head over to Maybelline for more information and to see all 30 great shades!
Disclaimer: As a Bzz Agent, I received 4 full size tubes of Maybelline Superstay 24 hour lipcolor before writing this review, and this is my personal opinion of the product.
I have to share the pictures below from our trip. They don't have anything to do with lip color, but I thought they were so pretty. There is something about farms that I love!
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| View from Jack Creek Cellars vineyard |
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| Somebody, get that boy a tractor! (again at Jack Creek) |
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| At Tables Creek Vineyard |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Dishwasher Lasagna
*** FIRST AND FOREMOST *** This is NOT my recipe and is copied directly from http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Lasagna-in-Your-Dishwasher. I'm in the middle of cooking the World's Best Lasagna from Allrecipes and wanted to see how to avoid cooking the lasagna noodles ahead of time because I'm tripling the recipe and I found this. If anyone tries it, please let me know how it turns out. Sounds DISS-CUSS-TING to me!! However, the the World's Best Lasagna truly is the best lasagna I have ever had!
Shock your dinner guest with this fun and unique way to prepare everyone's favorite Italian dish. Do your dishes, cook a meal, and give your guests something to talk about when you make lasagna in your dishwasher.
Ingredients
editSteps
- 1Cut three 24-inch x 12-inch sheets of aluminum foil and lie flat.
- 2Take first lasagna sheet and place flat it in the center of the aluminum foil.
- 3Spread a thick layer of pasta sauce over the sheet, covering the entire surface.
- 4In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and spinach and layer half the mixture on top of the tomato sauce.
- 5Layer desired amount of grated cheese, along with fine herbs, garlic, and onion flakes.
- 6Top with second lasagna sheet and repeat all layers.
- 7Cut third lasagna sheet into strips about 3/8-inch wide and layer on top of lasagna in a criss cross fashion. Top with herbs and spices.
- 8Wrap lasagna tightly in the foil by taking the longest sides of the foil and bringing them to meet above the lasagna.
- 9Fold the edges of the foil together to make a 'paper bag' effect (like that you would when folding a brown paper lunch bag)above the lasagna. Begin to fold the edges together downward until you are just above the lasagna.
- 10Flatten the foil out above the lasagna and fold in the remaining sides like a present, first the sides, then the middle.
- 11Place the wrapped lasagna flat in your dishwasher on the bottom rack.
Two dishwasher lasagnas ready to be cooked
- 12Set dishwasher to normal cycle and select 'heated dry' and 'sanitize' settings for maximum heat.
- 13Wait for the cycle to complete, then carefully remove lasagna from foil and let stand for a few minutes before serving.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Roasted-Vegetable Lasagna
A couple of weeks ago I found a recipe for Roasted Vegetable Lasagna on My Recipes and posted it on my Facebook wall. My husband called from work, excited that we were having that for dinner. Hated to break it to him, I wasn't cooking it that night, just ran across it that day. Every day for over a week, he asked me if we were having it that night. FINALLY, I broke down and made it... and it was SOOO worth the wait!
Vegetables:
4 red bell peppers
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 large onion, cut into 16 wedges (I used half of a purple onion and half a yellow)
4 garlic cloves, minced
Cheese mixture:
2 cups 2% low-fat cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated sharp provolone cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
White sauce:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
9 cooked lasagna noodles (lay them out on waxed paper after cooking to keep them from sticking)
2 cups spinach leaves, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Cut bell peppers in half and remove seeds and stems. Put pepper halves on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand until it cools a little. Peel; set aside. (There are only 2 peppers here because I still had a couple of roasted peppers in my freezer from the end of summer- that's what's in the ziplock bag above- They freeze wonderfully)
After you take the peppers out, change oven temp to 450°.
Combine oil, salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, squash, and onion on a baking sheet; toss well. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Remove from oven; combine squash mixture and garlic in a bowl.
Decrease oven temperature to 375°.
To prepare cheese mixture, combine cottage cheese and next 3 ingredients (cottage cheese through oregano) in a bowl.
To prepare white sauce, mix flour and milk in a medium saucepan (I mix the flour and half of the milk in a measuring cup until it's smooth, then add the mixture with the rest of the milk to the sauce pan and mix well- less lumps). Cook over medium heat until thick; stir constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons chopped basil and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
Spread 1/4 cup white sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over sauce; top with 1 & 1/4 cups cheese mixture, 1 cup spinach, 4 bell pepper halves, 2 cups vegetable mixture, and 1/4 cup white sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining white sauce over noodles. (Here is what it looked like before the final layer of sauce, noodles and cheese. I thought it looked pretty. Wanted to get a spoon and start eating right away!)
Cover and bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 20 minutes.
Sauteed Halibut with Romesco Sauce- Great for Lent!
I love the Lenten season. It gives me an excuse to cook fish more often! I recently saw a recipe in Cooking Light for Sauteed Halibut with Romesco Sauce and thought I would try it. I followed the directions exactly and put my ancho pepper under the broiler for 2 minutes, but that was about a minute too long and it was burned to a crisp. I headed over to the internet and started searching to figure out what to do about the ancho pepper and found MANY different variations of Romesco sauce. The only common ingredients were red bell peppers, vinegar and nuts (hazelnuts or almonds). After searching for a while, I went back into the kitchen and mixed up what I thought were the best parts of the recipes I looked at and came up with my own version! It was wonderful! Try it!
Here is what you use for Romesco Sauce:
1 large red bell pepper
1 slice of whole wheat bread
1/2 c slivered almonds roasted
1 can fire roasted tomatoes (drained)
1 dried ancho pepper
5 cloves garlic
about 1 TBS smoked paprika (I did to taste)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
about 1 - 2 tsp chipotle chili powder (again, to taste)
1/4 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 TBS red wine vinegar
about 1/2 cup olive oil
about 1/2 cup olive oil
Preheat broiler. Cut the bell pepper in half and remove seeds and stem. Flatten on a baking sheet. Put under broiler until skin is charred. The pepper underneath won't be burned, but will be roasted to perfection. Remove from oven and put in a zip lock bag to steam (makes it really easy to remove skin). Once it has cooled a little, remove from bag and the skins will slip right off. Meanwhile, cut ancho pepper in half and remove seeds and stem. Then put a little olive oil in a skillet and toast the bread until it is nice and golden. At the same time, put the ancho in the pan until it sort of starts to plump up a tiny bit and turn red in spots. Remove from pan and cut pepper into strips and tear bread.
When the bell peppers are done roasting, turn the oven to 350 degrees and put 5 garlic cloves (skin still on) on a baking pan and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on them, then mix them up so they are covered in olive oil. I added my roasted tomatoes to the pan, but you could leave that step out if you wanted. Pour 1/2 cup slivered almonds onto another baking sheet and put them all in the oven. Roast until the garlic is soft (about 10-15 minutes, it will start to look a little browned). Watch the almonds closely and remove when they are lightly toasted. (I have ruined MANY batches of almonds by walking away from them for just a minute while roasting... they go from perfect to ruined very quickly). Remove from oven and let the garlic cool enough so that you can squeeze the garlic out of the skin.
Next, add roasted bell peppers, ancho pepper, tomatoes, garlic and almonds to a food processor. Add spices (I wouldn't use regular paprika, the smokiness of the smoked paprika is what made it taste so good). Blend in food processor then drizzle in red wine vinegar and olive oil. Taste it and adjust spices, vinegar and olive oil to your taste.
It's best to make the Romesco Sauce at least an hour ahead of time so that the flavors can meld. I read that you can make it up to a week ahead of time.
For the halibut, I sprinkled a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on it, sprayed my skillet with my Misto Olive Oil Sprayer
and sauteed until it was done. (see my post here for info on the sprayer)Doesn't this look delicious?? YUMMY!
Here is the rice recipe from Cooking Light:
Serve with Nutty Rice: Cook 1 cup basmati rice according to package directions. Stir in 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions, 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Yield: 4 servings. CALORIES 191; FAT 2g (sat 0.2g); SODIUM 152mg
Linking to:
A Thrifty Mom- Look What I made,
Time Warp Wife- {Titus 2}SDAYS
A Southern Fairytale- Mouthwatering Mondays
Friday, March 25, 2011
Charity
A little while ago, I came across a really great blog named Sprik Space. The author, Aimee, does a "Sunday Sustenance". This one, I felt the need to share. It is such a profound thought about charity.
"Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word. We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate. But really, true charity is much, much more.
Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. It makes the thought of being a basher repulsive.
Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other."
"Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word. We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate. But really, true charity is much, much more.
Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. It makes the thought of being a basher repulsive.
Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other."
Sunday, March 20, 2011
BBQ Spaghetti (aka Chipotle Roasted Pork Loin, Part 3)
Ready for part 3 (and 4 for that matter) of the meal that keeps on giving?!? It really amazed me at how far a 3 1/2 lb pork roast could go! First night was Chipotle Crusted Pork Loin, next night was BBQ Pulled Pork. I didn't want to have BBQ sandwiches again, so I got on the internet and googled until I found an interesting idea for left over BBQ pulled pork.
BBQ Spaghetti!!
Here is what you do..
Saute 1/2 medium onion and 1 to 2 cloves diced garlic in 1 TBS olive oil until tender but now brown. Add a can of diced tomatoes, a can of crushed tomatoes, an 8oz can tomato sauce, some dried oregano and dried basil (maybe about a little less than 1/2 TBS of each) and some crushed red pepper (to taste, depending on how spicy your family likes). Let it cook 20 to 30 minutes. Once it has thickened up a little, add your left over BBQ pulled pork and heat thru. Cook up your favorite pasta and your done!
Believe it or not, I had left over BBQ spaghetti sauce (there were only 2 of us eating this night), so I put it in a freezer bag and about a week later pulled it out and mixed it with some colorful rotini pasta. We liked it better with the rotini pasta than with the spaghetti, the pork kind of just stuck in the spirals which made it even better!
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