Success Boil in Bag Rice

So I was given this product to try, and was really excited because who doesn't like brown rice, and it doesn't get much easier than boiling in the bag. With all of my food allergies, rice is one of the few items left on my approved list so I have become somewhat of a rice connoisseur. I have to tell you that I had to add a lot of seasoning to this rice in order to choke it down. I am also not a picky eater, but this was definitely one of the least tasty rice products I have had, and when reading the ingredients, I was appalled at the list. I think I will stick with Uncle Bens, Minute, Mahatma or other brands of easy to cook rice when I am in a hurry, and on days when life is normal, I am ok with a 30 minute cook time for my rice. In addition to Mahatma, I recommend ParBoiled long grain rice and for a splurge Lundberg's long grain and wild rice blend is awesome.

Presto Pressure Cooker

This was definitely my favorite kitchen purchase of 2010. I learned to can this year, and found this pressure cooker hiding on the shelf at WalMart. It is a 16qt and is very user friendly. The one I chose is made for use on smooth top stoves. Many others that I looked at cautioned you against using them on such cooktops. I love that I don't have to monitor a pressure gauge. This model just requires you to put a few metal disks on with the regulator top in order to maintain 5, 10, or 15 pounds of pressure. This is definitely not your grandma's pressure cooker. It is new, improved, and much easier to use than any I have ever seen. I hope to incorporate a few more sizes into my collection.

Raisinets

An oldie but Goodie

I signed up on the hosties and was invited to have a Raisinets baking party. Awesome! They sent me several bags of Raisinets including milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and cranberry, complete with a few recipes to get me started. (I will be posting these on the recipe page so be sure to check them out over here!) I think my husband was the most excited when the package arrived. He immediately opened up the box and began sharing the Raisinets with my twins girls. They were in love! I will definitely be adding Raisinets to the kids' trail mix. Our favorite recipe with Raisinets so far was the bread pudding. It was a big hit for the holidays.