OK… I admit it… I want a Whirley-Pop stovetop popcorn popper. Yes, it may be a bit ‘old fashioned’ compared to other popcorn makers, but it makes GREAT popcorn with as little as 1 teaspoon of oil.

Cranking the handle on the Whirley-Pop operates its patented stirring mechanism. Because the kernels are constantly on the move, they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. No burning, how cool is that? (Unless you are one of those people who like burnt popcorn.)

The 6 quart popper makes twice as much as the standard size bag of microwave popcorn… in approximately three minutes. Because of the steam vents, located in the lid, your popcorn will always turn out tender and crisp.

Each Whirley-Pop is hand assembled and goes through a rigorous quality check process, before ever leaving the factory. All moving parts are under warranty for 25 years. (If your popper malfunctions the manufacturer will fix it or send you a new one… no questions asked.

Clean up is a breeze. Simply wipe it out with a paper towel and you’re good to go. Each Whirley-Pop comes with a detailed instruction booklet that includes more than 50 yummy popcorn recipes.

I own the first edition of this neat little cookbook. You might be surprised to learn that it continues to be one of my favorites… even after all these years.

I’ve eaten a lot of Ramen noodles in my day. I’ve never particularly cared for the seasoning packet. In my opinion it’s just too salty. I always added bouillon to mine, instead. When I was in a more creative mood, I added things like ham chunks and broccoli or whatever sounded good at the time. That was before the cookbook…

Now when I’m hungry for Ramen, I feel like a gourmet. (Well, sort of!) Before I acquired the cookbook, I never dreamed you could make custard pudding out of these noodles. YUM! There are tons of things you can do with them, all quite inexpensively.

These recipes are so creative that it makes me wish I would’ve thought of them myself. Some of the recipes, in this edition, include: Pasta Salad, Ramen Trail Mix, Taco Salad, Chicken Alfredo, Ramen Burgers, Chocolate Chinos and Cheddar Beef Casserole… and that’s just the beginning.

This cookbook would make a great gift for college students or anyone who is trying to save money on their grocery bill.
What’s your favorite way to eat on these noodles? Please share your recipes here.

If you love bacon, but hate frying it, this handy dandy microwave bacon cooker is probably for you. (I know I want one.) Not only will it prevent you from getting splattered with hot grease, it will produce much healthier bacon… with very little grease.

I like the design of it much better than the traditional (flat) microwave bacon cooker… and no, I’m not talking about a paper towel covered plate. Whether you like your bacon crispy or more on the tender side, this appliance will work for you.

It cooks up to 10 slices of bacon, at once. Because of its unique design the cooker is easy ‘to load’. The catch-all tray is 2 inches deep, which will adequately hold all of the grease contained within those ten slices.

The Presto Microwave Bacon Cooker is dishwasher safe and can be completely immersed in water, so clean-up is pretty much a breeze. It comes apart in three pieces and is top rack safe.

I can almost guarantee that if you invest in this cooker, you will be serving bacon more frequently. You can always cook a few extra pieces, to crumble into bacon bits that you can add to your next salad. YUM!

Have you ever experienced one of those moments where you look at a product and think to yourself ‘Man… I wish I would’ve thought of that’? I feel that way about Debbie Meyer GreenBags.

These are so cool and they really work! (Unlike some of the other infomercial products I’ve tried.) They work equally well for fruits, vegetables, herbs and even fresh flowers.

How do GreenBags work? It’s really pretty simple. Fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs all release Ethylene gas, after they are harvested and continue to ripen. This gas actually accelerates the aging process.

The bags are made of a material that absorbs and removes these harmful gases… resulting in a much longer ‘shelf life’. They do wonders when it comes to reducing mold, fungus, bacteria and
decay.

I think I’ve mentioned before my husband is a real stickler when it comes to wasted food. Even though we don’t waste much I still have to clean out the fridge, when his isn’t home, so he doesn’t see what gets thrown away. He LOVES the bags!

GreenBags can be used up to 10 times, making them even a better value. They come in two convenient sizes, so they are suitable for everything in your garden.

Since I’m on the subject of comfort food, there’s no better time to talk about meatloaf. It is such a versatile dish; you can easily prepare it every day for a year and not make it the same way twice.

No matter what extra ingredients I add to my meatloaf, I always top it with three or four slices of bacon. I love the flavor it gives to the finished dish… not to mention the taste of the crunchy bacon itself.

Another thing I usually do is add shredded cheese to my meatloaf. I mix up the recipe and split it into two portions. I pat half into my pan and cover generously with cheese. (The variety I use depends on the other ingredients in the loaf.) Finally, I cover the cheese with the remaining meat mixture and top with bacon, as mentioned above. Delicious!

I’ve always added ketchup or some other ‘saucy’ ingredient to my meatloaf, as well… something I learned from my Mom. This makes it very moist and gives it the best flavor. I’ve used BBQ sauce, chunky pasta sauce and even Alfredo sauce, in place of the ketchup. Again, I choose this ingredient to compliment the rest of the recipe.

What special ingredients do you add to your meatloaf? I’d love to expand my ‘meatloaf horizons’.

Photo by: su-lin

Mashed potatoes are probably my favorite comfort food. I could eat them every night of the week and never get tired of them.

You can do a lot to’ jazz up’ plain mashed potatoes. You are really only limited by your creativity.

Hopefully, the following tips will help you in your quest to making the perfect squashed spuds. With food prices on the rise, potatoes are still a good value. When in doubt, grab your masher!

Three medium potatoes yield about 2 cups mashed. To cook potatoes quickly, dice into equal sized pieces. If you are using red skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes, leave the skins on for added flavor… YUM!

During the mashing process, don’t add any liquid to the potatoes until they have reached your preferred consistency. Adding the liquid actually ‘sets’ the potatoes. For a yummy sour cream like taste, use buttermilk in place of regular milk.

If you love potato bread, you can use leftover potatoes to make your own. (Read this post to learn more about my Zojirushi bread machine.) Mashed potatoes can be successfully frozen for up to nine months. Freeze in small portions, to make bread baking even easier.

Last but not least… if you will be cooking for a crowd, you can prepare your mashed potatoes early in the day and keep them warm in a crock pot. This works wonders at holiday meal time.

Photo by: K. Santos