Popcorn Plaza

I don't know about you, but my family loves popcorn. In fact, my 10 year old comes home from school and immediately makes popcorn for an after-school snack. If we are at a football game, etc... we always have to buy popcorn from the concession stand. But we have come to learn that all popcorn is NOT created equal. Keep that in mind if you run a concession stand. If you're going to want people to pay money for your concession stand popcorn, it has to be the best!

Popcorn Plaza strives to be the number one place online to buy your concession stand equipment and accessories, including popcorn machines, snow cone and ice shaving machines, cotton candy machines, and much more. They are well known for giving excellent customer service and the lowest prices guaranteed! All prices are at the minimum advertised price directly from the manufacturer so you are getting the lowest price. You can't beat that. If you run a concession stand you, of course, want it to be successful. Popcorn Plaza can help!

Enclume pot racks

This blog is full of great recipes, but I thought I'd pass on a great site I found that has wonderful Enclume pot racks. Obviously if you're cooking, then you're using pots and pans, right? An Enclume pot rack (pronounced “Ahn-Kloom”) features signature hanging arms supporting the main rim rather than the typical lightweight chain hooked through a thin rim. They also have hammered steel that is recognized as the standard in cookware rack finishes and construction.
Enclume potracks are made to last a lifetime. Now you can search thru great recipes, cook great meals, and organize your pots and pans in a single, convenient, easy to reach location, with an added touch of style, elegance and class to the décor.

I'm the boss

I've often discussed with my husband about owning our own business. We actually almost bought into a subway-type sandwich shop about 5-6 years ago. Owning a franchise of some sort, whether it be a subway-type sandwich shop, another restaurant, or even a hair salon, could be a great opportunity to make your dreams come true.
TCBY has yogurt franchises opportunities available to you. Their website has so much information to help you make a well-informed, educated decision. After doing some research it is obvious to me that the initial investment is less than other franchises I have looked into. They also break the entire process down for you step by step.
Everyone loves frozen yogurt and you know what the T.C.B.Y. stands for, right? If owning your own franchise is something you're interested in... definitely check out TCBY opportunities!!!


Disclosure: I received compensation for the link in this post. The other thoughts are totally mine. :)

When wine is needed....

In some recipes wine is a needed ingredient. When needed I would recommended that you buy California wine thru AgBase. AgBase is great website for a customer to shop for foods and beverages without any transaction charges. You can easily go to the website and choose the needed product. You are given a list of direct producers\vendors who sell their products via online stores. The biggest advantage of AgBASE is its huge database of U.S. wineries which sell wine online at the minimum price in comparison with the usual food stores.

Disclosure: I received compensation for the link in this post. The thoughts regarding AgBase.com are my own.

Natural vs. Unnatural

I was reading about Natural Meats the other day. I never really knew what it meant when I heard "natural" and "commercially raised." I figured, "It's from an animal- that's pretty natural." I was wrong. Commercially raised beef often contains large amounts of hormones. So when we eat it, we ingest a high concentration of drugs and hormones like estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone acetate, and melengesterol acetate. All these hormones in our system can lead to an increased risk for problems like cancer, premature puberty and a low sperm count. Those are some major risks I don't want to take!!
Not only are these hormones a problem, but often large amounts of antibiotics are also pumped into commercially raised cattle as well. These antibiotics can help protect the cattle against many diseases, which is great. However, the effect on humans of eating meat that has been saturated with so many antibiotics is the possible development of new diseases that are more deadly because they are already resistant to antibiotics. :( That's super scary to me.
I would recommend when at all possible to use natural meats that are not full of unnatural hormones and antibiotics. Not only are they healthier, but speaking from experience, they actually taste better. I know I need all the help I can get when it comes to making my food taste better!! haha

Disclosure: I was compensated for the link in this post. The thoughts regarding natural meat are mine.

Spices

I, admittedly, am not an awesome cook. That's why I love super easy recipes. But I have learned a few things over the last 15 years. (Thank goodness!) Believe it or not, I didn't use to use a different measuring cup for solids and liquids. Um... that makes a HUGE difference. Oh.my.gosh. I don't know how I made it all the way thru high school and into marriage without realizing those measurements are different.
Another thing I have learned is to always make sure your ingredients are fresh. This makes a huge difference!! If you are making cookies using the same flour you bought last year, that has been opened all that time... they aren't going to turn out as great as they would had you used fresh flour. Spices are like this too. I bought a spice rack at a garage sale years and years ago and never thought to replace all the spices. No wonder when I used spices you never could tell. They were old and... yuck. Penderys.com is a great site to purchase fresh spices, such as sweet paprika. It's a great overall site with lots of great tips about spices and cooking.
What have you learned thru out the years?

Disclosure: I received compensation for the link in this post. The other thoughts are totally mine. :)

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Giveaway- ENDED

The winner is comment #18.

Angela CONGRATS!!

A few months ago I hosted a giveaway on my other blog, SwampBrat. Honestly I didn't know ANYTHING about coconut oil until I had the chance to try it and hosted the giveaway. Tropical Traditions was cool enough to send me a huge 32 ounce jar of Virgin Coconut Oil to try out! I was stoked when the package arrived. Sei tried it out making his famous homemade taco shells. I loved how they were so much less greasy than they are in vegetable oil.

I also received this book:



The Virgin Coconut Oil Book answered ALL my questions about coconut oil. It has so many uses. You can receive a FREE copy of the book when you make your first online purchase using this code: 5256492. I just ordered 3 more jars from Tropcial Traditions. It's healthier and it adds something to the taste of the food. SUPER GOOD!!

Tropical Traditions is giving ME the opportunity to host a giveaway for a 32 oz (1 quart) jar of coconut oil.

• To Enter: Visit Tropical Traditions and comment with another product they have that you'd like to try. While you're there you can Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions Sales Newsletter. That will keep you up to date on great specials they continually have going on. My last order I got ended up with 2 out of 3 products FREE all because of deals I read about in the newsletter. So the newsletter is great.

Want more ways to enter??

• Follow me on twitter. Leave me your Twitter name.
• Tweet this giveaway. You can do this up to 3 times day as long as the tweets are atleast 1 hour apart. Comment back with your Twitter status url.
• Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter.
• Follow Eazy Mealz by clicking in the sidebar.
  
• Fan SWAMPBRAT on Facebook. This way you can hear about new giveaways posted on my blogs! :)

So, there ya go! Lots of ways to enter. This giveaway will end on Jan. 20. I guarantee you- this is a prize you WANT to win!!!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Rice Cookers- a must have!!

Growing up my mom always used a pot to cook rice. My Polynesian husband introduced me to the world of rice cookers. Rice cookers rock! I recommend EVERY kitchen have a rice cooker. Food steamers are awesome too.
Rice cookers allow your rice to be steamed to perfection without the worry of burning it on the bottom. Also, unlike in a pot you don't have to watch a rice cooker. When the rice is done cooking, the rice cooker automatically reads this and clicks to "off" or "warm" mode. This is an important feature, especially if you tend to get sidetracked like I do.
** Sam's Club is a great place to purchase all types of rice cookers, including digital rice cookers, rice dispensers and even commercial rice cookers.

Garlic Tips:

o If you aren’t using fresh garlic, you’re cutting the flavor of your food by 50%. There is no substitute for fresh garlic in regards to flavor or health benefits.

o One clove of garlic is TEN TIMES STRONGER when pushed through a press than a clove minced fine with a sharp knife.

o Remember that one clove of garlic is one piece; a bulb is made of lots of cloves....if you use a whole bulb when a recipe calls for a clove; you're either going out to dinner or keeping the vampires away!

o When using garlic, be sure to keep the cloves attached to the root, rather than breaking off for storage. The longer they stay on the root, the longer your garlic will last. And the more fresh it will be.

o When buying your garlic, you want to shop for it like men shop for their underwear: Tight and White.

o Garlic Breath?? Try chewing on a sprig of fresh parsley with lemon squeezed on it. Or eat a strawberry to cleanse your breath.

o Garlic should be kept in a cool, dry, dark place like your cabinet.

o “Wash" your hands with a stainless steel item (like a spoon) to remove onion and garlic odors.