recommendation: magical stain remover

fels naptha. huh? no, it is not a harry potter spell. and its not the Latin name for an extinct species found in an exotic part of the world. get this.... its soap. yup.

When brother in law's wife Christy told me about it, I made her repeat it 3 times. I didn't understand the words coming from her mouth. But she said that its tried and true for getting any stain out. My mother in law has used it for years so I decided to give it a try.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find it at a normal grocery store but they told me to look out for a bar of soap in vintage packaging. It was hiding on the bottom shelf in the cleaning supplies aisle but there it was. and oh goodness, its awesome. and cheap - under $2 for a bar! I've used it twice so far, once for a grease stain on jeans and then on a pen stain on a pair of khaki's. you wet the stain, scrub the soap on, and then stick it in the washer. It worked amazingly.

Just like the website says:

Fels-Naptha® is the golden bar that is excellent for pre-treating greasy, oily stains like perspiration stains and ring-around-the collar. Fels-Naptha® has stood the test of time for over 100 years so you know it really works.

Check it out!

recommendation: cheesecake dip

Ok, way overdue on posting this but better late than never because its worth posting. The great part is, even though I did a Thanksgiving version of this recipe, its easily adaptable! The original recipe came from my previous co-worker and fashionista friend Amy. Its one of the easiest recipes ever. Seriously.

Here are her instructions:
1 brick (8 oz) of cream cheese
1 tub of cool whip
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tspn of lemon juice

Beat on low and voila!

Notes:
- I served it as dip but Amy advises that it’s great in a graham cracker crust with strawberries on top too
- My friend Evie served as dip with shortbread cookies, strawberries, graham cracker sticks, garnished with chocolate chips
- You can use low fat cream cheese and low fat cool whip and splenda and it tastes exactly the same and weight watcher friendly!

Here is an official pumpkin pie version

I am not a fan of greek yogurt so I adapted the above version, here is my Pumpkin Pie version:
1 brick of low fat cream cheese
1 tub of low fat cool whip
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsn of lemon juice
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
Pumpkin pie spice (not sure how much of this I put in, just kept adding and tasting) - can also use cinnamon and nutmeg if you don't have this

Served with: gingerbread graham crackers, green and red apples. The cake in the picture is leftover slices of my pumpkin chocolate chip cake!

Think of all of the possibilities.... add caramel to dip apples in. Add peppermint extract and dip chocolate graham crackers, with white chocolate shavings on top. Add raspberry preserves. The list goes on. This dip is awesome for potlucks!!!

And hubby approved! :)

recommendation: mexican stuffed shells

I was intrigued by this fusion recipe I found on Blog Chef. Pasta + Mexican. Odd but I love both so how can it not be delicious? The whole time I was preparing the recipe I was perplexed on what the outcome would be... delicious or weird? Delicious won out.

The recipe was a bit of a fiasco in the beginning as I thought I had cream cheese in the house but it had gone bad so after cooking the meat and noodles I had to run to the store which 1. delayed dinner by 20 minutes and 2. made me a frantic mess. That said, once I got back on track, it was easy to assemble. Really, the noodles are just a vessel for the yummy Mexican filling. Hubby thinks that it would taste just as good if not better with corn tortillas but I can't help to think that the noodles are just so much easier (have you ever tried to make enchiladas and keep the tortillas rolled? sometimes its tricky!!).

Anyway, this recipe is easy and divine and you must try it. Plus there is so much room for interpretation - trying different salsas, hot vs mild taco sauce, different toppings - we followed the olives, green onions and sour cream, but what about fresh tomatoes, avocado, cilantro (i don't like, but it goes). I bet you could even add onions and peppers into the meat mix!

I wanted to keep sides light since the shells are pretty heavy so I made a corn & avocado salad on the side.

Recommended, try it soon!

Recipe, from blog chef:
Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 4 once package cream cheese
12 large pasta shells
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
1 ½ cups tortilla chips (crushed)
3 green onions (chopped)
1 cup sour cream

Step 1: In a fry pan cook ground beef and add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to fully cool. While burger is cooking cook the pasta shells, drain and toss well with butter.
Step 2: Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Step 3: Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.
Step 4: Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Step 5: After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle crushed chips and shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses on top. Cook for about 15 more minutes. Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, black olives or whatever you think goes good with tacos!

recommendation: pan lining paper

Some days I run my dishwasher TWICE a day. Isn't that crazy? I mean, there are only two of us in this house. Its probably cheaper to keep the dishwasher running vs. stocking up on this lifesaver, but on days where I'm just not in the mood, or if you have a million dishes piling up, check this out... Reynolds Wrap Pan Liner. Its kind of awesome.

Its parchment paper on one side and foil on the other. The foil side goes down on the pan so that it can form to the pan and the parchment side stays up to put the food on.

I've noticed a lot of new recipes I'm trying lately, especially baking, call for parchment paper. Don't you just hate trying to get parchment paper to stay down on a pan? They should sell it in sheets instead of rolls! This new pan liner works out awesome for forming to the pan, coming out easy, and keeping the pan completely clean during the cooking process! I was able to put the pan away after cooking stuffed Mexican Shells (recipe coming soon, they were so different and delicious!). Yup, that's the paper on the left and the clean pan on the right. No dishes. Sweet!

I would recommend picking up a box for those days where the dishwasher is full and the thought of standing over a sink hand washing a pan and scrubbing at it just isn't how you want to spend your evening!

p.s. there have been lots of coupons in the paper lately for this but in case you've missed them, get a $1.00 off coupon HERE!