Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

With all that’s been going on in the world I haven’t been able to bake as much. Things are lifting so I took the opportunity to bake for my neighbors and friends. One of the favs around here are my Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are a little time consuming as there are multiple steps, but very much worth it. I mean, you get cheesecake, and a chocolate chip cookie all in one, what’s not to love?

Copper Chef Pan

You have probably seen the infomercials talking about the Copper Chef Pan and how awesome it is. I know I have. I have to admit, I love a good infomercial, but I’m usually asking myself, “does it really work that well?” Let’s be real, they make it seem like it’s a fix for that problem and the best. So, I wanted to put the Copper Chef Pan to the test and see for myself.

Nutri Ninja Nutri Bowl DUO

It’s no secret I love smoothies and pretty much anything you can make with a blender. I also love Ninja products. So when I found out they had a few new products, I needed to check them out. The one I had my eye on is their new Nutri Ninja Nutri Bowl DUO with Auto- IQ Boost. It’s a mouthful to say, but like all their other products in the past, it doesn’t disappoint.

The Auto-IQ technology isn’t new to Ninja, I have the bigger blender that has it, and I love it. You don’t have to guess how long, or what speed. Everything you need is right there at your fingertips.

Just like at home while at Extended Stay America

Before I begin, I want to say a big thank you to ExtendedStay America in hosting my husband and myself at their hotel.

Have you ever stayed at an extended stay type hotel? Usually people stay at these when they will be at a place longer than a few nights. They have kitchenettes so that you can store food and cook. Most hotels have just a little mini fridge. Extended stay hotels have full size so you can put more than just one take out container in there.

Our Holiday Baking is Made Easier and Tastier with Pillsbury™ Purely Simple™ Cake Mix!

For me, the holidays are centered around my children, so when I am making my Christmas preparations, I have them in my mind constantly. I love baking their favorite goodies, and decorating it so it is pretty- which somehow makes it taste better right? I will tell you, I am no great baker though so I rely heavily on Pillsbury™ to help me out on that front! I can handle the decorating, as long as the cake and cookies are easy to make. Recently I was asked to take a trip to my local Publix and purchase the items to make my oldest sons favorite cake:  Purely Simple™ white cake mix and Pillsbury™ Chocolate Fudge frosting. The Purely Simple™ cake mix not only tastes amazing, but I love that it is just what is says, a cake mix without a lot of added "stuff" in it! It contains only simple ingredients with no added colors, preservatives, or artificial flavors. It also tastes much more homemade than many other boxed mixes I have used. It is super easy to make, so I can spend more time decorating the cake, AND for the holidays! 

Our holiday preparations are pretty simple. On Christmas Eve our extended family comes together to have pizza and LOTS of desserts. We play some sort of holiday themed game and spend time as a family and allow the children to open their gifts. We never bring out the fine china, and prefer to eat on paper plates, because Christmas is about family and enjoying time rather than decoration in our family. Christmas day is spent with our little family and my Mom. We eat too much, and laugh too much and enjoy watching our babies with their gifts. Santa does not even wrap presents at our house, but instead leaves them at the fireplace in his Santa Sack, and we always leave out Pillsbury™ Purely Simple™ Sugar Cookies. The easier the better is our theme!

If you are like me and do not have a lot of time to waste this holiday season, but still want to make beautiful and tasty desserts, Pillsbury™ will be able to help. I honestly was not able to tell that the Purely Simple™ cake was not homemade. It has that wonderful, rich buttery taste that my grandmothers homemade cakes had. As I bake for the holiday, I often think of the past holidays I spent as a child with my Grandparents preparing the meal, and I enjoy telling my own children about holidays of the past. There is just nothing better than a great smelling kitchen, family time and plenty of sweet goodies to eat at Christmastime is there?

If your holidays are more about the TIME you spend with loved ones, and not focused on HOURS in the kitchen and decorating for a big party, you will definitely want to snag some coupons from Pillsbury™. My dessert may not look as wonderfully elegant as the ones on the site, but I can tell you, my kids enjoyed it just as much! So, however you spend your Christmas, enjoy it this year! Tell me, what is a favorite holiday tradition in your family?

Oreo Rice

Oreo Rice! What?!?!? That’s what I thought the first time I saw it. Then I broke it down Joey style from Friends. Rice-good, milk- good, Oreos-good!! I figured why not, i’ll try it. Turns out my husband loved it and I thought it was pretty good as well. So I figured I would share with you in case you wanted to try it as well and live on the wild side.

GE Café Brings Family Back Together

Insight for this post was provided by GE Café™

In the past the running joke in my family is that I don’t and can’t really cook. Over the past year it has changed to wow, mom can cook, what happened. Honestly, I don’t know what happened. I know that I just all of a sudden wanted to make something instead of waiting for my husband to make it and it turned out really really good.

Beyond Meat: The Future of Protein!

 

A creative cook I am not! I have to admit that I cook pretty standard meals, and I am pretty lucky that I do not have an overly picky husband. Recently, I was challenged to try something new for the Beyond Meat campaign from Markerly, and received a variety of products that look like meat, and taste like meat, but are not really meat! I decided to use the beef crumbles with a standard box of hamburger helper and capture my children's response when I tell them the news that it was not really hamburger meat! To say the least, they were excited because the meal was "DELICIOUS" to them, and lets face it, Hamburger Helper is a kids (and moms) best friend! My boys never once suspected that what was in their hamburger helper was anything but the regular ole hamburger meat, and that made this mama thrilled. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal as well and tasted absolutely no difference.

By this point in time, you might just be wondering what exactly Beyond Meat is. Well, it is just that. Beyond Meat. Think of meat like foods that are completely plant based, but taste an awful lot LIKE meat! Sort of like a veggie burger, which I have always been too afraid to try! 

At Beyond Meats mission is to become The Future of Protein. They get rid of the animal completely and make delicious chicken, meatball and beef crumble- like products that come directly from plants.  This company is really dedicated to improving our world, and our health. Theses wonderful plan based products allow families to continue to eat the foods they love (like chili, hamburger helper, chicken enchilada and meatball subs- ALL without the downside of meat. Their aim is the make the foods taste so good that nobody in the family (except the cook) knows that the meal is meat free. While there is always room for improvement, this is Beyond Meats mission, and they are doing a great job of it!

Pampered Chef Nonstick Double Burner Griddle

You know when you love a kitchen appliance and it breaks or stops working? Well that happened to me recently while I was packing to move from WI to AZ. My favorite griddle broke, and it was a sad day. Since I was in the process of moving, I wasn’t going to replace it in WI, just to ship it. One I got to the new house I started looking for a new one. I found one from Pampered Chef that looked amazing, and was way better than what I had before. I was so happy when they sent me their Nonstick Double Burner Griddle.

Delicious Dinner Made Easy with Ragu!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ragu®. The opinions and text are all mine.

I have never heard anyone say anything negative about shopping at Cosco. Everyone, myself included, loves the prices, quality and service they receive! My recent shopping trip to pick up some Ragu® for our spaghetti and meatballs dinner was no exception. I was able to get in and out relatively quickly, though I might have been distracted with other purchases along the way.

The school year is starting back soon. That means I will be busy picking my oldest up from school, scouts, fencing classes, church and we are even adding a newborn into the mix in October. I am constantly looking for quick, nutritious meals for my family. Ragu® is one of my "quick" family meals that everyone absolutely loves. I just throw in some frozen meatballs, boils some pasta and add the sauce, and we have a yummy meal and a happy family. My boys are always thrilled to learn that we are having spaghetti and meatballs (or even meatball subs in Ragu® sauce!) In my opinion Ragu® is the best tasting spaghetti sauce on the market and I particularly love the Sweet Italian Sausage and Cheese sauce, which is great on top of noodles by itself! Ragu® has a longtime history of bringing families together for a delicious meal, and it definitely does in our home!

Curious Chef Encourages Kids to Explore the Kitchen with Their Parents!

I think at some point or another every child has expressed interested in helping their parents in the kitchen. I know my oldest used to have a huge fascination with helping me back "goodies." These days, as he is approaching 8, he is more into video games than helping my in the kitchen. His little toddler brother has started to show an interest in helping mommy though! There is a great company out there that facilitates this bonding time between parent and child, and that company is called Curious Chef. We received two separate sets from them which are the cupcake kit and the measuring kit.

Since I took a cake decorating class, I love the Cupcake Kit the most. We have had so much fun playing with this as it comes with different attachments that you can make different flowers, and decorations. It also comes with a cupcake pan and silicone cupcake liners. My favorite part is it even comes with something to make it easier to add cream and fillings into your cupcakes! We even got older brother to join in on the fun using this kit, and make some super cute memorial day themed cupcakes!

The Curious Chef® 16-piece cupcake and decorating kit is big on creativity and fun and makes it okay to play with your food! This colorful kit has all the kitchen tools a little chef needs to make tasty cupcake creations in the kitchen. The cupcake decorating kit helps you and your little chef prepare a perfect birthday treat, or a special surprise, or just because it's fun.

Kitchen Curry Master Makes it Easy to Creative a Delicious Indian Meal at Home!

I’ve often said here, I am not the best cook in the kitchen but I do try to do my best. My husband is a fan of curry foods in particular including his favorite recipe called Chicken Divan. I thought I would share this recipe here for yall, since we absolutely adore it. While this is not necessarily an Indian recipe, it is one that we definitely will be using a couple of the Kitchen Curry Master set for. This is a pretty easy dish and a favorite in our home. 

Chicken Divan:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 chicken breasts (boiled or sautéed until done and shredded)
• 1 bag of frozen broccoli or fresh broccoli (boiled until cooked to your desired consistency)
• 1 cup of mayo
• 1 TSP of lemon juice
• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 TSP or more of curry- to taste. You can also add a dash of ground cumin to taste.
• 2 cups of mild or medium shredded cheddar cheese. 

 (if you like things a little spicier you can add a dash of chili pepper to the chicken as it is being sauteed)

Instructions:

In a casserole dish layer the cooked chicken on bottom, then broccoli, and finally rice. In a bowl mix the lemon juice, mayo, curry, and cream of mushroom soup and then pour mixture over casserole. Finally top the dish with the cheese and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

NanoRazor 3" Ceramic Paring knife with free peeler

I admit, I am not exactly a pro on the kitchen and most times, I do not even enjoy cooking. However, after being married for over 10 years and having two little boys, I have to cook and sometimes I have to get very creative to get all of the testosterone in my house to eat properly. This means cutting fruits and vegetables into small pieces and hiding them in other more palatable foods. When doing this, having a good knife and peeler is a must, and I definitely have that with NanoRazor 3" Ceramic Paring knife with free peeler.

The 10" Green Earth Frying Pan by Ozeri, with Smooth Ceramic Non-Stick Coating- Our New Favorite!

Around here, we are huge Ozeri fans and I am just in love with the 10" Green Earth Frying pan they sent!! First off, this pan is pretty heavy duty and fries evenly. It is also large enough to cook our entire dinner in one pan instead of frying some, and the adding more. It is a time saver for me, and it is also good for my family.

VitaMix- More than just a regular blender

One of the things that has been on the top of my must have list for my kitchen is a Vitamix. I kept telling my husband that one of these days, so i’m sure you can imagine how excited I was when Vitamix reached out and asked if I would review one of their blenders.

Nesco Roaster

My husband loves to cook large quantities of soups and chilis but we don’t really have anything that would be big enough, so he improvises and uses a few big pots at the same time. He asked me not to long ago to see about getting a really large Nesco Roaster. I contacted Nesco and was thrilled when they said yes to one of their roasters. Not only did they say yes, but they sent us their 18 quart roaster.

Ozeri Green Earth Frying Pan

Around here, we are huge Ozeri fans and I have a new product to rave about! Ozeri sent me the 12 inch Green Earth frying pan and it is definitely our new favorite!! First off, this pan is pretty heavy duty and fries evenly. It is also large enough to cook our entire dinner in one pan instead of frying some, and the adding more. It is a time saver for me, and it is also good for my family.

Book Review: National Geographic's Cook Books.

I love cook books. I can't help but browse each one I come across and more times than not, they end up on my shelf at home. Now that I'm a mom and meals are more important than ever before, I try to offer the best, healthy food I can to my family. It's funny how motherhood makes you second guess everything.

For me, it's not just putting a well balanced meal on the table. It's about flavor, budget, health and planning smart. Every time I turn around there is an article, a new piece or television doctor throwing another food at me touting it's health benefits. It is all quite confusing. I searched, with disappointing results, for one resource that had each food listed with what it provided. That is why I really like the National Geographic cookbooks I received. National Geographic has dedicated this year to "The Future of Food," exploring issues surrounding how we eat today and we can provide food for all as the world's population grows. And, since National Geographic is a trusted company, I don't have to worry they are trying to sell me snake oil in the form of the latest fad fruit.

Ozeri 8 inch frying pan

Last year I had the opportunity to review Ozeri’s 8 inch frying pan and loved it. It was perfect for small things. When Ozeri asked if I wanted to try their 10 inch pan. I loved the small one so much I definitely wanted to try out the medium one.

I’m not sure if they changed the bottom of the pans since I received the 8 inch or if the 10 is different. I noticed that there are little ridges on the 10 inch and I like it. This pan (and the small one) are the easiest to cook with and to clean. I don’t have to spray anything on it which is really nice since I don’t like cooking with oil.

One of the things I love to make in this pan are quesadillas. The non stick pan is perfect for a tortilla. What’s even better is the clean up. There is no soaking or scrubbing, and that saves a ton of time.

For $26.76 this is amazing deal as Ozeri utilizes GREBLON - an ultra-safe ceramic coating from Germany which is 100% PTFE and PFOA free

I really don’t think there are any Ozeri products that I don’t like and I have tried quite a few lately. You can buy from Amazon and see all their other products as well.

Disclosure: The above item was received in order to facilitate review. I have not been compensated for this post. Top Notch Material blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed. We will only recommend products or services that we feel are of benefit to our readers. If you have any questions, please contact me at katrina dot gehman {at} gmail com. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.