Smooze! Fruit Ice $5/box Review

I "wander" in the grocery store sometimes. And this was one of those times. I was looking for canned maraschino cherries and after I found them, I lingered around the aisle and these caught my eye. How could I not be sucked in by them? The bright colors? The funny little stick drawing and the lure of sweet icy goodness!


They are Smooze! Fruit Ice and they come in a box of 10 and each box comes in 4 different flavors!
1. Mango + Cococnut
2. Pink Guava + Coconut
3. Passion Fruit + Coconut
4. Pineapple + Coconut


I grabbed a box of each flavor(except for the Pineapple one cause it wasn't on the shelves). I love that these are made from 100% real fruit juice and fruit purees. They are completely dairy-free, rich in Vitamin C, fat-free, cholesterol-free, preservative-free, gluten-free and GM-free! They're absolutely a good-for-you snack and at 50 cents a piece - very economical too!


Inside the box, the fruit ice is individually packaged in this funny looking trapezoid carton. You can snip off one of the edges and use the other end to "push-up" the frozen treat. These won't work well, if you tear into it immediately. I wash the outside of the carton under some cold water (for sanitary purposes as you will be putting your mouth directly on the carton) and this seems to do the trick to loosen the treat from the sides. It's kind of like an eco-friendly push-pop (Did I just give away my age? Does anyone still remember those?)!

These are so nice after a workout, when I just want to cool off and the texture is a nice blend of juice and smoothie. The smoothie part is the fruit puree and it melts slowly to ensure you can enjoy every bit of fruity goodness to the end. The juice part is the coconut juice and it melts just a bit more quickly so that it quenches your thirst without being drippy.


My very favorite has turned out to be the Mango! At first I thought "eh, mango - how common" but the flavor is wonderfully tropical! A very very VERY close second is the Pink Guava. I love guava juice and I'm always such a sucker for anything guava. It's such a common fruit in asia, but not here in the U.S. so when I see guava anything - I'm hypnotized and can't say no. I thought Passion Fruit would be my suprise winner, but turns out I've no passion for it. It's a bit sour and the flavor doesn't quite do it for me. I have to admit I've never had passion fruit itself, so I can't say if it's the fruit I'm not a fan of or if it's the Smooze! creators that screwed it up. I will give the latter the benefit of the doubt and say I probably just don't like passion fruit.


Just wanted to show how both the production and expiration dates are printed on the box.

Canterbury Naturals Chocolate Crepe Mix

I am super excited to try these out! I've was planning to make a birthday dessert using chocolate crepes and I had resigned to the fact that I'd be doing it ALL from scratch. Lucky me when I spotted these at the store!

Now I'll be going the Semi-Homemade route and I'd like to think I'd make Sandra Dee proud :) All I have to add is eggs and water - that's what is says on the box!


Inside the box - the mix!


Click on the image for a larger pic of the nutrition info.


Click on the image for a larger pic of the Ingredients List.


What a thoughtful box mix <3


Don't these look yummy? They're a closeup of the image on the box.

Matzo Crusted Chicken and Squash Tatin

This dish was inspired by the April issue of Martha Stewart Living. You can find the full menu and recipe for the entire meal here.

For the chicken, I added 1 tsp of smoked Paprika to the crushed matzo.


You can find the recipe for the Vegetable Tian here. I didn't take the recipe with me to the grocery store so I screwed up and didn't get the carrots or potatos. I got zucchini and yellow squash instead so I just used those. I cooked softened the onion in a saute pan first and put that into the casserole. I also softened the squashes first and arranged them on top of the onions. Then I just topped it all with a mix of breadcrumbs and romano cheese and stuck it under the broiler at 350 degrees for about 10min.


Not a good pic - but I was in a hurry to snap the pic and move on to tend the chicken that was frying next to me!

Rainbow Sushi

This is my favorite sushi rolls - The Rrrreinbo Roll!!!! At least that's how the Sushi Master says it when he hands it to me - haha! It's simply a California Roll topped with Salmon, Tuna and Yellowtail (other places use Hamachi or Guacamole on top too). I get this as take-out sometimes when I'm lazy to cook and just pick it up on my way home.

One of my favorite sushi restaurants to go to is Royal Tokyo Sushi Den in Addison! It's tucked away in a strip of a shopping center and you would never think to look for it there. I love this place! It's quiet, they have modern asian decor that is warm rather than stark, the sushi masters are acutally Japanese and they appreciate when you buy them a round of Kirin as they make your order. It's a great place!

J&M Cheese Straws

These are not my idea of "cheese straws". I think of cheese straws as puffy breads but these were tasty nonetheless! They made from only all natural ingredients and I was hungry when I spotted these so I couldn't resist!


First the Original flavor - these were like a sophisticated grown-up cheese nips. I was never a fan of nips because of the dry cracker texture but these have a crumbly texture that melts in your mouth. They also leave a nice spicy after note too! I ate these plain and did not try it with chocolate (as suggested on the box).


Of the two, I preferred the flavor of the Asiago ones. It's got asaigo cheese and rosemary baked into them and I love rosemary! These were more crumbly than the original (I'm guessing because of the rosemary in the batter) and were non-spicy.


They've got a whole line of these in different flavors and I'd like to try the Bleu Cheese ones next. I wouldn't say these are a go-to snack for me, but I love giving any kind of food a try at least once.

Stephanie's 10th Birthday Cupcakes

I showed my baby cousin these Beach Bear cupcakes that the awesome Bakerella made and she immediately wanted to make the same to take to her classmates for her birthday. Her little sister Tiffany (aka my teeny baby cousin) helped to make them too!

Here's how our bears turned out:

It was so much fun making these! We used Teddy Grahams, YoGo Yogurt Bites, Gummy Life Savers and Fruit Roll-ups. For the "sand" we rolled the tinted icing in raw cane sugar :)

Mama Didi's Spaghetti and Meatballs

8 Servings
Carb: Spaghetti
Protein: Beef
Veg: Plum Tomatos

This is quite possibly the BEST pasta sauce I've ever tasted. Literally THE BEST. I've never made pasta sauce from canned whole tomatoes before, but now I don't think I'll ever be able to go back. Haha! I think it's the flavor combo of bay leaves, fennel and oregano. Also the texture of this sauce is just what I've been looking for! It's got bits of tomato all through it and it's not too chunky or runny.

Ingredients:
16oz package Spaghetti
4 28oz cans of whole peeled Plum Tomatoes
1 Onion, diced
2 Garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 Tbsp dry Oregano
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Salt or to taste
1/2 tsp Pepper or to taste
3 Tbsp Canola Oil


Meatballs (makes about 18)
2 lbs Ground Beef
1 cup plain Breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Romano Cheese, finely shredded
2 large Eggs
1/4 Shallot, finely diced
1/4 fresh Parsley, finely shredded
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 Tbsp Canola Oil


The Recipe:
1. Mix Ground Beef, Breadcrumbs, Romano Cheese, Eggs, Shallot, Parsley, Fennel, Salt and Pepper together by hand.
2. Shape into 1.5 inch meatballs and place on large cookie sheet.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp Canola oil in large skillet.
4. Brown Meatballs in batches of 5-6 at a time. These will not be cooked through. Set aside as they will finish cooking along with the sauce. (Drain oil from skillet and set aside for later)

5. Start the sauce by heating 3 Tbsp Canola Oil in large a stockpot (stainless steel or enameled cast iron only) on medium heat.
6. Add Onion and Garlic and a pinch of salt. Keep stirring until softened. Do not let burn.
7. Crush tomatoes with hands and add with juices to the pot. Don't worry if it's not completely crushed to bits - they're going to cook down.
8. Raise heat to med-high. As soon as tomatoes comes to boil, add meatballs.
9. Carefully stir from the bottom of the pot to cover the meatballs. Let come to a boil again.
10. As soon as it comes to a boil again, immediately lower heat and let simmer for 30 minutes covered.
11. Uncover and add Fennel, Oregano, Bay Leaves, Sugar, Salt and Pepper. Let it simmer uncovered for 3 hours. Stirring every 30 minutes.
12. In the last 30 minutes of cooking boil spaghetti according to package directions. Do not add oil to the water it will make the noodles slippery and they won't soak up the sauce.
(Optional)
13. Heat skillet used to brown meatballs on low.
14. Add pasta sauce and spaghetti and gently stir with tongs to coat spaghetti.



Plating:
1. Place pasta on plate and top with 2-3 meatballs per person.

Thai Basil Udon

4 Servings
Carb: Udon Noodles
Protein: Chicken Breast
Veg: Bell Pepper and Mushrooms

I had some Thai Basil and some Udon noodles I wanted to use so I just threw this together. I hadn't intended for it to become a noodle soup but I didn't realize the soup base would be so salty. I hadn't thrown out the water I used to boil the noodles and I used that to dilute the soup base. This turned out great becuase the gluten in the water helped to thicken the soup a bit.




Ingredients:
3 Udon noodle packets (7 oz each), boiled and drained
Water (about 3-4 cups), reserved from boiling udon noodles
1 lb Chicken breast, diced
1 Bell Pepper, sliced
4 oz white Beech Mushrooms, stem trimmed
4 oz brown Beech Mushrooms, stem trimmed
4 Scallions, sliced on diagonal
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 tsp Ginger, thinly sliced
2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup Thai Basil leaves
1 tsp Chili Garlic Sauce
1 Tbsp Thai Fish Sauce
2 Tbsp Japanese Soup Base
1/8 tsp Ground Coriander
1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
Salt to taste

Recipe:
1. In nonstick wok, heat oil on medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle ground coriander, Chinese five spice powder and salt on chicken(I just put the diced chicken on a plate and sprinkle enough to lightly coat 1 side of all the chicken pieces). Mix chicken around to coat.
3. Add chicken pieces to oil. Don't move chicken for about 20-30 seconds - just leave it where it lands. Lightly stir for 3 minutes.
4. Add Bell Pepper and a pinch of salt. Lightly stir for 1 minute.
5. Add Ginger and Garlic. Lightly stir for 1 minute.
6. Add Fish Sauce, Chili Garlic Sauce and Japanese Soup Base. Stir and add Scallions.
7. Mix in mushrooms and cover for about 1-2 min.
8. Add 2 cups reserved Water and then Udon Noodles. Mix to combine and turn off heat.
9. Taste and add more water 1 cup at a time if the soup is too salty.

Plating:
1. Using tongs or chopsticks lift noodles, chicken and vegetables into a bowl.
2. Ladle Soup over noodles.

Shallot topped Tilapia and Parsley Rice with Broccoli and Carrots.

4 Servings
Carb: Parsley Rice
Protein: Tilapia
Veg: Shallots, Broccoli and Carrots

This was just a midweek dish that I wanted to be quick, filling and nutricious. I got the inspiration for it when I was flipping through the channels on Saturday afternoon and came across a show where they were cooking tilapia and topping it with carmelized shallots.

It turned out quite nice! I wasn't expecting it to be quite so tasty so that was a nice surprise. The seasoning I used for the fish turned out to be a bit like a mild (very mild) version of Blackened Spice. Also, the rice was sooooo tasty! Probably because the flavor of the oil was built from the shallots and the tilapia - ooo it was sooo good!



Ingredients:
2 cups Cooked Uncle Ben's Rice
4 Tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry
2-3 Shallots, thinnly sliced
3 Broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size pieces
1.5 cup Baby Carrots
1/4 cup fresh Parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
3 cups Water
3 Tbsp Canola Oil (for shallots and tilapia)
2 tsp Canola Oil (for broccoli and carrots)
1.5 Tbsp Butter, unsalted
2-3 cloves of Garlic,
1/8 tsp of each - Cumin, Paprika, Coriander Seed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Recipe: Carmelized Shallots, Tilapia and Parsley Rice
1. Season both sides of tilapia with Cumin, Paprika, Coriander Seed, Salt & Pepper. Set aside.
2. In a non-stick skillet, on medium heat 1 Tbsp of Canola oil and 1/2 Tbsp of Butter.
3. Add shallots to oil. Season with a pinch of salt and lightly stir until sofened. Transfer to a plate.
4. Return pan to stove-top. On medium-high, heat remaining 2 Tbsp of Canola Oil and 1 Tbsp Butter.
5. Add tilapia fillets 2 at a time to the pan. Let cook for 3 min or until the edges of are done. Flip fillets and cook another 2 min. Transfer fillets to a plate.
6. Return pan to stove-top. Turn pan down to medium low and add cooked rice. Stir in parsley and turn off heat.

Recipe: Broccoli and Carrots
1. Boil water and add Baby Carrots.
2. In a non-stick wok, on medium heat 2 tsp Canola oil.
3. Add Garlic, Broccoli and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat Broccoli with oil.
4. Add 1/4 cup of Chicken Broth. Stir to coat Broccoli with broth and cover pan. Let steam for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add remaing 1/4 cup of Chicken Broth and another pinch of salt. Stir and cover again for 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove Baby Carrots from water and add to Broccoli.
7. Add another pinch of salt and stir for about 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat.

Plating:
1. Plate rice and top with 1 Tilapia fillet.
2. Top Tilapia with Carmelized Shallots.
3. Plate Broccoli and Carrots next to Rice.

Maamoul Date Filled Cookies

My good friend from Saudi wanted me to taste these cookies. I'm always eager to eat international sweets since they're usually not cloyingly sweet like the ones here in the U.S.


These cookies were great! The texture of the crust is soft and crumbly and the filling is similar to a preserve. There's not chunks of dates but you there's a light crunch from the seeds.



Ingredients


Nutrition Info

London Fish 'n Chips

We were on our way to the London bridge and it was sooooooo cold! When we spotted this place selling fish 'n chips off to the side of the street, we dashed to get in line!

Here it is! Hot fish 'n chips with a spot of tea!

Madeleines and Chocolate Madeleines

We stopped by La Madeleine yesterday night and they had madeleines packaged for sale. I was inspired to make my own madeleines and try out my new madeleine pan. I made a batch of traditional madeleines and a batch of chocolate madeleines. I'm not 100% happy with the results. I think the traditional ones are a little too dark and I didn't like how the chocolate ones are "hole-ly". Despite that they were still tasty and I think acceptable for my first attempt at madeleines.

Traditional Madeleines (Makes 12)

2 eggs - room temp

1/2c Sugar

zest of 1 Lemon - I used a Meyer lemon

2 tsp Vanilla

2/3c all-purpose Flour

3/4 tsp Baking Powder

pinch of Salt

3/4 stick of Butter - melted & cooled

*Sift together flour, baking powder and salt - set aside. Mix sugar and lemon zest until fragrant. Then beat together with eggs using electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Add butter. Cover with plastic wrap for 3 hours.

*Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush molds with melted butter. Fill molds and bake for 12 min.

Chocolate Madeleines (Makes 12)

2 eggs - room temp

1/2c Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2/3c all-purpose Flour

1/4c Cocoa Powder

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

pinch of Salt

3/4 stick of Butter - melted & cooled

*Sift together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt - set aside. Beat sugar with eggs using electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Add butter. Cover with plastic wrap for 3 hours.
*Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush molds with melted butter. Fill molds and place in oven. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for 12 min.

Piquant Burger and Onion Rings

A coupon for Jakes Burgers arrived in the mail today. They're voted Best Burgers in Dallas - I disagree. The patties are thin and that's a big fat NO in my book. The best burger I've ever had was from JC's Burgers located 5 min from my high school. My friends and I would always drive there for lunch and I've never had a burger since that tops theirs. The burgers aren't fancy, just simple and the patties are thick and beefy. Anyways this burger was inspired by JCs - You guys rock!!!

These aren't JC's Burgers, but they're pretty stick-to-your-ribs tasty too!


Beef Pattys
1 lb Ground Beef
1/2 Onion - minced
1 Garlic Clove - minced
Salt & Pepper
1-2 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
1-2 tsp Canola Oil
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
*Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside for about 10 min. Heat grill. Portion and shape beef mixture into 8 patties. Flatten the patties and make an indentation in the center (the patties will plump once they're on the grill). Grill about 2-3 min on each side

Beer Batter Onion Rings (Serves 6)
1 cup all-purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup beer
1 large egg
Canola oil
2 large white onions, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, separated into rings
Salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving


*Combine flour, salt, and cayenne. Add buttermilk, beer and egg and let sit 20 minutes.
*Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place a baking sheet on middle rack of oven. Heat oil to 380 degrees in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Dip a few slices of onion in batter, turning to coat. Gently drop slices into oil. Cook, turning once with a wire-mesh skimmer, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer rings to paper towels, season with salt immediately, then transfer onions to the baking sheet to keep warm. Repeat with remaining onions. (Adjust heat as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature.) Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.

Lotsa Bento!

Don't know why but this turned out to be a LOT of food.
I think I was pressured to eat/use up the leftover kimchi and seaweed and I wanted to have a fruit cup.

Rectangular Bento
Red Grapes

Round Bento
Left: Sweet Seaweed
Right: Mat Kimchi

Square Bento
Top Left: Yogurt Drink
Top Middle: Lemon Grass Beef with Bell Peppers and Shitake Mushrooms
Right: White Basmati
Bottom Left: Garlic Water Sprouts

Random Comment: This little bell pepper was so cute and it was the most perfect ideal bell pepper shape that I had to take a picture of it!

Mommy and Me Bento Time

Another quickie bento I slapped together for my mom and myself. We have lunch together about 2-3x a week and I brought this for us today. Mommy loved it! She thought it was so cute yet filling :)

Bento Items
Left: Rice topped with leftover 3cups Chicken
Top-Right: Stir-fry Bean Sprouts
Middle-Right: Edamame
Bottom-Right: Oden

Bento Numero Uno

Recently started to buy into the bento-mania craze. This a quickie first attempt with store-bought Gyoza and edamame. Hoping the visual gratification will help with portion control and weight-loss.

Bento Beginnings

My first memory of the word "bento" is an image of my Grandmother. She went to Japanese school as a child during their occupation of Taiwan and speaks Japanese fluently. In fact, her attempts at English speech is heavily accented with Japanese BUT I digress.

Lookie! My new bento supplies! I'm really excited to use them. Haven't really figured out how or when I'll use them. Kinda feel like I went overboard with rice molds (3 other molds are not pictured). Oh well, no time to wallow in buyer's remorse for now :)

Bento Supplies (Clockwise from Top-Left): Disposable Chopsticks, Bento box (650ml), Bento dividers, Rice Molds, Silicone Cupcake Liners, Disposable Dividers that look like fake grass.

Also wanted to brag about my bento box. It's NOT really a bento box. I swore off plastic tupperware for several reasons. I'd like to say the main reason was for health and the BPA scare, but that's just a mere 10% of the reason. THE main reason is that I like for things to retain that "new shiny" look. I'm really sensitive to that and plastics, even high-grade plastics always end up looking foggy. Another big reason is that I need my tupperware to be ovensafe and this one is up to 220 degrees (F) since it's made from glass.

My favorite plastic storage solution is the Lock n Lock collection and THIS bento box is from the Lock n Lock Glass collection made by Iwaki Japan. It also has a non-porous polycarbonate lid that won't stain and is shatter resistant. You can't really tell from the picture but the lid has a subtle raised design of flowers/vines and butterflies/birds. All I can say is....Eat your hearts out!

Corn Medley

2 ears corn
1 cucumber
1.5 c green beans
2-3 scallions
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 pat butter

*heat oil and saute green beans w/a bit of water. add garlic and saute until the aroma comes out and add the rest of the veggies. salt and pepper to taste. stir and cover with lid. when done add butter and pepper

Bread Pudding

1/2 loaf stale French bread
2 oz dried cranberries
3-4 eggs
1 c heavy cream
3 c milk
3/4 c sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
*set oven to 350 degrees. cut bread into cubes and place in baking dish. top with cranberries. mix all other ingredients and pour over bread. poke the cubes on top to make sure they're soaking up the custard mixture.

sooo yummy and easy to make! i overdid the vanilla but it turned out alright in the end. Mr. Stinky loved it and he doesn't like pudding textured foods (i know - weirdo). if a dessert needs to be made for a potluck - this is what i'm making!

Apologies

Been busy in the past few months and wasn't able to post. But also becuase PC and laptop both decided not to sense USB ports anymore. Will post ASAP - lots of new dishes and desserts made! and lots more yummy food to display!