Monthly Archives: February 2013

Parenting, Product Reviews

Saving our Teeth – LISTERINE 21 day challenge Part 1

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girl holding listerineLISTERINE® 21 Day Challenge We are signed up.  Are you ? Use LISTERINE products for the next 21 days and see the difference in your mouth.  Oral care is always a challenge in my house.  Having 2 kids I am constantly nagging to brush there teeth before school and at bed time.    Everyone in my household is faced with different challenges when it comes to dental health.

My daughter is easier I think it is because she is 8 and loosing her teeth.  She cant wait to loose a tooth and have the tooth fairy to come. I always tell her you have to take care of your new teeth .. she seems to go for it.

My son  age 11 he is more challenging he fights me due to lack of time. I remind min often to clean his teeth.  The flavor of tooth paste was a major issue since he did not like the flavor of minted products.  He is really excited to take party in the challenge.

My husband has been blessed with good genetics in his teeth.  At one point there was a gap in his professional dental care.. I expected the dentist to say he need a ton of work. The dentist gave him a all clear.. I even followed up and he said not he is good.  Very frustrating, since brushing and floss is so important.. he does not spend the time as I do on dental health.

My dental health,  I come from family of oral health major issues. I had a root canal the same week I had a c section. I suffer from bleeding gums and serious tartar.  I do brush regularly, and should floss more.   Since I am also a type 2 diabetic oral care is important because the tartar can effect your sugar numbers.

The largest Dental challenge in our home is.. Due to job loss we don’t go to the dentist as much as we should.  My children have an appointment at the end of the month,  so I am excited to see how much the LISTERINE® 21 Day Challenge improves their check up.girl with toothbrush

Did you know brushing alone misses 75% of your mouth? That’s right—and believe it or not, even if you brush twice a day, you’re likely missing a majority of your mouth, leaving plenty of room for germs to grow.

By using a LISTERINE® Antiseptic mouthwash twice a day for 30 seconds, you can clean virtually 100 percent of your mouth. In fact, you can get:

  • Up to 5 times healthier gums in 2 weeks
  • Up to 9 times healthier gums in 4 weeks*

That’s not just lip service, either! The makers of LISTERINE® know that users will feel a difference—or their money back**.

Participating in this challenge offers the added benefit of joining the makers of LISTERINE® ULTRACLEAN® in helping Oral Health America impact the lives of children nationwide this year through the Smiles Across America® program. Shockingly, oral disease is now the most chronic childhood illness in the U.S.[1] It impacts kids of all backgrounds, but especially the millions who are unable to afford, or otherwise get access to, regular professional care.

Want to join me in the 21 day  head over to Listerine Facebook page and sign up for the LISTERINE 21day Challenge

For every person who signs up for the challenge, the LISTERINE® Brand will make a contribution to help Oral Health America’s Smiles Across America® program toward their goal of connecting 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2013***.

Disclosure: “I received products from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE® 21 Day Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.”

Cooking

Menu Planning Monday Feb 4-10 and Frozen Mirepoix

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mirepoixHow to Freeze Mirepoix I froze my  Mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery)   so I have my starter for the week. I am excited to use it.  I made enough for 4 uses.   My fish last week turned out amazing.. cant wait to share the post in a few days.

Here is how I did the Ready to use frozen Mirepoix.

  • 6 onions
  • 2 lb of carrots
  • 1 head of celery
  • salt
  • 2 tbls oil or butter
  1. Dice Onions and start saute in large pot with oil/salt on low
  2. while onions are cooking peel carrots and dice  ( I prefer a whole carrot to mini ready to eat carrots)  add to onions
  3. Then clean celery dice and add to carrot onion mixture.  salt
  4. Cook stiring till carrot are tender (not mushy)
  5. Remove from pot in large pot to large bowl allow to cool.
  6. Place cooled Mirepoix 7-8 cups in a gallon freezer zip lock (you can use quart size bags -2 cups per Bag)(I was out of quart and prefer to use less plastic)mirepoix celery,carrots,onions
  7. Place on a large cookie sheet, laying bag flat, Using back of knife press into bags to create separate sections.
  8. Freeze.. checking to make sure sections stay separated during freezing process.
  9. Now ready to use simple break off a sections and place in pan for cooking.  should speed up your cooking time.celery,carrots,onions or mirepoix

What to use MirePoix for:  stews, soups, casserole, any thing where you want a great flavor base  with out the time.steps to freeze mirepoix

Easy to print frozen Mirepoixmushrooms

My menu plan for the week

Monday:  Chicken fingers and white cream sauce  pasta

Tues: Leftover Superbowl my award winning Chili

Wednesday: Lemon chicken noodle soup using my Mirepoix

Thurs: Pork Chops with orange glaze

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: something with beef..

Have a Great Week.

I am linking this post up to Organizing Junkie Menu Plan Monday

So I am off to make Superhero Princess Capes.  If you need one for a party they Start at $17.00 Check My store out Made in the USA by me! Superhero capes

Cooking

Celeb Chef George Duran’s Chance meeting

george duran

2 years ago I had the pleasure of meeting celebrity Chef George Duran  at the Blissdom Blogging conference.  He was super nice.  He looks just like this guy “Denis” my husband use to work with and I even showed him a picture Denis. I know true geek but they do look similar, he laughed and took a picture with me.  I have always loved his cooking.  I still use his method  of of broiling the top of my meat loaf for 10 minutes to seal in the goodness before lowering the heat for the remaining cooking time.

So I was really excited to hear that George Duran is working with Imusa on there with go-to Hispanic cookware and appliance line, IMUSA (available in Target)  He is doing a segment on the HSN segment Tomorrow Monday the 4th at 9am  of you want to watch here is the link to the HSN Live show

Here is a his recipe for:

George Duran’s Fiery Tomato-Basil Mac & Cheese courtesy of IMUSA:

Ingredients:

1 lb. macaroni (elbow)

Kosher Salt

2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 cup packed fresh basil, chopped

1 stick butter

½ cup flour

5 cups whole milk

4 cups (16 oz) sharp cheddar, grated

 

For Topping

1 ½ cup Italian Style breadcrumbs

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Basil leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 F.

 

Preparation:

Bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil and add salt to taste. Then, add macaroni and stir gently allowing it boil for about 7 minutes until “al dente”. Remove from heat and drain well and place in an extra large bowl. Add both cans of diced tomatoes and chopped basil and mix with a rubber spatula. Set aside. For béchamel sauce start by making a roux in a medium stock pot. Melt butter under medium heat and whisk in flour. Keep whisking for under medium heat until roux is browned, about 5-6 minutes. Add 2 tsp. salt. Gently whisk in the milk until properly combined. Constantly whisk the sauce until it thickens and begins to simmer, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and add 4 cups of cheddar. Gently mix it with a rubber spatula until completely melted. Combine cheese sauce and macaroni and pour into a caldero (for best results use an IMUSA Evolution Nonstick Caldero). Make topping by combining all of the ingredients and spread it evenly on top of mac and cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes until top is golden brown. Serve and garnish with basil.

IMUSA Evolution Nonstick CalderoWhat are you cooking tonight?