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3 Must-Have Stylish & Practical Kitchen Appliances

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Having the right kitchen appliances are key to preparing meals successfully and beautifully. They should also add to your decor and be very functional.

I knew that Amazon would have a great selection of modern appliances to choose from, so I decided to do some browsing to see some of the latest products available. Here are 3 appliances that caught my eye—they will add style to your kitchen and assist you in preparing meals a lot easier.

Keep it Sharp

knife sharpenerOne of the most time consuming tasks that you have to accomplish when cooking is to chop up your vegetables and meats. The key to making this job quicker is to ensure that your knife is nice and sharp. The KitchenIQ 50009 Edge Grip 2 Stage Knife Sharpener efficiently and quickly sharpens your existing knives so that you’ll make quick work of your fruits, veggies and meat. And it’s under 7 bucks, worth every penny.

How Do Chefs Make Everything from Scratch?

food processorIf you are wondering how cooks, chefs and bakers are able to make everything from scratch, it’s because they always have a good food processor handy. The Cuisinart FP-8SV Elemental 8-Cup Food Processor in Silver is a highly rated, stylish machine that will do the job. Just slowly add your ingredients to the processor and allow the machine to do the work for everything from a perfect pie crust to a special sauce or salsa. You can also use it to chop up your vegetables in a hurry for a quick recipe. It’s easy to clean and has 350 watts of power.

Make Pasta like the Masters

pasta rollerIf you love pasta as much as I do, you definitely have to have a pasta machine in your kitchen! The Roma 6 Inch Traditional Style Pasta Machine is a handy little appliance that allows you to make homemade pasta just like the Old World chefs (like Lidia Bastianich) do. No preservatives or additives — just natural ingredients. Just make your pasta (use this recipe and your food processor), place the dough into the machine and turn the roller to create your spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine or lasagna. You can also make ravioli (yum).

Have fun with your new kitchen appliances!

Posted by Jade

Homemade Banana Cake Made Easy

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I love baking for my friends and family. Especially, in the winter months. An added bonus is the lingering aroma of freshly baked goods, that permeates throughout my home. What everyone should realize is that, baking delicious desserts doesn’t always require purchasing expensive ingredients. For example, just last night, I realized that my bananas were turning brown. So, instead of throwing them away, I decided to make a homemade banana cake to enjoy with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. This recipe is super easy and quick to prepare.

Ingredients

2-3 Ripe Bananas
1 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
2 Teaspoons Butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Directions

Preheat Oven 350*
Now, in a medium size bowl add peeled bananas and mash with a large fork. In a large bowl, add sugar and butter. Blend until creamy.
Add egg, vanilla and bananas and stir together until blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt to the batter.
Pour batter into a nonstick cake pan.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown (you will know it’s done when you insert a butter knife into the middle of the cake and knife comes out clean)

Enjoy your homemade banana cake!!!

Posted by Eve

3 Fun Cat Gifts that Your Kitty Will Absolutely LOVE

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Looking for a fun present to give your kitty on her birthday or during the holidays? Here are 3 fun cat gifts that your pet will absolutely love.

716k0isZpgL._SL1013_Sunny Seat Window-Mounted Cat Bed

Does your kitty love to spend time in the window, sun bathing? A Window Mounted Cat Bed will quickly become his favorite place. It suctions to the window and keeps him suspended above the window sill. You know how much cats love to be in high vantage points — if you have multiple cats, get one for each window.

9172Ypd5TzL._SL1500_K&H Pet Bed Warmer

Cats love to be warm and comfortable just as much as we do — that’s why they love to snuggle up next to you so much. If you add an indoor Pet Bed Warmer to your cat’s bed, you’ll probably find that he spends more time there than tangled up in your covers! Just plug it into a standard outlet, and it will warm up to about 102 degree (a cat’s ideal temperature).

SmartyKat Hot Pursuit Cat Toy Concealed Motion Toy

41w2dGrOzcLCats are natural hunters, which is why they are obsessed with toys that move on their own. The Hot Pursuit Cat Toy Concealed Motion Toy is a fun mechanical toy that operates on a couple of batteries. A little “tail” randomly moves in either direction, mimicking that of a smaller animal and giving your kitty hours of fun. Four speeds available.

Are You Tired Of Scooping Cat Litter Like Me?

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I have been a cat owner for more than three decades. There is just one annoying chore that I really hate, scooping cat litter! Don’t get me wrong, I really love my cats. At the same time, I have a difficult time getting motivated to clean out their litter boxes. I hate the smell and don’t like to dispose of their waste. It has been like having a part time job taking care of the litter box. So, I decided to look on Amazon to hopefully find a solution. Here’s what I found:

A Self Cleaning Litter Box with Good Ratings

Self Cleaning Litter Box

The first, was a Scoop Free Ultra Self Cleaning Litter Box made a company called Pet Safe. Their basic unit costs about $125. The description says that you can go weeks without cleaning the litter box. Wouldn’t that be a little slice of heaven! It was designed by a person educated at MIT, so I guess you can call it a “smart litter box?” The only downside of this unit is that you have to keep buying their special blue litter granules, which I’m not sure my cats would like.

Another Self-Cleaning Box that Pushes the Litter to the Back

The second product that I researched is called the Litter Maid Automatic Self Cleaning Classic Litter Box. It costs under $100 and doesn’t require you to buy special litter. This brand offers litter boxes that can be used by multiple cats for less than the cost of purchasing two of their litter boxes. One issue that some people mention is that some cats may get nervous about the noise these machines make. Also, waste can get caught in the grates. I do like that there’s a pad to catch excess litter as the cat walks out of the box.

The Cat Genie

Self-cleaning litter box for cats.
Self-cleaning litter box for cats.

The next litter box that I researched was called the Cat Genie. It is a self-washing and self-flushing cat box. This option seems to be the “sophisticated” choice in self-cleaning litter boxes. Your cat basically looks like he’s going on a toilet, then it flushes for him.

It includes washable granules so you never have to buy or touch cat litter again. Now that might make it well worth the $200 price tag, but it has some pretty questionable reviews. It requires a rigid water line (in a bathroom, utility closet or laundry room) and a wrench or pliers (but I would suggest you get someone who really understands this type of hookup to avoid issues). It sounds like an interesting concept, but I don’t think I want to go that far to avoid scooping cat litter!

The Rolling Litter Box

Rolling Litter BoxRolling the Litter Box Example

This is the litter box I ultimately settled on, and I like it! It’s called the Omega Paw Self-Cleaning Litter Box, otherwise known as a “rolling” litter box. Instead of scooping the litter, you roll the box to the side and the waste is deposited into a handy little scooping tray. The price is great for around $25 and it works reasonably well. It requires a little elbow grease, so I probably wouldn’t recommend it for an elderly person with mobility challenges, but it’s great for someone who’s reasonably athletic and able to lean down for a few moments to roll the box.

The Sifting Litter Box

sifting litter box

I actually bought this litter box a while back, and it worked reasonably well. It’s the Van Ness Sifting Enclosed Cat Litter Pan. The only issue was that waste sometimes got stuck in the sifting pan. Basically, you place the sifting pan inside of the enclosed box, then add litter. When you’re ready to clean the litter box, lift the sifting pan and shake it thoroughly, then toss out the hardened matter. It helps to put a liner at the bottom of the enclosed box, then add the sifting pan, then add the litter. It’s a large box and can accommodate multiple cats. It’s also very affordable (I found it here for under $15, the price may change) and it gets pretty good reviews. Looking it this sifting litter box again (especially at that price) I think I should go ahead and get one again as a second option!

I highly recommend that all cat owners/lovers who are tired of scooping cat litter check out all of the modern litter box options that are now available on the market. Anything is great that can make our lives easier as pet owners, right? Buying a good litter box could save a lot of time and unnecessary stress on our bodies.

Posted by Jade

Have a Safe #SuperBowl Sunday with Your Friends

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Many of us are eagerly awaiting this week’s Super Bowl game. You don’t even have to be a fan of either team. It is just a great time to party with your friends!

Superbowl fun.
Safe superbowl fun. Image courtesy wikimedia.org

Not everyone has tickets to the big game, so my friends and I plan to watch at our local sports bar and possibly enjoy some alcoholic beverages. My tip to all who plan to have drinks at a bar or a friends house, is to PRE-PLAN everyone’s trip home so that you can have a safe Super Bowl Sunday. My group of friends and I all agree to spend the night at one friend’s home and not leave for any reason.

The entire country has strict laws on drinking and driving — one night of adult fun can impact your life forever.  So what we do as a group is meet at our friend’s house who lives closest to the sports bar at a designated time. We then call a cab to take us to the bar and get the cab driver’s cell phone number to call him when we are ready to be taken back to our friend’s house. The sleeping arrangements come together — even if there are a dozen people there, it’s just one night! We have done this for several years.

All we want is to have an enjoyable night out, watch the Super Bowl and enjoy each others’ company. At the same time, remember the important motto: “Think Before You Drink.”

Have a Great (and Safe) Super Bowl Sunday!!!!

 

Posted by Lorraine

3 Great Valentine’s Day Deals On Amazon

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With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I decided to peruse Amazon to find gift ideas for my loved ones this year. The selection of gifts for Valentine’s Day is pretty awesome. Here are just a few gift ideas that I would like to share.

First, is a product called Organic Seaweed Facial Kit. It’s made by Black Bird Botanics and distributed by Custom Global Product. It’s a perfect gift to give to any women who likes to pamper herself with organic products for the face. There’s a detailed list of all organic products used in the description. It comes with a seaweed toner, seaweed lotion, seaweed masque and a face wash. This is a nice gift if your love one likes to go to the spa!

The second find was a product called the St. Valentine’s Day Cupid with Arrow Large Cookie cutter, made by Fussy Pup. It measures 6×6, made in USA and is made from heavyweight copper. This cookie cutter is great because it allows you to make a HUGE cookie for your loved one.

Beautiful 14K Gold Locket
Beautiful 14K Gold Locket

Lastly, I found this really beautiful locket on Amazon. It is a 14k Yellow Gold-Filled Engraved Four-Picture Heart Locket with a 20″ chain. They also carry it in sterling silver. You can add up four special pictures of the people you love to this beautiful locket necklace — perfect gift idea for a mom.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Posted by Eve