Be mine, Valentine?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Kelly Diamond

Valentine’s Day is a week away!

Whether or not you’re romantically involved, Valentine’s Day is just an excuse to get overly lovey-dovey, crafty, cute, and (my favorite) eat deliciously fattening foods. Right? So right.

That’s why we have been hard at work building our Be Mine, Valentine? Pinterest board. We’re talking craft ideas, recipes, tips, how-to’s, gift ideas, and pretty much anything cute. It’s definitely worth a peek!

We’ll be adding more pins all week. Let us help you get into the spirit!

What’s your typical Valentine’s Day like?
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A Nutella obsession.

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

I won’t lie. I have an obsession with Nutella — and I’m okay with that. Eat it on cookies, on toast, on sandwiches, on fruit, out of the jar .. it’s pretty much one of the greatest substances ever. For some reason I’m craving it much more today than usual. Therefore, I figured it was best to share my hazelnut love and post a few delicious Nutella recipes. That’s right. You’ll be RUNNING to the kitchen after reading these.

CHOCOLATE NUTELLA COOKIES

{4 INGREDIENTS} NUTELLA BROWNIES

NO-BAKE NUTELLA CHEESECAKE PIE

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD (HOMEMADE NUTELLA)

How do you eat your Nutella?
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Add a little spice to your coffee.

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

Don”t you hate how whenever you make coffee at home it can never live up to what they serve in those recyclable cups with the green woman on it? (You know who I”m talking about.) Well not sure about you, but I”m tired of it. Making coffee at home is so much cheaper, but it”s only worth it if it tastes like the real deal. Therefore, it”s time to get down to business. Here are some tricks you can do at home to make your morning (or afternoon, or mid-afternoon, or evening pick-me-up) brew taste like utter happiness. Let the spices ensue! Grab these on the next trip the grocery store:

ALLSPICE

Add a little allspice to your coffee grounds before brewing! Mmm spicy delight.

CARDAMOM

Many people like to add a dash of cardamom to their grounds before brewing. Yum!

CINNAMON

Add a bit of cinnamon to your coffee grounds before brewing. You can even throw a stick in there, or add a stick to your bag of coffee beans to give them a hint of flavor before grinding.

SALT

Many people add a pinch of salt to their coffee grounds before brewing because it”s supposed to take out the bitterness of the coffee and boost up the flavor. Apparently many restaurants do this to their generic, bland coffee. Worth a try!

NUTMEG

Add some nutmeg to your coffee grounds before brewing for a Fall/Winter flavor.

VANILLA BEANS

Vanilla beans! Yum. Grind these with your coffee beans. You can also try making vanilla sugar — take 2 vanilla bean pods, put in an 8oz jar, fill the jar to within an inch from the top with sugar, close up and shake. Let stand for about a day or two, turning jar several times throughout. And voila, vanilla sugar! Try not to eat it before it makes it into your coffee cup.

CLOVES

Pop a few of these babies on top of your coffee grounds before brewing, or sprinkle the already ground stuff. I love cloves in cookies, so I can only imagine it would be delicious in coffee as well.

PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

Also, we love Pumpkin Pie Spice. But if you already have the ingredients at home, why not save your $$ and make it yourself? Joy the Baker teaches us how. Sprinkle this on top of your coffee grounds, or even after your coffee is made! Maybe on top of some whipped cream? Delicious!

How do you prepare your coffee at home?

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Peanut Butter Lovers Month!

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

Happy Peanut Butter Lovers Month!

No wonder November is so great. Sweater weather, turkey dinners and an entire month to celebrate one of the best creations ever — PEANUT BUTTER. Smooth, chunky, honey roasted, with a hint of honey — all types alike, this month we celebrate YOU. And in the spirit of this delicious substance, I give you a treat. How would you like to make your OWN peanut butter? That”s right. Thanks to Joy the Baker, we now understand just how easy it is to make your very own peanut butter right at home. If that”s not worthy of a celebration, I”m not sure what is.

Spoonfuls up!

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A Very Foodie Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

Happy Halloween!

What did you go as this year? While there is always room for a vampire, ghost, witch, Freddy or princess, it”s fun to get spontaneous! Paula Deen asked her fans to post their Halloween costumes — many of which were extremely creative! However, our favorites were obviously the brand and food-related creations. Here are a few we liked the best:

Mrs. Butterworths came to the party and brought breakfast with her!

Does that Crest toothpaste come with tartar control?

I love me a good grape, but I have a feeling those aren”t entirely edible ..

LOVE this group s”more costume! You can”t have a good s”more without some Hershey”s chocolate. Not to mention, the addition of fire is hilarious and epic all at the same time!

This homemade sushi roll costume looks store-bought. The Kikkoman Soy Sauce packet hat is awesome!

And last but not least, the Southern Belle herself as her favorite ingredient! We love you, Paula!

You can find the rest of the costume photos on Paula”s Facebook page.

Have you ever had a food or brand-related Halloween costume? If so, what? If not, what would you be if you had the choice?

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Delicious coffee shop muffins — are they worth the cost?

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

As delicious and convenient as coffee shop treats are — are they worth the cost to your wallet and to your health? We”ll let you be the judge.

Now don”t get us wrong — we love a good muffin or donut. WHO DOESN”T? The problem is that these pastries taste so good because they”re loaded with things such as sodium, sugar and CARBS, sweet, sweet, carbs. And not good carbs either, but evil carbs that attack you in all the wrong places. You know what we”re talking about.

The solution? Bake at home! There are thousands of recipes at your fingertips (literally — it”s called the Internet). The best thing about baking yourself is that you know exactly what”s going into your food. When you bake at home, you make the decision whether to use whole milk or skim, how much butter to use, etc. Not to mention you can use FRESH ingredients – and who doesn”t love that?

If you”re still not convinced, let”s get down to the nitty gritty.

Say you”re a lover of Starbucks (as most of us are). You”re in line for your morning Iced Caffè Americano and those delicious blueberry muffins with sugar on top are literally staring you down from the pastry case:

You cave in. You feel totally satisfied for about 10 minutes, feeling great about life. Then your stomach starts to rumble, and not in a good way. You wonder why? Here”s what was in that muffin you just demolished –

Pretty scary, right? Now had you taken the time to bake at home the night before, using low fat milk and fresh blueberries, here”s what you would have consumed:

Holy crap, look at those fresh berries! One looks like it”s about ready to explode in your mouth and fill it with blueberry goodness. Now THAT is what we”re talking about. Here”s how much this muffin is going to cost your health in comparison with the evil monster you bought:

The nutrition facts speak for themselves. Less than half of the carbs, fat, calories — are we sensing a pattern, here? This is just one of the few examples to help you realize that conveniences like buying a muffin on the go isn”t always such a “convenience” — for your wallet or your health.

What sort of things do you make at home as opposed to buying? Share with us on SocialGrocery.com and our Facebook page, or start a conversation with us on Twitter. We love being social!

Fridge Notes

Tag Archives: homemade