3 Food Products to KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF!!

Man! It's been a long time!  I feel like a bad piano student who's gone weeks (er, months) without practicing.  [Perhaps I know that feeling because I have been that bad piano student in my past?]  Well, there's certainly a lot to catch you readers up on.... I mean, I'm a certified bus driver now-- CDL, baby! and I've sold 5 vintage items on my etsy shop (the first one-- all the way to Holland)!  Various other things have happened, but tonight's post is on 3 food products that have totally knocked my socks off and I think will knock yours off too.  There's only one catch--- all three were purchased at Costco Warehouse store.  I've not done the research to find out if 2 of them are available other places, you'll have to do that work.  One of them is the mighty Kirkland brand, so I know you'll need that handy Costco membership for that one.  Without further ado... here they are... in ranked order from 3rd MOST AMAZING ----> to #1 MOST AMAZING.... left to right.  Read on for names, descriptions, thoughts and tips!

In third most sock-knocking... ALEXIA SWEET POTATO JULIENNE FRIES.  (but are they reeallly sweet potatos?? Check out this previous post)  These are found in the frozen section at Costco.  It is a large, resealable zipper bag.  These fries are tasty ... they are possibly overly-greasy which is why I ranked them 3rd.  Our tricks are:  to put them on TOP rack (peeking every so often) flipping them around every so often, I don't reccommend using foil, and adding a little time onto the package instructions to get them more brown and crisp.  Very delicious!

In second most stocking-knocking....KIRKLAND SIGNATURE BRAND FIRE ROASTED VEGETABLE BLEND WITH BALSAMIC BUTTER SAUCE.   This is a COSTCO private brand, so I doubt it's available at other retail stores.  These veggies are so good! They are found in the frozen section and come in a bag with three smaller bags inside.  We cook them in a skillet on the stovetop.  The flavor is amazing due to these little "pellets" if you will, that make the balsamic sauce after melting.  And my favorite part about the veggie assortment is that there are QUALITY veggies in there-- whole mushrooms, beans, and my ultimate fave--- sundried tomatoes.  Give these pups a try.  The price isn't amazing for the 3 individual bags, but the amount for two people is perfect and the taste makes it worth it for SURE.

Drum rrrrooooolllll..... In first MOST KNICKER-KNOCKING....AIDELLS CHICKEN AND APPLE SAUSAGES!   T-O  D-I-E  F-O-R!  Otto and I both said we would eat these every day for the rest of our lives.  And I am NOT a creature of habit.  These are found in the refrigerated section at Costco.  The flavor is sweet, and smoky and just plain delicious.  They are precooked... we just plop them on the grill to get that casing nice and dark.  The package offers 15 sausages.  We usually cook 5 at a time and have three in the fridge to take for lunches.   I'm telling you, these will not let you down.

So there you have it--- 3 tasty food products.  All very easy for us "new age" wives... ;-)

Yo Mama's Sweet Taters ARE NOT Sweet Taters!

Well, hello, after a long time, no blog.  We returned from our 2 week+ Mexi/Cali vacation which was a blast! (See later blog re: Mexico visitors)

During one of our meals with Taylor Evans, Otto's childhood friend, and his fiance, Lauren Aponte, we had planned to have pulled pork sandwiches and sweet potato fries.  Well, honestly, when Otto and I have sweet potato fries at home, we just get the Costco frozen ones, sling em in the oven and they're done.  Well this time, we were being adventurous and we had to slice and dice the sweet potatoes to make the fries ourselves. The surprise came when I cut into them and they were not orange.  My mother in law swore she purchased "sweet potatoes".  As I mutter some words about "these taters not being sweet taters", Taylor (man of vast knowledge) valiantly corrects me and states that they ARE sweet potatoes! He proceeds to tell me that the orange potatoes that everyone calls sweet potatoes are actually yams.  I never knew this.  So apparently sweet potatoes are white... and I will tell you-- we cut them up, tossed them in oil, baked them and they were definitely SWEET.  A sweet surprise coming from a potato that was white in color!?

Since we got back home, I've looked some things up about this, and I'm not totally convinced that Taylor was 100% accurate, but I know that sweet potatoes can certainly be white fleshed because I ate them!
Here's one article on this topic from Bon Appetite .  I'll let you form your own theory from here-- interesting nonetheless. http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/tips/2008/11/difference_between_sweet_potato_and_yam