Here is my photo of these delicious morsels!

I was recently sent the brand new 11 inch nonstick stir fry pan. The pan has a nano ceramic coating that makes it non stick and also is PFOA, PTFE and Cadmium free making it eco friendly. It is also BEAUTIFUL. The outer is red and the inside is pure white. I am a huge fan of red for my kitchen so I fell in love fast. This is what I call Italian style and beauty!

And the handle is just one solid comfortable piece, completely covered with not hot metal or pieces to burn my hand

So I had to try it out and make some stir fry! We’ve been trying to eat better but haven’t really bought or cooked meat for a couple months or so, only eating fish and seafood for “meat”. sadly we ran out of shrimp so I set out to make some vegetarian stir fry that was both light and tasty. I raided the fridge and pantry and came up with some good stuff and a light quick recipe!

You will need 3 bell peppers, 8 oz mushrooms, organic rice, Steamfresh Asian medley veggies, Sesame Seed Oil (tbs), sesame seeds and a rice cooker. Okay you can get by without a rice cooker but its awesome.

1. Make your rice, it takes the longest

2. Chop those veggies! (my job made easier thanks to Boos and Wusthof!)

3. Heat sesame oil in stir fry pan… med-hi depending on your stove. Stir fry by nature is meant to be cooked super fast on super high heat so use your judgement!

4. Toss in the veggies and keep them moving in the oil and heat to get them cooked, and for this recipe I liked the crispness after I had them cooking for 4 minutes. Shake in some sesame seeds.

5. Plate Up! Couldn’t be more simple, just put some rice on the plate and a big scoop of the stir fry, and you are done!

After I cooked all of this in the Bialetti stir fry pan I literally went to wash the pan and sprayed it out and it was clean, I just took a paper towel to wipe it out and it was CLEAN! Talk about easy. Beautiful, functional and easy clean. Yeah, this pan is getting this chef’s thumbs up!

Buy it: You can get your Bialetti Aeturnum 11 inch nonstick Stir Fry Pan at Bed, Bath and Beyond!

Giveaway!

Bialetti is giving one lucky reader their very own Aerturnum 11 inch Stir Fry Pan! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below, GOOD LUCK!

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Product received to facilitate review, opinions are my own.

1. Good Knives

2. Good Ingredients

3. Good cutting boards.

I have the first two covered but at home, I didn’t have a good board. I have known for years being a culinary student and now graduate of the program, that the number one company for quality butcher blocks and boards is John Boos & Company. They are used all over the world, in almost every restaurant I have had the pleasure to visit the kitchen in, and they are loved by celebrities too! My friend and fellow chef, Chef Billy Parisi recently attended the housewares show in Chicago and didn’t miss a beat posting a photo from the Boos booth touting that they are the best. I love Billy he is amazing and I believe him when he says he loves his Boos!

About the company:

JOHN BOOS & COMPANY

John Boos & Co. is the leading manufacturer of butcher block and stainless steel gourmet and foodservice products in the U.S.A. JB&C is renowned for their famous Boos Blocks® and Cutting Boards. JB&C products are “Made in the U.S.A” of solid and quality North American hardwoods, and are the finest in quality, workmanship and design.

 

Since 1887!

 

John Boos & Co. based in Effingham, Illinois, is one of the oldest manufacturers of premium quality kitchen equipment and butcher blocks in the United States, and has been in business continuously since 1887. Founder Conrad Boos harvested Sycamore from wooded areas around Effingham, processed it at his sawmill, and then brought it to his blacksmith shop for finishing. The first innovation was a sycamore tree placed on three legs to absorb the shock of the smith’s hammer against the anvil. When the local butcher saw and admired the innovation, he realized that he could use one in his meat market. So Conrad’s son, John, adapted the idea and made him one. This was the start of John Boos & Company making butcher blocks for commercial meat markets over 120 years ago.

I had the awesome fortune to be able to review the AUJUS. It is a 24x18x1-1/2” thick hard rock maple cutting board with grips and a juice groove. It reverses to a flat surface and is NSF approved for the FS industry.

You didn’t think I would let you just see the stock photo that does it no justice did you?

ooohhhh ohhhhh so gorgeous!

This model is very popular and ranks as one of their top 10. After using it for a few weeks I concur it is fantastic. I used it yesterday a lot in my appetizer recipe and those groves came in handy!

I needed to concasse my tomatoes and that means a lot of juice and seeds needed to go somewhere so guess what, that groove was perfect!

And also the sheer size of it came in handy as I could chop everything I needed for my recipe!

Being NSF certified means the product stands up to standards enforced by the National Food Safety board meaning i can take this board to my restaurant and use it there because its been proven safe to use. Now many people argue that wood boards are bad but because I have quite a but of money invested in good knives, I know from professional experience that wood boards are much kinder to the blade on my knives. It is preference of course but I much prefer wood. It is easier for me to not worry about meat bacteria because I don’t really eat meat but also because I am the luckiest blogger in the world and Boos sent me 2 boards for my own use. I will be renovating my ktichen and right now I am so glad I have these boards!

As a little side note, the board does make a great photo background

Care of the boards, I use water and spray it as best I can and use mild soap when needed. These have to be oiled once a month or they will dry out. DO NOT EVER put them in the dishwasher!

Bottom Line: My professional opinion and my personal opinion is that these boards really are the cream of the crop. They are heavy, thick, and stand up to the chef abuse I give them. As my classmates in culinary school can attest, I take up a LOT of room in my food prep so having 2 feet of clean prep area is my idea of cooking heaven!

Buy It: You can buy the John Boos 24 inch maple AUJUS model online at Cutlery and More,  or by using the retail locator on the website! It retails for $109.99!

Giveaway!

John Boos & Co. is giving away an AUJUS maple Cutting Board to one lucky winner!

To Enter: Fill out the Rafflecopter giveaway from, good luck!

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Products provided to facilitate this review. And John Boos and Company make the best cutting boards EVER.

Okay I know what you are saying… this is not “busy mom” kind of food..Candy is going all “chef” on us again.. Well, that would be both wrong and right You see when you have the right knives for the job it can make preparing foods easy and you can even make fancy bites like mine! As you know my most favorite knife brand is Wusthof, I have not only done a previous review for them, I also have bought the brand in my professional knife kit! I stand 110% behind this brand as an aspiring chef!

Wusthof asked me to try their 6 inch Classic utility Chopper. At first glance it looked neat with the waves on the bottom. At second glance I had to pay attention because this thing is sharp! The first thing I did was chop 2 pounds of mushrooms with it and WOW, it was done in minutes.

This knife is designed to take care of all knife needs. I purposely left my main Wusthof 8 inch Ikon super knife in my kit so I could try the chopper for a while and it really did take care of all my needs from delicate concasse of tomato to thick slices of eggplant it took the job and made it easy and fast.I like the size as well it maneuvers well and the weight is balanced very well! As a person who honestly chops most everything by hand because, well, I paid thousands of dollars in tuition to learn how to do it professionally, I can say this knife would replace my chef knife at home for sure.

I used this wonderful knife to create an appetizer recipe for you. This recipe came to me nearly 2 years ago when I joined the competitive culinary club at college and needed ideas for competition. I never did get to make it but I had a dream last night what I wanted the final product to look like and I made it come true today!

Grilled Curried Eggplant with Tomato Concasse and Sour Cream & Chives

(seriously no measuring needed here just 1/2 tsp of the spices each that’s it!)

First thing you need to do is skin the tomato and take the seeds out. Score and blanch them

Then you want to do is chop your chives and then slice your eggplant

Take some oil and brush it on the eggplant slices, then sprinkle with the spices

then grill for a few minutes each side; meanwhile .. its concasse time.

CON-CUH-SAY

Don’t be scared its just perfectly uniformly diced tomato. After you peel them, you take out the seeds and the spines until you have the shell basically. it goes flat and you just take your time dicing, Really just a couple tomatoes will be enough practice and the results are gorgeous and more effective than just a plain simple slice. And when i saw uniform I mean SMALL, 2 mm cube small. Again just take your time.

Then it just need to be assembled: Eggplant on bottom, spoon of tomato, dollop of sour cream, few sprinkles of chopped chive. Go the extra mile and lean a long piece of chive against it to make it look pretty! I garnished my plate with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. For the record my husband REALLY liked them! (tip: use a small round cookie cutter on the eggplant for uniform disks!)

If you make this at home PLEASE let me know and send me photos or if you blog, please let me know if you try it, I love when my friends try my fancy ideas at home!

To help you make this recipe, Wusthof is giving away a 6 Inch Utility Chopper Knife! This fantastical knife retails for $99 and is available at Williams Sonoma and Amazon! This product is one of my picks for Mother’s Day, every cook in the home should have one!

Please fill out the Rafflecopter to enter and Good Luck!

I am so glad my Keurig has a reusable filter, that way i can enjoy fresh ground coffee! I just happen to be completely out of coffee so when Eight O’Clock coffee sent me a note and told me they had unearthed some vintage coffee jars and asked if I would try the coffee I was thrilled. We all know I love coffee here, so heck yeah I wanted to try it. I have brewed several cups and to me it is just right because its not overly strong like a Columbian blend or too light either. I had never tried this brand before this review and was really surprised how much I like it. And of course that jar? ADORABLE. I love it! And with this being my final week of the semester I am up at later hours so any and all coffee I can get my hands on is being consumed!

A Few Words From Eight O’Clock Coffee

Eight O’Clock Coffee has been in the business of selecting, roasting and packaging coffee for over 150 years. The treasure trove of jars are both a piece of history AND a great way to store your ground or whole bean coffee.

Here are Eight O’Clock Coffee’s tips for coffee storage:

·     Keep your unused coffee beans or grounds fresh by storing in an air-tight container.
·     Store your coffee in a cool, dry place and out of direct sunlight.
·     Avoid freezing—this can break down the flavorful oils in the beans and cause condensation, which makes the coffee go stale faster.

 

Giveaway

Eight O’Clock Coffee is giving away a vintage coffee jar to one lucky reader!

To Enter: Tell me what your favorite way to drink your coffee is, sugar, creamer, straight black? Flavored? Tell Me!

• Like Serendipity Mommy on Facebook
• Like Eight O’Clock on Facebook
• Follow Eight O’Clock Coffee on Twitter
• Follow me on Twitter
• Tweet this giveaway twice a day

Win a Vintage Coffee jar and Coffee from @8OClockCoffee and Serendipity Mommy! http://serendipitymommy.com/?p=10478  Ends May 3rd #win

• Subscribe to my blog for FIVE entries!

This contest is open to residents of the United States, and ends May 3rd! Good Luck!

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Disclosure: Products Provided to facilitate review, all opinions are my own!

One of the first things we did was plan a bonfire and cookout. Well a fire pit fire and a cookout. The menu request was bacon wrapped shrimp, steak, and fish for me. I did a simple herb and citrus on the fish but used Char Crust dry rub seasonings on the shrimp and steak. I am kind of picky about what I season my food with, and I have to be because everyone that invites me over seems to think that I produce restaurant chef quality, gourmet, delicious and beautiful food. Its a lot of pressure! Luckily the Char Crust made it a little easy on me because the flavor was awesome. And since chefs have been using these rubs in restaurants for years I had no worries that it would be tasty.

For the shrimp I used the Amazin’ Cajun and let me tell you I have since made all my shrimp with this rub, they are so delicious with just the right amount of “kick”! I love making them with the rub. The steak we decided to use the All American barbeque. I couldn’t tell you how the steak tasted but it was grilled to medium perfection. I don’t eat meat so I didn’t taste but it sure looked good. I don’t think it looked near as good as the shrimp. The crust on them was perfect and inside was perfectly cooked shrimp, so yum!

About the Rubs:

• Roasted Garlic Peppercorn features the robust flavor of roasted garlic and onions with the zing of peppercorns and a hint of Worcestershire and lavender. Its versatility has made it a best seller. It complements steaks, lamb, seafood, pork, poultry, and potatoes.

• Ginger Teriyaki is a balance of sweet teriyaki, fragrant ginger, plus a tingly touch of wasabi that lends a new dimension and creates a modern teriyaki interpretation. It complements chicken, fish, and steak.

• Amazin’ Cajun is a spicy-sweet blend of piquant cayenne pepper, onion, garlic, oregano and a mélange of other Mardi Gras flavors. It brings the sublime heat of New Orleans to catfish, chicken, shrimp, and even “dirty” rice.

• All American Barbecue takes the best flavors of American barbecue and blends them into a tangy-sweet, slightly spicy rub. It has rich molasses from Memphis, tangy tomato from Kansas City, mustard, pepper and vinegar from the Carolinas, plus a wisp of smoke from Texas.

Flavors retail for $5.49 ea.

Giveaway

Char Crust is giving one lucky reader a set of 4 rubs in the flavors Amazin’ Cajun, All American Barbecue, Ginger Teriyaki, and Roasted Garlic Peppercorn

To Enter: Tell me which flavor you would love to try on your meat or seafood first!

Extra entries: Do any of these for an extra entry:

• Like Serendipity Mommy on Facebook
• Like Char Crust on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter
• Tweet this giveaway twice a day

Win a Char Crust Dry Rub Seasoning 4 pack at Serendipity Mommy! http://serendipitymommy.com/?p=10467  Ends April 30th

• Subscribe to my blog for FIVE entries!

This contest is open to residents of the United States, and ends April 30th! Good Luck!

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Disclosure: Products Provided to facilitate review, all opinions are my own!

Information from Calphalon:

The Calphalon XL Digital Convection Oven provides the ultimate flexibility in a toaster oven, while still fitting on your countertop. Cook a wide variety of dishes with the bake, convection bake, broil and toast settings. The interior is spacious enough for a 9×13-in. bake pan or a 12-in. pizza! Calphalon’s exclusive Opti-Heat system ensures even heat delivery and the high performance nonstick interior coating makes cleaning quick and easy. Features: Heavy-gauge cast aluminum Exclusive Opti-Heat System for even heat delivery Toast, bake, convection bake and broil Large capacity, small footprint Two rack settings, removable crumb tray Cast stainless steel handle, double riveted for durable performance; stays comfortably cool Separate timer, temperature and toast controls Toast shade selector Convection on/off switch Temperature range: 150-450°F (65-230°C) Automatic shut-off feature Always on setting

STYLE. PERFORMANCE. SIMPLICITY.

• 1 year full replacement warranty/5 year limited nonstick warranty.
• Custom time and temperature settings for bagels, pizza and cookies.
• Digital high-contrast LCD controls time & temperature; 2-hour timer
• Fits a 9″ x 13″ pan, 12″ pizza or 6 slices of toast.
• Front-access crumb tray and high-performance bronze nonstick interior for easy cleanup.
• Opti-Heat System features internal sensors that monitor temperature to ensure precise results and a convection fanto promote crisp, even browning and uniformly cooked food.

It’s amazing how you can turn random ingredients into something delicious accidentally. I was hungry for a snack and found some fresh veggies and pita. I have recently become a vegetarian due to most meats not being tolerated by my stomach so I keep a lot of fresh veg on hand. I just started making a pizza like concoction and knew it was going in the Calphalon.

Ingredients:

Pita

Ranch

Red Onion (this is key, other onions aren’t the same!)

Yellow peppers

Green peppers

Mushrooms

tomato

mozzarella

(broil in the toaster oven for 8-10 minutes

And what do we have? Delicious healthy snack!

The Calphalon XL Digital Convection oven really takes the guesswork out of cooking with the different modes it offers. You can literally throw a frozen pizza in there and hit the pizza button. It is a a very smart oven and the fact it uses convection heating is a plus, since that method of cooking is the most even and the fastest. I don’t like microwaves or radiation cooking, personally as a chef I think microwaves just kill food by heating them way too high, A Toaster oven takes longer but the flavors are preserved.

I think I will have a new section of recipes here just for toaster ovens. This oven is so perfect in size I was able to roast a WHOLE CHICKEN for my family. I did a simple 5 lb chicken with herbs and citrus, it came out beautifully!

Honestly I didn’t think it would be tall enough but it was since there are three height settings for the rack. Cleanup is easy too since the crumb tray is right in front and pulls easily for cleaning. My next idea is to make some cupcakes, since you can fit a 6 cake tin in there. You can even fit a 9X13 pan in there because it is deep. You can also accommodate a 12 inch pizza! I think that for me, personally, I really love that I can come up with different recipes that my kids can help with. My teenager is perfectly able to run the oven and the younger kids can help make what needs to be made. Like a fruit pizza, which is coming soon with a recipe!

BUY IT: The Calphalon XL Digital Convection Oven is available right on the Calphalon site or Amazon for $199,99! This oven is perfect for dorms or small spaces where you can’t get a full size oven. My XL lives in the basement, just a few feet from my desk so I don’t have to hit the main level to grab a bite!

Thanks so much to Calphalon, for having me check out the XL oven!!

They sent me the Rainbow Hors d’oeuvres set for review and I really love it. The box was adorable, I have a thing for Paris since I want to go there to learn to cook more..

There are SO many ways to use it but I went with fruit and mini caprese salads!

In just minutes you can have a really nice looking display that adds dimension to your food table and not just a flat tray!

It comes with 3 rainbow levels or arches, and the last little one is used to hold the extra toothpicks. I can see myself using this item a lot as a personal chef and caterer and in my photography. Very useful when you want to make an impact at your parties!

Giveaway

Uncommon Goods is giving one lucky reader a $50 GC for their store!

To Enter: Go to UncommonGoods and tell me what item you would get if you won!

Extra entries:Do any of these for an extra entry:

• Like Serendipity Mommy on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter
• Add UncommonGoods to their circles on Google Plus
• Tweet a link to a family page (ie. those gifts for mom, gifts for men, and other links on the left side of the Uncommon Goods home page)
• Follow UncommonGoods on Pinterest
• Tweet this giveaway twice a day

Win a $50  GC to UncommonGoods at Serendipity Mommy! http://serendipitymommy.com/?p=10435  Ends April 26th

• Subscribe to my blog for FIVE entries!

This contest is open to residents of the United States, and ends April 26th! Good Luck!

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Disclosure: Products Provided to facilitate review, all opinions are my own!

If your recipe is selected as one of the top three finalists, not only will you win a year’s supply of Del Monte® products*, but Del Monte will send you and a guest on a four day trip to San Francisco to compete in a cook-off against two other fans!

The grand prize winner will take home the title of Del Monte Cook-Off Champion, as well as thousands of dollars worth of professional cookware! All you have to do is use at least one Del Monte canned product in your recipe. I know everyone here has a recipe using canned tomatoes or some sort of canned fruit so grab those recipes and enter!

Easy Steps to Enter:

• Visit the Del Monte Facebook page
• Click on the “Like” button to like the page and access the “Crown the Cook” recipe contest application
• Click “Submit Recipe”
• Complete the registration form
• Upload your recipe photo and enter your recipe
  • Click “Submit”

I entered of course, I tweaked my mom’s recipe for Banana Split “Cake”, which has no cake but many layers of deliciousness! I will share this recipe with you as well

Banana Split “Cake”

1st layer -
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1 stick butter, melted

2nd layer-
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz. cool whip

3rd layer -
Soak banana slices in Del Monte canned pineapple slices juice and place close together on 2nd layer, then top with  1/2 cup maraschino cherries, cut in half and 1/2 cup chopped nuts

4th layer – add pineapple (I put my pineapple rings in my food processor to crush them)

5th layer – spread with 8 oz.cool whip

6th layer – Top with cherries, drizzle with chocolate syrup

Refrigerate 5 hours before serving. yes it is as good and rich as it looks!! YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!

Giveaway

To help you get inspired to upload your masterpiece Del Monte wants one of my lucky readers to have a Crown the Cook basket including the following items:

• (9) Del Monte® product cans
  • 3 cans of fruit
  • 3 cans of vegetables
  • 3 cans of tomatoes
• (1) Del Monte apron
• (1) Del Monte set of measuring spoons
• (1) Del Monte “My Plate” melamine plate
• (2) Del Monte stress-relieving toys
  • (1) $20 Visa® gift card to use towards ingredients

To Enter, leave me a comment below telling me what recipe you might like to enter at the Crown The Cook contest on FB

Extra entries: Do any of these for an extra entry:

• Like Serendipity Mommy on Facebook
• leave a RELEVANT comment on any non giveaway post
• Follow me on Twitter
• Follow Del Monte on Twitter
• Like Del Monte on Facebook
• Tweet this giveaway twice a day

Win a $20  VISA and Crown The Cook Gift Basket from Del Monte Foods and Serendipity Mommy! http://serendipitymommy.com/?p=10406  Ends April 19th

• Subscribe to my blog for FIVE entries!

This contest is open to residents of the United States, and ends April 19th!

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Disclosure: Products Provided to facilitate review and recipe, all opinions are my own!

I don’t really need to mention how busy I am with being a student, working, and being a mom of three busy kids. I try to make dessert for them as often as I can because that is when my daughter, without fail, tells me I am the most awesome mom ever. Plus it helps me connect with them. Having dessert everyday doesn’t happen but I go out of my way to make it special when I whip up treats for them. I remember when I was little that my mom worked full time so we didn’t get dessert often but when we did it was always nice.

As a matter of fact, every single year we got to make a request for cake, anything we wanted, for our birthdays. My two brothers asked for the same desserts without fail every time. My oldest brother, Tony, always asked for Mississippi Mud. To this day it is his all time favorite thing that my mom still makes for him at holidays. My older brother, Dale, also had a request for a Banana Split Cake which coincidentally didn’t have any cake in it but had a whole lot of COOL WHIP Whipped Topping!

I enlisted the help of my mom for this recipe featuring COOL WHIP. I wrote down all of her recipes onto cards many years ago to organize them and I am going to do the same again except digitize them for her so we have copies for safe keeping but also I think we might print them out and give them to the ladies in the family as gifts. I know I would love them.

The good stuff. Don’t you want to swim in it? I got a big 16 oz. tub.

Yeah I did swipe a taste, don’t you dare judge me.

Ok first you need your crust, super simple just butter, nuts (I used peanuts, my mom uses walnuts) and flour and some sugar baked for about 15 in 350

Then you add your first layer which is 8 oz. cream cheese mixed with 8 oz. COOL WHIP topping a 1 cup powdered sugar. I whipped it with my stand mixer. Spread on cooled crust.

Mix up 2 pkg. chocolate pudding with 3 C milk, then spread it on the cream cheese/COOL WHIP layer

Lastly top the whole thing off with the remaining 8 oz of COOL WHIP

Refrigerate and hour or so then…

Yeah, its super delish.

Mama’s Mississippi Mud

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup nuts ( I use walnuts)

Bake the crust at 350* for 15 minutes

1st layer -
8oz cream cheese
8oz COOL WHIP
1 cup powdered sugar

2nd layer -
2 small boxes chocolate pudding
3 cups milk

Top with 8 oz COOL WHIP

 

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Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.