Beef and Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound Beef Strips or Stew Meat (I often cut up thin cheap meat pieces, for example shoulder steaks)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup onion diced
• 1/2 cup peppers - red, green, and yellow, sliced
• 1 celery Stalk
• 1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets
• 1 Package of Beef Roman Noodles
• Pinch of Ms. Dash seasoning blend
• Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Cut meat pieces about 3 inches and marinate in Worcestershire sauce for at least 4 hours.
2. Sauté seasoning vegetables in olive oil for 1 minute. Add in meat and continue cooking until meat is browned.
3. Add a pinch of seasoning blend, seasoning pack from Roman Noodles, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil.
4. Add broccoli florets, cover, and reduce heat to med-low for 3 - 5 minutes. Until broccoli is cooked through.
5. Microwave noodles and other 1/2 cup water for 3 minutes. Drain.
6. Serve the soup over the noodles.

The Results:

This is by far, Brittany’s favorite meal. Anna will eat the noodles. As for me, I find a way to have something different on a limited budget. While I am not big on any pastas, I enjoy the flavors of the soup.

Other Creative Cooking With Ramon Noodles

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Chicken Meat ( I used 2 leg quarters I boiled previously)
• 1 Celery Stalk. Diced
• 1/4 Onion, Diced
• 2 Carrots, Sliced
• Package Chicken Ramon Noodles
• 2 cups Water
• Ms. Dash season, to taste

Directions:

1. Sauté Onions and Celery. Add to Crockpot.
2. Add seasoning pack from Ramon Noodles, water, meat, and carrots. Cook for 3 - 5 hours on high. Season as needed.
3. Cook noodles according to package and drain.
4. Serve soup mix over noodles. (I have tried adding in noodles in pot before. It doesn’t work as well.)

The Results

Overall, while it is not the best soup I ever had before, it is a great soup when money is limited. It makes a soup that is better than canned but not as good as homemade. I recommend not adding any additional salt.

Other Creative Cooking With Ramon Noodles

Beef and Broccoli Soup

Pillsbury Biscuits Pulled Pork Pockets

We love biscuits in my house but I have no desire nor talent at making them from scratch. However, I go through a couple cans of Pillsbury’s, either biscuits or crescent rolls, a week. Anna would eat a whole can herself if we let her.

Creative Cooking

With a little imagination and research, I have come up with many recipes that involve this amazing product and others like it. Usually, I take a recipe I find and adjust them using my imagination to include ingredients and leftovers that is available. Sometimes, the results of these creative cooking sessions fail big time but on occasion, they are a hit.

A few weeks ago, I found a recipe for Crescent Pizza Pockets at Pillsbury.com a few weeks ago. Yesterday, I didn’t have crescent rolls, cheese, or pepperoni. I did have some left over barbeque pork roast that I had cooked and frozen last week. I, also, had a can of “flaky layer” biscuits.

Barbeque Pulled Pork Pockets

Items Needed

• can of Pillsbury biscuits
• Filling - barbeque pulled pork(may work well with ham and cheese, sloppy joe mix, or other barbequed meats) Only limited to imagination.
• Pam Cooking Spray

Steps

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375°F. Spray pan with cooking spray.
2. Roll out biscuits into a circle. Place a tablespoon of filling in center and press ends together. Place the pockets an inch apart.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.

The Results

Brittany, a huge Hot Pocket fan, loved it. Anna wasn’t here to try it but she probably wouldn’t be interested. She has an issue with foods touching. I liked it, somewhat. Next time, I hope to have a can of crescent rolls. I rolled out the biscuits as flat as I could but felt that there was too much biscuit and not enough meat in the pocket.

Other Ideas for Pillsbury Biscuits

I have utilized biscuits for many other recipes. Also, I have found some that I would love to try.

• Doughnut Holes – I cut the biscuits in fourths and fry them in deep fryer. Serve warm with powdered sugar.
• The Pillsbury site has many recipes - http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes

Nicotine Transdermal System Patch Review

As I mentioned in I am Non Smoker? I have been using the Nicotine Transdermal System Patch for about 5 days now.  This stop smoking aid is a patch that delivers nicotine through your skin and into your system utilizing a special material to control the rate of nicotine.

Great Idea. Does It Work?

The premise is a smooth rate of nicotine entering your body throughout a 24 hour day. Over time, the nicotine levels drop in order to reduce them gradually. This is to assist in reducing withdrawal symptoms; such as, nicotine cravings.  So far, so good with this. While I still have issues with the routine of smoking. As long as I can get the patch to stay on, the craving for nicotine is not as bad as it was when I tried to quit cold turkey. 

The only downside that I can see is getting the patch to stay on. I find if I move to much during the day, the patch has a tendency to come off. This reduces the effectiveness of the patch. I have found that an ace bandage can help in this area, however.

The first step is a 21 mg dose. This is used if you smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day. As I fall into this category, this is the step I am using at this time. I will admit that when it gets close to time to change the patch, I do feel a bit more grumpy and out of sorts.

Possible Side Effects:

• Rash, redness, and/or swelling in area that patch is placed. I have not had an issue with this. Although, I have had some mile itching.
• Irregular heartbeat or palpitations. This is one that worried me. So far, I have not had any problems in this area.
• Headaches. The first and second day I wore the patch I did have a headache. However, I often am plagued with headaches. Ibuprofen took care of this issue.
• Difficulty Sleeping. Well, I have difficulty sleeping all the time. However, I have not had any additional issues with sleeping.
• Nausea and Vomiting. I have not had any issues with this thankfully.
• Dizziness and Weakness. Again, I have not noticed any problems here either.

Warnings:

• Pregnant or breast-feeding mothers should not use this medicine.
• You should not use this medicine and continue using tobacco, either by smoking, chewing, or using snuff.
• Talk to your doctor is you have or have had heart disease, heart attack, or irregular heartbeat.
• Also, discuss how this medication can interact with others you may be taking with your doctor or pharmacist.

In Conclusion:

I have not had any of the severe side effects that I was worried about when using this patch. In fact, aside from a headache, I have not had any side effects. The only problem I see with this patch is the stickiness or lack thereof. I have problems getting the patch to stay on. Using an ace bandage helps with this issue, however. While quitting is not a walk in the park even using the patch, it has been much easier on me and my family than quitting cold turkey. As I have not tried other aids, I am unable to give that comparison.

Is Lysol® Disinfecting Wipes an Effective Disinfectant

 

Although I have not received this product for free, I have decided to review  Lysol® Disinfecting Wipes at Brittany’s request. She has been asking me what is the difference between the Lysol®, that we usually purchase, and other popular name brands.

Cost is really not much of an issue as usually both of the popular brand names generally cost around the same.

Wipes are excellent at cleaning many surfaces in many areas of the home. I have used them in the following rooms:

• Kitchen
• Bathroom
• Toy Room
• Living Room
• Bedroom
• Garage

I, also, keep some in my purse for when I can’t wait to go and have to utilize public restrooms.

Should We Choose Lysol®:

• Ingredients List
  • According to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), this product contains Ethonol and N-ALKLYL (C14, C12, C16) DIMETHYL BENZYL AMMONIUM CLORIDE.
  • The MSDS states that these ingredients are not very harmful to your skin. However, it is recommended that you wash your hands after use.
  • The MSDS states that they could cause damage to your eyes and contact with eyes should be avoided.
  • As with any household cleaner, the MSDS recommends you keep away from children.
• Kills 99.9% of bacteria
  • I was unable to find a study that checked the actual number. I did look.
  • In an experiment performed by students, Lysol® disinfecting wipes was more effective in destroying E-coli bacteria than the other brand name product available.
  • It is interesting to note that in that same study, some generic brands seemed to outperform all brand names.
• Convenient and Portable
  • Convenience I agree with, I can pull them out quickly to wipe up counters and tables after dinner.
  • As for portable, I carry them in my purse as stated above for public restroom visits. I have to agree here, as well.
• Effective
  • When it comes to effectiveness, this depends on how you use them. If you wipe your counter then your table with the same wipe, there is a good chance that you are spreading germs instead of killing them.
  • In abcNEWS story, Disinfecting Wipes May Spread, Not Kill, Germs, it is recommended that you discard wipes after one application to one surface.

In Conclusion:

Lysol® Disinfecting Wipes are convenient and portable. They are excellent to use to clean many surfaces of the home and beyond. If you toss your wipes instead of moving to a different surface, they are effective as a disinfectant. Perhaps, more effective than other brand names. However, they may not be as effective as generic brands.

I may still purchase these wipes in the future. However, I believe that I will have to check out some of the cheaper generic brands first.

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