November 30, 2008

On  Thanksgiving, I baked my very first cheesecake!  It was a chocolate chip cheesecake with an Oreo crust, and while it didn’t come out looking like a perfect baked good out of one of the renowned New York bakeries and restaurants, it was delicious!  Don’t take my word for it, my husband actually asked for seconds, which he will never do with something I cook unless it really is good.  Trust me, he always tells me if he finds my culinary concoctions to be a little less than edible.

The recipe was really very easy to make, and the cheesecake was sweetened only with Eagle Brand condensed milk.  Now it’s probably just my oven, but my 9” cheesecake didn’t cook in 60 minutes at 300 degrees.  The middle was still runny while the outer edge was done, so I kept it in for another 15 minutes past that but lowered the heat to 275.  Next time I may try to make the cheesecake in a 10” spring form pan instead (unless of course, one of you coinnoisseurs of the kitchen out there doesn’t think that’s a good idea).  I’ll probably also trade in the semi-sweet chocolate chips for bittersweet.  Dark chocolate, baby.

For anyone looking for a dessert recipe that’s easy to make and is sweet (but not too much so) and satisfying, this chocolate chip cheesecake recipe is for you.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Servings: Makes one (9-inch) cheesecake
Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 70 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups finely crushed creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies

2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup (6 ounces) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch spring form pan or 13×9-inch baking pan.

2. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in EAGLE BRAND® condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

3. In small bowl, toss 1/2 cup chocolate chips with flour to coat; stir into cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips evenly over top. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until set. Cool. Chill. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

TIP: For best distribution of chocolate chips throughout cheesecake, do not over soften or over beat cream cheese.

Technorati Tags: recipe, cheesecake, holiday recipe, baked goods, dessert, Eagle Brand, condensed milk

Yummy Food 4 Comments

November 30, 2008

You’ve read about See Kai Run in magazines, and you’ve seen them in the kids’ section at Nordstrom and at specialty kids’ and babies’ boutiques throughout the world.  The question is: Do See Kai Run baby, toddler and kids’ shoes live up to all the hype?  Why yes, yes they do!

  littleQ was recently hooked up with his very own fresh pair of utterly cute and sophisticated “little man” looking kicks.  He received the versatile, trendy yet classic Paul style (MSRP $40) from the See Kai Run toddler shoe line, and they’re so wonderful!  They’re wide and light to allow for proper foot growth and comfort while wearing, while still being soft and durable for regular use.  I love these shoes because they’re very easy to slip on and have an easy to secure velcro closing.  littleQ can wear these with anything from a pair of sweatpants to denim jeans to khaki shorts.

The popularity of See Kai Run as well as the growth and success of the company is itself a testament to the high level of quality that’s demanded by moms, including the one who started See Kai Run and named the company after her own little boy.  The See Kai Run family of shoe products includes the Smaller, See Kai Run and Eleven lines, which will provide your little ones with fashionable footwear from birth to 8 years old while retaining the same level of style and quality throughout.

For the remainder of December, for every purchase of shoes made at SeeKaiRun.com See Kai Run will donate a pair of shoes to Soles4Souls, a reputable charity that aids those in need with donated shoes.  So this Christmas and Hannukuh, your Christmas purchase at See Kai Run will also help clothe babies and children in need!

You can purchase See Kai Run shoes directly from the website, on Amazon (great deals on brand new shoes, as always!), Giggle and other fine purveyors of children’s shoes and clothing.

Guess what?  You win your a pair of See Kai Run kicks (any pair from the Smaller and See Kai Run lines) during the Countdown to Christmas giveaway!  Stay tuned for more updates: subscribe to RSS feed and newsletter.

Technorati Tags: See Kai Run, kids’ shoes, baby shoes, toddler shoes, shoes, infant, children’s

Clothing Reviews, Giveaways, Shopping 3 Comments

November 29, 2008

For those pregnant ladies on your holiday shopping list, you might not know exactly what to get them.  Here are some wonderful Christmas and Hanukkuh gift ideas just for those expecting a bundle of joy that’ll make her feel special and brighten her day.

Biggs and Featherbelle Belly Balm ($14.99) is made of all natural ingredients that promote healthy skin (and prevent stretchmarks) and super effective at keeping skin moisturized, so mom-to-be won’t be tempted to scratch her itchy, stretching skin.  (Read the Review)

A gift certificate from Edamame Spa by Destination Maternity, or any spa for that matter,  will show her how much you truly care about her well-being and comfort!  She’ll be pampered with luxurious spa treatments and massages designed and perfected just for expectant moms.  There are Edamame Spa locations in and near major cities throughout the country, so check out the website to check if there’s a location near her.

An Original Belly Works belly casting kit ($65) is wonderful, because it’s a present that’s fun to use, and will provide that mama-to-be with a cherished keepsake of that spectacular (though often uncomfortable) change in her body known as pregnancy.

Go Belly Go necklaces ($48) are thoughtful and make a wonderful fashion statement that also proudly announces mom’s expected month of delivery.  (Watch out for my review of Go Belly Go in the next week or so!)

It’s featured in the December 2008 issue of Pregnancy Magazine, the Jingle [bump] tee is perfect for celebrating Christmas!  You’ll have to give this to your expectant mama early so she can wear it during the festivities!

For at home spa-quality pampering, get mom the Belli Pregnancy Gift Set which includes body wash, body lotion, belly oil, exfoliator and foot relief cream – all specially formulated with soothing, gentle ingredients to help keep the expectant mom’s skin smooth, moisturized and not-itchy!  Buy it from SkinCareRx.com and get free shipping for any purchase over $49 plus a bunch of great samples!

Buy that expectant mama Total Body Pillow by Leachco ($74.95), and she’ll be grateful forever!  She’ll be able to keep backaches and pains at bay  with this maternity pillow that supports her back and her belly during pregnancy.  Buy it at Amazon for $57.62 plus free shipping!

For those pregnant moms with that unquenchable rock spirit, a top from Rock Star Moms is just the thing!  Choose from cute designs to sweet maternity tops that pay homage to the Beatles, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and more.  (Read my review of Rock Star Moms)

For moms who don’t want to lose their personal fashion identity to the constraints of maternity clothes, a top from bumpstyle is perfect!  bumpstyle tees are sexy, chic and oh-so-flattering to the expectant mom’s baby bump.  (Read my review of bumpstyle)

Bug and Pickle Belly Cream ($20 CAD) is just scrumptious!  It’s lavender scent is wonderful, and your mom to be will love slathering this all over her body and not just her growing baby bump. (Read the review of Bug and Pickle)

Technorati Tags: holiday gift guide, gift ideas for pregnancy, gifts for expectant moms, pregnancy, maternity, presents, holiday, Christmas, Hanukkuh, stocking stuffers

Holidays, Shopping No comments

November 29, 2008

Winter means dry skin, and when you’re expecting, it’s almost inevitable that it also means a super-itchy belly!  After all, the skin around our abdomens are stretched so much during pregnancy that it seems to defy possibility.  Whether or not you’re prone to stretchmarks (don’t know?  Check your mama’s belly because genes play a big part), good skin care and adequate moisturization should always be at or near the top of your wellness priority list.  I’m not sure about you, but chapped lips and itchy dry skin will make for a very snippy, irritable me.

Biggs and Featherbelle Belly Balm is so nutrient and moisture packed you’ll look forward to rubbing it on your belly after every shower.  It smells a bit like herbs and flowers smashed together with tangerines, and that’s because those are some of the all-natural ingredients used to create this Belly Balm!

Just like all of the other Biggs and Featherbelle products, their Belly Balm is made with all-natural ingredients- no synthetic perfumes, colorants, synthetic preservatives or additives.  All of their products are vegetarian, and most are vegan (including the Belly Balm!).

Check out the ingredients list for this soothing “butter” for your belly:

Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Butter, Kokum Butter, Olive Oil, Wheatgerm Oil, Avocado Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil & Essential Oil Blend (Tangerine & Lavender)

Mmm, sounds almost good enough to eat!  In the jar, it actually looks like a solidified mound of whipped butter, but just rub it on your belly or between your fingers and it’ll warm up and melt with your body heat.

At $14.99, Biggs and Featherbelle Belly Balm is an affordable and yummy eco-conscious treat for your skin that’s rich it’ll last a while.  You might even want to use it after you give birth to keep your belly skin smooth and supple.  It’s available online at BiggsandFeather.com, or at any one of the independent brick-and-mortar health food and natural product stores listed on the site.

By the way, from December 1-19, 2008, you’ll get free shipping on all orders over $50 made on the Biggs and Featherbelle website, so make sure to check out their gift sets for great gift ideas.

Technorati Tags: Biggs and Featherbelle, vegan skin care, vegetarian skin care, maternity, pregnancy, pregnant, skin care, belly balm, belly butter, belly lotion, prevent stretchmarks, itchy pregnant belly

Holidays, Shopping No comments

November 28, 2008

Looking for eco-friendly, earth-friendly and organic gifts and stocking stuffers for those kids, babies and parents on your holiday shopping list?  Here’s a list of green gifts and ideas for those tots:

Eco-Ike organic tees and onesies for tots ($22-24.00) are super soft and come in a variety of cute sayings and green messages.  For moms, Eco-Ike also offers great 100% organic cotton totes ($17.00). The tees, onesies and totes are all screen-printed by hand using water-based inks.

Pedoodles recently introduced a new line of eco-friendly shoes ($36.00/pair) for kids and babies that are made using recycled materials and sustainable manufacturing processes.  They’re super comfortable and come in so many different styles and colors it won’t be hard to find a pair for the child on your holiday shopping list.  (Check out the review)

Manhattan Living Baby Planet Pixies ($25 each) are these cute dolls that are perfect for that princess on your holiday shopping list!  Each doll is made of 100% organic cotton and is packaged in 100% recycled packaging.  A portion of the proceeds from each doll will go to different charities that help save the environment.

Bug and Pickle Baby Butter ($16 CAD) Since my review of Bug and Pickle products, I have to say that their Baby Butter has become indispensible to me!  It’s made with 100% natural ingredients, with essential oils, but NO synthetic fragrances or colorants at all.  It’s the quintessential winter weather diaper bag necessity.  We’ve been using it to keep our lips moisturized and on dry skin patches. (Check out the review)

Give the gift that’ll help save the earth’s rainforests with Cool Earth.  For as little as about $50 per half acre, you can donate money in the name of your recipient.  He or she will receive a certificate in their name and will also be able to view their parcel of protected land online.  It’s a wonderful present for the budding environmentalist or scientist.

A tea set ($25) or a cookware & dining set ($40) made out of recycled plastic milk containers is just the thing to promote help imagination and social skills, while supporting companies that make earth friendly products. Pick up these goodies by Green Toys™ at FAO Schwarz.

Organic BabyLegs are fashionable legwarmers (and armwarmers, too!) that are perfect for babies, kids and adults!  Made from all natural and organic fibers like organic cotton or organic wool, organic BabyLegs are functional accessories that are better for you and the environment.  They’re available lots of colors and designs, from simple to funky for anyone on your holiday shopping list.  Starting at just $8/pair, BabyLegs make the perfect stocking stuffer. (Check out the review)

 

Anything from Hess Natur is the perfect choice for those who want to make sure they give green presents this year.  Hess Natur’s line of organic baby and children’s clothing are comfortable, stylish and oh so well made. (Check out the review)

Reusable totes from Envirosax with kid-friendly designs ($8.50 each) are a great stocking stuffer, or even a great way to “wrap” a present.  The totes are strong and durable, making them a wonderful eco-friendly gift that’ll help introduce kids to the idea of sustainability and living as waste-free as you can.

Technorati Tags: eco-friendly, earth-friendly, recycled, organic, natural, presents, gifts, for kids, gift guide, shopping guide, Christmas shopping, holiday shopping, Christmas, Hanukkuh, green

Eco-Friendly, Holidays, Living Green, Shopping 1 Comment

November 28, 2008

Until December 5, 2008 you can order a personalized letter from Santa for just 1 cent plus shipping from Identity Direct.  One Penny.  1/100th of a dollar.  Normally, this special holiday gift is $9.99 plus shipping, so hop on this deal today if you’re planning on partaking in this Christmas tradition.

I remember when I was young I received a letter from Santa, and it was such a magical feeling that overcame me as I read it!  Share that joy with your child this Christmas with a letter from Santa that’ll be addressed to her!

Click here to buy a personally addressed letter from Santa for just a penny!

Technorati Tags: letter from Santa, personalized, Santa Claus, Christmas, letter to north pole

Deals & Discounts, Holidays No comments

November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m thankful for my wonderful, loving and supporting family.  I’m thankful for all our blessings, even those blessings in disguise.  I’m thankful to be living in a country where we have freedoms and choices and the ability to act on those rights.  What are you thankful for?

Holidays 1 Comment

November 26, 2008

If you’re looking to get an excellent book for those tween boys and girls on your holiday shopping list but still want it to be something fun that you’re sure won’t end up just collecting dust on a shelf, you should definitely check out Bart King’s books, The Big Book of Girl Stuff ~ The Hip Handbook for Girls and The Big Book of Boy Stuff ~The Original Book for Boys.

The Big Book of Girl Stuff contains fun facts and helpful hints about growing up girl, from the dish about boys, etiquette tips, hair care info, and much, much more.  It touches upon such a wide variety of topics that girls care about that The Big Book of Girl Stuff was dubbed “a must have for preteen girls…” by Parenting magazine.

The Big Book of Boy Stuff features an entire section on making weird sounds with your armpits with descriptions of the various levels of fart noise that you can make.  There’s a section on making kick-butt paper airplanes, and recipes for yummy treats that your tween boy will be able to cook on his own.  The Big Book of Boy Stuff was the winner in the Teenage category during the 2007 New York Book Festival, so there’s just another reason why you already know Bart King rocks.

Both of the Big Books are full of funny illustrations to fully complement all the fun ideas, delicious recipes, and super interesting facts and figures presented.  That boy or girl on your holiday shopping list will be fully engrossed once this book is unwrapped on Christmas morning.  I bet you’ll even be able to see those light bulbs go off as they plan to do all the great things they learn about in The Big Book of Girl Stuff and The Big Book of Boy Stuff.

Guess what?  You have a chance of winning your very own copies of these books during the Countdown to Christmas giveaway week.  Subscribe to the RSS feed or newsletter for updates.

Technorati Tags: Bart King, The Big Book of Boy Stuff, The Big Book of Girl stuff, tween, preteen, book reviews, gift ideas, books for girls, books for boys, holiday gifts

Book Reviews 1 Comment

November 26, 2008

Just like any other parent, Andrea Howard wanted to find real, honest feedback about local music program for her daughter.  While she was finally able to glean some helpful info from discussions with local moms, the difficulty she had finding any candid information about local programs and services through the web inspired her to create PARENTise.

PARENTise is Andrea’s fresh, new brainchild: a free site dedicated to helping parents help themselves and each other find programs and services and honest testimonials from other local parents.  You can just browse through the site, or ratings and reviews can be created and searched for via zip code.  The website is currently in beta, so if you’d like to be a part of the new PARENTise community to share your opinions on local things to do with your kids, schools, classes and even OB’s, hop on over to PARENTise!

To help celebrate the beta launch of PARENTise, you can win a container of super-luxe Extrait de Caviar eye cream ($72.00 value) courtesy of Om Aroma over at the PARENTise Blog!  There are plenty of other goodies that you can win on PARENTise, from now until November 30, 2008, just check out the PARENTise Blog for more info.

I know I’ve run into the same issues, and just searching for a decent preschool for littleQ is a wearying task.  After all, Google results for local preschools can only tell you so much about an establishment, and actual reviews and ratings are often rare and hard to come by.  PARENTise definitely has the potential to be the ultimate solution to such a dilemma for parents all over.

Technorati Tags: PARENTise, Andrea Howard, review sites, rating sites, parenting, real testimonials, local reviews, local ratings, service reviews

WWW No comments

November 25, 2008

It’s November, it’s chilly here in New York, and it’s flu season.

Can anyone tell me why some people would choose to not wash their hands after using the bathroom?  It baffles me to the core! 

Are there just some who like germs and spreading them? When you’re sitting in a stall in the bathroom of the office where I work, you can clearly hear the water running when someone goes to wash their hands.  You can also clearly hear if the person who just finished tinkling two stalls over decides to bypass the sinks and whizzes right out of the bathroom with her unwashed, germ-laden hands.

Eww.  Eww.  Eww.

Technorati Tags: germs, flu season, wash your hands

A Mama's Life 2 Comments