I am not a big cooker.  I work a full-time 8-5 job and am a children and wedding photographer, so cooking a big dinner every night is pretty low on my priority list.  I am always on the lookout for recipes with 6 ingredients or less, 30 minutes or less to cook and it still taste good.  That is why I love Simplicity Gourmet cookware.  I can cook a steak and fresh vegetables in 20 minutes tops!   Everything tastes so good and I feel better knowing it is healthy for my family.  I tell friends all the time about it and I know I sound like an infomercial, but when you find something that you love and are genuinely excited about, you just have to share it.

Again, on behalf of the Simplicity Brides bloggers, we would like to congratulate Kasie Bryant for being one of our winners of the “Name our Girl” contest. Kasie sent her submission for the name “Bella” on June 10, 2008. The marketing team at Simplicity Brides, narrowed the submissions down to the top 5 names and, at our National Conference in June, our teammates and partners voted for the most fitting name for our new brand icon. We agreed that the name meaning “Beautiful” best described the girl who wants to be healthy both on the inside and out. She wants to create a healthy home that lasts a lifetime. Ms. Bella Gourmet is the name! Kasie will receive a $50 American Express Gift Card.

Here is Kasie’s entry:

“No matter what persona we try to show, women are naturally sensitive and delicate. This “new girl” image is the perfect picture of our inner delicacy. Inside, there is beauty in all of us just waiting to be discovered and released. I think her name should be “Bella” which means beautiful. We can be beautiful brides, beautiful wives, beautiful mothers, beautiful lovers, beautiful teachers…… There are endless possibilities to what we can do as women. And the most beautiful part is that this is true and unique for each one of us!”

We would like to thank everyone who submitted their ideas.

On behalf of the Simplicity Brides bloggers, we would like to congratulate Sabrina Rodriguez for being one of our winners of the “Name our Girl” contest. Sabrina sent her submission for the name “Bella” on June 3, 2008. The marketing team at Simplicity Brides, narrowed the list to the top 5 submissions and at our National Conference in June our teammates and partners voted for the most fitting name for our new brand icon. We agreed that the name meaning “Beautiful” best described the girl who wants to be healthy both on the inside and out. She wants to create a healthy home that lasts a lifetime. Ms. Bella Gourmet is the name! Sabrina will receive a $50 American Express Gift Card. We would like to thank everyone who submitted their ideas.

I’m not sure if I’m alone on this but personally, I get confused in grocery stores. Even with the clearly marked aisles, I still have spent many trips aimlessly searching for an item that just doesn’t seem to be where, in my mind, makes the most since. I tended to do most shopping spur of the moment, so, when I would go grocery shopping, I tended to be wearing my work clothes and uncomfortable heels that seem to add more frustration to my searching. I just wasn’t a planner.

I decided to change my ways. In fact, planning ahead has made the entire grocery shopping experience more fun and efficient. Planning is two-fold. First, I know you have heard it before, but making a list helps me prevent forgetting something that I really need and that I would have to return for later. Something else that has been key to my new grocery shopping outlook is mapping. I have mapped my local Kroger. I recently sketched a picture of the aisles and what is found down each one. I used the signs as help but I also indicated those items that I frequently need that seem to be in an unusual spot. This way, when I take time making my list, I simply group the items by where they are found. I make my shopping list section-by section and get through the aisles much quicker without having to back track for items that I forgot.

It may sound simple but, hey… sometimes it takes me a while to catch on.

Everyone loves quesadillas, but do you ever get tired of eating the same old thing the same old way?  If you would like an easy way to kick the flavor in your quesadillas up a notch you should try Darn Good seasoning.  It works like a charm.  To make these quesadillas, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Tortillas (flour, wheat, or your favorite flavor)

Shredded mexican cheese

Butter (substitue Brummel and Brown for fewer calories)

Darn Good Seasoning (all purpose seasoning available at Simplicity Gourmet)

Optional: Chopped chicken or steak -seasoned with Darn Good

Directions:

Mix 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 teaspoons of darn good.  Spread evenly on one side of tortilla.  Place buttered side down into a preheated skillet (med heat).  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Once cheese melts add chopped meat of your choice - steak and chicken work great.  Fold tortilla in half once ingredients are in.  Cook until golden brown.    

These are very easy to make and my children love them.  You can also use Darn Good to spice up your grilled cheese.  Garnish them with sour cream, pico, and or guacamole.  This is an easy dinner, if you had to work late.  It is a great lunch.  You can make them and eat them within 20 minutes.  So if you are eating at home on your lunch break, this works great.  Enjoy!

I know there’s probably only two people I haven’t told but I’ve been engaged for two weeks now! I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. Although it’s a bit early, I have already started planning quite a bit. We won’t be getting married for a year but there is so much to do. I have to admit I’m enjoying every minute of it! I can’t wait to try on dresses; I have already found one that I think might be “the one”. I have signed up on about three websites to use all the neat tools available…you never know what to sign up for because of all the scams out there.

I am defenitely going to register with Simplicity Brides for my china. I’m going to my first bridal show as an actual bride next weekend and I’m sooo excited! I’ll get to see all the vendors and get information and ideas. The best thing that I have found with going to bridal shows with other people is that they give away a lot of free stuff. I will try and keep everybody updated as much as possible and if anybody has any tips on planning a wedding, PLEASE, share them with me.

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I made the yummiest breakfast Saturday morning and I want to share a little tip that put it over the top and was so simple! I was watching The Barefoot Contessa and she made a special breakfast brunch with maple glazed bacon. One of the things I loved was that I didn’t have to stand over the stove and watch and flip the bacon. My husband loved, loved, loved the maple bacon. As you read the recipe below note that I didn’t use thick cut bacon and I turned my oven on 350 degrees. You have to try this! It was fantastic and of course we dined outside on our deck, my favorite place to eat. It was a beautiful morning!

So…did you know that once a month, the local Nashville, TN office has a FREE cooking class for all current Simplicity Gourmet customers?!? Each month, we all gather and our resident expert waterless cooking gurus (Erica, Stella, Phillip, Bobby, or me) cook through 5-6 meals in about 2 hours. Pretty fancy, huh? J

In all seriousness, we have an incredible time together each month. We review care and cleaning tips, introduce new products, and always have a class special to get you wish list items at an amazing price. Each participant gets a full recipe packet to take home and gets to sample all the tasty foods prepared.

For me, personally, what I have gained most from cooking schools is just the opportunity to really sew into the lives of my customer’s and visa-versa. I sincerely look forward to seeing them each and every month and miss them when one of our regulars has to be absent. Many of our customer’s have become much more than that to me; I am honored to call them my friends as well. Recently, we’ve all started emailing and calling about waterless cooking ideas and experimenting together to create something new…company and customer working together to get the most out of a lifetime product. Even after all these years, many of us veterans are still learning new and interested tricks of the cookware. For example, Erica and I recently learned how to boil an egg without using any water which, in turn, we demonstrated at our last cooking school.

So, if you’ve discovered some handy waterless cooking tricks or yummy unique recipes, tell us! We would love to get the word out – and of course give you all the credit! J If you are in the Nashville, TN area,  we would love to have you join us! We have four classes left for the rest of year for 2008: July 19, August 23, September 20, and November 8. Contact us at info@simplicitygourmet.com to get more information and to confirm your seats. See you soon!

Hugs! ~ Miss K

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Pink Apron Preview, hosted by Simplicity Brides, received a warm thank you from an attendee recently; I just wanted to share…

From: marshell sartor [mailto:bubblesthe1unv@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 4:36 PM
To: Info
Subject: his and hers aprons

Hello,

My name is Marshell Sartor.  I wanted to send this email to thank simplicity gourmet for the inviting me to the show and for the vacation package and also the free his and her aprons.  So here it goes: Thank you very much!

from Marshell

Life is hectic! Therefore, I try to simplify my life as much as I can.  The only way that I know how to do this is with organization.  I realized one day how much time I can save everyday if I just became organized.  In my kitchen, everything has a home.  I use plastic drawer organizers and plastic totes to keep my cabinets and drawers tidy.  In my pantry, I put like items together (this helps with overspending at the supermarket as well).  I used to spend so much time searching for things.  Now, I can spend that extra time with my family.  Simplicity at its best is my steam mop.  I never realized what a task mopping was until I found this mop.  All I have to do is plug it in, add distilled water, and mop.  When I am finished I throw the detachable cloth in my washing machine and I’m finished.  The best thing is that I was able to eliminate my bucket and floor cleaner, therefore leaving me a little more space and a little less clutter.    

Get organized today and have more time to do the things that you really want to tomorrow.  Start organizing one room at a time.  Take fifteen minute breaks to organize a drawer or two and that daunting task becomes extremely manageable. Before you know it, it’s all over and your life is much less hectic!