Superbowl Snacks

What Superbowl party are you going to?  Make sure to bring the best snacks along as the Seahawks take on the Patriots.  Drinks, chips, and cookies are always fun to bring.  However, we have a delicious easy recipe that everyone will want the recipe too.  You can learn more at Food Network.










Ingredients
2 pounds ground chuck or ground beef
1/2 cup panko or other breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 large jar marinara sauce
12 dinner rolls or slider rolls
2 cups grated mozzarella



Directions



Mix the meat with the breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, salt and pepper, and knead the mixture together with you hands. Roll into heaping tablespoon-sized rolls.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the meatballs between the onions and brown for 1 minute. (You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet.)

Pour in the jar of marinara and shake the skillet gently to mix. Put on a lid and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

When ready to serve, cut each dinner roll in half. Place a handful of grated mozzarella on the top and bottom of each roll. Spoon a meatball with the sauce onto the bottom bun; top with the top bun. Serve immediately!

Recipe courtesy Ree Drummond

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/mini-meatball-sandwiches-recipe.html?oc=linkback

New Year New Finances

It is almost tax season.  At this point in the year, many people start to look at their finances and see how they can improve.  However, as much as it seems like a good idea, do not throw away your credit cards.  Here are some items that are great for those credit cards in your wallet.  You can learn more at Apartment Therapy.

It's January which means that you may have resolved to beef up your budgeting prowess and get your debt under control. Great! But don't cut up all your plastic just yet. There are some very good reasons to (responsibly) use a credit card. We fill you in on some perks you may not have thought of.

Electronics — Check the fine print! Most cards provide extra protection or an extended warranty (often double) on many categories of purchases and almost always on electronics. You'll save the price of an extended warranty and have the peace of mind that you'll get the most out of your purchase for longer.

Travel expenses — When traveling abroad, you should absolutely get some local cash ASAP for taxis and snacks, but when you reach your hotel, charge it. Your credit card company will almost always offer a better exchange rate and fewer fees than the cash price, so save your paper money for incidentals and charge what you can. Also, your plastic is so much safer to carry since your card is protected against thieves and fraud; once your cash is pick-pocketed, it's gone forever.

Rental cars — Fun fact: I recently rented a car and realized that I didn't need to buy insurance because my credit card provided it automatically. Score! Check your card's benefits, of course, but it was a fun little discovery that you may not be aware of.

Bills you pay every month — This one is just about convenience. Ten separate paper bills, checks and stamps to remember each month? If you're still facing that hassle, then it's reeeally time to get online and put those suckers on auto-pay! One thing to remember: if you need to cancel your card for any reason, you'll need to update your billing information or you'll be facing a logistical mess of late fees. Keep a list of what you're signed up for so if you do need to switch out your payment, you won't miss any by mistake.

Reimbursable expenses — Sure, you save your receipts so your company can pay you back or you can claim certain benefits on your taxes, but being able to track what you paid electronically gives you an extra level of protection that, should there be a mix-up, will help you know exactly how much you paid and to whom.

Make the Perfect Soup

How much soup have you made this year?  Soup is a great dinner, and it also is great for leftovers.  However, how do you get the perfect soup.  This blog will tell you some great tips on how to get a thickened soup for your next batch.  You can learn more at The Kitchn.

After simmering your soup until everything's melded together and tasty, what do you do if the texture's just a little too thin for your liking but everything else is perfect? Here's an easy technique to help thicken your soup without the need for any additional cream, flour, fat, or other ingredients.

Making soup doesn't really require a recipe. All you need are some aromatics, vegetables, maybe some meat, and some time for everything to simmer together in broth.

But sometimes you added too much broth, the vegetables released more liquid than you anticipated, or you can't cook it any longer to reduce the liquid because the vegetables will overcook and turn to mush. So what can you do?

The answer is simple: just blend some of it. This works especially well when your soup contains starchy ingredients like beans or potatoes and even works with chilis (but this technique will not work in soups with meat bones in it unless the bones have been removed first).

Pureeing some of the soup will naturally thicken it without the need for additional cooking time or the use of an artificial thickener like a slurry which can change the soup's flavor.


3 Ways to Blend and Thicken Your Soup

Here are three ways to easily thicken your soup:

Use a potato masher. Just grab that potato masher and smash down into the soup pot, stirring once in awhile, until the soup is at the consistency you like.

Use a regular blender. Take a cup or two of the soup, making sure to ladle up the chunky stuff, and throw it into a blender. Blend until smooth, then stir it back into your soup. If the soup still isn't thick enough, blend some more of it.

Use a hand blender. The hand blender is the perfect tool for this task. Just place it in the soup and give it a few buzzes. Stir the soup, assess the texture, and buzz some more until you've got the soup exactly where you like it.

Gmail Tips and Tricks

Do you have a Gmail?  Did you know there are tools and tricks to help keep your inbox as organized as possible.  Keep reading the blog below to learn how to make your Gmail inbox more efficient.  You can find out more information at Apartment Therapy.



Efficient Gmail Inbox Habits

Sort as emails come: The best way to stay organized is to start from the get-go. Don’t let emails pile up throughout the week, believing you'll get to sorting and reviewing them "later". As emails start to flow in, at the least, organize them with designated labels ("followup", "family", "response needed", etc).

Labels: Back in 2011 Gmail began offering “smart labels”, a feature which automatically labels incoming bulk, notification, and forum messages for easy sorting and review. If you're the type who subscribes to regular email newsletters, store/sales notifications, or other group-wide correspondence, smart labels could be helpful in keeping the inbox trim and slim.

Color Categorization: Color categorization with labels: use it. If you’re someone who has to keep tabs on multiple tasks (who doesn't?) or juggle different groups of friends, categorizing incoming email by color will greatly simplify inbox reviews, creating color associated connections between senders and their emails. Assigning a color for emails sent from close friends and family is practically a must for anyone with a busy inbox.

Filters: After you’ve created labels and assigned colors, using filters is your next line of defense in streamlining an email inbox. In the Settings menu, select Filters and click, Create a new filter. Here, you'll be able to assign search criteria used to scan incoming emails and assign specific actions, including, "Skip the Inbox" or "Mark as read”.

Tools

Gmail offers an additional wide range of tools to help users stay organized and efficient in regards to their email needs:
Drag and Drop files: Instead of manually clicking “Attach a file” simply drag and drop files directly into the message.

Apps search: By activating “Apps search” you can extend your searches beyond the inbox into Google Docs and Sites.

Offline Gmail: Compose emails even without internet connection.

Tabs: the latest Gmail feature update takes something we're all ready used to while using browsers – tabs – and integrates them as a feature for easier viewing/sorting right from the Gmail inbox.


Users can turn on this new feature by clicking on the Configure icon (the little cog icon in the upper right), and choosing "Configure inbox". From there, optional tabs can be turned on or off, and once set, Gmail will automatically categorize the inbox by appropriate tab for segregated and tabbed viewing.

At launch, Google only offers five tabs categories:

Primary (messages from friends and family)

Promotions (sales and deals from retailers)

Social (social network sites)

Updates (online statements, verifications, receipts)

Forums (mailing lists, discussion board exchanges)Messages can be drag-and-drop between tabs, with specific senders set to always appear in a particular tab, and star messages so that they also appear in the Primary tab. Depending upon your workflow, this new tabbed view can help prioritize the process of viewing, responding, or archiving emails.