You've been opening a banana wrong all these years.

This video will blow your mind. You open a banana from the bottom. Sooo much easier than opening it from the stem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBJV56WUDng

Lose It App

My family and I plan on taking a family vacation in June. I decided to track my eating and thus lose some weight for the summer. I want to lose about 30-40 lbs. I came across this App for me to keep up on my eating.

It's Called "Lose It". I found it on Google Play. I am able to track my exercise, food and you can even get motivated by talking with others using the app. You start by putting in your goal and your current weight.

Who's interested in trying this with me? Let's get in swim suit shape.

Cleaning and Upkeep of your Dishwasher

My dishwasher is a Kitchenaid brand dishwasher. WE have had it for 5 years and it hasn't been cleaning well. I tried different soaps and decided the filter needed to be cleaned.  The husband is helpful but not really knowledgeable about mechanical repairs. I decided to watch a YouTube video on how to clean the filter. You can try this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRCCrEwrst8
After watching the tutorial I had a good idea of the steps going forward to clean the filter. In all it took about 30 minutes and my husbands muscle helped in removing a few items. I might suggest a pillow for your knees as well.

Central Vac Clogged vaccume

It's been a while since I have blogged. I have been busy.

Recently while cleaning up my house I found that I had lost suction on my central vac unit. I found a YouTube tutorial that gave me a easy fix, so I could avoid the $150 service charge.

1) you take a Shopvac ( cheaper to buy one than to pay the service charge) I just happened to already have one . The tutorial said that I could attach a shop vac hose to the end of the hose and suck for a moment. Do the same thing to the other side of the hose, alternating until the blockage comes loose. It worked like a charm, and I am back in business.  You can also do this with the " in wall" piping if, your blockage isn't in the hose. Good Luck home fixers.

Johnny Carino's Chicken Scallopini

Johnny Carino's Chicken Scallopini 
Everytime we go to Johnny Carino's I order this. It is sooo mouth wateringly delicious. I am drooling just thinking about it. :0) I found a copycat recipe for it. So now I can make it any time!

Ingredients:
Lemon butter:
1/2 lb butter 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
2 tablespoons white wine 
1/2 teaspoon garlic , minced
chicken 
4 tablespoons butter , melted
2 chicken breasts 
1/2 cup roma tomatoes 
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup cooked bacon , chopped
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon pepper 
1 teaspoon garlic salt
10 ounces spaghetti 
8 ounces heavy whipping cream 

Directions:
Combine Lemon Butter ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat at a medium speed until a smooth consistency in the batter is formed. Once combined, keep refrigerated until needed.
Put Spaghetti on to boil & prepare as you usually would.
While it is cooking halve each chicken breast (you will have 4 pieces).
In a warm saute pan, combine melted butter & chicken breast pieces. Saute until chicken is browned & just about done. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, and spice mixture. Simmer until tomatoes begin to dissolve & chicken is done. Add heavy cream and allow to boil to the middle of pan. Remove from heat, add one cup lemon butter, and fold together to make sauce.
Serve over spaghetti.

How to Pick a Watermelon

We have a local farm 5 minutes from our house. Last summer I was choosing a watermelon there and they told me that you want to look for bee stings.
See picture below..

like this. The more the better. You see, bee's can tell which ones are the sweetest. So they put their little stingers in the watermelon making the imperfection in the rind. I used to stay away from those watermelons, but you see they are the best ones. Choose a bee stung watermelon for the sweetest taste.

In My Fridge - A useful website

There is a website out there to inspire the uninspired. To help out when you are in need of a visit to the grocery store.

It's called.
http://www.myfridgefood.com/index.php


This website can be fun and helpful when you just need to make something  for dinner , but you don't have every ingredient. It has you check the boxes of the items in your pantry/ fridge. The gives suggestions on a meal plan. Happy Eating.