What to do with leftover cheese rind

When you buy Parmesan cheese from the store, don't throw out the rind. There are a lot of good uses for it to help boost flavors in all different ways. See below some of the ways you can use Parmesan cheese rind.

You can store them in your refrigerator for a few weeks, or freeze them for a few months.

1. Add them to soup, such as Minestrone or stew to impart flavor. Discard before serving.

2. Add them to tomato sauce for flavor. Discard before using.

3. Place them in a jar with olive oil and herbs or garlic for Parmesan infused oil.

4. Place rinds in the pot when cooking risotto, rice or broth.

5. If the rind has no wax, you can grill them until soft and chewy and place them on crusty Italian bread.

GO GIANTS!

A happy family after giants win last night. GO GIANTS!
In case you missed my post last week, check out the recipe for NY Giants Fried Chicken: http://souschefbaby.blogspot.com/2012/01/ny-giants-fried-chicken.html

Thanks Uncle Mike for making Layla her very own LT Jersey :)

My Favorite Healthy Cookbooks

As you can see in the picture below, I am slowly becoming a cookbook hoarder. I love reading cookbooks and getting new recipes and inspiration. I find that I gravitate towards cookbooks that offer healthy recipes. I try to cook healthy most week days and splurge a little on the weekends. In my opinion, these are my favorite healthy cookbooks:

1. The Best of Cooking Light: This cookbook has so many great healthy recipes for appetizers, breads, entrees, salad, soups, sandwiches and desserts. Every recipe I have tried in this book has come out really delicious and guilt-free. The serving sizes are pretty generous too. All nutritional information provided.

Some of my favorite recipes from this book are: Cinnamon
Apple Muffins, Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa, Chicken
Breasts stuffed with Artichokes, Lemon and Goat Cheese
(I substitute blue cheese in place of goat cheese, my own
personal preference), Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie,
and Biscotti.


2. Ellie Kreigers books: The Food you Crave, So Easy and Comfort Food Fix
All of these books offer healthy versions of great recipes. You never feel like you are eating "health" food when you cook from this book. I have not been disappointed in the recipes from any of the three books so far. All nutritional information provided in all three books.

Favorite recipes from The Food You Crave:  Peppercorn pork with wine sauce, Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach, Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs, Oven-Baked Onion Rings and Greek Style Stuffed Peppers.
Favorite recipes from So Easy: Taco Salad, Garlic Basil Shrimp, Salmon Florentine (I am not a fan of salmon, so I use chicken instead and it is delicious)

Favorite recipes from Comfort Food Fix: (Newest book): Apple and Spinach Stuffed Pork Chops, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Broccoli and Cheese Calzones and Banana Pudding.

3. Cook Yourself Thin and Cook yourself Thin Faster: These books have great healthy recipes for breakfast, entrees and desserts. The beginning of each book provides a lot of useful information on eating healthy and all the nutritional information for each recipe. Again, I have not been disappointed by these books yet.

Favorite recipes from Cook Yourself Thin: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Healthy Potato Skins, Spring Vegetable Risotto, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Roasted Peach Crumble

Favorite recipes from Cook Yourself Thin Faster: White Pizza with Roasted Mushrooms, Chicken Cordon Blue, Mocha Mousse.

My favorite baby products

I have gone through some major milestones in my life over the past 3 years. I got engaged in 2009, moved into a house shorty after, got a dog, got married in 2010 and had a baby in 2011. During the many celebrations, I was fortunate to have bridal showers and baby showers, which all required a registry. Registering for my new baby girl was so much fun and I enjoyed every minute of it.
When you walk into a store such as Buy Buy Baby, its easy to get overwhelmed with products and its hard to know what you need and what is a waste of money.

 In my experience, this is what I have found to be useful to me and baby Layla from ages newborn to 5 months old.

1. Sleep Sacks: Layla was born in August, right before the cooler weather. These sleep sacks are a must for me because she is not allowed to sleep with a blanket and they keep her nice and warm at night. I recommend getting one with sleeves and one without.

2. Swing- The swing was the best product I had when Layla was born until she was around 4 months old. It would put her right to sleep. Now that she is a little older, it still is a good place to put her when I cannot keep my eye on her every minute, however, she seems to be more impatient about sitting still and tries to sit up and get out. Now I put her in the jumperoo and it entertains her a bit more.

3. Baby carrier-I have both the baby Bjorn and the EGRObaby. I like them both, although I find the Egro to be a little more comfortable for me and my husband prefers the Bjorn. They both serve their purpose and keep the baby nice and warm in the cooler months.

4. Breast pump- If you have to splurge on one item, this is the item to buy. I recommend Medela Pump In Style Advance. Being able to pump gives you a lot of freedom.

5. Baby Bullet System- This product makes it very easy if you are planning on making your own baby food. I recommend getting the Baby Bullet will the storage containers.

Other products that I find useful:
-Pajamas with zippers- I find it easier than trying to find all the buttons in the middle on the night
-Diaper Pale- I recommend the Dekor Plus, make sure to buy extra bad refills
-Bouncer- I think the best bouncer to get is one that has something entertaining for the baby, such as lights or a mobile.
-Bassinet- I love having the baby next to my bed the first few months. This bassinet was really nice: http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?SKU=16442496&