Food, Glorious Food!

Have you heard of this amazing product?



It's Norwex Fresh Wash and Heather and I love it! When you bring your produce home from the grocery store, fill a sink with cold water and add 4 or 5 squirts of this product. Soak your fruits and vegetables for at least 30 seconds (or longer) and their shelf life will be 2 or 3 times longer than if you store them unwashed. It really works!! I filled the sink tonight and started with the fruit - grapes, strawberries, apples and pears. After about 5 minutes, I took them out and laid them on a layered teatowel so they could dry. Then I put green onions, celery, asparagus and peppers in the water. After about 5 minutes (or longer, depending on where I get sidetracked to!), I laid them on a towel and put a head of green leaf lettuce in the water to soak. Then I drained the water, bagged all the produce and put it in the fridge. I had some red grapes that were purchased last Friday, soaked in the Fresh Wash and were still in perfect condition today. Since I started using this, I find myself using way more produce because it's already washed and ready to use. And I have virtually nothing go bad in the fridge. The product is bio-based, all natural and biodegradable. It's great to remove the waxy film that is on apples and other fruit. It's sold at home parties (along with other awesome natural cleaning cloths and products) and you can go to www.norwex.com to find a dealer near you.

So, how about a couple of recipes that you might enjoy for your weekend entertaining?! I made these two dishes to take to my brother-in-law's 50th birthday party tomorrow. We're going to be quadding - and seeing if we can get stuck in the mud and snowdrifts! My contributions to supper are these appetizers, both from the amazing book "Eat, Shrink and Be Merry".

The Big Dipper (layered shrimp dip)

1 tub (8 oz./250 g) garden vegetable spreadable cream cheese
2 cups light sour cream
1 1/2 cups chunky style salsa (mild, medium or hot)
1 cup packed medium cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped romaine or other crunchy lettuce
1 1/2 cups coarseley chopped cooked large shrimp
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped pitted black olives (optional)

Beat together cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of a serving platter. (You could use a glass lasagna dish.)
Spoon salsa over sour cream layer and spread to the edges, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Top salsa with shredded cheese, then chopped lettuce, followed by shrimp. Sprinkle tomatoes, green onions and black olives over shrimp.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with baked tortilla chips or thick slices of bell peppers and cucumber rounds. Multigrain melba toast rounds are also a tasty accompaniment.
Tip: use a thick sour cream for this dip, so the bottom layer will better support the other ingredients. If the salsa is too runny, drain some of the liquid before spreading it on the sour cream layer. Use large shrimp - even though you are chopping them, they'll look much nicer and more impressive than teensy, weensy shrimp.

Makes 12 servings.

Lord of the Wings

12 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2.5 lbs.) I used chicken wings
1/3 cup your favourite barbecue sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. liquid honey
2 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
4 to 5 dashes hot pepper sauce (optional)
1 tsp. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
If using chicken thighs - trim fat and cut each thigh in half. If using wings - trim tips and cut apart at wing joint.
Place pieces in a single layer in prepared baking pan - I had a few more so ended up with 2 layers.
Whisk together barbecue sauce, soy sauce, mustard, honey, lemon juice, garlic, chili powder ad hot pepper sauce in a small bowl. Spoon sauce evenly over chicken pieces.
Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, turning pieces after 20 minutes and 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked and sauce is bubbly. Arrange chicken on a platter and keep warm. Pour sauce from pan into a small pot. Combine cornstarch with 2 tsp. water and mix until smooth. Stir cornstarch mixture into sauce. Bring to a boil and whisk constantly until mixture has thickened (won't take long). Serve wings with extra sauce for dipping.
These are delicious and will disappear fast!

Sorry I don't have any pictures (Pioneer Woman would be disappointed in me!) - I totally forgot to take some!

Bon Appetit! Have a great weekend, wherever you are!