Product Placement Wednesday - Trader Joe's Carefully Curated Collection Flavored Olive Oil

Yes, Product Placement Wednesday is back! Think of it as a recurring character in the cast that is my blog rather than a series regular. Too many things to blog about and not enough time to do it! For this "PPW" I have a GREAT item. One you will not want to miss!

Trader Joe's Carefully Curated Collection Flavored Olive Oil

Our friends at Trader Joe's are starting to fill their shelves with their fall seasonal items (pumpkin lovers take note!) and one of my favorites from last year is on the shelves ahead of schedule! I was told that this just arrived this week which was perfect timing as I am running dangerously low on all three flavors. So what are these wonderful flavors? Included in this pack you received Basil, Lemon & Hot Pepper. You can see some of Trader Joe's recommendations via the link above but here are some of my favorite uses:

Basil - Toss with whole wheat pasta, fresh tomatoes and your cheese of choice.

Lemon - Drizzle on a salad of butter lettuce, Parmesan cheese, avocado and blueberries.

Hot Pepper - Try this oil with the Jalapeno Chicken Sausage, brown rice, sauteed tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Keep in mind these are finishing oils - not cooking oils. I have experimented with all of them and the combinations are endless. I recommend adding a bit of nice salt to bring your dishes to life.

You can find the Carefully Curated Collection Flavored Olive Oil either in the olive oil section and/or in the new product section depending on your store. These oils have a great date on them (mine is 2015) so if you cook for a crowd you may want to pick up more than one! They would also make a great gift for the chefs in your life.

What are your favorite combinations with the flavored olive oils? I would love to hear from you!

Inbox Clean Up - Real Simple Articles

Unfortunately my inbox sometimes becomes the place were emails come to die. I save things so long the links are not even good anymore! Today I decided that it would be a great idea to share with you some of the articles from Real Simple that I have been saving only to find that not all were still working links. So I hope you enjoy those that are still active but check them out soon before they join the ranks of the other dead links!

20 Quick No-Cook Recipes

10 Delicious and Surprising Salad Recipes

Great Summer Hostess Gifts

Low Calorie Snacks for Every Craving

Four Weeks of Dinner Menus

50 Surprising New Uses for Beauty Products


I hope you find these articles as interesting as I did! Please let me know if you try any of the recipes, tips or buy any of the hostess gifts. As always, keep in mind that you don't have to be a registered member of the site to comment!

Happy New Year and I wish you all luck in your own inbox cleaning!

Product Placement Wednesday - Amazon Wish List

With this being the last Product Placement Wednesday before Christmas, I thought it was appropriate to go with a "gift" theme. Unfortunately it is too late for this product to help you and your friends & family this holiday season but there is always next year!

Amazon.com Universal Wish List

Amazon.com has an amazing feature - the Universal Wish List. This allows you to create a wish list from the many amazing items on the Amazon site as well as add items from other sites as well. The key to adding the non-Amazon items is the "Universal Wish List Button" that adds to your toolbar with a simple download. This allows you to keep yourself organized as to things you might like and helps your friends and family figure out exactly what to get you for all of the gift giving holidays. You can set up as many wish lists as you like and also decide if you would like to make them public or keep them private. The benefit of keeping the list private is that you can keep track of items you might like for redecorating a room, etc. It is a great companion in that regard to Pinterest. Though Pinterest allows you to dream big (in ground trampoline for the backyard) I tend to keep my Amazon list a little more realistic.

As I mentioned in my previous post "You Shouldn't Have! - A Guide to Gifting," this is a great idea to share with your friends and family and help make the holidays more fun and less stressful! Still not convinced about the wish list? Hopefully this previous entry will still help you give amazing gifts!

I would love to hear from you about the best and the worst gifts you've ever received. Remember you don't have to be a registered user to comment and you can be anonymous if you prefer!

Happy Holidays!

Product Placement Wednesday - Crate & Barrel Cheese Markers

I heart cheese. I will eat it on just about anything but my favorite way to enjoy cheese is on it's own. No bread, no crackers. That being said, I love a good cheese plate and always have one at any function I put together. Until recently, I would use little metal cheese signs that had names of particular types of cheeses (cheddar, stilton, etc.). The problem with these signs was that there were so many cheeses unaccounted for by the pre-selected names. Then I found these little gems!

Crate & Barrel Cheese Markers

These cheese markers are the perfect way to both personalize and add some personality to your cheese board. The markers themselves can be customized with a dry erase marker, grease pencil or even a crayon to describe your delicious selection. Since all of those writing utensils easily wipe off the porcelain base, you can label unlimited cheeses!

I think the cheese markers are perfect for all of your holiday functions or even as a hostess gift! They come in a set of 6 so the biggest question is how to narrow the selection down to only 6 cheeses! Trader Joe's here I come!