A review is on it's way. Until then...

Take a look at these wooden swing sets, from another CSN store! Aren't they cute? I can't wait to have a yard again, our kids loved the swingset we used to have. Some day, right? So, just in time for summer, you can go take a look, and maybe order something for the kids!

Review: DeLonghi Deep Fryer

So, after quite a bit of consideration, drooling, and debating what to review, I finally decided on a deep fryer. I like frying things, but feel like I waste so much money throwing out the oil every time I use it, because I don't want to store it in my pot on my stovetop for several weeks. So, I thought a deep fryer would fix that to a degree.


We decided to go with the DeLonghi, mostly because I have been happy with their products in the past, and felt that I would be happy with this setup as well. It seemed to have everything I was looking for, so it made a good choice for us.

Firstly, let me review the customer service with CSN. It is really great. I ordered this late in the afternoon last week, and had it on my table the next day. I was very impressed with that, because I was sure I had ordered it too late in the day for it to have arrived that quickly. But arrive it did, and I got to work digging out my recipes.

First up, of course, were wontons. Wontons are something I have been making for nearly 20 years. That's how much I love this recipe. I found it the recipe in an old, yellow, Chinese cookbook when I was 13 and doing a project for our Social Studies class. It is a family favorite, and something that I don't make nearly often enough. I do try to make it once a year at least, maybe twice if I'm in the mood for it. And I was definitely ready to make a batch or two to test out the new fryer. I will include my recipe at the bottom of the review, in case you were wondering.

Now, onto the fryer. I am fairly happy with the overall performance of the fryer, except for one thing... It comes with a sensor to tell you when the oil is hot enough once you've turned the unit on. However, I found with several different tries at making fried items (we found a few goodies at the grocery store just to test it out in various situations as well)... I found that the initial few batches seemed like the oil wasn't hot enough. Eventually it seemed to warm up to the right temperature, but it took a little longer than the sensor seemed to indicate. But, nothing I can't work around just by being a little more patient. And we all could use a little more patience, right?

Overall, I am happy with the performance of the unit. I intend to drain it and filter the oil within the next few days, but that looks pretty easy so I'm not too worried about it. Now the only trick will be finding space in my miniscule kitchen to store it. But I'm sure we can find a home for it easily enough.

Now, for the recipe! As a side note, I don't bother measuring any of these things anymore, and usually add more than called for. I would start with this as a base, and increase ingredients as desired. Personally, I like quite a bit more ginger and scallions, and also a little more sugar and soy sauce. Be careful with the liquids though, it's easy to overdo it and then you have a liquidy mess that leaks out of the wontons. Which, as I found out, will affect the taste of other things fried in the oil. I got a little carried away this time. But, they were still good. I also usually make a double batch, but that disappeared so quickly this time that I will probably quadruple it next time, especially now that I have convinced my daughter to help me out. She enjoyed it, and it was an easy task for her to fill the wonton wrappers and seal them up. If you try these, please comment and let me know what you think! I have loved this recipe for so long, and whenever I serve it to friends they are always amazed by the flavors and beg for more. It will be a hit at parties everywhere.

Happy frying!


Shana's Wontons

1 whole boneless chicken breast, cooked

2 scallions

1 thin slice ginger root

¼ cup fresh parsley

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons soy sauce

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon oil

1 pkg. wonton wrappers or egg roll wrappers cut into 4ths.

1 egg, lightly beaten

Oil for frying

Mince and mix the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl mix the remaining ingredients (excluding the wrappers and the egg). Combine both mixtures and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Place a teaspoon of mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. Using a chopstick or the back of a spoon, place a small amount of egg around two edges of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, touching the sides with egg to the sides without egg, forming a triangle. The egg will seal the edges shut. Deep fry in oil until a deep golden brown. Serve warm or chilled.

Another Reveiw On The Way

Once again, I have been asked to do a review of a product by CSN Stores. They really are a great company, with a wide range of products available. And when I'm doing comparison shopping, more often than not, they have the best prices and products available. From barstools to beds, cookware, home improvement, children's toys, etc., they've got just about all the bases covered. The hubby and I are looking at getting a new mattress eventually, and so far, their prices are great, and even include free shipping! So we will definitely be taking a look over the next few months before we decide.

So, in the coming weeks, I will be offering a review of one of CSN's products, along with a recipe for something tasty ;)

A Review, Followed By A Hiatus

As promised, I have a review for you from my experiences with the cookware site I mentioned previously. I chose this time to review an item, and chose a pressure cooker/canner, as the needs of our family are growing, and this seemed a good way to meet some of those needs. So I chose this little number, a 23 Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner from Presto. First of all, the price is really good, at least in my opinion. I haven't checked it against other sites yet, but I know that these are not inexpensive. And with free shipping, you really can't go wrong. Second, the customer service is very good. Great communication through emails, frequent updates, and fast service. I was notified immediately of my order, and it shipped within maybe a day, possibly less, though I'd have to go back and check. In any case, I had it within less than a week, which included the weekend, which was really fast.

Now, onto the pressure canner. I tried that out this weekend. Let me tell you though, that baby is really big! The pictures really don't do it justice to the real size of it. Now, as far as pressure canners go, I'm sure it's a normal size, but I just didn't really grasp the size of this thing until I got it home and opened up the box. But, it has tons of room for lots of cans, so it's perfect for our family. I took it for a test spin on some homemade chicken soup, made from homemade veggie stock and a simple chicken soup recipe fit for canning. The pressure cooker worked great on the first try, though I was a little nervous never having used a pressure canner before. It was a really interesting process, but the canner worked great and all the little instructions that were included with it kept me pretty well informed about what to expect. The only thing not included was how long it would take to get up to pressure, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't figure it out as I went, and I'm sure a lot depends on what's in there and such too.

Overall, I was very pleased with the results, and can't wait to try it out again. Which brings me to my hiatus... I will not be around for some time, how long I'm not sure, but probably a while. I am having surgery this Thursday to repair a compressed nerve in my elbow. Lucky me fell in the shower 5 years ago and it finally caught up with me. So, my exploits in canning will have to wait for a little bit. I will be looking over some canning books for recipes though, so hopefully I will have a good idea once I'm back of what I want to make, and will try to share those ideas as much as I can.

Have a great rest of summer!

Another site worth checking out

Remember back in March I did a giveaway thanks to a great site promotion? Well they have contacted me again with a request to review their websites and a product again, so I am very excited to share with you.

CSN Stores have quite a few websites designed to help you find what you need and want, and pretty reasonable prices. For instance, if you want a really neat bathroom sink, check out the vanities at their website called Just Vanities. There are some pretty artsy ones, and some fairly basic as well as old fashioned sinks in there. I think the prices look pretty good too, although I can't remember the last time I shopped for a bathroom sink ;) I think this one is really pretty though.

There are also sites for toys, modern furniture, shoes and accessories, and cookware.

So go check out the sites, and see what you think. Maybe you'll find something you like. Stay tuned for an upcoming review of a product from one of their sites.

About That Contest I Promised...

Here it is! We got our games in the mail a few days ago. Giraffalaff Limbo, and Scatterpillar Scramble. Now, I have to be really honest and review these games in the way that our own family interacted with them, and how we were able to play with them and whatnot.

I'll start with Scatterpillar Scramble, as that is the one we started with. We got the game set up pretty easily once I found where the baby had hid the batteries. So that part is pretty straightforward. The goal of the game is that up to four people get to use a set of tongs to place marbles on the moving hands that are stacked 7 high. They send you two extra marbles too, in case you lose some, and we lost one within the first few minutes of the game. We spent more time chasing marbles than actually playing the game. Now, some of that could be the manual dexterity of my children, or the fact that we played on a table instead of on the floor, or any number of factors. But the kids weren't too thrilled with having to spend time chasing after the flying marbles, so for us, it didn't go as well as we'd have liked. But again, that could be just our family dynamics, so don't necessarily take my word for it.

Now, Giraffalaff Limbo was pretty cute, but took a while to set up. We were able to figure it out fairly quickly, and got it set up and running. One thing I noticed though, was that even my smallest kid couldn't have possibly fit under the giraffe without knocking him down, and yet the goal is to do just that. To me, that didn't make sense. I couldn't even fit under the highest level, and I'm not that big. So it's pretty much just for the kids. The younger ones had a lot of trouble understanding that there were different ways to go under (you get a little spinner to pick which move you get to make to get under the limbo bar). The older kids thought it was alright, but it wore out quickly for us. Again though, don't just take my word for it. We don't play those types of games as often, so perhaps we're just not used to it.

All that said, the games had the potential to be a lot of fun, and you can enter to win your own set of games right here, right now! Just leave a comment and make sure that I can contact you either through your blog (if you have one), or an email, and when the contest ends on Thursday, October 22nd, (my best friend's birthday!), the winner will be notified, and then your address will be sent to MyBlogSpark so that you can receive your games. Good luck!