Miscellaneous

Cool Off With These Cocktail-Inspired Summertime Desserts

June 19, 2014 by greystar

When you were a kid, you likely loved to cool off on a hot summer day with a frozen treat from the ice cream truck. Now that you’re an adult you still love those sweet treats, but with a twist. Here are three cocktail-inspired summertime desserts that are perfect for lazy summer afternoons.

Cherry Snow Cone
This grown-up snow cone uses muddled cherries, raw sugar, and a heavy-handed tablespoon of Pernod Ricard, an anise-flavored liqueur. This sweet, fruity concoction is the perfect treat to relax with by the pool or on the patio, as the liqueur is less potent than other alcoholic beverages.

Grapefruit Campari Sorbet
Fruity sorbets are refreshing and naturally fat-free, which make them a great option for anyone who is trying to get in shape for bathing suit season. This recipe includes just three simple ingredients: fresh grapefruit juice, sugar, and a bottle of Campari liqueur.

Mixed-Berry Pinot Pops
Wine lovers will adore this portable, refreshing take on the classic popsicle. Muddle fresh berries with sugar and your favorite Pinot Noir, then freeze the whole thing into a few popsicle molds to create a deliciously icy treat.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Joy

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cocktails, Food, Recipes, Summer

Where to Find Online Pancake Recipes for All Occasions

May 14, 2014 by greystar

Pancakes are a breakfast favorite for weekend mornings and other special occasions. The classic buttermilk pancake with butter and maple syrup is always a delicious treat, but there are a wide variety of other ways to make pancakes as well. Find some inspiration for your next pancake breakfast from these recipe websites.

All Recipes
The popular online recipe resource All Recipes offers a variety of unique, creative pancake recipes. Sunday Morning Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes are a delicious dish for a formal brunch with the family, while Chunky Monkey Pancakes with chocolate and bananas make a special treat for kids’ birthday breakfasts. If you want to improve your regular pancake recipe, All Recipes has a few tips and tricks for that as well.

Food Network
Learn to make fluffy, buttery pancakes from your favorite cooking show hosts! The Food Network’s website teaches you to make classics like potato pancakes, homemade “instant” pancake mix, and blueberry buttermilk pancakes, as well as more unique styles like the Tri-Berry Oven Pancakes or Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes. No matter your tastes, you can even search the Food Network website by ingredient to find the perfect pancakes for your family.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/The Culinary Geek

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Breakfast, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Greet a Snack Attack With These 5 Creative Popcorn Recipes

April 17, 2014 by greystar

The typical movie theater buttered popcorn is delicious, but sometimes you just want a little something extra from your popcorn. These creative recipes will show you a variety of surprising toppings to spice up your snack, from sweet to savory and every flavor in between.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Popcorn [Swanky]
It may seem strange, but the sweet flavors from everyone’s favorite childhood lunch sandwich work just as well as a topping on your evening snack. Peanut butter and jelly popcorn takes only a few simple ingredients, and it even uses white chocolate for an extra boost of sweetness.

Nutted Popcorn [Real Simple]
Popcorn and nuts are both popular snacks, and this fun recipe combines the two into one filling bowl. Pecans, almonds, and pumpkin seeds stick to each popcorn kernel with a light, cinnamon flavored syrup, much like the kettle corn at county fairs and baseball games.

Samoa Popcorn [Babble]
Achieve the taste of the beloved Girl Scout cookie by drizzling toasted coconut, caramel, and chocolate over your salted popcorn.

Spicy Nutella Popcorn [Healthy Jalapeno]
Nutella is everyone’s favorite sweet spread, and adding spicy ancho chile powder takes this popcorn from a common snack to a gourmet treat.

Bacon and Cheese Popcorn [Popcorn.org]
Bacon is an increasingly popular addition to many dishes, and it works just as well on popcorn. In just five minutes and with a few simple ingredients, you can enjoy this bacon and cheese popcorn snack.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/White93

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Popcorn, Recipes

Two Websites with Soup Recipes You Can Make at Home

March 20, 2014 by greystar

Hot, steamy soups are some of the simplest and most fulfilling meals you can make, whether you choose a creamy tomato or a light vegetable soup. These step-by-step recipe websites are full of simple, delicious soup recipes that even the least experienced chef can make right at home.

Health.com
Health.com’s list of 12 Healthy Soup Recipes is a great resource for finding nutritious soups and stews. Unlike store-bought soups that can be full of sodium, these recipes are naturally flavored and low in calories. The Chunky Chicken Noodle is a heartier version of the childhood classic, with much less salt than the original version. On this site, even seemingly fattening, creamy soups like the Broccoli, Cheddar and Potato Soup use only low-fat, low-calorie ingredients to create nutritious soups that are just as tasty as the traditional versions.

Smitten Kitchen
This site isn’t just a clever name; it’s also a wonderful resource for healthy, flavorful soups. Smitten Kitchen’s Matzo Ball Soup contains fluffy, doughy matzo balls made with simple ingredients. Unique soups like Black Bean Pumpkin, Winter Squash with Gruyere, and Silky Cauliflower are gourmet-style choices that will impress your friends, and only you’ll know how easy and enjoyable they were to make.

Public Domain/Public Domain

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Recipes, Soup

Find Sudoku Puzzles Online With These Sites

February 20, 2014 by greystar

Sudoku is a stimulating and addictive pastime that’s great for down time at work, relaxing at home, or even waiting in line at the doctor’s office. If you want to start learning Sudoku or you simply want to find more puzzles, these online Sudoku sites are some of the best.

Gamehouse Sudoku
For everyone from the beginner to the serious Sudoku player, this beautifully designed site offers an endless number of games at your choice of beginner, easy, medium, hard, or expert levels. It features a time clock to help you track how long you’ve been playing, as well as Sudoku tips to help you improve your game. If you start to feel frustrated, you can also check the solution and begin a new game.

Web Sudoku
If you just want the Sudoku game board with none of the extra features, this is the site for you. Web Sudoku offers a clean, black and white board with easy-to-read numbers, as well as games in your choice of easy, medium, hard, or evil (yikes!). This site also offers an offline version for times when you’re away from Wi-Fi.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Cirofono

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Games, Hobbies, Puzzles, Sudoku

Happy Presidents’ Day

February 17, 2014 by greystar

Remembering the courage and vision of past and present leaders, we honor and share the spirit of Presidents' Day together as a nation.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 14, 2014 by greystar

Wishing everyone a day filled with fun and happy memories!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Simple, Healthful Poultry Recipes

January 22, 2014 by greystar

Poultry is one of the healthiest meats you can cook with, and it’s also incredibly versatile. From juicy chicken to hearty turkey, these delicious and nutritious recipes will help mix up the ways you prepare poultry.

Chicken Picadillo
Using just one pot and only 162 calories, this incredibly flavorful chicken dish is perfect for busy weeknights. Bell peppers add extra vitamins and a serving of vegetables, while tomato sauce, cumin and lemon juice gives this meal a flavor that really stands out.

Asian-Style Chicken Wraps
Using lettuce as a wrap eliminates extra carbohydrates, and the spicy and refreshing sauce adds a healthy kick to the tender chicken strips inside.

Oven-Crusted Chicken Breast
The traditional dinner staple gets a healthy makeover in this low-calorie dish. Substituting the usual fatty breading for egg whites and rolled oats offers the same crispy texture without the added fat.

Cornbread-Crusted Turkey
Turkey isn’t just for Thanksgiving dinner, and this simple yet delicious dish proves how versatile turkey can be. The addition of a cornbread coating and Dijon flavor makes this poultry meal both hearty and healthy.

For more nutritious poultry recipes, visit the NIH website here.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/caboosespiceco

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Nutrition, Recipes

Our New Facebook Sweepstakes Has Started! Enter to Win an iPad Mini!

January 15, 2014 by greystar

To enter the Sweepstakes, Like our Facebook Page and then look for the Sweepstakes tab (image shown below) located on our Facebook Page to enter. Sweepstakes ends February 28th, 2014.

For mobile users ONLY, like our Facebook Page, and then click here to enter!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Facebook Sweepstakes

Get New Books Every Month With These Subscription Sites

December 18, 2013 by greystar

Give the book lover in your life a gift that will last all year long with a book subscription. These fun and surprising websites give members the chance to read books from authors they may have never encountered otherwise, and receiving a new book every month makes members feel like they’re a part of one big, digital book club.

Oyster
Oyster is an affordable membership site that allows members to download unlimited books from over 100,000 titles. The service works with iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, and it features an easy-to-navigate library and simple layout that makes mobile reading easy and convenient. Oyster costs less than 10 dollars each month, but the site offers a one-month free trial for new members to try out the service without spending a penny.

Open Letter
This nonprofit literary translation press affiliated with the University of Rochester publishes ten translated titles every year from all over the world, giving English speakers access to books from a number of different countries. Open Letter's subscription service delivers one of their new releases to members’ homes every month, as well as a thoughtful letter from the publisher about the book and how it was published. Open Letter offers either a 6-month or 12-month subscription.