I had myself a nice little shopping outing. As you might imagine I enjoy looking at kitchen gadgets and cooking supplies. A few things caught my eye and I just had to have them. A little retail therapy is a good thing!
I have wanted a Silpat nonstick baking pad for quite some time to use in place of parchment paper when baking biscotti cookies or scones. The mini spatulas are nice for cleaning out small containers like measuring cups and the red ones just make me smile. :) The cupcake liners were so adorable I couldn’t pass them up. My favorite Lemon Buttermilk cupcakes will look adorable baked up in these. The vintage tablecloth in the photo was one of my Grandmothers and I cherish it!
There was also a little time spent in Crate and Barrel. I adore that store! I picked up a few things to feature in a future post and you are going to love what I found! Sorry no preview… you’ll just have to wait.
When I got home I was exhausted, why does shopping seem like so much work? I made a quick dish for the guys and then I tossed together this Easy Chinese Chicken Salad for myself. This is more of an idea, not really a recipe.
I used Trader Joe’s Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette, the preshredded coleslaw mix and leftover chicken breast that I chopped. A few toasted sesame seeds, sliced almonds and green onions and my dinner was ready in minutes. It was fantastic! When I toast sesame seeds or nuts I do a larger amount than needed and then freeze them so the next time I need them the toasting has already been done – it’s such a time saver.
Not too bad calorie wise either.
Easy Chinese Chicken Salad For One
- 3 ounces cooked, diced chicken breast
- 1/3 of a small bag of coleslaw mix (I didn’t measure, just dumped it out)
- 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sliced green onions
- A sprinkle of toasted almonds
- 2 Tablespoons TJ’s Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette
Mix everything together and enjoy!
Nutmeg Notes
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences about CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture). It was so interesting to read everyones thoughts. I did some research to see what was available in my area and I found out that there is a large variety of options. There are some programs that require you to pay in advance for the entire season. I don’t want to pay in advance for the whole season with out knowing if I will like the program.
Then there are some farms with more flexible programs that offer weekly or bi-weekly delivery. You can choose the size of box you desire as well as the combination of veggies. For instance you can get a box of easy prep fruits and veggies that don’t require much work. You can get more fruits, less veggies, or all fruit boxes. If you cook a lot and enjoy veggies you can order a larger box. This more flexible plan appeals to me. You also pay weekly and you don’t pay if you are out of town and can’t receive a box. Nice!
Since I have an Organic Farmers Market just down the street I am going to stick with that over the summer. In the Fall I will consider having the bi-weekly delivery.
Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping
Lots of great ideas were also shared regarding meal planning and grocery shopping. Some of you make pretty much the same things each week which makes shopping easy-you know what you will need and buy the basics. Sometimes the KISS method is good-Keep It Super Simple!
Others shop the grocery ads and buy what is on sale and go from there. Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen is one of those shoppers who buys the sale items and she is thrifty with her food budget. She also is a Weight Watchers member and two of her coworkers pay her to make their lunches! Lucky for them-she is an awesome cook. If you don’t already follow her blog stop by and check it out.
Kelly at Kelly’s Healthified Kitchen cooks ahead and freezes meals for her and her husband. Her strategy it to make recipes that call for the same ingredients especially if they are perishable items so that she won’t waste anything. Since she cooks ahead and then freezes the meals this works perfectly. Love that!
Nicole from Prevention RD emails herself recipes she comes across during the week and then she chooses a few to try the next week. Great idea. She posts her recipe efforts and reviews recipes and is also a Weight Watcher member.
Thank you to everyone for sharing your ideas.
My shopping trip was not limited to just the housewares department. Happily, I found a few cute summer tops too. Peach and Salmon seem to be my Spring – Summer color this year. I managed to find two tops in that color family and I was so happy. It compliments my fair skin and seems to brighten me up some. We can all use that right?
Of course I also like black because it is high contrast with my hair and fair skin and black is always appropriate for evening so I had to have one top in black and then there was this blue top that was so cute I couldn’t leave it behind! It’s not all that often that I find so many things at the same time that I like. Talk about fun!
I hate to try on clothes but returning clothes is even less desirable so I made sure everything fit before buying! The dressing rooms were full! A little warm weather is all it takes to get people out shopping for new clothes. 
Tami
Add Your Thoughts
Do You like kitchen gadgets?
Do you have a favorite color that makes you feel really good when you wear it?
Do you try on clothes before you buy them?
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23 comments
1 ping
fittingbackin says:
April 15, 2011 at 6:51 am (UTC -7)
Thanks for the shout out!!
I want this chinese chicken salad – I’m with you, when it comes to coleslaw, lettuce, spinach I don’t measure! I love your new martha stewart finds – those mini spatulas come in handy!
Do You like kitchen gadgets? YES – I love finding new things that make my time spent in the kitchen more efficient!
Do you have a favorite color that makes you feel really good when you wear it? orange! It’s my power color. hehe
Do you try on clothes before you buy them? Definitely. Any time I don’t I just guarantee a trip to return most of it!
Tami says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:30 pm (UTC -7)
I know several people who love the color orange! I think I have only 1 top in orange but I must say when I wear it I do feel happy!
Biz says:
April 15, 2011 at 9:09 am (UTC -7)
Thanks for the shout out too!
Love it.
OMG, I have so many kitchen gadgets, I keep most of them in my basement so my husband doesn’t go into overload – but there are just sometimes you NEED a melon baller!
Blue is my favorite color, so most of my tops are blue – but I am finding that when I wear pink I get a lot of compliments – so who knows?!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Tami says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:33 pm (UTC -7)
Oh Biz how funny that you keep your gadgets in the basement! I so miss having a basement and all that extra storage room.
I do like to wear blue too. I am thinking that maybe you should get some more things in pink – they say we should listen to what others say looks good on us and not just what we think.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I can’t wait to see what you cook up!
Karen says:
April 15, 2011 at 9:33 am (UTC -7)
That dressing sounds yummy and I hope I remember to buy it when TJ opens here in the fall:) I feel good in purple, almost any shade.
Tami says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:34 pm (UTC -7)
My daughter also loves purple! It does nothing for me but I do enjoy seeing others wear it.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Jody - Fit at 53 says:
April 15, 2011 at 11:21 am (UTC -7)
What fun for you with that shopping! I will have to look into that baking mat since I use parchment paper to make my protein cookies! I don’t do a tone of baking or cooking.
Clothes – well, I don’t buy much so last time I bought clothes was last year for my stepdaughter’s wedding. I need What Not to Wear to knock on my door!
Tami says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:36 pm (UTC -7)
Jody check at Bed Bath and Beyond or Macy’s for the silpat.
Shall we nominate you for What Not To Wear? Wouldn’t it be fun to have a make over complete with a new wardrobe?
Carol says:
April 15, 2011 at 1:35 pm (UTC -7)
Your salad looks yummy!!
And I have a table cloth very similar to yours. Mom had it back when I was very little and I think it came from my great aunt. Nice keepsake!
Love kitchen gadgets! And I have quite a few!Love those mini spatulas!
Guess my favorite colors are coral or turquoise. I do wear a lot of black.
Most times I try on clothes but I have been known not to and end up taking them back.I’m like Jody…need What Not To Wear to give me a hand!!
Enjoy your weekend Tami! It’s a painting weekend for us.
Tami says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:41 pm (UTC -7)
Love those colors Carol and bet they look good with your hair!
The vintage tablecloths are so amazing, how fun that you have one too. I love the colors and the fabric is so durable. I have two of them but I wish I had more! I also have a lot of my Grandmother’s and her sisters hankies. Some are fancy but most are simple little cotton ones. The colors are amazing and they remind me of the tablecloths. I don’t know what to do with them. I have them all ironed and in a basket, I get them out sometimes and look through them.
Happy Painting this weekend.
Cammy@TippyToeDiet says:
April 15, 2011 at 2:54 pm (UTC -7)
I want a baking mat, too, but I *refuse* to buy anything branded Martha Stewart.
Thanks for the reminder to add baking mat to my Christmas list!
Tami says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:47 pm (UTC -7)
LOL at your Martha comment! I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Martha but I had a Macy’s gift card and all of their Silpat mats have Martha on the label so I had to over look that and get it anyway!
Roz says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:10 pm (UTC -7)
Do I love kitchen gadgets??? Do bears sleep in the woods!? INDEED!!! I agree with Biz, sometimes, you just DO need a melon baller. And a cherry/olive pitter. And one of several spatulas. And a pizza wheel. And one of several measuring spoons. sigh. I think I need to join a support group for people who have alot of gadgets.
Have a good day Tami.
Tami says:
April 15, 2011 at 3:50 pm (UTC -7)
Roz perhaps you and I should start a support group for the gadget obsessed cooks! We might add dishes and cookbooks to that list as well, I can’t help myself with these things.
I don’t have a cherry/olive pitter-better check into that!
Hope you have a fantastic weekend.
megi says:
April 15, 2011 at 7:21 pm (UTC -7)
Tami, the chicken salad looks really yummy!
I am addicted to kitchen gadgets and anything baking related, you’ll love the Silpat.
Autumn @ Good Eats Girl says:
April 16, 2011 at 6:49 am (UTC -7)
I looooooove buying kitchen gadgets!!! So fun! I need a Silpat…I just haven’t bought yet! Can’t wait to hear how you like it!
Marisa @ Loser for Life says:
April 16, 2011 at 7:14 am (UTC -7)
I am a kitchen gadget JUNKIE!!! I love them! Case in point – I recently bought a teeny skillet called the One Egg Wonder just to cook one egg! LOL! Why I need this and can’t just cook an egg in a bigger skillet…I don’t know, but I had to have it! JUNKIE!
Your salad look delish! I’ve been eyeing up that TJ’s dressing…is it really spicy, though?
Tami says:
April 16, 2011 at 8:17 am (UTC -7)
I remember the post about the little egg skillet! I would have bought it too -there is something about miniature things that we are drawn too.
Perhaps you would like to join the Kitchen Gadget Addicts Support Group?
The TJ’s dressing is flavorful but not all that “hot” spicy. I used two tablespoons with that huge bowl of coleslaw mix so it is stretched which dilutes the spicy flavor -if that makes sense. It’s not spciy hot like a hot salsa.
Janine says:
April 16, 2011 at 12:37 pm (UTC -7)
uhhhh–gadget junkie over here, too. I have a great suggestion on the melon baller, that looks really pretty and is very simple. Wedge up a cantaloupe and honeydew. Remove 3 evenly spaced balls from each slice. replace the honeydew balls with cantaloupe balls, and vice versa–so you have green slices with orange balls in them, and orange slices with green balls in them.
I’ve been hunting for a gadget to cube a lot of veggies at once. I have the genius dicer, which has limited cutting space, but is OK. I got the tower slicer, which cuts more at once, but kind of sticks once the tower is pushed down. If anyone sees or has something that they like–chime in, if tami says it’s okay.
Love dishes, serving ware, gadgets and cutlery. Oh yeah, I also wanted to mention the silpat works great for chocolate dipped strawberries.
Tami says:
April 19, 2011 at 9:31 pm (UTC -7)
Janine I love your idea for the melons, bet that looks really cute.
I don’t have any kind of kitchen gadget that cubes veggies! Gonna look into that.
Thanks for the tip about using the silpat for dipped strawberries! Love it!
renee@mykitchenadventures says:
April 19, 2011 at 6:20 pm (UTC -7)
I have that exact silpat mat and I LOVE it!!! now you need to get the MS pan that goes with it…it fits it perfectly!!!
Julianne says:
April 19, 2011 at 7:17 pm (UTC -7)
I LOVE your site, I’m so excited to try some new recipes. I used to live in Northern California, Walnut Creek to be exact. I loved the shopping there, food and other goodies…did some serious damage at Broadway Plaza in the old days. Trader Joe’s is my best friend these days, and I am heading there tonight to purchase the Chinese chicken salad ingredients for my Biggest Loser get together. Thanks so much for all your hard work!
Oh, and my favorite spring color this year is the new coral at J.Jill…it’s terrific!
Tami says:
April 19, 2011 at 7:30 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Julianne and thanks for visiting my blog! I love Trader Joes and can’t imagine living some where that doesn’t have one!
Hope you and your friends enjoy the Chinese Chicken Salad. Super simple and delicious!
Corn Waffles » Nutmeg Notebook says:
May 2, 2011 at 2:46 pm (UTC -7)
[...] set aside some broccoli slaw without dressing for myself and our gluten free friend. I took some of Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut Vinegarette to put on mine and it was perfect! For dessert we had one of my all time favorite desserts the Raw [...]