Vegetable Cook Cheat Sheet

How to choose the best Watermelon

If you're like me, it's not officially summer for you until you can enjoy a nice, sweet, juicy slice of watermelon in the hot summer heat. I ran across this post on Facebook and thought it would be worth a share.

Ooh La La! Jadore VoxBox love!

Back in August, I was invited by a friend to join Influenster.com, a community of members who review products and earn free products in a box(what they call a VoxBox) for testing and review purposes by improving profile scores and unlocking badges. I was fortunate enough to earn my first VoxBox recently and received it on Valentine's Day. I LOVED it! If you haven't joined Influenster, you should! You can request an invitation by going to their site here or if you have friends who have an invite to give you.

Here are some photos, a list of the items included in my VoxBox and also reviews to go along with them. Enjoy!

The J'adore VoxBox

My first incentive as a tester/reviewer for Influenster.

The friend who invited me to join Influenster has had several VoxBoxes and they are always really awesome so I was looking forward to one and have to say I am surprised at how awesome mine was! Below is a list of everything that came with it, along with my reviews =)


1. Boots Botanic Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask
@Influenster #JAdoreVoxBox Boots Botanic Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask, valued at $9.39 #powerofplants https://www.facebook.com/BootsBeautyUSA

 

 

















I haven't had the chance to try this one out yet, but I will definitely edit this post with my review whenever I do.

 2. Vaseline Men Spray Lotion retailed at $7.99 for 6.5 oz can.
#JadoreVoxBox from @Influenster #menspray

I gifted this to my hubby on Valentine's Day(the day the box came). He had recently mentioned a few times that he wanted a moisturizer that isn't "girly"(his words lol) He usually uses mine after he shaves and since he works a lot with his hands(he's a truck driver and works in a warehouse), his hands are really dry and cracked. He really liked this product and says he likes that it doesn't leave his skin feeling greasy. He also mentioned that he liked the smell.


3. Herhey's Kisses, 18.5(family size) @Influenster This bag retails at $5.29.
#JAdoreVoxBox #LoveandKisses https://www.facebook.com/hersheyskisses

Everyone loves kisses and this was a yummy surprise!

Here's a photo of my instagram post about my kisses =) 

4.  John Frieda’s Frizz Ease 3-Day Straight Spray, Valued at $9.99 for a 3.5 fl. oz.
#JadoreVoxBox @Influenster #3DaysStraightLove

I am completely impressed with my flat iron spray! At first I wasn't sure it would work well because my hair is naturally wavy and when I blow dry, it really frizzes bad. I also have really fine hair so anything I use weighs it down. This was not the case at all with my spray. It worked very well, I didn't even need to flat iron it to finish. It's great for if you're in a hurry and want straightened hair but don't have time to use a flat iron. Not to mention it smells really good! Kudos!!

5. KISS Looks So Natural Lashes, Retail $3.99

#JadoreVoxBox from @Influenster #KISSLashes

  

I am not really sure if I will use these. I may try. I have tried in the past to use fake eye lashes, but they were of course, costume lashes for Halloween and they didn't work out so well. I may give these a shot.

6. Red Rose Simply Indulgent Teas. Retail $4.49 for a carton of 20 tea bags.

 #JadoreVoxBox from @Influenster Included was 3 packs of Creme Caramel and 1 pack of Lemon Chiffon. Also included was a coupon to save $2 on Red Rose products. Each tea bag sample also included a $1 off coupon! Pretty yummy if you like tea!  #SimplyIndulge

The Creme Caramel wasn't too bad. I added a little bit of honey to it to make a little sweeter. It smelled amazing! The Lemon Chiffon was my favorite. It was smooth and flavorful. Good for a cold day or sore throat!

So there you have it! My very first VoxBox!! I loved it and can't wait to earn more!!

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks

Tonight, my husband wanted to make his awesome homemade pizza for dinner. It really impresses me how well he can cook some things. Pizza just happens to be one of my favs when it comes to things that he makes. He knows I love a thin, crispy crust and I don't care for a huge amount of sauce so his pizza is perfect!

I decided to try a new breadstick recipe that I found on Pinterest today, but like always, I tweak the recipes I find/use to make them into my own.

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks

Yield: 2-12 inch pizza crusts; about 1 lb. of dough

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup...depending on the heat & humidity}

Breadstick Ingredients:


1 batch of dough {from above}
3 tablespoons softened salted butter {room temperature}
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
{salt & pepper, if desired}

Directions:

For the pizza dough--

In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking.

Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn't stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, knead for 6 minutes.

Dough should be smooth and easy to work with and shouldn't stick to the bowl. Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Use as desired.

For the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks-

Preheat oven to highest temperature that you oven will reach. You want to preheat with pizza stone inside the oven also, so that the stone will be nice and hot. {If you don't have a pizza stone, use an upside down cookie sheet.}

Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.

Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}

Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and sprinkle on cheese. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired.

Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Your dough should also bubble up nicely too!

Remove from oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes before slicing into strips.

Serve with marinara or butter garlic sauce.

I did a butter garlic sauce by melting a little butter and adding garlic powder to the desired taste.

Enjoy!!