Friday, September 13, 2024

Sausage Gravy For Biscuits

On weekends after sleeping in, my family ate a breakfast (before the word "brunch" existed) of eggs, bacon, juice, coffee, and (I won't lie) canned biscuits. During the week we'd fend for ourselves. Monday - Friday I drank an Instant Breakfast (a protein and vitamin powder) stirred into a tall glass of milk. When I was in grade school my mom or dad had it ready for me by the time I came to the table. Unlike the weekends when we ate breakfast together, nobody was going to get up earlier than necessary to cook or eat a meal. To this day, we aren't morning people. Sleep rules!

As an adult, I learned to make homemade biscuits from scratch and never again bought a can of biscuits. On vacations, I ordered sausage gravy, which my mother never made. Delish! Here's how to make that as an occasional treat for a weekend breakfast.

Sausage Gravy

1 pound of sausage (Pork, beef or turkey)
1/2 teaspoon of fennel
1/2 teaspoon of sage
1/4 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon black pepper (24 turns of the peppermill)
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk (whole or whatever you buy. All work, but the more fat, the creamier)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1) In a skillet, break up the sausage into crumbs. Flavor with the fennel and sage. Brown the sausage until done. No need to drain unless there's an excess of grease. 

2) Toss in the flour, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

3) Slowly add the milk and Worcestershire sauce while whisking on medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer while gradually adding all the milk and continuing to whisk. 

4) After the gravy thickens taste and if needed add more salt or pepper. I like the taste of black pepper and a hint of heat in this gravy.

Round out your breakfast with eggs, juice, or fruit, and coffee. Check to see if your biscuits are ready to pull out hot from the oven. Bon Appetite, country style! 


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Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Timekettle WT2 Edge/W3 Translator

The Timekettle WT2 Edge/W3 Translator is one cool gadget! At $350.00, it's expensive and hard to justify purchasing unless you have a frequent use for it. But if you live, work, or go to school in a foreign country and aren't yet fluent in the language, these earbuds simultaneously translate 40 different languages, so you can use its Al technology to bilaterally understand and converse in a 2nd language in real-time! If you were to speak nonstop, an earbud plays the translation in another person's ear 5 seconds later so the two of you can experience a real conversion as if you spoke the same language. 

The manufacturer of the gadget says, "
To make translation even more accurate, "WT2/W3 Edge earbuds use smart noise reduction to filter out distracting background noise, ensuring the message isn’t muddied." Moreover, it uses simul mode -- "share one translation earbuds with your partner, and both of your words will be translated into bi-directional communication," as well as, touch mode -- "tap the force sensor to activate voice pick-up and touch again to translate. Speaker mode: 1 earbud + 1 APP. Only one person needs to wear the real-time translator."

The WT2/W3 Edge portable language translator supports 40 languages and 93 accents for online translation. The technology also enables companies to support group chats and conferences remotely.

Wow, talk about unlocking the world to understand your
fellow humans! You can now debark 
an airplane across the pond and start communicating in a 2nd language right away. The Tower of Babel is a thing of the past!

I can see buying this device if you have inlaws who speak a different language, or your company transfers you overseas, or you decide to study overseas ... yet are still mastering the new language. For the rest of us, it's a pricey yet impressive and innovative toy to know about.


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Monday, September 9, 2024

Huge Savings With Equate Dupe Moisterizers

As autumn approaches in the Western hemisphere we'll soon exchange the humidity for dry skin. It's time to stock up on moisturizers. Walmart will save you a ton of money with their in-house brand for less under the name of Equate. The label has dupes for many dermatologist-recommended moisturizers. Here's what to buy:

For your face

1) Equate All Day Moisturizer - A dupe for Olay with UVA and UVB 15 protection and Vitamin E. Apply it after your Vitamin C and under your makeup. Cost: $4.97

2) Equate Retinol Night Cream - Compare to Olay Retinol Night Cream. Use before bed. New packaging for the same cream and price as the top image. Cost: $17.44

3) Equate Oil-Free Facial Moisturizer For Sensitive Skin - A dupe for Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin. Use on nights you wish to either skip retinol or simply apply additional moisture to your face. $6.67

For your hands ...

4) Equate Ultra Moisturizing Extra Dry Skin Lotion - A dupe for Jerkens ultra healing body lotion with vitamins C, E, and B5 in a generous 32-ounce size pump to keep in your kitchen to mostly moisturize your dry hands during the dryer months. Cost: $6.48

For your face, hands, and body especially in winter ...

The next tubs of moisturizers are listed in the order of their thickness and all are super moisturizing.


5) Equate Moisturizing Cream - Compare to CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. $8.97

6) Equate Gentle Skin Cream - A dupe for Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. Cost: $7.48 {A review of #5 vs #6 is here.}

7) Equate Therapeutic Dry Skin Cream - Compare to Eucein Moisturizing Cream. $9.92

8) Advanced Healing Ointment Skin Protectant - The knockoff for Aquaphor Healing Ointment. Cost: $10.52, or just buy a tub of Vaseline for half the price.

Frankly, #8 is 41% petroleum jelly so next time I'll just buy a tub of Vaseline for $5.48 or better yet Equate Petroleum Jelly for $2.36 instead of #8 which is 2 or 4.5 times the price. In winter you can always rub petroleum jelly over your moisturizing creams if you need extra thickness.

Walmart has additional dupes of leading name brands, but these 8 are the moisturizers I like and use in the fall and winter months. They are identical to their name-brand counterparts! If you have other favorite moisturizers, check to see if Walmart makes a dupe for it. 

Equate makes moisturizers so affordable we can slather them on from face to toe daily without breaking the bank.💵

*Although I've now written 2 back-to-back blogs mentioning Walmart, neither blog is sponsored. I love Walmart!


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Thursday, September 5, 2024

Walmart Has Genuine Leather Bags Cheap

Real leather bag by Forestyashe at Walmart - Available in 7 colors on clearance $11 - $15
Walmart may not be the first retailer that comes to mind for finding a smart trendy bag, but you'd be surprised at the stylish deals and steals available on its website. For sure, I am! The styles, hues, and materials are many. I've picked 6 of the genuine leather options that are a fraction of their usual retail prices. There are more! The bags come in up to 7 colors.

HKCLUF Crossbody Hobo Bag
GAEKEAO Small Crossbody Bag

Michael Kors Pebbled Leather Small Tote 

FALAN MULE Clutch and Wristlet 
KAMUGO Leather Handbag with Gold Hardware and Cache

Walmart has quite an online selection of bags of all types. Sometimes the bags are cheaper than what a replacement strap costs elsewhere. By the way, if you like the bag but want to buy a thicker leather strap (look on Etsy, Amazon, or the retailer of your look-alike bag) as you are left with the funds to do so! 
The London Fog bookbag dupe is reviewed here.
Be sure to read the descriptions carefully so you catch the sizes and textures of the bags. Reading every customer review is super helpful in not ordering mistakes, but if you don't like your purchase, Walmart has an easy and inexpensive return policy.

A nice bag on a budget, one that won't fall apart soon. Who knew?


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Monday, September 2, 2024

Suddenly Mayonnaise Is Expensive


Nothing has surprised me at the supermarket more than the rising cost of mayonnaise ... and I'm not alone. A friend complained about paying $12 for a 30-ounce jar. Last week I walked out of Key Food refusing to spend $8 a jar. Before the pandemic, mayonnaise was $2.99 - $3.99 for a 30 oz jar. If I get desperate I may reluctantly accept spending $5 a jar. Time will tell.

I have found Walmart's Great Value in-house brand and Target's Market Value in-house brand as good tasting as Hellmann's, America's leading mayonnaise. Target charges $4.39 for a 30 oz jar, while Walmart's mayonnaise is only $3.38.

Why is most mayonnaise so expensive? One reason given is, an egg shortage caused prices to soar due to the bird flu in 2022 - 2023. Yet it's not the full story. TIME magazine reported that a main culprit for the rising cost of eggs is price gouging by America's largest egg producers. You have to wonder if price gouging has extended to mayonnaise and other groceries, as has been implied by several news sources.

Of course, if you simply need a smear of mayonnaise on a sandwich, a jar will last a while, but what about for American potato salad, tuna salad, coleslaw, or salmon cakes? Undoubtedly, most households will need mayonnaise sooner rather than later. If I use more than 1/4 cup of mayonnaise in a recipe, I like to use a 50/50 ratio of mayonnaise to Greek yogurt. It cuts the fat, still tastes like mayonnaise, adds more protein, and stretches your mayonnaise further. 

Another measure is to make your own mayonnaise until prices fall again, which they inevitably will. Like their in-house mayonnaise, Walmart and Target have kept their eggs at bargain prices. 

The following is a one-cup recipe. Small fresh batches of homemade mayonnaise are ideal. It has a shorter shelf life than commercial mayonnaise:

Homemade Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

Photo: iStock
1 large egg
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white vinegar (or be eccentric and use Balsamic vinegar for a delicious taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I use pink Himalayan or Morton's iodine salt.)
1 teaspoon lemon juice 
1 cup of mild vegetable oil (such as avocado, sunflower,  soybean, or safflower, etc.)

Directions:

1) Toss all the ingredients except the vegetable oil into a food processor and pulse.

2) Next pour 1/8 cup of the vegetable oil slowly into the food processor and pulse, then a little more oil and pulse, and a little more oil and pulse. You have to start slow to make an emulsion of air and liquid to turn the ingredients into mayonnaise. If you pour all the oil into the food processor at once or your food processor is too big, you may have a failure since the blades won't touch the ingredients and the emulsion won't occur.
Mayonnaise is a condiment I never thought of making myself since until now I couldn't make it better or cheaper than readymade, but $8 - $12 a jar is a reason to reconsider!


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