Grinding your own coffee beans at home is the best way to go, because it helps you get that perfect cup of hot fresh coffee, every time. Already ground coffee can loose its freshness, which can leave your morning coffee tasting stale. So you grind your beans at home to get the best taste.
But even if you’re grinding your beans at home, are you still getting the freshest, best taste in your coffee? The key to maximum flavor extraction actually comes in having the right grind for the coffee you love to drink. (more…)
It’s President’s Day today and it’s the perfect time to bring your family together for a great meal that celebrates our country’s heritage!
If you’re looking for an easy way to share the holiday with your kids and maybe even get a little history and education in, there’s no better way than with a family-style dinner that celebrates classic American tastes. Black & Decker can help with easy-to-make recipes that bring all the classic flavors of Americana home. (more…)
Did you know February is National Grapefruit Month? Grapefruit is a breakfast favorite, because it’s a fat, sodium and cholesterol free way to start your day, with a healthy boost of vitamins A and C. You get energy, immune protection and great taste.
With all the great benefits of grapefruit, why not start some of your February mornings off right with a little freshly squeezed grapefruit juice with breakfast? (more…)
Caramel Nut Tart
2 cups mixed toasted almonds, pecans and walnuts,
¾ cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp salt
½ cup cold butter, cut in large pieces
2 egg yolks
¾ cup butterscotch caramel topping
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
In large bowl of A Black & Decker food processor, combine 1 cup nuts, flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt and butter. Using pulse, process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolks and process to blend. Press against sides and bottom of ungreased 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Bake in preheated Oven at 350º F for 20 minutes, until edges begin to lightly brown. Remove from oven and place on rack.
Meanwhile, coarsely chop remaining 1 cup nut mixture. In medium bowl, combine caramel topping, heavy cream, egg and vanilla. Blend well. Stir in nuts and spoon into prepared tart shell. Bake 25 minutes longer or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack.
Serve warm with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.
French Chocolate Silk Tart
12 chocolate refrigerator wafers, broken into large pieces
3 tbsp. melted butter or margarine
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted and cooled
½ tsp. vanilla extract
In large bowl of Black & Decker Food Processor, using pulse, crush cookies to fine crumbs. In medium bowl, combine chocolate crumbs with melted butter and 1 tbsp. sugar. Toss to blend. Press on bottom and up sides of 2 4-inch tart pan.
Bake in preheated Oven at 350º F for 10 minutes, until edges begin to lightly brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
Meanwhile, in medium deep bowl, cream remaining ¼ cup butter using A Hand Mixer set at medium speed, gradually adding remaining ¼ cup sugar. Beat until lemon colored and fluffy. Stir in cooled chocolate. Add egg and beat 5 minutes on medium speed until very light and airy. Spoon into baked and cooled tart shells. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
If desired, garnish with sweetened whipped cream.
Makes 2 servings.
Use one of our Black & Decker Toaster Oven
1 round of refrigerated pie pastry
1 medium red pepper, chopped
2 large shallots, chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
2 ½ cups coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach leaves
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil leaves
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup evaporated low fat milk
2 cups shredded low fat Italian cheese blend
Preheat toaster oven at 375º F. Roll out pastry dough to fit 9-inch glass pie plate with standing rim. Flute edges as desired. Bake the empty pastry shell for 8 minutes. Remove to cooling rack.
Heat electric skillet to 400º F. Cook red pepper and shallots in oil several minutes to soften. Add spinach and garlic. Cook 1 minute to soften spinach.
In large bowl, blend eggs, milk and cheese. Stir in spinach mixture. Spoon into partially baked crust. Place in oven and cover loosely with aluminum foil, gently folding edges over crust without touching the cheese mixture. Bake at 375º F. for 35 minutes or until filling is puffed and set.
Cool on rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 8 servings.
Did you know that kids who eat most often with their families are 40% more likely to maintain A’s and B’s in school than kids who don’t?[1] They’re also less likely to try drugs and alcohol and more likely to share problems and issues with their parents when they come up.
For these reasons and so many others, people everywhere are making a commitment this year to set aside more time to spend with the family and eat more at home. It can be tricky to do, though—particularly with busy schedules and not enough hours in the day.
If you want to bring the family together more, let your appliances help by making mealtime easy. With just a little planning and your favorite small appliances, you can create hot, delicious meals even with busy and conflicting schedules. That way, you can sit down with the family and spend more time with your kids than the average 38.5 minutes per week.[2]
Here are some tips to making family meals a resolution reality this year:
1. Keep it simple enough for your schedule
Family meals don’t have to be 5-star productions to be delicious—if you have time to do one that’s great, but most people don’t (particularly on weekdays). You can use prepackaged dinners and spice them to your family’s taste, or alter your favorite recipes to make them semi-homemade so you finish cooking quicker.
2. Make your meal plan for the week in advance
By organizing what you’re going to make for the week in advance, you can find places to streamline and simplify your meal prep. You can also identify days that are hectic, so you can plan something really easy if you won’t have time that day to cook.
3. Develop an arsenal of easy-to-do favorite recipes
Keep these on-hand to help with weekly meal planning, because you don’t want to reinvent the wheel at every meal. Make sure these recipes are liked by your entire family, since will be appearing more than once on the table. They are particularly good for your busy days, since you’re comfortable preparing them quickly.
4. Keep an eye on tastes and trends
To break up the weekday routine of your normal go-to recipes, keep an eye out for new flavors, tastes and trends and use them to inspire you in the kitchen. Often,you can take hot new food trends, like Panini and flatbread sandwiches, and do them quickly and easily at home.
5. Make a big deal out of weekend meals
Aside from having your weekday dinners in order, also look to weekend meals to bring the family together even more. You can use big family breakfasts as a good excuse to get the kids out of bed, too. Also try family pizza or burger nights to make sure everyone still sits down together in the evening, even though its the weekend.
[1] http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760-2,00.html
[2] http://dinnertrade.com/568/interesting-statistics-on-family-dinners
For many of us, ironing is a fact of life we try to get through as quickly and painlessly as possible, but we often spend more time ironing than we need to because we end up fighting with the iron to get the job done. The First Impressions ™ Cord Reel Iron (ICR500 series) is designed to end the fight with your iron, so your clothes are ready faster and without a hassle.
Have you ever taken twice as long ironing because you spent half your time moving the cord out of the way? The First Impressions iron is specially designed to solve cord troubles with a cord reel system keeps the cord on the top side of the iron as you work, then retracts for storage at the touch of a button. This way, you don’t have to constantly push the cord out of the way as you iron or wait for the iron to cool down to store the cord.
In addition, the First Impressions iron also takes the guesswork and hassle out of steam ironing, too. A Smart Steam® system adjusts the amount of steam automatically based your fabric setting, so you don’t have to guess how much steam you need. Then the INOX stainless steel nonstick soleplate glides easily over fabric as you steam, so your clothes are wrinkle-free without needing several passes.
Plus, if you need wrinkle-free clothes in even less time, a vertical steam option lets you skip the ironing board entirely and simply steam clothes directly on the hanger. This makes weekday morning work clothes and quick touchups fast and easy, so your clothes still look flawless even if you had limited time to get ready.
Regular cleaning to keep your iron free of mineral deposits for optimal performance is easy, too. Just use the Auto Clean® system to wash out any mineral deposits left on the soleplate at the touch of a button. Additional features include our anti drip system to keep water spots off fabric, a Comfort Grip® handle for an easy hold and 3-way automatic shutoff for added peace of mind during use.
The First Impressions iron is available in white with a variety of decorative water tank colors to suit your personal style. You can purchase it online or in most major retailers nationwide.
The New Year is in full swing and you may be hitting that wall where keeping up with your resolutions is getting difficult. Although you started the year strong and motivated, the daily grind of your busy schedule is starting to get in the way. You simply run out of time taking care of life to have any time left to improve it.
So how do you make the time to keep up with your resolutions? Let your appliances help by simplifying the tasks you do every day. This way, you have more time to tackle your resolutions and make changes that will really stick this year.
To help you find those few extra minutes you need to accomplish your resolutions, here are some of our favorite time-saving tips:
#1 Set Morning Coffee the Night Before
If you want to free up time in the morning, preprogram your morning coffee to brew automatically to save a few extra minutes each day. With a 24-hour programmable coffeemaker, your coffee brews automatically so it’s ready when you are. Plus, if you’re looking for a full, fast breakfast, add a toasted bagel or your favorite toaster pastry for a full meal with almost no work in the morning.
#2 Make Smoothies and Snacks at Home for the Kids
Taking care of kids and making sure they’re settled after school takes time out of each afternoon. Often, you end up driving to get after school snacks, but there are easier options for at home that will save hours in your day—as well as money in your wallet.
With an easy clean blender, you can make your kid’s favorite smoothies in a snap, then clean up at the touch of a button. Use frozen fruit that’s already sliced or cut for the ultimate convenience or make it fresh for more distinctive flavors. Once you’re done, fill the blender with water and a few drops of dish soap, then press the Fast Clean button for no-fuss cleanup in a snap.
For hot snacks, there’s nothing better than a one-touch digital countertop oven. The one-touch programming features buttons for cookies, pizza and frozen snacks, so you can make all your kid’s after school favorites in a snap. Plus, since the preheat and cook times are already programmed, there isn’t any guesswork so you can concentrate on your other tasks.
#3 Get More Done with Easy Weekend Breakfast and Lunch
It never fails that you leave resolution to-do’s for the weekend in the hopes you’ll have time, but then your whole weekend gets away from you. Often, it feels like you spend the whole time in the kitchen making extra weekend meals for the family.
For fast and easy weekend meals, try something like a griddle, waffle maker or sandwich maker. With your favorite pre-made batter and a waffle maker, you can make a great family breakfast in just a few minutes without a lot of work. For a bigger brunch or lunch, a 3-in-1 waffle maker, grill and griddle lets you make eggs, bacon, sausage and waffles in a snap—all with the same appliance, so cleanup is minimized, too.
#4 Use Easy-Clean Features & Accessories to Streamline Cleanup
No matter which appliances you use to help simplify your life, always take advantage of the easy-clean features, particularly with dishwasher-safe accessories. Just by simplifying the cleanup on your most-used appliances, you’ll save a few extra minutes each time you use them. Most removable parts and accessories on Black & Decker appliances are dishwasher-safe, so you can skip the time spent hand-washing at the sink.
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