It's Always Sunny In...

I recently received my first perk of blog writing. Now - writing the blog and having people actually read it is perk enough for me, but I mean that I received my first opportunity via blog. After my post on using the Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cheesecake recipe for H's b-day cake, TKTC offered me the opportunity to do a product review on Philadelphia's new flavored spreads. From what I can gather from her blog, TKTC has the world's most rockin' job for anyone that is interested in writing about food and she works on the PR campaign for Kraft. So she overnighted me a lovely package of with Philadelphia's Tomato Basil and Spinach and Artichoke Cream Cheese spreads, two boxes of crackers, and a cheese spreader and all I had to do in return was write about eating it! Seriously, not a fair trade on her part. Especially because as I have mentioned before, trying new products is one of my greatest joys in life (behind eating of course).






Needless to say, last week I ate cheese and crackers for dinner every night and I did not share. The tomato basil spread on its own tastes a little too much like pizza flavor to me. But I think it would be perfect for making a little cracker hors d'oeuvres with a piece of chorizo or an olive. Oh but the spinach and artichoke... yum yum yum. This one I could eat plain out of the tub - it is so good. I didn't have time to think of any other ways you could use it because it was just so good I couldn't stop myself from eating the whole container. I would defintiely use this to entertain with. I'm not sure if these are sold in stores yet or not, I haven't seen them, but I also have only looked at one very shady grocery store I visited over the weekend.


Why would I visit a shady grocery store you ask? I have this habit of stopping at the grocery store in nearest proximity to whatever random place I happen to be. I think I have shopped in the majority of grocery stores in the greater Cleveland area. I find that most people go to the same one or two grocery stores for the most part, but I am seriously all over the place. This weekend I was over on W. 117th and just needed some butter so I could make some banana muffins for Easter brunch (recipe below - turned out very nicely) so I stopped at this shady establishment that I cannot remember the name of.

Anyways, after a week of eating cream cheese for dinner and eating only sugar on Easter, I have put myself on yet another diet. This blog is gonna be taken over by healthy recipes!

Banana Muffins
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (I omitted cuz I don't like nuts in baked goods)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.