Bacon Playing Cards: The Perfect Stocking Stuffer For Your Bacon Loving Man

Here's a fun stocking stuffer for the man or teenager in your life.  Please forgive me, I know women love bacon, too but somehow these cards seem like the perfect gift for a man. They'd also be great as a small novelty or gag type gift at an office exchange. Heck you could even make a bacon themed gift set packed with a pound of bacon.

There's even a choice -- the first fully cooked bacon playing cards, the bacon recipe playing cards or the more traditional Bicycle brand cars. Bicycle is most recognized card company out there. 

I'm sharing them today because they retail for around just $10, because they made me smile and because they are a great idea for an inexpensive stocking stuffer.  Your bacon loving friends will be able to smell the bacon frying when they are playing with these cards.

Happy Shopping!
Brenda

Quick Link:

Buy these bacon-themed playing cards from Amazon.

Five Fun Inexpensive Kitchen Gifts For Men

If you are looking for a fun, practical and inexpensive kitchen gift for a man in your life and are looking to spend $20 or less, you will appreciate the five items that I found on my search for the same. Whether it is for a Secret Santa, Christmas, stocking stuffer, birthday, workplace, thank you or other gift exchange, you will find some fun and interesting options, all guaranteed to make you smile, right here on this page. Best of all, they are all suitable for men both young and old and they are all easily purchased from Amazon so that you can find your gift item without leaving the comfort of home!

First up is a very interesting cookbook called Eat Like a Man: The Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need. Written by Ryan D'Agostino, it offers up an interesting collection of recipes and has real food that men love to eat and wish that they knew how to cook. It includes recipes for soups, chicken and beef dishes, pizza, eleven types of hamburgers and more. Amazon calls this cookbook satisfying, sexy, definitive and doable and the customer reviews are solid. What more could a man want in a cookbook? Learn more or order your copy of Eat Like a Man: The Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need from Amazon by clicking right here.

Next is a simple bottle opener, which is definitely a practical gift but also a fun one. It is a stainless steel card themed, credit-card sized opener. Perfect for the card shark in your life! Not only is it suitable for a man's kitchen but it is equally at home wherever he hangs out be it in the man cave, bar, game room, cabin or cottage. It's slim and easily slips into your pocket if you are on the move. The best part? It's attractive and retails for considerably less than $10, which makes it a good gift idea and a great stocking stuffer, too.   You can find this clever bottle opener on Amazon here.

How about an apron? If the man on your list loves his BBQ, then this apron is a great choice.  I'm pretty sure my own personal grill master would love to own it.  You can find the Grill Master: The Man The Myth The Legend Apron on Amazon by clicking here. Yes, it is under our $20 goal and yes, it has top notch Amazon customer reviews with customers saying things like "he won't barbecue without it" and "cute apron or, rather, masculine and sexy apron."

Since bacon is hugely trendy right now you might consider the unusual  and definitely unique gift idea of bacon-covered chocolate. Marini's bacon-covered chocolate, which is shown here, is dipped in yummy Ghiredelli Chocolate. Noteworthy is the fact that it is Amazon's top-rated chocolate covered bacon. It is a novelty gift item that will surely generate conversation. Find Marini's bacon-covered chocolate on Amazon here.

Many men, I am sure not just the men in my family, love duct tape. It's an important part of their lives. It can be used to hold things together short or long term. My father-in-law actually had duct tape on his car bumper when I met him and my oldest son for years carried a wallet hand crafted by himself from his favourite colour of duct tape. Therefore, it only makes sense that a man would love a duct tape-themed coffee mug like this one.  If you know the king of duct tape or at least someone who uses it and laughs about it or thinks he is the king of duct tape, then this would be a great gift item. Heck you could even add a couple of rolls of duct tape to this gift idea and still be under our $20 budget! And yes, in our family it is more than OKAY to give the gift of duct tape at Christmastime, LOL.  You can find this duct tape mug on Amazon by clicking here.

I am wife to a man who prefers not to spend much time in the kitchen cooking though he does not mind cleaning up after someone else cooks his meals and I am mom to two twenty-something year old men who have flown the coop.  My sons were quite well trained in regard to the kitchen even if I do say so myself and they have a fair amount of cooking ability. More importantly, they do not mind being in the kitchen. I know that all three of the men in my life would enjoy receiving any of the fun kitchen-themed gifts on this page although the cookbook would not be a very practical gift choice for my husband.


See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

More Reading:

Find more aprons for men.

Halloween Treats Jigsaw Puzzle

LOVE, love, Love the wonderful selection of Halloween treats showcased on this jigsaw puzzle.

It's a 1000 piece puzzle recommended for individuals aged 9 and up.

It's a made in the U.S.A. product produced by EuroGraphics.

You can find this Halloween Treats jigsaw puzzle on Amazon by clicking right here. It's simply too yummy, don't you think? Note: Of late, I have had better luck finding this puzzle on eBay. You can check for yourself by clicking here.

If you had your choice of any treat from this image what would you choose?  I'm reaching for the Rest in Peace brownies...

See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

Quick Links:

Discover new, used and vintage jigsaw puzzles in my eBay store.

Free Martha Stewart Thanksgiving Recipe Booklet

Look what I found! A free Martha Stewart Living Radio Thanksgiving Recipe Booklet download that Martha released in conjunction with SiriusXM Satellite Radio in 2012.

It has 75 pages of coloured photographs and recipes and features recipes from Martha and from other chefs like Mario Batali, Amanda Freitag and Jonathan Waxman.

It includes items for all aspects of your dinner starting with beverages and appetizers and going right through to dessert.

Tucked away almost at the very end you will find wine and beer recommendations.

I have never considered serving beer and would be hard pressed to give up my glass of wine at Thanksgiving but I do have at least one son who likely would welcome a glass of beer with his turkey dinner since he does not enjoy wine.

You will also find at the end of the booklet a day-by-day Thanksgiving Planner as well as an empty Menu Planner and Shopping List for your personal use.

The booklet is a PDF booklet without any obligation. It comes with no cost and no need to register. Just follow the link to the PDF by clicking here: Martha Stewart Living Radio's Thanksgiving Recipe booklet and the booklet will magically appear before your eyes.  You can then choose to print it all or to print a single page in black and white or in colour. I just printed the wine and beer recommendations!

I am not cooking Thanksgiving Dinner this year but I am printing some of the pages from this booklet for future reference.   How about you? Will you be doing the same?

See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

Quick Links:

Download Martha Stewart Living Radio Thanksgiving Hotline Recipe Booklet.
Love Halloween? Don't miss my collection of Martha Stewart Halloween magazines!

Nordic Ware Pie Pan with Lid

Here's an interesting find, a Nordic Ware Naturals pie pan with lid.  It looks like a great tool for your kitchen, a dish to bake your pie in and a cover for it. 

It is constructed of even-heating rust-proof aluminium and a galvanized steel wire rim adds strength. 

The high lid provides room for a tall pie. 

Amazon customer Wordsmith says that this is a really good pie plate because it is heavy and solid. She says that the cover is slotted so that after it has cooled a bit you can put the cover on and head out the door!

If you need to transport your pies, this dish might be worth considering!

See you

in the kitchen!

Brenda

Quick Links:

Click here to buy this pie plate on Amazon.

The Best-Ever Chicken Pot Pie recipe.

Limited Edition Fried Chicken Oreo Cookies

I just read that the latest flavour in Oreos is Fried Chicken, which would fit with the food trend for chicken and waffles but if you are excited, prepare to be disappointed as it turns out that this very convincing graphic was created by an Instagram user who says, “it’s a joke my cousin sent me as a spin on the fruit punch cookie.”

If this cookie caught your eye, you have likely seen and maybe even tried some of the other flavours that Oreo has released over the years, which have included green tea, banana split creme, birthday cake, marshmallow crispy creme, blueberry ice cream, Reese's peanut butter cup and candy corn.

You can check out Amazon's complete collection of Oreo cookies by clicking right here.

Would you eat a Fried Chicken Oreo cookie? I think I would pass.

See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

Buy Oreo cookies on Amazon.
Learn more about chicken and waffles. 

Is That Doughnut or Donut?

Is it doughnut or donut?  Apparently, the official spelling for that oh-so delicious round piece of dough that is fried is "doughnut" although people have been using the spelling "donut" for a long, long time.  

The company Dunkin’ Donuts opened its doors to the public in the 1950s and has helped the shortened form of the word become even more popular.

The shortened word now appears instead of the longer, harder-to-spell form of the word, in about 33 percent of all American writings.  

If you don’t want to help promote the aforementioned company, you might wish to stick to doughnut. 

Whatever you call them, you can be sure they’re going to stick to your hips!

Which way do YOU spell it? Do you even care?

See you

at the doughnut shop!

Brenda

Quick Links to More Donuts:

The recipe for the Krispy Kreme Burger.

Find a Dunkin Donuts mug on eBay!

A Film About Coffee

Friends and family know that I do not drink coffee but that I have a keen interest in coffee mugs and the coffee world.  (I just happen to prefer tea in my coffee mug, LOL.)

Despite the fact that I do not drink coffee, a documentary film that I just read about is intriguing.

A Film About Coffee looks like an interesting film that touches on many aspects of the world of coffee -- from the beans to the cup before you.  It premières on April 26, 2014, in Seattle.  I'm not sure when the rest of us will be able to see it.

Check it out here in the official trailer: 



See you
in the kitchen.
Brenda

Quick Links:

A Film About Coffee
Enjoy some coffee in these movies.

Starbucks Never Empty Coffee Mug

  

What fun! These new Starbucks mugs never need to be refilled. The mug is a simple white mug with an unusual graphic detail on the bottom.   That is, the bottom is illustrated with your choice of a full Americano, a latte or a caramel macchiato. When you turn them upside down, they appear full...Never Empty. They were created for Starbucks in Japan by a company called Nendo.  

If you cannot make it to Japan, you might be lucky and find one on eBay. A look right now reveals a one of these mugs is available.  You can check for Starbucks' Never Empty mug by Nendo on eBay by clicking here.

See you 

in the kitchen! 

Brenda 

Hogsback Beer, The Dragon's Den & A Yummy Winter Menu Plan

We read with interest this week in our local newspaper, the Ottawa Citizen, that an Ottawa microbrewer, Hogsback Brewing, would be appearing on this week's version of the CBC television series the Dragon's Den.

In July, Hogsback Brewing went to the Dragons with the goal of obtaining investment capital from one of the Dragons to help increase the market for Hogsback's craft brew across Canada. The results of that visit will finally be know this week. However, I understand that simply appearing on the show may give a significant boost to the brewer's reputation and, as the newspaper says, "help them sell more suds." I certainly hope they were successful

After reading about the program, I headed straight for the LCBO and picked up some Hogsback Vintage Lager.  The newspaper said that Hogsback shipped two months worth of brew in anticipation of appearing on this week's television broadcast though, if they did, it was not readily apparent on the near-empty shelves of my LCBO. Nevertheless, I secured a few cans of the beer to serve to my dinner guests and I went home to make a menu plan based around this beer.

We wound up serving a simple but yummy, if I do say so myself, dinner menu that included a green salad, a basic beef stew, country seed bread and chocolate cake. We started our dinner by opening a beer and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

The Hogsback website calls the vintage ale an European-style lager that is crisp and flavourful. I really liked it and can even say that I liked it as much as I like Keith's India Pale Ale, the usual choice I would make if I had a beer.  I will definitely be buying more Hogsback Vintage Lager in the future.

How about you? Do you enjoy beer from a local craft brewery? We're certainly experiencing an explosion of craft breweries in Ottawa.

See you in
the kitchen!
Brenda

(Sorry about the empty cans in the picture. It never occurred to me to take a photograph until after the fact!)

Quick Links:

Visit the Hogsback website.
Read the Ottawa Citizen Hogsback story.
Find my green salad recipe.
Find my country seed bread recipe.

Beauty and the Beast Fairytale Designer Collection Coffee Mug

Every now and then I stumble across a simply handsome mug and have to share it here with you.

This time, I have found a Disney Store mug from the Fairytale Designer Collection that features Beauty and the Beast.

It holds 12 ounces of your favorite hot and steamy beverage and is both microwavable and dishwasher safe.

It is a handsome piece, in keeping with the collection and perfect for any fan of Disney's Beauty and the Beast movies.

I love coffee mugs because they are usually practical and affordable gifts that can be customized to the recipient's interests. Of course, when an item is rare, which is the case with this mug the price often goes up.

If you are interested in buying this mug, you can check to see if it is available on Amazon by clicking right here or you can check out this selection of Beauty and the Beast mugs from eBay. This list updates daily and sometimes the mug shown here on this page shows up. Good luck with your search if you are looking for this particular coffee mug. If not, I hope you find another one that pleases you.

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Be our guest!
Brenda

Quick Links:

Buy this Beauty and the Beast coffee mug from Amazon.
See the complete collection of Fairytale Designer Collection Princess mugs on Amazon.
Learn more about the Beauty and the Beast blu-ray movie release.