Category Archives: Food


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Ho-ho-ho Green Giant


Thanks to Product Hoochie, I have recently joined BzzAgent, and unlike other “freebies” websites, this one seems more legit than others. Maybe because I’ve been getting and will be getting a lot of products to try and review, maybe because it’s easier and hassle free?!

Today’s post is dedicated to the Green Giant Veggie Snack Chips, that I got in the mail last week!

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What was in my box?

  • A FREE full-size bag of Green Giant™ Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips with Zesty Cheddar
  • A FREE full-size bag of Green Giant™ Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips with Sea Salt
  • 4 Sample pouches that were immediately utilized by my husband as an addition to his lunch (that I pack every day!)
  • Pass-along coupons

Here is what Green Giant says: 

  • Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips with Zesty Cheddarare crispy tortilla chips made with real vegetables like carrot, broccoli, and tomato, plus 17g of whole grain
  • Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips with Sea Salt are made with real sweet potatoes and 14g of whole grain, with 40% less fat than regular potato chips*
  • *Green Giant™ Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips (6g per 28g serving) have 40 percent less fat than regular potato chips (10g per 28g serving).

Here is what I think:

Sweet potato chips taste just like any other sweet potato chips, and are nothing extra ordinary. They are a good snack, and that’s just about it! I am not a huge fan of sweet potatoes to begin with, but I can tolerate it in this shape and form!

Zesty cheddar taste very similar to Doritos, but don’t leave you with orange fingers like the latter, so I guess that’s good! But they aren’t that healthy, as you might think they are in the beginning! I tried them with hummus, and that tasted good, but again, nothing that made my taste buds explode!

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Am I going to buy this product? Maybe, depends on whether or not it’s on sale, and whether or not I can use my coupons on it. Otherwise, it’s really nothing new and different!

Let me know what you think of these, whether you got them for free, or bought at the store!

Cheers,

Z

PS. This product was sent to me for free through BzzAgent

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My Adventures in Juicing


Yes, dear readers, I fell a victim to one of the most popular trends that can take place in your kitchen – juicing! Having watched some documentary on Netflix, I think it was called Hungry for Change, I started researching and googling different juicers everywhere I went! I kid you not, I tweeted about juicers, stalked people on Instagram, asking them which one they use, etc etc

And finally I got one! A GE 800 watt Juice Extractor:

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This juicer usually runs for about $50, and is considered a good started juicer. I bought it for $25, at the Salvation Army Target Overstock in the Warehouse District in Minneapolis (let me know if you need directions ;) )

There were two juicers there at the time, this one, and another, I forget the brand, but it cost $60! Knowing me, and my husband, who didn’t want to spend the extra money, I got the cheaper one, besides it came with the box, which made me trust it more! I also took it all out, including the instructions, read everything 3 times over, including 20+ reviews on the internet (which went from great juicer to this product sucks) and headed for the check out!

Let me be honest with you, so far it’s great! I am not going to say that it’s the best $25 I’ve ever spent, no I don’t think so, but I got myself a pretty good deal, a great juicer, and a healthier diet thanks to it!

Of course when you buy a product like this your first urge is to juice everything in the house, even the foods that don’t go in there! Hold your urge! Talk to friends or read blogs about juicing, then start your process!

Here is what I learned after 1 week of everyday juicing:

- Never ever juice a grapefruit!

- Tomato juice is actually pink, not red!

- One cucumber contains about 12 oz of juice!

- Carrot juice is neon orange and I love it!

- One 8 oz glass of fresh juice will last you up to 5 hours with no food!

- There are way more people who juice on Instagram than I thought!

- Juicing is considered a part of raw foods movement

- Some people recommend to detox using fresh juice 3 days out of the month, every month!

- I have been doing dishes more regularly with the juicer!

- It’s better to juice into a tall glass than a short glass (just because it’s easier to prevent spilling)

- You can use left over pulp for muffins or combine it with cat/dog food!

There is so much to learn about this, and even though I sound sarcastic at times, I am absolutely happy with my new toy! Sam on the other hand isn’t, he says it’s gross! And asks me not to let him smell it :)

Now about the juices! I have been trying to document each and every one of them on Instagram last week, to make it easier for me when I was going to blog about it! I think it worked:

Carrot and apple juice (about 2 apples and 4 carrots for 8 oz)

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Orange, carrot and kiwi juice (I can’t remember how much I used of each fruit now, but I know for sure there was only 1 kiwi!)

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Cucumber, celery, tomato (loved this combo, and cucumber juice alone!)

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Pineapple, celery juice

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Have you ever tried juicing? If so, how did you like it?

Have a great day everyone,

Xo,

Z


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Rice Turkey Soup


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Yes, everyone, I am only now dealing with my Thanksgiving leftovers. I don’t remember if I told you, but one of the moms at the school where I work, decided to give me a turkey the night before Thanksgiving. I am not going to lie – it was an awesome surprise! So I baked it on friday after Thanksgiving (it needed to thaw and all that jazz), and we’ve been trying to destroy it ever since, but it hasn’t been working out very well. Even though Sam takes turkey sandwiches for lunch to work, there is only so much turkey one can eat. So last Sunday I decided it was time to make turkey soup, plus clean out my fridge from all the vegetables.

Here is what I did, and here is how I mainly cook soups. I take the biggest pot I have, fill it about 2/3 way up with water, throw in a chicken bullion cube, and let it come to a boil. Meanwhile I chop up the veggies. This time I used:

1 Green pepper

1 Zucchini

3 carrots

1/2 onion

I was so lazy I didn’t even sauté carrots and onions, though I usually do that!

Then I threw in 1 cup of rice and as much cooked turkey as I wanted (we still have a whole other container!)

Once the water was boiling, I threw all of the above into the pot for about 20-25 minutes, just make sure rice is thoroughly cooked! And don’t forget to turn the burner on low! Don’t forget bay leaves, I love mine from Penzey’s spice, and of course, salt and pepper, and maybe a little garlic!

 


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Russian Blini (Crepes) Recipe


 

Being Russian doesn’t mean that you are oh-so-good at cooking Russian food! I’ve mastered a lot of it. Making soups and stews is a piece of cake! I could make salads (or as one of my friend’s referred to them “cold casseroles”) every day. But Russkie Blini have always been a challenge for me. Every time I’d try to make them, they’d turn out as pancakes! And if you know the difference between a pancake and a crepe, well – that’s a big fail! The worst was when they’d turn out as something in between crecake? or maybe panpe? But last Sunday I feel like I’ve conquered it, and all I needed to do was to follow my aunt’s recipe, which is tried and true. It’s also no family secret, that’s why I am sharing it with you!

Here is what you’ll need:

2 cups of flour

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups of milk (you can cheat here and divide the given amount in half and substitute milk with water)

1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl (you can cheat and use a mixer, I won’t tell anybody!)
Then add 1-2 tbsp oil into batter.
And you are ready to FRY!!!
Sam likes his crepes with syrup, but I am more creative – I love them with Nutella and bananas, or strawberries, or blueberries…
Have an awesome Thanksgiving everyone and Black Friday, if you do that, of course!
I’ll be back on Friday with a new post for you!
Cheers,
Z


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Tuna Soup


I am going through my soup stage. Plus it’s one of those dishes, that will last a while. I never freeze my soups though, I know some people do, but I prefer to just finish it during the week.

Today I was super excited to try making Tuna Soup, like my grandma used to, when I was little.

Here is the recipe:

1 Onion

3 carrots

4 potatoes

2 cans of tuna (I used one in water, I believe you can also get one in oil, but I would recommend tuna in water for this recipe)

salt, pepper, dill or parsley (if you are into that stuff ;) )

You are going to start up by dicing the potatoes and boiling them in about 2 liters of water. Please don’t hate me for going all metric on you. If you are like me, you’ll wing it :)

 

Now you want to fully cook the potatoes, so give them about 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, prepare the carrots and the onions:

 

I used butter to sauté the vegetables, but if you want to, you can use oil :)

 

You are going to add the veggies and the tuna to the potatoes, once those are thoroughly cooked,

then let it cook for 10 more minutes or so, add salt, pepper, some dill, parsley if you want to, and you are done!

 

 

Enjoy the yumminess! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Xo,

Zhenya

 


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Sorrel Soup


The what? The who? And where did I get it? First of all, here is what sorrel looks like:

 

It’s nice and sour, I remember eating it as a child, it’s amazing with sugar! Stumbling across sorrel while walking in the forest was considered the best of luck, but that was back when I was 7, of course. I don’t know if it grows in the wild here, but in Russia it did :)

Fortunately for me, my mother-in-law is growing some sorrel in her garden. And fortunately for you, I am going to share one of the best recipes of my childhood with you today!

1. You are going to start by making a broth (unless you are using a pre-made broth), I always make chicken broth, because I always seem to have chicken in my freezer. I really hope you know how to make chicken broth, but just in case you don’t, here is how:

- bring 1.5 lb of chicken in 64 oz of water to a boil, removing the foam from the surface;

- add 1 diced onion, and 1 graded carrot, boil for 45 minutes;

- add salt, pepper and bay leaf, boil for another 15 minutes;

- take out the chicken, cut it into small pieces, get rid of the bone (if you were using chicken on the bone), rid of the onion and carrot, toss those,

And your broth is done!

2. Wash and cut sorrel, make sure to get rid of the stems, unless you really want those in your soup ;) .

3. Peel and slice 5 potatoes, dice another onion and grade one more carrot.

4. Sautee the onion and the carrot.

5. Bring broth to a boil, add the potatoes, and cook for 15-20 minutes.

6. Add onions and carrots, cook for 5 more minutes.

7. Add sorrel and cook for 2 more minutes.

8. Finally add the chicken, salt and pepper.

This soup is meant to be served with sour cream and half a boiled egg :)

 

 

I hope you try this recipe, fall is here, and hot soup is one of my favorite foods of the season :)

Xo,

Z

PS. I’ll have an update post tomorrow, just to share what’s been going on in my life :)

 


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DIY Basil Limeade


My in-laws are wonderful people, they introduce me to amazing new stuff, a lot of times it’s something I would’ve never thought to try on my own, this time it was Basil Limeade, that came in a fancy bottle like this:

 

And apparently cost top dollar.

So I decided to make my own, plus my mother-in-law grows her own basil, so all I had to get were limes :)

Thanks to my fab new iPad and Epicurious app, I found a recipe for Basil Limeade in no time.

Here is how it goes:

 

But oh wait, we gotta make the syrup first ;)

 

So I got all the ingredients ready:

 

Then simply followed the steps mentioned above (the only difference though – I used zest of 2 limes, 2 cups of basil and lemon juice, instead of lime!):

 

I put the syrup into the fridge, so now I can have a glass of that basil goodness any time I want. Plus I am determined to get some seltzer tomorrow (or any type of unflavored carbonated water), I just love my lemonade bubbly! It also inspired me to make my own pesto!

I personally think this was a success, and probably a lot cheaper than buying a bottle of limeade in the first place.

Would you try something like this?

xo,

Z


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“Clean Out Your Fridge Soup” of the day


I was experimenting with some veggies the other day and decided to make a soup. The thing is, I sometimes buy the products that I cannot possibly finish and I either have to throw them or use them ASAP. And what can be better than making some good filling soup? I know, the Russian in me will always love her soups! So here it goes, my very own recipe for “Clean out your Fridge Soup”.

Assuming you are like me and your fridge is ridiculously overstuffed with fruits and vegetables. For some reason the first ones always go faster than the second ones. Anyways, you want to decide which veggies are going to go into your soup! I took out some potatoes, one onion, one package of celery, 4 carrots, half a cabbage, two tomatoes, one beet, and a can of garbanzo beans (love them!) You are also going to need some stock, I used vegetable one, just because I had some and wanted to use it up!

So first you want to cut it all up – however you want it, small, medium or large – it’s your soup – go ahead and experiment. You are going to start off by frying the onions and the carrots. I just put a little oil on the bottom of the pot and fried in it, that’s

a) less dishes to do

b) you are going to add other veggies to sauté later, and do you really want to deal with moving it all from the pan to the pot? I don’t think so!

Then you are slowly one by one going to add celery and tomatoes.

Once those have been in the pot for a couple minutes, add cabbage and beets.

This is also when you want to add the stock – the amount of stock depends on the size of your pot, I put in one regular sized carton of stock and the rest I filled with water.

Last you want to add potatoes and garbanzos. Bring it all to a boil, and then let it simmer for about 25-30 minutes. I usually check whether my soup is ready or not by checking on the potatoes!

This recipe is great for the summer, and the soup can be served hot, warm or cold. Since there is no meat, it is also vegan and vegetarian (as long as you are not using chicken stock ;) )

This soup is best served with lemon juice, salt and pepper, but you are free to use whatever spices you like.

Another thing – as one of my friends commented and said - Gute Fart! – it will make you go, more than you want, but not more than you need. It’s a great recipe for all of you out there trying to lose weight. I wasn’t trying to lose anything, except for maybe the produce from the fridge :)

I hope you give this recipe a shot and definitely let me know how yours turned out, what veggies you used and how you liked it!

And finally, you can also watch a video tutorial on how to make this soup, but it’s all in Russian:

Soup of the day

Hope you all had a great weekend!

xo,

Z

PS. Did you notice? I now don’t blog on weekends!


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Easter the Hutsons’ way!


Yay for Easter and holidays and a day off :) Anyways I am going to start today’s post with my outfit of the day! The skirt was an amazing $12 find from Old Navy! The sheer blouse is something I got at Ragstock last week and the under shirt is something I’ve had for years! The shoes are pretty old too, I’ve had them since Russia!

I also made a traditional Russian Easter cake called “Kulich” – just some raisins and icing, and it turned out really good! I honestly didn’t expect that at all :) Hehe

Once we got to my in-laws house, Sandra surprised me with spicy Korean carrots (those are super popular in Russia!)

While waiting for dinner, we entertained ourselves by adding on to the diorama!

Can you guess what we’ve added? Heh!

And after dinner we were all enjoying the view and taking pictures. Sam and I don’t have a lot of pictures together, so we finally took one!

And I took one with my mother-in-law as well :) How gorgeous are we?

And finally, I just wanted to share some of the beautiful scenery with you, add on bird sounds and a little breeze and you get our Easter Day!

Happy Easter everyone!

xoxo

Zhenya


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Sunday Chore Day: DIY Scented Linen Spray and other small things in life


Since yesterday was super busy for us, super busy meaning I went nuts baking wise, and made beer bread:

And Russian Semolina Cake aka Mannik:

The DIY spree continued into today, and started with laundry, and later making this scented linen spray:

DIY Scented Linen Spray

It’s easy, it’s ECO and PET friendly, it’s cheap – what can be better?

Plus I finally got my hands on the clothes that needed to be fixed, so the buttons got re-sewn, holes got fixed, and I can finally wear the clothes in public without being embarrassed of myself! I still have a couple things waiting to be altered, but watching South Park and eating cheese sticks with my husband sounds a lot more appealing now :)

xo,

Z

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