CSN Stores Review

A while back I was contacted by CSN Stores to do a review of one of their products. If you've never checked out CSN Stores, you should. They have over 200 online shops with items from kitchen ware to dining room sets to doggie beds. I mean, they have everything!

I've been cooking for years and never have owned a wooden block set of knives. Can you believe it? So I chose to review the Ronco Six Star Cutlery Set with the Ronco Rocker Knife.


This set comes with 20 knives of varying sizes and uses. I love that the knives themselves are labeled with numbers and names that correspond to their slots in the wooden block. What a great idea! Perfect for someone like me who can't remember where anything goes!


The knife handles are made of plastic and are lightweight, which some people might find unusual. But they are very well made and triple-riveted to the blades for durability. I can't say enough about the blades! I spent the better part of the weekend chopping up vegetables and cheese, not to mention bread and chicken. Each knife I used was a dream! The steak knives cut through cooked meat like butter.

I've seen knives of this quality sell for tons of money, but I got the Ronco Six Star set with wooden block for only $44.95. I think I got my money's worth this weekend alone, as much as I used them!If you're looking for an affordable, durable set of knives, I highly recommend this product.

The CSN site was very easy to navigate and the checkout process was smooth and simple. I had my knives in less than a week after I ordered them, too. I can tell you, this won't be the last time I order from CSN Stores. Christmas is coming and I'm going to start shopping early this year!

Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this review, other than a set of knives with which to conduct the review. All opinions are strictly my own and others may have different opinions about this product.

Blueberry Lemon Squares

Blueberries are in season now and I can buy them very cheaply at our local farmer's market. I could eat a gallon of them myself! But I don't. I make treats to share with others. Ha ha! I'm so giving.

Charles really liked these bars because they're not overly sweet. I liked them because of the subtle lemon flavor and slight crunch to the crust. They're the perfect choice for picnic fare because they hold together well and don't require refrigeration.

Here's what you'll need for the crust:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teas vanilla
2 cups flour

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the flour and beat just until the mixture forms small crumbs.


Press about two-thirds of the mixture into a greased 9-inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.


While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. You'll need:

1/2 cup sugar
3 TBSP flour
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/8 teas salt
3 eggs
2 cups blueberries

Combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt. Add the eggs and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.


Spread the blueberries evenly across the crust. Pour the filling over the blueberries.


Sprinkle the leftover crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the topping is golden and the filling is puffed. Don't forget to turn the oven temp down to 350!


Cool completely, then cut into squares. I cut 12 squares, then cut each one of those in half when we got to our destination.


Simply delicious!

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Menu Plan Monday - July 4-10

I hope y'all had a wonderful Fourth of July! Our church held the morning service outdoors under some shady pecan trees. Everyone came dressed in picnice attire and brought lawn chairs to sit in. After the patriotic-themed service, we had a potluck dinner and enjoyed some great fellowship. We are truly blessed to be Americans!

This week we'll be traveling to pick up our kids, who've spent the last two weeks at Grandma's. I can't wait to see them. It's been so quiet around here, and though I accomplished a bit of work and reading, I missed them more than I can say. But I'm happy they were able to make some lifelong memories with my parents.

Here's the menu plan:

Sunday
Potluck at church - I made Blueberry Lemon Squares

Monday
Refried beans and homemade tortillas (from my cooking lesson)

Tuesday
Out with friends

Wednesday
On the road

Thursday
Cookout at my brother's

Friday
Chinese chicken, rice

Saturday
Homemade pizza

Hope y'all have a great week!

Happy Birthday, America!

It never should have happened. A rough collection of thirteen colonies should never have been able to defeat the largest empire in the world. Britain had the best army, the best navy, and seasoned commanders. America had the light of freedom illuminating the hearts and souls of her soldiers and citizens.

That light still beckons people to come here and enjoy the liberty our forefathers fought so hard for. May we always be thankful for their courage and determination, and may we guard those freedoms vigilantly ourselves.

God Bless America!

Veggie Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an appetizer from central Italy that consists of bread, tomatoes, herbs and cheese. I made a variation of bruschetta today with fresh veggies and it was delicious! We ate it for lunch and had a snack of the leftovers later. It was so, so good! By the way, did you know that the Italian pronunciation of bruschetta is "Bru-sketta" not "Bru-shetta" like we usually say here in the US? Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Here's what I used:

8 slices of Italian bread, sliced 1-inch thick
2 TBSP olive oil
1 teas sea salt
1/2 teas garlic powder
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cucumber, seeded and diced
2 TBSP fresh minced basil
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine the olive oil, sea salt and garlic powder. Brush over both sides of the bread and place on a baking sheet. Okay, I know there are 9 slices of bread in this picture. One was the tiny little heel of the bread, so I just toasted it and ate it.


Toast at 425 degrees for about 5 minutes, or until the bread is browned. While the bread is doing its thing in the oven, mix the veggies, basil and feta cheese together.


Take the bread out of the oven and top with the veggie mixture. Follow that with a little mozzarella cheese on each slice.


Pop back into the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melty.



The feta cheese gave this a wonderful Mediterranean flair. Everything blended together perfectly to make a light, tasty lunch. If I wanted to serve these as appetizers, I would use a French baguette and slice them more thinly. They would make the perfect appetizer for a summer get-together.

For more delicious recipes, visit Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

It's a Social Parade!

I love meeting fellow bloggers and finding new blogs to follow. Smart and Trendy Moms is hosting a Social Parade so I do just that. Why don't you join in and link up your blog, too?

If you're new here, poke around a bit and check out some recent posts.

This one is a timely one about water safety. Not a pleasant thing to think about, but so very important!

And you can find some great summer recipes like Strawberry Angel Food Cake and Grilled Veggies . I've got tons of other great recipes, too. If you're looking for some fun activities for your kids, take a look at my posts on summertime boredom busters here and here.

Leave me a comment so I know you stopped by and have a wonderful, safe Fourth of July weekend!

Cooking Lesson!

Today I went over to my friend Cris' house for a cooking lesson. Her name is really Crisilda -isn't that a pretty name? Cris' parents immigrated to Texas from Mexico and raised a family of 8 children near San Antonio.

Cris is a legend in our church for her homemade burritos, tamales, and fajitas. She also makes killer breakfast burritos! I begged Cris to show me how to make tortillas after I got a tortilla press for Christmas. And today was the day! Yay!

Now, Cris cooks like I do, rarely measuring out ingredients, just eyeballing it until she gets it right. I'm going to have to practice a LOT to get as good as she is, though. As soon as I perfect a recipe, I'll share it with you.

But I'll leave you with a few cool tips she shared with me.

First, don't try to make flour tortillas in a tortilla press. They need to be rolled out. When rolling them, roll out away from you only. Turn the tortilla a quarter turn and roll again. Keep turning and rolling until you have a circular shape.


Cris could whip these babies out in no time! It took me longer and mine weren't as pretty as hers. But she assured me that practice makes perfect, so I'll be working on that skill often!

When shaping dough balls to be rolled out for flour tortillas, form a domed shape instead of a round ball. Like this.

It reminded me of a mushroom! Then turn the dome shape over to roll out. This prevents the edges of the tortilla from splitting and cracking. Cool tip, huh?

A tip for using a tortilla press is to place a a bread bag (cut open and flattened) on the press. Wet it with a little water so the corn dough doesn't stick. Then peel the plastic off the tortilla after your press them. Perfect every time!


I learned so much from Cris and had a ton of fun cooking with her. I'm really excited to try making these on my own!