Is it really only one week until Thanksgiving?! Wow…this month has flown by. We still have to decide what we are bringing to Thanksgiving dinner this year. We just haven’t been thinking about it as much as we have in years past. Perhaps it’s because some of our favorite things lately are more geared towards Christmas…

1. Edy’s Peppermint Ice Cream

AND

2. Milano Dark Chocolate Melts
While these are really two separate things in our list this month, we decided to place them together for the picture and description because they are made for each other! Every Christmas season, we get hooked on peppermint ice cream. When I say “hooked”, I mean we eat it every. single. night. For years we have been trying to find the perfect chocolate cookie to serve with the ice cream. In our minds, we knew what the cookie should look and taste like, but we never found them in any stores. Milano Cookies to the rescue!!! These chocolate cookies with their creamy chocolate filling are INSANE! Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and so tasty. They are the perfect companion to Edy’s Peppermint ice cream. Next time you go to the store, get these two items and eat them for dessert. You will thank us…and then you will hate us because you will want to eat it every night. Good luck.

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It’s time again for our monthly list of 5 Favorite Things! Fall food is in full force right now and that is clearly evident by this month’s selections.

1. Squash
For whatever reason, Fall makes us crave all foods involving squash. We’ve already made Spaghetti Squash with Veggie Ragù once this year and we have two squash meals on the menu for this week. Don’t worry, we’ll share the recipes with you. There is just something comforting about eating warm squash for dinner when it’s cool outside!

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It’s time again for our 5 Favorite Things! We really didn’t plan it out this way, but 3 of the 5 things are dairy products and another one (Bialetti) uses dairy products. I guess we just love us some dairy!!!

1. Bialetti
We realize that we just devoted an entire post to our new Bialetti espresso and cappuccino maker, but it is so awesome that it deserves to be mentioned here again. Seriously…this set is only $50 and compared to most nice espresso machines out there, that’s a steal! We use it daily and are slightly addicted…

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The Iowa State Fair starts today! How many of you Iowans are headed there? We are going next Wednesday night so we can see The Band Perry play for free! The fair and the Sweet Corn Festival in Dave’s hometown of Adel, Iowa, always mark the end of summer for us. In just a couple weeks, school and football season start back up! Before summer slips away, here are 5 of our favorite food products for August.

1. Norwex – Microfiber Cloths and Cleaning Products
We’ve recently been introduced to a company called Norwex. They sell antibacterial microfiber cloths which means you can clean without using chemicals or disposable products saving you time and money. Here is what they say about their product:

“The antibacterial agent is actually embedded inside the tiny microfiber, so when the cloth is used with only water to clean surfaces, it will remove 99.9% of the bacteria, fungi, etc.  Most microfiber cloths that can be purchased at retail stores are made from fibers 1/6th the size of a strand of human hair. Norwex’s microfiber is 1/100th that size which means that it can hold up to 7 times its weight in water and it acts like bionic sponges removing dirt and bacteria to leave clean, polished surfaces.”

Pretty awesome huh?! Well, we think so! We’ve used many of their cloths all over the house and have been so impressed! They even have a cloth that is just for fruits and vegetables. It has one side that is softer for produce like berries and mushrooms. Then the other side is coarser for scrubbing potatoes and apples. Gotta love getting all that junk off our food! We’re actually going to put in an order at the end of the month (working our way toward the mopping system!) If you’re interested, check our their website and let us know if you want to order something. We’ll get it added to our order for you! It’s totally worth it.

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1. Mason Jars
When we’re really lucky, Grandma Betty will bless us with the most delicious plum jam ever created! We can’t get enough of that stuff. But when the jar is empty, we repurpose it for many different things. We use them to mix and store salad dressings most often. But they are also great for storing herbs to keep them bright and fresh. We have a jar on our counter to keep our homemade granola handy. We have a couple in the bathroom to hold cotton balls and Q-tips. We’ve used them to decorate the mantle by filling them with dried beans and split peas in the fall…beautiful with a few baby pumpkins. They make a beautiful vase for Marley’s handpicked bouquets (dandelions and violets). Jars are great to keep on hand for quick and easy packaging for foodie gifts. The list goes on and on. Now I think we should make some Arnold Palmers and drink them out of a tall chilled Mason jar. Oh yeah….bring on the summertime goodness!

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We really didn’t plan on this happening, but every dinner that we have made so far this week has been on the grill.  We love grilling in the summer and often try to find ways to grill our entire meal (including dessert). Since this week is full of grilled food for us, we decided that highlight 5 of our favorite grilling items.

1. Char-Broil Infrared Grill
Last spring we had to retire the gas grill that we were given for our wedding. It had served us well, but after six years it was time to put it to rest. I (Dave) was so tired of having to constantly rotate food around the grill to the “hot spots.” When we were looking for a new grill, we considered making the switch to charcoal, but ultimately decided we still wanted the convenience of a gas grill. When I was researching to find which gas grill to buy, I kept coming across something called an “Infrared Grill.” I ignored it at first because I thought that sounded too high-tech and crazy for a grill. But once I started researching the Char-Broil Infrared Grill, I realized that it could potentially be the best purchase that we could make.

The Char-Broil Infrared Grill is still a gas grill that uses flames to get the cooking process started. Placed between the flames and cooking grates are infrared surfaces. These surfaces get really, really hot (700°), so as soon as your food touches the grill it sears and locks in all the juices and flavor. But you don’t have to just cook things at a super high temperature. You can also cook food low and slow. And because of the infrared surfaces, there are no longer “hot-spots” and “cold-spots.” Your grilling surface temperature can be the same in every spot on your grill! Also, since there is an infrared surface between your grates and flame, you no longer have to worry about grease dripping down and causing flare-ups, which can burn your food.

I could go on and on and on, but it all comes down to this: With the Char-Broil Infrared Grill, your food will be more flavorful and it will be easier and faster to make.

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It’s hard to believe we have been on this blogging journey for just over one month now. It’s so much fun to do and there are lots of exciting things coming up on the horizon! If you are new to 1 cup Awesome, you may have missed a post from our first week, 5 Favorite Things: March 2011. Each month, we’ll share five of our favorite food items with you and hopefully, you’ll share some of yours with us! Without further ado, here are our 5 Favorite Things: April 2011.

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