Category: Alicia

Spanish Tortilla

8/14/2018

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.

Alicia back with another International Heritage recipe for you guys. This month we're doing Spain and so far it has been delicious! I was worried because I've not had much Spanish food in my life, and when I asked for suggestions I received ideas for dishes from other Spanish speaking countries but not Spain. But in the end my friends came through! Today's dish was the first suggestion I'd never heard of or tried. But I'm so glad I did, it will definitely be making its way onto our regular menu.

Tortilla de Papas

Today's recipe is Spanish tortilla, which is nothing like a Mexican tortilla (which I also love). No, the Spanish tortilla is a whole meal in itself.

If you know Spanish you'll know from the title of this section that it's a potato dish (papas=potatoes). And honestly when I first read the ingredients I thought I knew what this was going to taste like. But I was so wrong, in the best way! This is really one of my favorite things I've made so far for this experiment. There was almost a melt in your mouth quality to this. And although everything was fried in oil it wasn't too greasy! Just so, so, so good.

I do have a couple tips though. This is the first thing I made in my cast iron skillet and I think it added to the flavor. So if you have a skillet use it. Mine is 10.25 inches and I use it almost everyday now. I love it. So you need a skillet that's about 10 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep. And at one point you have to flip the tortilla out of the skillet. It's pretty easy but be sure to use oven mitts/pot holders to avoid burns.

Spanish Tortilla

Please make this for dinner some day. You will not regret it.

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Perks of Amazon Prime

8/3/2018

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**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.

Happy Friday! Today for Friday Faves I thought I would share my favorite perks of Amazon Prime, that even my friends who already have Prime aren't usually aware are available to them.

Everyone knows about the 2 day free shipping. Which has been so handy to me on many occasions. For example our air purifier needs a new filter. I can't find these anywhere in stores around me. I don't like to be without the filter because my house will need dusting multiple times a day (I'm not even joking, it's crazy dusty here). So I hop on Amazon and can have them here in a jiffy!

But there's so much more to having Amazon Prime that I really love. Take a look and see if you knew about these awesome perks!

The Perks of Amazon Prime

Amazon Music

Here's what my Prime Music homepage looks like.

You may have heard of Prime Unlimited Music, a subscription service similar to Apple Music, where you can listen to whatever music you want basically. But you don't have to subscribe to this service to take advantage of the music on Amazon. Just by being a prime member you have access to over 2 MILLION songs. They have playlists for different occasions, and even stations you can listen to (similar to Pandora). It's a great way to discover new artists too!

Try Amazon Music Unlimited Free Trial

Kindle First Reads

This is one of my favorite perks that I wasn't aware existed until a few months ago. Every month editors at Amazon choose 5 books that are going to be released soon (from different genres). As a Prime member you get to choose one of these books to be delivered to your kindle (or kindle app) for FREE! As well if you want more than one of the books offered, you can pre-order the kindle version for $4.99 or the hardcover version for $9.99! The extra books will be delivered to you when they are released to the public. It's a great deal! I've got some great books this way. Including A River in Darkness, a best selling book about a man's journey to escape North Korea, and a very cute children's book that my son loves because it's about a dinosaur; Don't Forget Dexter. Plus a lot more books. During Prime Day you could download all the books for free! It was awesome! Getting Kindle versions I can read on my phone makes it easy for me to carry a book to read without having to add one more thing to the already crowded diaper bag. So to summarize a free pre-release book, and discounts on other pre-release books.

Prime Reading

Prime reading functions like a digital library. You can borrow up to 10 ebooks at a time and there are no due dates. On some of these you can even borrow the Audible version of the book. AND there is a thing called WhisperSync that let's you seamlessly switch back and forth between listening to the book and reading it. I have used Prime reading when the book I want isn't available from my local library. And I love how there's no due dates so I can take my time reading. With thousands of titles available (including popular titles that can be difficult to get from the library) you're sure to find something to read. If this isn't enough there's also Kindle Unlimited which is an extra subscription service with even more books to borrow and read and no limits!

Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans

Unlimited Photo Storage

I love this because (especially since having babies) I take TONS of pictures. I have the Amazon photo app on my phone and it's set to automatically upload my pictures to Amazon. The unlimited is only for pictures so there is a limit to how many videos you can store. But it gives me peace of mind to know I'm not losing any precious moments because they're backed up on Amazon.

Audible

When Amazon bought Audible I just knew there was going to be some great perks that came with it. I was right. First there's Audible Channels available for Prime members. These are about 50 books that change periodically for Prime members to listen to for free without subscribing to Audible. And you can store audiobooks onto Audible without being a subscriber as well. Usually when you buy a book there's an option to add the Audible version for a discounted price! Such a great deal! Plus if you do subscribe to Audible and want to cancel, you can keep the books you bought for FREE. Oh and as a Prime member if you do sign up you get 2 free audiobooks.

There are many more perks to Prime that I could include (especially if you shop at Whole Foods) but these are my favorite that I use regularly. So did you know about these perks? Are you thinking of trying Prime now that you're aware? Let us know what your favorite is in the comments below.

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American Breakfast: Biscuits & Gravy

7/25/2018

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.

Alicia here, and I'm back with another American recipe. This time, a controversial one. Have you ever seen those lists of American foods, that the rest of the world doesn't understand or thinks is weird? Biscuits and Gravy is always on those lists. It's terrible because this classic American breakfast is super delicious. My father and my husband both claim it as their favorite. I hope you will enjoy this family favorite breakfast too!

Biscuits and Gravy

The foundation of great biscuits and gravy is a great biscuit. My mom always makes these biscuits from scratch and they're always delicious. Plus they are easily made vegan by subbing in almond milk for regular milk. These are always crispy on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside.They're the perfect base for her country gravy. Don't confuse American biscuits with British biscuits which are more like American cookies. American biscuits are more like scones, only more delicious.

My mom got her recipe from her Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, which was a wedding gift. I have a newer version of this classic cookbook and noticed some of the recipes are different (actually many of them). But she still uses this old classic so we share it with you here. If you don't have this recipe book in your own kitchen, you're missing out! We love it. When I was browsing the bookstore and found it on sale I had to buy it because I knew it was a well loved recipe book of my mother. A new version is coming out this year which you can preorder on Amazon.

Biscuits Supreme

To top your biscuits you need country gravy, which is thicker and creamier than brown gravy. My mom has been making this gravy for as long as I can remember and it's so delicious. And it's pretty easy too. So stay away from the country gravy packets in stores and make your own gravy, trust me! My mom's is not as white as the gravy packet kind, and that's because it uses the bits from the pan where you cooked the bacon and sausage. A cast iron pan is perfect for this because it helps to develop a great flavor.

I recently bought one because I have so many recipes that call for a pan that can go from the stove top to the oven. I'm so excited to use it and make my delicious recipes. Amazon still has a lot ofgreat deals on cast iron pans, so if you're thinking about getting one, now's the time!

Grandma's Country Gravy

On the side you can, of course, enjoy the bacon and sausage used to make the gravy. Add some eggs and orange juice, and you've got a complete and very filling American breakfast.

And if you're still on the fence about this great breakfast, remember what Daniel Tiger always says..."You got to try new foods because they might taste good!"