Giveaway!!! (and a Savory Muffin Recipe)

EDIT: Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for your comments, winner will be announced shortly!

Do you guys remember that great website I talked about a few weeks ago? You know, the one with everything from bed sets to wine glasses to coffee grinders? That's right, CSN Stores! Do you also remember I told you I was going to host a giveaway sponsored by CSN Stores? Well, today's the day!!! Aren't you guys lucky you know me?

Alright, so one lucky Canadian or US resident (sorry, dear international readers!) is going to win a 125$, yes you read right, 125$ gift certificate (cannot be used on shipping or international costs) to be used on ANY of CSN's stores! Imagine what you could get with 125$ and all that choice! Too many exclamation marks, I know I'm just too excited. Way too much excitement for me since last week, whew!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post. It's that easy! And for a bonus entry, you can "like" And then I do the Dishes on Facebook! Did I mention I have a Facebook page now? No? Well, look at the right column and you'll see a nice little box where you can "like" And then I do the Dishes. Then, come back and leave another comment telling me the name you use on Facebook so I can check you really "liked" the page. To be fair, I really will have to check. So be nice! You'll have until Thursday October 14th, 2010 at midnight (Daylight Savings Time) to enter the giveaway. Winner will then be chosen at random and will be announced on Friday October 15th, 2010.


Since I didn't include a recipe in my previous post, I just had to share one with you today. It has nothing to do with the giveaway, I just love these little Savory Muffins! I hope you enjoy them too!

Savory Muffins
These can be endlessly adapted with the ingredients of your choice. Change the cheese, use cooked chicken instead of ham, thyme instead of basil; use your favorite ingredients.

1 1/2 cups (215g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (65g) whole wheat flour
1 tbsp (10g) baking powder
1 tsp (5g) kosher salt
1/2 tsp (3g)baking soda
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (130g) Mamirolle cheese, cubed
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 eggs
3 tbsp olive oil, or the oil the sun-dried tomatoes were packed in
1 cup (300g) fat free sour cream
1/4 cup (40g) oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup (75g) Black Forest Ham, chopped small

Preheat your oven to 400F. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper cups and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. Add the cubed cheese and chopped fresh basil and toss to coat; set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the eggs, oil and sour cream. Pour over the dry ingredients, mix lightly, then fold in the sun-dried tomatoes and the ham. Don't over mix.
Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin tin and bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

These are wonderful served with a salad or with crudités for a light lunch.


Giveaway Details Recap: Giveaway open to US and Canadian residents only. The prize, consisting of a 125$ gift certificate is provided by CSN Stores and cannot be used to pay for shipping or international charges. Contest is open from Thursday October 7th, 2010 until Thursday October 14th, 2010 (Midnight DST).

Margherita Burgers Recipe and a Review to Come

As I mentionned briefly in a previous post, we've been changing things around the apartment lately: cleaning, painting and searching for some new furniture. I've been looking for inspiration pretty much everywhere I can find it. From kitchen tables to window treatments and wall hangings, I've been Googling like crazy!
One site that has it all is CSN Stores and I've been given the opportunity to review their services and products. I'm not kidding when I say they have everything, have a look for yourselves! So, please stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!
While we have been working pretty hard on making our apartment feel a little cozier, we've also been trying to take advantage of what's left of Summer vacation. The kids start school in less than a week now and it seems like just yesterday we were so happy that Summer was finally here! It has been a little cooler lately and I've been trying to use up those herbs I have growing on the porch. My favorite is basil, I could use it in just about anything, and most often I end up putting a big handful in my burgers. A few weeks ago I "invented" this burger recipe and I've made it at least 3 times since! The burgers are juicy and flavorful and yes, they taste like Summer!


Margherita Burgers
You can change the given quantities of pretty much any of the ingredients to suit your tastes.

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 to 1/3 cup of sun dried tomatoes, in oil, chopped finely
2 tbsp of the oil the tomatoes are packed in
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Hamburger buns
Slices of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil leaves, for garnish

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, sun dried tomatoes, oil, onion, chopped fresh basil and salt and pepper. Mix well and form 8 patties. You can cook the burgers on the BBQ, in a pan or, as I like to cook them in my panini press, it takes half the time as they cook on both sides at the same time! Just cook them from 8 to 10 minutes per side or until the internal temperature of each patty is 160F. Let the burgers rest a few minutes before serving them.

Heat or toast the hamburger buns, place a patty on each bun, then top with mozzarella, tomato slices and fresh basil leaves. Then enjoy what's left of Summer!