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Mozzarella and Spinach Croissants

Okay, so it's one of those random days when I decide to experiment with the random ingredients in my fridge. Today I discovered a delightful idea for an appetizer/finger food.

What you'll need:

Croissant Dough (pre-made in the can, or homemade)

Fresh Spinach leaves

Mozzarella String Cheese Sticks

Olive Oil

Basil

Fresh Ground Pepper

Garlic Powder

What you'll do:

This is so simple. First, you'll preheat your oven based on the directions on the croissant package. Next, saute the spinach leaves in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a sprinkle of basil and a dash of garlic powder. This should not take long at all, just saute the leaves until they turn bright green, then set them aside (leaving them in the skillet). Prepare the croissants by laying them out on a cookie sheet evenly spaced out. I almost always use aluminum foil to cover my cookie sheets (Mainly because my cookie sheets look awful and are covered in almost irremovable grease. Plus, it's extremely easy cleanup!). Next, cut the string cheese sticks in half, placing half a stick long-ways against the widest end of the croissant dough. Next, top the cheese with 3-4 sauteed spinach leaves (you can use more if you're a huge spinach fan). The next part is easy, just roll the croissants up as you usually would, but be sure to pinch off any openings where cheese might melt and leak out. Once the croissants are rolled up, brush a mixture of olive oil, fresh ground pepper, and basil over the top. Now, just bake them based on the directions on the croissant label. **Be sure to keep an eye on them. For some reason, I find that those pre-made croissants seem to almost always burn on the bottom, even when you follow the directions. So, I cut off a couple minutes. They seem to taste better when they're a tad bit doughy anyway.** These are best served right away, so if you're making them as part of a meal, try to plan them as the last thing to be done so the cheese is still melty and gooey when served. I can't wait to make these again! Enjoy!

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Off Brand vs. Name Brand: Bikini Zone Shave Gel

I am always up for saving a few extra bucks, and almost always opt for the cheap brand of most of the products I buy. In most cases, it pays off and the products are virtually identical. So recently, in an effort to make a new bargain buy discovery, I tried the CVS brand version of Bikini Zone Shave Gel (which I actually use for my underarms, since I'm uber-prone to razor burn). Unfortunately, CVS's version of this product did not measure up at all. It was actually quite frustrating, because the gel is so thick that it clogged up my razor so bad that I had to rinse it thoroughly between each sweep, with little luck getting all the goop out. I got so aggrivated that I decided to give up and had to go back to the store and grab the real thing. I'm sure there are other off-brands of this product, and I will try to get ahold of them and see how they stand up sometime in the near future. But for now, those of you who are faithful users of Bikini Zone, stick with it!