New recipe to share

I've found a new recipe I want to share. This is usually big around the holidays but it's yummy anytime of the year.

White Chocolate Gorp

1 pound of white chocolate (I used the white bark)

6 cups of Rice Chex mix

3 cups of toasted oat cereal

2 cups of thin pretzel sticks (I broke them in half)

2 cups of nuts (I used peanuts)

1 large package of M&M’s

Directions:

Melt bark/white chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat of microwave until just soft. Stir until melted. Combine all the other ingredients in a big bowl. Stir white chocolate into mixture. Turn out on waxed paper. Let cool.


Enjoy!

Quote of the Day

"The three words every woman really longs to hear : I'll clean up."

- Molly Shannon in Esquire (taken from my Reader's Digest)

Wake Up: It's Time For School.

There's a time for summer vacation.
There's a time to go back to school.
Today, is that day.
Hallelujah!

Have a great day!

Are you a fair tipper?

Are you a fair tipper? I can honestly say, yes, I am. I tip between 15-20 percent, usually on the higher side, mainly, because I used to waitress and realize how hard our restaurant servers work on a daily basis. After surfing the web, I came across an article that says a 20% tip is now the new 15%. Liz Pulliam Weston, writing for MSN Money, reports that 20% is now considered standard. She has some guidelines on tipping, which I've posted below.

Waiter/Waitress 15-20% pre-tax bill
Bartender $1-$2 per round or 15% to 20 % of tab
Wine Stewart 15% of bottle's cost (less as price rises), clearly earmarked on bill
Room Service 15-20% of pre-tax bill
Valet Parking $2-$3 when car is returned
Taxi Driver 15% plus $1 to $2 per bag for help with luggage
Hotel Bellhop $1-$2 per bag
Hotel Maid $2 per night, paid daily, clearly marked "housekeeping"
Skycap $1-$2 per bag, $2 minimum, in addition to any fee
Hairdresser 15-20%
Manicurist 15-20%
Spa Services 15-20%
Food Delivery 10-15% with $2 minimum
Golf Caddy $20 or 50% of the caddy fee, whichever is greater

Liz Pulliam Weston continues:

But what if you get lousy service? Peter Post, of the Emily Post Institute, is quoted in the article as saying if he experiences bad service he caps his tip at 15%, then talks to the manager about the problem. "Not tipping doesn't correct bad service," Post says.

Stiffing is also a bad idea because:

The poor service you go may have been beyond the wait staff's control, such as problems in the kitchen.

The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour, so wait staff depend on tips to earn a living wage.

Weston writes that if you don't want to tip because you consistently get poor service at restaurants, consider whether the problem might be you.

My New Favorite Pizza In Peoria

Pizza tops the list when I ask my children what they want for dinner. I love it. They love it. Let's order. The problem for me has been finding a favorite pizza place in Peoria. Over the past several years, there hasn't been a hands-down winner. My all-time favorite is Gioridano's but there's not a restaurant in Peoria. It's usually when I visit my parents in the Chicago suburbs that I get to gorge myself on a Gioridano's stuffed pizza with lots of cheese. MMMM. So I was pleasantly surprised when I visited Firehouse Pizza, which recently moved from Pioneer Parkway to a strip mall off Knoxville Avenue on the north side of Peoria. For me, it's all about the sauce and Firehouse has a zesty one that keeps my taste-buds interested. It's officically my new favorite pizza. At least for now. If you decide to try it, order something different like the chicken barbecue pizza topped with cheese and jalapeno peppers. It may not sound good but it's yummy. There's also a lunch buffet. Below I've listed my top five pizza joints in Peoria and one in Champaign. I'd love to hear about your favorite pizza place. Please, let me know.

Peoria
1) Firehouse Pizza
2) Monical's
3) Uno's
4) Leonard's
5) Nick & Willy's (take & bake)

Champaign
1) Papa Dell's Pizza (LOVE IT!)