CSN Products Review

CSN sent me a $30 gift certificate towards their merchandise, so that I could pick out items to review.  Well, you know me, I first went to the clearance page!  I stretched that $30 as far as it would go, and got 3 items for it.  Not all were on the clearance page, but all were less than I would have paid at walmart or target, if they had carried these items (Trust me, I shopped in both a week before and could not find similar items on their shelves, as all 3 of these were on my list of items to add to my kitchen).  I got all 3 items this past week, and have already begun to use them.  In a few weeks, I will again let you know how they are holding up.  

First, I got a Bayou Classic Aluminum Ladle.  You can see in the picture it is large (compare it to the bread pan beside it).  It is heavy duty.  I used to have one and lost it (probably in a church drawer somewhere....).  I never found another large metal one to replace it with.  A few weeks ago I broke my last plastic one.  I am pleased with this one.  It is big and heavy duty.  Will be great for cooking in the stock pot.  This great ladle was on sale for $9.00!  I paid around $12 a year ago for a much smaller plastic one.  This was really a great find.

Next, I ordered a stainless steel bread pan, from Fox Run.  Right now it is in the oven with bread in it.  I bake most of our bread, and tend to use a lot of these.  I have given up on the Teflon coated ones, as the coating always breaks down over time.  So, I am slowly replacing them all with aluminum and stainless. This pan sold for $9.89.

Last, I selected my favorite of all.  A Nordicware commercial grade cake pan, with a metal lid.  Now, one unique thing about this cake pan and its snug fitting metal lid, is that if a person wanted, you could easily flip the lid over and use it as a cookie sheet.  I won't, as I have cookie sheets, but I could.

Rebecca has already made a chocolate cake in it.  (A really really good chocolate cake, which I will share you the recipe for).  The pan was very easy to clean afterward.  The lid fit nice and snug, and kept the cake air tight, not getting stale.  This pan sells for $13.89.

Shopping at CSN is a different way to shop.  CSN is actually a group of over 200 stores that is on one site.  If you are searching, as I was, for a cake pan, you can simply look under kitchenware's for cake pans.  You see what all the stores offer at one place.  No jumping from website to website, or driving all over town from store to store.  Its that simple.  As for prices, the items I looked at were all the same or lower than what is in the stores.  I will be ordering from this company again.

The cake Rebecca made was a double-chocolate cake

Rebeccas double chocolate cake recipe

ingredients:

1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup of either brown sugar or granulated sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt with fork in ungreased square pan 8x8x2 for a thicker cake, or 9x13 for a thinner cake.

Mix in remaining ingredients, except for chocolate chips.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter and bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean--30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your pan.  Sprinkle top with powdered sugar if desired.

We opt for the 9x13 pan as it makes more servings, which are thinner, thus less calories!