New Recipes?

I can remember exactly the first time I tried a mushroom.  I was young, and at a banquet dinner for the Girl Scouts.  I wanted to have the steak dinner, and it was served with a mushroom sauce.  I tried to pick the mushrooms off, but my mother convinced me to try them. 

I loved them!

I'm not sure what type of mushrooms they were, but since then, I have tried several different varieties, and I have loved them all.  My son and youngest daughter love them too.  I have been looking online for new recipes, and I have found several that use porcini mushrooms.  I'm not sure I am a good enough cook to attempt some of them.  The Italian ones seemed the simplest, so I am thinking of trying one of those. 

Have any of you ever tried corn pasta?   How does it taste?  I imagine it has more flavor than regular pasta made from white flour, and since I am trying to cut back on white flour and sugar, I think the corn pasta might be a good alternative, especially since I do not like wheat pasta.

Of course, if I am going to attempt to make a gourmet meal, I feel like I should have an equally gourmet dessert to go with it.  I have never made anything more complicated than a cheesecake, so trying a recipe that includes exotic (at least to me!) ingredients like flower water can be a tad daunting. But, if I'm going to go all out, I may as well go out with a bang.

Best Friend

Guest post written by my buddy Bernardo Graham

My best friend and I seem to do everything the same. We got engaged the same month and year, we got married the same month and year, we had our first child the same year, and we both live in similar homes in the same town. It’s funny. I don’t think we intend to do this, it just seems to always happen that way. For example, she told me the other day that they are going to get ADT security Driver installed and I was like, no way! You see, we had decided to do that as well the week before, and I had not told her. I swear, she had no way of knowing we were going to do that. I was like, are you kidding me? We do everything together at the same time without even realizing it. We had a good laugh over that and agreed that we really are the same person living in two different bodies. That must be why we get along so well and have been friends for so long.

Grow More Fresh Vegatables With MIRACLE‐GRO®

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love Miracle-Gro® . I have been using it for years to feed my plants and help them grow bigger and fuller.  I have also used it in my garden, and I can always tell when I do, because my plants would produce so much more vegetables.  Right now, there is an even better Miracle-Gro® available, and I can not wait to try it!

Simply put, Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix offers these benefits:

• Up to 3X the Flowers and Vegetables!* *versus native soil
• Significantly improves soil for multiple years
• Concentrated planting mix expands up to 3X when water is added
• Feeds for up to 6 months
• All natural fibers hold up to 50% more water than basic potting soil

Feeding my kids can get expensive, especially this time of year when I love to cook with fresh vegetables.  Growing my own not only saves me money, but it also offers me vegetables free of pesticides.  I am going to have to grow my plants in containers this year, so by using Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix I won't have to lug a huge bag of potting soil up two flights of stairs to the porch outside my apartment.  All I need is a small bag and I will be able to fill all the containers I will need.  I will definitely be growing tomatoes, but I am not sure what else will do well in containers. Any ideas?

You should check out Expand ‘n Gro™ for yourself.  Click that link and you will find a $3 off coupon.  Make sure you come back here and let me know what you think, and also how you used it, whether it was in your garden or in containers, like I plan on doing.

Cheesecake

Is there anything yummier in the world than cheesecake?

The first time I had cheesecake, it was one of those boxed misses that I made myself.  I thought it was delicious.  Than one day, I was in a restaurant with a friend of mine, and I ordered a piece of New York Cheesecake.  There really are no words to describe how good it was.  Since then, my favorite dessert has become cheesecake, and I have tried all different kinds.  My favorite, by far, is this:

Turtle cheesecake.  Caramel, chocolate, nuts...oh my.  It's like a party in my mouth.  That cheesecake above can be found at Cheesecake.com.  Of course, they have lots of other flavors, like Amaretto and Strawberry.  They even have a raspberry swirl, and I am dying to try that one.  I bet it's delicious!

I have attempted in the past to make a cheesecake from scratch, and while it did taste yummy, it wasn't nearly as good as a professionally made one.  So, from now on, whenever I go out to eat, I will treat myself to a slice of cheesecake for dessert.

GIft Baskets

I wrote in my last post that gift baskets make great gifts, especially when you don't know a person well.  But, when you do know someone well, it's fun to shop for baskets that match their personalities.  For instance, did you know that you can get a gift basket for the beer lover in your life?  For some reason, I find this pretty funny.  You can find this gift basket and more at GourmetGiftBaskets.com.  

Now, just in case you, my sweet readers, decide to send me a gift basket, I prefer ones full of food.  I found a delicious cheesecake one, and a cookie one, and several fruit ones.  Oh, and they had candy filled ones, too. And nuts. I love nuts. The possibilities are endless. 

The next time you are looking for a gift for someone, keep in mind that gift baskets are a great choice. They come in all sizes and you can always find one that fits your budget.  I wonder if I could find a lady bug themed one for Brandi? Or a skull and cross bone themed one for Kasi? I am sure I can find a racing themed one for Ryan. Maybe they will find gift baskets under the tree next Christmas.

Wine

I am not a big wine drinker. In fact, I'm not a big alcohol drinker in general. But, a few months ago I was asked to write a review about wine, and the foods that pair well with particular wines.  I admit that that before that review, I had never even tasted wine.  I found it a little bitter, but good.  

A lot of people find wine to be a great gift to bring when attending a gathering as a hostess gift, and

Wine Gift Baskets are great gifts to give for birthdays and holidays.   Especially when you don't know a person well, but still want to give something special.