It's All The Same

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is a blog about food.  I have a couple of picky eaters in my little family, myself being one of them.  I try to make a variety of things at every meal, so there is always something that everyone will eat.  There are days, though, when I wish I could just make each kid a bottle and be done with it.  This mom has her limits, and these kids who call me Mom know how to get me there.

Of course, as soon as I remember how expensive baby formula is, I am thankful that my kids are older.  Although, more and more stores are offering generic brand infant formula for a whole lot less money than the name brands.  It's funny how some people think the name brand formulas are better for their babies, when in reality, they are the same as the store brand formula.  They have to be, thanks to Infant Formula Act. 

"This legislation vested FDA with the authority to ensure that all infant formulas sold in the United States provide the necessary levels of identified nutrients required for the growth of healthy babies. Store-brand formulas are nutritionally equivalent to Enfamil® and Similac® brand-name formulas but cost up to 50% less." 

That can be a savings of up to $600 a year.  That's a whole lot of money you could save simply by making the switch to generic formula.  If you think back a couple of months, there was a recall on Similac because of beetles.  That should tell you right there that even the name brands aren't always the best for your baby.

It's National Cookie Day!

One of my favorite bloggers, Steve from Burnt Food Dude, is putting together an awesome post all about cookies!  I love cookies!  I love eating cookies, and I really love baking cookies!  In fact, my mom, my sister and I actually have cookie days in December when we get together and bake cookies all day.  Then at the end of the day, we split the goodies.  It's so much fun!  The kids have fun, too, especially my girls.  I love that this is something we all do together.

I was going to make some Christmas cookies for this post, but it just so happens to be Brandi's birthday today, too.  In her honor, I took one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes...spritz cookies...and made them girly for her birthday.  Check them out:

Spritz Cookies
(this is not my own recipe...I got it years ago out of one of my mom's cook books, thought I can't remember which one)

1 1/2 cups butter
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 375*.

Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, egg, baking powder, vanilla, and almond extract.  Beat until thoroughly combined.  Beat in remaining flour.

Take un-chilled dough and put it into your cookie press.  I have a pampered chef one, and it comes with a bunch of different disks.  Today I made the hearts and butterflies.  For Christmas, I usually make the trees.   It's also fun to use food gels and dye the dough green for those.  I always use some type of sprinkle, because they make them look so pretty! 

Bake 8-10 minutes.  I like to bake just until they start to brown, that way they stay soft.

I hope you enjoy these cookies if you decide to make them, and make sure you check out Steve's cookie post to find more delicious cookie recipes!

It's Almost Birthday Time!

My baby is turning nine on Saturday.  I can not believe it has been that many years since we have had a baby in the house.  Since her birthday is on a Saturday, she needs to bring cupcakes to school tomorrow.  We did a little mom and daughter bonding time this afternoon and made those yummy looking strawberry cupcakes for her class.  Of course, they had to be pink. :)  I am kind of sad that this is the last year she will be able to do this, which means it's the last time I get to make birthday cupcakes for school.  I think this next year is going to be the end of a lot of things with her, like believing in Santa and the tooth fairy.  I guess I have to be content with waiting for my kids to start having kids, which hopefully won't happen for many, many years.

Afraid Of Getting Lost?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NAVTEQ. All opinions are 100% mine.

Lots of cars these days have in-dash navigation systems.  People use them everyday to get to where they need to be.  Are you one of them?

If so, have you taken the time lately to do a map update?  Many businesses are closing down, while others are just opening up, and with an outdated map system in your GPS, you could be sent to a store that is no longer open. 

Imagine that you are on your way to a holiday party.  You're running a little late because the kids wouldn't cooperate in the "getting ready" department.  The party is being held a few towns away at a venue you have never heard, and halfway there you remember that you were supposed to bring a holiday themed dessert.  You punch into your GPS that you need to find a bakery, and it leads you to an empty building. You spend the next half hour driving around, looking for somewhere to buy a cake, only to show up an hour late for the party.

If you had done a map update you may not have found yourself in that position.  You would have been one of the first guests to arrive, and you would have been able to relax and enjoy good company, and most importantly, good food. 

Want These Pots?

This is the Farberware Classic Stainless Steel 10 Piece Cookware Set with Glass Lids.  Awesome, right?  I found them on the csnstores.com website for only $69.95.  You can check them out here. 

I can offer you the chance to win these pots, or anything else at csnstores, up to $115.  All you have to do is go here and enter the csnstores giveaway I am hosting on my other blog.  Good luck!

Top Droppers ~ November

Thanks so much to the following blogs who dropped here the most last month.

comatised ~ Dreaming in digital

 

Symbian Freeware ~ Free Symbian GPS, VoIP, text reader software, free themes and games. Ovi Nokia games and freeware.

 

my kids are my world ~ This is a blog about my life as a wife and mother of three kids, who are, obviously, my world.

 

Info ~ Information for your personal finance

 

Tele Centers ~ It has my Technical works and personal thoughts

 

URS-VANCOUVER ~ Its my personal blog and i am planning to bring more visitors to it to enhance the quality of the blog

 

 Tattered Notes ~ Mixed bag of articles from my life

 

TMA-Graphics ~ take free the worlds best home makers ideas. oops!!  I really burn my apron but I make good choices. 

 

Entertainment Information ~  For those of you who need information on entertainment, in this place you’ll find it, visit any time because we update the latest information and important. 

 

The Day Trading Journey For Trader ~ Where Trader Get New Day Trading Information

My Contribution To Thanksgiving Dinner ~ Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
6 cups warm, mashed sweet potatoes
2 cups brown sugar
16 tbsp melted butter
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup flour
8 tbsp melted butter
dash salt

Combine all ingredients.  Mix well.  Pour into buttered 9x13 inch baking dish. (I sprayed mine liberally with cooking spray)

Mix topping ingredients together and drop on top of potato mixture.

Bake at 350* for one hour.

I know this isn't exactly a healthy recipe, what with all the sugar and butter, but I only make it once a year, and my family loves it.  I don't like sweet potatoes so I don't eat it.  I should also mention that when it comes out of the oven it is a little poofy and shaky, but it sets as it cools. 

Goodbye For Now, Duff

I read some sad news the other day...Food Network has canceled Ace of Cakes after 10 seasons.  I love this show!  I mean, who doesn't love Duff, Geoff, and Mary Alice?  And the cakes!  They are always pretty awesome.

Now, I will admit that I never really watched it on Thursday nights when the new episodes aired.  I watched them in reruns over the weekends. But I always enjoyed them.  I also read that this is not the end of Duff.  Apparently, Food Network has other plans for him.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what those plans might be.

Luckily, there are several other shows on food network that I love to watch.  Last Sunday they crowned the new Iron Chef, Marc Forgione.  I was glad he beat out Chef Marco Canora.  For some reason I can't quite explain, I never really liked him.  I also love watching the Challenge shows.  There is something about watching bakers stress for 8 hours over a huge cake that makes me happy.  Yeah, I'm a little weird that way.  I also want to be one of those baker one day.  Brandi says I could do it with my mom, and we would win.  She's my biggest cheerleader!


Then there are the actual cooking shows.  Those chefs always use the best cookware and kitchen gadgets.  I love Racheal Ray's spoons that have the slots in them to rest on the side of the pots. Whoever came up with that idea is a genius.  Oh, and I can't even tell you how much I love Alton Brown.  That guy is a walking encyclopedia of food knowledge, which I think is awesome.

So, as much as I will miss Duff and the gang, there are enough other shows to keep me tuning in to Food Network.

Finding The Freebies

 I love free stuff.  I really do.  I get emails every day letting me know about free offers.  I have gotten some pretty good stuff, too.  I have gotten enough shampoo and conditioner to last me for a year.  Deodorant, too, which is pretty cool because that stuff is kind of pricey.  The only freebies I shy away from are watching Free Movies Online simply because I have no idea which are the legal sites, and which are the ones that will get me into trouble. 

Finding Free Samples online is pretty simple.  I am friends with a lot of people on Facebook who spend their days finding the free stuff, and then passing the links along to their friends. Sometimes, the "freebie" is something you can download, but most of the sites send you Free Samples by Mail.  It's fun going to the mailbox every day, not knowing what will be inside.  

The other day I got a sample granola bar. (I'm not going to say the brand name) Now, I have been hearing how "natural" these bars are, and let me tell you, it was kind of gross.  I think if I was used to eating more fruits and nuts, it would have tasted better to me.  Or maybe it was the fruit and nut combination I didn't like.  All I know is that I won't be buying them myself. 

The New Duncan Hines Cake Mix And Glaze

As delicious as this cake was, I am more impressed with the picture I took.  I mean, you can seriously see all the yumminess.  Anyway, last night, my dad and his wife came over for dinner (they bought the pizza...thanks Dad!).  I decided to make dessert, and since I had bought this new cake mix last week, I wanted to try it out.

I love, love, LOVE the glaze.  The cake was delicious, don't get me wrong, but that glaze was phenomenal!  Next time, I am going to use the vanilla glaze on the chocolate cake...I bet that will be delicious, too.

Butt Paste

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

I remember when my baby sister was pregnant for the first time, she was making out her registry list online.  I think this is awesome, by the way.  Being able to make a list of all the things you would like to have from the comfort of your own living room instead of having to walk around the store, scanning each individual item is like the store's little gift to a pregnant woman.

Anyway, I remember her telling me that she was letting her husband help her pick out things, and as soon as he saw the Boudreaux's Butt Paste he said he had to have it.  According to my sister, he had no idea what it did, he just wanted it because of it's name.  So she put it on her list.  Little did she know that it would be the best diaper rash cream.

This cream is awesome because it goes on and comes off easily.  If you are a mom, you know how important it is to be gentle on irritated skin.  Nothing breaks a mom's heart more than seeing their baby in pain.   Butt Paste was formulated by a pharmacist and a pediatrician, two people who also know how important it is to use a gentle product on tender skin.  It has also been featured on several television shows, like Oprah and While You Were Out on TLC.  It not only comes in the tub, but also flip top tubes and travel sizes. 

You can try it for yourself by going to their website and requesting a sample.  Trust me, once you try it, you will not want to use anything else.

How I Fed My Babies

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am a big believer in breast feeding.  I planned on breast feeding my children, but when the time came, I couldn't.  I'm not sure if it was the size of my breasts (they were very large) or that Ryan just wasn't interested, but no matter what position I tried, nothing worked.  I eventually had to accept the fact that he would not be breast feeding, which meant I had to use formula.  Even back then, I knew that the store brands were just as good as the name brands.  In fact, all infant formulas have to meet the same nutritional guidelines, so why spend money on the more expensive brands when the cheaper ones are just as good for your baby?

The store brands don't have to spend money on advertising, and they don't give their products to the hospitals for free, so they can keep their products reasonably priced.  In fact, some studies show that you can save about $600 a year simply by switching to store brand formula.  For new parents, that's a big number.  Imagine how many diapers and wipes that money can buy.

I will always be a believer in breast feeding, but it's nice to know that there is an affordable alternative for mothers like me.

Yum. That's All.

Breakfast.  Sometimes, it just has to include peanut butter.  That's all I'm saying.

Do You Know Which Vitamins You Should Be Taking?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of vitaminID.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

Trying to decide which vitamins to take can get pretty confusing.  Their are individual vitamins for every nutrient you may be lacking, from vitamin A to zinc.  There are also lots of multi vitamins geared towards men or women, or older men and older women.  Standing in the vitamin aisle can be very intimidating if you don't know exactly what you are looking for.
I went to VitaminID.com and took their simply survey to see what vitamins I should be taking on a daily basis.  It took less than five minutes for me to answer a series of questions that asked everything from how many veggies I eat every day to whether or not I'm a smoker.  I had to include my height and weight, and I was seriously prepared for them to offer me up some diet pills.  They didn't.  They did, however, offer me a list of vitamins i should be taking to supplement my diet.  Check it out:

I was not at all surprised about the fish oil, because i do not eat any fish.  I am not sure what the natural sterols and stanols are, so I have to do a bit of research before taking those.  Apparently, since they have me taking four of them, it must be something important I am lacking.  VitaminID.com also offers free live chats with Registered Dieticians, so I may hop back on their and ask what those sterols and stanols are all about.
Hopefully, I will feel more confident in the vitamin aisle from now on.

Chocolate Covered Worms

Brandi is reading How To Eat Fried Worms in her gifted/talented class.  As a project, they had to pick three different things to do with worms.  Her first project was a game she had to make up that she called How To Eat Vocabulary Worms (you can check it out here).

For her second project, she had to make an original recipe using worms.  She decided to make chocolate covered gummy worms.  I melted the chocolate, but she did everything else, and they came out great.  They tasted kind of gross, at least to me.  The kids in her class liked them, so i guess that's all that matters.

Her final project will be an experiment of some kind.  Junior is going to help her with that one.  I don't touch real worms.

Do You Have A Cheap Cable Television Deal?

I used to live in New York, and I still have a few friends there.  My sister still lives there, too.  From what I have been hearing from them, a very popular cable television provider has been yanking channels off the air due to contract issues.  I remember a few months ago they took Food network off the air, and a lot of their customers were really upset.  TI know of several who went looking for better Cable TV Deals.  I don't think I could stay with my current cable provider if they took Food Network off the air.  I mean, we're one episode away from finding out who the new Iron Chef is going to be.  I have to admit that I was a little happy to see Chef Tsai go last night.  He seemed just a little too cocky to me.

Anyway, I love my cable provider.  I also have my home phone and High Speed Internet through them. I don't know enough about internet speeds and things, so not having to search for Internet Service Providers on my own is awesome.  I am a big fan of the bundle package, which allows me to only have one bill every month for all three services.  I know a lot of people are shying away from having a home phone and only using their cells, which is a good choice for some.  Since I work from home, I like having a land line.  

Gotta go.  30 Minute Meals is on, and I need my Rachael Ray fix.

Is Teaching In Your Future?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of 2tor. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to be when I grow up.  Yes, I know I am almost 40 years old (did I really just say that?) but some days I feel like my life may just be beginning.  For the past fifteen years, I have done the wife and mother thing, which I love.  Lately, though, I feel like there may be something else I was meant to do.  The problem is, I have no idea what that is.

These thoughts led me on a search for an online school that is affordable and accredited.  One of the programs I found was the USC Rossier School of Education’s MAT@USC, which "offers current educators and aspiring teachers the prestige of earning a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from an elite research university with the convenience and flexibility of studying online".  Of course, this is not a viable option for me since I am not in line to become a teacher right now, but if you are, this could be the program for you.  The thing that stood out for me was the ability to take advantage of their accelerated program, which makes it possible to graduate in as little as twelve months. You can also apply for their tuition reimbursement and scholarships. 

You can find out more program information to see if this is the program for you.  If you are a work at home mom like me, taking classes online is a great way to get the education you desire.

Making Bagel Pizzas

I just had to get a shot of Brandi helping to make a quick supper of pizza bagels tonight.  Of course, she had to ham it up a bit.  God, I love that smile.  It's great when she helps in the kitchen.  It's fun for her, and it makes for some pretty special bonding time.  besides, the bagel pizzas were her idea, so it's only fair that she make them. :)

Should I Study Nutrition?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ashworth College. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been doing a lot of research lately about taking classes from an Online College.  Even though I live about a minute from USCS (University of South Carolina, Spartanburg), taking classes on campus is not a good fit for me.  The fact that I don't drive factors in, but my main reason is that I still want to be here at home when the kids get off the bus.  I think it is important that I am here to help with homework, and to also make sure they do not get themselves into any trouble. 

I want to be able to take classes online from a good school, and by looking through the Ashworth Video Gallery  I can see that this school may be a good fit for me.  One of the things I like best is that the cost of tuition includes all books and materials, and they offer interest free financing.  This eliminates the need for student loans, so their students can graduate without that hanging over their heads.  Ashworth College Featured by National Education Report "for its distinguished contributions to the advancement of distance education, both nationally and internationally".  They offer more than 100 different nationally accredited career diplomas, so I am sure I can find something that would interest me.  I have always wanted to work with kids, so that is something I will look into further.  I also think studying nutrition will help improve my eating habits.

I wish I could go to culinary school from home.  Now that would be awesome.

The Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com, and they turned out yummy!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

You can find the recipe here also.  These cookies did not last long at all in my house.  Next time, I am going to double the recipe.  My only complaint was that the cookies never browned.  I thought it was because the cookies were so big, so I did a few little ones, and the same thing happened.  Anyone have any ideas about why that happened?  I've never had this problem before.

Giraffe

I can not take credit for this giraffe cake.  It was made by my mom for my niece's first birthday.  I think it came out amazing.  Great job, Mom.  Again.

Top Droppers ~ October

My top droppers for the month of October

Crimsonsparkle.net ~ The view from my window.

 

Symbian Freeware ~  Free Symbian GPS, VoIP, text reader software, free themes and games

 

my kids are my world ~ This is a blog about my life as a wife and mother of three kids, who are, obviously, my world.

 

 comatised ~ Dreaming in digital

 

bethere2day ~ bethere2day is a personal blog about anything and everything, fun, humour, randomness and rants

 

 Da Dude's BBQ Thought ~ Da Dude's BBQ Thought & other things. The thoughts and rantings of a Barbecue God Wanna be! 

 

Women's Fitness Videos ~  Womens Fitness Videos, workout videos for women, exercises for women, get fit, tone your body, lose weight, with these super aerobics videos for women, exercise routines, fun and enjoyable exercises for women.

 

Men's Fitness Videos ~  Men's Fitness Videos, get fit, build strength, tone your body and build muscles with super workout videos for men, men's workouts, exercise routines for men, bodybuilding videos. tips and advice for men

 

 JoeTaxpayer ~ A personal finance blog, topics include investing, taxes, finance, debt, retirement. Your EC ad will appear above the line on my blog

 

 TMA-Graphics ~ TAKE FREE THE WORLDS BEST HOME MAKER'S IDEAS. OOPS!! I REALLY BURN MY APRON BUT I MAKE GOOD COOKIES

 

Thanks to all of you who drop every month.

The Brownies

I made these little guys in a cake pan.  Then I used frosting tinted orange and green to decorate the face and stem.  They were so yummy!  I am hoping that I can get different pans for next year.  the only problem is that I refuse to pay full price, so hopefully they will have some marked down after Halloween.  I am hoping to find some skull pans or something scary.

Breast Or Bottle?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am going to be an Aunt again in a couple of months.  This baby will either be my ninth nephew or my sixth niece.  My sister opted not to find out the sex of the baby, and since she already has a son and a daughter, she is prepared for either one.  She breast fed both of her other children, and I am sure she will breast feed this one as well.

I tried to breast feed all three of my kids, but it never worked out.  I ended up pumping for the first three months of each kids life, but then my milk dried up and I gave them formula.   I always chose the store brand formula because I knew it was just as good as the name brands.  In fact, the store brand formulas must meet the same FDA nutrition guidelines as the brand names.  There is no reason to buy the more expensive formulas, because there is no difference between them and the sometimes up to 50% cheaper store brands.  That can be a savings of up to $600 a year.  I am sure new parents can think of many other things that they could spend that money on.

If I ever have another child, I will not even be able to attempt breast feeding because of my breast reduction.  I will happily be buying store brand formula once again.  Let's all just hope that I don't find myself in that position, though.  I am too old to be starting over with a baby.  Although, this time around I would have two teenagers who could help out.

The Cake

I wish I could take the credit for this one, but I can't.  My mom made it.  She always makes the kids cakes, and she really outdid herself this time.  Everyone loved it.

Thanks mom!  You rock!

The Spread

 Don't you just love the eyeball tablecloth!

We had deviled eggs, fruit salad (apples, grapes, and strawberries), monster toes, and the strawberry ghosts.  The monster toes were little sausages wrapped in tortillas, with little bits of the ends cut off to look like toenails.  I then filled the "nails" with bbq sauce so it looked like blood.  I make these every year and the kids (and adults) love them.

 I also had the little croissants, a cheese and cracker tray, spinach dip (my mom made it and it was awesome!), a pickle and olive tray, salsa, white cheese con queso dip, french onion dip, and a variety of chips.

 I also served those ham and turkey rolls, a vegetable tray with ranch dip, and all the chocolates I made. 

My sister brought some pizza rolls (they didn't fit on the table!) and I was a little jealous when they were the first to go.  After all the hard work I put into the party food, little frozen pizza rolls were the favorite.  Go figure.  next year, I am going to save myself the trouble and just put out a platter of those, lol!

Boo!

 One of Brandi's friends gave her a little booklet of Halloween recipes at school, knowing that we were having a Halloween party.  One of the recipes was yogurt covered strawberries that looked like little ghosts.  Brandi really wanted to make them for the party, but I didn't think the yogurt would stand up to being on the table all night.  So...I decided to substitute white chocolate for the yogurt.  I melted the chocolate, and let Brandi dip the strawberries.

I used black food gel to make the eyes and mouths, and I don't know if I didn't give it enough time to dry or what, but when guests picked up the ghosts, the black rubbed right off on their fingers.  I am not sure what else I could have used.  Any ideas for next time?

Do You Entrecard?

A few months ago, I signed up this blog of mine on entrecard.  I have been using it on my other blogs for a couple of years, and it is a great way to get your blog"out there".

If you haven't heard about entrecard, well, than you must be living under a rock or something.  The general idea is that you put a widget on your blog, and then other entrecarders stop by your blog and "drop" (or click) on your widget, with the hopes that you will visit their blog and do the same.   Sounds easy, right?  You are allowed 300 "drops" per blog, per day.  I don't drop nearly 300 using this blog, so I don't get very many return drops.  It's really a "you get what you put into it" type of thing.

Right now, if you sign up and write a post about how awesome (or not so awesome...though I can't think of anything not awesome about them) they are, you can earn some bonus credits by entering this contest.  My biggest piece of advise is to drop using firefox.  My sons computer has IE, and it takes me forever to drop on it.

Have fun and happy dropping.

The Perfect Cup Of Coffee

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nestle Dolce Gusto. All opinions are 100% mine.

Last year for Christmas, my sister's all chipped in to get my mom one of those coffee makers that makes a single cup at a time.  All you do is buy those individual little capsules of coffee that go into the machine, and you can have a cup of coffee without having to wait for an entire pot to brew.  Since my mom lives alone, this coffee maker is perfect for her.  Her only complaint, if this can be considered a complaint, is that she can't make iced coffee.  She has to make a hot cup, and then add ice to it.

The NESCAFE Dolce Gusto machine does have the option of making cold coffee, which I know my mom would love.  It can also make Caffe Lungo, Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Mocha, Caffe Americano, Iced Cappuccino, and even hot chocolate.  You can even customize the froth, heat, and strength of the coffee simply by using the patented Custom Control Lever.

I am not a coffee drinker, but Junior does like to have a cup sometimes, so this machine would be perfect for us. I don't really know much about coffee makers, so I did a little research.  I know you can learn a lot by reading about a product, but I feel that you can learn more about how it really works from people who have actually used the product for a little while.  At Divine.ca, you can read what 50 people have to say about using this coffee maker.  I read most of the reviews, and the majority of user had only good things to say.  To me, that means a lot.

Appetizers For Tomorrow's Party

Two hours....that's how long it took me to roll these ham and turkey pinwhells.  Simply put, they are slices of ham and turkey smothered in cream cheese and rolled up, then cut into sliced.  I used Halloween themed picks to hold them together. 

It took me two and a half hours to make these mini ham and cheese croissants.  I used regular Pillsbury croissants, and cut each one into about eight little croissants.  I rolled them up with little pieces of ham and cheddar cheese, and voila, yumminess.  And trust me, they are yummy. 

I also bought garlic croissants and rolled them with onion and chive cream cheese.  (I don't have pictures of them because I am too tired)  I will take tons of pictures of the rest of the party food tomorrow as I get it prepared.  Or maybe it will be Saturday when I find the time.  I have so much to do before the party, I probably won't be online much tomorrow.

Chicken Pot Pie

I can not take credit for this recipe.  I stole it from my friend Stacey.  She posted the recipe on her blog, and I knew that my family would love it...and they did!  Whenever I make this, I always double up and make two trays, because the hubs says it tastes even better as leftovers.  I made this last Thursday, and the kids ate the last of it yesterday.  That was two trays gone in three days...that should tell you how good it is!

The recipe:

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1 cup shredded monterey jack & colby cheese
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I only had two cans, and since I was doubling, I also used two cans cream of chicken...worked just as well)
1 small onion finely diced (I used my food processor, which I believe Stacey said to do)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup flour seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground red pepper)
2 cups baking mix (I use Jiffy)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter

Cut chicken into 1 -2 inch squares and coat with the seasoned flour.  (even doubling the recipe, 1 cup of flour was more than enough to coat the chicken)  melt the butter in a deep skillet with the minced garlic and onion until they start to brown, then add the chicken.  Cook chicken until all pieces are brown and almost cooked completely through.

In a large bowl, put the mixed veggies, cheese, and cream soups.  When chicken is done, add to bowl and mix so that everything is coated with the soup.  Pour mixture into well greased 9x13 baking dish.

In another bowl, mix the baking mix, milk, and eggs.  Pour over chicken.  (I always smooth it with the back of a spoon to make sure it covers the whole dish) Bake at 350 degree for 30-40 minutes until crust is firm and brown.

The prep does take a little time, but it is so worth it, especially now that Fall is here, and cooler temperatures should be headed our way,  This dish is ultimate comfort food.

Thanks for the recipe Stacey!

Stuffed Shells

We were in the grocery store the other day, and Junior asked if I would make stuffed shells for dinner some night.  I said, sure, even though I had never done it before.  I bought the shells and some cheeses (I was guessing which kinds I would need) and came home to my computer to find a recipe.  After lots of searching, I took different ingredients from several recipes and kind of came up with my own.

My recipe:

16 oz. ricotta cheese
9 oz. package frozen chopped spinach
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. parsley
mushrooms (canned, diced pretty small)
2 eggs

I mixed all the ingredients together with my mixer on medium.  Most recipes said to mix by hand, but I couldn't get the texture I wanted, so I threw it into my mixer.  I than stuffed the shells I cooked and cooled with the cheese mixture.  I put them in a baking dish with a little sauce underneath so they wouldn't stick to the pan, and some on top, too.  I baked it for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.  (I didn't cover the pans, so they dried out a little...next time I will cover them for the first 20 minutes)

They came out delicious!  I am not a big cooked spinach fan (I love it raw in salads, but the cooked just doesn't do it for me), so I was worried about the taste.  There was no need.  the only complaint my husband had was that the cheese mixture needed something...but he didn't know what.  He said he expected it to taste more like the filling in a cheese wonton, so I am thinking of maybe adding a little cream cheese to the cheese mixture the next time I make this.  What do you think?  Would that work?

Fettuccine With Chicken & Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sauce

Here's a simple, yummy meal that I made in two pans.  First, I cut up some chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.  (I do this a lot because it helps to cook the chicken faster)  I cooked the chicken in a little olive oil in my big skillet.  When that was brown and cooked through, I added two jars of Ragu's Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sauce.  I then cooked a package of fettuccine pasta, and added that to the skillet.  I mixed it all together, and served it with garlic bread.  Everyone loved it, and it was ready in about 30 minutes.  Plus, I served it on paper plates, so I only had the pasta pot and skillet to wash.  There's nothing I like better than a yummy meal that has an easy cleanup.

I Made Chicken Nuggets!

Don't they look delicious?  I cut up chicken breast strips into bite sized pieces, and threw them into some beat eggs.  I then mixed some panko breadcrumbs with paprika, parsley, and garlic powder.  I coated the chicken with the breadcrumbs, and then shallow fried them in a mixture of canola and olive oils.  The kids loved them!  I am going to try baking them next time, and seeing if I get the same crunch.

Olive Garden

I had only been to the Olive Garden one time, over 16 years ago.  I went to Myrtle Beach with a friend of my dad's, and we ate there one night.  I remember it having delicious food, but man oh man were my taste buds happy last Friday.  My friend Donna treated me to lunch there, and well, wow.  Check out the bruschetta I ordered:

I ended up taking most of it home with me.  I love bruschetta, but this was the best I have ever had.  EVER.  My entree was portabella mushroom ravioli in a five cheese sauce.  Sooo good.  It was sooo good I forgot to take a picture before I gobbled it up.

And of course, to finish the meal, we had cheesecake.  White chocolate raspberry cheesecake to be exact.  Look at how pretty it was:

The entire meal was yummy.  I loved their service, too.  The never ending salad and bread sticks...yum.  The freshly grated Parmesan cheese...yum.  I loved that they boxed up my leftovers (and there were a lot!) themselves instead of handing me to go boxes.  I can wait to go back there with Junior and the kids, which won't be until next year when we get our tax refund.  As good as the food was, there is no way we can afford to feed all of us.  The check was almost $50 for just Donna and I.

But it was worth every penny. (especially since they were her pennies)

Top Droppers ~ September

The following blogs dropped here the most last month:

bethere2day ~ bethere2day is a personal blog about anything and everything, fun, humour, randomness and rants.

 

Crimsonsparkle.net ~  The view from my window.

 

Free Blogspot Blog Templates ~  collection of blogger templates...

 

Documentary Post ~  Watch & Reviews Documentaries found online

 

J5Games ~  free online games found online

 

Local Brown ~  collection of funny stand-up comedians videos..

 

comatised ~ Dreaming in digital

 

 Da Dude's BBQ Thought ~ Da Dude's BBQ Thought & other things. The thoughts and rantings of a Barbecue God Wanna be! 

 

Sing It Live ~  compilation of live performances of various artists..

 

NPB Journal ~  A portal of daily news covering National Basketball Association.

 

Thanks to all of you!