Boston Cream Poke Cake

Here we are again! :)It's another FRIDAY, the last in March. Wow, is this year FLYING by?!?!

Today's share is another recipe, this one for Boston Cream Poke Cake from Lil' Luna.

I think I liked the IDEA of this more than I like the final thing. It was good, don't get me wrong - I love pudding poke cakes! - but the chocolate pudding wasn't as chocolatey or gooey as the real thing. I'm thinking that, perhaps, only using half the milk in that top layer, or making a thin layer of ganache for it. :D I'm going to keep it in the "good recipes to have", just in case I need it. :D And just in case I get around to playing with it, too. But there are so many other things out there to try!!!

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Try something new! :)

Gingersnaps

Happy Wednesday! :D Are you having a good week? Can you believe it's almost the end of yet another month?!?! <sigh> :D

Today's recipe for you is Gingersnaps from Better Homes & Gardens. This is one I use for my open house; I've been told they're the best gingersnaps several people have ever had. I like hearing that. :D

I use butter, not margarine. And don't skimp on the spices! If yours are too old, GET NEW ONES for this recipe. Spices DO go, and it's much better to have fresher ones.

Also, I have been known to use all KINDS of colored sugars on these - the large granules, please! For me they're just not gingersnaps unless it's large-granule sugar. :D

This DOES make a very large batch. If you don't need lots of cookies, perhaps half the recipe. Or freeze half the dough. Or make the whole batch and freeze some of the cookies - they stack and freeze really well! Just make sure they're completely cooled before you stack them on top of each other, or they'll stick. :)

OK, I'm outta here. :) Enjoy your day - may it be REALLY blessed!

English Muffin Bread

It's MONDAY! Time for another week. :) Did you have a good weekend?

Today's recipe is for English Muffin Bread from Foodie With Family. :)

Yes, this is a YES, PLEASE! It's SOOOOOOOOOO easy, y'all! No kneading at ALL. I did the half-recipe, and it made two large loaves and one smaller. I gave two of the loaves away; I should have frozen half the one I kept, because where we keep our bread is rather moist and warm. I couldn't eat it fast enough, because of course I have to be careful with bread. It got moldy. :/

BUT it was wonderful! It toasted up so nicely. I didn't particularly care for the messy cornmeal I had to deal with when it came out of the loaf pans, but that's cleaned up quickly. :D And of course it needed homemade strawberry jam on it. :D

Seriously. Make some of this this coming weekend; stash some in your freezer, and use the rest to make it SO easy to get something comforting and yummy for breakfast QUICKLY.

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Nailene French Tip 2 Go

Happy Friday! How's your week been? Do you have fun plans for this weekend? Or are you super-busy? Or doing absolutely NOTHING? :D

I wanted to share something a bit different with you. :) I go in spurts where I want to feel all ladylike and do things like my nails and feet. Then there are periods of time when I don't want to fuss so I don't. :D (We'll see how it goes on the beach this time!!!)

Well, I decided I wanted to try something new when this recent "spurt" started - so I went to Walmart and found this kit. Now, right beside it are stickers that you can use to get nice lines - and the stickers fit into the insert on this kit package - so I picked up a package of them. too.

I've never EVER had tips since I was a grown-up. But I always have admired them. So this was my FIRST TIME using this kit.

I love my tips! (I've since done them again, for a filming I was a part of for a Bible Study. More on that another time. :D) That first time, I didn't press the stickers down well enough in the corners of my nails, so the tip paint seeped underneath a bit. And because of my fat fingers, I ALWAYS get paint on the sides of my fingers. Trust me, the second time came out MUCH cleaner and straight. I'm typing with them now, and pausing to admire them every sentence or two. :D I would highly recommend this kit to anyone who'd like to do their own French tips! The kit was about $6, I think, and the stickers another $2. There are enough stickers to do my nails probably 8-10 times. And I'm going to do my toenails soon, too! :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful weekend! BE BLESSED!

Italian Meatball Soup

Welcome to yet another Wednesday. :) Are you having a good week?

Here's another soup from the week I cooked while Dad was gone. It's Italian Meatball Soup from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.

I'm going to give this one a YES, PLEASE! The meatballs were really good, VERY tender - but next time, I'm going to BAKE these, too - I just cannot fry a meatball to save my life. <sigh> They turn out more like meatbits!

It was another healthy soup, with lots of veggies - especially spinach! It was easy, and reheats well. Let me check the recipe to see if I did any tweaking.... :D

Nope, followed it pretty much exactly. I'm not REALLY crazy about all the Italian seasoning that floats in the broth, so I might cut that down next time. But it's Italian soup, right? :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

Happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Did you try anything new?

This review is for Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp from SkinnyTaste.

YES, PLEASE! Wow, was this good! At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it - but it's got a nice taste to it, just a little spice - and I've been taught how to cook shrimp perfectly. :) And although it's simply awful for me, I LOVE rice - and since Asian dishes usually have rice or noodles, they're usually things I like. LOL!

Don't skip the cilantro. I know some people don't like it - and you can cut down on the amount if you need to - but it adds a bit of brightness and freshness that I think this dish needs.

I got my light coconut milk at Trader Joe's for 99 cents for the can - and have over a half can left for something else. :)

OK. I'm out of here. We're starting on our adventure today, after having been with my family for a reunion the last week! Please pray for us! :) Have a BLESSED day!!

Savory Bean & Spinach Soup

You made it! It's FRIDAY again! :)

Today, I've got a Savory Bean & Spinach Soup to share with you, from Fitness.com.

Now, then. I am not a huge soup fan. There's just something about it that will never make soup my favorite thing - and part of that, I'm sure, is how messy and noisy it can be to eat. :D

But I took a week, when my dad was traveling, to cook some soups for Kenn for meals. Dad came home early - it was the week the first big blizzard hit Kansas City, but I went ahead and did that cooking. And this was one of the two soup recipes.

This one got a definite YES, PLEASE! from Kenn. It was OK - and it was vegetarian, easily made vegan if you don't add the cheese. :)

I was a bit disappointed that mine looked so much more tomato-based than the picture on the website. But I loved the fact it had such healthy ingredients! Of course, I used organic vegetable broth. :)

And yes, that's a piece of the Amish bread behind the bowl. Oh, gosh, that bread made the meal. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful weekend!! :)

PB&J Blondie Bars

It's Wednesday again. :) I hope you're having a great week! If not, go home and make these. :D

I guess you can guess these get a YES, PLEASE! from me. And I bet you'd like to know about them. :D They're PB&J Blondies from the Food Network.

I was a little dubious at first; there is NO peanut butter in them. But they taste like there is! And I used homemade strawberry jam, so  I would give them the best possible ingredients. But if I were to make them for just us, I'd use grape - it's my favorite PB&J. :D Trust me, though, there was NOTHING wrong with the strawberry!!!

These were a big hit with Kenn, too! I put what was left into the freezer, because between the two of us, we could have polished them off in less than 24 hours - and that's BAD. :D

Seriously. Make these. You'll love them. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day - and LMK if you try these!

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Welcome to yet another Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Did you get a chance to try making something new? What about comfort foods? Link me to something you love!

OK. Here's the THIRD recipe from my jewelry party. They are Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies from Divine Baking.

I have to admit to you: I accidentally used semisweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet. I mean, I BOUGHT good-quality bittersweet chocolate chips for this recipe. But I forgot to use them, and used my Toll House semisweets instead. ::hanging head::

The GOOD news? I don't think I would have liked them that dark-tasting! These are CHOCOLATE. And from what I can tell, there's pretty much no gluten in them. And the only fat I can find in them is from the chocolate chips. Pretty incredible!

These got a YES, PLEASE! - and they freeze well, too. I thought they'd be pretty fragile, but nope. I froze the rest, and ate the last one about two weeks later. Just as good and just as cookie-shaped as before I froze them. :D

OK, I'm outta here again. :) Have a wonderful, blessed day!!!!

Crab Rangoon Cups

It's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOORAY!!!!!! You made it through another week! :D And I'm going to assume I did, too.... :D It's almost time to leave for the family reunion, and then Westward! Ho!

These are another one of the new recipes I tried for my jewelry party; they're Crab Rangoon Cups from Big Red Kitchen.

(I wish you could see the whole platter; Kenn bought it for us about six years ago, and it's the first time I've gotten to show it off! It's got CRABS on it! :D)

I did this one EXACTLY as it said. I ever treated my women to REAL crab meat - and that was expensive!! But I would have liked it better with the fake stuff, I think. :D That's probably the only thing I'd change - except I'd get real sweet & sour instead of duck sauce for dipping. :) So I guess that's a YES, PLEASE, right? :D

OK, I'm off!! Have a WONDERFUL weekend - spend some time with people you love!

Asian Meatballs

Welcome to Wednesday! Are you having a good week?

I had a Premiere Jewelry party on President's Day, and I made four new recipes. This is one of the four! This is Asian Meatballs from Gimme Some Oven. :D

One of the good things about these meatballs is that I could make the meatballs up to the baking point, and the sauce, ahead of time. Then I baked off the meatballs and heated the sauce so we were ready to eat when everyone got here.

The meatballs were really tender! The sauce, I would probably back off the hoisin a little bit - it was pretty strong. Maybe up the sesame oil JUST a touch. But overall, these get a YES, PLEASE! from us.

I will say I did NOT like them so much reheated. The meatball toughened up, and it was just not nearly as good. But you could use the meatball part of this recipe for an Asian noodle bowl, and they would be wonderful!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Be BLESSED - and try something new! :)

Tamale Pie

Happy Monday Morning! Did you enjoy your weekend? Did you spend time with people you love - or did you get to rest and relax in the quiet? :D We were at our last church service at Springhouse Worship & Arts Center until we come back in the fall. Happy and sad - they are REAL family.

Anyway. :)

Today's recipe under review is for Tamale Pie from Brown Eyed Baker.

I didn't change a thing on this recipe. :) Oh, wait. Yes I did, by accident. :D But I also cut it in half. I accidentally used organic fire-roasted crushed tomatoes versus diced tomatoes. And when you dice the jalapeno, be sure to get all the ribs and seeds out - I use a knife to make sure!

The heat on this, for me, was perfect. It wasn't too spicy at all, but flavorful. I'm thinking about changing it up next time - what a shock, right? :D - by either doubling the filling and keeping the amount of cornbread topping the same, or adding a can of black beans. Kenn's only criticism was that the bread was too thick on the bite he had - and it did get thicker in one corner. I put out guacamole and sour cream to top with.

I'm definitely giving this a YES, PLEASE - even my dad said, "That'll eat!" and he doesn't like spicy. :D The leftovers warm up beautifully. DO let it sit for the 15 minutes it calls for, and it will slice up beautifully.

OK, I'm outta here! :) Have a wonderful, BLESSED day!

Pineapple Coconut Bites

It's FRIDAY! :) How was your week? And welcome to MARCH!!! It's so difficult to believe this month is already here - and how much I have to get done before next weekend! AUGH! :D Seriously. SO much to do.

ANYWAY. :D This is a recipe for Pineapple Coconut Bites from Cooking.com.

It's an interesting recipe! The only refined sugar in the whole thing is a few tablespoons of confectioner's sugar in the crust. The rest is honey. I used regular whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour - it's what I had on hand. :D I also halved the recipe, and had enough of everything to make a dozen of these little cookies.

I'm not quite sure what I think of them. I like the IDEA of them, but none of the flavors was strong enough. I think I'd like to find some pineapple extract to put in the center of these. And maybe, instead of saving the crumbs for topping, toast some coconut to use. I did like the METHOD for these - and as you can see, I didn't use mini muffin liners. I sprayed the tin with Baker's Secret - my favorite for baked items!! I think it works better - and used my Pampered Chef tamper to easily form the crumb bottom.

I think I'll put this into "Good Recipes to Have", and maybe play with it sometime when I have time. All the ingredients are things I usually have on-hand, except for the pastry flour.

Does that help you at all? LOL!

OK, I'm outta here - I am now pre-posting for this blog. I'm going to try to get you all the way through the first of April before I leave, so you'll have something all month and won't forget me. :D Keep leaving comments! I'll be on my computer, but not having time to post. :)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Try something new! :) BE BLESSED!