Caramel Apple Stuffed Biscuits

Welcome to Wednesday! Are you having a good week? I'm spending most of today with a dear friend, and I'm so looking forward to it! :)

Today's review is for another recipe; this one is for Caramel Apple Stuffed Biscuits from Cookies & Cups.

First, let me say I took the lazy way out; I used canned biscuit instead of mixing up the Bisquick. Mom had given us a 5-count can of Grands, and I wanted to use it before it went bad. Also, I haven't had a chance to put together a home version of Bisquick yet, and I don't want all the unhealthy stuff that is in it. (I know, like the Grands were any better...)

Anyway. That made this recipe super easy. :) And they were surprisingly yummy! Just enough glaze stuck to the tops - most of it ran off. :D The filling was tasty, and when they were warm, they perfumed the air with that wonder fall smell of cinnamon and apples. :)

If you're looking for a quick something to make, either for breakfast, dessert, or a quick snack, I think these fit the bill just fine - that's a YES, PLEASE! :) If you're cooking for someone who has to watch their carb intake, this is a NO, THANK  YOU. Whew!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!

Manicure Monday!

Just another Manic(ure) Monday... :D

It's not so much about the polish today, dear friends, as it is about these fun jewels I got at DEALS!

It was, indeed, a great deal. :D There are multiple jewels colors in the package I found; I've managed to save most of the ones I used on this manicure (when I took it all off!), so I'll be able to reuse them. For a DOLLAR, I got enough jewels to do 5-6 manis like this, PLUS a (potent!) top coat to make sure they stay on. It was a lot of fun, and I couldn't stop running another finger over top of the jewels. :D Funky! LOL!

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

Baked Apples

Welcome to Friday! I hope you've had a great week!

Today's review is this recipe from Skinny Chef for Baked Apples.

I was SO disappointed in this recipe. It's a NO, THANK YOU - even though it smelled heavenly. Yes, I overbaked the apples - I did it in the oven, because I had it on a low temp for banana bread - but that wasn't it at all. The filling was simply not good. So I might play with the METHOD, but not that combo of ingredients again.

I also bent one of Kenn's grapefruit spoons trying to use it to core my apples! :D I found that my melon-baller worked fantastically, as long as I didn't try to force it to do too much at once.

OK, I'm outta here! Another busy weekend coming up. :) Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Stephen's Slow Cooker BBQ Pork

Welcome to Wednesday! :D

Do you remember last December, when I went to Texas to take care of my niece for two weeks? Well, one of the things my brother-in-law made for dinner during my first few days there was his slow cooker BBQ pork. Oh, MY, was it good. It smelled wonderful almost all day, and was it ever tender!

I asked for his recipe earlier this year, but never got around to making it. Until last weekend.

Not only did I pig out that day (pun totally intended! :D ), but I froze it in ice-cream-scoop-sized mounds. That makes it easier to get out exactly how much I want/need for another meal, and means it defrosts quickly when I want. :)

I got permission last week to share this yummy, easy meal with you!

So, here is his recipe:
Boneless pork butt (picnic butt), available at Walmart*

Sprinkle liberally with BBQ seasoning. (They use the dry rub from THE PIG in Memphis; I used one from the grocery store. His is better. :D )

Add anywhere from 1/3 - 1/2 small bottle of liquid smoke.

Cook 10 hours in slow cooker on low. Drain; pull/shred pork, discarding fat. Return shredded meat to crockpot. Sprinkle layers of meat with more rub. Douse with one complete bottle of Bull's Eye Memphis BBQ Sauce. (I used my favorite.) Have more sauce on hand to serve, if desired.


*I got one that had the bone in, and just pulled out and discarded what needed to go when I shredded it.

That's it! It's super easy - although I will admit that I ate as much unsauced pork as I did sauced that first night.... :D

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!

Easy Breakfast Casserole

Good Monday Morning!!!!!

Did you have a good weekend?? Man, was I BUSY. Phew! I got a LOT done, though. :)

So! Today's recipe - worry, I didn't get a picture of my last manicure, but it was gross - is for Easy Breakfast Casserole from Recipe.com.

I made this for my hostess club at the end of September; it was brunch time, so I wanted something a bit hearty, but that I wouldn't have to babysit. This sure fit the bill! :)

I wanted to use red pepper instead of green - the color would have been nice - but the only ones I could find were obviously made of red GOLD, so I went with the more inexpensive green. :)

Let's see. Did I change anything else? Hmmm... Yup. :D I used butter instead of the Country Crock, half-and-half for the 2% milk, and diced ham instead of the bacon.

This is a definite YES, PLEASE! It was easy, and very good - who knew I'd like broccoli for breakfast?!?!? :D I'm thinking I'd like to add some spinach, too - just about anything veggie-wise that you like would be simple enough. :)

OK, I'm outta here! As I write this, I have naked nails. I'm going to try and change that for you for next Monday. :) Have a wonderful day!! Be BLESSED!

Pumpkin Cheesecake French Toast

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Do you have lots of plans for your weekend? Have you had a good week?

This recipe is for pumpkin cheesecake French toast from Skinny Sometimes.

I have to admit: this was a huge let-down for me. Maybe I needed to use more stevia; I had the powdered form, not the liquid. I wanted this to be sweeter, for sure. I don't make French toast often, because it's messy and takes longer than I want it to. :D So, I'm going to say NO, THANKS - but don't let that stop you from trying it. It was purely my personal taste, again, that said I don't wanna keep this recipe.

SO. :D Have a wonderful weekend! Be BLESSED!!!

Bacon and Cream Cheese Sutffed Mushrooms

Welcome to Wednesday! :) Are you having a great week??? If all goes according to plan, today's the day we're coming home. Ahhhhh, rest. :)

So, today's recipe review is for these bacon and cream cheese stuffed mushrooms from Mountain Mama Cooks.

They don't really look like much, do they. :) But these little buttons are RICH. Full of yummy cream cheese and bacon, the mushrooms are relatively low in carbohydrate. Oh, MY. Again, these would be a great game-day food. Be warned, though: you could easily make yourself sick eating these. :) They're heavy-hitters, not for someone who's not out for full-on flavor. So I guess that makes these a YES, PLEASE! :D

OK, I'm gone. Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!

Manicure Monday Again! :D

Happy Monday Morning!

OK, so I don't have a picture of MY nails to show you today, but you can go to ICY NAILS' blog and see pretty closely what mine looked like. :D

I LOVED this manicure!! It was so easy, and so STINKIN' cute!!! I put glow-in-the-dark over the whites of the eyes, and showed all the kids at the show. :D I had to feed them with a flashlight to get them to glow, because I lived in the dark during the show, but did they ever glow. I would do them again in a heartbeat! :)

I know this is a short post, but seriously, try this one. I felt like I'd painted one of the opening sequences from SCOOBY DOO onto my nails - where they're hiding in the closet, and all of a sudden, there are more than two sets of eyes? :D

By the way, today is Kenn's birthday!!! If you have a way of doing so, please take a sec to wish him a happy one. :D

OK. I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Artichoke Bread

Happy Friday! Have you had a good week?? Got big plans for the weekend? We're out of town, hopefully getting some rest. :) (As I'm writing this, we're leaving in the morning, and I'm really excited! :D)

Today's review is this Artichoke Bread from Closet Cooking.

I won't make you wait. This is a YES, PLEASE! Ohhhhh, is it good. Like artichoke dip? You will enjoy this. So cheesy, and on bread - yum. We didn't have French bread, we had a baguette. But oh, MY. I took out the middle part of the bread, like the recipe says, to give the spread a place to live. If I hadn't been so hungry, I probably would have let this bake just a little longer, so the cheese would get a bit more browned and bubbly. Oh, I'm making myself hungry. LOL!

This would be wonderful for serving on game day. It is rich, so you don't need to cut huge pieces. I don't know how well it would heat up... Just sayin'. :D

Have a wonderful weekend!! Be BLESSED! And try something new - then tell me about it! :D

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Happy Wednesday!!!

It's absolutely beautiful here in Middle Tennessee; I can't tell you how nice it's been the last couple of days. Ahhh, FALL. The trees are starting to show those tinges of color change, and there are leaf falls happening when the wind blows. :)

Today's post is a recipe review for Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Taste of Home.

This is good. It's VERY rich, decadent and creamy. But I just wasn't knocked out. If I'm going to burn these kinds of calories, I want it to be something that I will close my eyes and groan over. This didn't really do that for me. I think it might have been all the textures in it. I like my cheesecake mostly creamy, I think. This had chunks! :D

So, I'm going to say NO, THANKS - but it's all because of my personal taste. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Manicure Monday!

Good Monday Morning!

Sorry about last week. If you only knew...! :D

So, I promised to share the tuxedo manicure this week. Here it is! :D

It's kind of funny - I'm left-handed, but I seem to do better when working with my right on my left. Maybe it's because I'm being SO careful? I don't know. But these were fun. People loved them! :D

You can get a tutorial here. It was fun to show off, but a little difficult to do and care for. I might do it again, though. :D

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