Friday, November 14, 2014

Snickerdoodle Brownies

It's FRIDAY! Have you had a good week?  Do you have big plans for the weekend? I do - I'll be representing doTERRA at a HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS fair tomorrow at Charlie Daniels Park in Mt. Juliet, TN. If you're in the area, come see me!

Today, I'm sharing these Snickerdoodle Brownies from My Own Sweet Thyme.

These are really good - and SO much easier than regular snickerdoodles! They take hardly any time, and are soft, cinnamony, and cravable. :D

This is also another recipe from when I was in Oregon; I've made them a couple more times since then, but the photo was on my laptop... :D

They freeze well, they travel well, and they make a great gift for someone who loves snickerdoodles. :) I hope you'll try them - snickerdoodles are pretty popular around the holidays... :)

Have a wonderful weekend! Be BLESSED, friend!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

French Toast Roll-Ups

Happy Wednesday! :) Are you enjoying your week? It's going MUCH too quickly for me. Phew, life gets crazy in November! :D

ANYWAY. This recipe I actually tried over a year ago, when we were in Oregon. :D The photos were on my laptop, and it was just too much work... ;D

These are French Toast Roll-Ups from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

These were good! I like anything with cinnamon and sugar. :D They *were* a little labor-intensive, but I wasn't making a bunch of them. Just enough for me. :D

I used peanut butter and cream cheese - individually. :) They're really kid-friendly - fill with whatever the faves around your house are!

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day, friend. BE BLESSED!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Breakfast Pie

 Good Monday Morning! I hope you've had a great weekend, and are ready for your week! :) (Seriously. Is anyone, EVER????)

Today's recipe share is for Breakfast Pie from Joyful Momma's Kitchen.

This is so much a YES, PLEASE! that the first time I made it, I didn't even get to photograph it! :D I made it for my Bible study ladies, and we all devoured what we had; I put the rest in the fridge, figuring to eat some the next day and photo it then.

Didn't happen. :D

Kenn wanted to know if he could finish it off! Of course I said yes - and remembered, hours later, that I hadn't gotten a photo for you!

Guess I'd have to make it again....
So I did, for our farmer friends in Indiana. And I forgot: I should have doubled the recipe, because they need FUEL to work as hard as they do. But they were SO polite, and saved Kenn the last piece. :D

The second time, I used bacon bits. For one thing, I was using someone else's kitchen, and that always throws me off (and makes things take longer to make!). For another, it's SOOOOOOO much quicker! :D

Also, I didn't do the corn flakes thing. It's already got potatoes in it, and I didn't want to add more carbs! Neither time did I do them, and no one felt like it was missing ANYTHING. :D

I hope you do try this; it's really good, really easy, and will get rave reviews. :D

Have a wonderful day, friend! Be BLESSED~!

Friday, November 7, 2014

Crossover: Hostess Appreciation Luncheon, part TWO

Happy Friday! :) I'm glad you came back today! Time to show you the rice and squash/cauliflower casserole from my Hostess Appreciation Luncheon for my Stampin' Up! hostesses!

First up: Becky's Easy Cliantro Lime Rice from allrecipes.com:


It's easy, and it's good, and the flavor is great with Mexican food. I get tired of Spanish rice with Mexican food ALL the time. Of course, I made my "refried" beans, and the two together were really nice.

Next up is this Low Carb Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Casserole from All Day Long I Dream About Food!

As Donna said, they know it's fall when they come eat squash at my house. :D I wanted to make sure that we had a vegetable, in case someone wasn't too crazy about all the Mexican food I made. I USUALLY make squash on the sweet side, like acorn squash with brown sugar and butter - but this is definitely savory, with Parmesan cheese. It was good - I halved the recipe, and used frozen cauliflower instead of fresh. It was good!

For dessert, I made this flan again. :) It's easy, Mexican, and good - everyone had a second piece! :D

Well, now you know one of the reasons my hostesses have been with me for so long: our Hostess Appreciation Luncheon is FULLY homemade. I do all I can to serve them a wonderful meal; all they have to do is host a qualifying Stampin' Up! party once a year. If you'd like to do so, please contact me! We have a BLAST! (And we can do it ONLINE, too!!) And if you'd like to see the projects we made this year, please visit Lori's Stamping Spot and look for today's post. :)

Have a wonderful day and a wonderful weekend, my friend. BE BLESSED!


Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Crossover: Hostess Appreciation Luncheon, part ONE

Welcome to Wednesday! :D For today and Friday, I'd like to share with you a few recipes I made for my annual Stampin' Up!'s Hostess Appreciation Luncheon; it's a crossover post because I'll be linking you to my Stampin' Up! page and vice versa, so you can see what our projects were, too. :)

We went Mexican Fiesta this year. :) I'll post the main dish and salsa today, and the two sides I'll share on Friday.


These are Simply Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas from Food.com.

Of course I didn't do it quite like the recipe! :D I poached the chicken in water, onion, cumin, salt, and pepper. Then I shredded it, saute'd the onions and added it to my shredded chicken, and proceeded from there.

The sauce was really easy and yummy; my mom "snacked" on the leftovers for a couple days. :D These were simple to make, not overly spicy, baked well, and were pretty impressive. :D

Now, then. On to the salsa!

Honestly? I'm a little leery of salsa recipes. I LOVE pico de gallo, but it's SO labor-intensive!!! I decided to try this, however, and I'm SO glad I did! :D

Everyone LOVED this salsa from Curved Promises on tumblr.


It REALLY doesn't get much simpler than this! However, the longer it sat, the hotter it became - which is unusual, because it didn't have anything hotter than green chilies in it! But it was good on ANYTHING one desired to put it on. :D

OK, that's all for today! If you'd like to see the table setting, invitation, and table favor, please visit me at Lori's Stamping Spot and look for today's post. :)

Have a wonderful day, friends! Be BLESSED!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Eggs in Hash Brown Nests


Happy Monday! It's NOVEMBER! Where has this YEAR gone, people?!?! I mean...!!!!

Let me just warn you: I'm about to head in to open house preparations full tilt; I will continue to share things as I get a chance, but most of my open house recipes are ones you've seen, or ones I've done for years, so there won't be much new to show you from that. I'll do what I can to try new products and recipes, and read new books, but the next month will be TOTALLY nutso. :D

OK. You've been warned. :D Now, on to today's share: Eggs in Hash Brown Nests, from none other than The Pioneer Woman.

I love watching Ree on the Food Network. She makes me feel like a friend. :) I came across this recipe a while ago, and decided to give it a try last month.

I did NOT make my own hash browns. I like Simply Potatoes for this kind of thing, so that's what I used. I needed to season them more than I did. Also, mine didn't get very crisp on the outside - because I don't LIKE my eggs to get brown. I think, if and when I do this recipe again, I might bake the nests even more than I did.

These reheated OK; I didn't even heat a few of them, just ate them cold - because I didn't want my eggs to be able to bounce. :D And I can see, definitely, serving them with a big ham for brunch - that would be really yummy!

I guess I really can't make up my mind on these; YOU try them and tell me what YOU think! :)

Have a wonderful day, my friend. Be BLESSED! :)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Cream Cheese Apple Bread

It's FRIDAY!!!! We're home, trying to get back into the swing of things. :D BUSY time ahead of us, for SURE!

Today's recipe is for Cream Cheese Apple bread, from Today's Creative Blog.

Let me just say that Mom put this one together for me. So I don't know if the cream cheese vanished into the dough, or what happened - but it doesn't look like the one on the blog.

It IS a YES, PLEASE, recipe however! I made this for a Stampin' Up! class, and everyone loved it. It's incredibly moist and flavorful.

I think I'll keep the recipe, and maybe double the cream cheese part. I mean, I love cream cheese, so it can't HURT... :D

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend. Be blessed, my friend!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Harvest Pear Crisp

Welcome to Wednesday! Are you having a good week? I hope so! Kenn and I are still gone. :D

Today's recipe is for Harvest Pear Crisp from My Recipes.com.

This is another YES, PLEASE! recipe - it's originally from COOKING LIGHT, which means my mom won't groan too much about its ingredients. :D And we used oat flour instead of white/wheat, so my dad could enjoy some of it, too.

Mom put it together for me, because I got crazy busy the day I was going to do it - and the pears my friend, Maria, brought over needed to be used before I had another free day. Thanks, Mom and Maria!!! :)

Mom used pecans, even though the recipe said walnuts - and it was SOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!!

Let me know if you've tried anything I've shown you yet! :D I hope you have a wonderful day. Be blessed, friend!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Copycat IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes


Welcome to Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Kenn and I are gone for a bit, but you don't have to miss out on my reviews this time. You're on my TO DO list before I leave! :D

Today's review is this recipe for Copycat IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes from Raining Hot Coupons.

This is definitely a YES, PLEASE! recipe. I used pumpkin puree that I made from a sugar pumpkin; it was a little funny that it only needed a little for the recipe, but I did it, anyway. :D

They were really nicely spiced, and VERY fluffy. I halved the recipe because Kenn was gone - and because he refuses to believe he actually likes things with pumpkin in it (although he does! :D). Mom had one, and she really liked them!

I probably put a little more cinnamon in than it called for. (OK. I KNOW I did. :D ) They were REALLY good, and very easy. I think you should put these on the menu for sometime soon! :D Ooooh, how fun to do these for breakfast, then go to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard! It would be a perfect fall day!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a wonderful day, dear friend. Be BLESSED!

Friday, October 17, 2014

Double Butterscotch Cookies

HAPPY FRIDAY! :) Do you have big plans for the weekend? We're going up to Indiana for a few days, and we're both SO excited we can't stand it. :D We need a break. :)

So, anyway. I figured I might as well end the week with another cookie. :)

These are Double Butterscotch Cookies from Taste of Home.

Now, let me just tell you. Cookie recipes where I have to refrigerate the dough are SO not my favorites - and to have to roll them into logs?!? Yeah. I usually pass.

However, I was making these for a meeting, and others were bringing cookies, too, and I didn't want TOO much chocolate. Besides, Kenn loves butterscotch. :)

SO. I made this. And yes, I'm still awful at rolling ANYTHING round. I know how to do it in theory, but my execution is horrible. :::::sigh:::::: :D

HOWEVER. The recipe gets a YES, PLEASE! - I only baked 2 of the 3 rolls of dough for the meeting, and froze the third. It baked up just fine when I wanted to make Kenn a treat about 6 weeks later. They're crunchy and chewy, and just different enough to be special. :)

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

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Sugar Cookie Bars


Welcome to Wednesday!! :) Have you had a good week so far?

Today, I want to share this recipe that I've made several times since I found it, but always gave away before I could shoot a photo! This recipe is for Sugar Cookie Bars from High Heels & Grills. :D

So, this is obviously a YES, PLEASE! recipe, since I continue to make it. :D They're rich, sugary cookies with a wonderful frosting; as you can see here, I jazzed the latest batch up with fall sprinkles. They're easy to dress up or down, and SO easy to transport!!! That's the best part - taking them to someone who needs a meal means they'll have something sweet to grab and go for a while.

I didn't change the recipe in any way, shape, or form. :) Isn't that amazing?? :D

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day, dear friend. BE BLESSED!


Monday, October 13, 2014

Manicure Monday: Jamberry Review

Welcome to Monday! :)

Today, I want to share something that was pretty new to me, until my sister decided she was going to become a Jamberry representative. For transparency, she sent me the ones pictured as samples to try and show you - but I also bought some from her premiere party. :D

Here is the link to her website.

This was the first time I've used Jamberry, so I was curious. I watched the video twice on how to use them, and then went ahead.

Because I was doing two accent nails on each hand, I wanted to do them before painting my nails. I did my dominant hand first, because that's the one I knew I'd have the most trouble with - trimming with scissors!!! But it went surprisingly smoothly. In the video, they tell you to file any excess off with an emery board; they say, "Aggressive filing is not necessary." Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure, I thought - but no, really. The excess came off really easily.

The only problem I had was with adhering ONE of the four. I'm not sure what I did differently, but it took me THREE tries to get it to stick. I can already tell that they're going to last longer than my normal polish. No chipping, which is fantastic - I'm really hard on polish. :) I only used about 2/3 of each of two strips, so it's economical - and there's NO WAY I could have gotten the stripes even, let alone the circles done freehand! :)

I'll let you know how long they last - if I decide to take them off before they need to be taken off. :D

I'm having a Facebook party; there are chances to enter drawings, play games, etc. It's going on today through Wednesday; if you'd like to join up, here's the link! If it doesn't work, message me and we'll add you. :) If you want to book your own party, let Kelli know I sent you! It's great because anyone can order from anywhere! :)

Have a wonderful day, dear friend! Be BLESSED!

Friday, October 10, 2014

Amish Potato Rolls


HAPPY FRIDAY! :)

Welcome back! I know you came back JUST to see what I served with that Cabbage Roll Soup. :) Here they are, without any further words - Amish Potato Rolls by Baked by Rachel.

Oh, my. Heaven will have rolls like these. :) They're light, fluffy, a tiny bit sweet, and just about too good for words. I guess that makes them a YES, PLEASE! recipe. :D I have a little over half of the batch in the freezer, just waiting for another soup day... :D

The second rising didn't take nearly as long as the time says. I set the timer, but as you can see, they were about to overflow my pan! :D I also mashed up a large potato, didn't use instant - although you could. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, friend! MANY blessings!

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Cabbage Roll Soup


Welcome to Wednesday! :)

It's finally feeling a bit fall-ish around Middle Tennessee, so soup is allowed on the menu. :D (Sorry, but I cannot BEAR to eat soup when it's freakishly hot outside...) Kenn loves cabbage, and cabbage rolls, so this is what I made him: Cabbage Roll Soup from Hey! That Tastes Good!

I was surprised at how much I actually liked this soup. I don't tend to enjoy too many tomato-based soups; I think perhaps it's the texture. I used the tomato sauce, NOT the diced tomatoes in here, and that just might have made the difference!

I probably should have made my cabbage ribbons just a tad smaller, but that would have been an aesthetic thing. :D The recipe says it serves FOUR. When I told Kenn that, he looked at me and said, "Four WHAT?!" - it made a HUGE pot of soup. We ate these big bowls, AND I have several jars in the freezer! It's a YES, PLEASE! recipe - easy, healthy, gluten-free, and hearty.

Come back on Friday and see the rolls I made to serve with it. BOY, HOWDY. :D

Have a WONDERFUL day, friend. Be BLESSED!

Monday, October 6, 2014

German Pancake



Good Monday Morning! Welcome to October! What better time for a German breakfast recipe, right?!? :D (Don't ask me why...) Here's one - German Pancake from 365 Days of Baking & More.

This was pretty darned easy. :) Let me check the recipe to see if I "tweaked" anything... :D Nope, I didn't.

This is a YES, PLEASE! recipe, although it's not a strong flavor by itself. We used maple syrup on top, but it tastes a LOT like an eclaire, so I could see some Nutella or chocolate sauce drizzled over instead. (Oh, YUM!!) You can serve it with jams and jellies, too.

If you're looking for a relatively easy recipe that's not too filling, a little bit of a treat, this is your recipe. It serves four, but it's NOT a heavy dish. You'll probably want to serve SOMETHING else with it - fruit, breakfast meat, etc.

OK, peeps, I'm outta here! TONS on my to-do list today! :) Have a wonderful day. BE BLESSED!!!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Fried Egg



Happy Wednesday! :) Didn't autumn come in nicely? I do wish it was cooler - mid-80s is hot in the sun! - but it's going to be a lovely fall!

So, today's recipe review is for Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Fried Egg from Simply Cooking.

Let's see. I always cut my bacon package in half; it helps us eat less - but I do use thick-cut bacon. :D I used 2 full strips - three halves on my sandwich, and one to munch. :DI used my low-carb bread, and was a little apprehensive about how it would hold up to the substantial sandwich. But it did great! :) Oh, and I used 2% American instead of cheddar. With the butter, I didn't want the extra fat cheddar gives off. :D

This was a YUMMY breakfast. I had some hash browns to finish up, so I just made them and threw 'em on my plate. :D That SANDWICH!!!! Oh, my. I've made myself rather hungry... :D

OK, my friend. I'm going to post this now! Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Monday, September 22, 2014

Hash Brown Waffles


Welcome to Monday! :)

So, I got a chance to make brunch for Kenn and me a few weeks ago; this is one of the things I made - Hash Brown Waffles from Tea & Cookies. (For those of you who don't come to the blog often, just click on the name of the blog, and it will open another window with the blog directly to the recipe!)

Now, I used Simply Potatoes instead of taking the time to do my own. I didn't add the onion, but added onion powder. I should have taken the time to done some onion, but the flavor was OK with the powder. :)

The biggest PRO about this recipe? Not having to babysit them on the cooking surface. I always seem to have twenty things that need my attention at the same time, and doing the hash browns this way was SO much easier. Then, there's the fact that you could add just about anything you wanted in the waffle iron, too. So super easy to do!

The con? I like having a crispy outside and a tender inside, but these were mostly crispy. I tried adding more potatoes, but it just squished them flatter. :) It was quite a conversation-starter, though! :D

OK, friend. Thank you for coming to the blog today! Let me know what you're trying new, or what you're best find is from recent memory. :D Have a wonderful day - be BLESSED!

Monday, August 25, 2014

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Insanity Cake - and our winner announced! :D


Happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Did you get what you wanted to accomplished? Did you try anything or anyplace new???

I'll announce our winner for Jen Hatmaker's INTERRUPTED in just a moment; let's do the review of this Ooey Gooey Chocolate Insanity Cake from The Slow Roasted Italian first. :D

I followed this recipe to the letter except for one thing: I did half milk chocolate chips, half semisweet. I didn't even half the recipe; I'd already started measuring and combining ingredients before I even thought of it!

Kenn LOVED this cake. It was too sweet for me, and when I make it for him next time, I will NOT put the chips in. It was chocolately enough without them, and they made a hard layer on the bottom of the cake that I thought spoiled the texture of the whole thing. Also, the timing is incorrect for the baking time; it says 20 minutes, but I think I was closer to 45 minutes.

It's an easy recipe, and like I said, Kenn loved it - that makes it a winner in my book. :D

Speaking of winners...

Congratulations, Katherine! You won!!!!


Will you message me your address again? I'll get this ordered for you as soon as I can. :)

OK, y'all, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be blessed - and leave me a message. I'm feeling all alone out here. :D

Friday, August 22, 2014

Overnight Yeast Waffles


It's FRIDAY! Are you ready for the weekend?!? :) Do you have big plans? I need to make sure I have some cookies baked by the end of day tomorrow; I need them for Sunday! :D

Today's recipe review is for these Overnight Yeast Waffles from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

This recipe really interested me; one of the things that stops me from doing more breakfast recipe reviews is that I just don't get going well in the mornings. :D By the time I'm able to think clearly, it's later in the morning and I'm HUNGRY, and it's easier to make a peanut butter sandwich than to take a long time making something else. With these waffles, you mix them up the night before and let them sit in the fridge until you're ready to cook. I LIKE that.

What I, personally, didn't like was that they tasted like bread. Waffle-iron-cooked, but yeast bread nonetheless. Kenn liked them - but he likes waffles, and he likes it when we get a chance to eat breakfast together. :D

SO. I am putting this into my category of "Good Recipes to Have", but I'm still on the lookout for a tasty waffle recipe that can sit in the fridge overnight! :D

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy your day - and be BLESSED, my friend.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad



Welcome to Wednesday! Are you having a good week? Is your heart breaking over #Ferguson? Mine is. But that's another blog and another topic. Today, I'm sharing with you this recipe for Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad from Fit Foodie Finds.

My family decided to try this salad for our Fourth of July celebration; we all love Caprese salad, so thought this looked delicious enough to try. :)

The truth? While quinoa is really getting a lot of hype right now, I still really have to watch the carbs on it. Even though it's "full of protein", some of it's still high carb, which kind of negates why one would want to eat it in the first place, in my shoes. :D

They salad was really fresh, really easy to fix. I think everyone enjoyed it as a different change of pace, with the texture of the quinoa. HOWEVER. I doubt we'll make it again. As a side salad only, I think we'll probably stick with a regular (or deconstructed!) Caprese salad, and leave the quinoa for another place. It's just a personal preference with this recipe; if you absolutely adore quinoa, you'll probably love this salad! :)

OK, that's if for me for today. Have a wonderful day, friend! Be BLESSED! (And if you didn't enter for the drawing in Monday's post, it's got EXTREMELY low entries right now!)

Monday, August 18, 2014

Book Review: INTERRUPTED by Jen Hatmaker

Happy Monday Morning! How are you today? Did you have a good weekend? Was it eventful, or relaxing? :)

Today, I want to talk about Jen Hatmaker's revised and expanded INTERRUPTED. As a disclosure, I was one of 250 bloggers to receive a copy of her book to read and review. Opinions will be all mine. :)

Here's what the back of the book says:
Have you ever felt like you are completely missing the point?
Are you one of the millions who crave a new direction in the church, fed up with religious games, empty promises, and cultural Christianity? You are not alone You are not crazy. Maybe Jesus is ready to interrupt your life.
In 7, Jen Hatmaker and her family started an experimental mutiny against excess. Interrupted is the prequel, the story before the story - when God stepped into their comfortable faith and called them to join Him in something greater. Walk with Jen into a transfomrational journey that began with one dangerous prayer: "Raise up in me a holy passion," and concluded with a life of service to the last, the least, the forgotten, and the forsaken. Transparent and imperfect, Jen will engage and inspire you to go beyond comfortable and answer for yourself the question she faced: is there more to faith than just safe and sequestered, predictable and boring?
God is moving and stirring our generation. Are you ready? 

I started this book last week, and devoured the first two sections. And then I put it down, because I feared what the book's call to action might be. But that part of it never really showed up. Let me try to explain. :)

The first part of the book, Jen talks about how she and her husband were on their way up the comfortable Christian ladder. I think anyone who grew up in the church in the last 30 years, especially, knows what she's talking about: knowing the right things to say, knowing how to talk the talk and walk the walk and wear the T-shirt. Her husband, Brandon, was on staff with a growing church. They were making a good living, both ministering to the flock, but underneath it all was the "Isn't there more to it than this? I'm just not feeling FILLED." And so, Jen asked God, "God, raise up in me a holy passion."

Have you ever noticed that God's just WAITING for you to ask Him something like that? :D

The second half of the book talks about how our concept of church needs to change to reach the postmodern person in America. It talks about doing missional work where we live. It talks about how Brandon and Jen and Austin New Church all started, and there's a LOT of great information in here.



Jen writes the same way in her book as she does her blog (jenhatmaker.com), with a lot of love, a tiny bit of sarcasm, and a little flow-of-consciousness. :) She has SO much passion for this book, and for its themes. I, too, have been trying to find out how to live more as Jesus would. I think the best thing about this book is that Jen is honest in showing the steps she and Brandon went through - from asking the questions to how they walk it out. And perhaps, no matter how much *I* want it, the greatest things she's done in the book is NOT give us a checklist to work from on how to accomplish living a missional life. (And that is where the "call to action" became different from what I wanted/feared!!)

I really recommend you read Jen's blog post about Interrupted if I haven't convinced you to read it.

And to one person, I will send you a copy straight from Amazon.com! Just enter the Rafflecopter below. :) Have a wonderful day, my friend! Be BLESSED!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, August 15, 2014

Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Cake

Happy Friday! Have you had a good week? Can you believe we're at the middle of August already? Goodness, but this year's flying by. :)

Today's recipe is for Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Cake from Inside BruCrew Life. (For recipes on any of the reviews, just click the link that's the website's name!)

The only thing I did to adapt this recipe was half it, and bake it in an 8" square pan.

What I didn't like about it? That's a LOT of oil to use. And I didn't like that the peanut butter cups were only on the top.

I was thinking about this, and thinking about ways to doctor this recipe, when my husband said to me, "I really love this cake! It's really moist!"

Well. What's a girl to do?!?! I might try something else besides PB cups on top. I know for a fact that's not something Kenn's attached to. :) But I guess I'll keep the recipe! He's not a sweets fan, so to get that kind of response means something. :)

Let me know what you think if you try it! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up


Happy Wednesday! How are you? Have you had a good summer? Are you ready to roll back into the fall/school routine? Routine. What a nice, safe word that sounds like... :D This year has been all OVER the place at our house, and "routine" days have been few and far between.

SO. Today's recipe is for a Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up from Melissa's Recipes.

I made this as an easy take-along dinner for some friends who'd suffered a sudden loss. (This has been a ROUGH year for many of my loved ones. :( ) I wanted to take them something that was easy for me, and easy for them to reheat, since most of the family had just come back from a long trip. I made them TWO of these - they've got four kids, most of them teens or pre-! - and made myself one to do for this blog post. :)

Let's see. The only thing I think I did differently was that I used a little less bacon per roll, but it wasn't a LOT less. The roll turned out to be pretty long, and wanted to break easily. I did wrap and transport both of theirs in one piece, because I didn't want the insides to come out all over the place! :)

This is what mine looked like on the inside. I got about a dozen pieces out of the roll. I ate these two for my lunch that day, and froze the rest - I wanted to know if it would do well if frozen. And YES, it worked wonderfully! I wrapped two pieces in paper towel, and heated for 1.5 - 2 minutes.

I'm NORMALLY a big ketchup person, but I liked the flavor of these without my ketchup this time. The filling - and yes, I know Velveeta's got lots of bad things in it, so I don't use it often at all!! - was really good and quite creamy. The crust held up well to the rolling, even where I was afraid it wouldn't.

SO. This gets a YES, PLEASE! And my friend came up to me Sunday and told me her kids were begging her to get the recipe. :D So let me know if you try it, and what you think of it! :)

Have a wonderful day, dear friend! BE BLESSED!!!!!!!

Friday, July 18, 2014

Dill Pickle Dip


Happy Friday! :) I hope you've had a great week, and have something wonderful planned for this weekend. Whether it's relaxing, or getting out, I hope you live each moment to its fullest! :)

Today's share is dill pickle dip; I used the recipe I found at The Cutting Edge of Ordinary.

My stepdaughter loves dill pickles. :) She says she loves this dip; it was good! I did it exactly as the recipe said to, and got pretzels to dip in it.

I enjoyed it the first couple of times I ate it, but it never developed into a craving. :) But it was definitely a conversation-starter (I made it for a Stampin' Up! party).

OK, I'm outta here! :) Have a wonderful weekend! Be BLESSED, my friend!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Manicure Monday - Polkadots!


Welcome to another Monday! Did you have a good weekend? I did - it was nice. :)

So. This was probably one of my favorite manicures I've done in a long time. :) I did each nail in a different bright color, then did white polka dots on each one. :) It just made me smile, and it went with just about everything I own!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Banana Split Kabobs

Happy Friday!

Are you enjoying your summer? How on earth did we get to the middle of July, people?!? This year is FLYING by.

Today's share is quick, easy, takes no heating of your oven unless you want it to, and is a YES, PLEASE! with any age group. :)

This is Banana Split Kabobs from Lemon Tree Dwelling.

(BTW, if you're relatively new here, just click on the link above to go right to whatever I'm sharing!)

Now, the only thing I changed was that I also picked up a sour cream angel food cake and made some kabobs with that rather than the brownies. I looked at purchasing fresh precut pineapple, but whole ones were on sale - and right now, they're only 00 cents at Aldi's! - so I cut my own pineapple up.

They were fun, they were pretty, they were yummy, and they were a hit. :D What more can one ask for?!?

OK, I'm outta here! :) Have a wonderful day, and a wonderful weekend, and try something new! Be blessed, friend!

Monday, July 7, 2014

Manicure Monday - Patriotic!

Good Monday Morning!

I hope you had a fantastic weekend!


This is how I did my nails for Independence Day. It's a white base coat, with a red clear sparkle glitter topper. Then I French-tipped my nails with that pretty blue, and TRIED to draw a line right underneath with a silver metallic striper brush. Now, please note: this is my right hand. I am left-handed. And the button on my good cameras are all on the left side. So you usually get the worse of the two to see, unless I talk Kenn into helping me. :D

I got a lot of compliments on them on Sunday. It was fun - they're sparkly to look at, and the blue tips attract just enough attention. :D

OK, I'm outta here! I hope you have a wonderful day! :) Be BLESSED, friends!

Friday, June 27, 2014

Greek Yogurt Brownies

Happy Friday! :) Are you planning to have a good weekend? I hope so! And these MIGHT help it be pretty awesome. :D

These are Greek yogurt brownies from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.

These are INCREDIBLY rich, people. Don't look at this and think, "HOW small do you want me to cut these? No way!" THEY ARE SO VERY RICH!!!

I followed the recipe exactly. If I were to do it again, I wouldn't put the last 1/4 cup of semisweet chips on top; I'd probably add another 1/4 cup of white. It was really, really DARK. Oh, I didn't put in the walnuts; they would probably help cut the richness a bit, too, but didn't want to deal with possible nut allergies.

These are a yes, please recipe. No one could believe these were no fat! :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Be blessed, dear friend!

Monday, June 23, 2014

Asian-Style Cobb Salad



Hi! Did you have a good weekend? How's your June going? Mine's fast and furious! Goodness! :)

We decided to do these one night because we'd been SUPER busy, and I had all the ingredients on-hand. We like layered salads - where anyone can put whatever they want more of into their serving. This is mine!

The recipe comes from D*mn Delicious.

(I just don't get the idea of putting curse words into the name of your blog. Just me, but...!!!)

We liked it. We liked the fact it was easy, that things are on-hand for it. The dressing was nice and light, and I appreciated that. I'm keeping it in the "Good recipes to have", because I like the elements. We didn't LOVE it - it wasn't a demand performances - but it also wasn't a DON'T MAKE THIS EVER AGAIN. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day, dear friend. BE BLESSED!

Friday, June 6, 2014

Soft Amish Sugar Cookies


Welcome to Friday! :) I hope you've had a good week. Do you have a busy weekend coming up? I certainly do - it seems to pile up all at once! :D

So, today's recipe is one I tried a while ago - see the hearts? :D Yes, it was Valentine's Day. I had to make cookies for something at church, which was cancelled. So Kenn got these. :D He was happy! They're Soft Amish Sugar Cookies from Cookies & Cups.

I didn't change a thing about them. I did find that I needed to push the sprinkles/hearts on top in a bit, or they slide right off. :) They also freeze well, which is ALWAYS a plus. :D

Let me know if you try them!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a WONDERFUL day, my friend! BE BLESSED!

Monday, June 2, 2014

Strawberry Coffee Cake



Welcome back to another Monday. :) How are you? Did you have a good weekend? Oh, and welcome to JUNE! One of my favorite months... ;)

Here in the south, the strawberry season is about past; in Indiana, it's about to begin. YUM, I love strawberries. And this is a YES, PLEASE! way to use some! :)

This recipe is for Strawberry Coffee Cake from Musings from a Stay-at-Home Mom.

Now, then, I WOULD change a bit with this. Do you see how dark this got on the bottom? Well, the recipe directions say to spread 1-1/2 cups of batter on the bottom of the pan. I did about two cups, and still had way more batter on the top than the bottom. And the bottom got way darker than I like. I think the next time, I'll use a 13x9 pan, double the strawberry filling, and keep the cake part the same. It was VERY thick, and took longer to bake the center than the recipe said.

I also sprinkled some sugar on the top of the cake. My mom's comment was that the cake wasn't very SWEET - which is part of what I really enjoyed about it. It allowed the strawberries to shine, IMO,  but I am glad I'd sprinkled it before putting in the oven.

I think that's all. :) I hope you'll try it!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED, friend!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Snicker Cake

Happy Wednesday! Did you enjoy your long weekend? Does it feel like this week's already dragging, even though it's a short week? :D

Then make this cake! :) (Please note: it uses a boxed cake mix, but I used this cake mix recipe, and made it the way the recipe said. I'm trying to take all the extra chemicals our when I can! :) ) It's a Snicker Cake from O Taste and See!


This is a great cake! Everyone loved it - I did it so long ago, I don't remember what the occasion was. LOL! But OH, was it yummy!

It's also very rich. :) Cut small pieces! Using a homemade cake mix may have added another step, but it's the only thing I did differently.

OK, I'm outta here! :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED, friend!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Bella Nashville

WELCOME to Friday! :) Have you had a good week? Are you looking forward to a long weekend? I'm looking forward to Monday - a dear friend is coming over to spend some time with me/us, and I love being with her. :)


Today is a review of a pizzeria in the Nashville Farmer's Market, Bella Nashville.

When Kenn and I took 24 hours and just escaped, we ended our time with lunch at the food court at the Farmer's Market - that way, we could each get what we wanted. And, since I'd been craving pizza for a while, that's what I opted for.

Mine was the very first order, so it took a while. (We were there before Bella even opened.) This is how it was served.

I'll tell you right now: if you like a thin, crispy crust, this isn't the one for you. It was crunchy, with a bit of char, and chewy. That and the fresh basil were what won me over; the sauce, frankly, tasted like - well, my first thought was "Boyardee". :/ But I couldn't stop eating that CRUST!! (And it's not terribly cheap, but it's a beautiful pizza oven... :D)

I'm not a huge sauce fan, anyway, so if I get the chance to try them out again, I think I'll ask for either light or no sauce. But I will try them again; I'm giving them a YES, PLEASE! (I know. Bread is not good for my glucose levels. But we were on staycation! :D )

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

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Mexican Casserole


Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a fantastic day so far. :) And a fantastic week!

This is one of those recipes I made SO long ago, I'm really having to remember how we liked it. LOL! I actually made DOUBLE of the recipe, and had this little casserole dish left over for Kenn and me. I put it in the freezer, and baked it off about two weeks after I made the dinner for some friends going through stuff.

What is it? :D It's Mexican Casserole from Plain Chicken.

I'm giving this a YES, PLEASE! I may have actually quadrupled the recipe, now that I'm thinking back on it. It was a MESS of casserole fixin's! :D I like that my photo and her photo look very similar - that always makes me feel better.

It was filling and flavorful without being too spicy. It froze well, and it traveled well when I took it to my friends. (I took it unbaked so they could have it hot whenever they wanted to cook it!) And I KNOW it fed a LOT of people. I made the refried beans I love so much (because they're so easy!) and rice.

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

Monday, May 19, 2014

BLT Nibbles

GOOD MONDAY MORNING! :) Sorry it's been so long since I posted; I got one of the viruses going around, AND I got super busy - I've done a show since I was last here! :D

SO. Today's share is these BLT Nibbles from Food.com.

I made these for an event; they were really easy - except for the complete mess of the kitchen I made when coring the cherry tomatoes! :D

I didn't change anything in the recipe at all. Yea, me! :D

They're a bit sharp at first, but they're very addictive - and rich. I'm giving this a YES, PLEASE! They add a nice pop of color to the table/buffet, you can make them in steps, and the filling-the-tomatoes part is something you can give to someone else to do! :D

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

Friday, April 18, 2014

School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls

Happy Friday!!! I hope you've had a wonderful week, and are looking forward to celebrating Christ's resurrection this weekend!!!

Today's recipe is for these School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls from allrecipes.com.

(That's funny. I got these off Pinterest, but it's the second allrecipes review in a row!)

These are a DEFINITE YES, PLEASE! It does make a LOT; I made them to take to a family who needed a meal, and I'd been wanting to try them. I mean, who doesn't remember with deep fondness those wonderful rolls?!?! :::::::::::::sigh::::::::::::::: :D

I made FIVE of these tins, and put three in the freezer. That was February 22. I pulled the last pan out of the freezer Wednesday! (And I'll be making another batch this coming week, for company and for the freezer!) Seriously. If you take a lot of meals to other people, or you have unexpected company, or you'd like to have fresh bread quickly on any given day, this is a great way to do it. To freeze it, I just formed the rolls, wrapped the pan, and put it in the freezer. On the day I want them, I pull them out and let them thaw on the sideboard, then cook them off according to directions.

OK, I'm outta here! HE IS RISEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! be BLESSED, friends!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Fluffy Pancakes


Welcome to Wednesday!!!! I hope you're having a great week! It's BUSY here - and surprise company, two shows to work on, and a desk that isn't cleaning itself off no matter how much I let it have time to do so all add up to lots to do, not much motivation. :D

Speaking of which. I was moaning about wanting pancakes a couple of weeks ago, and my loving, darling husband told me, "If you will make them up, I will fry them for you." Well, I JUMPED at that - I am SOOOOO lazy in the mornings, I really do want the universe to just have my breakfast appear, hot and waiting, every morning. :D

So I turned to this recipe I had Pinned, for fluffy pancakes from allrecipes.com.

They were good!!! (Hubby fried them a bit hotter than I would have, so some of them got a bit darker than makes for a good photo. ;D) They were light and airy, just like a pancake called "fluffy" should be. They went together quickly, and it was really nice to have breakfast together. I have quite the guy; I'm very blessed by him, every day!!

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day, my friend. BE BLESSED!

Friday, April 11, 2014

Baked Eggs


Happy Friday! :) I hope you've had a good week!

Today's recipe is Baked Eggs from UseRealButter. :)

I'm thinking of this for future use as more of a how-to. I really want to experiment with the type of dish, and see if I can't get the egg to cook a little more uniformly. Some of you may not be aware that I have a "thing" with crunchy or browned eggs - I just don't like it. It may be a texture thing; I have lots of issues with textures. :D But this recipe left the outer part of the white crunchy - you could hear it when you put your spoon in!

Overall, it was tasty - what's not to like? :) And I like the fact that you could make one or a dozen in about the same time; it would just take more prep time.

So relax this weekend, and maybe make yourself a lazy breakfast. Or come make it for me - I wish I could have breakfast delivered by the universe, so I wouldn't have to do anything until I come fully awake. (Usually sometime in the afternoon... :D )

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful weekend, my friend! Be BLESSED!

Friday, April 4, 2014

Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese Casserole


Happy Friday! :) I know it's a little late, but I'm here. :) I went to see CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER today. Good movie. I think the first was better, but this one will do JUST fine. :D

Anyway! Today, I'm sharing this Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese Casserole from The Food Network.

This tasted really good, but I wasn't fooling my tastebuds! It definitely wasn't "mac". I ate it all - halved the recipe, ate it all in one day :D - but breaking up the cauliflower was a bit more time-consuming than I'll do again.

So, once again, YOU decide: is this a YES, PLEASE! or a NO, THANK YOU! review? :)

Have a wonderful weekend! BE BLESSED!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Crumb Donuts

Good Wednesday Morning! I hope you're enjoying your week - the weather here is pretty finally. ;) I hope you East-Coasters are able to start digging out!

Today's recipe is for crumb donuts from Dessert for Two.

First of all, I didn't tweak a thing. :) Unless it was spices - I tend to put more spice in than is called for. But that's not really a tweak, right? More of a personal preference? :D

I really didn't feel like there was enough batter for six donuts. I made it fit six, because that's what the recipe said to do, but they were so skinny! I'm not sure if I would double the batter, or fill less spaces in my pan, but they needed more.

There was also a TON of the glaze left. I mean...! I didn't want to glaze the whole donut, and that wasn't the plan for the recipe, either - it's more like glue to hold on the crumb topping.

Tastewise, these were pretty plain. I'm going to hold on to the recipe, and if I ever go back and do them again, I'll probably tweak it out of the park. LOL! So you decide: is that a NO, THANK YOU or a YES, PLEASE review?!? :D

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Manicure Monday - Metallic Gradient

Hi, y'all! Sorry about last week - life is completely swamped right now, and I needed to get my balance before trying to blog again. PHEW. :)

SO! This is a two-tone metallic gradient with a glitter topper. The light silver is from Sally Henson, and the darker is the Zoya that I used on the striped manicure several weeks ago. I painted the lighter over the whole nail, then used a makeup sponge to sponge both that and the darker color onto my nails. I wanted the tips darker, so just kept sponging until they got that way! :)

It was a really fun manicure to wear; the glitter caught the light, and the metallics just shone.

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day, my friend. BE BLESSED!

Friday, February 28, 2014

Mexican Rainbow Salad


Happy FRIDAY! :) Got big plans for the weekend? Whirlwind. That's what life is - how can it be he last Friday of February 2014 already?!?!

SO. This is a Mexican Rainbow Salad from What2Cook.

There IS lettuce underneath all those toppings. :) This was a huge hit with our family; we have such different dietary needs and tastes! With this salad, though, we could choose which rainbow stripes we wanted more or less of. Kenn's a HUGE salad fan, period - he loves anything that tastes fresh. :) And he loves corn. :D The dressing is good, too - we left it on the side, because none of us are huge dressing lovers. I highly recommend this salad - leftovers are easy to get rid of, too! (Make fajitas! Eat more salad! :D )

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Be blessed - and thank you for reading my blog. :)

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Bacon and Spinach Quiche

Welcome to yet another Wednesday! Brrrrrrr. Will this be the last dip into freezing weather for Middle Tennessee? I don't know - but it's been a long, sustained winter for many people. Everywhere I go, people are talking about how ready they are for spring. And they mean it - they usually only have about a few days, people say it as soon as it drops below 40, and then it's warm again and many people love it. YUCK. :D

ANYWAY. :D

There's nothing like a good breakfast. Although I hate eating early in the morning. And by the time I'm hungry, it's usually too late for me to cook anything. :D I planned, this time, and had everything I needed. When I asked Kenn if he'd like breakfast, he eagerly agreed. So, I made this Bacon and Spinach Quiche from Mr. Breakfast.com.

This definitely gets a YES, PLEASE. I used a store-bought crust. If I had to make the crust and roll it out for breakfast, I'm not sure I'd ever do it!!! :D I'm not sure I used heavy cream; I think I used half-and-half. (I did this one about a month ago, and my memory's not what it used to be! :D ) Other than that, I did exactly what the recipe said to.

YUM. Healthy, for the most part - especially since I didn't use heavy cream :D - with fresh spinach. Warm, and Kenn LOVED it. So did another family member who came to visit! :)

OK. I'm outta here. It's an incredibly busy week - but such a great one! I'm getting to spend time with friends this week. I'm gonna be all tired out, but it will be a GOOD tired. :D

Have a wonderful day, friends! Be BLESSED!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Manicure Monday - ombre


Welcome to the last Monday in February! The older I get, the faster time flies. :)

Today's manicure is brought to you by my dear husband, who bought me a mini ombre set for Christmas. This is my first time using it, and I think it's really fun! :)

"Ombre" is simply gradients of the same color. So one nail gets painted one shade, etc., etc. It's usually lightest to darkest - but I didn't know how dark the glitter would be, so it's kind of out of place. :) It's a fun manicure to wear because of the different colors being in the same family. When they're all different colors, it's called a "skittle" manicure. :) I'm looking forward to doing one of those, probably closer to summer. Although it MIGHT have to happen with pastels in the spring... :D

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

Friday, February 21, 2014

Brownie Bundt with Coconut Cream Cheese Filling


HAPPY FRIDAY! I hope you've had a good week - but I'm betting you're ready for the weekend. :D

Today's review is this recipe for brownie bundt cake with coconut cream cheese filling from Vanilla Sugar Blog.

I won't make you wait on this. This recipe would need to much tweaking for me to give it anything but a NO, THANK YOU. :( I was SO disappointed! I mean, it's three of my favorite things: brownies, coconut, AND cream cheese! I sprayed and sprayed the bundt pan, but the brownie STILL stuck horribly. The coconut and cream cheese mixture had very little taste, and added nothing but contrast and texture. I hate throwing food out, but I did toss most of this cake - after taking it to a pitch-in (or pot luck, depending on where you're from! :) )

SO. If you tweak it enough and really love it, let me know! Or if you decide to try it and love it, tell me - maybe I just did something wrong. :D

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! BE BLESSED!!!