Book Review: OF MESS AND MOXIE by Jen Hatmaker

 Happy day - I'm posting!!!! :D I'm feeling much better these days - if you don't know what's been going on with me, feel free to reach out to me, and I'll catch you up. :)

ANYWAY. This new book by Jen Hatmaker, called OF MESS AND MOXIE, is officially releasing Tuesday, August 8!!!!! If you preorder from now until AUGUST 7 (Hello! It's already in a lot of bookstores!!!!!), you can get great freebies - check out the book's website by clicking on this clause! :D (And there's NEW NEWS at the end of this blog post about something else fun you can get in on MONDAY!!!)

This book is another great series of essays, more than a chapter book - each chapter is another essay. It's easy to read, and ranges from hysterically funny to grab-a-tissue levels. :)

Here's a fun video where Jen shares a bit from this brand-new book! :)

And I'm going to give you some of my favorite quotes from it, too; I can't do long sections because legalese, but you'll get a taste of more of the book (assuming you watched Jen's video, that is... :D )

This is from "It's Just Paint":
Dear one, may I say something? It is not shallow or empty or frivolous to create a beautiful space to live in. It's not silly, not vainglorious, not a waste of time and energy. It doesn't make you superficial nor slide you down the godly scale. We spend the majority of our hours in our homes with our people. Creating beauty and nurture under your roof with colors that soothe, art that inspires, furniture that invites, and textures that thrill  is a wonderful use of your small space on the planet.
I do not mean this in a trite, cliche' we in the slightest: how could we imagine that a God who created wildflowers and waterfalls and pine trees and hummingbirds and warm sand and mountain ranges and tulips thinks beauty is nonsense? He made a gorgeous, over-the-top earth wild with colors and textures and breathtaking landscapes. And He loved it. He said it was good, so good. He made it for our pleasure as a testament to His character. He created a sensual, aesthetic, jaw-dropping world and asked us to enjoy it. If God decided to make his whole earth pretty, we can choose to make our little homes pretty without tension, guilt, or shame.

SO good!

Here's some from "Sanctuary":
He told of his [her father-in-law, Bob]  small church in Tennessee where he and his buddies were surrounded by deacons, pressed in on all sides, and terrified into receiving salvation during a church service. Strong-willed and resistant to spiritual bullying, Bob alone refused to "walk the aisle." The pastor threw his hands up and proclaimed, "Well, I've done all I can do with this one. I guess he's going to hell." Bob walked out that door and never looked back.
It was the last time he went to church regularly - more than sixty years ago.
Who could blame him?
Sometimes the one place we should all be most welcomed is the very place we are most rejected; the house of healing becomes the inflicter of pain. Much like any betrayal, the more considerable the source, the harder the loss. No one can wound us more than those supposed to nurture: our parents, our spouses, out churches. The chasm between expectation and reality is particularly grim in supposed safe places.

I don't know about you, but I've found this to be more truthful than I wanted it to be. I might have become another person who left the organized church (NEVER Jesus!), if it had been up to me. But GOD...!

This last excerpt is from my favorite essay, simply called "Fangirl":
Four years ago or so, one of the questions [at their Supper Club] was this:
Would you rather be rich or famous?
The answers were absolutely hilarious, and along with half of SC, I said, "Famous." I know. Gross. In my defense, my reasoning was that our life was happy as is, and money wasn't that motivating, so I defaulted to fame, which seemed harmless, intangible, almost like a fake paradigm with no real effect. I guess I pick famous! Tra la la.
Girls, forget that noise. I've since had a small taste of that, and it is the oddest, most bizarre alternate universe ever. Being low-grade Christian famous is straight-up crazy. I only occupy a very minor corner of this zip code, enough to know what I'm talking about but not enough to make me a weirdo. I am regularly confused by my life.

The whole book is filled with Jen's talking to us like she would if we were sitting on her porch, drinking iced tea. Breaths of fresh air, giggles, and tears - I PROMISE you'll find something in this book that you will relate to. :)

Now, then, the news I mentioned at the beginning of this post. The following is straight from Jen's communication with the launch team (edited a little bit):
Monday at 8:00pm CT, I am doing a live stream from my backyard as the Day Before Launch Big Deal. Rachel Hollis and Jessica Honneger will be my special guests, and I invited the women from my church. I'll be doing live readings and taking questions from the internet and doing some giveaways. It will stream live on my page for around 45 minutes, and you can direct people to it.
 
You DEFINITELY won't want to miss it! It gets a YES, PLEASE from me!

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

Chicken & Avocado Enchiladas

Welcome to another Monday. :D Did you have a good weekend? Did you try anything new?

I'll get to today's share quickly; with the open house less than three weeks away, time is PRECIOUS, people!! :D It's for Chicken & Avocado Enchiladas from Gimme Some Oven.

First, let me say that I find the name a little misleading. The avocados are in the SAUCE; even though there's a bit of sauce in the enchiladas, I think these are more chicken and pepper enchiladas with avocado and cilantro sauce.

With that being said, these got a YES, PLEASE! from Kenn and me. My mom despises cilantro, so she didn't like them at all. I was happily surprised at how little HEAT the peppers brought, and how much flavor. If you like heat, keep some of the ribs and seeds from the jalapenos in. Not for US, however. :D

I cooked the chicken the day before; when I poach chicken, I always try to give it extra flavor. I used dried minced onion, a bit of onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. It gave it a nice flavor without being too cumin-y. :D The recipe made a LOT of sauce. I doubled the whole recipe, because I took some to a friend's family who just had a baby. I gave them a jar of sauce AND had two more jars. I've got a full jar in my fridge; what to do with it?!? :D

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

Sour Cream Waffles

Hi! Sorry I was gone so long; I went up to Indiana on a whirlwind trip, and had to fit it in between rehearsals. I wore myself OUT, and have just been able to breathe again the last few days. Never fear, though! I've been cooking up a storm to bring you reviews! :D (You'll notice several are breakfast over the next few weeks. :) )

And today's is Sour Cream Waffles, from 52 Kitchen Adventures.

I don't have any white whole wheat flour, so I did half whole wheat, half unbleached AP flour. I also used fat free Greek yogurt instead of regular. But that's all I did differently, I promise! :)

As you can tell, we have a Belgian waffle maker versus the square waffles. It makes BIG waffles. :D

I like this recipe - which makes it a YES, PLEASE! I like the fact you don't have to beat the egg white and then add it in - my mom's comment was, "They're really fluffy!" For a waffle with whole wheat flour in it, that's pretty impressive.

There is nothing fancy about these waffles. I think the recipe made six; Kenn ate one, I ate one, and the rest are in my freezer for mornings when I don't want to have to think about what to eat! :D

OK, I'm outta here! Rehearsals are really starting to heat up; we have less than a month before opening now, and time will fly! :)

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!

Hershey's Cookies & Cream Premium Cookie Mix

Happy Friday!!! :D It's the first Friday in August; many of you have kids who've already been in school this week. Do you have big plans to enjoy the weekend, or are you going to rest?!? :D

I get samples a lot online; I like to try new products, and I need to remember to review them more often for you. Sometimes things are wonderful, sometimes not so much.

This is a not so much. Don't worry about taking your time to make these, please. I don't know if I'm more of a "cookie snob" than I used to be, since I do make most of mine by scratch now. I still use cookie mixes to make easy "dump cakes" and toppings for baked goods. But this cookie mix, I wanted to try in the way it's advertised - as a premium cookie.

To me (and my mom), there's a real chemical after-taste. I don't know exactly what it came from, but it was definitely there. Yuck. I mean, if there are chemicals or man-made stuff in my cookie, don't let me TASTE it!!! :D

So, thank you, Betty Crocker, for sending me the free sample to try. But I won't be purchasing it. No, thank you.

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!!!! Be BLESSED - and enjoy time with loved ones!

Brunch Puffs

Happy Wednesday!! Hope you're having a wonderful week! Today we bid adieu to July. Wow, so hard to believe!

ANYWAY. :D Waaaaay back in May, I had a dear friend - who's in Africa right now, on a missions trip - over for brunch. I wanted it to be peaceful and renewing for her; she's a very busy woman, and I wanted our time together to be a time for her to BREATHE. So, Mom helped me set the table...

And I made lots of new recipes for breakfast. Actually it was three, but two of them will be in a review together. :D I can't believe I haven't already reviewed them!

Today's recipe is for Brunch Puffs from Taste of Home.












I made the puffs the day before; they turned out really delicately. There's less flour in the recipe than I'm used to, but I followed the directions exactly. :) (I had extra puffs, because I didn't want to make ALL of them for just the two of us! I used them with fruit in them, and a bit of sugar-free cheesecake pudding. YUM.)

They were a bit messy to eat; the puffs collapsed easily when cut into. But they were very good. I would call this a delicate dish, overall - it sounds like it would be quite filling, but it really wasn't overly so. Quite yummy! :) I'm going to say YES, PLEASE! to these. :)

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

Shepherd's Pie

Good Friday Morning!

Can you believe I've been gone for a whole month already? Cooking's been an issue, because I've not had my own tastes and place to please and cook in. But that will change - we just got a place! :) I posted all about it on my new blog.

Anyway! Today's recipe is one I got for shepherd's pie from SimpleRecipes.com.

I more used the method from the recipe than the recipe itself, because I wanted to use up some leftovers. I seasoned and browned up the ground beef, added some leftover corn and frozen veggies, made some packaged brown gravy and poured over top of that hot mess. :D I put it all into a loaf pan, then put the leftover mashed potatoes on top.

It was a hit with the two guys I was cooking for. :D It was not something I'm dying to eat again. But it was filling, and Kenn's friend loves food like this. :D So take those YES, PLEASE!es and NO, THANK YOU!s for what they're worth. :D

Copycat Recipe: Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Welcome to MONDAY! :D Did you have a good weekend? Are you ready for a new month?! Can you BELIEVE it's APRIL!?!? WOW. Hopefully, Kenn and I are in Oregon, perhaps at a friend's house. :) I'm hoping to have some pictures to show you of food we ate along the way, but I'm not promising anything - we're on a TIGHT budget.

ANYWAY. :D This copycat recipe is from one of my favorite bloggers, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.

I can't wait. These are DEFINITELY a YES, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, were these WONDERFUL! And the amazing thing is there's no garlic IN them. Just in the buttery blend you put on top after they bake - and man, are they good. Kenn's still mentioning them to me! :D

I halved the recipe, because I figured a)we didn't need more than a half batch, and b)we'd eat them all if we had more, and c)they'd be best fresh.

Oh, my friend. Were they ever WONDERFUL. And so inexpensive - the most expensive thing was the CHEESE!!! Warm, melty, garlicky, crusty on the outside and so incredibly tender on the inside, and NO CHEMICALS. No Bisquick. Everything's from the pantry.

Plan these into your menus, folks. I am not even kidding. These are DEFINITELY going on my FAVORITE RECIPES board, and will get served a lot when we're on the beach. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Try something new!

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!! :)

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!!!!

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!

Amish Bread Recipe for the Bread Machine

Welcome to Wednesday! :) Are you enjoying your week? Can you believe tomorrow's the last day of the month?? Weren't we just at the end of January? (I'm pre-posting this one, and I'm hyperventilating! Knowing this comes out two weeks before I have to be ready to leave for our family reunion AND Oregon - EEP!!! I'm not ready! :D)

Sorry. :D

Anyway! Today's recipe is Amish Bread Recipe for the Bread Machine from Mommysavers.com. :D

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, YES, PLEASE! It's the BEST ABM recipe I've ever tried. Super easy, this turned out beautifully. I mean, OH, MY.

Really. I'm tucking this one away for any time I want a fast something to throw in the machine. And I may decrease the sugar next time; it's just a touch on the sweet side. But it made the yeast rise beautifully!!!! It's not dry, it's got a good bite to it. I did coat the crust with butter as it came out, so it wouldn't get hard - the crust is almost always my least favorite, and I eat it first. Not this bread. Yummmmmm. I could eat the whole loaf by myself! :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day, and I'll see you in MARCH! ;) Be blessed!

Homemade "Nutella"

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

Today's share is a happy share. :D One of my dear friends in college, who grew up in Germany, introduced me to Nutella about 25 years ago. (Holey mackerel, did I just admit that?!?) :D Lately, I've been trying to eat less processed food; the chemicals can't be good for me, and if I can put better things into my body, then maybe it will start behaving better. :)

So - since my mom and I love Nutella so much! - I decided to try this recipe for Homemade Nutella Spread from Leite's Culinaria.

This is a YES, PLEASE! rating. I didn't run it through a sieve at the end of the process, because I didn't want to make all that mess and lose too much of the chocolate. :D It's not very grainy, so I'm good with that.

If I can figure out a good chocolate to use, that will help; we used Hershey's bars, because I don't want the wax that goes into chips for helping to hold their shape. But that's kind of expensive! The hazelnuts were some our dear friends sent Mom for Christmas a year ago that have been in the freezer, waiting for a reason to be used. :D (We're going back to hazelnutland - Oregon grows something like 90% of the US's hazelnuts!)

Try it! Oh, I also used grapeseed oil for the oil requirement; if you want to make it even better for you, try coconut oil. You could also use xylitol for the sugar - watch for that post later on. :)

Update: After a day of being nice and spreadable, this solidified. My mom is loving it still; I'd prefer it to not tear up whatever I'm trying to spread it on. There are lots of recipes out there right now for homemade Nutella; I may see if they have anything in them that might be added to this to keep it softer. It's still good - I think it would make great truffles. Just sayin'. :D
 
OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!

Lemon Icebox Cake

It's FRIDAY! Have you had a great week? I sure hope so! Congratulations to everyone who has a jar of Biscoff Spread coming your way! :)

I promised today would be a share and review of the cake I made for our Valentine's Day celebration; here it is! It's a Lemon Icebox Cake from Cookie Baker Lynn.

It was tasty. It was NOT worth the trouble it took to make!!!!! How do I score this? I'm giving it a personal NO, THANK YOU - but that's because it is a FUSSY frosting/lemon mousse. SERIOUSLY.

I made the angel food cake in two 8" square pans; I had a tube pan, but didn't use it once in the three years I had it, so I got rid of it. The cake was very good; angel food cakes are a bit fussy, but one usually goes into scratch-baking it knowing that fact.

The lemon mousse/frosting? THAT was kind of crazy. First, you make very sour lemon curd. Then you whip cream, add gelatin, and add it to the curd to make lemon cream. And FINALLY you add meringue to the whole thing, split the cake into 4 layers, and stack.

If you decide to make this, it's GOOD. It's a big cake, light and fluffy and lemony and a treat. But go into the process knowing it will take you a good two days to make sure everything is ready to go. And it's NOT cheap; between the cake and the mousse, it took about 16 eggs. For ONE ingredient in ONE recipe.

I'm glad I tried it. I'm glad I made it for my dad - he despises chocolate, so we can't serve any when we do a special event together. But I'm not saving the recipe.

OK, I'm outta here!! :) Let me know what you think of this one. I'd love to hear if you're planning on making it! Take pictures, and tell me your story! :)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! It's another busy one for us - we're out of here SOON! BE BLESSED!

Almost time for the giveaway! :D

Not too long now until the Biscoff Giveaway ends! Have YOU entered? Go do it - on that post! Just click the link! Hurry! :D

I decided to share what our Valentine's Day table looked like today. My mom pulled it together - isn't it beautiful? We ate out on the sun porch; Kenn had to go shoot a basketball game, so we ate early. The flowers are ones Mom uses for Fourth of July centerpieces; the chargers were some we used for Christmas, as were the battery-operated candles.

It's a small table, but it was quite lovely!!! What do you think??

Friday, I'll share the cake I made for our dessert - that's the part I was in charge of. :) And if you've left a message on the Biscoff Giveaway, PLEASE either email me or leave another message with your address! :D

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Copycat Recipe: Olive Garden's Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

It's FRIDAY!!!! How's your week been? Do you have big plans for your weekend? If you're in middle Tennessee, come to Lamplighter's Theater Company and see LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC. You'll be out in an hour and a half, and it's a really sweet story - bring your sweetheart!

Anyway! This is a recipe for Olive Garden's Chicken & Gnocchi Soup from one of my favorite blogs, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice. :D And I'll tell you now, it's a DEFINITE yes, PLEASE! for my whole family!!

I used organic, free-range chicken stock from Trader Joe's; I bought some around Christmas, and Kenn used it in his chicken soup when he had a horrendous toothache. I was impressed with how rich it was, so I bought four more quarts - and we used them all within 10 days. :D So there's an extra review for free! :D

This is a wonderfully healthy soup, really; with all the garlic and spinach, it's really good with vitamins. I didn't use half-and-half, because I didn't have any. :D I used 1% milk with a scant 1/2 cup heavy cream. But it was just wonderful; the longer it cooks, the thicker the broth gets. I used Cornish game hen meat we had in the freezer; cooking it again in the soup made it so tender. YUM. It's cool in this room while I'm writing this review, and it's making me wish I had a big bowl of it right here with me. :D The next time I make this, I'm going to do copycat bread sticks, too. Ooooooh......
:D

OK, I'm outta here. SO much to do this weekend!!! Don't forget to leave a comment to win on this blog post!!! (Read it for details!)

BE BLESSED!!!

GIVEAWAY!!!! Biscoff Spread

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

Because those few of you who actually READ this blog  allow me to justify my passion for trying new stuff, I want to give away a jar of this Biscoff Spread to SIX of you! (That MIGHT be every single one of you!!! :D )

To be entered to win, simply leave me a comment on this post. Tell me what recipe or review you thought most interesting and why. It's that easy. :) (If you're long-distance, I will do my best to get this to you quickly!) We'll pick a winner on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20. Please enter by NOON! :)

I won a 8-pack case of this from the company, so I'm sharing the love. :) We opened one, so I could let you know a bit about it. If you've seen Biscoff in the stores, you might have wondered about it. Or, you might have tried it - I first had a Biscoff cookie on an airplane. Biscoff cookies played a key role in this recipe I reviewed toward the end of the year. This spread tastes just like the cookies, except creamy! My mom said it tastes like gingerbread. :) It kind of does - the cookies are a type of spice cookie. The product is from Belgium. And the spread bills itself as "a delicious alternative to peanut butter" - but it's much sweeter, in my opinion. You have to try this stuff to understand how difficult it is to describe! LOL

Don't you want to try it? Don't you want to win? :D 

OK, I'm outta here. We're having a nice dinner with my parents tonight; I'm making dessert, which you KNOW means it'll get a review next week. :D Enjoy your day!!!!