I so love to dress my little princess up in girly things they are just so much fun. I Love Lucy's Tutus has many girly things that can make my little gal look like a Princess. I have entered the giveaway on the blog Mommy and Me Giveaways where the winner will receive

giveaway ends 3/11/2011 Daily entries available through tweeting

check out this sparkles and spice giveaway

Giveaway for lovely baby goodies

Live Love Laugh with Leslie has long been a favorite blog of mine. I was recently also introduced to her boutique by the same name by another friend of mine Leslie from the blog Leslie Loves Veggies. We are once again in the market for baby produccts since our grandson was born just a few short 2 weeks ago. I adore the many cute looks at the LLL boutique and entered the giveaway to win an item at the blog Leslie Loves Veggies the giveaway ends March 16, 2010 You can enter daily by tweeting

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

nonstick vegetable oil spray

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350° F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with the nonstick spray. Line the pan with a piece of parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides; spray the parchment with the nonstick spray. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chopped chocolate with the espresso powder, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate mixture, then the flour and salt just until incorporated. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Holding both sides of the paper overhang, lift the cake out of the pan, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into 16 squares. Note: Total Time includes cooling time.

recipe source : real simple

Friday Fragments

http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/

The flu hit my family hard this week as we are all coughing and struggling to breathe. Many of us are currently on antibiotics and cough syrup and ofcourse tylenol or ibuprofen for the fever. It seems to start going away but the cough holds on and battles hard.

My daughter took my grandson to his two week doctors appointment I have trouble realizing that he is 2 weeks old. Time sure goes by fast. My daughter says he is a good baby and sleeps for 5 to 6 hours at a night. Princess loves the little Prince and goes through the house saying "that's my baby"
I have been lucky enough to find several great buys at both the grocery store and Wal-Mart. Tonight I bought each of the babies a pair of dress shoes for $3 each perfect for dress up and upcoming Easter. I saved money shopping last night at Krogers and ended up with $12 in coupons to spend later. That is rather nice.

what have you been doing? Would love to know so if you would please leave a comment

White Macadamia Nut Cookies

If you stop by my blog while blog hopping please leave me a comment so that I will visit you as well.

1 cup softened butter


3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking soda) together in a bowl.3 Mix the other ingredients in a separate bowl (butter, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla). If the butter is stiff or still harden, it may be harder for you to mix. You can use an electric whisk if you don't want to wait. Avoid melting the butter because it'll give the mixture a different texture.4 Pour a little of the flour mixture into the wet mixture, a little at a time. Mix everything thoroughly and add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Fold the ingredients into the mixture.5 Line your cookie sheets with wax or parchment paper. Drop tablespoon amounts onto your cookie sheet about 1 to 2 inches between each other. The empty space between each drop will allow them to spread as they bake, otherwise the cookies will "collide" and connect with each other.6 Place the cookie sheet into the oven for 10 minutes or until they turn a golden brown color. Remove from oven and cool them on

Foodie Friday

shared on What's Cookin in the Kitchen

Chocolate Covered Nuts

Today is National Chocolate Covered Nuts day This recipe from All Recipes does the job wonderfully

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


3 tablespoons heavy cream

2 cups pecan halves

Combine the chocolate chips and cream in a medium metal bowl, and set on top of a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir pecan halves into the chocolate until completely coated. Remove a few pecans at a time with a slotted spoon. Separate pecan halves and place onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to set.

http://paisleypassions.blogspot.com/2011/02/fun-w-food-friday-linky-party_25.html

Memories of Sunday Dinner At Grandmas

A moment of flashback had my minding turning back to my childhood and eating Sunday dinner at my grandfathers. We would attend church together as a family and then head to my grandmothers where all my aunts, uncles and cousins would also be. We would sit and chat and have a good time while we enjoyed my grandmothers delicious cooking. Her Sunday Menu would go something like this

•1 pound fresh green beans, about 4 cups


•1 1/4 cups water

•1 saucepan that will fit the beans and water comfortably

•Paring knife and cutting board (optional)

•Colander

Wash the beans thoroughly, making sure to rinse off all stray leaves and dirt. You can either slice off the ends of each bean, or just break them off. discard the ends. The beans can either be cooked whole, or you can slice them into pieces, depending on your preference.

Serves 2




1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

3/4 cup low-fat milk

1 1/2 Tbs. butter

3 Tbs. finely chopped chives

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

Place potatoes in medium pot and cover with 1 inch water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain, and put potatoes through ricer or mash in medium bowl. Heat milk and butter in small saucepan until butter is melted. Stir into potatoes along with chives and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
 

Delicious Buttermilk fried chicken was one of my grandmothers favorite Sunday recipe. My grandmother raised chickens so chicken was always right at hand good for both eggs and Sunday chicken dinner. My grandfather would kill the chicken for my grandmother and I remember my grandmother plucking every small feather out of the chickens to prepare for dinner. Now days those steps are often done for us as the grocery stores has chickens that are ready to prepare in whatever recipe we select. To me though the fact that the food was so ready at hand seemed to make the dinner more delicious.   I remember the taste was as delicious I don't think I will ever find a taste as delicious as her chicken no matter how long or where I look. All though I do not know the secrets to her recipe it was sort of like this

Use 1 boneless-skinless piece per person. I rinsed and patted dry my chicken. Pound each piece slightly between wax paper or parchment paper, with a rolling pin or mallet till a touch thinner. Slice in 5 sections on the diagonal. Then put chicken in a large bowl and pour buttermilk to cover. Let sit for an hour to overnight. Heat vegetable oil till 335degrees in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Fill a large zip lock bag with 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper. Shake the flour mixture. In groups of three drop in drained chicken and toss and coat the chicken breasts. Drop carefully into a hot pan and fry about 4 minutes each side. Do not overcrowd pan. Drain on crumpled paper towel.

Desserts would always be special as well the only thing they all had in common is that you would have the choice between ice cream or whip cream. One of my favorite desserts that she made was a blackberry cobbler. She would pick the blackberries herself when they were in season from her blackberry patch. Part of the berries that she would pick would be prepared in cobblers, jellies etc.. and the other part would be frozen for later use. I think the best part of my grandmothers blackberry cobbler was the delicious crumbly melt in your mouth crust and the oh so juicy berries. Want to make your own blackberry cobbler?


6 tablespoons unsalted butter


3/4 cup all-purpose flour (3.75 oz)

3/4 cup sugar (5.5 oz), plus 1 tablespoon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon table salt

3/4 cup milk

2 cups fruit or berries, sliced (not sweetened or thickened)


Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt. Whisk flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk until just incorporated into dry ingredients. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven. Pour batter into pan, without stirring it into butter, then arrange fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until batter browns, about 40 to 50 minutes.






This post will be shared with the blog MomStart where I plan to have a weekly post sharing not only the food that I remember my grandmother and other strong personalities in my life cooking and the stories that go with them.

Shirts That Go review

Just recieved a phonecall from my daughter and her small but busy family. It seems that the children are on the go and making lots of great and fun noise. Children are so fun and love to be on the move. They are always running around, singing songs about things that move, watch cartoons with vehicles that move and talk so when I saw the super cute tees at Shirts That Go I fell in love with them. Just take a look at them the vibrant pictures just spills over with coolness and excitement. I can imagine any little boy or girl loving them.

My readers all know that I love firetrucks as well as kids firetruck tee - shirts

A young man my daughters age is sure to love the tractor trailor tees as he just completed his drivers training and now can drive one The truck on the tee looks as if it is ready to go

This super cute bulldozer shirt will attract nearly anyones attention but the special boy or girl will be the most delighted

Shirts That Go kids t-shirts are the ideal gift for the little vehicle lover in your family. Toddler and kid sies are available and all are made in the USA and shipping is free
find shirts to go on facebook or on twitter
 
We want to thanks Shirts that Go for the lovely fire truck tee they sent our little Princess.

Pizza Casserole

 if you hop by here I hope you enjoy this recipe and looking around my blog if you leave a comment I will be sure to stop by your blog as well

8 ounces uncooked wheel-shaped macaroni (about 3 1/2 cups)


1/2 pound bulk turkey Italian sausage

2 3/4 cups meatless tomato pasta sauce

1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

1 can (4 ounces) Green Giant® mushroom pieces and stems, drained

1 cup shredded fat-free or part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

Heat oven to 350º. Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain. Cook sausage in skillet, stirring frequently, until no longer pink; drain. Mix macaroni, sausage, pasta sauce, olives and mushrooms in 2 1/2-quart casserole. Cover and bake about 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Italian Beef Subs

http://lifeasmom.com/

2 teaspoons olive oil


1 1/2 cups green bell pepper strips

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (14 1/4-ounce) can low-salt beef broth

1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef

4 (3-ounce) submarine rolls, toasted

1/2 cup bottled giardiniera (such as Cento), drained

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and garlic; sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in oregano and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove bell pepper mixture from pan. Add beef to pan, and cook for 45 seconds. Divide beef evenly among the bottom halves of rolls; top each roll half with 1/4 cup bell pepper mixture, and 2 tablespoons giardiniera; cover with roll tops.



recipe source: my recipes

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Duo sample is from start sampling . I received this and the sample is still available. If you want yours go here

Great Recipes, Great Giveaways and a bit of blog hopping

speedy lasagna
http://shopannies.blogspot.com/2011/02/microwave-recipe-speedy-lasagna.html

Mediterranean Vegetable Casserole

http://shopannies.blogspot.com/2011/02/meatless-monday-mediterranean-vegetable.html

Coconut Chicken

http://shopannies.blogspot.com/2011/02/thai-style-coconut-chicken.html

sponsors this week include

fantasy jewelry box is sponsoring a giveaway on my blog for $25 gc. Enter this giveaway here

Little Pink Tool where a portion goes to help fight breast cancer and the color of the tools are pink are sponsoring a giveaway for a real nice tool set. You can enter this giveaway here

Tee Wit where the tees have personalities of their own is sponsoring a giveaway for $20 gc You can enter this giveaway here

Scrumptious Scramble

1 teaspoon olive oil


½ cup diced red onion

1 ripe tomato, cored, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)

4 large eggs

4 large egg whites

2 tablespoons water (optional)

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill

Salt and ground pepper to taste



Cooking Instructions

Directions



1. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the tomato and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer the onion-tomato mixture to a bowl and set aside.



2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat together the whole eggs, egg whites and water (if using). Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the eggs are almost set.



3. Drain excess water from the tomato mixture and stir the mixture gently into the eggs. Toss in the dill, season with salt and pepper and serve.


recipe source Diabetic Connect

Winner Alert

Wow!!! Lot of tweeting went on for this giveaway for the Creativity for Kids soap kit. The winner was
flowerchild said...

daily tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/flower_child_23/status/36430150996475904

winner has been emailed thanks for all of you who entered this great giveaway don't forget the other giveaways with more coming soon Next giveaway will be posted tommorow 2/24 til then there are several other great ones to check out and enter

Bonus question for an extra entry into any of my giveaways I have shared with you that I was blessed with a grandchild recently what is the nickname I call him on my blog Leave comment on this post with an email or blog link i will let you know if you are right for your extra entries have a great day today

Illinois Near Spring

We are located n southern illinois where it is not hard to find beauty of some sort if you take time and look Spring is in the air and a friend of mine ventured out and took a few pictures here is one of my favorites trees are still winter like but the green fern moss begins to cover the rocks again.

where are you wednesday

When is an oreo not an oreo? When its a striped delight

35 OREO Cookies 6 Tbsp. butter, melted 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 1/4 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. cold milk 1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided 2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding 3-1/4 cups cold milk Make It


PROCESS cookies in food processor until fine crumbs form. Transfer to medium bowl; mix in butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.



WHISK cream cheese, sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk in medium bowl until blended. Stir in 1-1/4 cups COOL WHIP; spread over crust.



BEAT pudding mixes and 3-1/4 cups milk with whisk 2 min.; pour over cream cheese layer. Let stand 5 min. or until thickened; cover with remaining COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Source: Kraft

Microwave Recipe : Speedy Lasagna and blog hopping

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed


1 (26-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce with onions and roasted garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6 no-cook lasagna noodles

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Crumble sausage into a plastic colander; place over a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute, and stir. Microwave at HIGH 3 to 3 1/2 minutes more, stirring every 30 seconds, or until sausage is done and no longer pink. Drain well on paper towels. Discard drippings. Rinse and wipe bowl clean. Stir together sausage, spaghetti sauce, basil, and pepper in large bowl. Spread one-third sausage mixture in bottom of a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch microwave-safe baking dish; top with 3 noodles, 1 cup ricotta cheese, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once. Top evenly with remaining sausage mixture and grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with double-thickness plastic wrap, and microwave at MEDIUM (50% power) 30 to 35 minutes. Using an oven mitt, carefully lift one corner of plastic wrap to allow steam to escape, and let stand in microwave 5 minutes before serving

recipe source : Southern Living November 2005

I am hopping by several blogs so if you stop by mine please leave a message and I will visit you as well

 lets do brunch is a new place to share recipes and meet friends I have shared this recipe there

Totally Tuesday Blog Hop

 Hello so glad you stopped by my blog take your time and read a few post if you would like there are plenty of great recipes, reviews and giveaways as well as fun family post as well. If you  follow please leave a comment so that I can follow you back

Meatless Monday: Mediterranean Vegetable Casserole Recipe

1 cup uncooked penne pasta


1 can (8 ounces) Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup marinated quartered artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced

1/4 cup Greek olives, pitted and halved

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon pepper


Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drain pasta; toss with sauce mixture. Transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 3 servings.

recipe source: Taste of Home

Thai-Style Coconut Chicken

1 tablespoon vegetable oil


1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 teaspoon grated lime peel

1 teaspoon grated gingerroot

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 fresh serrano chilies or 1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 can (about 14 oz) coconut milk (not cream of coconut)

1 teaspoon packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup sugar snap pea pods

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves

Hot cooked jasmine or white rice, if desired

In nonstick wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add chicken; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add lime peel, gingerroot, garlic, chilies and cilantro; stir-fry 1 minute. Pour coconut milk over chicken. Stir in brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, pea pods and bell pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir into tomato. Spoon into shallow serving bowls; top with basil. Serve with rice.

recipe source: Tablespoon

Coffee Filter Butterflys

I have created these coffee filter butterflys before and placed magnets on the back of them as well as tied string to them so that they seemed to float from the cieling.


½ black chenille stem

Paper coffee filter

Water color paints

Paint brush

Water

Flatten the coffee filter and place it on a plate or newspaper, the paint and water will soak through. Set aside on paper towels to dry. Fold the chenille stem in half. Remember, you are only using half of a chenille stem to begin with. Fold the coffee filter accordion style, in about ½" pleats. Position the pleated coffee filter into the bent end of the chenille stem. Center the filter at the bend. Twist the chenille stem around the filter to secure it in place. Bend the tips of the chenille stems over about ¼" to create the antennae. Fan out the butterfly wings. If desired, hang with yarn or fishing line.

you can find a tutorial on the Kaboose website as well.

http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/

http://www.parents.com/