Zesty Pork Chops from Campbells Soup

4 bone-in pork chops (about 1 1/4 pounds)

All-purpose flour

1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 apple, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

• Coat the pork with the flour. Stir the picante sauce, brown sugar and apple in a medium bowl.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Pour off any fat.
• Pour the picante sauce mixture over the pork. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.

Yummy Berry and Chocolate In a Pie

Crust:

if you like yummy chocolate and berries then this is the pie for you. Please the whole crowd with a mouthfull of flavor










1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs (about 20 cookies; such as Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 egg white

Cooking spray

Filling:

1 cup fat-free cottage cheese

1/2 cup (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

3/4 cup Triple Berry Curd

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare crust, combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a fork until moist. Press into bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. To prepare filling, combine cottage cheese and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; process for 1 minute or until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk; process until smooth. Spoon filling into prepared crust. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. To serve, spread Triple Berry Curd evenly over top.

Elizabeth Taliaferro, Cooking Light
MARCH 2006

Hand Play

nephew having fun playing with floam

Aloha Friday & Confession Time

To me today marked the first day of Rummage sale, Yard sale, or garage sale season. The reason because today was the first time that I got out to look for treasures. Did I find treasures you can bet you I did. I found drapes for the big picture window in the living room, a basket full of nice towels and washcloths, several nice vintage tablecloths all in a box for $7, a stoneware cookie jar (a new ebay find for me) for $8 this should be a great money maker, a vintage box fan that I found was going for around $60 on ebay that I bought to use for $5 awesome I must say. So I believe I did rather well

My Aloha Friday Question is (by the way aloha friday is a super fun meme hosted by the blog an island life and is where bloggers can ask super easy questions that can be responded to by super easy answers)

Do you like to go treasure hunting? If so what is a treasure you have found.

Five Question Friday & Friendship Friday

1. Do you make your kids finish all the food on their plates?

2. Do you give an allowance?

3. Do you actually park your car in the garage?

4. What is one food you will NEVER cook?

5. Do you have anything exciting planned for the summer?

1. no and I do not believe that they have to what I do want them to do is to take 4 bites of everything on the plate the old "I don't like it" can not be decided if they do not try and yet at the same time eating everything at the same time is not something that I will ever do because of past childhood experiences

2. yes I always have this was my way of teaching children to do their chores and be accountable. I do believe that there are chores that they should do simple because they are part of the family and for these things we do not pay an allowance and set up a list of other items that must be done in order to qualify for allowance

3. we have no garage so I would have to say no

4. Well I never want to say never because that never may change to at least once or possible more often

5. Lots of travel oh it is so exciting in our plans but we all know that plans are meant to be changed.

9 Layer Dip

2 strips lean bacon

1 16 ounce can plain refried beans

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup guacamole (frozen or prepared is fine)

1/3 cup diced tomatoes (about 1 romano tomato)

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons sliced black olives

2 tablespoons finely sliced green onions

Fry diced bacon until done; add refried beans and cook slowly, stirring frequently until the bacon and bacon drippings are mixed through (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside. Mix taco seasoning with sour cream and set aside.

To built 9 layer dip, place ingredients in this order:

Refried beans, placed on a serving platter and spread out to 1ñ1 1/2 inches thick.

shredded cheese

prepared sour cream/taco seasoning

guacamole

diced tomatoes

diced cilantro

black olives

sliced green onion

1/4 cup cheese for garnish, if desired

Serve with crisp corn chips and a very cold beverage of choice. Makes a great snack or light lunch.

Baked Potato Soup

• 3 lbs. potatoes (medium size)
• 1 T. butter or margarine
• 1-1/2 cups finely chopped onions
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 1 can chicken broth
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• optional toppings - bacon bits, shredded cheddar cheese, chives

Preparation -
Scrub the potatoes and pierce each one with fork a few times. Bake the potatoes in a preheated oven at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Remove from the oven, let cool enough to handle, then peel the potatoes. Cut 3 of the potatoes into soup-size cubes, and set aside. Mash the remaining potatoes. In a Dutch oven, large saucepan or small stock pot, melt the butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in the chopped onions and minced garlic. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until soft - do not brown. Stir in the mashed potatoes; mix thoroughtly. Add the chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat for a few minutes. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cubed potatoes, stir, and cook for a few more minutes or until heated through. Add any desired toppings to individual servings.



recipe source Bella Online

Saturday 9

1. The Beach Boys are back together (everyone alive, Dennis and Carl have passed, including Brian) for the first time in 25 years. It's their 50^th Anniversary tour. Their new single is called, “That's Why God made the Radio”. Did radio play a huge part of your growing up years?

oh I would definetly say yes it did I grew up in the years before CMT, MTV and other music stations. Music played on the radio in my mothers kitchen daily and me and my sister each had transister radios. MTV came on the scene when I was a teen and while we loved the videos the truth was it was nothing compared to the radio

2. What is something that you are disappointed about right now?

dissapointed that it is finally my weekend off and it may rain

3. What are you really anticipating right now?

I am anticipating my upcoming trip to my grandchildren on Mother Day weekend

4. When was the last time you watched your favorite movie? What is it?

it has definetly been a while I may watch it this weekend my favorite movie is Fried Green Tomatoes

5. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?

What a hard question I would love to have conversations with many that have went on before me like my brother, dad, grandmother and so many others But the truth is that while I may want to have them back here with me my beliefs tell me that they are in a much better place where happiness abounds

6. Who was the last person you hung up on?

my son who was in a debatable state of mood

7. Does it bother you when meme makers separate questions that could've been combined?

don't really know sometimes but not really

8. What is the first animal you would run to see if you went to the zoo?

love the seals and monkeys

9. What is the food you always buy at the grocery store that you can't live without?

bread is something that is always on the list along with milk

Quick Strawberry Dessert

1 cup cold milk

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

8 cups cubed angel food cake

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

• In a large bowl, beat the milk, sour cream, pudding mix and orange peel on low speed until thickened. Fold in whipped cream.
• Place half of the cake cubes in a 3-qt. glass bowl. Arrange a third of the strawberries around sides of bowl and over cake; top with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining berries. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Yield: 8-10 servings.

recipe source Taste of Home

Oh So Yummy Check These Out

You may want to check out these blackberry bars that I think would be so delicious You can check out the recipe here

Cappuccino Brownies

4 (1-oz.) unsweetened chocolate baking squares

3/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Cappuccino Buttercream Frosting

Garnish: chocolate shavings 

Microwave chocolate squares and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute and then every 30 seconds or until melted. Stir until smooth. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating with a spoon just until blended after each addition. Stir in flour and vanilla; stir in chocolate morsels. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Spread Cappuccino Buttercream Frosting evenly over top of cooled brownies. Garnish, if desired. Cut into squares. Cover and chill, if desired.

Paula Hughes, Homewood, Alabama, Southern Living
DECEMBER 2006

shared at
Light and Sassy Party
Frugal Friday

Light and Sassy Spicy Chicken Wrap

1 pound chicken tenderloins, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small green pepper, finely chopped

1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped

1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup stir-fry sauce

1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

8 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves

1/4 cup salted peanuts

2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro

• Sprinkle chicken with pepper. In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in 1 tablespoon oil until no longer pink. Remove and set aside.
• Stir-fry onion and peppers in remaining oil for 5 minutes. Add the water chestnuts, mushrooms and garlic; stir-fry 2-3 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add stir-fry sauce and soy sauce. Stir in chicken; heat through.
• Place 1/2 cup chicken mixture on each lettuce leaf; sprinkle each with 1-1/2 teaspoons peanuts and 1/4 teaspoon cilantro. Fold lettuce over filling. Yield: 4 servings.

taste of home recipe

Carters Celebrates with a What To Expect When Expecting Sweepstake

In our family Carter's has long been attached to our young ones. Whether newborn babies or a bit older mothers in our family could always trust the comfort that Carter's provided their little ones with. The comfort was always first and seconded only by the style and fashion that could always be trusted to make sure our little ones looked as good as they felt.

Carters will be featured in the new movie What To Expect When You're Expecting. This movie will premiere in theaters May 18, 2012 Carters wants us to celebrate this by hosting a sweepstake where the lucky winner will be delighted with the prize they get.

From April 16 until May 18, 2012, Carter’s is hosting “A Closet Full of Carter’s Sweepstakes” on Facebook! They’re giving away more than $12,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of a $5,000 Carter’s gift card! Wow, that would get you a lot of wonderful clothing from Carter’s. Fortunately, they also make clothes for little kids, so you can outfit your baby for several years!

Enter daily on Facebook at www.carters.com/fbsweeps or on your mobile device at www.carters.com/mfbsweeps from April 16 until May 18. Or CLICK HERE to head over to the Carter’s website to check out their children’s clothing and learn more about “A Closet Full of Carter’s Sweepstakes.” Good luck!
No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Void where prohibited by law. Participants must be 18 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Promotion begins April 16, 2012 at 12:00:01 a.m. ET and ends May 18, 2012 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET. Limit one (1) entry per person, per day. Complete Official Rules available at www.facebook.com/carters. Sponsor: The William Carter Company (the "Sponsor"), 1170 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 900, Atlanta, GA 30309. Facebook is not a Sponsor of this Sweepstakes.

Disclosure: Carter’s partnered with bloggers such as me to promote their upcoming feature in the movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting. As part of the program, I received product or gift cards. Carter’s believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words, and therefore did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products I used. Carter’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

This past Sunday, April 22, 2012 we celebrated Earth Day. As the week goes on many organizations continue to celebrate earth week and we have had the opportunity to celebrate earth day and spring style with Andean Collection. The beautiful Andean Collection is completed with use of sustainable seeds that are harvested from the rainforest and lowlands of South America. Seeds such as pambil, acai and the tagua seeds have all been  used to make the beautiful jewelry.

Making beautiful jewelry from the seeds found in the rainforest and lowlands allows the community to have a reason to keep the forest rather than selling it to other larger companies. The AC community offered the reason that

"It's also a sustainable source of income for the farmer's in these areas. Instead of selling the land off to oil companies, they have an incentive to keep the trees alive."  
says AC Partner Bria Bergman.



We recieved the opportunity to review a beautiful bracelet from the Andean Collection.

Buy: you can purchase any of the beautiful pieces of jewelry from the andean collection from their website located at http://www.theandeancollection.com/Default.aspx Pieces in the collection range in prices from around $20 to a little under $100.


Win: enter to win a bracelet like I received

Wedding Cookies

One of the first cookies I remember baking for my husband when I first got married was wedding cookies. They were easy to make and these tasty little treats have a bit more taste in them than the ones I baked all those years ago

1 1/2 cups cake flour (about 6 ounces)

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, divided

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

3 teaspoons ice water

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup dried tart cherries

1/4 cup finely chopped salted dry-roasted pistachios

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor; pulse to combine. With food processor on, add butter through food chute a few pieces at a time; process 1 minute or until mixture is the texture of sand. Combine 3 teaspoons ice water and vanilla in a small bowl. With food processor on, slowly add ice water mixture through food chute; process 1 minute or until very well combined. (Mixture will remain crumbly.) Add cherries and pistachios; pulse 10 times or just until combined. Transfer mixture to a bowl. (Mixture will be crumbly.) Gently press mixture into a level tablespoon; pack lightly with the heel of your hand. Turn out onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining dough to form 32 cookies. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or just until bottoms are golden. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes on baking sheet. Place remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add cooled cookies; toss gently to coat with powdered sugar. Transfer cookies to wax paper to cool completely.

MaryAnne Gragg, Cooking Light
AUGUST 2008

Peanut Butter-Pecan Chocolate Chip-Granola Cookies

1 cup butter, softened                                           
1 cup creamy peanut butter                                           
3/4  cup granulated sugar                                           
3/4 cup packed brown sugar                                           
2  eggs                                           
1  teaspoon vanilla                                            
2  cups Original Bisquick® mix
1 3/4  cups granola cereal                                            
1  cup milk chocolate chips                                           
1  cup coarsely chopped pecans

         

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
• 2 Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown (do not overbake). Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Bruschetta

 

This would be so delicious with garden tomatoes as well in my opinion. I can see this recipe being verastile for summer time guest that come over for a quick visit, a quick appetizer or snack or a wonderful summer supper meal. In our family summer suppers have always been light and free

 

1 cup chopped, peeled and seeded roma tomatoes

1/2 cup snipped fresh basil

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 16-ounce loaf baguette-style French bread (about 20 to 24 inches long), bias-sliced 3/4-inch thick

1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese

 

1.

For topping: In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, olive oil, the 2 teaspoons minced garlic, the 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Set aside.

2.

For garlic butter: In a small bowl, combine softened butter, the 1 teaspoon garlic, the 1/8 teaspoon salt, and the 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

3.

Evenly spread garlic butter on one side of bread slices. For charcoal grill, grill bread slices, buttered side down, on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium-low to low coals for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn over and spoon the topping onto each bread slice. Sprinkle with cheese. Grill, covered, 3 to 4 minutes more or just until heated through and bottoms are toasted. Watch bread closely so it does not char. (For a gas grill, preheat grill on high for 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low to low. Place bread slices on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.)

4.

Remove from grill. Serve immediately. Makes 8 appetizer servings.

 

Russian and Potato Salad

My grandmother used to make a potato salad something like this oh so yummy always the hit at picnics and family reunions. I have a friend at work that kept stating all day that she wanted some potato salad and well here is a recipe I am sharing with her as well I found this recipe here

5 large potatoes
1 (16 oz.) pkg. turkey hot dogs
5 eggs
5 large dill pickles, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 (15 oz.) can baby peas, drained
Salt to taste
1 cup mayonnaise

Place the potatoes in a large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until a fork can be easily inserted and removed, about 20 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. During the last 10 minutes, boil the hot dogs and eggs. Drain everything, and set aside to cool. Peel the potatoes, and cut into cubes. Chop hot dogs. Place everything in a large bowl, and mix in the pickles, onions and peas. Peel the eggs, and grate them on top of the salad. Add mayonnaise and salt to individual servings.

retro car pic

this is a pic of an old friend of mine. What a memory to hold forever