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Easter Traditions, Treats & Sweets

March 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

While at the BlissDom conference, we had the wonderful opportunity to get to know some of the Hershey’s reps as well as create our very own Hershey’s Easter baskets. We choose our basket color, filler and our favorite Hershey’s candies! I made sure to include a bag of each one of the boys favorites {and mine}… Twizzlers, Kit Kats, Jolly Ranchers, Hershey’s Kisses and of course Cadbury Eggs.  Needless to say, we were beyond excited when our Easter basket arrived at the house early one morning.

 

Ashton and Noah crack me up!!

Since Easter is just around the corner, I thought I should share a few of our Easter traditions and a recipe. We don’t do the Easter bunny with our boys but they do wake up to a Easter baskets full of goodies {a tradition started by my sister}. We usually include a book, small toys such as puzzles, marbles, cars, games and of course chocolate.

One of our favorite traditions has to be our Resurrection Easter Eggs.  Resurrection eggs are a fun way to tell our children the story of the resurrection of Jesus, using 12 colorful eggs filled with symbolic objects and passages from the Bible.

Resurrection Cookies

Another favorite tradition is making Resurrection Cookies. These miraculous Resurrection cookies are made the night before Easter, children wake up to a neat surprise when they go to find the hollow cookies in the morning!

You will need:

1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
a pinch salt
1 cup sugar
a zipper baggy
1 wooden spoon
scotch tape
Bible

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
  2. Place pecans in a resealable plastic bag. Using a rolling pin or heavy pot, crush the pecans into small bits. Read John 19:1-3
  3. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into a medium bowl. Let children smell vinegar . Read John 19:28-30
  4. Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life
    to give us life. Read John 10:10-11
  5. Sprinkle salt into the egg whites. Read Luke 23:27
  6. So far, the mixture isn’t very appetizing. Add sugar. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16. Beat with mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
  7. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto parchment paper lined baking sheet. Read Matthew 27:57-60.
  8. Place cookies in the oven close the door and turn the oven off. Read Matthew 27:65-66.
  9. Go to bed. Read John 16:20 and 22.
  10. In the morning open the oven and take out the cookies. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

 Oh, I met this guy while making our basket at BlissDom too…

Be sure to visit www.CelebratewithHersheys.com to follow the blogging bunny trail and check out the great collection of Easter tips, memories and stories!

What are some of your favorite Easter Traditions?

Filed Under: Family, Parenting, Photo Savvy, Recipe Savvy · Tagged With: , , , ,

Quick & Easy Tuscan Style Beef & Vegetables Soup by Bertolli

February 12, 2012 by 3 Comments

As a mother who works from home and homeschools 4 boys, I try to make dinner meals as quick and easy as possible, without sacrificing nutrition and taste. I am not one to make frozen meals as hubby is not very fond of them but when the opportunity arose to take the Bertolli Weeknight Meal Special Challenge…. I said YES! Why not? I will try anything that offers to make dinner meals and planning a tad easier.

I took a trip to my local grocer and found four different flavors of frozen soups… Chicken Minestrone , Roasted Chicken & Rotini Pasta , Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken, and Tuscan-Style Beef & Vegetables. I decided to go with the Tuscan Style Beef & Vegetables, tender beef, mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots and celery with bow-tie pasta in a savory broth.

I made bread rolls to go with the soup and our meal was complete; the entire meal took less than 30 minutes to make and serve. I’m happy to report that our entire family really enjoyed the meal. The soup cooked down easily and smoothly, the vegetables stayed crisp and fresh, not soggy or falling apart as with some frozen meals. I did add some Tony Chachere’s Original Creole seasoning, we are in Louisiana and we like our foods with a BAM of spice!

 

More about the Bertolli Meal Soups:
·      Bertolli® Frozen Meal Soups are hearty and fresh-tasting with vegetables, meats, pasta and herbs individually flash frozen at the  peak of freshness.
·      Bertolli® Frozen Meal Soups are available in the frozen aisle, and can be prepared on your stovetop in minutes.
·      With robust flavors and rich textures, new Bertolli® Frozen Meal Soups are available in four varieties: Chicken Minestrone, Roasted Chicken & Rotini Pasta, Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken, and Tuscan-Style Beef with Vegetables.

 

I was compensated by Bertolli to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge. As always, all opinions are my own!

Filed Under: Recipe Savvy, Review · Tagged With: , , , , ,

Favorite Super Bowl Party Munchies #Recipe

February 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

FRANK’S BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP is a new favorite at our home {thanks to my sister}, this dip is loaded with protein and tangy, spicy goodness! Plus, cream cheese makes everything better!

FRANK’S BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

INGREDIENTS:

  • 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
  • 1/2 cup FRANK’S Original Hot Sauce
  • 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 cans (12.5 oz. each) White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained

DIRECTIONS:

HEAT oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

MIX in salad dressing, Frank’s RedHot Sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.

BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

 

Spicy Nuty Cheeseball

 

SPICY NUTTY CHEESEBALL

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, minced
  • 1 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
DIRECTIONS
  1. In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, green bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt. Mix together and form mixture into a football. Roll ball in chopped pecans or almonds and serve with your favorite crackers.

Just before serving, decorate cheese ball with green onion strips to resemble laces on football. Serve with crackers.

 

Lumpia

 

LUMPIA –

I grew up eating these in Californian and they have remained a favorite of mine. So delicious!

Lumpia is a Philippines delicacy that is similar to a Chinese spring roll, but with a higher ratio of meat to vegetables. The dipping sauce tops it off to give it a slight sweet and spicy kick. You can purchase a sweet chili sauce to go with these.

If you can’t make them, find someone who can! You wont regret it!

Here is the best recipe for Lumpia’s that I have found.

 

Sliders

SLIDERS

 

Sliders happen to be a favorite for our boys, they are the perfect kid sized burger. We make pulled pork sliders, hamburger sliders, pulled chicken and more. You can get really creative with these and add all kinds of fresh, colorful toppings.
For a more mature crowd (though our boys love these too) you can try my favorite quick and easy slider,  the “Milano Slider”. If you do not have bocconcini mozzarella cheese you can use brie

Filed Under: Recipe Savvy, Uncategorized · Tagged With: , , ,

Double Chocolate Cake #Recipe

February 2, 2012 by 1 Comment

Our families favorite dessert is a warm, ooey gooey chocolate cupcake or cake. I have doctored up a few recipes and have finally found this one to be a keeper. This recipe is very chocolaty, super moist and warms up well days after the cake has been made. The key, as with any cake, is to not over cook. The sour cream does wonders to make this cake moist and somewhat dense. Bring your eggs to room temperature when baking as they mix into the flour much better, the same goes for butter. You can quickly warm eggs by placing them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

Double Chocolate Cake Ingredients

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (dust these in flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into 24 lined muffin cups or bale in a bundt  pan.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

I usually make a cream cheese icing or chocolate cream cheese icing for the cupcakes. For the cake, I like to fill the center of the cake with fresh berries and drizzle chocolate over each layer. Once I have the fruit overflowing onto the top of the cake, I drizzle entire cake with both colors of cream cheese frosting.

 

Bon Appétit

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: iPhoneography, Mom Savvy, Recipe Savvy ·

Not from Scratch Chili

October 21, 2011 by 2 Comments

Here in Louisiana we are getting a fabulous cold front…the low will be 37 tonight. Brrrrr….

Chilly weather calls for Chili! Unfortunately,  I have never made Chili from scratch and I have never felt the need to try because my Tabasco chili always comes out perfect! This recipe takes me 5 minutes tops to make and my family of men love it!


Ingredients: (I usually double or even triple this recipe)

1 (16 oz.) jar TABASCO® 7 Spice Chili

1 lb Ground Beef or Turkey – browned and drained

1 can of drained beans

3/4 cup water, or beer or tomato juice

Optional

1 Chopped onion

1 Chopped Bell pepper

Brown ground beef and drain well. Add contents of Tabasco® Chili Mix and 3/4 cup water, beer or tomato juice. Simmer 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Makes four 8 oz. servings.

 

Made from 100% natural, fresh ingredients including herbs and spices this rich blend has just the right amount of TABASCO® Pepper Sauce. This is a quick and delicious chili that will leave you and your family calling for more.

We like to top our chili with sharp cheddar cheese and eat with Ritz crackers.

I am linking up for “Feasting in Fellowship” each Friday with Janelle over at Comfy in the Kitchen.

 

 

Filed Under: iPhoneography, Recipe Savvy ·

2 Ingredient Mini Pumpkin Muffins

October 13, 2011 by 5 Comments

Last week I made the most wonderful pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting for a dinner party…the secret ingredient is toffee bits… perfection! Thanks to Robyn over at “Add A Pinch” for sharing this mouth watering pumpkin goodness. Everyone that tried it (that bakes) took the recipe to make for Thanksgiving! Success!

Another fabulous Pumpkin cake recipe can be found below…

For cake

  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

For frosting

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons robust-flavored (dark) molasses
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
  • 2 8-ounce packages chilled cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

 

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottoms of two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with waxed paper. Spray sides of pans with nonstick spray. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and cloves into medium bowl; sift again. Place currants in small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon flour mixture and toss to coat; mix in walnuts.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions. Beat in pumpkin. Fold in currant-walnut mixture. Divide batter equally between prepared pans (batter will be about 3/4 inch deep).

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; peel off waxed paper. Cool layers completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and store at room temperature.)

Make frosting:
Beat butter, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla and orange peel in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in cream cheese. Sift powdered sugar over; beat to blend. (Frosted cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature 2 hours before continuing.)


I had a nice size bowl of cream cheese icing left over from the cake, so I decided to try this two ingredient pumpkin muffin recipe. I learned about these yummy mini muffins at my ladies Bible Study; they always make the best desserts. These mini pumpkin muffins are delicious plain or with a dollop of cream cheese icing. I make a huge batch and keep them in a tupperware container, perfect quick treat for the boys. ;-)

Ingredients

  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix
  • 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease mini cupcake baking tray.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the spice cake mix and canned pumpkin until well blended. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into each greased mini-muffin cup.
  3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean or they spring back. Cool and serve, or in Tupperware container

Bon Appétit

I am linking up for “Feasting in Fellowship” each Friday with Janelle over at Comfy in the Kitchen.

Filed Under: Photo Savvy, Recipe Savvy ·

17 Day Diet – Chicken Vegetable Soup

August 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This recipe is from Cycle One of the 17 Day Diet. (Seems to be the same recipe  in the Dr. Oz book “You: On a diet”.)

The 17 day diet is broken up into cycles that take 17 days each, patterned to confuse the metabolism. The 17 day diet cycles also call for 17 minutes of exercise a day. Cycle 1 allows 1,200 calories a day, Cycle 2 allows 200 more calories and 2 carbs servings, Cycle 3 allows more calories including 1 small snack. In Cycle 4 you should hit your goal weight and maintain it from there.

The meal plan seems to be a common sense, eat good, feel good diet plan. High protein, low to no carb, lots of fish, chicken, fruits and veggies.  

I edited the original recipe to add a bit more flavor as per my sisters advice! Glad I took it!

Ingredients

4 Chicken breasts (I used one well cleaned rotisserie chicken shredded)
2 cups chopped cabbage
3 large carrot sliced bite size
1 onion diced or chopped
4 celery stocks diced
1 can crushed tomatoes, large (I used Rotel)
1 can chicken broth (10.75oz)
1 Cup of water
.5 teaspoon salt, (I use sea salt)
1/4 teapoon black pepper
I also used a bit of garlic powder and Tabasco 

Directions

Bake chicken till done and cut into chunks. Place all ingredients except the chicken in large pan and simmer for one hour or until veggies are soft. Add chicken and heat thoroughly.
Makes 6 servings
Bon Appetite!

Filed Under: Fit Savvy, Recipe Savvy ·

Quiche Lorraine Florentine

July 1, 2011 by 4 Comments

 

All photos taken with an iPhone 3G
You don’t have to be a gourmet chef to judge how appetizing and flavorful this simple Quiche is. It is one dish which will never fail to impress you or your guests. This is the one recipe I make, that everyone must have once they have had a slice! I am ever so thankful that my sister shared it with me a few years ago. My boys will devour one whole pie in minutes!I usually double or triple this recipe and make two to three Quiche at a time. Troy (hubby) loves this in the morning when he is rushing to get out the door for work.
Dry ingredients in crust.
 Ready to go into the oven… not the prettiest crust but it will do. :-)
Crust
You will need one pie crust, I use Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust.
Filling 
 1    cup roughly chopped fresh or drained frozen spinach
8 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled or real bacon bits (1/2 cup)
1 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
3 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
PREPARATION
-Preheat oven to 425.
-In pie shell, combine bacon, spinach, cheese and onion.
-Separately, mix together eggs and milk, add salt and pepper. Pour into pie shell.
-Place quiche on baking sheet and put in the oven. Bake 15 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 and bake 30 minutes more. It’s done when a knife inserted comes out clean.
Bon appétit!

Filed Under: iPhoneography, Recipe Savvy · Tagged With:

Feasting in Fellowship Friday!

January 7, 2011 by 4 Comments


 Comfy in the Kitchen is hosting a great new meme, “Feasting in Fellowship Friday“!

Growing up, I often wondered why my grandmothers loved cooking for us and feeding us until we were filled to the brim. They had such a love for cooking, baking and feeding family and friends. Now, as a mother of 4 boys with a large family and great friends to fellowship with, I understand the gift of preparing and sharing a meal with loved ones.

 
This is a family recipe for vegetable & chicken soup. 
Super easy comfort food for a cold winter day!


Ingredients

  • 1 quart water
  • 2 – 32 ounce Boxes Swanson Organic Chicken Broth
  • 1 cut-up rotisserie chicken
  • 1 whole onions, unpeeled or a cup of Trinity mix (onion, garlic celery and bell-peppers)
  • 3 cut up Chayotes – also known as christophene, vegetable pear or mirliton
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery leaves plus 2 stalks celery and their leaves
  • 6 carrots, peeled and left whole
  • 1 zucchini
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • bag frozen sweet corn
  • bag frozen green beans
  • 6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1. Bring the water, broth and vegetables to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, adjusting the seasoning to taste.
2. Cut the zucchini and add to the soup along with th pieces of chicken. Simmer about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked, but still firm. Serve with the remaining snipped dill. You can also add noodles or clos (matzah) balls. 
An easy recipe, full of goodness and flavor!

Filed Under: Recipe Savvy ·

Slow Cooker Tuscan Pot Roast

November 16, 2010 by 3 Comments

Slow Cooker Tuscan Pot Roast – Altered from a recipe found on my Betty Crocker iPhone App. – LOVE that thing!
Serves/Makes: 6

Ingredients:
1 (3-4 lb size) boneless beef rump roast
1/2 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups beef broth
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can diced tomatoes undrained – I used Italian style diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons brown sugar (packed firm)
4 carrots
7 red baby potatoes
1 large onion, quartered
2 stalks celery
1 to 2 cups sliced mushrooms (we all love mushrooms so we add two cups.)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon rosemary
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
4 cloves garlic
oil (canola, vegetable or olive)

All photos taken with an iPhone 3G ☺

Directions:
Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place roast in skillet with oil and sear (brown over high heat) on all sides. Marinate roast with rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, basil, oregano & Tony’s until beef is completely covered while it’s in the skillet. Hold it up in the pan with a long handle cooking fork if necessary or with tongs. Remove roast from pan, leaving drippings, if any, in the pan. Place roast in slow cooker.

Add the vegetables (and canned tomatoes), broth, cream of mushroom soup, onion and ranch dip packets, brown sugar, bay leaf and water. Add salt and pepper. Add garlic cloves.

Cook on high 3-4 hours, medium 6-8 or low 10+.

Turned out great, everyone loved it, plentiful of veggies so not much other than rice or noodles is needed. We made hoagies with the left over meat and the boys loved that too! :-)

Bon appétit!

Filed Under: Recipe Savvy ·