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Chewy M&M Cookies Recipe

December 18, 2012 By 4 Comments

Last week the Teen had a church bonfire that she needed to bring “homemade cookies” to share with the Youth Group.  Now, I am sure this was an easy request for most of the Moms from this crowd, but for me my anxiety set in almost immediately.  However, Pinterest saved the day again as usual, and I found not one but two awesome cookie recipes including my daughters favorite candy…. M&Ms.

The “crowd favorite” of the two that I made were the Chewy M&M Cookies which even now a few days later are still delightfully soft and chewy – just the way we like them.  They were very simple to make, and will absolutely be adorning my Christmas Dessert Table this year.

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Funfetti Chex Buddies Candy Recipe

August 1, 2012 By 4 Comments

While perusing Pinterest I ran across a pin for “Funfetti Cake Batter Buddies” from SixSistersStuff.com.  Now, Funfetti has a special place in my heart since it is the absolute BEST batter to use in the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker – so I have it on hand at all times.   I also have been known to stick my head in the mixing bowl to make sure not to waste any of the yummy batter – all the while hearing my grandmother scold me from heaven about ingesting raw eggs in the batter… So the idea of a CANDY – that  I can eat freely without the threat of salmonella poisoning….. I’M IN!!!

Funfetti Chex Buddies Candy

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups rice Chex cereal
  • 1 package vanilla almond bark
  • 1/3 c oil
  • 1 box Funfetti cake mix

Melt the almond bark according to package and add in oil to thin.  I actually found a microwaveable version that came in its very own microwaveable dish – it was perfect to mix the almond bark and oil together in.  Put Chex cereal into a large bowl and carefully pour almond bark over cereal while stirring slowly – trying not to break the cereal pieces.  (this is why a second person is a good idea) Once coated pour dry cake mix over coated cereal and again stir gently until well coated.  Each cereal piece should be independent of one another – not sticking together.

The Gals over at SixSistersStuff also put powdered sugar in theirs – which I have to imagine made it even more addicting.   They also have links for Funfetti Rice Krispie Treats, Cake Batter Blondies, and more – be sure to check them out and leave them some love too!

I took the Funfetti Chex Buddies Candy to our monthly Ladies Bunco group and everyone LOVED it.  It was so easy to make and so fast – literally it took less than 5 minutes from start to finish.  The girls and Mike love it as well – probably too much!  This will certainly be a staple around here from now on.

Thanks for the PINspiration SixSistersStuff!


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Breakfast Casserole Muffins Recipe

July 30, 2012 By 13 Comments

Every Sunday at church we have breakfast during Life Group after the service.  Last week I wanted to contribute with something MADE… instead of just running by the grocery store on the way to snag something from the bakery like I normally do.    I wanted something hot and nutritious… not just sugary.   I hopped online but could not find exactly what I was looking for.  So I just threw everything I wanted together and hoped for the best.  Thankfully, it was.

Our Life Group has about 30 people each week, so this recipe will yield exactly 36 muffins.   However, even if you are just cooking for your family, you can still make this recipe, as it is quick and easy, and they freeze and reheat perfectly!  This is another recipe that I will make over and over to give my girls a great nutritious breakfast before school!

Breakfast Casserole Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 12 eggs
  • 1 bag frozen hashbrowns, thawed
  • 2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
  • fresh cooked bacon, crumbled

Scramble eggs in a bowl.  Add other ingredients, saving a handful of cheese to top with, and mix well.  Spoon into heavily greased muffin tins and sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake at 375* for 20 minutes or until eggs are done and potatoes and cheese are starting to brown.  Serve hot.

This recipe was a HUGE hit at Life Group and just about everyone asked for the recipe.  I love the idea of having a “breakfast muffin” with more substance than sugary bread.   It is the perfect size to heat up and take on the go, and is not messy like all of these ingredients would be on their own.

I am making breakfast for our Life Group again tomorrow… this time a little bit differently, but the same concept.  There was one thing missing from making this the “perfect all inclusive breakfast muffin”… check back tomorrow and see what it is! :)


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Sunrise Sunset Recipe from Tropical Smoothie

July 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I stopped by my local Tropical Smoothie to “just check the place out.”   When I ordered I asked what the “most popular smoothie” was and was told the Sunrise Sunset.  I ordered and happily waited.  Upon first sip I was completely hooked.

I went back three times that week for another Sunrise Sunset and even got Mike and the girls hooked on them to aid in justifying not only the drive there - its literally across town – but also the cost of four individual smoothies.  Mike, my ever frugal adoring hubbly the last trip that I drug him out to get my fix said “babe, are you sure you can’t make this at home?” 

Ohhhh….

Sunrise Sunset … at home.

Ingredients:

  • 3 oranges peeled and cubed
  • 1 mango peeled and cubed
  • 1 cup cubed pineapple
  • 2 cups strawberries
  • 2+ cups ice
  • cane sugar (or Splenda) to taste

I added a little bit of skim milk to kinda get things started – I was afraid there wasnt enough liquid for the blender.  It came out pretty thin though so I actually added a couple more cups of ice to get it thicker.  I now just put the oranges on the bottom and they seem to put enough juice to keep it going.

This smoothie is absolutely amazing and my family is so glad that I can get up and make one at 5am instead of whining for them to all get up and get dressed and be drug across town.  (Dear Mr Tropical Smoothie – a location on Nine Mile Road in Pensacola would be fabulous… mkaythanks)

Of course I will still have to drive across town for the second-best-thing-ever which is also on the Tropical Smoothie menu – the King Caesar Chicken wrap.  But at least I don’t crave those until later in the day… you know, like 8am.


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Cook’n Recipe Organizer Software #Giveaway

June 9, 2012 By 22 Comments

One of the best parts about our Brandcation events is getting to discover some of the hottest new products on the market today.  This Brandcation was absolutely the best one yet – with one of my favorite “swag” products being the Cook’n Recipe Organizer software from DVO Enterprises.

As you know I am no chef, and “Learning to Cook After 30″ has proven to be harder than I thought on many occasions.  The Cook’n Recipe Organizer software comes preloaded with 500 of their favorite recipes – most of which even *I* can figure out.  Everything from Appetizers to Entrees – simple to complex recipes.

You can also add your own recipes and create your very own “Cookbook.”  You can completely customize the look and layout, as well as the names of the dishes and categories.  There is even an option to format to print an entire cookbook – complete with index – or save as a pdf to make your own eBook!

The coolest feature though is the “Capture” feature, which lets you grab recipes off the internet, and files them in your Cook’n software to view any time.   You can even adjust the serving size, which is great for those of us who want to eat the amazing food we find online (*cough*PINTEREST*cough*) but still want to focus on portion control.

Cook’n makes Menu Planning a breeze too.  You can drag and drop recipes into the weekly menu planner, and Cook’n will even auto populate a shopping list with the ingredients you need, as well as the combined measurements and even the aisles you can find them on, that you can easily print and take right along with you. Cook’n also syncs with your mobile devices, so you can pull your recipes and shopping lists from literally anywhere.

You can also find recipes based on what you have at home.  Put the ingredients you have on hand into the Search bar, and Cook’n will suggest recipes with the ingredients you have on hand.

To blow your mind even further, Cook’n can analyze the nutritional values based on the ingredients as well.   So let’s say you find a recipe you love, but you want to make it healthier – simply substitute the ingredients inside the recipe, recalculate, and get the new values.  Amazing, right?

I can not possibly think of anything else this software could need to do – besides maybe actually COOKING the food.  DVO has thought of absolutely everything, and  I am SO excited to get to offer one of my readers their very own copy of the Cook’n Recipe Organizer Software!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was given two copies of Cook’n at a recent blog event.  No other compensation was received for this review and I am offering one of my own copies for giveaway.