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Happy Find

May 20, 2009 8 Comments

Meet my newest sponsor, Happy Find, where you’re sure to find a little bit of happiness!

This shop is owned and operated by Venus, who’s a mother of two. Venus carries a lovely line of of fashionable headbands that are made with 100% cotton and feature hand stamped graphics and sterling silver and copper findings.

She’s also pleased to offer an array of beautiful handmade aprons for adults and children. Venus calls them “a good balance of functionality and beauty.” And I think you’ll agree!

The aprons are made with pre-washed cotton, and they are lined and have pockets. They also come in a variety of colors, fabrics, designs, and styles. These are so lovely, you have to see to believe!


My favorites are the darling, Americana Mama, Americana Mama, Pt 2, and head in the clouds.

Go check out the Happy Find shop and blog today! You’ll be happy you did!

http://happyfind.etsy.com/

http://www.happyfind.typepad.com/

-Jerri


Filed Under: announcements, Sponsors

RHBDesigns

May 20, 2009 2 Comments

Are you on board the hand stamped jewelry bandwagon yet? I am absolutely in love with this jewelry. It’s so creative, unique, and personal. And I love that you can where it with any outfit and for any occasion.

So I’m very excited to introduce my newest sponsor RHB Designs. RHB Designs specializes in –you guessed it– hand stamped jewelry! This shop is owned by a stay at home mom of two named Rosalynn.

Rosalynn offers gorgeous hand stamped jewelry that is both meaningful and affordable. She carries copper and silver pendants paired with charms, swarovski crystals, pearls, and other lovely embellishments.


Her necklaces can be personalized with a meaningful phrase or names of your family members. And if you’re not in to the personalized stuff, she has a number of other designs with words and phrases that I’m sure you’ll love. There is literally something for everyone here!

I personally love all the items in Rosalynn’s shop, but if I had a to pick a few favorites I’d choose The Family Circle Birthstone Necklace, the Family Ties Necklace, the Sweetheart Necklace, and the Goodnight Moon Necklace.


Each item comes in a gift box with a ribbon, so it’s ready for gift giving. And you even get a small polishing cloth with your order and a gift tag on request.

Here are links to the RHB Designs shop and blog. Please take a moment to visit and support this wonderful etsy shop!

http://rhbdesigns.etsy.com/

http://www.rhbdesigns.blogspot.com/

-Jerri


Filed Under: announcements, Sponsors

Following Simply Sweet Home on Facebook and Twitter

May 20, 2009 1 Comment

First off, a couple of weeks ago my blogger follower list reached over 100 followers. Yay! So thanks to everyone who follows my blog, and another big thanks to those of you who subscribe through Feedblitz or Feedburner, and everyone who follows on Twitter. It’s so great to see everyone taking an interest in my little site.

For the past year and a half I’ve signed up on a number of networking sites. In my sidebar you’ll find links to all my profiles on these sites. Unfortunately I can’t update them all the time. Over the last few months I’ve done the majority of my updates on Twitter. I was using Digg a lot too, but I’ve gotten out of the habit. I update the twitter page more frequently because it takes very little time. If you’re not a follower on Twitter, I’d love for you to become one: Here’s a link to my page Simply Sweet Home on Twitter

Also, I finally got around to creating a Facebook page for Simply Sweet Home. I’ve had a personal profile on Facebook for over two years, but I only allow views to people I know personally, and since a lot of bloggers are now using Facebook, I thought it would be worth my time to create a new profile just to use for my blog stuff. I’m still trying to figure it all out because the fan pages are a little different from personal profiles (plus the fact that I still can’t get used to the *new* facebook format….even if it has been up for months). Anyway, you can visit the page and become a fan here: Simply Sweet Home Facebook Page.

On this page I’ll be posting upcoming events, giveaways, future Sweet Thursday themes, and other site updates. And being a facebook fan or twitter follower will also allow you to get extra entries in future giveaways, which is always a huge plus!

As always, thanks for reading!

-Jerri


Filed Under: announcements

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Lasagna

May 18, 2009 13 Comments
This week I’m sharing a recipe that I recently tried for Chicken Lasagna. I love regular lasagna, but I only just tried chicken lasagna for the first time last year. I don’t know why I never tried it sooner; I much prefer alfredo and other cream sauces over the marinara…I guess the opportunity just never came up.

This recipe is fairly easy to make, and it was very delicious. I found it on a blog several months ago, and I’m sorry to say that I have no clue where it came from. If you think it came from your site let me know so I can give you credit! Hope you guys enjoy it!

Recipe for Chicken Lasagna:

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (I used chicken 4-6 chicken breasts)
12 lasagna noodles
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese instead.)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheeese
2 teaspoons minced garlic
fresh cilantro

Directions:

Boil the noodles according to package directions. Add about 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan to prevent noodles from sticking together. Rinse and set aside.

Pull chicken from bones (if using whole chicken or bone-in breasts.) Shred Chicken.

Mix the cream soups, sour cream, ricotta, garlic, and cilantro together. (I mixed in the cheddar cheese here as well.)

Layer in a greased baking dish. Spread a small amount of sauce on bottom. Then add 4 noodles. Place a layer of sauce over the noodles, followed by a layer of chicken, and a layer of cheese. And repeat until you have 3 layers of each. Top with cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Do not over bake.

Before Baking:

After baking:

Tips and Suggestions:
-When I made mine, I didn’t do as many layers as this calls for. Instead I did three layers of the sauce (including the bottom layer), and 2 layers of the other ingredients. I didn’t make the layers very thick, but the casserole still filled the pan, and it took more than the 4 noodles to line the pan as well. But it still turned out very yummy, so don’t worry if you’re number of layers don’t match up.

-I also think it would be fine to mix the chicken in with sauce, and it make just a couple of big layers.

– I think you could also change this recipe up a bit by adding your favorite vegetables.

-Instead of using lasagna noodles, you could use macaroni noodles or even rice, and mix it in with the chicken and sauce to make a yummy casserole.

-This recipe would be great to carry to a family get together or a church potluck, and it’s perfect for freezing for later.

-Also, this casserole lasted a while since it’s just the two of us. In the future, I’ll probably just make a half batch. It should be enough for a small family (2 adults, 1-3 children) to eat on a couple of times, possibly 3 if you serve with salad or other sides. And this is a perfect dish to serve if you’re having company over.

-Jerri



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I’m posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Making A Happy Home Monday is hosted by As For Me and My House….
Make Something Monday is hosted by Go Graham Go! and Jolly Mom and Diana Rambles.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
I Am Blissfully Domestic is hosted by Blissfully Domestic.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family

Filed Under: casseroles and quick meals, Recipe of the Week

Giveaway and Award Winners

May 16, 2009 5 Comments
The winners of my Break Pal Giveaway were selected via random.org and have all been notified. Please join me in congratulating them.

They are
Denai at Random Bits of Knowledge
Erica at The Candy Bar
Aik at Friends and Family
Michelle at Garden Accents
Connie at Canuckian Contests

Thanks everyone for entering!

Also, I recently received two awards from Janet at The Money Jar. Janet’s blog has a lot of information on coupon savings and other great deals. Be sure to check her out. Thanks so much for thinking of me, Janet!

The awards are the Splash Award and the One Lovely Blog Award:



I’m passing these along to the following blogs:

My Art and the Mom in Me

It’s All in My Head

The Open Pantry

Baking Cakes Galore

Snooky Doodle Cakes & more

Always Tie Your Apron Strings

Keep up the good work, Ladies!

-Jerri


Filed Under: announcements

Sweet Thursday: Cupcake Round-Up

May 14, 2009 7 Comments

I’m very excited about this month’s Sweet Thursday Round-Up. I just love looking at cupcakes on the web. There are so many unique flavors and methods of decoration out there, it’s just mind blowing! And the cupcakes in our round-up are no exception to this. Thanks to everyone for allowing your cupcakes to be featured here.

If you have a cupake that you’d like to submit to this round up, just leave your link in the comments section of this post, and I’ll add you to the round-up as soon as I can!
The next Sweet Thursday round-up will be on June 18, and since I featured cupcakes this time, for next month, I’ll feature *cakes.* To have your cake featured in the round-up, just email a link to your post to simplysweethome@hotmail.com. (If you don’t have a blog, you can send in a URL where you’re photos are being hosted, or send in a photo as an attachment, and I’ll get those up for you, as well.)
Strawberry Shortcake Babycakes from Five Star Sweets

Lemon Drop Babycakes from Five Star Sweets


Baby Coconut Bites from Snooky Doodle Cakes & More

Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes from Coco Bean

PB & J Cupcakes from Life in a Peanut Shell

Strawberry Crush Soda Cupcakes from Sweet Melissa Light

Margarita Cupcakes from Obsessed with Cupcakes

Full Moon Cupcakes from love-a-cupcake

Spring Flower Cupcakes from Nina’s Culinary Creations

Black Bottom Cupcakes with Goat Cheese from Project Cupcake

Breast Cancer Awareness Cupcakes from Hoosier Homemade

Mother’s Day Cupcakes from Snooky Doodle Cakes & More

Candy Bar Cupcakes from B’s Huron lighthouse

My Internet Pick – Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes from Taste of Home

Birthday Cupcakes from Simply Sweet Home

Thanks for stopping by for Sweet Thursday, and thanks again to all my participants! Don’t forget to stop by for next month’s Cake Round-Up. And feel free to send in a submission any time between now and June 18.

-Jerri


Filed Under: cupcakes, Sweet Thursday

Hubby’s Birthday Cupcakes

May 11, 2009 22 Comments

No recipe this week. Instead, I’m sharing the cupcakes that I made for my husband’s birthday last month. I decided to share these this week, so that I would have an entry for my own cupcake round-up this Thursday.

My husband is very easy to please in the dessert department. He’ll try just about anything, but he only has a few things that he just absolutely LOVES. This is both good and bad. It’s good because I don’t have to go out of my way and make anything very elaborate for him to like it, but it sort of puts a damper on trying new recipes when I know he’d rather have one of his old faithfuls.

Anyway, in the cake department, he likes coconut cake and yellow cake with chocolate icing. Last year I made a yellow sheet cake with chocolate icing, but this year I wanted to do cupcakes instead. (Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am no cake decorator by any stretch of the imagination (obviously), but at least I tried.)

I have to admit, there’s nothing like a plain chocolate iced cupcake! They looked so yummy, I decided to leave a few undecorated.
For the cupcake that would go at the top and center of the cupcake tree, I topped it with a Samoa Cookie and stuck a candle in the middle. My husband loves those cookies!

Here’s the tree. In the future I’d like to use ribbon/tissue and what not to make it a little more attractive, but seeing as we weren’t having a big birthday party, I saw no reason to do that this time.

In fact, my husband was impressed with the cupcake tree. He was with me when I bought it, but I guess he wasn’t paying attention or he didn’t remember it. So he was pretty wow’d by it, and was telling everyone about it later on.

For the other cupcakes, I used shredded coconut, candy sprinkles, and little Cadbury Mini Eggs.

I hope you all enjoyed these. I really enjoyed making them and EATING them!

By the way, don’t forget to stop by on Thursday. I have several delicious looking cupcakes for this week’s round-up. There’s still time if you’d like for me to include you. Just send me a link to your cupcake post before Thursday or if you don’t have a blog, just email me your photo, and I’ll put them up. OR you can leave a link in the comments section of Thursday’s post, and I’ll add you to the round-up as soon as I can.
Next week I’ll be back with a new recipe. Have a good week!

-Jerri


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I’m posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Making A Happy Home Monday is hosted by As For Me and My House….
Kitchen Tip Tuesdays is hosted by Tammy’s Recipes
Make Something Monday is hosted by Go Graham Go! and Jolly Mom and Diana Rambles.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
I Am Blissfully Domestic is hosted by Blissfully Domestic.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.

Filed Under: cupcakes, desserts

Great Gifts for Mom

May 5, 2009 2 Comments
I’m always happy to see my site stats and follower numbers going up, and it’s so wonderful to read everyone’s lovely comments every week. Thank you so much for coming by each week and reading.
I’m also lucky to have picked up some great sponsors in the last few months. These ladies are an inspiration to bloggers and mompreneurs everywhere. And as a way of saying thank you and Happy Mother’s Day to them, I decided to feature some of their great products in a “Great Gifts for Mom” post.
Please join me in supporting our sponsors by going by their shops this Mother’s Day!

Bright Multi Swarovski Bracelet from Our 2 Peas In A Pod

Bottle Cap Digital Collage Sheet from Little T Studio

Moonbeam Pendant from Lavender Cottage

Felt Vegetable Patterns from Umecrafts

Mom’s Favorite Babycakes from Five Star Sweets

-Jerri


Filed Under: Misc Holidays, Sponsors

Recipe of the Week: Smokey Mountain Chicken

May 4, 2009 26 Comments

This week I’m sharing my Smokey Mountain Chicken recipe. I’ve been meaning to post it for some time, and since I had a couple of questions about it from last week’s menu, this seemed like a good time to post it.

This recipe is currently one of my favorites! It’s very tasty and easy. In fact, there’s not really much of a “recipe” to it; it’s just sort of thrown together.

Another great thing about this recipe is that it’s pretty versatile. It would be great to serve at a cookout with baked beans, potato salad, and cole slaw, or you could throw it on a bun and serve with fries or onion rings. Yet it would also go perfectly with steamed veggies, a rice pilaf, pasta, or mashed potatoes.

Recipe for Smokey Mountain Chicken:
Ingredients:
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Barbecue Sauce
Bacon, crumbled. (About 1-2 pieces for chicken breast, depending on size.)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese.
Directions: Rinse chicken and place on baking sheet. (Hint – I line the baking sheet with tin foil first. This makes for easy clean up and it keeps the sauce from burning on the baking sheet.) Pour a little barbecue sauce on each chicken breast. I use just enough to lightly coat the chicken, but you could use more if wish. You can coat both sides or just the side facing up; it’s up to you. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. In the meantime cook your bacon. Take chicken out of the oven and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese (or your choice of cheese blend), and then top with bacon crumbles. Place make in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Tips & Suggestions:
-Here’s a great short cut for an effortless meal: use Ready to Serve bacon. I buy mine at Aldi, and it’s really good and cheap!
-Or you could use Real Bacon Bits. (I recommend Kraft Oscar Mayer.)
-I got the name for this dish from something that they used to serve Ruby Tuesday about 10 years ago. In their version, they served it topped with raw, diced tomatoes, and I believe they also used either scallions or those little fried onion straw things.
-And of course you could use other cheeses. But I totally recommend that you try the cheddar first!
-And again, as I said above this is a great dish to cook with so many different side items and for so many occasions. And I just have to mention the idea of putting it on a bun again, because my husband just loves chicken sandwiches. When I make this, I like to do a little extra, so that I can pack him a sandwich for his lunch. It makes his day!

-Jerri


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I’m posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Making A Happy Home Monday is hosted by As For Me and My House….
Make Something Monday is hosted by Go Graham Go! and Jolly Mom and Diana Rambles.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
I Am Blissfully Domestic is hosted by Blissfully Domestic.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends


Filed Under: casseroles and quick meals, Recipe of the Week

Menu Plan Monday for May 4

May 3, 2009 2 Comments

I haven’t really given much thought to this week’s menu, so this plan is just a tentative one, but then again, I suppose every plan is a tentative one.
Also, for those of you who are interested, I’ll be posting my Smokey Mountain Chicken from last week’s menu as my recipe of the week. It’s very easy to make and very tasty!

Now here’s my menu:

Breakfasts: cereal, yogurt, pancakes, bacon & egg sandwiches
Lunches: pork sandwiches, chicken fingers, tuna sandwiches

Dinners:
Monday – Pizza & breadsticks
Tuesday – Italian Chicken, Alfredo Pasta Side, Pinto Beans
Wednesday – Cheeseburger Macaroni, corn, beans
Thursday – Leftovers
Friday – Eat out
Saturday – possibly Chicken Poulet
Sunday – leftovers

Visit Org Junkie for more menus and recipes.

-Jerri

Filed Under: menu plan Monday
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