White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Treats

White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Treats

Love is in the air this week!  I celebrated Valentine’s Day early with these fun, sweet, and cute  White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Treats.  The recipe is adapted from Jolly Time’s recipe for Choco-Cherry Heart Bouquets.  The folks at Jolly Time were kind enough to send me the supplies needed for this recipe, including a box of their buttered popcorn, and I was really happy with how the treats turned out!

These would make a perfect homemade gift for the one you love, especially the kids!  It would also be a great treat for Valentine’s Day parties and a great recipe to make with the kids for a Valentine’s Day activity.  Hope you enjoy!

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Game Day with T.G.I. Friday’s Potato Skins #TGIFGameDay #CollectiveBias #shop

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

Game Day with TGI Fridays

Do you love TGI Friday’s?  I love eating their appetizers, and when we can’t go out, I love buying their frozen appetizers.  They are especially great for game days.  Just visit your local Wal-mart, pick out a few apps, and you’ve got enough food to create an entire spread for a house full of sports fans!

In the past, I’ve tried their Boneless Buffalo Wings, Mozzarella Sticks, and Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  All of these are fabulous, but this past weekend we decided to try something new for game day: Loaded Cheddar & Bacon Potato Skins. [Read more…]

Game Day with DiGiorno and a Giveaway #BetterWithDiGiorno

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DiGiorno Pizza.

Game Day with Digiorno

 

Are you watching the big game this Sunday?  Planning a big party?  Or maybe just a party for two?  Either way, you can make DiGiorno your MVP (most valuable pizza).

We are big fans of DiGiorno, and I’m always excited to serve it as a last minute dinner option! [Read more…]

Cheddar Bacon Pretzel Bites

Cheddar Bacon Pretzel Snacks

I love homemade bread! Last year I had the chance to try Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Bread Mixes, and I made this lovely loaf of wheat bread:

Check out the wheat bread: HERE.

The bread turned out just fabulous!  So I was very excited when I was asked to try Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Pretzel Mix!  You can find this mix along with other Fleishmann’s Simply Homemade mixes in the baking section at your local market.

Pretzel Creations

For this baking project, I decided to use the pretzel mix to make Cheddar Bacon Pretzel Bites.  For these, I rolled the dough in to 1.5 inch balls (and I made some of them smaller, only because I didn’t know if they would rise).  But you could also make actual pretzel shapes, or sticks, twists, bigger rolls, or even in to a bread loaf.

Either way you to choose to do it, this recipe makes for a great party appetizers or just a snack for the family!

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Cheddar Bacon Pretzel Bites
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I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

My Kind of Holiday with Target #MyKindOfHoliday

I’m excited to be teaming up this holiday season with Target for #MyKindOfHoliday.  How do you celebrate the holidays?  It is it super elegant and festive or a simple affair?  Our Thanksgiving dinner is pretty simple and low key and it usually includes dinner with my parents and/or in-laws.  And I love that because I get to enjoy great foods like chicken & dressing, baked ham, deviled eggs,potato salad and more!

Usually I make a dessert or two like a chess cake or pound cake,  and then I’ll make something special for my dad like a custard pie or a cobbler.  But for this holiday season, I’m thinking of doing a banana pudding and either a chess cake or an oatmeal cake.  But I’m also currently testing some other recipes.  For example, the other day I tried out this Frozen Peppermint Pie (recipe to come!).

Frozen Peppermint Pie

I actually bought the pie dish and the red platter pictured here at Target.  And when I was shopping the other day, I also found a lot of great fall table decor  in stock.  They have so many great platters, bowls, and other accent pieces in bright, bold fall colors that would really dress up the Thanksgiving table.

Take a look! Don’t these look fabulous?

I especially love the platters! They would be perfect for meats or sides such as the deviled eggs, or even cookies and candies.  And I think bright colors like this really help to make your table look more inviting and festive, which just makes the whole meal more special!

As a blogger, I guess you could say that one of my new holiday traditions is taking photos of the foods I make, so for this reason, the platters also appeal to me, as they would be perfect for foodie photo shoots!

And then I also love their line of Mercury Glass! These dishes and candle holders look so elegant! Don’t you agree?

What are your favorite holiday traditions? Are you buying any new decorations or table decor for the holidays this year?
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Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target.

Guest Post: Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip from Carrie at A Mother’s Shadow

christmastreats

Hey guys! I’m very excited to be celebrating the holidays again with Six Weeks of Christmas Treats. Today we have our first several guest posts that we will have throughout the season. Our first guest is Carrie from A Mother’s Shadow.  Please be sure to go over to her blog and say hi.  But first please check out Carrie’s take on one of my favorite appetizers, Spinach & Artichoke Dip!

A Mothers Shadow

Hi, my name is Carrie and my  site is A Mother’s Shadow.  Come by for ideas of practical life skills, suggestions of how to be self-reliant, and suggestions for how to serve others, as well as inspiration and tools to strengthen family.   I hope you will come by often and leave feeling refreshed, motivated and encouraged in your journey.

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

 A wonderful dip for the holidays.  Easy to make ahead and warm in the crock pot, a crowd favorite. 

 Ingredients:

Spinach Dip Ingredients

10-12 oz. frozen chopped spinach

1/4 – 1/3 cup milk

1 Tbl. olive or vegetable oil

14 oz. can artichokes, not marinated, rinsed and drained

1/2 bulb roasted garlic  or 1 tsp. garlic, finely mined

1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce, or to taste

2 – 8 oz. cream cheese blocks

1/2 tsp. montreal steak seasoning

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 roasted garlic seasoning, optional

2/3 – 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Cook spinach according to package directions. In a colander, drain the spinach; pressing with the back of a spoon to remove excess moisture.

Spinach In Collander

Combine in a food processor or with a hand mixer.

Food Processor

Pour into a small crock pot to heat through slowly.

Spinach Dip in Crock Pot

Serve warm with crackers, pita chips baguette French bread or cut-up vegetables.

Recognize a blessing and be a blessing today.

Thanks again to Carrie for being here today.  Be sure to visit her over at A Mother’s Shadow.  And follow her over on FacebookTwitter and Pinterest.

15 Christmas Party Treats and a Linky Party

15 Christmas Party Treats

 

Last year I hosted a Six Weeks of Christmas Treats event with some guest posts from our friends, and I kicked off the event with a little round-up of Christmas recipes and linky party so you can share your own recipes with us.  The post turned out great, and I had 60+ recipes linked up, so I decided to kick off this year’s event with another round up and linky party.

For last year’s post, I shared cookie recipes, decorated cookies, bars, and candy (4 of each).  For this year’s round up, I decided to do something a little different.  I looked for Christmas treats with a fun twist or cute presentation suitable for Christmas parties.  Check them out below, and then feel free to link up your own Christmas treats.

The linky is open to any Christmas treat recipes: cookies, bars, cakes, pies, drinks, appetizers, etc.  Pretty much anything goes!

Christmas Party Treat 01

Marshmallow Coffee Cups from The Party Wagon

Christmas Party Treat 02

Lil Meringue Mice from BHG

Christmas Party Treat 03

Twas The Night Before Christmas Treat from Catch my Party

Christmas Party Treat 04

Cupcake Wreath from Yummy Food Drink

Christmas Party Treat 05

Snowmen Cupcakes from Devian Art

Christmas Party Treat 06

Peppermint Lollipops from Munchkin Munchies

Christmas Party Treat 07

Teddy Bears on Sleds from It’s All About Us

Christmas Party Treat 08

Mini Sausage Wreaths from Free-N-Fun Christmas

Christmas Party Treat 09

Santa Hat Party Mix from Cookies & Cups

Christmas Party Treat 10

Snowman Cheeseball from Karla Dornacher

Christmas Party Treat 11

Reindeer Appetizer from Project Denneler

Christmas Party Treat 12

Hot Cocoa Cupcakes from Lick the Bowl Good

Christmas Party Treat 13

Rice Krispie Treat Tree from Cookies & Cups

Christmas Party Treat 14

Very Merry Cookie Wreath from Very Best Baking

Christmas Party Treat 15

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Wreath from Old Fashioned Homemaking

Need more treats?  Check out all the recipes I featured last year, plus 64 others linked up by other bloggers!  Here’s the link to last year’s party.

16 Christmas Treats

Got a holiday treat recipe to share?  I’d love for you to link it up below. You can link up cookies, candies, appetizers, drinks, & more! This linky will be open throughout the holiday season.



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I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

FREE Printable Holiday Tags, Recipe Cards & more!

Printable Holiday Tags

 

It’s been a while since I did a post featuring printables.  Since we’re kicking off the holiday season this week, I thought it would be the perfect time to do that.  I started out looking for recipe cards and coordinating tags suitable for gift giving or cookie exchanges, and then I also have found some fun invitations, gift tags, and full party packs for you.  Hope you enjoy! [Read more…]

Love The Day: Custom Party Printables

Love the Day Banner

Throwing a party this fall? Love The Day is your one-stop shop for custom printable parties.  They have a huge variety of themes available for birthdays, showers, and holiday parties.  And you can get everything from party banners and table decor to cupcake toppers, candy & bottle wrappers, and other fun favors!

  [Read more…]

Decadently Dark Candy Apples and Country Living’s Spooky & Bright Book

Spooky and Bright

 

Next week I’ll be participating in the Harvest Halloween Hop, where I and other bloggers will be giving away fall and Halloween themed prize packs. One of the items I will be giving away is a copy of Country Living Spooky & Bright: 101 Halloween Ideas. [Read more…]