Life, Family, and Home - Simplified & Sweetened
I’m very excited to be a part of the Oriental Trading blogger program. They make it easy to throw a party, stuff gift baskets and bags, come up with arts and crafts activities for kids. Whether you’re looking for VBS activities, throwing a wedding or shower, or hosting a Hawaiian luau, you are sure to find everything you need, from decorations to favors and more! [Read more…]
This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #TENways http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV.
Spring is finally here, and swimsuit season is just around the corner! A well-balanced and low-calorie diet, along with exercise can help you get in shape and stay in shape for the summer season, but it is not easy to give up the foods and drinks we love. The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group is here to help with their Four TEN products are. Full of flavor and only ten calories per serving, the Core Ten products are a great low-calorie alternative to your favorite drink. The TEN beverages include 7UP, Sunkist, A&W, and Canada Dry. [Read more…]
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!
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.
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…]
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DiGiorno Pizza.
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…]
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.
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!
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:43]
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!).
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?
Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target.
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!
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.
A wonderful dip for the holidays. Easy to make ahead and warm in the crock pot, a crowd favorite.
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
Cook spinach according to package directions. In a colander, drain the spinach; pressing with the back of a spoon to remove excess moisture.
Combine in a food processor or with a hand mixer.
Pour into a small crock pot to heat through slowly.
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 Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
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!
Marshmallow Coffee Cups from The Party Wagon
Lil Meringue Mice from BHG
Twas The Night Before Christmas Treat from Catch my Party
Cupcake Wreath from Yummy Food Drink
Snowmen Cupcakes from Devian Art
Peppermint Lollipops from Munchkin Munchies
Teddy Bears on Sleds from It’s All About Us
Mini Sausage Wreaths from Free-N-Fun Christmas
Santa Hat Party Mix from Cookies & Cups
Snowman Cheeseball from Karla Dornacher
Reindeer Appetizer from Project Denneler
Hot Cocoa Cupcakes from Lick the Bowl Good
Rice Krispie Treat Tree from Cookies & Cups
Very Merry Cookie Wreath from Very Best Baking
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.
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.
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…]
