How to Smoke a Turkey: Tutorial, Tips, and a Sauce Recipe

Disclosure: Today’s post is sponsored by We Love Fire. The opinions are my own.

With Halloween coming up this week, Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  Today I’m getting ahead of the game and sharing a tutorial on how to smoke a turkey.  At our house, we cook a lot of meats.  We only do turkey 2 or 3 times a year, and at this point we have cooked it by smoking/grilling, baking, and frying.  Today we are going to specifically talk about smoking a turkey.  I’ve got tips to help you get a moist and flavorful turkey, and I’ve also got a recipe for Southern White Sauce, which is MUST have item in our house when we are having smoked turkey or chicken.

If you are looking for a new grill or smoker this holiday season I Love Fire has a fantastic guide for you.

[Read more…]

Friday Favorites Linky Party – Week 398 – With Table Decor

Hello everyone! Welcome to this week’s linky party.  And Happy Veteran’s Day to all of our men and women in uniform, past and present.  We appreciate your service!

We’re going to be doing things a little differently for a few weeks. As some of you may know I am currently pregnant. Actually as of this Friday, I am 39 weeks along, so things could happen at any time!  That being said, I wanted to make sure that the party goes on every week without a hitch, so for the next few weeks, each party hostess will be sharing their own party post with JUST their feature pick(s).  Normally we compile all of our feature choices together in to one big post, but I wanted to make things as easy as possible on the hostesses.

When you link up your post it will still be part of a linky party that will be shared on ALL of our blogs, so there’s no change there.  Anyway, I just wanted to make a note of that, so that you guys wouldn’t wonder about the sudden change in format.  Alright, let’s get to it!  This week I’ve selected 3 tables to feature.  Two of these are Thanksgiving tablescapes, and one is a DIY project that I thought looked just awesome!  Hope you enjoy!

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming AliceFB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage PresentsTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! [Read more…]

Hashbrown Casserole and Clean Up with Scotch-Brite® Scrub Dots

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ScrubWithDots #CollectiveBias

With the holidays right around the corner, it’s time to brainstorm recipes and menu ideas and prepare for that big holiday grocery outing.  While preparing your shopping list, it’s just as important to add cleaning products and tools that you will need.  Enter Scotch-Brite® Scrub Dots Previously I’ve written about the Scotch-Brite™ Brand and how their wide range of products helps me with my household cleaning.  Recently I purchased their new Scotch-Brite® Scrub Dots sponges and dishwands.  Today I’m going to share these products with you and show some examples of the products at work in my kitchen, including how I used Scotch-Brite® Scrub Dots to clean up after making a Hashbrown Casserole. (Recipe included!)

[Read more…]

Tres Leches Pumpkin Cupcakes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeHolidayGoodness #CollectiveBias

tres-leches-pumpkin-cupcakes

The holiday season is almost here! (Or is it here already?)  And with that, comes holiday baking and snacking!  When you’re an on-the-go mom, you don’t always have time to spend a whole day in the kitchen baking up something for the family Thanksgiving or the church potluck.  Luckily NESTLÉ® is here to save a day with whole host of baking staples and creative products that make holiday baking easy and fun!  Today’s featured recipe is actually two recipes in one.  I’ll be sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Muffins, and then I’ll show you how can transform those muffins in to Tres Leches Cupcakes. [Read more…]

Friday Favorites Linky Party – Week 346

Hi everyone! Happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had a fabulous week.  As we move forward to Thanksgiving, this week I’m featuring a yummy recipe for Cornbread & Apple Dressing.  And we have a great collection of other holiday ideas that I know you’ll love!

 photo Friday Favorites Banner 2.jpg

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Christine at Light and SavvyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Jen at Creatively HomemadeTwitter | G+ | Pin

Dawn at LeroyLimeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Maisy at Becoming AliceFB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage PresentsTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

 photo Friday Favorites Featured Button.jpg

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! [Read more…]

Hershey’s Halloween Scarecrow Pudding Cups

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ReadySetSnack #CollectiveBias
Hersheys Halloween Scarecrow Pudding Cups

Fall is such a fun time!  Each year I look forward to seeing all the fun decor in stores and online, and I love breaking out my own decorations!  Fall also brings a lot of great opportunity to make great snacks and treats, from football food to Halloween goodies!  Today I’m excited to share a fun tutorial on how to make Scarecrow Pudding Cups using Hershey’s Ready to Eat Pudding.

These pudding cups are a great treat that you can make and serve at your child’s Halloween party or other fall events.  And it is also a great activity that moms can do with kids, or elementary teachers can do with their students.  Just give everyone a pudding cup and a plate of ingredients, and then let them go crazy! [Read more…]

Give Extra Thanks to Teachers + Gift Basket Idea

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #ExtraGumMoments
Give Extra

November is all about giving thanks for all our blessings and to those who matter most.  Is there anyone you want to give extra thanks to?  I appreciate everyone in my life who makes every day special (like my husband, stepson, parents, and yes, the fur children) and I enjoy celebrating special moments with them, but lately I’ve found myself thinking of some of the people who I do not see but have still made an extra impact in my life.  Do you have anyone like this? [Read more…]

15 Fall Subway Art Printables

15 Fall Subway Art Printables
I feel like I’m a little late to the party with this post, since everyone started sharing their fall decor a month ago, but I was doing my fall decorating last weekend (decor post still to come), and I decided to go online and get a free printable to frame for my living room.  When I started searching, I was overwhelmed by all the cuteness I saw, so I decided to throw together a post with some of my favorites!

I have to confess, I did recycle the 5 at the bottom from a previous post I did, to get 15 for this post!  The five I shared a couple of years ago were so cute, I thought they were worth a second look, and I like having all of these in one place just for my own convenience, and I’m sure it’s better for you too.

As always, the links where you go to download this great artwork can be found underneath each photo.  Hope you enjoy!

[Read more…]

Yummy Thanksgiving Desserts to Include in your Menu

Pecan PiePhoto Credit

When Thanksgiving is almost here, people are busy wondering what to cook. Thanksgiving recipes and appetizers are loved by each one of us. But a good Thanksgiving meal is incomplete without a good Thanksgiving dessert. So, let’s discuss a good dessert that can make Thanksgiving 2013 a great day to remember.

A good idea for one of your Thanksgiving desserts  can be a pumpkin pie. You can never go wrong with a pumpkin pie. This Thanksgiving dessert has been an all time favorite for a lot of people for years and definitely makes them happy. By adding a little twist to this traditional dessert, you can prepare a small surprise for your family members. You can serve a pumpkin cheesecake to do that. Serve the pumpkin cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream and you are sure to win hearts with this creative Thanksgiving dessert.

The snack sized pumpkin cheesecakes are better when the size of the gathering is small. And this cheesecake can spend up to five months in the refrigerator without losing its flavor, this is for sure. The ideal thing to do is consume some cheesecakes now and defrost the rest to use them in the coming months. The benefit of doing this is that you can reminisce Thanksgiving recipes even days after the festival is over. And cheesecakes are something that every person who has a sweet tooth relishes. Your guests are sure to love these tiny little treats; they taste great and can make your Thanksgiving 2013 an extra special day. And they are unique in their own way because this recipe is one that is not common for this day.

If you want to serve the pumpkin pie in its traditional way, and then consider serving the Pumpkin dish, the Pilgrims likely ate at the first Thanksgiving. This first pumpkin dessert was all cooked in its shell. The whole pumpkin was heated over hot embers and seasoned with thyme and rosemary. This traditional pumpkin was seasoned with honey or maple and moistened with milk. While it is not the Thanksgiving dessert that your loved ones would expect, this dessert will definitely give you a taste of history of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time for togetherness, happiness, joys, laughter, appreciation, gratitude and a good meal shared with all your family members and good friends. By serving the above mentioned dessert, it will add sweetness also to so many emotions, among others. To make this day special, people make a lot of efforts in preparing Thanksgiving recipes  and desserts. And it is one day in the life of every American, which he looks forward to having a great meal with his family. Thus, to make this day special, go ahead with the above mentioned wonderful pumpkin pie or pumpkin cheesecake andserve it just the way you like it. And you are sure to receive compliments for this Thanksgiving dessert at Thanksgiving 2013. A delicious yet simple Thanksgiving recipe that will win over hearts of everyone for sure, thus, it is a must try.

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?
Photobucket

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target.