Category: MISC

It’s giveaway time at 3 Sides of Crazy

I was recently made aware that there is a wonderful online shopping experience available right from your desk top. Whether you are looking for TV stands, dining room furniture or cookware, they have it all.
Remember all these wish list posts I did about all the wonderful quality kitchen dreams and wishes I have? Well, all the items I’m dreaming about to complete my dream kitchen are available from these sites from CSN stores and so are yours!


Maybe you need a new spice rack like this one? How can you get it for free? By joining in on this giveaway of course! The winner receives a $60 gift certificate for them to use as they wish on any of the CSN.stores websites.

Kamenstein 16 Jar Acadia Wood Spice Rack

Want to enter? Head on over to 3 Sides of Crazy for YOUR chance!
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Chocolate Cinnamon Coffe Cake

Stop by Comfy Cook for a fabulous giveaway – your choice of 4 gifts. Someone has to win. Why not you?

Coffee Cinnamon Chocolate Squares adapted

Last week, I found a plastic bag, filled with chocolate goodies, brownies, these squares, some cookies. They are odds and ends, leftover from previous times. When I took a bite out of these coffee cinnamon chocolate square, memories came flashing back. I had brought these to my middle son and family’s home. I loved them then and I love them now.
There is something about these bars that makes them better than average. The combination of the coffee, cinnamon and chocolate flavors meshed completely and left with us an aroma and a taste that warms the heart. If you are coffee or tea drinker, sit down with one of these and a cup of java, and enjoy/
This could be my dream cake.
(from Baking: From My Home to Yours) (another Dorie success story)
Cake:
1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp + 2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee/espresso powder
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 Vanilla Rice Dream
2 egg beaters
1/2 tsp vanilla
10 tbsp margarine, melted and cooled
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Glaze:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons margarine, softened

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray with cooking oil an 8-inch square cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. (I used aluminum foil). I also used a 9 inch square pan and it was too big. My cake would have risen to a more appropriate height with the proper size.
In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and the espresso powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, the remaining cinnamon and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together Rice Dream, eggs, vanilla and slightly cooled, but melted, margarine. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly over the bottom. Evenly sprinkle on sugar/espresso mixture and mini chocolate chips, then top with the remaining batter, spreading it evenly.

Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350F, just until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and remove the parchment. Let cool completely before frosting.

Confession 1 – I added more mini chips to the filler.

Glaze:
For the glaze, melt together the chocolate and the margarine in a double boiler and stir until smooth. If it is runny, let it stand for a minute or two, but otherwise the chocolate should be thick, smooth, shiny and spreadable. Spread on the top of the cake (the flat bottom side should be facing up, which makes it easy to frost) and allow the frosting to set up before serving.

SUN DRIED TOMATO HOT PINK SPAGHETTI

SUN DRIED TOMATO HOT PINK SPAGHETTI
1 1/2 pounds HOT Italian sausage
1 bunch green onions sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons Classico Sun dried tomato pesto
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  • Brown saute, onions and garlic. Drain fat.
  • Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
  • Gradually add heavy cream, stirring constantly.
  • Stir in salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese and stir constantly until melted.
  • Whisk in egg quickly and heat through.
  • Add to sausage mixture.
  • Serve over pasta of choice.
  • Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
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CARAMEL PRETZEL CRISPS ~ MOCK TURTLES

These are sooooooooooooooooooo simple and sooooooooooooooooooo good too!
CARAMEL PRETZEL CRISPS ~ MOCK TURTLES
1 bag pretzel crackers (regular pretzels work too)
3 rolls ROLOS
1 bag pecan halfs

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line a cookie sheet with pretzel crackers.
  • Set 2 ROLOs side by side on the crackers.
  • Bake 2-3 minutes, just long enough to soften ROLOs.
  • Press down pecan halves into each ROLO.
  • Cool.
  • Enjoy.




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COOKING WITH KIDS

20080929-jr-logo.jpg

15% percent of children today are overweight and one of the many major reasons is their easy access to unhealthy food and the preconceived ideas that cooking is hard. Obesity, diabetes and liver disease are some of the consequences of kids not being comfortable in the kitchen.

The new Web series “Jr. Chefs of America” paves the way for kids to not just help in the kitchen but also to lead the cooking process. The program features confident teenagers giving live cooking demonstrations of their own recipes, showing that cooking is fun and easy — and one avenue to help stop the junk food epidemic.

“Jr. Chefs” is both entertaining and educational for children — with delicious looking food and a catchy theme song.

My most recent personal experience of cooking with kids was with my girl scouts a few years ago on some simple tasks and the time with Amber a couple of summers ago. What readily comes to my mind though is my grandma teaching me way back when.

Grams would let me wear her apron which she so cleverly converted into a size that fit me pretty well. Then she would bring a kitchen chair over to the counter and let me climb up on it. She would let me help her do simple measurements or read her the recipe (that she already knew by heart, but wanted me to learn to understand) or stir pancake batter. When she taught me to measure it was EXACT, (though she didn’t herself and I grew into a by sight and feel cook myself). You used a table knife to level off the top of the measuring cup. She also taught me how to make the best cakes with double sifting. These days they say you don’t need to sift, but I feel I get a better texture and moister cake by still sifting.

No matter how old they are, kids want to help in the kitchen and we should be glad and always welcome their eagerness. Much of our life revolves around food and cooking in one way or another and boys as well as girls should learn at the very least, the basics. As Barbara pointed out, even finicky eaters become better eaters when they are a part of the process of making their own food.

You can include children of all ages in any food preparation. Just be aware of their capabilities and base their tasks on that. For example, every kid wants to wield the meat cleaver, but probably shouldn’t.

Start their tasks with simple ones like learning to measure correctly, snapping beans, washing vegetables, measuring rice, when to add the different ingredients and even simple things like cracking an egg which can certainly be messy, but every kid wants to do it! Grandma taught me to crack eggs into a separate bowl instead of directly into a recipe which turned out to be a very valuable lesson. You can always pick out egg shells if the only thing in the bowl is a single egg, but you don’t want to be doing it from a bowl with all your cookie makings in it. There was a point when I was using farm fresh eggs and let’s just say I was certainly glad I still used that separate bowl for eggs or my whole cookie batch would have needed to be tossed out. Kids can roll dough or meat into cookies or meatballs. They can use a fork to criss cross the tops of peanut butter cookies. Teaching them to clean up as they go will also be a benefit in so much of their life! If all goes well, this will also bleed over into cleaning up their toys and/or rooms.

As for that meat cleaver task at hand, you can take turns so that their tasks don’t involve the sharp implements, but yours do. Most importantly make it fun for you and them. The more fun they have, the more likely they are to want to learn more and more.
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Tuesday Teaser

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read,
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!),

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

MY CURRENT READ TEASER: p 221
“She heard Aurora calling out to her, telling her to come back, but she didn’t care. Fear was like a great black beast standing in her peripheral vision and she was desperate to get away, to get numb.”

Product Description: Women across America laughed, cried, and reconnected with their friends after reading Kristin Hannah’s smash hit, Firefly Lane. Now, in True Colors, she explores the poignant, powerful, complex world of sisters… The Grey sisters had only each other when their mother died years ago. Their stern, unyielding father gave them almost no attention. Winona, the oldest, needs her father’s approval most of all. An overweight dreamer, she never felt at home on the sprawling horse ranch that had been in her family for three generations. Aurora, the middle, is the peacemaker. Vivi Ann, the youngest, is the undisputed star of the family. Everything comes easily to Vivi Ann, her father’s love most of all. But when Vivi Ann makes a fateful decision to follow her heart, rather than take the route of a dutiful daughter, events are set in motion that will test the love and loyalties of the Grey sisters. They will be pitted against each other in ways none could have imagined. Secrets will be revealed, and a terrible, shocking crime will shatter both the family and their beloved town. With breathtaking pace and penetrating insight, Kristin Hannah’s True Colors is a novel about sisters, vengeance, jealousy, betrayal—and ultimately, what it truly means to be a family.

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Try a New Recipe: French Dressing

Don’t forget to visit me at The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!

This is a recipe from Julia’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which I made recently for my book club. I just downloaded the picture from my new camera, so I thought I’d post it over here–you saw it here first!

The vinaigrette is super simple and simply delicious! Honestly, you won’t believe how easy it is. Try it and see. I served Salad Composée avec sauce vinaigrette. [Mixed Salad with Vinaigrette]

I used red wine vinegar and the “optional” mustard and left out the herbs on accident! No need to “correct” anything at all. I stored this in the refrigerator overnight, pulled it out early to let the oil come back to room temperature, and shook it up right before I tossed the salad. Quick and easy.


Sauce Vinaigrette
[French Dressing]
For about 1/2 cup

For: salads and simple marinades
Salad dressings are always best when freshly made; if they stand around for several days they tend to acquire a rancid taste.

1/2 to 2 tablespoons good wine vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
6 tablespoons salad oil or olive oil
Big pinch of pepper

Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons minced green herbs, such as parsley, chives, tarragon, basil; or pinch of dried herbs

EITHER beat the vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl with the salt and optional mustard until the salt is dissolved, then beat in the oil by droplets, and season with pepper, OR place all ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to blend thoroughly.

(guess which method I chose?)

Stir in the optional herbs and correct seasoning just before dressing the salad.

What is WWW Wednesdays?

I found this over at Renee’s and thought I’d join in.

It’s a new (to me) reading meme hosted by Should Be Reading. To participate, we are asked to answer three questions: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? I also thought this was pretty straight forward so here goes…

What am I currently reading?

Product Description: Women across America laughed, cried, and reconnected with their friends after reading Kristin Hannah’s smash hit, Firefly Lane. Now, in True Colors, she explores the poignant, powerful, complex world of sisters… The Grey sisters had only each other when their mother died years ago. Their stern, unyielding father gave them almost no attention. Winona, the oldest, needs her father’s approval most of all. An overweight dreamer, she never felt at home on the sprawling horse ranch that had been in her family for three generations. Aurora, the middle, is the peacemaker. Vivi Ann, the youngest, is the undisputed star of the family. Everything comes easily to Vivi Ann, her father’s love most of all. But when Vivi Ann makes a fateful decision to follow her heart, rather than take the route of a dutiful daughter, events are set in motion that will test the love and loyalties of the Grey sisters. They will be pitted against each other in ways none could have imagined. Secrets will be revealed, and a terrible, shocking crime will shatter both the family and their beloved town. With breathtaking pace and penetrating insight, Kristin Hannah’s True Colors is a novel about sisters, vengeance, jealousy, betrayal—and ultimately, what it truly means to be a family.

What did I just finish reading?

From Publishers Weekly: Hilderbrand’s sixth novel heaps on the trauma as a substitute for realistic connection in this heady mix of beach house, cancer, affair and mom lit. Connecticut housewife Vicki, diagnosed with lung cancer, has packed up her two kids for a chemo-commuting summer at the family’s Nantucket cabin; sister Brenda, a newly minted high-powered assistant professor, has just been fired for having an affair with one of her students; Vicki’s best friend, Melanie, newly pregnant, has discovered her husband is cheating. The three hit the tarmac of the tiny island airport, where they run into home-for-the-summer Middlebury senior Josh Flynn, who has a summer job there that he hates. Hardened cliché Brenda pines for her stereotypically weathered Australian lover. Melanie is a chronic complainer until she romances grim aspiring writer Josh, whom she has run into again and brought on as the house babysitter. (Josh thinks his old girlfriend should “locate her center” and “operate from a place of security.”) Of the three women, only the suffering, stubborn Vicki, who keeps a list of “Things That No Longer Mattered” and cries when she can’t seduce her visiting husband, draws readerly sympathy. There are some tender moments in Hilderbrand’s latest beacher, but others are as irritating as sand in your swimsuit.

Product Description: Three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a Nantucket native home from college for the summer. Burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues, the women–two sisters and one friend–make their way to the sisters’ tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They’re all trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, learned her husband was having an affair, and then discovered she’s pregnant; Brenda embarked on a passionate affair with an older student that got her fired from her prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister Vicki, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, lover.

What do I think I’ll be reading next?

Product Description: From the author of A Month of Summer, an inspiring new novel in the Blue Sky Hill series about one woman’s effect on a struggling Dallas neighborhood. With her adopted son missing and the rest of her family increasingly estranged, Sandra Kaye Darden is drawn to the little pink house where her Uncle Poppy once provided security. What begins for Sandra as a simple painting project, meant to prepare the house for sale, becomes a secret venture that eventually changes everything.

Cass Blue is having trouble keeping food on the table since she ditched foster care. When Sandra Kaye shows up with lunch one day, Cass has no way of knowing that the meeting will lead to the creation of a place of refuge that could reunite a divided community.

In this moving story of second chances, two unlikely allies realize their ability to make a difference…and the power of what becomes known as the Summer Kitchen to nourish the soul.

Stop over and visit MizB to see what others in the blog land are reading!

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ASPARAGUS WRAPS

ASPARAGUS WRAPS
12 asparagus spears
6 slices bacon
1 can Pillsbury breadsticks

  • Snap off bottoms of asparagus spears.
  • Wash and dry 12 spears of asparagus.
  • Wrap bacon around bottom of each stem and place on cookie sheet.
  • Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees until bacon is cooked through.
  • Wrap 1 breadstick around each stalk.
  • Bake according to package directions.


Snap off bottoms of asparagus spears.
Wash and dry 12 spears of asparagus.

Wrap bacon around bottom of each stem and place on cookie sheet.
Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees until bacon is cooked through.

Wrap 1 breadstick around each stalk.
Bake according to package directions.

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Easy Apple Dumplings – Save Room for Dessert

If it’s Monday, it must be time for dessert! And I’m here to share some with you!

So. You wanna know how to make the easiest, most incredible apple dumplings you’ll ever make in your whole life?

Well I’ll tell you!

This is a recipe I found on Pioneer Woman’s website and let me tell you, the person who came up with this recipe was a genius. It is the most incredible concoction you can imagine! My brother equated it with crack. I guess that’s a good thing.

Let’s get started!

Peel 2 Granny Smith apples and cut them into eighths. Wrap each apple segment in a triangle of crescent roll dough and line up in a 9×13 pan.

Please don’t count the number of dumplings above.

Okay, I know you counted because I told you not to. We had a problem – namely, the first time we made this, Yours Truly bought 6-to-a-can crescents so we cut pieces off of a few rolls and tried our best to make it work out. We still only ended up with 14. Oh well.

Melt two sticks of butter in a saucepan and mix in 1 1/2 cups of sugar. It doesn’t need to be dissolved at all, just mixed in. Along with that, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and a shake or two of cinnamon, if you’re so inclined.

Pour this butter mixture over the pan of dumplings, making sure to cover every dumpling with at least some butter and sugar. Mmmm! Then, against all logic…pour in a 12 oz can of Mountain Dew. Yes. Mountain Dew. Don’t ask me what this adds to the recipe. Just believe that it DOES add something.

Place your pan in a 350 degree oven and bake for 40 minutes.

This was a double batch I made another time.
Because 16 reeeeeally wasn’t enough.
These are just the most amazing, unbelievable things I’ve ever eaten. And in case you couldn’t figure it out on your own, let me tell you: They go great with vanilla ice cream. Perhaps with some of the buttery sauce drizzled (poured?) on top.

Bliss!

Would you make this with apples? Or would you use another fruit? I think I’ll try peaches some time.

Apple Dumplings a la Pioneer Woman

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cut into eighths
2 cans crescent rolls (8 rolls each)
2 stick butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz can Mountain Dew soda
Cinnamon (optional)

Roll each apple segment in a section of crescent roll dough. Line these up in two rows in a greased 9×13 pan.

Melt 2 sticks of butter and mix in 1 1/2 cups of sugar – do not dissolve sugar, just stir to mix. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and a shake or two of cinnamon (if you prefer – this can be left out). Pour butter mixture over dumplings, being careful to spread over all. Pour 1 12 oz can of Moutain Dew around outer edges of dumplings and between the two rows.

Place pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Be sure to serve with sauce. Enjoy!