Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Strawberry Recipes

In honor of the strawberry picking our family did this last weekend, I thought I'd post some of my favorite strawberry recipes. I did a ton of "baking" this morning and managed to use up our whole supply, I guess we're headed back out this weekend!!

Strawberry Graham Dessert

2 c graham crackers, crushed
1/2 c margarine, melted
1 lg bag marshamallows
1 c milk
12 oz tub cool whip
3 c strawberries (can also use raspberries or blueberries)

Mix the graham crackers and margarine together and press on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Melt together marshamllows and the milk, cool. Fold in the cool whip and then berries; spread over crust and chill until ready to serve.

Sensational Strawberry Pie

1 qt sliced strawberries
1 c cold water
3 T cornstarch
1 c sugar
3 T red jello powder
1 graham cracker crust

Add cold water and cornstarch to saucepan. Turn heat up to high, stirring continuously, bring to a boil until it thickens. Take off heat, add sugar and jello powder. Mix all together adding strawberries. Pour mixture into pie crust. Chill for at least 4 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and serve.

Strawberry Trifle

1 pt fresh strawberries (sliced) or 2 bags frozen strawberries (thawed, drained, and sliced)
3 lg instant vanilla pudding
4 c cold milk
16 oz whipped topping
1 angel food cake (cubed)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk and the udding. Beat until it starts to firm; refrigerate. In a large bowl or trifle bowl, line the bottom with half of the angel food cake; then layer half of the pudding, half the strawberries, and half the whipped topping. Repeat for second layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Lemonade Cupcakes!

I snitched this recipe from Caroline's bakeshop, and they're fabulous!!!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Freebie Alert!!

Thanks again to Thrifty Minnesota Mama for this one- she has GREAT stuff, check her out!

Free DiGiorno Flatbread!

digiorno.jpg


Go HERE!

Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thanks to Kimmy Lou for this FABULOUS recipe!!! Plain ole choc chips are my hubby's favorite cookies, but I make them so much, that I usually cop out and make the bars. This inspired me to actually suck it up and make the cookies. :) Plus, easier to count WW points that way!!

Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup salted butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp Kahlua
2 large eggs
2 cups (1 large package) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat buttter, sugars, and kahlua in large mixer bowl until creamy, add eggs, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 2 minutes, then move to wire racks to cool completely. 

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Cookie Bars Variation: Grease large pan (I use my one that's a size up from 9x13, I can't remember the exact measurements). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars. 

Monday, June 15, 2009

Vote for Jay!

Click HERE!!
(he's the guy in the cockpit! :))

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Freebie Alert!!

Arby's is having a "Free Wednesday" promotion. Today (June 10) is a free chicken club with drink purchase.

arbys+chkn+club.png

Future Freebies:
June 17th
Free Regular Side Kicker with sandwich purchase
June 24th
Free Regular Roast Beef with soft drink purchase
July 1st
Free Regular Beef and Cheddar with soft drink purchase
July 8th
Free Orange Cream Shake with sandwich purchase
July 15th
Free Regular Roast Beef with soft drink purchase
July 22nd
Free RoastBurger with soft drink purchase
July 29th
Free FruiTea with sandwich purchase

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Freebie Alert!!

Get your free sample of Tampax Pearl HERE.


tampax.jpg

*Thanks to Thrifty Minnesota Mama for the tip!!

Monday, June 8, 2009

What an awesome Giveaway! (even though its not mine...)

Flying Giggles and Lollipops (yes, I"m STILL in love with their name) is having another great giveaway. I checked it out tonight, and I'm in love with the store thats being featured as well, so I thought I'd pass it along to you all. Even though I don't actually want you to enter, because I want to win.... Hmm..... how to do this??? hehe.... Her giveaway ends June 22, so get moving if you DO plan to compete against me....

Here's the store's link so you can check out her awesome stuff- 


I really really super want the Mommy Stamped Necklace... if anyone wants to pass that along to Hubby Dearest, that would be great. kaythanks

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Freebie Alert- Sonic!!!

Free Root Beer Floats at Sonic!! On Weds, June 3, Sonic is giving away free 10 oz Root Beer Floats at participating Drive-Ins from 8 pm to midnight.
Check here to make sure that your local Sonic is participating!!
Enjoy!!!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Freebie Alert!


Get your free Carefree liners and case 


Sunday, May 31, 2009

Freebie Alert!

This is for all you Scrappers out there.... Its a little belated Mother's Day Present!

Free Mother's Day Scrapbook Kit Download at Little Miss Crafty Pants!! 

Enjoy!!

Friday, May 29, 2009

Family Fun Friday!!

Go see UP!!!

They even have it in 3D, I can't wait to take my kids this weekend!! :)

**Sorry I've been on hiatus, my computer crashed and my kids aren't really the "cooperate at the library while Mommy blogs" kind of kids! I'm BACK with a new MAC now though!! So, watch out!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Freebie Alert!!

Get your free PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps HERE!!!
(you must purchase an entree and be dining in, but how hard is that??)


Thanks to Linda for the heads up!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Freebie Alert!!

I got an email from Shutterfly today saying that they're giving away 25 free prints! They are charging for shipping and tax, but they'll give you free shipping if you spend over $50 along with your prints....
Anyways, codes are: PRINTS for the 25 freebies, and SHIP50 for the free shipping. The prints deal ends tomorrow, so hurry up! :)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Book of the Week


I'm going to veer from my usual here since I read this on vacation this last weekend and it was a bit of light reading for me (is there any other type on vacation with two toddlers?? I mean, really....) 

Synopsis:

Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother...an encounter that has them both seeing stars.

A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac's type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends—and business partners—to see her way to her own happy ending.


Review:
I usually enjoy Nora Roberts' romance novels as some light reading, but this surprised me and read much more "chick lit" than trashy romance. There were, of course, the requisite trashy romance scenes, but they were well placed, tasteful (meaning non-raunchy), and not done in the usual (within 4 minutes of meeting the star-crossed lovers) way. The book is the first in a new series by Roberts and I think she's turning a "new page" in literature. Personally, now I can't wait for "Bed of Roses" due out in December....

Friday, May 8, 2009

Family Fun Friday!

Growing Up Wild 
(3 DVD Set!)

This week is going to be another movie post, my kids love our Family Movie Nights and I have a few saved up still to watch with them. This is a great set that I found at National Geographic's website. They have some great stuff, plus they're my outlet for the Toot and Puddle books that Harry LOVES (and I love too because it's great for cultural awareness and love of travel- two things I really hope to inspire in my kids!).
We record this series on our DVR as well (its listed as Growing Up...), Emma loves the baby animals especially!!
I also subscribed to their Little Kids magazine for Harry, I love that he's learning so much about the animal world. He's even started picking out books about animals at the library lately- this is a BIG change, normally we're a straight dumptruck-train-car book kind of a family. :) The magazine is shaped just right for little hands and has LOTS of gorgeous NG quality pictures. Both kids love it!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Freebie Alert!!

KFC- Free 2-piece Meal, must print today, good 5/6-5/19 (except Mother's Day)
Go HERE

Walgreens- Free 8x10 picture, Today ONLY!!

Go HERE and use the code MOTHER.

Thanks to Mandee and Brandee for the Freebies!!

Also, Free Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee on 5/15!! We don't have them in Spokane, but for all of you lucky enough to have one near you, ENJOY :)

Recipe of the Day

Since as you read this, I'm going to be winging over the skies and seas on a wonderful Southwest jet headed to LA for a long weekend, I figured I'd cheat on my recipe of the day as well. Plus, its super yummy and I'm dying to try it myself. Maybe someone could make me one and have it waiting in my freezer when I get home?? hint, hint, nudge, nudge....
This recipe is from Cathe Holden at Just Something I Made. I love her blog, she has great tips and tricks and funny little anecdotes. :) 
Anyways, check out her recipe this week:

Monday, May 4, 2009

Book of the Week



Synopsis:
As any reader of The Mosquito Coast knows, men who drag their families to far-off climes in pursuit of an Idea seldom come to any good, while those familiar with At Play in the Fields of the Lord or Kalimantaan understand that the minute a missionary sets foot on the fictional stage, all hell is about to break loose. So when Barbara Kingsolver sends missionary Nathan Price along with his wife and four daughters off to Africa in The Poisonwood Bible, you can be sure that salvation is the one thing they're not likely to find. The year is 1959 and the place is the Belgian Congo. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in a remote village reachable only by airplane. To say that he and his family are woefully unprepared would be an understatement: "We came from Bethlehem, Georgia, bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle," says Leah, one of Nathan's daughters. But of course it isn't long before they discover that the tremendous humidity has rendered the mixes unusable, their clothes are unsuitable, and they've arrived in the middle of political upheaval as the Congolese seek to wrest independence from Belgium. In addition to poisonous snakes, dangerous animals, and the hostility of the villagers to Nathan's fiery take-no-prisoners brand of Christianity, there are also rebels in the jungle and the threat of war in the air. Could things get any worse?

In fact they can and they do. The first part of The Poisonwood Bible revolves around Nathan's intransigent, bullying personality and his effect on both his family and the village they have come to. As political instability grows in the Congo, so does the local witch doctor's animus toward the Prices, and both seem to converge with tragic consequences about halfway through the novel. From that point on, the family is dispersed and the novel follows each member's fortune across a span of more than 30 years.

The Poisonwood Bible is arguably Barbara Kingsolver's most ambitious work, and it reveals both her great strengths and her weaknesses. As Nathan Price's wife and daughters tell their stories in alternating chapters, Kingsolver does a good job of differentiating the voices. But at times they can grate--teenage Rachel's tendency towards precious malapropisms is particularly annoying (students practice their "French congregations"; Nathan's refusal to take his family home is a "tapestry of justice"). More problematic is Kingsolver's tendency to wear her politics on her sleeve; this is particularly evident in the second half of the novel, in which she uses her characters as mouthpieces to explicate the complicated and tragic history of the Belgian Congo.

Despite these weaknesses, Kingsolver's fully realized, three-dimensional characters make The Poisonwood Bible compelling, especially in the first half, when Nathan Price is still at the center of the action. And in her treatment of Africa and the Africans she is at her best, exhibiting the acute perception, moral engagement, and lyrical prose that have made her previous novels so successful. --Alix Wilber, courtesy of amazon.com

My Review:

I loved this. I first read it in high school, and have re-read it every year or two just because it speaks to me. I switch off identifying with each of the girls depending on what phase of life I'm in at the moment, or what mood I'm in as I sit down to read. Kingsolver does an excellent job of describing the political situation of Africa at the time, plus the girls' third culture and how they deal with that, both as children visiting home and as adults and where they choose to make their final homes and lives. The way the girls relate to their parents, especially their mother, was eloquently narrated and I felt as though I was a part of each character at one point or another. 

This was featured as one of Oprah's Book Club Picks in June of 2000. I don't always agree with her picks, but this one I whole heartedly supported and enjoyed. Even my husband has read it and enjoyed it, but don't tell anybody!! :)

Friday, May 1, 2009

Family Fun Friday!

I found this great recipe for on the same blog that's doing the hair clippies giveaway. I think they're my new obsession... Anyways, check this out! I'm just hoping that the weather warms up a little and decides to be sunny so that we can try it out. I can just see Emma coated in this stuff, but it'll be super cute and we'll have a pretty driveway. Take THAT, base housing!! :)

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Paint!!!