365 Days of Baking & More

Taco Dip ~ The Secret Recipe Club

2013-05-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here we are again -the third Monday of the month.
I just cannot believe how very fast the weeks go by.
My daughters have finished their year at college and my son will finish his sophomore year of high school on Thursday.
This. Year. FLEW!

How 'bout you, do you think it's gone by fast?

We've been busy the last week with getting the girls organized here at home, work...
AND we have a new family addition.

I am IN LOVE with that little black nose and his puppy breath!!

Oh, and those EYES!!!

Yes, his name is Keiser and he is a 9 week old Golden Retriever. He is absolutely one of the cutest things I've ever seen. And the best part?
He gets along famously with our almost 9 year old Golden, Brady.
They are spitting images of each other and love, love LOVE to play tug of war with Brady's rope toy.
Who needs TV when you can just watch the dogs play together?!

So, back to the post. Otherwise I'll be talking about the puppy ALL day...

Every third Monday of the month Group C of the Secret Recipe Club has its' reveal day.

This means that every member of the group finally gets to post what recipe they chose from the blog that we were assigned earlier in the month.

It's based on Secret Santa and it is SO much fun!! If you're interested, you should check it out and request to join!

Our group leader is Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner... Healthy & Low Calorie and the head of the entire gang is April from Angel's Homestead. They aren't the only two who do a lot of work - there are quite a few women who make sure things run smoothly every month and they ALL deserve a BIG thank you!!!!

Now onto the exciting stuff!!

For the month of May, I was assigned to...

Christine's Kitchen Chronicles

She has A LOT of recipes to choose from on her blog, so I had absolutely NO trouble searching for something the family would like. The only problem was, after I narrowed it down to about three, I had trouble choosing between those. haha.

Let's see, there was Christine's Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Cake, her Peanut Butter Cookies with Salted Peanut Caramel (the family was REALLY disappointed I didn't make these, so I promised them I'd do it another time), and the incredible looking Apple Pie Cookies! I really had a craving for some desserts, can you tell?

In the end though I decided that since I don't have a recipe for a dip / appetizer thingy here at 365, it would be best if I made Christine's Taco Dip. And it really was a no-brainer since the family is NUTS about tacos and chips! YAY, Me!!

It was simple, quick, and well, you'll read my rating after the recipe.

I didn't change a thing, but I did leave out the olives. There's only one person in the family who will eat them and sorry Mr. 365, but garnishing the dish with a whole bunch of olives just for you ain't worth my picking 'em all off, so I can enjoy it, too. I did however place the jalapenos over the whole thing as opposed to just on half as I had originally planned. So, I do consider that in that case, I took one for the team.

Capiche?

Taco Dip -makes one 9-inch pie plate full

1 lb. ground beef

1 package taco seasoning OR my Homemade Taco Seasoning (I would have used this, but I didn't have any more on hand)

1 15 ounce can refried beans

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 cup shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

1 tomato, diced

jalapeno slices to taste

chopped red onion

black olives (if desired)

tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a pie plate by spraying it with cooking spray.

Brown the ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.

Drain the fat and add the packet of taco seasoning. Cook according to directions. Let cool slightly.

Spread the refried beans on the bottom of the pie plate.

Cover completely with the tacoed (my new word) ground beef.

Spread the sour cream on top of the beef.

Top it off with the shredded cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Top with desired remaining ingredients.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Taco Dip earned 4 rolling pins!

It was fabulous, easy and quick to make.

This will be a great thing to make not only as an appetizer, but on a weeknight when I'm working late and need something quick for dinner.

OR if I need a 16 year old boy to make dinner when I'm on my way home!

(wink, wink)

Be sure to check out Christine's blog and all of the other fantastic recipes my fellow bloggers have made from their assigned blogs!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #24

2013-05-16T21:50:00.001-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
WELCOME TO THE 24TH WICKED GOOD WEDNESDAYS!!!
Hope you all had a great Mother's Day! We added a new member to our family. Yes, I am a grandmother... to my daughter's new Golden Retriever puppy. He is awfully adorable!
Thank you all for joining us again this week! Once again, you ROCK and have brought. some absolutely INCREDIBLE submissions. THANK YOU!!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Overnight Blintz Bake from
White Lights on Wednesdays

Julie made this wonderful dish. It's going to be a hit
here at our house because the cheese blintzes I make with crepes is a family favorite!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Greek Chicken Pasta from
I Got This Martha

I can never have enough recipes for chicken and this one from Jeni
is simple, quick and healthy for a weeknight dinner after work!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

DIY Del's Lemonade from
Soliloquy of Food & Such

Kim has hooked me again with another Rhode Island staple -
Del's Lemonade.
I grew up on this stuff and remember it best when we'd be at the beach and hear the horn
from the infamous green and yellow truck. We'd all bolt out of the water for some money!

AND

Cajun Chicken Pasta from
From My Perspective

This dish gives me another chicken recipe and some spice to give Mr. 365
a kick in his taste buds during dinner.
I'm not usually one for spices, but I think I could sacrifice and give this one a try -
take one for the team so to speak! haha
Thanks, Summaiyah.

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!
If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #23

2013-05-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
It's GREAT to "see" you again, FRIENDS!!!! Welcome to the 23rd party of Wicked Good Wednesdays!!! I CANNOT believe we've done this for 23 weeks ALREADY!!!! Your response and support has been AHHHHH-MAZING!!! THANK YOU!!!!
College is over this week, so I'm off to pick up our youngest daughter tomorrow and then on Thursday it's the Mr.'s turn. I am SO excited to have the WHOLE family home for the summer!! They will be gone for one week however when they spend time with family back in little ol' Rhody. That week, I look forward to having the hubby ALL to myself. Well, ok, with the dog, too, I suppose. What are your big plans for the summer? I sure do hope it's an awesome one for you!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

How I Lost 30lbs. in 3 Months - Part 1 from
My Turn for Us

WOO HOO!!
LOOK at Miss Evelyn!! *thunderous applause*
Not only has she been eating healthy to reach a goal,
but she's been doing it with exercise, too!
Keep it up, Evelyn and best wishes for continued success!!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Limoncello Cocktail Cake & happy Alex day
from Cooking with Curls

As you may well know, I LOVE lemon!!
Lisa made this fantastic cake for her son Alex for his birthday.
Lisa, MY birthday is in a couple months!! (hint, hint) hee hee

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Disappearing Double Strawberry Cookies
from A Handful of Everything

Strawberry is one of my favorite flavors!
Krista has me hooked with these icing covered cookies,
especially now that it's getting to be STRAWBERRY season!
WOO HOO!!

AND

German Chocolate Meringue Cake
from Sweet Twist of Blogging

Ooh la la!!
Meg made this beautiful cake and while I'm not one to really
enjoy a piece of typical German Chocolate Cake,
I think this might win me over.

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #22

2013-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
Thank you all again SO much for joining us every week! I'm loving that we have people who have become "regulars" and that each week we get to be introduced to some pretty wonderful NEW blogs (well, new to me, at least)! I LOVE seeing all the INCREDIBLE contributions every week!! You all are SO very talented and creative. I give each of you a BIG baking hug! THANK YOU!!!!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Butterfinger Muddy Buddies from
Crumbs and Chaos

Becca made this yummy treat! I LOVE Muddy Buddies
AND Butterfingers, so why the heck not put the two together?!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Striped Summer Fruit Tart from
the Plaid & Paisley Kitchen

Summer will be here before we know it and
nothing speaks summer to me more than fresh fruit.
Chandra made this gorgeous tart and
I'm sure it's not only beautiful to look at, but delicious as well!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Four Ingredient Apple Pie from
Rebekah of Schenewark Farm

Rebekah made this Apple Pie for her son, Levi's ninth birthday.
I wouldn't mind one of these on my special day!
And it sounds SO easy!!

AND

Devil's Food Cake Mix Cookies from
Sourdough Native

Kari had my taste buds salivating when I read the title.
Devil's Food Cake Mix.
When I was little, I especially liked the Devil's Food mixes because
the batter tasted so doggone good.
These cookies are just what I need this time of the month.
(was that TMI?) ;-)

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Wicked Good Wednesday #21

2013-04-24T21:54:00.002-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
I CANNOT believe how quickly every Tuesday comes.
Last night, Rachel asked me for the party link and I was like,
"OMG, it's Tuesday?!?! When the HECK did THAT happen?!?!"
The weeks are FLYING! Our daughters are done with school in just over two weeks and the boy is done at the end of May. Then before you know it, summer will be over. Wow, do I sound like Debbie Downer. Don't mean to be, just observing how busy I get and how things move so very quickly.
I hope you are all well and that you are taking time to smell the roses! Thank you again SO much for your contributions!!!!
This little linky party is growing and it's all because of your
WONDERFUL submissions! PLEASE keep them coming (and spread the word!)!!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Zucchini & Onion Pie from
The Pin Junkie

Bonnie made this fabulous pie. I'm always looking for more zucchini recipes
because during the summer those things multiply in our garden like
rabbits!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Mason Jar Mantle Makeover from
The Resourceful Gals

What a GREAT idea from Julia! I NEVER would have thought to use my mason
jars this way! LOVE it!
Hmmm...now all I need is the mantle to get me started....

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Maple Bacon Rice Krispie Treats
from The Sweet Chick

We can't get enough of Rice Krispie treats around these here parts.
Mr. 365's favorite is ones with peanut butter, but I'm thinking these ones
that Carole made might give those a run for their money!and

Caramel Pretzel Brownies
from The Vegetarian Casserole Queen

Caramel, pretzels and chocolate brownies...
I have to ask, does it get any better than THAT?!
Madge made these beauties and I'm sure they'd satisfy some serious PMS cravings!!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Bailey's Mousse - The Secret Recipe Club

2013-04-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Yesiree, Bob, it's the THIRD Monday of the month.
(those third Mondays always come so quickly, don't they?! But that's a good thing!)
And the third Monday of the month only means ONE thing in these here parts and that is..........

Yes, it's the Secret Recipe Club. That group of people, otherwise known as food bloggers, who are assigned a different blog each month from which they are to choose a recipe to make and then post about on the assigned reveal day. Only it's a...shhhhh...SECRET! We can't tell the author of our assigned blog that we have them. That's the fun part!

Well, actually, picking and making the recipe is a whole lot of fun, too, and is especially fun if you are given a blog that you've been admiring and have been familiar with for quite some time. That happened to me this month! And I was SO excited when I received the e-mail telling me who I had! I'll let you know in a minute.

Angela from Angel's Homestead is our fearless leader and the leader of Group C is Debbi from Debbie Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie. They do a great job and so do all of the other ladies involved in the club. So give them a round of applause, won't you?

As I said before, I was very excited to find I had been assigned this particular blog. I first became familiar with this blog quite some time ago through the Secret Recipe Club, I think. Actually, it's been so long that I've known about this blog, that I really can't remember how I originally found her. Without further adieu, I give to you my blog for the month of April.....

Manu's Menu

Can I tell you, if you haven't visited Manu's blog, you must absolutely do so. She is SO very talented and makes some of the most delicious looking food! I had so very much trouble deciding what I was going to make because there was just SO very much to choose from. And that Visual Archive Manu has created just had me drooling!

She is a native Italian now living in Australia. So, I have to admit I'm jealous of both her heritage and where she now resides. I have decided that if we ever get over to Australia to visit one of our friends, that visiting Manu so she can make me some of her Italian dishes is HIGH on my list of things to do! Ok, so I'm inviting myself, but I don't think she'll mind. She's such a sweetheart and we'd just talk and talk about food, the blogging world and our kids. I just know it! Great ready, Manu, you never know when I might just show up on your doorstep! Don't worry, though, I'll give you plenty of warning first.. ;-)

The recipe I chose, after debating about many, was Manu's Bailey's Mousse. I had thought about the Apple Strudel, the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese, and the Fagiolo all'uccelletto among many others, but in the end, the mousse won. I'll definitely be trying the others though, too!

The only thing I changed in Manu's recipe was addition of the meringues. I substituted toasted slivered almonds for those.

Bailey's Mousse - serves 4

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, plus additional whipped cream for topping

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor

3 tablespoons superfine sugar

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

cocoa powder for sprinkling

If you cannot find superfine sugar, use 1/4 cup granulated sugar and pour it into your food processor. Grind for a few minutes until it becomes fine. Allow to sit for a minute or so for the dust to settle before removing the lid.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 250 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Place 1/4 cup almonds in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Using a spatula, turn the almonds over and then return to the oven to bake for another 8-10 minutes.

Set aside.

Place the whipping cream and 1 tablespoon of the sugar into a mixing bowl. Whip until soft peaks form.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, remaining sugar, and Bailey's.

Fold the whipped cream into the Bailey's mixture.

Divide evenly among four serving dishes and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Top with additional whipped cream, toasted almonds and additional cocoa powder.

Chill until ready to serve.

Good grief!

It's been so long since I've posted a recipe that I almost completely forgot to do my rolling pin rating!!

YIKES!

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Bailey's Mousse earned 3 rolling pins.

I'm not a big fan of alcohol in my desserts because quite a few times I've tasted things and the alcohol was just too overpowering.

I didn't have a problem with this one though!

I really liked using the Greek yogurt because the tartness of it really balanced out the alcohol taste.

It was rich and I could only eat half of what was in the dish at one sitting.

Then I ate the rest later.

This is a great and easy dessert to serve to guests!

Be sure to visit my fellow bloggers in Group C to see what they cooked up for this month's reveal!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #20

2013-04-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
Lynne's been a VERY bad girl!! I have not updated the blog or posted the Wicked Good Wednesday Party for the past two weeks!
I'm SO sorry!!! Once again, I was sick (fourth time in four months - this is getting SO old!!) Our daughters both came home from college for a weekend AND our oldest daughter competed in the Collegiate National Triathlon Championships this past weekend in Tempe, AZ. So, it's been a bit crazy here and I am FINALLY beginning to feel back to NORMAL! WOO HOO!!
THANK YOU for continuing to visit in my absence. And, once again, I am SO very happy to have you all here this week!! You all CONTINUE to AMAZE me with your absolute AWESOMENESS!!! You are all SO very talented and deserve a HUGE pat on the back AND
a BIG baking hug (or two or three)!!! Keep up the GREAT work!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Raspberry Devil Cupcakes from
A Handful of Everything

Krista submitted these great cupcakes with two great flavors that go
extremely well together -
raspberry & chocolate!!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Rhode Island Pizza Dough
from Soliloquy of Food and Such

Ok, if you know me or have at least read my About Me page then
you KNOW I'm not originally from Arizona.
Sooooo, when I saw THIS recipe from Kim, it was of course, a no-brainer!
Funny thing though, I've recently been craving those pizza strips she talks about.
Those are the best!!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Free Social Media Icons from
A Typical English Home

Angela has given us a great way to download these popular social media icons
and...they're FREE!!
I definitely cannot put adding these to the blog off any longer.

and

Cookie Butter Banana Bread from
Clarks Condensed

Katie put two of my favorite flavors together in this bread.
I'm thinking I'll be eating more of that cookie butter by the
spoonful than I put into that batter though!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #17

2013-03-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
Sooooooooooo..... What were YOU up to this week? Mr. 365, our son and I drove up to Lake Havasu, AZ to watch our daughter compete with her college team in her first Olympic distance triathlon. She did really well and finished in under three hours which was her goal. I was SO very proud of her! I don't know how those people do it, doing three different sports during the course of one morning! It tires me out just thinking about it!
Happy to have you all here again this week!! You all CONTINUE to AMAZE me with your absolute AWESOMENESS!!! You are all SO very talented and deserve a HUGE pat on the back AND
a BIG baking hug (or two or three)!!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Marshmallow Peanut Butter Eggs from
The Tasty Fork

Meghan made these adorable and delicious treats for the Easter holiday,
but I think I'd like them ANY time of the year!!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Mint Balls from
Real Housemoms

I have a weakness for mint, so these balls that Stacey made
would be gone in NO time.
And I would be the only one eating them!!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were
Blueberry Almond Delight Bites from
Jazzy Gourmet Cooking Studio

Not only are these probably delicious, but Sherry K made these
almost too pretty to eat!
And they look so light and airy - like they'd float!!
(So there must not be any calories in them, right? hee hee)

and

Minestrone Soup from
Salted Nuts

Kari submitted this beautiful bowl of healthy soup!
LOVE the colors, the veggies and the cheese!!
I'm thinking this will be on the menu for dinner one night this week.

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Lemon Squares and a Special Video for a Birthday!

2013-03-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

I LOVE lemon!!!
I also LOVE Lemon Squares!!!
Also, I LOVE BIRTHDAYS!!!!!

And these Lemon Squares were made for two very special people.
The first beautiful lady is a co-worker and a great hugger! I asked her what her favorite dessert is, not letting her know that I'd be making whatever it was she chose and she said lemon squares. The next morning I brought these into work, and left them on the table in the break room so that she'd see them when she arrived. About five minutes after she did arrive at work, she came bounding, and I do mean bounding into the office, giving me one of the best and biggest hugs I've ever had. And she was beaming. It was pretty awesome.
Now, one of the veterinarians has put his request in for his upcoming birthday on Saturday and guess what he's picked? Yup, these lemon squares.

The other beautiful lady is a very special friend and although I've never met her in person, I absolutely ADORE her! She is funny, extremely outgoing, very, very talented in the kitchen, AND she makes some pretty kick-butt (I could've said the other word, but this is a family blog, ya know) videos!! She's super crazy, but in a great BIG fun way and she and I have even virtually danced on tables together during one of the parties I had on the 365 Days of Baking FB page. You HAVE to check out her blog!!!

Four Marrs and One Venus

Yes, ladies and gentleman, this birthday girl whom I now refer to is none other than, Jen, from the wonderful blog, Four Marrs and One Venus. She has even been my special guest for one of my Feature Friday posts. Click here to see the answers I asked in my interview and the wonderful recipes we shared from her blog! It was SO much fun to get to know her better!! She is awesome and I CANNOT WAIT to meet this woman in person one day!

In addition to making these lemon squares for Jen, my dear friend and co-host for Wicked Good Wednesdays, Rachel from {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life, and I got together (with help from some very special people) to create a video for Jen. She's always bringing such joy to others with her dancing and singing that we thought we'd repay her.

Also, Rachel and I have joined up with other blogger friends to create a Virtual Birthday Party for Jen, and we have Julie from White Lights on Wednesday to thank for organizing it!! Hugs, Julie!!!

Check out the other blogs to see what they've done for the

Birthday Girl!

(in order from left to right starting at the top row)

Lynne from 365 Days of Baking ~ Lemon Squares and a Special Video

(that's me and you're already here!)

Claire from A Little Claireification ~ DIY Washi-Tape Monogram Wall Art

Julie from White Lights on Wednesday ~ Braided Scarf & Kitchen Sink Sundae

Devi from Diddles & Dumplings ~ Favorite Finds: Four Marrs & One Venus

Jessica from Mom 4 Real ~ Reuseable Chalkboard Birthday Banner

Rachel from {I Love} My Disorganized Life ~ Skinny Margaritas

Janel from Nellie Bellie ~ DIY Personalized Mug

Julie from Redhead Can Decorate ~ Easy Personalized Blog Sign

Karin from Art is Beauty ~ Happy Birthday Jen!

Laurie from Gallamore West ~ Lemon Bars

Meegan from What Meegan Makes ~ Happy Birthday Jen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEN!!!!!!!!

Now onto the food...

I found this recipe at Noble Pig and I don't mind me saying that this recipe is a keeper.

So try it. Make it for somebody's birthday.

You'll make them very happy.

Lemon Squares - makes one 9 X 13-inch pan

2 cups flour plus 4 tablespoons

1/2 cup powdered sugar plus additional for covering

1 cup butter (2 sticks) melted

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking powder

dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a 9 X 13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.

For the crust...

Mix together 2 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and the butter, folding it into a dough.

Press the dough into the prepared 9 X 13-inch pan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling...

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, lemon juice and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the 4 tablespoons flour and baking powder. Fold into the lemon filling.

Pour filling mixture over the cooled crust.

Bake again at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes. It needs to be completely baked before removing from the oven so that the final product is not runny when cutting into it.

Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the lemon squares while they are still hot. Sprinkle more on them once the squares are cooled.

After they have cooled completely, cut into squares and serve.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 and these Lemon Squares earned 4 rolling pins!

They are the perfect treat for a birthday!!

That is if the birthday person loves lemon. hee hee

These bars were just tart enough and just sweet enough.

They were just right. I feel like Goldilocks.

The crust was delicious and held together well, too.

I would definitely stick with the fresh lemon juice as opposed to the bottled stuff. I just think the taste would be fresher and much better.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!!

And HUGE baking hugs for the birthday girl, Jen!!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #16

2013-03-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
I apologize for not putting this up at midnight as I had been. Life got a little crazy this week with our car breaking down, two daughters home from college over the weekend and working. But, WOO HOO!! SO good to have the whole family together!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Oreo Cream Cake by
Something Sweet

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Healthier Pineapple Upside Down Cake from
A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

I LOVE Pineapple Upside Down Cake! There's just something about that
sweet tasting cake with the topping and then the pineapple, and then
those cherries!
YUM!
And Christie made it even healthy!!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Leprechaun Poo from
My Turn (for us)

Evelyn made these cute jars of goodies for St. Patty's Day.
They remind me of when the kids would come home from pre-school,
telling me that the leprechauns had gotten into their classrooms and
tipped chairs over and made a big mess.
They were so cute and amazed.

and

Coconut Rolo Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats from
The Best Blog Recipes

Shauna made these incredible treats that have SO many flavors in them.
I just can't stand how incredibly delicious these things are!!
I need one NOW!!!!
(or maybe two)

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

White Chocolate Choco Chip Cookies ~ The Secret Recipe Club

2013-03-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

It's the third Monday of the month of March and that means....
It's time for....

Yes, boys and girls the Secret Recipe Club, a club of bloggers who are assigned a blog for the month from which we are to chose a recipe, make it and post about it. The only catch, we can't tell the blogger we're "stalking" that we are doing so until our assigned reveal day, which is TODAY!!!

WOO HOO!

The leader of the club (and no, not the Mickey Mouse Club, people, geez) is April of Angels Homestead and the leader of our group, Group C is Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie. Theses ladies do a lot of work as do the other leaders and social media mavens. So, thank you all, ladies!!

Now onto the reveal...

The blog I was assigned for the month of March was...

{Sweetly} Serendipity

I really enjoyed Taryn's blog. She has a lot of great recipes that I want to try like the Lemon Cream Cheese Sticky Buns, Bacon Cheddar Scallion Scones, the Chocolate Strawberry Cannoli Crepes and her Quinoa Summer Salad, just to name a few. There are SO many wonderful recipes to try, but I also fell in love with Taryn's blog because she's from Massachusetts which makes her a fellow New Englander!! YIPPEE!!!

The recipe I chose was Taryn's White Choco Chocolate Chip Cookies. The one I thought I'd chosen and had started making was her Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies, but after I'd added the flour thought to myself, "where the heck is the peanut butter?" Yeah, wrong recipe. No peanut butter, but they still turned out great.

In the midst of my baking, I neglected to get a final count of the cookies, but I'm thinking the dough made about 3 dozen or so.

White Chocolate Choco Chip Cookies

1/4 cup oatmeal, finely ground in a food processor

1 2/3 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

*I omitted the option to use the yogurt or sour cream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oatmeal, flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together till light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Add the vanilla and the egg.

Gradually add the flour with the mixer on low speed, mixing just until combined.

Carefully. Because if you're not paying attention and pouring the flour in from the other side of the mixer, then this will happen. *sigh*

Mix in the chocolate chips.

Using rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, place onto prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these White Chocolate Choco Chip Cookies earned 3 rolling pins.

I loved how they were chewy because I LOVE chewy cookies.

And there were plenty of them for everybody!! That was the best part.

Even after I had this mishap...

SERIOUSLY?!?!

How many times have I baked cookies and taken them out of the oven now?

Don't I know that when you don't open an oven door all the way that you're not supposed to tip the cookie sheet to take it out?

Because inevitably, if you have the baking sheet lined with parchment paper that the parchment will SLIDE off the baking sheet sending the cookies into the bottom of the heated oven.

Ah yes, just another day in the life of Lynne.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #15

2013-03-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!!
I hope you all have had a great week. It's SO wonderful to see such a great turn out each and every Wednesday.
I cannot thank you all enough for your support because Rachel and I certainly couldn't do this without you! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Owl Bread
from Something Sweet

Winnie created this beautiful bread. Isn't it great?
I've seen Owl Bread before floating around the internet and
have been too intimidated to try it, but Winnie's given me hope!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Chocolate-Dipped Pound-Cake
from SugarHero

Why have I not thought to do this, dip pound cake in chocolate?!
Why, oh why, oh why??
Elizabeth thought of it and I'm so very glad she did, too!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Blueberry Breakfast Cake
from The Pin Junkie

You may know that I love blueberries almost as much as strawberries.
I know this is going to be a hit at the 365 home and that there
probably won't be any leftovers!

and
Italian Herb and Cheese Focaccia
from A Handful of Everything

Bread is one of my weaknesses.
Krista created this gorgeous loaf and I'm sure it must have
smelled absolutely INCREDIBLE as it was baking in the oven!
I WANT SOME!!!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Blueberry French Toast Bake

2013-03-11T21:32:00.001-07:00

Yes, here I am.
Remember me?
I'm the crazy nut who decided over two years ago that I needed something to do and challenged myself to baking a different recipe each day for 365 days straight.
That seems like AGES ago, I tell ya!

How long has it been since I've posted?
Gosh, I have no idea really. So much has been happening over the past three months since I've started working full-time that it's all been a blur.
Time flies when you're having fun.
I can't say that it's been all fun. I've literally been sick every two weeks since the beginning of January.
Finally this weekend I was able to actually relax, get some housework done, and really enjoy myself instead of having to rest because I was incapacitated.
I am SO over being sick for a good. long. time!
Hello health, I hope you're here to stay (as she stuffs handfuls of vitamins into her mouth and crams positive thoughts into her head)!!!

Now that I'm better I am really REALLY hoping to sit down with my calendar and get a schedule down for
this blog that has been so terribly neglected.
I am SO very thankful that you all have continued to visit in my absence!
Hang in there, I haven't deserted you!

I don't have pictures of the preparation as I usually do, and I can't remember why I don't come to think of it, but there are plenty of pictures of the the finished product for you to drool over.
I hope you do.

Adapted from Lovin' From the Oven: Cinnamon French Toast.

Blueberry French Toast Bake - serves four to six

1 day old loaf French Bread, cut into one inch cubes
6 ounces fresh Blackberries, halved
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter

Spray an 9 X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Place the bread cubes and blueberries into a large bowl and lightly toss. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla.
Evenly pour mixture over the bread and blueberries.

Cover with plastic wrap and place into refrigerator to sit overnight.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.

Cut butter into small pieces and with a pastry cutter or two forks, blend butter into mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

Place mixture into a plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate overnight. This step can also be done in the morning before placing baking dish into the oven.

Next morning...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Uncover the baking dish and sprinkle the butter mixture evenly around the top.

Bake uncovered for 45 - 50 minutes depending on the desired outcome of the French Toast: 45 minutes will yield a softer, soggier result, and an hour will be more firm. I cooked it for 52 minutes and it was still a bit jiggly, so I opted for 5 minutes more and it turned out perfectly.

Serve warm with butter and maple syrup if desired.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Blueberry French Toast Bake earned 4 rolling pins.
Yes, it is just that good.
AND I think it's even better than the Blackberry Baked French Toast I made a couple of months ago which also earned 4 rolling pins .
It was just berry-licious!
I like the blues better than the blacks because I don't like the seeds getting stuck in my teeth.
I don't know, it just detracts from the overall experience of the dish when your chewing soft, squishy bread and then all of a sudden you get a hard seed lodged in your teeth.
Yeah, it just really ruins it.
You know, like when you're in the throes of passion and one of you has to take a break to pee.
It's a mood killer.
No bueno.

Our daughters have separate Spring Breaks this month, but this weekend there will be an overlap when one comes home and the other leaves, so I think I'll be making this for the family.
I think two 9 X 13-inch dishes might be in order though seeing as how they miss their momma's home cookin' and for the fact that our 15, soon to be 16 year old son, will probably eat a whole one by himself.
I am AMAZED at the way that kid can eat!

I hope you are all well!
Come back to these here parts and see me again some time, won't 'cha?
I appreciate you joining me today!

I give you all BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Wicked Good Wednesday #14

2013-03-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU!! I love, love, LOVE you all SO VERY MUCH!!! You guys ROCK my world each week with your submissions> They are just SO wonderful and inspiring and I am completely surrounded by very talented people and I feel very blessed. Thank you for sharing your talents and gifts with us. It is pretty awesome to see. I hope you return!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Irish Caramel and Vanilla Fudge
from The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen

Chandra created this scrumptious St. Patty's Day treat
that is sure to please any leprechaun or Irishman (or woman)!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Cherry Topped Chocolate Poke Cake from
The Vegetarian Casserole Queen

This just looks SO divine with the chocolate, whipped topping and the cherries!!
I have yet to make a Poke Cake, so I think this one will be the first!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Lemon Ricotta Fritters from
White Lights On Wednesday

Julie made these YUMMY light and fluffy fritters!!
With the lemon and the blackberry preserves on the side,
she's definitely got me drooling! How about you?

and

Condensed Milk Cookies
from Jen's Favorite Cookies

These bite-sized babies look SO scrumptious and delicious!
I'm sure I wouldn't be able to eat just one.
Jen, can you pass me a tall glass of milk, please!!!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Wicked Good Wednesday #13

2013-02-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! IT IS JUST SO AWESOME AND INSPIRING TO SEE SO MANY NEW BLOGGERS JOIN US EACH WEEK! AND IS IS SO MUCH FUN MAKING NEW FRIENDS!!!! AGAIN, YOU ALL HAVE BLESSED US WITH SOME OUTSTANDING SUBMISSIONS - GREAT IDEAS, TIPS AND AS ALWAYS, MOUTH-WATERING RECIPES!!
KEEP UP THE PHENOMENAL WORK!!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Lucky Leprechaun Bark
from Couponing & Cooking

Kaylee brought the luck o' the Irish with her when she submitted this baby!
Pretty great lookin', hunh?
I sure would like to find this at the end of the rainbow!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

I have always loved Almond Joy candy bars ever since I was little.
There is just something about all of those flavors mixed together.
Liz, I want some of this RIGHT now!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Rainbow Bundt Cake
from Frugal Foodie Mama

Carrie created this beautiful bundt cake for her baby girl's very first birthday party.
What a celebration that must have been and what a beautiful cake to party with!

and

5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Ranch Seasoned Beef
from The Tasty Fork

ALWAYS looking for recipes for the crockpot!
The kitchen appliance I received for our wedding over 22 years ago has been worth its' weight in gold and this recipe is sure to be one of the next ones I use it with!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Wicked Good Wednesday #12

2013-02-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

Each and every week you all continue to amaze me with your talent. The food you make, the crafts you create are pretty darn incredible AND you all deserve to be highly commended!!! I give each of you a standing ovation!! I have to say that you all don't make it easy for Rachel and I choose our picks for the week, but I LOVE that!!!!
Let's get started shall we??!!!

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Chicken Tettrazini
from The Best Blog Recipes

Shauna submitted this great chicken recipe. It looks so creamy and
delicious that I'm not surprised it was our most clicked!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Pizzetti from
The Best Blog Recipes

First of all, I LOVE the name! Pizzetti!
Shauna said their daughter came up with it - LOVE it!!
I also love the fact that there's so much flavor and
combines two of our favorite meals into one.

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Strawberry Cream Soda with 3 Ingredients
from Living A Renaissance Life

Gabriela created incredible drink and as you may or may not know,
strawberries are my most absolutely favorite fruit!

and

Cherry Cupcakes
from Organized Island

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Secret Recipe Club - The Fluffiest Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

2013-02-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's THAT time of the month!!
Yesiree, folks, it is the third Monday of the month and that can only mean ONE thing.....

The Secret Recipe Club is based on Secret Santa.

Y'all know what that is, right, that thing everyone does at Christmas where you're given another person in the group to buy a present for, but you can't let them know that you're the one giving them the gift? It's just like that, only everyone in your Group is assigned a different blogger for the month from which we are to chose a recipe to make and then post about on a particular reveal day. It is SO much fun and if you're interested or even thinking about doing it, I highly suggest you check it out and look into joining us!

The leader of the club is April of Angel's Homestead and our leader of Group C is Debbi from Debbi Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie. They're awesome as are the other women who put a lot of work into making sure things run smoothly every month. They all deserve a HUGE thank you!!!

For the month of February, I was assigned to a blog that I was somewhat familiar with, but hadn't really explored. It is Denise's blog,

Creative Kitchen

As I do every month, I had very difficult time deciding which recipe to chose. Denise has SO many wonderful recipes to choose from that I definitely added quite a few to my "must-make" list!

The recipe I finally chose was Our Favorite Fluffy Pancakes. I am ALWAYS on the hunt for a great breakfast recipe whether it's for pancakes or French Toast because we LOVE breakfast and often eat it for dinner, too!

So, when I saw Denise's recipe for the Fluffy Pancakes, it was just a given that I had to try it.

I did make some changes to Denise's recipe. I added blueberries along with lemon juice and some lemon zest for extra flavor. I used all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat because I didn't have any, regular rolled oats instead of organic,buttermilk and regular, large eggs.

The Fluffiest Lemon Blueberry Pancakes - makes about 18 1/4 cup size pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup oat flour (I followed Denise's suggestion and just ground the oats in the food processor)

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

zest of one lemon

2 eggs

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted plus additional for griddle or skillet

6 ounces fresh blueberries

Preheat a griddle or skillet to medium high heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, sugar, sea salt and lemon zest.

In a medium mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add lemon juice, buttermilk and melted butter and mix until well combined.

Pour into dry ingredients.

Add blueberries.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold, do not mix ingredients together until just moistened.

Do not overmix. Batter will be thick, not runny like some pancake batters. It's a good thing.

Place a generous amount of butter on griddle or skillet to melt.

Using a 1/4 cup measurer, pour batter onto griddle.

Allow to cook for a few minutes until batter begins to set and bottoms are lightly browned.

With a metal spatula, flip pancakes to cook on other side until set and lightly browned.

Serve with maple syrup and additional butter if desired.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Fluffiest Lemon Blueberry Pancakes earned 3 1/2 rolling pins!

They were definitely the fluffiest pancakes I have ever made.

AND the were quite yummy, too!

I love the combination of lemon and blueberries and adding them gave these pancakes some great flavor, but I bet they'd taste great without them, too!

I was just really craving some antioxidants. haha

Be sure to head on over to Denise's blog to check out her other recipes and say hello!

Wicked Good Wednesday #11

2013-02-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

You know something? Once again, I am A-M-A-Z-E-D at all the absolutely INCREDIBLE submissions we had this week!! WOO HOO!! You all ROCK my world!! Way to go, everyone!!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Snickers Cake
from Something Sweet

Winnie made this FABULOUS no-bake Snickers Cake, so
I am not surprised it was our most clicked link of the week!
I'll take mine with a tall glass of milk, please!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

How to: Make Buttermilk - 3 Ways
from The Slow Roasted Italian

Now I'd known about using the lemon juice and vinegar to sour or curdle the milk
'cause that's what grandma taught me,
but....
Donna taught me something new with this third ingredient!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Cream Puffs
from Real Housemoms

Waaayyyyy back in high school (just a few years ago) one of my classmates brought cream puffs into our French class for International Day and I've been hooked ever since.
Seeing these from Stacey and Aubrey brought back some great memories and made me hungry!

and

Oreo Cookie Bon Bons
from The Plaid & Paisley Kitchen

Chandra made these SUPER delicious treats for some sorta kinda
important televised football game with LOTS of commercials.
Personally, I think they'd be great any time of year!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!

Wicked Good Wednesday #10

2013-02-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

You know something? Once again, I am A-M-A-Z-E-D at all the absolutely INCREDIBLE submissions we had this week!! WOO HOO!! You all ROCK my world!! Way to go, everyone!!! Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Lemon Shortbread Cookies
from Smitten Foodie

Connie made these beautifully heart shaped cookies
just in time for that special holiday coming up!
These lemon cookies would be a great and very tasty gift for anyone's Valentine!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken
from Smitten Kitchen

We eat LOTS of chicken!! And I do mean LOTS.
And now that I'm working full-time and then some, I LOVE using my crock pot,
so when I saw Connie's recipe I started swooning.
No, seriously, I really did.

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Cinnamon Churros
from Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate

My son has been begging me for years to make him some churros.
And this was even before I started knowing what I was doing in the kitchen!
I think Joan made these look so easy that I might actually be able to pull it off.
Won't he be surprised!!

and

Raspberry Lemon Bread
from Country Pickins

Lacy put a great combination of flavors together when she made this baby!
What a great morning accompaniment to your cup of coffee or tea!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!!

How to Easily Tie a Knot in Thread and Finish It Off

2013-02-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

A post about sewing.
Go figure.
Betcha nevah though you'd see THIS on 365 Days of Baking? Hunh?!?!

The other day, yesterday to be exact as a matter of fact....
dramatic pause
Like how I stuck that rhyme in there?
It wasn't on purpose, neither.
HAHA

Yeah, ok.
Um, so yesterday, but actually I have to back up, FRIDAY, I was at work and noticed the eye on my pants had become unsewn and I couldn't for the life of me get the hook into it.
Not a good thing when I've lost weight as it is and need every little bit of help to hold my pants up as it is.
Yes, I need to go shopping, but am too lazy to do it, and don't really want to spend the money.
I really don't like clothes shopping for me anymore. I think I hate it just as much as I used to hate shoe shopping for the kids when they were little.
I. HATED. THAT!
It was just not an easy task, trying on different pairs of shoes, ones they liked, ones they didn't, this hurts my foot, I don't like this color, my left fits ok, but my right is too small.
UGH!!!
Calgon take me AWAY!!!!!

Yup.
Once again I digress.
But of course, I love my kids and now they can shop for their own shoes. Well, two out of the three anyway.

So, my pants came apart and while I do have a sewing machine and I do know how to use it...ok, somewhat...I knew that this would just be a minor mending job and could do it in a jiffy by hand.
Does anyone use that phrase anymore, "in a jiffy"?
Yeah, probably not.
Anyway, in translation,... really quick like.

I grabbed my needle and some black thread.
What I want to share with you is not how I repaired them because that is just plain ol' boring, but the super part is the tying of the knot in the thread and how I tied it to finish off the job.
It's a tip my dear sweet momma taught me years ago and has always stuck with me.
I think my grandma may have taught her. She was the sewing matriarch of the family, making ALL of my doll clothes, clothes for me and even sewed a baptismal gown for my children before I even had any.

Begin by threading your needle.

Take the ends of the thread in your thumb and finger.

Roll the thread around your finger a couple of times.

Gently slide the loop of thread off the tip of your finger.

Beginning at the top of the loop, pull it down in between your thumb and one finger towards the end of the thread, so that it gets sort of tangled. I don't know another way to describe it. It will know up itself.

See? Don't worry if it isn't pretty. It works.

Do the sewing you need to do on your garment. When finished, pull your needle up under some of
loops that you made when sewing.

As the needle comes through, a loop will be created in the tail of the thread.

Before pulling the thread tight, put your needle through this loop, then gently pull on the needle to tighten. When the thread has tightened, a knot will be created, so it won't have to be tied off by hand. Repeat this process a couple of times, until you feel the thread is sufficiently secure and won't come undone.

Cut the thread and you're done!

Voila!!!!
Super easy and very quick!
and SO MUCH easier than attempting to tie the two strands together in the beginning or at the end.
Try it and let me know what you think!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!!

Wicked Good Wednesday #9

2013-01-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

Wicked Good Wednesdays Party
over at Rachel's site!
I wasn't feeling well and the post never went up, so I apologize.

For those of you who are here this week...
THANK YOU for joining us!!!

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

WOW! Do you all ROCK or what?!?!?! This week was SO awesome and we had SO many incredible submissions that it was really, really difficult to pick who to highlight!! I also have to say that all of your delicious recipes made me very hungry and your crafts and tips were so inspiring and very motivational! Way to go, everyone!!!
Now on to business...

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Cream Cheese Mints
from Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate

I've been wanting to make this mints since I saw them a few months ago on Pinterest.
Joan beat me to it, but this only means that I'm going to have to make them now!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Profiteroles
from Jazzy Gourmet Cooking Studio

*singing* Oh, Sherry, Sherry baby!
These just made me M-E-L-T!!!!
The combination of pastry with cream filling, strawberries AND chocolate had me drooling!

Two of my Wicked Favorites were

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
from Real Housemoms

We have dinner for breakfast A LOT!
No, wait. I meant we have breakfast for dinner A LOT!
Yeah, dinner for breakfast doesn't sound appealing to me in any way shape or form. haha
Our dear friends, Aubrey and Stacey at Real Housemoms sent us these yummies and I can't wait to serve them to my girls when they come home from college for break!

and

DIY Darth Vader Stencil
from Occasionally Crafty

How adorable is this?!?
Too bad I don't know any kids (or adults for that matter) who I could make this cool shirt for. You'll also have to check out the really neat pillow Valerie made with it, too!
And the great thing, is she made it look so easy that even I think I could do it!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!!

Blackberry Baked French Toast

2013-01-27T17:23:00.002-07:00

Can I just tell you all how FREAKIN' excited I was to be back in the kitchen after starting my full-time job back in the middle of December?!?!?!
I mean I've been in the kitchen, making dinners when I get home from work, but this weekend I was FINALLY able to make a recipe I can post to the blog!! It was SO relaxing and awesome to be back in my element!!
Especially the taking pictures and editing part! I LOVED it!!

I had plans to do it last weekend after finally getting a routine down with the family and getting the work schedule in order after having time off with all those holidays, but as luck would have it - I came down with that nasty achy, stuffy head, fever, so you can't rest flu.
It STUNK!!!!
But now it's over. Well, pretty much, anyway. Just some sniffles to speak of.
We've had a great time enjoying life as a family of three this weekend since our two older daughters are now away at college and our 15 year old son is still at home.
It's a wonderful thing that he now gets some one on one mom and dad time.
And I have to say that it's been an adjustment cooking for three. Fortunately though, he is a growing teenage boy who is in the beginning of his track season, so his appetite will be up and consequently I can just pretend we're back to being a family of four.

Our boy LOVES his French Toast and I often joke that if he were only to have three foods for the rest of his life, they would be Chicken Picatta, Pasta and French Toast. Oh, and I forgot Tacos. That's four.

So, I told him last night that I would be making this for breakfast this morning and he turned his nose up at me because I was putting blackberries in it.
INAGINE! Here I am a ~~former, but still REALLY wanna be~~ food blogger and he turns his nose up, at the same time giving me the evil eye like his mother doesn't know what the heck she's doin'!
Seriously?!
Work with me here, kid.
But nobody messes with his plain ol' French Toast.
I told him there was always cereal if he didn't like it.
Needless to say, he didn't have a problem eating it.

Adapted from Lovin' From the Oven: Cinnamon French Toast.

Blackberry Baked French Toast - serves four or two plus one very hungry teenage boy

1/2 loaf French Bread, cut into one inch cubes
6 ounces fresh Blackberries, halved
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (6 tablespoons total)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) cold butter

Spray an 8 X 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Place the bread cubes and halved blackberries into a large bowl and lightly toss. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla.

Evenly pour mixture over the bread and blackberries.

Cover with plastic wrap and place into refrigerator to sit overnight.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.

Cut butter into small pieces and with a pastry cutter or two forks, blend butter into mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

Place mixture into a plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate overnight. This step can also be done in the morning before placing baking dish into the oven.

Next morning...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Uncover the baking dish and sprinkle the butter mixture evenly around the top.

Serve warm with butter and maple syrup if desired.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Blackberry Baked French Toast earned 4 rolling pins! The boy LOVED it!!

*snicker, snicker* I knew he would.

When the heck is that kid going to trust his momma?!

My camera battery ran out just as I was taking the last few pictures and I had wanted to take more, but alas, breakfast was G-O-N-E before my battery had finished charging.

hmph

I'm really glad I added the blackberries to it because it gave it some great flavor.It would be good plain, but it was quite delicious and will DEFINITELY be made again. And again. And again.

I'm sure when our daughters come home for break I'll have to make a 9 X 13-inch dish of it.

I also think it'd be really good with blueberries, too!

It's great to be back with you all!

Thank you for continuing to visit in my absence, it means SO very much!!

I hope to get on a regular blogging schedule very soon!

I give you all BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #8

2013-01-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab our button!

I'm SO very glad you have all stopped by!!
It's been a crazy week here at the 365 home. Our youngest daughter came home from college for the three day weekend to celebrate her birthday with us. We had plans to spend together as a family (minus our oldest daughter), take her out to dinner or breakfast to celebrate, and go to a movie. Yeah, but when mom's sick and she can't get off the couch to get out of her pajamas the entire weekend, nobody does much of anything. Sorry, kid.
I think I'll be sending a care package once I'm feeling better.

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...

Vanilla Slice
from FoodThoughtsofaChefWannaBe

Chris really has me drooling with this wonderful "iconic Australian dessert".
I can't wait to give it a try!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Hot Ham & Cheddar Sliders
from The Two Bite Club

I've always had this "thing" for a hot ham and cheese sandwich.
There's just something about the flavors all hot and melted that makes me swoon.

Three of my Wicked Favorites were

Shrimp Quesadillas with Spicy Mango Salsa
from The Tasty Fork

To be honest, I really don't like seafood, especially shrimp,
but these quesadillas sound just too good to pass up.
Meghan did a great job with these and that's why I can't ignore a seafood dish just because it isn't my favorite food.

and

Peanut Butter Fudge Dip

from The Slow Roasted Italian

Donna always makes such yummy food.
Whether it's a main dish or a dessert, there's no doubt in my book that it's going to be good,
just like this dip!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!!

Secret Recipe Club - Turkish Delight

2013-01-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

After a month long hiatus, I give to you....

Boy is it GOOD to be back!!!

I admit it was nice to have the month of December off, but I really did miss participating in the Secret Recipe Club. It was just plain weird to have a month without it.

If you're new to this neck of the woods or haven't heard of the Secret Recipe Club, I'll fill you in.

This incredible club is based on Secret Santa where every month members are assigned a blog from which we are to choose a recipe to make. Each group has a particular reveal day and at that time we are finally able to let the author of the blog know we've been secretly stalking them.

It's SO much fun!!

April of Angels Homestead is the Secret Recipe Club's fearless leader and the lovely lady in charge of our group, Group C is Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner...Healthy and Low Calorie.. There are many ladies behind the scenes helping to make this wonderful event happen every month, so HUGE baking hugs go out to all of them!!

And now, I give to you my assigned blog for the month of January....

Lavender and Lime

I am somewhat familiar with Tandy's blog, but hadn't really taken the time to really explore it. This month I was given the chance to!

I saw quite a few recipes I wanted to try, like Tandy's Chocolate Marmalade Marble Cake or her Chili Cheese Maize Bread, but in the end I decided to go with her Turkish Delight.

This is something I've heard so much about, but have never tried it, so I decided it was time.

I did make some adjustments because I only had 3 of the 4 envelopes of gelatin that I needed, so I cut the recipe in half and used powdered sugar instead of superfine.
Tandy's blog was also my first experience in using the metric system in a recipe, but she's made it very easy for everyone by having a page devoted to Conversion Tables for those of us who can't do it in our heads. Thanks for that, Tandy! I'm going to combine both measurements though because it was easier to measure the water that way.

Turkish Delight

140 mls water, divided

2 packets of unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon rose water

few drops of desired food coloring

sifted powdered sugar for coating

Combine 40 mls of water and the packets of gelatin into a small bowl. Allow the gelatin to dissolve.

Into a small saucepan, combine the remaining water and powdered sugar and heat over low until sugar is dissolved.

Place bowl of gelatin into the microwave for 30 seconds to soften.

Add the softened gelatin and cream of tartar to the heated sugar water and simmer for a few minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the rose water and food coloring.

Pour into a well-greased 8 X 8-inch glass baking dish. (I used an 8-inch round cake pan, but should have opted for the glass because I think the final product tasted a little tinny in parts).

Allow to set.

Cut into squares and dredge in powdered sugar.

Serve.
Store in refrigerator.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Turkish Delight earned 2 1/2 rolling pins.

The last time I used rose water was in some frosting for cupcakes and I really didn't like the taste, but for some reason I really enjoyed it in this recipe.

It wasn't overpowering as I expected it would be.
They tasted sort of like gumdrops, but were much softer.

If the Secret Recipe Club is something you think you might be interested in, then go HERE to learn more about it and join us!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Wicked Good Wednesdays #7

2013-01-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Co-hosted by Rachel at {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's

If you participated or will be participating this week, please grab new button!

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Our two girls are now away at college, so we have just our son at home.
It's a little strange just the three of us, but it's been good.
I'm now also getting into a set schedule at work, so hopefully very soon I'll be able to get my home and blog routine down, too!

Our Most Clicked Link of the Week goes to...
Chicken Rigatoni Lasagna Bake from
The Plaid & Paisley Kitchen

Chandra has me hooked on this, I tell ya!
We LOVE chicken and eat pasta quite often, too, so this is sure to be a hit with my men!

My Wicked Pick of the Week goes out to...

Fried Lemon Pies
from Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate

Can I just tell you...although if you've been with me for a while then you already know that I'm a freak for anything lemon!
When I saw these from Joan, they instantly took me back to my childhood when I used to eat the Hostess Lemon Fruit Pies (sniffle - my grandkids will NEVER know what those things were...or Twinkies, or Ding Dongs, or Ho Ho's...just like my kids don't know what an 8-track is)! They also reminded me of the lemon filled doughnuts from Dunkin' Donuts I love so much.
Sigh...

Three of my Wicked Favorites were

Coffee Lover's Cookies
from Food Babbles

LOVE coffee! Love coffee to drink, in ice cream, and now in a cookie!
Oh, man! Kate stole my heart with these babies!

Homemade Pancake Mix

from Life After Laundry

I LOVE making pancakes for the family! Ok, I LOVE eating them just as much, too, so this wonderful mix from Brenna would be awesome if I'm in a bind for time over the weekend and they look delicious!

and

Baked Alaska from It's Yummilicious

I have been wanting to make one of these babies for a long, long time,
I've just been too intimidated. Becca's turned out beautifully and this was something she was able to cross of her culinary baking list! Mine's located under the croissants.
I'll get there. Thanks for the inspiration, Becca!

Thank you all again SO very much for participating!!

If yours was selected as a Wicked submission, please grab our Wicked Feature button.
to let everyone know you were
WICKED!!

Also be sure to head on over to Rachel's site, {{{I Love}}} My Disorganized Life to see what she has picked as her favorites!! Now onto the PARTY!!!!