It’s time for a Coughlin Garden update! Many of you know that we live on a city lot and have converted some of our backyard to garden beds! So today I’m sharing about our tomatoes … because they’re already planted and in the ground! And growing quite nicely!

This time of year is so fun (I’m just like a little kid in a candy shop), because my husband and I get to take a little jaunt out to the countryside to our friend’s stunning greenhouse, to pick up our tomato plants.

Little baby tomato plants that Terri starts and grows in her greenhouse!

I think this year she must have grown about 1500 plants! (She admits she goes a little overboard – it’s her hobby! ha.)

We tried a new experiment this year in our garden. We brought our “babies” home, and on the nice days we “hardened” the plants by bringing them outside to bask in the sunshine. (That would be on the nice days only, not rainy days like today in southern Oregon!)

We kept the plants in our greenhouse until they grew some more, and then we planted them in 2 separate raised beds.

Here’s where our experiment came in:

1. One bed we planted the tomatoes directly into the soil.
2. The other bed we tried the “visqueen” method.

1. We put the plants directly into the ground and covered the beds with straw. They seem to be doing quite well!

2. We put visqueen down first, cutting slits long enough to slide the plant into the ground (making sure it was covered well with soil). This was to prevent so many weeds coming up! We also heard that it not only is a weed barrier, but it yields more tomatoes.

We shall see!

The colors and the bounty of tomatoes that are beginning to grow in our garden makes me so happy and inspired.

(The size of our plants today!)

I’m inspired to have people over and share the tomatoes with others around our table.

I’m excited to enjoy every moment, because before we know it, the season will be gone, all too soon.

Have you started planting your garden yet, and if so, I’d love to hear your update?

-Here’s an interesting way to plant, right in the potting soil bag. You can place them on top of your garden – no tilling and amending needed.

-Here’s a post about warming your beds with clear visqueen before planting the tomatoes.

-Last year we had really small tomatoes, you can read about them, HERE.

-We’ve also used “trench-style” planting in the past. You can read about it, HERE.

It’s that time of year … time to spring into summer entertaining! I really love summer entertaining because, even though I love to plan a party and still use my “good” dishes in the outdoors (it’s just elegant and an excuse to get semi-fancy), I love casual entertaining just as much.

We recently had friends and family over for a Mexican meal. I love a Mexican theme because realistically, you don’t have to do much planning. As a kid, if I knew we were having Mexican food it usually meant tortillas, meat, beans, rice, cheese, tomatoes … the basics.

This time I pulled out the paper products, because I wanted quick and easy. No dishes, easy clean up, and really good food!

I decided to make 2 new dip recipes from Ro*Tel, to freshen up the toppings for the tacos.

Have you ever cooked with Ro*Tel?

If you haven’t or you want to know more about it, it’s diced tomatoes and green chilies combined together. You can purchase it in “original” or “mild” and it adds a “punch” to your dip or Mexican recipes. (I was able to send coupons home with my guests!)

Usually I don’t make brand new recipes for guests, I like to try them out on my family first, but dips are easy. So easy, that I’m sharing the 2 recipes with you today!

I didn’t even have to go to the store, as I had all ingredients on hand (except fresh cilantro, which I thought I had, but didn’t). I don’t know about you, but I do not like running to the store for last minute supplies, so I’ll try to do without or come up with a substitution.

Oh, and by the way, I never even mentioned to my guests that an ingredient was missing.

And no one knew! I’ve definitely learned to not bring those subjects up when entertaining. It only brings awareness to something that would not have even mattered. My guests thought the food was fantastic! Yeah!

My guests oohed and aaahed over the freshness of these dips. I asked them if they had used Ro*Tel before and only a few had.

Do you ever buy Ro*Tel and if so, what’s your favorite way to cook with it? If not, what’s your go-to Mexican dip recipe?

Next week come back for a very cool, summery giveaway from Ro*Tel. Two lucky people will WIN!

This post is sponsored by Ro*Tel but all opinions are my own.

You can find more recipes and ways to use RO*TEL on their website, Facebook page, Pinterest board or by following them on Twitter.

You may have seen my post, here, our first outdoor entertaining for the year–chilly as it was–we pulled out the outdoor heater and enjoyed a special evening with our friends.

Summer entertaining is really easy. You don’t have to clean your house, you can usher your guests into the backyard, turn on the music, cut some fresh flowers from the garden, and you are set!

That part is easy. But what about the food?

I’ve recently re-discovered chicken thighs. According to what I recently read on Good Housekeeping site, they are just as good for you as chicken breasts! (I went back and couldn’t find the link – if anyone finds it, please send to me.)

Chicken thighs:
They are higher in fat and calories than breasts, but as long as you remove the skin and any excess fat, economical thighs fit into a good-for-you diet. They also provide 25 percent more iron and more than twice as much zinc as the same amount of breast meat.

When our friends came, I had thighs marinated in the fridge, and we whipped up a big summer salad and put whole-wheat bread in the oven.

Oh, and then we had this butterscotch dessert.

If you didn’t see the recipe a few weeks ago, this is one for sure you’ll want to file away (or put on Pinterest?) A crowd-lover’s dessert and SO easy.

Back to chicken. Here’s my easy recipe for marinade. (Yes, the chives are from our garden.)

By the way, I’m growing my own sweet bay tree now so I no longer have to buy bay leaves from the store. It’s doing so well (inside).

Have you entertained yet this summer, and what will you most likely be grilling?

I’m excited to share with you today my recent travels to Louisville, KY, where I visited the General Electric Monogram Experience Center Showroom.

This was my first time to ever be in the state of Kentucky, and I must say that I was so impressed. By the way, did you know that the GE campus has its own zip code?

Hospitality runs deep in this state. So hang on and I’ll tell you more …

We stayed at the beautiful Brown Hotel, starting with dinner in the basement kitchen of the hotel with Chef Laurant Geroli.

What a unique experience, to have the Chef cooking and narrating, step by step, as he prepared so many fantastic dishes.

My favorite was the main course: Cast Iron Veal Chop, Peruvian Potato Gratin (to die for!), and Paris Carrots with Pink Peppercorn Sauce. Oh, man, it was so good.

The plan for the next 2 days was to cook, eat, drink, cook, eat, drink … with hands on training sessions with GE’s sate-of-the-art elegant Monogram line of appliances.

(That’s Brian, Irvin, me and Maggy having a little fun!)

We found out that our blogging group of 18 was the very first group of “food bloggers” to grace the GE facility. What an honor to be invited! By the end of our 3 days together, I’d say we (bloggers and GE staff) were kindred spirits when it comes to food and entertaining, which went well with the sign right outside my hotel window.

Each morning when I opened my hotel curtains to Louisville sunshine, this sign was “right there.” Inspiring!

I can’t say enough about how Paula, from the Monogram Showroom in NYC, and Michelle, (below), the Center Training Manager, Megan and Nancy made our experience tremendous, interesting, organized, and very memorable.

Now on to the kitchen and the cooking experience …

We were invited to GE to learn about their high-end elegant line of appliances. To learn more, or to be an ambassador for a product, you need to actually experiment and cook with it!

So that is what we did.

(Chef Joe Castro with Jenn, me, Cynthia and Brenda.)

The majority of our time was spent in the culinary studio, which houses 5 separate state-of-the-art kitchens, each with:

1. GE Monogram Dual Fuel Professional Range
2. Advantium Oven
3. Induction Cooktop

The main kitchen in that area was for Chef Joe Castro and Chef Brian Logsdon.

These guys were so fun, and really brought a level of passion to our groups, especially with our last culinary experience, as we participated in an “Iron Chef” cook-off with a 50 minutes time frame.

Our group didn’t win, but we had a blast cooking together.

I also appreciated the organization behind the “cooking groups.” We didn’t move around from group to group, but instead cooked with the same “peeps” for each session; and thus really got to know one another.

The 3 appliances we learned about …

GE Monogram Dual Fuel Professional Range
This very impressive Gas Dual Fuel Pro Range was very easy to cook with and extremely user friendly with helpful LED lighting over each control knob. I loved the side-oven option that holds 9×13 pans (cooking for a smaller group) vs. the larger oven for cooking for a large crowd or a dinner party!

GE Monogram Advantium Oven
The speed cooking technology of this oven was so impressive because it combines halogen, ceramic, convection and microwave – cooks food in a fraction of the time (it determines the ideal cooking time for you) – and bakes, broils and roasts with oven quality results. It was SO easy to operate! The oven comes programmed with 175 recipes in the memory bank, which I love for last-minute entertaining.

GE Monogram Induction Cooktop
At first I was not a true believer of this appliance, because I just love cooking with gas. The magnetic field on this induction cooktop only heats the metal surface that it’s touching. We experimented with ice on the unused portion of the burner right next to a pot of boiling water. Wow! This is brilliant for kids who love to cook. I really liked the design and ability to clean it quickly.

In between the learning sessions we also made our own fun. That’s just what bloggers do. I’ve met some incredible people over the years of blogging, some of which I keep in frequent touch with.

One night we walked to find “Chess Pie” for a late-night snack.

We “soy-sauce tasted.” Yes, it’s sort of like wine tasting, except with soy sauce.

We visited Bourbon Barrel Foods where we sampled and sipped.

Truly, this was a very unique experience, one that I really enjoyed, as I learned more about the bourbon distilleries and “America’s only microbrewed soy sauce.” The process was fascinating.

We ended with a tour of Churchill Downs. So fun! I imagined myself sitting in those dark green chairs with my stunning hat on. Which, by the way, we did have fun in the store modeling our favorite finds.

When I got home, I was still full. I tweeted that I planned to eat lettuce for days – LOL.

So, after reading my post, I’d love to know which of the 3 products above would you be interested in learning more about or trying in your kitchen, and why?

And then for fun, have you ever “soy-sauce-tasted?”

Bloggers who I was honored to hang with:
Brenda from A Farm Girl’s Dabbles
Molly and Caitlin from Cooking with Caitlin
Coryanne from Housewife Bliss
Heather from Farm Girl Gourmet
Lisa of With Style and Grace
Brian of A Thought for Food
Maggy from Three Many Cooks
Irvin of Eat the Love
Teri and Jenny from Spoon Fork Bacon
Isabel at Family Foodie
Jenn at Foodess
Cynthia from The Daily Basics
Sarah from 20 Something Cupcakes
Debi at Debi Shawcross
Kris from Young Married Chic

GE paid for my entire trip, but all opinions are my own.

The winner to the UPrinting giveaway is Marlis Bennett from Creative Journeys!

The salad didn’t turn out like I had wanted it to. At the last minute, I boiled the eggs for the delicious Spinach Salad I had planned on serving, and I did serve it, but as I started eating, I realized I had made a mistake.

Spinach salad needs to be made with cold, hard-boiled eggs, not warm ones.

The salad looked beautiful, but it just wasn’t right. It was mushy and the spinach leaves were wilting before my very eyes. (By the way, The Pioneer Woman even says it’s true: Cold eggs are the best. Check out her amazing recipe for The Best Spinach Salad.)

But … no one complained.

There was plenty of other good food on the plate — fresh barbecued salmon, roasted peppers, hot bread from the oven, melt-in-your-mouth sweet potatoes.

There is one thing I’ve learned about hostessing.

You don’t say a word, you don’t apologize. You don’t draw attention to what you think is wrong, which others may not even notice.

-Let it go.

-Don’t be hard on yourself.

-Give yourself a break.

I often give myself this pep talk when something doesn’t turn out the way I want.

I’ve learned that by acknowledging my errors (keeping them to myself), I’ve become a more merciful person when I go to someone else’s house for dinner. Less of a perfectionist. If there is something that isn’t quite right, I understand. Not a word is said, but I understand.

I have compassion, especially for a new hostess.

What’s your attitude when it comes to messing up in the kitchen? Do you let it go and press on?

When people come into my home, they always say … where did you get that cool picture?

The cool picture is actually the icon of my blog, Reluctant Entertainer, as it’s a Dollar Store Goblet which I write about often.

My husband took the picture about 6 years ago, and then we turned it into a beautiful rolled canvas.

Entertaining doesn’t have to be perfect, but it can be beautiful and affordable, and this elegant canvas hanging in my dining area reminds me of this.

I love to share this message with others as well.

Today UPrinting is giving away a rolled canvas print.

Maybe you have something beautiful in your garden or yard that you’d like to turn into a canvas, or a stunning photo from a recent trip. If you’re like me, you may have a son graduating in a few weeks!

A rolled canvas is also a great idea for a family photo.

I especially think about my foodie friends who are amazing photographers, how just the right food or entertaining photo could turn be turned into amazing canvas prints! A work of your own art!

The ideas go on and on …

Here are the details:

Prize details:
One (1 ) piece 16” x 20” rolled canvas print, for one winner with 2-inch border (or no border)
1 Business Day Turnaround
Free shipping to US only
Restriction: 18 years old and above only

Optional Giveaway Entry Requirements:
Like UPrinting on Facebook
Follow UPrinting on Twitter
Like Reluctant Entertainer on Facebook
Follow SandyCoughlinRE on Twitter

Tweet this:

WIN @Uprinting rolled canvas print today @SandyCoughlinRE. What’s your favorite photo? http://su.pr/2djCsT #giveaway

(This post is sponsored by UPrinting, but all opinions are my own. Contest ends 11:59 pm, Monday, 5/21/12.)

When the daylight starts to linger, we love entertaining on our back patio for a time of unhurried togetherness.

The sun warms all things to full bloom, and they often make it to the center of our table.

It’s just a perfect time to get together with family and friends.

Our son was home from college for Mother’s Day and brought some friends to dinner. We love having extra kids around our table. It always makes for a good time of story-telling, lots of laughter, and even a sense of relief you can feel from our kids. Relief from college life, college food, the pressures of school work and schedules.

They talk and relax.

It’s good to be real.

It’s good to be unhurried.

And it’s good to indulge a bit, at the end of the evening, with a sweet treat.

I just told my running partner about this fun summer entertaining idea, because it’s simple and something you can have ready at all times. You can make up your own brownies and freeze, or buy these bite sized ones from Costco.

Don’t you love it when you have a dessert in the freezer ready to go for company?

I pulled out a container of Brownie Ice Cream Stacks and here’s how you make them.

And if you want, just skip the “frosting” part.

So simple!

What desserts do you keep in your freezer for last-minute summer entertaining?

When you find something you love, buy a lot of it.

That is what I did years ago when I discovered these beautiful goblets from the Dollar Store. Such a bargain, I bought about 30 of them.

They are chunky and never break, even when kids use them.

And even if they did break, so what? It’s not like it is your fine china.

I love making entertaining beautiful and affordable.

You can also make it very practical, like I did here by placing all the glasses randomly in a large bowl or basket.

A great idea for casual entertaining.

For a more elegant approach, a few weeks ago, it took me less than 2 minutes to put this together.

Cut whatever flowers you have in your yard.

Find a low-line tray.

Place your glasses on the tray.

Add and light 2 candles.

It’s beautiful.

I love a bargain and I also appreciate quick, easy entertaining tips.

What tips can you share that take just 2 extra minutes to make entertaining beautiful?

Spring is for sure in the air, as our family worked in the yard all weekend stringing lights, blowing, mowing, cleaning, planting … you name it. It takes work to get ready for spring and summertime entertaining, but once the hard work is done, it’s so worth it.

I cleaned off the back patio, making room for guests–any time of the day.

This time snipping fresh tulips from the front yard.

Pulling out a summery entertaining tray.

And fresh yellow napkins.

Sometimes I’m not too good with final garnishing and presentation details, because I know my guests are waiting and I want to serve the food while it’s hot. But I have learned to think ahead to the serving dishes that I may be using and to set them out in advance.

This time, it took me about 15 minutes to pull breakfast together and serve it to my guests on our back patio.

Easy Greek Scrambled Egg Pockets, served in this long white serving dish.

So easy to make.

Simple presentation.

Bright and cheery.

Fresh and summery.

Realistically we didn’t even use the plates.

You hear “the secret is in the sauce?” Well, how about, “the secret is in the serving dish?”

Don’t you find that the “right” serving dish can make or break the presentation of the food you are serving?

The other day at breakfast my husband reminded me of these simple words:

Baby, he said, a good plan for today is better than a perfect plan for tomorrow.

Those words really hit home for me, and I thought about all I share here on RE. I know many of us struggle with perfectionism when it comes to entertaining, but I wonder just when did the “P” word become so trendy?

What generation or era started this horrible (almost) disease, to ruin so many of us?

I wrote in my RE book how I met a lady on the plane who shared with me how she’d never have people into her home for dinner, because she didn’t feel her house was good enough. She got tears in her eyes as she told me she was worried that her son never learned about hospitality. It was a pain point for her, and I felt badly for her. The pain went deeper for her as she shared that her mom had done the same thing.

Things were never good enough.

So they missed out on deeper connections and making memories in their own 4 walls with people they cared about.

I wonder when perfectionism became so necessary …

-Was it in the 50s or 60s when America started watching more TV?

-Was it when we started airbrushing models in homes and staging beautiful kitchens and dining rooms?

-Was it later, when magazines and TV shows resonating “perfect” showed us we were “less” if we didn’t have our homes look a certain way?

(Canning jar idea, here.)

Baby, a plan for today is better than a perfect plan for tomorrow.

I meditated on those words for days, lest I teach my children this awful “trend.”

A plan for today …

-If I decide to invite last minute guests over for dinner, my messy house will just have to do.

-The menu that I decide to cook will be sufficient for the purpose of entertaining. Soul connection.

-I won’t need to run to the store to make “one more thing,” because I have to serve 5 courses.

-My table, simple as it may be, won’t be impressive, but it won’t be distracting, either.

It won’t be trendy.

It won’t be perfect.

But it will be tasty and meaningful.

When do you think perfectionism became “trendy” in our society?

Graduation. A time of reflection, excitement, sadness, and hope. Hope for the future that as a parent you’ve done the right thing and the best job, in raising your kid, and he will do fine.

It’s graduation time in our household as we get ready to graduate our middle son, Garrett.

Luckily I was on the ball and got my announcements ordered in a timely manner. Which, by the way, Garrett’s little sis took his Senior pictures this year!

Now I want to be able to sit down and enjoy writing out the addresses, and thinking about the families and friends who’ve been supportive to our son in his growing up years.

You can get some really simple, but classy, announcements on heavy card stock.

I thought these were a great reflection of our son, Garrett.

Also, if you have a few minutes, sit back, and listen to Katrina Kenison, as she recites portions of her book, The Gift of an Ordinary Day.

Maybe you have a child graduating middle school, high school, or college this Spring.

For sure it’s a sentimental, nostalgic, rewarding, magical time …

Enjoy!

Do you have a graduate in our household this year?

(This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints, but all opinions are my own.)

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting–a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I want to wish all of my readers a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. For those of us who are mothers, we have so much to be thankful for!

An older friend, who I greatly admire, gave me a beautiful card and a small, simple candle yesterday.

When to encourage
and when to protect,
When to ignore things
and when to correct,
When to hold closer
and when to let go –
There aren’t any rules for that …
mothers just know.

This day was made to honor mothers like you.

A little gift and a card.

So thoughtful.

I love friends who honor others by telling them that “they are a good mom.”

I know if my mom were here, I’d hear those words, as would others.

(My mom’s favorite tree was a Dogwood, the beautiful flower on her tombstone. This white-flowered tree in our backyard, was given to us from my friend, Pam.)

This weekend, I challenge you to tell at least 3 younger moms that you are proud of them, and that they are a good mom. Or tell them the qualities that you believe make them so beautiful.

Who encouraged your mother when you were growing up? Who encourages you, if you’re a mother now yourself?

It was after we got our kids off to their school prom that we came back, with another couple, for a late dinner.

I’d say it was last-minute, since we called them just a couple of hours before to make the invite.

It was such a lovely springy evening, the sun going down after a warm day, the party lights hung, freshly mowed grass and newly planted springtime flowers in the pots.

I realized late into the afternoon that I hadn’t even thought of a dessert. Not that we have to have dessert with each meal — we don’t. But being a weekend night, and since we hadn’t seen our friends in a while, I pulled out an old “salty-sweet” recipe called Butterscotch Brownies. You might think this recipe includes butterscotch chips–it does not. You actually make your own butterscotch. Do you know how to make butterscotch?

It’s the warm oozing combination of butter and brown sugar–dark brown sugar, that is.

On top of the gooey goodness, if you dust with sea salt (you can see it in this picture) it stimulates a whole bunch of new taste buds in your mouth.

I feel the best desserts have a little zip to them, other than sweetness, and that includes salt.

Which, by the way, you can get so many flavors of gourmet sea salts these days.

In specialty shops you can find just the right one that satisfies your taste for the perfect salty-sweet foods.

We were recently at The Meadow in Portland, Oregon.

My husband and I got lost in this unique store.

Back to desserts.

Salty sweet desserts don’t have to be over-complicated. In fact, with this recipe today, you won’t believe how easy it is, and perfect for entertaining! You make it up ahead of time, and right before serving, microwave each dish for about 30 seconds. Serve with a premium vanilla ice cream and your guests will be singing your praises.

Just give the “salt’ the credit.

Do you have a quick go-to dessert you make for last-minute company?

The winner of the pink KitchenAid blender for Mother’s Day is Michele Laramay (no blog). Congrats Michele!

For our first outdoor entertaining of the season, it was a beautiful day, but a chill was in the air.

We didn’t let it stop us, though. We moved the outdoor heater into the dining space and turned it on “high.” It was so warm and toasty.

I don’t stress over my table in the outdoors, do you? I really keep it as simple as possible, partly because I do not want to have to bring tons of dishes back into the house at 10 pm.

Throw on a tablecloth.

Add the plate, the napkin, and put the goblet on top to prevent it from blowing away.

Once we are dining together, the warmth of the conversation makes us forget all about the chill in the air. (Although sometimes we have jackets on!)

On this night we found ourselves sitting around the heater, as if it were a fire. It was fun and probably almost midnight when we came in … just the 4 of us.

Are you gearing up for outdoor entertaining? Do you prefer a real fire or do you have an outdoor heater?

(We found our heater at a yard sale about 5 years ago – a real bargain.)

How many times when we entertain do we forget something? Most the time it isn’t anything huge or essential, but it would have made the “entertaining moment” more special if we had only remembered.

I recently came across this very cool Entertaining Cheat-Sheet by Lulu Powers. I am including it here, to encourage you to either print it out or to come up with your own list that works for you.

Tape it inside your kitchen cupboards for easy access when you want to make sure you have “done everything.”

I do think entertaining is like a muscle, that the more you do it the easier it becomes. So eventually you may not need your little list.

By the way, if you are a reluctant entertainer, don’t forget you can also print out my 10 Commandments that can be hung in your kitchen to help remind you that entertaining is easy! (FREE print out, HERE.)

It has so much meaning and lifelong rewards that come from it.

Do you have a hard time remembering everything when you entertain, or what is your method for keeping track of what you want to accomplish?

The Cook for Your Mom Campaign encourages us to skip the crowded restaurants this year and make our mothers a home-cooked meal. If I could, I would, because it shows that your mom is really worth the time. By saying, “thank you, Mom,” you’ll also be teaching your children, passing down the gift of hospitality to them.

When I think of my mom, three words come to mind: hospitable, warm, and loving.

I wrote about her in my book, The Reluctant Entertainer, of which I’m giving away a signed copy today, a perfect gift idea for Mother’s Day. I was fortunate growing up, because my mother passed on to me the gift of loving people through hospitality. My mom didn’t get caught up in over-commitments or impressing others with over-the-top entertaining. In fact, she didn’t rely on TV, magazines, or the internet for entertaining ideas. She just used her beautiful elegant China, a few favorite cook books and aprons, and a closet with starched linens ready to be spread for her dinner guests. Mom just knew the heart of hospitality and she didn’t overcomplicate it: simplicity and love.

She was my role model years ago. And then when I was in my early 30s, breast cancer attacked my mom, and then ovarian cancer, eventually taking her life. I had 3 small children and it was a hard time in my life. (Mom passed away 9 months after this picture was taken.)

I’m thankful for many gifts that my mother passed down to me, and since “cancer” hit our family, twice, I appreciate that KitchenAid has supported the Susan G. Komen for the Cure with their Cook for the Cure Project by making donations off every pink appliance sold, and inspiring us to join the fight against breast cancer, for our moms, and for us all.

Today one lucky winner will win all 3 of these items:

-A pink 5-speed KitchenAid blender, which each one sold provides a donation to aid the fight against breast cancer.
-A Hip Hostess pink cafe apron (you can buy with a discount, details below)
-A signed copy of, The Reluctant Entertainer

The Hip Hostess is offering 20% off everything in The Hip Hostess Etsy Shop, or 20% off an entire order from The Hip Hostess website. What a deal to surprise our mom with a brand new beautiful apron! (Use promo code: PINKRE at the check out for both.)

You can purchase The Reluctant Entertainer for mom on Amazon, here, or if you want a “signed copy,” click, here.

How to enter to win the above 3 items:

Leave a comment describing who in your life has taught you the most about hospitality?

For additional entries:

Follow KitchenAid on Facebook and/or Twitter.
Follow The Hip Hostess on Facebook and/or Twitter.
Follow Reluctant Entertainer by: Email, RSS, Facebook, Pinterst and/or Twitter (@SandyCoughlinRE)
Pin on Pinterest
Share on Facebook (with a link)
Tweet This:

Win this lovely @KitchenAidUSA blender & @TheHipHostess apron on @SandyCoughlinRE #CookForMom Enter Here: http://su.pr/2SSJm4

Leave a separate comment for each entry ~ 12 possible entries per person!

*** CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED ***

This giveaway will close on May 9, 2012 at midnight. Winner announced on May 10 2012 on RE. US residents only.

KitchenAid provided the blender for this post, but all opinions are my own.

Sometimes I’m just a creature of old habits. That’s why once in a while it’s fun to shop with a friend, because you can get fresh ideas for new food items or techniques.

Since I started using my KitchenAid food processor more, I’ve been trying to be more cost effective with as many food items as possible.

For example, with 3 teens in our household, we go through a lot of deli meats. Mostly turkey, because the kids are all health-conscious and it has less fat and is better for you.

In the past I went for “convenient” and bought the pre-sliced turkey at Costco. Until I really looked at the cost.

Pre-sliced turkey breast – $6.79 lb.

Whole turkey breast meat – $3.99 lb.

My husband had a great idea, to add onion and celery to the meat as we slice it up, for better flavor.

This time I snuck in a cucumber.

Add the sliced meat to a Ziploc bag, date, and put in the fridge for all to enjoy.

Oh, and for the kids who don’t like the veggies, they are easy enough to pick out.

Do you ever get into a habit of buying out of convenience, or are you always a smart shopper?

Are you entertaining a crowd for Cinco de Mayo this weekend? Or have you been invited out?

For us, the latter. We’re happy to be biting into our friends delicious cooking, but we’re also contributing to the meal. I’ll be taking one of our family-favorite recipes that can used as a salad, or as a dip!

You hear, The Secret is in the Sauce, which is true for this recipe. It involves some prepping, and a tiny bit of cooking, but overall the time involved is well worth it.

Margaritas, bowls of guacamole and chips, tacos and the gathering of good friends are all signs of a successful Cinco de Mayo fiesta.

What’s your favorite Mexican dish to take to a party?

This recipe is included in my book, The Reluctant Entertainer, a great gift idea for Mother’s Day which is right around the corner! If you want a signed copy, go here. If you want to buy on Amazon, go here. The winner to the KitchenAid Stand Mixer giveaway is: Richella.

A few weeks ago, my friend Jeannie brought me a beautiful springy basket of flowers, and off to the side was a small paper-thin butterfly.

Butterflies are very elegant and I find them so fascinating, with their vibrant colors so spectacular, all created with different patterns, and the way they flit around so gracefully.

Phyllis Hoffman from Celebrate Magazine, creates party inspiration for every occasion, this month encouraging mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and sisters to come together for a lovely springtime luncheon for all ages.

If you notice, the theme throughout this elegant luncheon is butterflies. (Love the classy chair.)

The butterfly has long been a Christian symbol of resurrection, for it disappears into a cocoon and appears dead, but emerges later far more beautiful and powerful than before.

The butterfly is also a symbol of hope.

How beautiful is that?

Keeping the Mother’s Day theme in mind, Celebrate offers printables that are simple and helpful:

Pre-planned menu

Blank menu

Mother’s Day place cards

What’s cool is that you can come up with your own menu, or you can use some of their recipes. Or you can follow the recipe menu for this particular party found in the Spring 2012 issue.

So lovely!

Have you considered hosting a Mother’s Day Luncheon this year, and if so, have you ever used printables?

(Celebrate Magazine did not sponsor this post today, but they did do a lovely book review of, The Reluctant Entertainer, a nice gift idea for Mother’s Day. Thank you, Celebrate Mag!)

I cannot tell you how excited I am for our garden this year. Especially for basil that will be filling up our herb trough, bright in color, so heavily scented that I could bath in it. LOL.

Don’t you love the smell of fresh basil?

More exciting than the scent, though, is the recipe I’m sharing today. It’s so easy! And we can all use new, refreshing, easy appetizer recipes – perfect for last-minute get togethers or when you’re invited to someone’s house.

Bring an appetizer and wine! I love those words, especially when I have something so simple in mind.

Last weekend I made this simple appetizer for a party that we attended. For me, simple, light appetizers always taste better than heavy ones, so I made Goat Cheese Pesto Tartines.

Tartine: A French word that means open-face sandwich.

Basil season can’t come soon enough, but in the meantime, I used store-bought pesto.

It’s convenient and perfect for “last-minute” and honestly, not everyone has time to whip up fresh basil.

Do you make your own pesto or do you sometimes splurge and buy store-bought?