Yes, I squee’d when I got my Prep for Bliss package yesterday!

Thank you so much to all the wonderful Blissdom Sponsors for all those wonderful little goodies!

Are you going?  Let me know in the comments and PLEASE leave me your twitter URL so I can make sure I’m following you!

PS – I’m a Food Community Leader with some other amazing ladies!!!

Oh yes, you read that correctly.

Dark, Rich, Deep, Fudgey Chocolate Bundt Cake topped with a deliciously decadent and simple Kahlua Glaze.

When this month’s Crazy Cooking Challenge
was announced as the search for the ULTIMATE Chocolate Cake recipe, I immediately did 2 things:  1) Groaned (remember? 17 Day Diet) 2) jumped on the internet and started searching.

I am a complete and total chocolate snob and any old chocolate cake just doesn’t get my taste buds dancing – up to this point in life, the only two chocolate cakes that have earned my love and passion are the German Chocolate Cake and Texas Sheet Cake.

It took me a couple of days to find a cake recipe that got me excited.  I don’t know WHY I didn’t immediately go to Bree’s blog ~ she is after all, fairly amazing and I’m so excited to meet her and be a Food Community Leader with her in a few weeks at Blissdom.

I was immediately drawn to this recipe by the combination of chocolate and Kahlua – I have fond memories of late nights on my apartment patio with my roommate (and pledge class sorority sister, Nicole) that involve kahlua and cream and laughing until we cried.  I honestly couldn’t tell y’all the last time that I had Kahlua – so off I went to the liquor store and then the grocery store for cake mix and pudding (yes, cake mix – deal with it)

The only changes that I made to Bree’s Recipe were to use Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix, Dark Chocolate Chips and a Fudge Pudding (why yes, I am a Dark Chocolate lover, why do you ask?)

I made this cake for Nathan’s birthday party (along with non-alcoholic cupcakes for the kids) and I would have taken beautiful pictures of a slice of cake accompanied by the Kahlua bottle and some dark chocolate chips – if the cake hadn’t been positively inhaled and devoured.  There were actual, honest to goodness moans of delight from everyone who tasted the cake.

Wickedly – sinfully – amazingly tonguegasmic, that is what this cake is.

(relax, breathe...they won't bite)

The part of Rachel will be played today by…Deanna

(hi!)

So there was this storm…A storm that knocked out Rachel’s internet. Like COMPLETELY. So she asked me to step in for her today, and I just hope I don’t wreck the place. (it’s ok, cause I’m her blog designer too)

Speaking of, we are working on a new look for A Southern Fairytale – a little new paint, some new decorations…it will be fabulous!

But you didn’t come here to listen to me ramble – you want to share some recipes!  I’ll be visiting as many of you as I can, and hopefully Rachel will be back by Tuesday!

Toss in some Rosemary and Garlic and make a tonguegasmic meal

Rosemary, Garlic, Lemon Chicken recipe

This beautiful, buttery, cinnamon and brown sugar filled Southern Classic – Sock It To Me Cake – is Nathan’s favorite cake.

It is the one he requests for every birthday.

This year, Monkey and Princess helped me make Nathan’s birthday cake.

I love passing family recipes on to my kids, watching their eyes take in the tattered and stained recipe cards, the smells the same ones that I remember from my own childhood.

With this cake, we even had a milestone reached.

Monkey finally mastered cracking eggs into the bowl without getting eggshells in the bowl!!!

Look! Even the eggs were happy!

This cake is so simple to make – it starts with a boxed cake mix – as so many delicious Southern recipes do and the rich buttery flavor is enhanced by cinnamon, brown sugar, walnuts and even sour cream.  Y’all should have seen Princess’ face when I told her there was sour cream in this cake

Oh.. Wait..

Here it is -

After the gifts were presented and a few tears shed by a very touched and proud Daddy,  the cake was served and declared the best one yet – which is saying A LOT – as I’ve been making this cake for Nathan for over 13 years.

I hope y’all try out this southern and family favorite recipe!

A few favorites from last week’s linky

• Chickpea Salad with Grilled Pita Bread
• Cinnamon Raisin Oatcakes
• Tamale Cups
• Fried Green Beans
• Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Thank y’all for linking up your amazing recipes every week.  I love seeing what y’all are serving your friends and families!  You often inspire my own table and definitely leave me hungry!

Don’t forget to visit and comment on a few other participants, link back to A Southern Fairytale and Mouthwatering Mondays in your recipe post and leave a comment after you link up, I love hearing from y’all!

Happy Monday!

We are storytellers by nature.

Whether that’s because we’re southern, or just simply human – in my family, stories fill our days and nights.  Some of our stories are funny, some are sad, some are serious and some (if told by Monkey) are highly embellished and exaggerated.

Stories are a way of keeping people alive in our hearts.

Stories are a way of preserving memories, passing along history and a way of bringing us closer together.

I encourage my kids to share their stories, to write them down, to draw them, record them, to save them…

My children spend hours lost in paper and crayons – putting their stories down on paper and presenting them to us like the priceless treasures they are

This year, for Nathan’s birthday – my kids wanted to do something special for him.  Using their individual gifts – they wanted to create books that could travel with him, go to work with him and remind him every time he saw them of how much they love him.

Princess is an amazing artist and storyteller, so she grabbed her art supplies and made Nathan a book.

Monkey’s gift?  He’s a natural born storyteller – he is animated and funny and has a gift for words, as everyone whose ever been around him for more than 10 minutes can tell you .  At 5, he’s not quite able to write as well as Princess and he didn’t want to just draw Daddy a book.  I assured him that we’d come up with some way to use his gift to make Daddy the best present ever.

Last week, while at HEB, I found it – A Hallmark Recordable Storybook.  The moment I saw it, I knew it was what Monkey had to give Nathan.

As soon as Monkey saw it, he agreed immediately and ran to his room to read it:

How did we know it was meant to be? Take a look at the pictures of this Dad and Me storybook.

I had to share this video with y’all.  Last night after Monkey fell asleep, I pried the book out of his hands and recorded a few pages out of the book.  I love his voice, his imagination, the way he sees his Dad. 

I love that my kids wanted to give Nathan memories this year.  I love that stories, memories and heart are so important to my kids.

Happy Birthday to the love of my life.  I can’t wait to share these with you, to watch their eyes light up as they tell you about each of their gifts and how they created them just for you.

Here’s to the memories and a million more stories.

Happy Birthday.  I love you.

This post was written as a part of my work with  Hallmark  and their “Life Is a Special Occasion” campaign.  This is not a paid review of the Hallmark Recordable Storybook – I bought that all on my own.  The opinions, photographs, ideas and children are 100% mine.

The other night we were at a friend’s house relaxing when the back door flew open and Monkey came barreling into the room, his little face bright red and his eyes sparking with anger, tears and that wicked gleam that only appears when tattling on a sibling…

Following coolly and calmly on his heels, is Princess.

5 year old Monkey: “MOM, DAD!!!  Princess just slapped me in the face”

Without missing a beat, Princess replies in a voice dripping with that special blend of exasperation and sarcasm that only a big sister can manage

8 year old Princess: “No I didn’t.  I was just giving his face a High Five”

I can’t begin to tell you how hard it was for us to keep a straight face.  The minute they were back outside, we were howling with laughter and wiping tears from our streaming eyes.

Ground Turkey.  Homemade Taco Seasoning.  Spinach Salad Mix.  Pico De Gallo.

This is the Cycle 1 recipe of the The 17 Day Diet  that won my husband over.  This is the recipe that lock, stock and barrel sold him on the diet and kept him going through the 1st cycle.

I’ll admit it, taking a steak and potatoes and beer boy and saying – “Oh, by the way for 17 days – it’s nothing but veggies, protein and low carb fruits… oh, did I mention you are only supposed to drink water and green tea” it’s sort of like waving raw meat in front of a crocodile — dangerous.

Here’s the thing.  This diet, it’s worked for us.

Nathan has lost and maintained the loss of 40 pounds.  I have lost and maintained the loss of 30 pounds.

This isn’t so much a recipe, as a suggestion.

It’s more a … here’s how we put this together.

.

It may not work for y’all.  Do the research give it a chance, it might work for you.

Favorites from Last Week:

• Turkey and Apple Panini
• Sweet and Spicy Pepitas
• Cajun Chicken Pasta
• Lighter Southwestern Salad

I know, it wasn’t a *real* recipe, but it’s one that has proved invaluable to us.  It’s one of our favorites.

I can’t wait to see what y’all have to share this week!

Remember to visit others, leave comments, link back and share the love!

and a giveaway!

That’s right -

Dark Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Nathan and I aren’t really sweets people, please try to contain your shock

We would much rather eat something savory or spicy (as I’m sure y’all have noticed, given the recipes that I post here).

There is however, one sweet combo that both Nathan and Monkey will never turn down – the combination of Peanut Butter and Chocolate.  Whether it’s cookies, cakes, cupcakes, ice cream — if it’s peanut butter and chocolate, my boys are all over it.

When I saw the White Lily Flour Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookie recipe in the goodie basket that I received, I knew it was the perfect recipe to test and share with y’all alongside today’s giveaway.

These cookies are super easy to make and delicious!  They are rich and fluffy and definitely peanut buttery (is peanut buttery even a word?) without being overwhelmingly stick to the roof of the mouth peanut buttery and when they’re combined with the dark chocolate dip… oooh baby .

Now on to the giveaway – I teased y’all about it when I shared the Caramel Pecan Biscuit Bake Recipe and now it’s here.  This is a truly delicious giveaway.

Not only will you get a basket with White Lily flour, recipes, a pastry cutter, measuring cup, White Lily bread towel and spatula

You will also get this Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 7-Speed Hand Mixer!

I can’t even tell y’all how much I love this mixer:  from the digital display, to the awesome snap on storage case for all the goodies that come with it: beater’s, chef’s whisk, dough hook and even a spatula.  I love, love, love this little baby – however I have to admit, my favorite part of it is the eject button.  You know how with some mixers you push the eject button and the beaters just release and you pull them out?

Oh no.. not with this baby.  The Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus doesn’t mess around.  It has a release trigger and when you pull the trigger – those babies SHOOT out.  I may or may not have played with this feature for 5 minutes or so – what can I say? I’m easily entertained by kitchen gadgets.

Would you like to win this?

Mandatory Entry: What’s your favorite treat to make for (or with) your family?

Bonus Entry:  Tweet this giveaway and leave your tweet url in the comments

Bonus Entry:  Check out White Lily Flour’s Recipes and tell me which one you’d most like to try

That’s 3 entries per person! Good luck, y’all!
This giveaway is open from Friday January 20, 2012 to Sunday January 22, 2012 at 10:00 PM CST. Once the winner has been contacted, they will have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen

This recipe and giveaway are part of a partnership with White Lily flour. I have received product compensation for my time and talents.

This Giveaway is now closed:

Congratulations to our winner:

Mocha Momma

The wonderful people at ZipList have featured a fun interview with me today as part of their ZipList Zest feature!

If you’ve ever wanted to know what my food guilty pleasure is, my greatest kitchen disaster, or what I can’t live without in my kitchen…

Pop on over and check it out!