Jam Hands

The Legendary Apple Cider Grilling Sauce

2012-02-25T09:47:00.000-06:00

If you are a salmon lover and are looking for a new way to serve it to your family, I have an amazing recipe for you today. Are you familiar with American Spoon Foods? It is sort of a foodie lovers dream. They have all sorts of jams, preservers and grilling sauces available. The only downside is the price. Our favorite item to buy was the Apple Cider Grilling Sauce, but at almost $10 a jar, the price was just not reasonable.

My mom has been perfecting her own Apple Cider Grilling Sauce copycat recipe for some time now and she has finally done it. Compared to the packaged sauce that we had bought in the past, we think our version has much more flavor and tastes amazing.

The main flavors we have are apple, spices and onions. You may wonder why we didn't use an actual apple cider in the recipe. This is because the concentrate and the old bay seasoning provide the spices you would normally have in an apple cider, plus a little bit extra like celery seed.

One ingredient that some cooks may not have on hand is the Fox Point Seasoning made by Penzeys. If you are wondering what to sub for this, it is a mixture of freeze dried shallots, chives and scallions.

Apple Onion Salmon Glaze
Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups of glaze

1 12 oz. can apple juice concentrate (2/3 of it is used immediately, reserve 1/3)
2 tsp. dried minced onion
1/4 tsp. Penzeys Fox Point seasoning
1 tsp. Old Bay
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Thickener:
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 of reserved apple juice concentrate

1. Add 2/3 of the concentrate to a sauce pot. Add dried onion, seasonings, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar. Simmer 3 minutes.

2. Combine the thickener ingredients together. Add to the apple glaze, stir and simmer for 4-5 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add 1-2 tsp. of water to thin it out.

When you are ready to cook the salmon, you can either cook the fish most of the way in the oven and add the glaze towards the end of the baking process, or you can glaze it once at the start and once more midway through. Whatever you feel like! We just glaze it once and that works fine for us. As always, just be careful not to over cook your fish.

Recipe by my mom

Why Hello There!

2012-01-20T08:56:00.003-06:00

Hello my wonderful blog readers! If you still check by this blog, well thank you. I have been gone for quite some time now. Life has been...a tad bit overwhelming. Not only have I been hiding from the good ol' blog, but I have also been not checking email or voice-mail for quite some time. My apologies for anyone that has been worried. I am here, I just felt the need to unplug from the world for a bit there while my life has in a flux.

The good news is I will be back very soon to resume posting and Recipe Sharing Monday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Take care all of my blog friends!

Secret Recipe Club - Orange Vinaigrette from The Tasty Cheapskate

2011-10-17T07:01:00.002-05:00

It is time for my favorite foodie event, the Secret Recipe Club!

Orange Vinaigrette over Romaine lettuce with orange slices and fresh mozzarella

The idea of it is you are assigned a fellow food blogger each month, it is kept a secret of course, and you go to their food blog and pick a recipe (or more) to make. On the assigned date, everyone posts their creations and you go and visit and see all the goodies that were made. Sort of like a secret Santa, right?

My host who is organizing my group is Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking. Thank you Tina for hosting!

My assignment for this month was The Tasty Cheapskate where Jeanie blogs about frugal food recipes. While I was sorely tempted to make her recipe for Chocolate Chip Brownies, I decided to go with a delicious citrus vinaigrette instead. (I'm still making the brownies, though!)

Here is Jeanie's recipe:

Orange Vinaigrette
Makes several servings

1/2 C sugar
1/3 C orange juice
1/2 C rice wine vinegar
1 C canola oil (olive would work too, but will add a distinct taste to your dressing; I liked the canola because it didn't get in the way of the orange)
2 Tbsp dry Italian dressing

1. Shake it up in a glass jar and let it stand for 30 minutes.

While I would have liked to add a few more veggies to my salad, I was out of stock so I kept it simple. The flavors in the vinaigrette are delicious and refreshing. Thank you Jeanie for a great recipe and a great alternative to the same ol' ranch dressing for this salad eater!

Source: Recipe from The Tasty Cheapskate

Quick Update

2011-10-10T07:44:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends -

I am taking the week off to catch up on life. I will have features from last week when I am back. Have a great Monday!

Recipe Sharing Monday #10 + Features!

2011-10-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! It is time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes.

Featured:

Jalapeno Popper Dip at Kristin's Knook

Mini Mint Chocolate Cupcakes at Aunt Nubby's Kitchen

Margherita Pizza at Cajunlicious

Spiced Apple Orchard Bread at The Cozy Little Kitchen

Stovetop Mac & Cheese at Cats and Casseroles

Tuxedo Cake at Brandy's Baking

Grilled Stuffed Burritos at Semi Homemade Mom

East 62st. Lemon Cake at Mangoes and Chutney

If you were featured and would like a button, it is in the right hand sidebar.

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My buttons are over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

How to be Featured:

I will be picking the features and sharing each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up.
By linking up to my party you are giving me permission to use a picture from your blog in a follow up feature post. I'll also be stumbling and pinning the featured posts to share the love.
When I go to select features, if I see you haven't linked up to me in some way, then unfortunately I won't feature your project. Please play fair and link up with either a text link or by using my button.

Barnyard Party!

2011-10-01T16:48:00.001-05:00

Recently my little munchkin turned 4 and we had a Barnyard themed party for her. It was small scale, and mostly on the cheap, but it was a lot of fun. I wanted to share a few pictures and ideas with you if you have a little animal loving kiddo like I do.

First off, the Piggy Rice Krispies Treats! I used strawberry marshmallows and followed the recipe on the bag to make the treats. I put them in a small pan, ours was a small rectangular dish, and let then sit for about 10 minutes to cool slightly. Turn them out onto a lightly sprayed baking sheet, cut into equal pieces. We got 6 large piggies out of one batch of rice krispies.

Mold them into a circle with your hand and use a knife to cut around the ears to make them more pronounced. Using a bit of frosting, attach M&M eyes, a pink strawberry nose (half of a strawberry marshmallow with the sticky cut end dipped into hot pink sugar), and strawberry wafer cookie ears. Ta-da! Wrap individual piggy treats in saran wrap or into a treat bag for a take home treat.

For decorations we got basic party balloons, blew them up, and attached construction paper cutouts to make them look like barnyard animals. They are sitting on top of a piece of construction paper that is taped to for a circular base, then cut into fringe pieces for the balloons to sit on top of. The exception being the duck because I thought it would be cute to set him ontop of water to simulate a pond.

For our menu we stuck to basic, tasty food. Pizza for the kids with creme filled cupcakes frosted with either vanilla or cherry frosting. For the adults, we had a hot artichoke & spinach dip and a cold veggie cheese dip which was amazing. Main dish was pulled pork with buns or the extra pizza from the kids dinners. We got a carrot cake from Costco (apricot mousse filling, yum!) decorated with frosting carrots to play into the theme.

For outfits we got some cheap little cowboy hats, denim jeans and overalls, and pretty plaid shirts.

It was a great party and we had tons of fun!

Recipe Sharing Monday #9 + Features!

2011-09-26T07:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! It is time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes.

Featured:

Cappucino Muffins with Espresso Vanilla Glaze at My Cozy Little Kitchen

Southern Biscuits by Cooking in the Maxwell House

St. Louis Ooey Gooey Butter Cake by A day in the life

Starbucks Gingerbread Bars by Living Rancho Delux

Corn Chowder with Roasted Jalapenos and Bacon at Inspired by eRecipeCards.com

Lemon Meringue Pie at Shopgirl

If you were featured and would like a button, it is in the right hand sidebar. The

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My buttons are over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

How to be Featured:

I will be picking the features and sharing each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up.
By linking up to my party you are giving me permission to use a picture from your blog in a follow up feature post. I'll also be stumbling and pinning the featured posts to share the love.
When I go to select features, if I see you haven't linked up to me in some way, then unfortunately I won't feature your project. Please play fair and link up with either a text link or by using my button.

Roasted Potato & Vegetable Potato Salad

2011-09-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

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If you are looking for a twist on the same ol' traditional potato salads, I have a tasty recipe for you to try. There is no mayo in this potato salad. Instead it is roasted with vegetables and mixed with a dressing of cider vinegar, oil and some optional Dijon mustard. Delicious! Ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Recipe Sharing Monday + Features!

2011-09-20T08:03:00.001-05:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! It is time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes. Normally we party every Monday, with the exception being on reveal days for The Secret Recipe Club which is once a month on a Monday. So that is why we are partying one day late.

Features:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Caramelized Onion and Steak French Bread Pizzas at Kristin's kNook

Butter Cookie Cheesecake at Flour Me with Love

Apple Streusel Muffins at Just Putzing Around the Kitchen

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes at Meg's Everyday Indulgence

If you were featured and would like a button, it is in the right hand sidebar.

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My buttons are over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

How to be Featured:

I will be picking the features and sharing each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up.
By linking up to my party you are giving me permission to use a picture from your blog in a follow up feature post. I'll also be stumbling and pinning the featured posts to share the love.
When I go to select features, if I see you haven't linked up to me in some way, then unfortunately I won't feature your project. Please play fair and link up with either a text link or by using my button.

Secret Recipe Club - Mississippi Mud Brownies

2011-09-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

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*Note* - Recipe Sharing Monday will be held tomorrow

It is time for my favorite foodie event, the Secret Recipe Club!

The idea of it is you are assigned a fellow food blogger each month, it is kept a secret of course, and you go to their food blog and pick a recipe (or more) to make. On the assigned date, everyone posts their creations and you go and visit and see all the goodies that were made. Sort of like a secret Santa, right?

My host who is organizing my group is Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking. Thank you Tina for hosting!

I came across this recipe while browsing my assigned blogger, Melanie at Fabulously Fun Food. This was a new blog to me so I had a fun time browsing through all of her archives for the perfect recipe to try. I had a few recipes in mind, like the Smothered Enchiladas or the Golden Macaroni and Cheese. When I saw the post for Mississippi Mud Cake I knew I'd found the one. It did not disappoint at all. It is super rich, gooey, sweet, chewy and delicious. After making these I have to say I think they are more brownies than cake, as they are very dense and rich. My little change was to rename them brownies instead of cake. :)

One thing I really appreciated about Fabulously Fun Food is that Melanie openly shares her experiences with good and bad recipes. At the same time, she isn't mean about it. Constructive criticism on how to improve the recipe is a great attribute. I have seem my fair share of food blogs that are outright mean and rude when a recipe doesn't turn out how they'd like. Often times, it isn't even the recipe at fault, it is all of the 'alterations' or mistakes the cook made. That is one of my pet peeves. I don't like it when bloggers are mean to each other. Can't we all get along? *wink*

Ahhmazing. Ready for the recipe?

As I tend to do with my Secret Recipe Club assignments, I went a little overboard with the amount of pictures. I don't think you will mind, though.

Notes:

I halved this recipe and baked it in an 8" x 8" glass baking dish that was liberally sprayed with baking spray (The kind with flour in the spray). Alternatively you can butter the dish and dust with cocoa powder.
The original recipe called for homemade chocolate frosting but I substituted premade frosting, which I don't mind at all. If you are anti-prepared frosting, feel free to make yours from scratch. The frosting recipe can be found here.
Originally the pecans are added to the cake batter, but I preferred to have them on top. Do whichever you prefer. They can be omitted if you have nut allergies in your family or if you just aren't a fan of nuts in baked goods. They do add a great flavor and crunch so I recommend adding them.

Mississippi Mud Brownies
Makes one 15" x 10" cake

1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 (10.5-ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
1 can prepared chocolate frosting (I used a milk chocolate frosting)

1. Whisk together melted butter and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in flour. Pour batter into a greased and floured 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan.

2. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; top warm cake evenly with marshmallows. Return to oven, and bake 5 minutes. (If you use a different size pan you will have to adjust cooking time. Just keep an eye on it and keep checking for doneness).

3. Remove cake from oven and cool completely. You can transfer the cake to thefridge once the pan is cooled enough. (Don't put a hot pan in a cold fridge).

4. When ready to serve, microwave the chocolate frosting for 30 seconds and stir. Spread the frosting over the cake, then garnish with chopped pecans. Using a sharp knife that has been sprayed lightly with Pam, cut into squares.

Source: Slightly adapted from Fabulously Fun Food and The All New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook

Sour Cherry Crumble Pie

2011-09-15T10:46:00.003-05:00

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If you aren't able to get your hands on fresh cherries, I have an alternative that uses a great quality canned cherry. This is not cherry pie filling, these are red tart cherries in water that are drained and cooked on the stove to create a deliciously sweet and tart filling. On top of the cherry pie is a crunchy and sweet crumble topping. Traditionally crumble toppings use brown sugar, but we like to use plain sugar for a twist. Ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Stuffed Burger Bundles - You will have to just trust me.

2011-09-13T11:15:00.001-05:00

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A few days ago on the Jam Hands facebook page I asked my fans if I should post a totally fugly but DELICIOUS recipe that my mom has been making forever.

Everybody said yes and that they trusted me, so here it is. I am doing something I normally never do, which is making the picture small because believe me, making it big to fill the screen is not going to help. Hehe.

So here is the scoop on the Stuffed Burger Bundles, which my family calls Burger Pods. Why pods? Well, they sort of look like alien pods and it was our way to poke fun at the ugly but so tasty dinner meal. This is my favorite meal that my mom makes and I hope that you will trust me. Ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Recipe Sharing Monday #7 + Features!

2011-09-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. I am still sick (boo!) so features this week will be shortened a bit. I am still pretty exhausted and have had a long day as I write this, so hopefully by next week I will be feeling a ton better and more present on the ol' blog.

Okay ladies and gentlemen, time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes.

Features:

Salsa Ranch Burgers and greens and chocolate

Eggplant Parmesan at The Culinary Enthusiast

Flank Steak Kabobs with Peanut Sauce at Rindy Mae

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies at Brandy's Baking

Brownie Ice Cream Cake at arts-fartsy mama

If you were featured and would like to grab a button, I made one just for ya.

On with the party!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My buttons are over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

How to be Featured:

I will be picking the features and sharing each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up.
By linking up to my party you are giving me permission to use a picture from your blog in a follow up feature post. I'll also be stumbling and pinning the featured posts to share the love.
When I go to select features, if I see you haven't linked up to me in some way, then unfortunately I won't feature your project. Please play fair and link up with either a text link or by using my button.

Parmesan Tomatoes

2011-09-08T08:28:00.001-05:00

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I haven't posted a ton of side dish vegetables recipes before but I thought it was time for a new addition. Parmesan Tomatoes are a very basic recipe for a tomato topped with a creamy Parmesan spread. It is very customizable, just use whatever seasoning you are in the mood for, such as Italian, Cajun, or garlic. We used a blend from Penzeys called Fox Point that had a mix of salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion and green peppercorns. Tasty and easy. Ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Pink Lemonade Pie

2011-09-06T09:42:00.000-05:00

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While Summer may be winding down, the weather certainly seems to be holding on with high temperatures. If you are in the mood for one last Summer treat, try this recipe for a refreshing Pink Lemonade Pie. It comes together quickly and requires a few hours in the fridge to chill, so plan ahead. Ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Recipe Sharing Monday #6 + Features!

2011-09-05T03:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everybody! I am recovering from a long road trip / relocation so I hope you will forgive me if I take a day or two off to rest. We had another fantastic week of submissions to Recipe Sharing Monday. Thank you so much for participating!

Okay ladies and gentlemen, time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes.

Features:

Black and White Cheesecake Squares at sixteenbeans

Shoepeg Corn Dip at My Heart's Desire

White Biscotti Cake Bars at Monster Mama

Meatball Subs at Just Putzing Around the Kitchen

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread at For Goodness Sake

Honey Garlic Meatballs at Meg's Everyday Indulgence

Lemon Crumb Muffins at The Big Green Bowl

Octopus Brownies at thesevenyearcottage

That's it! Aren't they all just wonderful?

If you were featured and would like to grab a button, I made one just for ya.

On with the party!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My buttons are over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

How to be Featured:

I will be picking the features and sharing each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up.
By linking up to my party you are giving me permission to use a picture from your blog in a follow up feature post. I'll also be stumbling and pinning the featured posts to share the love.
When I go to select features, if I see you haven't linked up to me in some way, then unfortunately I won't feature your project. Please play fair and link up with either a text link or by using my button.

Ali's Notepad - Sept. 2nd 2011 & The Fairy Hobmother!

2011-09-02T03:00:00.000-05:00

Woo, it's Friday! Time for me to feature YOUR awesome posts. Before we get to the goodies, a few bits of info I need to tell ya.

Today is my big moving day (day one of two) so I will be absent this weekend to answer emails or comments. I hope everybody has a wonderful long weekend with their loved ones.

This week The Appliances Online Fairy Hobmother visited my blog and granted me a wish by gifting me a gift card to Amazon to use on whatever I wanted. If you would like a chance to have visit you be sure to leave a comment on this post and they just might visit you too! I actually got each of my little kiddos a pillow pet with my gift card, along with a My Little Pony DVD. It was wonderful timing since my little girl is turning 4 this month (sniff). Thank you so much Fairy Hobmother!

Images are property of their respective websites.

These are some of the posts that I have bookmarked while I was randomly browsing my favorite food blogs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! If you would like to view my Pinterest board with pictures and links to of all of these projects, click here.

Starting from the top left and going clockwise:

Rainbow Jello Cake at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs
Black & White Cookies at With Sprinkles on Top
Root Beer Float Fudge at Shugary Sweets
Jello Pretzel Salad at The Girl Who Ate Everything
County Fair Onion Burgers at Patio Daddio BBQ
Applesauce Fruit Blends at Famil Feedbag
Honey Mustard Bacon Chicken Bites at Kayotic Kitchen
Sicilian Meatloaf at Once A Month Mom

If you were featured here today and would like to grab a featured button, it is in the right hand sidebar. Linking up to Friday Favorite Finds.

Cowboy Casserole

2011-08-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

Lisa at The Cutting Edge of Ordinary inspired me to make this dish after reading her hilariously titled post "Cowboy Casserole - looks like dog food - tastes delicious." I put my own twist on it to suit what I had in my pantry and in my freezer, but the basic idea is the same. It may not sound like much, but believe me, it is comforting and seriously delicious.

If you are anti canned soup, by all means, you can make homemade cream of mushroom soup at home. All you have to do is google a recipe. I for one have always liked them and I do not look down on anyone else who uses them. No food snobbery here! Okay, with that out of the way, are you ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Food Blogging & Negativity: Do you post recipes that you hate on your blog?

2011-08-30T11:10:00.007-05:00

Today I'm touching on a variety of topics dealing with food blogging, but the theme between them all is negativity.

First up, Bad recipes. They happen to the best of us. We make a recipe with the best intentions and it turns out to be a total flop. What is your next step?

Do you redo the recipe, hoping it will be better?
Do you post the recipe on your blog with a negative review? Is it constructive criticism or an out right attack to the blogger?
Does it make any difference if the recipe came from a food blogger as opposed to a food celebrity, like Paula Deen or Bobby Flay?
Is your first instinct to blame yourself or the recipe?

Secondly, negative opinions. You don't like the quality or type of ingredients used in a recipe. What do you do?

Do you take inspiration from their recipe and tweak it to fit your dietary standards?
Do you immediately dismiss it and move on?
Do you leave a comment informing the food blogger that they are using the wrong ingredients and as a whole their recipes stink?
Do you get on your blog and write a long rant about how anyone who ever cooks with ------ ingredients is a terrible cook and should be ashamed of themselves?

I used a cake mix. I must be
a horrible person

These are all questions I wonder about frequently while I am browsing other blogs. I try to keep my blog as uplifting and positive as possible. Even when I tell you all the things I hate about your blog, I try to do so in a hopefully light hearted way that is meant to be helpful and not snotty.

I don't come across very many hostile and mean spirited food bloggers, but they are for sure out there. Just like hostile and mean spirited comments, I don't get a ton but I know they are out there. The most frequent style of hostility that I personally come across is people who are food elitists.

Let me clarify one thing real quick. If you are not a fan of cake mixes or canned soups, that is just fine. There are from scratch alternatives for almost everything out there that is a convenience product. I am totally A-OK with the fact that you don't like them. What I am not A-OK with is when people rant on their blogs about how lazy, stupid and horrible people are who do use them.

The food bloggers who say (I'm paraphrasing but this is what I read) that anyone who EVER uses a cake mix is a lazy, fat, horrible cook. That using a can of cream of chicken soup is literally poisoning their children and they should have their kids taken away. I'm not exaggerating these remarks, I have run across quite a few of them the past few years. Does this kind of hostility and negativity bother anyone else?

Run for your life!
Ahhh, the horror!

I recently had a young woman who pinned one of my casserole recipes onto a Pinterest board that she had titled, "This is why you are fat." I was stunned, although I probably shouldn't have been. What is stunning to me is that someone has so much free time to be so negative and spiteful. (On Pinterest of all places, which is normally so fun and inspiring. She had literally created a board of all the things she hated. Hah!)

You and I don't eat the same? Hey, that is fine by me. I'll leave you alone, how about you leave me alone too? Keep on blog browsing and don't let the door hit your butt on the way out. What I don't get is pinning a bunch of random food blogs on Pinterest and leaving comments of, "GROSS!" "THIS IS DISGUSTING!" and the like. How awful and mean spirited is that?

All I can think is that this is a girl who has a lot of hate in her heart and she feels the need to lash out at people on the internet. It is kind of sad, but frankly it riled me up because how snotty and judgmental her comments were. We are all young bloggers at one point, and to see something like this when you are new can be a real buzz kill.

Back to the recipes, do you take the time to write up a post, take pictures, and type up the recipe when it was a dud? Do you name names, calling out the blogger who provided the recipe? Or do you just skip posting it and move on?

I am absolutely a skip posting it and move on kind of person. I don't think most food bloggers would ever intentionally post a bad recipe. I tend to question if I really followed the recipes closely, if I misread an ingredient amount, and scrutinize if it was my mistake that a recipe turned out bad. What about you?

For some reason I will admit that I am far more lenient and forgiving to food bloggers and their recipes than I am of the celebrity cooks out there. I am more likely to post a negative review on a Food Network recipe than I am to visit a blog and leave a comment. I am not saying that is right, but it is just the way I feel. I connect with fellow food bloggers and I feel a sense of solidarity between us all. I want to uplift others, not tear them down.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topics above. Do you get negative comments on your blog from food elitists? Or do you get blamed for a dud recipe even when it is clear the cook didn't follow your recipe closely? Please share in the comments.

Also - Inspired by eRecipecards did a thoughtful review of one of my recipes and my blog as a whole today. He poked a bit of fun at me and the things I hate about blogs. Check it out. See, I can take a joke when it is a good natured jab. :)

Recipe Sharing Monday #5 + Features!

2011-08-29T05:00:00.048-05:00

Happy Monday everybody! I was expecting to be in the process of a long road trip today, but my big move has been delayed a few days so you are stuck with me for a little longer.

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you will link up and tell your friends about Recipe Sharing Monday. I do always check to see if someone has linked back before I feature them, so if you would like to be featured, please link back and be sure that your button or text link is found easily. Okay enough of business, on with the party!

Okay ladies and gentlemen, time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes.

Since you are here to link up, I also wanted to let you know that I have a monthly themed link up that stays open all the time that you can submit to. The theme for August is Soup & Sandwiches. You can also click here to view the different monthly themes and be sure to link up there as well if you'd like.

Features:

Chicken Gyros at My Heart's Desire

Strawberry Champagne Chiller at Sweetology

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies at Moments of Twenty

Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salad at Cook Lisa Cook

Fresh Corn On the Cob Cupcakes at Purple Chocolat Home

Peach & Chicken Salad with Oriental Vinaigrette at Sumptuous Spoonfuls

Lemon Raspberry Tiramisu (Low in Sugar) at Sweet Sewn Stitches

Sour Cherry Pie with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Crumble at Oklahoma Peach Fuzz

If you were featured and would like to grab a button, I made one just for ya.

On with the party!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My buttons are over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

How to be Featured:

I will be picking the features and sharing each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up.
By linking up to my party you are giving me permission to use a picture from your blog in a follow up feature post. I'll also be stumbling and pinning the featured posts to share the love.
When I go to select features, if I see you haven't linked up to me in some way, then unfortunately I won't feature your project. Please play fair and link up with either a text link or by using my button.

Ali's Notepad - August 26th, 2011

2011-08-26T07:35:00.002-05:00

Woo, it's Friday! Time for me to feature YOUR awesome posts.

Before I forget, I wanted to let you know that there is still about 18 hours to submit posts to my weekly recipe party, Recipe Sharing Monday. Click here to visit all of the awesome entries and submit some of your own.

These are some of the posts that I have bookmarked while I was randomly browsing my favorite food blogs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! If you would like to view my Pinterest board with pictures and links to of all of these projects, click here.

Images are property of their respective websites.

Starting from the top left and going clockwise:

Lasagna Timpano at The Food in My Beard
Blueberry Banana Smoothie at Lovin' From the Oven
Triple Coconut Cake at Salad In A Jar
Trio of Homemade Bread Spreads at Honest Cooking
Gourmet Stuffed Pork Chops at Rich and Sweet
Skillet Cookie at One Ordinary Day
Cookies and Cream Cake at The Novice Chef
Italian Gorgonzola Bread at Sweetnicks

If you were featured here today and would like to grab a featured button, it is in the right hand sidebar. Linking up to Friday Favorite Finds.

Peanut Butter Cornflake Clusters

2011-08-24T05:00:00.003-05:00

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I've been on a mission to try to use up items from the pantry before I make the big move to Montana next week. I had a full box of unopened corn flakes that I wasn't sure what to do with. I knew I could use them for Cornflake Crusted Chicken, but I'd still have a ton leftover to deal with. When I came across this recipe at Sticky, Gooey, Cream, Chewy, which Susan called the 'Holycraptheseareamazing Cookies,' I knew I had hit the jackpot.

Basically what we are dealing with here is a chewy, delicious candy bar-esque dessert. The recipe makes a ton of cookies and it only has a few ingredients to boot. My family loved them and I bet your family will too. Ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Secret Recipe Club - Asparagus Gruyere Tart

2011-08-22T06:00:00.091-05:00

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It is time for my favorite foodie event, the Secret Recipe Club!

I came across the original recipe for this Asparagus Gruyere Tart from 'Chefanie Frasco' at The Chefanies while participating in a fun little foodie event, the Secret Recipe Club, which was created by Amanda at Amanda's Cookin'.

The idea of it is you are assigned a fellow food blogger each month, it is kept a secret of course, and you go to their food blog and pick a recipe (or more) to make. On the assigned date, everyone posts their creations and you go and visit and see all the goodies that were made. Sort of like a secret Santa, right?

My host who is organizing my group for this month is Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking. Thank you Tina for hosting!

The Chefanies is a combined blog of two ladies named Stephanie. In their words, "This blog is our spot to share our favorite recipes and the stories (and people) behind them. We try to use only organic, seasonal (in California terms) and fresh ingredients."

Right off the bat, I was impressed by their colorful banner for their blog title, contrasted to the clean and fresh white background of their website. It is orderly and clean, which is exactly what inspires most people to get in the kitchen and cook. As I browsed through their recipes, it was clear that The Chefanies value fresh, local produce. I considered quite a few recipes to make, including the Chopped Heirloom Salad with Spicy Ranch, Strawberry Feta Salad, and the World's Greatest Cheesecake. I happened to have half of a package of puff pastry ready to be used up and the Asparagus Gruyere Tart was calling to me, so off I went!

I made one substitution, which was the type of cheese I used. Ideally I would have loved to use Gruyere, but I ended up using a mix of fontina, Parmesan, provolone, asiago and mozzarella. Even though I had to use my second choice for the cheese, it turned out so delicious. This is a simple and delicious recipe for cheese and vegetable lovers alike. Ready for the recipe?

[Continue reading...]

Recipe Sharing Monday #4 + Features!

2011-08-21T07:26:00.005-05:00

Happy Sunday everybody! I am in countdown mode until my move to Montana next weekend. So much to do, so little energy. Since reveal day for The Secret Recipe Club is tomorrow morning, I'm gonna bump Recipe Sharing Monday to post today.

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you will link up and tell your friends about Recipe Sharing Monday. I do always check to see if someone has linked back before I feature them, so if you would like to be featured, please link back and be sure that your button or text link is found easily. Okay enough of business, on with the party!

Ali's Notepad - August 20th, 2011

2011-08-20T08:11:00.002-05:00

Woo, it's Saturday! Time for me to feature YOUR awesome posts.

I'm looking forward to Christmas and Thanksgiving, how about you? I can't stop daydreaming about all the fun recipes to try.

These are some of the posts that I have bookmarked while I was randomly browsing my favorite food blogs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! If you would like to view my Pinterest board with pictures and links to of all of these projects, click here.

Images are property of their respective websites.

Starting from the top left and going clockwise:

Candy Cane Blossoms at Baked Perfection
Santa Hat Cupcake at Created by Diane
Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies at Cookies & Cups
Pumpkin Pie French Toast at Closet Cooking
Praline Pumpkin Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting at Pinch My Salt
Apple Cider Caramels at Blondie's Cakes
Candy Cane Sugar Scrub at The Natural Beauty Workshop
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies at The Idea Room

If you were featured here today and would like to grab a featured button, it is in the right hand sidebar. Linking up to Friday Favorite Finds.