Sausage and Brew

 

This is another recipe that I adapted from Allrecipes.com as part of my assignment as a brand ambassador. I found this recipe called Beef and Brew and tweaked it to work with Johnsonville smoked sausage. I mentioned this fun assignment yesterday in this post *here*. I used the same sausage to make the egg rolls in that post!

Smoked Sausage Egg Rolls

**Click Here For Recipe**

I thought I would try a unique spin on the average Chinese egg roll by using smoked sausage instead of ground pork! I was very happy with the results! These egg rolls are just as good as traditional egg rolls but are easier and less expensive to make! These are baked egg rolls, so they are healthier also!

Skinny Pop Popcorn

I am totally in love with this snack!!! I buy it whenever I see it and I eat it just about everyday! I even bring it with me to the movies because I like it better than movie theatre popcorn! I never thought I would like ANY popcorn better than movie theatre popcorn! This popcorn has the unique flavor of movie theatre popcorn without all the fake butter and heavy salt!

The fact that it is lower in fat and calories...and cholesterol free, is just a bonus!

I was not compensated in any way for my opinion of this product! This is just something I wanted to share with my readers!

Runa Tea

This just might be your cup of tea!!!

 It was for my darling husband!

I received 2 free samples of their citrus-ginger guayusa tea, for focused energy, and was eager to try it out on him.

 He just LOVES a good cup of herbal tea! And let me tell you, he's tried just about every brand there is on the market!

So being the good wife that I am, I brewed this up for him!
And here is his review...

 "This tea had a very clean, smooth and subtle flavor."

 "Not over-powering and no bitter aftertaste, with a nice hint of ginger."

"One of the better teas I've had so far."

"Now they just have to make a lemon-ginger flavor."

Thank you so much Runa for the samples!

My husband is a very happy customer!

Here is a little bit of info about this execptional herbal tea...

We produce GUAYUSA (gwhy-you-sa), a natural, delicious source of energy and nutrition from the Amazon, provides clear and focused energy - what the native Kichwa people call “mental strength and courage.” A caffeinated leaf native to Ecuador, guayusa contains an exceptional balance of caffeine, antioxidants, vitamins and amino acids for your whole body and mind.

Check out their Facebook page to see what else they're brewing up these days!

Runa on Facebook



Fiesta Chicken Casserole

**Click Here For Recipe**

Look at that big, beautiful, serving of a flaky, salsa coated biscuit, topped with cooked chicken, green peppers and cheddar cheese. Plus another topping of sour cream and more salsa! This was dinner last night, with a side salad. A very hearty, satisfying meal! And very easy to make! Check out the recipe!

This recipe is another one of 3 recipes I made for the Brand Ambassdor Program through Allrecipes.com Allstars. I mentioned the other 2 recipes I made in earlier posts this week.

I had fun trying these Pillsbury Grands biscuit recipes! I've always loved their product, but I never knew there could be so many ways to incorporate these biscuits into so many delicious meals! Go to this Allrecipes.com page to see more recipes like these!

Biscuit Taco Cups

*Click Here This Recipe*

This is another recipe I tried from the Pillsbury company as part of my Brand Ambassador assignment through Allrecipes.com Allstars. This is chili in a biscuit bread bowl! How smart is that? 

I used my own *chili recipe here* .

It worked nicely to fill all 8 biscuit bowls! These bowls are a nice size...one per person. I served this with a salad and dinner was complete!

This was so delicious and so much fun to make and serve! Who wouldn't want to eat chili out of a buttermilk biscuit bread bowl! Try saying that 3 times, fast! You really can't go wrong whenever you use Pillsbury refrigerator biscuits! They are perfect every time...and I love cracking open the cardboard container!

Check out their Facebook page **here** for more great recipes! And stay tuned to my blog for more recipes that I'll be making with Pillsbury biscuits!

                            

                                                                   



Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Casserole

This was a whole lot of creamy, chicken and biscuit yumminess!!! I made this as part of my activities as a Brand Ambassador for Allrecipes.com. This month one of the sponsers is Pillsbury. They were generous enough to send all of the Ambassadors free coupons for their Grands Buttermilk Biscuits so that we could try some of their recipes and give them our feedback...no pun intended! One of the recipes I chose to make was this one.

Me and my family were very happy with this recipe...look how lovely it turned out! The biscuits are all golden and fluffy! I doubled the recipe and there was still NO LEFTOVERS!!! That large casserole dish only served 5 of us!

My family requested that I make this more often!

I'll be making a few more recipes using Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits in the very near future...probably this week! So stay tuned for those results!

My McCormick Spice Video Debut!

 

I first mentioned my McCormick video in this blog post called "My 15 Minutes of Fame". 

I Love These Beverage Dispensers!!!

                                                   
I just received this one yesterday as a free gift in a giveaway from this blog site...Dine and Dish...you can read about it there! It's a fun blogsite written by a freelance writer and mother named Kristen! She's also a very talented photographer...her food photos always make me drool! Check out her blog for lots of great recipes and giveaways! 

This is a very nice dispenser because it's glass and holds 1.6 gallons! It's from OverStock.com and you can get it at a very reasonable price!

When my 2 girls were young, I would fill these kinds of dispensers with lemonade for their 'Lemonade Stand'! They would sit outside selling lemonade for HOURS!!! They made some pretty good money too! 

Now I think I'll be getting lots of use out of this for my new favorite drink...Smooth Sweet Tea! Check it out in this post I did recently...'Seis de Mayo'...or maybe I can fill it with my favorite homemade cocktail...'Red Apple Martinis'!

Thank you so much Kristen, from Dine and Dish!
I know I'll be getting lots of use out of my prize!

Eggies

I thought this product seemed like a good idea...until I tried it!

I Can't Believe I Made It!!!

I never realized how easy it is to make homemade ice cream!!! So why doesn't everyone make their own? Is it because they don't know how easy it is? Do I have the only ice cream machine that makes it this easy? I can't believe that all I had to do was mix a few common ingredients into a bowl and then add it to my ice cream maker! Then I just turned on the switch and 20 minutes later I had this delicious, cold, creamy creation!

This is my new ice cream machine that I won in a Facebook giveaway. This is such a great invention.

There is only one flaw with this machine. The manufacturer should have made it so that the ice cream machine cannot be opened until the ice cream is done being made! I kept eating scoops of fresh made ice cream through the opening in the top. Not a good idea if you want to share this ice cream with your family.

Three Tasty and Easy Recipes!



Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage
Caesar Salad Recipe
**Click Here**

I love these kinds of recipes because I can make a large meal for my family in a snap! That's what I did with these 3 recipes!

An Amazing Oppurtunity!!!

I recently found out that I was selected to go on a trip to Seattle to be in a cooking video for the McCormick spice company! They are launching a new line of spice packets. I was sent this very generous selection, as seen above. Plus two bottles of their specialty spice blends.

Unique Snacks

I love finding new and intertesting snacks to munch on! Well, I came across 2 fun ones this week and I'm hooked on them already! One of them is store bought and one is an easy homemade treat! This first one I found at Trader Joe's market...I love that store!

These are so crunchy! Kind of like a cheese doodle but with a snap pea flavor!  They're low in sodium and fat! They have lots of fiber! So, this is a much better choice than chips! Guilt free snacking...I love it!

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This next snack is not as healthy! I found this recipe through a fellow foodie named Caroline Ann Savage. She posted this recipe on Allrecipes.com and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it! Its salty, spicy hot and sweet, all in one crunchy bite! I couldn't stop eating these! They're called Firecrackers!

 I made them using 'Andy Capp Hot Fries', you'll find them in the potato chip isle. I coated them in white chocolate! And then to make them even more spicy, I sprinkle them with cayenne pepper! Caroline's original recipe called for 'Flamin Hot Cheetos', but I couldn't find them, so I used the hot fries! Here's the link to the original recipe...Firecracker Recipe - click here

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Super Quick & Easy Candy



Chocolate Cherry Porcupines

Ingredients;
Dried Cherries - Benjamin Twiggs Dried Red Cherries
Dark Chocolate-melted-Olive & Sinclair
Shredded Coconut

I made another candy using the ingredients from the Foodzie Tasting Box that I showed you in this post...'It Pays to Be Good'... This is really good!  I love dried cherries and I love coconut...and who doesn't love chocolate! All I did was dip the dried cherries into melted dark chocolate and coated them in shredded coconut! Then I put them in the fridge to set! This is one of those candies that you just can't stop eating! I call them Chocolate Cherry Porcupines! My foodie friends gave me the idea for the name!

It Pays To Be Good...

              ...to your friends! Today I received a nice surprise in my mailbox! It was a Foodzie Tasting Box! I was given this gift through the Cooking Channel Cookie Swap Contest! I didn't enter that contest, but my food friend (Wendy Rusch) did! She asked her friends to vote for her 2 cookie entries, everyday, until the contest was over. I did just that! And about a week ago I received an email from the Cooking Channel that said my name was picked from the list of voters, and that I will be receiving my gift shortly! I never even considered this during all the times I was voting for her cookie recipes!  I guess 'one good turn deserves another'! Here is my Foodzie Tasting Box. To see a larger view just click on the photo.

This box contains Saigon Cinnamon, Dried Cherries, Dark Chocolate Almond Brittle, Hazelnut Butter, Hard Red Winter Wheat Flour, 67% Dark Chocolate Bar and Recipe Cards for these ingredients!

 If you would like more info on Foodzie, check out this link                      http://foodzie.com/how-it-works/

       Thank you so much Cooking Channel and Foodzie!

I decided to try a recipe that came with my Foodzie package! The recipe caught my eye because it sounded very unique! It's called Sponge Candy. The reason it's called that is because it looks like a sponge, as you can see in my photo. But it is definitely not soft like a sponge! This candy is very crunchy, chewy and sticky!

This candy is not for people with delicate dental work! The flavor is like peanut brittle without the peanuts!

Sponge Candy

Ingredients;

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 tbls. distilled white vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbls. pure vanilla extract

1 tbls. baking soda

3 oz. dark chocolate - optional

 Directions;

Liberally grease a 10-inch round spring form cake pan with vegetable oil. Trace the bottom of the pan on a piece of parchment paper. Line the bottom of the pan with the parchment paper circle. Line the sides of the pan with a parchment paper so that the parchment paper creates a collar that sits 1 to 2-inches above the pan. Liberally grease the parchment paper.

In a deep medium saucepan add sugar, corn syrup, vinegar, salt and vanilla. Over medium-high heat bring the mixture to a boil (without stirring) and cook until hard crack stage, i.e. until temperature reads 300 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. This should take about 10 minutes. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan during the cooking process, brush the sides of the pan with a clean pastry brush dipped in water.

Remove from heat. Working quickly, add the baking soda and quickly blend to incorporate the soda into the sugar mixture, about 5 seconds. The mixture will bubble up when you add the baking soda. Be very careful not to touch the hot mixture.

Immediately pour the hot toffee into the prepared pan.
Let cool and set completely before touching.
Cut into pieces. It will makes a huge mess, but the messy little crumbs can be saved for your ice cream! You can stop here if you like or you can take it to the next level by melting the chocolate and drizzling it over the sponge candy pieces.