Ice Cream Cake...2 Ways!

Buying store bought ice cream cakes can be so very expensive...and you can't always get the flavors you want! So I decided a few years ago to learn how to make it myself...not the ice cream part! That I still buy, but I will be making that myself soon also!

 Here I will show you 2 ways to make ice cream cakes! One way is so simple and only takes minutes. The other way is slightly harder and needs to be prepared a few days in advance. But either way, you'll save lots of money and you can customize the flavors in so many ways!

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Easy Oven Smoked Steak! No Wood Chips Needed!

There's nothing more satisfying than the taste of freshly barbecued steak on a grill. But sometimes it's just not convenient to barbecue outdoors! Well here's a recipe for those days when you cannot use your outdoor grill. Its easy! No wood chips involved!  Just steak plus 5 simple ingredients! And it tastes like you grilled it! I've made this many times! Serve with some potatoes and a green veg of your choice...it's that easy! This recipe was posted on the Internet by a cook named Annieamie. The photo is my own.


A Sandwich That Will Knock Your Socks Off!

My yummy sandwich!

I just tried this recipe called, 'Roasted Parmesan Tomato Sandwich'...it was my lunch yesterday and it was simply delicious...'simple' being the key to the fresh flavors of this sandwich! While I was devouring...and I mean DEVOURING this sandwich, I felt like I was transported to a quaint little sidewalk cafe in Italy! I've never been to Italy but I just know they must serve food like this all the time at those sidewalk cafes!

Soft Pretzel Bites...2 Ways! Stuffed and Sweet!

I am so hooked on this new recipe I just tried!!! I've been wanting to make my own pretzels for years, but I kept putting it off because I thought it would never work out for me! Then a few days ago I saw this recipe a food friend named Bill Wentz posted on Facebook! This recipe was the easiest I've seen for soft pretzels!!! It's just 5 ingredients! You just mix everything together and then knead, shape, dip and bake for 10 minutes! The hardest part for me was shaping the pretzels! Here's a picture of my first attempt at pretzel shaping.......

First attempt!
I know these look bad!!!
But they tasted great!

These are coated with cinnamon and brown sugar!

Homemade Lo Mein! It's So Easy!

This recipe tastes JUST like the Lo Mein I get from my favorite Chinese restaurant...but better, because I can add only the vegetables we like! In my photo I show this recipe plain, with just some chopped chives on top, but I have made it many times since then and have added chicken, bean sprouts, yellow and green onion and sometimes water chestnuts! It all depends on who I'm making it for and what they like! I make this recipe often, especially when I'm craving Chinese food! Go ahead and try it...I know you'll love it!

The original recipe is from a cooking site, posted by a member known as Yomomma. I tweaked it slightly to suit my family's tastes! I'm posting the recipe with the changes I made!

Lo Mein

A Great Giveaway!!!

Click on photo to enlarge

As I mentioned in this blog post, My 15 Minutes of Fame! I will be giving away a bunch (18 packs) of McCormick Gourmet Seasoning Mixes *click here* to see the selection! But I never imagined how many spice packets the McCormick people would send!

Quinoa Burgers!

I found this recipe on a blog called 
'Eating Well, Living Thin-er' by Linda F. It caught my eye because I love quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) and I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it! It's basically a veggie burger...but it tastes delicious! Most veggie burgers aren't very tasty and the texture is usually too chunky. This quinoa burger is none of those things!

An Italian Style Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

I love hot lunches! I'll heat up leftovers before I'll eat a cold lunch! But when there aren't any leftovers I'll make myself this tasty hot sandwich! I love this because it's quick and delicious! And it's kind of healthy too! Well, except for the butter and cheese...but it does have some veggies in there!

This grilled cheese sandwich reminds me of one of my favorite appetizers...antipasto! So that's what I named my recipe! I hope you like it as much as I do!



Antipasto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Easy Creamy Mac n' Cheesy

I've tried sooooo many mac n' cheese recipes! I've tried some with onions...some with dry mustard...some with cottage cheese! I finally decided to mix and match different recipes until I got exactly what I wanted in a mac n' cheese dish!

 I wanted something super creamy and cheesy but with lots of flavor! This is what I came up with...it's now my 'go to' mac n' cheese recipe because it works perfectly every time! I never have a problem with clumps or dryness! And I love the slight flavor of the mustard! You can add breadcrumbs on top and bake it til browned, if you like a crunchy crust! I don't, because I like my mac n' cheese to be totally creamy!

Meatloaf Muffins!

Lots of my food friends have been making these cute little meatloaf muffins, so I decided to give it a try! You know what? I think I'll make my meatloaf like this from now on because it's so much easier to make and serve in these individual muffin shapes! And I just love the fact that the mashed potatoes are ontop of each meatloaf. I poured brown gravy over the mashed potatoes just before serving! My family loved these! You can use your favorite meatloaf and mashed potato recipe. Below is the meatloaf recipe I used.

Meatloaf Muffins

My Favorite Cocktail - Homemade!

Red Apple Martini

I just love Red Apple Martinis!!! It's so hard to find a bartender that really knows how to make one correctly!

 Well, a few years ago I was out to lunch with my husband at this cute little seaside restaurant...it was a very casual place! The kind of place that you just drive up to in your boat! Flip flops and a T-shirt is the usual attire!

We walked in and sat down at the bar.

Do You Love Almond Joy Candy Bars?

Almond Joy Cake Mix Cookies

Well, if you do, you'll absolutely LOVE these cake mix cookies! They're so VERY easy to make...20 minutes from start to finish! And they really taste like Almond Joy candy bars!

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 Exciting Birthday Bash!

I recently found out that I, along with 150 other AllRecipes.com Allstar Brand Ambassadors, are invited to an all expense paid birthday celebration for the AllRecipes website! The website will be 15 years old in July! We are all being flown to Seattle for this fun filled, 2 day, birthday party!

My 15 Mintues of Fame!

Well, it will really only be 5 minutes of fame after the video is edited...lol!

 I was recently asked to film a McCormick Gourmet Seasoning Mixes video! It's one of their new products, soon to be released nation wide this spring and summer! 

Go Bold with Butter!

This month in the Allrecipes.com Allstar Brand Ambassador Program we're promoting the 'Go Bold with Butter'  campaign to support the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board in partnership with America’s Dairy Farmers! Check out their page for delicious recipes! I tried their 'French Toast with Honey Butter' recipe and it was HEAVENLY!!! The best french toast I ever had! And I just wanted to eat the honey butter by the spoonful! The honey butter would also be yummy on so many other foods...I want to try it on baked sweet potatoes next time! This is a great recipe to serve if you want to impress your guests! It tastes very fancy, but it is so easy to make! Here's my photo of the finished dish...

*Click Here for 'French Toast with Honey Butter' Recipe*

 The recipe makes about 12-16 pieces, so cut the recipe down if you want to make less!

I ate 4 pieces...YUM!!!

 I've loved butter as far back as I can remember! As a child, (3-4 years old) I can remember chomping away on sticks of butter! I would always get about 2 mouthfuls before my Mom would notice and take it away! Around that same time I also remember rubbing butter on my nails to make them shiny...lol! I guess I had a butter fetish! These days I have to be more careful about my butter consumption...everything in moderation! But it's always butter for me...never margarine!

Who Says You Can't Eat Your Cake and Have it Too?

Well, with this giveaway you can because I'm giving you not one, not two, but three free boxes of Entenmann's Mini Cakes and Muffin Tops!

Lots a Wasa!

I recently received a large amount of Wasa crackers in the mail! I won them in a blog giveaway through a blogger named Becky from

An Improvised Appy...

I needed another appetizer to serve to my guests for Easter! I had mini mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes, pesto, garlic and white bread, so I decided to make these cute little Insalata Caprese Bites! My guests really loved them! I think I'll make them more often!

Insalata Caprese Bites

Just Wanted to Share...

My Seattle trip was so much fun! The Allrecipes staff really showed us a great time! It was first class all the way,  from