Happy Halloween

Friday Foto Fun with Kitty Cats

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun. Here is my youngest in all her Halloween glory:

Tell me she isn't the cutest kitty!!

Here she is getting into character:-)

She is all set for Trick or Treating!

Passing on Gardening for TV Again!!

Ok...I have no gardening today but...I am going to be on TV...AGAIN.

A local series called Wisconsin Foodie is doing a piece on Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee this Sunday before the pregame. So, if you are in the Milwaukee area, tune in to Channel 58 at 10:30. I will be the one with the Lemonade Cupcakes who is sweating a lot. (It was filmed in August and it was like 500 degrees in there!) And for you outside the area, I will post the video as soon as I have it:-)

I know, I know. I am a press whore but I can't help it! I swear this is the last thing I have in the hopper for a while:-)

Werewolf Cupcakes

This week, I tackled Werewolf Cupcakes for a neighborhood Halloween party:

Happy Halloween:-)

Keftedes: Greek Meatballs

Here, I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners .

This week is a little bit slower outside the house however, my youngest is home two days for teacher convention. So, it will be a little bit busier inside the house. You know I love Pick N Save! They have ground beef on sale for $1.99/lb. (normally $2.93/lb.). I picked up a bunch because...
I am playing along with I Blame My Mother on The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week the chef of choice is Cat Cora. I am making her Keftedes: Greek Meatballs. The recipe was for 12 but I scaled it down for 6. Come back on Wednesday when I post a picture and our review. Check out the recipe below:-)

Here is everything that I am serving this week:
Monday: Semi-Homemade Spaghetti

Tuesday: Keftedes: Greek Meatballs: check out a picture and my review on Wednesday

Wednesday: Leftovers (Fall Harvest Party at School)

Thursday: Fish and French Fries

Friday: Eat Out (Night Out at a Comedy Club)

Keftedes: Greek Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 1/2 slices white bread with crust
1/2 cup milk
1 lb ground beef
1/2 yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 11/16 Tbs finely chopped oregano
1 finely chopped tablespoons mint
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 eggs beaten
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 cup olive oil
Flour, for dusting
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pita Bread
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup seeded and small-diced cucumber
1 1/2 cloves minced garlic
Salt

Directions:
1. Dunk bread quickly in milk and press the liquid out to dampen the bread.

2. Combine the beef, bread, onion, garlic, oregano, mint, vinegar, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Take a large spoon of the mixture and roll into a ball until all the mixture has been rolled.

3. In a saute pan, add the olive oil and bring it to 360-degrees F for frying. Dust the balls in flour and add to the oil. Brown on all sides, leaving room in the pan to roll them around. Pull from the pan and drain on paper towels.

4. Serve with pita and cucumber yogurt sauce.

5. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Servings: 6

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/6 of a recipe (7.6 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. 3 of the recipe's ingredients were not linked. These ingredients are not included in the recipe nutrition data.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 517.81
Calories From Fat (49%) 253.18
% Daily Value
Total Fat 27.97g 43%
Saturated Fat 8.7g 44%
Cholesterol 96.03mg 32%
Sodium 303.47mg 13%
Potassium 689.8mg 20%
Total Carbohydrates 44.46g 15%
Fiber 4.58g 18%
Sugar 5.73g
Protein 24.57g 49%

Recipe Type: Beef, Main Course

Source
Author: Cat Cora
Source: The Food Network
Web Page: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cat-cora/keftedes-greek-meatballs-recipe/index.html

Recipe Cost: $6.94 ($6.00 on sale)
Serving Cost: $1.16 ($1.00 on sale)

And the Winner Is...

Heidi at Sacred and Profane trusted me with the Friday Freebie this week!

The Prize? Susie's Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.

The Winner?

Lisa @ Stop and Smell The Chocolates

How appropriate!!

Thanks to everyone who participated! I welcome all the new friends that I have made. I hope you all come back for me sugary fun over here:-)

Friday Foto Fun with a Giveaway

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun and Heidi over a Sacred and Profane bestowed me the honor of doing the Friday Freebie this week:-)

Now, I don't have much in value to giveaway but, I do still have my Cookie Dough Balls.

These are gorgeous little candies made from cookie dough (minus the egg so they are safe), rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. I used to sell them in my Chocolate Shop on Etsy but I have moved on to greener pastures. However, I still have a few tricks under my sleeve and they can be yours for a song...

Or a comment...or a follow...or a facebook...or a twitter...or however ever else you show your love:-)

And like all the other Friday Freebies , I will announce the winner on Sunday. Happy blogging:-)

Indoor Garden Clean Up

My indoor garden was getting a little out of hand:

What a mess!!

So, I did some housekeeping and this is what it looks like now:

AND...just in time for holiday cooking...the triumphant return of my herb garden:

I used my Thyme in a recipe earlier in the week:-)

The Raven Cupcakes

This week I tackled the Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Literary Challenge. We were suppose to interprete a book, or a character or a plot in cupcake form. I chose Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. May I present: Raven Cupcakes:

They are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting decorated to with The Raven.

Friday Foto Fun with Halloween Decorations

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-)

The triumphant return of my Mom's Halloween Kitties:-)
She has even been taking them to BINGO for good luck
(they haven't worked:-).

Harvested Lettuce

Today, some of the lettuce that I planted in my indoor garden on September 16th.

Not a bad haul, right?

Antipasto Platter

This weekend, I had training for leading my daughter's Daisy troop. So, my husband had to spear head the dinner party we were hosting. I had no idea what he is making until I got home. Since his menu was Italian, I thought that I should throw an antipasto platter together and this is what I came up with:

Two kinds of cheese, olives, pickles and grapes (can you believe I still had grapes on my vines?) Pretty good for just off the cuff right?

The Pumpkin Fairy

 This was left on our doorstop.


What am I going to do with these?

Welcome Back to the Jungle

It's getting cold out there so, I had to bring all my plants inside. Every year, my husband sings along with Guns N' Roses to "Welcome to the Jungle".

You are welcome for putting that song in your head again this year:-)

Daisy Cupcakes

My youngest expressed interest in scouting which, as a former girl scout, thrilled me to death. So much so, I found myself volunteering to co-lead her troop with another mom. I am very excited about this and so is my daughter. I ironed all of her thingies on to her vest and she is sharp and ready to go.

And of course, I volunteered to bring the first snack. What is more appropriate for our first meeting than Daisy Cupcakes? Check em out:

Not my best work but I think the girls will like them:-)

Friday Foto Fun with an Award

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-) Last week, Katie at My Net Finds gave me this award:

She is such a sweetie and is a very loyal blogger herself. I am so bad at passing this kind of stuff on and with my cold running ramped, I will pass this to all my loyal readers. (I know that is a bloggie cop out but, that's all I got today.)

Thank you to all my dedicated followers and welcome to new readers. I hope you will continue to stop by and see the silly things that I have going on here:-)

Digging Milwaukee Magazine

I am sick as a dog so, no gardening this week however...

I am totally digging this month's Milwaukee Magazine ! Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee is being featured and I am even quoted in the article!! Check it out:-)