Ooops.....

Oh no!! My computer crashed!!!. Isn't that the worst thing that could possibly happen to a blogger? Well, it has happened to me:-(

It may be unfortunate for me but it is going to benefit you:-) I am going to extend my Red Gold Tomato giveaway until the end of the day tomorrow!! That gives you 24 more hours to sign up and win that great Red Gold Tomato package. So, don't miss out! Head on back to my Friday post and comment and follow and stalk to your heart's content:-)

And don't forget to bear with me this week. I am blogging with one computer tied behind my back.

Friday Foto Fun with Red Gold Tomatoes

Remember last year, when I got all that really cool stuff from Red Gold Tomatoes? Well, they have outdone themselves this year. Check it out:

In a large Red Gold can, the following was enclosed:

• 3 cans of delicious Red Gold Tomatoes.
  
• A limited edition recreation of a Red Gold Tomatoes semi-truck.
  
• A recipe book.
  
• A recipe pamphlet.
  
• A coaster
  
• A refrigorator magnet.
  
• A bag clip.
  
• A reusuable grocery bag.

Whew!! That's a lot of stuff!!! I am so fortunate to receive all these wonderful treats from Red Gold Tomatoes. Truly blessed, am I:-)

And because I love you so much, one of my loyal readers will receive a package identical to this one!!! That's right...A Susie's Homemade Giveaway!!!

It's so easy to win. You just have to do one or all of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post (get's you 1 entry).

2. Follow Susie's Homemade Blog (current followers and new followers gets 2 entries).

3. Friend me on Facebook (current friends and new friends gets 2 entries).

4. Follow my Tweets (current followers and new followers gets 2 entries).

5. Join my brand NEW Community (current members and new members get 3 entries).

6. Tweet about my giveaway gets you 4 entries.

7. Blog about my giveaway gets you 5 entries.

Good luck to all! You have until Sunday at midnight. I will reveal the winner on my regular Monday post:-)

Survial Seeds

I was recently introduced to the term "survival seeds" by a new site called Hometown Seeds. The idea is that if you have a stockpile of seeds, you will always have enough food to feed your family in the event of a crisis. Now, I am not quite as alarmist as that but I do like the idea of having the means to have a full garden for years to come. And for a new gardener, it is a great way to have a variety of things to try in your climate and soil. So, check them out and see what you can grow in your garden this year:-)

Disclaimer: Hometown Seeds is providing me with seed packets as a thank-you for this feature and some ad space. No other compensation was provided and the information and opinions are solely my own.

FNCCC Week 24

My Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom is going to be more like Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-).

I am also playing along with I Blame My Mother on her The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week the chef of choice is Melissa d'Arabian. I am doing her North African Meatballs. I posted the recipe on Monday and here is what it looked like:



The Verdict: It was delicious!! I ended up making the whole meal that she presented on that show and ALL the flavors were really good together. My younger daughter ate them up and my husband said that it would be really good as the stuffing in stuffed peppers. A winner all around!!

Tackling Yet Another Cake

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . Well, it doesn't look the greatest but it was soooooo good!!

Chocolate cake with Martha's Peanut butter frosting. Yummo!!

North African Meatballs

I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners and putting them together with great recipes:-)

This is the week filled with activity for my youngest daughter. In recognition of her 6th birthday, at school she is going to reign as Student of the Week. I will be doing a presentation in the classroom about her, chaperoning a field trip to see a play, and volunteering in the classroom three times. This is in addition to picking up Girl Scout cookies and a doctor's appointment. It's all good so, I should survive:-)

It's a good thing Pick N Save is helping me out with my menu planning. They have ground beef on sale again for $1.99/lb. (normally $2.93/lb.) !! That helps because...

In addition, I am still playing along with I Blame My Mother on The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week, the chef of choice is Melissa d'Arabian. I am making her North African Meatballs. Check out the recipe below and come back Wednesday for a picture and our review:-)

Here is everything that I am serving this week:

Sunday: North African Meatballs (Come back Wednesday for a picture and my review)

Monday: Spaghetti(Cleaning Day/Classroom Presentation)

Tuesday: Leftovers (Pick up Girl Scout Cookies)

Wednesday: Tomato Basil Chicken (Doctor's Appointment)

Thursday: Honey Dijon Pork Loin Roast (Field Trip)

Friday: Eat Out (Volunteering 3 times:-)

North African Meatballs
Ingredients:
For the North African Sauce:
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, zested
1/2 cup pitted and chopped briny olives
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
1 (14-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 tsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
pinch ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Meatballs:
1 egg
2 Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
pinch ground cinnamon
3/4 lb ground beef
1/3 cup finely ground rolled oats or fine bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 Tbs vegetable oil, for cooking
4 Tbs chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
1. To make the North African Sauce:

2. In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and olives and cook for 1 more minute. Add the white wine, deglaze the pan, and let it reduce for a 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, canned tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon, and simmer to blend flavors, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

3. To make the Meatballs: In a medium bowl, add the egg and tomato paste and stir until smooth. Add the cilantro, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon and mix until well blended. Stir in the ground beef and oats, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and combine gently after each addition. Do not overmix. Rolling with your hands, make about 32 meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter.

4. In a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat, and brown the meatballs in batches until golden on all sides. Add more oil, as needed. Transfer the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and let simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley

Servings: 4

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (8 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. 8 of the recipe's ingredients were not linked. These ingredients are not included in the recipe nutrition data.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 566.77
Calories From Fat (59%) 337.08
% Daily Value
Total Fat 37.34g 57%
Saturated Fat 9.32g 47%
Cholesterol 116.66mg 39%
Sodium 213.71mg 9%
Potassium 757.65mg 22%
Total Carbohydrates 34.84g 12%
Fiber 6.71g 27%
Sugar 5.17g
Protein 21.82g 44%

Recipe Type: Beef, Main Course

Source
Author: Melissa d'Arabian
Source: The Food Network
Web Page: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/north-african-meatballs-recipe/index.html

Menu Cost: $6.38 ($5.44 on sale)
Serving Cost: $1.60 ($1.36 on sale)

Also, check me out over at At Work, At Play or At Home All Day talking about girlie stuff:-)

I Am a Wisconsin Foodie

I was honored to be asked to talk about our wonderful state over at Blog Trotting. Since I am a foodie, I thought that I would write about the wonderful food that Wisconsin has to offer. There is the obvious: cheese and beer but beyond that, there are many culinary excursions to be had in the Badger state:-)

First and foremost, I am proud to say that Milwaukee is the birthplace of the Iron Cupcake Challenges. These challenges function very much like it's Food Network namesake. An ingredient or theme is announced. The competitors go home and create their best intrepretation in cupcake form and bring them to challenge other like-minded cupcake enthusiasts. The public votes and a winner is declared. The prizes are fun but really, the goal is good cupcaking. There are now 11 franchises (some across the ocean) that host similiar events. I love partipating in these challenges and here is my ode to Milwaukee's lakeside Calatrava in cupcake form:

Beyone the cupcake world, there is much more to celebrate here. On any given Friday, in any given town in Wisconsin, there is Friday Night Fish Fry. Just like every regional delicacies, there are a lot of different recipes and takes on them but the basics include: Fish (cod, perch, walleye) that is breaded and deep fried with tartar sauce on the side, coleslaw, french fries and rye bread. Yummo!! My favorite is Serb Hall on Milwaukee's South Side but ask any Wisconsinite and they can tell you where to find theirs.

The Wisconsin State Fair would not be complete without one of their cream puffs!! Delicatable!!

Door County has cherries and cranberries are grown all over the state. My favorite is the Warren's Cranberry Festival . I go by their every September on the way up to Eau Claire to get my daughter.

And finally, on your way to Green Bay to watch the Packers, stop in Sheboygan for a big juicy bratwurst! It is the quintesential Wisconsin experience!!

So, as you can see, we love our food here in Wisconsin! We are much more than Cheeseheads:-)

Sowing Seeds

This week, I started sowing my onion seeds.


I am hoping to get 18 viable plants. Wish me luck:-)

FNCCC Week 23

My Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom is going to be more like Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-).

I am also playing along with Life as a Mom on her Ultimate Recipe Challenge and I Blame My Mother on her The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week the chef of choice is Mario Batali. I am doing his Stuffed Onions. I posted the recipe on Monday and here is what it looked like:



The Verdict: I thought that they were very yummy but my husband thought is was missing something. The directions weren't clear as to when you clean out the onions. Next time, I will clean them out a little bit more because we all thought that they were too thick.

Tackling Bacon Cupcakes

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . This week, I tackled another Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Challenge and this month, the star was bacon. I made Mock Rumaki Cupakes:

Mock Rumaki Cupcakes
Cupcake Ball instead of Chicken Liver
Almond in Place of Water Chestnuts and
Bacon is Playing Itself

UPDATE: These little mock appetizers were the hit of room and I won the celebrity pick! Yeah me:-)

Stuffed Onions

I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners and putting them together with great recipes:-)

I am beyond busy this week. I have an Iron Cupcake Challenge, 4 doctors' appointment, a PTO meeting and volunteering twice. I will let you know when I come up for air!!

It's a good thing Pick N Save is helping me out with my menu planning. They have ground beef on sale again for $1.79/lb. (normally $2.93/lb.) !! That helps because...

In addition, I am still playing along with I Blame My Mother on The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week, the chef of choice is Mario Batali. I am making his Stuffed Onions. Check out the recipe below and come back Wednesday for a picture and our review:-)

Here is everything that I am serving this week:

Monday: Stuffed Onions (Come back Wednesday for a picture and my review)(Cleaning Day/Iron Cupcake Challenge)

Tuesday: Leftovers (PTO Meeting/Doctor's Appointment)

Wednesday: Chicken and Rice (Doctor's Appointment/Volunteering)

Thursday: Shrimp Al Fredo (2 Doctors' Appointments)

Friday: Eat Out (Volunteering)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/stuffed-onions-cipolle-ripiene-recipe/index.html

Menu Cost: $7.75 ($6.61 on sale)
Serving Cost: $0.97 ($0.83 on sale)

Also, check me out over at At Work, At Play or At Home All Day talking about girlie stuff:-)

Friday Foto Fun with Favors

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun and Friday Followers! Last week, we celebrated my youngest's golden 6th birthday. We had a great time at Chuck E. Cheese and devouring that cake! I also sent the kids home with these favor bags:

Aren't they cute and cheap!! Favors for 20 kids for under $10!!! Check it out:

20 plan lunch bags: $0.53
20 pencils: $1.06
20 small toys: $3.17
100 stickers: $2.11
20 sheets of light-weight card stock: $1.06
Total Cost for 20 favor bags: $7.93

And so easy:

1. Have your child help label each bag with his/her guests' names. Fill bags with the pencils, toys and stickers.

2. Use light weight card stock trimmed with scallop scissors to form a 7 X4 inch rectangle to make the toppers.

3. Fold the rectangle in half length-wise and decorate with anything you have on hand (I used a Happy Birthday stamp and some gold glitter glue).

4. Place the topper over the top of the bag and secure in place with a couple staples.

AND on top of everything, it only took about an hour to put together. What could be better than that?

No Gardening Today

I spent too much time moving this around:

FNCCC Week 22

My Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom is going to be more like Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-).

I am also playing along with Life as a Mom on her Ultimate Recipe Challenge and I Blame My Mother on her The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week the chef of choice is Jamie Oliver. I am doing his Spicy Pork Ribs. I posted the recipe on Monday and here is what it looked like:

The Verdict: We liked the flavors but we prefer the low and slow cooking method.

Tackling a Birthday Cake

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . This week, I tackled a birthday cake for my 6-year-old.

It was her golden birthday so we did it up! We had a party for her entire class (21 kids!!) at Chuck E. Cheese. She wanted a princess cake that wasn't a Barbie Doll cake. So here is my deconstructed princess:

The top is the crown:


And the bottom is her skirt with lace in the front and ruffles in the back:

She absolutely loved it and I think it turned out pretty well. What do you think?

Spicy Pork Ribs

I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners and putting them together with great recipes:-)

Is it March yet? I am still up to my gills in stuff to do. I have a Girl Scout Service Area Meeting, volunteering twice and a doctor appointment. And, I have yet another party this weekend! So seriously, March???

It's a good thing Pick N Save is helping me out with my menu planning. They have pork ribs on sale for $3.99/lb.!! That helps because...

In addition, I am still playing along with I Blame My Mother on The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week, the chef of choice is Jamie Oliver. I am making his Spicy Pork Ribs. Check out the recipe below and come back Wednesday for a picture and our review:-)

Here is everything that I am serving this week:

Monday: Spicy Pork Ribs (Come back Wednesday for a picture and my review)(Cleaning Day)

Tuesday: Chicken and Pasta (Girl Scout Area Service Meeting)

Wednesday: Leftovers (Doctor Appointment and Volunteering)

Thursday: Special Fried Rice

Friday: Eat Out (Volunteering)

Spicy Pork Ribs
Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 fresh red chillies
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
4 Tbs olive oil
3 rack pork belly ribs
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 Tbs honey

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/gas 4). Pound the garlic cloves with the spices to make the spicy marinade, then add the olive oil. Cover all the pork with the marinade, then place in a roasting tray, cover with foil, and cook for 20 minutes.

2. Mix the orange and lime juice and zest with the honey. Remove the pork from the oven take off the foil and brush the meat with the honey mix. Continue to cook at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C/gas 5) for about 25 minutes, basting occasionally.

Servings: 12

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/12 of a recipe (5.1 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 238.56
Calories From Fat (63%) 149.58
% Daily Value
Total Fat 16.49g 25%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 40.5mg 14%
Sodium 42.26mg 2%
Potassium 260.27mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 13.73g 5%
Fiber 1.19g 5%
Sugar 4.69g
Protein 9.9g 20%

Recipe Type: Main Course, Pork

Source
Author: Jamie Oliver
Source: The Food Network
Web Page: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/spicy-pork-ribs-recipe/index.html

Menu Cost: $16.49 ($13.49 on sale)
Serving Cost: $1.37 ($ 1.12 on sale)

Also, check me out over at At Work, At Play or At Home All Day talking about girlie stuff:-)

Friday Foto Fun with Valentines Cookies

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun!

How do you make yummy Valentine's for 25 kids for under $10?

25 sugar cookies: $6.12

25 heart bags $1.06

25 cards $2.11

Valentines for 25 kids= $9.29

And, they look like this:



Now, that's a bargain!

Indoor Garden Clean Up

I was all ready to do my sowing when I realized, I had a giant mess in my indoor garden that I needed to clean up before I could get started. Here is what it looked like before:

After some purging and pruning, this is what I came up with:

Now, I have some more room in which to work! Not a lot..but some:-)

FNCCC Week 21

My Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom is going to be more like Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-).

I am also playing along with Life as a Mom on her Ultimate Recipe Challenge andI Blame My Mother on her The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week, the chef of choice is Ingrid Hoffman. I am doing her Snowball Potatoes. I posted the recipe on Monday and here is what it looked like:


The Verdict: I didn't have all the right ingredients for this recipe so, they were kind of bland however, I can see where she is going with this. You could season these up a thousand different ways. You could do oregano and Tzatziki sauce for Greek, herb d provence and brie for French or cumin and pepper jack for Mexican. The possibilities are endless! AND, they would be great dippers for a Super Bowl party!!

Tackling Valentines Cupcakes

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . This week, I made some Valentines cupcakes for a Daisy meeting tonight. Here is how they turned out:

They are just yellow cupcakes with homemade pink buttercream frosting.

I had some embellishments leftover from my youngest's birthday cake (tune in next week for pictures of that!).

The septor is for one of my little Daisies who is allergic to dairy (can you imagine...me...with a Daisy who can't eat cupcakes???)

Snowball Potatoes

I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners and putting them together with great recipes:-)

Back to being busy again. Let's see, I have a Daisy Meeting, volunteering twice and a PTO meeting. And, I have to put the finishing touches on my youngest's golden birthday party on Sunday. So, I am swamped!!

It's a good thing Pick N Save is helping me out with my menu planning. They have 5 lbs. of potatoes for $0.98!! That helps because...

In addition, I am still playing along with I Blame My Mother on The Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge (FNCCC). This week, the chef of choice is Ingrid Hoffman. It was kind of hard to find a recipe to make because she has got a lot of bad reviews out there. After my failure last week, I am playing it safe by making her Snowball Potatoes. Check out the recipe below and come back Wednesday for a picture and our review:-)

Here is everything that I am serving this week:

Monday: Meatloaf with Snowball Potatoes (Come back Wednesday for a picture and my review)(Cleaning Day)

Tuesday: Leftovers (Daisy Meeting)

Wednesday: Chicken and Pasta (Volunteering)

Thursday: Special Fried Rice (PTO Meeting and Volunteering)

Friday: Eat Out

Snowball Potatoes
Ingredients:
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled
1 Tbs salt
2 oz Oaxaca or any other soft white cheese, cubed
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Put potatoes in a large pot and fill with water until potatoes are just covered. Add the 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are very soft, about 40 minutes.

3. Press potatoes through a potato ricer or pulse in a bowl with an immersion hand blender until they are mashed. Let sit for a few minutes until just cool enough to handle.

4. Cut the white cheese in 1/2-inch cubes.

5. Prepare a baking sheet with foil wrap and coat with vegetable spray or rub with oil.

6. Put bread crumbs in a small bowl.

7. While mashed potatoes are still warm, form into 2-inch balls and insert 1 cheese cube in center, then roll into bread crumbs and place on cookie sheet. Wash hands and dry after every third ball so the potatoes will form evenly and not stick to the bread crumbs in your hand. Quantity should make about 10 balls.

8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, serve immediately.

Servings: 6

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 minute
Inactive Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 28 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/6 of a recipe (4 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe's ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 182.6
Calories From Fat (12%) 22.41
% Daily Value
Total Fat 2.6g 4%
Saturated Fat 1.23g 6%
Cholesterol 6.25mg 2%
Sodium 1578.37mg 66%
Potassium 616.38mg 18%
Total Carbohydrates 33.29g 11%
Fiber 2.31g 9%
Sugar 1.25g
Protein 7.12g 14%

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Source
Author: Ingrid Hoffman
Source: The Food Network
Web Page: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ingrid-hoffmann/snowball-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Menu Cost: $1.99 ($1.69 on sale)
Serving Cost: $0.33 ($0.28 on sale)

Also, check me out over at At Work, At Play or At Home All Day talking about girlie stuff:-)