Thursday, May 20, 2010

Did someone say chocolate?

So, I was blog hopping the other day and stumbled upon a seriously good looking recipe. Tonight my hubby and I made it and it's soooooo good that I'm going to share it. These 5 little words are going to make your mouth water and send you into the kitchen to make these little babies......Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. Need I say more? I found the recipe here; http://www.smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/ . Here is a copy of the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles (makes about 5 1/2 dozen)
(Taste of Home)

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 bar chocolate candy coating

Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternating with the sweetened condensed milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.

In a microwave-safe bowl melt your candy coating following package directions. Take out your cookie dough mixture and roll into 1 inch balls. Dip balls into coating, drip off excess and let dry on a sheet of waxed paper, about 15 minutes.

Don't forget to wash it down with an extremely large glass of MILK. These little things pack a huge sweetness. My hubby was only able to eat one and that's saying something.

Enjoy your Truffles!
~Tabitha~

Abundant Market

Starting the second Friday in June Tuscola will be holding their Second Annual Abundant Market.  They will feature; "locally grown produce, flowers, baked goods, locally produced art, quality collectibles, crafts, and more." They also may be adding entertainment and some of the downtown shops may extend their hours for those evenings.

When: The second and fourth Fridays from June-September from 4pm-8pm

Where: Downtown Tuscola at the Festival Plaza across from Dollar General

If interested in becoming a vendor the fee is $10 and it goes to the featured charity or organization of that day.

I can't wait to see what's there!

Happy Marketing!
~Tabitha~

Garage Sales

Garage Sale season is finally upon us. Now if it would only quit raining for a while so we can get out and enjoy them. The classified section is pretty much the only section I read in the paper but, as I was scanning the rest something stood out. There is going to be the first ever Garage Sale Trail held locally. The towns participating are; Tuscola, Arcola, Arthur, and Sullivan. All of these towns will be holding their town wide rummage sales from Thursday, June 10th- Saturday, June 12th. So, grab some friends, bring your Minivans, SUVs, or a flat bed truck (for the true garage sale queen) and hit up these local communities for some awesome treasures. I know I'm not going to miss it.

Happy Hunting!
~Tabitha~

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Mother's Day Gift

I wanted to personalize our Mother's Day gifts this year. All of our moms like flowers so, I bought 3 sets of terra cotta pots with their plates. Then, lil man helped me pick out beautiful flowers. He chose Impatiens. Then, we picked out some paint. Of course that weekend had to be freezing cold and super windy so, these gifts truly were a labor of LOVE! Here's the finished product.

First, paint your pot and base. I chose white because it goes with everything. You can get as creative as you want. I applied 4 coats. Then, comes the hard part. I painted lil man's hands and put them on the pots. They definitely aren't perfect but, I think that's what makes them special. After the handprints dry spray them with a clear coat paint sealer. After all of that then we planted the flowers and gave them a good watering. We had my husband's family over for Mother's Day and we used them as the centerpiece on the table during lunch. I think they turned out super cute.

Happy Crafting,
~Tabitha~

What's for Dinner?

I don't know about anyone else but, I get tired and bored with making the same ol' things for dinner. So, every once in a while I come across a new and exciting recipe that I just have to try. I came across one of those yesterday and as luck would have it I had all of the ingredients.



Santa Fe Chicken
(Taste of Home, Busy Family Cookbook p130)

1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter (or 1 Tbsp EVOO extra virgin olive oil)
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1 cup uncooked long grain rice (brown rice)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or mexican cheese blend)
chopped fresh cilantro, optional

In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Add broth and salsa; bring to a boil. Stir in rice and garlic powder. Place chicken over rice; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn chicken; cook 10-15 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Serves 4. Total time less than 30 minutes.

I added a couple of substitutions in parenthesis to make this dish a little more figure friendly. This is a very versatile recipe. If you leave out the chicken this makes excellent mexican rice that you could serve as a side dish. Another variation would be cutting the chicken into smaller pieces and then serving this on tortillas with a dollop of sour cream. Yum! Corn is a good side dish to serve with this. The corn makes the salsa taste sweeter. The best thing about this recipe is I only had to dirty ONE skillet. Less dishes for me!!

If you're like me and want to try new dishes head on over to your local library and check out some cookbooks or look online. I have a few links on my homepage that have wonderful recipes. Give them a try.

Happy Cooking
~Tabitha~

Monday, May 17, 2010

What's for Dinner?

It may look like plain ol' spaghetti but, it's nooooot! It's Spaghetti Squash and meat sauce. I got the recipe and fabulous idea from http://www.makeit-loveit.com/. Hers looked sooo good that I just had to try it.
Here's what the squash looks like after baking. You just dig it out with a fork and it looks like spaghetti noodles. It got an A+ from my family and added it to our menu. The hardest part was trying to cut the squash in half to bake it. If anyone has any suggestions or tips on how to make this easier I'd be glad to hear them.