It’s all gravy baby

November 30, 2011 Kim

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of for . All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you have this little brown bottle in your kitchen?

My Grandma does, and she’ll tell you it’s a must for making good gravy. However, isn’t just for gravy. I had no idea how awesome this stuff was! There are so many other uses, such as, locking in flavor and juices on grilled meats, fish and vegetables; caramelizing veggies and other foods, as well as being used in marinades and sauces.

Not only does it have a multitude of uses – but it’s vegan and kosher! Check out the ingredients . So don’t be afraid to use it in your every day meals to add flavor and color, and with the holiday season in full swing, there are many, many opportunities to use to !

For example, this recipe for sounds so good….

(Photo from )

Ingredients

1/2 cup Dijon-style mustard
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed to measure
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon GravyMaster®
1 fully cooked ham (about 12 pounds)

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine mustard, vinegar, sugar, honey, oil, soy sauce, dry mustard and GravyMaster®.
Simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Place ham in open shallow roasting pan. Bake at 325° F. until meat thermometer registers 140° F., allowing about 15 minutes per pound.
Remove ham from oven 30 minutes before end of baking time.
Remove any rind.
Trim and smooth fat.
Score deeply in a diamond pattern.
Brush ham with glaze; return to oven.
Bake 30 minutes, brushing several times during baking with remaining glaze.
Serve immediately with remaining glaze, heated, on the side. Makes about 16 servings.

Yep, I need one of those little brown bottles in my kitchen. ASAP!

What do you want to make with ?! Have you used it before? Let’s eat! We have until New Year’s (when I’ll make all kinds of resolutions to diet and exercise!)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

November 29, 2011 Kim

Well, Thanksgiving is over. Done. You may not have finished up the leftovers, but it’s full steam ahead to Christmas baby! One thing on my holiday “to do” list is Christmas cards. Every year I wait until the LAST. MINUTE. Why do I do this to myself? It causes undo stress, that is so unneeded this time of year! I love to send and receive cards, so I don’t know why I procrastinate so much. Well, NOT THIS YEAR!!! This year I have discovered Tiny Prints. You really need to head on over there and check out the selection of cards….it is awesome! I wanted to browse through everything they had to offer, but if that’s not your thang, no sweat – the site is very user friendly and has filters on the left side of the page to help you narrow your search. There is something for everyone. You want a single photo card? Multiple photos? No photos? Tri-fold? From your pet? What ever it is, they have it!

I have 26 sitting in my favorites right now (that’s another feature the site has – you can select your favorites as you are browsing, then go back through your selection to narrow it down). I’m still working on the narrowing down part! There are so many I like!

polka dots!

stripes!

monograms!

multiple photos…

or single?!

I’m in love with the round ones! They’re ornaments!
Sheer Collage Christmas Cards
but the tri-folds are pretty cool too!

Decisions, decisions!

Would you rather your cards feature your fur-babies?

Yep, they have those too.

I had the best time looking at all the options! Of course, now comes the hard part…..deciding on just one! I’ve also seen some very cute ways to display cards this year…so I can’t wait to start getting them. The more I send, the more I’ll get – just another reason not to wait too long to get them ordered and in the mail!

You also need to check out their sweepstakes! A grand prize winner will receive a trip to Jamaica for a family of four!! There will also be daily drawings to receive 50 free holiday cards and address labels! Merry Christmas my peeps!

Disclaimer – I will receive 50 free holiday cards in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

November 23, 2011 Kim

Last year I brought you Thanksgiving greetings from Mr. Tom Turkey-

This year I’d like to introduce you to….

Mrs. Tom and Baby Tom 🙂

Have a wonderful holiday wherever you are and remember all that you have to be truly thankful for. My life has been full of many blessings and what a wonderful time to share with family and give thanks!

Holla at’cha on the flip side.

What I’m Making Today (oh my)

November 23, 2011 Kim

Today is going to be super busy, getting everything ready for the big day. I’ve got my stretchy pants all ready to go, along with a big baggy shirt to hide the bulge. Yep, always thinking ahead.

Even though my mom is doing a majority of the cooking, I’ve decided on a few things that I’m going to ~~attempt~~ make. The fact that I’ve waited to do it all in one day may not be so smart…

On my to do list –

Brown-Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Shortbread Crust from

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls from

*I’m hoping I can halve this recipe and make the dough in my bread machine

but make as cupcakes, with a kiss in the middle like this –

and I want to add coffee in the place of the water.

I haven’t decided on the frosting yet.

These will be for my Mom’s birthday!!

because I still have apples left and for whatever reason I decided to buy a HUGE bag of cranberries from Sam’s Club yesterday. Expect some cranberry recipes in the future! And feel free to pass along your faves.

and I almost forgot! I’m going to try these

Homemade Thin Mints (Low Carb and Gluten Free) from

Thin Mints used to be my hubs favorite cookie pre-diabetes, so I’ve had this bookmarked to try for him!

Okay. I’m feelin’ just a tad stressed now.

What are y’all up to?!

Harvest Blessing Mix

November 22, 2011November 19, 2015 Kim

I mentioned this mix last year, but I think it’s so cute! It makes great little gifts – put in a baggie with the meaning of the ingredients attached! My son brought it home from pre-school a few years ago & we have made it ever since.

Harvest Blessing Mix

Bugles – represents a cornucopia…horn of plenty

Pretzels – represents arms folded in thanks and prayer

Candy Corn – During the first winter, the pilgrims were each allowed 5 kernels of corn per day b/c food was so scarce.

Raisins – Thanksgiving is the celebration of the harvest

Sunflower seeds – Seeds represent the potential of a bountiful harvest for the next season, if they are planted and well tended.

Chocolate chips – What’s a mix without chocolate?

My 10 year old makes dinner

November 21, 2011 Kim

I know everyone else is posting about awesome Thanksgiving recipes, but I thought this was the perfect time to post something quick and easy. If you’ve got lots of cooking to get done, a fridge full of thawing Turkey, baked ham, etc., the last thing you want to worry about is a complicated, time consuming dinner to get on the table these few nights before the big Turkey Day- and we all know – the kids’ still gotta eat!

This dinner is very kid friendly. In fact, my 10 year old made it all by herself! And she was quite proud 🙂

Start with refrigerated pizza crust (or if you’re really on top of things, a homemade pizza dough) – spread it out to a rectangle shape of desired thickness (you will not want this very thick). Sprinkle your favorite cheese all over the crust (leaving about a 1/2 inch from the edge). We used Parmesan and mozzarella. Then top the cheese with pepperoni. (We use turkey pepperoni.) Then roll it up from the long side.

Add some parmesan, oregano, basil on top if desired.

Bake according to directions on pizza crust.

Slice your pizza roll and serve with pizza sauce!

My kids loved this, and my daughter loved that she was able to make dinner. (It was a nice break for me too!) She served this with sliced oranges and a salad.

And my most favorite pictures of all….

Future blogger 😉

She had to take pics before anyone could eat!

(do not pay attention to the rest of the house in the background. It is was a disaster! I know, you just looked didn’t you?!)

How Pinteresting – Thanksgiving Edition

November 18, 2011 Kim

So y’all know I’m in love with , but if you’re not into it (how?!) or don’t follow me (why?! – just kidding) I thought I would highlight some of my favorite Thanksgiving pins! (if you need an invite, let me know)

4-Layer Sweet Potato & Ginger Layer Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Filling, Candied Pecans and Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Buttercream – Holy Moly

Such a cute table setting

Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie

Cranberry Apple Drunkin Dressing

Anything with ‘drunkin’ in the title has my vote.

Brown-Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate-Shortbread Crust

*I think I’m making this for Thanksgiving

Pumpkin Pie Crumble – who can resist a good crumble topping?!

And for the kiddos....

Tee Pee Cupcakes – too cute

I’ve made these before. They were easy and cute, will probably do them again with an egg free cookie recipe!

cuteness, and you know how much I like a rice krispie treat!

These are also fun and easy. When we made them, we used a yellow M&M; for the buckle.

another version of the Oreo turkey - preschool party?

Another variation of the turkey oreo cookie

And last but not least – my post from yesterday –

The sugar cone cornucopia!

Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix and Thanksgiving craft

November 17, 2011 Kim

strikes again! I saw these adorable sugar cone cornucopias from and thought they would be perfect for my son’s ‘Thanksgiving Feast’ at preschool.

I love them! All you need are regular old sugar cone ice cream cones (I just bought the Food Lion brand). You steam the cones until they soften, then bend the ends to look like a cornucopia. They harden back up as soon as they cool, and then you can fill them with whatever you like. My first attempt was to steam them over a pot of boiling water. That didn’t work for me….I needed more steam!

Thankfully, I have this handy, dandy steamer (that cooks brown rice perfectly). It worked great. I was able to put 4 cones in the steamer at one time, and after a couple of minutes, they were ready!

I filled mine with Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix (recipe follows)

and put each one in a sandwich bag (the cheap ones with the flap…just cut the flap so it doesn’t look skeezy), then tied them with some cute ribbon I already had. (I think it came from the dollar bin at Target last year!) I thought the end result was quite adorable.

I had Chex cereal left over from my Halloween Buddies, so decided on another mix.

I adapted the mix from .

Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup butter (I use Smart Balance 50/50 blend)

2 t. vanilla

2 cups Corn Chex cereal

2 cups Wheat Chex cereal

2 cups Rice Chex cereal

1 cup Pumpkin Spice Mallows

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup candy corn

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; set aside. In small microwave safe dish, microwave butter on high about 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in vanilla. In large microwavable bowl, mix all cereals. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir until coated. Microwave uncovered on high 5 minutes or until mixture begins to brown – stirring every minute. Spread on wax paper or cookie sheet to cool. Once cooled, mix in marshmallows and candy corn.

Now I’m that mom at preschool 😀

Just call me Martha, bitches.

I’m kidding.

Chicken Salad and Apple Cheddar Quick Bread

November 16, 2011 Kim

My mom makes THE best chicken salad. No recipe, just throw it all together, and it always tastes great. I, however, have not mastered chicken salad and need very explicit instructions to make any that’s edible. So, when I came across this recipe on , I decided to give it a go. It’s not my mom’s, but it’s pretty darn good.

Quick Chicken Salad slightly adapted from

3 cups diced cooked chicken
2/3 cup Smart Balance mayonnaise
1 cup red grapes, halved
1 green onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 cup diced apple
salt and pepper, to taste
pecans (optional)

In a bowl, combine the chicken, mayo, grapes, green onion, celery, apple, salt and pepper. Combine until well blended. Serve on rolls, bread, croissants; sprinkled with pecans.

Or serve it up with a nice thick slab of this yummy apple and cheddar bread. Holla.

Apple and Cheddar Quick Bread from

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 cup milk + 2 T.
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
2 T. brown sugar
1 cup finely diced apple
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

3 T. cheddar cheese grated – for topping

Preheat oven to 400 G. Prep your 8×4 loaf pan* by lightly greasing it with butter and then use a mixture of cornmeal and flour to dust the insides with – about a spoonful of each. Shake out any excess and set aside.

In medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk everything together. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the milk, oil, egg, and brown sugar until well blended. Pour in the diced apples and stir in the flour mixture. Add in the cheese in 3 handfuls – stirring between each addition. Dump the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top of the bread and cook for abt 10 minutes longer until the cheese melts and the bread is cooked all the way through.

*If your loaf pan is larger, reduce the baking time by 10-15 minutes. (I used a 9×5 loaf)

The crust on this bread was amazing. Tender, flaky, buttery…yum!

I’m linking up today with – , , , , , , , , ,

‘Tis the Season – Guest Post from Sweet Treats & Good Eats!

November 15, 2011 Kim

Most of us are gearing up for the holiday season by making lists, shopping, and planning all the wonderful goodies we are going to cook and eat, bake and eat, give and eat, and of course, receive….and eat. (I see a pattern here. This explains the 10 lb weight gain from last holiday season.)

However, today’s guest blogger is showing us what the season is really all about….

*********************

Hello Everyone! My name is Jesseca, and you can find me over at !

I am so excited to be here! I have some great things going on over on my site this Holiday Season, and Kim is so great for letting me talk on her blog today to get the word out!

Every year around this time, I give out SIX stockings packed full of fun things! It’s always so much fun to organize, and help make your Holiday’s a little more special. This year, however, I decided to do things a little differently!

The winner of the last stocking is going to receive a $100 gift card to !

Entry is a little bit different. There are hundreds of needy families out there, especially around the holidays. The simple act of donating a toy is enough to brighten someone’s spirit! So, as your entry, I’m asking that you send a new, unopened toy to me, that I can deliver to a local children’s hospital by December 9^th. The toys that are donated will be going towards the families that need them the most. I am really hoping that we can pull together, and help out as much as possible. I couldn’t think of a better charity to work with!

I’ve been provided a list of the items in need of most, so use this as a guide line:

Disney DVD’s. (Preferably princess movies)

Action figures (Hero’s, no villains)

Baby toys that light up or make sound

Fuzzy posters

Polly Pockets

And Star Stackers

Now these are just guide lines. I know that money is tight for a lot of us this year, but think how easy it is to pick up an extra item while out doing your Christmas shopping, and quickly drop it in the mail. Or, better yet, snatch up some of those cheap online deals going on right now, and take advantage of free shipping!

Don’t think that I’m leaving you empty handed! Once you’ve shipped out your items, you can head over to my site, and fill out the entry form! Just by filling out the form, that guarantees you one entry to the Amazon gift card giveaway! Upon receiving your item, you will be given TEN bonus entries to the giveaway of your choice! You can split them up between the other stockings, or put them all towards just one! That’s just my little thank you for helping out!

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Ship a toy or other item to:

Jesseca Hallows

P.O. Box 282
Kaysville, Ut 84037

For bonus entry options, visit my site

One last thing before I go, I am also looking for people that will be available to help me transfer the items to the hospital on December 9^th. If you are in the Davis County area, and think you’d be able to help out, send me an email, . Thanks again, Kim for letting me take over your site for a bit! Hopefully we can all pull together and make a difference!