November Thankfuls

So I'm aware that we should be thankful EVERY day, but does anyone else do the November Thankfuls? I do because while I am thankful every day for various things, one month allows us, or me anyway, to really sit down and think about something we're thankful for every day. Something specific. I compiled everything into my list so here goes! Forgive me as some are materialistic but hey, it happens! lol

Day 1: Thankful for being able to enjoy a good day with my family!

Day 2: Thankful I woke up this morning. It was a rough one but at least one person didn't wake up today.... I'm glad I had another day to see my family, hug and kiss my son, talk with friends and just breathe....

Day 3: Thankful for all of our service men and women home and overseas. They are no longer forced to fight for this country but they willingly signed up and do so anyway. We may not be the greatest country anymore (unfortunately) but at least we still have wonderful people willing to fight for what's left.

Day 4: I'm thankful for fake mofo's! They make it easier to appreciate the REAL friends one has. Never take for granted the real people in your life, the ones who won't run and tell your shit in a backwards manner and if they do repeat what you said, at least they have the decency to GET IT RIGHT!

Day 5: Thankful that I get to be a SAHM for now. It's trying at times but I love it because that means I get more time with my baby and I can do things at the school with him and FOR him. I love being able to do things for him and his friends! Just ordered stuff for goody bags for his classmates! I may have outdone myself but their Halloween bags were pathetic.....Gotta make up for it somehow!

Day 6: You know. I should be thankful everyday for various reasons. I am happy I woke up this morning. I'm happy my son is alive and well and my father too but today I'm having a real hard time being thankful for one particular thing. Seriously. I guess today, in particular, I’m thankful for the time I spend alone. It makes me realize just how independent my mother raised me to be and shows me that I can do things on my own even if I don't want to. I'm a strong independent woman even when I feel like breaking and giving up.

Day 7: So thankful for such an amazing pastor! No matter what he's doing (unless he's helping someone at the time), he'll drop it or come to you ASAP if you're in need or just want to talk. He'll pray with you anytime day or night, in person or on the phone. I called to let him know about the time change with dad's surgery and he prayed with me over the phone for save travels for all tomorrow as well as a safe surgery. He truly is an awesome pastor and person in general!

Day 8: Thankful for the wonderful staff at Trident, the amazing lady who transported dad today to and from the hospital and the wonderful staff at UniHealth. Without all of these individuals dad would not have had such a successful surgery today. He is doing very well. No more kidney stone. No more stint.

Day 9: Thankful for a man who CAN cook and is willing to occasionally. If it weren't for Tony tonight I'm not sure we'd be having dinner tonight. lol. It would be leftovers or pantry grab because honestly all I want to do is go to bed. Waiting on dinner then probably heading to bed. Thank you baby - Antonio

Day 10: I do have the tendency to complain about this house at times, and with good reason, but I am truly thankful for my warm bed tonight which I am heading to now!

Day 11: Thankful for Keegan. He can be an attitudinal pain sometimes but I love him just the same and tucking him in at night and saying our bedtime prayers is amazing.

Day 12: Thankful for my stove even if the oven is being wonky! I just baked 13 dozen (plus a couple extra for taste testing) mini cupcakes and they're all yummy! Icing will come tomorrow. Any takers? For icing them, not eating them! lol. They're spoken for!

Day 13: I'm so thankful for the wonderful youth at Berea Advent Christian Church! They wrote messages in and signed 705 Christmas cards for me to ship out to the Soldiers' Angels (Official) warehouse for them to send to troops stateside and overseas! You guys are amazing and I know the troops will love each and every card! They are now boxed and ready to be dropped at the post office! Thank you so much!

Day 14: Today I'm thankful for my quick thinking and creativity that I got from my momma. My life has been lived in the fast lane for quite a while now with Keegan growing so fast, dad's illness and me in school but I manage to come through it all on top because I'm quick on my toes.

Day 15: I'm thankful for the 24 years I had with my mother and the 4 that my son had with her. Today marks the 5th anniversary of her death and I miss her everyday. I know she's watching us and guiding us though and that helps keep me going.

Day 16: Thankful for motrin....

Day 17: Thankful for a working washer and dryer! I remember having to go to the laundry mat and I was glad I was able to finish washing and drying clothes today in my own home!

Day 18: So thankful for my big sister Denise! We may not always see eye to eye and over the years there have been plenty of moments where we've wanted to kill each other, but she's always there for me no matter what. Even when she's not thrilled about my decisions and choices, she supports me and always tells me to do what I think and feel is right. She's a lot more like momma than she realizes. I love you Denise and we can't wait to see you next week!

Day 19: Thankful that I can handle stress. Didn't say I could handle it well, but I can handle it.

Day 20: Thankful for punishment. Weird right. Too many kids these days, mine included, are spoiled rotten and would rather play video games or hang with friends over spending time with their family. Well Keegan is on total technology and friend punishment for getting in trouble in school and failing social studies. Lack of anything else to do has left us doing more together. We do spend every Saturday together as mommy son day but it's been nice putting down the school work and making bracelets or coloring with him and him WANTING to. He even WANTED to do social studies work sheets today. Although I'm guessing that's so he can get good grades and get off of punishment. Lol.

Day 21: Thankful that Keegan is so smart. Hopefully he'll use those smarts to go far in life.

Day 22: Thankful for such a small amazing school that my son is part of. They always make me feel welcome when I walk through the door and they are always seeking ways to get parents involved. Loved working at the fall festival today and getting to see all my babies!

Day 23: Thankful for rest and relaxation (sorta). I was so exhausted and in so much pain last night when we got home. Today my feet feel so much better and I got much needed rest. I was so tired I never heard Tony come in last night nor did I hear him snoring. That's if he came in when he said he did, lol

Day 24: Thankful the weekend is almost over…. Thanksgiving is next week and Keegan gets to go to his dad’s and he’s driving me crazy to get there! lol

Day 25: Thankful Nathan wanted Keegan. I love this kid but he’s been constantly asking when he’s going to his dad’s again and they are getting him today!

Day 26: Peace and quiet…… for now

Day 27: yummy potato salad! Made potato salad today for tomorrow and it tastes just like my papa’s did

Day 28: thankful for family and that dad is home for Thanksgiving

Day 29: Thankful to have my midget back home

Day 30: Thankful for date night! Hoping it goes over well and there’s no arguing. hmm

Meat and Potatoes oh my!

Meat and potatoes sounds like every man's dream meal or at least where I'm from. Down south we love us some meat and potatoes. Yes, I did just go all country in the blog. This month our lovely sponsors were Johnsonville® again and Ore-Ida. Johnsonville® may seriously be the greatest sponsors ever. If we look back, we'll see this is the same company that sent us $60 worth of nesting casserole dishes, FREE! This time around we all got free Crock Pots! No lie! Greatest sponsors ever! See! Now I already had a crock pot that I love, however, I'm a firm believer that you can never have too many kitchen appliances! Crock pots are amazing too because you can have several things cooking at once that you DON'T HAVE TO WATCH! Busy moms say heyyyy!

Now, down to the even better stuff: FOOD! March was the first month that we worked with Johnsonville® and one of my recipes that month to makeover was spaghetti. Instead of using ground beef, we used sausage. It became a favorite in our household and from time to time we have spaghetti with sausage instead of ground beef. This month I used sausage to make spaghetti, however, instead of cooking in separate pans, this recipe calls for cooking it all in one pan which was a lot easier and the whole dish had more flavor. Perhaps it was because the noodles actually cooked in sauce instead of just water which allowed them to absorb more flavor. Either way it was much better this time around! Check it out for yourself at: Johnsonville® One-Pan Italian

Second up was a meatloaf recipe that my family was not a huge fan of. It was ok. It had a lot of flavor but it wasn't exactly a flavor my family liked. We've become huge fans of a cheeseburger meatloaf I make so it took some bribing to get them to try this. Our firm feelings are, there were too many elements in this. Corn, peppers, spinach, cheese.... it was all just too much in a meatloaf for us. We also don't care for ketchup in our meatloaf and the chili sauce tasted a lot like ketchup. Feel free to try it yourself though. The recipe can be found here: Italian Sausage Market Meatloaf

Last but not least was another not so favorite but still tasty. This particular recipe was called: Johnsonville® Italian Sausage and Pepper Skillet. Now my reasons for disliking this one had NOTHING to do with the sausage. Let me reiterate. I LOVE Johnsonville® sausage. I really do, but I think my problem with this one was that it came out more like a soup or stew than a saute' or skillet meal. Perhaps the tomatoes were supposed to be drained. Perhaps there was too much oil added. I'm not positive but I know it came out like a stew. This made it great to eat with something like rice but not so much on it's own or with a side dish other than rice.

Our other sponsor as previously mentioned was Ore-Ida®, the famous potato people! I love their fries. Essentially, you would think that all frozen potatoes would be the same and taste the same but honestly, they don't. Ore-Ida® really does have the best frozen potatoes. Our tasks for them this month was help pair these products with family meals or create our own dish with them. I created two hash brown casseroles, one using the julienne hash browns and one using the diced version. The first casserole was more like a macaroni and cheese with hash browns instead of noodles. The second version had soup, sour cream, cheese, butter and some other yummy ingredients. These could both be eaten alone but are great side dishes for something meaty and heart!

The final dish I made with the products were chili cheese fries. These are a staple in our home and we often eat them as a dish or we have them with chili dogs. That way we can use the chili for two different items at once!

Disclaimer:

I am an AllRecipes AllStar Brand Ambassador. This is a voluntary position which I am not compensated for.

Bison Vs. Beef!

Beef! It’s what’s for……wait! That was last month. Sheesh! Time flies when you’re having fun! This month was the month of the Buffalo, well in the land of AllStars anyway! Several of us were selected to cook with Bison this month and boy oh boy am I glad I was one of the chosen ones.

I’ve had bison once in my life and that was a bison burger at a restaurant. Because the burger was extremely dry, I never had to the desire to eat bison again. I figured because it was very lean that it would always be dry. I was so wrong! I now know that whoever cooked that burger, had no idea what they were doing. It had just been introduced to the restaurant and apparently the cook thought that it should be cooked the way you cook hamburger meat. They were wrong! You have to watch it more carefully and cook it a little less time wise because it is so lean.

Many individuals looked at me with a weird confused look on their face and exclaimed “you’re going to eat a buffalo!” I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why they were so surprised unless of course they thought I was going to eat the whole buffalo! Oh my! What some people fail to realize or remember, is that before we started eating cows, buffalo was the animal of choice. Native Americans hunted them long before Europeans took over the joint! Now it’s cheaper and easier to just raise and eat cows. If you want to know more about Bison though, you can check out The Bison Council for some pretty awesome information including why bison is better for you than beef. It’s healthier in so many ways! It has half the calories, fat and a whole lot less cholesterol than beef! It can be cut and cooked just like beef (be careful though because it’s leaner).

For this task, we had to start out by choosing a recipe ahead of time. This was because those wonderful people over at High Plains Bison sent us, free of charge, an overnight shipment of the type of meat we would need for our dish. FREE MEAT! Of course I’m grinning from ear to ear right now.

Anyway. I chose to do the Mexican BisonBake with Cilantro-Lime Cream. I personally loved it. The only thing I might have done differently was instead of using an entire can of black beans, I may have reduced the recipe to a half can. I also make a mean chili with black beans in it so the rest wouldn’t have gone to waste! Hmm. I might have to try ground bison in that recipe too! Moving along. I’m just not a huge fan of beans period so a half can would have worked just fine. I also think I might have cooked way more noodles than it called for because I kind of just tossed them in the pot. I wasn’t messing up a measuring cup to measure noodles. I tend to do a lot of eye measuring. Oops. Good news is, High Plains Bison sent TWO pounds of ground bison and the recipe only called for one. This means… I can make it again the way I want to versus following a recipe. I personally believe that recipes are a starting off point. Sometimes you can just tweak a few little things and still maintain the integrity of the original recipe but make it your own where you and your family will eat it. Does that make sense? It made sense in my head…

Anyway! I really enjoyed working with bison this month and I hope it becomes more locally available so I can try man more recipes!!!

Disclaimer:I am an AllRecipes AllStar Brand Ambassador. This is a voluntary position which I am not compensated for.

101 Things Every Child Should Do Before Growing Up

I follow a lot of mommy boards. These women are my inspiration and many of them are my heroes! While I wish I could be like them, blogging all these amazing deals and ideas, I just don’t think I’ll ever manage the amount of commitment these women have. Granted, if it were a paying job, perhaps I would force myself, however, I lack commitment (this seems to be a common theme for me) and time to fully dedicate myself to a blog or thinking up tons of cool ideas to actually share with people. However, I realized one thing in reading all these blog posts: I neglect my son way more than I should and in so many ways. Now don’t take that to mean that my child is raising himself and doing everything for himself. I do the necessary things I’m supposed to do. I cook, clean, make sure he has clothes, make sure he bathes, get him in bed, and fix his lunch for school, all that great stuff. Where I’m lacking is quality time. I don’t spend enough time just playing with my son and enjoying all of life’s little moments. This hurts me because I thought I was doing this mom thing pretty well… I neglect to help him plan for a future and enjoy his childhood. I neglect to see that he should have goals and aspirations. Sure, he’s only 9, but he should be doing amazing things with his childhood that he can look back on and regale in tales with his children. I find myself saying to my son a lot, “when I was your age, your nana taught me how to cook this or make that.” I want him to have the same types of memories to share with his children. I want him to have funny memories about the time he flipped his scooter because he hit a hole (this really happened by the way) or the pictures that his mom showed him of his first kiss with the little girl two months younger than him (this happened too). With that being said, I’ve been thinking, and listing, and thinking some more and gathering ideas from my childhood and with a little help, a list (yes, another one) of 101 Things Every Child Should Do Before Growing Up was born. Yes, adults can enjoy all this stuff too! I just feel that all children should have an amazing childhood especially since we only get one. Feel free to dive in head first to the list. Take away things you’d never do or can’t do. Add in things you can. The point is…children should have something to look back on that makes them say “I had an amazing childhood and for that, I will be an amazing adult.”

Also, please note that some of these things aren’t necessarily things we WANT our children to partake in, but we know it’s probably going to happen and we want our children to get some kind of tale out of it that will have their children and grandchildren laughing one day.

1. Build a fort
2. Catch fireflies
3. Create a self-portrait (be creative!)
4. Fall asleep in a hammock (make sure it’s in the shade!!!!)
5. Build a gingerbread house (or train, or car, or something else fun)
6. Go on a hayride
7. Dance (or play) in the rain
8. Go on a scavenger hunt
9. Camp in a tent in your front yard or the woods (or be brave and do both!)
10. Take care of a pet
11. Read with a flashlight
12. Climb a tree
13. Keep a journal or notebook
14. Catch a snowflake on your tongue
15. Shoot a BB gun
16. Spit watermelon seeds
17. Bake or help bake a cake from scratch
18. Lick the bowl, beater and spoons  (from number 17)
19. Have a favorite book
20. Hatch a monarch butterfly from a cocoon
21. Have a pen pal
22. Identify constellations in the sky
23. Go to camp
24. Lay out looking at the clouds. Find shapes and animals.
25. Make a tie dye t-shirt (I am aware this is not the 80s but this is pretty cool to do!)
26. Build a sandcastle
27. Help make dinner for the family
28. Have a favorite stuffed animal and never let anyone tell you’re too old for one!
29. Make caramel apples
30. Participate in an extracurricular activity
31. Have your own garden and eat from it
32. Play a classic board game. (YES I SAID BOARD GAME)
33. Play in the tub until you turn into a prune!
34. Roll down a big grassy hill
35. Put on a puppet show
36. Learn a magic trick
37. Make and eat homemade ice cream
38. Go to a county fair
39. See a movie at a drive in
40. Ride a horse
41. Spend time with a senior citizen
42. Get lost in a corn maze
43. Swing on a rope or tire swing
44. Water balloon fight
45. Spend an entire weekend without television
46. Carve a jack-o-lantern
47. Get a library card
48. Enjoy the beach
49. Wear a costume as clothing
50. Have a pet
51. Fly a kite
52. Go to a real sports event
53. Make a slingshot with a limb/branch
54. Build something with one or more cardboard boxes
55. Roast marshmallows over an open fire (with adult supervision)
56. Catch tadpoles and watch them change
57. Do a cartwheel
58. Make mud pies
59. Jump in a pile of leaves
60. Build a snowman
61. Make play dough
62. Finger (or toe) paint
63. Watch the stars come out
64. Watch a sunset
65. Watch a sunrise
66. Make a full body mural
67. Run through sprinklers
68. Pretend to fly (safely)
69. Wish on a star
70. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or for a can drive
71. Wear a cape
72. Face one fear head on
73. Wear whatever makes you happy
74. Hunt for seashells
75. Family road trip
76. Have a collection (rocks, shells, TURTLES OR MONKEYS (real of fake)) (my son has turtles and monkeys! Lol)
77. Slip ‘n slide
78. Ride a carousel
79. Enjoy a picnic (yes, on a blanket on the ground)
80. Attend a REAL play with people on a stage acting out something sincere, like “The Color Purple” or something on Broadway!
81. Cut your own hair (no parent loves this, but it inevitably happens and we laugh at it)
82. Learn to swim
83. Bury someone in the sand (make sure to let them out)
84. Make a snow angel
85. Make a pizza
86. Play with bubbles
87. Hand shadow puppets
88. Plant a tree
89. Pick wild berries (have mom and/or dad be sure they’re safe to eat)
90. Find your way with a map and compass
91. Get in a fight (again, nothing a parent WANTS, but it will happen and it will toughen your child)
92. Fall off your bike and skin your knee (this is classic. It happens to every child who isn’t living in a bubble. It’ll lead to a funny story and some intense caring from your parent!)
93. Hug and kiss your parents
94. Get lost in a store (yes this will freak your parents out, but it’ll teach you to listen to your parents when they say stay put! Lol)
95. Get a real butt whooping (taking away a video game from a 5 year old is pointless, having your behind tore up with a BELT will teach you way more respect)
96. Go to a museum
97. See a circus
98. Go to the movies with your mom and/or dad
99. Go trick or treating
100. Sing loudly
101. Dance in the car (make sure you’re the passenger!)

All You Back to School Special

So I love free things and sharing stuff with friends and the world. I’m a member of a community called Crowdtap. I signed up and received a free issue of the All You Back to School Special Issue.

I’m in love! I have a subscription to All You and I love it anyway. I love the coupons since they’re usually for things I will actually buy. I love the tips and tricks that they offer up and the recipes. Oh man these recipes are amazing! I highly recommend that you get a subscription here if you don’t already have one. It’s worth EVERY penny! Believe me!

Anyway, back to the special issue I received. Let me start with my favorite part, RECIPES! This particular issue has 26 recipes in it. That’s like a small cook book, all packed into a magazine. Amazing. The editor’s are wonderful people, let me just say that.

I also like that they are seriously promoting the Kellogg’s Free Book program. They allow you and your child to search for clues for a code and with two more codes, your child can earn a free book from Scholastic. You can find out more about obtaining a free book at KelloggsFreeBook.com.

They offer up tips and tricks to be prepared for children going back to school, which I have to say can work at the end of Summer or even the end of Winter Break. They also have a handy list of supplies that you should keep stocked and you’ll be prepared for anything your child has to do during the school year: projects, book reports, papers, and crazy science experiments. There are also tips for starting early mornings on a positive note which I loved, because while my son is a morning person, I am not!

Go out, get the magazine, obtain a subscription and share with your friends!

I wrote this blog on my own accord. I am in no way a paid representative for Crowdtap or All You Magazine.

Beef! It's What's For Dinner!!!!!!

Well, it's what was for dinner a couple nights ago! This month for the AllStars we were either chosen to create some Goya recipes or some Beef! It's What's for Dinner Recipes. I'd have done either but I was happy to get chosen for the beef recipes and ironically, I ended up using a Goya product in one of my beef recipes!!!

Let me tell you, I also learned a lot about beef while doing these recipes. We love beef in pretty much any form and fashion as long as it's still good to eat and not gone back, blegh! It's in a lot of our meals whether old recipes or new and I truly learned some new things. I knew beef had iron and protein in it. It's only healthy though if you cook it the right way. Frying with batter (life chicken fried steak) just adds fat back to it! lol. Maybe not fat so much, but cholesterol and such. Beef is also full of choline (nervous system development), selenium (protects cells from damage), vitamins B6 and B12 (help maintain brain function), zync (helps maintain a healthy immune system), phosphorus (helps builds bones and teeth), niacin (supports energy production and metabolism) and riboflavin (helps convert food into fuel).

Let me first say that I combined two of my recipes in one meal. My boyfriend wanted chili and I wanted meatball gyros. So since they were both relatively small, we had them in the same night. It was actually easier on me as well since both recipes required ground beef.

The first thing I actually made was not a requirement. I made Chef John's Tzatziki Sauce the night before because it's best served if it's chilled over night and I wanted it for my meatball gyros. Meatball recipe coming up! The first actual beef recipe I made was Beef Chili Five Ways. I actually had this cooking while I prepped everything else. This was the recipe that also included a product for Goya: BLACK BEANS! I don't care for beans but these weren't too bad. You couldn't really distinguish the beans in the dish. Along with the tomatoes, it all kind of melted together in your mouth. After it was done, I let it cool and then it hung out in the refrigerator until dinner time.

Then I got the mixer going for the pita bread dough. I used Chef John's Pita Bread recipe and if you have any doubts about it, there is a video as well that Chef John did so you can follow along. I love his videos! With all the mixing and rising, it takes about 2.5 hours before you can actually cook/bake/grill the bread. While this stuff was rising, I mixed up the ingredients for the meatballs. I used this recipe: Mediterranean Beef Meatball Kabob. These were full of flavor. I did add in some onion however, because we like onion with our ground beef. I don't really think it added much flavor though. They were yummy anyway. Other than that, I did cook them as instructed and then took them off the kabobs and put them in the pita bread for gyros. Ours were a little plain as far as gyros go but that's because I was the only one who really wanted a gyro.... The others just went along with it!!!

I may try to tackle some of the Goya recipes just because I'd like to but if I don't get around to it, I guess it's a good thing it wasn't a requirement. I'm looking forward to next month since I was one of the one's selected to make a Bison dish. The only thing Bison I've ever had was burgers from a restaurant and the meat was really dry so I'm hoping that it was just the chef's mistake. We'll see next month!!!

Until then......

Disclaimer:

I am an AllRecipes AllStar Brand Ambassador. This is a voluntary position which I am not compensated for.

Summer VoxBox - Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream

I received my second VoxBox from Influenster this week and I have to say there were some pretty cool items in there!

I haven't tried everything yet but I have tried the Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} As far as a cover up, I'm guessing that's not really what this is for. I thought it was, however, it didn't really cover up much of anything like my other foundations have.

However, in looking for something that goes on quickly and lets my natural skin shine through, it's perfect!

This product has 6 skin perfecting benefits including:
* Refreshes skin instantly
* Brightens for a radiant glow
* Evens tone with a splash of sheer color
* Hydrates for 24 hours
* Smooths for softer feeling skin
* Protects against UV damage with SPF 15

For more information, you can check out the products at Olay Fresh Effects as well as purchase them there or on Amazon.

I received this box and this sample of Fresh Effects from Influenster. I am in no way compensated by them for the testing and reviewing of this product.

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Summer!

I love June. It means Summer vacation, swimming pool, the beach, grilling and extra time with my little man. My boyfriend handles the grill so this month was amazing for me as far as the AllStars goes!

Let me start off by posting what we were given as our goodies for the month. We weren’t required to use these in any of our assignments, but we received Simple & Crisp Dried Fruit Slices. These were…bland to say the least. Our OPTIONAL job with these was to pair them with something, anything (food wise of course) and share. These are gluten-free and healthy. In my opinion, that means taste-free…which they were…

One of our jobs for the month was to select up to three grilling recipes from the site and rate, review and photograph them. I chose three and I really loved two of them but one could have used some…work.

My first grilling recipe was Beer Butt Chicken. We’ve always called it beer can chicken. Please forgive the picture. My boyfriend cooked this and he kind of walked away for too long and he got a little well done but it was still tasty and I guess because of the beer, he was actually still very moist.

My second recipe was Spicy Chicken Breasts. These were amazing! They were so full of flavor. I did reduce the ground cayenne a little bit because the rest of my family doesn't care for spicy too much but even with the reduction these were amazing! Definitely one for the regular rotation!

My third recipe was Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers. As soon as we saw these we knew we had to try them. I mean.... everything is better with bacon and having it cooked ONTO the burger so it doesn't fall off, GENIUS! However! Reading the ingredients, I was a little weary as it sounded like a recipe for meatloaf. Well my suspicions were confirmed as they tasted a little like meatloaf. Not too much, but enough that I think we'll be sticking to our regular way of cooking burgers. They were good, just not for us since we have a specific meatloaf recipe we use (that has bacon in it! lol). We don't need a GRILLED meatloaf recipe. Lol. The bacon was also slightly overdone even though they looked well done.

As a little history lesson for you guys, AllRecipes® used to have recipes from the Taste of Home site, however, in March of 2012, Meredith Publishing purchased AllRecipes® and the Taste of Home recipes were kicked to the curb. As most of those recipes were popular though, AllRecipes is in a search for replacement recipes. That leads us to our second assignment. We were given a list of recipes along with some of their key ingredients and told to recreate away! We had to keep the recipe as the same type and include the main key ingredients. I only made one because I really didn’t have the time to be inventive this month with planning the Summer, balancing a new Summer schedule and trying to get things ready for my son to go to camp.

I'm calling my Taste of Home remake Cheesy Ranch Spirals. I tried these once with an entire packet of dry ranch but they were grainy and WAY too.....ranchy! lol. I went back and tried them with a half package of ranch (used the other half on some ranch chicken I made for dinner) and they turned out really well.

Disclaimer: 

I am an AllRecipes AllStar Brand Ambassador. This is a voluntary position which I am not compensated for.

May AllStars Adventures... Lots of Chicken for This Girl here!

For the month of May, the AllStars were given (number) tasks. We were to put faces on some of the AllRecipes® Australia site recipes. We could do as many as we wanted! They had some interesting recipes. We were also supposed to choose a MyPlate recipe to create.

My first Aussie recipe was a Cheesy WhiteSauce. I have to say that I found it slightly flavorless. The recipe just called for grated cheese and I used mild cheddar. Maybe a sharp cheddar or another flavor would have made it better but with mild cheddar it was bland. I don’t think I would have used it for anything other than eating with tortilla chips.

My second recipe was Chicken Strips. These weren't very flavorful either. I thought it was me, because I had been sick and two items in a row were bland, but I ate some other foods and could taste them just fine. Recipe instructions don't completely match the ingredient list either.... might have tasted better with flavored bread crumbs or by adding something to the bread crumbs. In this case it literally tasted like unseasoned chicken coated in bread crumbs.

My third Aussie faceless was a Creamy Chicken Bake. I really liked this one. Quite tasty although when it says powdered chicken noodle soup, you have to get the whole soup mix from the soup aisle and then either strain out the dry noodles or just add them to the mix. I'm thinking chicken boulin might have worked just as well. I couldn’t find any standard powdered chicken noodle soup, so unless what I used is what the recipe calls for, this must be something they have in Australia.

My fourth faceless was beyond bland. It tasted more like a bland stir fry. It was called Chicken Paprika with Pasta. It needed something.... the other review on the site said they added cream and cheese near the end. I should have done something similar. This wasn't a favorite.

My first MyPlate recipe was Savory Roll-Ups. These were DELICIOUS. These will definitely be made again. I had a similar dinner once at Houlihan’s but mine was better. There’s was too covered in bread crumbs and very dry! I will say that these turned out moist and the cheese was very flavorful.

My second MyPlate recipe was Tzatziki Sauce (Yogurt and Cucumber Dip). I've made this so many times before as I love to eat it with pita bread. I liked this version, however, this recipe calls for mint where I usually use dill. It was ok with mint. At least your break smells fresh in the end! Lol. I also watched this videoon AllRecipes® to see how someone else actually does it since I don't know anyone personally that's made it. He uses mint and dill and suggests parsley. I've only ever used dill but I might try parsley next time.

It was a fun month though. I had a lot of fun making these recipes and some of them made it into the monthly rotation!

Disclaimer: 

I am an AllRecipes AllStar Brand Ambassador. This is a voluntary position which I am not compensated for.

Shouldn't Mexican Month Be in May?

Oh boy! This month our sponsors were Herdez® and Sauza®! Salsa and tequila oh my! I honestly believe that these should have been sponsors for May with Cinco De Mayo and all, but I guess if you have time to figure your stuff out in April, then you'll be able to have one kick ass Cinco De Mayo party!

Moving right along... Herdez® sent us two bottles of two different flavors of cooking sauce. They also sent us awesome tortilla warmers as you can see in the picture!

For Herdez®, we were supposed to make our own recipe using one of the two types of cooking sauces we were given. I was getting slightly sick of chicken and beef and I went Mexican (which I'm sure seems...predictable). I chose turkey. I know that's close to chicken but still slightly different! My recipe that is now posted on AllRecipes® is Turkey Tomatillo Verde. I thought it turned out really well. Between the fajita mix, sour cream and tomatillos verde cooking sauce it was amazing!

Sauza® sent us a bottle of their new Blue Agave Tequila. Tequila is my favorite liquor period so I could have drunk it straight but alas, we had to make up to three margaritas from this list on AR. Because I love fruit, I chose the Strawberry Sauza®-Rita and Merry Mango Sauza®-Rita. They were both delicious but I have to say that the Strawberry was my favorite. I liked that you could taste the alcohol and the strawberry flavor but it wasn't overpowering. With the Mango drink, the mango didn't come through so well.

I enjoyed the projects for this month. Anything with alcohol is fine by me and I walked away with a new simple recipe that my family loved. Since I can switch out the turkey for chicken, I can also make this with regular chicken breasts and have a quick and simple meal on one of our many rushed baseball nights!

Disclaimer: 

I am an AllRecipes AllStar Brand Ambassador. This is a voluntary position which I am not compensated for.