Tuesday, May 29, 2012

May happenings!!

Well my peeps May has been a happening month around here!  Unfortunately I've been doing very little cooking because of all the flurry of activity!  At the moment I am currently being held captive in my room by the painters, (you know the painters who SWORE they would be done by Monday evening at the latest) so I thought I would recap some of the busyness that has been my crazy life in hopes that you will forgive me for being so absent and maybe say a little prayer for my sanity.  You know because it's gone...I'm afraid for good.


There was an Awards night for the Merebear

And an Art Show




Some cornmeal crusted tilapia with pico de gallo & avocado



a new bird feeder that doubles as entertainment for the cat

Some chocolate chip cookie dough brownies with chocolate ganache frosting

a new milk frother for 1.99!!!  


my favorite chopped salad that I'm completely addicted to eating!


Mother's day flowers from these three 

I know they are awesome aren't they??!!!


The flowers are growing and thriving!



a double rainbow 

the first harvest from the garden


\

A college graduation for our lovely Court



The destruction of my home 


for the first time
(yes...we are currently in the midst of destruction #2 by the painters)


Summer goodness in a sandwich



NOW do you believe the destruction that became of my home??




But the floors and the new wall color were worth the effort




even the New Orleans Saints gold that now lines the Hubsters office
and he got new floors too!
Thanks Anderson Flooring!!!  You never disappoint me!




The tired and happy family!!

Now we just have a shower this weekend and a wedding to get through!
If you'll excuse me it's after noon so I think I can technically get the wine.
(ok well maybe I can't since I'm still banished to the bedroom-remind me to get a mini fridge for my room, okay??)

Peace, Love & Chaos!

                                                          

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Fruit Dip with COOL WHIP Whipped Topping




Well hello my peeps!!!   Today we are going to talk about a wonderfully easy treat for you to make for your family that will make the kids (and you) gobble up the fruit like never before.

It's that time of year when we get to enjoy the many seasonal fruits and sometimes we just want a way to make it a little more special  and up the ooomph factor. That's where the COOL WHIP Whipped Topping comes in to lend you a helping hand.   Plus it gives you another reason to eat some COOL WHIP besides sneaking it by the spoonful out of the refrigerator when no one is looking.  What?  You don't do that, sorry maybe that's just me.


Let's make some Fruit Dip!!!


Cast of Characters:
COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (regular size container)
8 oz block of cream cheese (low fat is fine), softened
Marshmallow Creme, regular size jar

Drop that jar of marshmallow creme into a bowl of hot water and let it hang out a bit.
It'll make getting it out of the jar so much easier, I promise.


Now plop that cream cheese into the bowl and whip it. Whip it real good.



Get that marshmallow creme out and scoop it out into the cream cheese.
It should come out nice and easy since you had it in the bowl of hot water.  Now whip those two together.  Make it nice and creamy.





Grab the COOL WHIP and snag yourself a spoonful--- yeah I really do this and sometimes more than one spoonful.  You know just to make sure I don't get hit by a bus tomorrow and leave a full tub of COOL WHIP in the refrigerator, that would be soooo embarrassing!

Side bar: If you haven't heard me tell the story of me and my grandparents and how they showered me with love by letting me eat COOL WHIP....just ask or some may say "lucky you"  It's a fond memory and I tell it occasionally, or maybe a lot.   Me and COOL WHIP go waaay back oh yes we do!!!



Now scrape out every last bit and drop of that COOL WHIP and add it to the mixing bowl 
and whip it up real good.
Using the words Whip It so many times in one post has me singing Devo songs!


See...how beautiful is that?!
No really, after you taste it you will think beautiful is an accurate description.



Now plop that out into a pretty dish.
I've also used the word plop pretty frequently too although I don't know a song with "plop" in it.
Oh wait, the old Alka Seltzer commercial....now that's in my head too!


Cut yourself up some fruit



And enjoy a nice change to that fruit.
Your kids will gobble up fruit that they've never eaten before.
Case in point....apricots


Strawberries are always our favorites though!!!



Now here's a little treat to get you moving in the morning with a smile on your face!



White Chocolate Mocha topped with well, what else, COOL WHIP!
oh, don't forget to sneak a spoonful of it before it goes back into the fridge!
(in case you wondered....I just followed the directions on the back of the White Chocolate syrup bottle)


And here's the best way to add a little fun to your daily snack.
Just grab one of those nice little pudding snacks and yeah...you got it, plop a big dollop of COOL WHIP on top of that baby.   Yep, I said plop again and yep, I ate a spoonful out of the tub first and yep, the COOL WHIP is bigger than the pudding..don't judge me.



If you have kiddos they'll think it's a special day and if you don't have any little kiddos running around well then you can be like me and have pudding with COOL WHIP for breakfast.
Yeah, we're gonna go back to that previous statement about not judging me!



Oh yes I did....COOL WHIP on pudding at 8 in the morning.
Gotta love being home alone and not having to answer to anyone about that!


Peace, Love & Yummies (with some COOL WHIP)
                                                         



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Monday, May 14, 2012

Italian Beef Sandwiches


hi dee ho my peeps and yeah yeah yeah, I know I've made these before for you but you know what....you're getting them again.  I had to remind myself that the crock pot isn't just for winter.  It's awesome in the summer, no heating up the oven and dinner is waiting on you whenever you are ready to eat.  Wonder why it is that we seem to use the crock pot more in the winter than the summer???  Hmmmmm...question to ponder.



Don't put the crock pot into hibernation, break it out and make some yummy sammies for the family!


Cast of Characters

1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp salt ( I go shy with this one)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Mustard Seed
3/4 cup beef broth (or water)
various peppers, optional

and of course.....

you need a nice roast.
Just whatever is on sale on the kind your family likes.




now just plop the roast into the crock pot and then add all the other ingredients over it
I used some Cherry Peppers and some Banana Peppers in ours this time.
Now just set the crock pot for about 8 hours and well......fah'get about it.


After about 8 hours just grab 2 forks and start shredding that meat.
Don't worry, it will be so tender it will literally just fall apart on you


Now I like my hoagie buns toasted and so did my brother-in-law but
the Hubster, he's not into the toasted bread.


So I grabbed the griddle and slapped it on the stove and toasted those buns
(some of them toasted a weeeee bit too much)



Then I put some of that yummy meat on that nice toasted bun


Then we decided to pop a little lettuce on there too.
Hubster added a nice shot of Tabasco to his.

Now don't forget to pull those crockpots out and keep the oven turned off!!
What kind of yummy summer recipes do you make in the ole' crock of pot??


Peace, Love & Yummies!!