1st Annual Pinterest Baking Party

Need to BLOG! Need to BLOG!

Yes, those are the words I keep repeating to myself. I MISS, MISS, MISS blogging! But everyday comes and everyday goes and life just gets in the way. Good thing this is NOT my full-time job, I would be failing miserably.

A number of things have come in my path... 1) LIFE 2) KIDS AWAY AT COLLEGE (means less cooking) 3) A HOME FLOOD 4) PURE LAZINESS!!! But baking, it's Christmas time and I can FOR SURE find lots of time to get my baking in. The kitchen is OPEN FOR BUSINESS and the baking has begun in my home. I hope to share with you a few ole' recipes and of course a few new ones too!

Yesterday was my first ever Pinterest Baking Party, which I hope there will be many more baking parties in my near future with this new tradition. The plan was for each person to bring a recipe (or two), we went with two because we only had 4 people commit to this 1st EVER Baking Day. We all spent approximately $100 dollars buying all the stuff for 8 batches of goodies (but we all left with 8 batches of goodies). So, for my $100 bucks and my ONE ALL DAY baking event, I left with the 8 batches of stuff I received and I was able to package up 7 teacher gifts, 1 extra large tray for the entire school office, 6 add'l medium size containers to give away (one to a neighbor and five to needy families in our community) and then 2 small individual gifts for the orthodontics office and one more container for my new house cleaner (a Christmas gift to myself this year). Plus there was at least a plate full left at home to munch on and a dozen or two cookies left I put in the freeze for my son to snack on (Spice Cookies, his favorite)!

We all shopped and brought enough stuff to make TWO items (and since there were 4 of us) we bought and brought enough stuff to make 4 batches of EACH of the two items. This way we would all go home with 8 batches of goodies, 1 batch of each item = 8 items = 8 batches of per yumminess!!!  It's a little complicated, but actually quite simple.

Tina (myself) picked 2 recipes = Cranberry Crunch Bark and White Chocolate Spice Cookies
Sandy picked 2 recipes = Snickerdoodle Cupcakes and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cynthia picked 2 recipes = Cookie Butter Rice Krispy Treats and Cinnamon Pecans
Ashlyn picked 2 recipes = Hershey Kiss Cookies and Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

We made 4 batches of each of the above recipes.


We used Pinterest for some inspiration on some of these recipes and some were just ole' time favorites. We made a Pinterest Board for everyone to pin too and follow for ideas so that no one made the same items.

Then we all gathered at my house from 11am to 8pm (it went over about 2 hours more then originally planned), but it was our 1st time. Everyone began creating and make 4 batches of each of the 2 recipes they brought. I had huge 6' tables set up, one for each person. This helped with organizing and collecting all the goodies at the end of the day.

4 Batches each of all this Deliciousness: Cranberry Crunch Bark broken up and then packaged into little baggies. The White Chocolate Spice Cookies were easy but required alot of cooking, so watch the recipes that need the oven and space them out. Cynthia made two recipes one used NO oven and went into a 9x13 pan (which even brought their own pans needed) and then these cut into nice squares to package, and the pecans were easy to also add to goodies bags and just tie with a bow. The Snickerdoodle Cupcakes worked great for me to send a plate to my son's school office and also for my daughter to take to work on leave on the break table. And of course cookies and Homemade Peanut Butter Cups were another huge hit in the containers I packaged up.

This was such and easy way for everyone to only be able to worry about making 2 recipes and yet leaving with 8 different items! This takes on a whole new level of the Cookie Exchange.

Here are some great photos and we made some great memories too, like my daughter who now calls herself the one-sock baker. She was hot/cold, hot/cold and got comfortable with one sock on, one sock off. I guess it's kinda like one foot out of the covers! Overall it was a great baking day and I can't wait to plan next year's baking extravaganza.

I am still ALIVE, and will begin blogging again SOON!

I am here! I am alive! So much has happened since May 2013. I am just going to say a QUICK HELLO and share a few pictures and then I promise I will be back soon!

My twins came home from their first year of college, they went on an amazing Study Abroad trip to Italy, and now they are already back in school in Missouri for year number two. Bitter Sweet! My little guy just started High School, I don't know how that happened. And we enjoyed a few family vacations this summer, quick but fun.

Creative Memories and the scrapbooking program I have used for years and years is NO MORE. I have moved over to a new company, which was actually the original makers of the Creative Memories program, Panstoria Historian 4 photo management and editing software check it out.



This is how I make all my scrapbooking pages on my blog, so I've gotta do a little switching over and before I even had begun this process, my computer CRASHED three nights ago, yep CRASHED! Thank the Lord for Carbonite, in the process of re-storing everything now. So, that too will help me get back up and running.

And then, YEP it just keeps getting better and better! Just as I was going to begin "blogging" again, my house flooded. Yep, the entire thing from an upstairs supply hose. Needless to say, the below pictures are from my home and I have no home right now, let alone any kitchen to cook in. AH, looking at the bright side, I will be getting a brand new kitchen (again!)! Yeah, I've already remodeled once or twice before, so here we go again. Not only is it a new kitchen, two new bathrooms, the stairs, the hallways, the bonus room, the scrapbook room and the Master Bedroom Closet and part of the room too! FUN TIMES!

Yep, that's ME! My cute painted toes and all reading my Food & Family Magazine waiting for the many many contractors to arrive on a daily bases. And YEAH that was my kitchen you are looking at. So, now that you are all caught up on my life, I WILL BE BACK as soon as I can cooking and blogging in my brand new kitchen (and home!)

Raspberry Dream Muffins

Here is a delicious muffin recipe to make with those hand picked raspberries this season (or fresh ones from the store, or frozen work well too). It's almost raspberry picking time (just a few months away), so I am getting excited about having my freezer filled with fresh hand picked raspberries again. I can't wait to get back in the kitchen and create some magical new things, but today I am sharing a muffin recipe, from one of my favorite bloggers. This is by far one of the best raspberry muffins recipes I've made so far.


Raspberry Dream Muffins
original recipe found at Your Homebased Mom

6 oz raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp for topping
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 tbsp brown sugar

In a bowl combine raspberries (washed) and 1/4 cup sugar and let sit while you assemble the rest of the muffins. In a mixing bowl cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Beat in eggs and almond extract and vanilla.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture, alternating with milk and cream. Stir in white chocolate chips. Gently fold in raspberries.

Line muffin tins with liners and fill 3/4 full.

Combine brown sugar and remaining white sugar. Sprinkle over the top of batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Best served warm.

G'ma Spaghetti {Pasta for the Dorm Room}

We are celebrating my twins birthday by making their favorite pasta for a dorm room full of college girls (and boys). This was so much fun, I flew out to see my daughters in September for their 19th birthday (yes, I've been holding onto this post for a while now) and I even got to watch them perform at the Cardinals Baseball Game and while I was there they had a list of favorite foods they were missing from home, one of them was G'ma's Simple Spaghetti.

And since I was asked to create a pasta recipe for the National Pasta Association (NPA) working on a campaign called Pasta Fits, I knew this was the perfect opportunity and the perfect recipe. It's light, it's simple and it's delicious. We love pasta at our house, it's pretty much a staple every week and with all the healthy and light ways you can fit it into your diet very easily. It's also great on your budget, and as a Dave Ramsey fan, pasta totally works.


I was sent a VERY COOL pasta pack that included Dreamfields® Spaghetti, Mueller’s® Whole Grain Spaghetti, Heartland® Gluten Free Wheat Free Penne, Ronzoni Healthy Harvest® Spaghetti, Ronzoni Garden Delight® Rotini, and an Ultragrain Pasta® Spaghetti Spoon, and you can find some super cool recipes you can try from the National Pasta Association (NPA).

G'ma's Simple Spaghetti Sauce

from my MOM (G'ma)

4 cans of Tomato Sauce

1 can Tomato Paste
1/4 can of water

1-2 lbs of Hamburger Meat

1-2 tbsp Italian Seasoning

1-2 tsp Garlic Powder (or Onion Salt, Onion Powder and/or Garlic Salt)

Cook hamburger meat on stove-top with a little bit of the seasoning until done. Add in the 4 cans of tomato sauce and 1 can of tomato paste with add'l amounts of seasoning (she just throws some in, never measures and it is never the same) simmer/cook until steamin' hot! Cook up your spaghetti noodles and serve. We always serve with Poor Man's Garlic Bread.

National Pasta Association is providing the products for this post

at no cost to me for review, the opinions in this post are entirely mine.

{Candy} Graduation Hats

WOW, what a difference a year makes. I can't believe my little girls just finished their first year of college. These were such a cute treat for my girls High School Graduation party last year. I just never got around to posting them, so for all you moms out there with graduates this year, ENJOY!

The cookies in the photo are delicious too, see recipe here.

The party was fantastic and the dessert bar, oh MY! It was a big hit and I would recommend anyone doing this for anytime of big party.

Of course we served up some of our favorite cupcakes of all-time
Pineapple Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

I saw many versions of this and still went out to create my own yet another completly different version that was quick and easy.

Graduation Candy Hats
created by me; inspired by Taste of Home

24 miniature peanut butter cups (freeze overnight)
24 Dove (freeze overnight)
24 mini-chocolate M&M candy pieces (chocie of color)
1 pkg sour straw candy
Melting Chocolate (to use for the glue)

Remove candy from the freezer and upwrap all candy and place upside down on waxed paper. Melt chocolate metling candy in microwave to use for the glue to put hats together. Cut the candy rope/straw sour candy into thin strips for the tassel. With a tooth pick dip into the melted chocolate and then place the tassel onto the top of the hat and the M&M on top of each candy.

Cucumbers in Greek Yogurt

I go back and forth from healthy to Better than Anything Brownies or Cake. I just need to find that happy middle ground, one where I can enjoy the delicious {bad things} and also enjoy the healthy things, and maybe the healthy things a little more often. Today I am sharing a quick and easy healthy snack, Cucumbers in Greek Yogurt. We love cucumbers around here and what better way then to pair them with a healthy greek yogurt to make them even more scrumptious.

Cucumber in Greek Yogurt
created by me: Tina Hudgens

2 cucumbers (peeled and diced)
1 small container plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp sugar (or less to taste)
1 tsp fresh pepper

Peel and dice the cucumber into small pieces. Mix together yogurt, sugar and pepper. Mix all together and enjoy for a delicious and healthy afternoon snack.

Fresh Dish {Broiled Cut with Couscous and Zucchini}

Need a quick and easy meal, with very minimal work on your part, no thinking just throw it all together and you've got it DONE. Dinner has never been so EASY! I was contacted by Fresh Dish, to try out their quick and easy meals and I can tell you that it was just that QUICK and EASY!

My box arrived in the mail in an insulated container with big blocks of frozen ice and was packaged very nicely, it included EVERYTHING. And when I say everything, they even included the olive oil, salt and pepper (how cool is that?!?!). I was home when the package arrived and immediately put it in the refrigerator, but it was very very cold when I got it, so no concerns there.

Fresh Dish is a gourmet meal kit service that delivers

ready-to-cook meals to families that just don't have time to deal with shopping and prep time it takes to get a home cooked dinner on the table during the week. - taken from Fresh Dish

The meat was Flat Iron Steak (my favorite), and the Zucchini (another favorite of mine), was already diced and ready to throw in the pan. The food was fresh, the directions were easy to follow and dinner came together in a snap. For those of you who hate to grocery shop, are too busy plan out meals this is easily a great solution.

For all my California, Nevada and Arizona readers, I've got a CODE for you to buy one family sized meal kit and get ONE FREE!

Just use this code MCCXFRESH when you order at

www.freshdish.com

MCCXFRESH

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs {Copy Cat Recipe}

This is my all time FAVORITE store-bought Easter candy and now that I can make it at home, that's even better. These are so delicious, and last year when I made them I took them to the hospital nurses of my niece and they too fell in love. I know these will be an annual treat in my kids Easter baskets from now on... Fresh and NOT store-bought.

The little extra crunch in the chunky peanut butter is heaven and we just love love any peanut butter candy. (I need to work on my egg-shaping skills, but other then looks these taste A-MAZ-ING)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
adapted by me, recipe found at The Whimiscal Princess

4 cups powdered sugar

1-1/2 cups Creamy Peanut butter (we use chunky, and I love it)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 to 3 tbsp milk
3 cups chocolate melting chips (we make two batches, one milk and one white chocolate)

Mix together the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until it becomes a nice workable dough, it will be crumbly (but when you squeeze the batter together it will form up). It will be just like play dough, it will be really easy to work with. Form the dough into egg shapes, and place in the refrigerator for about an hour or more.

Place the melting chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave 40 seconds at a time stirring in between until completely melted.

Dip each egg in the melted chocolate and place on waxed paper until set. You can use a toothpick, a fork or a skewer, whatever you are comfortable with or whatever works best to get the excess of the chocolate off after dipping. With the left over chocolate use a fork and go back and forth across to make the fancy swirls on top of the eggs. We do chocolate on white and white on chocolate. 

Let them set up on the wax paper in the refrigerator (freezer tends to crack them, so to avoid that use refrigerator or room temperature to let them set up. Enjoy your homemade Easter treat.

Peanut Butter-Banana Pancakes {gluten-free}

Here is an easy recipe for GLUTEN FREE peanut butter-banana pancakes, with NO flour at all.

Banana Pancakes {gluten-free}
recipe found at Gluten Free Fix

2 over ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter
dash of cinnamon

Whisk together all ingredients. Cook on a greased griddle or pan on low-medium heat, flip pancake as needed. Serve with fresh banana slices, walnuts and warm honey syrup.

Breakfast Fried Rice {gluten free}

This was so fun and such a different breakfast to make on a lazy morning. The girls had friends over and this was a perfect breakfast for some lovely teenagers/young adults that I often wake up to on a Saturday morning.

Breakfast Fried Rice
recipe found at Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

2 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
4 tbsp soy sauce (gluten free if you need too)
1/2 lb sausage (we love Jimmy Dean, cooked first)
2 cups cooked rice (cold leftover rice works best)
2 tbsp rice vinegar

Mix together 2 tbsp of soy sauce with the eggs and beat well, I add a dash of milk too. Heat tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet on stove top. Add egg to pan and cook, but leave a little running do not over cook. Remove egg from pan and set aside.

Return pan to stove and add a little more oil. (you can a use a little grease from the sausage if you wish). Add cooked rice and cook for 4-5 minutes or until rice is starting to lightly brown (rice must be pre cooked you can not use uncooked rice). then add the egg back to the pan along with the meat, remaining soy sauce and the rice vinegar. Let cook for 2-3 minutes more, add some soy sauce if you desire and serve. A great easy breakfast.

Servings can be stored and frozen to be eaten later.

Better Than {Anything} Brownies - {Better Than Crack Brownies}

First off, I just wanna say I didn't name the brownies, I just made them. That's why we are calling them Better Than Anything Brownies (more family friendly).

I wanted to create and awesome dessert for my niece who was celebrating her birthday near by (she lives in Oregon, me in California), so this was a treat for me to met her and her sister at the hotel for her birthday celebration. I only had a few hours to throw something together, and I was working, but that didn't stop me. I set out to find something with two of her favorite things chocolate and peanuts (and peanut anything). She has a son who is highly highly allergic to peanuts, so we she leaves town, YAHOOO for anything with peanuts.

I scoured my Pinterest boards and found many Better Than Crack Brownie recipes and well, I just devised this recipe myself from a combination of several recipes. I ran home on my lunch hour, threw the brownies together, while baking (jumped in the shower got ready), finished them up so they could set in the refrigerator for 2 hours, ran back to work for a couple of hours and then back home to pick up my twins, the brownies and still meet them at the hotel by 4pm. Yep, it can be done!

A perfect dessert for the birthday girl. And yes she is my NIECE.. we are only about 5 years apart. That's what happens when you marry someone 10 years older then you, and he is the second to the youngest baby in the family and has brothers and sisters older then my parents. AH, FAMILY! I LOVE IT!

Better Than Anything Brownies (Better Than Crack Brownies}
original recipe author unknown

1 pkg chocolate chunk brownie mix (but make in a 9x13 pan instead of traditional 8x8)
1/2 cup peanuts (salted or unsalted but add a little sea salt)
1 cup chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (chopped)
2 cups miniature marshmallows or Marshmallow BITS work better
1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1-1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky)
2 to 3 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Mix brownies according to directions (it's better if you have brownies with chocolate chunks or add a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, why not). Bake for 20-25 minutes (a little less time then the box says because it's thinner) in a 9x13 pan (instead of the 8x8), brownies will be alot thinner, but that's what you want. Remove from oven and top with peanuts, chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and marshmallows, return to oven and bake for about 4-6 more minutes.

In a medium (microwave save) bowl, combine chocolate chips and the peanut butter. Microwave for 1 minute or until creamy. Add the Rice Krispies cereal and stir until completely coated. Pour the cereal mixture over the brownies and spread evenly. Refrigerate for about 2 hours before cutting into squares. (I like to lined the pan before baking with parchment paper, this allows for easy cutting. Just pull the whole batch out of the pan and use a super sharp knife to cut even squares.) ENJOY!

Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica {copycat recipe}

It's freezer cooking time, I am in the cooking mood and my kitchen is on fire. I've made 5 dinners in a row this week and doubled every recipe in order to get 5 extra freezer meals for my cousin. I was so excited to share these extra meals with my aunt who is visiting from Washington, my cousin, her husband and their brand new baby girl Nikki. My cousin just had her first baby 3 weeks ago and I wanted to share some of my freezer meals with them to help make dinner time a little easier.

Today, I made this amazingly delicious pasta recipe. I might even go as far as to say "this is the BEST pasta dish I've ever made". This recipe is wonderful, it's out of this world delicious and it will for sure be repeated in my house (probably sooner then later) and you can bet it will make it into my Volume 3 Family Cookbook. It's a copycat recipe of the Macaroni Grill chain restaurant Penne Rustica recipe, I don't eat at Macaroni Grill, I think I've only been there once or twice in my life, so I have no idea how this recipe compares to the real recipe, but I can tell you this recipe here is amazing.

Look at this darling little girl. I am a baby lover at heart and since my babies are 19 years old and 13 years old, there are no babies in my life and therefore I get to go and steal all of my family members new babies.

This recipe makes ALOT and I mean ALOT of pasta dishes. It's a perfect freezer meal, a perfect meal to share with a new mom or a friend or family member who may need a little help with the dinner time blues. You can always half the recipe if you wish, but I will be sharing the FULL recipe here, it makes about (3) 9x13 pans. Since my family is only a family of 3 I made our dishes in very small Purex baking dishes and I was able to make (2) 9x13 pans that I shared with my cousin and (5) smaller baking dishes that I keep for my family, and boy am I so glad I have 4 more of these left in my freezer.

I did cheat a little and use pasta we had on hand, I made up one box of Penne pasta and two boxes of Shell pasta. I also made a few other changes to this recipe by using my standard Crock-Pot Chicken recipe and shredding it (only because my hubby wasn't home to BBQ the chicken and because it's cold outside and not BBQ season), I think I will try it this way once we dust off the BBQ. I also used Turkey Bacon instead of regular bacon (and only because Turkey Bacon was on sale and it was cheap, like half the price of regular bacon) and since I know it's healthier, why not.

I've already had the opportunity to make up one of my small dishes. It worked out wonderful for this small one/two person serving dish to be cooked up in my toaster oven. A-MAZ-ING!

Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica {copycat recipe}

adapted by me, Tina, originally found over at Your Homebased Mom

FREEZER MEAL: This is a freezer meal and will make at least (3) 9x13 pans of pasta. If you wish to make just one dish or a smaller portion, you will need to cut the recipe in thirds or half.

1 whole chicken using Crock-Pot Chicken recipe; shredded and then add 1 to 2 tsp garlic salt

or 12 oz grilled chicken breast (marinate in olive oil and garlic salt overnight, then grill on barbecue for best flavor)

2 full packages of turkey bacon
48 oz. (3 boxes) penne pasta (or your favorite pasta); cook al dente about 6-8 minutes
2 large red bell peppers; diced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese; use fresh
½ to 1 tsp paprika

1 to 2 cups Monterrey Jack Cheese; grated for garnish on top

Sauce:
2 tsp butter
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 cup liquid (I used half 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup apple juice with 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar or you can use 1 cup marsala wine)
1 tsp dijon or dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chopped rosemary; use fresh for best flavor
¼ tsp (or more) cayenne pepper
8 cups heavy cream (yes 8 cups is alot, and you will need 4 small pint containers)

Chop and prepare everything first. Shred chicken, dice up red peppers, and start cooking your bacon. Chopped up the turkey bacon first before you cook it, saves time later and it's so much easier to cook. Then get your water boiling for the 3 packages of noodles, use a really large pan if you are cooking all 3 packages at once.

Sauté garlic in butter in large pan. Add liquid (chicken broth mixture), mustard, salt, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and heavy cream. Cook to a soft boil.

Combine sauce, cooked pasta, shredded chicken, cooked bacon, bell peppers, Parmesan cheese, and paprika and mix thoroughly. Spread into pans; top with Monterrey Cheese and sprinkle of paprika.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Remove foil during the last 15 minutes, cheese with brown on top and it will begin to bubble.

FREEZER MEAL: Thaw in refrigerator the day of cooking and then follow above directions.

GLUTEN FREE Banana Bread {from a cake mix}

This has got to be the easiest and simplest banana bread (and GLUTEN FREE) to top it off. You can make it either way though, gluten free or not, choice is yours.

After the Banana Bread is baked and cooled, I wrap them individually and freeze them for my daughter. This gives her a fresh gluten free banana bread slice anytime she wants.

Banana Bread from a Cake Mix {gluten-free}
adapted, original recipe found at Betty Crocker

Betty Crocker GF Yellow Cake Mix (we used a GLUTEN FREE cake mix, but either work well)

3 Eggs

3 to 4 Overripe Bananas

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup chopped nuts (but you can add in mini chocolate chips too)

(Options: adding in a 1 tsp of vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and someone added a snack size applesauce, I will try this for sure next time. Fall Option: Instead of Bananas add in 1 cup of pumpkin and 1 cup of chocolate chips instead of nuts.)

Smash bananas on a paper plate before added them to your mixer (if works great and it's easy peasy). Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. Prepare your loaf pan with non-stick spray and a little bit of flour, then pour batter into a loaf pan and bake.

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes, or until center comes out clean on a toothpick.

FREEZER TIP: When you have a stack of bananas or just one or two left on the counter that go uneaten FREEZE them. I never throw away a ripe banana. You can freeze them whole just as they are with the peel and everything. Then when you are ready to bake some banana bread, banana cupcakes or banana cookies, just remove the banana from the freezer and within 5 to 10 minutes its ready to add to your batter. OR if you LOVE smoothies, I take the banana and slice it and put it into a ziploc bag so I can add it to my next smoothy. No need to even thaw it out, just add to smoothy like ice and it makes it cold and also adds all the nutrients of a banana. I hope you try this and NEVER throw another banana away again.