SHE: Thanksgiving Begins...

Hey Y’all,

We are a little over a week away from Thanksgiving!! I am so excited. I love everything about Thanksgiving. I like the colors, the smells, the cool temps (usually) and the casseroles!!  I love a good casserole. To me, the turkey ~ which most consider the “main dish” of the holiday… is a side note.  Now don’t get me wrong, my hubby will fry us a delicious turkey and it will be devoured. But I love to fill my plate with the yummy goodness of the many casseroles we have.   It’s funny, they are all typically easy to prepare, yet I rarely make them except during the holidays. Maybe I will make that a new idea and make them more throughout the year. Think that will take away some of their specialness? (I am really not sure that is a word.)

What about you? Are you a meat and potatoes girl or a casserole taster?  My favorite is sweet potato casserole. Lisa has a delicious recipe in our cookbook. It’s like a dessert it is so yummy. But then you have hash brown casserole, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, squash casserole, corn casserole, macaroni and cheese casserole and the list goes on… What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Like many of you, we will be making our grocery lists this week.  I plan to be sharing ideas with you about our Thanksgivings and “How we do them”.  We would love to know your family’s favorite Thanksgiving foods and your tips for a successful holiday dinner.

xoxo,

Amy

read more

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day 2017  ~

Enjoying the day with our family and hoping you are able to do so too!! Grateful for the

men and women who made

this day possible.

Back soon with some tips and tricks to share

with you all.

xoxo, 

        Amy

read more

SHE Thinks Easter (Last Minute)

Hey y'all! So as I'm sure you know, Easter is Sunday. AKA three days away! 

In true slacker form, I've not done a thing as far as decoration, crafts, or baking! Oops! 

I quickly scanned Pinterest for "quick easy Easter" - below are some cute ideas I found that I thought I'd share with you!

So how cute is this bunny garland? I love the little cotton ball tails. 

Image via Pinterest

These eggs are a great way to add a little extra decoration without having plastic eggs laying around. This would also be fun for the kids to help with if they were a little older!

Image via Pinterest

I think this button egg is my favorite! So cute, so easy, and so many possibilities!! 

Image via Pinterest

I love this snack because it's festive, sweet (peeps), and healthy (fruit). A win-win for everyone!

Image via Pinterest

Finally - you can't go wrong with Rice Krispy's! Add some food coloring to the melted marshmallows before you add the cereal and shape like eggs for these cute and yummy treats!

Image via Pinterest

Hope this helped get the creative juices flowing if you're like me and haven't done a thing. 

Happy Easter!

xo Courtney

read more

SHE: Tips for Holiday Baking

Hey *|FNAME|*,

Hope you have recovered from the holiday weekend.  Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday baking season for me.  And I am sure it does for you too.  Today I want to share a few tips with you to help make your treats extra tasty.

image via Bing

When baking cakes or cookies using eggs that are at room temperature makes a big difference in the texture. They will be lighter and fluffier.  If you are in a hurry, soak eggs in warm water for 10-15 minutes to bring them to room temperature. Then bake according to your recipe.

Butter versus margarine:  unless the recipe specifically calls for butter, you should be okay using margarine in your recipe.  Butter is a must for pastry, candies, sugar cookies and shortbreads. 

Whichever you  choose the temperature of your butter or margarine is more important.  Too soft, cookies will spread out too much, too cool and the mixture won't cream together well. It will take 30-45 minutes for the butter to reach room temperature.  The finger poke test is the best indicator for the correct temperature.  Poke your finger into the stick of butter, if your finger makes an indention in the butter, it is ideal temperature and will make the best cookie. This is a great article!

When making rolled or cut off cookies, separate the dough. Keep 1/2 in the refrigerator and roll out the other. Keeps it from getting too soft.

I keep evaporated milk on hand for baking too. I substitute it for water in recipes for a richer flavor.  You can also use Almond milk or heavy cream to improve your recipe flavors ~ low fat is never a option! It 's a dessert, just embrace it. 

Keep a few boxed brownie mixes on hand for when you need a quick dessert, but don't have a lot of time.  Adding an extra egg, using whole milk and a teaspoon of vanilla will really bring a homemade taste to your dessert.  You can also add 1/2 cup of chocolate, toffee or butterscotch chips, nuts, chocolate syrup or caramel... whatever flavors you like. 

One last tip~ parchment paper. It is life changing when baking. (Now, don't confuse it with wax paper.. wax paper does not go in the oven)

What do think? Were you already familiar with these tips?  We love to share and plan to have more over the next few weeks.   I will be baking several of my traditional Christmas treats and will be sharing my recipes with you.  We would love you to share some of your family favorites with us. You can  never have too many good recipes.

Let's kick off the season of baking!!     

Xoxo,

Amy

read more

SHE: Wishes You a Happy Halloween

    Hoping you and yours have a fun treat filled Halloween ~

If you need a few last minute ideas, follow us on Pinterest and I bet we can help you out. 

And here are so jokes your kiddos will love. 

Trick or Treat friends!!

read more

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!!

Oh my goodness, Can you believe it is the 4th of July?  Summer is going way too fast for me. How about you?  I love a reason to celebrate and when we get a long weekend - that's just more days to spread out the celebrations. 

I hope you get to enjoy the holiday with all the ones you love.  Between cookouts and swimming and the fireworks extravaganza take a moment and remember those who made this celebration possible.  How fortunate we are to live in a country where we are free to worship and celebrate without fear. 

America is the home of the free because of the brave!

 Happy 4th of July ~

read more