The Pumpkin Patch - Almost Wordless Wednesday

My almost Wordless Wednesday photo and post for this week is a photograph that I snapped when we took our little 3 1/2 year old grand daughter to a local Pumpkin Patch a few weeks ago. We spent almost 2 hours at the Pumpkin Patch while she searched for the perfect pumpkins.

While on the hunt, her daddy and her pappy helped her to select 4 gorgeous pumpkins which we brought home and carved into Jack-o-lanterns and into jackie-lanterns. I must say, Princess Gia had a blast at the Pumpkin Patch and we will be taking her again next year. Perhaps, a new family tradition in the making!

After we carved them up...we roasted their seeds in the oven and chowed down! We love roasted pumpkin seeds! Anyway, that is our "Almost" Wordless Wednesday post for this week :)

Gold and Silver Fever Infographic

Do any of you collect gold and/or silver coins? What about gold and/or silver jewelry? Well, today I found this really cool infographic on Gold and Silver Fever and wanted to share it with all of you. It has some really educating and interesting facts on it like:

* For every person on the Earth, there is 24.75 grams of gold.
* Every hour there is more steel poured than the entire amount of gold ever mined. Wow!
* During the Gold Rush, San Francisco grew from 200 residents to over 36,000 in only 6 years! Talk about a population boom!
* Silver is the most reflective of all of the metals.
* Silver was more valuable than gold in ancient Egypt.
* The 14 year Gold Rush last until 1893.

Plus many more interesting and educating facts! Check out the infographic below to learn more! It's an eye-opener! If you have any problems viewing the infographic in it's entirety, scroll to the bottom of this post & click on the hyperlink to open it up in a new window.


Presented By GreatSouthernCoins.com visit greatsoutherncoins.com

Homemade Banana Nut Bread Recipe

I love making homemade banana bread and I enjoy making it a variety of different ways. Sometimes I will toss in some shredded zucchini, strawberries, chopped nuts or whatever I have on hand. Today, I wanted to share with you a banana nut bread recipe that I like to use. With the addition of the applesauce, you are cutting down on fat and the applesauce makes it a very moist bread.

Homemade Banana Nut Bread Recipe

4 ripe bananas
1 cup of sugar
¾ cup of applesauce
2 eggs
2 cups of bread flour
½ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan. In a large bowl, slice the bananas and use an electric mixer to mash. Add the sugar and blend. Let mixture stand for 15 minutes. Add applesauce and eggs and mix well. Blend in the remaining ingredients. Pour into the greased loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand again for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chicken and Waffles with Sweet and Spicy Mayo Recipe

The great folks over at KRUPS sent over their Chicken and Waffles with Sweet & Spicy Mayo recipe for me to share with all of my readers. I am a HUGE fan of homemade waffles and these waffles, look delicious! Don't you agree? Wow! Thanks KRUPS!

KRUPS Signature Waffles Recipe

2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips** (for dessert recipe)

Preheat KRUPS F654 Waffle Iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth. Brush oil on preheated waffle iron. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.
Chicken and Waffles with Sweet and Spicy Mayo Recipe

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper plus 1 teaspoon for mayo sauce
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 quart peanut oil for frying
• 8 chicken tenders
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoons prepared horseradish
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder

Whisk together the eggs, cream, cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, and black pepper in a large bowl. In a paper bag, shake together the flour, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon salt. Dip the chicken into the beaten egg mixture, then place into the flour mixture and shake to coat. Place the breaded chicken onto a wire rack; do not stack. Let the chicken rest for 20 minutes to allow the coating to set. Heat about 3 inches of oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In small batches, fry chicken 5 to 8 minutes until golden brown. Remove chicken, and drain on paper towels. Set aside or keep warm in a low oven.

To make the mayo, combine mayonnaise, maple syrup, horseradish, cayenne pepper and mustard powder and whisk together until blended. Spoon over waffles and serve with chicken.

Potato Pancakes Recipe for Big Family Breakfasts

Do you have a big family? Struggling with recipes that will feed the entire family every morning? Well, this recipe will make 12 to 15 pancakes (depending on how large you make them) and is really easy to make. In addition, once cooked and cooled...these pancakes will freeze well for later use!

Homemade Potato Pancakes Recipe

1/4 cup milk
2 medium eggs
3 cups raw potatoes, diced very small
1/2 of a small onion, finely diced
3 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Dice up your raw potatoes and small onion. Place all ingredients in a large blender container in the order they are given in the recipe. Process on medium speed for about 20 seconds or until the potatoes are finely diced up. You do not want to over-process the mixture because the potatoes will liquify if blended up too much.

Prepare your griddle and get it nice and hot. Pour some pancake batter onto your hot griddle and grill on the first side until you see bubbles around the edges. Flip pancake over to the other side and continue grilling until golden brown. Serve pancakes with your favorite toppings.

Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns :: Almost Wordless Wednesday

Two weeks ago we took Princess Gia to our local Pumpkin Patch so that she could pick out a few Halloween pumpkins. We spent 45 minutes at the pumpkin patch that afternoon and came home with 4 beautiful Halloween pumpkins.

She told her daddy that she wanted a "Princess" design on her pumpkin so her daddy did the best that he could in designing her a spooky princess pumpkin. After 30 minutes, he came up with Princess Jackie-Lantern! LOL My little 3 1/2 year old grand daughter is very proud of her new Halloween pumpkin and every evening she turns on the battery operated candle that sits inside Jackie.

So there you have it, my Almost Wordless Wednesday post for October 17th, 2012. Enjoy!

Orange Mango Creamsicle Sparkling Punch Recipe

Sparkling ICE, the 2012 winner of the Food & Beverage “Rising Star” award from Symphony IRI Group, has created a recipe for Orange Mango Creamsicle Sparkling Punch - a simple, sparkling summer snack that is perfect to serve to friends and family of all ages. Oranges are naturally low in calories and high in antioxidants and Vitamin C. Sparkling ICE also contains vitamins and antioxidants to create tasty, lightly-carbonated, refreshments in assorted thirst-quenching flavors.

Orange Mango Creamsicle Sparkling Punch Recipe

1 qt. Vanilla Ice Cream
1 qt. Sherbet
8-12 (17oz) Chilled bottles Orange Mango Sparkling ICE

Mix all ingredients together in large punch bowl. Let ice cream soften a little before serving.

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Sparkling ICE is the perfect beverage for people of all ages. Crisp and refreshing, Sparkling ICE can be enjoyed alone or as a mixer for yummy low-calorie cocktails. Delicious, zero calories and refreshing, Sparkling ICE combines fresh spring water, natural fruit juices and vitamins and antioxidants to create tasty, lightly-carbonated, refreshments in assorted thirst-quenching flavors. A great alternative to soft drinks, appealing to all age groups, diabetics and the health-conscious, Sparkling ICE is available in eight distinct, delicious flavors sweetened with Splenda, all of which are caffeine-free, Kosher U and free of sodium and carbohydrates.

Curbside Chaos Yard Makeover Results and Fall Gardening!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fall is in the air and it's time to work on our Fall gardening to get things ready for Spring 2013. Most people think about planting flower bulbs and flowers in early Spring but if you want flowers to be blooming at the start of Spring, you need to plant your flower bulbs now!

 

Now that Fall is here, we have been planning out all of the things that we need to do now so that our garden looks beautiful come Springtime. I found a great web site online called Curbside Chaos that is helping us to learn everything that we need to know about gardening.

 

On their site they had a big sweepstakes a few months ago and one lucky winner won a yard makeover plus a visit from Taniya Nayak. I watched the YouTube video on that and was really impressed with how that backyard makeover turned out. Absolutely gorgeous! I love that the home owner chose some lillies and gladiolas for her backyard which are always pretty. You need to check out the video at http://youtu.be/MqeAi_su2ok. If I would ever win a $5,000 yard makeover, I could get a pretty solar bird bath and put it into the center of a beautiful flower garden. I like bright and colorful flowers in yellows, pinks and purples.

 

They are also doing a special fundraisers where if you send a Tweet on Twitter they will donated $1.00 to Rebuilding Together, the nations leading non-profit organization that works to preserve affordable home ownership & to revitalize older communities. You can Tweet using the hashtag #CurbsideChaos.

 

Anyway, back to my Fall gardening plans! I am a big lover of Spring blooming flowers and I live in the North East. I used their Garden Guru Tool (bottom left side of the page on their site) to find my country, state and planting zone. I learned that Daffodils and Crocus' are good flowers for me to plant right now for blooming come early Spring. They also gave me planting instructions too! Yeah!

Are any of you planting anything this Fall? I would love to invite you to go over there and try out their Garden Guru Tool to see what you could be planting right now so that you will have a pretty garden come Springtime too! What kind of flowers do you like?

I also learned a great gardening tip while I was over there too! Did you know that flower bulbs are not just for outdoor gardening? You can plant them in planters and place those planters indoors! Isn't that cool? In addition, you can give potted flowers (containing potted flower bulbs) as gifts too! I like to give those types of gifts around Easter and Mother's Day.

I was over there looking at their Garden Ladies too and found one lady named Evelyn that I really identified with. She has a wild animal problem making a mess of her garden and I learned that there are flowers that you can plant to help keep pesky critters away! Yeah, that is way cool! I need to do that for our groundhog and deer problem.
Make sure you visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more about Fall gardening and the yard makeover! Happy Planting!

WW - A Visit to the Local Pumpkin Patch

My almost Wordless Wednesday photo for this week is one I took of my little 3 1/2 year old grand daughter last weekend when we took her to the local Pumpkin Patch for the very first time. At first, she didn't understand what a Pumpkin Patch was....but once we got there and she got to run through the farmer's field looking at pumpkins, well, she was all for it!

We spent about 45 minutes at the Pumpkin Patch and left her pick 4 huge pumpkins! Two of the pumpkins are sitting on my front porch as part of my Fall outdoor decorations and the other two pumpkins are at her house. Her daddy is going to carve them into Jack-o-lanterns for her later tonight. She is super excited about that!

Happy Wordless or Almost Wordless Wednesday!

Homemade Pineapple Pie Recipe

Looking for a great pie recipe that utilizes canned pineapple? If so, you have got to try my mother's homemade pineapple pie recipe! We love making this pie for our family, especially in the summertime but you can make it all year long!

Homemade Pineapple Pie Recipe

2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple
1 tbsp. butter, softened
1 tbsp. lemon juice
8" pie shell (unbaked)(one or two, see below)

In a large saucepan combine together the cornstarch, sugar, salt and the crushed pineapples. Simmer over medium heat and cook until it thickens up. Stir in the butter and lemon juice and simmer for an additional 3 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Pour pineapple pie filling into an 8" unbaked pie shell. Cover with lattice strips or another unbaked pie shell to make a double crust pie. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

Shopping for Prescription Glasses Online

I have been wearing eye glasses for the past 10 years and every year when I go to get my eyes re-examined, I find out that my prescription has changed. Sigh, it seems to be a vicious merry-go-round every year. I guess as we age, our eye sight gets worse. Last year I paid close to $700 for my eye glasses at a local eye wear store and this year, I am determined to save money.

I decided to shop for my prescription glasses online and have them delivered to my home. I got on the web and did some browsing and found a store that has all of the latest and greatest eye glass frames. They have so many stylish choices, that it was hard to make up my mind on the pair that I wanted. Hence, I asked my hubby for his opinion and now he wants to get a new pair too!


It is really amazing at how far technology has come and that you can now purchase your eye glasses and contacts online. In doing so, you save a lot of money because our local stores charge at least 50% more. I love that I don't have to "tramp" into a local store and spend hours of my time trying on frames. I can now do it all from the comfort of my home and when it is convenient for me to do so. Isn't that pretty cool? I think so!

All I have to do is get a copy of my newest prescription and type that prescription in on the ordering form. Some places require you to mail it in or fax it in...but this one particular store you can simply type your prescription information in on the screen. Quick and Easy...just the way I like it!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know about the cool prescription eye glass store that I found online and if you need a new pair of prescription glasses, you should check them out too! Happy Shopping!

Our New Coastal Design Area Rug by Mohawk

Well, we are now 5 months into our home remodeling project and coming down the home stretch now. We are about 70% completed with the projects we want to complete before we move into the house. We are stepping up the pace and will be moving into the house around Thanksgiving. We are super excited about that!

Anyway, I have been looking around for some Coastal Theme'd Area Rugs and have been having a hard time locating one to go into my master bedroom. The master bedroom and master bathroom are being done in a sandy beach and coastal ocean theme. I needed a rug that was gender neutral but in a coastal theme and I finally found one!

The photo shows our new area rug sitting in our living room because the guys are still laying down the hardwood floor in the master bedroom. Once the flooring is done, this gorgeous area rug by Mohawk will be going into the bedroom!

I think it's absolutely GORGEOUS and it's ONLY available right now at Lowe's for $68.00 which is a bargain for this high-quality area rug. Check out the Mohawk Home Abstract Sea Multi 60-in x 84-in Rectangular Multicolor Transitional Area Rug and you will see for yourself...how gorgeous it is!

Once the master bedroom is done, I will move the area rug into that room and update this blog post with a new photo. I think it's going to go perfectly with my sandy beach coastal decor. Yeah!!!

Orange Mango ICE Cocktail Recipe

I love Mango and any cocktail drinks that contain the mango flavor are definitly for me! Seriously, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE mango! Do you enjoy mango too? Well anyway, I got a great cocktail recipe to share with all of you from the folks over at Sparkling ICE. Have any of you tried any of the cocktails yet that are made with Sparkling ICE products?

* Recipe and Photo is courtesy of Sparkling ICE.

Orange Mango ICE Cocktail Recipe

1 oz Herradura Silver Tequila
1 oz Triple Sec
Lime wedge muddled
Topped with Orange Mango Sparkling ICE

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Disclaimer: You must be 21 years of age or older to consume alcohol in the United States. Please drink responsibly and NEVER drink & drive.

Fashionable Boot Styles for Fall

Fall has officially arrived and many women are hitting the stores looking for the latest hot looks in women's footwear. One of this season's fashionable "must-haves" is the boot! You can find boots with 5" high-heels or you can find comfortable boots for women that you can wear all day long!

No matter what your boot style is, you can definitely find something that you will love this Fall season! You can pair your boots up with denim jeans and leggings for a casual look or pair them up with trousers, skirts and dresses for a more dressier look.

The "Tall Shaft Boot" looks great worn with dresses, skirts, leggings, jeggings and even with your favorite pair of jeans. You can find them with high-heels, kitten-heels, chunky-block heels or with flat soles. When selecting a Tall Shaft Boot, it's best to stick with the traditional colors of black or chocolate brown as they will go with most anything in your wardrobe.

The "Mid Shaft Boot" looks great worn with jeans, dresses, trousers and long or short skirts. When shopping for a Mid Shaft Boot, look for boots with a chunkier style heel to give you stability as you walk. You can find this style of boot in a wide variety of colors this year and you can really "jazz" up your fashion look by selecting a pair in red, navy blue or forest green. If you are a classics girl, stick with the basic black or chocolate brown.

The "Ankle Boot" is a real classic and most women love wearing them! When you purchase an Ankle Boot you won't have to worry about calf-size at all. If you are a big-calf type of woman, the Ankle Boot is your best option and they can be worn with just about everything in your Fall wardrobe.

The "Hiker or Trail Boot" is a style of boot that every woman should own, if you live in a part of the country where the weather can get nasty. This style of boot is comfortable to wear outside in the pouring rain, inches of snow or even on an icy sidewalk.  Often times we overlook this purchase when updating our Fall wardrobe but, it's an important one to remember if you live in the North or North East part of the country.

Now that Fall is definitely here, it is time to update your Fall wardrobe with at least one new pair of boots. If you are like me, consider getting 2 or 3 pairs to really update your wardrobe this Fall. Happy Shopping!