Restaurant.com has a great deal!!!

SPECIAL EVENT ALERT

Have you tried Restaurant.com yet? If not then this is your chance to click on the link below and save big.

Restaurant.com is now offering 80% off Savings on $25 Gift Certificates. $2 when you use code TREAT.Valid only 10/27/08 thru 10/31/08.

The Foodie Blog Roll

Check out my Foodie Blog Roll on my side bar! I am so thrilled to be accepted. It is the first of its kind and is one of the fastest growing online communities for foodbloggers. So if you have a blog that is 50% food content...then what are you waiting for? Sign up today and get on the Foodie Blog Roll!

Sun Dried Apples

I know some of my readers are aware of my father and his famous sun dried apples. In fact, some of you have purchased from him in the past and come back to tell me how wonderful they were and purchased more. But for all of you who do not know, my father takes the time each year to pick all of these apples, hand peel them and slice them. Then he dries them in the sun. He DOES NOT use a dehydrator. They are done the old fashioned way. You wouldn't believe how delicious pies and cakes are made from these apples. Well some of you know. But for those who don't then I am letting you in on a little secret. He has a few gallon left. This year he had more apples than ever before, and I was amazed the other day to hear he hasn't sold out yet. Most of the time he don't have any left after 2 or 3 weeks of selling them. So I decided to do him a favor and let everyone know about the apples who reads my blog. If you are interested then you can either give him a call, since he puts his number in different classifieds for advertisement then he doesn't mind me posting it here. Or you can email me from my site here. I would recommend calling or emailing before ordering them to make sure they are not all gone. If you prefer to call him and order then his contact information is:


Kenneth Ledbetter
1316 County Road 32
Fackler, AL 35776
Phone: 256-574-5619


I wish I would have thought to take pictures of his entire process this year, but didn't think of it until I decided to post here. I have included a picture of the golden brown and clean apples like you would receive in a gallon bag. They are $15 a gallon and $6 for shipping & handling. Don't wait too long or they'll be gone!

Restaurant Deals!

I don't know about you, but my family loves eating out. We do it way more than we should. I'm not sure if it is because of the convenience or my cooking (even though they say I'm a good cook...lol). A friend of mine turned me on to this wonderful site with great deals. You can actually purchase gift certificates and save right here online. By doing this you would be saving so much everytime you eat out!!! I just love this site. They have $25 gift certificates for $10 as well as some lower priced ones. This place is always running other promotions and I'll try to keep you updated on those also.

Click here for Restaurant.com

All you have to do is go to the site, put in a zip code or city and it will bring up participating restaurants in the area. You can print off your certificate or even have it emailed to you. In fact, I am thinking of purchasing some for gifts at Christmas time! I also am going to use these for when we go out of town and want to try different restaurants in that city.

And by all means, don't forget to check out the NEW FEATURE! Dinner of the Month on Restaurant.com.

Thanks for the award!

Thanks goes to The Jillybean and Mindy for leaving me a "I Love Your Blog" award. I feel honored to receive this. I want to take a moment and say I truly enjoy reading your blogs at http://www.thepost-itplace.com/ and A Peek Inside our Life!

There are some rules for this award:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the persons you've nominated.

So, with that said, I am now passing the award along to 7 blogs that I love. I hope all of you will take some time to check them out.
My nominees are:

Here on Columbia Avenue
Hill Billy Heart
A Hunters Wife
I Love My 3 Boys
My So-Called Blog
Mommy Madness
Piece of Me

I've been tagged!

Jolly Mom has tagged me!!! What does this mean? It means I have to share some things about myself with you! What do you want to know? Well, I get to choose what I want you to know!! LOL!! I am supposed to post 8 random facts about me and then choose 8 people to get tagged!

First, the rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Facts About Me:
1. I have one child, named Haley, who is 18 going on 30.
2. I have a step-son from a previous marriage who I still think of as my own.
3. I have a dog named Noel, which is half lab, half greyhound. I would love to have a Yorkie...maybe someday!
4. I remarried again this past April...so, I'm still a newlywed.
5. I'm the only child! Always hated that!
6. We love to travel...but our favorite are cruises!
7. I have worked at home for approx. 10 year....wouldn't trade it for an outside job!
8. I suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis and have had two knee replacements and one shoulder replacement.

I'm tagging these great bloggers in hopes that I find out some juicy gossip about them:

Life in Cypress Texas
Different World
Domesticated Diva
Feelings Just Are
Florida Travel Spots
Green N Pink
Happy Healthy Families
Have Your Health

Pumpkin Muffins

A friend of mine gave this to me today and I wanted to share it with you since it is pumpkin time!


Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups dehydrated cranberries
2 1/2 cups flour all-purpose
1/2 cups milk1
3/4 cups pumpkin (canned)
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
7 Tablespoons butter, unsalted (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
3/4 teaspoon cloves (ground)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon saltPinch Black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Line muffin pan with 20 paper cups or spray with cooking spray.
3. Mix baking soda, salt, baking powder, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla, butter, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a mixer on medium speed to mix well.
4. Mix in eggs, and egg whites then pumpkin; mix well after each ingredient
5. Add flour and milk mixing well, stir in cranberries last.
6. Pour 1/4 cup into each muffin cup.
7. Bake for 30 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 5 min
Optional: Add your favorite frosting.

Monkey Bread

While visiting some other sites I came across a Monkey Bread Recipe on Columbus Foodie. They have it posted as a "Kid's Cooking Thursday" recipe. I can honestly say I don't think I have ever tried to make this. It looks delicious for adults, let alone children.

They have the recipe adapted slightly from Recipezaar and it sounds wonderful. If you make it before me or have ever made it before. Let me know how it is.

Monkey Bread

4 (7.5 oz) packages refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 c. salted butter

1 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. water

1/2 c. walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.
Place nuts onto bottom of greased Bundt pan.
Quarter biscuits, roll in cinnamon and granulated sugar that has been mixed together.
Place loosely in pan.
Melt butter, brown sugar and water, boil for 2 minutes (until it has a nice caramel consistency) and pour over biscuits.
Bake for 25 minutes, and unmold 1-2 minutes after removing from oven.
To serve, do not cut with a knife - pull apart small pieces with fingers.

Don't forget to check out Columbus Foodie for other great recipes!

Amish Peanut Brittle Recipe #2

AMISH PEANUT BRITTLE RECIPE #2

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup white Karo Syrup

1/2 cup water

1 (8 oz.) package of raw peanuts

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda (sifted)

IMPORTANT: Have ready a buttered cookie sheet.

Cook the sugar, water and syrup until mixture threads (approx. 10 to 12 minutes).

Add sale and raw peanuts and stir constantly.

Cook until peanuts are toasty brown (approx. 10 minutes).

Remove from heat and add baking soda.

Stir quickly and thoroughly.

Pour at once onto prepared cookie sheet.

Let mixture spread itself.

Cool and break into pieces.

Don't forget to check out Amish Peanut Brittle Recipe #1

Amish Peanut Brittle Recipe #1

We visited the Amish Community today and purchased some wonderful Peanut Brittle. Thought I would share the recipe with you.

AMISH PEANUT BRITTLE RECIPE #1

1 cup water

1 dash of salt

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup light molasses

4 tablespoons of butter

2 cups peanuts (shelled)

Combine the brown sugar, molasses, water and salt in a sauce pan. Cook slow, stirring occasionally, to 280 degrees F. Stir in the butter and immediately remove from heat. Stir in peanuts. Pour onto marble slab, stoneware platter or lightly greased cookie sheet and let cool. Break into pieces.

Remember to check out my Amish Peanut Brittle Recipe #2

Pumpkin Walnut Fudge

Since it's fall and Halloween is right around the corner, I thought I would list this Pumpkin Recipe. Hope you enjoy!

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup pumpkin
dash of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine milk, sugar, corn syrup, pumpkin, and salt in tall pan (mixture may boil over). Cook over medium high heat until boiling, stirring constantly. When mixture comes to a full boil, reduce heat and simmer until mixture comes to softball stage (about 232 degrees on a candy thermometer - takes approximately 40 minutes). Remove from heat and stire in cinnamon, allspice, butter and vanilla. Cool, then beat until thick and less glossy. Stir in walnuts and pour into a buttered plate.

Coleslaw Recipe

While this is probably not the "real" KFC Coleslaw recipe, it has been given to me as the closest thing to it.

Ingredients:

1 head (about 8 cups) finely diced cabbage
1/4 cup finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced onions
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

Preparation:

1. Finely dice the cabbage and carrots (preferably using a food processor).
2. Place the shredded cabbage and carrot in a large bowl and stir in the minced onions.
3. Using the regular blade of your food processor, process the remaining ingredients until smooth.
4. Pour the sauce over the vegetable mixture and mix well.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.

Servings: 10

Let me know what you think...I haven't even tried it myself yet!

Coolest Cooking Gadgets

I was looking around online at Kitchen Gadgets and ran across this totally cool website called Coolest Gadgets. Anyway, I found the perfect gift for my husband for Christmas. It's called a Drive Bay Toaster. Have you ever heard of such? It is toaster that is powered by your PC! You can insert it directly in the drive bay. It even includes a Windows based software to control the temperature setting. Oh and to beat it all....it has a crumb tray, now that's a cool gadget! You can purchase one of these from CrazyPC for $29.99.

What you can find on Woman's Day

I always love to look and sometimes purchase magazines at the checkout counter in Wal-mart. One of my main reasons for this is the recipes and meal plans. One of my favorites is Woman's Day. So I figure, why spend the money on the magazine when I really can't afford it right now. Even though it's nice to have in paperback, I can still get what I'm looking for right online. You can even get their monthly menus as well as the past months. So check out the site and look at all it has to offer.