WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY OH MY JULY

Happy middle of Summer, middle of the week, my friends! July has been jampacked, and I am absorbing every second. Let’s get to What’s Up Wednesday with Shay and Schaefer. This post is jam packed and I think you’ll love it!

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: All kinds of summer goodness including Fair food and a breakfast at a great diner in Cincinnati called Sugar & Spice. But I did so bad on 2 trips this month that it’s back on the healthy food wagon for awhile. 

I’ve also made my Sheet Pan Mongolian Beef, Turkey Crescent Bake, and lots of these salads.

 

2. WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT: of course, always reminiscing about up north (Michigan), the hunt for property is on! 

3: WHAT I’M LOVING: Flowers and Hummingbirds. Friends, a hummingbird perch is really a thing. They will sit on there to overlook their food source i.e. my hummingbird feeders. Mom got it for us. It took one a while to start doing it, but now he is. I caught it on camera through the blinds. Get one here HERE

LOVELY LEMON Colored HIBISCUS

The Front of the HOUSE this Year and all the LOVELY Bubblegum Pink Petunias!

AND buying all the things for the baby girls. Recently I got them a bunch of outfits; this is one for next summer. Get these outfits HERE! (On clearance!!!!) LOTS of Baby Clothes on clearance.

4: WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO: So much! Just to name a few. We went to the country fair with mom to see the most amazing “clean” comedian (no vulgarity or cussing) named John Crist and Laughed for 2 hrs straight. Saw a drone show at the Fair, we went to Cinci to see a boy, his girl and had a blast at a Reds game and Mr. Nine got a new Raptor (truck, lol) 

 

5: WHAT I’M DREADING: Summer coming to an end BUT I LOVE FALL. 

 

6: WHAT I’M WORKING ON: The Baby Shower of course! SO MUCH FUN! It’s going to be absolutely spectacular. I will have a post or 2 completely dedicated to the shower because I know it’ll be fun for y’all not to mention inspiration for parties.

 

Many of the things I am buying, but of course I am crafting some of my own banners, posters, displays, etc. I created this of the daddy to be to go on the cookie table; a photo when he was one month old right after a feeding. So cute. 

How adorable is this Feather lamp?

Look at these two big sweet bunnies that are going to go up on a shelf. 

 

7: WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT: Well, I think that’s a given, having first time grand babies, celebrating with everyone at the shower; looks like there’s going to be dozens of people attending!

 

8: WHAT I’M WATCHING & READING:

Watching

The Bear, Hijack, and the reboot of Justified on FX.

Reading 

Twenty Years Later. Get it HERE.

 

9: WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: Always Country, classic country, 80’s and Classic Rock

AND

I’m finally on the podcast train: Smartless and Net Positive right now. Thinking about starting my own. 

 

10: WHAT I’M WEARING: mostly shorts, T-shirts, bathing suits, but occasionally getting dressier, lol

Top HERE // Pants HERE // Necklace Set HERE // Sandals HERE

Dress HERE (under $25..so flattering) // Necklace Set HERE // Sandals HERE // Earrings HERE

 

11: WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND:

Quick Girls Trip

Dinner with Friends aka the Work Wives

Working on Baby Shower Stuff

 

12: WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH: The Baby Shower, a trip to Mackinac Island, Soaking up lots more Summer…

 

13: FAVORITE AMAZON FIND: So much lately, which I will share soon, but HOW this makes me FEEL is definitely a Favorite. Electrolyte replacement with half a pack first thing in the morning has changed my life especially during this crappy menopause stage. GET IT RIGHT HERE!

 Hope your week is going GREAT!

LOVE YOU ALL!

 

 LINKING-UP with Momfessionals Friday Favorites // Metamorphosis Monday // Thursday Fashion Files // Mix and Match Mama // Love your Creativity // Hello Monday // Sundays on Silverado

xoxo

 

 

PEANUT BUTTER CUP STUFFED MONKEY BREAD

Growing up, my mom always made monkey bread! I can remember especially as a teenager, standing with my friends at the kitchen counter pulling apart the ooey gooey goodness and loving every minute of it! My family is full of Reese’s peanut butter cup lovers, so I decided to merge the two with stuffing Reese cups inside, added a peanut buttery glaze and a whole new generation of monkey bread love is in the house! So amazing!

What you'll Need

PEANUT BETTER CUP STUFFED MONKEY BREAD

Ingredients:

2 cans (8 ct) Grands Biscuits

1 pkg Mini Reese’s cups (32 needed, extra for topping)

1 stick butter

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

 

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup peanut butter

3 to 4 tablespoons of milk 

Directions:

1.        Preheat oven to 340° and spray a but pan with cooking spray

2.        Cut all the biscuits in half and roll into balls with a Reese’s peanut butter cup stuck inside each & place all balls in the Bundt pan.

3.        On the stove, melt the butter and brown sugar and pour over the biscuit balls.

 4.  Bake for about 40 minutes  

       until top is golden brown.

5.        Make the peanut butter glaze by mixing The powdered sugar, peanut butter and milk until desired consistency.

6.        Invert the monkey bread onto a platter and pour glaze on top and sprinkle with chopped Reese’s 

It truly is easy, but the result is such a stunner and so yummy! I see this being made in my household a lot in the future! it might even top as a favorite, the coveted Reese’s peanut butter cake that I make for most birthdays!

Video how I made it on my Instagram and TikTok today

Several of you have asked for a Print button on my Recipes..sorry I don't have that, but it's easy, just copy recipe text and paste it in your notes or word, then print!

CREATE and BAKE with LOVE MY Friends!!

LINKING-UP with Style on the Daily // Metamorphosis Monday // Thursday Fashion Files // Love your Creativity // Hello Monday  //Fancy Friday // Trend Spin 

xoxo

BOWTIE MEATBALL SKEWERS

Mee-Ta-BALL-Zas, basil, and bowtie pasta…YUMMY! The CUTEST appetizers around! AND only 4 ingredients my friends..4, plus the little wooden skewers.

Perfect for a tailgate party, with the meatballs to even make a meal, nice addition to an appetizer and cocktail party.. and with the red sauce and green basil, I think they be pretty at the holidays too. Heck they were so good I eat them any day, lol. 

Yum

 

The older I get, the more I like easy and these are easy indeed. Now for time sake I did use prepackaged meatballs but I need to admit something to you. This is probably the first time in my life I’ve ever bought prepackaged meatballs, I always make my own homemade meatballs. In fact these were just a little bit too big for my taste for the appetizers so I cannot wait to try these with my own.

I like to make 12-24 of these, 24 max for one jar of sauce, the amount is endless for big parties, just add a jar of sauce per 2 dozen.

 

Ingredients

Bowtie Pasta

Meatballs (frozen or homemade)

Marinara or Pasta Sauce

Basil leaves

Cocktail Tasting Forks (BUY HERE)

 

Directions

1. Boil water and cook your bowtie pasta as directed and drain. 

2. Simmer a jar of your favorite marinara sauce and the meatballs on the stove top until warmed through. 

Now time to assemble. 

3. Spread out your basil leaves out. carefully put your skewer through the pinched part of the bowtie pasta. Place a basil leaf on top of a Meatball, (wipe off any excess marinara back in the pot) and put those through the skewer with the basil on top and you’re done! So Simple

4.Put on a pretty plate for serving

I found that these are even good cold. However, so incredibly easy to assemble right before a party.

Aren’t they just the cutest? Watch the video how I assembled these HERE

And don't forget my recipe for Bowtie Lasagne!

It was a huge hit too!

Until next time my beauties. Heading to the airport today to pick up someone very special!!

LINKING-UP with  // Metamorphosis Monday // Thursday Fashion Files // Love your Creativity // Hello Monday    

 

 xoxo

GARDEN FRESH RATATOUILLE

Reap that garden harvest with this delicious and flavorful Ratatouille that is so versatile! I had never had ratatouille before only watched the movie with a rat, LOL! But my goodness is this delicious! I like to eat this by itself, but it is so delicious over any kind of pasta, as a filling for vegetable lasagna or spooned over a juicy baked chicken breast! So good grab a baguette and Mamma Mia, this is marvelous! It’s so healthy too!

And isn’t it funny friends, I cook all the time but I got tired of photographing all my food for the blog, so my recipes have kind of gone by the wayside, but I’ll throw one in every now and then!

GARDEN FRESH RATATOUILLE 

INGREDIENTS

8 fresh tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 large eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 medium sweet onion, diced 

2 Tsp. minced Garlic

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 small zucchinis, diced

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon fresh basil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place tomatoes and juices on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and bake until thickened, 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a colander, toss eggplant with 1½ teaspoons salt. Let sit 20 minutes, then squeeze out excess liquid. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 4 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add peppers and cook stirring until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, bay leaf and basil to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and cook at a gentle simmer until vegetables are tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with vinegar, salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Linking up with Metamorphosis Monday

xoxo

DATE PINWHEELS

Happy Tasty Tuesday friends! That’s right! Tasty Tuesday is back for one very special holiday recipe! There are a couple of holiday sweet treats my mom makes, that I request every year. Those are her white sour cream fudge and these Date Pinwheels! This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks that I used to love browsing through when I was a little girl. They are just the right amount of soft cookie and chewy date filling!

I cannot even tell you how much I love these. And truth is, these photos are from last year when I forgot to share this recipe and I didn’t get enough of them because I was eating the cookies so fast. I have included a photo of the ingredients and my mom and I are happy to share the recipe with you.

She hasn’t made them for me yet this year but I am anxiously awaiting them and so are my taste buds. But she did take a pic of all the ingredients for these, you will LOVE them!!

 

What you'll need

DATE PINWHEELS
INGREDIENTS
3/4 lb pitted dates, chopped

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Cook dates, sugar and water, stirring constantly, until thickened; cool.
Mix brown sugar, shortening, butter, egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour and salt. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half in a rectangle, 11x7 inches, on waxed paper. Spread half the date filling on each rectangle. Roll up tightly, beginning at 11-inch side. Pinch edge of dough into the roll to seal. Wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut rolls into ¼ inch slices. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, about 12 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Makes about 5 dozen.

Hope you enjoy a sweet treat today my sweet friends!!

LINKING-UP with  // Love your Creativity // Hello Monday // Inspire Me Tuesday  

xoxo