Pork Chops With Apple and Thyme

This is a wonderful recipe for pork chops...the flavors of apple and thyme really work beautifully together! Click HERE for the recipe!

* I served mine up with some balsamic/olive oil grilled bell peppers and portabello mushrooms!

Enjoy! :)

Happy Birthday Boy!

Image is from InStyle Stamps

Challenges:
Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Crafty Sentiments - For A Child
Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
Kaboodle Doodle - Emboss It
Penny's Challenge - Happy Birthday
Send A Smile 4 Kids - For The Boys
Shopping Our Stash - Starts With A "B" (Boy, Blue)
Simon Says - Anything Goes
SSDS - Birthday

Vegan PB Banana Bread Cake

For those of you that like to play with blenders here is a recipe for you!
* Note that she had a hard time using a Blendtec blender...I have the same blender and it worked perfectly. You just have to put the ingredients in the right order for it to work...but I'm sure those of you with a high speed blender know this already! :P

This was very gooey and so moist and delicious! Click HERE for the recipe!

I did change a few things to the recipe...I kept the oats whole instead of making them into flour, I used whole wheat flour instead of almond, and only 1/2 cup pb instead of the recommended 1 cup. I did use a 9x13 baking dish and it only needed 30 minutes (to be extra gooey) in my oven so be sure to watch it!

Enjoy! :)

Anniversary Card For In-Laws

Challenges:
Aud Sentiments - Spring/Summer colors
C.R.A.F.T - Anniversary
Crazy 4 Challenges - Add black cardstock
Delicious Doodles - Loads of layers

Anniversary Card For Friends

* If anyone knows who this image is by please let me know so I can give credit to the designer! *

Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T - Anniversary
Crafty Sentiments - Use a digi
Lollipop Crafts - Spring Fling (flowers)
Top Tip Tuesday - Spotty Dotty

40th Gag Birthday Gifts!

Here are some pictures I keep forgetting to post. My sister turned the big 40 last year and being the sweet sister that I am I decided to make her some gag gifts! LOL!
Hopefully you can read the labels (all images are freebies online) as they are pretty funny...if you need to make them larger please click on the pictures! Enjoy a good laugh for the day! :)
** The "pills" are M&M's and jelly beans! **









Challenges:
Stampalot - Birthday
The Lollipop Ladies - Gummy Bears (Figured all the colors fit the theme!)
Penny's Challenge - Anything But A Card

Parmesan Polenta and Spicy Sausage Sauce

I know it is pretty hard to believe that I'm not posting a dessert recipe right? LOL! I made this for the guys and it was my first time making polenta so I had no clue how it would turn out. I am not a huge fan of sausage or anything spicy so I did not try that part but they sure loved it...actually my dad always asks about the sausage now! I did however try the parmesan polenta and oh boy was it yummy! I wasn't aware that polenta had a little sweetness to it but it does...no wonder I like it! LOL! If you haven't tried polenta yet I encourage you to get out of your cooking comfort zone and try something new....you just might find another "go to" food in your kitchen!!

You can find the recipe HERE!

Enjoy! :)

Blueberry Drop Scones

These scones ended up spreading out more like cookies than a drop biscuit/scone but they still tasted darn good for less than 100 calories a piece! Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy! :)

Happy Easter!!

I used the same tutorial for these Easter baskets that I featured HERE. This time I added some ADORABLE images I colored up with my Copics from Nicecrane Designs which you can find HERE! I had so much fun making these for my two little nephews and filling them up with goodies! I'm so excited to give these to them I can hardly stand it! LOL!






Wishing you all Easter blessings!
- Stacie

Cranberry Orange Scone Bread!

This was out of this world amazing and lowfat!! Click HERE for the recipe!
Note: For the sugar on top I think the smaller 1 T portion is enough (instead of 2 T) and I used Turbinado sugar which gives it a nice crunch!

Enjoy! :)

Unstampabelles Challenge #10

Time for our tenth challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see YOUR FLAG COLORS! The bonus technique for this month is A SHAPED CARD OTHER THAN SQUARE OR RECTANGLE! You have until May 4th to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on May 5th.
*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, sentiments, etc.!

Our sponsor for this month is The Sticker Store!

This is the wonderful prize on offer for this month!



Now for my DT project to get you started!

I used some scrap paper and cut out the design with my Cricut and the Wild Card cartridge. Added a sentiment from The Sticker Store for the perfect final touch!

Christmas Granny!

Isn't this just the sweetest looking old lady? I bet she would bake me up a fresh batch of cookies if I came to visit! LOL!

This image is from the SWALK line at Crafter's Companion and it is called "Winter Cheer". You can find it by clicking HERE!

I embossed the background paper and did some real stitching on the outside rim just to frame the image out a little. Colored the image up with my Copics and added some flowersoft to the basket. Also put a bit of glossy accents on her glasses to make them shine. The flower was cut using a sizzix die and I also added flowersoft to the inside to give it more dimension. Hope you like my first Christmas card for this year! :)

Challenges:
Crafter's Companion - Going green
CRAFT challenge - Handmade flower
Cute Card Thursday - Anything goes
Lollipop Crafts - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes
Stampin' For The Weekend - Anything goes

Butter Pecan Chocolate Coconut Marshmallow Bars!

Is that title a mouthful or what? LOL! I had a box of butter pecan cake mix sitting around and wanted to try out a new recipe so I did a search online and found this recipe using only a handful of ingredients. I had all of them in the cupboard too which was even better! For some reason I didn't have high hopes for this recipe but let me tell you they turned out ooey gooey and heavenly! I'm sure if you couldn't find the butter pecan cake mix you could use whatever flavor you liked. I'm all about switching up recipes to suit my tastes or using up what I have on hand to save a trip to the store!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Excited Cat!

I am way behind on blogging again but I will slowly start to catch up soon. Today I have a cute and funny card using a digi image from Nicecrane Designs. Isn't it great? That cat looks soooooooooo excited to see his/her own shadow!! You can find this image in a collection by clicking HERE!

Challenges:
Allsorts - Three in a row (words in sentiment)
Cardmadfairy - Add a sentiment
Crafty Calendar - Spring clean (scrap paper and rub-on sentiment)
Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Anything goes
Kaboodle Doodle - How cut is that?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SURPRISE HOP!!!

Today is my friend and DT leader Merry's birthday! You can find her blog by clicking HERE! Please be sure to leave her some birthday love! She is also the founder of the Unstampabelle challenge blog which you can find HERE! The DT thought it would be a good idea to surprise her with a special birthday hop full of birthday wishes and creations! You can find all the DT members blogs by going to the Unstampabelle challenge blog and clicking on each of our names which are located on the left side of that page! *Due to time zone differences it may take a few hours for everyone to get their post up*

My project for Merry is this lovely tic tac holder (Merry...this is in the mail and hopefully your package arrives soon!).



I used some digi paper from Nicecrane Designs and the sticker is from The Sticker Store. This is also a great project to make for Easter that is coming up and it would go perfect with our current challenger over at Unstampabelles (I highly encourage you to check it out!)
I found the dimensions for this fun little project HERE! I just changed the theme! :)

Have fun on your hop and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERRY!!!
BIG HUGS!
-Stacie

Kale Chips

Figured I would branch out and post a "green" recipe today instead of a dessert (I have come to realize I am addicted to sweets)! Some of you probably think I have gone completely bonkers making chips out of a green leafy vegetable....BUT don't knock it unless you try it! LOL! I have been trying to do much better at eating more veggies and I saw this recipe for kale chips and read rave reviews so I thought I would give it a try. It is a simple process of tearing the leaves off the stems, then massage a little olive oil onto the leaves (this makes the leaves more tender) and sprinkle with some seasoning (I used a garlic and wine seasoning from the Melting Pot). Then bake for about 10 - 12 minutes and voila! A green healthy snacking chip! Believe it or not these were kind of addicting! The first bite was a bit strange as I knew what I was eating...then the second bite I thought wasn't too bad....the third bite even tastier...before I knew it half the bowl was gone! LOL! If any of you brave souls are interested click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

May the luck o' the Irish be with ya today! :)

Cheers!
- Stacie

Fairy Bread

Some time ago an Aussie friend was telling me about this popular kiddie treat over there called Fairy Bread. I had never tried it before and thought it sounded kind of interesting. Finally the other day I had a craving to try it out! It was pretty good but I also think I would like to try a few other suggestions given by others (those that commented on the recipe in the link below). Like toasting the bread or using peanut butter, etc. But then maybe it wouldn't be considered true Fairy Bread with other ingredients?? What do my friends from Oz think about that? Are there other ways to make true Fairy Bread or is this the only way?

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Orange Cookies!

I have never tried this flavor combo before and I gotta say it is really good! The orange zested sugar really puts things over the top! The only change I might make is to cook them slightly less than 10-12 minutes. I know all ovens are different and I think in mine 8 minutes would have produced a more chewy inside. Click HERE for the recipe! Hope your able to give these cookies a try!

Enjoy!

Unstampabelles Challenge #9

Time for our ninth challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see Easter! The bonus technique for this month is Extra Folds (more than one)! You have until March 30th to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on April 2nd.
*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, sentiments, etc.!

Our sponsor for this month is Blue Edge Crafts!



This is the wonderful prize on offer for this month!


Now for my DT project to get you started!


I created this Easter basket using a tutorial I found HERE. I did change the handle design a bit as I preferred it on the inside instead of the outside. Below is a close up picture of a cute Easter bunny brad I found in my stash. I thought it matched perfectly!


Challenges:
ABC DT Challenge - Spring theme
Crafty Calendar - Spring clean (paper and brad that has been in my stash for a very long time!)
Crazy 4 Challenges - Fun folds
Creative Inspirations - Anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - Signs of Spring
Delightful Challenges - Spring colors
Simon Says - Anything goes