Healthy Recipes for 2011! Share and you could WIN a cookbook by Gooseberry Patch

Oops they are doing it AGAIN?!?! Yes, Gooseberry Patch is calling for recipes for a new cookbook that is in the works! They are looking for your healthier recipes!  The deadline for submission is today, Jan. 10th. 

So get going through your recipes and submit a few!  If you recipe gets published you will get that cookbook for free!  What a great incentive. 

IF you friend Gooseberry Patch on Facebook, they have a special incentive for you!  GO fan their page and you can get the code for the incentive.    This special incentive ends January 10th at midnight EST.  So go and share your healthier or lightened-up recipes with us on our website (http://bit.ly/GBPsharearecipe) and you'll be entered to WIN a copy of our cookbook, Our Favorite Chicken Recipes!  

You can also enter to win on of their cookbooks right here on my blog!  One of their newest books, Homestyle in a Hurry, is being featured on my blog right now! The giveaway ends 1/17!  So go enter!

Good Luck and don't forget to fan their page and follow the link to get the CODE to use when you enter a recipe!  On that page you will find the link to share your favorite healthy recipe!

Bacon Muffins and Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Giveaway

This recipe, Bacon Muffins, comes from an adaption of Speedy Sausage Muffins (click to get the recipe) in this new Gooseberry Patch cookbook.

This is my 3rd blog post this week on Gooseberry Patch.  No, I do not work for them but secretly wish that I  did work for them or that I could claim Vickie & JoAnn as part of my blood relatives!  I'm just an addicted fan!  If you've read any of my other post this week you also learned that I'm an Early Reviewer of their Cookbooks.  This is a fun project that I have taken on for the next year.  Oh yes they have cookbooks lined up to be published! I'm squealing with excitement at what will be released this year!  Stick with me during this journey to get early sneak peeks and chances to win these cookbooks!

CLICK HERE to get a sneak peek at their newest book, Homestyle in a Hurry.  While you are there enter to win the cookbook!  Leave a comment below and then go to the link and claim "Bacon Muffin Bonus" 5 extra entries.  Tasty!

This recipe, Bacon Muffins, comes from an adaption of Speedy Sausage Muffins (click to get the recipe) in this new cookbook.  When I saw the recipe, I knew right away that I wanted to make it and add my own twist.  Instead of using the sausage in the original recipe, I used bacon.  I also discovered that you can leave out the meat and have a tasty Cheese Muffin!  Enjoy.

Bacon Muffins (click to print)

Ingredients

3/4 lb bacon, browned, drained and crumbled
3 c. biscuit baking mix
1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
10-3/4 oz can Cheddar cheese soup
3/4 c. water

Directions

Combine bacon, baking mix and cheese in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.  Stir together soup and water; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until combined.  Spoon into lightly greased muffin cups, filling to top of cups.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden.  Serve warm.  Makes 16 muffins.

*Hints: The bacon can be substituted with any meat.  The original recipe was for sausage.  You can easily use bacon, sausage, ham, cheese of any kind, veggies, etc.  Play with it and see what you come up with! We topped each muffin, before baking with whatever was inside so we could identify the muffin.  This is a super recipe if you need to bring a breakfast dish or cooking for a crowd.  We froze our extra in individual freezer bags so one at a time could be pulled out and warmed up in the microwave. 

Don't forget: CLICK HERE to get a sneak peek at their newest book, Homestyle in a Hurry.  While you are there enter to win the cookbook!  Leave a comment below and then go to the link and claim "Bacon Muffin Bonus" 5 extra entries.  Tasty!

Join the Virtual GNO Saturday Blog Hop

Surfin' around today I ran into @Annagain66 on twitter.  She told me to add Kahula to my coffee sooooo as soon as I'm done with this post I'm going to do just that!

I clicked over to her blog to find out that she is hosting a Saturday GNO!  Click the above photo, which I totally LOVE, to join the link up today!

Here is the scoop:

How about we get our Virtual Girls Night Out blog hop going?  Right?! Right :->

*The VGNO blog-hop is for those who want to party "virtually" with other bloggers. Add the link to your blog below.  More exposure for your blog is the point of VGNO. Connecting, supporting, encouraging - those words describe the VGNO Guest. So get on your bunny slippers, make yourself a cocktail add your blog link below and have fun! Happy VGNO!*

 

Here are my drinks for the party:

Sangria &

Happy Margarita

As for music?  Jammin' to some DISCO! lol  Party on friends! 

Leave a comment on how you are following me and I will follow you back! Check my right side bar for giveaways, facebook, twitter, GFC, etc   

Party on!  SusieQTpies

Speedy Sausage Muffin Recipe & Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Giveaway

 As promised, I am posting a few more recipes from one of the newest Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks, Homestyle in a Hurry!  This cookbook is all about "Hearty, satisfying recipes for busy families....from fridge to table in 30 minutes or less!"

This morning I made Speedy Sausage Muffins by Lisa Gibbs from this new cookbook!   You can enter to win this cookbook, here at Homestyle in a Hurry! Leave a comment below and go enter the giveaway for 5 "Speedy Sausage Muffins Bonus entries." 

Speedy Sausage Muffins (click to print)


Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork sausage, browned and drained
3 c. biscuit baking mix
1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
10-3/4 oz. can Cheddar cheese soup
3/4 c. water

Directions

Combine sausage, baking mix and cheese in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.  Stir together soup and water; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until combined.  Spoon into lightly greased muffin cups, filling to top of cups.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden.  Serve warm.  Makes 16 muffins.

*Helpful tip: Before baking, top the muffins with a few  pieces of sausage so you will remember what type of muffin it is.  We made some with bacon and just cheese and did they same to them. 

This recipe is very tasty! We froze the extra in freezer bags and plan on pulling out one and doing a quick thaw in the microwave for breakfast! What a super "Busy-Day Breakfast" by Homestyle in a Hurry!  We also made Bacon Muffins with this same mix.

Happy Epiphany! King Cake and Carnival Time! Link up

We lived in New Orleans for over 5 years.  We would probably still be there but over 5 years ago Hurricane Katrina kicked us out.  I still miss my friends and all the fun Carnival Season!  I left New Orleans with some great recipes!  Here is one from a friend of mine for King Cake.  I do make it and it is tasty!  This Carnival Season I plan on trying a few other recipes! IF they turn out for me I'll gladly share them!  If you have a King Cake recipe or Carnival Food on your blog, link up below! 

Guest Chef Amy shares her recipe.  This is her Grandma's recipe for sweet yeast coffee cake.  The dough is great for king cakes. Thanks for sharing.


King Cake

Grandma Stahlke's Coffee Cake Dough 

1pkg yeast
1/4 c warm water
6 T milk, scalded and cooled
4 c. flour
1 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs
melted butter
2 tbs milk

Filling

1 cup confectioners sugar 
1 lb cream cheese
1-2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Icing
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla 
1/2 tsp almond extract (opt)
3 tbs milk

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk and enough flour (about 1/2 c) to make soft dough. In another bowl combine butter, sugar, salt and eggs with mixer. Add the soft ball of yeast dough and mix thoroughly. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups of flour to make a soft dough.
Place dough in greased bowl and brush the top with butter, covering the dough with the butter. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled, about three hours.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of the confectioners sugar. Blend by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently roll it out into a rectangle about 30 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Spread the filling lengthwise over the bottom half of the dough, then flip the top half of the dough over the filling. Seal the edges, pinching the dough together. Shape the dough into a cylinder and place it on the prepared baking sheet seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring and pinch the ends together so there isn't a seam. Insert the king cake baby or pecan half into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough (the cakes you get in the stores in New Orleans have the baby on top after the cake is cooled, but the tradition is to hide the baby so the person with that piece has to make the next cake and/or host the next party).

Cover the ring with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F.

Brush the top of the risen cake with 2 tablespoons of milk. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the icing. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons milk, the vanilla and almond, and the remaining 3 cups confectioners sugar in medium-size mixing bowl. Stir to blend well. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing evenly over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals, alternating colors (purple, green and gold) around the cake. You can also substitute lemon extract for the vanilla and almond or three tbs lemon juice if you want lemon icing instead of vanilla. 

An alternate filling I plan on trying this year comes from my friend Susan Buetow (ME!!! whoohoo!), who lived in New Orleans. She says this one is the closest to the traditional "plain king cake" filling. She uses 2 cups pecans that she puts in the food processor until they become a paste,1 stick of soft butter, 1 tbsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice, 2-3 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp of butter flavoring, 1/2 c sugar. Process it all together and then spread it on the dough. Lightly sprinkle cinnamon over the dough before spreading the paste as your filling.

Click here for more New Orleans recipes. 

Free iTriage Smart Phone App!

For Christmas I got a SMARTPhone!!  I finally gave in and decided to upgrade my 2 year old phone into an Android phone.   Some days I feel like the phone is smarter than I am!  Other days I'm the smart one because I run across Apps that are very handy and saves me time.  The App that I found yesterday through Moms Blogger Club is called iTriage.  This App is a medical reference application for Smartphones, created by two Doctors with Healthagen.

The app is for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Android and Palm.  The cost is FREE which is why I tried it out.  As a mom, I'm finding that this app is going to come in handy!  Using this app, I can search and browse hundreds of medical symptoms, diseases, procedures, treatments, medical test, find a Doctor, links to and phone numbers for "Nurse Advice Lines."  There is also a button  to press for EMERGENCY! I have to say that I was a tad scare to push that button!  I gave in and pushed it to find that the next screen takes you to a "Call 911" and "Change Emergency Number" screen.  I didn't push them since I'm not needing those services at this time but how cool is that?

As a mom, I found that I would most likely use the SYMPTOM page the most.  It is very easy to use and when you click on a symptom it quickly takes you to a page that allows you to get more of a description, find out what test you need, what treatment needed, videos and images, more searches and the advice line.  I love the PROCEDURE page.  What a great way to find out about a medical procedure, its cost, who does it, possible complications, images and videos and more!

I'm truly feeling smart with this app and it is being called "Healthcare in Your Hand"! This app will be a true time saver for me!  I wish I had this last year when we were traveling and my daughter needed to go to an Urgent Care Center.  I had to use the yellow pages in a paper phone book (I know, so '90s) to look up the information and even with that I didn't know which location was near me. iTriage uses the phone's GPS to help find nearby treatment centers, pharmacies, hospitals, ER and even in some states you can get the wait times so you can choose which ER to go to!  Very cool.   I really could go on and on about this application but you will need to install it and check it out for yourself.

 Disclosure/Disclaimer:  This is a Sponsored Post through a Mom Blogger Club where I am a member. These are my experiences and tasty words & opinions. 

Million Minute Family Game Challenge is over! Game Giveaways!

Did you participate in the Million Minute Family Game Challenge?  Patch products released this today on their Facebook page now that the Challenge is over:  Thanks to everyone who participated in the Million Minute Family Challenge. Thanks to you we surpassed our million minute goal. Our final total is 1,063,129 minutes! Congrats!


Our group, Crazy Gamers, joined in our 2nd year of this challenge!  This year we played and logged a total of 34,819 minutes and ended up in 6th place overall!  This is so exciting!  I am going to host a huge game event for our group to celebrate our participation!  I'm sure we will play games at our event!  


I still hope to have weekly game reports to blog, game reviews and giveaways!  Today I found out about a giveaway that is going on through January 14th.  It is for a game called 5 Second Rule.  I reviewed this game and had a giveaway a few months back. The blog, Closer to Lucy, is giving away a copy of this game!  There are low entries so far, so go enter!  Have a great day and keep on playing games!