My Favorite Things Gift Box Giveaway!!

To celebrate reaching 14 THOUSAND fans on Facebook, I decided to giveaway a gift box containing a few of my favorite things! Thank you to all of you who have supported me and my page for the last year. I feel so privileged and honored to be able to inspire and help all of you. And I treasure all the friendships I've made in real life with other amazing ladies!

Included in the giveaway is a bag of Lavender Epsom Salts (perfect for soaking in the tub at night), a box of Honey Vanilla Chamomile tea (I have a cup every night), a bottle of raw honey from my families beehive (add a tablespoon to your evening tea), a bar of my homemade Tea Tree Goat's Milk soap, a Bible Promise Book for Women (filled with searchable scriptures and uplifting prayers), AND 5 pairs of handmade peach flower earrings made by my friend Kimeny Cricket! These earrings are adorable and go with pretty much anything. I love my set! Check out her Etsy page to see all the whimsical jewelry and other items she creates!

Entering is easy! Just use the Rafflecopter entry form below! Winner will be chosen in 7 days! Good luck everyone! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Death by Chocolate Cake Tutorial

I made a couple of these "Death by Chocolate" cakes for Mother's Day and I've been asked EVERYDAY since then to post the recipe, so here it is, MOM! :)

 
"Death by Chocolate" Cake 

1 devils food chocolate cake mix
1 cup chocolate chips, divided
1 cup chocolate syrup
1 pkg. chocolate pudding mix
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 container Cool Whip
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Step 1

Mix cake according to directions on box; pour into greased 9x13 cake pan (I used two round pans so I could give one my mom and one to my mother-in-law). Bake 15 minutes; gently sprinkle ¾ cup chocolate chips over cake.

Step 2 

Continue to bake another 15 minutes or so, until cake is done. Remove from oven and poke holes in the warm cake with the end of a plastic spoon. Pour fudge syrup over cake. Allow cake to cool overnight, covered.

Step 3

To make the frosting: Blend together chocolate pudding mix, heavy cream and cocoa powder; fold in whipped cream. Frost cooled cake and garnish with a some chocolate chips.

Seared Salmon with Sweet Potato Hash Tutorial

Father's Day is coming up and in honor of two of the best fathers I know, I created this delicious dinner! I always make Justin and my dad a super awesome new dish on Fathers Day and this one did not disappoint.

Seared Salmon with Sweet Potato Hash and Poached Egg

4 salmon fillets

4 large sweet potatoes, chopped in 1/4 inch chunks
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/2 granny smith apple, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 poached eggs (fried or over easy works too, as long as the yolk is runny)
Salt and Pepper, Olive Oil

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. On a large sheet pan, toss the sweet potato, onion, bell pepper, apples, and garlic with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast veggies for 25-35 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes until soft and browned.

Step 2

While the hash is roasting, heat a little olive oil in a pan, season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides and cook 3-5 minutes on each side until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Step 3

To assemble. Spoon some hash on your plate, place a salmon fillet on the hash, top with a poached egg. Salt and pepper the egg. Break the egg over the top and enjoy!

Old-Fashioned Berry Cobbler Tutorial

An easy and delicious cobbler recipe that works with any berry! Woot!

Blackberry Cobbler

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter

3 cups blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, or cut up strawberries

1 cup water

Step 1

 In a bowl, mix together the 1/2 cup of sugar, flour, and baking powder.

Step 2

Stir the milk and melted butter into the flour mixture.

Step 3

Spread batter into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Pour berries on top of batter, sprinkle berries with 1/2 cup sugar.

Step 4

Pour water over the berries, do not mix or stir.

Step 5

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes- 1 hour or until batter has risen and top is brown.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Quick No-Bake Blackberry Cheesecake Tutorial

 I often crave cheesecake but I never seem to have the time to prepare one. My cravings usually hit around 3:30pm and I like to have dessert ready to go by 6:00pm- you know, to enjoy after dinner. So I make this super easy and quick no-bake cheese cake in those situations. It's softer than a traditional cheesecake but tastes so good, no one will care. You can substitute the blackberries with whatever berry you want!

No-Bake Blackberry Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 prepared graham cracker crust
2 blocks of cream cheese, softened- (I nuke the unwrapped blocks in the microwave for 30-45 secs)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups blackberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon lemon juice

Step 1 

 In a bowl, combine the berries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice. Toss to coat, set aside.

Step 2

Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.

Step 3

Spread the cream cheese mixture into the prepared crust. Spread berries over the top. Chill for 2 hours.

Step 4

Enjoy!

Blackberry Buckle Bread Tutorial

 Another great recipe for those fresh blackberries you'll be picking this summer! You can also substitute the blackberries for blueberries.

Blackberry Buckle Bread

(This recipe makes ONE loaf- I doubled it which is why you see two loaves in the pictures).

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar, divided
1 egg
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk)
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter

Step 1

In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening and 1/2 cup of sugar. Add egg and mix well.

Step 2

Combine 2 cups of flour, baking powder and salt: add to creamed mixture alternately with  the buttermilk.

Step 3

Spread into a greased loaf pan.

Step 4

Toss blueberries with lemon juice and sprinkle over batter. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon with remaining 1/2 cup sugar and remaining 1/2 cup flour; cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over berries.

Step 5

Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes.

MayDay Helicopter Fun Fly 2013

The Lake Area Radio Kontrol Society (LARKS) hosted the 34th annual May Day Helicopter Fun Fly, this weekend at Hinch Field in Carlyss, Louisiana. Flying started each day at dawn and concluded at 10 p.m.

LARKS is dedicated to the promotion of the hobby and fly under the guidelines of the Academy of Model Aeronautics and encourages people who appreciate model airplanes and helicopters to join their club.

Hubby is a remote control helicopter and airplane enthusiast and since we live in town, going to this Fun Fly was a no-brainer! Here's some highlights from today (Friday) and I'll add more pictures of the festivities tomorrow.