Super Bowl Food Ideas

It seems to me that there is some sort of football game happening this Sunday.  Am I right??  It's a good excuse to gather friends and family to fellowship and chow down! Do we really need an excuse for that?  :)

I threw together a few food ideas that work for me - most of which can be made ahead or easily thrown together.  I kept the sweets mini-size because people will be too full for big heavy desserts.  I hope you find some ideas you like!

Snack Ideas:

Beer Bread {at Pennies & Blessings}
Sweet Spiced Nuts
Ham and Cheese Crescents
Crispy Sweet Onion Rings {at Stop Eating All The Chocolates}
Blue Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
Lacy Cheddar Crisps
Crunchy Party Mix {at Stop Eating All The Chocolates}

Main Dish Ideas:

Tex-Mex Chili Pasta {at SEATC}
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches {at SEATC} ~ try serving with mini hamburger buns!
Pizza Pasta Salad
Kickin' Chicken Chili {at SEATC}
BLT and Chicken Pasta Salad {at SEATC}
Spicy Chili

Sweet Ideas:

Toffee Cookies
Mini Carrot Cupcakes
Almond Baby Cakes
Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies {Just posted at Pennies & Blessings!}
Nutella Bites
Vanilla Cheesecake Shots {at Pennies & Blessings}

Do you have a get-together for the Super Bowl?  What are your favorite foods to share?

This post linked to:
 ~ Works-For-Me-Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

Have a *super* day friends!  :)

ABC - It's All About Me

My friend Kristal recently posted this and I enjoyed it.  I wanted to post something today just so I could say HI to all of you {waving hi to you right now!} and I haven't done one of these in a while.  It's fun to get to know each other a little better!

Here are my ABC's:

Age: 41 - hey it's fun!  :)

Bed size: California King - 'cause hubs is 6'6"!

Chore you dislike: Yes.  LOL - if it says "chore" I probably don't like it, but I'm trying to do them all joyfully anyway.

Dogs: Basset hound  - who happens to be very stinky right now.

Essential start to your day: Getting out of bed - I find it really helps.  :)  Also coffee, checking e-mail, breakfast, and reading/praying time.

Favorite color: Red

Gold or silver: Silver

Height: 5'5"...ish (I seem to have already begun the shrinking process - booo.)

Instruments you play(ed): Piano, clarinet, saxophone

Job title: Imperfect Homemaker

Kids: 1 fantastically fabulous son

Live: California, but not near the beach.

Mom’s name: Judy

Nicknames: Never had a real nickname, but my cousins called me "Lee."

Overnight hospital stays: So many as a kid - bladder surgery, tonsils removed, and several stays for pneumonia.  As an adult - childbirth!

Pet Peeves: Poor customer service, drivers that don't use their turn signal, talking during movies - just to name a few!

Quote from a movie: All that comes to mind right now is from Kung Fu Panda - "You're awesome...last thing I'm gonna say."

Righty or Lefty: Righty

Siblings: 2 younger sisters

Time you wake up: Morning!  I'm not gonna say what time 'cause it's been too late, but I'm currently working on that!

Underwear: Yeah, I like it.  LOL!

Vegetables you don’t like: This is embarrassing - broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, olives, mushrooms and I'm probably missing some.  But I do eat some of these mixed into foods sometimes!  :)

What makes you run late: ME.  Poor time management.

X-Rays you’ve had: Arm, chest (lungs), dental, and the one for ladies over 40.  :)

Yummy food you make: Do you really think I make anything that isn't yummy?!  OK, so I do sometimes - LOL!  My Recipe Index has all my yummy food - pick anything there and fill it in here.  :)

Zoo animal favorite: Tiger

Play along if you like!  Have a fabulous day friends!!

Encouraging Bloggers ~ Giveaway Winners

Thank you again to all of you who have participated in or have been quietly reading my Encouraging Bloggers series!  I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have!  If you missed anything, just stop by the Encouraging Bloggers Intro post where I have all the links to the whole series.

And now - giveaway winners!!

Congrats to Kim @ Homesteader's Heart - winner of the journal, pens, and tea!!

Congrats to Sweet and Savory Eats (Ally) - winner of the Ebook Notes to Aspiring Writers!!

Thanks again everybody!  Keep on blogging - you never know who's listening and needs to hear your words!

Have a blessed day friends!

Encouraging Bloggers ~ Link Up

Welcome to the final post of my our Encouraging Bloggers series!  I have so enjoyed hanging out with all of you, sharing encouragement from my heart, and watching you spread that encouragement to others as well as back to me!  I sincerely thank you all for joining me, whether you have been here for the whole series or just a post or two.

If you've missed any of the posts or want to look at one again, here are the links:
~ Intro: Small or Hobby or Nicheless or New, This Blog Series is Written For You
~ Part 1: A Blog is a Blog no Matter How Small
~ Part 2: One *Why* Or Another 
~ Part 3: Money Can't Buy You Love 
~ Part 4: Variety Is The Spice Of Life
~ Part 5: Go Forth And Comment
~ Part 6: Out of Clutter Find Simplicity  
~ Part 7: Thrive on the Encouragement of Others
~ Part 8: The Art of Getting Noticed Naturally
~ Part 9: The Blessings of Blogging
~ Part 10: Send Some Blogger Love Letters
~ Part 11: Be YOU, But Better
~ Part 12: Your Turn
~ Part 13: Sharing is Caring

Now I would love it if you would link up a post today (or through the weekend)!  Any post you've written on encouraging bloggers or how you've been encouraged or just an introduction of you and your blog is welcome!  Link on up so we can visit each other and share some encouragement!  Feel free to use the image at the top in your post.  Please include a link to this post so we can find our way back. :)

**Giveaway closed.** How about a little giveaway for some encouragement?

For one blessed Encouraging Bloggers reader - a pretty journal and pens so you can dream and plan for your blog while sipping some Constant Comment tea (a nice Winter tea and maybe it will inspire you to "constantly comment" on other blogs ~grin~).  *If* you would like, I could be persuaded to include some homemade Dried Cranberry Biscotti with it.  :)

But wait - there's more - one more reader will receive a copy of the eBook that helped inspire me to write the Encouraging Bloggers series: Notes to Aspiring Writers: Your Dream, God's Plan - in Kindle or PDF.

**Giveaway Closed.**  How to enter:  Leave a comment on this post telling me which of the posts was most helpful to you or what specifically you found most encouraging. For one extra entry - link up a post and leave a separate comment telling me you linked up.  Giveaway will be open until 10PM PST Monday 1/23 and winners will be chosen using Random.org.

Disclosure:  I did not receive anything of value for this giveaway - it's a gift from me to thank you for *your* encouragement!

I hope that you will keep on blogging and want you to know that you are important in this crazy blogosphere - whether or not you see traffic, subscribers, or comments right now.  I pray that you all have a very blessed day and weekend!

Link on up and let's get this party started!  :)

Encouraging Bloggers Link-Up Reminder!

Oops - I meant to remind you about this sooner!!  Tomorrow (Thursday) is the last Encouraging Bloggers post and an opportunity for you all to link up!  And maybe a small giveaway since you're all so sweet.  :)

You can write a new post that either encourages other bloggers or shares how you have been encouraged in blogging or that simply introduces your blog and what you are all about (or all of the above!)!  If you have already written a post covering these topics, you may certainly link up an older post.  You can use the image above in your post if you want (just right-click and save the image to your computer).

The link-up post will be up on Thursday (I will try to get it up by midnight).  Don't worry - if you don't have your post ready tomorrow, you can still link up on Friday and through the weekend!

Come on by and join the fun!  See you Thursday!  :)

Cranberry-Raspberry Mousse-Topped Chocolate Cake

I got the basic recipe for this cake from a Pampered Chef recipe booklet several years ago.  I tried it once and it was yummy, but then I forgot all about it.  I made it for one of our Christmas desserts {I also made Peppermint Chocolate Ice Cream Pie which I posted over at Pennies and Blessings}.  The pretty pink on top of chocolate makes it a great choice for a Valentine's Day cake too, don't you think?

The original recipe called for a Devil's Food Cake mix, but I thought I'd be "cool" and make that part from scratch.  I mixed up temps though and had all kinds of trouble with this cake part.  Just shoulda made life easy and used a mix!  Oh, and also, depending on your springform pan, you might want to wrap the bottom in foil or put it on a cookie sheet unless you enjoy big globs of smoking/burning cake batter on the bottom of your oven which may cause your company to wonder what "that smell" could be.  *ahem*

After brushing the chocolate cake with cran-raspberry juice concentrate, the lovely pink mousse topping gets spread over and smoothed out, then off to the refrigerator it goes.

Why does that slice of cake look so short?  Oh there's a story.  The cake was goopy in the middle because of all my temp goof-ups, brushing on juice, etc. so I didn't want to serve that part nor did I want to waste a bunch of topping on a hole in the middle.  I put an upside-down pyrex prep dish over the middle and pushed it all the way down - it was almost level with the cake.  Then I put the topping over everything and the glass in the middle kept the cake slicer from getting to any of the mushy center.  ~giggle~  It seems like my motto is: Above all, we *must* save the dessert!

Cranberry-Raspberry Mousse-Topped Chocolate Cake

 ~ adapted from a Pampered Chef recipe

1 9-ounce* package Devil's Food cake mix (box that makes only 1 layer cake/12 cupcakes or use 1 1/2 cups cake mix from bigger box or make your own half recipe)

1 cup thawed, frozen cran-raspberry juice concentrate, divided

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 3.3-ounce package white chocolate instant pudding (I can't find this anymore, so I substitute cheesecake pudding)

8 ounces heavy whipping cream

Powdered sugar to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease and flour springform pan.  In mixing bowl, prepare cake mix (or homemade cake) according to package directions.  Pour batter into pan.  Wrap bottom of pan with foil or place on cookie sheet.  Bake 25-28 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool completely in pan on wire rack.

2.  Brush cake with 1/4 cup of the juice concentrate.  In bowl, whip heavy whipping cream and add powdered sugar to sweeten to taste.  Set aside 1 cup of whipped cream for garnish.

3.  Place softened cream cheese in large bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Gradually add remaining juice concentrate, whisking until smooth.  Add pudding mix; whisk until smooth.  Fold in remaining whipped cream.  Spoon filling over cake and spread evenly.  Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes.

4.  Before serving, carefully remove springform pan side (I usually run a knife around the edge first).  Garnish top with a decorative border using remaining whipped cream (or just top each slice with some whipped cream).  Slice.  Serve.  Enjoy!

* Hello - might have been nice if I had actually noticed the 9 OUNCE part in front of the cake mix in the ingredients (which I just noticed NOW as I was typing this post)!  No wonder I got everything goofed up - I only needed to make a half recipe of the cake - LOL!  I was wondering why the cake seemed so much taller than the first time I ever made this dessert.  I am soooo not perfect - now you know.  ;)

Who else thinks that pink and chocolate are just delightful together?  :)  And who else agrees with me that above all, the dessert *must* be saved - LOL?

This post linked to:

 ~ Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

 ~ Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace

 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls

 ~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom

Have a fantastic day friends!!

Encouraging Bloggers ~ Sharing is Caring

Welcome once again to Encouraging Bloggers - Part 13 today (can you believe it?)! You can catch up on the whole series by stopping over at the Intro post where I have linked up all parts. Whether you have been blogging forever, are just thinking about blogging, or only read blogs - you are welcome here!

I have been doing my best to share from my heart and my blogging experience to encourage all of you. But I thought you might like to hear some encouraging words from bigger bloggers than me - bloggers who have tried to follow their hearts and God's leading with their blogs. They care about other bloggers and shared some encouraging words - just for you!

From the lovely Sarah Mae at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee:

My biggest encouragement would be to figure out your blog's mission (I got this gem from the fantastic eBook by Laura called Blogger Behave). Once you can hone in on the particular audience you are speaking to, and what you are called (and enjoy) to write about (have a focus-a vision statement), then you can be free to write and leave the results to God. You can still take strategic steps to grow (if you're wanting a larger audience or you'd like to earn some money), but stay focused. I highly recommend reading Blogger Behave because it will help you define your blogging purpose. Also? Find your voice; here's an article to help you find it: 10 Steps to Finding Your Writing Voice. 

From the beautiful Jessica at Muthering Heights:

Please, please, P L E A S E do *not* compare your blog to anyone else's!  Just as in any other sphere of life, comparison is a sure recipe for a whole host of convoluted emotions.  Whether you are tempted to compare up or down, flee from that desire, and instead, trust that God has brought just the right people to your site.  Ultimately, He knows who needs to read your words, and with whom you need to connect.

Excellent words from some talented ladies who have gone through many of the same blogging struggles and frustrations that you have! I love how we can share and encourage each other in this big ol' blogosphere, making it feel like we all just live down the block from each other.  :)  

We really have come to the end of my Encouraging Bloggers series, but I do want to have one last post next week with a link-up! I would love for you to post something on your blog - either what you and your blog are all about, or what has encouraged you as a blogger, or your best blogging advice, etc. - and link your post up here next Thursday (1/19). It can be a past post if you've already written something that fits well with these categories.

Be encouraged and keep on blogging! Do come back next week and link up a post so we can all have fun visiting each other! Let's make it an Encouragement *Party*!  :)

A special thank you to Sarah Mae and Jessica for sharing their words today!


Do you have some encouraging words you'd like to share today?

Have a beautiful and blessed day friends!