Happy National Cookie Day!

December 4, 2015 By Anne

In honor of National Cookie Day, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite cookie recipe posts.

My mother, cousin, Merrilee and I got together last week and made cookies. I wanted to share one of my favorites with you! This is Merrilee’s recipe!!

Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Recipe Type: Desserts

Ingredients

1/2 cup Raspberry Jam
1/2 cup Lemon Curd
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temp
2/3 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
With Jam and Curd, you need to add a little water or OJ to loosen it up. We used water.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Wisk to blend.
In separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with mixer until light and creamy. Beat in egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.
Add flour mixture slowly and beat until moist clumps form.
Roll dough into balls. (we placed balls on parchment paper, on cookie sheets)
Use floured 1/2 teaspoon to create depressions into balls.
Fill holes with Jam and cook about 15-20 minutes.

We also made a yummy icing to put on the Raspberry Jam cookies. Just take powdered sugar and oj or lemon juice. Place in baggie and cut small hole. Then drizzle on top.

Oh my, these are delicious!!

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Al Fresco All Natural Chicken Sausage Review @alfrescogourmet

December 3, 2015 By Marijean

My family loves breakfast. We all enjoy eating breakfast together, and trying new foods. My husband and kids LOVE sausage, and always have it with their breakfast whether it be links or patties. When I heard about Al Fresco Chicken Sausages, I thought this would be different to try for our breakfast!

We tried the Roasted Pepper & Asiago Chicken Sausage. This would be great for any meal of the day, we decided to try it for breakfast paired with Eggs. I love that these are much more healthy for you, compared to regular pork sausage that we usually buy, and have 70% less fat. They are also Gluten free and have no artificial ingredients.

My husband cooked these on stove top in a pan, he used some olive oil spray since these sausages don’t have a lot of grease or fat coming out of them. They are fully cooked so they didn’t take long to heat up. Once they were done I sliced them up and took a bite. At first, before I tried them, I thought they were going to have a lot of “bite” to them since it looked like they were full of red pepper. Not the case, which I was happy about because I know my kids would enjoy. I could definitely taste the Asiago cheese, which is one of my favorite cheese’s to eat. The sausage had a mild flavor, very good to eat for breakfast with my eggs. My 7 year old and 4 year old ate one sausage each, and both kids raved about them! I am very happy we got to try these sausages.

Al Fresco All Natural Chicken Sausages are perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are a very healthy alternative to pork sausage, and come in a variety of different flavors. My family enjoyed eating them for breakfast, and will be trying the different recipes on their website.

To learn more about Al Fresco products, and to find where you can buy then, please visit their website here. You can also find yummy recipes, and enjoy a $1 off coupon if you sign up for the newsletter!

Connect with Al Fresco: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube

***I was given a product in exchange for my honest opinion. This review is based on my experience with the product. I am not affiliated with the company and everything in this review is my opinion.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

$3 Better than Best deal at Restaurantdotcom for Cyber Monday! #ad #cybermonday @restaurantdotcom

November 30, 2015 By Marijean

I received a Restaurant.com gift card for the purpose of this review. This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

$3 DEALS TODAY!
Restaurant.com Delivers the “Better than Best” Cyber Monday Sale

Sometimes it is easier for the holidays to not have to cook and cleanup. Spending time with the family is that matters most. Restaurant.com can make this as easy as possible for you this holiday season. Restaurant.com is offering an awesome deal for Cyber Monday. $3 for $25 worth of Certificates using Promo Code: CYBER. It is easy to find a yummy restaurant, and to meet with your family, since there are over 22,000 restaurants nationwide. This deal is only good today, November 30th!

If you are traveling with your family this holiday season, you can take Restaurant.com with you! Just simply download their mobile app and you have the ability to find a restaurant easily and quickly. You can search for Restaurants by zip code, and once you arrive just show the certificate on your phone to your server. You don’t have to print out the deal and remember to take it with you. So easy and convenient!
Please do hurry, because this “Better than Best” deal won’t last! This offer ends Monday, November 30 at 11:59 pm CT. You don’t want to miss this one! What a great gift this would make! Restaurant.com is the trusted and valued source for connecting restaurants and diners nationwide.

I received a Restaurant.com gift card for the purpose of this review. This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

5 Easy Thanksgiving Recipes

November 18, 2015 By Marijean

Thanksgiving is only 8 days away, time to prepare the menu! I have picked 5 easy recipes that won’t have you spending your whole holiday in the kitchen.

Let’s start with the Main meal! Turkey of course! This easy recipe will make your turkey come out juicy! Click here for recipe.

Lets talk veggies now! My family loves glazed carrots for a side dish. These carrots only incorporate a few ingredients so they are easy to make! Click here for recipe.

Stuffing!!! My absolute favorite! There is nothing better than an easy homemade recipe. Click here for recipe.

Mmmmm….Cranberry Sauce! Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without it! How about a Strawberry twist to it? Click here for recipe.

Of course DESSERT!! Next to the turkey this is my favorite part of Thanksgiving, I will share with you one of my favorite recipes for my favorite dessert, Pecan Pie! Click here for recipe.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

PINE BROS. Softish Throat Relief Drops Review

November 11, 2015 By Marijean

I am always keeping cough drops in my house & in my purse. Sickness hits my family a lot so I always like to be prepared. I like to keep sugar free lifesavers or hard candies with me as well for when my mouth gets dry which happens often. I heard about Pine Bros. Throat Drops and I was excited to give them a try.

HISTORY OF PINE BROS.

Pine Bros. was started in 1870 by Herman Pine. If you don’t know the name, it’s probably because Pine Bros. popularity peaked in the 1970s, after having been sold to the Life Savers Company in the 1930s.

After the 1970s, Pine Bros. was sold by Life Savers and acquired and resold to a number of other companies.Just recently Pine Bros. was acquired by the owners of Airborne. Much time was taken to find the original packaging and use the original recipe. This product is also now made entirely in the United States.

3 different flavor varieties, and they come in bags or convenient containers.

The flavors of these drops are Black Licorice, Wild Cherry and Natural Honey. They come in Value Sized bags which give you 32 drops, and also come in convenient container which holds 26 drops. I love the container since I can just put it in my purse or keep in my car. The bags are great for keeping at home.

What I think is unique about these drops is they definitely are “softish!” They aren’t too soft and not too hard, more along the lines of a hard gummy. I tried all of the flavors and they all tasted great. Each of them have a nice mild flavor, not overpowering like most hard candies or cough drops. They are all natural, vegan and gluten-free.

Wild Cherry flavored Throat Drop

These drops did come in handy this week because my throat has been very scratchy. They really did make my throat feel better and soothed it. I like that these drops aren’t meant for a cough and I can take them just to soothe my irritated or sore throat. These drops are also all natural and aren’t full of artificial ingredients which is a huge plus! Here’s the complete list of ingredients for the Wild Cherry throat drops: Gum Acacia, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Glycerine, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Colored with Elderberry Concentrate, Sunflower Oil and Carnauba Wax.

Natural Honey flavored drops in a convenient container for on the go!

With winter on its way, I definitely recommend trying these drops to soothe your sore throat, cough or scratchy throat.

Check out the Pine Bros. website

***This review is based on my experience with the product. I am not affiliated with the company and everything in this review is my opinion.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.