Tangy Fruit Punch

    

Here is a fruity and refreshing punch that I found on Taste of Home. I have found many wonderful recipes on the Taste of Home website. I made this for my daughter Andrea's Birthday. It is colorful and delicious. It would be great for a bridal or baby shower too!

Recipe Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Tangy-Party-Punch

  

Using coupons to save money on products that I purchase, is a lot of work, but it is also very gratifying! I have to go pick up newspapers, most Sundays, according to a newspaper coupon insert schedule, clip and organize all of my coupons, being organized is so important, check ads for any product on sale that matches any coupon, always keeping my coupons in my vehicle just in case I spot a sale on any product that matches a coupon, remove expired coupons monthly, double check my coupon and product matches and recount items before purchasing, count my coupons before giving them to the cashier, to make sure that the exact amount of coupons are scanned and taken off of my total, thanks to my daughter Ashley, for that great tip, call my daughters and sister to let them know when I find a great sale, post about my coupon adventures/savings on Facebook, take pictures of my inventory, recycle newspapers, and repeat, repeat, repeat!

Well stocked shelves are a wonderful thing!

Every item on my shelves, was purchased, using a coupon.

I tried a new recipe for burgers this evening, for dinner. I doubled the recipe, using one packet of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix and added a little extra bacon. A change I would make to this recipe is just to serve the bacon on top of the burgers.You can also freeze the uncooked burgers,for later use. I think I'll change the name to, yummy burgers. My family really enjoyed them. For the recipe click here .

                     Chocolate Wows                            

My twin sister Denise shared this great cookie recipe with me. She prepared them, substituting chocolate chips for the peanut butter chips. I included them in our family's 2016 Christmas party. I prepared mine by using the peanut butter chips as a glaze on top of each cookie. The recipe and instructions can be found here.

Snowman Dip - Appetizer

Here is another recipe that I prepared for Christmas last year. I always look forward to my time with family! Christmas is extra special! I love everything about Christmas! Recipes like this, are always fun and create lasting memories. I prepared this adorably festive dip for my family's 2016 Christmas party. For the complete recipe follow this link...Snowman Dip Recipe

           Lost Otey!

Otey is missing from the Goodview, Virginia area. If you have seen Otey or have any information about his whereabouts, please contact  Marsha Bittinger (540) 420-3253 and Chuck Bittinger (540) 352-7755. More info can be found here...
https://www.lostmydoggie.com/details.cfm?petid=152127
Please pin to any lost and found pet, Pinterest boards you may have or consider creating one!!!!!

My visit to our local candy store with my daughter Alisha and granddaughter Savannah. Their new downtown location, is in the lobby of Center in the Square, beside the Roanoke Weiner Stand. Find their website here...The Candy Store. The Weiner Stands Facebook page can be found here...Roanoke Weiner Stand. Stop by the Roanoke Weiner Stand for lunch and then visit the candy store next door!

An endless variety of candy, truffles, novelty items like bacon toothpaste and body wash (shown below) soft drinks and more! A great place to visit with family and friends!

Bacon bodywash

Bacon toothpaste

Rows and rows of colorful candy, with a candy description label on each jar!

For our drinks, I chose a Big Red, it tasted like a cream soda, Alisha's choice was a prickly pear, she said it was a combination of pear and watermelon, and Savannah's pick was a Dog Drool drink! She said it had a orange and lemon flavor.

My granddaughter Savannah really enjoying her first Dog Drool drink! She is brave like her mom, and will try things, I wouldn't try :)

They have more drink flavors to choose from like Sweet Corn, Ranch Dressing and Pumpkin Pie. 

 My fisrt visit to the Homeplace Restaurant

My daughter Alisha and granddaughter Savannah took me to the Homeplace restaurant for a belated birthday dinner. This was my first visit to the restaurant and I enjoyed it very much! I like the old 1907 farmhouse, the decor and country landscape. We even spotted a black bear for a brief moment just as we where arriving at the restaurant! It's not every day we see a bear, so that was exciting for all of us! The Homeplace's Facebook page can be found here...The Homeplace

The restaurant is located 4968 Catawba Valley, Dr. in Catawba, Va. 

I look forward to another visit soon!

 Above is the menu for the Homeplace restaurant with their hours, menu, prices and a picture of the restaurant, along with a little history.

They serve your meat and side dish selections, which included fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and biscuits, with apple butter, in individual bowls, at your table, just as you would if your were enjoying a meal at home with your family. And don't forget the sweet tea.

We enjoyed blackberry cobbler a la mode, for dessert.

My meal, delicious home cooked food, enjoyed with my family, while creating wonderful new memories. Thank you Alisha and Savannah for a delicious dinner! I enjoyed every minute of our time together!

  

 Blackberry Pecan Streusel Muffins with Peach Glaze

Its that time of year again! Fair time, family time, fun and excitement! This is my blue ribbon winning entry in the King Arthur Flour "Berry Good" contest at our local fair. A very special, "Thank you!" to Teresa of Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen, blog, for generously giving me her permission to use her wonderful recipe for my entry in this years fair! Her recipe can be found here...Blackberry Pecan Streusel Muffins. The only change I made to her recipe was to add a peach glaze in place of her vanilla glaze!

Congratulations to my sister look-alike for her second place winning King Arthur flour, "Berry Good" entry, Mini Berry Lemon Tarts, baked in canning jar lids and her first place winning entry in the Red Star Yeast, "I'm Stuffed" contest, chicken salad stuffed bundles! Congratulation's also to my daughter Alisha for her second place entry in the, Red Star Yeast, "I'm Stuffed" contest, for her peanut butter and jelly sweet rolls! And last but not least, congratulations to my daughter Ashley! For her first place winning entry, banana butter pecan cupcakes with maple buttercream, in the Wilton's, "Creepy Crawlies" cupcake contest,  Here is a link to all special contest winners with photos of each winning recipe...2016 Salem Fair Special Contest Winners 

Congratulations to each and every ribbon winner! See ya next year at the fair!

Dana's blackberry pecan streusel muffins

Denise's mini berry lemon tarts

Denise's chicken salad bundles

My daughter Alisha's peanut butter and jelly sweet rolls

My daughter Ashley's cupcakes

This is a delicious lasagna recipe my daughter Ashley shared with me. Thank you Ashley!  I doubled most of the sauce ingredients except the ground beef and water, I used 3-lbs. I also combined 10-oz. ricotta cheese with 10-oz. cottage cheese. I love this combination of cheeses, combined with the tomato sauce, it's delicious! I always add extra mozzarella cheese. It completely fills a 9 X 13-inch baking dish. With extra lasagna noodles and sauce left over. My changes to this recipe are shown in the parenthesis below. A perfect family meal with garlic toast and a salad! Enjoy!

Classic lasagna with garlic toast

Classic Lasagna

2-lbs ground beef (I used 3-lbs.)

1 medium onion

3 gloves garlic (I used 2 tablespoons or 6 teaspoons garlic power)

1 tablespoon olive oil (I omitted)

2-(15-oz.) cans tomato sauce (I doubled-4 cans)

1 (15-oz.) can water (1-1/4 cans water)

1 (12-oz.) can tomato paste (I doubled-2 cans)

1 teaspoon oregano (I doubled-2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon basil (I doubled-2 teaspoons)

8 to 12 -oz. mozzarella cheese, grated (I used 16oz.)

16 oz. cottage, small curd or ricotta cheese (I used 10 oz. each of cottage and ricotta, mixed together)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan (I used about 3/4 cup)

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

1(16oz.) box lasagna noodles

For complete instructions to this recipe please visit http://www.greatgrubdelicioustreats.com/classic-lasagna/