A Lush Giveaway, Awards and Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is going to be a busy post, so let's start with the food first. To congratulate my neighbors on the birth of their first grandchild, I made Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever. I figured a chocolate sheet cake was a sure bet. Everyone usually likes chocolate, right? I also like the fact that this cake serves 24, which was perfect for my neighbors because they have seven children, six of which still live with them and are under the age of eighteen. I wanted to make sure that everyone in the family was able to have some. (Note: I omitted the nuts in this recipe because most children aren't a fan).

The cake uses ingredients I always have on hand and was easy peasy to throw together. I even had enough batter left to fill a small ramekin for my daughter (a devoted chocolate fan). I tasted a bite of the cake and it was rich, chocolatey and moist. The cake is rich enough that you can satisfy your chocolate craving with a very small piece. Of course, if you really want to indulge, plop a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and call it a day. This is a great recipe for a large family or any other get together.

I am submitting this cake to Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman for their bi-monthly roundup of PW's recipes. Tomorrow's roundup promises to be a sweet one since we are celebrating desserts this time around. You can find the recipe for the chocolate sheet cake HERE on the Pioneer Woman's website.

I was very honored to receive two awards this week. Thank you to Sam of My Carolina Kitchen for giving me the Honest Scrap Award. Thank you also to Kathleen of Gonna Want Seconds for this beautiful Sunshine Award. I adore reading both of your blogs! In the interest of keeping this post from becoming a book, I would like to pass these awards on to all of you!



Onto the giveaway! I've mentioned before that I love my job at Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. I discovered the company as a consumer while traveling with my husband one summer and went broke buying everything in the store. Next to cooking, Lush is my second love. I love their products and so do my family and friends. When a store opened up in my local mall I ran for the opportunity to work there.

Lush is a UK-based company that has spread worldwide. All the products are handmade with fresh organic, fair-trade ingredients, based on natural ingredients, such as cocoa butter, essential oils, fruits and vegetables. The products are made with little or no preservatives and for this reason have expiration dates. The products are tested on humans, never animals. There are so many fun things, that it was hard to pick what to give away!

I wish I could make the giveaway available to everyone, but for now I will have to limit it to the US only. I am, however, looking into having items ship worldwide for the next giveaway.

I chose four items that are all related to food in one way or another:

First up is Helping Hands Hand Cream. Since we all spend so much time in the kitchen working with our hands and washing dishes, this is the perfect cream for us. This cream is packed with nourishing shea butter, soothing chamomile water, honey, and lavender. Our most popular hand cream. NOTE: The item pictured below is only 1.5 ozs. I am giving away the large sized 3.5oz hand cream.

Next, is a Blackberry Bath Bomb. Drop this purple, blackberry and frankincense scented bath bomb into your bath and relax.

Third on the list is a Creamy Candy Bubble Bar. I'm sure you're all familiar with liquid bubble bath, but this is a solid bubble bath with no preservatives at all. Simply break the bar in half and crumble one half under running water for a candy scented bubble bath!

And finally, a luxurious Melting Marshmallow Moments Bath Melt made to look like a cute little pink cupcake. The bath melts are one of my favorite products, much like a bath where you are being dipped in lotion. Cut the pink cupcake look-alike in half, toss one half in a warm bath and say MMM. This melt is packed with moisturizing cocoa butter, marshmallow powder, and almond oils. Great for dry skin.


The giveaway is open to all US Residents. The winner will receive all four products. To enter, simply leave a comment telling me which of these four products sounds the best to you. Your comments will help me when it comes time for another giveaway. Contest ends Friday, March 26th at midnight EST. Winner will be chosen with the random number generator on Saturday, March 27th.

I encourage everyone who is eligible to enter the contest, men included. These products make great gifts!

Alton Brown's Roast Turkey, Questions, and Awards

Okay, Thanksgiving is long gone and Christmas is in full swing, but let's talk turkey for a minute. Awhile back, I found Alton Brown's recipe for his Good Eats Roast Turkey while searching the recipes at Food Network. I am very big on searching recipes according to their ratings and was surprised to find that Alton's turkey recipe had been reviewed 2709 times and carried a five star rating!! Never in all of my recipe searches have I seen anything reviewed so many times and given such a high rating. I knew that I was going to have to try this recipe for my Thanksgiving turkey.

Here is a quick summary of how the recipes goes. First the turkey is brined. I had brined my turkey last year, using a Martha Stewart recipe and had good results, so I was all for brining another turkey. I prepared the brine, stuffed the turkey in a newly purchased tub large enough to hold it all, and crammed it into the refrigerator in the garage to "brine" for several hours. On Thanksgiving morning, the turkey was rubbed down with Canola oil and stuffed with a red apple, an onion and some other miscellaneous aromatics. It was roasted, uncovered, at a high temperature , 500F, for 30 minutes. After that first 30 minutes, the turkey had a very nice caramel color to it and the oven was reduced to 350 for the remainder of the roasting time, 2 hours.

Alton Brown's recipe for roast turkey can be found here on the Food Network. You can also find a review about this recipe on Teresa's blog, A Blog About Food. Teresa gave the recipe four out of five stars.

Notes/Results: When the turkey was removed from the oven it had an absolutely breathtaking color. It was the most beautiful turkey I've ever cooked. (Too bad I didn't have a chance to take a proper picture of it). My husband carved it up and plated it and we sat down to eat. I was expecting the turkey to really stand out and it didn't. It looked beautiful on the platter, but it tasted just like any other turkey I've ever had. It was moist, but it wasn't anything special. In fact, my mom had brought a small baked ham and everyone seemed to enjoy the ham more. Most of the turkey was left on the platter when the dinner was over. I have to say that I might give the recipe 3 or 3.5 stars out of 5. Pretty on the plate, but nothing great.

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This leads to me to the burning question -- DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY LIKE TURKEY? DO YOU PREFER TURKEY OVER HAM OR DO YOU PREFER HAM OVER TURKEY? For example, my family told me they wanted turkey for Thanksgiving, so I prepared it and they ended up eating mostly the ham. I think people have to have the turkey setting on the table for Thanksgiving, but don't always want to eat it given the choice between ham and turkey. What do you think?

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The week of Thanksgiving I was given some awards and I am terribly late in saying thank you! Thank you to everyone who shared these awards with me. I feel terrible it has taken me so long to post them, but it has been crazy here lately.

From Chaya of Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog, I received the Honest Scrap Award! Thanks Chaya!

From Nat of Nat's Baking in New York City, I recieved the Happy Mama Award! Thanks Nat!

From Lissaloo at One Step at a Time I received this Sugar Doll Blogger Award. Thanks Lissaloo!


From Rhandi at Straight up Good Food, I received the Kreativ Blogger award. Thanks Rhandi!

.

I would love to pass and share these awards with everyone. A couple of these awards ask that you share ten things about yourself. I decided to share ten things I'm wanting to cook and/or bake:

1. Alex Guarneschilli's Cheese Fondue Hash Browns, found here. Toasty hash brown potatoes cooked in a cast iron skilled and topped with an entire wheel of Camembert - Hello...does that sound delicious or what?'
2. I'm on a roll here...Alex Guarneschilli's Spice-Rubbed Bacon with Fried Eggs and Toast Soldiers, found here. Alex takes thick hand cut slices of slab bacon, slathers them in spices and fries them. Fries her eggs in the bacon drippings, basting her eggs with bacon drippings while frying. Basting fried eggs with bacon drippings....hmm...
3. On a roll with breakfast foods, I'd also like to try Pioneer Woman's Bacon, Onion & Cheddar Biscuits, found here. Drool-worthy!
4. On my Christmas cookie list are our favorite traditional cookie we make each Christmas, the peanut butter blossom (a peanut butter cookie with a Hershey kiss in the middle).
5. We have really enjoyed the Cheeseburger Soup recipe that I made last month and have made it twice since then. It is one of our new favorites.
6. In love with Ellie Krieger's new book, So Easy, I've been wanting to make her Emerald Stir-Fry with Beef. A tasty sounding stir fry with all kinds of green veggies.
7. Tamales. I have always wanted to make them, but I never get around to it.
8. Jamie Oliver's Pasta with Camembert Cheese, found here.
9. Baklava, never made it before, but it is one of my favorite things to eat.
10. Chicken Fajitas - anyone have a great recipe?

Hence, the next question: with the exception of Ellie's Emerald Stir-Fry with Beef, none of the other recipes are very healthy at all. I can't make them all back to back, but which ones should I start with? Which ones sound the best to you?

After all, I think the holidays deserve some decadence, don't you?

Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies Week #7: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Bars

Last week Donna of My Tasty Treasures posted these sinful chocolate peanut butter cream cheese bars. Peanut butter and chocolate is a marriage made in heaven, so I had to try these.
I ran to the store and gathered up all the ingredients and got to work. You can find the recipe here on Donna's site.

The recipe starts with peanut butter cookie dough baked in a 9x13 inch baking pan to form the crust. You will also need to bake about 6 peanut butter cookies at the same time. These are reserved for crushing and sprinkling on top of the finished product. The recipe calls for the peanut butter cookie dough mix, but I used the frozen cookie dough. The second layer is a mixture of melted chocolate and butter that is spread over the peanut butter cookie dough. It hardens when it cools and ends up with a texture almost like a Hershey's chocolate bar. The third layer is the stuff that dreams are made of! It consists of peanut butter, confectioner's sugar, and cream cheese. It is sinful and addictive. These bars are decadent, creamy and delicious. You will not be able to stop at one! Thanks Donna!

I am thankful to receive two awards this week. An honest scrap award from Michelle at Ms. Enplace and a Kreativ Blogger award from Tina at Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor. Thank you to both of you! I always look forward to reading both of your blogs.



The rules of each awards are somewhat the same. The honest scrap award asks you to share 10 honest things about yourself and the Kreativ blogger award asks that you share 7 interesting things. I'm going to attempt and combine the two and share seven honest and hopefully interesting things.

1) I have a celebrity crush on Jimmy Fallon. He has such a boyish charm. I've always been a sucker for guys who make me laugh. His late night talk show is one of my favorites.

2) I'm feeling kind of sad that my little boy is turning three on Saturday. I wish he could be sweet and little forever.

3) One of my guilty pleasures is watching the new 90210. The scary thing is that I like it, but worry about all the young kids who are easily influenced by it.

4) My husband likes simple and easy food. The other day he asked me when we were going to eat normal again. Evidently cheeseburger soup is exotic to him :D

5) Ever since I was eight years old, Elton John's "That's Why They Call it The Blues" has been my most favorite song ever.

6) My daughter is like my new best friend. Who knew you could have such profound conversations with an eight year old? She's one smart cookie.

7) I wish we could all meet over lunch or dinner and bring our favorite dishes and recipes. Wouldn't that be fun? I feel thankful to finally meet people who share a love of cooking and baking.

Thanks again to Tina and Michelle for the awards!! I know I should pass these awards on, but it's so hard to pick and narrow it down.

Don't forget to head on over and see what the other ladies made for 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies!!

Megan of My Baking Adventures
Barbara of Barbara Bakes
April of Abby Sweets
Megan of Megan's Cookin
Denise of Keeper Worthy Recipes

Lemon and Basil Eggs over Focaccia

This is a fun breakfast or brunch recipe, courtesy of Giada DeLaurentiis. I loved this recipe the moment I first saw it on her show and I have made it several times since then. You can customize it to your liking, using whatever bread and herbs you have on hand.

The idea is to hollow out a loaf of bread. This "hollowed out" bread is cut or torn into cubes and used at a later time. An egg mixture is then poured into the cavity of the bread. The "extra" bread then gets cubed up and added back on top of the egg mixture and baked. The end result is a crispy outer coating on the bread and a creamy interior. We enjoyed this with some fresh fruit. You can find the recipe here.

I have received two awards recently. Thank you to both Dorothy of Fuzzykoala's Caketastic Adventures and Chaya at Sweet and Savory Says It All!! I am so happy you thought of me!


A lovely blog award from Dorothy at Fuzzykoala's Caketastic Adventures. Do yourself a favor and head on over to see her creations. They are both creative and delicious!!
And, also a Neno Award from Chaya of Sweet and Savory Says It All. Chaya is cooking and baking up a storm lately, head on over there to see all of her latest creations.

Thanks so much to Dorothy and Chaya for the awards. They mean a lot to me!!

I want to pass both of these awards on to one special blogger, Michelle of Ms. enPlace. I absolutely LOVE her blog!! Michelle posts some great Creole, Cajun, and Southern American dishes from her Louisiana kitchen. Michelle has a wonderful post up right now about her weekend at the Festivals Acadiens et Creoles 2009. Her posts are so witty and fun. Head on over there to check out all the good eats and good music!! I guarantee that you will want to be a follower of her awesome blog!

Mini Mummies *A Halloween Treat* for My Girl Paula

This month for My Girl Paula, we are going to be making some of Paula's Halloween treats. This week's choice was Mini Mummies, a hot dog wrapped in pie dough (or crescent dough, in my case). The kids really like them and they can pretty much wrap them and cook them all on their own. My eight year old daughter had a blast wrapping up these hot dogs. You can find the recipe here.

We served these little Greenie Meanies on the side, which turned out pretty cute. They are made pretty easily using two slices of green apple, peanut butter, and sliced almonds. You can cut various scary teeth patterns into the apple slices to create your own look. My creativity is limited, so I did a simple design. They turned out good, and reminded me of how good apples are with peanut butter- yum :D
Later on, we decorated our Halloween tree. I had an old green ficus tree laying around the house. Apparently, in addition to bouncing off the walls, kids also enjoy tearing apart plastic trees. My poor green tree had seen it's last life and it was time to do something with it. I decided to spray paint it black, decorate it with garland, and hang ornaments on it. The whole craft was a "learning experience", but I think it turned out cute and hopefully we can have it for the next couple years. Surprisingly, none of the kids are messing with the Halloween Tree. Apparently plastic green trees are much more fun to tear apart than a Halloween Tree!!?? Sometimes kids just don't make any sense, do they?
I won this award from Kathy of Three on Food. Thank you Kathy! I love your blog too! In fact, I am really enjoying everyone's blog lately. I'd like to share this award with everyone :D Sometimes it is to hard to pick just two people to pass it on to!

The rules of this award are to answer the questions with one word answers. I'm going to try...well, maybe not. I can never stop babbling....it's a real issue of mine.

Where is your cell phone? hopefully far away - I don't like the thing.

Your hair? needs cutting

Your mother? best friend

Your father? my hero

Your favorite food? pasta & chocolate

Your dream last night? moved to Colorado and got a job in an office
Your Favorite Drink? Iced Tea

Your dream/goal? A huge trip around the world

What room are you in? living room

Your hobby? Cooking and blogging

Your fear? Bugs

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Yikes....I'll be 40!! I can't think that far ahead.

Where were you last night? apple orchard and pumpkin patch

Something you aren't? Organized

Muffins? sometimes

Wish list item? great pair of black boots

Where did you grow up? Ohio *the heart of it all*

Last thing you did? made sesame noodles

What are you wearing? yoga pants and t-shirt

Your TV? is not on

Your pets? two children are enough to take care of, right?

Your friends? like sisters to me

Your life? ls a good mix of chaotic and relaxing

Your mood? happy

Missing someone? My dad and friends who live in Ohio

Vehicle? Chrysler Pacifica

Something you're not wearing? Bra -can't stand those things!

Your favorite store? Are you kidding me? All of them!

Your favorite color? right now it is anything pumpkin colored

When was the last time you laughed? just a minute ago

Last time you cried? not sure

Your best friend? I have known them since I was 5.

One place that I go over and over? the laundry room :D

One person who emails me regularly? Amazon

Favorite place to eat? San Francisco, Las Vegas, any major city

WAYNE'S BEEF MACARONI AND CHEESE, AWARDS, AND CONTEST/GIVEAWAY

Do you have a specific style of cooking? If you wanted to be The Next Food Network Star, what would your pitch be? For example, Giada cooks Italian, Rachel does 30 minutes, Bobby does grilling/southwestern cuisine, Paula does butter, and both Tyler and Ina cook classic dishes with great style. There are so many styles of cooking. You can be be healthy, vegetarian or vegan, kosher, gluten-free, or just plain eat raw food. Have you ever thought about which style of cooking best describes you? Call me crazy, but I enjoy asking myself these types of questions! It's not like I'm signing up to be the next food network star, but it gives me something to think about. So, just for fun, I decided to have another giveaway in the form of a contest.

Here are the contest guidelines:

Leave a comment describing your style of cooking. Pretend you won The Next Food Network Star and come up with a name for your new Food Network show. You also have to tell us what your "signature dish" would be. Feel free to have as many entries as you like, the more the merrier. They can be funny or serious, either way it doesn't matter since it's just for fun.

The contest will end next Saturday, the 29th at midnight. On Sunday, August 30th, I will post all the results/ideas of each participant and we will all vote for our favorite!! The winner with the most votes will receive these bestselling goodies from LUSH FRESH HANDMADE COSMETICS!!The first product is called Lemony Flutter, which is a lemony scented cuticle butter for use on all rough patches: elbows, knees, and heels. It is a Shea butter base infused with lemon, mango, avocado and flax seed oils and let me tell you....a little goes a long way!! Great for cooks, nurses, or anyone who washes and uses their hands a lot!

The second product is Ocean Salt, which is just plain awesome! It is an exfoliating scrub that smells like a margarita and is safe for the face and body! It has a sea salt base, with grapefruit and lime oils, and vodka. Feels terrific and makes your skin clean and super soft.

The third product is an Up You Gets Emotibomb for use in the shower. Stick this little guy on the shower floor, or on the soap shelf, and inhale the fresh citrus scent that will hopefully help wake you up! Just like a bath bomb, but for the shower instead.

Have fun!! I'm looking forward to see some very creative and funny ideas : )

Now, onto the food and then some award announcements!! I made this casserole from Paula Deen's Lady & Sons, Too cookbook. It would feed an army and is certainly a very filling dish. Extremely easy to throw together and one that everyone will like. Great for big crowds!! Fresh out of the oven it qualifies as good, but the next day it is even better. You could certainly cut back on the meat, using one pound instead of two. Additionally, you can also cut back on the cheese, there are so many other flavors you just wouldn't miss it. This dish made the hubby very happy because it is just simple and "normal" food (with tons of meat)!! Sometimes the hubby gets tired of trying new recipes and likes plain and simple. Who could blame him??

Wayne's Beef Macaroni and Cheese - adapted from The Lady & Sons by Paula Deen
One 1-pound box elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped green bell pepper
2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (I used about 5 garlic cloves)
2 pounds lean ground beef
3 cups canned crush tomatoes (about one 28 oz. can or 2 14 oz. cans)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon each dried basil, cumin, and dried oregano (I used Italian seasoning)
2-3 cup grated Cheddar cheese (I love cheese and I think this quantity is just too much

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Heat the oil in a skillet; add the peppers, onion, and garlic, and saute until soft. Add the ground beef and saute until browned. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and the basil, cumin, and oregano. In a large bowl (and I do mean very large), combine the macaroni and the beef mixture. Spread this mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with the cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Ground turkey or chicken can be used in place of beef, if desired.

This was a great, easy, and tasty casserole that we have all probably made and loved over time.

Now onto the awards......

I received this award from Libby of Cooking with Libby. Libby is a great blogging friend that I met in the My Girl Paula group. Thanks Libby!


I also received this award from Joanne of Eats Well With Others. Joanne is another great blogging friend that I met through the Tyler Florence Fridays group! Thanks Joanne.



This last award requires that it be passed on to 7 bloggers and that each person list 7 personality traits about themselves.

Here goes mine:
1) Loyal/Dedicated -I love my family and friends and would do anything/stand up for them no matter what.
2) Curious-Full of questions
3)Passionate/Extreme- I really like something/someone or I really don't. Not a lot of in between with me.
4)Real/Honest - I don't like to put on airs or be "politically correct". I think we should all be okay with being who we are as long as we are kind about it.
5)Forgetful/Somewhat Oblivious - *ahem* ask my husband about this. I have a tendency to look for things that are right in front of my face, or hit parked cars, or write checks from the wrong account *ahem*. I'm hopeful this will all change, but not holding my breath.
6)Anxious/Nervous- This probably feeds the forgetfulness and obliviousness (is that a word?) I mentioned above. I'm constantly thinking about to-do lists and what needs to be done.
7)Bad Temper - Assume being happy is a 1 and being very angry is a 10. I'm super laid back until I get to about a 7 on the scale. It takes A LOT for me to start getting to an 8. I feel sorry for the person who is around me when I'm a 10! Once that happens I'm angry the rest of the day and can't shake it off. I've been told this improves with age, but I'm finding it to be quite the opposite~

Here is a list of the 7 bloggers that I am passing this second award to:
1) Beth of The Seventh Level of Boredom
2) Kristin of Sogkonnite Living
3) Libby of Cooking with Libby
4) Glennis of Can't Believe We Ate
5) Arlene at The Food of Love
6) Debby at A Feast For the Eyes
7) Coleen of Coleen's Recipes

Don't forget about the contest/giveaway!! I'm really excited to see what great and creative ideas you can come up with : )

See ya tomorrow for a Creative Thursdays!! It's gonna be a delicious, super quick, and extremely easy recipe from another foodie friend.

Baked Egg Rolls and Awards!!

I am so excited about this simple and fun recipe. This recipe for Baked Egg Rolls is one of the most adaptable, economical and fun recipes I have made in awhile!! All you really need is a package of egg roll wrappers and you can fill these with your choice of ingredients. They can be vegetarian or full of meat, either way they are delicious. Play with the ingredients and different dipping sauces to see what suits you. The first time I made these, I followed the recipe and used ground pork. They were delicious and I knew I wanted to make them again. This week at the grocery I found some ground chicken on sale for $1.49 a pound!! I thought of these egg rolls and bought a couple packages of that ground chicken. The egg roll wrappers were about $1.79. add that to the price of the chicken at $1.49, and the entire dish is definitely less than $5. Best of all, you can personalize them and serve them next to sesame or ramen noodles. Can you tell I'm excited about these?

On another note, my husband is hysterical!! My camera was taking very blurry pictures and I asked my husband to take a look at it. Thankfully he was able to fix the camera. I had no idea he had taken pictures of these egg rolls. When I downloaded the pictures I had a big laugh! He had the egg rolls arranged nicely, on great plate, but with baby squash on the side!! The entire thing just made me laugh out loud. There were no squash in the egg rolls, but he thought the colors made the egg rolls stand out. It was so cute and I just couldn't help but use his picture in the post.

Baked Egg Rolls, adapted from All Recipes Family Favorites**

1 pound ground pork
1 cup finely shredded cabbage **didn't have on hand, left out
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro **didn't have on hand, left out
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1-1/2 tsp. oyster sauce **didn't have on hand, used soy sauce
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
1-1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili sauce **used some asian garlic chili paste
1 TBSP. cornstarch
1 TBSP. water
20 egg/spring roll wrappers
4 tsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425F. Place ground pork in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned (do not overcook because they will bake in oven for 20 mins). Remove from heat and drain meat. In a medium bowl, mix together pork, cabbage, carrot, green onions, cilantro, sesame oil, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic, and chili sauce. Mix cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture in the center of each egg roll wrapper. (I think my wrappers were larger and I used about 2 tablespoons of filling, you definitely want to fill them up.) Roll wrappers around the mixture, folding edges inward to close. (The egg roll wrapper will probably show pics on how to roll them.) Brush wrapper seams with cornstarch mixture to seal. Arrange egg rolls in a single layer on a baking sheet and brush with vegetable oil, both sides. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn them over, and 10 minutes on the opposite side.

The nutritional information is listed for this recipe: 154 calories per roll, 7g protein, 20g carbs, 5g fat, 1g fiber, 15mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium

NOTES: Be careful when separating the egg roll wrappers. They are extremely thin. I realized halfway through that I had double egg roll wrappers on my first few rolls. They turned out just as good, but I would've had more egg rolls : ) If you have leftover filling, add it to your rice or pasta on the side. I had about 1/2 cup of leftover filling, but I'm blaming this on my inability to separate those egg roll wrappers correctly.

Now, onto some more fun!! I received this much appreciated award from Allison of Dinner at Our House. Allison has a great blog herself, with many great recipes. Check out her Pizza-Hut Pan-Style Pizza. It looks better than Pizza Hut!!

I would love to pass this award on to everyone!!! There are so many great blogs out there that I enjoy reading. Here are the fifteen that I have chosen. I hope that you will take the time to check out these blogs, they are all great for different reasons!!

Heather of Girlichef - Heather has so many great recipes and beautiful photos, and she is such a great person!

Donna of My Tasty Treasures - Donna has a big following and it is so easy to see why. She has great recipes and her posts are hysterical, adventurous and just plain fun. She is a sweetheart and has been following me from the beginning.

Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya is a bread baking goddess!! I'm convinced that there is nothing this woman can't cook!! Plus, she does a great job hosting the Tyler Florence Fridays blog.

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen - Deb is great at cooking up colorful, bright, and healthy meals. It is always a delight to see what she has made each week for Tyler Florence Fridays. She is also great as a host on Tyler Florence Fridays.

Megan of My Baking Adventures - Megan has many baking adventures in the kitchen. I am really enjoying Megan's adventure into ice cream this summer. Every Monday, she posts another great ice cream recipe entitled "The Weekly Scoop".

Beth of the Seventh Level of Boredom- I'm convinced that Beth and I lead parallel lives. Sometimes I think we married the same picky eater : ) Beth cracks me up. Her posts are witty and funny and I enjoy them greatly. Sometimes we are even making the same dish!

Joanne of Eats Well with Others - Joanne is a young woman of many talents. She cooks, bakes, runs marathons and is enrolled in an MD/PhD program at Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Tri-Institutional MD/PhD. Her posts are well-written and she makes some great things for herself, for her roomies, and for her family.

Pam of Sidewalk Shoes - Pam has the most beautiful pictures. Everything on Pam's blog is so impressive. Visit her blog and you will be amazed at her photos and recipes.

Arlene of The Food of Love - Arlene is another devoted blogger with Tyler Florence Fridays. Arlene shares great information about each of her recipes. She gives notes, changes, and opinions along the way. I love her honesty and attention to details.

Lizzie of Every Last Cookie - Lizzie is a sophomore in college who is baking her way through Martha Stewarts Cookie Cookbook, all 147 recipes!! The post are well-written and the photography is great. I am really enjoying all the cookies!

Julie of The Sporadic Cook - I have just recently found Julie's blog and she cracks me up. I love how candid she is and enjoy her posts so much. She also makes great home-cooked meals and shares her ups and downs in the kitchen.

Erica of My Colombian Recipes - Erica's blog is unique and beautiful. She shares many Colombian recipes with great sentiment for her home country. The photos are beautiful and I learn something each time I read a post. I'm going to be trying some of her recipes shortly.

Mimi of Standing at the Kitchen Door - First of all, the background on this blog is my all-time favorite!! Go there just to check out the adorable background! I just found her blog this past week and I love it for it's great recipes, pictures and sentiment. Mimi remembers her mother at the end of each post by signing them "Mom & Me". I think that is just priceless. Don't we all feel close to our mothers when we are in the kitchen??

Laura of Tide and Thyme - I just found Laura last week and I can already tell she is a sweetheart. She has a great blog and her love for food and cooking are well conveyed on her blog.

and last but not least.........

Libby of Cooking with Libby - Thank you to Libby for introducing me to the Paula Deen cooking club. Where have I been hiding this whole time! The world of food blogging is filled with wonderful people and Libby is no exception. She's still in the kitchen, even with a knee injury. Check out her site for great Paula recipes and many others.....

I also want to say thank you to everyone who visits my site. I appreciate all the comments and love reading through them.