BAKING & A Christmas Giveaway!

I'm in the midst of rounding up recipes for my yearly Holiday Baking Extravaganza. You all know {if you have been reading my blog for a while} that this part of the season is my FAVORITE because I l o v e to bake. Well I actually just love to cook in general.

Every year about this time I start to gather new recipes. I bake mini cakes, cookies, sweet rolls, whatever...you name it.

It all started about....maybe four years ago. My nanny and I started baking together for the holidays and we would make goodie baskets for friends and family. We love to spread the cheer! Two years ago, I was working at a printing company out of birmingham...LONG LONG LONG hours and LATE nights. So I was baking alone into the wee hours of the morning. By far, my least favorite year of baking. I put as much love into it as I burned out workaholic could be. Last year, I had the nice help of Mrs. Mary Mac Adams herself who is a GENIUS is the kitchen. This year will be my F I R S T Christmas to bake away in my very own kitchen. It will be so fun and so interesting. 

What are some of your FAVORITE Holiday goodies? Tell me your favorite Item and it might just make my Christmas Baking Extravaganza list this year! 

AND AND AND

I will be having a contest with a Giveaway! 

All you have to do is the following things:

1. Comment and tell me your FAVORITE Holiday treat.

2. Whats your Favorite Holiday Song?

3. Share this on any form of social media that you would like.

The winner will be announced before Christmas

Bye now

bB***

Spicy Cola Chicken

Hey there! If you have been reading my blog for a good bit, you probably already know that Chicken {&spicysalmonrolls} is the only thing that stands between me & vegetarianism. So, I think it's safe to say, I l o v e chicken. Like most people, I don't like to eat the same ole chicken, cooked the same ole way all the time. I am always looking for new {h e a l t h y} ways to give a new spin on some chicken!

Here is a delicious new recipe 

SPICY COLA CHICKEN

WHAT YOU NEED:

3 Chicken Breasts

1 Cup of Ketchup

1 Can Diet Coke {or Coca Cola, or Dr. Pepper, or Pepsi, Etc.}

1Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

WHAT YOU DO:

In a bowl, mix Ketchup, Coke and Pepper Flakes all together. Set aside. Place Chicken Breast in a Crock-Pot then pour the Cola Mixture over the chicken making sure the chicken is completely covered with the mixture. Pop the lid on, now let this cook away for a good four or five hours. 

After the chicken is cooked thoroughly,  remove the chicken from the Crock-Pot and put in a square casserole dish. It doesn't have to be a big rectangular one. Now, shred the chicken using a fork. This should be very easy because the chicken should be very tender at this point. After the chicken is shred, pour the sauce from the Crock-Pot over the chicken and mix together to coat all of the chicken in the cola sauce. and thats it! You're donezo!!

Serve the chicken over your favorite rice!

This chicken is fantastic with Wild Rice, but you can serve it with whichever rice ir your favorite OR you can eat it solo. 

It's absolutely delicious and come on, does it get anymore simple?!?

I put mine in the crock-pot over my lunch break and let it cook the rest of the day while I was at work and while I went to work out.

It's great to come home to a meal that is almost finished cooking!

If you give this recipe a try, please let me know what you think.

OH and HAPPY FRIDAY! So glad its the weekend.

Bye now, 

B's

Bran Muffins

Hi there.

I've went to my favorite coffee shop several times this week and left with a coffee or tea in one hand and missing something I've been wanting so SO badly in the other. The other thing....a flippin bran muffin. On Monday when I met my friends Justin & Paul for lunch, they had some bran muffins, but they were either Pumpkin Bran or Blueberry, both of which are really wonderful. However, being the simple super lady I am, I just want a simple plain Bran Muffin. So in honor of my crazy want for a plain bran muffin here's a recipe for us all.

CLASSIC BRAN MUFFINS

1 1/2 Cups Wheat Bran

1 Cup Almond Milk

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 Egg

2/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Cup AP Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat over to 375. Grease Muffin Cups. Mix together wheat bran and milk. let stand for ten minutes so that the wheat bran becomes, well....soggy haha. Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add the milk and bran mixture. Now sift together the flour, baking soda, powder, and salt. stir the flour mixture with the bran mixture. Now spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted to the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool....if you can! ENJOY!!!

Chili-Lime Southwest Wraps

Chili-Lime Southwest Wraps {turned healthy}!

The lovely Paula Dean has a WONDERFUL Recipe for Southwest Wraps.

Here is {Paulas} Recipe: 1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt •1TBS Lime Juice •1 TSP Chili Powder •3 Cups Shredded Cooked Chicken {see recipe} • 1 Can Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles {Drained} • 1 Can Whole-Kernel Corn, {Rinsed & Drained} • 1/2 Cup Chopped Cilantro • Whole Wheat Tortillas

For the Shredded Chicken you will need 1 pack of Fresh Chicken Tenderloin Strips and a pack of Taco Seasoning. To make the shredded chicken is super simple! Just boil the chicken tenders until they are thoroughly cooked. let cool...After they are cool enough to touch, shred the chicken with a fork and knife. Place the shredded chicken in a pan on medium heat. Pour a 1/4 cup water over the chicken and the taco seasoning packet. you can use half the packet....but I like using the entire thing. I also buy the hot one;) I love spicy food!! mix well and thats it!

DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl, combine the greek yogurt, lime juice, and chili powder. Stir in the Chicken, tomatoes, beans, corn, and cilantro. Now fill the tortillas with the chicken mixture {about a spoonful} rollup the tortilla, and cut in half. You can secure the tortilla rolls with a tooth pick!

OH btw, there are a few things I altered from the PD recipe. She uses Mayo instead of Yogurt. She also uses flour tortillas rather than whole wheat!

These will be a GREAT recipe for any football party or tailgating you are having:) FUN TIMES! I know Frances & her man are having somewhat of a football get together this weekend....this would be a fantastic and impressive little dish Francelina!

Well I'm off to get dressed for work.

Happy Wednesday everyone. AND please share any football tailgating recipes yous have:)

Bye now

bB***

Sunshine Salad

Hey lovely!!! Hope your day was great (aside from the yucky weather).

Its time for a little recipe and what better way to brighten the day than with a little bit of s u n s h i n e ?

Here is what is called SUNSHINE SALAD. Enjoy!

SUNSHINE SALAD

ingredients

-15 ounce can mandarin oranges

- 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks 

- one banana sliced (or two if you really like bananas)...btw these are optional

- 1 ounce package fat free - sugar free instant vanilla pudding mix

directions

Okay... honestly don't know if you can handle this. It's a little difficult.

Open the cans of fruit

and DO NOT DRAIN the juice. 

Pour the fruit AND JUICE into a mixing bowl.

Add the sliced bananas

Pour the entire package of DRY Vanilla Pudding mix into the bowl.

Stir the four ingredients (three if you opt out the bananas) together until its all combined.

Cover and chill for at least an hour and thats it!

Delicious Delicious Delicious!!!

Hope you give this recipe a try.

Bysie

bB***

Maple & Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

Hey hey!

I wanted to share a quick recipe with you. If you know me, you know I'm somewhat of a salad and salad dressing connoisseur.

Soooo THIS is a super delicious dressing recipe.

Maple & Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup Maple Syrup

2 tablespoons Honey

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper to Taste

DIRECTIONS

Whisk all the ingredients together pour into a container and refrigerate for about twenty minutes or until your ready to use it!

What's your favorite salad dressing?!?

Please share!

B's

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Handmade Passport Cover

Hey Hey Heyyyy

I wanted to share with you what I made little Francelina for her Birthday!

If you remember, I mentioned that on her TWENTY-FIFTH Birthday she is going to be out of the country (not cool) but its totally necessary for her to a have a super cute stylish passport cover to go over that plain jane blue thing.

Of course, you know me...I couldn't find one that I liked. They were all silly looking and bright BRIGHT colors which isn't really my thing. & last time I checked obnoxiously bright colors aren't really Frans things either (thank god.)

So here's the oh soso sooooo cute Passport Cover I made her.

The cover was relatively simple to make. It just takes a tad bit of stregth to get the needle to go to through the suede 

Lydia (Frannies Sister-in-law) helped me with the monogramed F!

It turned out WAY PRETTIER than I had even imagined! 

Thanks so much Lydia. You're AWESOME!

Frannie Mae loved her passport cover (ithink) eeek;) Im soooo jealous shes going to be OUT OF THE COUNTRY on her Birthday. ughhhh. So jealous. BUT so excited for her to be with her honey love.

What do you think of the passport cover?

Have you been making anything lately? Hope so.

Tootles 

B's

Easter Planning!

Hey Heyyyy!!!

Thinking about Easter Sunday and meal planning is so FUN.

First of all, I love family time, and second I love to cook!

When I think about easter I think about the sacrifice that was given for me and how my sweet savior isn't dead but alive!!! The next couple of things that remind me of easter are bunnies, candy & CARROTS! 

So I thought why not a delicious Carrot recipe to try!

ROASTED CARROTS

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds of carrots with the cute little leafy tops!

1 tablespoon EV Olive Oil

& your preferred amounts of both salt & pepper

and YES thats all of the ingredients you need!!! wahooooo simple and sweet!

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2.Toss the carrots in the EVOO

3. Add salt & Pepper

4. Place on a baking sheet

5. Bake for 20 minutes

6. Reduce heat to 325 degrees 

7. Stir the carrots occasionally while baking for 15 or so more minutes

Carrots should start to brown a little and get tender then they are done-zo

ENJOY!

bB***

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PARTY!!!!

Hey HEY!!!!! First of all HAPPY SUNDAY, My FAVE day of the week!

 These sweetie pies gave me the BEST Kitchen Gadget Party I could have ever hoped for.

First of all, I loved having my mom and aunt come stay with me Friday night. It's times like that when I realize I miss them WAY more than I realize. They talk about everything that is going on back at home and I realize that I'm feeling a little bit of the loop with the family life. 

The family and friends that came made my heart SO happy. It just meant so much to me considering MOST of them drove all the way to Florence for the party. I was just so anxious and happy.

I can now say, my Cabinets are packed FULL of awesome things to cook with. Sooooo Come on over and we will have a little fun time in the kitchen;)

Thanks to EVERYONE who came. It meant the world to me and I am SO thankful you are part of my life. I love you all so much.

Thanks Momma & Auntie for giving me such an awesome party. I own you dinner and You both know I can cook REAL good. Now I actually have the things I need to do so. You two have FIRST dibs.

Tootles for now 

bB***

Toffee Candy

Hi there!! hows the week been so far?! Mine has been GREAT. I won't be doing exactly what I want to this weekend, but it will definitely be full of college graduations and family so I can't complain too much. Honestly, I'm just looking forward to the weekend!!!

On Monday night I went to a fun Christmas party! One of my GREAT friends Adrianne, who is a FABULOUS baker in general, made something that was SO delicious. So....I thought what a great time to share it, right here on itsy bitsy and creative share!

 

TOFFEE CANDY CRACKERS

INGREDIENTS
1.5 sleeves of saltine crackers
1 stick (4 oz) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the crackers in a single layer on the baking sheet so there are no empty spaces in between them. Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir while the butter melts, and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Once boiling, carefully pour the sugar-butter mixture over the crackers on the baking sheet in an even layer, trying to cover most of the crackers. If you miss some spots, don’t worry as the toffee will spread in the oven. Bake the toffee crackers at 350 degrees for five minutes, until the toffee is bubbling all over. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for one minute. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the hot toffee, and allow them to sit for one minute to soften and melt.  Spread the melted chocolate over the entire surface of the toffee evenly with a spatula. If you want, you can sprinkle whatever topping on them that your heart desires...such as crushed crackers, pecans, walnuts, almonds, marshmallows, sprinkles, etc. Refrigerate the pan to set the toffee and chocolate for about 30 minutes. Once set, break into small uneven pieces by hand, and enjoy! 

See how simple!!! oh gah SOOO delicious:) Thanks sweet A for bringing those to the party! I would LOVE some more. Guess I will just have to make my own batch.

Tootles for now. 

IF you have ANY Holiday recipes that a tradition for you and your family PLEASE share! I am gathering my holiday baking list and would LOVE to try new things!

Bysie 

B's

Cherry Cherry

Have I ever told you about me and cherries? Well if I haven't here's the scoop. 

Basically my entire life I was completely deprived of cherries. My dad gags at the thought of cherries, so naturally if dad doesn't like cherries, I for SURE won't like them either. Technically, I guess that wouldn't mean I was completely deprived...I guess I just chose not to ever try a cherry.

Anyway when I was around eighteen, I had my first cherry and couldn't believe I had gone SO many years without giving them a chance!

Well in honor of the delicious cherry, I have an OH SO even more delicious recipe for you that Mary Mac made last night!

CHERRY DUMP CAKE

INGREDIENTS

2 cans Cherry Pie Filling - 21 ounce cans
1 box Yellow Or White Cake Mix
1 stick Margarine
1/2 stick Butter

DIRECTIONS

Dump cherry pie filling into baking dish. Stir together. Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the fruit. Slice margarine and butter and distribute over the surface of the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

Thats it. Simple as that! And just a warning...you WILL go back for seconds. Its impossible not to do! Just do it...its the HOLIDAYS!

Thanks Mary Mac for all of your delicious cooking. You're AWESOME.

bysie for now

B's

Bran Muffins

Hey There:) Tonight I have a simple recipe to share!

Like Bran Muffins?? OH LORD, there is a coffee shop around the block from work. Their Bran Muffins are to die for. ALL OF THEM, Plain, Banana, Pumpkin...just to name a few.

The recipe I'm sharing Im SURE doesn't come close to the ones from the coffee shops. BUT its worth the try I guess.

INGREDIENTS

1 box raisin bran muffin mix
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups grated zucchini (1 Medium Zucchini)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray muffin cups with canola cooking spray; set aside. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

That's it!!! Give this recipe a try:)

Bysie 

B's

PS This weekend will be PACKED full of FUN and lots of Photos. We are working Sugarplum Marketplace!!!! FUN stuff.

October.

Hey Heyyyyy!!!

Sure did miss my little blog family last night. I didn't get in until late because I was getting my hair colored and cut. And as you see....I colored my hair DARK! and almost one color. My hair has ALWAYS been blonde. And Im actually LOVING the new change. What do you think?

I found this FALL recipe from Sandra Lee and I want to try it ASAP! I know it will be DELICIOUS

PUMPKIN PIE SPICED SWEET POTATOES

 Nonstick cooking spray

1  can (29-ounce) cut sweet potatoes, drained

1  cup golden raisins

1⁄2  cup packed brown sugar

2  teaspoons curry powder

2  teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1⁄2  teaspoon salt 

1⁄4  cup sliced almonds or pistachios

2  tablespoons "I can't believe it's not butter"

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 1-quart casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes and golden raisins; set aside. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, curry powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Stir into sweet potatoes until well mixed. Transfer to prepared casserole dish. Top with sliced almonds or pistachios and dot with butter. Bake for 30 minutes

Sounds pretty simple...and SO good doesn't it!

Hey do yourself a HUGE favor and stop by The Trendy Treehouse for LOADS of inspiration.

Well it's SOOO close to the weekend and I am super excited about that. 

Tootles for now

bB***

Cinnamon Sugar

Hey there!

Love popcorn? They sure do at the Adam's house!

SOOOO tonight I have a delicious homemade Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn recipe.

You only need a few ingredients too that you most likely already have stocked in your kitchen.

1 bag of your favorite popcorn

Pam Butter Flavored Cooking Spray

Cinnamon & Sugar

DIRECTIONS...well they are actually rather simple and very obvious.

Pop the bag of popcorn, and let it cool just a little bit. Pour into a large bowl and lightly spray the popcorn with PAM. Then sprinkle the cinnamon Sugar Mixture over the popcorn and toss!

It's PERFECT.

How was Wednesday for you? Mine was GREAT! Tomorrow is the Trunk Show for Southern Point and I am OVERLY Excited!! I hope everyone that can make it stops by for a visit!

Bysie for tonight dear!

B's

Wedding Sweets

Hey there. Sunday I gave you a tiny glimpse into a few photos from the Wedding Party for Trueman and Lydia. When Frances put me in charge of the cake and sweet section, I initially started thinking and somewhat panicking over where to order them from...What flavors.....plus, who wants to pay an arm and a leg for a cupcake? Not I. 

So I decided to just see if they were interested in me doing all of the baking myself! So, that's what we did. I withheld in my previous post mostly all of the cake pictures, because I wanted to share them TONIGHT on Creative Share night of course. 

So here are my treats from the wedding party!! 

I made two different flavors. One was wedding cake of course, the other was caramel. I was torn over making just one flavor, the wedding cake, and ditching the caramel. But, after a trial run and taste testing with my family the week before, the outcome of who liked what, was split right down the middle, so I just went with making BOTH!!! I went with Caramel as the other flavor really because I mainly needed the caramel color to make a pretty color palette. It worked out PERFECT!!

I made them their own layered cake, specifically for them to stick with tradition to freeze then eat on their one year anniversary of marriage. I loved how this turned out. 

They all turned out so good and thanks to Mary Mac for helping me so much. She was a super FANTASTIC baking assistant. Everyone seemed to really enjoy all of the goodies. And I already, thanks to Frances have another event lined up to bake for!!! YES!!

Hope you enjoyed the photos. Make sure to stop by the Trendy Treehouse for other pretty and creative sharing.

Tootles for tonight

B's

Weekend via Instagram

hi loves. just trying to wined down for the night. when I've been going going going all day, its so hard for me to settle down at night. It's crazy. my night was spent cutting fabrics. 

this fabric, however, stole my heart! I am in-love-with-it. It's GORGEOUS!!! Hopefully there will be some left over so I can think of something wearable to make out of it.

Here's a rundown of my weekend though. It was w o n d e r f u l . So relaxing. So needed. and what I loved about it so SO much is that it didn't zoom by. It went by a normal pace. My life just feels like its a whirlwind these past couple of months. One of my biggest fears is that I will get so caught up in life, trying to make it happen, that I might actually miss it. That's such a terrifying thought to me. Does anyone else feel like this sometimes? 

early saturday morning, I went out in the misty rain and picked lots and lots of muscadines. YUM. These seriously are the best fruit. If you have never tried them, please do yourself a favor and do so. I made some preserves out of them. 

I went on a Target & WM shopping escapade with the Fran and Mary Mac. They had a Birthday Party to throw on Sunday for the sweetest three year old, Camden, so there were lots of things to get fore the party. I snagged a BFF Tom shot!!! 

Sunday, I went to church with Adrianne, and made new friends. We had a lunch date after at Panera! It was SO great going to church with A. I loved it. Sunday School was fantastic....really really got a lot out of it. Lunch with A, Faith, Melanie, & Alyssa was wonderful. I had a great time meeting the other ladies. Sweet sweet ladies, and this will definitely be happening much more often. LOVED it.

Here is a snapshot of the FUN at Camden's Birthday party. I told Frances & MM that they should start there own event planning business. These two know how to give a party!!!

I preserved some muscadines. Haven't given them a taste yet, so I'm a little nervous of the outcome. But hey, it was the first time for these, and you know...there's a first time for everything! I'll let you know how they turn out.

Lydia helped me monogram the most adorable FAB whale, that I plan on turning into a key chain. I am in love with little FAB whale. She's precious. Thanks Lydia for sharing your awesome talent with me:)

Well as you see, I definitely am an expert at squeezing in a whole lot into two days. Oh but sometimes that's just how things must be done. 

Hope Monday treated you well. 

Share your weekend with me!!! 

Bysie, B's