November 24, 2010

Wordless Wednesday







Rainbow's 1st Race for the Cure!



November 22, 2010

Easy Fudge!

I always make fudge for the holiday's and love to try out new recipes, which I will be sharing with you as I try them. Someone recenlty asked me about peanut butter fudge, so I decided to post a few of my fudge recipes on this wonderful Monday.

Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge
1 (14oz) Can of Eagle Brand Milk
1/2 c. of Creamy Peanut Butter
8oz. Bar of White Chocolate
1 tsp. Vanilla

First you want to line a 9in. square pan with wax paper
Heat Eagle Brand and peanut butter over medium heat, stirring constantly
After it starts to bubble add white chocolate until melted then stir in vanilla
Pour evenly in pan and let chill aprox. 2hrs
Lift wax paper from pan and cut fudge into squares and serve

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge
1 (10 oz.) pkg. of Peanut Butter Chips
1 (14oz) Can of Eagle Brand Milk
1/4 c. margarine
1/2 pkg. of Chocolate Chips (about 6oz.)

First you want to line a 9in. square pan with wax paper
Heat Eagle Brand milk (a little more than half the can),peanut butter chips, and about 2tbs. of the margarine over medium heat, stirring constantly until melted
Pour peanut butter mixture into pan
In seperate pan mix remander of milk, margarine and choc. chips until melted
Pour chocolate mixture over peanut butter and let chill aprox. 2 hrs.
Lift wax paper from pan and cut fudge into squares and serve



November 16, 2010

Hand Crafted Basket Giveaway from RellaRoo



Check out all the awesome designs @ Rellaroo's
on Mindi's Etsy Page


It’s giveaway time!



Mindi at Rellaroo’s has
agreed to take part in my first giveaway and I am so happy to be able to give you a chance to win a handmade basket of your choice from her Etsy page. I have a basket of my own and have used it for several different things already. They are great for so many uses! Storage basket/organizer, diaper caddy, gift baskets, party baskets, decorative uses, Halloween candy, or other holiday décor…the list could go on. I think any of you would love a great handmade basket! Here’s a little history from Mindi @ Rellaroo’s to get you started:



Rellaroo's
My name is Mindi and I have been sewing (since my mother made me take lessons) I was about 9 years old. Thanks Mom!
I grew up in Michigan and have transplanted to hustle and bustle of New York City where I live and work in the city with my husband.
My loving sister (who also sews and makes beautiful quilts!), inspired the shop name of RellaRoo. She was fond of calling me Minderella! :)
I love creating something beautiful yet functional. Nothing makes me prouder than when people receive a handmade item and say …”You made this?”
I also enjoy putting together gift baskets for friends, relatives paying special attention to the detail of what that individual would like. If you are interested in a custom gift basket, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Here’s how you can enter (each counts as 1 entry)
Mandatory Entry:
Sign up to follow TheCooksBuns with Google Friend Connect
Leave a comment letting me know your entries and contact email
(each entry below counts as 1 entry)
 Follow TheCooksBuns on Twitter
 Add Rellaroo’s to your favorites on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=RellaRoo&search_type=all.com/
 Share Rellaroo’s on FB and or Twitter
 Tweet or Facebook this: Enter to win a fabulous handcrafted basket by RellaRoo at http://www.thecooksbuns.blogspot.com/

Leave me a comment to let me know what task or tasks you have done to enter
Contest ends Nov. 30th at midnight, winner will be chosen @ random via random.org and will be contact by email as well as announced on my blog. Winner will have 72 hrs. to respond or another winner will be chosen. Don’t forget to leave your email address along with your comment and good luck to you all!


November 15, 2010

Cheesy Shepard Pie


Cheesy Shepard Pie
This very simple meal is sure to be yummy with all that cheese! And under 10 steps to make :)
1. Cook your ground beef with chopped onions until browned
2. Peel potatoes and bring to boil with butter and water, then mash with mixer when tender
3.Chop carrots and steam until tender
4. In a baking dish add a can of drained corn, edamame or peas (i dont like peas but some do) carrots and a can of cream of mushroom soup w/a splash of milk and ground beef
5. Top w/mashed potatoes and add lots of cheddar cheese and scallions on top
6. Bake @ 375 for aprox. 25 min. until cheese is toasty
7. Scoop and serve, salt and pepper to taste
8. Enjoy!


November 9, 2010

My fight against Endometriosis

Through many years of suffering from endometriosis and many surgical treatments, drugs, money spent, time and pain I am going to try something new and I am going to share the experience with you guys throughout this journey. I was finally diagnosed 8yrs. ago after years of extremely painful monthly cycles and infertility. I have stage 4 (severe w/dense adhesions) endo. and am still suffering in many ways from this awful disease even after all my efforts and medical treatments. This has brought me to the point I am at now. After years of research I have decided to get real with myself and try the holistic approach to helping with this disease. Endometriosis is not typically fatal, but it does put a woman at greater risk for other disease (which I already have). In a woman's normal monthly cycle if you do not become pregnant you shed the lining of your uterus (endometrium) and you have a period, but in women with endo. the flow backs up and this results in internal bleeding into the pelvic and abdominal cavity which also causes inflammation. Through gathering information over the years I can say that I now have some hope again and am ready to try this new approach to the disease.
One thing I will be doing is changing my eating habits. Here's an idea of what I will be eating and avoiding.
Foods to avoid: Meat,Dairy,Soy,Wheat,Caffine,Butter and Sugar
Foods that are important to your diet: Organic Fruit/Veg.,Fiber,Omega3,Green tea,Dark green vegetables,Nuts,Flaxseed,Beans, and Water
Feel free to share your story or ideas with me...I am very open at this point!

November 8, 2010

My Kitchen

Italian Veggie Stew



For this yummy recipe you can add or take out whatever you like to make your family happy because there's a lot of options to use and still get the same flavor.
I started with a turkey sausage and then added veggies and italian spices then topped with fresh spinach and mozzarella to top just before serving. Keep in mind I am not a measuring cook nor do I stick to the recipe, so feel free to improvise :)

Turkey Sausage (brown with chopped onions and a chopped garlic clove or two)
Then add chopped veggies
Carrots
Brocolli
Cabbage
Then add juices (and italian spice,I use a palm full of 5th seasoning)
Veggie Stock (1 Can)
Tomatoes (canned)
Chick Peas (canned)
Tomatoe juice (1 cup)
Add water to fill pot the rest of the way to cover and simmer soup until veggies are tender.
Just before serving add fresh spinach and cheese