Sunday, May 1, 2011

A May Day Winner



Hello Dear Ladies,

Happy May Day!  Spring has arrived and the trees are unfolding, the flowers a bloomin' and green color is sprouting up everywhere!  I just love the fresh start of spring, when everything is new and reborn.  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!  I have some photos to share now that I have my computer back, I'll post them in a few days, (better late then never right?). 

I was searching online for a few simple ideas to celebrate May Day and came across these pretty and easy door knob bouquets from Martha Stewart.com and thought I would share....  Click this link if you're interested in making them. 












Thank you to all of you who took the time to comment and enter this giveaway, and especially those of you who posted about it on your blogs!  My computer has been sick for the past two weeks so I've been working from my lil' notebook.  They are small and compact and get the job done...but I nearly go blind trying to read from those tiny lil' puters, lol. 

Last night, I mosied on over to Random.org to find out who would be the winner of the Quick and Easy Autumn Cookbook giveaway and so I am told the winner was comment number 90. 

Geesh, it sure would be so much easier if we could automatically number our comments wouldn't it?  If there already is a way to do this, please fill me in folks.  It is a little time consuming to count out 90 comments and then recount to make sure you are absolutely correct!  After doing this twice it finally occurred to me (in all my chaos) that it would be quicker to count backwards from 105 to 90, ummm, hello~lightbulb~! 

Well I want to congratulate Joy on winning, I am sure she will be so pleased with this cookbook!    Thank you for commenting and posting about the giveaway on your blog Joy.  Stop on by Joy's blog, Books and Life , and say hello. 

For those of you who entered here and love GPB.....don't get discouraged!  I just received two more cookbooks for review from Gooseberry Patch the other day.  So I will be posting two more giveaways for brand spankin' new cookbooks not yet released!  So stop back in a few days, you are really going to love them.   

I'm so happy so many of  you liked the FHCS Facebook page.  I plan on having some fun with that in the near future (surprise)!  It will be so much easier to keep in touch between blog posts and see what a lot of you are up to in the meantime! 

I'll be back in a few days, we have some catchin' up to do! But before I go...tell me....what spring plans do you have?  A vegetable garden, a new flower bed, maybe building a potting shed, or finishing up a your spring cleaning?  Anything interesting?  Leave a comment and please share!  Happy Spring!

Take care gals,
Dee

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

GBP Cookbook Review and Giveaway

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You can just imagine how excited I am to be a part of Gooseberry Patch's Early Bird Reviews.  The opportunity to review recipes from one of my Favorite companies before the book hits the market and give away a free copy to one of my followers....I'm thrilled!  I have always loved their cookbooks and have been collecting them for years.  My family has eaten many meals cooked from the recipes on their pages and they are always a hit.


Well here is my first review...
Quick and Easy Autumn by Gooseberry Patch.  Autumn...my FAVORITE season of all.  I know it is almost spring, but once you see these recipes in this book it really doesn't matter all that much, yes they are that good girls!  Asking their customers to review their books is brave and brilliant, how many companies do you know that chooses to go right to the source for an honest opion?  It could only be the ones that stand confidently behind their products, right? I so love that about them. I also love the whole concept behind Gooseberry Patch-they are so wholesome, sharing great family recipes with each other like women in communities have done for generations.  

How neat is it that they also understand the quick and easy part of todays wives and mothers?  So many of us are juggling families, homekeeping, jobs, businesses and extra curricular activites that we sometimes fall short on time.  Well I know that I don't want to compromise the food I prepare for my family in spite of all that and this book has so many recipes in it that make it possible to prepare great meals that are quick, easy and taste great!   


As far as my family goes, on the days that I work, it's a challenge to find the time to prepare and put a decent dinner on the table let alone add a homemade desert to it.  So for my first review from their brand new cookbook, I have chosen a cobbler prepared on one of those very busy nights.  Now, I don't want to sound like I have to pitch their book for them, because I don't, they do well all on their own, I'm only here for a review. All of the GPB fans out there already know what I'm talkin' about, but I want it on the record, that I am honored to have been asked to do these reviews! 
Let's get down to business now..... shall we?


Quick & Easy Autumn 


Cherry Cobbler
by Carol Van Rooy


This recipe was sooo easy and quick.  Exactly like the title says.  I am a busy momma these days and it was so nice to find a delicious recipe that took no time at all to make and one that my family really enjoyed. 
 
Lets make it together now.  First, you should go put on a cute lil' apron, it makes it more fun cookin' and makes ya good lookin'!  



Here's the list of ingredients......
~ 21 oz. can of Cherry pie filling, ~ 1T. lemon juice,  ~ 1T. cinnamon,  ~ 1/2 C. melted butter,  ~ 1 1/4 C. flour,  ~  1/2 C. sugar,  ~ 2T. baking powder,  ~ 1 C. milk ~ 
Mmhhm, Seriously that is all you need.


~You probably already have these ingredients in your pantry like I did!~


In a bowl combine the flour, sugar and baking soda.




Add the milk and melted butter to the flour mixture and combine.  It will be the consistency of pancake batter when mixed. 

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 glass baking dish.  Spread out evenly.

In another bowl, mix the cherry pie filling with


the ground cinnamon.  {I LOVE McCormick's Grinders.  If you haven't tried them yet, do so.  The flavor of the freshly ground cinnamon is
sooo much better, all you do is twist the top}


Add the lemon juice to the cherry mixture and mix well.


Pour the cherry mixture as evenly as possible over top of the batter mixture.


Now, put the pan into a preheated 325 degree oven bake for 25 minutes.  Yes, stand there lookin' pretty, patiently waiting while your homemade cobbler bakes...     


{or not}


now, turn the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 10 mintues or until golden and batter has risen over the top of the pie filling.
Now, go enjoy it with your loved ones!

Serves 8-10
We served our Cherry Cobbler with a scoop of good vanilla bean ice cream while it was still warm. The ice cream starts to melt and Oh My Word is this sooooo yummy!  Now run over to your pantry and gather these ingredients because your missin' out darlin! 

There are so many great recipes in this cookbook, I can't wait to review more recipes like... 

Peachy~Keen Sweet Taters
Applie Spice Country Ribs
Sticky Bun Toast Toppers
Gingersnap Baked Beans
Janet's Farmer's Pie
Rosemary Pork Loin
Grandma's Apple Nut Dessert
Autumn Cranberry Chicken
and lots more

My family and I discussed some of the recipes over dinner oohhhhing and ahhhing over the titles.  So you will be hearing a few more reviews on this cookbook for sure. 



Now, if you liked this recipe and want to try to win a copy of your own Quick and Easy Autumn of your very own then here's the criteria to enter:


FHCS Gooseberry Patch
Quick and Easy Autumn Cookbook Giveaway:

**Anyone who enters must be a FHCS follower.**

You do not have to have a blog to enter but please leave an email contact in your comment.

*1 Entry:  If you leave a comment for this post
**2nd Entry: If you blog about this on your blog and link it up to mine (be sure to link it up to this post)
***3rd Entry:  If you link to this giveaway on your sidebar
****4th Entry:  If you LIKE the new FHCS Facebook Fan Page

Leave the same comment for each entry adding to each one which you qualify for.  The winner will be chosen by random number generator on April 30th.  Announced The first week of May.  This giveaway is open to US residents and Canada only.


If you absolutely cannot wait for the giveaway to end you can pre-purchase your very own copy HERE.  It won't be available until May but you can pre-order on Amazon now.

Good luck to you all, I will post another recipe from this book very soon.  Happy Spring Gals!

Take good care
xo,
Dee

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Blogoversary and Birthday Wishes

FarMhOUsE CoUnTRy StYLe has turned
another year older last month and I have to thank you all for that. After celebrating FHCS'S 2nd Birthday the first week of March.  I was thinking that

If I knew all the benefits that come from blogging I certainly would have started it much sooner.

If I was aware of all the kind souls that would follow me and take their precious time to leave comments and check back I definitely would have started sooner.

If I knew that I could look back on the past years of my life's events and with such pleasure and reminisce, I am positive I would have started sooner.


You all have celebrated with me at times and picked me up time and again, especially these past couple of months, what a blessing you all are! Thank you for continuing to follow FHCS and leave your comments (I still LOVE your comments by the way, love em' to pieces). Thanks for checking in every now and then and understanding so easily. You make it all worth it!  There has been alot of adjusting, shifting and juggling going on in my life the past year....I am so grateful for all of you, you all keep this blog going....
even if it's going slowly...it's still going...
Yay, Happy Birthday!


And Speaking of Birthdays...


Another year....another birthday.  This year my middle daughter chose
a spa party.  Since she wanted several friends to celebrate with her, we chose to do the party at home and kept to a reasonable budget. 


We held it in the evening and after a nice dinner turned the dining room into a spa get away.  The mood was very calm and the lights dim to keep a relaxing spa-like atmosphere.  I found spa goods and spa music cd's in the dollar bins at my local Michales Craft store {favorite}.  A bag of river rocks (faux) candles. Spa packages for each guest and Ulta nail polish. 



Some healthy snacks were a nice change from most of the junk they like to eat at teen parties.


After soaking their hands in some lavender scented water and doing manicures.  We mixed up some homemade masks and beauty treatments using natural ingredients.  They had a lot of fun making the oatmeal yogurt facial scrub  and custom scented bath salts. They were also so amazed that they could make their own beauty treatments from home and there was ALOT of giggling going on while doing so....cute!!


They took over the powder room for the night laughing and acting plain silly...cute.

The evening ended with some relaxing spa music, lavender essential oil and cucumber eye treatments.
Before putting on their pjs and climbing into their sleeping bags, we sang Happy Birthday. 

My daughter requested ice cream sandwhiches instead of cake to which I quickly obliged, after making a cake for the family party a few nights before and being so limited on time these days I was actually relieved!

They ended the evening with a super cute movie called 13 Going on 30.  It's a few years old but appropriate for the birthday girl and very funny for mom too. 

Wait..

did I just say they "ended" the evening?
hehe, haha, lol,
Let me rephrase that......
they stayed up giggling, doing hair, and playing games until the wee hours of the morning....
and made a lot of really fun memories!


Now, I have to ask you all--how much fun would this be to do with a bunch of grownup girl friends?  Lots, I'm sure.  I think I want a SPA party for my next birthday too..lol.

Oh, and just how cute are these birthday plates?  I found these browsing through my Pottery Barn catalogs and thought I would share.  They sure could make a birthday child feel special year after year......
Photo credit to Pottery Barn Kids

****Make sure you check back early next week for a Gooseberry Patch Early Bird Review.....I will be sharing a great recipe and a GIVEAWAY!! ****

Thanks for stopping by friends, take good care of yourself.
XO,
Dee

Thursday, March 17, 2011

St. Patrick's Day Blessings Upon You


 
"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time --
 a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."
~~By Adrienne Cook.~~


 

 Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!  It has been a while since my last post.  I have been trying to update but as usual, time takes hold.   

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for my father and left such encouraging words.  I am so grateful to have such wonderful followers. I was so very touched by your comments.  I left an update at the bottom of that last post but am not sure everyone saw it.  He is still healing from the surgery and in his last round of chemo, a hard round, but we are keeping the faith. 



For today we will celebrate. 
With corned beef and cabbage alongside, my favorite, soda bread.

If you can get your hands on Katie Reilly's soda bread mix it is really good and
fun to make with the kids or grandkids.
 
 

A cup of Irish tea, and a slice of
soda bread,
spread with a little Irish butter. 
My favorite.




 

I finally had a little down time the other day and decided to craft a few handmade
St. Patty's Day
plaques.


Crafting always helps take my mind off of things and helps me to relax.





Craft therapy, fun, fun, fun.







The wearing of the green?
So, will you be wearing it?


As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction!
Irish Saying



Happy St. Patty's Day to you all! 

I will try to get back soon...
I have alot to share and a blog birthday to celebrate! 
Take good care of yourselves!

XO,
Dee

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