Saturday, July 5, 2014

Oven Baked Parmesan Potatoes

It's no secret that I'm married to a man's man.
He's pretty much a 5 year old that's living inside of a 26 year old's body. 
He leaves clothes on the floor, somehow stains every article of clothing he's wearing and somehow loses things in a blink of an eye. 

You may be saying out loud, "She just described most men."
But seriously, I'm not joking when I say that he has a drawer of "play clothes" 
because I was tired of him staining all of his good clothes and ruining them.

So it's no surprise that my husband is a meat and potatoes kinda guy. 

There are only so many times you can have mashed potatoes and baked potatoes before you go crazy. Oh and the other thing about my husband, he hates most things when it comes to spicing up a recipe. 

So to find a new recipe that he liked would be a challenge. So I said challenged accepted. 

Now I introduce to you some glorious potatoes. 


Beautiful, yes?
And oh so easy to make. 
Best of all?
The husband loved them. 
That my friends is called a wife win. 

Ingredients:
Potatoes. (I just do however many I want to make)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:
* Preheat oven to 375° F
* Rinse the potatoes and dry them off
* Slice the potatoes 
(thickness is up to you. Thicker will need to cook longer.)
* Add the potatoes to a large bowl
* Add spices, herbs and cheese to the bowl 
* Add olive oil to the bowl
* Mix all ingredients together until potatoes are evenly coated
* Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with non stick spray
* Lay the potatoes on to a cookie sheet 
* Try to lay them as flat as possible rather than stacking them
(At this step I added extra Parmesan cheese over all the potatoes because who doesn't love cheese?) 
* Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until they're cooked through. 
* Then devour delicious potatoes. ;) 

I'm sure you could do a lot of variety with the spices and herbs if you wish but this recipe worked for me. Hope you all enjoy!!

Xoxo, L 

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Coppertone ClearlySheer sunscreen - product review



So I'll admit, I'm not big on sunscreen. I know I should be better at it and I'm trying to get there. If I was at the beach then I would always put it on but that's because sunscreen smelt like the beach. Everywhere else I didn't want to smell like the beach. Usually I feel weighted down and oily if I did use sunscreen and I don't like that. 

Needless to say I was excited when Bzzagent invited me to the COPPERTONE CLEARLYSHEER sunscreen campaign. 

It advertised that the product was lightweight, wouldn't clog pores or cause breakouts and that it didn't have the strong smell that most sunscreens come with. So I gladly accepted the offer and patiently (okay not so patiently as I checked the mailbox everyday haha) waited for my samples to arrive. 

Lo and behold they finally did! 


I couldn't wait to try it out! And the verdict is.....

I LOVE IT! 

It didn't have the strong smell like the other sunscreens that I dreaded to use. It was light and airy and it didn't clog my pores and cause breakouts. I actually forget that I even put it on! 

I have found the sunscreen that I will be buying for the rest of my life. Another perk is that it comes in the regular lotion type or you can get it in the mist spray bottle as well! 

Thank you COPPERTONE CLEARLYSHEER sunscreen and thank you Bzzagent for letting me try a free sample! 

Xoxo, L 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

FREE - Pet Tag



Take the pledge and get a FREE pet tag from Purina!

WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

You do NOT need to enter your Sam's club membership number.


CLICK LINK BELOW:



Hurry before they are all gone! :)

XOXO  L


Shout out to http://www.freebieshark.com for the original posting!



Cake Mix Butterscotch

There are a few things I find magical in this world. 
Cake mix would be one of those things.
And cake mix cookies? Twice as magical!


This recipe is extremely easy which makes it more perfect.
The hardest part is probably waiting the 15 minutes for the dough to refrigerate.


Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix (15.25oz)
1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
2 eggs
1 bag Nestle Toll House Butterscotch morsels. 


Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in large mixing bowl, and beat well.


Stir in Butterscotch chips.
(I didn't use the entire bag, so it's up to you.)


Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes, prior to baking.
The waiting game is excruciating. ;)


After the 15 minutes, drop rounded balls onto a
cookie sheet. (I use parchment paper on mine)

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8-9 minutes or until done.

I took mine out when they were a little brown on the bottom and the top.

Recipe yielded 2 dozen cookies. 


Happy Baking!
XOXO  L













Friday, April 25, 2014

Lemon Crinkle Cookies


I have always loved lemon. Especially lemon bars. When I found a recipe
for lemon cookies I about died. There are some other recipes similar to
this one, but this one has been my favorite so far. It's impossible to eat just
one cookie when it comes to making these. So you have been warned!



INGREDIENTS:
* 1 (18.25 oz) lemon cake mix
* 2 eggs
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* juice from 1 fresh lemon
* 1 package lemonade Kool-aid (unsweetened)
* lemon zest (optional)
* 1/3 cup powdered sugar (DO NOT mix into dough)





*Preheat oven to 375.
Mix all the ingredients together minus the powdered sugar.
I have done this recipe with juice from a real lemon and the bottle
of lemon juice. Both turn out very good but the real lemon obviously
gives it more of a lemon taste.

(I omit the lemon zest when making mine.)


I always use my cookie scoop so that they turn out to be
almost the same size. This dough will be somewhat sticky and
hard to work. 
I pour some powdered sugar onto a plate because I find it easier
than a bowl.
Drop scoops of dough onto plate and roll them in the sugar
until coated evenly all around. They don't have to be perfect balls.
Transfer them onto the cookie sheet and put in the oven for 7-9 mins.

I always like to underbake my cookies so that when they set, they are still
really soft. I usually set my timer for about 6 minutes and then I keep checking
them for that last minute. I take them out as soon as the bottoms get a little brown.


Then voila! You have yourself some yummy lemon cookies!
Some would say they're perfect for the summer time, but in my house
they're perfect year round. :)

Happy Baking!

XOXO L





DIRECTIONS:
* Preheat oven to 375.
* Combine all ingredients (minus powdered sugar)
until everything is well blended.
* Scoop dough and drop it into the powdered sugar.
Roll them until coated. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
* Bake for 7-9 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are light brown.


Friday, April 11, 2014

Andes Mint Cookies


Who doesn't love chocolate?! And then top that with Andes mint candy? If you 
answered "me" for that answer. You best stop reading right now! My friend sent me 
this recipe and I had to make it as soon as I saw it! So behold the magic of...dun dun dun

Andes Mint Cookies!

They are DELICIOUS and go perfectly paired with a nice glass of milk! 
The only thing that comes close to being better than the cookie itself, is the short list of ingredients.


What you need:

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints

Easy enough, right? I bet you thought I was joking. But one does not joke when it comes to chocolate. ;)

For whatever reason, I couldn't find the regular sized Andes Mints so I had to deal with the baking chips. I wanted them so bad that I dealt with it. It's still doable, just takes a little bit longer.

I forgot to take pictures of the next few steps. I was a little excited to get the cookies started!


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. 

While I was waiting for the oven to preheat I counted how many cookies that would need the mints. 

 If you're able to find the regular sized mints, scroll past the next 2 pictures!


I looked up that a regular sized Andes Mint weighs between 4-5 oz. So I busted out my handy dandy scale and weighed out the baking chips until I got about 4 oz. You could do more if you wish, but it does make it harder to place on top of the cookies! 


I placed each 4 oz grouping separately on a plate so that they would be ready as soon as the cookies came out of the oven. Once you finish weighing and dividing the chips, put cookies into the oven. 
Bake for 6-9 minutes. I always do the minimum time and then check them from there. You don't want them to be overdone!

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place a group of baking mints (or a full size mint) on top of the HOT cookie. Let the mints melt for about 5 minutes or so. 


^ This is what it will look like if you use the baking chips. ^ 

Once the chocolate has melted, take a spoon and smooth out the chocolate like frosting. 


Continue doing so for all cookies until they're done. These are SO good when they're still warm and taste just as good when they set for awhile. 


Yum Yum! I hope you enjoy! 

XOXO L







Andes Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints

Directions:

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Mix cake mix, oil and eggs together.
~Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet.
~Bake for 6-9 minutes. Do NOT over cook!
~Take cookies out of oven once done and place
one mint on top while cookies are still hot.
~After 5 minutes, take spoon and smooth out mint
like frosting. 
~ENJOY!





FREE Starbucks K Cup



Who doesn't love free stuff?! I know I do! Go get your FREE KCup sampler from Starbucks.
Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. ENJOY! :)


XOXO L

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Hello!

So I decided to take a chance at this whole blog thing. I'm obsessed with baking, crafts and just life in general. My friends have always told me to create a blog and post my creations so here it is! I hope you enjoy! XOXO L