Fun with Pillsbury and a Giveaway

After traveling for both work and pleasure 12 out of the last 15 days, I decided that my kitchen needed to be used for more than just storage space (imagine 12 days of newspapers stacked up on the counter and suitcases on the floor).

I had the perfect excuse because weeks ago I received a cool package in the mail from Pillsbury, which included a cookbook with 100 of their winning Bake-Off recipes!

Have you heard of the Pillsbury Bake-Off?


Well, it's in its 45th year and is currently open for entries (until April 18) of original recipes that taste and look delicious, are easy to make and that your family will love to eat. There's even more than one category to enter, including: Breakfast and Brunches; Entertaining Appetizers; Dinner Made Easy; and Sweet Treats (my fav).

Entries are being accepted online between now and April 18, 2011, at http://www.bakeoff.com/. Find all the details and more at the web site!

Now back to my kitchen...I flipped through the cookbook and found MANY recipes that I was interested in making. Unfortunately, my pantry was not fully stocked (and I was NOT going to the store) so I earmarked several recipes for another day and turned to my gal pal over at Going Jane for a quick and easy recipe using the Pillsbury products in my fridge/pantry.

I had some pepperoni leftover from a recent girls weekend and a tube of Pillsbury pizza crust in the fridge so I decided to make some Pepperoni Pinwheels!

Before...

After...

After devouring half a cookie sheet worth of these, I was in Pillsbury bliss! Check out her recipe here.

Keeping with the theme of quick and easy recipes, I was called upon to whip up a dessert for Sunday family lunch at the cabin while my dad and brothers-in-law built a dock on the family pond.

Again, not wanting to go to the store for additional ingredients, I went to the pantry and found this...

Add to that a tub of Pillsbury Milk Chocolate Whipped frosting and this is the result.

I just ran the Oreos through my mini-food processor and added 3/4 cup to the batter and baked as directed.

Once the brownies were cooled, I frosted them and sprinkled the remaining Oreos on top.

I think the family enjoyed them...

Do you have a favorite recipe from the Pillsbury Bake-Off?

Do you have a recipe you think could compete in the Bake-Off?

Do you want to win the cool prize package I mentioned at the beginning of this post?

Just comment on this post and let me know your favorite recipe that uses a Pillsbury product and you'll be entered.

In honor of the April 18 deadline to submit Bake-Off recipes, I'll close the giveaway at midnight EST on Monday, April 18 and announce the winner the next day!

Good luck.

Pillsbury provided me with the free product, information, and giveaway through MyBlogSpark. All opinions in this post are my own, of course!

Wordless Wednesday: Where Have I Been?

I've been here...

and here...

 and here...

 and enjoyed these...

To find out more than you ever wanted to know about what I have been up to over the last 9 days, check out my travel blog at Shelby European Adventures!

I'm linking up over at Pinke Post's Wordless Wednesday today!

Wordless Wednesday: Ain't She Sweet

Took these photos of niece JJ when she first started eating baby food. She's a pro now.














- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

RFOA: The Cycle of Life

Today is the day when the Real Farmwives of America and Friends get together and all talk blog around the same theme. Please be sure to check out all the posts at https://www.facebook.com/TheRealFarmwivesofAmerica

Oh, To Be a Kid Again

To celebrate the first full day of spring...

To use up some steaks from my parents' freezer before the new beef arrives...

To just hang out and enjoy the 70 degree weather...

...the family gathered at the cabin for our first official cookout of the year on Monday night.

I caught my youngest nephew entertaining himself on some logs leftover from the cabin build. He was having so much fun that I really wanted to join him.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom photo...I call that his "I'm practicing for my life as a male model" pose!

Linking up to Pinke Post's Wordless Wednesday.

Iron Chef Challenge: Pizza Dip

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This weekend a couple of my college gal pals and their daughters came over for a fun girls weekend.

We did some scrapbooking, took in a movie (Tangled in 3D, it was a great show), laughed until we hurt, and, of course, had a little something to eat and drink.

I took this opportunity to prepare my entry into Ott, A's Iron Chef Challenge: Canned Tomatoes.

Jane, from Going Jane, just happened to have some cookbooks in her car - doesn't everyone travel with cookbooks - and had flagged a recipe for Pizza Dip. We decided it would be the perfect dish to snack during an afternoon of scrapbooking.

Here's the final product...

I started out with my ingredients, including a couple of small cans of Red Gold tomato sauce. I didn't have all the "toppings" so I improvised and left a few out. This dip is like pizza - your choice of toppings.

The recipe called for pizza sauce but I used the tomato sauce and Italian Seasoning and made my own.

Then I cut up some pepperoni.

Then spread the cream cheese into the bottom of my Pampered Chef round baking dish. The recipe said to use a 9-inch pie plate but I use mine in the microwave (a story for another day).

Then I poured the tomato sauce on top of the cream cheese and added the pepperoni. I decided to up the tomato factor by adding some Red Gold Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano.

I only added the tomatoes to one half of the dish because some people don't like chunky tomatoes and some people do.

Then I covered it in cheese - a mix of mozzarella and parmesan - and put it into the oven.

While it was baking, I cut up part of a loaf of French bread and spread them on my Pampered Chef pizza stone. Do you see a pattern of Pampered Chef use this weekend? I went to a Pampered Chef party on Friday night and got inspired.

I wanted to jazz up the bread a bit so I brushed on some EVOO (olive oil) and sprinkled some Italian Seasoning on top. Then I cranked up the broiler and put them in the oven with the pizza dip.

It was a hit judging by the three batches of bread I had to fix!

If you feel up to joining Ott, A's Iron Chef Challenge, go here:

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Pizza Dip

1 (8-oz) package of cream cheese, softened

1 (14-oz) jar pizza sauce OR tomato sauce with your choice of seasoning

1/2 cup green bell pepper

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup pepperoni

1 (2 1/4-oz) can sliced ripe olives

1 (8-oz) package shredded mozzarella cheese (or Italian mix or some Parmesan)

2 green onions, chopped

Spread cream cheese in bottom of a 9-inch pieplate; spread pizza sauce over cream cheese. Sprinkle bell pepper, pepperoni, and olives (or diced tomatoes or mushrooms or well, you get the idea) over sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese (or Parmesan or Italian mix).

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 or 12 minutes or until cheese melts. (I cranked up the broiler for the last couple of minutes.) Serve warm with corn chips or French bread or whatever you want!

St. Patty's Day Greetings

A co-worker brought in some St. Patrick's Day treats. God Bless her Irish roots!

The cupcake is still sitting on my desk tempting me to devour it in two bites. So far I've resisted...though there's a bit less icing now than in the photo above.

St. Patrick's Day always reminds me of 4-H...guess it's the clover, huh?

So here's my shout-out to what I think is THE best youth organization out there...

4-H

Any other 10-year 4-Hers out there?

I still remember...

• the hours sitting by the back door in front of a fan with a bucket of soybeans to separate out the trash and pick out the cracked beans for a perfect jar of soybeans to exhibit...
• the time I had to throw out an entire cake batter (or was it muffins?) because I forgot the eggs...
• the pistachio coffee cake which took top honors in the microwave cooking project - nothing like a bright green bundt cake to wow the judges...
• my dad yelling EVERY year as we loaded up the hogs to take to the fair because my sister and I NEVER took the project seriously enough...sorry Dad...
• the tromping through the woods and the stopping by the side of the road to collect the perfect leaf from a tree or weed from the ditch...gotta love forestry and weed identification projects...
• and so many more great memories!

Do you have a favorite 4-H memory? If so, please share!