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Frozen Nutella Pops

September 8, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

I used to think that Nutella didn’t look like it would taste very good.  Why did I think that?  It is delicious!!  I know a lot of people like it on toast like peanut butter, but that really isn’t my cup of tea.  In desserts though…yum!!  When I found this frozen treat over at Real Mom Kitchen, I knew I had to try it.

The original recipe only has two ingredients, chocolate milk and Nutella.  Since I am lactose-intolerant, I used plain almond milk and chocolate syrup in mine.  These are a quick,easy, and delicious frozen treat!

Frozen Nutella Popa

1 1/2 cups plain almond milk

1/8 cup chocolate syrup (I like my chocolate milk REALLY chocolate-y.)

1/2 cup Nutella

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Whisk the milk and syrup together until combined.  Add the Nutella and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until firm. 

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I always have a hard time getting the pops out of the mold so I unmolded all of them and wrapped the individual pops in plastic wrap.  They will keep frozen for over a week with no decrease in quality.

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Posted in Cooking | Tagged , , | 5 Comments »

Book Beginnings & A Winner Announcement

September 7, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Please join me and other bloggers today over at Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings.  The book I am featuring today is “On Folly Beach” by Karen White.  What attracted me to this book at first was the beautiful cover of seashells on sand with water washing over them and the name of course.  Folly Beach is a little island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina and is a place that I would love to visit some day. 

“Emmy awoke to the song of the wind in the bottle tree, to the black night and the winter chill, and knew Ben was gone from her the way the moon knows the ocean’s tides.”

Doesn’t this first sentence just send chills down your spine?  This book is full of memories with a little magic thrown in.  The way Ms. White joins the generations of women is really poignant.  I can’t wait to try more of her books!

Now, to the big announcement!  I have the opportunity to give away 3 copies of “even if I am.” by Chasity Glass that I wrote about last week.  I wrote down everyone’s name and had my husband, C, to pick three names out of a bowl.  Real high tech!  Anyway, the three lucky winners are…Mostraum, Chris Thompson, & Kesha!  You three will be receiving an email from me and from Mary Bisbee-Beek, who is Ms. Glass’ publicist.  Ms. Bisbee-Beek will need more information from you so please respond to her email to receive your book.  Congratulations!!!!!  Many thanks to Ms. Bisbee-Beek and Ms. Glass for the opportunity to host my first giveaway.

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

Almost Wordless Wednesday

September 5, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Show livestock and their entourages at the Kentucky State Fair…

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Posted in Fun, Pets, Pets/Animals, Photography | Tagged , , |

Menu Plan Monday

September 3, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Happy Labor Day to my American readers!  I hope you have a wonderful holiday today.  We are experiencing the remnants of hurricane Isaac in our area, but the weather has not been too bad, just some much needed rain showers.  This week’s menu is a little short because, since it is the first of the month, it is grocery shopping time again.  Wow, it is hard to believe that another month has passed and September is going strong.

If you haven’t already, please check out my Book Beginnings post from Friday and leave a comment to enter my first ever giveaway to have a chance to win a copy of the book I reviewed.  It is an amazing book and I have the opportunity to give away three copies.  Hope to see your name listed!

Sausage bake with fresh fruit

Cheeseburger bundles with oven fries (2 nights)

Pioneer Woman’s fried round steak (new) with curly fries

Tomato soup & grilled cheese

Pizza night

Peanut butter chocolate chip bundt cake (new)

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Posted in Cooking | Tagged , |

Dairy Free Blackberry Ice Cream

September 1, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Today I am bringing you my latest adventure in dairy free ice cream making.  Last year was an amazing blackberry year so I still had a small bag in my freezer.  Since I had already made strawberry ice cream and I also remembered that the blackberry sauce from last years was so so good with ice cream, the decision was made to combine those berries with the dairy free vanilla recipe to make blackberry ice cream.  Mmmm, this was so good and the color was gorgeous!

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1 14oz. can full-fat coconut milk

1 1/4 cups soymilk or other nondairy milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar (or agave syrup)

1.5 tbsp. real vanilla extract

2 cups blackberries, fresh or thawed from frozen

Juice from half a lemon

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In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat, cook the berries and lemon juice until the berries release their juice and the juice simmers.  The berries should be soft and almost falling apart on their own.

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Next, using a fine mesh sieve and a potato masher, mash the berries to strain all of the juice and flesh into another bowl.  The sieve will catch those annoying little seeds.

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Combine the strained berries with the rest of the ingredients and chill for 2 to 3 hours then process in your ice cream maker according to package directions.

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BlackberryIceCreamPinterest

Posted in Cooking | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments »

Book Beginnings (And My First EVER Giveaway)

August 31, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Welcome to a very special edition of Book Beginnings for me.  I usually post a book review every other Friday to link up at Rose City Reader, but thanks to a giveaway hosted by Ms. Rose City, I have a very special book to tell you about today.  I won a copy of “even if I am.” by Chasity Glass a couple of weeks ago and I just have to tell you about it.  Here is the first line:

"People are really romantic about the beginning of things."

How true is that?  Whether it is an actual romance, a new job, or a new home, most people are hopeful and romantic at the beginning of any big new endeavor.  To be honest, if I had really paid attention to what this book was about, I might not have even entered the giveaway, but I am so glad I did.  Someone very close to Ms. Glass is diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and this is their story dealing with this hideous disease and their lives around it.

My mother died two and a half years ago from ovarian cancer and she was at stage 3 when she was diagnosed three years before that.  She was my best friend and I am still dealing with the grief and disbelief that she is no longer here on earth with me.  Reading this story brought back so many memories, both good and bad, and moved me to tears multiple times.  Ms. Glass’s writing is so honest and funny and poignant…I could just go on and on.  I also loved the fact that a lot of the book is actual e-mails that Ms. Glass and her love sent back and forth to one another.  It makes it seem like you are right there with them and can feel the growing love that they have for each other.

This book is wonderful and I highly recommend it, but be aware that it is a very honest portrayal of dealing with cancer and everything that comes along with it.  Ms. Glass, I commend you for telling such an honest and loving story.  Great job!

Now, for the giveaway!  I am so thrilled and honored to have this opportunity.  Ms. Glass and her people are giving away another 3 copies of “even if I am.” to my readers.  Isn’t that awesome!  This is my first giveaway EVER, so here goes…today is August 31st so everyone that comments between today and Wednesday, September 5th will be entered in a drawing for these books.  I will randomly pick three people to receive the freebies and announce them on next Friday’s Book Beginnings post.  Please, please comment because you might win a wonderful book that I hope you will love as much as I did.  Also, make sure you leave an e-mail address so I have a way to contact you if you win.  Good luck!!

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments »

Thoughtful Thursday-Gardening Edition

August 30, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Looking back at my Thoughtful Thursday posts, I realized that it had been quite a while since I wrote about our garden.  It has done surprisingly well considering the extreme heat and dry weather we had for most of June and July.  Thankfully, since we have just the two raised beds and one strawberry bed, I was able to water them enough to keep everything alive.

Once the rain started back, I started harvesting more and more.  My cucumbers have done great and the peppers and tomatoes have really made a comeback.  This is what I picked Saturday before last…

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There was also a handful of very small strawberries that I made strawberry lemonade slushies with and I still have several carrots left, too.  That same day, I sowed a fall crop of lettuce and a few more cucumber seeds.  There is just enough time before our usual frost to get a few cucumbers from new plants.  Say a little prayer that our frost is a little late. 

Our new grapevines are growing well, but it will still be a year or two before we actually get fruit from them.  It is the same with the fruit trees.  I am trying to be patient and let them grow more before bearing much fruit so they will be nice and strong.

The wood that we made our raised bed from is starting to deteriorate so C & I are trying to come up with an inexpensive alternative to replace the boards.  We have a few ideas, but no concrete plans yet.  We are thinking of using artificial deck boards, but they are so expensive.  I might have to start stalking Craig’s List to see if we can find them on the cheap.

Considering the weather that we have had, I have been thrilled at the garden output and hopefully it will continue for a few more weeks!

Posted in Gardening, Home, My Thoughts | Tagged , , |

Almost Wordless Wednesday

August 29, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Talented pooches at the Kentucky State Fair…

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Posted in Fun, Pets/Animals, Travel | Tagged , , |

Menu Plan Monday

August 27, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Good Monday morning!  Please join me and many other wonderful bloggers for Menu Plan Monday hosted by I’m An Organizing Junkie.  There are always many menus to peruse and new recipes to find.  I have to confess that the desserts I had planned for last week did not get made because C & I decided to attend the Kentucky State Fair and we had so much fun!  Neither of us had been since we were kids and I think we were like kids again while we were there.  We loved seeing the animals and displays and I am ready to go back next year.  Check back on Wednesday for the first of multiple Almost Wordless Wednesday posts with lots of pics from the fair.

Also, this Friday’s Book Beginnings post will be a special one because it will contain my first ever giveaway!  You have to comment to win so if you are interested, please check back on Friday and leave a comment for the chance to win an awesome new book.

Bubble-up enchilada bake

Grilled pork chops with oven fries

Bacon cheeseburger bundles with fresh veggies & fruit

Pizza

Grilled pork loin with curly fries

Coca-cola cake with orange fluff salad (This is a birthday cake for my chocolate loving aunt.)

Posted in Menu Planning | Tagged , |

Strawberry Lemonade Slushies

August 25, 2012 by pictureperfectcooking

Is is hot where you are?  It’s always hot in Kentucky during August so I love finding delicious ways to cool off and this is one of them.  One of my co-workers passed this recipe on to me so I am not sure of it’s origins, but I have seen it on Pinterest and other websites, but that is not where I got it.

This is a quick and easy frozen treat that I think anyone would love!

StrawberryLemonadeSlushPinterest

Powdered lemonade drink mix

1 1/2 cups strawberries

7 ice cubes

1 cup water

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In a blender, put the strawberries, ice and water.  Measure out the smallest amount of lemonade mix that the lid has marked and add it to the blender as well.  Pulse until all of the ice is crushed and you have a thick but straw-friendly drink!

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This version has a pretty powerful lemonade kick so you could easily add more ice and water to tone it down a little and you would get more drinks per powder portion.

Posted in Cooking | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments »

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