Sparking Mint Lemonade

I haven't posted here in a while.

I could say it's because I've been too busy, but that would only be part of the truth.

Actually, it's because I just don't have that much to say. I read the blog posts of others on the web and it seems that they have so much to contribute. Well, I don't feel like I do all that much. So, for now I am only posting when I do. And today is one of those days.

I made up the best lemonade recipe in the world! Seriously, this is addictive.

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

bunch of mint - like at least a cup

Boil the above together to until the sugar is dissolved and you have a wonderful mint simple syrup that you can use for all sorts of things. The mint flavor gets stronger as it sits too.

Now add 1 cup lemon juice and 1 2 liter bottle of sparkling water.

That's it! So simple and SO good!

My hubby's birthday cake

My handsome husband's birthday is tomorrow.  We are going on a date :)  Probably to go snag a bunch of birthday freebies and go to a movie.  However, I was brought up with the philosophy that birthdays are very important and the bigger you can make them, the better.  So today Will & I are making his daddy's birthday cake.  If you have an Oreo lover in your life, I definitely recommend this cake :)  It's the Cookies & Creme cake from the Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn.  I adore this book.  Each recipe starts with a cake mix & doctors it up into something special.  Plus, I can't tell you how many times I have used this book just for her fabulous fillings/icings/frostings/chocolate sauce recipes.

I will update this post later with a picture of the cake when we've finished...stay tuned :)

For more great recipes, you should know the drill by now - visit Blessed with Grace & Balancing Beauty & Bedlam for delicious recipes.  I know I usually find at least two a week that I MUST try that week!

BLT Pasta Salad

This is without a doubt my favorite salad in the whole world.  It just tastes like summer!

Wanna make your own?  This is what you'll need:

This recipe is from Taste of Home Magazine.  It's super easy - cook up a 16oz box of pasta, chop the veggies, cook & crumble the bacon, and mix it all up.  Then combine 1.25-1.50 cups mayo, 5 teaspoons vinegar, salt & pepper.  Mix into the salad & you're done.  YUM!

Want more great recipes? Head over to Tempt my tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace & Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.

Homemade Applesauce

I love homemade applesauce!  I love how yummy it tastes and how easy it is to make (not to mention what a nice, fast baby food it is :)  I was recently blessed with an abundance of free, very fresh, very bruised apples.  So I thought I would walk you through how I make applesauce in case you've never done it.  Sound good?

For more yummy recipes, check out Blessed with Grace & Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.

My giveaway ends soon to - so please don't forget to enter if you haven't already - the link is in the sidebar.  Thanks!

So first I chopped up the apples.  I was trying to do this quickly because Evan didn't want me to chop apples, he wanted me to play with him.  So I didn't so much "chop" as slice-into-fourths-peel-and-call-that-good :)

Here are the apples & about a quart of water.  I cooked them for about an hour until it was all nice and mushy.

Then I added some cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little apple juice (cause the apples I started with weren't very sweet).  Now, if you like chunky applesauce, you can eat it like this.  However, my boys don't...

So I used my smart stick to blend it into apple perfection :)

Yummy!

PBJ Pizza

Welcome to readers that came from Balancing Beauty & Bedlam & Blessed with Grace!  Please be sure to enter my giveaway in the sidebar :)

If you have not done so, be sure to visit the other participants of Tempt my tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday.  There are some really great recipes!

I've been trying to make homemade pizza once a week this month.  (1) Because it's economical.  (2 & mostly) Because my hubby/kids adore it.

This past week in addition to our normal entree pizza I felt like something fun and different for dessert.  When  I was a kid I remember going to Hungry Howie's Pizza in Florida with my grandparents.  They served a peanut butter and jelly pizza that I loved!  I thought I'd attempt to recreate this childhood favorite.  What do you think?

The "recipe" was really easy too.  I made homemade pizza crust using THIS recipe from Money Saving Mom.  Then I poured melted peanut butter and melted jelly over the top.  I put a strudel-type topping on top with 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of flour.  I baked the whole thing for 12 minutes and voila!  PBJ Pizza that my hubby and boys gave their stamp of approval.

My very first giveaway!

Welcome Tempt my tummy Tuesday & Tasty Tuesday readers!  For yummy recipes, visit Blessed with Grace on Tuesdays for the Tempt my tummy Tuesday carnival.  For even more yummy recipes, visit Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for Tasty Tuesday.

I love Asian food.  Vietnamese noodle soup (pho bo), spring rolls, chicken teriyaki, coconut milk rice, general tso's chicken, beef broccoli, curry, baklava, egg drop soup - it's good stuff!

Because I like asian food so much, I have put it as a category once a week on my monthly menu.  Once every week this month we are going to have some kind of homemade asian food.  This is where you come in.  Because as much as I love asian food, I sometimes get in a rut as far as new recipe ideas.  So...

I am hosting my very first giveaway!  I have two packages of Kame bamboo chopsticks to give away:

That is 10 pairs of chopsticks!  They have pretty red, shiny lettering on them.  I have no idea what it says :)  They are reusable and hold up really well!

To enter: 

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite asian dish is

Extra entries: 

Subscribe to BooksnBoys and leave a comment telling me you did so

Blog about this giveaway and post the link in the comment section

Contest is open until April 30th.

Winner will be chosen using Random.org & announced May 1st.

Please make sure if you are not a blogger that I have a way to contact you!

Marshmallow Worms

I'm linking up with two Tuesday carnivals: Tempt my tummy Tuesday by Blessed with Grace & Tasty Tuesday by Forever, Wherever.  Check em out!

This is one of those "keeping it real" posts.  I made marshmallows today for the first time.  Some parts went well, some parts didn't...

I used THIS recipe from Martha Stewart because I was trying to make homemade peeps.

Here are my ingredients - really simple.  Sugar, water, and unflavored gelatin.

Soak the gelatin in cold water.

Sugar and water, boiling to the soft-ball stage.

Combine sugar syrup with gelatin and blend for ten minutes.  This is when I started...

This is at 5 minutes...

This is when it's finished at ten.  See how it's holding its shape?  Then I was put it in a pastry bag and I was supposed to pipe the shapes directly onto colored sugar.  Here is where I had problems.  Up to this point it was pretty straightforward/easy.

This is my first attempt at a peep.  It's pretty pathetic looking.  It was IMPOSSIBLE to get the marshmallow to pipe nicely :p

These are supposed to be bunnies.  Don't laugh.  Okay, you can laugh, but just don't tell me you did.  After this I gave up.  Piping marshmallow just wasn't working for me.  As a result my kids are getting marshmallow worms in their baskets.  They will probably think worms are cooler than chicks/bunnies anyway.

Will got to try a marshmallow.  He thought the texture was kind of weird, but he ate the whole thing.

Have you ever had a recipe not turn out quite like you expected?

Oh so good!

This week for dinner I made turkey/veggie soup and fried bread.  I LOVE fried bread.  My mom made it occasionally when I was little.  Her mom made it for her and my great-grandma made it for my nana when she was little.  It is so easy and oh so good!

First, make some bread dough.  Any recipe will work.  Let it rise.

Then, tear off a piece about the size of a ping pong ball and flatten it with your hands, like this:

Drop it carefully into a frying pan filled with about 1/2 inch of oil.  Brown on one side (about a minute), then flip over (carefully!) and brown the other side.

Place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil and sprinkle with salt immediately.  One batch of bread dough makes about a dozen pieces of fried bread.

Yum!

Hey I found a new carnival to participate in over at Blessed with Grace.  It's called Tempt my Tummy Tuesday.  There are tons of yummy looking recipes!