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By Aimee, January 2, 2012

My husband and I have New Year’s Eve traditions, but we never really had a tradition for New Years morning (aside from sleeping in of course). This year we tried making German pancakes, which I have found out have a lot of other names too. Yummy! I think that we have found a new tradition. Of course, since we had never made them before I turned to my friends on Facebook to find their favorite recipe, and my friend Jeanne (who is always posting about fabulous food she makes) came through with this recipe.

6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cube butter (1/4 cup)
lemon juice
powdered sugar
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine & blend eggs, flour, and milk in blender. Melt 1 cube butter in 13X9 dish. Pour batter directly into hot dish, bake 18 minutes (we did go to 21 minutes, so adjust for your oven as needed). Sprinkle with lemon & powdered sugar.

We didn’t have lemon on hand, so we topped ours with powdered sugar and maple syrup. So yummy! If you haven’t had them before and wonder what they taste like, they remind me a little of French toast, and we both thought they were really tasty. It’s also fun to watch them puff up while they are cooking in the oven.

Do you have New Year’s morning traditions?

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By Aimee, December 8, 2011

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There’s no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

There is really nothing better than having a fun night in with the girls. Getting together to share treats, memories, and of course laughing until you can hardly breathe; what could be better than that? What’s even more fun than having a girls night out is having a girls night in during the holiday season! Even though everyone is busy, getting together to watch Christmas movies and exchange white elephant gifts is worth making time for! It’s such a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

My favorite choices for silly movies for a girls night in at Christmas are:

• A Christmas Story
• Elf
• Charlie Brown Christmas
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original version of course)

The original animated classics of Rudolph are great, and of course if you are in the mood to watch a true classic It’s a Wonderful Life is a tried and true favorite.

Decorating for the night is a big part of the fun as well. Not just the house of course, but have your friends wear “ugly” Christmas sweaters, or bring their own Santa hats. Or for even more fun, have a “sleep over” where everyone wears their most festive of pajamas! Even if you don’t truly sleep over, you can still have all the fun of staying up late and watching movies in your pajamas!

Be sure to include a table with treats of all kinds. Cookies, muffins, candy, and even “reindeer food” like carrots and celery. Drinks could include hot chocolate, mulled cider, and sparkling cider. There are so many cute options for Christmas themed paper plates now too, you won’t even have to do dishes after the party if you don’t want to!

Do you have your friends over for girls night in? What are some of your favorite things to do?

Remember to check out Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

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By Aimee, November 30, 2011

I adore pizza, and so of course I was so excited to hear that this book came out. We have always loved the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book, and use it whenever we want to make bread from scratch, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day!

I am happy to be able to share a little insight from one of the authors, Jeff Hertzberg.

Q: Pizza, especially homemade, is a favorite of ours. We were excited when your book came out because we have loved using the 5 Minutes a Day system for breads. What makes Artisan Pizza and Flatbreads in 5 min. a day different from other pizza recipes our readers may have tried?

A: Biggest difference is that it’s based on our stored dough, and that changes everything? Why? Because you’ll actually make it often, since you mix once, but bake many times. All the initial work’s divided over 8 pizzas or flatbreads for our standard-sized batch that stores up to two weeks.

Q: If our readers were to try just one item in the book, what would it be?

A: I love the soppressata pizza– it’s a spicy Italian sausage, and if you love pepperoni, this is a more refined and wonderful way to get acquainted with traditional Italian meat products. It’s a basic tomato and cheese pizza, but we used a wonderful medium-firm Italian cheese called piave. The beauty of this is that you can use pretty much whatever cheese strikes your fancy.

Q: What do you think the most fun part of creating pizzas is?

A: One word: improvisation! See what’s fresh in the market, see what’s growing in your refrigerator (just kidding!). But really, use our recipes as a starting point, and this kind of cooking can fuel your creative impulses.

Recipes include:

Classic Pizza Margherita
Chicago-style deep-dish pizza
Mexican corn flatbread with tomatillo and chillies
Grogonzola and pear tart (Great Fall recipe!)
Breakfast pizza with prosciutto, parmigiano and egg
Pocket pizzas for parties and school lunches (great for kids)
Dessert tarts and sweet doughs (Party ideas)

Do you love pizza too? Would you like a chance to win a copy of Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day? Here’s what you need to do:

• Tell me your favorite pizza topping, what would you want to make?
• This giveaway will end on December 6th, and is open to those in the USA.
• The winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email after the giveaway ends. They will then have 3 days to respond otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

This giveaway is now closed, congrats to Heather.

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By Aimee, November 17, 2011

Just in time for the holidays, Kroger is running a special with offer where you can stock up on some of your favorite General Mills products and receive free milk (or $3.00 off your total).

From November 13th through November 26th, with the purchase of any four participating General Mills products, you will either receive free milk (up to $3; limit of 2) or to receive $3 off your shopping order.*

Some great General Mills products that will go well with the free milk? How about Cheerios, or Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies?

Promotion varies in different locations, so be sure be sure to check your local Kroger Co. Family of Stores. I am excited to stock up on some Pillsubury cookies, and of course, milk is always something on our shopping list.

Would you like to take advantage of this great deal? I have One $25 Kroger gift card (good at any of the Kroger. Co Family of Stores to giveaway to a lucky reader. Here’s how to enter:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me which General Mills product you would buy with your gift card.
• For an extra entry follow Kroger on Facebook, then be sure to leave a comment here letting me know that you did.
• For one more entry, follow Kroger on Twitter, please leave another comment telling me you did.
• This giveaway is open to those in the USA, and will end on November 22, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email. They will then have 3 days to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: The Kroger gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Kroger and General Mills through MyBlogSpark. *Excludes General Mills meal and baking products including; Betty Crocker, Old El Paso, Progresso, Hamburger Helper, Macaroni Grill, Wanchai Ferry, Yoplait.

This giveaway is now closed, congrats to lucky #2, Juliette.