What's For Dessert? ~ Private Selection Upside Down Cakes

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Private Selection for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

What's for dessert? I must hear that question uttered no less than 14 times a week....right after lunch and dinner every...single...day. Unless I have been baking something(which may happen a couple times a week), the kids are always wondering what sweet thing they can have to eat after a meal. My go-to desserts tend to be cookies or brownies. Cakes are something I bake for special occasions only. That's why I was so glad to see that Kroger is carrying these Private Selection Upside Down Cakes. Now, I don't have to wait for a special occasion to serve my friends and family a delicious cake. I can do it for any meal.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a decadent dessert that was easy to prepare,super fast, and tastes homemade?  Kroger's Private Selection Upside Down Cakes will knock your socks off and wow your friends and family. How's easy is this?

1. Heat

2. Flip

3. Serve

Now that's something I can get behind, especially with the summer heat coming upon us. I love making delicious baked goods for my family, but when it's hot outside or when time is short, I'm not always able to deliver.

I absolutely love all the flavor combinations that Private Selection offers. How do these sound to you? German Chocolate Fudge Upside Down Cake with gooey caramel, rich chocolate and coconut or how about Double Chocolate Molten Upside Down Cake made with real butter, eggs and the finest chocolates. They also have an Amber Honey Apple Spice Cake with real apples drenched in a sweet amber honey glaze. Truly a taste for everyone!

Now, if you get asked to bring a dessert to a gathering or a friend pops in for a visit, you always have a delicious, gourmet dessert to serve them and it won't take you all day to prepare it. Private Selection Upside Down Cakes are premium quality without the premium price and they have done all the work for you. You just have to heat, flip, serve and get all the credit.

Kroger is offering a sweet deal for you. They have a coupon for $1.00 off and one for $2.00 if you go to  Private Selection Upside Down Cakes coupon *

Be sure to like  Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Facebook and follow Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Pinterest for more inspiration in the kitchen. 

The Private Selection brand is a premium private label brand carried exclusively at the Kroger Family of Stores and affiliated stores including: Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Fry’s, Gerbes, Pay Less, QFC, JayC, King Soopers, Owen’s, Ralphs, Smith’s and Fred Meyer.

To find a store near you that offers Private Selection products, try their store locator  http://www.privateselection.co…

*Coupon ends 6/2/13. Official Rules. In order to load these coupons to your card, you will need to sign into your Kroger account or set up a Kroger account and enter your card number. Limit one use per digital coupon. Digital offers are not eligible on Manager's Specials, cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item, and do not double. Not all items are available in all stores. A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.

Saucy Meatballs

Before the weather gets too warm, I thought I'd share another "comfort" food recipe with you. Ever since I bought a certain Betty Crocker Cookbook at a yard sale years ago, I have been making these Saucy Meatballs. They are super easy to prepare and can be served with rice or egg noodles.

Here's what you need for the meatballs: ground beef, onion, bread crumbs, milk, Worcestershire Sauce, salt, and an egg.

Combine all ingredients and form into 1-inch balls.

Cook on stovetop in batches until browned. Drain off any grease. Return all meatballs to pan.

Here's what you need for the sauce: Cream of Chicken soup, sour cream, nutmeg and milk.

Stir in the sauce ingredients, except sour cream, and heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Saucy Meatballs
(from Betty Crocker)
 Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef (93/7)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 egg

Mix ingredients and shape into 1 inch balls. Cook over medium heat, turning occasionally until brown, about 20 minutes. Or cook in an ungreased 13x9 pan in 400 degree oven until brown for 20-25 minutes.

Sauce
1 can (10.75 oz.) cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream

After you have cooked the meatballs in skillet, drain. Stir in soup, milk and nutmeg. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in sour cream and heat through.

These meatballs are very versatile, allowing you to pair just about any sauce with them. This "saucy" sauce is great alternative to traditional tomato based and tangy sauces. What's your favorite meatball sauce?

I'm linking up at some of these great parties and

Savvy Southern Style, Stone Gable and Between Naps on the Porch

Food for the Soul ~ Isaiah 54:10

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10

What a powerful truth from God's word! It's one I cling to this week as I try to process the horrible storms that ripped through towns around us last week leaving paths of destruction and despair. While I don't understand His ways, I trust Him with my whole heart. In the storms of life, He is my Rock and my salvation. I pray for hope, peace and comfort for those affected by the storms last week. May they be strengthened and held up by His grace and love. Wishing you, sweet readers, a wonderful week as you come into the homestretch before summer.

It's Garage Sale Time!

Hi Friends! The weather is finally warming up, people are doing their Spring Cleaning and de-cluttering, so that can only mean one thing. It's Garage Sale Time!

I just thought I'd share a few of the gems I've found recently to remind you to take a little time and go exploring yard sales on the weekends. You never know what you might find.

Remember the Seaside Summer Memories Vignette I showed you this week? Well, I picked up the vintage green bottle at our semi-annual neighborhood garage sale.

That same day, I found this awesome old wicker basket and these embroidery hoops. I think I paid $6.00 total. I am still looking for the perfect spot for the basket and I have an idea brewing for the hoops.

How about the Vintage Metal Cart Makeover I did recently? This beauty was at a large garage sale to raise money for several families to go to El Salvador on a mission trip.

At the same garage sale, I found these 3 pair of shoes (2 are from The Gap) for $2.00/pair and this sweet curly coral scarf. I'm so excited to have some fun new-to-me accessories!

I love finding treasures that have outworn their welcome in other people's lives. A couple of years ago, I spied an old leather camera case at a yard sale. I knew my photographer nephew was collecting vintage cameras and I thought the case would be cool. Little did I know that there was a camera in there too. Turns out it was a Zeiss Ikon Contax probably from the 1940's and was one of the premiere cameras of the day. I paid literally pennies on the dollar of what this thing is worth. I gave it to my nephew for his graduation present, thinking it was just a really neat decorative item. He has since used it several times and it takes great pictures.

So, I encourage you in the coming weekends to grab a buddy and/or a to-go cup of coffee, go out there and do some treasure seeking! Some of my favorite items in our home were once love by someone else. What's your favorite gem you've found at a yard sale?

I'm linking up at some of these great parties and

Savvy Southern Style, Stone Gable and Between Naps on the Porch

Bohemian Button Bracelets

While perusing Pinterest this week, I came across these adorable button bracelets and just knew I needed to make some of them. So, I pulled together some crafting supplies and came up with these Bohemian Button Bracelets.

Here's what you need: random collected buttons and hemp cord.

After you select your buttons, thread the ends of a piece of cord into two side-by-side holes of the largest button.

Pull through and catch the loop. Repeat on the other side.

Thread some smaller complementary buttons on either side or leave it plain with just one large button. Finish off with a sliding double knot to adjust size.

Make several to stack...

or wear a single one for a touch of bohemian chic!

These are the perfect little bracelets to make for your summer wardrobe or for gifts. They are lightweight and can be made in any color. You're only limited by your button stash ;-)

I'm linking up at some of these great parties and

Savvy Southern Style, Stone Gable and Between Naps on the Porch

Mock Mojito Green Tea

Ahhh... Summer time is coming! For my friends in the colder parts of the country, you may have to wait a bit longer. But, those of us in the South and Southwest are already starting to feel the heat. A few weeks ago, a sweet friend brought me a Happy Hour drink from Sonic...it was a Sweet Green Iced Tea with Mint. Oh, man! Was it ever delicious! After having the flavor of mint added to the tea, I was inspired to make my own at home. That's when this Mock-Mojito Green Tea came into being.

First, I should tell you that I have never actually had a Mojito in the traditional sense. From what I gather, it has mint, lime, sugar, rum and club soda. It sounds perfectly refreshing, but I'm not much of a drinker. So, thinking back to my Sonic drink, I experimented with first putting peppermint extract into my green tea sweetened with Stevia. Then, I went ahead and added some lime juice to spice it up a bit. The minty-citrus flavor combination is a delight to the senses. I know as the temperature heats up, I'll be making this tea quite often.

Mock Mojito Green Tea

glass of iced green tea
a couple of drops peppermint extract {fresh mint would be even better}
1/2 tsp. or more lime juice
sweetener of choice (I like all-natural Stevia)

Stir the flavorings into the iced tea and enjoy!

 

Next to water, green tea will be my go-to drink this summer. Not only does it have powerful antioxidants that help fight cancer and heart disease among many other benefits, it has a light taste that blends well with other flavors. What's your favorite "mix-in" for iced tea?

I'm linking up at some of these great parties and

Savvy Southern Style, Stone Gable and Between Naps on the Porch

Rocky Road Pudding Cookies

We were needing some kind of sweet treat for Mother's Day this weekend. Every mother needs that, right? It's not just me? Anyway, I went looking through the pantry for ingredients and then I went looking online for something to make. I came across a pudding cookie recipe on the Kraft website and started making some changes based on what I had. The Rocky Road Pudding Cookies were born and our family was so very happy. 

Here's what you'll need: chocolate pudding, butter, flour, brown sugar, eggs, baking soda, semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and pecan pieces.

This is what the first couple of batches looked like. I think the marshmallows melted within the cookies and they just couldn't seem to hold their shape. Then I realized I needed to chill the dough first. While these may not be the prettiest cookies, they were so yummy! All the flavors of the ice cream treat, but in a cookie form. If they would have survived long enough in this house, I might have been able to put them with a bowl of vanilla ice cream for a different take on a Rocky Road Ice Cream Sundae. But, alas, my vultures children gobbled them up.

Rocky Road Pudding Cookies
(adapted from Kraft recipe)

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup  packed brown sugar
1 package (3.9 oz.) Chocolate Instant Pudding
2  eggs
1 tsp.  baking soda
2 cups  flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add dry pudding mix; beat until well blended. Add eggs and baking soda; mix well. Gradually beat in flour until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and marshmallows. Chill for 15-30 minutes. Drop tablespoons of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets, then  remove to wire racks. Cool completely. 

 I absolutely adore pudding cookies. They have so much flavor and can be adapted in many different ways. Remember my St. Patty's Pistachio Pudding Cookies? So, when you're not quite sure what kind of cookie to make, go to your pantry and pull out a box of pudding and a whole bunch of mix-ins. You're bound to have a winner. What would you mix in to a pudding cookie?

I'm linking up at some of these great parties and

Savvy Southern Style, Stone Gable and Between Naps on the Porch