Hallmark Put Your Heart to Paper Mother’s Day Greeting Cards Giveaway #lovehallmark

Hallmark Greeting Cards are by far my favorite present to give and get for all occasions. Having a card from a loved one to look at many years after receiving can take you back to the happy moment of first reading it. Mother's Day cards are very important not just to me as a Mom but as once being the kid giving them. I know how special it made me feel to give my Mom a card and have her read it. I love getting cards from my son over the years to see him grow in the cards by what he "writes" and the type of cards he picks. I treasure them with all my heart and have a special box in my closet for them.

The Hallmark Mother's Day cards I received for my review are adorable! They included new designs from the Signature and Shoebox collections. I had a few favorites including the Giraffe and Wonder Woman cards. The giraffe card almost made me cry because giraffes are a big deal in our house. Every year for my son's birthday he gets a stuffed animal giraffe, with the size of the giraffe getting bigger each year. I love how Hallmark has so many unique options for cards. There is one out there for all the Moms you have in your life.

The Wonder Woman card is beyond cool! What Mom wouldn't love to use the "lasso of truth" on her kids or super human powers to take on all we do. I feel like sometimes I need to be Wonder Woman to function since I am a Mom, work full time and a blogger. I can't wait to see what card my son will pick out for me to open on Mother's Day.

I am hosting a giveaway for Hallmark Mother’s Day greeting cards 5 pack for one lucky reader.
Enter in the rafflecopter form below and have a Happy Mother's Day.



a Rafflecopter giveaway




*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts April 29, 2015 and ends on May 3, 2015 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 24 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post.

Recipe For Strawberry Cake From Martha Stewart's Cakes Book

This is another cake recipe from the new Martha Stewart's Cakes book. With all the strawberries that are now available at grocery stores and farmer's markets, this recipe is a real winner for strawberry lovers.

It's easy to make, and moist and delicious inside. Keep a close eye on the baking time, as you don't want it to bake too long and end up too dry.

We put some whipped cream on each slice, and it was a delicious, mid-week dessert that pleased the whole family. The recipe was quite easy too.

I've talked about the Martha Stewart's Cakes book before when I made the Carrot Tea Cake recipe.

I have to say that this book really is a keeper, and one that I can see using for many, many years to come. It has virtually all the cake recipes that a baker would ever need, and many of the recipes are actually very easy.

I know Martha Stewart recipes can be intimidating, but the recipes in this book are not. I love the book for it's simplicity and the down-right delicious cakes that run from every day coffeecakes, to special occasion birthday cakes.


Recipe for Strawberry Cake

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter , room temperature, plus more for pie dish
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch ceramic or tin pie plate. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low, gradually add flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down, and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over berries.

Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees, and continue to bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 60 minutes more. Transfer pie plate to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 6 servings.

Enjoy!!
I posted this last April, and it's so yummy and easy that I wasted to share it with everyone again.

FLASH GIVEAWAY: Discover the Dinosaurs Exhibit Family 4 Pack Tickets Sacramento CA

My son loves Dinosaurs! At 5 years old he finds them fascinating, creepy and cool. I had no idea that a super cool exhibit was on its way to Sacramento until I saw a commercial for it. The Discover the Dinosaurs Exhibit is coming to Sacramento CA on April 25 and 26th at Cal Expo. 

Some info about the traveling exhibit:

Discover the Dinosaurs is for the entire family, and especially kids, to explore the mystery of pre-historic life in an environment of learning, discovery, and fun. Discover the Dinosaurs is a unique hands on exhibit that consists of up to 40 moving and replica museum quality dinosaurs that gives you the opportunity to actually get close and touch the dinosaurs! Beyond the exhibit, additional fun activities are available for kids of all ages, which make spending the day with the dinosaurs a great experience for the entire family.

GIVEAWAY:

2 Winners will receive Family 4-Packs of Exhibit Plus tickets with wristbands for all of the rides/inflatables. Tickets will be delivered via email from sponsor.

Easy Entry for this Giveaway on of two ways:

Tweet the following:



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*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts April 22, 2015 and ends on April 23, 2015 at 9pm PST. Winner will be tweeted or facebook messaged that they won and has until 10am on 4/24/2015 to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. 

Cowboy Quiche From The Pioneer Woman Cooks



I have to say that I haven't made very many quiches. I made a few attempts many years ago, but I don't remember being very impressed by them.

But that's before I discovered Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook, and her recipe for Cowboy Quiche.

Ree says she's made this for years, and will keep on making it till the day she dies, because it really is that good. I think she calls it a cowboy quiche so the men in her life won't think it's sissy food.

It really is delicious, and I love that you can put in whatever veggies you have on hand. I used broccoli, but you could use asparagus, mushrooms, or bell peppers, too. Or you can completely leave out the veggies altogether, but I thought the broccoli tasted great.

The recipe calls for two onions, but I only used one onion instead of two. One of my kids isn't a big onion lover, and she was going to be eating this, and I thought two onions might be a bit much for her.

I also used a super easy pie crust recipe instead of the one used in the book. It came out just great, and took just a few minutes to put together and bake.

Recipe for Cowboy Quiche

Ingredients:

For quiche crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons milk

For the quiche:
8 slices bacon, fried until chewy
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

To make crust, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all ingredients in pie plate. Stir together with a fork until blended. Pat mixture into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Poke holes in bottom and sides of crust. Bake for 15 minutes in oven, or until crust is golden brown.

To make the quiche, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Chop up the cooked bacon into bite-sized pieces. In a heavy skillet, over medium heat, fry the onions in the butter until deep, golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
Mix the eggs, cream, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the bacon, onions and cheese. Add 1 cup of veggies (if you choose to use any). Stir to combine.
Pour the filling into the pie shell, cover lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to set for 10 minutes.

Serves about 8.

Quiche always seems so spring like to me, and I originally posted this last April.  

Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Soup really is one of my favorite things to cook, and a dinner of soup and sandwiches, or soup and a good bread is my idea of a tasty meal. Soup also means there will be leftovers, either enough for another meal, or a couple of lunches during the week.

My daughter Samantha has made this delicious soup many times, so last night I thought I would give it a try and share it with everyone here. This soup is made in the slow cooker, which I love because it makes this recipe so easy. And because it cooks for a few hours, the flavors have a chance to really blend together to be delicious.

Any kind of chicken soup is a favorite for my family, and this hearty soup is one that will appeal to both the kids and the grown-ups. Using a rotisserie chicken saves even more time and adds so much flavor.

Recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1 14-ounce can chicken broth

1 10.75-ounce can of Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

3/4 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 cups shredded chicken (from a Rotisserie chicken)

Directions:

1. Combine water, broth, condensed soup, uncooked rice, thyme, and pepper in a slow cooker.
2. Cover the slow cooker and cook on the low setting for 7.5-8 hours or 3.5-4 hours on the high setting.
3. Stir in chicken before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings.