Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Monday, June 20, 2016

Magic Ice Cream!

It's a hot summer day. Sweat is rolling down your back. You love the sun, but the heat is so intense. Where can you find some relief???

You need some MAGIC ICE CREAM!! I'm so glad to have Sharon Bayliss here to share some secret Magic Ice Cream recipes to help us savor the release of her latest December People book. Check it out!

To celebrate the recent release of A Taste of Death and Honey, I've asked some of my spring wizard friends to share some magical summer concoctions. Through the years, Mundanes have attempted to make sweet treats without sugar. They've devised all sorts of chemicals to replace sugar, but there is really only one way to enjoy sweetness without sugar--magic. With the use of magic, you can even make ice cream without sugar OR fat. Don't believe me? Give some of these recipes a try.

Our spring wizards have released some of their secret recipes for magic ice cream just for Tara Tyler's blog:

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients
  • 4 cups fresh strawberries
  • 3 tsp. real vanilla extract
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups local honey
  • 1 1/2 cup whole milk
  • Pinch of sea salt
Instructions

Put 2 cups of strawberries in a saucepan. Cover and heat over medium for about three minutes to soften. Chop the rest of the strawberries finely. Put heated and chopped strawberries in blender. Blend for only about 30 seconds to chop.

In a large bowl, whisk together cream, honey, milk, salt, and vanilla.

Add in the strawberries and beat until thoroughly combined. While you beat, recall a happy memory from your childhood. Preferably one experienced outdoors during the springtime.

Process in your ice cream maker according to manufactures’ directions.

Adapted from Live Simply.


Roasted Banana and Cinnamon Sorbet

Ingredients
  • 6 ripe bananas
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Arrange unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet. Roast until the banana skins have become deep brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Peel the bananas and place in a blender with the cinnamon. Blend until smooth. Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze for at least eight hours.

Place frozen banana cubes in the blender and let melt slightly (about five minutes). Blend! While you blend, think about the beach. Listen to the waves crashing against the sand and smell the salty air.


Watermelon Mint Sorbet

Ingredients
  • 1/4 of a seedless watermelon
  • 2 Tbsp fresh mint (preferably from your own garden)
  • 2 limes
Instructions

Cut the watermelon and scrape it into a blender. Blend until juice-like. Reserve 1/2 cup watermelon juice and pour the rest into an ice cube tray and freeze for at least eight hours.

Place frozen watermelon cubes, reserved juice, juice from limes, and mint in the blender. Blend! While you blend, recall your best memory from summertime. Preferably one from a day spent outdoors when you got a suntan.


Tropical Colada Sorbet

Ingredients
  • 2 cups frozen pineapple
  • 2 cups frozen mango
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • Juice from one orange
Instructions

Just place everything in a blender and go to town! Adjust ingredient amounts to create the desired consistency. While you blend, think sexy thoughts. Preferably about spending a hot night on the beach with the one you love. Serve with a tiny umbrella.

---

Now that you've enjoyed some tasty spring magic, try A Taste of Death and Honey!

This book will grab you by the throat, challenge your mind, and turn your heart inside out. Sharon Bayliss delivers a powerful, emotional punch with her third book in the December People series. - Amy Bearce, author of  The World of Aluvia Series
When Samantha’s parents died, she lost everything. Her home. Her friends. Her hope. Then a life-loving spring witch at the children’s shelter fills her life with light and joy once again.

But like the springtime, Samantha’s happiness doesn’t last forever. Her friend dies violently in front of her, the victim of a mysterious killing spell. Furious and grief-stricken, Samantha resents her own weak spring magic. She doesn’t need life and renewal. She wants revenge…and death.

Homeless and alone, Samantha seeks shelter with her old friends, the Vandergraff family, and finds an unexpected ally in the powerful winter solstice witch, Evangeline. The girls’ anger and eagerness lead them to cast a killing spell before knowing the truth behind Samantha’s friend’s death or the identity of her killer. 

Once the spell is cast, they can’t take it back, and they must fight to stop their own curse before it takes away everyone they love.


A proud Austinite, Sharon never saw much sense in moving anywhere else and got her degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. As an author and social worker, she has devoted her life to making the lives of real people better and the lives of fictional people much, much worse.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and still playing in the mud (which she now calls gardening).



So happy for Sharon! Her December People series is a delight!

On the home front, I wanted to mention that BROKEN BRANCH FALLS is on SALE this coming weekend JUNE 24, 25, 26 for 99 CENTS in honor of its Book Bday!! 

And if anyone would like to volunteer to do an ARC Review of the sequel, CRADLE ROCK, please let me know in the comments or email me, taratylertalks - at - gmail - dot - com. The cover is so awesome!! Reveal details COMING SOON!

Have a scrumdiddlyumptious week!!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy ID!

Independence Day, of course! For us here in the USA =)

It's supposed to be a rainy one here in the Midwest. We'll see how it goes. And we start our last tournament of baseball season! Yeah!

4th of July also means BBQs! Rain or shine! Here is the lovely dessert I prepared to share...
Take a virtual taste of my Berry Cheesecake Bites. (Recipe below)

This is one of the first recipes I tried on my own. Straight off the Cool Whip lid. It's called Fruit-Topped Cheese Pie. Back in college, I made one and auctioned it at work in a bake auction and it brought $25! This time, I altered the shape to make individual servings on graham cracker squares.

Fruit Topped Cheese Pie

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1/3 Cup sugar
1 tub whipped topping
1 graham pie crust
1 Cup canned cherry pie filling (or other fruit)

Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping.
Spoon into crust. Spoon cherries around edge of pie.
Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Store in refrigerator.

Here is a link to the recipe.

And POP TRAVEL will be out in only THREE DAYS!!! WAHOOO!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, December 7, 2012

Friday 4 U - Tis the season!

Holly, Jolly, Good Golly, Miss Molly and Fa la la la la, la la la laaa!

Welcome to Friday 4 U, Lazy Housewife - December edition, where I ramble about mundanities and pass on tips for you to use or just chuckle about =) Plus it's interactive! With questions!

Shopping
Grocery shopping is a chore I don't mind, it just eats up a lot of time. (CAUTION! Big but ahead, followed by RANT!) BUT I cannot stand anyone else touching my food. All the stores where I used to be able to scan and bag my own groceries have folded or taken away that option =( I may have to write a letter to Kroger and offer them my services to teach a class on "How to Properly Bag Groceries" - drives me nuts when one bag weighs a ton and others weigh nothing. Equal distribution! And common sense says to put the lighter items on top! Am I asking for too much here? (rant is over, you may proceed)

Speaking of food, holiday parties and meals mean lots of yummies! Here is an easy and scrumptuous appetizer recipe for you!

Orange Cranberry Spread

Beat 8 oz softened cream cheese, 2 Tbsp thawed frozen OJ, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/8 tsp cinnamon on medium speed until fluffy. Stir in 1/4 Cup finely chopped, dried cranberries. Refrigerate at least 1 hr. Serve with town house crackers. Also delicious on bagels!

Q1 - What is your favorite holiday treat?

Got your gift list checked off? I'm doing well. I love having a list of specific items for my nieces and nephews. Makes shopping so easy. Gift cards are easy too. I like them, but I also like a well thought out gift and that's what I'd rather give too. It's a hard call sometimes.

Q2 - How do you feel about giving/receiving gift cards?

Technology
Gift cards are great online too. You can buy books, music, games, apps, etc. And they have an app for almost everything. Here are a couple of things I wish they had an app for:
  1. face matcher - I don't doubt this might happen some day soon. I imagine it to work like a barcode scanner. Scan a person's face and name it in the program, can even match to more info. Then when you see the person again, scan the face and recall it...No more, "What was your name again?"
  2. lie detector - No explanation necessary. Great for parents of teens and so many other uses!
Q3 - What would you like to see an app for?

Tips!
  • It's sweater weather here in the US! Where do you keep your sweaters? Folded on a shelf? They don't stay neat and tidy for long, do they. And hanging them in a closet gives us shoulder pooches from the hangers!...Here's my suggestion: For light sweaters or any knit shirts, hang them inside out - then the shoulder pooch is on the inside when you wear them!
  • And since I'm running out of room, I'll leave you with 5 alternative uses for a top sheet (my boys do not like using them, try as I might to get them to...)
    1. couch protector - keep germs off the couch when someone is sick =P
    2. fort/tent building - the obvious one and my favorite
    3. dog bedding - we have lots of spare sheets to cover the spots where our puppy likes to lie
    4. toga!
    5. ride for tots - when my boys were 1 & 2, my teenage niece would drag them around the living room on a sheet. they rolled off, and ran back to sit on it again, laughing hysterically. I should post it on youtube!
That wraps up (get it, wrap, xmas =) this edition of LHW! See you next year for the next installment!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Hope a Good Time was Had by All!

Today will be my last Hurrah for my Blogaversary.

Here are the winners of the recipe contest...
1st place - Kathy!

2nd place - Rhonda!

and a tie for 3rd place - Heather! and Nicki!

Woo Hoo!

I will be posting the winning recipes on my sidebar for all to enjoy and include their recipes in my Lazy Housewife book. I should query it. Since it's non-fiction, it doesn't have to be complete, right?

But I want to give honorable mention, because 4th place was a 4-way tie!

and I'm not leaving out anyone, check out
Cathy's Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Mish's Macaroni a la Mish
Alana's Mocha Frozen Party Beverage

Though some didn't bring a dish, I am still glad they came to the party! Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes and songs!
And don't forget to take home your plates! Whew!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Friendship Quiz

As promised, here are a few more tidbits from Prevention, May 2011.

Succulent Strawberry Suggestions!
Try these yummy and healthy strawberry recipes:
  • Strawberry Chicken Salad: toss - 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp vinegar, cooked cubed chicken (I use Kirkland's canned) 2 cups cut strawberries, salt & pepper w/ watercress leaves (or your favorite lettuce)
  • Strawberry Cheese Spread: stir - 2 cups chopped strawberries w/ 7 Tbsp cream cheese, 3 Tbsp sour cream and 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (I would use 1 tsp prepared) spread on baguels, baguettes or crackers
  • Strawberry Parfait: alternate cut strawberries, vanilla yogurt and granola in a cup (I love this!)
  • Strawberry Salsa: combine - 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries, 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro, 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice, 1 Tbsp chopped jalapeno, 2 tsp finely chopped shallot and 1/2 tsp agave nectar
And now for the Friendship Quiz!
Benefits of a strong social network: live longer, better odds of surviving cancer & fights colds! Amazing!
Think of your friends as you answer. On the whole my friends...
  1. ...offer constructive help with problems  Y or N
  2. ...don't insist on getting their own way  Y or N
  3. ...haven't gained a lot of weight recently  Y or N
  4. ...live close enough to see face to face regularly  Y or N
  5. ...rarely complain of being lonely  Y or N
  6. ...feel happy - either for joyful events or just because  Y or N
  7. ...always listen with sympathy when needed  Y or N
  8. ...feel free to ask you for small favors and appreciate your help  Y or N
  9. ...don't act one way alone and another in front of others  Y or N
  10. ...are non smokers  Y or N
  11. ...may sometimes need your shoulder to cry on and vice versa  Y or N
  12. ...understand that you're human and not always perfect  Y or N
  13. ...eat right and/or exercise
  14. ...try to be tactful when they disagree with you  Y or N
  15. ...seem pleased with their relationships and family life  Y or N
  16. ...almost always answer your calls, show up and make time for you  Y or N
  17. ...never stand you up, lie or talk behind your back  Y or N
  18. ...have many other friends  Y or N
  19. ...chat back and forth with you at least once a month  Y or N
  20. ...make you LOL a lot!  Y or N
If you got...
More Yes than No - your friends are good for you!
About Equal Yes and No - ambivalent friends raise your blood pressure more than enemies, but don't cut them off cold turkey. If improvements don't seem feasible, gradually back away and find more positive people.
More No than Yes - if you and your friends are happy but unhealthy, try working together to improve or set the good example and then reevaluate - do it for your health!

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