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Sweet Shop USA for Sweet Lovers

January 12, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield

There is a particular brand of chocolate that Hubby purchases for me on very special occasions. When he presents the box of candy, I generally melt in a puddle and refer to him as “hero” or “King Cavedweller” for the remainder of the day. Yeah, the chocolates are that good.

The company is Sweet Shop USA.

You can purchase these divine creations on their website at sweetshopusa.com or pick them up at one of their nationwide retailers. You’ll find the sweet treats in stores like Dillards, Hallmark Flowers, Neiman Marcus. My favorite local florist carries these.

In fact, she often has a display case set up so you can purchase individual truffles if your heart desires. My heart often desires so I resist the temptation.

The truffles are so good, you can literally cut them in half and enjoy part now and the rest later (like after you’ve walked three miles to burn off the first half).

If you ever have the opportunity to try their candy, especially the truffles, jump right up and savor true chocolate bliss.

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Snow Party Theme

January 11, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield

Well, here we are in the midst of winter and you wouldn’t believe it, but there is snow outside!

Why not give in to the season and host a Snow-themed Party. This is a simple way to celebrate winter, have some fun and open your home to family or friends.

Have the kids cut out snowflakes, glue to some blue construction paper and add your invitation. Or use a snowflake tree ornament and attach the invitation with a ribbon. You can get ornaments at 75-80% off right now.

Keep the menu really simple. Make up a big pot of soup. One of my favorites is Chicken Dumpling Soup. You could serve potato soup or something that is “white” to keep in the snow theme. Offer a crisp, fresh green salad and some warm, toasty bread. Beverages could include something warm – white hot chocolate or glasses of milk would stay with your snowy white theme. Dessert could be something as easy as Nutter-Butter cookies dipped in white chocolate and accented with few quick swipes of frosting to resemble snowmen. You could make stack three ice cream balls rolled in coconut together and add chocolate chips for eyes to make ice cream snowmen. A coconut cake is also a great wintery dessert option. Make a white or yellow cake, layer with coconut pudding mixed with cream cheese for the filling (1 small pudding mix to 3 ounces of cream cheese) or raspberry pie filling. Frost with real whipped cream and then cover the whole thing in coconut.

Decorate your table by spreading a wintery tablecloth. Something with a winter scene or snowflakes really sets the mood. Or use a simple white cloth and accent with blue or snowflake printed napkins. Use all white dishes or clear glass. Don’t worry if they match or not, you are going for color more than matching.

A fun centerpiece could be any sort of snowman decoration you might have. Keep it below eye level. I used this cute little snowman and put in some round candles I have that look like snowballs.

I have horded these candles in the freezer since 1999 because they smell so marvelous. They came from a company that is no longer in business and I’ve never smelled anything like them since. So I bring them out for the holidays and then stash them back in the freezer. Crazy, I know!

For a take-away gift for your guests, think about having something fun at each place setting. These mini-bread pans were available at the craft store before Christmas for only $1 each, so I can only imagine how inexpensive they would be now (if you can find them!). Fill them with some white chocolate candies and watch the smiles pop out when your guest realizes they get to take this home.

Or…

Fill the bread pan with home-baked goodies.

Your guests will fall at your feet and thank you forever.

Have fun with  a winter theme party. There are lots of ideas and things you can do. Here are a few more ideas…

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

 

 

 

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Reaching 100,000

January 10, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield


Hubby, my very own Captain Cavedweller, had the day off today and instead of sleeping away half the day as he has been known to do on rare occasion, he was up early and rarin’ to go. Where I don’t know, but rarin’ I tell you.

So with nothing better to do than twiddle his thumbs, he went out to start my car for me, shovel the sidewalk and scrape the windshield. When he came back in, he reminded me to keep an eye on the odometer as I drove into work because my car, my wonderful little car that has traveled to hither and yon and back again, was just about to hit 100,000 miles.

Huh? How could that be?

Who’s been taking my car for long joy rides and not telling me? Where did all those miles come from?

It is possible a lot of them came from running around the countryside the last four years doing home parties. The car and I have been to parties covering a four-state region.  We’ve driven through rain, snow, sleet, hail and even thunderstorms that caused me to toss Goldfish crackers all over the inside. I’ve run through potholes made by T-Rex’s (long story for another day), had the back window blown out on the freeway by what should have been labeled a fallen meteor and slid unscathed through icy intersections (no, it wasn’t this morning, although with the state of the roads it could have been a possibility).

So I spent my white-knuckled drive slipping and sliding into work, glancing repeatedly to watch the car go from 99,990 plus miles to hit the big 100,000.

Although there wasn’t any fanfare or confetti as the 99,999 rolled into 100,000,  it is an occasion I will remember. My sweet little car and I have been a lot of places. I’m hoping we have many more miles of adventures to travel together.

Posted in Hubby, Musings, Travels | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

Beef Stroganoff

January 7, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield

The other day I had a package of stew meat languishing in the fridge and decided to put it to good use as stroganoff.

You might find the ingredients and methods of this recipe a little different, but the results were quite tasty!

Ingredients - and I forget to put sour cream and Dr. Pepper in the photo.

Spice up the meat and then put in a baker. I use my terra cotta wonder, but you could use a dutch oven.

Pour in the Dr. Pepper and bake at 350 until meat is fork tender.

The beef is cooked and has some great juice in the bottom pan.

Add in sour cream right in the pan. If you're lazy like me, one less dish to clean is a good thing. Stir in mushroom soup.

Fill a plate with piping hot egg noodles.

Top with beef and enjoy!

 

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 pounds lean stew meat

1 can mushroom soup

1 tsp. onion flakes

1/2 tsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. all-purpose seasoning

1 cup Dr. Pepper

2/3 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp. salt

1 package of cooked egg noodles (or make your own with this easy recipe)

Season meat with onion flakes, seasoning, parsley and salt. Put in a terra cotta baker (or Dutch oven). Pour in Dr. Pepper and bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until meat is fork tender.

When done, mix in sour cream and mushroom soup. Serve over hot egg noodles and stand back to enjoy the looks on the faces of those enjoying this great comfort food meal.

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

Posted in Comfort Food, Entertaining at Home, Main Dish, Recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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