I've Moved!

Okay, the next goody is that I have moved!!

please go here to see my new site and PLEASE tell me what you think!

If you have a link on your blog to mine, please update it with this web address!!! Thank you ~!!!

http://emilygiovanni.com

Valentine Goody #1

Ok, this is the first of a series of Valentine posts. I thought I would share a few cool things for the upcoming holiday. This is probably my all-time favorite food. I absolutely love milk chocolate and I absolutely love strawberries. So the two of them together is about the best food EVER! This time I made them for our church group and I made both milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Here's how I make mine!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

1 carton strawberries - the riper the better!

1 bag chocolate chips - whatever kind of chocolate you prefer

shortening

wax paper or foil

Wash strawberries and dry gently with paper towels. Set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, put 1 c chocolate chips and 1/2 T shortening. (It may take more than this to cover all your strawberries depending on the size of your berries. This is just the ratio of chocolate to shortening.) Microwave on high for 1 min. Stir and then heat at 15 second intervals until chips are just melted. Do not overheat chocolate. Dip each strawberry in the chocolate and lay on wax paper (or foil) on a plate or baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 min to 1 hr. Eat!

I wanted to show you something new....

but it ain't gonna happen. My Alex is barfing today. Yuck. I do not handle barf well. So probably nothing new today.

But I am working on something really big. At least it is big to me. It probably won't be ready for a few weeks though. I really think you all will like it a lot though.

Actually, let me rephrase that - Mamak is working on something big for me! I am doing very little of the work because I am techie challenged.

Ok, off to do some more laundry.................

BIG NEWS!!

I have been waiting to be able to share this news with y'all! I just became a member of my very first Design Team!!! Gina K Designs has the cutest stamps and pun-ny sayings!! I am so thrilled to be working with her and her images! Besides great images, she is just the nicest person! And she lives in WI, home of the bestest cheese curds ever! Something about that cold, squeaky, saltiness - nothing else is the same!

Anyway, you can view her blog here and read about what is like to design your own stamps. Or you can go view her fabulous images here! She sells other products as well as both unmounted and wood mounted images. Check it out!!

Manicotti and Sick Boy

I promised that recipe yesterday, but I just got busy! My oldest had a cup stacking tournament yesterday and it was a long night! Here's a link to a cool video in case you have no idea what cup stacking is. Supposedly it is excellent for hand/eye coordination. Anyway, this morning - poor guy has a fever. He is so upset because he's never missed a day of school - this kid loves to learn! Anyway, he's home hanging out with me today.

I do have that recipe, I made it yesterday as stuffed shells. I think it really turned out well - two of the boys even ate it! (My boys are SO picky! I can't wait til they become human vacuums like all boys eventually become, lol!) Anyway, the recipe is written as manicotti, but you can make it as either. Enjoy!

Manicotti

1 (8oz) package manicotti pasta
3 c whole ricotta cheese
2 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 c grated parmesan cheese
1 T chopped fresh parsley
½ t salt
¼ t black pepper
3 eggs
2 ½ c (32 oz) spaghetti sauce (I always use more cause I love sauce!)

Bring water to boil, add pasta. Cook for 8-10 minutes and drain. Cool on wax paper or foil.
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, ¾ c parmesan cheese, parsley, egg, salt and pepper. Fill manicotti with cheese. (I use a Ziploc baggie with the corner snipped off).
Coat 9x13 baking dish with spaghetti sauce. Place manicotti in single layer. Cover with remaining sauce. Bake for 45 minutes.

This recipe may also be used with jumbo shells, instead of piping the filling in with a baggie, you can just use a spoon to fill the shells.

I WON!

I am so excited! I don't think I have ever won a drawing for anything in my whole life! But I was perusing some blogs the other day and I entered a contest on one. This morning I got an email and I WON! I think I am still in shock, lol! Anyway, since I just got my cuttlebug yesterday - it's the perfect prize too! A Cuttlebug embossing folder! I have only one folder and one die right now, so how exciting is this?!?!

Here is the link to Kim's blog, check her out! And a huge Thank You to you Kim!! I still can't believe I won!




Later today: A recipe for stuffed shells and hopefully something else pretty too!

Color Challenge 100!!!!

Wow, it's finally here! CC100! You can view the Color Challenge and the fantabulous prize here!

Leigh O'Brien made a gorgeous book of all the Color Challenges and it could be YOURS! Here are the two cards I did this week. I won't go into a lot of detail today, cause I gotta get my allergy shot. But, I will review the rolling pin/cuttlebug embossing folders idea. I hate it. I tried and tried. If you want a great ab workout - go for it. But it is HARD to get a good embossed image with this method. You must really spritz your paper and push very hard. And yes, I tried getting leverage, spritizing the paper, and using a mouse pad underneath. It was just plain hard!! But I did end up with a few ok embossings.

Have a great time with these colors! And I used the Textile folder from Cuttlebug. It is not one of the newest ones, it's been out for awhile, I think. Hope that helps!