Yoplait Giveaway

Smoothies are everywhere! Lyon in the Kitchen had one on his show the other day. Green Smoothies are all the health rage. Smoothie King is raking in the dough! So, wanna make your own at home?

Yoplait and My Blog Spark are giving you the chance for a "Free" smoothie. You get a coupon for a Yoplait Smoothie (found in freezer dessert section) and a single serve blender - I LOVED THIS this morning. Will definitely keep it.

You could either drink the whole thing, or actually have two servings. The one I chose, the Strawberry Mango Pineapple was a little sweet - but those are naturally sweet fruits too.

So, all you have to do is leave me a comment - what is your favorite smoothie? It can be homemade, green, take out, restaurant, whatever...

Let me know!

Silicon Muffin Liners - New Favorite!

I have to admit I am pretty skeptical about new cooking/baking gadgets. I mean - they have done it fine for so many years w/o it - why do they think we need it now?

I got some silicone muffine liners from my secret sister last year. Haven't used them. Until today. They are amazing. I have 18 of them - 3 packs. They are in pastel colors - today's color of choice being Tarheel Blue! I sprayed them lightly. They keep my pan clean, they help muffins cook evenly - and the muffins come right out of the liners. Amazing thing! Why buy so many cupcake/muffin liners anymore?

These should be relatively cheap - I highly recommend them to you! Pictures coming.

Cranberry-Orange Oats Pancakes

Mom gave me a Prevention magazine and I found one recipe out of two magazines that I liked. I made them tonight and they were delicious. I would tend to make these during the fall and winter, because of the flavors - but they were yummy for Lisa and I on this almost spring, sorta rainy day. They have fiber in them too, so they are very filling!

Cranberry-Orange Oats Pancakes

1 cup oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ap flour

1/4 packed brown sugar

1 heaping T baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1 cup oj (I used 4 oranges I had in the house) with my relatively new squeezer from W-S which I love!

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup olive oil (these are those healthy fats)

3/4 cup craisins

Mix dry, add wet in, fold in craisins - cook! I loved them!

Coconut Cake

Tomorrow is Dad's birthday, and one of his fave desserts is Coconut Cake. Today Mom and I made him one. For my personal taste, the cake part was a tad dry, but it was still a great cake. Thought I would share the frosting though - as it is a great staple. We took it from a southern living cookbook.

White Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened (use the real stuff, none of this oil spread junk)

8 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

about 3/4 cup of milk - till you get a spreadable consistency

I topped it with of course coconut, but also fresh cherries after using my favorite new tool - my cherry pitter. Actually it was a Christmas present for Dad, but he doesn't use it. I can't believe I've eaten cherries all this time without it.

Keep mixing - it is fantastic - although very sweet - seems to go right into your teeth! But, it was yummy!

Kitchen Gadget that isn't worth it

Since I work at a kitchen store for the holidays, I get to see a bunch of gadgets, some are good, some definitely aren't worth it. I just wanted to tell you about this one today. I'll also share some positive things later, so check back.

NOT WORTH IT

1. Alligator Chopper - they may save chopping time (and they do work) but the time they save chopping, they take away b/c it takes so long to clean them. It took me 20 minutes (no kidding) to get all of the little food particles out of the grooves. I used a sponge, then a fork, then a paring knife which worked the best.