Apron Give-a-way

It is time for another give-a-way.
And this time it is for this GREAT apron!
I had my daughter model it, however it is an Adult Size. (It fit me perfect!)


This give-a-way will be a little bit different in how to enter...

You will need to become a follower

Visit MY Esty Store, and "heart" my shop.

Email me a Dessert Recipe; lchemail2003@yahoo.com

To enter you need to do (2) of the three listed above.
Leave me a comment on what you did here.


The drawing for this Apron will be held on

Only 10 more days until the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. I hope I am good to go.
I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be this hard to come back from surgeries.
I think it is harder to have to start over than it was to start. However I am looking forward to it.

Not only am i going for the race, but this is our families vacation. We plan staying 4 days and 5 nights. Spending at least 3 days for Disneyland, 1 full day at the beach. And then just playing the tourist for the remainder. I cant wait to get to cooler weather. We haven't been to Disneyland since Jessica was 4 years old. She just turned 11. So we thought it was about time to take her again. Really it was I who wants to go super bad! :)

Well I am sure I will have many pictures to share when we get back!

Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes

Who doesn't love Cheesecake?!
My problem is that I could eat a whole 9" pie by myself.
So these Lil' Babies are perfect,

 they are all ready portion controlled. (lol)

Mini Key Lime Cheesecake
24 Nilla Waffer cookies
4 Eggs
2 (8oz.) Cream Cheese~softened
1 1/2 C. Sugar
2 TBSP. Fresh Key Lime juice
2 tsp. Lime zest
green food coloring-optional

Preheat oven to 350
Place cupcake liners into pan, lightly spray.

 Then place one Nilla waffer in the bottom of each liner.
Cream together cream cheese, sugar.

 Stir in the eggs blending until smooth.

 Then add the zest and juice.

 If wanting a green tint, add 1 drop green food coloring.
Pour into each liner filing 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Chill until ready to serve.

Lark

Super Easy & Fast Caramel Popcorn

That's right, Fast & easy to make! That is what brought it to my attention. And who doesn't like Caramel popcorn? This would also be great to take on a road trip or while out camping. Or in my families case....just an every day normal night at home! (LOL) :)

1/2 c. Butter

3/4 c. Brown Sugar

12 Large Marshmallow's cut in half

2 bags of microwave popcorn; popped


Melt butter in a sauce pan, when melted add brown sugar & let come to a boil. Stir in marshmallows until smooth and melted. Then pour over the popped corn and mix until all coated. Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

What could be better than sitting in your rocking chair on the front porch in the cool crisp mornings of Fall? Well doing that while drinking a nice cup of Hot Chocolate! And this is a VERY EASY mix to make. Make a double batch and take it along to a home town Football game. Or fill New mugs with a serving of the mix, to give to a neighbor or teacher.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and mix well. Store in a air tight container.
Use 1/3 C. Hot Chocolate mix per 1 C. of boiling water.



10 2/3 C. Instant nonfat dry milk

6 oz. powdered non dairy creamer

2 C. powdered Sugar

1 (16 oz.) can instant Chocolate drink mix (like nestles quick)

Miles, miles, miles......

the more the better! I am so happy to be getting out in the world of exercising again. It is a slow process. I still cant jog very much, but it will come in time. And with my new Body Bugg I am loving, logging miles and burning the calories.
I never thought I would ever be addicted to working out. And NEVER thought I would be running in marathons. Just goes to show how much you can change your own view on life with the decision to just get healthier.
One person I have to say that really makes me feel better about myself and makes me want to do better.....is a great lady by the name of Heidi Leavitt! She was the local "Marathon runner" that I thought was crazy when I heard that she ran 26.2 miles. However I always looked up to her. She never made you feel as if you couldn't do it. Or made you feel as if she was so much more important than anyone else. When I first started to workout & loose weight years ago, she always made sure she encouraged me, or told me I was looking good. ALWAYS a kind word!! And when I finally made the commitment to do my first Marathon, she was the first friend to wish me well. And with in hours of me finishing my 1st Marathon, there was Heidi sending me a text of congrats! And wanting to know how I was feeling.
I hope no matter where we all are in our own "stage" of life, we will be the "Heidi" of the world and encourage ALL others to feel as if they can do it!

Orange Pancakes

Well it is finally starting to cool down a bit here in Nevada. I HATE the Summer....I only live in Nevada because I HATE the snow more! (lol)
So when we leave our swamp cooler on through out the night, I love the feeling of having to pull my covers up higher to ward off the "chill". My favorite time of the year is Fall. As always I start looking for "Fall-ish" recipes to try come that time of year. so this is one of those I can't wait to try out.

Batter:

2 eggs
2 C. heavy cream
1 (12 oz.) can frozen Orange juice concentrate; thawed
2 C. Pancake mix

Syrup:

1 C butter
1 C. sugar
1 (12 oz.) can of frozen orange juice concentrate

Make the batter first by mixing together the eggs, cream & thawed orange juice. Then blend in pancake mix until just mixed in. Cook on heated skillet until browned on both sides.

For the syrup in a sauce pan heat butter until melted. Add in sugar & juice. Heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is heated through out. DO NOT BOIL. Serve hot along side the Orange pancakes.

SourCream Chicken Enchilada's

Another family favorite! And they are very easy to make.

In a large bowl combine:

3 Lg. Can's white chicken (or 3 cooked & diced Chicken Breasts)
1Lg. container Sour Cream
2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Med. Onion chopped

Place below ingredients into a blender until smooth:

2 Can's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Lg. can Diced Green Chili's
2 C. Milk

Pre cook tortilla's in hot oil.(don't over cook)


2 dozen corn tortilla's


Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture, place seam side down in a 9x13 pan.
When pan is full pour "soup" mixture over top.
Bake @ 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbly.

The BodyBugg

I have always LOVED the show the Biggest Loser show!
And I have always had the BodyBugg on my "wish list".

Well guess what I just got? Yup, I am now the proud owner on a BodyBugg!
In addition to the armband, they now have the Digital Display unit that you can
wear as a watch or clip it on the armband or your work out clothes.

This Digital Display lets you see in "real time", just where you are in Calorie Burn
or your target Calorie consumed. In other words: if you need to burn 2000 calories a day in
order to lose weight, it will show you how many you have burned every minute in your day!
It will also count step, activity level,time and your "target" from yesterday and today.
VERY COOL!!!
And I cant even begin to tell you how NICE the BodyBugg armband system is. Is will do everything from helping you track your food, to making a meal plan for you.

It is well worth the money!

Doctor release...

I finally got my doctor release for me to go back to work and to
start exercising again!!! Wow, I have SOOOO missed doing a daily workout!

I have to start slow, walking the miles instead of running. However I have NO problem with doing that. And with me having my new BodyBugg,it's gonna keep me in line.

I feel as if I haven't really had much of a Summer break, with having 2 major surgeries back to back. I do know it was well worth it.

Hope to see you all out and about soon!