Guest Post By : Life By Jill Marie ~ Strawberry Shortcakes

Your in for a Sweet Surprise today.

I would like to introduce y'all

to a new friend of mine,...

Meet Jill 

(aka: Life By Jill Marie)

I am Jill of Life by Jill Marie.

 I live in Minnesota, I am married to an Elementary Principal. 

We have a 27 year old daughter who is married

 and lives in San Diego, CA.

 A 21 year old daughter who is going 

to school in Minnesota. Plus a 20 year old

 son who also attends school in Minnesota.

 I love baking (not cooking), and love Shabby Chic style!

*Jill on the right*

Although I we have never meet in

person, I have gotten to know

more about her using way

of Face Book-land. 

Jill is so good about making

the kindest comment's on 

many of my recipes.

She seem's to have a very

easy going, positive attitude.

I am sure you will want to start 

following her blog as well.

Just visit Life By Jill Marie HERE.

Now lets get to her fabulous recipe!

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES

Strawberries~hulled and quartered,

 sprinkle with a little sugar, set aside
1 pt. whipping cream, 

whip until still peaks form, 

add in some sugar and vanilla,

 refrigerate.

Cakes:
1/2 c. melted butter
1 Egg*

 *(crack this into a 1 C measuring cup
fill the cup with enough milk to reach the top)
1 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder

Melt the butter,stir in the sugar. 

Add milk and egg. 

Stir in the flour and baking powder. 

Bake in Muffin tins or a 8" cake pan.

 Bake @ 350 for about 20-25 minutes

 or until just lightly golden brown!

Just assemble and serve.

Guest Post from Kelly Scott of "Kelly is cooking"

This is your lucky week Y'all!

Another great Guest Post from

Kelly Is Cooking

My name is Kelly Scott, and I am someone

 who wears many hats. 

 I am a wife to my high school sweetheart

 and best friend. I 

am a mother to Lucy-(22),

 Billy Jack- (19)

 I am a daughter, 

sister, and a home chef. 

 I am a lover of nature and the 

earth. 

I am a lover of life.  I am a child of God.

  I am a teacher, where  I teach to

 inspire students 

grades 10 -

12th.

 In Biology, AP Biology and

 AP Environmental Science.

Lime Chicken:

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper

 (1 pepper seeded – leave seeds in if you like a little heat)

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 boneless chicken breasts –

 pounded to the same thickness all over

Directions

Combine the lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, 

 jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt,

 and pepper in a large bowl.

 Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil

to prevent the chicken from sticking. 

Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, 

sprinkle well with salt and pepper,

 and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes,

 until nicely browned. 

Turn the chicken and cook another 5 minutes.

 Repeat this turning process every few minutes

 until the chicken is done. 

Remove from the grill to a plate. 

Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. 

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Black and Red Fiesta Beans and Rice

2 cups brown rice

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chili

1/2 cup prepared salsa 

(Or use your homemade salsa too.)

1 tablespoon onion flakes

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz.)  red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 (11oz.) can corn, drained

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions. 

Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients

 in a large saucepan cook medium-high heat.

 Bring to a simmer. Simmer until rice is cooked. 

Fold in rice and season to taste with salt and black pepper.  

This recipe make's a lot of portions.

 The leftovers are great to use in other dishes.

Country Pork Roast ~cooked in Slow Cooker

Oh My Heck it is so HOT outside! 

Summer is my least favorite 

season of all. (don't hate me)

I just don't do the humidity

or weather that is above 80

degree's...ha, ha I know, I know

why do I live in Nevada then?

Well I hate the Snow more. 

Anyway..back to the recipe~

In this HOT heat I really do NOT

want to heat up the house

any more than it already is.

That is where the Slow cooker

comes is very handy!

Country Pork Roast in a Slow Cooked

4 lb. Boneless Pork Roast

1(14.5oz.) Chicken Broth

1 (2.75oz.) Pkg. Country Gravy Mix

1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix

1 tsp. Minced Garlic

Pepper

Cooked Brown Rice

Mix the soup mix, gravy mix and broth

together. Place in slow cooker, add in pork roast.

Place on High Heat for 4 hours.

Serve over cooked brown rice.

Week Night Madness,

Lark

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream Cake/ Cupcakes

Have you ever bought one of those

scrumptious  Ice Cream Cake's at

those famous Ice cream stores?

I have! I mean what could possibly be 

better than serving cake with Ice cream at 

the same time?

Many of you know I LOVE to make

Homemade Ice Cream. With that

being said....I wanted to take it

to another level, ...by making

an Ice Cream Cake.

Doing something like this may seem

a little in-depth. You would be wrong.

It is actually very simple.

The only hard thing about this is 

the time you need to allow.

Homemade Ice Cream Cake

1 (18oz.) Chocolate Cake Mix

3 Egg's

1 1/4 C. Water

1/3 C. Oil

1/2 Gallon Oreo Ice Cream*~softened

* See MY Homemade Oreo Ice Cream Recipe HERE

1 (16oz.) Chocolate Frosting

2 (8oz.) Cool Whip~ thawed

2 C. Crushed Oreo Cookies

Follow the directions for the cake

on the back of the box.

Make into (2) 9 inch layers.

When done baking, remove cake from

 the pan's to let cool for 15 minutes.

Place them in a zip lock bag and place

in the freezer for an hour.

Next you will need to place one

layer in the bottom of a 10 inch

spring form pan. Spread a 1/3 of the 

frosting over the first layer.

 follow by the softened ice cream.

Place second layer over ice cream,

frost again with 1/3 of frosting.

Place this in the freezer for

at least 4 hours. I like to let it

set overnight.

Release cake from the spring form

pan. Frost with thawed cool whip.

Sprinkle with crushed Oreo cookies.

With the remaining frosting, heat it

in the microwave for a few seconds

until you can drizzle it over the cake.

Place back into freezer until you are

ready to serve.

You scream, I scream,

We all scream for Ice Cream!

Lark

Fresh Limeade Slush

A refreshing, tart, sweet citrus 

treat to please all ages.

Perfect to serve at a picnic, party

or a backyard BBQ.

For an "island kick" substitute

regular milk for coconut milk,

top of with shredded coconut.

Fresh Limeade Slush

12 oz. Frozen Limeade concentrate

4 C. Milk

1 (14oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 tsp. Vanilla

Ice cubes

*This will make a LARGE batch.

So in order to "fit" into a regular sized

blender you will half all the ingredients.

Then repeat directions.

Place milk, vanilla and limeade concentrate

into the blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour in sweetened condensed milk,

pulse to mix. Add in Ice cubes until you

reach the desired consistency. 

I like it a bit thicker.

Now my hubby is not a huge fan of

tart flavors.....for him I add in

a little extra sugar to sweeten.

Pucker up Butter cup!

Lark

Homemade "Magic Shell" Ice Cream Topping

This recipe is so EASY, you are

going to wonder why you waited

for so long to make it!

You won't ever spend money on 

buying it in the store again.

It makes a great gift too.

Just add it to a basket filled with

some cute Ice Cream bowls,

Ice Cream Scoop and gallon

of Vanilla Ice Cream. ;)

Homemade "Magic Shell" Topping

2 C. Chocolate Chips*

1/2 C. Coconut Oil

In a double boiler melt together the 

chips and coconut oil until smooth.

Store in a air tight jar~ not in fridge.

I like to keep mine in a clear squeeze bottle.

The shelf life is for 3-4 Weeks.

*You can also make it 

different flavor's, buy substituting 

Peanut Butter or Butterscotch Chips.*

Good Times!

Lark

Key Lime Cupcakes

I love to make Cupcakes!

I mean after all, they are just a miniature

version of cake. I love the idea of having

all of my favorite flavors of cakes in

a individual size portion.

Besides it keeps me on track with

the whole "portion Control" issue. (lol)

Key lime is one of my husbands favorite flavor

in pie....so naturally I needed to make up

a cake for him!

Key Lime Cupcakes

*Makes 24 cupcakes*

1 (3oz.) Lime Jello

1 1/3 C. Sugar

2 C. Flour

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 C. Oil

1 C. Orange Juice

1 TBSP Key Lime Juice

6 Egg's

Sift together the jello, sugar, flour,

salt, baking powder and soda.~ set aside

In mixing bowl beat together the

oil, orange and lime juice, egg's.

Add in half of the flour mixture to the 

wet ingredients. Mix together.

Repeat with the remaining flour mixture,

mixing until smooth.

Let batter set for 10 minutes while

the oven is heating to 350.

Fill cupcake lined pans 3/4 full

with batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes,

or until toothpick comes clean when

poked into the center.

Let cool completely on wire rack

before frosting. 

We like ours with a homemade

cream cheese frosting.

Happy Baking,

Lark

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream Cupcakes

Many of you know I LOVE to make
Homemade Ice Cream. With that
being said....I wanted to take it
to another level, ...by making
Oreo Ice Cream Cupcakes.

While I was making a Ice cream
cake for my daughters Birthday,
I was worried the cake wouldn't
be enough for all the friends she
had invited. So I thought I would 
make individual cupcakes!
Can I just say I LOVED
the way they turned out.
I think I liked them more than
the large cake. (lol)
They are very easy to make.
Just make sure you start making
them the day before to allow for
the freezing time needed.


Homemade Ice Cream Cupcakes

1 (18oz.) Chocolate Cake Mix

3 Egg's

1 1/4 C. Water

1/3 C. Oil

1/2 Gallon Oreo Ice Cream*~softened

* See MY Homemade Oreo Ice Cream Recipe HERE

1 (16oz.) Chocolate Frosting

1 (8oz.) Cool Whip~ thawed

2 C. Crushed Oreo Cookies
Make cake according to the
directions on the box.

When done baking, remove cake from

 the pan, let cool for 15 minutes.

Place them in a zip lock bag and place

in the freezer for an hour.
Taking a knife cut out centers
of the cupcakes, keeping the tops.

Using your thumb, press down the cake 
in the bottom of each cupcake.
Scoop out ice cream into large balls,
place into each cupcake.

Take the "top's" of the cake, flatten
in the palm of your hands.
Then press onto and over the ice cream.
(this will be messy, just make sure to cover
all the ice cream with cake)

Place in the freezer for

at least 1 hour. Remove and spread
frosting over each cupcake.
Finally "frosting" each cupcake with the
 thawed cool whip. Sprinkle each cupcake 
with crushed Oreo's.

With remaining frosting heat

in the microwave for a few seconds

until you can drizzle it over each
Cupcake. Place back into freezer
until ready to serve.
Fun for everyone,
Lark

Guest Post ~ Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen making Summer Shrimp Roll's

Another great guest post from a 

Fellow Foodie Friend!

Bobbi has to be one of the strongest 

women I have had the privilege to

 get to know a little bit better through her

post's and updates on Face Book.

I am confident in saying that after

reading this post you will also

want to get to know her better!

You can follow Bobbi on her

Face Book Page HERE.

You can also become a follower

of her Blog Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen HERE.

 So here is a little bit about BOBBI...

I wasn't raised in a foodie family. My Mom had a hand full of "go to" dinners. Monday night Meatloaf, and Tuesday night Tuna Casserole, etc. Many of her recipes called for canned soups, and the sides consisted of processed boxed foods. Both of which were high in sodium and/or fat. Many of my comfort foods ended up revolving around those items. Mac and Cheese (yes the blue box folks), cream of mushroom soup, etc. I hated just about anything in vegetable form and refused to eat them.

In 2004 I underwent Gastric Bypass surgery, 

which helped me to lose 160 pounds. 

Through that process I began searching for new recipes to showcase great food with good flavor. It became all about quality to me. 

That is when I became addicted to cooking. I have TONS of cook books, watch countless cooking shows, and my house is littered with all types of cooking magazines.

Having only done "basic cooking" before my surgery, I was so happy to find recipes that tasted wonderful but didn't require a culinary degree to prepare them. Fresh herbs and veggies took over in a kitchen that had been more accustomed to seeing fast foods and Hamburger Helper.

In 2010 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had been in school full time, but ended up having to drop out due to surgeries and recovery time. I am now cancer free, but during my time at home my kids pushed me to start my own blog. When I first began cooking I looked to someone that was not intimidating to follow, that person was Rachael Ray. My kids began referring to my "tinkering" with recipes as "Rachael Raying" them.

When the movie Julie and Julia came out they immediately began hounding me to start a blog of my own. I brushed it off as silly and told them no one would be interested in reading what I had to say. But when I was home with Dr's orders to not lift, push, pull, etc. anything and found myself with so much time on m hands I gave their prodding some thought and decided I wanted to give it a try.

My first blog was called Bobbi Renee and Rachael Ray. But after a few weeks I was emailed by a few people telling me that copyright might be an issue so I created Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen. That was in May of 2011. Now I can't imagine what I would be doing other than this. Cooking has become a passion to me. I used to say I lived to eat, now I live to cook. 

If you are loved by me I am cooking for you!  

Summer Shrimp Rolls

Last week I was flipping through the pages of my Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine looking for ideas for this weeks recipes. I knew I wanted to find some seasonal things to cook since summer is almost over. I wanted to find a way to hold on to it as long as possible. So there I was flip......flip....flip.....TADA!! This recipe screamed at me MAKE ME MAKE ME, and my response was HECK YA! Some people talk to their pets, I evidently talk to food magazines. OK OK yes I talk to my pets too. Hey you have to find conversations wherever you can when you live in a very small town. Ya, I know, You are right, I am just weird *sigh*.

Anyway, off of my mental health issues

 and on to the food, this recipe calls

 for shrimp which I LOVE.

 I have wanted to try making lobster 

rolls, but with lobster being soooo expensive,

 (and this girl trying to cook on a budget) 

shrimp was right up my alley. 

What a nice surprise it was when I went

 to the store and the shrimp was on sale!

I hadn't really shared my recipe plan

 with anyone, so when I started to prepare

 this dish and the shrimp came out 

I had everyone's attention. 

Well, not my Dad, but Kevin and Seth were 

both hanging over my shoulder

 to see 

what I was making. 

Seth's response was 

OMG,

 I am so excited!

 Kevin was intrigued however a little 

hesitant because he is not a big fan of pesto. 

Seeing that this recipe calls for 1/4 C. of pesto. 

It made me a bit uneasy yet the picture

  looked so incredibly yummy it didn't

 give me much pause to think.

I will tell you that this is the perfect meal 

for a warm summer day. 

They are cool and creamy and so tasty.

 Kevin ate three rolls himself!

(I guess he decided pesto wasn't so bad after all.)

I think these are so pretty with all 

the summer colors in them.

 The corn takes on a bit of shrimp flavor

 because you throw it in with the shrimp

 right as it is done cooking. The green onions,

and red pepper's give the rolls

 just enough crunch. 

I am telling you... that before Summer

 is over you HAVE to try these! 

 Summer Shrimp Rolls

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped

3/4 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (can use reduced fat or fat free)

1/4 pesto, fresh or store bought

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

3 green onions, thinly sliced (whites and greens)

Salt and pepper

4 hot dog buns

 (I will tell you we had 6 with enough leftover for 1 more)

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

 Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until opaque,

 about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, 

stir in the corn, let cool.

In a medium bowl add the shrimp corn mixture,

 bell pepper and scallions, toss.

 Season with salt and pepper. 

Serve in the hot dog buns.