Archive for the ‘Blog News’ Category
101 Breakfast and Brunch Recipes: Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake (and a Giveaway!)
It is time to review another awesome cookbook from Gooseberry Patch! This time, we got a look at 101 Breakfast and Brunch Recipes. This book is packed full of recipes that are perfect to take to brunch, serve on any old day or make for a special occasion.
Fall is just around the corner (even though it is still humid and hot down here in the South) and I was in the mood for something that reminded me of my favorite season. The Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake fit the bill!
Pumpkin Streusal Coffee Cake
18-1/2 oz. pkg yellow cake mix
1 cup of pumpkin
3 eggs, beaten
3 T. oil
1/3 cup water
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed and divided
2 t. cinnamon, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
Combine dry cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, oil water and pumpkin pie spice. Pour half of the batter into a greased 13×9 baking pan. Mix together 1/3 cup brown sugar and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter in the pan.
Spread the remaining batter in the pan. Combine flour and butter with remaining brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread the mixture on top of the batter.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes of until baked through.
If you follow the directions properly, your cake will not look like mine. I completely missed the step of adding the flour so my streusel topping kind of sunk to the middle of the cake while it baked.
The cake was delicious though and I would definitely make it again as we continue to travel towards the season of fall!
Do you want to win a copy of your own 101 Breakfast and Brunch Recipes?
How to Enter
We will be giving away ONE copy of the cookbook to one lucky winner. If you would like a chance to win, leave us a comment in this post and tell us about your favorite breakfast foods. Leave your comment before September 26, 2012 at 9:59 p.m. CST.
Don’t worry about being creative in your comment, the winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Please make sure that you fill out the required fields by putting your first name in the name field and your email address in the email address field. We do not share email addresses and you will not receive emails from Threaded Together unless you win.
Winners
We will choose ONE winner randomly and announce the results here on Threaded Together sometime after September 26, 2012.
Rules
No purchase necessary to enter or win. Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and who are 18 years of age at time of entry. For this giveaway, entrants can enter 1 time. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology and Threaded Together assumes no responsibility for late or misdirected entries due to SPAM, technological issues or for prizes lost in transit.No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except Threaded Together reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Void where prohibited by law. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state, and local taxes on the value of their prize. Relatives of Threaded Together are no eligible to win.
Because this is a family site and we get a lot of spam comments, all comments on this site are moderated. If you comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry!
Cookbook Review: 101 Cozy Casseroles
Jen has already drawn for the free cookbook, but I wanted to go ahead and share, especially as everyone starts to have an abundance of fresh produce from their gardens and local farmers markets. Well, better late than never! I made this delicious recipe from Gooseberry Patch’s new cookbook, 101 Cozy Casseroles, and enjoyed it for just about every meal I ate the last couple of days before going out of town. I had every intention of writing and posting while I was traveling, but while the pictures were on my camera, I neglected to bring along Rachel Kowasic’s wonderful recipe!
Rachel’s original recipe calls for canned green beans. The day I was looking for a second recipe to make from this fun little cookbook, my neighbors, Harry & Cathy, dropped by with some crisp green beans straight from their garden … decision made! I washed them, cut them up into bite size pieces, and parboiled for a couple of minutes, draining before adding to the casserole.
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tblsp. Butter
3 potatoes, diced (I used little red potatoes)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 – 14.5 oz. cans, green beans, drained
1 ½ cup cooked ham, cubed
1 cup water
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
Directions:
In a skillet over medium-high heat, sauté onion and garlic in butter; add potatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes are crisp.
In a greased 13”x 9” baking pan, combine potato mixture, green beans, ham and rosemary. Drizzle water over all.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for one hour, or until potatoes are tender. Serves 6-8.
Enjoy!
Tags: Debbie, Gooseberry Patch, In the Kitchen, Summer
Cookbook Review: 101 Cozy Casseroles and a give-away
It is my turn! As Jen said last week, we’re always excited when we receive the latest Gooseberry Patch Early Reviewer book…I love getting a sneak peek at these books and trying the new recipes, and it is even more exciting to be able to give away a copy of the book. Read through the whole post for directions on how to enter the giveaway.
Memorial Day weekend, a time to remember, and also the unofficial start of summer. And, what says summer better than state fair. I grew up in Sacramento, a child of the suburbs, but every summer we would make our annual trip to the California Exposition and State Fair. I know that we rode rides, walked through building after building of county exhibits, and saw livestock, but my favorite memories are of the fair food – funnel cakes, frozen bananas, and corn dogs. So, when I was flipping through the new book, 101 Cozy Casseroles, I knew that I just had to try Tiffani Schulte’s recipe for Blue-Ribbon Corn Dog Bake. It was easy to make and was a tasty combination of corn bread and hot dogs — and I think it tasted even better when I reheated a piece (in the oven, not the microwave) for lunch the next day!
Blue-Ribbon Corn Dog Bake
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ Tbsp. baking powder
[Here I digress—I don’t know about you all, but I have 4 sets of measuring spoons and not a single one has a “3/4 Tbsp.” measure! But, Google http://www.google.com is my friend, and I found a great conversion chart. http://www.calcul.com/cooking-conversion I learned (I’m sure that somewhere in the deep recesses of my muddled mind I knew this, but it wasn’t rising to the top) that 1 tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons, multiply by .75, and for those of you who also do not have a ¾ Tablespoon measure, you need 2 ¼ teaspoons!.]
Ingredients continued:
½ tsp. salt
½ cup yellow cornmeal
½ Tbsp. butter, melted
¾ cup milk
16-oz. pkg. hot dogs, sliced into bite size pieces (warning – choking hazard – don’t leave them in round discs, cut into half-circles!)
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together sugar and egg. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Add cornmeal, butter, and milk, stirring just to combine. Fold in hot dog pieces.
Pour into a well-greased 8” x 8” baking pan.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for about 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serves 6.
Enjoy!
Do you want to win a copy of 101 Cozy Casseroles?
How to Enter
We will be giving away ONE copy of the cookbook to one lucky winner. If you would like a chance to win, leave us a comment in this post and tell us about your favorite summer foods. Leave your comment before June 7 at 9:59 p.m. CST.
Don’t worry about being creative in your comment, the winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Please make sure that you fill out the required fields by putting your first name in the name field and your email address in the email address field. We do not share email addresses and you will not receive emails from Threaded Together unless you win.
Winners
We will choose ONE winner randomly and announce the results here on Threaded Together sometime after June 2.
Rules
No purchase necessary to enter or win. Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and who are 18 years of age at time of entry. For this giveaway, entrants can enter 1 time. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology and Threaded Together assumes no responsibility for late or misdirected entries due to SPAM, technological issues or for prizes lost in transit.No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except Threaded Together reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Void where prohibited by law. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state, and local taxes on the value of their prize. Relatives of Threaded Together are no eligible to win.
Because this is a family site and we get a lot of spam comments, all comments on this site are moderated. If you comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry!
Tags: casserole, cookbooks, Debbie, Gooseberry Patch, In the Kitchen, Summer
Cinnamon-Spice Popcorn – A Gooseberry Patch Recipe
*Want to win a copy of The Christmas Table? Follow this link for directions on how to enter!
Last week, I reviewed The Christmas Table, yet another lovely cookbook from A Gooseberry Patch. Today was kind of a lazy day. We got up this morning and my husband and the kids worked in the yard while I did homework. My husband left this afternoon for an event and I am home with the kids. This is a perfect time to spoil them a little with a special snack!
When I flipped through The Christmas Table, the Cinnamon-Spice Popcorn recipe caught my eye right away. We love different flavored popcorns so I was definitely going to try this. It got mixed reviews in my house. I loved it because it had just enough sweetness from the sugar and spices but was also full of buttery flavor. My son loved it, which surprised me because he very much chooses vanilla type foods! My daughter on the hand, who loves just about any food she tries, was not a big fan but ate some when her plain popcorn ran out.
Cinnamon-Spice Popcorn
Ingredients
3 T butter
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 T. sugar
8 cups of popped popcorn.
Pop popcorn first and put it in a heatproof bowl.
Have I mentioned how much I love my popcorn popper? If I could only choose two small appliances to keep, my popcorn popper would have to duke it out with my crockpot for second place. For the record, my food processor would be the first place winner! You can purchase a popcorn popper at the store for less than 20 dollars. Popcorn kernels are only a few dollars and a bag lasts a long time.
Over medium heat, melt butter. Mix in the spices and sugar and stir until dissolved and smooth. Pour over popcorn and mix until pieces are coated evenly.
Cookbook Review: The Christmas Table & a GIVEAWAY
**This giveaway has ended. Thank you to everyone who participated.
*The postwoman dropped off the latest Gooseberry Patch Early Reviewer book and it is a good one! I love getting a sneak peek at these books and it is even more exciting to be able to give away a copy of the book. Read through the whole post for directions on how to enter the giveaway.
Gooseberry Patch’s The Christmas Table is a spiral bound cookbook with hundreds of recipes perfect for the holidays. Many of the recipes are great to bring or serve at parties. There are six sections: Cozy Christmas Brunch; Chill-Chasing Soups and Breads; Caroling Party Supper; Classic Christmas Dinner; Festive Holiday Fare; Sweet Treats to Share. Though many of the recipes definitely have a holiday feel, they can be used throughout the year. Many of the recipes have less than twelve ingredients and a lot of the ingredients are things that you likely have in your pantry.
The first recipe I tried was from the Cozy Christmas Brunch section. It was a crab quiche and it caught my eye because it seemed very easy but also kind of a luxurious snack.
Crab Quiche
5 T. all-purpose flour
1/2c mayonnaise
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
8 oz. package of shredded Swiss cheese
6 oz can of crabmeat, drained and flaked
9inch pie crust
Combine flour, mayo, eggs and milk in a large bowl and stir. Stir in onions, cheese and crabmeat. I forgot to flake the crab meat and I don’t think it affected the dish. Also, I only used a 5oz package of shredded Swiss cheese. It was on sale and there was no 8oz package to be seen. Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie crust.
Bake uncovered at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
This quiche was delicious! As it baked, the kitchen smelled wonderful. It was beautiful and would have been perfect for a brunch or meal with friends.
I thought it was only fitting that this recipe was on the same page as a lovely story about Christmas Eve pajamas, a tradition that is important to us in the Threaded Together household!
Even though I had my mom stop by and have some for dinner (she loved it too!), I still had a lot of the quiche leftover. I cut it into pie slice pieces and froze it in individual bags. I had a piece for dinner tonight and it still tasted great.
Do you want to win a copy of The Christmas Table?
How to Enter
We will be giving away ONE copy of the cookbook to one lucky winner. If you would like a chance to win, leave us a comment in this post and tell us what your favorite holiday meal is. Leave your comment before May 24 at 9:59 CST.
Don’t worry about being creative in your comment, the winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Please make sure that you fill out the required fields by putting your first name in the name field and your email address in the email address field. We do not share email addresses and you will not receive emails from Threaded Together unless you win.
Winners
We will choose ONE winner randomly and announce the results here on Threaded Together sometime after May24th.
Rules
No purchase necessary to enter or win. Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and who are 18 years of age at time of entry. For this giveaway, entrants can enter 1 time. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology and Threaded Together assumes no responsibility for late or misdirected entries due to SPAM, technological issues or for prizes lost in transit.No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except Threaded Together reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Void where prohibited by law. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state, and local taxes on the value of their prize. Relatives of Threaded Together are no eligible to win.
Because this is a family site and we get a lot of spam comments, all comments on this site are moderated. If you comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry!
Winner – Gooseberry Patch Early Review: Meals in Minutes — 10th Anniversary Edition
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Gooseberry Patch cookbook giveaway. It was so fun to read about everyone’s favorite soups, salads, and sandwiches…so many tasty choices!
The winner, selected randomly by a random number generator, was comment #83 Debra V. who said “I love Cream of Potato!!! Homemade of course.”
Congratulations Debra! Please email me at jennifer at twokidsandamap dot com or use the contact form as soon as possible (within three days) with your contact information to confirm the prize! I wonder if we could talk you into sharing your curried chicken salad on our site!?!
Stay tuned! I will be sharing some more recipes from the cookbook and we will have another early review for you soon!
Colorful Couscous Salad — One More Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Recipe Early Review (plus a Giveaway!)
Today was a rainy, nap-taking kind of day here in NW Florida … only I don’t take naps, so I got myself into the kitchen and made recipe #3 from Gooseberry Patch’s new Meals in Minutes – 10th Anniversary Edition.
If you follow all of us here at Threaded Together then you already know that we are all trying to eat healthier. Without knowing what I would do with it, I picked up some couscous a few weeks ago when I was on the shopping aisle looking for some alternatives to plain white rice (I LOVE plain white rice, but I’m trying to LOVE brown rice, too!). So, when I saw this recipe in the new cookbook, I knew I had to try it … I loved it! I think it is my new favorite salad recipe! Yum!!! The couscous was unbelievably easy to make (bring water to a boil, toss in the couscous, cover and remove from heat…wait 5 minutes and then fluff!). The dressing is an exotic blend of flavors … sweet, tart, spicy. This salad was so good that I called Jen and told her I was on my way down to her house to bring her lunch – a small container of this salad!
I did make a couple of minor ingredient substitutions … I did mention that it was rainy, right? Not only did I not want to spend the money, but I also didn’t want to get wet!
Colorful Couscous Salad
Donna Cash
Dexter, MI
(Page 41)
Ingredients:
Salad:
10-oz. box couscous
1 green pepper, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced
4 carrots, shredded
15 ¼ oz. can corn, drained
15 ½ oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
Dressing:
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1/8 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 T. garlic, minced
3 drops hot pepper sauce
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. lemon pepper
½ tsp. seasoned salt
¼ tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Directions:
Prepare couscous according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large serving bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and seasonings; stir in vegetables and beans.
Add couscous, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Things I did a bit different:
*I didn’t have any white wine vinegar so I substituted red wine vinegar.
*I used 2 large cloves of fresh garlic, minced
*I used Tabasco for the hot pepper sauce
*I didn’t have any turmeric. After doing a bit of online research (Google is my friend!), I decided since it seemed to be mainly for color, to just leave it out. No harm, no foul!
*Don’t look too hard in the pictures for the diced green pepper … I’m not a huge fan, so left it out. I increased the amount of carrots and green onions to make up for the “bulk”.
*I don’t have a 1/8 tsp. measuring spoon, but I have these to meaure a smidgen, a pinch, and a dash … aren’t they cute??
I think I used a smidgen each of cinnamon and ground ginger.
It is not too late … Do you want a copy of Meals in Minutes — 10th Anniversary Edition before it hits the bookstores? Be sure to enter by clicking here!
Tags: Debbie, Giveaways, Gooseberry Patch, In the Kitchen, Salad
Zucchini Pie — Another Early Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Recipe Review (plus a giveaway!)
A couple of days ago I shared a yummy dessert recipe from Gooseberry Patch’s new-not-yet-in-stores-near-you cookbook, Meals in Minutes — 10th Anniversary Edition. This cookbook is full of yummy, quick and easy recipes — I had a hard time selecting just a couple to make for review purposes!
I love zucchini, year round, and had all of the ingredients necessary for this recipe right on hand. It was delicious! Most of the time I am cooking for one (which is not a whole lot of fun). I try to make at least one dish on the weekend which will make a good Sunday dinner, lunch on Monday, and then provide some leftover which can be frozen for the future (because two days in a row is about all I can take any meal — this way I’m not throwing out food, and I have a variety stocked up in the freezer, especially for the working-through-lunch days, and I’m-tired-of-cold-cereal-after-a-long-day-in-the-office days).
Zucchini Pie
(page 35)
Ginny Paccioretti
Oak Ridge, NJ
Ingredients:
1 cup biscuit baking mix
4 eggs, beaten
¼ cup oil
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups zucchini, sliced and quarters
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a bowl, combine baking mix, eggs, oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper; Stir in vegetables.
Spread into a lightly greased 13”x9” baking pan.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.
It is not too late … Do you want a copy of Meals in Minutes — 10th Anniversary Edition before it hits the bookstores? Be sure to enter by clicking here!
Tags: Baking, cross-stitch, Debbie, family, Giveaways, Gooseberry Patch, vegetable, zucchinni
Gooseberry Patch Early Review: Meals in Minutes — 10th Anniversary Edition — Butterscotch Brownies (Plus a giveaway!)
I echo Jen’s earlier post on how excited we were to be asked to be Early Bird Reviewers for new Gooseberry Patch books. I collect cookbooks, and have been a fan of Gooseberry Patch since my sister-in-law, Rhonda, gave me my first as a gift many years ago (I think it was Celebrate Autumn).
I love their cookbooks (I’ve got 14, and can’t begin to tell you how many I’ve purchased as gifts!) and “cook booklets” (too many to count!). Unlike most of the cookbooks in my collection (many of which are purchased during our many family travels as souvenirs, and to be honest, contain ingredients I would never purchase and include directions I would never take the time to tackle), the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks are put to good use. I think it is because most of the recipes come from people much like you and I — busy and trying to eat well on a budget! So, Meals in Minutes — 10th Anniversary Edition was perfect for my turn to be a reviewer! I’ll be posting several recipes this week which are the result of the sneak peek we’ve been privileged to have for this new book which will be hitting the bookstores soon, and we will even have a copy to give away! Read through this post to find out how to enter to win a Gooseberry Patch cookbook before it hits the stores.
As soon as I heard from Jen that the books had arrived I started bugging her to get them to me so I could start my review process. As you can see from the picture below, I didn’t have any trouble finding 2-3 recipes to try-out … the problem was actually deciding what to try! Best of all, I already had all of the ingredients on hand to try every single recipe I tagged.
And, because life is short, I started with dessert first! These things were so good that I proceeded to make a second batch to take into the office – I doubled all ingredients and baked in a 9″ x 13″ pan which made the bars just a little bit thicker.
Butterscotch Brownies
(page 197)
Alice Flood
Dallas, TX
Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg, beaten
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup chopped nuts (I used pecans purchased at Priester’s, one of our favorite stops when roadtripping north on I-65)
Directions:
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat; remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved; set aside to cool to room temperature (cool enough that the eggs don’t start to cook when you add them!). Blend in egg; add flour, baking powder and salt, mixing well. Stir in vanilla and nuts; spread in a greased 8”x8” baking pan.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes; let cool. Makes 9.
Note: I melted the butter in a small glass mixing bowl in the microwave oven, and then mixed all ingredients with my Kitchen Aid mixer.
Do you want a copy of Meals in Minutes — 10th Anniversary Edition before it hits the bookstores?
How to Enter
We will be giving away ONE copy of the cookbook. If you would like a chance to win, leave us a comment in this post and tell us what your favorite soup, salad or sandwich is. Leave your comment before March 10 at 9:59 CST. Don’t worry about being creative in your comment, the winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Please make sure that you fill out the required fields by putting your first name in the name field and your email address in the email address field. We do not share email addresses and you will not receive emails from Threaded Together unless you win.
Winners
We will choose ONE winner randomly and announce the results here on Threaded Together on March 11, 2012.
Rules
One comment per person per giveaway post. Duplicate comments and anonymous comments will be discarded. Please make sure that the email address in your comment form is valid so that we can contact you (email addresses are never made public). Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology. No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that Threaded Together reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state, and local taxes on the value of their prize. Relatives of Threaded Together are not eligible to win.
Because this is a family site and we get a lot of spam comments, all comments on this site are moderated. If you comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry!
Enjoy!!
Tags: Baking, brownies, Debbie, Giveaways, Gooseberry Patch
Gooseberry Patch 101 Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches Giveaway Winner
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Gooseberry Patch cookbook giveaway. It was so fun to read about everyone’s favorite soups, salads, and sandwiches…so many tasty choices!
The winner, selected randomly by a random number generator, was Sandra W. who said that her favorite was “Potato soup and my own recipe for Curried Chicken Salad. MMMMM!!!”
Congratulations Sandra! Please email me at jennifer at twokidsandamap dot com or use the contact form as soon as possible (within three days) with your contact information to confirm the prize! I wonder if we could talk you into sharing your curried chicken salad on our site!?!
Stay tuned! I will be sharing some more recipes from the cookbook and we will have another early review for you soon!
Tags: Giveaways, Gooseberry Patch
