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.

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Tags: casserole, cookbooks, Debbie, Gooseberry Patch, In the Kitchen, Summer

Clutter-oholics — Summer Trip Mementos

As my girls can attest, I do not have a lot of clutter around the house (and am getting even more “minimalist” the older I get).  I collect two things (three, if you count friends!) – cookbooks/recipes and magnets/pins.  Both of which are usually purchased during my travels.  I enjoy looking at them, but got tired of my refrigerator looking like this (found this picture on some realtor’s website — how your refrigerator should NOT look if you are trying to sell your house!):

So, a couple of years ago I purchased some small sheets of metal at the local “big box” home improvement store and nailed them up on a bare wall out in the garage by the washer/dryer – make sure you have a magnet with you when shopping for the sheet metal … not all metal will hold a magnet (a lesson learned the hard way). Luckily on this last trip I had a work nametag in my purse!

This idea would also work if you have a laundry room with bare walls.  I just had to buy another sheet and decided to share this idea to “de-clutter” something you have to look at multiple times every single day (the refrigerator), yet allows you to still keep these memory reminders somewhere where you can enjoy looking at them every single day!  Hmmm…I guess when I get every single other home improvement project done around here–after I finish my dissertation–I may think about painting the interior of the garage, the walls are pretty dingy looking!  Good thing I have those colorful mementos to look at to take the focus off of the dirty walls! :-)

And, if there are no magnets available at whatever “tacky” tourist trap we’re visiting, I will purchase a pin — and since I don’t wear ball caps, these get repurposed to become “tacks” on the bulletin board in my guest room!

Happy Summer Souvenir Shopping!

Tags: Debbie, declutter, Organization, Repurpose, Summer