Project Pinterest-Linking up with AP

 Out of the 345 pins on my "Food I must make" board I have tried approximately 32 of them, most of them were great and I am glad I have tried them.  This last week I made Twice Baked Cauliflower, our family loves twice baked potatoes but lets face it, they aren't the healthiest thing in the world, when I came across replacing potatoes with cauliflower I thought it could be a great alternative.

I found this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen to give credit where credit is due. I have bolded the things I did differently than her recipe.

source

Twice Baked Cauliflower
(Makes 6-8 servings; recipe adapted slightly from The Low Carb Gourmet.)

Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower (I bought the largest I could find)
4 oz. low fat cream cheese (do not use fat free) ( I used a whole 8 oz)
1/2 cup low fat sour cream (do not use fat free)
1/4 cup minced green onions ( I didn't put in because I didn't have any)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (If you only have finely grated Parmesan, use a bit less)
6 slices bacon, cooked until very crisp, fat blotted with paper towel and then crumbled ( I used about 9 slices)
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese ( I used regular medium cheddar)
(I used Kraft 2% milk sharp cheddar)

I also added 1/2 t of garlic salt and a small bit of pepper 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Cut out stem and core from cauliflower, and cut into small pieces. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until cauliflower is tender, but not overly soft. ( I DIDN'T BOIL IN WATER, JUST STEAMED IT) Drain well and mash with potato masher, leaving some chunks. Mix in light cream cheese, light sour cream, green onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon.

Spread evenly in a medium-sized glass casserole dish. Sprinkle with low-fat cheddar cheese and reserved bacon. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

The kids gobbled it down and everyone really liked it, I definitely plan on incorporating it into our normal menus.

Head over to I Love You More Than Carrots and link up your Pinterest Project!

Don't Tell Me You Haven't Thought of It

You know, THE Christmas card.  The one that will sit on someones fridge or pinterest inspired card holder for about a month with your smiling friendly face on it.  It is one of my favorite things about the holidays, seeing all of the faces of my family and friends and their families in one place!

I love picking out a beautiful card to put our picture on so when Minted contacted me about hosting a giveaway it took me about 2 seconds to say yes! Have you checked out their Holiday cards yet! There are so many choices this year.  Here are just a few of my favs.

found here

found here

found here

These are just a few of the hundreds on their site, they have made it so easy to find a card that suites you as well, by offering ways to search for cards by number of pictures, religious, folded or flat, size and many other options.  I have used them in the past for other products and have never been dissapointed!

Now here is the fun part! Minted has generously offered to let one of my readers win a $50 credit + free shipping on their site.  You can use this for Christmas cards, birthday invitations or whatever else your heart desires! This giveaway will start today and go until 9/18/2012! I will notify the winner via email!


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** I was provided with product from Minted for this giveaway, I really do love their products and would not be doing a giveaway if I didn't truly love their stuff** 

Blogging for a Good Cause- Lawyers Autism Awareness Foundation

When I was approached to help with this great, I immediately said yes, this is a cause that as a mother this is something that I can not imagine hearing the diagnosis.  Most everyone knows someone who has an autistic child now, there are many theories as to what can cause Autism, who knows if they will ever be able to pinpoint the cause, but now that the public is becoming more aware of the Autism spectrum the public is also learning how to help those children in need. 

The LAAF (Lawyers Autism Awareness Foundation) is a foundation started by 2 dads both of whom had a child with Austism.  Their mission was to make sure that families that couldn't afford special therapy for their children were provided with the means to do so.  Please visit their site to learn more about how they helping those children in need.

Here are some basic facts straight from their site
- Autism is a developmental disorder that is usually marked by impairments in communication, social skills
and repetitive motions

- Autism affects 1 in every 110 88 Children

- 1 in 70 54 Boys
- Autism is the 3rd most common developmental disorder in the US- Autism is usually seen within the first 3 years of life

- Some persons with Autism are gifted in certain areas like Math Art or Music

That brings me to what we are trying to do.

A group of bloggers got together to try and raise money for this cause,  Tracy Meehan, Independent Stylist for Stella and Dot has donated a "Lucky Charm" Stella and Dot necklace for one of you "lucky" gals to win!

Another way to help this cause is to shop the Trunk Show where a large portion of the proceeds going straight to the Lawyers Autism Awareness Fund.  Together I know we can make a difference in these kids' lives!

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From Mrs. to Mama Wedding Day Link Up

 I missed the last couple of link ups but I wanted to join in on the fun.  Becky always has the best link up ideas and her link ups are pretty much responsible for me being able to learn a lot from the other blogs I follow! So head over to From Mrs. to Mama and link up your wedding story!

1. Are you married? If so when did you get married, and tell us about your special day. If not? How would you describe your dream wedding? 

My hubs and I have been married for almost 7 years come November 11.  We got married November 11th, 2005 in a medium sized ceremony.  We got married in a small chapel and had the reception in a nearby home.  It was perfect for us at the time.  We started planning in July so we didn't have a lot of time to plan some HUGE fancy affair and I wouldn't really have wanted that anyways. 

2. Show us some wedding pictures. Either yours or of some that you love.

3. How about the engagement? Tell us your story. If not engaged, what's your dream proposal?

It was a fairly simple proposal.  I am not into big grand proposals, those in a restaurant are not for me, I would probably crawl under a table and cry.  We went on a picnic for the 4th of July and under a big old tree on the grounds of our state capital he got down on one knee and proposed. It was perfect.

4. Show us your wedding rings or an engagement photo! If not engaged/married ... show us your "dream" ring.

Since I can't find the "official" ring picture, I had to take a cell phone picture, believe it or not our photographer took the pictures on a film camera (digital wasn't as popular yet), which was a pain when I wanted to get them onto my computer, my mom had them all scanned and put onto discs, which I have yet to have time to organize. So here is my ring.

5. Tell us why you think marriage doesn't work out for so many? What can we do to make things last 

I think that in todays society, marriage is just kind of not held as a high priority for a lot of people.  We get busy, we have kids, we have jobs and we seem to forget the vows and promises we made how ever many years ago.  People don't try hard enough, when the going gets tough people seem to just get going.  In order to make things last, we need to learn to listen and actually hear the other person, communication is key and learning how to fight.  I realize that statement sounds completely out of place (WHAT PEOPLE FIGHT WHEN THEY'RE MARRIED), but people don't realize that fighting, when done correctly can help and bring a new understanding of your spouse.