Grow.Swap.Share - Blog Swap!

Hello everyone!  Today, I'm participating in the Grow.Swap.Share. I'm am posting over at Laurie's Little Bits of Creativity - please come visit me there!  I am sharing my recipe for Banana Oatmeal Muffins over at Laurie's blog.  
I am super excited today to be hosting Nina from Atir Inspired Decor~AID.  Welcome Nina!  


I am so thrilled to be here today at Addicted To Recipes, as part of Grow.Swap.Share hosted by My Favorite Finds and White Lights Wednesdays, my name is Nina and I am new to this thing we call blogging; so allow me to tell you a little about myself; I am the very proud mommy to twin angels, they are the LOVE'S of my life and mean the world to me!  I am also the very proud wife to a wonderful man that is hard working and gives me free reign to decorate our home as I see fit, but within a budget.  I love to, play with my angels or just hang out with them, decorate our home, thrift shop, clean, cook and I also enjoy my quiet time with Our Lord everyday and Sundays in mass. I have had such a fun time albeit short time blogging, showing off what I have created or shopped for. I am very grateful for all of my followers and any comments I may receive.

Today I have put together a Ballard Design Inspired Mirror for our linen closet. I first started out with this basic shelving unit we purchased from Ikea a few years back, I always hated the "wood look" (veneer) as well as the plastic insert, but I did not have anytime to do anything with them as my angels were still pretty small and after all they are the most important people to me so they came before any decorating so I lived with it until now!

Then it went to this, I first painted it a cream color to match the rest of the wood work we have around the house, AND THEN~I tried to updated it by adding aluminium to the insert, that was a failure and I hated the look!

So,I thought about it for a few months and still no inspiration hit me, well actually I thought of a few things but, I knew they would not work.  I remember seeing a pretty mirror in my Ballard Designs catalog awhile back and searched for the picture to see if that would be doable and I thought I can "fake that look" This is the look I was going after:

First I made a template with some foam board and traced it out after measuring all sides to make it all would line up.

I traced out the design using the foam template & for the circles I used a crown thumb tack (hey, it worked) then I followed what I previously traced with the faux lead using a very steady hand (slipped up in a few places)  =o)

I am allowing the mid section to dry before I add the faux lead to the outer rim.

AND here she is in all her glory!!  it is really difficult to photograph mirrors so this is best one out of about 50 I took!

For This Project I used:
5 Sheets Faux Mirror Scrap Book Paper
Faux Lead
Foam Sheet
Tacky Glue

What do you think?  I LOVE the way it turned out!

Thank You & Many Blessings~ Nina
Atir Inspired Decor~AID

Nanaimo Bar Ice Cream Cake

Today is my husband's birthday!  Happy Birthday!!  Today's recipe is one of his favourites...you may have read it when I guest posted over at DJ's Sugar Shack...and today I am posting it here in honour of my wonderful hubby! 

This is a recipe that I printed in 2005, and have been saving until the right time to make.  I have a huge sweet tooth...my husband not so much.  But we both share a love for ice cream.  I also love Nanaimo Bars, so this recipe seemed like it could be the perfect mix of things that we both like.

At first my hubby wasn't so sure about the Nanaimo Bar part of it...too much chocolate, he thought.  Well...you'll have to read our verdict below to see what we thought! 

Here is the recipe: (Source -The Canadian Living Test Kitchen)

Nanaimo Bar Ice-Cream Cake

1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (I used Oreo)
1/2 cup sweetened coconut, shredded
1/3 cup hazelnuts (filberts), finely crushed/chopped
4 cups vanilla ice cream (I used Breyers Natural Vanilla)
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 oz (3 squares) semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Baker’s)

Preheat oven to 350F. Ensure rack is in the centre.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in sugar. Then add in the egg yolk, cookie crumbs, coconut and 1/4 cup of the hazelnuts. Mix well. I used one of my trusty spatulas…one of my two kitchen items that I can’t live without…the other is my KitchenAid Stand Mixer!

Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with foil, leaving a 1 inch on each side for handles. Grease the foil. Scoop the crumb mixture from the saucepan into the loaf pan and press the mixture evenly into the pan.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack (leave in the pan).

While the crumb mixture is baking, soften the ice cream in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Pack firmly over the cooled crust. Freeze for 4 hours or until solid.

In a small saucepan, bring whipping cream to boil over medium. Remove from heat. Add in the chocolate, whisk until smooth. Allow to stand for 30 minutes or until cool and has started to thicken.

Pour chocolate sauce over ice cream layer, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with remaining nuts. Freeze for 1 hour or until the chocolate is firm.

To serve, let the frozen cake sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Dip pan into warm water briefly. Using foil handles, remove the cake from the pan. Dip a sharp knife into hot water, slice the cake, and serve.

VERDICT:
This was a very yummy treat! It was such a nice blend of ice cream, cookie crust, hazelnuts and coconut. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband even had seconds. And he hasn't stopped talking about it ever since I made it.  When I was writing my article for Okanagan4Kids for this month, I had asked my hubby, my Dad and my Father-in-Law for their favourite recipes.  This was my hubby's first choice!  His second was my Sweet & Spicy Baby Back Ribs. 

Oh yes, back to the verdict.  This wasn't too hard to make – and is for sure one that will be made again!  We might try adding a little coffee flavouring to the ice cream next time, for an extra little twist.

My only recommendation would be to make the cake the day before and allow it to freeze overnight and serve the next day. Just to make sure that the ice cream and the chocolate topping have hardened. Enjoy!

Scrumptious Sunday #14

Happy Sunday everyone!  I sure hope the weekend has been great!  I've been spending my days with my husband and boys....and catching up on laundry :-)

Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #14 is now live!  Hope you will come and link up your favourite recipes! Click the link above to get started!

Scrumptious Sunday #13 - Features!

Hello everyone! Another great week with great recipes shared!  Thank you all so much!  I will be adding many of them to my new Cook'n Recipe Organizer for future use!

If you are featured this week, please grab your button!

<a href="http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/AddictedtoRecipes/addictedbutton.jpg" width="200" height="177" border="0" alt="I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes"></a>

Congratulations to this week's features:

Individual Baked "Caprese" Eggs by Bizzy Bakes

Shrimp Linguine by Growing Up Gabel

Crock Pot S'mores Brownies (In A Mug!) By Repeat Crafter Me

Frozen Almond Joy Mini Pies by Crazy for Crust

Mango Lime Tart by White Lights on Wednesday

All of these recipes will be pinned to my Pinterest account, posted on Twitter, and shared on Facebook!

Don't forget, Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #14 opens on Saturday night at 8 pm PST.  Can't wait to see all the delicious recipes you share with us next week!

It's A Keeper Thursdays - I'm the Co-Host!

I am so excited to be co-hosting thie week's It's a Keeper Thursday over at Everyday Tastes! Thank you so much Christina for having me co-host with you! I am a faithful participant in the weekly It's A Keeper party - if you haven't yet checked it out, NOW is your chance! We would love for you to share a recipe by linking up (below!). And we encourage you to visit other submissions to check out all the goodness being shared!

If you are new to Addicted to Recipes, I would love for you to join me here!  I host a weekly recipe link party on Sundays, called Scrumptious Sunday.  You can also find and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Happy Linking!

Guest Post - The Grant Life

Hi Addicted to Recipes readers!  My name is Kelley and I blog over at the Grant life.  I'm super excited to be here today!  I am going to share an easy, delicious and healthy recipe!  I know, healthy and delicious don't always go together.  In this case..they go perfectly!

Im going to give you a little background on me before I share our simple recipe. [It's ridiculously simple and quick.. I gotta add some filler content.. hah!]  I'm a mom to two beautiful babies who are exactly 14 months apart.  [That's them at the beach last week!]  Since I was pregnant so soon after our daughter was born, I didn't have much time to get my pre-baby body back.  Now, 27 months after our first baby I'm attempting to shed those extra pounds.  I work out 4 or more times a week and I am slowly changing the way I eat.   Which is the harder part for me.  

Apparently Greek yogurt is good for you.. really good.  It's full of protein and has no trans/saturated fats.  Unfortunately it tastes like yogurt but feels like sour cream.  [Eww.. I know.]  The good news is you can add just about anything to it to give it a better flavor and texture.  My favorite thing to add is honey and granola.  My bloggy friend Jill has this simple recipe for frozen yogurt bites and they look so good!  I used my [healthy] Greek yogurt and my add ins and created my own version.  

Mix all your ingredients [granola and honey in my case].  Spoon them into a muffin tin (or onto freezer paper like Jill did) and place them in the freezer.  

The honey gives the Greek yogurt a much nicer texture and the granola.. well it just tastes good.  [Side note.. I love muffin pans!  They are so versatile.]  

It took about 2 hours for my Greek yogurt bites to harden.. I know this because I kept poking at them.  I wanted one.  And as you can see by the missing bite, I got one!  I wanted to make sure they were really good before I took pictures of them.  

I used a fork to pry them out of the muffin pan.  They popped out pretty easily.. I was kinda worried.  

Hello delicious healthy treats!  So nice to eat you!  I had two [or three] of these little guys and saved the rest for later.  They stayed fresh in a ziplock bag in the freezer.  

Thank you for letting me share my super easy snack recipe today!  If you get a chance stop by my blog and say hello!  I love making new friends!  

Teriyaki Chicken Burgers

I find it funny that I am constantly trying new recipes, and yet I find myself so stumped about what to make for dinner.  Part of the problem is that I didn't make a meal plan for the week.  Had I taken the time to do that, then I wouldn't have been "scrambling" trying to think of something new to do with the chicken that I laid out.  Mostly it was I just didn't want another meal of BBQ chicken (as good as it is, I just needed a change!)...so some quick flipping through a cookbook and I came up with a solution for tonight's dinner, as well as some tags for future chicken meals :-)  Yay!  And yes, I've now made my meal plan for the rest of the week!  Anyways, tonight we went with Teriyaki Chicken Burgers.  Anyone who knows me is making one of those funny, confused faces right now, just like the one my hubby made when I said what I was making.  I don't like teriyaki.  Never have.  Not really sure why, but I just don't care for it.  BUT, he loves teriyaki, so I did it for him :-)

Here is the recipe: (Source: Company's Coming: Barbeques)

Marinade
1/4 cup soya sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger, fresh grated
1 clove garlic, minced

3 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Pineapple (rings or pieces, whichever you prefer)

Hanburger buns, cut, buttered and toasted on the grill
Lettuce
Tomatoes (if desired)
Mayo (if desired)
Cheese (if desired)

Mix soya sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic in a bowl.  Using a ziploc bag (or similar) combine chicken and marinade.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes (I had time for ours to marinate for about two hours).

Preheat BBQ.  Cook chicken on grill over medium heat for about 20 minutes, turning as needed.

Prepare your buns as you desire (lettuce, tomato, mayo, cheese, pineapple).

The chicken can also be used as a main course should you wish to go the no-burger route.

VERDICT:
My hubby was in love with these burgers.  He said it was a nice change for burgers and for chicken.  He kept saying how good it was.  That makes me happy!  I am sure he'll be asking to make these again.  I was OK with the burgers, it satisifed my need for something different.  I didn't add the pineapple to mine, which probably helped.  I did add mustard though, that's my favourite condiment.  I know, not really a teriyaki flavour but hey, it was my burger!

Are you interested in guest posting here at Addicted to Recipes?  If you are, please let me know!