Easy Dinner Idea: Baked Ziti (video)

My family likes to eat sausage, but we always tend to prepare it the same way and I thought this time it would be nice to try a recipe my mother use to make me and that I haven’t made in a very long time.  Here is the easiest, yummiest  recipe that your entire is sure to enjoy!

You can see the “How to Make Baked Ziti” whrrl by going (here).

Tomato Basil Pizza recipe and Red Gold Tomatoes **GIVEAWAY**

Red Gold tomatoes wants to give one Detroit Mommies reader an awesome prize pack!  Check out my Tomato Basil Pizza adventure on Whrrl to learn more!

Here is a list of the Michigan Red Gold growers:

• AcMoody Farms, Inc. Union City, MI
• M Forche Farms, Inc. Blissfield, MI
• Iott Farms, Inc. Deerfield, MI
• Iott Ranch & Orchard Petersburg, MI
• Janssen Brothers Farms, Inc. Monroe, MI
• KD&A Tomatoes Coldwater, MI
• Lievens Bros. Farms, Inc. Petersburg, MI
• Morrin Farms, Inc. Erie, MI
• Stanton Country, LLC Sherwood, MI
• State Line Farms Morenci, MI

Prize

One lucky winner will receive a Vintage Red Gold Tomato Can like the one shown below with all those items inside!  The winner will be notified via email and will need to respond within 24 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

Entry Requirements

To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do the following two things. Make sure to leave a comment after each entry requirement:

1. Subscribe to Detroit Mommies via email or RSS feed.  Current subscribers count.  Leave a comment for 1 entry.
Enter your email address:
Delivered by FeedBurner

2. Go to DetroitMommies facebook page, ”become a fan”and tell us your favorite way to eat tomatoes. Leave a comment for 1 entry.

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Detroit Mommies writers and contributors are ineligible to participate. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older. Contest ends March 24, 2010 at 11:59:59 p.m. EST.

Disclosure: Red Gold provided me with this tomato kit and one to give away free of charge. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone and are not influenced in any way by anyone.

Winner as selected by Random.org!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2010-03-25 13:14:14 UTC

Congrats Jill Kathan!!!!!!

Get Ready for Superbowl Sunday: healthy snack ideas

This Sunday is the big day… the Saints vs Colts.  I really don’t care who wins, but I do care that my hubby will be glued to the couch on Sunday with the only exercise being trips to the bathroom and the hand-to-mouth gesture.

With that said, I will try and have healthy, yet tasty snacks on hand for him to enjoy during Superbowl Sunday.

Target sent me some snacks to try that will be perfect for game day!  They sent me Archer Farms Organic Mango Salsa and Archer Farms Blue Corn chips.  They also sent me Archer Farms Simply Balanced crackers, but they came completely broken in little pieces, so I won’t be serving them with cheese slices for my hubby as planned.  They are however very tasty and whole wheat, so I put them in a baggy for my 13 month old and gave her the little pieces for a snack.

Back to the Archer Farms Organic Mango Salsa and Archer Farms Blue Corn chips.  Talk about y-u-m-m-y!  Very tasty!  Actually, you might find me digging in with a spoon…the salsa is that yummy!  I looked for it at my local Target last night and couldn’t find it.  Not sure if it isn’t out yet, sold out or what, but I couldn’t find it.

Anyway, salsa and chips are so much better for the “hubster” than a sour cream dip and I rest assured he is eating healthy.

Super Bowl Snacks from Target’s Nutritionist Dr. Susan Mitchell:

• Pizza Bites: Take an Archer Farms Simply Balanced pizza, such as Mediterranean Style Vegetable, bake as directed and then cut pizza into snackable, bite-sized pieces.  A great way to get an easy serving of nutrient-packed vegetables.
• Garlic or Red Pepper Hummus: Simply serve with whole grain crackers, such as Archer Farms Simply Balanced whole grain eight grain crackers and veggie sticks.  Hummus is packed with great flavor and health benefits, with chickpeas being an excellent source of fiber.
• Chips and Dip: Offer Archer Farms organic blue corn tortilla chips and organic mango peach salsa for a snack with a little kick.  As an added health benefit, all products in the Archer Farms collection have zero grams of added trans fats.
• Fruit: Nothing is easier – or healthier – then serving a variety of fruit.  Arrange the fruit in a festive Super Bowl-style bowl with low fat yogurt and honey for a dip and watch it disappear!  Yogurt contains active live cultures and probiotics which promote digestive health and boost the immune system.

Disclosure: Archer Farms products  from Target were provided for review.  The opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone and are not influenced in any way by anyone.

Homemade Potato Soup

On a chilly winter’s night, there’s nothing like a bowl of Homemade Potato Soup to warm you from the inside out. This recipe is too good to keep to yourself, so feel free to give it as a gift. That’s right, with just a few more items, this recipe can be created into a GREAT GIFT IDEA!

What you will need; ~ A Festive Bowl ~ Ribbon ~ Candy ~ Paper with Holiday Border

Copy and paste this recipe (below) onto the paper with a Holiday Border and print. Feel free to change the font size or style to suit your taste. Roll paper up like a scroll and tie with ribbon (I use a paperclip to keep paper in scroll position until the ribbon is tied). Fill bowl with candy (I use Herhsey’s Kisses). Tie another piece of ribbon around bowl (start from top of bowl, pull under bowl and criss-cross underneath to pull up to top again & tie your bow). Attach scroll by threading ribbon through the bowls ribbon. Gift is ready for delivery!

Homemade Potato Soup

~ 8 slices of bacon

~ 3 scallions

~ 8 russet potatoes

~ 3 1/2 tsp. salt

~ 1/2 tsp. black pepper

~ 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

8 tbsp. salted butter

2 3/4 cups milk

1 cup sour cream

1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

Slice scallions and set aside. Cook bacon and set aside. Rinse and peel potatoes then cut into quarters. In a 6.5 quart soup pot, boil potatoes in water with 2 tsp. salt. Potatoes should be soft after 45 minutes of boiling. Drain potatoes and place back in pot. Add butter, remaining salt, pepper, garlic powder, sour cream and mash together. Add milk and bring to a simmer for 5 – 7 minutes. Ladle soup into bowl for serving. Chop bacon into small pieces and sprinkle on-top of soup with scallions and cheddar cheese. Proudly serve the yummiest Homemade Potato Soup to 8 lucky people!

*If you actually have leftovers, they will keep in the fridge for 1 week. This recipe may be doubled.

About the Editor

Michelle Cunningham is a single mother, licensed Esthetician at Virtuoso Salon in Birmingham, Editor for SkinJunkie and a Social Activities Director for her wonderful community at the Village Green of Rochester. “I’m quite passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge in all areas of my life, especially when something changes who I am and I feel myself grow into a better person because of it. We are not going to live long enough to make every mistake on our own so we should make serious efforts to learn from those around us”. Detroit Mommies Editor. @SkinJunkie on twitter.

Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread

My daughter made this Cranberry Bread in her classroom for their Thanksgiving feast and it was wonderful!  Enjoy!

Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread

mix into large bowl
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

cut in 1/4 cup butter with blender until crumbly.

beat 1 egg in small bowl.

grate orange to make 1 teaspoon grated peel.

add egg, orange peel and 3/4 cup orange juice to dry ingredients. Stir until moist.

add 1 1/2 cups light raisins.

add 1 1/2 cups cranberries. Stir.

spoon into greased loaf pan.

cook in oven at 350 degrees for one hour and 10 minutes.

Courtney is the ultimate multitasking mom!  She runs  three blogs Giftfully Simple, The Digital Mommy and Detroit Mommies , is a Social Media Marketing Consultant and has 3 girls under 6 years old.  Courtney is the founder of Detroit Mommies.  You can follow her on Twitter @theappleofmyeye.  She has worked with companies like Johnsons & Johnsons, Dove, e.l.f., Stride Rite, Sorel, 20th Century Fox, The Palace, Melissa & Doug, Panera, Tiny Prints and Ford (to name a few).  Courtney is a Purex^® Insider and a Max Mom for Office Max.

Cheese Lovers Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip

This delicious Cheese Lovers Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip will be the guest of honor at all your parties. A traditional appetizer that has become a crowd pleaser for all ocasions, in any season! Once you make and devour this recipe, you’ll never order Spinach Artichoke Dip in a restaurant again because nothing will come close to, “just as good”.

I can already hear those tummies growling so here’s what you’ll need ~

1 Stick of Salted Butter 

 2 ~ 9 ounce Boxes of Chopped Frozen Spinach, thawed

1/4 cup Minced Garlic

1 Red Pepper, finely chopped

1 Orange Pepper, finely chopped

2 cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 cups Shredded Asiago Cheese

1/2 cup of Blue Cheese *TRUST ME!

14 to 16 ounce jar of Artichoke Hearts (it’s ok if they are in oil), be sure to slice

1/2 cup Lemon Juice

2 ~ 8 ounce packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1 tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Garlic Salt    

*Your Favorite Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 350* and begin cleaning and chopping peppers. In a large skillet combine butter, lemon juice, garlic salt, pepper, minced garlic and chopped peppers. Melt ingredients on low heat and stir until well blended. Slowly add cream cheese blocks until completely melted. Stir in artichoke hearts and thawed spinach. Cook for 4-5 minutes while continuously stirring. Lastly, add Parmesan, Asiago and Blue Cheese. Blend well and remove from heat. Place in a 10×13 inch baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. If you like a “CRISPY” top, broil for an additional  2 minutes. Serves 16 if you don’t eat it all yourself.  Enjoy!

About the Editor:

Michelle Cunningham is a single mother, licensed Esthetician, Editor for SkinJunkie and a Social Activities Director for her wonderful community in Rochester, Michigan. “I’m quite passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge in all areas of my life, especially when something changes who I am and I feel myself grow into a better person because of it. We are not going to live long enough to make every mistake on our own so we should make serious efforts to learn from those around us”. Detroit Mommies Editor. @SkinJunkie on twitter.

Stuffed Mushroom Caps

A successful party is about the perfect guest list right? Nah! It’s all about the food! I want to share a super yummy and super easy recipe for Stuffed Mushroom Caps. They are a BIG hit every time I make them and because the recipe is ALWAYS requested by my guests, I’ve learned to just print copies and hand them out at the party. Clever ha?

Stuffed Mushroom Caps 

1 ~ 6 oz. box of KRAFT Stove Top Original Stuffing

2 ~ 8 oz. packages of Cream Cheese

1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Stick of Salted Butter

1 TBSP of Dill Weed

1 TBSP Pepper

1 TSP Garlic Salt

2 TBSP Minced Garlic

 1 ~ 8 oz. bag of Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

30 – 40 medium to large size Domestic Mushrooms

*Chicken Broth

Preheat oven to 325. Clean mushrooms and remove stems. With a small spoon, carefully scrape out a hole in each mushroom. Place mushrooms on a lightly buttered baking sheet (at least 1/2 inch deep). Set aside. Prepare stuffing as directed on the box, EXCEPT use the chicken broth in place of water.

NOTE: Stuffing and broth will be of equal measurements. Once stuffing is prepared, lower heat to low and add Butter, Cream Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Dill Weed, Pepper, Garlic Salt and Minced Garlic. Once ingredients are combined, remove from heat and begin stuffing Mushroom Caps. Top Mushrooms with shredded Pepper Jack Cheese and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. ENJOY!

How to Make Chai Tea Latte Mix

The cooler days of Fall are approaching fast, in fact some feel they are already here.  A nice warm chai latte can take the edge off of the cooler nights, or an iced version can cool you off on the warmer days.  Here is a recipe to create your own mix to have on hand, or give as a gift.  Complimented with a bit of Coffee Mate’s Vanilla Chai Spice cream and it’s heaven in a cup.

1 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1 c. powdered non-dairy creamer

1 c. french vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer

2 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 c. unsweetened instant tea

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

1 t. ground cardamom

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Feel free to blend to a powder in a food processor, although all ingredients do dissolve in water so this is not necessary.  Stir 2- 3 heaping tablespoons into a mug of hot water.  Add cream if desired.  Enjoy!

Stacy Swann is a mom of two, wife of one and a freelance writer and blogger living in Brighton.  She worked in the world of Detroit advertising for over 12 years before starting her own Rights Clearance business.  You can contact Stacy at swanngirlz(at)gmail(dot)com and follow her on twitter @swanngirlz.

The BEST Homemade Banana Bread, . . . Ummm EVER!

Michelle’s Peanut Butter Chip Banana Bread

I have made this bread for many years and always have friends and family BEG me for more, so I decided to share it with EVERYONE! This saves me time and money. Once you make a batch of this YummyLicious Banana Bread you’ll soon discover what I’m bragging about.

Be prepared to get out your loaf, bunt and cupcake pans! This recipe is too good to keep to yourself, so I made this batch a BIG one! Though it’s time consuming, it’s rather easy and SO worth it! Just follow my simple directions step by step and you’ll be the envy of all who taste it!

Let’s make some bread!

-4 cups sifted flour

-2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

-2 tsp. baking powder

-2 tsp. baking soda

-2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

*Combine the above ingredients VERY WELL in a LARGE bowl and set aside. This is a good time to heat oven to 350*F.

-7 old bananas (the older the better but not oozing) Ick!

-3 sticks of salted butter (must be room temperature) DON’T melt the butter it in the microwave, this totally messes with the finished product! Consider yourself warned.

-1 cup EGG NOG or any flavored creamer (I use the Fat Free French Vanilla International Delight coffee creamer and around the Holidays, I always use EGG NOG, it’s just SO MOIST). YUMM!

-2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

*Peel bananas and place in a square or rectangular container (8-10 inches wide and about 2 inches deep) with the butter, buttermilk (or flavored creamer) and vanilla. Using a electric mixer, mash it all together like it’s that boy in Junior High that made fun of your chest! You know the one!

Now add -3 eggs with mixer on high speed for 2 minutes

*Combine the mashed ingredients with the dry ingredients using a hand mixer on high speed.

-Two 10 ounce bags of “Reese’s” peanut butter chips (you only need 1 and ½ bag so unless you’re related to the Grocery Store Manager, you’ll have to buy 2 bags).

*Slowly step away from the mixer. Get your rubber scrapper out! Add the peanut butter chips to your batter using a rubber scrapper. You only need one and ½ bag. Decide what pans you want to use then lightly spray them with cooking spray.

*No AQUA NET flashbacks please.

Now the fun part is to determine how long to bake your soon to be YUMMY, that’s not going to last very long, banana bread! *cupcakes 20-25 minutes, *3’’ x 6’’ loaf 30-35 minutes, 10’’ round bunt 40-45 minutes, 6’’ x 9’’ loaf 45-50 minutes, OR you can be a lazy bum and just dump it all into a 11’’ x 16’’ cake pan and bake it for 50-55 minutes. Be sure to check your bread when it’s close to being finished because all ovens are different. Poke a thin knife down the middle. If it comes up dry, it’s ready to be removed from the oven. Try not to hover and salivate on it while it cools!

NOTE: You may use chocolate chips in place of peanut butter chips or NOTHING at all. Throw in some chopped nuts, whatever makes you happy! This recipe took me years to per’fect, I promise it will soon become a family tradition in your home as well!

About the Writer/Editor;

Michelle Cunningham is a single mother, licensed Esthetician, Editor for SkinJunkie and a Social Activities Director for her wonderful community in Rochester, Michigan. “I’m quite passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge in all areas of my life, especially when something changes who I am and I feel myself grow into a better person because of it. We are not going to live long enough to make every mistake on our own so we should make serious efforts to learn from those around us”. Detroit Mommies Writer/Editor. @SkinJunkie on twitter.

How to Make Homemade Playdough

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbs cream of tarter
1 Tbs oil
food coloring

Heat all of the ingredients in a saucepan over low to medium heat.  Stir continuously.  Once the dough is at the consistency you want, remove from heat.  Cool before using.  Enjoy!

Courtney is the ultimate multitasking mom!  She runs  three blogs Giftfully Simple, The Digital Mommy and Detroit Mommies , is a Social Media Marketing Consultant and has 3 girls under 6 years old.  Courtney is the founder of Detroit Mommies.  You can follow her on Twitter @theappleofmyeye.

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