Quick Artichoke Casserole

I was searching for this recipe this morning totally sure that I had posted this recipe a long, long time ago... turns out I had stuck in a recipe box long before the blog started.

I got this recipe from a coworker years ago and it's absolutely fantastic paired with some good crusty bread or as a side with pork or chicken

Quick Artichoke Casserole

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1 (7 ounce) can pitted black olives, Drained
1 (7 ounce) can button mushrooms, drained
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
oregano, to taste
basil, to taste

pepper, to taste

Directions:


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large, ovenproof casserole dish combine all ingredients.

Mix well.

Cover and bake for about 20 minutes.

Serve hot or cold with Hot garlic bread, pita wedges or tortilla chips.

Happy New Year!

I would have loved to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but instead I spent Christmas Day sick. Since Christmas eve I'd been having trouble taking a deep breath and my left ear was killing me.  I managed to cook Christmas dinner and bake a birthday cake for my honey, but after sitting at the table with my family and not even being able to finish a slice of lasagna I passed out on the couch and woke up literally in ear splitting pain.  Friday morning my honey took me to urgent care (and it was SO packed there wasn't even a chair to sit in when we got there!)  After waiting for over an hour I finally got in to see a doctor.   After I got the usual work up by the nurse a bit later the dr came in, asked me a few questions and I was gasping for air when he asked me to take deep breaths to hear my lungs.

Not surprisingly he ordered a chest X-Ray to rule out Pneumonia, half an hour later... the diagnosis?

I've got freaking pneumonia.  I haven't had pneumonia since I was six years old and it sucks big time.

Remember my stories of the office witch? She's got competition...

Had it not been for a co worker coming in sick and not having the common decency to cover her mouth when she coughs I'd never have gotten sick at all.  I am a generally healthy person, I get the occasional cold but nothing that lasts more than a few days.  I had planned on taking the two weeks for Christmas and New Years off and spending them sick was not anywhere in my plans.  So instead of spending time with my family and friends I'm stuck at home in bed sick.  This is the first time in the ten years I've been working in this office to become sick like this and I'm seriously pissed about it.

I called this weeks ago when this lady came in sick, coughing her lungs out without covering her mouth.  I work in a fairly small office and she sits behind me to the right.  You'd think a grown woman would have the common sense to cover her mouth when she coughs, to not spread disease through the office or, ya know... stay home when you've got freaking Pneumonia and not come in hacking away and bring your breathing machine with you when you've got to administer meds every few hours to yourself! The boss had to send her home and then her Dr told her to stay home for a week.

I go back to work on Monday, the day after I finish my medication but the Dr says it could be 3-4 weeks until I feel like myself again.  Think I'm not gonna say anything to this woman?  I already told my boss last Friday.. I told him thanks to her coming in sick I've got pneumonia for the first time since I was a child. Last year it was brutally cold here and I walked over three miles every day back and forth in the cold and rain and snow to get the train to work until I got my new to me Jeep.

Whether or not anyone says anything to her before I get back to work is a mystery to me, but I'll be sure to say something for sure.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.. my Recipe

This year I made Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups to share with my fellow swappers and they were a hit :)  So much so that these will be going on the cookie platters I bring to friends and family this year.  I shipped all my cookies with some vanilla bean marshmallows too... ya know, for packing material ;)



Basically these are a sugar cookie cup filled with a homemade chocolate marshmallow and topped off with a vanilla candy wafer.

Cookies:

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

marshmallows - regular, chocolate or homemade in my case :)

vanilla candy wafers

Directions
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a second large bowl and mix well. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Chill the dough for 3 to 4 hours.

Here is where I deviated from the original recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll the dough into 1" balls and place each ball into the well of a mini muffin tin.  Press a well into each ball with your fingers (or do like me and use the rounded end of a citrus reamer)

 Bake until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges, 8-10 minutes.

While the cookies are in the oven cut the marshmallows up.  If you're using a store bought marshmallow you're going to probably use half a regular sized marshmallow or two mini.  If you're using a homemade marshmallow I used about 1/8 of mine (I made them pretty big).

When the cookies come out of the oven put the marshmallows in the cups right away and top with a candy wafer.

 

Holiday Gifts: How to Choose the Best Photos for Phone Cases (*Guest Post)

The holidays are here! With the flurry of fun Christmas greetings, cookies, and parties comes the reality of shopping for your family and friends. Just like you would design Christmas photo cards online, why not consider creating a personalized iPhone case for someone in your immediate circle? Whether your friend or family member has the new iPhone 6 or an older version, cases are a great way to protect their investment and help them express their personal style. Some may find it intimidating to design a case for someone else, but here are some tips to help you get started:

* Select something that’s meaningful to them. Browse any non-copyrighted photos you have and think about choosing a picture that features the people in your friend's life, her favorite vacation spot, or something else that’s personal to her. Remember, you want something that expresses her style and a little about her life – and often, these are the things that matter most to us. Another option is to design an iPhone case with a favorite quotes. Find or create a PNG or JPG image (that’s not copyright protected) featuring the quote against a backdrop your friend will love.

* Make sure the photo you pick has a high enough resolution. Photos without a high resolution will look chunky or blurry when printed. Most phone case photos should have a dpi (dots per inch) of around 300 or higher. For a brief comparison, most computer monitors display images at 72 dpi.

* Don’t choose a photo with a lot of white space. You don't want to waste space on your friend's new case, so crop the image as closely as you can in order to narrow in on the interesting part of the photo. Remember that, depending on the case and the size of the image, the photo may not totally fit on the case as is – so be sure when you load the image and place it on the case (during the design phase) that you’re okay with exactly where the photo will be cropped.

* Don't limit yourself. Many makers of iPhone cases will allow designs with more than one photo. Sometimes you can fit two, three, or as many as six photos on one case. See if a collage like this may be something you’re interested in. This works especially well if you don’t have one great photo or have too many to choose just one!

With the upcoming holidays comes the opportunity to get creative with your gifts. Have fun and happy designing!

Author Bio: Heather Hewitt is a seasoned writer and guest author who enjoys connecting people with thoughtful products, services and ideas as they relate to crafting, photography, gift giving and personal expression.

Spread the Word: Giving Tuesday

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Everyone knows these days dedicated to getting your holiday shopping season off to a quick start. 

Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. This year, we’ve set a goal of raising $50,000 on Giving Tuesday, which will be matched by a generous partner. That means we have the opportunity to help connect kids with up to 1 million meals — all from one day's work. With your help, together we can make sure that every kid gets the healthy food they need to succeed, this year and beyond. 

You can spread the word today here, and join Team #NoKidHungry on social media December 2nd to celebrate #GivingTuesday and help us reach our exciting goal.