Friday, March 15, 2024

Easy Appetizers....


Are you looking for some appetizers for Easter/Spring?  Here are a few of my favorites.  The recipes can easily be altered for fewer or more servings, and can be tailored to your personal taste.  Be creative!

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Spring/Easter Cocktails




Here are a few cocktail ideas for Easter Brunch or a Spring Party:

Sunday, March 10, 2024

What's for dessert?

Desserts, spelled backwards is stressed - This easy cake did not stress me out at all and it was delish!

Friday, March 8, 2024

Spicy Chicken Strips

Here's a quick and easy chicken recipe for 2


Friday, March 1, 2024

Tales of the Traveling Tote #38


The Tales of the Traveling Tote is a series of adventures that share where our Mackenzie Childs tote bags have taken us.  Four times a year a group of bloggers each write a connected post about the places we have been.

On Feb 26, 2015, I proposed the idea of the Tales of the Traveling Tote to a few bloggers.  We have been a consistent group for 9 years while a few members have come and gone due to busy lives and/or "blogging retirement". (Linda G, Lea, Samantha, Katie and Cherry Kay). 

It is always fun to share our travels with you and we have met new many friends along the way. We also have given away almost 40 Mackenzie-Childs gifts throughout the years to thank our readers for following our tales.
 
I was recently recognized in the Charlotte airport with my Traveling Tote by a gal from Florida who follows our tales!  

We hope you enjoy The Tales of the Traveling Tote as much as we do!

To read about how it all began, go HERE



Here's what Miss Kenzie and I have been up to:

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Crispy Bacon Curls


Aree you looking for a fun and delicious appetizer or brunch side?

Friday, February 9, 2024

Twinkie Hearts


This is an idea from many years ago when my Mom made this easy dessert -  and I still make it every year:



Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Tater Tot Appetizers


I had the most delicious appetizer at Bunco the other night and I altered the recipe a bit and made some for friends for our "Game Day":



I found the original recipe in Pinterest (at end of post), but here is what I did with what I had on hand:

I placed two Tater Tots in each small silicone muffin cup and baked at 450° for 10 minutes.  I then used a shot glass to squish them down to form a "cup":


I baked them for another 10 minutes, and then sprinkled a mixture of shredded Pepper Jack cheese and Toscano Black Pepper cheese (Trader Joes) over each cup.  Then they were put back into the oven for a few minutes until cheese melted.


I added a dollop of Pepper Jelly into each cup:


The heat from the baked cup melted the jelly a bit....


...and they were ready to pop out of the silicone mold and serve:


DELISH!!!

The next time I might add a dollop of spinach dip instead of the jam!  The filling options are endless!


Here's the original recipe:

Tater Tot Appetizer Cups https://thefeatherednester.com

  • 48-60 frozen tater tots (16-oz bag)
  • ¾ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 2 green onions, sliced (green part only)
  • Preheat oven to 450ºF. Spray muffin pan cups with cooking spray.
  • For mini-sized muffin pan: Place 2-3 tater tots in each muffin cup.
  • For regular sized muffin pan: Place 4-5 tater tots in each muffin cup.
  • Place tater tots muffin pan on bottom rack of the oven and and bake 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven.
  • Spray bottom of shot glass or small juice glass with cooking spray. Use it (in a twisting motion) to press the tater tots in each muffin cup to make potato cup. Return to oven; bake additional 15 minutes or until deep golden brown.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of cheese to each potato cups. Bake for 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Transfer to platter and let cool for 5 minutes.
  • Add sour cream, bacon, and green onion to each tater tot cup, and other garnishes. Serve warm.

This MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check Ceramic Serving Platter would be a perfect plate to serve these!






Friday, February 2, 2024

Floral Lollipops for your Valentine....


Here's a quick Valentine craft that you can do with little ones - they can hand them out to their friends, you can put some in a vase on your desk at work, or tuck them in a friend's mailbox!