Your 4th of July Menu: Red, White & Blue Shortcake Stars

Another great addition to your 4th of July menu are desserts. I have quite the sweet tooth and I love shortcake almost as much as I love fresh strawberries and blueberries, so when I came across this great recipe for red, white, and blue shortcake I was thrilled to see two of my favorite foods combined. While strawberry shortcake is a widely-known and celebrated recipe, do not be afraid to mix it up and add other berries and fruits. You can usually get away with putting anything on shortcake so pick whatever is in season for the freshest, delicious shortcake.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 quarts strawberries, sliced (6 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 2/3 cups Original Bisquick mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
• 6 tbs granulated sugar
• 6 tbs butter or margarine, melted
• 2 cups blueberries
• 3/4 cup whipping (heavy) cream
• 2 tbs granulated or powdered sugar

1. Mix strawberries and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Let stand 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 425F. Mix Bisquick mix, milk, cherries, 6 tbs sugar and the butter until soft dough forms.

3. Gently smooth dough into ball on surface sprinkled lightly with Bisquick mix. Knead 10 times. Roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 3-inch star-shaped or round cutter. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Stir blueberries into strawberries. Beat whipping cream and 2 tbs sugar in chilled medium bowl or electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Split shortcakes in half. Fill and top with berries and whipped cream.

Your 4th of July Menu: Red, White & Blueberry Salad

The 4th of July will be here in a matter of days and many families across the country celebrate Independence Day by having family cookouts. Cookouts are not only a time-honored tradition among American families, they are also a time to get the entire family together and spend some quality time with good food, good friends, and good times. Because cookouts are also a time for yard games, such as horseshoes, or if it’s a particular hot day, running in sprinklers or taking a dip in the pool. Because people tend to eat several times throughout the day, picking here and there whenever they want to munch on something, you cannot, ever, go wrong with having several salads on your picnic table for the 4th.

Try this delicious Red, White, and Blueberry Salad this year!

You will need:

• 1 container (6 oz) Yoplait Original 99% Fat Free key lime pie yogurt
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 jicama, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 bag (10 oz) chopped or hearts of romaine lettuce (6 cups)
• 2 1/2 cups cubes (3/4 inch) seedless watermelon
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

1. In a small bowl, mix yogurt, honey, and salt; set aside. Cut jicama slices into star shapes using a small (1-inch) star-shaped canape cutter.

2. In large bowl, toss remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over salad mixture; toss until well coated. Sprinkle jicama stars over top. Serve immediately.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters Make a Healthy Snack for the Whole Family

Nature Valley has already become a staple in the homes of families seeking quality, healthy snacks; but with the newest addition to their roster of products, I know for sure that many more families will start to see the nutritional and yummy benefits of the brand.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters have been in high demand in my house ever since I was sent a package of the new product in each flavor from My Blog Spark. The day I received the product, my step kids came over to visit and by the end of that night, all four packages were gone and ever since then, I have been asked by my partner several times when we were going to the store to get more of them. As soon as the brightly-colored packages were discovered on the kitchen counter, one child took the Nut Lovers, the other took the Roasted Cashew, my partner devoured the Honey Roasted Peanut, and I absolutely loved the Roasted Almond. It worked out perfectly, really, because after everyone tried each of the flavors, everyone settled on their own package and there was no fighting over the fact that someone was eating out of someone else’s package because we all, very oddly, had a different favorite flavor; except for my partner, who loved all of them and ended up eating the entire bag of Honey Roasted Peanut, as well as my Roasted Almond, so to say the least, they did not last in my house for more than a few hours.

I am so happy to have had the opportunity to try the new Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters because while it goes without saying, I absolutely love finding foods that everyone will enjoy snacking on; but the reason why I love having these for a snack food is because I can feel good about eating it. There’s no guilt, there’s no worry, and there’s no regret. I am all too familiar with snacking on very unhealthy snack foods and ending up feeling lethargic and bloated. I’m a person who cannot eat a lot at one time, so I do tend to snack quite a lot throughout the day and these are an ideal food to have around the house for just that reason.

But Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are not merely snack foods; they can also be eaten with yogurt in the morning (tip: Nature Valley also makes yogurt!), on their own while you’re heading out the door to go to drop the kids off at school and/or go to work, and they can also be packed in school lunches. Whenever you eat them, you’re going to feel great about having a nutritious snack that makes you feel energized and good about the foods you’re eating.

Nature Valley currently has a coupon you can download for $1 off their Granola Nut Clusters, so you can also feel great about the price you’re paying!

Waking Up with San Marco Coffee

For the past week or so, every day, I have woken up and have immediately made my way from my bedroom, downstairs to my kitchen to make coffee. Now, this is not very much unlike every other day of my adult (as well as my teenage) life, but the one big difference is that for the past week, as soon as I opened my eyes, instead of thinking “Oh my goodness, need coffee right now!” I have thought “Oh my goodness, need banana nut cream coffee right now!” I have tried a lot of coffee from a myriad of different brands and companies; I have tried medium and dark roasted coffee, the cheap stuff on sale as well as the premium coffees you spend an arm and a leg on, but this coffee is different. It is incredible quality with a taste that will blow your taste buds away; even better, it is inexpensive, especially considering the quality and the taste of the coffee you’re getting.

From the first moment I opened up the 1lb bag of banana nut cream coffee from San Marco Coffee, I was pretty amazed at the quality of their product. Even before I opened the bag, I could smell the sweet scent of bananas and the coffee grounds felt a lot softer than the grounds of coffee I usually drink. As soon as the coffee begins brewing, I immediately smelled bananas and through its process, the scent got stronger and I could smell it in my living room. It is a scent I look forward to every morning when I wake up–as well as in the afternoon; what can I say, I drink a lot of coffee. In fact, if there was a way to make a scratch-and-sniff embeddable sticker or something for this article, the scent of San Marco Coffee’s banana nut cream coffee would be the first scent I would share with you all.

The taste of this banana nut cream coffee, however, is even better than the smell; if you can believe it. My partner, who usually cannot stand to drink more than a very small cup of coffee because he hates the taste of coffee and would very much prefer it to taste like donuts instead, loved San Marco’s Coffee and even asked me when we were going to order more; especially when I mentioned that they have Snicker flavored coffee.

San Marco Coffee also has decaffeinated coffee for those of you who can’t handle caffeine and they also have international coffees, espresso, as well as international teas! I cannot recommend San Marco Coffee enough; I will definitely be getting my flavored coffees through them because they have the most extensive supply I have ever come across! And if you’re interested in coffee or tea, also be sure to follow San Marco Coffee on Twitter and hear about new additions to their stock and new flavored coffees to try out!

Easy Tiramisu Recipe

I absolutely love tiramisu. In fact, I cannot put my love for tiramisu into words. I had it for the first time at The Olive Garden a few months back when my partner told me that I would love it, being the coffee enthusiast that I am, and was surprised that I had never had it. But after trying it for the first time, I ate the entire piece of cake and of course, I wanted more! I could not get enough of it and have been simply obsessed ever since.

I found this recipe in the latest Betty Crocker Cookies, Bars & Cakes issue that I posted about earlier today. Finally, an easy tiramisu you can make at home and eat as much of as you want!

For CAKE You Will Need::

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup brandy (in substitution of brandy, use brandy extract plus 1/4 cup water)
• 3 egg whites

For ESPRESSO SYRUP You Will Need:

• 4 tbs instant espresso coffee granules
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 tbs corn syrup

For TOPPING You Will Need:

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 tbs unsweetened baking cocoa (optional)

1. Heat oven to 320F (325F for dark or nonstick pan.) Grease bottom only of 13×9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large bowl, beat cake mix, 1 cup water, the oil, brandy, and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.

2. Bake 26 to 31 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes.

3. In small bowl, stir espresso granules and 1/2 cup boiling water until mixed. Stir in corn syrup. With long-tined fork, pierce tip of cake every 1/2 inch. Brush top of cake with espresso syrup. Cool completely for about 1 hour.

4. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with electric mixer on low speed until mixed. Beat on high speed until smooth. Gradually beat in whipping cream, beating on high speed about 2 minutes or until stuff peaks form. Spread cream mixture over top of cake; sprinkle with cocoa. Store in refrigerator.

Free Betty Crocker Cookies, Bars & Cakes Magazine!

So within the past few months, I have become a complete and utter Betty Crocker fanatic. You may have noticed this if you’ve been checking out our Recipes section, as I have shared the Betty Crocker email newsletter love with all of you a few times! Betty Crocker has some of the most innovative, out of the box, and just plain fun (not to mention easy!) recipes ever! Which is why I was so ecstatic when I received an email a few days ago with a link to the new Betty Crocker Cookies, Bars and Cakes Nxtbook!

What’s a Nxtbook? Super awesome technological magic that allows magazines to be seen as they were intended to be seen in print, just on your computer screen! Cool, right?

Betty Crocker’s entire Cookies, Bars and Cakes issue is out in Nxtbook. It is full of the most requested recipes (over 70 in all,) and within just a few minutes of browsing this issue of Betty Crocker, your mouth will be watering for these desserts! I already have over 10 picked out that I need to pick up the ingredients for so I can (attempt to) bake.

Check out Betty Crocker’s Cookies, Bars and Cakes issue!

Win 1 of 5 Prizes from It’s a Blu World

The new energy drink from Blu Frog isn’t just “Wildly Healthy Energy,” they are also behind some of the best contests and campaigns I have ever seen a company dole out to the people who support them. I have spent the early morning hours reading about their energy drink, about them as a company, as well as exciting promotions and contests they are running, but they have simply went above and beyond the call of duty with It’s a Blu World.

BluFrog is giving everyone a chance to win 1 of 5 prizes and three different ways to enter the contest. So what’s up for grabs?

BluGamer: The ultimate gaming package which includes an Xbox 360 Elite gaming system with a Rock Band 2 bundle.

Happy Blu-Year: A New Years Eve trip to New York with a friend or loved one.

Blullapalooza: A trip to Lolapalloza, the world’s most famous music festival in Grant Park, Chicago.

BluStreak: A Richard Petty racing experience that gives you the chance to experience stock car racing first hand, side-by-side action, drafting, passing, and everything that goes into stock car racing with a friend or loved one.

XtremeBLU: A trip to the 14th Winter X Games from ESPN in Aspen.

Did you get all happy and excited when you heard the prizes? Do you want to win? Well, here’s how:

Leave a blog comment over at It’s a Blu World and name what experience you absolutely, positively need to win and why!

Write a blog post on your own blog about the It’s a Blu World contest and which experience you would choose if you won.

Spread the word about this contest on Twitter! Tell your friends why you entered to win and which experience you would choose if you did win. Be sure to include #bluworld and http://bit.ly/UiiJy in your Tweet!

Rent a Photo Booth for that Special Occasion

Summer is full of special, one of a kind, photo-worthy events and while you’ll definitely be taking pictures of the events you want to remember, there is an exciting alternative that will catch (and keep) the attention of everyone who sees them.

Everyone has, at one point or another, either seen or been in a photo booth and the photos taken in a photo booth are eccentric and photos you’ve undoubtedly kept years after having them taken. Portland Photo Booth Rentals give you the option of renting your very own photo booth for that special occasion in your life. Photo booths are exciting and something that no one at your event will expect, but will most definitely have a blast using! Photo booths are gaining in popularity and because people are so used to seeing photo booths at malls and amusement parks, they will remember them from these places, and head right on over to your rented photo booth to have their photos taken. Even better, photo booths allow those guests and friends that would otherwise become shy in front of a camera to use a photo booth where the curtain is drawn and they are alone and free to be themselves and take a photo of themselves that reflects who they are and what you love about them.

By reading more about Portland Photobooth Services you will find all the reasons you need why it is so important for you to rent a photobooth for your next special occasion and truly reflect what a great time your guests and loved ones had!

Good Morning! How About Some Eggs?

Every time me and my boyfriend go out to eat, to Perkins specifically, he always gets eggs benedict; he is absolutely crazy about it! It honestly never even dawned on me to attempt to make it for him because to be honest, I am not that savvy in the kitchen. Give me a box and some instructions and I’m good to go, but anything beyond that and I am either completely lost or my attempts are futile since I only wind up with a messy kitchen and wasted products because something horrific had happened to the meal I was attempting to create.

Luckily, I came across this awesome recipe on how to make scrambled eggs benedict and it seems easy enough. To think I could actually make this dish instead of having to go out for it makes me happy, and I bet it’s a great deal cheaper, too!

You will need:

• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk or water
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 jar (7.5 oz) hollandaise sauce (Yay, a pre-packaged, easy jar!)
• 8 slices Canadian bacon (5 oz)
• 4 English muffins, split, toasted
• Paprika (optional)

1. In medium bowl, beat eggs, milk and pepper with wire whisk or fork until well blended.

2. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into skillet. As mixture begins to set on bottom and side, gently lift cooked portion with pancake turner so thin, uncooked portion can flow to bottom of skillet (avoid constant stirring). Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until eggs are thickened throughout but still moist and fluffy.

3. In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave hollandaise sauce on High 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes or until hot; cover tightly to keep warm.

4. On large microwavable plate, place Canadian bacon slices in single layer. Microwave on High 45 to 60 seconds or until warm.

5. Place 2 toasted muffin halves on each plate. Top each muffin half with slice of Canadian bacon, about 1/3 cup eggs and 2 tablespoons hollandaise sauce; sprinkle with paprika.

Hooray for Organic Juice Boxes!

Conventional juice boxes are often deceiving; a great deal of them do not even contain actual juice! Start giving your kids the real stuff–Real juice, no secret chemicals, and you still get to keep your convenient, no-spill, perfect-serving boxes!

Organic juice boxes do a children’s body good, just a six ounce organic juice box equals one daily serving of fruit for kids from one to six years old. Organic juice boxes are definitely much better than conventional fakes that are often marketed to you and your kids, so it’s definitely worth looking into them! Juice boxes are also 100% recyclable, so don’t forget to recycle!

There are a lot of organic juice boxes to choose from, but two brands to get you started are R.W. Knudsen and Apple & Eve.

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