Friday Faves #3

Welcome friends and neighbors!  What a busy week!  We had some wild weather last night, tornado warnings, high winds, piercing rain.  Whew!  My dogs absolutely despise bad weather.   Wilson has to wear a thundershirt to remain calm.  If Truman is near me, he's going to be ok!  Are your pets like this?

So let's get to what I found to share with you this week!  I'd love to know if you learned about something new or different in the comments.  Oh, and I wanted to share my inspiration for the weekly post from a blog named Ricci Alexis.  Go and check her out.  You are welcome.




1.  I'm in love with these refreshing ice pops. Made with yogurt, fresh strawberries and cream, these are so delicious and easy to make.  I mix one container of yogurt with a  pint of finely chopped straw…

Rustic Scrambled Eggs with Chef Sammy French Onion Butter

This butter has changed my life.

Ok, I know it is dramatic. But this is a true story and I'm sticking to it.

I received this butter for free in exchange for creating a recipe with it and sharing it with you.  I received two flavors of Chef Sammy Butter: Garlic Butter and French Onion Butter.  Both are delicious and so easy to use. They soften quickly for a spreadable butter that tastes marvelous in so many dishes.

Here's where the life change comes in.

I was making breakfast and found I was out of my regular butter.  I looked for a replacement and decided to try the French Onion butter.  I melted the butter, cracked in the eggs and stirred until done.  I served them to my family and they were astonished at how delicious the eggs were!  Now that's not much of a recipe, so I de…

Grilled Duck Breast with Strawberry BBQ Glaze #GrillOutWeek

It's #GrillOutWeek and we are featuring some delicious duck sent to us by Maple Leaf Farms.  This duck is so good. I am not a duck fan, but this was wonderful. Juicy, crisp skin, and great flavor.  This duck was seared on the grill and served medium rare, just like the first duck steak in 1959. This is definitely good enough for a fancy meal, but easy enough to do during the busy work week.

My husband likes to score the fat a little to keep the duck from curling when cooking.  He uses a temperature probe to 135 degrees.  Yes, that is lower than most poultry, and that is because duck isn't often a carrier of salmonella, this is an appropriate temperature for duck breast.  Leg and thigh portions are best at 165.




Yield: 4Author: Terri SteffesPrint Recipe Grilled Duck Breast with Stra…

Duck Bacon Wrapped Dates with Whiskey Cream Cheese Filling #CookOutWeek

I was given the bacon in exchange for a recipe and my honest opinion of the product.
My family loves appetizers and can eat them for dinner, especially when we make our wrapped dates.  When I received the duck bacon from Maple Leaf Farms, I knew I wanted to update and glam up our original recipe.  I had seen some whiskey cream cheese in other recipes that I wanted to try and this seemed like the right opportunity.

I love that this is a grilled app.  You don't see that a lot, and it is a great way to draw people out into the backyard to snack and drink before the dinner.  Our backyard is perfect for entertaining so let's get the party started with this delicious and easy snack.



Yield: 20 appsAuthor: Terri SteffesPrint Recipe Duck Bacon Wrapped Dates with Whiskey Cream Cheese Filling…

Welcome to #CookOutWeek and My Homemade BBQ sauce!

#CookoutWeek 2018 is here! During the next week, I am joining over 50 of my blogger friends to celebrate summer by posting delicious cookout-themed recipes. If you love grilling, frozen treats, picnics, berries, s'mores, campfire meals, and other summer goodies... you are in the right place!

This week, we are also hosting a HUGE giveaway thanks to our generous #CookoutWeek sponsors. Enter below to win. Here's what one lucky will will receive:



Char-Broil Classic 280 2-Burner Liquid Propane Gas Grill from blog hosts The PinterTest Kitchen. This grill has 280 square inches of cooking space over porcelain-coated grates and two 12-inch side shelves for extra prep space.


A Red KitchenAid Mixer and 5 Flavored Butters from our friends at Chef Shamy. Make the World a Butter Place® with Chef …

Friday Faves #2

Welcome to the second edition of my Friday Faves!  How has your week been?  I had a delightfully quiet week at work, with time to catch up on reports and end of the year stuff.  I had a training session with the most delightful school principals this morning. Work has been good.



We are going to have to start this out with something I have been obsessed with ever since my son-in-law shared it with me, and that is the Starbucks Cold Foam Cascara. I order it with half the coffee and two shots of the sugar free mocha sauce. Delish!! That foam is crazy good!   Notice the special lid. It makes sure you get the right foam to drink ratio. Have you tried it yet?


I'm currently reading Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan.  You cannot put it down!  This is a true story of Susannah who wakes to find…

A Defense of Honor #ourgoodlifebooklist

A Defense of Honor, by Kristi Ann Hunter, is a new series of Regency fiction that I am sure you will love, especially if you are a fan! Kristi explores interesting topics, such as blackmail (in the name of God) and illegitimate children. Set in a time when unmarried women found themselves pregnant and out in the streets, this novel does a wonderful job of showing how it was for these women.

I received this book from Netgallery in exchange for a review of my honest opinion.


We meet the main characters, Kit and Lord Wharton, when Wharton sees Kit hiding behind a plant at a ball. Curious about her, Wharton goes to speak to her and enters into a lively and short conversation. From there, the two find their lives becoming more and more intertwined when the sister of Wharton's best friend di…

Shrimp with Grilled Peach Salsa #fantasticalfoodfight

I love this time of the month when the Fantastical Food Fight bloggers compete with a theme to get the most clicks!  We have such fun and the winner gets bragging rights!  If you are a food blogger, or a blogger who posts recipes, you might want to join us for this fun event. This month the theme is Seafood!  Our family loves seafood, and especially shrimp.

My husband is the grill master in our family, so I asked him to grill me up some shrimp with a light seasoning. He decided he needed to skewer them for easy grilling, and that created the perfect shrimp bed to put my Grilled Peach Salsa on.  The sweetness of the peaches, the char on the shrimp, and the perfect sides made this a crazy good meal. We made it into a surf and turf dish, as we were celebrating Father's Day.



Yield: 4Author…

Our Visit to Anna Maria Island #pinterestchallenge

Welcome to the May Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop, hosted by My Pinterventures. The purpose of this Pinterest Challenge is to motivate all the participants of this hop (and you too) to not just pin, but to make it happen! This month, I chose to take the advice of the blog Play Party Plan and her advice for our vacation to Anna Maria Island.



My husband and I took a week long vacation to Florida to celebrate his 60th birthday.  I wanted to spend a day at the beach, and a friend told me about Anna Maria Island. I hadn't heard of it so I did some research and found the blog Play Party Plan. I read Britni's advice about the island and made note of her favorites.

When I read the post about Anna Maria Island, or AMI as the locals call it, I knew this is where I wanted to go. The island has…

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Soup Saturday blogger are cooking up chowders this week.  What I love about the one I made for you is this: it is delicious cold as well as hot!  I love having this cold chowder in the heat of summer.  The flavors have a chance to marry and boy, it is delicious!


Soup Saturday Bloggers have been around for over a year. I have participated in their group a few times throughout the year. I love soup and I like to have family around the table, eating a hearty soup with some good crusty bread.  It's the best ever.

Yield: 8Author: Terri SteffesPrint Recipe
With ImageWithout Image Shrimp and Corn Chowderprep time: 20 minscook time: 20 minstotal time: 40 mins ingredients: 2 T butter
1 leek, cleaned and chopped 1 lb small red potatoes, quartered 3 c half and half or whole milk 2 T flour 1 jar cl…

Friday Faves First Edition

All through the blogging world, bloggers post a Friday post sharing their favorite things. I adore these posts, mostly because through them I am able to get to know them at a much more personal level. I have decided to have my own favorites post, and I am calling it Friday Faves. I'll share with you all the things I love, gardening, books, recipes, food, cocktails, shopping finds... and I hope you will come here with your coffee and start your day with me!



Let's get to it!
1. I am in love with my new water bottle.  I bought it at a Cracker Barrel for 25% off!  Flamingoes are awesome.


2.  Do you know about Rocketwave Notebooks?  They are reusable notebooks that you can wipe off the ink when you are finished. These pocket notebooks are perfect for your bag.  Just a rag, which they …

Red White and Blue Frozé #improvcookingchallenge

I'm a little behind the frozé craze but it's always better late than never! A frozé is a frozen rosé wine with a few added ingredients. This is going to be my contribution to the Improv Cooking Challenge hosted by Nicole Little of a Cookaholic Wife blog. Nicole inspires us every month with a specific theme and we go to work!

It's always fun to work with a patriotic red, white and blue theme.  There have been some wonderful recipes made with this theme such as my Tomato, Shrimp and Bleu pizza, Patriotic Slaw, and this Strawberry Trifle. These are festive and fun dishes and easy to make!

Back to our frozé, this is a simple recipe that can be made in advance up to three weeks! That's a real help when it's time to put together the party. Let's see how truly simple this…