January in Review

The Recipes
Favorites are noted with an asterisk!

Beverages

• Milky Way Mocha*
• Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Milkshake*

Breakfast

• Belgian Cookie Dough Waffles
• Easy Blackberry Danish*

Tasty Thursday #95: Toni's Tangy Meatballs

Welcome back to Tasty Thursday!!

So I'm pretty sure I have a curse on me. I may or may not just use it as an excuse to not overexert myself around the house. But at this point, I'm thinking I am legitimately cursed.

There are days when I am just on a roll around the house and get so much done. Little fun fact, I hate to clean. I'm actually the "messy" one in my marriage. Not that I am dirty and sloppy or anything. I just hate to clean. Especially dishes. However, there are rare occasions where I just can't stand anything to be messy and I'll go on a cleaning rampage. Or like I said, I will be on a roll getting so much stuff done that I will keep going.

Perhaps it's just a snowball effect....hmm...

Anyways, any time I am getting somewhere in my housework, something bad happens.The particular day I made these meatballs, I was preparing au gratin potatoes beforehand and then decided to clean up during making dinner. This resulted in me slicing my finger open on the bottom plastic piece of my blender. I thought for a good 20 minutes that I was going to have to go get stitches because it would not stop bleeding. My husband got home and gauzed me up, but also kept bugging me to go to the doctor. I didn't want to get stitches, so I waited. After an hour and a half, it stopped bleeding. Two days later, I finally was able to see how "deep" it was...and it was just a scrape on the surface. I was so perplexed with how much it bled for such a shallow scrape. What's even more funny is that my husband and I searched the bottom of the blender trying to figure out what I cut my finger on. There is literally nothing sharp on it...so I mysteriously scraped my finger on an unsharp surface and bled like I lost a limb. That, my dear friends, is why I cannot get too ambitious :)

Long story short, my husband clearly had to help with the meatballs and he did a great job with it. These were tangy, sweet, and just all around great. I think they'd be perfect as an appetizer at a party too!

11 Epicly Delicious Crockpot Recipes

If you are a regular Fantastical reader, you know that I decided to share a collection of themed recipes every couple of weeks. My first collection was 10 Soups to Keep You Warm. My family loves soup - and we even have a soup night (Wednesdays).

This week I was going to do bars and brownies, but decided to do that after Chocolate Week in February. So instead I went with crockpot. I love my crockpots and love to find great flavorful meals that I can make in them. So without further ado...

M&M Oatmeal Bars

I'm always looking for a little treat that I can put in my five year old's lunchbox that isn't going to be like sending him to school with a buttload of sugar. This recipe was so so easy to make (you dirty minimal dishes - score!) and the results will blow your mind. I'll be honest - only one made it into my son's lunchbox. I'm fairly certain I ate at least half of the bars. My husband and kids did have a couple and then I had to make myself leave him ONE. Just ONE bar. Because the whole purpose of making these was to pack in his lunch :)

Secret Recipe Club: Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Chowder

It's finally Group D's turn for the first round of SRC posts for 2013. I'm so excited to be back :)

For January, I was assigned to supermom, Lindsay, and her blog Life and Kitchen. She has an outstanding archive of recipes! I actually chose two recipes because I couldn't pick, but I won't be posting her Bacon Brown Sugar Waffles until later on down the road. I decided to share her Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Chowder for today.

I was immediately drawn in by the jalapeno in the title, but followed through to the post to see what all was in the chowder. As a child, my stepdad used to trick my mom into eating clam chowder by saying it was potato soup all the time...so I have a long-standing weariness (for no real reason!) with chowder. I looked at the ingredients and wanted it immediately. Cheese. Bacon. Corn. Jalapeno. Potatoes. I'm sold!

The soup was rich with flavor. We ended up with some weak jalapenos, so we didn't get any kick - we'll be leaving in some seeds next time. However, it was still an extra amazing soup. Definitely one of my all-time favorite soups, even beating out broccoli cheddar soup. This soup just has so many layers of flavor and texture. It's the BEST!

Sunday Social #95

I'm making a real effort to stay on task lately. Especially with the busyness that's been going on - with Matthew in Kindergarten, me volunteering in Nick's unit, and trying to stay afloat with two blogs and a kitchen full of dirty dishes. I want to make more of an effort to reach out to Fantastical Readers. So do not hesitate to share a couple links of your favorite finds this week in the comments! I want to know what YOU found!
 

{Fantastical Favorites}

What I loved from my blog this week...

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

{Around the Web Favorites}

What I loved from everywhere else this week...
The following pictures are owned by the blogs linked underneath. I have no rights to these droolicious pictures! 


Chocolate Overload Loaded Brownies
from Chocolate, Chocolate, and More
I love what Joan talked about in her post and also love that this is an easy recipe to make. 
I cannot wait to replicate these treats in my own kitchen!

Source: chocolatechocolateandmore.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Cheddar & Guinness Dip from Food, Fun, and Life in Waukesha I am suddenly aware that lots of foods can become addictive if you use beer in the making of them. So now I'm definitely saving many recipes using beer in them. YUM!

Source: szubarik.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Very Vanilla Pudding Cookies from Sweet Bella Roos Also addictive: pudding cookies. Don't believe me? Try a batch!

Source: sweetbellaroos.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Classic Baked Beans from In the Kitchen & On the Couch Are you a freak of nature who sometimes eats baked beans as a midnight snack? Oh, wait...that's just me. These need to be in my belly!

Source: inthekitchenandonthecouch.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Churro Waffles from Chico Chocolatina Can you really go wrong with waffles and cinnamon together? 

Source: chicachocolatina.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Buttery Rosemary Rolls from SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl Desi has been posting some super bombalicious food lately. Be sure to stop by her blog! 

Source: steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Peanut Butter Krispie Cookies from Sweet Treats & More These cookies have Rice Krispies in them. That's all you need to know :)

Source: sweettreatsmore.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Popeye's Pizza from Penguins, Pasta, & Polkadots I cannot wait to make this pizza. That's spinach on it. I am in a monogamous relationship with spinach at the moment. Don't tell my husband.

Source: penguinspastapolkadots.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes from Sally's Baking Addictions Don't go to Sally's blog unless you have hours to spare..because you will spend hours drooling over all the delicious food she has posted and all the beautiful pictures of that food.

Source: sallysbakingaddiction.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Sweet & Sour Pork from The Purple Pumpkin Blog Nick, my husband, is incredibly picky with pork recipes. I'm determined to find a pork recipe that will become his favorite food and I think this is going to be "The One" - more details to come. 

Source: thepurplepumpkinblog.co.uk via Sarah on Pinterest

There is a button to grab on the buttons page if I shared one of your recipes :)

This post is linked up at...

 

Tasty Treasures

Time to show off the most clicked from last week's Tasty Thursday.

These recipes will be pinned to my Tasty Thursday board.

#1 Most Clicked: Taco Seasoning

from Morsels of Life


#2: On the Border Salsa {Copycat}

from Persnickety Plates


#3: Creamy Fruit Dip

from SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl


The Eye-Catcher: Twix Ice Cream Cake

from Hated on the Playground

You can also grab this nifty button if I featured your recipe!

<center> <a href="http://fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w309/schmoo_stk_11/Blog/shared-1.jpg" /></a></center>

This week's Tasty Thursday is still open (and will be until Tuesday), so feel free to stop by and add a few recipes! :) Make sure to check out the other recipes linked up too! Thank you all for linking up.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Milkshake

For Christmas this last year, my husband and I decided to do homemade gifts. We ended up choosing to give his little sister, Emma, a recipe "book" of all our favorite drink recipes. She has seen me posting my frappuccinos and milkshakes. She always comments on them and tells me I need to make them when we come home. So my thought process was...the house has a blender, she is more than capable of making drinks like this on her own - it'd be perfect to have all these recipes at her fingertips whenever she has a craving!

This was one of the beverages that made it's way into Emma's book. I happily devoured it. I am so bad for buying a bag of Chips Ahoy mini chocolate chip cookies and eating the whole bag in a sitting. I mean, I do this all the time. It's horrifying. But they are so addictive! Because I didn't have regular sized cookies, I used the minis in this and they also made the perfect garnish.

Tasty Thursday #94: Big Evil Cheeseburger

Welcome back to Tasty Thursday!!

I'm relatively unimpressed by most burgers nowadays. I think I'm burnt out on them. I'll eat them and "enjoy" them per se, but it's rare that a burger blows me out of the water. I think maybe it's because I grew up in a Norwegian-based town and Norwegian food is "bland" - my mom never really seasoned anything other than maybe a touch of garlic. So I've been very used to just a plain hamburger taste all my life and sometimes it's hard for me to get used to the Worcestershire and garlic and everything else. I just love a plain, unseasoned burger that has been cooked in its own juices.

This burger is one of those burgers. It's got a little onion powder, salt, and pepper, but for the most part the burger speaks for itself! It's easily one of the best burgers I've ever had in my life. I toasted the buns and the sauce was slightly adapted, but the perfect touch!

Perfect French Fries

Lately, I have been making so many things homemade that I am ruining prepared food. My mom-in-law always teased me because I was particular about Ore Ida fries. I could only eat them. I didn't like off brand, generic ones at all. Since making Kamikaze fries, I have been turning up my nose at my old favorite frozen fries and turning to making them homemade. They take longer to make, but they are way better.

Baked Fried Chicken

I have seen this recipe floating around on Pinterest and had to try it for myself. I'm not a huge fan of fried chicken normally, but this chicken is absolutely mouthwatering!

I'm sharing this recipe over on my personal blog for The Pinspiration Project - I highly recommend going and linking up something you've made from Pinterest lately. Any Pinterest-inspired project - hair, recipe, makeup, craft, etc.

Cheesy Cream of Broccoli Soup

We have our favorite cheddar broccoli soup that we always eat, but I thought it was time to branch out. I am going to try and do homemade Velveeta next time. As I said last Thursday, I am not the biggest fan of Velveeta. This was a pretty fantastic soup.

Sunday Social #94

The weeks are passing me by quicker than expected! I cannot believe it's already the 20th of January!? We have had a very busy past few weeks and I've watched as my scheduled posts have dwindled down. I'm hoping with a very non-busy looking schedule this week that I can blog a ton.

I am really excited to announce that I will be contributing over at My Favorite Finds for desserts on the third Tuesday of each month - starting in February. I was so happy to jump to contribute to Carrie's blog! I'm going to be working really hard this year to build more blogging relationships. I have some great friends because of blogging! So here's to more friends - and more food!
 

{Fantastical Favorites}

What I loved from my blog this week...

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

{Around the Web Favorites}

What I loved from everywhere else this week...
The following pictures are owned by the blogs linked underneath. I have no rights to these droolicious pictures! 

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars {Brandy's Baking}

Source: brandysbaking.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars {Persnickety Plates}

Source: persnicketyplates.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Cookies 'n Cream Cake Batter Bars {The Domestic Rebel}

Source: thedomesticrebel.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins {Sally's Baking Addiction}

Source: sallysbakingaddiction.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Skinny Cannoli Dip {Back for Seconds}

Source: backforsecondsblog.com via Sarah on Pinterest

 

Slow Cooker Pepper Jack Potato Soup {365 Days of Crockpot}

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Sarah on Pinterest
  Kiwi, Kale, & Apple Smoothie {The Tasty Fork}

Source: thetastyfork.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Awesome Pizza and Pasta Sauce {Simple, Awesome Cooking}

Source: simpleawesomecooking.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cheesecake {Family, Food, and Fun}

Source: rebekahsfamilyfoodandfun.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Grilled Filets with Bourbon Butter {SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl}

Source: steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot {Cook with Sara}

Source: cookwithsara.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest


Kitchenaid Tips & Tricks

Source: tipnut.com via Sarah on Pinterest

There is a button to grab on the buttons page if I shared one of your recipes :)

This post is linked up at...