Wordless Wednesday-Merry Christmas 2012

Making Tuesday Tasty-Pumpkin Butterscotch Fudge bars

Pumpkin Butterscotch Fudge Bars
Makes about 48

For the Cookie Base 1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup butter, melted

For the Fudge

2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
11 ounces butterscotch chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with foil. For cookie base: Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, nuts, coconut, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice in medium bowl. Mix well. Stir in butter. Mix well. Press into prepared jelly-roll pan. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until slightly brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. For Fudge: Combine butter, evaporated milk, sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, over medium heat. Boil, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, morsels, 1/2 cup nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour over cookie base. Sprinkle with remaining nuts. Refrigerate until firm before cutting into bars.

*recipe courtesy of christmas-cookies.com*

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Wordless Wednesday-Red

Making Tuesday Tasty-Chicken And Dumplings

I haven't made chicken and dumplings in forever. I had to look for a recipe that sounded good but, was easy. I ended up adapting a longer version into a shorter one that would still be really comforting and full of flavor. If you don't like the softer, steamed dumplings, you could always put in the oven at 350 until golden brown on the top for a little firmness in the dumplings.

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken breast or a shredded whole cooked(rotisserie or leftover chicken).

Sauce 

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 tsps of a good poultry seasoning, herbs de provence, or 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sage, 1 tsp Rosemary 1/4 to 1/2 of a medium onion, diced finely
Juice from half a lemon
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish

Dumplings 

 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk -if you want you could even put a little chive in these

Preparation 

In a Dutch oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic,herbs, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock(and lemon juice), 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream. Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Dermagist Review And Giveaway!

A little over a month ago, I was offered a review from a company called Dermagist.  I don't usually do skin care reviews on my account but, thought it would be a good opportunity to offer this to the ladies that read my blog.

I am in my 30's and, have suffered quite a few really bad sunburns to my face.  With both pregnancies giving me Melasma, and the sun damage, I am in need of some help.  I have quite a bit of freckling now and some dark patches that don't go away regardless of staying out of the sun.  I was looking for something that could help me out while I browsed their website.

I came across the Dermagist Skin Tone Correcting System.  I was pretty excited to see this so, I chose this as my product for review.  I was happy to see that the ingredients were not harsh skin bleachers but, natural ingredients.  The product comes with two bottles. The first is a skin preparation cleanser that helps slough off dead skin to allow the brightening cream to penetrate the skin.  The second is a gel, that you rub in to the skin once clean.
Before

After

This is about 3 1/2 weeks of use.  It's also not always done twice a day because I would go to bed forgetting to use it sometimes.  I realize that both sides of my face are reflected here but, the whole face is the same.  Freckling, dark patches in places, uneven skin tone, etc.  I also tried to make sure that they were done around the same time of day and I did it in my bathroom so you will have both sunlight and artificial light.  These photos are unedited or retouched.

What I Thought

Pros:

-All the products contain peptides that help smooth skin, leaving the skin looking less wrinkly(win!)

-The cleanser and the gel can be used sparingly, so your products last awhile.

-The cleanser and gel are not drying at all, and make your face feel moisturized.

-It does even the skin tone out, and I noticed an improvement on overall skin tone.

-I noticed a change in the depth of color on my spots.

Cons:

-both products have a smell that isn't really pleasant. Although, I'd rather have the smell of the natural ingredients in the product, than the fake overwhelming scents added to products!
-The price is steep for someone like me and could hinder my usage from time to time.

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