Monday, August 22, 2011

Scrumptious Sunday.....On A Monday

This is another super easy, super delish, great crowd pleaser! Healthy? Not so much. Delish? Yes. Very

This cake has two names: 1) 100 hole cake and 2) Better Than Sex cake....I believe the first was created for those who blush at the word "sex" and for those church pot lucks or other situations where people are just too embarrassed to say the word. ha! Regardless, the cake is YUM and is loved by all!!

Ingredients:
1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 tub of Cool-Whip (I use the sugar free option, but any will work)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 bottle of carmel topping (I use Smuckers brand in the squeezey jar)
1 package of crushed up Heath Bar pieces

-Make the cake according to directions on the box.
-Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, make lots of holes throughout the entire cake (typically about 100) 
-Pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk and about 1/4 of the carmel on top of the entire cake allowing it to soak into the holes
-Let cake cool
-Add Cool Whip to cover the entire cake (this is your icing)
-Add another 1/4 of the carmel and top with the crushed up Heath Bar pieces
-Slice and enjoy!!

Happy Cake Making!

Ash

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Bachelor Pad 2

Ohhh there are so many things I could say about Bachelor Pad 2.. It's one hot mess of a show, but I cant stop watching. I have M hooked on it as well and it's become our Monday night entertainment. Sick?! Maybe, but it has. Now, it's not all bad- Hello Ames and Jackie.... A-DOR-A-BLE...that limo scene was priceless :) And we cant forget the Mask returning at the end of each week..so, so, funny!!!

But really ABC,the egg tossing things at girls who are thought to be most unattractive?! That was low, even for you.  And ohhhh Viena, Kasey, and Jake....Drama-o-rama!! She's a hot mess and Kasey seems to be right there with her in the crazy department. Why they havent been voted off just yet, beats me! But when I think about it, what will we have to watch each week if they're gone?!
Speaking of Kasey, M can do the most perfect impression of him that will have you crying from laughter. It's amazing- really. Have him do it for you the next time you see him ;)

I could keep going, but now I've not only wasted two Monday nights watching it, I've wasted a Wednesday night blogging about it! Ha!
Enjoy Jimmy Kimmel's skit on what happens when they lose on BP2 ;)





Happy Viewing,
Ash

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Travel Tip Tuesday :)

If you open up my wallet you will find lots of reward cards related to travel i.e. Hilton Honors, Sky Miles, AAdvantage, Choice Hotels, Air Tran A + Rewards, and so on. I have a lot of them and when people see them, they tell I'm pretty ridiculous, BUT there's a purpose behind these cards. I promise. They get you upgrades and better service, almost 100% of the time..... and the best part is.....they are all FREE to have :)

1. Case in point: When flying Southwest a few years ago, our plane got stuck in a severe storm; it took a beating and we were forced to make an emergency landing. Yes, emergency, but that's another story all in itself! We had to spend the night in Birmingham and take flights home to Louisville the next morning. While at the ticket counter re-booking our flight, the ticket counter lady said that anyone who was a member of the Southwest Rapid Rewards program got first pick of the flights for the next day. I didn't have a card at the time and didn't get first pick. Drats. After realizing it was a free program, I learned my lesson: Sign up!

2. After returning home from Mexico and having yet another crazy flying adventure (pray you're never on a flight with me, I'm cursed with flying drama), I emailed corporate, informed them that I was an AAdvantage Member ( I had only flown them once prior and just applied for my card in October) that I was dissatisfied, and instantly received enough points to fly to the Caribbean....Yes, Caribbean.For Free. Yes. Yes. and Yes.

3. When checking in at the Double Tree Nashville (which was booked at half price via Hotwire) and showing my Hilton Honors card, we were immediately given a large corner room with extra space, just because I was a cardholder and despite the fact that I only paid $80 for a $165 room!! Thank you Honors Card!!!

and the list could go on.......Point being, hotels and airlines like people who are frequent visitors. They LOVE their customers and want to keep them happy so they do small things to insure happiness remains. What business wouldn't want to keep their frequent customers happy?!   They figure people who have their frequent customer/rewards cards are repeat customers because why else would someone go through the process of getting a card if they weren't a frequent customer?! Most people wont, but I do, and it has totally paid off!!! I promise you it works or I wouldn't bother applying for them every time I stay at a new hotel chain or fly a new airline. So go on, grab those cards and don't be afraid to flash them to the employees and enjoy those upgrades and free amenities!!

Happy Traveling,
Ash

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Scrumptious Sunday- Buffalo Dip

I originally posted this recipe back when I started this blog in spring of 2010. I made it again on Saturday for my cousin's bridal shower because she's a big fan of buffalo chicken. Everyone LOVED it because it really is so, so, good!!! I figure with tailgating season approaching, it's worth sharing again!
The best part is, its SUPER easy to make!


Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
-2 (10-12oz) cans of chicken. I use Wal-Mart brand chicken, but you can use any type.
-2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese. I used the 1/3 fat cheese to save on calories
-3/4 cup of hot sauce. I used Frank's Red Hot
-1 cup ranch dressing. I use Hidden Valley low fat ranch
-2 cups mild cheddar cheese. Once again, low fat works
 
Dump everything in the crock pot- let cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, and you're ready to go!! I love it with celery and/or tortilla chips!
 
Happy Dip Making
Ash
 

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Coupon website!

I found this website the other night while ordering something online. It was sheer accident that I clicked on the link to it, but I'm glad I did, because it saved me $9 on my order!!!
http://www.retailmenot.com/ 
People go to the website and enter coupon codes for various companies and such, which in turn, you can use when making your purchases. Next to each company's code it shows how reliable the code is for that particular offer. Some codes aren't super reliable, but the one I used had 98% reliablity and it worked right away! Yay!!! I hope it saves ya'll some money as well!!!

Happy Saving
Ash

Monday, August 8, 2011

Scrumptious Sunday.....On A Monday

I meant to post this last night and forgot. So here's the Scrumptious Sunday....on a Monday!
This is, by far, one of my most favorite chicken recipes!! I made it for my Bunco girls in June and they all LOVED it! It's So easy and so so yummy!!

image borrowed from Google, but when cooked it looks like this :)


I call it Pattie Haley Chicken
Here's the story behind that because people are always like you're making what?! haha :)  I had it a lady named Pattie Haley's house when I was in elementary school. She was in my parents' class at church and invited us over for dinner one night where she made it. I loved it then, and always requested that mom make Pattie Haley Chicken. Now, I have no clue where Pattie Haley is at today, but if you may know her somehow, you can tell her that I still make her uh-mazing chicken!!



Ingredients:
-Boneless, skinless chicken breast- I typically use one pack of Harvestland Farms Organic Tenderloins
-1 can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
-1/4 to 1/2 cup of low fat sour cream (add your personal preference for creaminess)
-1 packet of dry Italian dressing mix
-Monetary Jack cheese for topping



Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. In shallow baking pan lay chicken breasts side by side
3. In bowl, mix soup, Italian dressing mix, and sour cream
4. Pour mix over chicken
5. Top with shredded cheese
6. Bake for 45-1 hour or until done- It's THAT easy!!!



I typically serve it with potatoes and green beans! I like to use the extra sauce for a gravy on the potatoes! Yumm-a-licious!



*Although I've never made it in a crock pot, I'm pretty sure it would be great when cooked that way as well!






XOXO,
Ash


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Patio furniture re-do!

I had great intentions of blogging all summer long.... really, I did. I would find great deals, websites, bargains, recipes, etc and I kept saying "Oh, that is going on the blog!" And you see how well I did with keeping up with it. Terrible. But alas, here's another post....4 months later! You can thank my broken toe for forcing me to stay home, relax for a few days, and get caught up on things!


We have been getting M's house ready to sell and of course, I jumped at the opportunity to bust out my HGTV Design on a Dime skills and go to work. We have been doing lots of great updates, which I'm excited to share once everything is complete, and the best part is, we are doing it on a small budget! If you know me well, you know how much fun I've been having (Dear HGTV, hire me. Seriously.) M says I'm a bit ridiculous, but he loves me anyway ;)


Here is our $30 Adirondack sofa/table re-do. This was given to Michael by someone in his family and it has simply set on his deck for the past few years. It was nothing much to look at, but I knew it had potential and I LOVE our final product. 
                                                 BEFORE


Looking so rough, but with SO much potential


4 cans of spray paint allowed for 2 good coats: These were $3-4 per can from Lowes!                   


We base coated the entire thing- top and bottom, let sit overnight then finished the next day.

We decided to add some bright red accents to jazz it up a little and make it very Cape Cod-esque! We found $5 cushions at Ikea. Make sure you have scissors because they were FULL of tags.
Tag overload, don't you think?!
A quick trip to the Meijer's summer clearance section and we found 2, $7 candy apple red lanterns and we were finished! Here's the final product!

Bad lighting in this pic. It looks SO good in person :)

Coming soon, the matching picnic table :)

XOXO,
Ash