Guest Blogger Recap

I don't know about you and your holidays...but mine were a bit crazy.

What with traveling about 6,000 miles over the course of 3 weeks, I can't say I found a ton of time for the computer.

How about you? Did you have much computer time over the last month or so?

I didn't think so. ;-p

Since I had so many amazing and talented bloggers grace the pages of my little site, I don't want them to have been missed due to the hustle and bustle of the craziest season of the year.

Therefore, it is my privilege to provide you a little recap of the scrumptious treats you may or may not have missed.

Next week, I'll be back to share some of the recipes I made before I took off...and maybe I'll even start cooking again!

So here we go with the recap:

We kicked off the season with Sarah from Life is Still Sweet. Sarah made us these ooey gooey walnut chews. Well...she actually made them for Santa...but I won't tell that she ate half the tray on her own.

Next up, we were tempted with these fluffy homemade marshmallows from Katie at gdk. Katie topped this decadent chocolate cake with her marshmallows. This technique will get anyone drooling.

I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when I was able to meet miss Monica from Lick the Bowl Good. I was over the moon when I was then able to feature her coffee chocolate chip muffins, as I'm sure you were when you saw this mouthwatering recipe!

Next, we had oreo truffle balls from Kendra at Uncork & Unwined. These bite sized balls of oreo heaven are perfect for parties...or get togethers...or dinner parties...or just because.

Then we had Jessica from The Tale of Two Kitchens with a healthy, light and luck filled black eyed pea salad. Apparently, eating black eye peas on new years day is supposed to give you luck for the rest of the year. Who knew??? This salad is full of fresh vegetables and a little heat from the jalapeno addition. I think the lucky part is being able to enjoy such a delicious, yet good for you, salad.

Switching things up a bit...we had Julie from Mommie Cooks provide us with a recipe for hot buttered rum. Please SOMEONE tell me I'm not the only one who thinks of Harry Potter whenever I see this recipe?? The amazing thing about Julie is that she loves to give kid friendly options to "adult" recipes. Whip up this hot drink in place of hot chocolate on a cold, snowy day...then add the rum for your "nerves." ;-)

And finally, there was Ingrid from 3 B's...baseball, baking and books with this cinnamon roll cake. I have already had a couple friends make this cake since Ingrid shared it with us on Monday and it has been met with rave reviews. Even if you don't eat this cake, just make it...it makes your house smell delicious!

Thanks so much to all of you guest bloggers for sharing your recipes and hearts with us.

And thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to visit my little site and give so much love to me and all these amazingly talented women.

Guest Post: 3 B's...Baseball, Baking & Books

Well...my vacation is over.


We arrived home last night and are trying to get settled back into the daily grind.


The Hubble is back and work and Little Butt are still trying to figure out what we are supposed to do every day.


I am not quite ready to jump back in here at Jolts & Jollies so I have one last guest blogger for you!


Today I am introducing you to Ingrid! Unless you already know her of course.


Ingrid is my last (but absolutely not my least) guest blogger.


Ingrid is my sister in procrastination to be sure.


In fact, I had almost written her off as a lost cause...but she was able to take time out of her insanely busy schedule to share a recipe with us. And boy am I glad she found the time! Today's recipe looks amazing!


Even though I think she was trying to get back at me for taking a month to send her some apple butter, I still love the lady and you will too once you check out her blog and get to know her.


Thanks for sharing this recipe with us Ingrid! I know your schedule the last couple months has been crazy and you haven't had time to blog on your own blog. You are an amazing person and friend.


So. Without further ado. Heeeeeeere's Ingrid!


Hi!  I’m Ingrid from 3B’s….Baseball, Baking, & Books!  Before I share my recipe with you I’d like to thank Maranda for having me here on Jolts & Jollies!  I’d like also like to thank her for her patience with me.  :)  Thanks, Manna!

I had a really difficult time choosing what to make and blog about for Maranda.  During the craziness that was my December I worked on a few posts but none seemed right.  It wasn’t until my boys started bugging me about making them a cinnamon roll cake that it dawned on me.  I need to share my love of  easy, family friendly desserts with you and what better one than this cinnamon roll cake. This recipe gets top marks for quick and easy from me and the cinnamony sugary “filling” gets two thumbs up from my family and friends!

Cinnamon Roll Cake
By 3B’s….Baseball, Baking, & Books


Cake Ingredients:

• 1 Yellow Cake Mix 
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup oil 
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

“Filling” Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan. 
2. Mix cake ingredients by hand and pour in greased baking pan. 
3. Mix the filling ingredients and sprinkle over cake batter. (It should cover the top of the batter.) 
4. Swirl the “filling” into batter with knife. (The batter is thick & you’ll need to use a little elbow grease.) 
5. Bake for 40 minutes. (Mine was done in 30 minutes.)  
6. Let cake cool 10 – 15 minutes before icing.

Icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar 
• 4 Tbsp milk (I used heavy cream and had to add more to get the consistency I needed.)

Mix & pour over warm cake.

Guest Post: Mommie Cooks

I am sad to say that my vacation, and my guest bloggers, are soon coming to an end.

We leave El Paso tomorrow morning to make the 2 day drive back home.

Luckily, I have absolutely fabulous friends who have been kind enough to help me out through this time.

Julie is my next to last guest blogger. Sad!

I found Julie from Mommie Cooks when I joined the Daring Bakers. Not only did I see her there, I also was directed to her blog when another blogger was guest posting for her.

I think it's kind of funny that I 'met' Julie when she was on vacation. She had a bunch of bloggers guest posting for her during her time away.

I am slightly shamed to say that I started commenting on her blog because she was having a contest through the comments left during her vacation.

However, I became so enamored with her vacation stories and her writing style that I soon forgot she was even having a contest. I was just commenting and anxiously awaiting her return to her blog.

Julie and I have been conversing through our blogs, emails and twitter ever since and I have never looked back.

This lady is extremely high on my list of people I would love to meet one day. She is genuine, caring, sweet and full of creative recipes (several of which I've made and they have all been awesome!).

If you don't know Julie yet, I INSIST that you head over to her blog to see what her and her boys are cooking up now. But check out this post first because I am SUPER excited about the recipe she's sharing with us today. This one makes me think of Harry Potter above anything else.

Thanks for helping out Julie!

Maranda is one of those rare people that, when you meet her, you know you’ve found someone special.   She and I stumbled across one another’s blogs a few months back.  Aside from the fact that each recipe she posts is more mouthwatering than the next (I’m still drooling over that King Ranch Chicken “esque” recipe she posted a month or so back), her writing brings across a kindness that welcomes you in and makes you want to get to know her better.   And once you do, you instantly know you’ve found a friend for life.

That’s why when she asked me to guest post over at her place for the day; I quickly jumped at the chance.  So here goes nothing.  Let me present Hot Buttered Rum.  This stuff is good.  Real good.  And the best part about it is that the batter is non-alcoholic.  You add rum after the fact, so kiddos can have a virgin version and participate in festivities right along with the adults.

To whip up a cup of this tasty hot drink, you’ll need to head over to your fridge/freezer and scrounge up the following cast of characters:

2 Sticks of Butter
(yea, not sure where they went but you’ll need them.  Trust me on this one.)
1 Cup of Confectioners Sugar
½ Cup of Brown Sugar
½ Cup of White Sugar
1 tsp of Vanilla
½ tsp of Nutmeg
2 Cups of Ice Cream, Softened

First up, you’ll cream together the butter and your three sugars.

When it’s good and mixed together, add in the vanilla and nutmeg.   Last but not least, add in your softened ice cream and stir it to combine.

Mmmm.  Now doesn’t that look good? 

Your batter can be stored in the freezer.  When you’re ready to serve up a mug of yumminess, you’ll simply place a heaping tablespoon or two of the mixture in a mug, fill it with hot water and a jigger of rum (you’ll leave the rum out for virgin), stir well, sprinkle a little nutmeg on top and prepare to be warmed from the inside out.  Look out hot coca, you’ve got competition.

Thanks again Maranda for allowing me to spend a day over at your blog!