We all know Bakerella and if you don’t, oh my how you have been missing out.  She has an amazing talent to create fun, beautiful pieces of art with food.  Just one word of caution, don’t use any of her photos as your desktop background or you’ll never get anything done!

Her new cookbook, Cake Pops, is available for pre-order and at special pre-order price of under $14 bucks, it’s worth getting now so that it arrives on your doorstep as soon as it’s released.  You might think, “Gosh, I could never make those” but trust me, you can!  Some will be a bit harder to make than others but she really does simple things to achieve the looks of everything she makes, cake pops included.

I’m pre-ordering mine today and will review when it arrives, which by the looks of it, will be Septemberish.  If you’re a fan of Bakerella, what is one of your favorite sweets she’s made?  And are you pre-ordering Cake Pops?

Today only, you can get Paula Deen’s The Deen Family Cookbook for $16.58! It’s QVC’s Today Special Value and only lasts one day at that price. NOT a member? Signing up is EASY! If you do, you’ll get a $10 credit! (for new members only) Let me know if you sign up for the first time! Would love to welcome you to the QVC family:)  If you want to know why I heart QVC, check out some of my favorites from there.  Also, many of Paula Deen‘s other products on QVC are on easy pay! It’s like layaway but you get the product right away!

This will ship out on April 7th so that you can receive it hot off the press! This is great for people like me who just can’t run out to the store when it’s released. I order everything almost online!

The cookbook looks fabulous! I’m watching Paula Deen now on QVC and she is fabulous. The food looks amazing and absolutely delicious.

About the book:

Come and get it, y’all! Paula Deen made a name for herself whipping up down-home family recipes. Now, in The Deen Family Cookbook, Paula shares step-by-step instructions so you can fix all her family favorites–and serve ‘em up for your family!

Combining the two things Paula loves most–food and family–this book features a heapin’ helpin’ of more than 140 brand-new recipes from Paula; her sons, Jamie and Bobby; her brother, Uncle Bubba; and the rest of her food-lovin’ clan. From corn-and-crab puffs and chicken and dumplings to red velvet whoopee pies and banana spice cake with peanut butter frosting, this book will have you cooking–and eating–like Paula’s kinfolk in no time at all.

More than just a cookbook, this volume also contains full-color photographs of Paula, her relatives, and the Southern surroundings that inspired her good ol’ fashioned dishes. Of course, you’ll also find colorful shots of Paula’s prepared recipes–enough to make your mouth water!

These are the recipes that have been passed down in the Deen family from generation to generation. With this durable hardcover edition of Paula Deen‘s The Deen Family Cookbook, you can make them the recipes that are handed down in your family, too.

* Paula Deen, author
* Hardcover
* 288 pages
* Full-color photos
* Chapters include: Nibbles, Snacks, and Sandwiches; Appetizers, Soups, and Salads; Main Dishes; Casseroles and Pasta; Sides and Veggies; Breakfast and Brunch; Good Food That’s Good for You; Desserts and Sweets; Beverages
* Published April 2009

GUESS WHAT! If you want to win one, leave a comment here telling me what you love about Paula or her recipes!

BONUS: Come back each day and tell me something new you like about Paula or her recipes and earn an extra daily entry:)  That gives you a total of 6 chances to win, fair for everyone!

Ends on April 5th at 10pm CST.  Good luck!

Just bringing you easy and affordable recipes these days huh!  To make these Apple Turnovers from scratch would be divine but since many of us don’t have the time, I found a shortcut from the coolest cookbook ever, 101 Things to Do with Canned Biscuits!  These only take a few minutes to prepare and about the same amount of time to cook.

I love cookbooks like this and if you’re into this stuff, check out the whole line of 101 things cookbooks for fun and easy recipes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can (16.3oz) biscuits
• 1 can apple pie filling
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400′.  Flatten each biscuit into a 6″ round.  Place 2 heaping tablespoons of pie filling on each biscuit.  Moisten edges of dough with water.  Fold over and press edges firmly with a fork to seal.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Mix cinnamon and sugar and then sprinkly over top of biscuits.  USE IT ALL.  It might seem like a lot but it’s really not.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  YUMMY!

This has to be the most fun cookbook I’ve ever read!  Not only that, the recipes in Eat, Shrink, and be Merry are wonderful.  What I love the most is the simplicity of them.  I mean, the ingredients are “normal”.  Not your hard-to-find type of ingredients.  They are ones that you can find in a small town grocery store like mine!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this book, maybe you’ve heard of Looneyspoons.  Unfortunately, that book is no longer in print but it’s the same ladies, who happen to be sisters.  Their story alone is amazing and I was inspired to say the least at how their whole project came about.  It’s totally worth the read and I encourage you to check it out.  I don’t get a lot of time to read but it was so real, so unbelievable, and it really tells you about who they are and what makes their cookbooks unique and special.  And not that this matters so much but I LOVE the size and colors of this book.  Very refreshing!

This cookbook rawks because it’s low fat eating and not your typical 2-ingredient no-fat-crappy ingredients recipe either.  It has good, real ingredients and the meals sound like eatable meals.  I cannot stress that enough!!! NORMAL, GOOD and HEALTHY recipes! Something that you need to remember when eating healthy or dieting, is that portion size is everything!!!!  You MUST watch your portions because it does no good to eat a giant plate of healthy food.   At the end of each recipe, you’ll find the ‘per serving’ information and how many the recipe actually serves which can be very beneficial if you are trying to lose weight.

The recipe titles crack me up.  To give you a few examples:

• Lord of the Wings
• Dunk `n` GoNuts!
• Kentucky Freud Chicken
• These Beets Were Made for Walkin’
• Pea Diddy

See what I mean?  They’re hilarious and the little cartoon drawings fit the titles and make it even more fun.  These and the little stories, song remakes, and tips that go with the each recipe make it an absolute hoot!

Don’t get me wrong either, just because the cookbook is fun and entertaining, doesn’t mean the nutritional value & information is not there.  For instance, did you that your fingernails grow faster on the hand you favor and that your nails can tell you if you have a vitamin deficiency??  Or do you know the real lowdown on Sweet-n-low?  I bet you think you do but you don’t!  Just more great reasons to read the book.

This is instantly one of my favorite cookbooks and you can bet that I’ll be creating these healthy dishes in my own kitchen and making sure that mom, who is a cookbook junkie, will be getting a copy of the book too.  After all, she and her man want more healthy meals added to their daily eating rituals!

If you wanna buy this book, they’re having a special 2 for 1!!!! That means TWO COOKBOOKS FOR THE SAME PRICE AS ONE!!! Keep one and give one away.  You know, Christmas is coming up folks!

This is over folks!

Since I had a few prizes that went unclaimed from my 3mth long promotion, I get to give another reader the lucky chance to win it!  Here’s what you’ll win:

You get the awesome Paula Deen Cookbook, a mortar set, 2 handtowels, and of course 2 wooden spoons!

So how do you win??? Well, it’s easy.  Tell me something that you DON’T like about this blog or me.  Go ahead, I can take.  I’ve got my big girl panties on.

That’s it!  You can also just leave a comment begging me to pick you!

Ends August 22nd. As always, this is open to everyone.  Good luck!

You didn’t actually think I was gonna cook with her did you;) Well of course you did.  After all, I am having lunch with a celebrity chef   We all love Paula and we love surprises even more!  Well, here ya go folks…a new one!

• Win this lovely gift set that includes:
• Paula Deen‘s Celebrate Cookbook
• A Mortar and Pestle
• A couple of kitchen towels
• and of course, wooden spoons:)

Super easy to enter

Leave a comment telling me your favorite food:)  Yep, that’s it!  If you have the banner up, tell me in the same comment please.

This ends on Sunday the 13th!  GOOD LUCK!

Read official rules under current giveaways.

HOLY Cow! I can’t believe all the entries:) Winner announced soon;)

Hey folks!  I told you I had a surprise for you in my previous post about The Next Food Network Star and today’s the day to find out what it is!   All fans need to be aware that the show has a premiere date of June 1st!  I can’t wait to watch it and hopefully learn a few things;)  If you haven’t seen the new cast and read the press release, you can do that in one of my most recents posts.

Okay, okay…..now for the prize.  One winner will receive a prize package consisting of 5 items:

1. Cookbook – “Bobby Flay’s Grill It!”
2. Food Network Keychain
3. Next Food Network Star Poster
4. Next Food Network Star Postcard
5. Next Food Network Star T-shirt

WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!! I love this set and my husband would LOVE to have that cookbook.  Too bad he can’t enter.  YOU can though:) 

Here’s how:

Leave a comment telling me YOUR favorite show on the Food Network channel!  Yep, it’s that easy to enter people! 

This giveaway will close on June 2nd so enter now!

First, woohoo, we have a winner for the Cuisinart Food Prep Processor.  There were sooooo many entries!!  Thanks so much for entering:) 

May 1st officially kick started my 3 month long giveaway!  Every week from May 1st until July 31, I’ll be giving away a prize.  Let me tell you people, you won’t wanna miss this.  I’ve already given away a Cuisinart Food Processor and I currently have a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer giveaway going on right now!

The best way for you to keep track of each weekly giveaway, is to subscribe to my feed via RSS reader or by EMAIL.  If you choose email, you MUST confirm your subscription or you won’t get any updates.   I promise you will receive NO spam!  Only email updates when I make a new post here. 

I’ve made it VERY easy to enter so everyone can win.  What is that you ask?  Do I ship anywhere?  ABSOLUTELY!  I have always made my contests & giveaways eligible to everyone no matter where you live.  If UPS or USPS can deliver there, I’ll mail it there. 

TODAY’S PRIZE: GIFT SET THAT INCLUDES A KITCHENAID CHEESE & FOOD MILL, COOKING USA COOKBOOK, & 3 DISH TOWELS!…. with a Wooden Spoon;)

Prize Details: 1 Kitchenaid Professional Cheese & Food Mill.  2 blades are included–Course Grating Blade for nuts, coconut, and eggs.  Fine Grating Blade for cheese, garlic, spices, breadcrumbs, dry herbs, etc.  You basically put your stuff in it and do a little twisting action!  Viola, your stuff is grated:)  The cookbook is called Cooking USA- 50 Favorite Recipes from Across America.  This has great recipes with some fun facts about each state.  You also get 3 dish towels.  2 darker red, striped ones and 1 tan striped one and of course, you get a wooden spoon;)

HOW TO WIN:

I’ve made it super simple to enter.  You can do one or all.  You get 1 entry for each one you do, with the exception of the banner.  Please try to leave everything you’ve done in ONE comment.  It makes it easier for me to keep up with;)

1. Leave a comment. EDITED: Only ONE comment per person will count!  I seem to have one particular person that thinks he can leave several comments for additional entries.  NOT THE CASE!
2. Blog about this week’s giveaway linking to this prize page OR my home page.
3. Stumble this post.  You must be a member of Stumbleupon.  Don’t lie and say you did because I can track everyone who stumbles.  Besides that’s not fair to the others  who really did stumble.  Don’t know what Stumbleupon is?  Read about stumbling here.
4. VOTE for My Wooden Spoon as the Best Food Blog at the Blogger’s Choice Awards.  Not because of the giveaways but because you genuinely enjoy my food blog.  Be sure to tell me your username in the comments.  If you have already voted for me, leave your username in the comments for me too:)

BONUS entry:  Add a banner  to your sidebar for the duration of the giveaways (which is 3mths) and I’ll automatically give you 5 extra entries into each giveaway that you choose to enter!  I MADE FOUR BANNERS THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM.  CLICK HERE!  Remember, if you already have a banner up, just let me know in the comments to remind me.

The Fine Print

Every week, the 4th entry will vary.  Number 1,2, and 3 will always remain the same.   If you choose to blog about it, you must do this for each prize, each week.  Each winner (each week) will be selected randomly.  The winner will have 1 week to claim his or her prize.   You MUST contact me to claim your prize!!

THIS WEEK’S PRIZE GIVEAWAY WILL END ON MAY 15TH, 2008 AT ABOUT 10:00PM CST. 

 Good luck to all who enter!!

EDIT: The giveaway is over.  Thanks to all who entered!  I’ll be getting the winner announced shortly.

I had the fortunate opportunity to receive and review this cookbook called, “The Cornbread Gospels“.  I must admit, when I first heard the name, I assumed it would be all about cornbread.  Well, I was completely wrong.  There is sooooo much more to this book!  I also thought it would be very churchy and, well, gospel but it wasn’t like that at all. 

It’s jam packed with over 200 recipes, some of which include:

• pancakes
• puddings
• tortillas
• spoonbreads
• fritters
• rolls and more!

Something else that I really enjoyed in the book, were the fun food facts, short menus, & quotes.  An example of a food fact:

WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS

Whenever you use grated lemon zest, or any other citrus, in a recipe, use organic fruit.  Because it’s assumed that the peels of citrus fruits are not eaten, conventionally grown citruses are………….

HA!  Wouldn’t you love to know the rest?….Well, you’ll have to buy it!..or possibly win it:) 

Okay, so now for the recipes.  I really enjoyed the different variations of cornbread, as well as, all the other recipes (including the entire section for food that goes great with cornbread!).  I found one that I’ll be trying ASAP.  Budin de Elote!  That means Mexican-style Corn Spoonbread (page 93) for all of you who are going, “What the heck is that?”.  Before the recipe, there is an “introduction” and even a 800# website address you can go to to get this chili sauce that would make for a wonderful condiment to the recipe. 

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5.  Why didn’t I give it a 5?  Because of the lack of pictures.  I love pictures and that was really the only thing missing.

NOW HOW DO YOU WIN ONE OF THESE BOOKS??

Easy, just leave a comment:)  I’ll randomly draw a winner and as always, I’ll ship anywhere the USPS will go!  You have until Sunday night (April 6th) to enter.  If you blog about it, I’ll give you an extra entry! 

I’d like to thank the publishers for giving me an extra copy to give to my readers! I really do appreciate it
 

Before I get to the recipe, I wanted to point out the new link ,on my navigation bar, that says ‘Recipes’.  I added this today as a request by my own mother!  She wanted to be able to scroll through the recipe titles without having to hit the ‘previous posts’ link over and over again.  I plan to add the various food categories to that page to help you narrow down your search to whatever you’re looking for (example:desserts).  Don’t forget, when you click on any individual post, you have the option to print it.  I hope you find this useful and if you have a request or recommendation, please feel free to contact me.

Now on to the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound catfish fillets
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup beer
• 3/4 cup oil

DIRECTIONS:

Wash fish, and pat dry.  Coat with flour; set aside.  Combine remaining four with lemon juice and beer, stirring until smooth.  Heat oil inlarge skillet over medum-high heat.  Meanwhile, dip fish in batter.  Fry fish until golden brown on both sides.  Serve with hushpuppies, coleslaw, and sweet tea!

This recipe is from the 5 Ingredient series.  Every recipe has 5 ingredients and is super easy to make!!  I’ll be posting more recipes from the book but if you want your own copy, you can get the
500 Fast & Fabulous Five Star 5 Ingredient Recipes now.

You can also buy these:

Cooking Light 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook


500 5-Ingredient Desserts: Decadent and Divine Recipes for Everyday Cooking


5-Ingredient Grilling