My Wooden Spoon™» oprah

2010 Pillsbury Bake-Off Million Dollar Winner, Oprah Announces

A Cowboy's Wife — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:12:10 +0000

The million dollar winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off has been announced live on the Oprah show. I had the pleasure of watching 100 finalists compete in Orlando for the million dollar prize and out of those, it was narrowed down to these 4 finalists; (see my previous wrap up of the event)

Breakfast & Brunches – Tomato-Basil Eggs Alfredo in Bread Baskets by Niki Plourde of Gardner, Mass. (recipe)

Inspired by her love for pesto, Niki Plourde brought together the combination of pesto and basil with the creaminess of eggs and tomato for her winning Tomato-Basil Eggs Alfredo in Bread Baskets. A student majoring in social work, Plourde entered the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest to pay for her college education.

Entertaining Appetizers – Salmon Pecan-Crusted Tartlets by Evelyn Henderson of Roseville, Calif. (recipe)

When she learned she was a Bake-Off finalist, Evelyn Henderson “had a smile a mile wide.” Inspired by her love for tuna melts and salmon sandwiches, Henderson paired salmon and pecans to give her dish a gourmet feel.

Dinner Made Easy – Zesty Lime-Fish Tacos by Kellie White of St. Louis, Mo. (recipe)

Setting out with the intention of creating a meal to satisfy the craving for this popular California dish, Kellie White knew her recipe was a hit when the first batch went so quickly. Although her mother hails from the South and serves as her inspiration in the kitchen, White’s mission was to bring this West coast dish into homes across America.

Sweet Treats – Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups by Sue Compton of Delanco, N.J. (recipe)

Known for her baking, Sue Compton finds cooking to be her creative outlet, with her son and his college friends being the lucky beneficiaries of her homemade meals. Referring to her cookie cups as “cute and yummy,” Compton thought she had a good chance in the Bake-Off Contest because people rave about her creations.

Of course, there could only be one Pillsbury Winner for the Pillsbury Bake-Off 2010 and that winner is…………………………………………

And now enjoy the Pillsbury winner’s recipe!

Recipe: Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups

Summary: An easy make-ahead recipe is a fun and impressive dessert for your next gathering.

Ingredients

1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury Ready to Bake! refrigerated sugar cookies (24 cookies)
4 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup Fisher Chef’s Naturals Chopped Walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1/4 cup Smucker’s Seedless Red Raspberry Jam
1 1/2 cups vanilla bean ice cream, softened
24 fresh raspberries

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Place 1 cookie dough round in each muffin cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Place 2 teaspoons of the sugar in small bowl. Dip end of wooden spoon handle in sugar; carefully press into center of each cookie to make 1-inch-wide indentation. Cool
Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix walnuts and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until smooth.
Run knife around edges of cups to loosen; gently remove from pan. Dip rim of each cup into melted chocolate, then into walnut mixture. Place walnut side up on cookie sheet with sides.
In another small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on High about 15 seconds until melted. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into each cup. Freeze cups about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set.
Spoon ice cream into cups, using small cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon. Top each cup with fresh raspberry. Store in freezer; let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before serving.

Quick Notes

1 Serving: Calories 150 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g, Trans Fat 1 1/2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 60mg; Total Carbohydrate 19g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 12g); Protein 1g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2% Exchanges: 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Cooking time (duration): 40

Number of servings (yield): 24

Meal type: dessert

Recipe by Sue Compton from Delanco NJ.
Microformatting by hRecipe.

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Oprah, Tom Cruise, Suri's Ladybug Shoes, and Katja Presnal from Skimbaco (and giveaway)

A Cowboy's Wife — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:50:17 +0000

If you’ve been with me a while, then you’ll remember when I gave some adorable Ladybug shoes away that Tom Cruise’s own daughter wears. Well, you know what? Suri’s Ladybug shoes came from good friend of mine, Katja Presnal, a social media–PR sooopAstah! Katja’s store, Skimbaco is currently running some MAJOR discounts on some of the cutest stuff ever! So check it out! That’s where the shoes can be bought;)..on sale might I add.

It all got started when Suri’s shoes were shown on the Oprah interview with Tom Cruise at his home. When they walked in the front door, you could put your shoes in these compartments. Oprah saw Suri’s Ladybug shoes, picked them up and showed them to the camera. OMG, those shoes came from a Mompreneur, named Katja. Yes, a small business gal here in our very own blogging world got something from her store on, not only national tv, but OPRAH! Oh, and if you wanna know who hand painted those shoes, check out Monkey Toes…another awesome mompreneur!

You see, Katja had sent a gift basket to Tom Cruise and they had a mutual friend. They lived nearby their small town in Colorado so having something like this happen is a HUGE deal! Not just for Katja, the Skimbaco store, or Monkey Toes but for every hardworking work at home parent. It proves that anything can happen, that even YOUR product could end up on the Oprah show or anywhere!! Her story is inspirational to say the least!

Okay so guess what? The Oprah interview is reairing tomorrow (Dec. 12th) so YOU MUST WATCH IT AND SEE THE SHOES IN REAL LIFE! And to celebrate this, Katja is providing me a pair shoes just like Suri’s to giveaway here!! WOOHOO:)

Scroll down for giveaway…go shop for huge discounts…or do both!

READ MORE ABOUT KATJA’S STORY AND CHECK OUT HER OTHER LADYBUG LANDINGS STORE WHERE ALL PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS KATJA OFFERING FREE CONSULTING TO OTHER CURRENT OR WANNABE MOMPRENEURS!

WIN THEM!!! OMG, how cute are those????

Head over to the Skimbaco store and pick and item or two or three. Come back here to this post and leave what you liked in the comments.

Additional ways to enter:

*Twitter this giveaway including @ACowboysWife in your tweet.
*Stumble this post and leave your stumbleupon username

Giveaway ends on Dec. 19th!

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Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali, on Oprah Oh My!

A Cowboy's Wife — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:51:59 +0000

On Wednesday, Sept. 17th, which is tomorrow, Gwyneth Paltrow chats Oprah about motherhood, marriage, Madonna, and how she got that body everyone’s talking about. And lemme tell ya folks, she looks good!

Later on in the show, Gwyneth’s pal, Iron Chef Mario Batali joins in to chat about a culinary couple’s trek across Spain while eating, cooking and taking in the sights on a new PBS documentary. Batali will also be cooking a mouth-watering 15 minute meal! And I love me some Batali!!! He’s a heck of a chef.

Here’s a tease for you then tune in tomorrow to watch the real show on Oprah.

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