Overstuffed Mushrooms with Savory Crab & Real California Cheese Filling!

This post is sponsored by Real California Milk but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.



I can't even believe it's already November... I mean, this year is really just flying by.

The thing is, THIS time of year is pretty much perfection in my neck of the woods. We start out the days with a little crispness to the air and by the end of the day, it's still nice enough to watch the sunset at the beach. It's the best of both worlds... and it also makes me crave some of my favorite savory dishes.

I seriously can't be the only one that instantly feels a chill in the air and starts dreaming of pumpkin spice dishes, chili, mashed potatoes, and "stuffed" everything. I mean, that's what the month of November is about - thankfulness & food... and one of my favorite foods to bring back this time of year is actually one I tend to favor all year round as well - I'm talkin' stuffed mushrooms, y'all & this recipe doesn't disappoint!

These crab & cheese stuffed mushrooms are just like a Florida day - absolutely perfect in every way! Pairing seafood with savory, creamy goodness - it doesn't get much better than this... Except for the fact this dish is made with all Real California Milk Cheeses. That means the flavor is better and it's made with love, with the dairy coming from 99% family owned & operated farms.

That's the thing, when your dairy comes from other families - you know it's going to be good... and the extra spectacular news is, you can buy Real California Milk Cheeses nearly everywhere! I found a huge selection at my local health food store, as well as a decent selection at Publix!

Want to find a place by you, so you can get yours hands on the "good cheese" too? Check out this locator and find out where you can find these delicious, wholesome cheeses with the "Real California Milk seal" nearby you. After all, knowing your cheese comes from real people & it's kissed by the California sun just means there's that much more love going into your holiday dishes this year!

Want to serve up the best of both coasts? Pair my "Floridian" recipe with their California cheese and you have a real winning combo! So... let's get to making those delicious overstuffed mushrooms with a savory crab and cheese filling!

Ingredients:

2 cups crab meat
4 oz freshly shredded Mozzarella Cheese made with Real California Milk
1 tbsp parsley
1/2 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp marjoram
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 tbsp black pepper
2 green onion stalks, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
4 large portebella mushroom
olive oil
4 oz freshly shredded Pepper Jack Cheese made with Real California Milk
1 tbsp bread crumbs

Step one - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees & get your filling started: mix the crab meat, Real California Cheese Mozzarella, spices, green onions, bell pepper, and grated parmesan all together in a large bowl. Place to the side.

Next - take your mushrooms and apply a thin layer of olive oil to the top of the caps. Flip over & place on pan, overstuffing the mushrooms with the crab mix.

Now - add 4 oz of Pepper Jack cheese made with Real California Milk on top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake or 18 minutes at 375, then turn your oven to broil for 3-5 minutes.

Garnish with parsley, if desired & enjoy!

Encourage Imagination with Disney - Easy and FUN DIY Mickey Mouse Ears Craft for a Toddler in honor of Make-A-Wish's Share Your Ears Campaign

This post is sponsored by Make-A-Wish Foundation but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

We're definitely big fans of Mickey & the whole Disney crew in this house... let me rephrase, we are HUGE fans of Disney and all things magical. I mean, Delainey's first visit to the Disney Parks was nearly a year ago when she was just one year old and we are so eager to go again we talk about it almost daily.

Unfortunately, we have to adult and get things done so we can't visit the parks every day, but I'm doing my best to encourage her imagination at home and I hope our love for all things magical will live on through her. From the excitement I hear in her voice when she talks about the "fiya- woks" at the start of every Disney movie, to the way she exclaims "that my disney duck" when she sees the Donald Duck stuffed animal she picked out during our last visit, it's truly wonderful to see her love for something I loved so dearly as a child too - dare I say, it's magical.

Disney isn't just the parks and the movies for us though, it's really about a dream coming true. It's about following your passion and making something happen with hard work and determination, Walt Disney really did something inspirational. While I'm still learning the ropes in life too, one thing I know for certain is he accomplished great things with his creative, innovative thinking. I hope to foster that same love for dreaming & creativity within my daughter - and that's the magic of Disney, in my mind!

Then, when you combine that Disney Magic, that pure creative joy, with the Make-A-Wish foundation... well - that's pretty much the most heart warming combination, most of us can agree on that!

With that said, Disney & Make-A-Wish have partnered up and we all want you to help save the day for kids with Disney wishes, yet again!

How can you do that?
It doesn't take much - 
Just "Share Your Ears"!
THAT'S IT!

From now through November 17th, 2018, Walt Disney Parks will donate US $5 for each social share on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtag "#ShareYourEars", up to US $2 million in donations - all of this in celebration of 90 years of Mickey Mouse & Thanks to Disney Team of Heroes!

That means, all you have to do to help those brave Make-A-Wish kids is share a photo rocking your favorite ears! Don't have a pair? I've got you covered! This DIY Mickey Mouse Ears project is so easy - it's a great way to spend time with your kiddo while encouraging them to use their "disney" magic level of creativity and imagination!

Want to get creative with your imaginative toddler? Here's how we made these EPIC watercolor ears, in just minutes!

For this project you will need:

1 sheet of cardstock
a plain headband
white crayon
a watercolor paint palette & the works [brushes, water, etc]
pair of scissors
hot glue & a hot glue gun

First, you'll want to print off this template I've created. Be sure to hit the "fit to page" when printing!

Next, let your kiddo scribble willy-nilly all over the cardstock with the white crayon. While you won't be able to see the markings now, they look so nifty once water color is applied.

Which brings us to our next step, painting with watercolors. This part is easily Delainey's favorite. She loves showing off her epic painting skills... and honestly, I don't blame her - she is pretty talented!

Now let your painted ear template lie flat until it's dry to the touch. Then using the scissors cut as close to within the template you can, removing the black edges.

Once cut, glue the two circle parts of each ear together, allowing the length of the ears to remain attached, then slide the headband through the opening. Position the ears where you would prefer on the headband and then flatten the bottom so the opening on the ear is attached to the headband - apply a liberal amount of hot glue and let dry.

Now add your favorite bow like this one, or rock with another fun accessory, if you so desire and get ready to show off in your ears!

5 Million Products Donated by U by Kotex - & a BIG THANKS Because YOU Helped!

This post is sponsored by U by Kotex but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.


Being a girl comes with a lot of obstacles, we all know that. One that none of us should face is "period poverty".

What's that exactly? If you are a regular around here, you may have seen that I explained it last month on behalf of U by Kotex - but to summarize, ONE in FOUR women are having trouble gaining access to feminine products. Those women are missing out on life, because they don't have the items they need!

Instead of ignoring the problem U by Kotex founded The Alliance for Period Supplies and now helps women in need of products we all should have access to. They are making big strides on behalf of women and hopefully going to change the way this problem is handled. I think we all can agree, while we have tons of obstacles to face together, this is definitely one no woman should ever have to struggle with.

That's why I am so incredibly thankful for those that went out to Walmart & purchased U by Kotex products! I think we all should give ourselves a cheer, actually! (In case you need a refresher on what happened last month - U by Kotex decided for every purchase of their items, they would donate TWO U by Kotex Products to women in need. That's right, you literally helped a sister out last month while buying your preferred feminine products!

With that said, UbK & Walmart were able to donate a whopping 5 million Period Products to women in need as part of this initiative & Walmart's additional donation of $25K to the Alliance of Period Supplies was just awe-inspiring.

Interested in learning more about U by Kotex and The Alliance for Period Supplies? Find out more here & check out the UbK & Motrin offer!

Embracing Fall in Florida with these Fun Halloween Foods: Jack-O'-Lantern Snacks & Batty Bite Sweet Potato Fries

This post is sponsored by Bel Brands USA & Mini Babybel® Cheese, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

So... let's get real for a moment. Living in Florida has its advantages, sure - we all know the beach is great and palm trees are gorgeous. I don't take that for granted for even a second. I love it here...

Which is why I never thought I'd say this, but I kind of miss "home" - which to me really is just the midwest as a whole. Having lived in both Missouri and Oklahoma, I just feel connected to those center states and all their glory... It's probably a mixture of missing family & looking over old pictures and reflecting on fond memories, but the midwest really is & always will be "home" to me and I'm missing it tonight. Ironically, one of the things I miss the most about my home and my childhood spent in the midwest is FALL.

I mean, not just fall, I miss good ol' trees-changin'-color, boot-and-North-Face-wearin', crisp-fresh-air, running-wild-through-a-pumpkin-patch type of fall. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Florida, but I certainly do miss certain aspects of "home".

Since we likely aren't relocating to the midwest anytime soon, we are doing our best to at least pretend it's fall here in Florida so Delainey gets a taste of all things amazingly autumn. So this weekend we turned our a/c down a little lower, made a little bonfire out back, and embraced what felt like a little breeze outside - we even have plans to set up a tent at some point and teach her about camping. Another way we are trying to bring out that fall feeling is to decorate & even eat fall themed foods.  So... along with our apple cider, we also decided to get festive with some appetizers and these little batty bites & jack-o'-lantern snacks were just too cute!

Since we're huge fans of cheese in this house, when we saw the adorable Fall/Halloween themed Mini Babybel® at Target, we knew we had made some new "friends".

Delainey is obsessed with the little faces on these guys and I'm obsessed with how delicious they are *and the fact that are 100% real cheese with no artificial growth hormones* - so it's a total win-win!

So... Whether you are having a little shin-dig or you just want to show your toddler what fall is about, you have to give these recipes a try (and you should most definitely snag the adorable Halloween Mini Babybel® from Target while you're at it)!

The best part is these delicious snacks are so easy to make, not to mention SO fun! So go ahead and add these two Sweet Potato fry recipes to your must try pins, because although they are simple both of these yummy dishes are sure to wow your fall loving friends, no matter where you are:

To create both of these recipes you will need:

One pack of the Mini Babybel® cheeses - You can find these adorable Halloween packaged Mini Babybels at Target!

2 sweet potatoes

Black olives

¾ cup all purpose flour (I used gluten free, you can use whatever works for your family!)

¼ cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

High temperature Frying oil (corn, peanut, or vegetable)

Black pepper

Sea salt

Garlic

Red pepper

Parsley

Pumpkin spice

Paprika

Slice potatoes. One should be cut horizontally to form circular shapes resembling pumpkins. The other should be cut vertically to make the bat wings.

Now detail the potato slices by carving faces into the circular shapes and carving bat wings out of the longer sliced potatoes. Use half a long slice per wing for small wings or one full slice per wing for larger wings.

PREP FOR Jack-O'-Lanterns Snacks: (after carving their faces):
Place on tray lined with aluminum foil and set oven to 425. Rub each slice and each side with olive oil. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika onto one side then flip it and sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic, and pumpkin spice onto the other. Put in oven for 15 minutes flipping half way through or until browned on the edges. Serve with Mini Babybel® and use the jack-o'-lantern as a delicious substitute for crackers!

PREP FOR Batty Bites:

Wings: Mix the flour, breadcrumbs and herbs (1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp red pepper flakes, 2 tsp garlic, ½ tsp parsley) together in one shallow dish. Beat the egg and milk together in another shallow dish. 

Dip “bat wings” into flour, then egg mixture, then flour again. Place them on a tray lined with parchment paper after being battered to wait for your frying oil to heat up to 375 degrees (I used a corn and peanut oil blend). 

Drop the sweet potato wings one at a time into the hot oil and cook for approximately 7 minutes or until they look done, then take them out and place them on a paper towel and/or rack to allow oil to drain and for the wings to cool.

Presentation: Slide a toothpick through one side of your Mini Babybel® Cheese and out the other. Attach wings onto the toothpick. Place sliced olive pieces onto cheese to make kooky eyeballs. Add a red sauce to make teeth if you want. We used a chipotle apricot sauce which was a delicious extra touch on all of the sweet potato goodness!

So tell me, what do you miss about your hometown? What parts of fall are your favorite about the area you live in? I'm excited to hear! I also would love to hear what you think about these kooky & delicious recipes, leave me some love when you give them a try and in case you aren't stalking Cartwheel already, I wanted to mention you can score 10% off Mini Babybel Cartwheel offer that runs 10/7 through early November.