Bacon Bacon Garlic Garlic Potato Skins

Who doesn't love potato skins?? I mean really, potatoes, spices and melted cheese. Mmmmm....so good, right?

I had a Tastefully Simple Success Event (meeting) last night and took an appetizer.

I decided to use the Bacon Bacon and Garlic Garlic as my products in the dish. These are some of the best spices EVER!!!! I mean people go CRAZY over them!! These bottles are huge and they last a loooong time. If you have never tried Tastefully Simple products or heard of them then you have to check it out here. I'll mention a giveaway at the end of this blog. :)

The potato skins were really easy to make. I simply baked 10 potatoes in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. You can easily use less potatoes, but if you are serving quite a few people I suggest making more rather than less because everyone loves them. Seriously, they were ALL GONE very quickly!

Once done baking, split the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the potato.

Next, mash the potatoes a bit so they are not so lumpy. Isn't the potato masher one of the BEST kitchen utensils ever??? Love it!

I next added some of the Bacon Bacon and some of the Garlic Garlic. I also added some sour cream and some cheese. Then just stir it really well so it is well mixed.

Now, spoon the potato mixture back into the potato skins. I didn't use that much because I wanted them to be more like potato skins rather than twice baked potatoes. I also pressed the potato mixture down some.

I then added some more Bacon Bacon

and also more cheese. You can never have too much cheese right?

Then I just put them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. OMG!!! Soooo good!!! What are your favorite toppings on potato skins???

I am giving away a $40 gift certificate to the Tastefully Simple products of your choice. From today through Sunday if you leave me a comment you will get one name entered in the drawing. If you also leave a post about my giveaway on your blog you will get your name entered twice! If you post about my giveaway on your facebook profile you will get your name entered three times and if you follow my blog you will get your name entered four times!!!! You can check out the Tastefully Simple website here.

Not a Sandpaper Tasting Energy Bar

Energy bars have come a long way. I remember back when they were gross. Seriously, you ate one and they tasted like heavy-on-your-tongue sandpaper. I'm not sure if that makes sense to you, but it's the best way for me to explain it. Imagine something with the texture of thick, gooey paste with the flavor of dry, raw oats. Better understand it now? Good.

I guess I was always under the impression that you had to be in training for something or a body builder or in really good shape to eat the energy bars. I mean, what are they really for??? Please, someone tell me. I am in no way in shape (although I am on Weight Watchers recently and am trying! They are 5 points.) and am not a body builder and definitely not in training for anything either. Is it wrong that I am eating them?

Well, I had a coupon for the Cliff Bar and thought I would give it a try. I was hesitant because of past experience as mentioned above.

I chose the Crunchy Peanut Butter Cliff bar and OMG!!! it was sooooo good. Really, really yummy! I was totally shocked. My tongue (really my taste buds I guess) was doing the happy dance. :)

There were so many flavors to choose from at the grocery store. Seriously there must have been 15 or more! Like I said I tried the Crunchy Peanut Butter; however, I also bought the Banana Nut Bread and

the Carrot Cake! I am really looking forward to trying both of these, especially if they are anything like the Crunchy Peanut Butter one.

So, now that I ate it, bring on the energy right? Have you ever tried energy bars? Which are your favorites?

So Cute Baby Shower!!

On Saturday, I went to my friend Deirdre's Baby Shower. I teach with her at Sacred Heart University and she is having twins!!!! One boy and one girl!! Her shower was at Knapp's Landing Restaurant, which is right on the LI Sound in CT. There were a ton of people there and it was a really nice. I forgot my camera (DUH!) and so thankfully someone else got some pictures.

These were little Baby Buggy cookies that were given to everyone as favors. OMG!!! TOO CUTE!!! And they were very very tasty too! I love baby showers because everything is so girly and adorable. Ha! For couples showers, I'm sorry but it is still girly!


And here were the cakes. How incredible are they??? The blue one was chocolate with a raspberry filling and the pink one was vanilla with a lemon filling. They were super good too!

There were also pink and blue M&M's on the table with little sayings on them like "2 is better" and "twice as nice".

Special Brownies

No, not those kind of special brownies, these are special because they've got a little something extra and special in them.

I added Heath Toffee Bits to the brownie batter. I love toffee. I mean what's not to love about chocolate covered hard caramel??? Yummmmmm!!!!!

Maybe I went a little overboard adding the whole entire bag of toffee bits, but oh well. Nah, who I am kidding, there is no such thing as adding too much of anything when it comes to brownies. Right? :)


And you know one of the best parts of making brownies? Yep, having the bowl to lick afterwards!! And then there is also licking the chocolate off of your finger!!! Yep, I sure did!! C'mon who are you kidding, you know you do the same thing!! Ha! :)

I love brownies, but I like things added to them even better. I like adding more chocolate chips, or fudge chunks or peanut butter or butterscotch chips, marshmallow fluff, etc. I could go on and on. What do you like to add to your brownies????

Fire Up the Grill

I was over at my friend's house yesterday and we grilled burgers for dinner. These burgers were so delicious!!

Her husband wanted me to capture the entire grilling experience and to show how serious he is about his grilling. Ha! :) (Plus, he thinks having this blog is super cool!)

This picture is of course of the grill. He put the hammer on top to show his seriousness. If you mess with his grill he will knock you out with the hammer.

You can see the thickness of the burgers. You have to make them thick though because once they start cooking then they shrink and nobody wants an itty bitty burger. The red pepper flakes add that little kick at the end. Mmmmmm...

My friend also made this great tortellini salad. It had diced pancetta, sugar snap peas, fresh dill out of her garden and tomatoes. It is so fresh and delightful. Really, really good. It's something different from the usual potato or macaroni salad.

What a fab-u-lous plate of food right? Soooo yummy!!!! And the lettuce on the burger was right out of her garden.

Burgers on the grill always make me think it is officially summer. Yes, I know you can grill during the winter, but there's nothing like a warm summer evening and the grill fired up and burgers cooking. I like burgers plain and also with toppings. My favorites are mushrooms, bacon, cheese and tomatoes. How do you like your burgers?

Mmmm...Chobani Yogurt (It's Greek to Me!)

I have fallen in love. True everlasting, hurt-in-my-heart kind of love. Yes, Chobani is my new lova. Seriously, you've got to try this!!! It is to die for! OMG!!!!

I tried Greek yogurt before and wasn't really a fan, but then again I only had the plain kind. Well, now Chobani came out with flavored Greek yogurts. I love yogurt, always have!!! Blueberry and peach are usually my favorite flavors. I may have a new favorite. Chobani has a Strawberry Banana flavored yogurt that is fab-u-lous!!!!! It is rich and creamy and smooth. Seriously, my mouth is watering (I am a drooling fool) as I am blogging about it! Ha! :)

You can find Chobani in probably any grocery store in with the other brands of yogurt. It may seem a little pricey, but IT IS SO WORTH IT!!!!! Maybe just use it as a treat every now and again. I bought five of them though!!!

Trust me on this one, you will be a fan.

I'm Baaaaaack and with Meringues!!!!

So sorry for being incognito again. I just had to get through the end of the semester. There was sooooo much grading to do and unfortunately the blog went by the wayside. But I am back now and OMG!!! have I got some yumminess for you!

We got a new Whole Foods in Connecticut. Okay, well it's been here for a couple of months but it is a couple of towns over and I just got there for the first time today. Let me tell you though I will go back OFTEN!!!

I picked up these incredible meringues. I blogged about meringues awhile back. I LOVE (super puffy pink heart) them!!! They are so light and refreshing. And because of the lightness of them of course that just means you can eat more of them. Ha! :)

My friend Erin is under the weather and I know how much she LOVES meringues and so I picked some up for her and dropped them by to cheer her up. :)

I got some Lemon Meringues. No, not lemon meringue pie but Lemon Meringues. Ha! I crack myself up.

I also picked up some Dulce de Leche flavored ones. YUMMY!!! Seriously they are so good. I really don't know which ones I like best.


These came in the mini size, which makes them uber cute!! I mean seriously, look at the cuteness!!

(I just got my new camera a couple weeks ago and love the clearness when I zoom in! This thing has a 30x zoom!!!!!!!!)

Do you love meringues and if so what's your favorite flavor??? I shoudl try making meringues. Nah, buying them is so much better!