Oh my Lord… do you see that plate of deliciousness up there? Yes? The pasta with bits of bacon, black pepper and a creamy white sauce? You need to hop over to Tasty Kitchen where I found the recipe and make it, pronto. Trust me. Good stuff!

But wait! Before you do that, stay here and strut your stuff. Remember last month when we shared our very best work from the month prior? Whether it was a link to a photograph you took, a blog post you wrote…any work that you were especially proud of you shared.  Let’s do that again, shall we?

Take a look back at what you accomplished in the month of August (or at least close to August) and share your link using the linkup below. If you don’t have a link, but want to share a comment or story, please feel free to do that in the comments section. I hope you’ll join in!

The month of August, as you know, was a difficult one for our family. I wrote the post about losing my brother within hours of his death. I wrote, didn’t edit, and hit publish. It was a post straight from the heart, riding on the emotions that I was carrying with me after witnessing his death. I don’t get the opportunity to write like that on Dine & Dish very often and although I didn’t love the fact that my brother had to pass away in order for me to write it, I am proud of what I shared in that post.

I also really liked this dessert coffee photograph that I took for a Simple Bites post I did. I have tried for years to capture this kind of mood in photos, typically unsuccessfully. I was happy to finally get the mood I wanted through a photograph!

That’s it for me… I hope you will join in and share what work you are most proud of from the past month! (Feel free to share more than just one thing.)

9 1/2 years ago, we welcomed our first baby into our family. It seems like such a long time ago, looking back. I remember specific moments with Jacob that I don’t remember with my three girls. There’s the first time he fell asleep in his high chair with a mouth and face full of food. My awe and surprise at the first time his chubby little hands reached out for a toy hanging on his infant carrier. My heart melted in an instant the first time his little voice repeated back the “I love you sweet baby” that I’d say to him every night as I put him down to sleep. He is my first, and as much as I do love my girls, Jacob will always have an extra special place in my heart because of that.

My dear blogging friend, Maria, and her husband Josh, are getting ready to welcome their first baby into their “pod”. A sweet little boy. I am so excited for Maria to experience all the firsts that a mom gets to experience. I won’t go on about the eye opening firsts that I remember as a new mom, but I will tell Maria that she is in for a joyous and exciting and sometimes challenging ride. Being a parent is something I feel so blessed to do (although if you would ask me on most days, I’m ready to pull my hair out because of the kids typically).

Maria – take lots of pictures, treasure the moments, and enjoy being a mama to your sweet new bundle. Congrats to you and Walter Dan Josh. From our family to yours, much love and happiness. I can’t wait to meet him!

Several bloggers have joined together for a surprise virtual baby shower for Maria and Josh. Check out the list of participants below the recipe! I hope you’ll take a minute to click around and visit some of the great blogs participating!

Recipe: Oven-baked Apples

• 4 tart apples, such as Fuji or Jonagold
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Scoop out the core from top of the apple, leaving a well. Do not cut all the way through.
3. Stuff each apple with 2 Tablespoons brown sugar and 1 Tablespoon butter.
4. Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until apples are tender.

Drinks

Simple Bites – Lemon Balm infused Lemonade

Ingredients, Inc. – Healthy Fruit Punch

Food for My Family – Lemongrass Soda

Heather’s Dish – Mixed Fruit Punch

She Wears Many Hats – Mini Pistachio Smoothies

Appetizers/Savory Bites

With Style and Grace – Truffle Popcorn

Family Fresh Cooking – Baby Peas & Cheese Frittata

Barbara Bakes – Creamy Orange Fruit Dip and Fruit

Aggie’s Kitchen – Pasta Salad with Balsamic Basil Vinaigrette

Reluctant Entertainer – Nutella Berry Bruschetta

Dessert

TidyMom – Blue and Chocolate Cake Balls

i am baker – Baby Pea Baby Shower Cake

Brown Eyed Baker – Pavlova

Picky Palate – Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Sandwich

What’s Gaby Cooking – Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cookin’ Canuck – Nutella & Cream Cheese Swirled Blondies

Kevin and Amanda – Baby Blue Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Cups

Sweetopia – Decorated Sugar Cookies

Mountain Mama Cooks – Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Sweetapolita – Decorated Sugar Cookies

Bake at 350 – Petit Fours with fondant pea pods

RecipeGirl – Baby Button Cookies

RecipeBoy – Mud Cups with Gummy Worms

Add a Pinch – Blackberry Tartlets

Dine and Dish – Oven Baked Cinnamon Apples

Crafts

Wenderly – Handmade Sweet Pea Cards

Our Best Bites – How To: Make a Diaper Cake Centerpiece

I collapsed into bed, exhausted. Dealing with my brothers illness has taken a toll on me I never expected. When a family member is dying I’m discovering there are a lot of eggshells to be walked on. Am I doing enough? Am I intruding? Am I annoying them calling and checking on things when in reality I hadn’t called and checked on things all that much before he was sick? Will what I’m attempting to do be seen as genuine or as a last minute attempt to be at peace with our relationship? Do you want me around? Do you not? Can I help? Please, what can I do to help? What is the right thing to do?

I haven’t been myself this past month, and I know it. I’ve been flighty and distant and bitchy. I’ve shirked responsibility and have taken retreat into my house when I haven’t felt like dealing with being “on”. So, when I collapsed into bed, spent and worn out and my husband asked me to rub his neck, I sighed, made an unloving remark, turned over and went to sleep.

The one person I love the most in the world – more than my children, more than my brother, more than anyone else – is the one person I’ve been taking for granted. That hit me harder than ever when I woke up to find this tweet on Twitter from blogging friend Jennifer Perillo:

Her husband, the father of her two precious children, had suddenly collapsed and had died from a heart attack. He was gone. The reality of how quickly a loved one can be taken out of our lives hit me hard. What if it were my husband? Would I have regrets about how I had treated him recently? You bet so. I’m lucky enough to have another chance.

It pains me in the worst way that Jennie and her family has to endure what they are going through in order for the rest of us to be reminded to hug our loved ones. Not today, not tomorrow, but now. Now is all we have and tomorrow could be too late.

Through a heartfelt post, another reminder to us all of how raw this time is, Jennie asked us all to join together by making a peanut butter pie in Mikey’s honor. So a pie is what I made…and what hundreds of other bloggers have made… as a simple reminder that life is short. Savor each other, savor the moments and as a tribute to one another love each and every day because it could be the last.

This happens to be another 6 ingredient or less dessert recipe. Have you shared your 6 ingredient or less dessert recipe for the chance to win a $600 American Express Gift Card? If not, head over to my Creamy Biscoff Pudding post now to enter the giveaway.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie with Biscoff Cookie Crust for Mikey

For the crust:

• 1 package of Biscoff Cookies (approximately 32 cookies)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 8 Tablespoons melted butter

1. Place Biscoff cookies into a food processor and process until fine crumbs have formed.
2. Add granulated sugar and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
3. Press into a 9-inch pie plate.
4. Bake in a pre-heated 350° oven for 8 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cool completely.

For the ice cream:

• 4 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts

1. In a mixing bowl, mix ice cream and peanut butter together on medium speed until combined.
2. Spoon ice cream mixture into cooled pie crust.
3. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped peanuts.
4. Freeze overnight. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Easter has always been one of those holidays for my family that is spent with our “friends” family… you know, those friends and neighbors that are so close you feel like they are family? Both my parents and my in-laws don’t live near us, so when we aren’t able to make it home for a holiday, like Easter, we turn the celebration into something local with our friends.

Easter always means dying eggs, a visit to the Easter Bunny for an annual picture, our church Easter egg hunt and of course, a big meal with a full table of food and friends. Whether we have something elaborate or celebrate simply, it is always a time to be thankful for #1) winter being over (can I hear a big hooray for that one?), #2) the best family and friends a girl could ask for and #3) the wonderful blessings in our lives.

Speaking of blessings, this year has started off with a bang as far as new opportunities go. I am going to be celebrating the Easter season with the folks at Breakstone’s Sour Cream and Better Homes and Gardens. You’ll learn more as the weeks progress, but be on the lookout for some delicious Easter recipes as well as simple decorating ideas to make your Easter table really special from myself and 2 other bloggers, The Hungry Mouse and $5 Dinners.

You can also get in on the action by entering a sweepstakes for a chance to win $2500 simply by sharing your favorite Easter tradition on Better Homes and Gardens. Head on over and check out how now!

Since we’re talking Easter, what are some of your Easter traditions? Do you get to spend Easter with family or do you celebrate a different way?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Breakstone’s Sour Cream.  All ideas, thoughts, experiences and photos are my own.

Many of you know the very generous and talented Amanda from I Am Baker and I Am Mommy. Amanda has become a dear friend over the past year. Even though we have never met in person, we “chat” almost everyday with a group of other wonderful blogging friends. Amanda has provided support, friendship, laughter and love to our gaggle of friends. Now, it is our turn to shower her with some love!

Amanda is expecting a sweet baby boy in the next couple of days – her 4th kiddo! We have come together as a virtual group, since we can’t all meet in person, to throw a baby shower for her. It won’t be the same as getting to pat her little belly or “oooohhhh and ahhhhhh” over tiny little baby diapers and clothes, but hopefully Amanda will feel our hugs and love through the internet waves. We can’t wait to “meet” I Am Baby Boy Baker and hope that you’ll visit the other shower participants to see what everyone is cooking up to welcome him into the world! (Make sure to scroll to the bottom for my contribution to the shower… Special Stuffed Mushrooms!)

Drinks

Add a Pinch – i am baby Shower Punch
TidyMom – Ducky Bath Blue Punch

Savory Bites

Dine and Dish – Stuffed Mushrooms
GoodLife Eats – Cucumber Sandwich Recipe
My Baking Addiction – Crab Rangoons
Simple Bites – Spring Crudité, Buttermilk-Black Pepper Dip

Desserts

A Farmgirl’s Dabbles – {i am baby} cakes
Bake at 350 – Baby on Board Cookies
Bakers Royale – Baby Shower Cupcakes
Bluebonnets and Brownies – Mini Fruit Pizzas
Confessions of a Cookbook Queen – Homemade Butter Mints
Food for My Family – Baby Shower Macarons
Gourmande in the Kitchen – Chocolate Blueberry Truffles
My Kitchen Addiction – Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
She Wears Many Hats – “B” is for Boy – Itty Bitty Baby Cupcakes
Smith Bites – Strawberries with Brown Sugar Dip
What’s Cooking with Kids – Hamentashen cookies

Last But Not Least

Wenderly – Baby Cards

Recipe: Special Stuffed Mushrooms

• 16 ounce container whole fresh mushrooms (12-16 large mushrooms)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms thoroughly under warm water.
2. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until soft, 2-3 minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, add cream cheese, Mozarella cheese, black pepper, onion powder and chili powder. Add chopped garlic and chopped mushroom stems, stirring together until well blended.
5. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve warm.

It is no secret that I love sweets. In fact, when Lent rolls around each year and I see people giving up sweets, I hide… I don’t want those kind of crazy thoughts to invade my brain. I can tell you straight up, me without sweets, would not be a pretty sight.

When the folks over at The Motherhood asked me if I would like to be a co-host for a virtual Cooking Connections class surrounding all things sweet, I jumped at the chance. An hour devoted to nothing other than desserts? I’m in!

You can join in the virtual chat based class as well, this Wednesday 1pm EST on The Motherhood. Julie, from Mommie Cooks and I will be joined by a team of dessert experts who will share some great recipes, techniques and tips surrounding:

• Kid Friendly Desserts & Desserts on the Go
• Your Favorite Desserts, Lightened Up
• Desserts Worth Indulging & Special Occasion Desserts

In the meantime, I am doing my best to diligently research sweet treats prior to the Cooking Connections class. I want to make sure I am armed with the best dessert recipes out there to share with you! Researching, taste testing, experimenting with dessert recipes is tough, I tell ya’, but I am more than willing to do it for you and the Cooking Connections Sweet Treats class.

I know there is still a chill in the air, but I am anxiously awaiting spring and summer, which means sweet treats of the frozen variety. In this case, Frozen White Chocolate Hot Chocolate. Yes, you read correctly… frozen hot chocolate. OK – it isn’t necessarily hot, but this recipe takes your favorite hot chocolate mix and turns it into a rich, frozen, decadent treat.

Recipe: Frozen White Chocolate Hot Chocolate (Adapted from Epicurious)

• 6 half-ounce pieces of high quality white chocolate
• 2 Tbs half and half
• 1 envelope store bought hot chocolate mix
• 1  tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups ice
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Chocolate shavings (optional)

Place the white chocolate pieces and the half and half into a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1 minutes, stopping to stir half way through. Continue to heat until melted and smooth.  Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture, and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a cup and top with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Baby, it’s cooooold outside! I think it is high time we celebrate one of our favorite comfort foods.…… SOUP!

Soup is one of those things that everyone can equate back to their childhood. My mom always made the best chicken noodle soup, served on our silver “sick tray” in bed when we were under the weather. When you come in from a cold day of snow fort building, what do you want? Soup!

and like every great party……..there will be PRIZES from some fabulous sponsors!!

Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers

How to Participate in Soup-a-Palooza

1. Write and post a recipe on your blog featuring a soup, stew, chili, or chowder. You can have up to two soup entries! Each soup entry enters you into the drawing for some great prizes!

2. Include “Come join Soup-a-Palooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers” in your blog post. If you use an old soup post for the Soup-a-Palooza, please just go in and add the above phrase to that post.

3. On Feb 15th add your link to your soup post to the widget on either TidyMom or Dine and Dish (we have the same widget code, so only add it on one site). Enter up to 2 soups. Each soup entry makes you eligible to win some of the great prizes from the above sponsors.

4. Don’t have a blog? no problem…..leave your recipe in the comments on the day of the Soup-a-Palooza party (Feb 15, 2011)

5. If you want, help spread the word about Soup-a-palooza through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.

• Sample Tweet: Join @DineandDish & @TidyMom for #Soupapalooza. Share your recipes (and WIN) here: http://tidymom.net or http://dineanddish.net Pls RT

6. Button for your sidebars or posts – just use the supplied coding below if you want a button in your posts or on your blog sidebar.The button1 is 150×206. If you need a smaller size, feel free to download the image, adjust the size and provide your own coding.

<div align="center"><a href="http://dineanddish.net" title="Dine and Dish"><img src="http://tidymom.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/soup-button.jpg" alt="Soupapalooza" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

7. Have fun and enjoy! Thanks for participating and we look forward to warming up during Soup-a-Palooza!

Another week and more happiness to share with you all! Thanks for sharing what made you happy with me last week. From planting herbs, setting up curbside recycling, blogging & week in reviews, reading books, keeping resolutions, celebrating and receiving much deserved praise, you all had some really simple and inspirational things making you smile! Hopefully you’ll share what’s making you happy in the comments section again this week.

Right now, I am in a state of “bliss” and exhaustion, if it is possible for the two to go together. I am currently in Nashville, TN at the Blissdom 2011 conference. Jyl, from Mom it Forward, sent myself and 8 other women to represent their brand at this fantastic conference. Being sponsored by such a wonderful brand, connecting with old friends and meeting new friends truly is something that makes me happy!

In addition to that, this is what popped up on my happiness radar this week:

As I mentioned above, I am currently at the Blissdom conference. This morning I got to listen to an opening keynote speech that I truly needed to hear. Brene Brown, author of the book The Gifts of Imperfection, spoke about vulnerability and deeper connections with others. I heard her speak at the Evo conference and was as equally impressed, but felt like she was truly talking to me this time around. I ended up buying her book I was so moved by her speech. Some of my takeaway quotes from her talk were:

“Connection is what gives our life meaning and purpose.”

“Vulnerability is the key to loving and living with our whole hearts.”

“Worthiness has no prerequisites.” –> Typically love this one as someone who often gets caught up in comparing myself to others and feeling like I’m not good enough.”

“When you say you don’t care what people think and you mean it, you have lost the capacity to connect.”

“Find and be a friend that would move a body” –> I’m lucky to have some friends like this… thank you body moving friends!

and finally, she shared what Oprah has hanging outside of her office…LOVE this. “You are responsible for the energy you bring into this room.”

Happy stuff, I tell ya’!

Other things?

I discovered this new to me “pin board” website called Pinterest. You put a “pin” in things you like out on the web and it collects them on a “board” for you on their site. Like a bulletin board of things you love. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

If you are a mom, you must go take a look at this post by Straving Artist Ink. It makes me happy when people trust us so much that they share their most vulnerable moments. THIS, my friends, is truly being open to vulnerability!

And finally, because I can’t help but be a little materialistic from time to time, every single item in the Etsy store, Kitty Rogers Photography, makes me happy! Cute stuff!

Oh, and hot tea… hot tea and the calm time to drink it, thrills me to pieces. (The picture is part of my Project 365 which I share over on my Photo Journey Blog.)

Now, it’s your turn! What has made you happy this week? Share in the comments, leave a link, or give me a shout out on Facebook or Twitter. Who knows? What makes you happy may be featured in a future Happiness Report! Even if you don’t share, take a moment to remind yourself that no matter what is going on in our lives, we all have a lot to be happy about!

Sometimes as food bloggers, we try so hard to do something original or out of the ordinary with our recipes that the plain recipes… the classic recipes… get overlooked. As much as I love a touch of special, I also have to admit that some of the most basic and simple recipes are my favorite.

These chocolate cookies, for example, won’t stand out to anyone as being unique. It is a chewy, chocolate cookie. Delicious and extraordinary in flavor, but there is nothing special about this recipe. This cookie won’t make it on a list of most interesting cookies. It won’t win awards for the most unique blend of flavors, but I can guarantee you that it will win smiles from each and every chocolate lover who tastes them.

Sure, I could have added a sprinkle of sea salt on the top to make them stand out. I could have sandwiched a layer of french vanilla caramel in between them for that extra ounce of ooomph. Even better… I could have drizzled salted french vanilla caramel on top of them for the biggest punch of wow, but I didn’t. You see, these cookies… these tender, soft, chewy, chocolaty cookies, don’t need help from a fancier supporting cast. They, my friends, can handle the spotlight quite well on their very own. Take a taste and see… sometimes plain can be the most extraordinary flavor of all.

The recipe is after this  short, fun video with Linda Stahl, baking authority for Hershey’s test kitchens. Linda personally answered some of my most pressing questions about the ins and outs of Cookie Exchanges. This chocolate cookie is one of my contributions to an upcoming cookie exchange with friends…listen to Linda’s advice on how else to make a cookie exchange successful!

Recipe: Extra Special Chewy Chocolate Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Hershey cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs then add the vanilla
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually mix into the creamed mixture.
4. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets
5. Bake 9 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies will be soft and still look slightly doughy
6. Let set and cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then remove from sheet onto wire rack to cool completely

It is frigid outside. The kind of frigid where you just want to curl up in your favorite fluffy slipper socks and PJ’s, the biggest blanket you can find and hibernate for the day, getting lost in a good book. Add to that putting on a  pot of my favorite comfort food on the stove to warm our bellies, and you’ve got the recipe for a perfect, indoor, veg out away from the cold kind of day.

We are so fortunate to have a warm roof over our heads, more than the basic necessities of life, and food on the table each and every day. It is this time of year, when most of us are trying to figure out how to avoid eating too much, that my mind wanders to those who are less fortunate. Those people who aren’t concerned about how much they eat, but rather…

whether they’ll get to eat at all…

I have partnered with Share Our Strength and over 50 fabulous food bloggers to raise awareness and funds through the “Share Our Strength Holiday Table“ progressive dinner. Families are in crisis.. single family households, dual parent households… hunger is not showing any discrimination in this tough economy. Awareness is key. Stopping to help is essential. We all need to do our part to make sure that no one goes hungry. How can you help? There are many ways you can help to ensure that the 17 million children who went hungry this year don’t suffer that same fate again. By making a simple donation…whatever your heart and wallet can spare… to the Share Our Strength foundation, you will assist in assuring those in need won’t go go hungry again.

My contribution to the progressive dinner party portion of the “Share Our Strength Holiday Table” is a roll recipe that uses up leftover mashed potatoes. Nothing says warmth, comfort, and love like fresh, homemade bread at your holiday table.

Recipe: Homemade Potato Rolls adapted from Taste of Home Magazine

• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup mashed potatoes
• 2 eggs

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, shortening and water to 120 degrees F-130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat until moistened. Add mashed potatoes and eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Do not knead. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Divide in half. With greased hands, shape each portion into 12 balls. Roll each ball into an 8-in. rope; tie into a knot. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets; tuck ends under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.