WINNER Hip Hostess Apron Giveaway

I'm so glad to announce the winner of The Hip Hostess apron giveaway!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:2Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations to sweet Amanda at Amanda's Cookin' who was chosen at Random.org - Thank you soooo much to everyone who entered the contest. Please don't forget that you still have till December 15th to get the 15% discount (Code: PHEMOM) off your Hip Hostess order!

My sincerest thanks again to the gals over at The Hip Hostess for their kindness with the giveaway and discount - if you haven't had a chance to check out their aprons and other lovely items, you really should!

Watch this coming Tuesday for my next giveaway!

TWD: Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies & GIVEAWAYS!

It has been for.ev.er since I got to make something for TWD. Sheesh. Admittedly, I haven't actually been baking or cooking much lately either - or what I have has been just the basics. I want to bake more, but while the spirit is willing, the body has been tired and weak. Today is officially the start of my third trimester so I'm trying to remember not to overdo anything either since I have no doubt overdoing it is part of what aggravated things during my last pregnancy.

As for this pregnancy, other than being nervous about what may or may not go wrong, things are going fairly well. I'm on track weight wise, etc etc etc so we're just happy to be plugging along. We're thoroughly grateful for that, so we'll just keep things going along those lines as best we can!

These molasses cookies, chosen a couple weeks ago by Pamela of Cookies with Boys were a breeze to make and were satisfactorily spicy and molasses-y, which I happen to love. I didn't bother with flattening them since I wanted them to stay thicker and chewier. The only change I made was to roll them in coarse raw sugar instead of regular sugar for that thicker sugar coating and crunchy, sparkly effect.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

Today of course also marks the first day of December. To celebrate one of my favorite months of the year I have a series of great giveaways planned this month, so please be sure to check back. To kick things off I wanted to feature a favorite source of gorgeous aprons that any kitchen lovin' gal would be supremely thrilled to receive as a gift this holiday season.

The Hip Hostess has graciously and generously agreed to offer up an apron of your choice to one lucky winner from their website (shown is their newest gorgeous addition - Melon Splash)!!

All you have to do to have a chance to win is leave a comment on this post saying which apron on their site you would choose if you win. The contest will run between now and Friday, December 4th at midnight (MST). The winner will be chosen using Random.org.

Just in case that isn't enough, The Hip Hostess is also offering 15% off orders through December 15th for my PheMOMenal readers! Just use the code PHEMOM (all caps) when you order!

For additional entries please do any or all of the following - please leave a separate comment for each item you do. If you already do any of these things, please just leave a comment letting me know.

1. Sign up to be on The Hip Hostess' Mailing List - you'll find out about sales, specials, etc, so if you are an apron lover like me (or know one) it is worth it!

2. Tweet this giveaway and let me know by including an @PheMom in the tweet - that way I get your twitter name so I can follow you in case I don't already!

3. Subscribe to PheMOMenon (in the sidebar)

4. Follow me on Twitter @PheMom

5. Become a follower of PheMOMenon (in the sidebar)

6. Add my new adorable blog button to your blog (isn't it ridiculously cute!) - you can grab the code right there in my sidebar.

My First TV Experience and a GIVEAWAY!!!

This is me. This is actually me posing for my bloggy friends photo shoot in the Good Things Utah kitchen. You really have to love bloggers. It is so great being in a group of people that think alike. Lindsey, Becky and I all showed up with our cameras and both gals took shots of me in the kitchen, which I couldn't have done for myself, so I am so grateful! The pictures here are from Lindsey since she had a great pro camera. I hope they got some pictures of them too because I was pretty out of it trying to get ready to cook on live TV and was kept pretty busy with that too.

Let me warn you right now that there are a lot of links you are going to want to check out in this post, so if you didn't already know, ctrl click is your friend and will leave this post open and let you choose to open the link in another window so you can enjoy all the good stuff!

The TV segment yesterday was awesome. I was completely nervous, but I think I hid it pretty well. I am told by my immediate family that unless you knew me well you might not catch my tells (the shaky voice and hands at times). You know I am all about full disclosure and honesty here, so now when you watch the video you can see if you catch me shaking in my boots! Well, my ballet flats anyway. If you want to miss all the rest of the fun and jump down to the video link toward the middle of the post, you can, but there is lots of fun stuff to tell, so you may want to stick around.



That is the demo plate of the Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas I made for the show. I have mentioned it a couple of times before, and I got to mention on air that the original recipe for these came from a couple of other bloggers, but I just wanted to reiterate here how grateful I am to Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe for turning me on to this recipe in the first place.

The really fun thing (I think) about this original recipe is that it has been through at least three or four sets of adaptations. That probably isn't even the whole story. In my enchiladas, I increased the honey and lime a bit and took the amount of chili powder down a bit. I also use fresh garlic because that is what I always have on hand and like that more than the powder for something like this. I also decreased the amount of cream a little bit and I like to play with the types of cheese I use for topping - mostly depending on what I have on hand. The other change I made was that I really love using the corn tortillas for this now. I can't tell you enough how ridiculously easy and delicious these enchiladas are.

I first saw this recipe made by Melanie (who made some changes to it), Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe got it from Brittany (The Sister's Cafe which is a GREAT blog by the way), and Brittany got a version of it from a friend who brought it to her after she had her baby. Now, I give you my Good Things Utah version, as well as the links to all the others (just click on the various blogger in this paragraph to find the recipe versions.

That is really the great thing about this recipe. It is so flexible to change and still turns out such fantastic results! Confusing? My point is that you can adapt this and have a great time doing it and still have great results. Don't believe me? Well...

Imagine my surprise and thrill when I tuned in for GTU this morning and Nicea mentioned that she made these enchiladas for her family last night and that she adapated the recipe for them a bit too (she subbed the heavy cream with some half-and-half to make it a little less decadent) and that they still turned out great.

I had someone in the studio audience ask me what else you could substitute to make them healthier and I had to chuckle at myself a little bit when after she asked me, and I paused and said, "well, just leave the cream out altogether." I chuckled because I didn't remember at first, but, I believe Melanie made the addition of the cream in the first place. This is one chameleon of a recipe!

We got to talk with Nicea and Reagan on the show and they were both amazing! I have to tell you, these gals look great on TV, but even better in person! I was in awe of how put together and awesome they were! Thanks again to both Nicea and Reagan for having us and for making us feel so comfortable!


In my humble opinion, the best compliment you can get on a recipe is when someone actually makes it! I am so glad that the ladies at GTU loved it as much as I do!

One thing I didn't get to mention on air either was the fact that the substitution of using corn tortillas for the enchiladas instead of flour actually came from my sister, Michelle. The first time I ever made these enchiladas was with my neices, Miranda and Brit, when they were visiting here. Those are the original "Rock Your World" version already here on my blog. We all loved them and were floored by how good they are. I told my neices I would try to give them a shout out on the show if I could, but frankly, I was so discombobulated just trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing that I didn't get to. Therefore, I told them they would get the shout out here in writing instead! Hi girls! Love ya!

My Good Things Utah experience was not only a good thing (see how I did that... I'm just so clever - snerk) - it was a GREAT thing!

The producers, staff, cameramen, and especially the hostesses at Good Things Utah are simply wonderful. There really isn't another word to describe them. Even though I was nervous just by the new experience of being on live TV (or any TV for that matter) they made me feel so comfortable that it went a whole lot better than I hoped it would.

HUGE Thanks go out to all the crew and hostesses over at Good Things Utah for having us on the show and for just being so wonderful! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (And for all my foodie friends, did you know that they make a recipe on there pretty much EVERY DAY and there are video links and recipe links to them on their site? Yeah, I thought that might get your attention!)

The only problem was that there just wasn't enough time to talk about all the things I wanted to. We talked about food blogging in general and about the recipe and a bit about what we do on a food blog, but we just ran out of time before we could get into all the things I hoped too.

They showed the front page of my blog several times though which had a great link to The Hive and I have already had several requests to join The Hive blog as well as the group on Facebook. So, even though we didn't get to spend time talking about The Hive once we cleared up the issue of what this food blogging thing is all about, we certainly seem to have succeeded in getting the word out about our little group!



I also gave away a copy of my favorite baking book of all time - Baking From My Home To Yours (I talked about Tuesdays with Dorie too - it was great!) to a great lady in the studio audience who had to answer a food related trivia question that Reagan, one of the hostesses, had to come up with since yours truly was in such a dither still that I couldn't come up with jack!



SO. After all those fun pictures. Now you can even watch us on Good Things Utah (and please do because poor Becky was blocked in the picture to the right from this angle and she looked great too, so you really need to see!) - HERE IS THE VIDEO LINK TO THE INTERVIEW! Here is a little link to the story.

By the way, the videos are kind of small but when I did a right-click I was able to go full screen.

AND. Here is the recipe link for my take on the Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas that I made on the show - which you can watch THE VIDEO LINK TO THE COOKING SEGMENT HERE.


BUT. Before you run off and check it out, make sure you come back, because you see those seriously cute aprons we were wearing? Yeah. I thought you did. Well... drum roll......

My good friends over at
Bloom-n-Blush
have decided to throw down some fantastic deals for my readers and Good Things Utah viewers.......

They are going to giveaway an apron. Not just any apron though. Whichever one the winner chooses from their website. That's right. You get to pick.

Here is the thing about this fantastic company. These aprons are all unique because they are made with care and love, one by one. No manufacturing here. You see that pretty fringe-y stuff on Reagan's apron? Yeah. It is delicate stuff. The heart pockets are stitched on with skill and care. They use only the highest quality materials and fabrics and have so many seriously fun varieties.

So, do you want to know how you can win? Of course you do!

GIVEAWAY ENTRY RULES
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ITEM YOU COMPLETE!

You've got up to five chances to enter here! Good luck! Mr. Random.org will be doing the drawing - you've got until midnight (MST) on March 18, 2009 to enter!

1. Go to Bloom-n-Blush ( http://www.bloomnblush.com/ ), and sign up for their newsletter. Then look around their website and come back here and tell me you are going to get the newsletter and tell me what item on their website you would most want to win.

2. Subscribe to PheMOMenon via email or reader (links in the left bar), then tell me you did. If you already do, well, great, that counts so let me know.

3. Follow PheMOMenon on Twitter. Link is right over there on the side bar. If you already do, that counts so leave me a comment.

4. Twitter about the giveaway and leave me a comment that you did.

5. Blog about the giveaway - please include a link to both PheMOMenon ( http://phemomenon.blogspot.com/ ) Bloom-n-Blush ( http://www.bloomnblush.com/ ) ! (I am even posting a picture of one of their darling aprons below that you can use on your post - yes, it happens to be my personal favorite!)
Now, as if all those chances weren't enough, we all realize that a lot of you are going to want one of these spectacular aprons (did I tell you they have bags too? Yeah. I know!) the ladies over at Bloom-n-Blush want to make it even easier for you to get an apron for you, your mom, your grandma, your daughter, your sister, your best friend, or whoever - so here is some more good news:

For the same time as the contest, if you make a purchase from Bloom-n-Blush you get free shipping in the Continental U.S. and Canada - so get your order in before midnight (MST) on March 18th!

That's not all though - you can also use the discount code: GTU (as in Good Things Utah) as an extra thank you (and if you don't already watch the show, then you should) to get an extra $10 off your purchase now through midnight (MST), April 30, 2009!

Good luck! I can't wait to hear what you all pick out from their site!

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On a related note, I have had a few requests on how to find the other recipes I mentioned on the show. Here are links to both the Jicama & Black Bean Salad Lindsey made and the Gooey Coconut Dream Bars I made a while ago and mentioned during the show. Enjoy!

Giveaway FYI - Bumbleride Stroller

So, I don't normally do this, but since I know for a fact so many of my readers are other Mom's with active kiddos, I just wanted to let you know about this great giveaway you can go and enter (at a really great blog by another Mom here in Utah - I Never Grew Up). 

Vanessa does lots of great giveaways and is always fun to read, so you'll definitely want to bookmark her blog.

Here is the link with all the details to enter the giveaway for a Bumbleride Stroller - actually, exactly like the one you see right over there on the left.  Pretty cool, huh?!  : )  Good luck!

Raspberry Lime Muffins for Mom, Awards and a Giveaway!

Happy Mother's Day! I bring you today muffins for mom - the mom in this case being me, but I would serve them to the mother's I love without any hesitation. As my DH said this morning "these are a keeper." High praise from him indeed. You see, years ago, he would just say, "yeah, it's good" and leave it at that. Since he was basically my only usual audience for trying new things out on, I pretty much harassed him until he would give me more "constructive" criticism. So, now if I make something and he doesn't like it, I know he will tell me. About the only thing he doesn't like lately though is chocolate. Too bad for him, but more for me!

CELEBRATE! Rather than share any long, involved stories about the mothers that I love on this day though I just want to keep it simple and short and sweet so that you can just think about your own mom and the women in your life that are important to you, whether they are mothers or not. Why? Because, though I think it is great that there is a day to celebrate mom (hey, I'm no fool, I like any holiday that gives me the chance for gifts) I happen to know many nurturing, loving, incredible "phemomenal" women who are, just by sheer technicality, not mother's in the conventional sense of the word. I like to think of mothers as all women - young, old and inbetween. Afterall, I think that the nurturing instinct that is in all women is to be celebrated.

AWARDS: I've been saving up this day to make a special post with some awards to some very special bloggers who have touched my life and inspired me this winter. Today, I celebrate these amazing women and equally amazing and funny guys, and invite you all to celebrate them with me. There are so many others that are not on this list, simply because they have already received these awards or because I could only choose a few or because, bottom-line I haven't found them yet.

You see, a while back, Chriesi from Almond Corner and Melanie from My Kitchen Cafe were both kind enough to award this little blog I started with awards. Chriesi gave PheMom an 'E' award for being an Excellent blog and Melanie gave it a Blogging with Purpose Award. Very cool. Very, very cool. Why? Because, when I started this, I remember thinking that I was going to do it, even if no one wanted to read it, but oh, I really hoped that it would be entertaining for more than just me. Afterall, I started this New Year's Eve because I was lonely and bored and 2 1/2 months into what has become our 7 months of seclusion. As I write this, I am still waiting for the go ahead from the NICU where Cole was born last October (7 weeks early). All they keep saying is "after Mother's Day." Ironic much? Yeah, I thought so too.

So, I now have the privelege and pleasure of introducing my choices. As I mentioned, there were so many that I wanted to give this award to (as evidenced by the really long list of my favorite blogs I've found or had time to add to the list on the sidebar of this blog)!

HOW IT WORKS: Now, I know there are rules for the 'E' Award somewhere, but I am now typing one handed with the baby sleeping on my other arm, so this is whatcha' get. I will let these lovely folks know that I've awarded them with much love in my heart and that they can do the same to 10 others - here, my rules forward digress. I know for a fact that some of the "loved ones" below don't particularly care for meme's and that is totally fine with me. I know their hearts are in the right place and that is more than enough. (You, yes, you, you know who you are - you don't have to worry about passing this on - just know you are loved and that I just wanted to letcha know). Should you want to pass it on, then by all means, nab the badge from here and spread the love by commenting to your choices that you are awarding them an 'E.'

Without further ado, I am passing the 'E' Award for Excellent Blogs on to:
Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness
Kate at The Clean Plate Club
Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe
Tempered Woman
Gabi at The Feast Within
Blake of Blake Makes
Aran at Cannelle et Vanille
Manggy at No Special Effects
Maggie at Dog Hill Kitchen
Stephanie of A Whisk and Spoon

Now, for the Blogging with Purpose here are my "nominations."

Blogging with a Purpose:
Barbara at Winos and Foodies
Joy the Baker
Bron Marshall
Helen at Tartlette
Libby at The Allergic Kid

Award-winners, here's what you can do if you would like to nominate any other blogs:
1. nominate 5 blogs which haven't had this award before
2. each of the blogs must have a purpose
3.the nominated blogs should link back to this page
4. the logo from the award can be put on their blog and to link back to this blog!

Easy enough, huh?

THE GIVEAWAY: Now, if you've made it this far, to show my gratitude and appreciation for being here, all you have to do to have a chance at winning a $25 gift card to Sur la Table is to leave a comment here telling me why you love reading blogs. I know why I do, but I think it is fun to find out what appeals to others! I also want to thank you all for coming here and commenting - you will never know how much it means to me that you are here! So, comment away through May 15th and then I'll use a random number generator to choose the winner.

So, now, I'll give you the recipe (finally, I know). I simply adapted the recipe for Orange Berry Muffins in BFMHTY by Dorie Greenspan. In case you still don't have this book (and seriously, if you don't, what are you waiting for?!) I've noted the changes for the original below as well (see how nice I can be).

Raspberry Lime Muffins
(Adapted from Orange Berry Muffins - Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours”)
Ingredients:
Grated zest and juice of 3 limes (1 orange)
About 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberries (blueberries) - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)
Decorating sugar, for topping (optional) (I used "raw" turbinado sugar)
Additional - 1/3 cup sliced almonds, for topping (optional)

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
Pour the lime (orange) juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lime (orange) zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the raspberries (blueberries). Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar and almonds, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes (I actually just sprinkled both of them on before going into the oven). When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.