This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support. Let me explain a couple of things as I begin this Friday Fave post.
One of my sons is really good at smoking pulled pork and we all love that. But, today we are going to actually focus on grilling for our Friday Faves and share some of our favorite things to throw on the barbie! After all, school if almost out and things are heating up. Memorial Day is coming and after that a plethora of other reasons to cook out on the grill will present themselves. So, let's get started! I love grilled chicken and corn. Last year I shared a grilling post with some of my favorite recipes that we had enjoyed at Alicia and Adrian's house. Just thinking about these recipes is making my mouth water. The Cilantro-Lime butter to slather on corn and rice is so good! This post also includes shrimp on skewers which is one of Alicia's favorites and grilled pineapple which is Lindsey's choice. Alicia loves surf and turf and says that she loves a good steak. I have recently perfected (in my humble opinion) a great way to grill steak that comes out so tender and delicious.
Maddy loves veggies of course, so the grilled corn and other grilled vegetables are right up her ally. Even if you aren't firing up the barbecue, you can grill indoors on your grill pan. I wanted a grill pan for years, then, when I finally got a new set of cookware, they came with a grill pan! I was thrilled! This one is similar to mine. This evening I did some zucchini in the grill pan. It was really good! Using the grill pan with vegetables makes them so much more tasty and different than just the normal way of sauteing them. And the grill marks make them look so pretty. Grilled Zucchini is easy to do. Just slice it length wise. Heat up your grill pan and add some olive oil when it is hot. Lay your zucchini in the pan on the diagonal to get the nice grill marks. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and parsley. It just takes a couple of minutes per side to get tender slices with beautiful grill marks. Finally, when it comes to grilling, I think my husband would choose a hamburger every time. How about you? What will you choose? It's time to start thinking about it and to start celebrating National Barbecue Month!
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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.
With Mother's Day just a few days away, we thought some last minute gift faves may be in order. it isn't too late to do something really thoughtful and memorable for the special mothers in your life.
Last year, we posted about Budget Friendly Mother's Day Gifts. Some of the items on there are still doable, so check out that post! One of the things mentioned on that post is...
Printables:
Subscriptions:
I sometimes consider signing up for some of those subscription boxes that are so popular now, but I usually chicken out, unable to commit! But, if someone were to give me one as a gift, I would be thrilled! There are different types of subscriptions to fit all budgets, styles and tastes. Here are a few that tempt me:
The wonder of the Internet makes last minute gift shopping so easy! When time and confusion make gift shopping difficult, we now have the luxury of doing some online shopping and computer pizzazz to end up with a great gift. My last gift suggestion is the gift of time. Give the mothers in your life quality time with you and quality time for herself. There is nothing I love more than to just sit and laugh and talk with my children and husband without any pressure to be anywhere else. Have a wonderful Mother's Day everyone! I'll let you know all about mine next week!
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.
April 22nd is Earth Day. Since this time of year is when gardens are being planted around the country, depending on your weather, and we are all looking forward to those fresh tasting fruits and veggies, we thought that in honor of Earth Day, we would talk about our garden faves! Because, a great was to help the earth is to plant some plants that produce food and cultivate and use them. So here is today's Friday Fave question:
What is your favorite garden produce that you can hardly wait to taste this year?
One of my goals this year is to put in a garden. Here in Phoenix, that should have happened already, and it hasn't. Luckily, except for the couple of extremely hot months in the middle of the summer, we can grow all year here. So, it looks like it will be a Fall garden for me this year!
When I do have a Spring/Summer garden in, I love so much of the produce, that it is hard for me to choose my favorite, but Maddy and I chose the same thing this time. Tomatoes! Nothing tastes better than fresh tomatoes picked ripe from the vine. The flavor is just overwhelming every year when I bite into that first tomato.
The tomato in that picture came from my garden a couple of years ago and got turned into some delicious salsa! Fresh salsa is best with homegrown tomatoes! Click that link for the best recipe!
Lindsey says that she loves homegrown corn on the cob! Just like tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob is so sweet, tender and delicious. And, if you missed my recipe for grilled corn with cilantro lime butter, you have to try it. It is full of flavor and the taste just bursts in your mouth.
Alicia really enjoys gardening. Even when she was a college student, she would plant tomatoes in her rented house's flowerbeds and in her apartments she had success with Topsy Turvy Tomatoes hanging from her porch. When I asked her what her garden fave is she answered that she loves her herb garden. It is so great to be cooking and to be able to go out and snip some fresh basil or rosemary when you need it and to get that wonderful fresh herb taste. Now that she lives in the Bay area, the weather is much different from Phoenix, but she is figuring it out. She has just planted a couple of grow boxes behind her house with a nice variety of herbs and vegetables.
One last favorite is strawberries! I love picking bright red berries that are fully ripe. They are so sweet and delicious. Eating strawberries from the grocery store just doesn't cut it after eating the vine ripened ones. And then, using them for Strawberry Shortcake or for making Strawberry Jam is just the icing on the cake.
If you are ready to get planting this year, we have found a few helps for you! Take a look!
If you have limited space, these Topsy Turvy tomatoes are a great idea!
If you want to put in your own herb garden, here is a great assortment of non-GMO seeds! Non-GMO is great because after you start growing, you can begin to collect your own seeds to plant in following years.
Do you need a place to plant? There are some attractive grow boxes available at a great price.
What are your favorite things to harvest from your garden? Do you plant one? Is there something that you have had great success with? Let us know in the comments.
Have a great weekend! Have a Happy Earth Day!
This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
On my side of the family, Scrabble is the family game. I was raised on it, as were the rest of my siblings. My mom, who recently turned 95, is always up for a game. I would venture to say that playing Scrabble all of these years has contributed to keeping her mind as sharp as it is at her age. She is kind of a Scrabble snob, I am sorry to say. She gets disgusted if you only use 3 letter words or if you don't get loads of points from two directions with your "S". She doesn't like it when someone always refers to a dictionary to find their words. But, even so, we have a blast when we play together! When we play without her, the defining rule is that if my mom has used the word, it is legal in Scrabble.
Often, when we travel to California to visit my side of the family, the Boltons, we will gather at my brother's house and have a Scrabble Tournament, with 2 or 3 games going at once and winners playing each other in a round robin type competition. It is always so much fun. One year, Alicia and I made everyone t-shirts that had Scrabble tile holders on them with letters like this one:
I have noticed that Scrabble Tiles are popular things to make crafts and decorator items with. That leads me to believe that there are many of you out there who love to play Scrabble as much as my family does. Since today is officially Scrabble Day, our Friday Fave question is this:
What is a favorite item you have seen or made with Scrabble Tiles?
I have seen some adorable Christmas ideas using Scrabble Tiles! Look at these Christmas trees!
By the way, in order to make any of these crafts, there are a couple of ways to get the tiles without raiding your Scrabble game.
Now, when you order these, no fair slipping an extra "O" or an "E" up your sleeve for the times that you have a set of letters like the one in the game above!
We also found some really adorable Scrabble themed items on Etsy!
Look at these sweet pillows for only 4.99 a piece!
Who knew that these simple little tiles could enrich our homes so much! I know that Scrabble has helped me to be a better speller and problem solver! Now it helps me decorate my home as well, LOL! I love it!
So, maybe you can craft a thing or two with some Scrabble tiles, or if nothing else, be sure to enjoy a game of Scrabble to celebrate the day! Let us know if you have any great ideas using these letters. |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
June 2024
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