Dare to Share #152

It is another cold and snowy Friday night, 

and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!  

Before you get too worried, this is a picture from a few years ago.  You may have noticed I did not have very many posts this week.  It seems my daughter is dealing with another health issue for the third February since 2012. I don't know what is is about February, but it has not been a fun month for her. I posted a picture from her cat scan a few years ago, because I do not have a recent picture of her from this month.  I wrote about what ailment she was diagnosed with this year in The World Keeps on Spinning. 

You will see some more posts in the upcoming week. . There are 4 in the works, that will be finished this weekend.  There will be a St. Patrick's Day craft, a recipe, and two reviews.  I will have help with one of the reviews on a new installment of Crafting with Kara.   

There have been so many great links on the Dare to Share party each week.  There are so many that I would like to feature that I am going to start doing themed features of the day.   The recipes in the 4 Pizza & Quesadilla Recipes Perfect for Dinner feature are 

BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas by Simply Stacie

The Best Cauliflower Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza by The Bewitchin Kitchen

Chicken & Bacon Pizza Quesadilla by Simply Stacie

Curried Veggie Pizza by Dizzy, Busy, and Hungry

Today's feature them  was Awesome Party Ideas

Red Carpet Strawberry Champagne and Oscars Party by Hey, Let's Make Stuff

Eat More Cake Printable and 101 Gift Ideas by Play. Party. Pin.

Birthday Cake Pudding Cookies by Living Better Together

Oscar Party Ideas by Atta Girl Says

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations has the directions to make a Cinderella's Dress Maker Book for those who are really excited about the upcoming Cinderella Movie. 

Now it is time for this week's party.. You are welcome to link up anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a feature of the day, your post will be featured on the blog and social media.  This party is also on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure. 

Link Up and HAVE FUN! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Awesome Party Ideas - Features of the Day

There are just so many great posts linked to the Dare to Share Party lately.  In order to feature more posts each week, I am going to start doing themed features.  Today I chose Awesome Party Ideas.  If you are having a birthday party, or a special event party, each of these posts will have something you want to check out.  

Britini from Play. Party. Pin. shared this super fun Eat More Cake printable and 101 inexpensive birthday gift ideas.  I love all the fun colors in this picture. 

While the Oscars are over, Amy from  AttaGirl Says shared her gorgeous Oscar Party, and lots of recipes of what she served. Many of these ideas can be used for other special days or events.  You also need to be sure to watch her Oscar Party Trailer, showing how she got ready for the party.  

Cori from Hey, Let's Make Stuff also shared ideas from her Oscar Party, including this incredibly yummy looking Red Carpet Strawberry Champagne. 

Rebecca from Living Better Together just celebrated an important birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!) and to celebrate she is sharing her recipe for these Birthday Cake Pudding Cookies.  Stop over to her site to see how to make them. 

Thank you so much Brittini, Amy, Cori and Rebecca for sharing your wonderful posts on Dare to Share!

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4 Pizza & Quesadilla Recipes Perfect for Dinner - Features of the Day

This week at the Dare to Share Party, I noticed a trend. There were several quesadilla and pizza recipes shared that all looked super delicious. I could not pick just one, so I am featuring four that I think you would love to serve for dinner tonight.  

This Cauliflower Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe by The Bewitchen Kitchen caught my eye.  At my house we love BBQ chicken pizza, but have never thought to make a crust from cauliflower.   Randa shares how you can turn a favorite healthy vegetable into a healthy pizza option. Be sure to stop over to The Bewitchen Kitchen to see how.  

Another BBQ chicken recipe that would love to serve my family are these BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas by Simply Stacie. These sweet and spicy quesadillas would make a great meal or appetizer. You can see the full recipe on Simply Stacie. 

If you like chicken but BBQ is not your thing, Simply Stacie also shared this Chicken & Bacon Pizza Quesadilla.  I know my family would love this recipe as well, because there is bacon on it! Yum!  This would make a quick and easy meal on those busy school nights. Check out Simply Stacie for the full recipe.  

If you do not eat meat, or not a fan of chicken there was a pizza recipe for your shared this week as well.  Kristin from Dizzy, Busy and Hungry shared her Curried Veggie Pizza. It is topped with broccoli, cauliflower, cheese and of course curry powers.  Be sure to stop over to Dizzy, Busy and Hungry for her recipe.  

Are you hungry yet?  

Thank you to Randa, Stacie, and Kristin for linking up this great recipes to this week's Dare to Share!

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Dare to Share #151

It is a freezing Friday night, and you know what that means..  

it is time to Dare to Share! 

I don't know about where you live, but were we live it feels like we are living in the arctic!  We had two days of school canceled, and would have had a third if we had not already had it scheduled off for winter break.They do not cancel school unless the temps reach -20 windchill, so you can imagine how cold we are right now. Brrrrrr.. The cold really does bother me anyway! 

While inside trying to keep warm, we had the chance to try a couple of new recipes. We tried Zucchini Pizza Bites, and really liked them. They are were just the right amount of healthy and cheesy. 

I recently saw a video on Facebook with lots of fun things you can make in your waffle maker.  I wanted to see if the Tater Waffles would actually work.  We now have a new way to eat tator tots. 

I unintentionally had a themed with my features this week.  Both were recipes that were intended for Valentine's Day, but are also perfect for other occasions as well. (think Easter and Mothers Day)     These White Chocolate Strawberries & Champagne Crepes by The Gold Lining Girl would be great to serve at a special brunch. 

5 Ingredient Red Velvet Cupcakes by Living Better Together were a great Valentine's Day Treat, but red velvet is great the rest of the year too.  Just change the heart sprinkles. 

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations shared a great family recipe and activity this week. 

Now it is time for this week's party.  You are welcome to link up anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature of the Day, your post will be featured on the blog and social media.  Your post will also be seen over at Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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5 Ingredient Red Velvet Cupcakes - Feature of the Day

My daughter loves Red Velvet Cupcakes, so I noticed this post right away.  While this recipe by Living Better Together was for Valentine's Day, it really is a recipe that could be used for other special days as well.  I also love that you only need 30 minutes to make this simple but gorgeous dessert. Be sure to go to Living Better Together to see how she made them with only 5 ingredients.  Thank you Rebecca for linking up your beautiful cupcakes to Dare to Share!

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Tater Waffles

Recently I saw a video on Facebook with several things you can make in your waffle maker.  A lot of times videos like these make things look super easy, but when you try it at home, it just does not work. Since I have a pretty nice collection of appliances that I rarely use, I decided to break out my waffle maker,  and try out some of the ideas.   One that I knew my kids would really love was the first one I decided to try... Tater Tot Waffles 

When I bought my waffle maker I really thought I would use it frequently, whipping up healthy waffles for my kids.  Yea... that has not happened. Early in the morning, they only have a few minutes for breakfast.  When they do want to eat a waffle, they will grab an inexpensive frozen box waffle that takes a minute in the toaster.  I have even seen one of them be too impatient for the toaster, and eat them right out of the freezer. I know I could make batches ahead of time and freeze them, but that has not happened either.  I have only used my waffle maker a handful of times, so it will be fun to try out a few new ways to use it.  

In the video, the tater tots were randomly placed on a circle single size waffle maker.  Mine is rectangular,  and makes two waffles at a time. I sprayed on some cooking spray, and then placed the tater tots in some order, but they were not tightly placed.    It turns out that is not the best idea. I am not sure how the waffle in the video stayed together, but mine completely fell apart.  Not all was lost though, the tater tots still tasted great. 

The second time I lined the tater tots horizontally, and as close together as possible. 

This time it was a success!  There were  still a few places where the tots did not full touch, but the entire waffle stuck together.  I carefully removed them from the waffle maker with a spatula, and put them on the plate.  My waffle maker is just a basic model, so it does not have any fancy dials or timers.  I just watched the time for about 5 minutes, and checked them a few times to make sure they were not burning.   

We this experiment being a success, we will be making Tater Waffles again. 

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White Chocolate Strawberries & Champagne Crepes - Feature of the Day

I know we are a few days past Valentine's Day, but I think these White Chocolate Strawberries and Champagne Crepes by The Gold Lining Girl  would be a great dish to also serve for Mother's Day, Easter and other special occasions. The combination of the strawberries, chocolate and champagne  make it a delicious and decadent treat.  Be sure to check out The Gold Lining Girl to get this recipe.  Thank you so much Sarah for sharing your crepes with us on Dare to Share!

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Zucchini Pizza Bites

We have been trying to eat healthier snacks in our house. We know we need to eat more fruits and vegetables, and we are trying to find ways that even my picky eaters will eat them.  Recently my oldest said she wanted to try zucchini pizza bites.  I picked up some zucchini at the store, and this is the recipe we came up with. 

I sliced the zucchini into thin slices and laid it on a cookie sheet.  One small zucchini made 18 slices.  I then spooned on a little bit of sauce onto each slice.  You can use pizza sauce, but I used regular spaghetti sauce since that is what I had on hand. 

On each of the slices, I sprinkled on a little bit of Mozzarella cheese, some oregano, and a touch of Parmesan.   I then placed them in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.  

When they came out of the oven the cheese, was all bubbly, melted and awesome.  If your cheese is not baked all the way through, put back in the oven for a minute or two.  Keep a close on it though, because it does not take bake through. 

We really liked these Zucchini Pizza Bites, and will be making them again.  Good thing they only take a few minutes to make, because they disappeared fast in our house.  

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Dare to Share #150

It is Friday night, which means it is time to Dare to Share!! 

It has been another crazy week for us.  This time though instead of posting about it all here, I finally updated my other blog Surviving the Crazy Life. You can read more about what is going on with  our hedgehog Silver, and The Day I Needed a Clone. I had to be in 4 different towns within a few hours, and be in more than one place at time type of day.  

With Valentine's Day this weekend, I shared a post with many of my favorite Last Minute Valentine's Day Ideas like this flower cupcakes. I think we are going to make some of the candy clusters or cherry fudge tomorrow.  

How adorable are these Despicable Me Minion Cookies by Optimistic Mommy.  With the new Minion movie coming up this summer, I bet they are going to be quite popular. 

I love cherries and cheesecake, so I think these Cheesecake Parfaits by Tried and Tasty would make a great Valentine's Day dessert. 

My cohost Kim from Kandy Kreations has a lot of great printables this week.  I think my favorite though is her Chocolate Invitation since I love candy bars.  

Now it is time for this week's party.  You are able to link up anything you would like to share. If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature of the Day, you will be featured on the blog and my social media. This party is also seen by Kim's followers over at Kandy Kreations so you will have double the exposure.   

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Cheesecake Parfaits - Feature of the Day

Are you still looking for a special Valentine's Day dessert?  I would love to dive right in to one of these Cheesecake Parfaits by Tried and Tasty. Not only do they look pretty, but I love the cherry topping.  Stop on over to Tried and Tasty to get the full recipe.  Thank you so much Yvonne for sharing your cheesecake recipe with us on Dare to Share!

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Last Minute Valentine's Day Ideas

I have a confession to make.  Valentine's Day has never been one of my favorite holidays. Now that my kids are older, and no longer make Valentines for their classes, we really do not get that excited about the holiday.  We will give each other small gifts, but spending a lot of money on overpriced flowers, dinner and candy is not something we want to do.   The last few years I have made some special treats for my family to show them that I love them. With Valentine's Day just a few days away, I thought I would re-share those posts for anyone still looking for last minute ideas.  

I actually made these Flower Cupcakes  for a friends birthday, but they would be perfect for Valentines Day. 

Using a mini cookie cutter, I made Homemade Valentine's Day Crackers

In 4th grade, we made Valentine Heart Pops

Last year I made Cherry Chocolate Fudge. I will need to make some more, it was really good.  

A few weeks ago, Kara shared a post on how to make Valentine's Day Treats

I made these Simple Candy Clusters during the Christmas season, but it is another treat that can easily be made for Valentine's Day. 

Whatever you decide to do this weekend, I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day! 

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Despicable Me Minion Cookies - Feature of the Day

If  you have followed me for awhile you may know that I love the Despicable Me Minions. In fact, my Despicable Me Party Food and Game Ideas post  is one of my most popular posts to date on this entire blog.  So when I saw these Despicable Me Minion Cookies by Optimistic Mommy I knew I had to featured them.  They are simple and adorable, and will be perfect for any Minion fan, and when the new Minions movie comes out later this year.  Be sure to stop over to Optimistic Mommy for the directions  Thank you so much Courtney, for linking up these fun cookies to Dare to Share!

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Dare to Share #149

Another week flew by!  Ours felt like it went faster, because we had two snow days at the beginning of the week.. From Sunday to Monday, we got 13 inches of snow!  This week there were a lot of things to catch up on.  On Tuesday I spent an part of the afternoon at the Secretary of the States office with my daughter getting her an updated permit.  On Wednesday I was in the car most of the day.  I had two bonus kids to get to school that morning.  My big accomplishment that day was getting all 5 kids to 3 different schools at 4 different times, and all were on time! 

Yesterday I was busy helping my daughter sell these.. We had our first cookie booth of the season.  

Today I had the chance to make lower fat deviled eggs. I am not sure how much lower fat they are then my regular deviled eggs, but they do have a healthier ingredient. 

I guess I was hungry again this week, and both features are recipes that I would love to try.  My kids would love this Homemade Pizza Rolls by Growing Up Gabel

My sweet tooth really wants to try this Thin Mint Cheesecake by Lemons and Laughs. At least I know where I can get some Thin Mints. :)  

My cohost Kim from Kandy Kreations is all about Valentine's Day this week.  Stop over to get some great gift ideas like this Valentine Hershey Mini Name Wrappers.  

Now it is time for this week's party.   You are welcome to link up anything that you would like to link up. If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature of the Day your post will be featured on the blog and my social media.  This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  

Now link up and HAVE FUN! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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