Baklava Recipe
Recipe Yield 3 dozen
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped fine nuts ( I like blanched Almonds and roasted walnuts mixed )
1 cup butter
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or cardamom (optional)
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar plus a little extra for the top
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2.Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan.
Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work.
Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered.
Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts,
layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3.Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan.
You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4.Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted.
Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5.Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on the top.
Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.
VARIATIONS
Instead of brushing each layer of phyllo with butter, cut the unbaked baklava into diamonds all the way through, drizzle with 1 cup vegetable oil, and let stand for 10 minutes before baking.
Persian Baklava:
Using the almonds and cardamom in the filling: Omit the lemon juice and cinnamon from the syrup
and add 1/4 cup rose water or 1 tablespoon orange blossom water after it has cooled.
Paklava(Azerbaijani Baklava):
For the filling, use 2 cups blanched almonds, 2 cups unsalted pistachios, 1/4 cup sugar,
1 teaspoon ground cardamom, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Crush 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads and let steep in 3 tablespoons of the melted butter for 15 minutes
and use to brush the top sheet of phyllo.
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped fine nuts ( I like blanched Almonds and roasted walnuts mixed )
1 cup butter
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or cardamom (optional)
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar plus a little extra for the top
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2.Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan.
Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work.
Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered.
Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts,
layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3.Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan.
You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4.Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted.
Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5.Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on the top.
Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.
VARIATIONS
Instead of brushing each layer of phyllo with butter, cut the unbaked baklava into diamonds all the way through, drizzle with 1 cup vegetable oil, and let stand for 10 minutes before baking.
Persian Baklava:
Using the almonds and cardamom in the filling: Omit the lemon juice and cinnamon from the syrup
and add 1/4 cup rose water or 1 tablespoon orange blossom water after it has cooled.
Paklava(Azerbaijani Baklava):
For the filling, use 2 cups blanched almonds, 2 cups unsalted pistachios, 1/4 cup sugar,
1 teaspoon ground cardamom, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Crush 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads and let steep in 3 tablespoons of the melted butter for 15 minutes
and use to brush the top sheet of phyllo.
Take a Moment to Savor the Sweetness of Life - My Milano Moment & New Milano Cookie!
The summer is about to end and school is about to start for me and my teen. I'm going back to school to make a better life for my family. I digress...
I can't help but think about one sweet moment in particular that happened during the Summer.
That moment for me was me and my honorary hubby taking a road trip to Las Vegas to spend one night to ourselves away from our teenager. While taking the drive we stopped at a rest stop to take in our surroundings and pick up some snacks for the road. My choice of snack was Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies.
We enjoyed eating our Milano cookies on the open road all the way to Las Vegas for our one night vacation. That was my Milano Moment. One night is better than none in my book. It was a great relaxing one night vacation!
Now I was very excited to discover Pepperidge Farm has a new Milano cookie flavor!!!
They are rolling out the red carpet on their New Strawberry Chocolate Milano cookie! They look so amazing!
They have combined strawberry and chocolate along with their famous delicious cookie! If any of you love chocolate covered strawberries just as much as I do, then these are the cookie for you!
These cookies have all that amazing chocolate strawberry and Milano taste in one small cookie! I can't wait to grab a pack to celebrate my next Milano Moment!
Don't take my word for it check out the amazing new Strawberry Milano!
Here is a link to a $1 off coupon http://bit.ly/O2OdollaroffPF so you can get a pack for yourself and save a $1 when you do.
Yay for Pepperidge Farm for helping you save some money!
Also visit the Pepperidge Farm Milano Facebook Page at http://bit.ly/MilanoFacebook for more special offers and discounts.
Do you have a Milano Moment you'd like to share? Head over to their Facebook Page and share yours!
Thanks for following my blog and letting me share my Milano Moment with you!
**Disclosure: I was not given a sample or contacted by the company to provide this post. I was not paid nor given any form of compensation for this post. This post is part of a One2One Network campaign and I thought my readers would love to hear about this delicious product. All opinions expressed are my own.**
I can't help but think about one sweet moment in particular that happened during the Summer.
That moment for me was me and my honorary hubby taking a road trip to Las Vegas to spend one night to ourselves away from our teenager. While taking the drive we stopped at a rest stop to take in our surroundings and pick up some snacks for the road. My choice of snack was Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies.
Now I was very excited to discover Pepperidge Farm has a new Milano cookie flavor!!!
They have combined strawberry and chocolate along with their famous delicious cookie! If any of you love chocolate covered strawberries just as much as I do, then these are the cookie for you!
These cookies have all that amazing chocolate strawberry and Milano taste in one small cookie! I can't wait to grab a pack to celebrate my next Milano Moment!
Here is a link to a $1 off coupon http://bit.ly/O2OdollaroffPF so you can get a pack for yourself and save a $1 when you do.
Yay for Pepperidge Farm for helping you save some money!
Also visit the Pepperidge Farm Milano Facebook Page at http://bit.ly/MilanoFacebook for more special offers and discounts.
Do you have a Milano Moment you'd like to share? Head over to their Facebook Page and share yours!
Thanks for following my blog and letting me share my Milano Moment with you!
**Disclosure: I was not given a sample or contacted by the company to provide this post. I was not paid nor given any form of compensation for this post. This post is part of a One2One Network campaign and I thought my readers would love to hear about this delicious product. All opinions expressed are my own.**
Freebie, Swag, & Coupons...Yay it's Friday!
Hey Everyone here are some links to freebies, coupons, and swag I found.
Hope it helps you some this friday. Click the title of the Free item to go to the freebie and or coupon website:
-Free NoMoreMonkeyBusiness Activity Pack From PETA
Fill out the form below to order our pack, which includes stickers, a brochure, the "Training Animals for Hollywood: Beatings, Fear and Isolation" factsheet and the "Attacks and Contagious Diseases: The Hidden Dangers of Using Great Apes in Productions" factsheet.
-Free Healthcare Scoop Stadium Seat Cushion
Fill out the form below to request your free stadium seat cushion. Quantities are limited! Tell your story on HealthcareScoop.com using the topic “Freshman 15″ and the promo code “Freshman15″ between August 24, 2010 and September 7, . See the Terms & Conditions below for full details.
-Free Personalized Pen From Amsterdam Printing
They are giving away 300 per day at 11 am EST.
-Free Wooden Photo Frame From Eco Photo
-Free NeilMed Sinus Relief Bottle Kit
Free NeilMed Sinus Rinse Bottle Kit! Become a fan of NeilMed Sinus Rinse on Facebook by clicking “Like”, take the survey, & get a free NeilMed Sinus Rinse bottle with two mixture packets. Customers/households who have already requested a free NeilMed NasaFlo Neti Pot, are not eligible for this promotions. Repeat requests will be discarded.
-Free Memo Pad From ArtsCow
This is for the first 20,000 requests per day. You must have a facebook account with 50 friends or more to qualify.
-Free Organize Style Coupon Book
You'll get tips, tricks and timesavers-like easy recipes and clever craft ideas. Plus, you'll be among the first to know about special offers, samples, coupons and sweepstakes from brands like Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Mr. Clean and Swiffer.
That's all for today! Happy Friday and I hope it helps you some!
Thanks for following my blog!
Hope it helps you some this friday. Click the title of the Free item to go to the freebie and or coupon website:
-Free NoMoreMonkeyBusiness Activity Pack From PETA
Fill out the form below to order our pack, which includes stickers, a brochure, the "Training Animals for Hollywood: Beatings, Fear and Isolation" factsheet and the "Attacks and Contagious Diseases: The Hidden Dangers of Using Great Apes in Productions" factsheet.
-Free Healthcare Scoop Stadium Seat Cushion
Fill out the form below to request your free stadium seat cushion. Quantities are limited! Tell your story on HealthcareScoop.com using the topic “Freshman 15″ and the promo code “Freshman15″ between August 24, 2010 and September 7, . See the Terms & Conditions below for full details.
-Free Personalized Pen From Amsterdam Printing
They are giving away 300 per day at 11 am EST.
-Free Wooden Photo Frame From Eco Photo
-Free NeilMed Sinus Relief Bottle Kit
Free NeilMed Sinus Rinse Bottle Kit! Become a fan of NeilMed Sinus Rinse on Facebook by clicking “Like”, take the survey, & get a free NeilMed Sinus Rinse bottle with two mixture packets. Customers/households who have already requested a free NeilMed NasaFlo Neti Pot, are not eligible for this promotions. Repeat requests will be discarded.
-Free Memo Pad From ArtsCow
This is for the first 20,000 requests per day. You must have a facebook account with 50 friends or more to qualify.
-Free Organize Style Coupon Book
You'll get tips, tricks and timesavers-like easy recipes and clever craft ideas. Plus, you'll be among the first to know about special offers, samples, coupons and sweepstakes from brands like Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Mr. Clean and Swiffer.
That's all for today! Happy Friday and I hope it helps you some!
Thanks for following my blog!
CLOSED-Back to School with The WRAP-N-MAT® & WRAP-N-MAT® Pouch - Review & Giveaway!
A Way to SAVE while Packing Lunches for Back to School and More! The WRAP-N-MAT® and WRAP-N-MAT® POUCH!
Me and my family try to be as Eco-Friendly as possible. We were keeping our eyes out for ways to save for back to school this summer, and we decided to attend the World Fest Los Angeles fair, A solar powered celebration of Earth, animals, and the Environment a few months ago. I stopped by one of the booth vendors and was lucky to stumble upon WRAP-N-MAT® sandwich wraps (the Red/White Gingham ones to be exact) and purchased a few. It's been one of the best investments I've ever made. I have to share with the world how much I love this product!
So I have a question...How many of you waste money every month on plastic sandwich bags or aluminum foil to pack your family’s lunch or your lunch for work? I know I did until I found this product. I was wasting so much money on plastic baggies and Aluminum foil and destroying the planet at the same time. It's terrible! I digress...
Before I got the WRAP-N-MAT®, I used to be a constant Tupperware user for everything including lunches, but keeping Tupperware organized is simply impossible. Some people have sock monster, I have a Tupperware monster. One day I’ll have matching lids and bottoms, the next day I'm looking high and low for a top to fit a bottom, but there are none ever to be found or seen again and after wasting time searching I am left frantic to find any container to hold my food items in. I also used Sandwich baggies often, which was expensive to constantly buy. You need to purchase name brand baggies if you intend to use them more than once and they often cost a lot and don’t give your monies worth. Lastly I used a lot of Foil paper, which is recyclable and keeps food somewhat insulated, but you can’t really reuse it so it's really a waste for this kind of use. Using the WRAP-N-MAT® sandwich wrap has replaced MY constant use of all of the above. It’s helped my family save much needed money too in these tough economic times.
How the Wrap-N-Mat Wrap® works: You simply lay out your Wrap-N-Mat Wrap® or Pouch, Place your food in the center, and fold Left to Right, Top to Bottom, and that's it you're done! You can adjust the Pouch size to fit the amount of food you want to fit inside the pouch. So you can make it work for your needs and it eliminates having to buy all sorts of different sized baggies to out snacks or sandwiches in! Yay!
Your food will stay fresh inside the Wrap-N-Mat® Wrap and Pouch and when needed you can place it next to an ice pack in your lunch bag. When you are ready to eat simply unfold and you have your own mat right there.
When I now make sandwiches for work and for my family I wrap it in my WRAP-N-MAT®.
I loveeeee that it acts as a place mat when I open it up to eat my sandwich and when I’m done I can brush the crumbs off and bring it home. It's adorable! It’s great for taking snacks to the park or beach since it opens up into a mat that you can eat off.
It can save you money and it helps you save the planet by cutting back on the disposable items you use on a daily basis for food. I think that this product is brilliant and when I think a product is brilliant I do research on them so that my friends, family, and now readers can know every detail about it, so when I come to everyone to tell them to get one I can list off a number of reasons why you should. It’s a habit I have of doing this. I like all the facts so that there is no reason why anyone would turn down buying a product I recommend to them.
So this is some of the information I found out from their website:
These Wrap-N-Mat Wraps® and Pouches come in a wide variety of fabrics.
Purchasing reusable lunch products like the Wrap-N-Mat Wraps® and Snack Pouches can help cut down on the waste you or your children contribute to our landfills.
The president of WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps is a mother of four who became aware of just how may plastic bags her family was using. The 13" x 13" wraps were designed in 1997 and patented in 1999 to provide help families take "small steps to changing our daily routine" to make a difference to our planet.
The wraps have cloth on one side (the outer layer) and a plastic liner on the other (the inner layer). The liner is made to FDA standards for contact with food and is BPA, phthalate, and lead free. If you want to know more on how the linings are manufactured here.
WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps and Pouches are NOT intended for hot foods or to be heated or to be microwaved.
As with any plastic, placing hot food upon the lining will make it melt. Simply place the sandwich or other snack foods in the center of the wrap and fold left to right, top to bottom and close the hook and loop fasteners. WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps keeps food fresh for hours. When needed, place a cold pack alongside the mat. It’s meant to use only for sandwiches, fruits, cold snacks, pretzels, or anything that isn’t hot or that needs to be heated to eat. When it comes to lunch and breakfast there is plenty you can choose from. I wrapped a dough nut in it for breakfast once, (I know not the healthiest of choices for breakfast, but I love them) and so forth. You get the idea.
The Wrap-N-Mat does exactly what its name says. It wraps the food and when ready to be eaten it opens back up into a cute place-mat to eat off of.
It’s very easy to Clean. The vinyl side of the WRAP-N-MAT® is easy to wipe clean. If the cloth side gets dirty a simple hand wash will get it clean. Air-drying the cloth can take bit of time to dry compared to Tupperware, so I recommend having more than one WRAP-N-MAT® available to use if one is not dry in time.
The Mommy Inventor states this about her company:
"We strive really hard to establish a great reputation by providing high quality products, by meeting our customers' demands, and by providing great customer service. Our mission is to reduce the amount of wasted plastic baggies while providing customers with a re-usable, high quality product that they can be proud to use," Bonnie Stromme, the WRAP-N-MAT® inventor."
WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps are the only RE-USABLE sandwich wrap and placemat in one.
Original sized wraps are approx. 13" x 13"
Grande' sized wraps are approx. 14" x 17"
You can get your own WRAP-N-MAT® at http://www.wrap-n-mat.com
I commend and thank Bonnie for being amazing enough to think to make this product! It’s helped me immensely and it can help you too!
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
The kind folks at Wrap-N-Mat® have donated a RED WRAP-N-MAT® Mat and Pouch set for one of my readers for BACK TO SCHOOL! Thank you WRAP-N-MAT®!
MANDATORY ENTRY: To enter you must head to the Wrap-N-Mat® website found by clicking here and LEAVE A COMMENT bellow telling me another print you would love to have the Wrap-N-Mat® Mat or Pouches in.
WHEN LEAVING A COMMENT MAKE SURE TO FILL IT OUT WITH YOUR EMAIL. I SIMPLY WANT THE EMAIL SO I CAN HAVE A WAY TO REACH YOU IF YOU WIN. IT WILL BE USED FOR NOTHING ELSE.
That's what you have to do to enter.
But if you'd like extra entries...
*For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.*
-SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG! SCROLL DOWN THE RIGHT SIDE BAR OF MY BLOG WHERE IT SAYS "FRIENDS" AND THEN "SUBSCRIBE TO ME" EITHER SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL OR VIA READER.
- Become a “Google Friend Connect Friend” with The Queen of Swag! found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
-Connect with me on NETWORKED BLOGS found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
- “Like” The Queen of Swag! on Facebook (click on the Facebook Like button found on the right side bar). Or press the SHARE BUTTON at the top of post.
- Follow The Queen of Swag on Twitter @queenofswag4u or by clicking on the twitter buttons on the right side bar or press the RETWEET BUTTON ON TOP or TWEET the following message:
I want 2 #Win a Wrap N Mat Wrap & Pouch set 4 back to School from @queenofswag4u -ENDS SEP.10th- enter giveaway here!-> http://dld.bz/s7Hh
This is limited to 4 tweets per day, spaced apart not one right after the other PLEASE. I don't want anyone to be called spammers or blocked by twitter.
-Purchase a Wrap-N-Mat® and leave me the confirm number or invoice number via comment.
-Enter my other giveaways (leave one comment for each giveaway you enter)
- Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to post.
- Add my BUTTON to your blog and leave a link to show me you did.
- Use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this post underneath my NAME/Signature to promote this giveaway. Be sure to tell me what you did and if possible provide a name and/or URL so that I can check it out.
CONTEST WILL END SEPTEMBER 10th, 2010 at midnight pacific time! Winner will be notified via email and announced on this blog, on twitter, and on facebook. This is open to USA ONLY SORRY.
**PLEASE SEE RULES AND DISCLAIMER FOR MORE PRIZE INFO.**
WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM FROM ENTRIES.
Good Luck to all who enter!
**Disclosure: I was given a free Wrap-N-Mat POUCH® by Wrap-N-Mat for this review and given an EXTRA Wrap N Mat® Wrap and Pouch for the giveaway. I owned a Wrap-N-Mat Wrap® prior to this review. These are my opinions and it cannot be said that you will have the same experience. This is not a paid post. Wrap-N-Mat® is a registered trademark and cannot be used without following the disclosure policy.**
Thanks for allowing me to share my joy of WRAP-N-MAT® with you and I hope it helps you and your family for Back to School! And thank you for following my blog!
Me and my family try to be as Eco-Friendly as possible. We were keeping our eyes out for ways to save for back to school this summer, and we decided to attend the World Fest Los Angeles fair, A solar powered celebration of Earth, animals, and the Environment a few months ago. I stopped by one of the booth vendors and was lucky to stumble upon WRAP-N-MAT® sandwich wraps (the Red/White Gingham ones to be exact) and purchased a few. It's been one of the best investments I've ever made. I have to share with the world how much I love this product!
So I have a question...How many of you waste money every month on plastic sandwich bags or aluminum foil to pack your family’s lunch or your lunch for work? I know I did until I found this product. I was wasting so much money on plastic baggies and Aluminum foil and destroying the planet at the same time. It's terrible! I digress...
Before I got the WRAP-N-MAT®, I used to be a constant Tupperware user for everything including lunches, but keeping Tupperware organized is simply impossible. Some people have sock monster, I have a Tupperware monster. One day I’ll have matching lids and bottoms, the next day I'm looking high and low for a top to fit a bottom, but there are none ever to be found or seen again and after wasting time searching I am left frantic to find any container to hold my food items in. I also used Sandwich baggies often, which was expensive to constantly buy. You need to purchase name brand baggies if you intend to use them more than once and they often cost a lot and don’t give your monies worth. Lastly I used a lot of Foil paper, which is recyclable and keeps food somewhat insulated, but you can’t really reuse it so it's really a waste for this kind of use. Using the WRAP-N-MAT® sandwich wrap has replaced MY constant use of all of the above. It’s helped my family save much needed money too in these tough economic times.
How the Wrap-N-Mat Wrap® works: You simply lay out your Wrap-N-Mat Wrap® or Pouch, Place your food in the center, and fold Left to Right, Top to Bottom, and that's it you're done! You can adjust the Pouch size to fit the amount of food you want to fit inside the pouch. So you can make it work for your needs and it eliminates having to buy all sorts of different sized baggies to out snacks or sandwiches in! Yay!
Your food will stay fresh inside the Wrap-N-Mat® Wrap and Pouch and when needed you can place it next to an ice pack in your lunch bag. When you are ready to eat simply unfold and you have your own mat right there.
When I now make sandwiches for work and for my family I wrap it in my WRAP-N-MAT®.
I loveeeee that it acts as a place mat when I open it up to eat my sandwich and when I’m done I can brush the crumbs off and bring it home. It's adorable! It’s great for taking snacks to the park or beach since it opens up into a mat that you can eat off.
It can save you money and it helps you save the planet by cutting back on the disposable items you use on a daily basis for food. I think that this product is brilliant and when I think a product is brilliant I do research on them so that my friends, family, and now readers can know every detail about it, so when I come to everyone to tell them to get one I can list off a number of reasons why you should. It’s a habit I have of doing this. I like all the facts so that there is no reason why anyone would turn down buying a product I recommend to them.
So this is some of the information I found out from their website:
These Wrap-N-Mat Wraps® and Pouches come in a wide variety of fabrics.
Purchasing reusable lunch products like the Wrap-N-Mat Wraps® and Snack Pouches can help cut down on the waste you or your children contribute to our landfills.
The president of WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps is a mother of four who became aware of just how may plastic bags her family was using. The 13" x 13" wraps were designed in 1997 and patented in 1999 to provide help families take "small steps to changing our daily routine" to make a difference to our planet.
The wraps have cloth on one side (the outer layer) and a plastic liner on the other (the inner layer). The liner is made to FDA standards for contact with food and is BPA, phthalate, and lead free. If you want to know more on how the linings are manufactured here.
WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps and Pouches are NOT intended for hot foods or to be heated or to be microwaved.
As with any plastic, placing hot food upon the lining will make it melt. Simply place the sandwich or other snack foods in the center of the wrap and fold left to right, top to bottom and close the hook and loop fasteners. WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps keeps food fresh for hours. When needed, place a cold pack alongside the mat. It’s meant to use only for sandwiches, fruits, cold snacks, pretzels, or anything that isn’t hot or that needs to be heated to eat. When it comes to lunch and breakfast there is plenty you can choose from. I wrapped a dough nut in it for breakfast once, (I know not the healthiest of choices for breakfast, but I love them) and so forth. You get the idea.
The Wrap-N-Mat does exactly what its name says. It wraps the food and when ready to be eaten it opens back up into a cute place-mat to eat off of.
It’s very easy to Clean. The vinyl side of the WRAP-N-MAT® is easy to wipe clean. If the cloth side gets dirty a simple hand wash will get it clean. Air-drying the cloth can take bit of time to dry compared to Tupperware, so I recommend having more than one WRAP-N-MAT® available to use if one is not dry in time.
The Mommy Inventor states this about her company:
"We strive really hard to establish a great reputation by providing high quality products, by meeting our customers' demands, and by providing great customer service. Our mission is to reduce the amount of wasted plastic baggies while providing customers with a re-usable, high quality product that they can be proud to use," Bonnie Stromme, the WRAP-N-MAT® inventor."
WRAP-N-MAT® Wraps are the only RE-USABLE sandwich wrap and placemat in one.
Original sized wraps are approx. 13" x 13"
Grande' sized wraps are approx. 14" x 17"
You can get your own WRAP-N-MAT® at http://www.wrap-n-mat.com
I commend and thank Bonnie for being amazing enough to think to make this product! It’s helped me immensely and it can help you too!
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
The kind folks at Wrap-N-Mat® have donated a RED WRAP-N-MAT® Mat and Pouch set for one of my readers for BACK TO SCHOOL! Thank you WRAP-N-MAT®!
MANDATORY ENTRY: To enter you must head to the Wrap-N-Mat® website found by clicking here and LEAVE A COMMENT bellow telling me another print you would love to have the Wrap-N-Mat® Mat or Pouches in.
WHEN LEAVING A COMMENT MAKE SURE TO FILL IT OUT WITH YOUR EMAIL. I SIMPLY WANT THE EMAIL SO I CAN HAVE A WAY TO REACH YOU IF YOU WIN. IT WILL BE USED FOR NOTHING ELSE.
That's what you have to do to enter.
But if you'd like extra entries...
*For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.*
-SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG! SCROLL DOWN THE RIGHT SIDE BAR OF MY BLOG WHERE IT SAYS "FRIENDS" AND THEN "SUBSCRIBE TO ME" EITHER SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL OR VIA READER.
- Become a “Google Friend Connect Friend” with The Queen of Swag! found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
-Connect with me on NETWORKED BLOGS found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
- “Like” The Queen of Swag! on Facebook (click on the Facebook Like button found on the right side bar). Or press the SHARE BUTTON at the top of post.
- Follow The Queen of Swag on Twitter @queenofswag4u or by clicking on the twitter buttons on the right side bar or press the RETWEET BUTTON ON TOP or TWEET the following message:
I want 2 #Win a Wrap N Mat Wrap & Pouch set 4 back to School from @queenofswag4u -ENDS SEP.10th- enter giveaway here!-> http://dld.bz/s7Hh
This is limited to 4 tweets per day, spaced apart not one right after the other PLEASE. I don't want anyone to be called spammers or blocked by twitter.
-Purchase a Wrap-N-Mat® and leave me the confirm number or invoice number via comment.
-Enter my other giveaways (leave one comment for each giveaway you enter)
- Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to post.
- Add my BUTTON to your blog and leave a link to show me you did.
- Use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this post underneath my NAME/Signature to promote this giveaway. Be sure to tell me what you did and if possible provide a name and/or URL so that I can check it out.
CONTEST WILL END SEPTEMBER 10th, 2010 at midnight pacific time! Winner will be notified via email and announced on this blog, on twitter, and on facebook. This is open to USA ONLY SORRY.
**PLEASE SEE RULES AND DISCLAIMER FOR MORE PRIZE INFO.**
WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM FROM ENTRIES.
Good Luck to all who enter!
**Disclosure: I was given a free Wrap-N-Mat POUCH® by Wrap-N-Mat for this review and given an EXTRA Wrap N Mat® Wrap and Pouch for the giveaway. I owned a Wrap-N-Mat Wrap® prior to this review. These are my opinions and it cannot be said that you will have the same experience. This is not a paid post. Wrap-N-Mat® is a registered trademark and cannot be used without following the disclosure policy.**
Thanks for allowing me to share my joy of WRAP-N-MAT® with you and I hope it helps you and your family for Back to School! And thank you for following my blog!
A seashell Flower
By Brianna from Dutch Harbor, AK
This is a gorgeous, romantic, and elegant craft which can be applied to a number of other crafts as an enhancement, although it is completely stunning on its own! The shells (if you live near bodies of water) are free, which is the best part!
Approximate Time: Depending on the size of rose you wish to make, this craft takes from 20 to 30 minutes.
Supplies:
10-15 cleaned oyster shells per rose
3 sticks round, all-temperature mini-glue sticks
1 low-temperature mini-glue gun
1 small to medium auger, nautilus, or snail shell per rose (cleaned with dish soap and water)
Optional: shiny, clear, indoor spray paint/lacquer (This makes the iridescence of the shells and their colors really shine through!)
Instructions:
Load glue gun with glue stick and plug in to warm up.
While glue gun is warming up, arrange your oyster shells from largest to smallest.
Find the two largest, (pieces are just as good as full shells) and glue ends together, so that the shells rest on your work surface opposite from one another.
Find the next two largest from the ones left, and repeat the process, only having turned your base about forty-five degrees.
Now that you have a complete base to work from, start finding the medium-sized shells, which usually have more of a curve to them, like the inner petals of a rose.
Take those and glue them after turning base another forty-five degrees, these two should angle up about twenty to thirty degrees, to mimic the opening of a rose bloom.
Rotate your rose another forty-five degrees and use 2-3 of the next smaller size shells, gluing them in at a slightly steeper angle, almost closing the bloom.
Take your snail, auger, or bit of nautilus shell and stand it upright in the middle of your rose, gluing and holding it there until it is cooled.
Once all of the rose has cooled securely, take it outside and place on a piece of cardboard. Spray with lacquer lightly, making sure to get in-between the layers of petals. (Don't go overboard, or the spray paint will loosen the glue and your rose with fall apart easily.)
Let dry as per instructions on your paint can.
Display in a nice copper bowl or hot-glue to another project such as one involving sea glass or drift wood; a mirror or vase.
This is a gorgeous, romantic, and elegant craft which can be applied to a number of other crafts as an enhancement, although it is completely stunning on its own! The shells (if you live near bodies of water) are free, which is the best part!
Approximate Time: Depending on the size of rose you wish to make, this craft takes from 20 to 30 minutes.
Supplies:
10-15 cleaned oyster shells per rose
3 sticks round, all-temperature mini-glue sticks
1 low-temperature mini-glue gun
1 small to medium auger, nautilus, or snail shell per rose (cleaned with dish soap and water)
Optional: shiny, clear, indoor spray paint/lacquer (This makes the iridescence of the shells and their colors really shine through!)
Instructions:
Load glue gun with glue stick and plug in to warm up.
While glue gun is warming up, arrange your oyster shells from largest to smallest.
Find the two largest, (pieces are just as good as full shells) and glue ends together, so that the shells rest on your work surface opposite from one another.
Find the next two largest from the ones left, and repeat the process, only having turned your base about forty-five degrees.
Now that you have a complete base to work from, start finding the medium-sized shells, which usually have more of a curve to them, like the inner petals of a rose.
Take those and glue them after turning base another forty-five degrees, these two should angle up about twenty to thirty degrees, to mimic the opening of a rose bloom.
Rotate your rose another forty-five degrees and use 2-3 of the next smaller size shells, gluing them in at a slightly steeper angle, almost closing the bloom.
Take your snail, auger, or bit of nautilus shell and stand it upright in the middle of your rose, gluing and holding it there until it is cooled.
Once all of the rose has cooled securely, take it outside and place on a piece of cardboard. Spray with lacquer lightly, making sure to get in-between the layers of petals. (Don't go overboard, or the spray paint will loosen the glue and your rose with fall apart easily.)
Let dry as per instructions on your paint can.
Display in a nice copper bowl or hot-glue to another project such as one involving sea glass or drift wood; a mirror or vase.
Great Tea bag folding Site Link
If you like tea bag folding and scrapbooking you will love this link.
http://www.masikatiwebdesign.com/teabags/teabags.asp
http://www.masikatiwebdesign.com/teabags/teabags.asp
Stay Organized for Back to School with Organizher- Review
Hey Moms! So Back to school is coming and we all need to be organized and ready for when school starts. We need to keep track of school work, Important school dates and exams, lunches, meals, and budgets.
I had the amazing luck to be able to win some fabulous new Mead products from their Organizher collection that can help you keep track of it all! Oh My God I love them! You don't even know! I know we can all use a little more organization in our busy lives, Ok let's be honest, we really need a lot of help getting organized! I know I do. Organization can be a big problem for me and my family and these products help get us on the path to living an organized life.
Organizher offers functional, flexible, fashionable products designed with the modern household in mind. They are perfect for busy moms trying to juggle a family and career at the same time like myself. Most women juggle multiple schedules, long to-do lists, budget tracking, and meal planning – not just for one person, but for an entire family (like I do). My family sometimes can't function without me keeping everyone on track and on schedule. And now that I have Organizher products to help me and my family get organized and it helps me keep my sanity.
They have a variety of products ranging from but not limited to:
-Magnetic Calendar Center
This week by week calendar is mostly blank so you can fill in the dates and organize your days by family member. This is great for keeping track of lessons and appointments and to get an overview of the week ahead
-Month-to-Month Family Wall Calendar
This undated wall calendar includes four pages of color coded reposition-able labels to differentiate and classify schedules and recurring activities.
-Write n Wipe Meal Center
A weekly meal planning dry erase grid plus an attached paper “shopping list” notepad makes this a complete meal center. Magnetic so it can conveniently hang on your fridge, this meal center helps organize lunch and dinner menus as well as any groceries that are needed. Dry erase pen with eraser attached.
-Family To-Do Magnetic Notepad
Manage the entire family’s to-do’s with this convenient notepad. Hang it on the fridge for easy access, or tear a page away for on-the-go reference.
And last but not least (My favorite product from Organizher by far!
-The Organizher Expense Tracker
It will helps me keep track of monthly expenses, stick to my budget, and keep track of bills and receipts. It’s never too late to get financially organized. The Expense Tracker’s 12 undated monthly pockets hold bills and receipts while two storage envelopes contain loose papers. Tech Lock® rings make it easy to incorporate bank statements and printouts from financial planning software.
They offer a variety of more products that are available at Target stores or you can also check out by clicking here to go to Mead's website.
I listed the products I have had the privilege of using.
Everyday I strive to organize my life and it’s not an easy job. Sometimes trying to stay Organized can be a full time job in and of itself, but Mead OrganizHer products are designed for people just like me – a busy mom blogger! With the help of the Mead OrganizHer products, I’ve started to become a much more organized person.
With the Write n Wipe Meal Center in particular, I’ve been able to plan my family meals for the week as well maintain a schedule for myself and my family, saving us time and a little money in the process.
The more we eat in and not order take out or buy lunches, the more money we save. The heavy duty magnets on the back of both the Write n Meals Center as well as the attached paper “shopping list” notepad make it easy to hang right on the refrigerator right where I need it and plan out meals for lunch and dinner ahead of time.
With the magnetic shopping list, I’ve been keeping an ongoing shopping list so we can get everything we need for the week and cut down on trips to the grocery store or to Target (My home away from home). Making these lists saves me time and money! Especially when gas prices are high, you don't really want to waste gas making multiple trips to the grocery store. I also love how the list has little circle bullets next to each line that you can use to check or mark off the items you purchase, so you can keep track of what you bought already and what you haven't.
The Organizher products haven’t completely solved all of my organization problems, but they have come very close to solving them. I really don't know how I've lived with out them! I highly recommend you go out and get some Organizher products so that you too can begin your journey towards organization.
Thanks so much for following my blog and I hope this post helps in all your back to school organizational needs.
**I was not compensated nor was I given any products to do this review. No companies mentioned were or are involved in this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I won these products in a contest and they have been so helpful to me especially around back to school time and I thought I would write a review to tell my readers how helpful they are in hopes that these products may help them also**
I had the amazing luck to be able to win some fabulous new Mead products from their Organizher collection that can help you keep track of it all! Oh My God I love them! You don't even know! I know we can all use a little more organization in our busy lives, Ok let's be honest, we really need a lot of help getting organized! I know I do. Organization can be a big problem for me and my family and these products help get us on the path to living an organized life.
Organizher offers functional, flexible, fashionable products designed with the modern household in mind. They are perfect for busy moms trying to juggle a family and career at the same time like myself. Most women juggle multiple schedules, long to-do lists, budget tracking, and meal planning – not just for one person, but for an entire family (like I do). My family sometimes can't function without me keeping everyone on track and on schedule. And now that I have Organizher products to help me and my family get organized and it helps me keep my sanity.
They have a variety of products ranging from but not limited to:
-Magnetic Calendar Center
This week by week calendar is mostly blank so you can fill in the dates and organize your days by family member. This is great for keeping track of lessons and appointments and to get an overview of the week ahead
-Month-to-Month Family Wall Calendar
This undated wall calendar includes four pages of color coded reposition-able labels to differentiate and classify schedules and recurring activities.
-Write n Wipe Meal Center
A weekly meal planning dry erase grid plus an attached paper “shopping list” notepad makes this a complete meal center. Magnetic so it can conveniently hang on your fridge, this meal center helps organize lunch and dinner menus as well as any groceries that are needed. Dry erase pen with eraser attached.
-Family To-Do Magnetic Notepad
Manage the entire family’s to-do’s with this convenient notepad. Hang it on the fridge for easy access, or tear a page away for on-the-go reference.
And last but not least (My favorite product from Organizher by far!
-The Organizher Expense Tracker
It will helps me keep track of monthly expenses, stick to my budget, and keep track of bills and receipts. It’s never too late to get financially organized. The Expense Tracker’s 12 undated monthly pockets hold bills and receipts while two storage envelopes contain loose papers. Tech Lock® rings make it easy to incorporate bank statements and printouts from financial planning software.
They offer a variety of more products that are available at Target stores or you can also check out by clicking here to go to Mead's website.
I listed the products I have had the privilege of using.
Everyday I strive to organize my life and it’s not an easy job. Sometimes trying to stay Organized can be a full time job in and of itself, but Mead OrganizHer products are designed for people just like me – a busy mom blogger! With the help of the Mead OrganizHer products, I’ve started to become a much more organized person.
With the Write n Wipe Meal Center in particular, I’ve been able to plan my family meals for the week as well maintain a schedule for myself and my family, saving us time and a little money in the process.
The more we eat in and not order take out or buy lunches, the more money we save. The heavy duty magnets on the back of both the Write n Meals Center as well as the attached paper “shopping list” notepad make it easy to hang right on the refrigerator right where I need it and plan out meals for lunch and dinner ahead of time.
With the magnetic shopping list, I’ve been keeping an ongoing shopping list so we can get everything we need for the week and cut down on trips to the grocery store or to Target (My home away from home). Making these lists saves me time and money! Especially when gas prices are high, you don't really want to waste gas making multiple trips to the grocery store. I also love how the list has little circle bullets next to each line that you can use to check or mark off the items you purchase, so you can keep track of what you bought already and what you haven't.
The Organizher products haven’t completely solved all of my organization problems, but they have come very close to solving them. I really don't know how I've lived with out them! I highly recommend you go out and get some Organizher products so that you too can begin your journey towards organization.
Thanks so much for following my blog and I hope this post helps in all your back to school organizational needs.
**I was not compensated nor was I given any products to do this review. No companies mentioned were or are involved in this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I won these products in a contest and they have been so helpful to me especially around back to school time and I thought I would write a review to tell my readers how helpful they are in hopes that these products may help them also**
Too Excited to Try Fracture! Have you heard about it?
Hey All! Have you heard about Fracture?
Fracture is changing photo home decor. It's a new one-piece picture and frame made from printed glass that mounts to directly to your wall quickly and easily!
Printing and framing pictures is often a huge hassle and can become really expensive really fast. We'd all love to save some money and FRACTURE can help you do that. Between getting your photos printed, finding a suitable frame, and figuring out how to mount them, the frustrations (and dollars) have mounted, and the magic has gone away. However, you now have a contemporary, affordable, and practical way to show off all your favorite family pictures -- Fracture.
Fracture is the fastest, easiest, best way to get your pictures from your camera to your wall! It's amazing!
Fracture's introductory product lets you print your digital pictures right onto glass! There's no paper, film or anything involved. Simply ink and glass. They have effectively combined printing, framing, and mounting into one simple process. You upload your photo to FractureMe.com, They print it on glass, and send it on it's way with everything you need to mount and display. It's a one-stop, complete photo decor solution.
Fractures are very safe: all sharp edges are removed, and they are completely okay to touch and handle. Fractures are durable: the prints are shatter proof (unlike traditional glass frames), and the images will not fade for years beyond average prints.
Fractures are very practical and elegant: you can use them for any occasion, from Christmas and graduation gifts, to simple "Thank You's".
Fractures are for everyone: from avid photographers to snap happy point-and-shoot lovers, anyone can get Fractured!
I recommend everyone try Fracture Today!!! I promise you won't regret it!
To find out more about Fracture go to the the Fracture web site at www.fractureme.com
Or Check out Fracture online:
Website - http://www.fractureme.com/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/fractureme
Thanks for following my blog!
“I wrote this blog post in response to a TwitterMoms RAMBO alert, making me eligible to get a Fracture picture frame for review. You can learn more about Fracture at http://www.fractureme.com.”
Fracture is changing photo home decor. It's a new one-piece picture and frame made from printed glass that mounts to directly to your wall quickly and easily!
Printing and framing pictures is often a huge hassle and can become really expensive really fast. We'd all love to save some money and FRACTURE can help you do that. Between getting your photos printed, finding a suitable frame, and figuring out how to mount them, the frustrations (and dollars) have mounted, and the magic has gone away. However, you now have a contemporary, affordable, and practical way to show off all your favorite family pictures -- Fracture.
Fracture is the fastest, easiest, best way to get your pictures from your camera to your wall! It's amazing!
Fracture's introductory product lets you print your digital pictures right onto glass! There's no paper, film or anything involved. Simply ink and glass. They have effectively combined printing, framing, and mounting into one simple process. You upload your photo to FractureMe.com, They print it on glass, and send it on it's way with everything you need to mount and display. It's a one-stop, complete photo decor solution.
Fractures are very safe: all sharp edges are removed, and they are completely okay to touch and handle. Fractures are durable: the prints are shatter proof (unlike traditional glass frames), and the images will not fade for years beyond average prints.
Fractures are very practical and elegant: you can use them for any occasion, from Christmas and graduation gifts, to simple "Thank You's".
Fractures are for everyone: from avid photographers to snap happy point-and-shoot lovers, anyone can get Fractured!
I recommend everyone try Fracture Today!!! I promise you won't regret it!
To find out more about Fracture go to the the Fracture web site at www.fractureme.com
Or Check out Fracture online:
Website - http://www.fractureme.com/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/fractureme
Thanks for following my blog!
“I wrote this blog post in response to a TwitterMoms RAMBO alert, making me eligible to get a Fracture picture frame for review. You can learn more about Fracture at http://www.fractureme.com.”
Great Grand Marnier Cake Recipe
For the cake:
1 box butter yellow cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
Light Zest of 1/2 an orange
For the syrup:
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
Heat oven to 325.
Butter and flour a non-stick bundt pan. (You can always use that sick spray called Pam, but I prefer B and F--just make sure you use enough so the cake doesn't stick)
In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil, and Grand Marnier and zest. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake the cake on the lower rack (bottom third of the oven) until a tester comes out clean, approximately 40-60 minutes.
In a medium saucepan on medium high heat, bring a stick of butter, water, and sugar to a boil. Once at a boil--stir constantly with a rubber spatula or whisk and continue to cook for 5 minutes---NO LONGER than that! (PS the syrup is dangerously hot!) Make sure you watch the mixture the entire time (one, for safety, and two, for best results). Being extra careful (the mixture will bubble wildly) add the Grand Marnier, bring to a boil again, and cook for only 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Remove the cake from the oven and with a fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake. Pour the warm syrup over the top. Let cool to room temperature. Invert cake onto a serving plate and serve. (PS--this cake is best made 1-2 days ahead of time).
Be sure to watch your oven and check the cake often for doneness.
1 box butter yellow cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
Light Zest of 1/2 an orange
For the syrup:
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
Heat oven to 325.
Butter and flour a non-stick bundt pan. (You can always use that sick spray called Pam, but I prefer B and F--just make sure you use enough so the cake doesn't stick)
In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil, and Grand Marnier and zest. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake the cake on the lower rack (bottom third of the oven) until a tester comes out clean, approximately 40-60 minutes.
In a medium saucepan on medium high heat, bring a stick of butter, water, and sugar to a boil. Once at a boil--stir constantly with a rubber spatula or whisk and continue to cook for 5 minutes---NO LONGER than that! (PS the syrup is dangerously hot!) Make sure you watch the mixture the entire time (one, for safety, and two, for best results). Being extra careful (the mixture will bubble wildly) add the Grand Marnier, bring to a boil again, and cook for only 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Remove the cake from the oven and with a fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake. Pour the warm syrup over the top. Let cool to room temperature. Invert cake onto a serving plate and serve. (PS--this cake is best made 1-2 days ahead of time).
Be sure to watch your oven and check the cake often for doneness.
Picture frame from Record
Is this not too cute.
What a fantastic idea for old records.
This great tutorial can be found
Along with many others !
The little garden Vegs
As most of you who follow me know I live in the high dessert at an elevation of 3,200 feet and have 60 a day growing season.
We have already dropped to 32 degrees at night and I am covering the plants every night with plastic.
When checking out what grows well here I was told you just can't grow these plants here.
We have already dropped to 32 degrees at night and I am covering the plants every night with plastic.
When checking out what grows well here I was told you just can't grow these plants here.
The bare spot is where spinach has already been harvested.
The little garden Update
This year is our first year in the little garden.
I have been very pleased with our harvest and type of plants you can grow here.
I was told most of them would not do well here.
We have 60 days of growing here period. We have already dropped night temps to 32 degrees on the 24 th of august and fall is setting in.
We have harvested tons of great food from the garden
Planted in mostly aged horse manure.
I harvest every third day . Beans squash, peppers, cucumbers, beets ,parsley , herbs and chard.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phaseolus vulgaris
LIGHT: Full Sun
SOIL TYPE: Well-drained, deep sandy loam
pH RANGE: 6.5 - 7.5
MOISTURE/WATERING: Average
MATURITY IN DAYS: 70 - 75
KNOWN PESTS: Root maggots and cutworms
KNOWN DISEASES: Foliar disease, both fungal and bacterial
OVERVIEW:
No garden is complete without bush beans. There are many varieties of bush beans to choose from and every gardener is sure to find one to suit their tastes. Bush beans do well in almost any garden as they are not too fussy about soil.
To ensure the best flavor, bush beans should be picked while still slender and no inner bean is well developed. For fresh bush beans all summer, plant every two weeks and pick frequently.
PROPAGATION / SOWING OF BUSH BEANS:
Direct seed bush beans after risk of frost when soil warms to 18-24°C (65-75°F). Sow bush beans 1" deep and 2" apart in rows 18" (bush beans) to 24" apart (shell beans). Reseed until mid summer for a constant supply all season long. If using untreated bush beans seed, plant thicker and thin to desired density. Use Garden Inoculant at the time of planting to help boost soil fertility*.
COMPANION PLANTING OF BUSH BEANS:
Bush beans are excellent grown with most vegetables except the onion family, basil, fennel, kohlrabi.
CARE & GROWING OF BUSH BEANS:
Both bush bean types require a full sun location, soil pH of 6.5-7.5, and well drained soil. Good air circulation around bush bean plants is essential, especially for late shelling or dry type beans, as they are very susceptible to fungal diseases which prevail later in the season. Bush beans are light feeders; compost or well rotted manures worked into the soil at the time of planting is sufficient.
HARVESTING OF BUSH BEANS:
Use maturity days as an indicator. Harvest once the bush beans are smooth, firm and crisp. Keep bush beans constantly picked to ensure a fresh supply. Bean formation in the pod is a sure sign of over-maturity. Dry & Shell Beans: Harvest when the bush beans pods are completely dry and brittle. Cut or pull pods from bush bean plants and shell the beans. Store beans in an air tight container in a cool dry spot. For fresh eating of horticultural or shell beans, harvest when bean formation starts to take place within the pod.
Note: My beans are in a mixture of horse manure and sandy loam. Also mixed in a good dusting of sulfer dust to ward off fungal diseases .
Happy gardening
Hope this helps id some of those other beans
http://www.seedman.com/beans.htm
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/beans.cfm
http://growingbeans.org/
I have been very pleased with our harvest and type of plants you can grow here.
I was told most of them would not do well here.
We have 60 days of growing here period. We have already dropped night temps to 32 degrees on the 24 th of august and fall is setting in.
We have harvested tons of great food from the garden
Planted in mostly aged horse manure.
I harvest every third day . Beans squash, peppers, cucumbers, beets ,parsley , herbs and chard.
My favorate are the bush beans.The little plants have produced enough beans to put away for 15 meals into the freezer plus many good dinners on fresh beans.
They take up only a space 4 by 4 feet and 15 inches tall.
The Bush Bean
PLANT TYPE: Annual
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phaseolus vulgaris
LIGHT: Full Sun
SOIL TYPE: Well-drained, deep sandy loam
pH RANGE: 6.5 - 7.5
MOISTURE/WATERING: Average
MATURITY IN DAYS: 70 - 75
KNOWN PESTS: Root maggots and cutworms
KNOWN DISEASES: Foliar disease, both fungal and bacterial
OVERVIEW:
No garden is complete without bush beans. There are many varieties of bush beans to choose from and every gardener is sure to find one to suit their tastes. Bush beans do well in almost any garden as they are not too fussy about soil.
To ensure the best flavor, bush beans should be picked while still slender and no inner bean is well developed. For fresh bush beans all summer, plant every two weeks and pick frequently.
PROPAGATION / SOWING OF BUSH BEANS:
Direct seed bush beans after risk of frost when soil warms to 18-24°C (65-75°F). Sow bush beans 1" deep and 2" apart in rows 18" (bush beans) to 24" apart (shell beans). Reseed until mid summer for a constant supply all season long. If using untreated bush beans seed, plant thicker and thin to desired density. Use Garden Inoculant at the time of planting to help boost soil fertility*.
COMPANION PLANTING OF BUSH BEANS:
Bush beans are excellent grown with most vegetables except the onion family, basil, fennel, kohlrabi.
CARE & GROWING OF BUSH BEANS:
Both bush bean types require a full sun location, soil pH of 6.5-7.5, and well drained soil. Good air circulation around bush bean plants is essential, especially for late shelling or dry type beans, as they are very susceptible to fungal diseases which prevail later in the season. Bush beans are light feeders; compost or well rotted manures worked into the soil at the time of planting is sufficient.
HARVESTING OF BUSH BEANS:
Use maturity days as an indicator. Harvest once the bush beans are smooth, firm and crisp. Keep bush beans constantly picked to ensure a fresh supply. Bean formation in the pod is a sure sign of over-maturity. Dry & Shell Beans: Harvest when the bush beans pods are completely dry and brittle. Cut or pull pods from bush bean plants and shell the beans. Store beans in an air tight container in a cool dry spot. For fresh eating of horticultural or shell beans, harvest when bean formation starts to take place within the pod.
Note: My beans are in a mixture of horse manure and sandy loam. Also mixed in a good dusting of sulfer dust to ward off fungal diseases .
Happy gardening
Hope this helps id some of those other beans
http://www.seedman.com/beans.htm
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/beans.cfm
http://growingbeans.org/
Freebie & Coupon Friday!
YAY FRIDAY IS HERE!
I'm going to do my best to provide you with freebies aka swag and coupons every Friday!
First off:
**Everyone needs to click the picture bellow and sign up for:
Right at Home is fantastic! You can get free samples and coupons that can equal up to $30 in savings on some of your favorite products like Glade, Pledge, and Swiffer! I know I can't live with out my Swiffer!
They are giving away a dollar off glade fabric odor eliminator at the moment. Get yours by click on the picture below:
You can also "like" them on facebook for more special offers here:
http://www.facebook.com/rightathome
**Chocolate.com has two freebie promotions running currently:
1) Free $5 gift certificate to Chocolate.com when you sign up for our newsletter:
http://www.chocolate.com/users/register.html
2) Free Ground Shipping on select products:
http://www.chocolate.com/free-shipping/
**FREE Samples Of Head & Shoulder Shampoo And Conditioner, Plus Coupons!
This is from P&G Everyday Solutions which is another program I mentioned you should sign up for asap in a previous post! They are like the Right @ Home program in which they offer discounts and samples from your favorite brands!
https://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/headshoulder-brandsampler.jsp
**FREE 2-Day Sample Of 24 Hour Prevacid (For Heartburn)
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid89064.aspx
**FREE Sample Of Breathe Right "Extra" Nasal Strips
Just register with their site here.
https://www.breatheright.com/BreatheRight_NSFS.promo
**FREE Sample Of Achooz Saline Nose Wipes
Your choice between Cool Menthol and Fragrance Free.
http://www.achooz.com/email_subscribe.html
**FREE Sample of Metamucil Clear & Natural
https://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/metamucilnaturals/brandsampler-login.jsp
**FREE Business Cards From Starbucks
http://www.starbuckscoffeeonthego.com/card/setup.php
**FREE Bic Easy Glide Pen
They are giving away 1,000 per day AT 12 NOON EASTERN TIME ON THE DOT.
http://www.biceasyglide.com/
That's all I have for today!
Enjoy your Friday Freebies and Coupons and Thanks for following my Blog!
Please make sure you enter my Great Giveaways too for a chance to win some Swag!
I'm going to do my best to provide you with freebies aka swag and coupons every Friday!
First off:
**Everyone needs to click the picture bellow and sign up for:
Right at Home is fantastic! You can get free samples and coupons that can equal up to $30 in savings on some of your favorite products like Glade, Pledge, and Swiffer! I know I can't live with out my Swiffer!
They are giving away a dollar off glade fabric odor eliminator at the moment. Get yours by click on the picture below:
You can also "like" them on facebook for more special offers here:
http://www.facebook.com/rightathome
**Chocolate.com has two freebie promotions running currently:
1) Free $5 gift certificate to Chocolate.com when you sign up for our newsletter:
http://www.chocolate.com/users/register.html
2) Free Ground Shipping on select products:
http://www.chocolate.com/free-shipping/
**FREE Samples Of Head & Shoulder Shampoo And Conditioner, Plus Coupons!
This is from P&G Everyday Solutions which is another program I mentioned you should sign up for asap in a previous post! They are like the Right @ Home program in which they offer discounts and samples from your favorite brands!
https://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/headshoulder-brandsampler.jsp
**FREE 2-Day Sample Of 24 Hour Prevacid (For Heartburn)
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid89064.aspx
**FREE Sample Of Breathe Right "Extra" Nasal Strips
Just register with their site here.
https://www.breatheright.com/BreatheRight_NSFS.promo
**FREE Sample Of Achooz Saline Nose Wipes
Your choice between Cool Menthol and Fragrance Free.
http://www.achooz.com/email_subscribe.html
**FREE Sample of Metamucil Clear & Natural
https://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/metamucilnaturals/brandsampler-login.jsp
**FREE Business Cards From Starbucks
http://www.starbuckscoffeeonthego.com/card/setup.php
**FREE Bic Easy Glide Pen
They are giving away 1,000 per day AT 12 NOON EASTERN TIME ON THE DOT.
http://www.biceasyglide.com/
That's all I have for today!
Enjoy your Friday Freebies and Coupons and Thanks for following my Blog!
Please make sure you enter my Great Giveaways too for a chance to win some Swag!
It's Puzzle Time!
( Did you hear Moose A. Moose's voice in your head when you read the title? *sigh* )
We finally have a place to call home! We just moved into our own little 2-bedroom apartment. The plan is to hang out here for about a year until we find can a city and a home that we really love and want to stay for a good long while.
So, yeah, that's 4 people in a 2-bedroom. Here's the deal with that: We thought it would help us save some money while we find our perfect place. And, truthfully, the kids want to share a room. They've been talking about it for a long time. During last school year, Peyton and Ella would look forward to every weekend because it meant we would let them sleep in the same room. They LOVED it! It was like some crazy special treat that they made up all on their own. So we might as well take advantage of that craziness before they're older and wiser.
Right now, I'm in the middle of a supreme organizational challenge. In Iowa we had a 3-bedroom house with a basement and a 2-car garage. Now we have a 2-bedroom apartment and a 1-car garage-ish space. I keep my sanity by calling it an adventure. And really, I love my little family so much, where we live doesn't really matter. My family makes this apartment a home. A tiny, happy home.
So, let the organizational puzzle work begin! It will be interesting to see how I pull it off. I'm pretty confident that I can. Although, some positive, organizing thoughts sent my way couldn't hurt!
In the meantime...
I was making a list for the grocery store yesterday. Peyton came over, took the list and pen out of my hands, wrote something on the list, and then handed it back. And because of what he wrote, I had to start a whole new list just so I could keep the original one forever and ever and ever.
We finally have a place to call home! We just moved into our own little 2-bedroom apartment. The plan is to hang out here for about a year until we find can a city and a home that we really love and want to stay for a good long while.
So, yeah, that's 4 people in a 2-bedroom. Here's the deal with that: We thought it would help us save some money while we find our perfect place. And, truthfully, the kids want to share a room. They've been talking about it for a long time. During last school year, Peyton and Ella would look forward to every weekend because it meant we would let them sleep in the same room. They LOVED it! It was like some crazy special treat that they made up all on their own. So we might as well take advantage of that craziness before they're older and wiser.
Right now, I'm in the middle of a supreme organizational challenge. In Iowa we had a 3-bedroom house with a basement and a 2-car garage. Now we have a 2-bedroom apartment and a 1-car garage-ish space. I keep my sanity by calling it an adventure. And really, I love my little family so much, where we live doesn't really matter. My family makes this apartment a home. A tiny, happy home.
So, let the organizational puzzle work begin! It will be interesting to see how I pull it off. I'm pretty confident that I can. Although, some positive, organizing thoughts sent my way couldn't hurt!
In the meantime...
I was making a list for the grocery store yesterday. Peyton came over, took the list and pen out of my hands, wrote something on the list, and then handed it back. And because of what he wrote, I had to start a whole new list just so I could keep the original one forever and ever and ever.
And . . . my heart just melted.
Fun in the Sun
Need to keep the kids entertained these last few weeks check out the fun in the sun sun glasses.
Tutorial found HERE
Old T Yarn Making
So what do you do with all those old raggy T shirts and news ones that don't fit ?
I found this cleaver tutorial with photos on how to make a simple yarn out of them.
Tutorial can be found HERE on craftpassion.com
Check out her other recycle tutorials while your there.
Tutorial can be found HERE on craftpassion.com
Check out her other recycle tutorials while your there.
Please HELP! GIVEAWAY & Thank You!
I've been looking forward to creating this blog for a long time. I worked very hard to design it and to learn html so I could put it up on the web to share. And being that I work and have a family to take care of, getting this blog up was a small miracle for me. I am very proud of what I've accomplished thus far on my own. This blog is all me and I try to post things I feel I would like to share and what I think people would like to read and know about. I love spreading freebie, money saving, or good to know info I find with the world in hope that it helps someone as it helps me in these rough economic times.
I woke up today to find out I had gone down in readers. I went from 17 down to 9. It saddened me because I was very happy to be sharing this blog with the 17 followers I had gotten, and was hoping to continue to grow that number, not go down in numbers. I don't know why I lost readers, but I am sad to see you go since we've only just begun.
Please Don't get me wrong...I am extremely thankful for any readers and followers I get. I feel lucky to have any, but I want to make this blog bigger so I can offer bigger and better giveaways, review more products, and maybe one day when I can afford it, I'd like to get it actually designed by a professional web designer.
I need your help to please spread the word about my blog!
In other words "Help me...Help you!"
I need to get to 1000 readers and 1000 followers on Twitter and hopefully build my followers too! The more readers I have the more companies will want to work with this blog to bring you great products and giveaways.
Please help me spread the word about this blog, my reviews, and giveaways so it can get bigger and better.
If we manage to get to 1000 readers I will Give Away to ONE lucky reader a NEW "2GB APPLE Ipod Shuffle" in whatever color the winner wants as a thank you to helping me get there!
The Ipod Shuffle is great for working out with and it's also great for a first Ipod for you're child! The specs bellow are pretty great for this small wonder.
I'd love to give this out to one of my readers to show you how much I appreciate you following my blog. I wish I could give one to everyone who follows. Maybe if I hit the lotto I will do that!
But for now please ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY BY HELPING SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT MY BLOG!
TO ENTER PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD AND PLEASE FOLLOW MY BLOG!
*MANDATORY ENTRY:
SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG! SCROLL DOWN THE RIGHT SIDE BAR OF MY BLOG WHERE IT SAYS "FRIENDS" AND THEN "SUBSCRIBE TO ME" EITHER SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL OR VIA READER.
LEAVE A COMMENT AND MAKE SURE TO FILL IT OUT WITH YOUR EMAIL LETTING ME KNOW THAT YOU DID SUBSCRIBE AND I SIMPLY WANT THE EMAIL SO I CAN HAVE A WAY TO REACH YOU IF YOU WIN. IT WILL BE USED FOR NOTHING ELSE.
*For extra entries you can do any or all of the following to help spread the word. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional but much appreciated.*
- Become a “Google Friend Connect Friend” with The Queen of Swag! found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
-Connect with me on NETWORKED BLOGS found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
- “Like” The Queen of Swag! on Facebook (click on the Facebook Like button found on the right side bar).
- Follow The Queen of Swag on Twitter @queenofswag4u or by clicking on the twitter buttons on the right side bar and tweet the following:
RT & FOLLOW: Help @queenofswag4u get 1000 followers & Readers on blog & #WIN #APPLE IPOD SHUFFLE! 4 more info go to: www.thequeenofswag.com
This is limited to 4 tweets per day, spaced apart not one right after the other PLEASE. I don't want anyone to be called spammers or blocked by twitter. Especially when we're trying to spread the word!
- Blog about this Post/giveaway and leave a link to post.
- Link to my blog!
- Add my BUTTON to your blog and leave a link to show me you did.
- Use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this post underneath my NAME/Signature to promote this giveaway. Be sure to tell me what you did and if possible provide a name and/or URL so that I can check it out.
CONTEST WILL END ONCE I GET 1000 readers and 1000 TWITTER FOLLOWERS!
SEE THE LITTLE BOXES THAT SAY READERS AND TWITTER FOLLOWERS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY BLOG--> WE HAVE TO GET THOSE NUMBERS TO 1000!
Winner will be notified via email and announced on this blog, on twitter, and on facebook. This is open to USA ONLY SORRY.
**PLEASE SEE RULES AND DISCLAIMER FOR MORE PRIZE INFO.**
WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM FROM ENTRIES.
Good Luck to all who enter!
Thank you for following my blog and THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!
HELP SPREAD THE WORD!!! Word,word, word, bird is the word! Thought I'd sing a little song for ya!
THANKS AGAIN!
*GIVEAWAY PRIZE WAS A GIFT TO ME THAT I AM NOW DONATING FOR THE GIVEAWAY TO PROMOTE MY BLOG. THE COMPANIES MENTIONED AND PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THIS POST ARE NOT INVOLVED IN THIS GIVEAWAY IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. I WAS NOT CONTACTED, COMPENSATED, NOR WAS I GIVEN ANY ITEMS TO DO THE GIVEAWAY FOR THIS POST.*
I woke up today to find out I had gone down in readers. I went from 17 down to 9. It saddened me because I was very happy to be sharing this blog with the 17 followers I had gotten, and was hoping to continue to grow that number, not go down in numbers. I don't know why I lost readers, but I am sad to see you go since we've only just begun.
Please Don't get me wrong...I am extremely thankful for any readers and followers I get. I feel lucky to have any, but I want to make this blog bigger so I can offer bigger and better giveaways, review more products, and maybe one day when I can afford it, I'd like to get it actually designed by a professional web designer.
I need your help to please spread the word about my blog!
In other words "Help me...Help you!"
I need to get to 1000 readers and 1000 followers on Twitter and hopefully build my followers too! The more readers I have the more companies will want to work with this blog to bring you great products and giveaways.
Please help me spread the word about this blog, my reviews, and giveaways so it can get bigger and better.
If we manage to get to 1000 readers I will Give Away to ONE lucky reader a NEW "2GB APPLE Ipod Shuffle" in whatever color the winner wants as a thank you to helping me get there!
The Ipod Shuffle is great for working out with and it's also great for a first Ipod for you're child! The specs bellow are pretty great for this small wonder.
I'd love to give this out to one of my readers to show you how much I appreciate you following my blog. I wish I could give one to everyone who follows. Maybe if I hit the lotto I will do that!
But for now please ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY BY HELPING SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT MY BLOG!
TO ENTER PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD AND PLEASE FOLLOW MY BLOG!
*MANDATORY ENTRY:
SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG! SCROLL DOWN THE RIGHT SIDE BAR OF MY BLOG WHERE IT SAYS "FRIENDS" AND THEN "SUBSCRIBE TO ME" EITHER SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL OR VIA READER.
LEAVE A COMMENT AND MAKE SURE TO FILL IT OUT WITH YOUR EMAIL LETTING ME KNOW THAT YOU DID SUBSCRIBE AND I SIMPLY WANT THE EMAIL SO I CAN HAVE A WAY TO REACH YOU IF YOU WIN. IT WILL BE USED FOR NOTHING ELSE.
*For extra entries you can do any or all of the following to help spread the word. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional but much appreciated.*
- Become a “Google Friend Connect Friend” with The Queen of Swag! found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
-Connect with me on NETWORKED BLOGS found also on the (right side bar of the blog)
- “Like” The Queen of Swag! on Facebook (click on the Facebook Like button found on the right side bar).
- Follow The Queen of Swag on Twitter @queenofswag4u or by clicking on the twitter buttons on the right side bar and tweet the following:
RT & FOLLOW: Help @queenofswag4u get 1000 followers & Readers on blog & #WIN #APPLE IPOD SHUFFLE! 4 more info go to: www.thequeenofswag.com
This is limited to 4 tweets per day, spaced apart not one right after the other PLEASE. I don't want anyone to be called spammers or blocked by twitter. Especially when we're trying to spread the word!
- Blog about this Post/giveaway and leave a link to post.
- Link to my blog!
- Add my BUTTON to your blog and leave a link to show me you did.
- Use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this post underneath my NAME/Signature to promote this giveaway. Be sure to tell me what you did and if possible provide a name and/or URL so that I can check it out.
CONTEST WILL END ONCE I GET 1000 readers and 1000 TWITTER FOLLOWERS!
SEE THE LITTLE BOXES THAT SAY READERS AND TWITTER FOLLOWERS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY BLOG--> WE HAVE TO GET THOSE NUMBERS TO 1000!
Winner will be notified via email and announced on this blog, on twitter, and on facebook. This is open to USA ONLY SORRY.
**PLEASE SEE RULES AND DISCLAIMER FOR MORE PRIZE INFO.**
WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM FROM ENTRIES.
Good Luck to all who enter!
Thank you for following my blog and THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!
HELP SPREAD THE WORD!!! Word,word, word, bird is the word! Thought I'd sing a little song for ya!
THANKS AGAIN!
*GIVEAWAY PRIZE WAS A GIFT TO ME THAT I AM NOW DONATING FOR THE GIVEAWAY TO PROMOTE MY BLOG. THE COMPANIES MENTIONED AND PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THIS POST ARE NOT INVOLVED IN THIS GIVEAWAY IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. I WAS NOT CONTACTED, COMPENSATED, NOR WAS I GIVEN ANY ITEMS TO DO THE GIVEAWAY FOR THIS POST.*
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