Giveaway: Pint Size Productions

*Giveaway Closed!  Congrats to our winner, Mary!*

Happy Valentine's Day, sweet HH readers!  Today we have a giveaway from Pint Size Productions, the great company I used to make the "Book of Love" for Baby Will a few weeks ago.  They read my review and are generously offering a free 16-page custom board book (and shipping in the US) to a lucky reader!  LOVE.

Will's Custom Book

I think these are an awesome gift for kids or new parents and will definitely be making more in the future.  I've seen people make these with colors, animals, far away relatives... the possibilities are endless!

So go check out Pint Size Productions page...

...and to win, leave us a comment about who you would make a custom book for!

For an extra entry, "Like" Hardly Housewives on Facebook and leave a comment (or comment that you already do).

For an extra extra entry, "Like" Pint Size Productions on Facebook and leave a comment (or comment that you already do).

We will draw a winner using Random.org in ONE WEEK so check back here for the winner!

Good luck!

XOXO
Caitlin & Jaisa

CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER!

Valentine's Day Desserts

Okay, so it's no secret that I don't like baking.  I think I mention it like every other post.  I feel badly for Charlie sometimes.  Because if I do happen to make something or we do happen to order dessert after dinner, he really enjoys it.  I'm lazy, though, and baking requires thought and effort so too bad for him.  Happy Valentine's Day, sweetie!!!

Luckily, the world wide web has some amazing Valentine's Day dessert ideas so I thought I'd do a little research for you guys since I got nothin'.

1.  Blackberry Jam Bars from Bake-a-holic look simply amazing.  I'm thinking for Valentine's Day, you swap about the blackberry jam for either raspberry or strawberry preserves to make them extra Valentine Day dessert-ish.

2.  Red Velvet Cream Pies for Two from Living Better Together just look so cute.  I can't even handle it.

3.  Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes from Sally's Baking Addiction look SO DELICIOUS.  What an awesome idea.

4.  Red Velvet Gooey Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Averie Cooks.  Whew that's a mouthful.  I just wish it was a mouthful of this dessert and not words.

5.  Red Velvel Molten Chocolate Cake from Half Baked Harvest.  What a SWEET idea.  I wish I had thought of it.  My mouth just drooled....a lot.  I just love how special and festive this Valentine's Day Dessert is.  So special!

Okay folks!  That's what I'v got.  What sweets are you going to make for your sweetie this year?

Stay hungry!

Valentine's Day Popcorn

This is probably the only Valentine's Day thing I'll make this year.  I'm seeing all sorts of stuff on Pinterest.  Handmade Valentine's Day wreaths, pencil toppers, heart crayons, and Rainbow Loom bracelets. "Ain't nobody got time for that," if you will.  Here's a quickie V-Day project - I made it this in less than twenty minutes this morning while Will was playing with his busy box and Jesse was watching the Olympics.  Then I ate some for breakfast.

This simple Valentine's Day popcorn just takes a few ingredients...

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup m&ms

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

red sugar sprinkles

a pinch of salt

...and of course you can be flexible with the treats you add to the popcorn.  This would be tasty with all sorts of sweet things on top.

First I popped the popcorn kernels on the stove by heating up the coconut oil in a pot, testing a kernel or two, and then popping the rest once the oil was hot enough (shaking the whole time to avoid burning).  Once the popcorn was done, I spread it out in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and got to work melting the white chocolate in the microwave.  No photo of the process here because it all had to be done quickly - as soon as the white chocolate was melty and drippy, I drizzled it over the popcorn and while it was still melted, shook out some red sugar sprinkles and m&ms onto the popcorn.  Finally, I put just a tiny bit of salt across the popcorn since I love all things salty and sweet.

In the time it took to clean the popcorn pot and the chocolate bowl, everything was cooled down enough to stick into small bags (then quickly dispensed to neighbors and grandparents so I wouldn't eat it all).

Have a sweet Monday! 

How I Came to be at Howard Stern's Birthday Bash

If you saw my Instagram last Friday night, then you probably saw me humble brag casually mention how I was having the time of my life at Howard Stern's 60th birthday party.

Much to the bewilderment of my parents and the amusement of Jesse, I'm a real Howard enthusiast.  Stern fans like to say how long they've been listening.  It hasn't been 30 years in my case, but in 7th grade I started listening to Howard for the first time.  I had art first period and my teacher let us listen to KROQ every morning.  Fast forward 15 years - I started driving long distances for work with Sirius in my new car.  Howard once again became part of my daily routine.

Right before Christmas, Sirius sent emails to subscribers offering tickets to Howard's much-hyped "Birthday Bash" on a first-come, first-served basis.  I signed up, crossed my fingers, and was shocked a few weeks later with confirmation for a pair of tickets.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

It was the most incredible night.  I've seen lots of pictures since Friday of the red carpet, but here are some (blurry) shots of a fabulous evening.  There were tables on the first floor of the Hammerstein Ballroom, but our free seats were up with the hoi polloi.  We were seated with a bunch of ticket winners and lower level Sirius employees up on the balcony, sequestered away from Tracy Morgan, Heidi Klum, Katie Couric, and the crazy list of other people there.  The only celebrities I was rubbing elbows with were Howard's Wack Packers.  I'll take it. 

Musical acts included The Black Keys, John Mayer, Adam Levine, Dave Grohl, John Fogerty, Steven Tyler, & more.  Louis CK, Sarah Silverman, and Joan Rivers (among others) did some comedy/roasting.  Lena Dunham came out to celebrate Howard (apparently forgiving him for saying she looks like Jonah Hill)...



Jesse and I (and the rest of the crowd) were excited to see Bryan Cranston come onstage.  He did his best Walter White AND his best JD Harmeyer.

There was an open bar throughout the night along with oysters, tacos, bacon tater tots, calamari, and sliders.  At the end of the evening, we all got to sing "Happy Birthday" and head home by 10:30 (luckily, Howard and I are on the same page about early bedtime).  It was a really amazing night and I want to do it all over again!  Happy birthday, Howard!

PS - You know how sometimes I say "This has got to be the randomest Hardly Housewives post"?  I think that this one seriously has to take the cake.

Chicken Parm Grilled Cheese

Well that Super Bowl sucked.  I mean, you basically lost me when the Pat's lost a couple of weekends ago, but still.  So boring.  I was doing that thing I normally do when Charlie is watching sports where I just look at the TV but I'm not actually watching.  Like Charlie could literally ask me, "What just happened?" and I wouldn't have the faintest idea.  I don't even know what I think about.  It's a talent really.  I look like I'm paying attention but my mind is eyeballs deep in something delicious tasting. 

Anyway, this weekend was a big pig out weekend.  I'm feeling quite rotund actually.  I'm not sure why I decided to kick off my weekend with a Chicken Parm Grilled Cheese when I was well aware I was going to be feasting on delicious Super Bowl delights, but...YOLO.  (Mom, YOLO means You Only Live Once.  Call me later, K?) 

The Jewel by our condo makes the most amazing chicken fingers.  They are just ridiculously good.  Isn't that crazy?  It's funny to me the random stuff we find that I can't live without.  It's sort of become a Saturday tradition (when we don't go to Eataly).  Charlie and I go to the grocery store, pull up our cart to the hot food counter, and order a pound of chicken fingers and then snack on them while we're shopping for less fattening foods.    I got inspired and decided to whip the extra chick fings into a grilled cheese.

It's so easy.  You just combine fluffy white bread, provolone, chicken fingers and a few spoonfuls of your favorite marinara sauce.  DEE LIGHT FULL.  I know this sounds like a regular chicken parm sub, but it's totes not.  When you grill the bread in lots of butter something amazing happens.  It's light, crispy, but tangy and cheesy all at the same time.  You just have to try it.

Here's the recipe...

Chicken Parm Grilled Cheese

4 Slices of White Bread 
4 Chicken Fingers, Roughly Chopped 
1/2 Cup of Rao's Marinara, Divided (Rao's in my favorite, but use whatever) 
8 Slices of Provolone Cheese 
Butter 

Heat butter over a skillet on medium heat.  Be generous.  Add two slices of  bread.  Add two slices of cheese to each piece of bread and cover, letting the cheese melt a bit.  Add chicken fingers and a half the sauce.  Assemble sandwich and continue to cook until bread is golden brown and crispy on each side.  If cheese doesn't melt easily, add a couple drops of water to the hot pan and cover, letting the steam melt the cheese.  Repeat to make the second sandwich and enjoy.

Stay hungry!

Super Bowl Decor Ideas

What are you doing for Super Bowl Sunday?  Jaisa always does a post-Bowl recap with the best of the Super Bowl snacks, so I figured I'd handle things from the homey front.  For the first year in a while, we are not hosting people here.  While I'm not a huge football enthusiast, I do love a good theme party so I'm sorry that I won't be setting up any football-themed décor this Sunday.  Here are a few things from around the blogosphere that are cute and simple enough that you can whip them up between now and Sunday.

 

Print labels that look like the field for jar covers:

Football Field Popcorn Jars

Here are some utensil holders painted to look like footballs.  She painted right over the labels and they ended up looking wrinkly and leathery, but you could easily wrap a strip of brown construction paper around the can as well:



Football Utensil Holders

A paper chain made to look like footballs/a field:

Football Paper Chain

This last one is super cute and pretty on-trend given the blog world's current obsession with Kraft paper.  Roll it right up after the party for easy cleanup:



Kraft Paper Football Tablecloth

Although I'm not much into football, I AM excited for all of my friends in Seattle.  My years living in the Emerald City left me with a soft spot for the Seahawks and they're definitely my team of choice.  Have a great weekend, enjoy the Super Bowl, & go Hawks!

Cheeseburger Dip

Well.  Just guess what I made last weekend....

 

 ....just the BEST DIP EVER.  Seriously.  I had to put it away and then cut both of my hands off because I couldn't and wouldn't stop eating it.  Oh, then Charlie tried it and then he got down on one knee and proposed.  Again. 

 I love Closet Cooking, so I thought I'd try out a variation of his Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip.  Mine doesn't include bacon so it's healthy. HAHAHAHA just kidding.  About the healthy part. 

So I started by browning ground beef with some blackening seasoning.  Blackening seasoning is my new go to - it has salt, spice, and extra flavor - perfect for some multi tasking. 

There we go.  Nice and brown.

While the beef is browning, stir up some sauce for the dip.  I mixed Greek yogurt (sour cream works well too), mayo, ketchup, mustard, ketchup, and a finely chopped garlic clove.

After the beef is done browning, mix in a block of cream cheese...

...and then pour in the sauce you made...

Give it a taste.  Charlie is obsessed (like OBSESSED) with mustard so I added some more.

Ta daaaaaaaa. Wait.  We're not done yet.

Next, add some finely shredded cheese on top.  I used Colby cheddar...but you can use anything you want.

Oooooo la la.  I baked it at 375 for 18 minutes and this is what I got.  Golden melty gloriousness.

A burger is not complete until I have it fully loaded - that's right - pickles, onion, lettuce and tomato.

 I love the contrasting flavors and textures.  Hot bubbly dip, topped with cold crispy fresh veggies.  YUM.

Serve with some crusty baguette and give yourself a long, long hug.  Because you are awesome for making such a baller dip.   Can we just have a moment of silence for the one on the right.  Just look at that overflowing of cheesy goodness.  I can't.  I mean I just can't even handle it right now. 

Cheeseburger Dip Recipe 

1.25 Lbs of Ground Beef (85% Lean) 

1/2 Tsp of Blackening Seasoning 

1 Block of Cream Cheese 

1/4 Cup of Fat Free Greek Yogurt (or sour cream) 

1/4 Cup of Hellman's Mayonnaise 

2 Tbs of Ketchup 

1 Tbs of Yellow Mustard 

1 Tbs of Worcestershire 

1 Clove of Garlic, Finely Chopped 

2 Cups of Shredded Colby Jack Cheese 

1/2 Cup of Sliced Pickles 

1/4 Cup of Diced Onions 

1/2 Cup of Diced Tomatoes 

1/2 Cup of Chopped Lettuce 

Preheat oven to 375.  On the stove top, brown ground beef with blackening seasoning.  Drain grease and add back to skillet.  Add cream cheese and mix together until melted completed.  Mix together the yogurt, mayo, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, and garlic.  Add to beef and cream cheese.  Taste - add more mustard, or anything else that you'd like.  Add shredded cheese on top and then put in the oven and cook until cheese is  bubbly and melted - about 15-18 minutes.  Top with chopped veggies and serve immediately with crostini, crackers, or whatever else you'd like. 

Stay hungry!