Fried Mac -n- Cheese Balls

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NaturallyCheesy #CollectiveBias

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Tis the season for great food! I love this time of the year, with all the back to back holidays, you can guarantee that the eating will be good! There are so many great recipes I have found on cyber space that I'm so excited to try over the holiday. Over the weekend I got the taste for some fried mac - n- cheese balls. So I headed up to my local Walmart and grabbed everything I needed, including some Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese.

Today, I want to share a easy recipe that you can easily throw together as an appetizer, Fried Mac -n- Cheese Balls. If you like to host gatherings around the holidays this will be the perfect additional to your menu. Plus, my daughter gave me the seal of approval on these so I'm sure you will love them too!

Ingredients:

Pasta
1. 8oz Macaroni Pasta
2. 1 Teaspoon Salt

Cheese Sauce
1. 1/4 Cup Butter
2. 1/4 Cup Flour
3. 1 1/2 Cup Milk
4. 1/8 Teaspoon Nutmeg
5. 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
6. 1 Teaspoon Pepper
7. 1/4 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
8. 1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
9. 2 Cup Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese (Cheddar)

Breading
11. 2 Eggs
12. 1/4 Cup Milk
13. Vegetable Oil


Directions:

Pasta - Boil pasta according to package directions. Add teaspoon of salt to water. 

Sauce - Melt butter in large pan over medium heat. When butter foams add flour to pot. Stir flour into butter until it turns a light yellow. Wisk in 1/2 cup of milk. Wisk until it thickens and then pour in remaining milk. Add nutmeg, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, salt and red pepper flakes and stir. Bring mixture to a simmer. While simmering add Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese, a handful at a time, and stir. Let simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. 
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Combine macaroni and cheese sauce in bowl. Add a handful of Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese and stir. Place bowl in refrigerator to cool noodles. 

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After macaroni cools, form balls out the macaroni and added Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese to balls. Create balls and place on wax paper. Pleases cheese balls in freezer for a couple of hours.

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#Shop #NaturallyCheesy

Breading - In small bowl combine two eggs and milk. Take your frozen balls and roll in the egg mixture and then roll in bread crumbs. If you like it extra breaded, roll again in eggs and bread crumbs to double coat. Please balls in deep fryer and fry for 3-4 minutes at 350 degrees.

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#Shop #NaturallyCheesy

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Lastly, add some dipping sauce and enjoy!  These little balls are so cheesy and delicious! 

So tell me, what cheesy recipes will you be putting together over the holiday. Check out more recipes ideas HERE!

Also, this get this cheesy goodness from the cheese department at your local supermarket!

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DIY: Mini Pom Pom Ornaments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CleanForTheHolidays #CollectiveBias

#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor

Christmas is about a month and a half away but it's hard to resist decorating early when every store has had Christmas decorations for sale for the past month or so. Like any other child, my daughter gets super excited about the holidays.

I've always wanted to try a DIY ornament and was inspired by a project my daughter brought home from school one day. In her art class they painted puzzle pieces and glued them together to form snowflakes. They were really adorable! So I knew I wanted to try something with puzzle pieces.

I came up with this mini pom pom ornament for us to do together. I had some pink gift fillers left over from my daughter's birthday, some gold spray paint left over from her desk makeover, and some twine.. that I just randomly keep on hand. I combined all these tings and these little ornaments came out so cute, check out below on how to recreate them! (also, she created some ornaments of her own design you can check those out later in the post)

Supplies:
Puzzle Pieces
Gold Spray Paint
Pink Gift Bag Filler
Glue
Paint Brush
Scissors
Twine

Directions:
Gather your puzzle pieces and spray paint them gold. I did one coat. Once they are dry add some glue to the puzzle piece and spread it with the paint brush.

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#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor

Next grab a handful of the pink filler and roll into a lose ball. Place the pink filler down on the puzzle piece and hold in place for a couple of minutes.

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#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor

Let that dry for a bit. We placed another puzzle piece on top of the filler to help with holding everything in place while it dried.

Next, cut a piece of a 6 inch piece of twine. This twine is thick and you can separate each piece to make thinner pieces. Place a dot of glue on one end and lay the other end on top of the glue. It will form a bow. This will be the hook for your mini pom pom ornament. Lastly glue the twine hook on the back of the puzzle piece and you are complete.

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#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor

As I said earlier, after we completed these little ornaments, my daughter wanted to decorate more of her puzzle pieces. She brought out paint, glitter, and more glue.. They came out adorable and we'll be adding these to the tree too! Check out her creations!

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#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor

We had a great time making these but then came the aftermath! By aftermath I mean knocked over paint brushes and spilled supplies. You know how it is with kids, accidents happen. This added to our already damaged carpet. As many of you know we have a little Yorkie and she does her fair share of ruining the carpet. ....but... the pink and blue on the carpet too...oh god!

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I wasn't too worried because I have my new BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution vaccum. This thing some works miracles for carpets. I picked up everything I need for a great clean from Target. It was very easy to find and everything was organized so I could grab what I needed and go! You all know how I feel about unorganized stores.

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#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor

The great thing about the new BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution is that it has two modes, express and deep clean. It's so lightweight and easy to use! The express mode allows the carpet to be fresh and clean and dried in about a hour. I got so carried away using it that I not only cleaned up our mess from the ornaments but I also did the entire dining room! 

I used the Professional Pet Urine Eliminator Formula which contains scotch guard and removes strong odors caused by pet urine. I wanted to make sure the stains were permanently removed so I combined it with the Pet Oxy Boost Carpet Cleaning Formula. This boost cannot be used by itself and should be used in addition to the regular formula. After picking up all the bigger items off the floor I was ready to clean the carpet.

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#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor
#SHOP #BISSELL #DIYMINIPOMPOMORNAMENTS #BehindTheBigGreenDoor

Well after doing all of that I am wore out! ...but it was all worthwhile. I had a great time spending my Sunday crafting with my little one and a great time cleaning up this carpet from the aftermath!

So tell me, have any of you started getting ready for Christmas? Are you making any crafts or just giving your carpet a good clean. If you are carpet cleaning you have to check out the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution!

And lastly, there's a huge sweepstakes going on right now! Wouldn't you like to win some extra Christmas cash. Enter below!!

#CleanForTheHolidays - Bissell Sweepstakes

Febreze is a trademark of P&G; with rights granted. 
Scotchgard is a trademark of 3M; with right granted

Mom's Sweet Potato Souffle


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Hey family, we've made it through most of the year, and now some of the best (in my opinion) holidays are fast approaching: Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love this time of the year because not only is the eating just wonderful, it's also a time that most people typically spend with their close family and friends.

Today I want to share with you my mom's most requested dish: Sweet Potato Soufflé. We worked on making this together and she gave me all the basics and special tips on how to make it perfect!

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Ingredients:

Mixture
2-3 Sweet Potatoes (3 cups cooked)
1/2 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 1/2 Tablespoon Melted Butter

Topping
2 Tablespoon Flour
2 Tablespoon Melted Butter
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
Package of Pecan Halves

Garnish
Whipped Cream

Directions:

Place potatoes in pot and boil for 30 mins. The water will boil off so check every 10 minutes or so to see if more water needs to be added to the pot. Add water as necessary. To check if they are complete stick a fork in the potato. If it goes through easily then it is done. Drain the hot water and leave potatoes in the pot. Add cold water. Cold water will help with peeling the potatoes. The skin will practically fall off. Peel potatoes and mash into bowl.

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#Shop #CampaignHashtag #BehindtheBigGreenDoor #SweetPotatoSouffle

Once you have the potatoes mashed you will begin to add the ingredients for the soufflé. Add the ingredients one by one, blending with a hand mixer in between. Start with the milk and then add the remaining soufflé ingredients in any order that you choose. Blend until the mixture is nice and creamy, and then transfer to baking dish. For the topping, combine ingredients in a separate bowl. First add the butter then the brown sugar, the mixture will be like a paste. Next add the flour, the flour will make the paste turn into little crumbles. Spread the crumble on the soufflé mixture and then layer with the pecan halves.   

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#Shop #CampaignHashtag #BehindtheBigGreenDoor #SweetPotatoSouffle


Bake at 350 degree for 40 minutes. Test that the dish is complete by sticking a knife in it. If the knife comes out clean then you know you are done! Lastly, plop a spoonful of whipped cream on top of your finished dish and you are all complete!

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#Shop #CampaignHashtag #BehindtheBigGreenDoor #SweetPotatoSouffle

#Shop #CampaignHashtag #BehindtheBigGreenDoor #SweetPotatoSouffle



Dining Room Plans - Breaking Up [with] Matchy Furniture Series

I tried ya'll, I really tried! But I just could not find a way to love my dining room set. I haven't talked about the dining room - breaking up with matching furniture series lately, but it is still on my to do list. If you remember, I purchased a dining room set a couple years ago. At the time, I loved it, but now as my design taste evolves, I hate it! I mean straight up hate it!

Well last night I got so tired of it that I went on a spending spree to replace it....and by spending spree I mean $90! I don't plan on spending no more that $150 on this set and maybe another $150 for accessories. I'll tell you how I got it done and then plans I have for completing my dining room.

So far I have purchased a table and four chairs.


I got the table and metal chairs off Craigslist for $30. I was able to negotiate a bit on this and saved a few bucks. I recently shared my Craigslist tips, check that post out HERE.

The two upholstered chairs are from Bargain Hunt for $30 a piece. Bargain hunt is a scratch and dent furniture/clothing store. Which is perfect for someone like me who loves to fix things up. The chairs aren't perfect but it's nothing that can't be patched. I love the color of the chairs so those will stay as is and just get a good cleaning.



This may look like a pile of confusion, but once I put my finishing touches on it, it will be perfect. The plan is to paint the table a glossy white. I will also add bar cart to the room and some nice accessories. I already have a bar cart that I purchased maybe 2 years ago from a thrift store for $20 with the intentions of giving it a makeover. I never got around to it, but now I have some motivation!



For fabrics, I want to add a rug, probably a jute one. I will also change the metal chairs' fabric. I like small amounts of animal prints, so I'm thinking a dalmatian print on the chairs. I will leave the chairs' frame black more than likely.


So there's my plans. I hope to have another update on this next weekend.

Check out my other Breaking up [with] Matchy Furniture series post:
Reupholstering Chairs
Dining Room Inspiration