Berry Buckle-YUMMY

I just had to share with you what our dessert was last night. I have a friend that sells Tastefully Simple and she talked me into buying this. It was "YUMMY"!!!! We didn't even have ice cream to go with it and we still wanted to slap somebody. My nephew is here with us today- so I have 7 year old, 6 year old, 3 year old and 2 1/2 year old boys with me today and.. well do I have to explain more. They all had to potty off the front porch when Luke first got here, I guess it was marking the territory or something. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Season's Best Recipes

We will be having the chicken salad like this because the boys would freak out if they saw it like the pic on top. Either way this is so good!!!!

I have been working on my bookmark swap today but now have to start on supper. I thought I would share with everyone exactly what we will be having tonight. Of course both recipes come from Pampered Chef so I have taken their pics for you to see. The main dish is

The Pampered Chef ®Jerk Chicken SaladRecipe
1 tablespoon Garlic Oil or olive oil
1 tablespoon Jamaican Jerk Rub
1 pound chicken tenders
1 medium pineapple
1 red bell pepper
3 green onions (white and light green parts only)
2 heads romaine lettuce
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
6 slices bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
Dressing
2 limes
1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons pineapple preserves
In Classic Batter Bowl, whisk together oil and jerk rub with Stainless Whisk. Add chicken tenders; mix well to coat and set aside. Peel pineapple and cut in half lengthwise with Santoku Knife; reserve half for another use. Cut remaining pineapple in half lengthwise and remove core. Slice crosswise into ¼-inch slices. Heat Grill Pan over medium heat 5 minutes. Add chicken; cook 3-5 minutes on each side, turning once. Remove from pan. Add pineapple to pan. Cook 1 minute on each side, turning once; remove from pan. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces using Utility Knife; set chicken and pineapple aside.
Thinly slice bell pepper and green onions on Cutting Board with Measure Cups using Santoku Knife. Arrange 12 large lettuce leaves around Simple Additions® Large Round Platter. Chop remaining lettuce; set vegetables aside. Drain and rinse beans using Strainer; set aside.
For dressing, zest one lime using Microplane® Adjustable Grater. Juice both limes into Small Batter Bowl using Citrus Press. Add lime zest, mayonnaise and pineapple preserves to batter bowl; mix well.
Layer chopped lettuce, beans, bell pepper, chicken, pineapple, bacon and green onions over each lettuce leaf. Drizzle dressing over salad.
Yield: 6 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 320, Total Fat 16 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Cholesterol 60 mg, Carbohydrate 24 g, Protein 24 g, Sodium 580 mg, Fiber 5 g
Cook's Tip: If desired, 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips, can be substituted for the chicken tenders. To microwave bacon, line Medium Bar Pan with sheet of Parchment Paper. Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on bar pan; cover with another sheet of Parchment Paper. Microwave on HIGH 4-6 minutes, checking after each 30-second interval and turning once with Bamboo Tongs. Remove bacon to paper towel-lined plate to drain. For a kid-friendly version of this recipe, prepare recipe as directed, omitting lettuce. Cook 1 pound rotini pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and toss with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add remaining ingredients; drizzle with dressing and toss gently.

The second recipe is this:

The Pampered Chef ®Lime-Berry Mousse TrifleRecipe
4-5 limes
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 container (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
3 cups assorted fresh berries, such as strawberries, raspberries and blackberries
1 frozen prepared pound cake (16 ounces), thawed
1 pint lime sherbet, softened
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Additional berries for garnish (optional)
Slice two limes using Ultimate Mandoline fitted with v-shaped blade; set aside. Using Microplane® Adjustable Grater, zest remaining limes to measure about 1 tablespoon zest; juice limes into Easy Read Measuring Cup using Citrus Press to measure 1/2 cup juice.
In Classic Batter Bowl, whisk cream cheese, condensed milk, lime juice and zest with Stainless Whisk. Attach open star tip to Easy Accent® Decorator, fill with about 1/2 cup of the whipped topping and set aside. Gently fold in remaining whipped topping until smooth with Small Mix ‘N Scraper®. Slice strawberries with Egg Slicer Plus®. Place berries in Small Batter Bowl.
Cut pound cake into 1-inch cubes with Bread Knife. To assemble trifle, place half of the pound cake cubes into bottom of Trifle Bowl. Top with half of the sherbet using Small Scoop; spread evenly. Top sherbet with half of the berries and half of the cream cheese mixture. Arrange lime slices in a circular pattern against inside of bowl to garnish. Repeat layers one time with remaining pound cake cubes, sherbet, berries and cream cheese mixture.
Pipe whipped topping rosettes around rim of trifle using decorator. Coarsely chop almonds using Food Chopper; sprinkle over top of trifle before serving. Garnish with additional berries, if desired.
Yield: 16 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 310, Total Fat 17 g, Saturated Fat 10 g, Cholesterol 60 mg, Carbohydrate 35 g, Protein 4 g, Sodium 120 mg, Fiber 1 g
Cook's Tip: To toast almonds in (8-in.) Sauté Pan, cook and stir 7-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently with Small Slotted Turner until toasted. Remove from heat; cool.Any flavor of sherbet can be used in this recipe, if desired. Coat additional lime slices with sugar for a pretty garnish.

I thought I might share some of my recipes from time to time if anyone is interested. If I receive enough comments I will start doing that once a week. Hope everyone has a great night!!

Pampered Chef Sweepstakes

I have tried not to post much abt. my Pampered Chef business but I hated for those out there reading to miss out on a great special and the sweepstakes deadline.
Subject: Patriotic Outlet Items now available!



Great must-haves for 4th of July parties and summer get-togethers. Outdoor Serving Pieces — Star Cube Tray Set, Serving Tray, Tumbler SetOriginal Price $35.00 Now Only $14.00 Patriotic Linens — Patriotic Towel Set, Patriotic TableclothOriginal Price $43.25 Now Only $17.25 Patriotic TableclothOriginal Price $29.00 Now Only $11.75 Patriotic Basket LinerOriginal Price $19.00 Now Only $7.50 Look for the special banners bottom left corner on my web site:
www.pamperedchef.biz/angelameeks

And don't forget to SIGN UP for our SWEEPSTAKES while

you're visiting my site. June 30th is our final Sweepstakes

give-away... where you can win $3600 worth of Pampered

Chef kitchen tools... FREE!! (this is open to everybody, not just

to couples registering on our Wedding Registry.


QUESTIONS?? Contact me:
Angela Meeks

Swaps and Such

I rec'd my Travel Swap gift this weekend and wanted to show you what Carole made for me. Some of her pics are below this post and the ones above are some of the pages from the book I made for her. She is taking a trip to Italy this year so I hope that she can use this to document her trip. I told her that I was working for a trip with Pampered Chef(trip for 4 to D.C. or trip for 2 to London) and she made the perfect book to add all of my pics and notes to. I love it!!! Thanks so much Carole!!!! I have also included a pic of a visitor that we had yesterday. Don't know that you can see it very well but the snake was climbing the front porch post to get to a birds nest in the corner. You can see part of his body(he was abt. 4 ft. long) and he did manage to get a couple of birds before I got him down. Needless to say my 3 boys were freaking and screaming abt. how COOL it all was. YUCK!!!! I was inside taking this pic thru a rained on window so that is why it looks so bad. It was too hard to hold the camera, rake and an ax to get a good pic for you, but I am sure everyone understands.

Hope to post more later, I still have to take pics of my Partea Time Swap gift and what I sent off. Y'all have a great day!!!!

Earlier today I visited this blog and saw her slide show. I thought it was cool so I attempted to make my own but now can't figure out how to fix it. I want it moved over to the side but my brain is just not working that way today. A lot of the pics that you see are on my blog already but I did add one of my mom. This was taken in 2005 at her 40th class reunion in Jacksonville, North Carolina. My dad was working in Illinois at the time so my Uncle was her date and I think it was the best time she had ever had. "God works in Mysterious Ways." My mom had a very low self esteem and always felt that she was not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, outgoing enough..... and she was so nervous abt. this reunion. My Uncle Marshall(her sister's husband) is a complete "Ham" in public(well, anywhere) and I really believe God worked it so that he would be the one to take her to the only reunion she had been to. She talked abt. every moment that happened for days after she got home. When I was a baby she had to have her knee caps removed due to the bones rubbing against each other(yes, I am so old that they didn't have knee replacement surgery). After her reunion she decided that she would try to have the surgery so that she could walk steadier and not feel so limited in what she could do. She had the surgery in mid Oct. 2005 and was the best rehab pt. they had ever had, she was so proud of herself and so upbeat. One week after the surgery she started bleeding(diverticulitis) and on Nov. 28th 2005 she passed away from all of the complications with it. I miss her every single day and I know that this post is a little bit of a downer but I want to say that no matter how people get on your nerves or drive you crazy, make sure you let them know that you love them every single day!! I also wanted everyone to see how God works, I really believe he gave her that reunion time as a special moment for her and best of all my younger brother accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in August of 2006. It is something she prayed for everyday and thru her death his heart opened. I know my mom has at least one extra crown in Heaven today and that is what I wanted to share with you. You never know how your actions will affect someone else, so please tell everyone that Jesus loves them and that you do as well. They may have just needed that and you may be the only person that tells them.

Check out my Slide Show!

Latest Projects

I have finally gotten the collage added to my etsy shop and I have added one of the new journals there as well. There are several more to take pics of and add that I will try to get to tonight. I have a booth at our local market on Sat. and everything will be going with me so if you are interested in a certain item please let me know.

On to something else to gab abt., my 3 year old loves to surprise us with the things that come from his mouth. His new kick is singing to a commercial that we heard on the radio. The commercial sounds like Larry the Cable Guy being asked if he was to try out on American Idol what would he sing. His response, "Lord have mercy how'd she get them britches on, with all that honky tonk....." and so now you know. He also watched part of Shrek in the last few weeks so we have, "I like big butts...." to go with the first stanza and somehow he knows that honky tonk and butt is the same. Go figure, I can't make him understand "NO" to save my life but he hears those lyrics ONCE and immediately gets them. Will I ever figure this parenting thing out?!? Any experts out there?

I have been busy, busy, busy with getting ready for the Sat. Market here but wanted to show you some of what I have been doing. My Pampered Chef business has kept me busy as well so I know I have been lax in posting but I promise it is nuts here!

Crocheting flowers is a never ending endeavor but I did manage to use an old 9x16 clipboard to collage. I will be adding it to etsy when I can get a better pic of it.

I also need to post pics of my Tea Swap and my Travel Swap goodies so I better get back to taking pics and getting the boys off to the movies. They are leaving with their Granny to see Shrek the Third and I don't know who is more excited, me or them!!!!

"Runnin like a chicken..."

well, you know the rest. I haven't posted for ages but all three boys are out of school and let's just say there is no "me" time. I have been working on a few items to put on etsy so hopefully tonight I can get them loaded. I picked up my crochet and have been making a mad dash to finish flowers to list and now my left arm feels as tho' I should wack it off.

I have faithfully been reading everyone's posts and working on my swaps so if you are waiting for something please know that I am going as fast as I can!

Will be back later with some pics and I do hope you haven't moved on without me.