Recipe Sharing Monday #53 + Features!

Happy Monday everyone! It is time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes. If you would like to put a Recipe Sharing Monday button on your blog, the code is in the right sidebar.

I will be picking the features and sharing them each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up. I'll be pinning the featured posts on the Recipe Sharing Monday Pinterest board, as well as some of my other favorite shared boards.

Features from the last Recipe Sharing Monday:

• Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino Copycat at Raining Hot Coupons
• Loaded Potato Salad at Moms and Munchkins
• Mango Pico de Gallo Burgers at Dixie Chik Cooks
• Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Slaw at Sunflower Supper Club
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies at Raining Hot Coupons

• Ruby Tuesday Mango Tea at Debt Free Through Spending
• Crab Cake Quesadillas at Lemon Tree Dwelling
• Birthday Cake Caramel Corn at Lemon Tree Dwelling
• Pretzel and Toffee Peanut Butter Brownies at Six Sisters' Stuff
• Spaghetti Pie at Cooking with K

Congrats to our features!

The Guidelines:

• Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My button is over on the right sidebar of my blog. 
• Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL. 
• I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

Angry Bird 4th Birthday Party Recap

My son Jack turned 4 last weekend and we celebrated with a themed birthday party of his current favorite - Angry Birds. How about those angry piggy cupcakes? I thought they turned out really cute. The tongues sticking out were a spur of the moment addition, along with a few mustaches. I had planned to do more for the party but as I mentioned, I have been very sick lately so I just didn't have the energy to do more.

We were outside for most of the party and set up a kiddie pool, sprinklers and a radio. (Who picked the country station for music??) We grilled cheeseburgers and hot dogs, along with the Best Ever Broccoli Salad, a traditional potato salad with diced sweet pickles, punch, chips with homemade chip dip (Penzey's Chip Dip is awesome!), Piggy cupcakes and we got a angry bird sheet cake from a local grocery store.

The Angry Piggy Cupcakes were made with a yellow cake mix, a homemade frosting tinted green, lime marshmallows cut in half and dipped in green sanding sugar, mini M&Ms for the eyes, and for the ears, tongues and mustaches we bought a pack of gummy sour candies that come in rectangle strips and we cut them to the appropriate shapes.

The wind was pretty crazy and popped all of the balloons outside, blew away the plates and napkins and blew a bunch of grilling smoke in our faces, but even with all of that it was a nice time. The kids enjoyed the warm weather, which we haven't had much of yet, mainly just rain and more rain.

Leading up the party my son had been pretty adamant in saying that he was NOT turning 4, but instead was gonna stay 3 years old instead. By the time the party finally came around he finally had accepted that he was turning 4. It was a fun and low key party for a little angry bird loving kid. Happy 4th Birthday to my little man!

Bursting Blueberry Muffins

These muffins truly are bursting with blueberries. As such, I will note that they were a little bit tricky to get out of the muffin pan if you don't use any sort of muffin/cupcake liner, so I would suggest using those.

This recipe came from Tasty Kitchen. In the description of the recipe, the person who submitted it said that they were a whole grain muffin, but in her recipe there was no whole grain flour mentioned. I used regular flour and it turned out delicious. I am not much of a blueberry fan in general but I thought these were delicious, especially with the sparkly sugar topping. Enjoy!

Bursting Blueberry Muffins
Makes about 12

• ½ cups Butter
• 1 cup Sugar. Plus 1 Tablespoon For Topping
• 2  Eggs
• ½ cups Milk
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
• 2 cups Fresh Or Frozen Blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 12-count muffin tin. Set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in milk.

3. Combine dry ingredients (everything else except the berries) in another bowl then add this into the creamed mixture. Stir to combine. Gently fold in blueberries.

4. Fill greased muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining sugar. Bake in the preheated 375 F oven for about 20 minutes (or until lightly browned).

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen.

Cucumber Salad

This recipe comes from my mother. It is nothing fancy but it is a standard side dish at our house, particularly during the Summer. It is refreshing and tasty. Enjoy!

Cucumber Salad
Makes several servings

• 2-3 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin
• Miracle Whip, amount varies, just enough to coat the cucumbers.
• Optional: Garnish with fresh dill or chives

1. Mix both ingredients until coated. Chill and serve.

Recipe from my mom.

Orange, Pineapple & Dijon Glazed Ham

Orange, Pineapple & Dijon Glazed Ham
Makes enough for one ham

• 1 bone-in ham (precooked)
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Place ham in a roasting pan, bake according to directions on the package.

2. Meanwhile, stir remaining ingredients together in a saucepan.

3. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.

4. When ham has baked two hours, brush the ham with the glaze, continue doing so every 10 minutes while baking for another 30 minutes.

Recipe from Food.com

Asian-Style Teriyaki Grilled Steak

If you are breaking out the grill this Summer, I have a delicious grilled steak recipe to check out. I posted it over at Mom Spark so please hop on over and check it out!

Sickie Update

Hey all! Sorry to say that I'll be quiet around here this week. I got hit with both strep throat and a double ear infection so I am taking it easy on blog updates. Jack's 4th birthday is this weekend so I am trying to get better quick so I can prepare for his party.

I was thinking of doing chicken salad wraps, burgers and dogs on the grill, my best ever broccoli salad with cranberries, punch and for dessert green piggy cupcakes and a layered cake in the an Angry Bird theme. Nothing too crazy but it should be fun. Have a great week and I'll update when I am feeling better!

Recipe Sharing Monday #52 + Features!

Happy Monday everyone! 52 Weeks of Recipe Sharing Monday and just a touch under 5 million views to this site. Thank you so much for being a part of it.

It is time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes. If you would like to put a Recipe Sharing Monday button on your blog, the code is in the right sidebar.

I will be picking the features and sharing them each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up. I'll be pinning the featured posts on the Recipe Sharing Monday Pinterest board, as well as some of my other favorite shared boards.

Features from the last Recipe Sharing Monday:

• Prosciutto, Melon & Herbed Provolone at Soliloguy of Food & Such
• Strawberry Margarita Shortcakes at Cooking on the Front Burner
• Crusted Chicken with Zesty Jalapeno Sauce at Lori's Culinary Creations
• Coconut Cheesecake at Will Cook for Smiles
• Carrot Salad at Turnips 2 Tangerines

• Fruit Salad at Picture Perfect Cooking
• Oven Baked BBQ Chicken at Cooking with K
• Chicken Alfredo Pizza at Orchard Girls
• Tropical Souffle Pudding at Teenage Cakeland
• Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole for Two at Jo & Sue

Congrats to this weeks features!

The Guidelines:

• Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My button is over on the right sidebar of my blog. 
• Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL. 
• I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

Garlic Shrimp & Cheesy Grits

This is the second recipe I've made from Mrs. Happy Homemaker this week and both have turned out fantastic. I've actually never made grits before and I cheated and made a good quality quick cooking style of grits. They turned out delicious. My only mistake was that I didn't cook the bacon longer, I think it needs to be a bit crispy to offset the grits. Many thanks to Mrs. Happy Homemaker for another winning recipe. Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
Makes about 4 servings

• 4 cups water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup stone-ground grits
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 slices bacon, crumbled
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 bunch chopped green onions
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

1. Bring water to a boil. Stir in a teaspoon of salt.. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

2. Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 more minutes.

3. Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Mrs. Happy Homemaker

Stealing food bloggers photographs and passing them off as your own is not okay.

Would it be surprising to hear that pretty much on a daily basis I get emails from my readers letting me know that they have found my photographs, (and whatever recipe accompanies the photo), stolen and posted somewhere else online? It is sad, but true.

I have touched on slightly similar topics on my blog when I asked if it is okay to post other food bloggers recipes at your site when the recipe had turned out bad. Be sure to check that post out and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Today, though, I am addressing a bigger issue of people stealing copyrighted photographs and posting them as if they were their own work. A lot of work goes into maintaining a food blog. Picking out the recipes, shopping, prepping, cooking, photographing and finally editing photographs and writing up a post. It is so discouraging when someone simply copy and pastes your work and posts it online, not even bothering to link back to you or to ask for permission before taking your photographs.

Do these people really have no clue that what they are doing is just down right gross? It sickens me, it really does. I have worked with some very nice people in the past who took a moment to email me and ask for permission to post my work on their websites, websites where they earn money from each hit they get, and I have been happy to work with them. People who steal, who crop out your watermark, who take your photograph and recipes and repost it to earn money off of my hard work -- that is disgusting.

There is one particular person doing this to many food bloggers as of late, and when I asked her to take my photograph down, she told me it was my own fault that she took my content. I was and still am a bit flabbergasted. Get a clue and get the hell off my blog, lady. *grin*  That is as polite as I can be to rude and nasty people. In the past I have had more patience with this sort of thing, but as of late it is just getting to be too much.

Do the right thing. Stop stealing things online and passing them off as your own, providing no courtesy link back to where you took it from. Be a good human being and stop trying to profit from other peoples hard work, work that they put their heart and sweat into. What say you blog readers?