Saturday, May 31, 2014

A Summer BBQ Party & Giveaway

A summer Barbecue Party and Giveaway hosted by the ladies of Let's Get Social Sunday and some of our best bloggy friends! #giveaway #summer #barbecue

Let's start summer with a Bang! The Ladies from the Sunday Social are back with a few of our best friends for a Summer Kickoff Barbecue Grill Giveaway and a BBQ Party! We love to party and the more the merrier! Summer is all about enjoying the outdoors and what's better than getting together with friends for a barbecue! (PS - Great Father's Gift too!)

Let me introduce you to all the Let's Get Social Sunday ladies ...

Evelyn from My Turn For Us
Wanda Ann from Memories by the Mile
Joy from Yesterfood
Jamie from Love Bakes Good Cakes
Diane from Mamal Diane
Lisa from Cooking With Curls

and we've invited these lovely ladies to join us:

Cindy from Little Miss Celebration
Shauna from The Best Blog Recipes
Sheena from Hot Eats and Cool Reads
Kathe from Kathe With An E
Andi from The Weary Chef
Katherine from Katherines Corner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure and visit our hosts and see what great blogs they have. You're going to love each one and did I mention the food? You can cook all summer and never run out of new recipes and ideas. Be sure and follow us on our Pinterest Board to keep up with the best summer recipes. Everyone that links to our party will be pinned on it!

So let's get our BBQ started, with all the trimmings. We can't wait to see what everyone brings.

We thought it would be fun to kick off summer sharing our recipes we love to take to those fun summer outings, picnic's, and barbecue's.

Here's to a GREAT SUMMER!

By linking up to our party, you are giving us permission to feature your projects and recipes with a link back to you.

22 Summer Fruit Recipes Shared at Freedom Fridays

22 Summer Fruit Recipes Shared at Freedom Fridays #roundup #FreedomFridays #fruit #summer

By the looks of this week's Freedom Fridays, y'all are more than ready for summer! I found a bunch of recipes that use some of the best summer fruits - and I've rounded them up for you!
Be sure to pin from the original source! To get each recipe, click the name of the recipe underneath the picture! :)

Mini Raspberry Swirl Coffee Cakes

Strawberry Watermelon Spritzers

Honey Blueberry Basil Ice Cream

Sour Cherry Pie

Cantaloupe Ice Cream Bowls

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Lemon Raspberry Vodka Martinis

Chocolate Donuts with Strawberry Frosting

Out of the Pan Triple Berry Pie

Watermelon Shark

Grilled Pineapple

Apple Turnovers

Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake

Lemon Lime Snack Cake

Whipped Pudding Strawberry Mini Trifle

Watermelon Slush

Lemon Trifle

Watermelon Salsa

Spinach Salad with Strawberries + Roasted Pine Nuts

Rhubarb Bundt Cake

Hot Milk Cake with Blackberries & Cream

Rhubarb Muffins

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

Orange Slice Cupcakes

Strawberry Cream Pie {Easy & No-Bake} is full of fresh strawberries and cream cheese, it gets an additional boost of flavor from instant pudding mix! Serve this at your next get-together, and watch it disappear! #strawberries #pie #nobake

Strawberry Cream Pie {Easy and No-Bake}
I hope you enjoy! Shared at thesefun parties!

Don't forget to share and comment ♥Copyright © Love Bakes Good Cakes 2012-2013 All Rights Reserved

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends #30

Welcome to Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends! I'm so glad you stopped by! This is an anything goes, no rules party! Link up your recipes, projects, crafts, printables ... and yes, you can even link up your giveaways!

If you don't already like us on Twitter, I would love for you to follow us - you can even do it right here:

Follow @JamieLBGC
Follow @MyTurnForUs

Love Bakes Good Cakes has teamed up with My Turn for us to bring you the best "no rules" party around! We try to promote as many links as we can on social media - to bring more exposure to all of your projects!

Let's check out this week's features:

Features - Top to bottom, Left to right
MOST VIEWED - Chili Honey Lime Chicken Tenders from Eazy Peazy MealzFourth of July Pancakes from The Grant Life Upcycled Dog Tag Jewelry from Halfway to HipsterCrochet Rocks from Over the Apple TreeChinese Meatballs from Sweet Caroline's Corner
You can find all of the features on our "Freedom Fridays - Featured" board
Follow Jamie @ Love Bakes Good Cakes's board "Freedom Fridays {FEATURED} on Pinterest.

You can also follow our Pinterest board - Links We Love

Follow Jamie @ Love Bakes Good Cakes's board "Freedom Fridays {LINKS WE LOVE} on Pinterest.

If you were featured or if you would like a party button, be sure to grab a button!

<div align="center"><br /><a href="http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/" title="Love Bakes Good Cakes" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s368/lovebakesgoodcakes/FreedomFridaysButton125x125_zps4f161894.png" alt="Love Bakes Good Cakes" style="border:none;" /></a></div><br />

<div align="center"><br /><a href="http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/" title="Love Bakes Good Cakes" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s368/lovebakesgoodcakes/FeaturedatFreedomFridaysButton125x125_zps93e214b4.png" alt="Love Bakes Good Cakes" style="border:none;" /></a></div><br />

Let's Party!

Disclaimer: By submitting a link to this party, you are allowing authorization for your projects to be shared and/or featured on social media and our blogs. All features will be linked directly back to the original site. Any links shared will link back to the party and your corresponding number in the party.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Orange Slice Cupcakes

Orange Slice Cupcakes get off to an easy start with a doctored up cake mix. Top it off with a simple, but delicious homemade orange buttercream frosting! These babies are perfect for summer parties! #summer #orange #cupcakes

Since Memorial Day is behind us, I am of the belief that summer has officially started ... I don't care that the calendar says it starts in June! Throw in the fact that it's been in the triple digits for the past few days here in Phoenix ... it's summer. Ya know?!

Some of you may know that I grew up in Florida. Summer in Florida can only mean two things .... oranges at every roadside stand and tourists. Well, three if you throw in the risk of hurricanes. :D (Side note: I'm praying for an uneventful hurricane season for the East Coast and Gulf Coast this year!!)

Now, I have to be honest with y'all .... I like to stir up trouble from time to time. Surprised?! No?! I didn't think so! Haha!! My husband is from Southern California ..... and I'm from Florida - who do you think I'm gonna say has better oranges?! :D Florida does, of course!! Y'all saw that coming, right?! Brian disagrees. Whatever.
Being a Florida girl, I grew up going to the roadside stands almost every Saturday morning! I hear they are pretty much a thing of the past - and that's such a shame! I sure do miss the array of fresh citrus, produce, pecan rolls and hot boiled peanuts. (If you haven't had or heard of boiled peanuts, that's a story for another post!!)
Since I wanted to share something "summer-y" with y'all, I couldn't think of anything that says summer to me more than oranges! I hope you enjoy these Orange Slice Cupcakes as much as we do! :)

Orange Slice Cupcakes
Printable recipe
Yield: 24 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1 box (15.25 oz.) vanilla cake mix
1 cup orange juice
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

For the orange buttercream frosting:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. grated orange peel
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp. orange juice

Additional ingredients:
candy orange slices or real orange wedges, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the cake mix, orange juice, oil and eggs with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans.

Bake for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting by creaming the butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, orange peel, vanilla extract and 2 tbsp. of orange juice; beat until thoroughly combined and the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the additional tablespoon of orange juice only if needed to thin the frosting.

Frost cupcakes. Garnish with a candy orange slice or wedges of real orange, if desired.

These Orange Slice Cupcakes would be perfect for a summer cookout or potluck! Just make sure you take enough - people love 'em! :)

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

Key Lime Pie Fudge

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Southwest Hot Dogs and Easy Summer Dishes with Park’s Finest™ Frankfurters from Ball Park®

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

It's time to fire up your grill! These Southwest Hot Dogs are an easy summer dish perfect for grilling season! #StartYourGrill #CollectiveBias

Southwest Hot Dog with Park’s Finest™ Frankfurters from Ball Park® #StartYourGrill #CollectiveBias

One of the things I love most about summer is grilling! Hello, what's not to love about food cooked over fire?! I am the grill master at our house ... and it's a job I love! :) Growing up in Florida, my parents grilled often - year round. I think that kinda spoiled me with all of those grilling recipes! There's just something about grilled food that makes it taste better, doesn't it?!
Like many families, we spent Memorial Day weekend with family and breaking in the grill for summer. This year was extra special because Elijah just graduated from high school, so it feels like we've been partying for a week! I guess now that I think about it, technically we have been partying and celebrating for that long! :D

We stopped by our local Safeway to get some shopping done for our Memorial Day cook-out. While looking for hot dogs to go with our burgers, I spotted these new Park's Finest™ Frankfurters from Ball Park® and decided to give them a try! They are new and I had never seen them before. We chose the Signature Seasoned ... but there is also a Cracked Dijon Mustard and a Slow Smoked Hickory variety.

I loved that these frankfurters are made with 100% beef and that there's no artificial preservatives, flavors, colors or fillers .... and NO Nitrates!! Park's Finest™ Frankfurters from Ball Park® is a premium line of bold hot dog varieties, infused with premium seasonings.

Here are some fast facts for you .... Between Memorial Day and Labor Day (aka "hot dog season"), Americans eat nearly 7 billion hot dogs according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council! Did you know that 98% of all hot dogs are eaten with condiments - the number one condiment you may ask?! Mustard!
When it comes to grilling the perfect dogs, Ballpark knows a thing or two. Here are few tips for perfecting your dogs on the grill:

Spray it before you lay it: Before laying hot dogs on the grill, be sure to spray the grill with vegetable oil or cooking spray to ensure the food doesn’t stick to the grates as it’s cooked.

Don’t lose the juice: Use tongs rather than a fork to gently turn franks and handle as little as possible. Do not cut or pierce the hot dogs while they are grilling or those delicious juices may be lost.

Get the “smoky” flavor – If you prefer your hot dogs to have a smoky taste, keep the grill completely covered while cooking.

Dress the dog: Have lots of fun toppings ready for your guests to use to top the hot dog – everything from the traditional mustard and ketchup to grilled veggies, chili & cheese or even sour cream. Always "dress the dog," not the bun.

Condiments should be applied in the following order: wet condiments like mustard and chili are applied first, followed by chunky condiments like relish, onions and sauerkraut, followed by shredded cheese, followed by spices, like celery salt or pepper

This Southwest Hot Dog is inspired by the Sonoran Dog found at Nogales Hot Dogs in Phoenix. Brian and I recently had the pleasure of experiencing one of Phoenix's landmarks on a rare night out. Before we moved here, I read about all of the food trucks here in the Valley - and the various fare they sold. But the one that really caught my attention and was at the top of my "foodie bucket list" here in Phoenix, was Nogales Hot Dogs! I am so glad that we had that experience and we crossed it off our list! I am sure we'll be repeat customers! :)
To be totally truthful, I never would have thought beans would be good on a hot dog .... but man, was I wrong! I had no idea what I had been missing! I couldn't wait to get home and make my own spin on the famous Sonoran Dog! Side note - This Southwest Hot Dog is different that what you get at Nogales Hot Dogs - so if you're ever in Phoenix and decide to stop by, please, don't go there thinking this is what you'll get! :)
There really is no "recipe" needed to make these at home, but if you would like to replicate these yummy Southwest Hot Dogs (and really, you should - they are so good!), here is how I did it:

Southwest Hot Dogs

To assemble these Southwest hot dogs at home: toast hot dog buns. Top grilled hot dogs with refried beans (homemade or canned), homemade guacamole and drizzle with mayonnaise. Serve with salsa on the side.

***Just a side note - Right now, you can save $0.55 on one package of Park's Finest™ Frankfurters from Ball Park®. Click HERE for your coupon. Offer valid 05/26/14-06/01/14

I can see more of these Southwest Hot Dogs happening this summer! Now that you know one of my favorite grilling recipes and how I top my dog, what is one of your favorite grilling recipes and how do you like to top your dogs?!

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

Key Lime Pie Fudge