Food Fun Family

Homemade Bread Recipes – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #105

Lolli — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:00:01 +0000

Hey guys!

What a week this has been! I traveled back home mid week just in time to be totally knocked down with the flu. I’m still far from 100%, but I’m doing so much better (at this point, being able to EAT is way better than I was 2 days ago!).

Since it’s the end of the month, I’m pushing to make another BIG goal for my LuLaRoe business before the end of the day Wednesday, so I need everyone’s help! All orders placed and paid for before 10pm ET Wednesday will receive FREE shipping and a FREE pair of leggings! No FB group to join (unless you want to! I always welcome new members!). Every purchase makes a difference and directly helps my family. I appreciate it! SHOP HERE

And now on to this week’s Delicious Dishes Recipe Party!

Welcome to Delicious Dishes Recipe Party! In case you’re new to the party, here’s what you need to know:

Delicious Dishes is a weekly link party where bloggers can share their most delicious recipes while checking out the amazing recipes that other bloggers are sharing.

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Recipes Using Cherries from 3 Boys and a Dog

#2: Red Wine Meatloaf from This Gal Cooks

#3: Ultimate Thin Mint Brownies from Delightful E Made

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls from Coupons and Freebies Mom

Lois loved Bread Machine Dinner Rolls from Our Table for Seven

Brett loved Amish Friendship Bread with No Starter from Embellishmints

Susan loved Garlic and Herb Pull Apart Bread from Cincy Shopper

Keri Lyn loved Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls from Bunny’s Warm Oven

Emily loved Mango Oatmeal Bread from Treat and Trick

Mary loved Cheese Streusel Bread from The Not So Creative Cook

Follow us along on our Pinterest board. We pin a ton of recipes that are shared to our linky party each week. So get your recipes ready. We can’t wait to see what’s cooking in your kitchen this week.

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Instant Pot Recipes – a Delicious Dishes Recipe Party Collection

Lolli — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 12:00:37 +0000

It is good to be back to our normal routine with Delicious Dishes…and yet it still feels awkward to be writing this week’s post without Aly here (see last week’s post if you missed the sad news).

I have to say, though, that Instant Pot recipes are my current passion. I use my Instant Pot to make dinner at least twice a week. There’s not a weekly menu plan that does not include something cooked in the Instant Pot, whether it be a simple beef stew or a favorite soup recipe, or a quick chicken-with-sauce-over-rice.

What are some of your favorite Instant Pot recipes?

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: 10 Peppermint Recipes from Meatloaf and Melodrama

#2: Mini No Bake Eggnog Cheesecakes from Rose Bakes

#3: Chicken Broccoli Casserole from Simply Stacie

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved

Pesto Chicken from The Bearded Hiker

Lois loved Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs from Meatloaf and Melodrama

Brett loved Salsa Chicken from RCH Reviews

Susan loved Instant Pot Creamy Verde Chicken Chili Recipe from This Mama Loves

Keri Lyn loved Instant Pot Bacon Corn and Potato Chowder from Food Fun Family

Emily loved Creamy Shells and Beef from Meatloaf and Melodrama

Mary loved How to Make Wild Rice in the Pressure Cooker from Made in a Pinch

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Breakfast Recipes – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #91

Lolli — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:00:23 +0000

I have a love-hate relationship with breakfast. I don’t love the traditional “easy” breakfasts (like cold cereal or hot cereal) but I also don’t usually have the time it takes in the morning to cook a delicious hot, freshly-cooked breakfast. But I DO love to eat breakfast foods! My favorite breakfast recipe, hands-down is my whole wheat waffles. I make a huge batch of waffle batter and then keep it in the fridge so that we can make fresh waffles anytime – for breakfast or dinner or anytime in between.

Today we’ve gathered some delicious-sounding breakfast foods from our readers. I know I can’t wait to try them!

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Cooking in Stilettos – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Halloween Creepy Finger Cookies Recipe from Stagetecture

#2: 12 Last Minute Halloween Snack Ideas from Second Chance to Dream

#3: Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter from Our Good Life

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Homemade Buttery Flaky Biscuits from She Saved

Lois loved Cranberry Granola Breakfast Bars from Try Anything Once Culinary

Brett loved Pina Colada Muffins from Simply Stacie

Susan loved Healthy Harvest Bars from Domestically Speaking

Aly loved Breakfast Pizza with Sausage from Moms Need to Know

Keri Lyn loved Strawberry Crumble Muffins from Living Life as Moms

Emily loved Apple Cider Pancakes with Apple Crumb Topping from Eat Move Make

Mary loved Smores Waffles from Premeditated Leftovers

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Lolli — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 01:26:02 +0000

When I was growing up, my mom cooked us a family dinner every night. There were 7 of us – my mom, dad, and 5 kids – just like my family today. Kitchen tables don’t tend to be built for families of seven. Seven is an awkward number to fit around a table. We made it work by having our own seats. We didn’t have “assigned” seats, per se, but we gravitated to certain seats and always sat in the same spot.

A funny thing happened several years ago. I realized that my kids had gravitated towards their favorite seats, too, and now they always sit in the same place, night after night.

Family dinner is an important part of our family’s story, and a small thing like sitting in our favorite seats around the table like I did when I was younger makes me feel connected to the family that I grew up in.

Tonight, we had a full house, with several extra kids over to share our family dinner. I love cooking homestyle foods, especially when I can share. We had a full kitchen, but we ended the evening with full, happy bellies, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Plus…tonight’s dinner was absolutely amazing and I am so excited to share it with you!

The star of tonight’s dinner was RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce. It is RAGÚ’s thickest sauce – you can tell because it hugs the pasta…or the meatballs in our case tonight. RAGÚ® peels, chops and simmers each ingredient and uses a special blend of herbs (basil, fennel, oregano and black pepper) to layer and build the flavor. Plus, they don’t use artificial flavors, artificial colors or high fructose corn syrup. It’s good stuff.

And so is this recipe. But don’t take my word for it. Make this recipe for your own family – you’ll love it!

Yum

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb. ground chicken
1 (23 oz) jar RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce, divided (I used roasted garlic)
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 a small onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Cooked angel hair pasta
Chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, if desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a large mixing bowl, add ground chicken, 2 tablespoons RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic, onion, basil, Italian seasoning, egg, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated - do not over-mix.
Using a cookie scoop, form mixture into meatballs; place on a baking sheet (since the meatballs don't spread, you can place them pretty close together).
Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove baking sheet from oven and turn the oven to broil.
Brush each meatball with RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce (I used about 1/4 cup). Sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese.
Broil meatballs for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melty and bubbly.
Serve hot with angel hair pasta topped with RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

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Here’s a peak at the behind-the-scenes creation of the recipe. It’s so easy to make these yummy chicken meatballs!

What is your favorite way to use RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce? And what is your favorite flavor? I’m a fan of garlic, so the Roasted Garlic was my flavor of choice.

Want MORE delicious recipes with RAGÚ®? You’ve got to check out the recipe section HERE for a ton of family-friendly homestyle dishes.

10 Appliances You Need to Teach Your Kids How to Use

Lolli — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 19:25:47 +0000

This post on the top 10 appliances you need to teach your kids how to use is sponsored by P.C. Richard & Son, a family owned and operated appliance, electronics and mattresses store. All thoughts are my own.

It has been a couple of years since we packed up the van and dropped my oldest daughter off at her first college apartment. She’s now on apartment #4 and she’s getting ready to be married in just a few months (yes, you read that right. Married. My daughter!).

While daughter #1 is preparing for this new stage of life, daughter #2 is also getting ready for changes as she selects the colleges she’d like to apply to attend. Big changes are happening in our family in the coming year!

As each of my kids has gotten older and has prepared to live as independent adults, I have contemplated the responsibility we have as parents to teach them so many things. One of the things I’ve always considered important to teach my kids is how to confidently function in the kitchen, and so much of that independence comes in knowing how to use the kitchen appliances, large and small. I love cooking with kids but I love even MORE that my kids can cook and actually HELP me in the kitchen. I can call home while I’m out and have my 12-year-old start the rice cooker or have my 10-year-old load the dishwasher.

Here are the 10 appliances we’ve deemed the most important for kids to know how to use before they move out. Your list might be slightly different (ie, we don’t drink coffee, so we aren’t teaching our kids how to use a coffee maker, but that might be an important one for your family!).

What would you add to this list?

10 Appliances You Need to Teach Your Kids How to Use

Microwave oven: The microwave seems like a simple appliance, but kids need to be taught appropriate times and temperatures for reheating, defrosting, and even popcorn-making (that’s an important one!). I also firmly believe that everyone, husbands included, need to know how to properly cover foods so that the interior is not covered with splatters of food.
Toaster: Do your kids know how to start and stop the toaster and how to remove a piece of bread that has gotten stuck?
Blender: We make a lot of smoothies at our house, so we’ve taught our kids how to add the right amounts of ingredients and liquids so that they get the perfect blend. It’s also important to teach them how to properly clean the blenders between uses.
Hand mixer: My kids love to use the hand mixer for making things like pancakes, cupcakes, and…cakes. Do you see the trend here? yes, the hand mixer is an important small appliance to know how to use! It’s critical that they know how to hold the mixer in the bowl and how to insert and remove the beaters properly.
Stand mixer: The stand mixer tends to be used for more heavy duty mixing, but it is just as important in our house. I’ve taught my kids which attachments to use for each use (ie, when to use the bread hook, the whisk, or the paddle).
Rice cooker: We make rice a few times a week, and I frequently call home to have someone put a pot of rice on while I’m out running kids everywhere. I laughed one time when my husband had no idea how to work the rice cooker so I told him to go ask one of the kids.
Slow cooker: I love to cook in my crock pot! And they are one of the easiest and most kid-friendly appliances for kids to learn how to use to make full meals.
Dishwasher: We go through a LOT of dishes in our big family, so my kids learn how to empty, load, and start the dishwasher from a very early age.
Cook top stove: The stove is one of the most important appliances in the kitchen, but it is also one of the more dangerous, so I recommend parents letting their kids work side-by-side with them while they cook so that they can learn how to use it, what temperatures are appropriate for their cooking needs, and what pans to use on which burners. They also need to learn a healthy respect for the dangers of hot burners.
Oven: Just like the stove, the oven is very important to learn how to use, but almost just as critical is to teach kids to know how to handle themselves safely around the oven.

Note: while the date that the kids move out of the house and into their first apartment is certainly a good “target date,” I recommend that parents don’t wait until their kids are about to leave to teach them how to use the appliances in the kitchen. Instead, I’ve taught my kids how to use each of these appliances as soon as I could. By the time my kids leave for college, they will have had years of experience so that using them in their own apartments will be second nature.

Visit P.C. Richard & Son for more information.

Connect with P.C. Richard & Son on Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Easy Chicken Caesar Salad Pinwheels

Lolli — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 15:11:56 +0000

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hormel Foods for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you know that September is the National Family Meals Month? We aim to have dinner together as a family every night, but with a new schedule full of team practices and meetings and youth groups, sometimes a sit-down dinner is hard to accomplish.

The key for our family has been to find several simple ingredients to make quick family meals. That way, we’re still able to find the time to eat together instead of spending all of our time (and by “our time” I really mean my time) in the kitchen preparing for dinner.

Simple meals that can be prepared quickly are the difference between everyone grabbing something at random times during the night and eating alone to having a set time that we all gather together in the kitchen to eat, bond, and chat about our day.

“Family meals eaten at home have been proven to benefit the health and wellness of children and adolescents, to fight obesity, substance abuse and to make families stronger – creating a positive impact on our communities and our nation as a whole”.

This past week, I found it tough to transition back to our normal (very busy) routine after returning from my trip to Los Angeles. Luckily, I was able to pick up a can of Hormel® Premium Chicken Breast, which is an easy way to add great-tasting, satisfying protein to our meals.

Because everyone in my family loves Caesar salad, I decided to make a dinner version of our favorite salad. All I did was add some Hormel® Premium Chicken Breast and wrap it all up in a wrap/flatbread, stick some tooth picks in it, and slice to eat. We paired the chicken Caesar Salad pinwheels with some other finger foods (which are SO popular with my kids!) like carrots, cucumber, and fresh tomatoes for our garden.

Chicken Caesar Salad Pinwheels are perfect for:

lunches
dinners
party appetizers
BBQ finger food
paired with fruit, hummus & pretzel sticks, a pasta salad, etc
nights that you don’t want to heat up the kitchen cooking!

This is the recipe you’ve been looking for!

Cajun Cast Iron Skillet Potatoes

Lolli — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 05:00:11 +0000

I recently started building my collection of cast iron skillets and pots, and I’ve been searching for recipes to prepare in cast iron. *Some members of my family are calling me slightly obsessed. They may have left off the word “slightly.”

So it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that my obsession correlated with a new Pinterest board dedicated solely to cast iron cooking. (You should totally follow the board, because Oh.My.Goodness.YUM!). One of the very first cast iron recipes I grabbed from Pinterest happened to be a side dish – Hasselback Potatoes with Parmesan and Roasted Garlic (you can repin the pin here). I altered the recipe slightly to go with the main dish I was cooking that night (and our family’s tastes) and loved how they turned out…though next time I’m going to increase the time a little and choose smaller potatoes to give them more wiggle room in the skillet.

Another note: my cast iron skillet was busy that day handling the main dish (I told you I was obsessed) so I made the potatoes in my cast iron pot. Just ignore the pot and pretend my potatoes are in a beautiful skillet, k?

Cajun Cast Iron Skillet Potatoes

Yum

Cajun Cast Iron Skillet Potatoes

Ingredients

Olive oil
5 medium potatoes (or enough potatoes to loosely fit into your cast iron skillet)
5 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup butter, cubed
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions

Heat oven to 375° F. Brush bottom and sides of a cast iron skillet with olive oil.
Slice potatoes to desired thickness (the thinner you slice your potatoes, the crispier they will get). Arrange potato slices loosely in prepared skillet. **You want your potato slices to be able to move around so the seasoning and butter get into everything. Don't over-pack your skillet or your potatoes won't cook throughout.
Sprinkle potatoes with garlic and Cajun seasoning, plus salt and pepper to taste. Top potatoes with small slices of cold butter.
Cover skillet with lid and bake in a 375° F oven for about 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Remove lid, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or potatoes are cooked through and starting to get crispy.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

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Before cooking…remember to take my advice and plan a little more space between your potato slices.

Do you have any favorite dishes that you make in a cast iron skillet or pot? I’ve tried SO many things…and I’ll have more of my own recipes coming shortly!

Note: If you don’t own any cast iron cookware, this dish can be made in a casserole dish.

Here are a few more fun Pinterest remakes:

Blueberry Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Drink by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Layered Berry Smoothie Recipe by A Mom’s Take
Veggies Cooked in a Dishwasher by Homemaking Hacks
Yellow Squash Croquettes by Mom Always Finds Out
Paint Chip Calendar by Upstate Ramblings
Fruit and Nut Trail Mix by My So Called Balanced Life
Grilled Chicken with Rootbeer BBQ Sauce by How Was Your Day?

The BEST Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Lolli — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 10:00:40 +0000

I’m so glad you’re here!

Are you ready to learn the secret of the BEST slow cooker BBQ chicken?

I adore cooking with my slow cooker, but I often don’t think of using it in the summer, for whatever reason. Crockpot meals are comfort food for me…and comfort food makes me think of cold weather.

This week, though, I cooked two meals in the crock pot – one old recipe and one new recipe. The new recipe – slow cooked BBQ chicken – was such a hit that I watched my boys devour the entire pan before my eyes. I’m talking plates piled high with cleaned-off bones.

I was impressed.

I’ve made easy 2-ingredient BBQ chicken in the crock pot plenty of times (you know the recipe – dump chicken in the crock pot and cover with BBQ sauce). It’s good and it’s certainly easy, but it doesn’t wow me.

As much as I love chicken in the crockpot, I do have one complaint…the chicken becomes so tender that it falls off the bone and becomes a mess. But when I cook drumsticks and thighs on the grill or in the oven, I often find that the flavors don’t get on the part of the chicken that I’m actually eating (I’m not a skin-eater, so I like my chicken – not the skin – to be infused with flavors).

This recipe seemed to take care of both issues. You start out with a full-flavor dry rub of spices and seasonings and top with a small amount of BBQ sauce over the top. Instead of swimming in liquids that you add at the beginning, this chicken starts out relatively “dry” and is cooked in its own juices.

I know…I’m probably being too picky. But I’m telling you. I’m VERY enthusiastic about this chicken. It was the best bone-in chicken I’ve cooked inside my house.

The cast iron searing at the end was the clincher for me. It took a basic crockpot chicken to a whole new level of slow-cooker awesomeness. Yes, it means that you have another dish to clean (ask my husband…I am not a fan of hand-washing the crock pot!), but the added depth of flavor is totally worth the extra time and effort.

Ready for this recipe? Get it HERE!

How To Use Yummly: Tips and Tricks For Bloggers

Lolli — Fri, 08 May 2015 18:43:58 +0000

About a month ago, another blogger friend of mine recommended that I sign up for Yummly, a site to browse through, collect and share recipes from your own site and around the web. My initial thought was not another social site…but I figured it was worth a little bit of my time to at least look into it.

Imagine my shock when Yummly became one of the TOP 3 REFERRERS of traffic to my site within the first week.

I am now singing Yummly’s praises, and I have helped and encouraged several of my friends to sign up for and start using Yummly as well. Since several of my friends had questions about how to get started on Yummly and what to do once you get there, I decided that a post on how to use Yummly was in order.

Even if you’re not a blogger who posts recipes, I think you’re going to LOVE the site!

Getting Started on Yummly: Sign Up, Profile and Preferences

Signing up for Yummly is simple and quick. Just click the sign up button in the top right corner and choose your preferred method of signing in.

I was pretty excited when one of my recipes was showing up on the sign up page!

Once you’ve created a Yummly account, I’d recommend taking just a few minutes to fill out as many fields as possible in your profile (you can find your profile by clicking on your name in the top right corner of the page). You can link to your blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages there so that they show up in your profile.

Next, fill out your taste preferences. Add any food allergies or special diets or ingredients that you don’t like as well as your favorite cuisines.

Filling out as much as possible in your profile will make the recipes that Yummly recommends to you even better. (The other thing that will help your recommendations be a better fit is “Yumming” more recipes, but we’re not quite there yet).

How to Add Recipes to Yummly

Once you’ve got your Yummly account created and your profile set up, you’ll want to start adding recipes. All recipes you “Yum” will be filed into your “All Yums” Collection, but to get the most out of Yummly, I recommend adding each recipe to relevant categories, or Collections, such as Cookies or Desserts. I also added a “Better in Bulk Recipes” category to my own page so that I can have a place to store all of my own recipes that I’ve yummed.

To add a recipe to a Collection, click on the Yum button on the recipe you’ve just added. A menu box will drop down with a few pre-selected categories. Feel free to create a few of your own Collections to customize your page even more.

When I first started out on Yummly, I kept my Collections very broad, but now that I’m using it more and more, I’ve started adding more specific collection titles. For instance, instead of just having one place for all Desserts, I’ve added “Chocolate,” “Cookies,” “Cakes and Cupcakes,” etc.

Note: Recipe titles and images are generated automatically from your post and cannot be changed at this point. I often have recipes that take a while to process. Some instantly pop up with the image and recipe description, and others take days. If you notice your recipes are showing up without an image or a link to your blog page (more on that below), there is not much you can do about it but wait. You haven’t done anything wrong. They are simply processing.

Add a Boorkmarklet or Social Share Button

There are 2 ways to make adding recipes to your collections (and encouraging readers to add your recipes to their collections!): social share buttons and the Yummly Bookmarklet. The bookmarklet is easy to install (following the directions here) and is handy when I’m visiting other blogs with recipes I’d like to add to my Yummly collections. Any time I find a recipe I like, I just click the Yum bookmarklet in my browser toolbar and it’s added automatically. I can either add it to a collection right then or go to my Recipe Box on Yummly later to add it to relevant collections. This is what it looks like when you’ve successfully added a recipe (like this one on NellieBellie.com) using the bookmarklet:

I also added a Yummly social share button to all of my posts 2 days after I opened my Yummly account, hoping to encourage readers who are already on Yummly to add my recipes to their collections.

If you use SumoMe, Shareaholic, Simple Share Buttons (that’s what I have at the top of my post), AddToAny, E-MAILiT, or GetSocial you can add the Yum button. If your social share buttons don’t support Yummly, then ASK them to add it! The more people using Yummly and the easier it is to share, the better! You can also add your own Yum button directly to each post if you prefer.

Another fun tool that I haven’t started using yet is the Yummly Rich Recipes Plugin for WordPress, which not only makes your recipes Yummly-friendly, but adds an easy way for readers to Yum your recipe right from the recipe itself.

How to Set Up and Customize Your Publisher Page

The great news is…if you or someone else has started yumming your recipes, then a publisher page has already been automatically created for your blog!

To find your publisher page, locate one of your recipes on Yummly that has already processed. You should see your blog name near the bottom left side of the recipe card if you’re viewing from your Recipe Box, or on the left side on top of the recipe image if you’re viewing the recipe page. Click on your blog name, and you’ll be taken to your publisher page.

The next step is to fill out this form so that Yummly can update the information on your publisher page, like a description and profile image.

Note: If any recipes that you have added are not showing up on this publisher page, it just means that the recipe has not been processed yet (is not yet live on Yummly).

Watch the Traffic Come!

Of course, there’s never any guarantee that a site is going to bring you traffic, but Yummly has been fantastic for my blog, surpassing Pinterest most days! I spend a few minutes each day adding new recipes that I find, either through the recipes that Yummly recommends to me or through Facebook groups of bloggers that I admire, etc. One of my recipes is currently on Yummly’s homepage as one of the most popular on the site (I got lucky!) but even without that popular post, I’m still bringing in several hundred new visitors a day from Yummly.

How it works: When you click on a recipe on Yummly, you’ll be brought to a page that looks like this:

Users can see the ingredients and basic nutrition facts about a recipe on Yummly, but they have to click the button near the bottom to “Read Full Directions on (Blog Name)” to get the instructions.

Why I like Yummly so much:

Traffic aside, the 2 things I love most about Yummly are:

It’s simplicity of design and functionality: It’s easy to browse through recipes or search for recipes with specific ingredients. I’m not distracted with a bunch of other things. Yummly has delicious recipes. Period.
Yummly has great recommendations for me: Because I’m using Yummly regularly, the recommendations are getting better and better. Unlike other social networks that are flooded with information that I might not want or need to see, Yummly feels like it’s customized just for me. I love that.

Another thing that I am just starting to try out is sharing Yummly recipes directly from the site, since they have several sharing options right there. I’m curious to see if I get more yums that way!

Are you on Yummly yet? If not, I highly recommend that you come join me there!

Note: The spoon image used above is from stock image site Graphic Stock.

The Everything Gluten-Free Breakfast And Brunch Cookbook

Lolli — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 16:36:49 +0000

It’s not every day that I get to brag to my friends that some of my recipes have been included in a cookbook. I figured that an awesome day like this was worth bragging about…at least a little.

Note: in appreciation for contributing to The Everything Gluten-Free Breakfast And Brunch Cookbook, author (and friend) Jo-Lynne Shane has sent me a copy of the brand new book. I am not receiving any compensation for sharing this or for contributing to the cookbook. I’m just truly excited. Links to the book are Amazon affiliate links.

I can’t imagine the pride that my friend, Jo-Lynne, feels now that her cookbook is out. I know how much work it was for her to put this together. Not only does The Everything Gluten-Free Breakfast And Brunch Cookbook include 300 gluten-free recipes, but it is full of tips and tricks for choosing gluten-free foods, eating out when you’re eating gluten-free, modifying existing recipes, and more. I can’t wait to share this with all of my friends and family members who observe a gluten-free diet.

Jo-Lynne included four of my recipes (like the above bacon-stuffed avocados) in her new cookbook, which is just a drop in the bucket of the 300 delicious gluten-free breakfast and brunch recipes in the book. I can’t wait to try them – not because I am currently eating gluten-free, but because they sound so amazing!

One of the recipes I’m most excited about is a gluten-free version of my Browned Butter Glazed Spice Doughnuts. These doughnuts are so incredible that I think everyone should be able to have them, and I love that my gluten-free friends can now enjoy them, too.

About the author: (This is the official bio….to me, Jo-Lynne is just a fun and inspiring woman to hang out with!) Jo-Lynne Shane’s award-winning lifestyle blog, Musings of a Housewife, is a go-to resource for gluten-free meal plans and recipes. She is a brand ambassador for Udi’s Gluten Free Foods and was recently named one of Udi’s influential bloggers for all things gluten-free. Jo-Lynne and Musings of a Housewife have been featured on 95.7 BEN FM, Mothering.com, CNN.com, and in Southern Living magazine and Cosmopolitan magazine. She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Buy the cookbook HERE (if you don’t eat gluten-free, I bet you know a family member or friend who does and who would LOVE this cookbook as a gift!). Once you’ve bought it for yourself or a friend, let’s all support Jo-Lynne with a slew of awesome Amazon reviews!