WAFFLE LADY WEDNESDAY: Yay, Giveaway time!!!

Back by popular demand....Waffle Lady Giveaway time! I've heard multiple times in this past two weeks that my friends and neighbors are bummed they missed out on the last Waffle Lady Gift Bag, so to satisfy one and all and get a few more peeps to learn about my very favorite product out there, IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

Win this gift bag and receive an awesome box of California Whole Wheat Pancake and Waffle Mix and a cup of Daily Oats! These healthy, tasty delights will not only satisfy your fam but thrill you when you realize that both are incredibly healthy and a terrific way to start your day.

Also, my awesome friend Lauren Brown was lucky enough to try Waffle Lady last week and will be discussing her thoughts today! Check her out on THE BLOG ADDICTS DAILY DIGEST, an awesome blog I read every single day! (THE BADD BLOG: http://thebadd.blogspot.com)

Enter a comment below, make sure to leave your email address and tell me your very favorite thing to eat for breakfast! Winners will be chosen randomly (but an awesome breakfast comment will earn you a few extra points) next Tuesday, September 6. Also, if you tell a friend to enter the contest and they tell me in their comment that you sent them, you will be entered to win an extra prize. The more people you send over, the more chances you have at winning!!!

Good Luck Friends!!!

TASTY TUESDAY! Yummy Beer Battered Onion Rings

YUM! BBQ season is winding down which would explain why we've spent the past couple weekends making as many summer BBQ meals as possible. While checking my recipe book for some tasty side dishes to go along with burgers, hot dogs or pulled pork sandwiches I remembered these oh-so-satisfying rings of crunchy goodness. Last summer I made these far too often and they became a regular item whenever my hubby's friends were watching a hockey, football or basketball game in our living room (they raved and requested them again and again!)

BEER BATTERED ONION RINGS

1. One cup flour, plus half cup flour
2. One cup any type of beer
3. Kosher salt and Crushed Black Pepper, to taste
4. One onion sliced the thickness you'd like your rings
5. One large pot with about 5 inches of vegetable oil

-Mix one cup flour and beer together with a whisk. Pour through a strainer to get rid of lumps. Let sit for 15 minutes.
-Take half cup four, season with salt and pepper and set on a plate.
- Warm oil over medium heat. I never use a thermometer...just warm it overmedium heat for about 10 minutes.
-Once batter has set for 15 minutes, take onion rings, dip in dry flour and then place in beer batter. Toss a small 1/4 teaspoon of batter in oil and see if it starts frying, if not wait for oil to become hotter.
-Take two or three at a time, dripping with batter (better to be COVERED in batter, then sorta kinda covered) and drop in oil.
-move onion rings around in oil with tongs until desired doneness, preferably golden brown.
-Remove rings from oil and place on a paper towel on a plate, season with kosher salt. Continue process until all have been fried.
CAUTION: OIL IS HOT...be careful.
CAUTION: Beer battered onion rings are addictive

Thankful Thursday! THE LAST BROWNIE

Today I'm sentimental. As my munchkins grow up, my baby brother is about to go away to college and our lives evolve at a pace I never expected I look around my living room and laugh out loud at the craziness. It's a scene many mothers know...a homemade fort, fishy crackers and chaos. I usually lack the patience but today I'm watching my house be turned upside down and I simply smile.

With my baby girl spending her first week in Kindergarten and my beautiful boy growing at a rapid pace, I am simply thankful. Thankful for their existence, thankful for their smile, thankful for their unwavering joy, giggles and love. I feel blessed for the man who entered my life exactly ten years ago, swept me off my feet and changed my life in an instant. Thankful for my crazy parents who did not bat an eye when I spoke of getting married and moving away from them at nineteen years old.

And at this exact moment I am thankful for THE LAST BROWNIE. I'm thankful that the rest of the enormous brownie platter my mom sent home with me three days ago is finally gone and one crumbly almost stale chocolatey square is left. I'm thrilled I can get my mind off these delicious delights which have been calling my name since they entered my home and move on with my life. So excuse me....I am going to go watch the kids build their fort, listen to their laughter....and eat this brownie, YUM!

Monday Mischief: Her Comes Kindergarten

Today after a two months of sleeping late and letting the kids lounge a bit, I woke them up at 6:30. Tomorrow is the first day of Kindergarten and we must be prepared!

As I think about my munchkin's progress, growth and sudden maturity into a school age child it fills me with pride and sadness. I have a hard time watching people grow old anyway, so seeing my own pride and joy becoming a little person rather than my baby is heart wrenching, although beautiful. I want her to be all she can be, I want her to discover all her dreams and know I am always behind her. I want my little angel to be a good person with outstanding morals, unwavering strength and a solid head on her shoulders. I pray she can attack this life and one day look back at it with immense pride. I want it to be, no matter what, HER life. Not mine, not her husbands or her friends. I hope she always knows at her core that the world is hers, to make of it what SHE wants!

In the past few weeks, possibly with the looming knowledge of Kindergarten coming and my days slightly less chaotic (so I think but something tells me one child at home will be even more difficult than two....) I've been trying to establish my freelance writing career and another website. Not sure why I do these things, always looking to cram my schedule to its limit...but I somehow sense I'm trying to do exactly what I want for my daughter. To build a life I can be proud of...a life I can one day look back at and know I attacked each tiny possibility and filled each day with fun, love and excitement. I want to constantly evolve and make my ever changing dreams come true.

Check out my first freelance article: http://www.whatscook.in/articles/locally-organically-seasonally/

WAFFLE LADY WEDNESDAY: Holy Granola!!!

I LOVE granola. Love, love, love granola. But I also think very few granolas are made well. Too sweet, too artificial, to hard and boring....I finally gave up all together. The last great granola I had was from a farmers market and long gone from my grasp.

Enter my favorite lady...THE WAFFLE LADY! I know by now you've heard enough. I can hear you now...yes, Amanda, we know...you love The Waffle Lady. But seriously, this lady does much more than waffles and even oatmeal. She makes the absolute best granola in the world.

When we moved to Phoenix, I was devastated to learn we had move to a WAFFLE LADY free area. Not one store carried my prized brand. I did what every rational girl would do, I order four cases of oatmeal and twelve boxes of Waffle mix. Yes, even I know I'm nuts. As a thank you for such an order the wondrous Waffle Lady threw in some granola for me to try.

So now I'm hooked. I've gone from Waffle Lady Daily Oats each morning to alternating between that and Chobani Greek yogurt with Waffle Lady granola poured all over it! So yummy....

Get this...these are the ingredients in this holy moly awesome bag....
Organic Old Fashion Oats, Natural Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Natural Almonds, Natural Vanilla, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Raw Honey, Butter, Salt.

It's amazing!

Oh and friends....the link for the WAFFLE LADY Gift Bag didn't work last week, so it's still up for grabs. Email me at amanda@litfestmagazine.com for your chance....ends Monday, August 8.

Monday Mischief: The Couch Debacle

The three year old male who lives in my house, who happens to be my son, who cracks me up on a regular basis and amazes me with his unwavering love and kindness has shown me he is undoubtably a man.

We moved to a new house a couple months ago and in the immense world of change, my little guy decided that waking up early was his new way of life. He'd walk in my room just as the sun came up and whine to watch TV on the couch with his blanket and juice cup. Because I was heartbroken over all the change my kiddos had gone through (leaving the city, home and family they'd grown up with) I gave in and began curling up with him on the sofa at 6am.

It didn't take long for my five-year-old baby girl to catch on. Something was happening long before she got up and she didn't like it. She'd wake up to us giggling to cartoons and in no time decided this was not going to happen on her watch.

What came next was a battle for superiority. My children decided they would rather lose their favorite toy than be the last one up. A game of "who can get up first and get control of the couch for twenty minutes in the morning" had begun and much to my chagrin. Little feet tip toeing into my room at all hours is tough enough, but when its for ownership of the couch and television and undivided mommy giggle time, its enough to make you crazy.

I put a swift (sort of swift) stop to it, three weeks of 5am mornings was killing me and the mood of my sleep deprived children was like nails sliding slowly down a chalkboard. "THAT'S IT", I stomped my feet one particularly early day..."NO MORE!"

Things have returned mostly to normal until this morning when the little guy crawled out of bed, realized his sister was already up and took off running down the hallway. With blanket, cup, stuffed animal and his much loved ducky in hand he sped down the hall, face showing anger and despair. This even tempered, happy-go-lucky little boy was going to control what was his. In minutes his comfy morning routine was completely set up and he had put his name on it. The couch was his and he was not giving it up to anyone!