Saturday, October 29, 2016

Its a kind of Lularoe Life.......

Its seems like every time I've blogged lately I've made a comment about how long its been since I blogged or how crazy life has been or how stressful life has been...WELL this is NO DIFFERENT!!  But today's not the entry for to catching you up with all the craziness in my life!!!    

Today is the day to tell you about my NEW FAVORITE THING!!!  So during the summer I was invited to something called a POP-UP Party for something called Lularoe!  
WHAT THE HECK IS LULAROE...and how the heck do you even say it...Lola Roe...Lu Lu Roe...What is it...oh...Lu-la-roe! So what is a Pop-up party and Lularoe...
ITS A PARTY WITH CLOTHES...Clothes people...clothes you can try on either in your home or in the home of the Lularoe consultant!  And who is this AWESOME Lularoe consultant that has introduced me to my new favorite thing... Courtney Brinkerhoff!  She is the cutest, sweetest, little thing!  And she has the most adorable little family!  LOVE HER KIDS!!!  


So Lularoe is the most comfy, fun and cute clothes around!  And the best part...most of their stuff looks good on any body!  And all their clothes have names...names like Cassie, Irma, Joy, Sarah, Mae, Julie, Nicole...notice a pattern here...they are people names...AND not only do they have clothes for women...theres little girl clothes, teen clothes and ready for it...Mens t-shirts...AND THE BEST PART...they are all soft...like butter!  Check out Courtneys facebook page at LuLaRoe by Courtney Brinkerhoff and her instagram...you won't regret it I promise!  

So after my obsession started and attending every pop-up party Courtney was having...I gave in and hosted a pop-up party myself.  CAN I SAY Courtney's pop-up parties are so EASY...If you want you can host the party in HER HOME...You don't have to clean your house...all you have to do is bring a few snacks and your good to go!  Courtney does ALL THE WORK...and you get to have all the fun and play dress up!  Why do I say dress up because ALL THE CLOTHES ARE RIGHT THERE!  You try it on, LOVE IT and then you can buy it right there!  Really...how stinkin easy is that!  Or if you want she can bring all her clothes to your house for the party but then you have to clean your house, make sure all the family is out, have rooms for people to try things on...you get the idea!  Having it at her house all I had to do was bring some goodies to eat............

Which brings me to my blog today!  A lot of the gals that came to the party was requesting some of the recipes that I had there...and I HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE...I didn't get the recipes sent out...SORRY LADIES...I'm sure you can all relate to have a crazy busy life!  

BUT I'M FIXING THAT TODAY...

Zebra Popcorn

So lets start with Zebra Popcorn or what I sometimes call it CRACK!  This stuff is so addicting!!  You can't just eat one piece or two or three...YOU WANT IT ALL...so the name CRACK!  This is so easy to make that you need to have self control and not make it all the time!  

ZEBRA POPCORN

12 cups popped corn (approx 1/2 cup un-popped) 
1/2 cup butter
 1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces dark chocolate
6 ounces white chocolate (or you can use any color...like orange for halloween or red and green for Christmas) 


Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Lightly butter a large baking sheet, set aside.  Place popped corn in large mixing bowl.  Place butter in 2 qt microwave safe bowl;  microwave on high about 1 minute or until butter is melted.  Add brown sugar and corn syrup; microwave on high, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil.  Without stirring, continue to microwave for 3 minutes.  Stir in vanilla and backing soda.  

Drizzle syrup over popped corn; mix well to thoroughly coat popcorn with caramel.  Spread popped corn on prepared pans.  Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Remove popcorn from pan, spread out on parchment paper for was paper far enough apart so pieces don't touch.  Cool.  On low heat, slowly melt dark chocolate ( in double boiler or microwave).  In a straight thin line, drizzle dark chocolate across caramel corn (see below).  Next do the same thing with the white chocolate.  Cool completely and allow to harden,..THEN EAT!  

Side note...To make even consistently thin lines place melted chocolate in a zip lock bag, close tightly.  Clip a small hole in the tip of the bag and squeeze across the popcorn!  
ENJOY!!  

Fire Crackers 

OMG!!!  So I go to a lot of craft classes and a gal brought these and I couldn't stop eating them so I had to get the recipe...I have altered it a little but other than that...YUM YUM YUM! 

FIRE CRACKERS 

1 lb saltine crackers  (I usually by the mini saltines or the mini butter crackers but you can use full size ones) 
1 cup canola oil   (I cut this down to 1/2 cup so its not so greasy now but you should play with the recipe and decide what you like)
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes (you can cut this down or omit completely but it does give it a little bit which is yummy) 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Place crackers in an air-tight container. 
In a small bowl, mix oil, dressing mix, peppers and garlic powder. 
Stir until all ingredients are well mixed.
Pour mixture evenly over crackers, like drizzling icing on a cake. 
Close lid tightly and flip the container over every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes.  Lightly shake back and forth to make sure all the crackers are coated. 
IMPORTANT...remove from container and store in a zip lock bag.
Will keep for about a week...if they last that long!
 


OK this is a family favorite and you might find it a bit strange but once you taste it...YOU'LL LOVE IT!  Also don't tell people what this is till AFTER THEY TASTE IT!  

PUMPKIN DIP 

12oz cream cheese, soften
3/4 cup pumpkin (I use fresh but can works just as well) 
1 tbsp taco seasoning mix 
1/8 tsp garlic powder 

Mix well; chill; serve with wheat thins or pita chips 
Seriously you will LOVE this dip!!!  

All three of these recipes are really easy and have become family favorites!  I'm sure if you make them they will become yours too!