Author: Debbie

Painting a Pumpkin on Canvas

I love Fall decorations but I have to admit that I do not have many. The Fall season goes by so quickly. I love pumpkins, so I decided to paint one or two onto a canvas to help my house look a little more like fall. I love the orange ones but I also love the white pumpkins (or gourds) too. I love how the white ones look with blue so I decided I would paint one with my favorite turquoise blue in the background. I had a 6″x 6″ deep canvas so I decided to use it because it can sit on a shelf. READ MORE

Lacie Ring: Thanksgiving Printables

It’s not too early to start planning for your Thanksgiving holiday. Lacie Ring has a free gift to get you started.

I made one Thanksgiving printable after the other weeks ago. They were a no brainer and the perfect addition to anyone’s Thanksgiving decor. Just print, cut, and frame. But still, I could not find any words of inspiration. Today these Free Thanksgiving printables bring a whole new meaning and reason for this post. READ MORE

It’s Tasty Tuesday {Featured Food Posts}

We’re so glad you’re here! We’ve got some dandy featured food posts from some of the best cooks in all of Arkansas! Be sure to go check out what they’re bringing to the table and let them know how much you appreciate their willingness to share.

Christie Ison: Spicy Pumpkin Carrot Muffins

Whenever I cook with my daughter, I tell her that, whenever possible, to use a “secret” or “surprise” ingredient, something nobody would try on their own, or are hard pressed to pick out exactly what “that something” might be. READ MORE to find out how Christie of Fancy Pants Foodie spiced up her muffins.

Jessica Rush: Keto Freeze Meals

So I follow a low carb/Keto diet and have lost 35 pounds (still have about 50 to go). I also love freezer meal prep, you know, prepping your meals up ahead of time to make dinner time a snap! I have compiled a list here of a few of my fave Keto freezer meal prep ideas. I hope this helps someone out! READ MORE

GINA KNUPPENBERG: Pumpkin Walnut Baklava

In this guest post by Gina’s blog, Desperately Seeking Gina, Terri of Terri’s Table shares a baklava recipe inspired by Gina’s own Pumpkin Spice Syrup. Get both of those recipes over on Gina’s blog.

Hi! I’m Terri Powers and I blog over at Terri’s Table.

I was thrilled when Gina asked me to do a guest post for her Month of Pumpkin, so I wanted to post a recipe inspired by her. I know she is mostly vegetarian, so I wanted to make sure it was something she would feel comfortable eating. She loves savory dishes, but I know she likes desserts, too. Hmmmmm.

Last year Gina posted a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Syrup for making a delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte. I enjoyed those lattes throughout the winter. And that syrup is what gave me the inspiration to make Pumpkin Walnut Baklava. READ MORE

Debbie Arnold: Persimmon Muffins

It’s beginning to be persimmon season in Arkansas. Persimmons are native to China where they’ve been cultivated for centuries. They have, in my opinion, all too frequently been misunderstood. They’ve gotten a bad rap, y’all. Yes, it is true that trying to eat an unripe persimmon will make you pucker up with a real capital P. But if you are patient and wait until they are fully ripe, you’ll be rewarded with a really sweet golden orb of deliciousness. READ MORE

Brenda Embry: Seed and Cutting Saving

Fall is the time for most seed saving but, once you learn how easy it is, no flower is off-limits at any given time of year. I did a video of this for Hometalk last year if you want to take a look. I will warn you it’s about forty minutes long but I do cover how to save a lot of different seeds. Once I realized how much money I could save by saving seeds and doing cuttings, I became obsessed with it. READ MORE

Keisha Pittman McKinney: Grandma Shirley’s Chocolate Pie

Keisha Pittman McKinney shares her chocolate pie and the sweet story behind how it came to be such a family favorite.

So, I figured out pretty quickly that pie was the quickest way to Mr. McKinney’s heart. And more specifically his mama/Grandma’s chocolate pie. Its makes an appearance at every holiday, birthday, or when he is home and just says, “mom, I think pie would be really good.” My grandmother made pies and frankly pies are my favorite dessert too, so I was so ok with that.

Heck, we love pies so much, we threw cake out the window in our wedding planning and had a pie bar instead! I found out who made the best homemade chocolate pies in the town where we got married and I hired a “grandma” to make about 30 chocolate pies that she delivered the morning of our wedding. It was perfection!

Year 2 of marriage found me brave enough to ask for Grandma’s recipe and try to attempt it on my own. I just opted for my grandmother’s or Ree’s recipe in year 1…or when my mother-in-law asked what she could bring to our house, I would keep it simple and ask for her to bring the chocolate pie and save me messing it up. READ MORE

Keisha (Pittman) McKinney is settling in to married life in South AR after she #becamemrsmckinney. A Digital Media Director by day for a church in Northwest Arkansas, Keisha is remembering what it’s like to plan ahead for shopping trips to “the city,” getting resourceful at her small town Walmart and creating online shopping personas everywhere. She blogs @bigpittstop about daily adventures, cooking escapades, #bigsisterchats, the social justice cases on her heart, and all the activities tied to becoming a new mama in Jan 2018!

Blog –bigpittstop: new journey, new normal, new you – http://www.bigpittstop.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/bigpittstop

Twitter – https://twitter.com/bigpittstop

Instagram – http://instagram.com/bigpittstop#

Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/bigpittstop/

It’s Tasty Tuesday! {Featured Food Posts}

We really enjoy the amazing food posts from our ARWB members and are excited to share a new batch with you this week. Be sure to check them out.

Keri Bucci: Coconut Chicken

Are you a fan of Asian food like we are? Then this Coconut Chicken recipe from Keri Bucci over at My Table of Three is a very tasty one to add to your menu. Plus, it’s low carb and gluten free!

Coconut Chicken via mytableofthree.com keri bucci

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Asian food. From sushi to egg drop soup there are many I call my favorites. This Coconut Chicken, like many of my other Asian inspired recipes, was born out of my desire to enjoy my favorite dishes but in a healthier way.

Coconut Chicken is my copy cat version of one of my old buffet favorites. In the past, I would pile my plate high of the overly sweet chicken and lavish every bite. Well, that is until I felt like someone was going to have to roll me out of the restaurant. Darn, you buffet food and darn you missing will power! Read More

Helen Lampkin: Apple Tart with Calvados Cream

Nothing says fall more than apple season in Arkansas. Helen Lampkin, of My Brother’s Salsa and Helen’s Table, visits a local NWA farmers market to find out about the best of the iconic apple harvest.

Apple Tart via Helen's Table

Northwest Arkansas is still growing apples and we are fortunate to be the home of the family owned Vanzant Fruit Farm

So, before the peak of apple season passes you by, head to your local farmer’s market this and pick up some fresh apples. Then take the time to create this simple Apple Tart with Calvados Cream recipe, call the family around the table and savor every moment! Read More

Julie Kohl: Keto Coffee Disks

Want an easy, fool-proof way to have your keto coffee ready for you in a snap? Julie Kohl of Julie D. Kohl has the answer for you.

keto coffee disks via juliedkohl.com

The problem with most of the Keto Coffee recipes I’ve seen is that they all require you to blend all of the ingredients together in a blender.

I’m not sure about you but I barely have time to press the brew button on my K-cup machine in the morning, let alone pull out the blender. Plus, I sure don’t want to clean that thing EVERY day!

These Keto disks are my answer to the hassle. The results are tasty and healthy. Read More

Celebrating the best of our ARWB foodies. Check it out! #TastyTuesday

Click To Tweet

Lacie Ring: Peanut Butter CupCereal Snack Mix

Easy Peasy Pleasy’s Lacie Ring has created a real winner with this snack mix. Your kiddos will definitely think you’re a winner too when you make up a batch for after school snacks or lunch box treats.

First things first…you grab a Super Size Bag of Peanut Butter Cups Cereal. Next you combine it with kid approved additions to make the perfect cereal snack mix. Adding more peanut butter and more chocolate takes this cereal over the top. Finally, you have one Super Sized Snack Idea! READ MORE

Jamie Smith: Arkansas Granola

When I first decided to make granola to feature this month’s honey theme, I knew I wanted to do something unique but not so weird that no one would possibly want to make this recipe!

I realized that the perfect recipe would be something that honors my adopted home state, Arkansas. After all, this is being featured on Arkansas Women Bloggers! I started to research what flavors are known for being from Arkansas and had to discard quite a few ideas at first. After all, who wants queso granola? Not me!

I knew I wanted to celebrate the state’s history of being a major producer of various apples, especially the Arkansas Black. Those apples aren’t available right now, so I chose Red Delicious.

I also think of chocolate gravy when I think of Arkansas food so I initially tried to incorporate chocolate from Kyya, the state’s first bean-to-bar chocolate makers (full disclosure: friends of mine!). I decided that apple and chocolate would be delicious, but more of a dessert granola.

So, I called on my ARWB sisters for help. They gave lots of great ideas for incorporating Arkansas into my granola including one idea I took as a joke at first: bacon. Yes, bacon granola! I researched it out of curiosity and discovered that bacon granola is actually pretty popular, especially for the paleo crowd.

Another suggestion was pecans, which I would have incorporated anyways because I love pecans and I know it’s the state nut.

So, Arkansas Granola was born. It is quite simple and uses entirely natural ingredients with no added sugars or sodium. It uses fresh apples, Petit Jean Bacon, pecans, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg. The binding agent is good old-fashioned honey, which gives just a hint of natural sweetness that doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the flavors.

Get your recipe for Arkansas Granola right here! via @SunThruThorns for #ARWB #FoodieFriday

Click To Tweet

Ready to try this recipe? You can check it out on my blog Sunflowers & Thorns. Let me know what you think!

Jamie Smith tells people she grew up in Kansas and became a grownup in Northwest Arkansas. A writer by profession, Jamie also loves to write as a hobby over at her personal blog, Sunflowers & Thorns. One of her most popular types of blogs are her recipes. Jamie and her husband, John, enjoy working on recipes together to make their own unique twist on familiar recipes.

Jamie and John live in Elkins with their two dogs and two cats.

Talya Boerner: Buttermilk Honey Chicken Tenders {Foodie Friday}

There are certain dishes every southerner should have in her cooking toolbox. Fried chicken is one of them. Right? A few days ago, I fried a batch of buttermilk honey chicken tenders, a slight twist on everyone’s favorite comfort food. I’ll confess I’m not the neatest cook, nor the most accomplished. Far from it! But I’ve learned a few tips over the years that I’m happy to share with you.

Growing up, I was surrounded by a host of fabulous family cooks—my Momma, both grandmothers, and too many aunts to mention here. Yes, the men in our family grilled a juicy steak and deep fried a mess of catfish pulled straight from the Mississippi River. But the women? They were the ones who masterfully wielded the cast iron skillet. At least once a week, our menu included buttermilk fried chicken.

Back then, I never paid much attention to the details of all that chicken being fried. It seemed to happen rather naturally while my sister and I played outside. When Momma stuck her head outside and called us in to eat, we raced to the back porch, breathing in warm, salty smells before we laid eyes on the platter of fried chicken. Momma untied her apron and casually draped it over her chair the same way she slipped her shoes off after church.

Later, when I tried to make my own fried chicken, I learned there are a few essential tricks of the trade. Today, I’m sharing my buttermilk honey chicken tenders recipe along with tips and common pitfalls of frying chicken. Read more HERE.

Check out this Buttermilk Honey Chicken Tenders recipe @gracegrits is sharing for #ARWB…

Click To Tweet

Talya is a Delta girl who grew up making mudpies on her family’s cotton farm in Northeast Arkansas. She blogs at Grace, Grits and Gardening and has been published in Arkansas Review, Front Porch Magazine, and Delta Crossroads Magazine. Her debut novel, The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee, recently placed as a National Indie Book Award Finalist for regional southeast fiction. She loves to cook and believes most any dish can be improved with a side of collard greens.

Links:

Grace Grits and Gardening
Author: Talya Tate Boerner
Facebook Blog: Grace Grits and Gardening
Facebook Author: Talya Tate Boerner
Instagram: gracegrits
Twitter: @gracegrits
Amazon: Talya Tate Boerner
Goodreads: Talya Tate Boerner

It’s Tasty Tuesday! {Featured Food Posts}

We have some amazing foodies in Arkansas Women Bloggers. Each week we’ll feature a few of those special ones with you here and on our Arkansas Women Bloggers Facebook. (You are following, aren’t you?) I just know you’re going to enjoy these delicious dishes they have prepared.

Amanda Farris (Embracing Grace & Living the Adventure) is a busy stay-at-home mom of 4 precious kiddos. Check out this creative way she enriched the reading of Lord of the Rings.

“I’ve been looking forward to reading all the classics with my kids since I knew I was going to be a mom. Read alouds and sharing stories is one of my favorite things about being a family.

I seriously have so many children’s picture books and classic books around my house that I just had to box some up while we are doing our house addition. If we didn’t live in the country at the end of a dirt road, I’d set up a little free library.

This summer we dived into J.R. Tolkien for our family read-aloud. Really, Sam did all the reading. He read The Hobbit to the kids this summer. The kids would sit in the floor and draw pictures as Sam read.” READ MORE

Lacie Ring (Easy Peasy Pleasy) is so ready for fall. She’s already in the pumpkin and pumpkin spice mode. Her recipe for Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Turnovers just whets our appetite. I bet it does yours as well. Let us know when you give them a try.

“Pumpkin spice and everything nice, that’s what this recipe is made of. If you love cinnamon rolls and you love pumpkin, you are in for a treat. First of all…delicious! Second of all…super easy! These Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Turnovers are all the taste you live for in the fall and there are only 5 ingredients.” READ MORE

Ricci Alexis (Ricci Alexis) works as a respiratory therapist in her spare time when she’s not doing some incredible blogging, including this made-for-the-season Pumpkin Spice Creamer. It’s that time of the year for all things pumpkin and we’re pleased to be able to share this one with you.

“If you have learned anything about me lately it’s that I am obsessed with anything pumpkin! I can’t wait to get my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season and I can’t believe how early each year they are coming out! I’m jealous if you have already gotten one. But as much as I love a yummy PSL they can get pricey. Especially if you want one every single day of your life. Ya feel me?” READ MORE

Want the recipe Lyndi Fultz’s (nwaFOODIE) mouth-watering meatballs in the featured photo? Head on over to the ARWB Facebook page now.

We’re showing off some of the best of our #ARWB foodies. See what we’re bringing to the table.

Click To Tweet

Be sure to come back next week for more featured recipes from our ARWB members.

Shana Chaplin: Honey Glazed Hot Pepper Jelly Carrots {Foodie Friday}

l loved cooking with my grandmother. Being in the kitchen with her made me feel safe, loved, and valued. As she aged and had to be moved into subsidized housing for seniors, we began a new tradition. Each holiday she would come to my home 2-3 days in advance. We would plan out the menu, talking about each family member’s favorite dish, and in the midst she would share stories of days gone by. One of my favorite dishes each holiday was candied carrots.

honey glazed hot pepper jelly carrots via shana chaplin for arwb foodie friday

The aroma of melting butter and brown sugar is always quick to remind me of the holidays. Always one to want to experiment a little, add a new twist, which grandma welcomed and encouraged, I began adding a few new ingredients. I love a little salt with a little sweet. Add some “heat” and it is all the better! Thus was born the Honey Glazed Hot Pepper Jelly Carrot recipe.

And I am proud to say, it was grandma approved. Not only approved, but she agreed it was our new go to recipe. I still think of her each holiday as I begin to prepare for my family. And not a holiday goes by without a batch of these carrots. Love is shared around the family table. Memories come alive with the scents and tastes of family recipes. I hope you enjoy this recipe and consider adding it to your family favorites this next holiday season. READ MORE

Shana Chaplin

https://simplifiedorganizedstyled.com/

I am a wife, mother to twin daughters, sister, daughter and aunt to nine. I love faith, home and family. I grew up missionary kid living in Japan and Morocco. I now live in the South. My home is my haven and I seek for it to be the same for all who enter. I have returned to full time work after 17 years as a stay at home mom. I now serve as the Deputy Chief of Community Engagement & Faith-based Partnerships. As I wait for God to unfold His plans in His time I seek to be faithful and to live life fully, keeping home my priority and sharing it with those I hold near and dear.