This is a sponsored post on behalf of Shriners Hospitals for Children®, All opinions expressed here are my own.

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is baking in the kitchen with my kids.  I grew up spending endless hours in the kitchen with my Nana making all her delicious Italian sweets, and now I enjoy teaching my own children how to make these recipes.

 One of our family’s most loved holiday treats is my Nana’s Italian Cookies.  These cookies are so soft and yummy with the perfect level of sweetness that allows for you to eat way too many at once.

The recipe is easy to make, luckily because in my family we are always making a second or third batch, before the cookies have even hit the oven.  I have so many vivid memories from my childhood of me and my cousins sneaking balls of this dough when my Nana would turn her head, add to that the fact that she was sneaking her own scoops into her mouth when she thought we weren’t looking.  Now I laugh as I sneak to the laundry room to hide the dough I’m eating after yelling at my kids to “stop eating the raw dough!”

Nana’s Italian Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups Gold Medal Flour
5 Teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet ingredients in a second bowl.  Once both bowls are well mixed, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl while mixing.

After about half the dry ingredients are mixed in, the dough will become thicker so I then shut off my mixer and begin to kneed the rest of the dry ingredients into the dough until all the flour is absorbed by the butter.

Grease a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Roll the dough into 1-2 inch balls to bake for 9-10 minutes.

Optional: Once finished baking I drizzle them with a mixture of 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar and 2 teaspoons of water.

Be Burn Aware

While I adore cooking with my children, I am aware of the dangers that exist with having them around the stove.  I try to take every precaution I can, but I know accidents still happen which is why Shriners Hospital for Children is such an important and amazing hospital.

Shriners Hospitals for Children has been a global leader in pediatric burn treatment for decades.  Since the 1960s, Shriners Hospitals for Children has provided critical, surgical and rehabilitative burn care to children, regardless of the families ability to pay.  Shriners Hospital knows that the best treatment is prevention so they have come out with the Be Burn Aware campaign to remind families of simple safety tips that could save lives!

Holiday activities can increase the risk of house fires and burns due to more cooking, open flames, and decorations.  These tips are simple but often overlooked.

1. Don’t leave lit candles unattended.  27% of U.S. adults surveyed admit to leaving lit candles within reach of children.
2. Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove to keep them out of a child’s reach.  25% of Americans surveyed reported that they don’t take this simple action.
3. When you’re cooking, keep a lid or cookie sheet nearby to put out a potential fire.  47% of the people who took the survey skip this simple tip.
4. Water fresh-cut trees daily. 45% of Americans surveyed do not water live Christmas trees every day, even though 70% reported they knew they should. A dry tree can ignite in seconds making this one of the deadliest types of fires!
5. Keep trees away from heat sources like fireplaces, heaters, and candles.
6. Inspect your lights.  Replace any that have kinked or frayed wires.

Go to Shriners Hospital for Children to test your safety knowledge with a five-minute quiz.  You may be surprised!

Shriners Hospitals for Children goes beyond traditional medical care to provide social and emotional support programs that encourage children to reach their dreams and has transformed the lives of over 1 million kids!  Check out Shriners Hospital for Children for resources available to keep families safe.

This post was created in partnership with Ninja® Intelli-Sense™ Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer™. I received complimentary products and compensation to facilitate my review, but all opinions within are my own.

Banana Fruit Pie is a staple in my house, especially around the holidays.  It’s a healthy sweet treat that everyone loves, and now I plan to make it even more because the Ninja® Intelli-Sense™ Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer™ has made making this pie incredibly simple while adding some interesting design aspects.  It is a blender, food processor, and so much more with one convenient state of the art base!

Why the Ninja Intelli-Sense Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer is so amazing!

12 Smart Programs: Features precise patterns of pulsing and pausing combined with ideal speed, power, and torque for each attachment.  Letting you create everything from fresh salsa and pizza dough to margaritas and decadent ice creams.

Smart Vessel Recognition: Ninja’s Smart Vessel Recognition Technology automatically senses which vessel is attached to the base and the touchscreen changes to display a customized menu.

Intuitive Touchscreen: The sleek, flat screen responds to your touch and lets you select between vessel-specific Smart Programs and manual options.  Plus it is durable and very easy to clean!

Smart Base: The Ninja Intelli-Sense Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer features one smart base that transforms into four high-performance appliances: 72 oz. Total Crushing® Blender, 64 oz. Precision Processor™, 24 oz. Single-Serve Cup, and Auto-Spiralizer.  Making it easy to create endless recipes!

I have been using this system for everything since I received it, it is so simple to clean and has made life in my kitchen a lot easier.

Spiralized Banana Fruit Pie Recipe

Ingredients:
4 Bananas
Small package of Strawberries
2 large Apples
2 Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
4 Tsp of Gelatine 
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Vanilla
Box of Nila Wafers
1/4 cup of Sugar
1/2 cup of melted Butter

Pie Crust:
Start by putting about 60 Nilla Wafer Cookies into the Precision Processor™ Vessel and select puree.  Once it is finished, you will have a bowl of fine cookie crumbs.  Mix in the melted butter and sugar till the cookie crumbs are fully covered with butter.  Next spread the pie crust into a pie pan and push it down while spreading it around the entire pan.  Place in fridge to chill while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Pie Filling:
Switch vessels to the Total Crushing Pitcher.  Add Bananas, cinnamon, gelatine, condensed milk and vanilla into the blender and select the frozen drink option.  Fill the pie crust with the fluid mix and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, for the mixture to harden.

Pie Topping:
Once the pie filling has hardened it is time to decorate the top with all your favorite fruits.  I always use Strawberries and Apples because they are my children’s favorites.  Add the strawberries to the Precision Processor™ Vessel and choose the chop option.  Once it stops, remove the chopped strawberries from the food processor and spread them around the edge of the pie.

Next, for the most fun part, attach the Auto-Spiralizer Vessel.  I chose the Fettuccini Blade, but any blade will give you beautiful results.  Add the apples to the chamber and push them through the spiralizer.  Once you have enough spiralized apples to cover the center of your pie, remove the collecting bowl and add the finishing touches to your fruit pie.

That’s all, this pie is creamy and delicious, and best of all with the Ninja Intelli-Sense Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer I was able to make it more unique and in half the time!

Time to Save!
Isn’t the Ninja Intelli-Sense Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer amazing?  Well now is the time to get your own and take your holiday cooking to the next level!
Get 15% off the Ninja Intelli-Sense Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer with code: NENNA15 (expires December 31st)

Giveaway Fun!
Prize: Twenty-Five (25) winners will be randomly selected and will each receive one (1) Ninja® Intelli-Sense™ Kitchen System with Auto Spiralizer™
Dates: 11/10 – 12/31

Winners will be randomly selected from all program entries and Ninja will facilitate fulfillment of the 25 winning prizes.

Ninja® Intelli-Sense™ Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer™ Giveaway

This kitchen system will make an amazing holiday gift this year,  from frozen drinks and ice cream to spiralizing and chopping, it has something you can use every day.  I have already decided on two family members who are getting them.

What would you make with the Ninja Intelli-Sense Kitchen System with Auto-Spiralizer?

Thank you to Mayfield Creamery for sponsoring this post.

Mayfield Creamery Ice Cream is Now Available at Florida Publix!

It may be November, but here in Florida, we eat ice cream all year long.  With three kids, you can imagine my grocery cart is packed full of different flavors to keep everyone cool while in the Florida sun.  So, with a houseful of ice cream lovers, I assumed I had tried every brand and flavor there was to try.  I was wrong!

Until recently I had never heard of Mayfield Creamery Ice Cream.  So, when I was introduce to this genuine southern homemade ice cream that has been loved by many since 1923, I was intrigued.  Then, when I heard they were fanning out and expanding to new markets across the South and Southwest, and being sold at the grocery store I shop at every week, Publix, I knew I needed to get my taste buds on some.  

When I went to Publix to grab a carton, I quickly realized my 5-minute shopping trip was going to take a bit longer.   There are so many enticing flavors to choose from. Mayfield Creamery makes a variety of iconic signature flavors, classics for the whole family, and an exciting array of limited time only varieties.  Walking out of Publix with just one container was impossible, and walking out with just three containers was a miracle.

My Favorite Flavors

I ended up choosing Signature Vanilla, Limited Edition Banana Pudding, and Candy Jar Crunch.
As soon as I got home I opened the Banana Pudding ice cream, because banana flavored ice cream is one of my all-time favorites, but it’s also hard to find.

I was incredibly impressed with how smooth and creamy the texture was, it scooped out of the carton easily and seemed to have a soft serve type of texture.  Then the flavor was a smooth creamy banana flavor pie chips swirled in to make a perfect pair.  One bite of this flavor made me immediately hide the rest of the carton in the back of the freezer out of my children’s sight.  This is now mommy’s treat.

The candy jar crunch ice cream flavor is a smooth creamy vanilla ice cream with swirled in chocolate covered peanut candy pieces.  The twin loved this flavor, Aidan already has it written on the shopping list for next week too.

The signature vanilla flavor is also smooth and creamy, it was delicious on its own and inside our hot cocoa!  It’s the holiday season which means lots of movies and cocoa, so we drank our cocoa with a Florida twist and added some nice cold and creamy ice cream.

Why Mayfield Creamery?

Mayfield Creamery ice cream uses fresh cream from their own dairy, with no artificial hormones, and uses a family recipe that has been perfected over three generations!  They set themselves apart from other ice cream brands with their storied heritage, unique flavors, and commitment to making ice cream that mirrors the values of the Mayfield family.

After learning about this brand, and trying their ice cream, I can honestly say that my family has found it’s new favorite ice cream brand!

We are very excited that Mayfield Creamery has expanded into Publix locations in Florida!

Make sure you head over to Publix and try some Mayfield Creamery ice cream, and come back to tell me what your favorite flavor is!

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Duncan Hines, All opinions are 100% my own.

We’re busy moms, and as such we all know how few moments we get to ourselves a day.  Between the meals, cleaning, pickup lines, homework and everything in between, we must take full advantage of the minutes we get of silence without little people crawling on us.

 When I get that quiet couple of moments at the end of a long day, before I collapse on the couch, I am usually craving a warm sweet treat.  However, the last thing I want to add to my already crammed to-do list is baking or the mess that comes with it.

Now thanks to the new Perfect Size for 1 by Duncan Hines I can eat chocolate cake every night, if I want to with just a mug, some water, and about a minute!  No mess, no wait, no leftovers, but all the yumminess.  How perfect is that?

Quick and Easy

Perfect Size for 1 is an individually portioned cake mix that is made quickly and easily in a 8oz coffee mug that is easy in about a minute!  That’s right 1 minute and you have a warm delicious treat just for you. 
Each box comes with 4 individual pouches so you can have a treat whenever you want!

Customize your Favorite Treat

Craving something different?  Customizing any of the Perfect Size for 1’s varieties is easy.  Switch up the liquid, instead of using water to make your treat use milk, coffee, exc.  Also, the add-in possibilities are endless, mix nuts into the apple cinnamon muffin mix or extra chocolate chips into the chocolate cake.  My favorite is adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the top of my cake and some caramel drizzle.

There are 18 Varieties

Perfect Size for 1 comes in 18 different flavors, which are good for morning, noon, and evening indulgences!  School vacation is coming up soon, the breakfast options are going to be a hit in my house with three kids who are always hungry.

These are a must have in my pantry now.  I look forward to sneaking away and indulging my sweet tooth every night. 
Have you tried the Perfect Size for 1 pouches yet?  What is your favorite flavor?

Learn more about Perfect Size for 1 here and get social with Duncan Hines!
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