Winners, Round-ups and Guest blogging!

Wow, so much to do and so little time anymore! Yes, our cruise is only a few short days away now and it seems as though things are piling up and I'm busier than ever. It will be a relief to be on the cruise and not have to worry about what is going on here at home. To let go and just have fun!

Before I give you our round up for the Family Recipes event I need to tell you a couple of important things. ;-)

The winners of our Made with Love giveaway for Week 4 is:

Lana of Never Enough Thyme and
Jeanette of Cooked from the Heart

Congratulations! Make sure to check out Val's post today for Week 5 of our Made with Love Giveaway!

I also want to encourage you to go see my first ever guest blogging adventure with Carrie's Kitchen Creations! While Carrie is taking care of her new baby she asked for some help to keep her blog going so I sent her along the photos and a post on Blueberry Banana Walnut Bread. Please go check it out and let Carrie know you stopped by!

Now for our round -up!

It is that time again - and I almost slacked so much that it didn't happen! July was a very rough and emotional month for Grumpy and I. It started off with him getting laid off. At first it was devastating for us and Grumpy didn't know what to do with himself. We immediately started looking at what we could do. The economy is so bad we knew finding another job quickly would be very hard to do. Then the lights came on and although we know it will be slightly rough - a decision was made. Grumpy is going back to college! When we return from our cruise, just a week or so later, he will be a student once again! One more year and he will have what he needs to make it even easier for him to find a job and hopefully by then the economy will be better and he won't have a hard time finding one! With that said, my mind wasn't able to think about much at the begining of the month other than our situation.

Once I started to settle into our new life style I started to remember that I never did my job when it came to being a host. So, I extended the deadline and got busy putting the word out. THANK YOU to all of you who responded and joined in. Lets get on with our family recipes!


Katie of One Little Corner of the World made Pancakes. Making these pancakes was a family affair in Katies home and it evokes memories of her childhood and of her grandad's pancakes. She remembers him making there for her on Saturday mornings and him mixing and stirring while he talked about the benefits of the ingredients (buckwheat) in his pancakes. Make sure you check out Katie's special memories and pancake recipe on her blog!


Tracy of Rah Cha Chow submitted her Grandma's Cucumbers in Sour Cream dish. Tracy happened to see my wall post to Laura on FB saying that I had one person I had given until Saturday to complete the submission - and she jumped on and said she would have a dish for me too. :-) Tracy made this dish for the gathering after her grandmother's memorial. What a special thought to take something of her grandmother's for this occasion. I have a feeling Tracy and I have some very similar feelings when it comes to our grandmothers. Check her post out for the recipe!


Miri of Peppermill submitted her dad's Spanish Omlette. Miri's dad would make this dish that he learned how to make while in Iran from his Swedish co-workers for her family on Sunday mornings. Many of you know I am not much of an egg person but I can tolerate them in some quiches - and from the sounds of this recipe, I believe this is probably one with eggs that I could eat. That feta cheese certainly makes me want to try! Make sure to check her blog out for the recipe!


Josie of 1 Kitchen, 2 Dogs and a Girl submitted a recipe of her Sister-in-Law's. She made The Best Kielbasa with Saurkraut. This recipe is one of her SIL's traditional celebration foods and she was good enough to tell Josie how she made it. Check out her blog for the recipe!


Haley of Appoggiatura submitted a recipe for Fried Pork Chops. Hayley has memories of her Grandmother making Fried Pork Chops on Friday nights. Her comment on the memory of the odor of the chops frying really strikes me and makes me go back in my mind to memories I have that certain odors bring. Check her post out for the recipe for these yummy looking chops and for more of her story!

Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong presents us with Phuchka (Golgappa). This is a street food she made at home (looks yummy doesn't it?). Street food part of the Bengali culture is enjoyed by everyone and is a part of their daily life. Make sure you check out her post for the recipe!


Dido of Dido lives cooks submitted the french french 3 cheese quiche. Dido made this quiche with memories of her last day in Paris with her fiance. She replicated the recipe her fiance makes for her and did a delicious job! Check out her post for the recipe.

Barbara of Barbara Bakes is making new memories and hopefully recipes that her family will carry on! Barbara's hubby's family has an annual Ice Cream Social/Family Reuion. Make sure to check her blog out to see Barbara's contribution - her Strawberry Ice Cream recipe!

Laura of The Spiced Life and my fellow co-hort in Family Recipes Event submitted her mom's Sour Cream Crumble Topped Apple Pie. One of her first comments is "we all have something our mother makes that we just cannot get enough of." How true that is! For Laura that something is this pie. As I read Laura's post I was struck with how much alike we are in that she could make this pie herself, but would much prefer her mother made it. So true, so true. Sometimes our favorite dish is not good enough if it isn't made the the hands that made us love it so much. Check out Laura's post for her recipe.


Lastly, I submitted my Nanny's recipe for Mayonnaise Cake. This is the one cake that I would request whenever Nanny would ask me what I wanted for my birthday. I loved it with her fudgy penuche frosting but I also loved it with the seven minute frosting. I had a special event to make this recipe for - my Aunt Ann's Birthday. I knew this would make her happy as she had told my Aunt Marlene she would love to have a mayonnaise cake with fluffy frosting. I made it into cupcakes for convenience since we were meeting at the campground - and they were awesome if I say so myself. ;-) The only thing that could have made them better would be if Nanny had made them herself and she was there to enjoy them with us.

I hope you enjoyed our round-up of family recipes. Please watch Laura's blog for the next round up. You can also check in on my Family Recipes page for the next deadline.