Paparazzi Winner

Last week I started my 1st ever give away and today is the day to pick the winner.  I posted the contest here on my blog and also here on my facebook page, Polka Dots and Pincushions. 

I only had a few enter this time but I am thankful for everyone that took the time to participate.  Hopefully as time goes by I will have more people interested in my contests.  Three answered on Facebook and I had one blog follower answer on here.  Not a great turn out but it made the chances of winning even better for those that entered. :)

The trivia question was: What carol contains the line "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing."
And the answer is "O Come All ye Faithful." 

Now for the winner.....drum roll......the winner is......Tiffany Caison!  Tiffany is a follower on facebook and entered the contest last Tuesday.  Tiffany's favorite item from my collection was actually a fleece scarf I made for a little girl.  She has a daughter and I am guessing it will be for her. 

Congrats Tiffany, I will mail you present off in time for you to enjoy it for Christmas.

Thanks again for those that participated and if you are interested in some affordable $5 gifts for Christmas check out my facebook page, Polka Dots and Pincushions, to order today. 

Christmas Give Away!

I have not been around the blogging world long but I know that everyone loves give aways and that there are a lot going on right now.  (I know because I have entered several  :) fingers crossed.)

I want to share in the giving mood so I am trying my hand at my first ever give away.  Yay right!!  Ok to enter is super easy and blog readers will even have more chances to win.  Double yay! 

Do you want to know what your prize will be?  This is the good part, you get to pick!  Go to my face book page Polka Dots and Pincushions, here is the link.  And check out my albums listed with Paparazzi Jewelry.  There are headbands, hair clips, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings.  Take a quick look (or long) and pick out your favorite item.  Then share it on your face book page and comment on the answer to the trivia question : What carol contains the line, "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing"?


Ok your 2nd way to enter is to follow my blog and then answer the same trivia question: What carol contains the line, "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing"?
Post your answer in a comment and let me know you are a follower.  Also let me know which item you would like to win. 

I am going to leave the contest up all week and will pick the winner next Monday, December 10th. 

I am so excited but so nervous this is my first contest/give away.  :)  Anyway I wish you lots of luck. 

Here are a few of the items that are up for grabs.  Hopefully if this give away goes well, I can do some more before Christmas, maybe one a week. 

Good luck and have a great week!

Hashbrown Casserole

I had a ton of cooking to do for the Holidays and we always have my husband's family reunion the Sunday after Thanksgiving so there was even more cooking to be done.  Neil has a cousin that always looks for something different and has always complimented my new recipes.  While that is wonderful it always adds the pressure on to impress him with something new and something delicious. 

Well this year was busier than normal with and unexpected passing in the family and I got sick as a dog Thanksgiving night.  I did not feel good, did not feel like cooking, and definitely did not feel like trying something new.  So I made some reliable recipes and then stumbled upon and new recipe while I was looking for something easy to do with hash brown potatoes.  The blog, Never Trust a Skinny Cook had a recipe for "crack potatoes." 

They looked good and easy so that made them perfect to try and they did turn out great, but again I modified the recipe.  I saw some comments that they were great and then a few that said they were too salty and had too much ranch.  So I decided to cut back some of the ingredients and they turned out great!
*original recipe can be found here. And again apologizes for only 1 picture.  I was sick and did not think about it till the casserole was almost gone.

Ok here is what you need:
*Bag of shredded hash brown potatoes (I used fresh not frozen but I am sure it would work either way)
*16 oz container of sour cream
*1 pk of ranch dip mix
*1 small container of plain Greek yogurt
*2 packs of real bacon bits (toasted up/ you could use regular bacon and crumble it but I felt bad and was going for easy and fast)
*2 cups of shredded sharp cheese (save a little to the side to top with or add extra)
*Pre heat the oven too 400

Now mix the sour cream, ranch mix, yogurt, cheese, and bacon bits together in a large bowl.  Then stir in the hash browns and mix well.  Now spread into a casserole dish.  I did not have a 13x9 so I used a disposable tin pan that was 11.5 x 9 or something like that, but I think either size would work fine. Sprinkle the left over cheese or extra on top and then cover with tin foil.  Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes and then remove the foil for the last 5 minutes to give it and nice little crust and browning.

Now enjoy!  Well let it cool a bit or you will burn your tongue. :)

It was so good and everyone was pleased with it.