If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably witnessed my sheer excitement over my new pie crust recipe and pie making this past week! You see, I have struggled to make a good pie crust for as long as I’ve can remember. Nothing…I mean NOTHING…would get me cursing up a storm like pie crust making. (Ok maybe my supposedly “wireless printer” and the fact that it NEVER works when I need it to gets me cussing more, but pie crust has been a close second!)

That’s why I thought it was rather comical when the folks at Crisco called me to be a part of their Crisco Pie and Baking hotline and blogger team. I literally laughed on the phone and remember saying something like “I can make the insides of pies that are amazing. I can make meringue with perfect peaks. I, for the life of me, cannot make a pie crust!” But then I said… “You know what would be cool? My friend, DeLynn, is a county fair champion pie making expert. She’s been prodding me for years now to let her teach me how to make a great pie! Wouldn’t it be fun to have DeLynn teach us how and then if she’s successful, I could hopefully give hope to the pie crust making hopeless – like me?”

So pie challenged friends, thanks to my friend DeLynn, I am here to give you hope. That pretty pie crust up there? I made it myself. And since learning from DeLynn last week, I’ve made 4 more! I am officially in the it’s “easy as pie” camp, and I think you can be too! …

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Calendars are packed, to-do lists are long, and stress levels are high! I’m bound and determined to keep this holiday season as happy as possible, so I asked some Twitter friends to share their tips and rituals for escaping the stress of the holiday season.

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We’re going on a road trip…

Actually, we’re headed out on our family vacation at the YMCA or The Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado with a stop at The Four Seasons in Denver along the way.

This equates to fine times ahead, but a long, 10+ hour car ride to get there. Long car rides + four kids = a whole lot of fun, as you can imagine.

People always ask me how I get my kids to travel so well in the car. Long distances are nothing… in fact, each spring break the kids and I take a 36 hour round trip car ride to visit my parents in South Texas. They are little road warriors, which is a great thing.

My secret to a less harried travel experience is snacks. Lots and lots of snacks. I swear my kids could eat the entire trip if I let them (and sometimes I do if it buys me some peace and quiet along the way!)

When I saw this great idea on Pinterest, linked from the Tip Junkie site, I knew it would be a fun way to ration out the snacks for our upcoming vacation. Each kid gets their own box full of a variety of our favorite snacks. How smart is that? This way I don’t have to dole out snacks the entire way and they can snack on what they want, when they want. Pair it with a cold water bottle and I’m hoping we have happy travelers!

Instructions for creating your own travel snack kit for kids:

• A clean, lap size tackle box with adjustable compartments. Choose one that latches closed tightly to avoid accidental spilling.
• Small snacks that will fit within the adjustable compartments
• If you want to get all fancy crafty on your kids, you can use puffy paint or something fun to decorate the outside. In fact get some stickers and let that be a travel activity they can do in the car on the way!
• Simply fill the compartments with snacks, latch it up and surprise them with it once you start your road trip! It’s that easy!

What are some of your favorite tips for traveling with kids? Make sure to check out these other Kid Travel Tips from Tip Junkie!

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I hope you’ll come on over and check things out. Follow along as we share our adventures in running and getting healthy. Complete the official #RFR5K signup form to let the world know you’ve taken the next step to run, walk, shimmy your way to a new and healthy you! Learn all about the 11 bloggers behind The Red Faced Runners….is there someones story that resonates with you? Join in as we have fun, train, sweat and get red faced together! (PS – you don’t have to be a blogger to be a Red Faced Runner!)

As excited as I am to share the news of our new adventure together, I’m bummed to share that I am going to be sidelined for awhile with a stress fracture in my foot. I can’t explain how frustrating it is to be so motivated to run, have the energy and the drive, and then to suddenly be stuck… sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back to being Red Faced soon enough. In the meantime, please get out there and run for me! I’ll be cheering you right along!

Come get Red Faced with us!

The post Sidelined to Share An Exciting Announcement #RFR5K appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I started training to run a 5K back in mid January. Mid-January I went from being pretty much sedentary, to getting my body moving.

During my training I learned all about pace, heart rate, strengthening your core, etc. I worked hard, lost weight, gained energy and confidence and felt better about myself than I honestly could ever remember. Running made me feel strong, competent and mentally tough. I was happier, more focused, my marriage was strengthened and I became a better mom…all because of running.…

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In 80 days, I’ll be running my first 5K – not walking, but R-U-N-N-I-N-G.

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve officially gotten off my sedentary butt and have taken to going to the gym 4-5 times a week since the new year. I have also been exercising at home on my off days. I’m working with a really awesome running trainer who is teaching me how to work within my heart rate zones to run most effectively. He also kicks my butt with strength training and core exercises, which makes me actually look forward to the running portion of the session!…

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The post The Runner’s Diet {Recipe: Spring Salad with Orange Vinaigrette} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Picture the scene… it is late in the night on May 1st, 2011. You and a group of friends are sitting around, watching groundbreaking news unfold. Osama Bin Laden has been killed. It is a historic moment, most likely not to be forgotten during your lifetime.

Deep in conversation, you are all expressing your gratitude for our US Soldiers. Some are expressing concerns over the safety of our troops and the retaliation that is certain to come from Bin Laden’s death. Additionally, many are aghast at the celebrations taking place in the streets, remembering back to 9/11 when “they” were celebrating in the face of our tragedy. The conversations are deep, meaningful, thought provoking. Then, all of a sudden, one of the friends present says “Hey… look at these cookies I made for Mother’s Day. Pretty awesome aren’t they?”

Everyone looks at the person like they are insane. Did they just talk about Mother’s Day cookies in a time like this? Do they not know what just happened?

This is basically the scene last night. Twitter and Facebook were a buzz with the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death. Among the news, tweets that were previously scheduled (or at least I hope they were pre-scheduled tweets) were interrupting this historic moment in awkward abundance. Scheduled tweets, my friends, were seen as irreverent and completely out of place and frankly, a bit ridiculous. As Stefania tweeted “Beyond strange, it’s a social media fail.”

I know this type of event doesn’t happen everyday… it is a brief moment in history, but consider the moments your scheduled tweets might be interrupting and decide for yourself if it is truly worth that extra few seconds you gain by scheduling your blog post tweets.

Just something to think about… do you want to be talking about your latest unrelated blog post when groundbreaking history is made?

The post Why You Shouldn’t Schedule Your Blog Post Tweets appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Sometimes as food bloggers, we try so hard to do something original or out of the ordinary with our recipes that the plain recipes… the classic recipes… get overlooked. As much as I love a touch of special, I also have to admit that some of the most basic and simple recipes are my favorite.

These chocolate cookies, for example, won’t stand out to anyone as being unique. It is a chewy, chocolate cookie. Delicious and extraordinary in flavor, but there is nothing special about this recipe. This cookie won’t make it on a list of most interesting cookies. It won’t win awards for the most unique blend of flavors, but I can guarantee you that it will win smiles from each and every chocolate lover who tastes them.

Sure, I could have added a sprinkle of sea salt on the top to make them stand out. I could have sandwiched a layer of french vanilla caramel in between them for that extra ounce of ooomph. Even better… I could have drizzled salted french vanilla caramel on top of them for the biggest punch of wow, but I didn’t. You see, these cookies… these tender, soft, chewy, chocolaty cookies, don’t need help from a fancier supporting cast. They, my friends, can handle the spotlight quite well on their very own. Take a taste and see… sometimes plain can be the most extraordinary flavor of all.

The recipe is after this  short, fun video with Linda Stahl, baking authority for Hershey’s test kitchens. Linda personally answered some of my most pressing questions about the ins and outs of Cookie Exchanges. This chocolate cookie is one of my contributions to an upcoming cookie exchange with friends…listen to Linda’s advice on how else to make a cookie exchange successful!

Extra Special Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Print

Plain & Extraordinary Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups butter softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Hershey cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs then add the vanilla
• In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually mix into the creamed mixture.
• Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets
• Bake 9 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies will be soft and still look slightly doughy
• Let set and cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then remove from sheet onto wire rack to cool completely

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