Chocolate Cappuccino Frappe'

This is a recipe my husband stumbled upon and it is delicious.

1 Double Chocolate Fondue Mix
1 cup of instant cappuccino
3 cups of whole milk
3 cups of crushed ice

Pour all into a blender and pulse until mixed and frothy. I like a lot of chocolate so I use two mixes. Enjoy!

And the winner is......

For the month of September our winner is Mrs. Regina Priester. She had a problem getting her comment to post so she just emailed me with it. If anyone else is having any problems with the site please let me know.

Regina won a pumpkin bean pot!!


Remember when you comment on a post you name is entered into the monthly give away!

Stuffed Crab Meat Mannacotti

1 package Home & Garden Zesty Crab Dip
1 box of manicotti shells
1 small container of ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. parsley
Imitation crab meat (cut in small chunks)
1 package alfredo sauce
Sprinkle of oregano


Follow direction on box for boiling shells. Let shells cool before stuffing.

Mix together ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, add egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley and 2/3 of the Home and Garden crab meat dip mix and blend well. Then add imitation crab meat and mix. Stuff cooled shells.

In a small sauce pan pour in the Alfred sauce and the rest of the crab dip mix. Stir until blended together. Pour enough sauce in bottom of baking dish, then place the stuffed manicotti in the dish, pour remaining sauce over the shells, sprinkle with mozzarella and sprinkle with oregano. Place in preheated oven at 325 and let bake until shells are tender at least 45 minutes or until done.

Tea Party

Here are some pictures from Regina Priester's party. Regina picked a tea party theme and her guest really got into it! We had some wonderful treats (Regina I still want that Lace Cookie recipe) and we just a good ol' time. I did manage to break my Season to Season candle holder when I backed into it with my rump, but its all good I have another one on the way!!

Pear Tart

Pear tart with cream cheese and it is very tasty.

2 folded refrigerated unbaked pie crust (room temp)
3 pears, peeled, thinly sliced
Sprite or Ginger Ale
2 pkg 8oz cream cheese, softened
4 beaten egg whites
1 cup orange marmalade
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbs of pineapple juice

After peeling and slicing pears allow them to soak in soda to prevent brown spots.

Unfold one pie crust and press into the bottom of Veranda Chip and Dip platter, tart pan or onto a pizza pan. Use second crust to fill in rest of pan. Fold under 1/2 inch of crust and pinch to create a fluted edge.

With mixer beat cream cheese until smooth. Add egg whites, juice, 1/2 cup marmalade, and vanilla.

Spread cheese mixture over pie crust. Arrange pear slices on cheese. Start on the outer edge and work your way into the middle, creating a spiraling fan.

Use foil to cover and to prevent crust from burning. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake until crust is golden; about 5-10 minutes. Warm marmalade in microwave and while tart is still warm brush remaining marmalade on top and add more if needed. Enjoy!

Wow, September is Looking Good!

Well there are some good things going on this month. Right now you can join H&GP at half the price and hostess can earn even more free product!

First lets talk hostess. Normally a hostess earns 20% of retail sales from her party in free merchandise. For September a hostess can earn 30% but her retail sales have to be $350 or more. I just had a hostess who received $120 in free product and three half priced items. When she was done with her shopping spree she got $150 worth of product for $30!! All I can say is sweet!

Second is the 50% off Designer Kits. Right now you can get a $149 kit for $74.50, and this is for September only. The kits comes with $300 worth of product, catalogs, designer manual, and all kinds of other stuff. Dude, I paid the whole $149 dollars for my kit and that was 5 months ago; so if this is something you are thinking of doing than now is the time to make up your mind and do it!

Now what would you say if I figured out how you could join for free? FREE! Right now people don't have two pennies to rub together and even if they had $75 there are other priorities. So I want you to be able to join and it not be a strain on you and your family. I can give you an order form for the fund raiser jar candles. Right now those candles are on sale at 20% off; which means you can sale them at a decent price and make a little more profit off them. If you sale 25 jar candles at $8 a piece you can make $80 (You make $3.20 per candle). That is enough to cover the cost of the kit, tax, and shipping!

Now what happens if you join H&GP? I will be there to answer any questions you have, to give you ideas, and support. You will come with me on one of my parties to watch and to see if this is something you really want to do and when you have your first party I will come along and give you a hand.

You can give me an email and I will call you shortly. Come on what are you waiting for?

New Lessons in Life

This Wednesday Theresa (my sponsor and the patience of a saint) and I went to Wythesville Va to meet the new H&GP President Heather Chastain (she has the best soap opera name ever).

To me this was a really big deal. When I first joined in April I was able to met Barb Fishpaw, had no idea who she was, what a great woman she is in the company and I kinda made a fool of myself and boldly informed her I don't like hugs. I am a personal space person. Them hug lovin' designers at the meeting were weirding me out. Later on I got an idea on who she is. Barb leads the #1 team of the company, she travels to give training at H&GP seminars, and is a top seller herself. Here is the real clincher, she built a beautiful home from the money earned working for H&GP. Now these results are not typical and you really have to give credit to the woman herself for taking a direct sales job and using it to really bless her and her family. But wow the possibility, and I told her not to hug me.

So here is the chance of redemption. Now another reason why this is the big deal. I have been with the company for 5 months! Just 5 and I get to meet the new president. I felt like a little kid and I wanted to stick my tongue out and say "nay nay nay nay!!" So far my chance for redemption has gotten slimmer.

Now I also decided to wear my red sparkle shoes. I bought some cheap pleather red shoes, brushed craft glue on and sprinkled red glitter all over them (I fixed them up for the movie theme party) and I love these shoes! On the down side I leave a trail of red glitter everywhere. Encase I got lost Theresa could just follow the trail to relocate me. So now I have some kind of borderline crazed fan complex and I am leaving a glitter trail like a woodland fairy. Redemption chance much slimmer.

So finally we get to the meeting. Heather was great, she has a lot of good ideas, ones that will help the company and I think she can do it with out too much commotion. It is a risk bringing in a new guy. New guys have a mountain of ideas and a set way of doing things and it could be very confusing, but I see this change as coming as smooth as possible and to be highly beneficial. The talked leaned more to the sponsoring side of the business and some towards increasing personal designer income. By that part of the meeting I have a lot of respect for Heather; crazed fan complex is being tamed and redemption chance is increased!!

We took a break and I located the coffee!! By now I don't care who I met I have coffee, the cup is warming my hands, the half and half has made that lovely milk chocolate color while it blends with the coffee, and I am feeling good. Another designer is getting her cup and we start chatting. I don't know when Heather's husband arrived and for how long he was there. So I am having some girl talk....now grown up talk to anyone just makes my day. I have four kids, I stay home, and talking to some one who can cut their own meat is wonderful. So I make the comment of RV travel and various cultures of the great country we are in. ". . . when you travel with an RV in the north you are vagabonds, out west gypsies but here in the south you are one high class redneck!"

At that moment Heather's husband comes in to my line of sight and I am well with in ear shot of him. He gives me a look, a smirk and goes "yup". Chance of redemption has crashed, burned, and there are no survivors.

Imagine the story in the RV. "Some woman leaving a red glitter trail called us rednecks."

Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies

1 package of Raspberry Sugar Cookie Mix

1 egg
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well. Drop 1" balls of cookie dough on to a plate coated with sugar. Roll to lightly dust dough, then place 2" apart on an un-greased cookie sheet. Cook for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Note: You may use the Blueberry Sugar Cookie Mix instead of the Raspberry Sugar Cookie Mix as an alternative.

We have a winner.

We have a winner. Tyan Bartolo won the Fondue Pot with Double Chocolate mix and the Cheese Fondue mix!! Congratulations!!
My daughter threw several bits of paper with names in the air, scattered them all over the living room floor, and performed a lively dance of preschooler joy before selecting one name. Thank you to every one who participated. My only regret is I did not take pictures of her doing her little jig. Oh well next time. I will be having another such raffle for September, keep an eye out for it.

Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs

I got to try these at a recent H&GP meeting and they are tasty good!!

One package H&GP Sun Dried Tomato ?Dip
One lb of ground beef
1/2 cup of biscuit mix
2 tablespoons of onion powder
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
medium eggs

Mix all items together will then roll into 2 in balls. Place on cookie sheet and place in oven on 375 degrees. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes (checking meatballs for doneness0. Place on serving platter and serve with ranch dressing, mustard or catsup.

Tortilla Chipotle Rollup

6 to 8 tortillas

¼ pkg of Chipotle mix (mixed according to package directions)
Diced onion
Diced celery
Bacon
Diced green pepper

Combine diced vegetables and bacon with dip mix. Cover each tortilla with the mix. Roll up tightly. Refrigerate for at least one hour (make sure to cover so that the tortillas don’t dry out). Cut each roll into 1 inch bite size pieces.

Fondue Madness!!

Home & Garden Party container candles and Perfect Mix food items are 20% off for the month of July.
* Jar candles: Regularly $8.00 Now $6.40
* Soy Candles (13 oz.): Regularly $16.00 Now $12.80
* Perfect Mix Preserves: Regularly $7.50 Now $6.00
* Perfect Mix Desserts: Regularly $7.50 Now $6.00
* Perfect Mix Soups and Stews: Regularly $7.50 Now $6.00

Now is the time to stock up on candles and party food. Candles for quick and easy Christmas gifts, and party food for those holiday get togethers.
Care package tip: Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup Mix is a great care package item. Just throw in the mix and a can of cooked chicken and your loved one has a warm, easy and hearty soup.

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I have had a wonderful and successful first month with H&GP. Thank you very much for your support and encouragement. As a way to say thank you and to have a little fun I have decided to give a way one of H&GP’s new Fondue pots! I will also include both the new Double Chocolate Fondue Mix and Cheese Fondue Mix. All together they are worth $52!!

If you received this email or letter from me than your name has already been entered in the drawing. If you make an order from me this month (either online or at a party) than your name will be entered twice. Also if you set up a booking* with me before the end of the month your name will be entered three times.

To prevent accusations of favoritism or partiality, I will have my assistant (Laney my 5 yr old) draw the name from a hat. She won’t know yall from Adam but she will think she has the greatest job in the world! Two birds one stone, not bad.

*Party needs to be held before December 2008.

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Here is a party connect code for those who would like to shop online to increase their chances of wining.

http://www.newhgp.com/party/nicolecarter0729

Fondue!

Saturday was so much fun. One of my hostess used her H&GP to throw a house warming party for her twin sister. We also had the Gourmet for Dummies theme and when you select that theme I bring the H&GP fondue pot with the fondue of your choice.

The hostess and her sister helped me lay out stations in the kitchen for the guest to make the snacks and their kids were a great help. One of the girls helped me measure out the half and half cream for the chocolate fondue, another stirred the fondue while it warmed in a sauce pan, and all of the kids thought the fondue was the greatest thing ever!!

There was metal forks, fruit, cake and chocolate sauce everywhere, and we had a blast! I felt a little worried that maybe the mess could of caused an issue but my hostess loved it and she booked another party in September. Score!!

I had a great party, a new booking, and a small chorus of blond headed, fat checked, and chocolate coated lips telling me good bye.

p.s.

Right now all the candles and food is on sale at 20% off.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 package of H&GP Garden Medley Spinach Dip Mix
1 can of artichoke hearts
(drained and chopped)
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
½ cup of Parmesan cheese
(grated)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
(shredded)

Mix all ingredients together in an H&GP 8x8" Berry Baker and bake on 350° for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers or serve on top of lightly toasted artisan bread. Make sure you butter your bread first so the dip won't make the toast soggy.

Caribbean Dreams

Well tonight my hostess had a Caribbean themed party; I wore a grass hula skirt, gave a short hula dance, and had loads of fun.

To earn auction money the guest brought a Caribbean recipe to give to the hostess, but my hostess does not like to cook and she gave them all to me! I can't wait to make some of the chicken dishes. They seemed mighty nasty!!

The notable party of the evening was all the sales made with online party connect ($400). Each party I set up an online link for hostess to email to out of town family and friends. Those sales are then added to her party sale total. In Nicole speak; when grandma buys that angel picture her purchase increases your free stuff. I know isn't it exciting?!

So 20% of $400 equals $80 in free product. My hostess gets $80 in free stuff and 4 half priced items! Cool beans!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta (hot or cold)

1 package of H&GP Sun-Dried
Tomato Dip Mix
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. water
1 Tbs. Parmesan cheese

Mix well and toss with cold or hot pasta and serve. Add Shrimp, vegetables or chicken as an alternative. Add ins options, black olives, finely minced onion, diced Italian seasoned tomatoes, or slivered toasted almonds.

Ah! Party Food!

Today I got my Perfect Mix order in. BLT dip, Cinnamon Apple dip, Sun-Dried Tomato dip, Double Chocolate Fondue, and Blueberry Sugar Cookie; four of each. The best is the Cinnamon Apple; it smells ssooo good; you just want to sit there and smell the bag, . . . . but that's just weird so I won't do that.

I am going to start posting recipes with the Perfect Mix products for my hostess to stroll through. The company sends me one a month and occasionally I use my noggin and come up with a few.

In other news I have won my first $150 award certificate from the Home & Garden Party company. Sweet! That's on top of what I already make. I am also 1/4 of the way to earning the Cabo San Lucas trip. What's so neat is that even if I don't make the trip I still will earn an extra $450 - $1,000 just for trying!

Party, Party, Party

Well have I ever been busy. I have been using a game at my parties to book additional parties. As a result I have been giving out booking gifts for my hostess left and right!

I have been working on a way to keep track of it all. I completely forgot that when using the H&GP online office there is a little section for notes by each of my hostess names. Well the light bulb finally went off yesterday and I am all caught up.

I have also created more party themes. I added a neat tea party theme which included some fun dress up ideas for guest. My best one so far is the Gourmet for Dummies theme. During the party guest get to make some simple dishes with the Perfect Mix products and so far already have three parties booked just for that theme! Man, I love it when my hostess just want to have fun. That is what makes this job so neat!!

Baking Woes

I have been experimenting with the Veranda Heart Baker and well it has been interesting. I had the bright idea of painting the dish with an egg yolk and food coloring mixture then pouring in the cake batter. Then when you turn out the cake it is already decorated. Well my first attempt, the coloring mixed into the batter. I forgot to pre-bake the food coloring mixture to allow it to set up first!

No biggie, it had a neat swirly effect to it here and there. The second try I did remember to set up the food coloring but when I turned out the cake some of the painted flower remained in the pan. My daughters witnessed this and it was very upsetting to them. They wanted a pretty flower cake!

Oh well I have not given up yet. It is a beautiful dish and I just know there is potential to do something neat with it. I will try more later for now I am working on a small cookbook to give out to some of my customers.