3/11 My March Madness Entertaining Media Day

This has to be my favorite picture from the trip!

Do you ever wake up thinking, "Did I dream that or did it really happen?" Well, that is exactly what I thought this morning as I got up and got my kiddos ready to take to school. I would still be wondering if the last 2 days happened if I hadn't downloaded all the pictures as proof.


Wednesday, I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was an enjoyable trip despite the 2 delayed planes and arriving 2 hours later than planned. I can't stand to pay more than necessary so I rented the cheapest rental car I could find in Charlotte which was still expensive! After all I just needed it to drive to the hotel, television shoot, and back to the airport the next day. I go to turn on the rental car and the engine light pops on with the wording that one of the tires is low. I unload everything and took the keys back. The lady looks at me and says she's going to make my day. She gave me the keys to a brand new Mustang convertible to drive! My husband and son were jealous.

Lauren Hopkins and Libbie Summers

Thursday I got up at 5 a.m. ET (3 a.m. Tucson time) and was at the kitchen set at 6 a.m.. Lauren Hopkins, the publicist from the Butin Group, and Libbie Summers, Paula Deen's food editor and head food stylist, were already there hard at work getting everything ready for the big production.


Emily McCarty and Marty Snider came in from the satellite truck to brief me on the schedule. You might recognize Marty from his reporting on Nascar. Then, the hair and makeup lady arrived around 6:30 a.m. to get me ready. The hair and makeup artist did hair and makeup for Deborah Norville (from Inside Edition) for 3 years in New York and for ACCESS Holleywood in LA. She did a fabulous job.


Before I knew it, we were off and running doing radio interviews and television interviews until about 11: 45 a.m.. I felt really good about the whole day. Libbie helping made it possible for me to concentrate on the actual interviewing and removed the stress of making sure the food was perfectly arranged and ready. It was such a fun surreal day!

I returned the car and flew home. I'm happy to be home again with my family, back to potty training, and driving my mini-van which allows me to actually see above the cars in front of me. If they ask me to do it again, I'd love it. For now, I'll enjoy my quiet life in Tucson and all it has to offer!

Click here to see one of the interviews I did yesterday with Cleveland's WKYC.

You can find all the recipes we used and tips for entertaining for March Madness on clubentertaining.com.

Click here for information on my 14 cookbooks.


More pictures from the trip:


I was able to see my friend, Jessie, while I was there. She came to see the tail end of the shooting and we were able to go out to lunch afterward. We grew up together and I hadn't been able to see her in years! It was fun to catch up.

Pumpkin Spice Trifle

Here was my 26th television interview shot in December.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Pumpkin Spice Trifle
from 101 Things To Do With Pudding
Ingredients:
•1 cup pumpkin puree
•1/2 cup water
•1/2 cup applesauce
•3 eggs
•1 spice cake mix
•3 small boxes instant vanilla or cheesecake pudding mix
•2 1/2 cups cold milk
•1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
•1 cup chopped pecans
•1 cup English toffee bits
Method:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat pumpkin puree, water, applesauce, and eggs until smooth. Gradually stir in cake mix and 1 box dry pudding mix. Spread batter into a 9 x 13-inch pan prepared with nonstick spray. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely.
In a separate bowl, beat remaining dry pudding mix and milk together for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Chill for 5 minutes. Fold whipped topping into pudding until well blended.

Crumble one-third of the cake in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Spoon one-third of the cake in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Spoon one-third of the pudding topping evenly over cake layer. Sprinkle with one-third of the pecans and one-third of the toffee bits. Repeat all layers two more times. Refrigerate before and after serving. Makes 16 servings

FunnySpoon.com

Many of you know that one of my favorite hobbies next to saving money is cooking! I have written or co-written 14 cookbooks including one New York Times Best Selling book, 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix.

I’m proud to announce a new partnership with a simple cooking website, FunnySpoon.com. I’ve provided the site with a few of my salad recipes from 101 Things To Do With A Salad and encourage all of you to check it out. FunnySpoon.com is full of simple, fantastic recipes created with busy parents and professionals in mind. If you’re hungry and short on time then FunnySpoon.com has a meal solution for you!

8/28 KVOA Savvy Savings Segment

Here's the clip from my appearance on KVOA's 4 p.m. news today! I shared numerous birthday freebies available for kids. I'll be back to KVOA in September sharing how to save money in the grocery store one week and couponing tips another week in September.

My KVOA Birthday Freebie Segment

For those of you who missed it, here is the clip from my appearance on KVOA's 4 p.m. news! Huge thanks to Paul, the amazing cameraman who helped me film the first of the clip! I also have to say that Kristi Tedesco is as nice behind the scenes as she looks on camera. What a sweet heart! I look forward to working with the team at KVOA in the future. Next appearance will be Friday, August 28th on KVOA's 4 p.m. news!

Good Things Utah

On Friday, I went on to Good Things Utah to promote my most recent cookbook, 101 Things To Do With Meatballs. I thought I would post the segment for anyone who was interested in viewing it.

Click here to view the segment! Click on 07/10/09 Southwest Taco Salad & Sweet and Spicy Meatballs.

Gingerale Meatballs

I had a great visit with KIDK in Idaho Falls yesterday. We featured one of the dressed up meatball ideas from 101 Things To Do With Meatballs.



Ginger Ale Meatballs

39 ( 1 1/2 pounds) frozen, fully cooked meatballs
2 cups ginger ale
2 cups ketchup
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Place frozen meatballs in a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker prepared with nonstick cooking spray. In a bowl, combine ginger ale, ketchup, and garlic. Pour mixture over meatballs. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or on high heat for 3 hours. Serve with toothpicks as an appetizer, on hoagie buns, or over hot cooked noodles.