Crafts

I have magical memories of my parents back porch from the home that I grew-up in. It’s my favortie outdoor living space… It’s a lovely over sized covered porch on the back of their home in Colorado. I can remember spending most of our summers out there eating dinner, sleeping out in the backyard, entertaining friends and family and just quietly sitting and enjoying the cool Colorado summer nights.

As I have gotten older I’ve enjoyed sharing my love of my parent’s porch with my little family. We’ve had so many wonderful family gatherings there, sharing in many thrilling milestones. We’ve celebrated engagements, marriages, births, birthdays and special Sunday morning brunches before church.

This was the family lunch we had after spunky Em’s baby blessing way back in 2004. My parent’s porch is just the perfect place for gathering. I’ve spent hundreds of hours out there playing and now, watching my children play. My favorite is the winter time…

Watching the kiddos playing in the snow and building snowmen is one of my favorite things to do on my parent’s porch…

The style on the porch isn’t fancy. We have a large round table, big enough for everyone to gather around and a few comfy chairs to enjoy those special moments in.

One day… I want to have a large covered porch just like that, where I can enjoy precious moments with my family as well. Here in Vegas, the newer homes just aren’t built with any yard to speak of, so I’m going to have to wait until we move somewhere greener someday. I can’t wait to dress my porch up! The problem will be narrowing down my style… I just love so many things!

What is your backyard style? Do you have a magical porch to dress up or do you have a deck, patio, balcony or stoop? Or a fire pit grill for outdoor barbeques? What activities you you like to do with your family in your outdoor space?

Answer the question below and one of my readers will win a $25 Sears gift card!

Need some help figuring out your style? Sears is making it easy with their interactive quiz that helps you select your perfect style.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

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In the last year or two I've developed quite a love affair with the mango! Sadly it hasn't always been that way. For some reason I didn't grow-up eating mangos, so when I starting shopping for myself I would walk right by then in the market as well. Why, I don't know! A big reason was I didn't know how to eat them, I know that sounds silly, but really… If you hand a person a banana who hasn't ever seen a banana before, they aren't going to know instinctively how to peel and eat the fruit. I have since learned how to eat a mango and have fallen in LOVE! Just in case you are in the same boat as I am, I thought I would put together a video on how to cut a mango…

Here is the recipe for my Mango Salsa a great topping to help for family eat smarter and healthier…

  Ingredients

• 1 diced mango
• 1 diced avocado
• 1 cup of quartered grape tomatoes
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt & pepper

Directions

Add the mango, avocado, tomatoes, lemon juice, salt & pepper to a bowl and combine. Refrigerate for at least an hour for the flavors to marry. Use as a topping for tacos, fajitas, and salads. I've used it here as a topping for my Cranberry Chili Pork Tostada, a take off of my Cranberry Chili Street Tacos. Give it a shot and tell me what you think! What is your favorite mango recipe? Have you been afraid to try mangos like I was before?

The National Mango Board challenged me to spend a week creating healthier eating and snacking habits for my family. Join the conversation and one of my readers will receive a cookbook and a chance to win a shipment of mangos and $200 gift card to Williams-Sonoma.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of National Mango Board. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.  

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The glorious avocado has a special place in my heart. My grandparents had an avocado ranch in California in the 1960's thru the late 1980's. It was by far one of my most favorite places to visit. I would wake up in the cool foggy California mornings and go walking in the groves looking for tasty avocados for us to share in our meals for that day. I can remember how the groves smelled, how the avocados tasted fresh from the tree and how much fun it was to make guacamole with my grandmother, my very own master guacamole artist. Thru the years I have learned that avocados and guacamole are more than just a dip or topping, you can use it in so many ways, soups, eggs, burgers and so much more.

These days life is even easier, you don't have to wait for your avocados to ripen for a few days, all you have to do is grab a box of already prepared Wholly Guacamole from the produce section of your local market and you can create to your hearts content. I love Wholly Guacamole for one reason… If you read the ingredients on the back of the box, it reads like my guacamole recipe. It's not made with crazy fillers or artificial ingredients. I LOVE that!

Today I've created a fun side dish that will be perfect for your next taco or fajita night and it's so much better than the standard rice and beans. It's a lovely Wholly Guacamole Custard with a Spicy Corn Relish… YUM!

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare your bain-marie to cook your custard in… Don't be scared, a bain-marie is a large glass baking dish with small ramekins placed inside. Once the ramekins are full of the custard you fill the baking dish half way with hot water, place in the oven and then bake.

 

In a blender add the half-and-half, milk, egg, egg yolk, cream cheese, Wholly Guacamole, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture into 6 small ramekins in your large baking dish. Add the hot water and placed in the oven. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Remove from the oven after the custard is fully set, let cool for ten minutes and then place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

 

In a separate bowl combine the corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and place in the refrigerator for an hour for the flavors to marry.

 

Remove guacamole custard from refrigerator and top with the corn relish and serve as a side dish for any type of Latin dish. Enjoy!

 

 

Wholly Guacamole: it's a whole lot more than dip. Vote for my Wholly Guacamole Recipe below and I could win one of three fantastic prizes! Click here for more fun and easy Wholly Guacamole recipes!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Wholly Guacamole. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Wholly Guacamole Contest Rules.