Tag...I'm it! (And I'm so tickled to be!)

I have a lovely new friend Mandy at Mandy's Recipe Box  She's playing a game...and I've been invited to play. How fun is that?

The game is called Eight to the Eight to the Eight...ever played?

The idea is that I'm supposed to answer Mandy's eight questions, then pose eight of my own, and tag eight people to answer those. And so on and so on...

I am excited to do this and see who plays along with me. I think it lets people get to know the bloggers. So here are the questions Mandy asked me......and my answers!

1. What is your cooking tool/gadet that you can't live without?
I would probably have to say my spatula scrapers - I have several...curved, colored, smaller sized...and when I'm busy in the kitchen I use nearly all of them.


2. What is something that you can't make unless you are sharing it, otherwise you'd eat it all yourself?
This was easy!  Definitely PAYDAY Bars - WAAAYYY too good, and I could eat the whole panful if left alone in the kitchen.  I must know who I'm going to share them with before making them, or I'm in real trouble! (Recipe is on page 81 of my cookbook=)

3. Favorite cooking memory growing up?
I'm tickled to get such an easy question!  I wrote about this memory in my recent cookbook.  Favorite memory is coming home from school and seeing the kitchen counters and table covered with many kinds of cookies. Mom would spend a day in the kitchen during the winter (oh how special to think of those fogged up windows!) to bake cookies to entertain guests or to go in the freezer for lunches.  She gave me much freedom to do cooking, unaided, while I was growing up. She'd be so proud if she was here now.

4. The one recipe you love from someone who inspires you? (Mom, Grandma, friend, etc.)
Apple dumplings from my mom - the recipe card is covered in smudges/grease and it's a real memory-jogger to think about the times mom would bake all day on a Sat., making pies, and dumplings, and we'd get dumplings for dinner.  We had no clue how spoiled we were!

5. Where would you love to visit if money was no object, and why?
I would love to go back to St. Kitts in the Caribbean.  My brother and wife own a villa there and blessed me greatly by allowing me to take 4 girlfriends along and spend a week there this last Feb!!  It's a very beautiful place, and being there reminds me of how spoiled we Americans are, and that's a good thing. I absolutely love sunshine & water!

6. Why do you blog?
Mostly because my daughter insisted I begin one.  =)  I love cooking and sharing great recipes, and I love getting to know other bloggers - just like doing this fun game.
Sharing recipes is a natural passion of my heart.  

7. What is your favorite book?
I truly love reading autobiographies the best, but any Chicken Soup for the Soul
book is a favorite!

8. Who would you love to have dinner with who is dead, alive, or famous?
After my mama - Paula Deen!

My questions to pose to others:

1. How many new recipes would you say you try (on average) in a week's time?

2. What's your favorite kitchen tool or appliance?

3. Who is your favorite Food Network personality?  Why?

4. What is your favorite movie?  

5. What/Who inspired you to begin blogging?

6. What dish is your family's 'most often requested'?

7. What's your favorite recipe ingredient? 

8. Share your favorite childhood memory connected with food..

9. What do you order most often when eating out?

10. Where did you go on your most favorite vacation?

OK - I've tagged these bloggers...


1. Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms


2. Fun Foods on a Budget!

3. The Pioneer Woman

4. Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

5. The Queen Mommy's Cafe

6. Mommy's Kitchen

7. Eat At Home

8. A Feast for the Eyes