Whitney Farm Garden Helps

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I really enjoy gardening.    Most of the time I'm even successful at actually getting some useable produce from my garden.  Lately, I've been trying to focus on using more organic products where I can.  For example, I've switched to largely organic cleaning products, I've even started making my own bread to avoid the preservatives in the stuff you buy at the store.  Bet you're asking right now what any of this has to do with gardening.  Well, this year I have a goal of using more natural products in my garden as well. 

That's where Whitney Farms® organic soil and organic plant food come in.  By using organic products, I can avoid putting chemicals into all of the fruits and vegetables that I grow.  Then I don't have to worry about feeding nasty stuff out of my garden to my growing kids.  I know they won't know the difference, but it definitely makes me feel like I'm doing something healthy for them by going organic.

Here's a picture of my garden last year.  Not bad, but it could be so much better.  This year, I'm hoping to use some of Whitney Farms® organic soil (low dust and doesn't smell like manure, thank goodness) to beef up my dirt (or what you may know as sand and rocks).  I dream of dark rich earth that produces huge yields.  Something that just isn't happening yet in my garden.:(

I'm also going to swap out the chemicals I use to fertillize 2 to 3 times per season and use the organic plant food that Whitney Farms has.  I have got to have lush, green, beautiful produce I can use to make salsa, salads, and jams.

Does anyone besides me (I know I'm weird) dream of gardens plans and organic growing methods?  Yeah, that's right, I dream of ways I can improve my garden.  What can I say?  I'm hooked.

Whitney Farms® has been nice enough to give ya'll reading this post a $3 coupon so you can try it out.  Woot woot!

Penny Project

I just had to share a little project that has been in the works for a ridiculously long amount of time. Ridiculous because what should have taken me a few hours has dragged out into a couple of months. Life just seems to work that way for me lately. I'm stirring too many pots at once. 

Am I the only one who loves all of the penny art/projects out there on Pinterest right now?  I found inspiration for this project over at The Crafted Sparrow.  I did a few things the way she did and some a bit differently.  I took some big paper mache letters I found at Joann's, spray painted them copper, and then hot glued my pennies on.  I put all of mine face up and pointing about the same direction because it would make me a little bonkers otherwise.

I had the perfect space for my new project.  An annoying ceiling drop between my kitchen and family room that I think these dress up a bit.

I'm really loving how they look and can't believe that it took me so long to get them done. 

Please ignore the stupid hook below my cool new letters.  I can't get everything perfect all at once.;)

 Now I'm motivated to get that tacky thing out of there.  Problem is that the screw holding it in is about 2 inches long and huge in diameter so patching it is gonna be a pain in the butt.

Ok, back on topic...I now feel like I'm perfectly on trend. Kidding. I'm just following my motto that only the ideas I love go into my home, and my new EAT sign is something I L.O.V.E!  Plus, I made it for about 8 bucks and saved myself having to roll a bunch of pennies.

Have any of you out there tried projects with that loose change you have under the couch cushions?

Linking to:

Coastal Charm 
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Today's Creative Blog 
A Bowl Full of Lemons 
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Stuff and Nonsense

Skor Cake

Ok, has anyone besides me grown up on COOL WHIP whipped topping?  I gotta tell ya that I've had this awesome stuff in just about any way you can think of.  Incorporated with Jell-O, used in cheese cakes, as a topper, an ice cream substitute, with hot chocolate, etc.  The recipe I'm sharing today uses a COOL WHIP frosting layer...yum! 

I think I got this recipe from my aunt more years ago than I'm going to admit.  It happens to be one of my husband's favorite desserts.  I call it Skor Cake but you'll notice that I'm using Heath bars this time around...yeah, I'm a traitor.  Actually, I just couldn't find the Skor bars at the store this time around.:)

So your main ingredients are going to be a yellow cake mix, some type of jello instant chocolate pudding, and of course, your COOL WHIP topping.

Pour your cake mix and pudding into a bowl.  I like to use my Kitchen Aid mixer, cause I'm to lazy to use a hand mixer.  Easy is how I roll.

Throw in a couple of cups of warm water, and 2 eggs and mix it all together for another couple of minutes. 

Pour your mix into a 9x13 cake pan after spraying it with a non-stick spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  While this is baking, you can mix together your icing layer that is 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 cube of soft butter.  I usually just cream these together by hand.

Let your cake cool and then spread a thin layer of the icing over the top.

You may need to refrigerate your cake for a few minutes to harden the icing, then you get to spread on your oh-so-good COOL WHIP "frosting".

Next, you take your frozen Heath Bars or Skor Bars (about 4 or 5 of them).  Whatever floats your boat.  I thing Skor Bars have a bit more of a chocolate coating which I prefer.  Yeah, I'm definitely a chocoholic.

Now, the fun part.  Smack the heck out of these bars.  I'm not kidding.  I usually get a meat tenderizer and go to town.  You want to break up the candy into fairly small pieces.

Sprinkly them all over the top, I mean, why not? 

Looking pretty good.

Here's another shot.  You've got to taste this.  The cake is super, I mean SUPER moist.  The thin icing gives just a bit of sweetness.  The COOL WHIP topping is a nice fluffy, not heavy, layer.  Then you get the nice sweet, chocolate toffee crunch of the candy.  Oh my good.ness.  Have I sold you on it yet?

 Don't forget to store this dessert in the refrigerator.  I think it tastes best if it has chilled for a couple of hours, simply because all of the layers stand out a bit better, in my not so humble opinion.

Ready for the official recipe?  Here you go.

Skor Cake

1 yellow cake mix

1-3.9 oz. package of milk chocolate instant pudding (I used chocolate fudge.)

2 cups warm water

2 eggs

Bake the cake layer at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 stick softened butter

Cream these two together until smooth and creamy.

1 8 oz. tub of COOL WHIP whipped topping.

4 to 5 Skor Bars.  Freeze these then crush them into small pieces and sprinkle over the top of your COOL WHIP layer.



For me, easy, everyday, desserts are the way to go and this qualifies deliciously!

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

Linking to:

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