Hello, Summer Garden! - A Giveaway

California is fickle. 

It can be 100 degrees one day and back down to 65 the next. It's been a relatively mild Spring and we are now barreling towards summer and that means Outdoor Entertaining Season. Can I get an "Amen?"

Eric and I have been planning a Big Birthday Bash. It should have taken place this weekend. However, because California is acting out like a spoiled child right now and the weather is not cooperating with our plans, we've had to bump our celebration out another month. 

I'm okay with that. It just gives us more time to attend to last minute garden details.

Remember last month when we started loving and feeding and refreshing our lawn and garden? Scotts wants to know how I express myself in my garden. Hello....Flowers!

I'm a Flower Lover. Anything that will give me lush green leaves and gorgeous blooms has my heart. Also, the whole planting, pruning, watering stuff is part of our family's DNA. It's just an activity that we love to do together. Well, mostly Eric and Jonathan do the heavy lifting and I just shout out commands, but that's not important right now.

As you can see, the time and care we took last month and Scotts Miracle-Gro® has totally paid off. Be prepared to be amazed by my flowers...

My favorite Disneyland Roses are really putting on a show for the entire neighborhood. Seriously. Neighbors stop as they're walking by to ooh and aah and make comments and smell my roses. (Win!)

 

My hydrangeas, too. I always get a little scared that this might be the year they decide not to bloom because they want to stay dormant. Using the Scotts Miracle-Gro® has changed all that. I know I'm practically guaranteed some beautiful blooms. You can pick all these products up at Walmart, of course.

I really want you to get in on the fun of sprucing up your garden, so with a generous donation from my sponsor, Scotts, I'm excited to share today's giveaway. 

Scotts has given me one of these for myself (Yay!) and I'm happy to announce that I'll be sharing the love with two lucky MBFCF readers.

I'm giving away, not one, but two Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Packages from Scotts Miracle-Gro® for you to do some fun summer gardening yourself. 

Included in this Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Package

• 1 Scotts Yard Care Wet/Dry Grip Gardening Gloves
• 1 Scotts Miracle-Gro® Stainless Steel Floral Cutter
• 10 Miracle-Gro® Growables® Combination mulch, seed & fertilizer pods for assorted herbs and vegetables. (Come to me sweet basil!)

1) To enter this drawing for the Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Package from Scotts Miracle-Gro® 

Please leave a comment on this post and answer one or both of the following questions:

• Tell me your favorite garden flower. 
• What's growing in your garden?

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose two winners on Friday, May 29th, 2015 at 11am PST. 

Remember to always read and follow label directions for the referenced products.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Scotts . The opinions and text are all mine.

 

My Mother's Day of Perfection

I was feeling a little sorry for myself because Mother's Day is coming and half of my kids are scattered all over the map. See this story.

For us Cubans, as is true for most Hispanic cultures, Mother's Day is like a High Holy Day. Am I right?

Either way, I was still going to celebrate with the 2 that are still here and of course, I'll be spending the afternoon with my own mom and wearing the mandatory Red Carnation, of course.

I was still kind of day dreaming about how wonderful it would be if we could have one big dinner together. Wouldn't it be awesome if they could all be here for Mother's Day? 

It was more of a fantasy than an actual prayer, however...

Through some miracle of work scheduling and life events, it turns out that I'm going to have them all with me on Sunday, May 10th for Mother's Day. BEST. GIFT. EVER!

*does the happy dance*

Because Amy and Adam are traveling here and have other commitments and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, I'm going to be making a very simple dinner. Technically, they have no reason to object since Mami's doing the cooking anyway, but that's not important right now.

You know how much I love to cook for my family. I'm just so crazy happy to have them all here. My goal is to get the most out of the weekend and spend every last possible minute I can with them. 

I'm proud to say that I have parnered with Barilla® Pasta to make a simple and memorable Mother's Day feast. I had to keep from making myself crazy with creating an elaborate menu. And I think we have achieved simplicity here.

I got the following recipe from Barilla® Pasta. It's simple and delicious and I'm oh-so-grateful that this is a wonderful start to a winning menu. I ran over to Walmart and picked up all the ingredients pretty easily. 

I'm making spaghetti, people! *everyone cheers*

I only made one substitution - the crushed tomatoes for the whole ones.

Barilla® Spaghetti with San Marzano Tomato Meat Sauce

Preparation Time: 20 minutes - Servings:  8

Ingredients:

• 1 box Barilla® Spaghetti
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 1 stem celery, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup White wine (optional)
• 1 28-ounce can San Marzano Tomatoes*
• 2 tablespoons basil* 
• 1 cup water
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved

 * NOTE - I substituted 28 oz. can of Cento Crushed Tomatoes because that's what my people prefer, and added two tablespoons of basil so I could get the same flavor because the San Marzano Tomatoes have basil already added.

Directions:

1) PLACE a pot of water to boil.

2) MEANWHILE, in a large skillet, sauté the onion, carrot and celery with the extra virgin olive oil. ADD the meat and cook until browned well.

3) INCORPORATE the tomatoes and 1 cup of water, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer. 

4) COOK pasta in the boiling water according to the package directions. DRAIN pasta and toss with sauce. TOP with cheese. 

5) OPTIONAL: After the meat is browned, you can deglaze the sauce by adding the wine and let it reduce all the way. 

There you have a simple, crowd-pleasing, absolutely delicious meal that everyone loves. Also, I'm not going to be spending hours in the kitchen, I'm going to be spending lots of time with the ones I love best. 

And isn't that what we all really want for Mother's Day?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Barilla. The opinions and text are all mine.

 

How Does My Garden Grow?

The weather here in Southern California has been phenomenal lately. Seriously. It has been the most perfect Spring so far. Very mild. Low 70's with a delicious breeze and then cooling in the evenings. (Go ahead. Take a moment. I'll wait until you're over your jealousy.)

As the days grow longer and the weather gets so super inviting, and in spite of our busy schedules, we always set aside a few hours on the weekends just to be outside in our own space. You know how much I love my garden. Well, this kind of a Spring practically screams, "Come out and play right now!" 

Also, I'm thinking I'm going to have a Big Birthday Celebration next month (Eric and I both have "milestone" birthdays this year) and because our house is freakishly small charmingly small and cottage-like, the party will have to be outside. Just like we did last year with Jonathan's graduation party.

We started cruising around both our front and back yards, making notes about what needed to be done and as we looked at our potted plants and beds we truthfully started to feel a little embarrassed. Don't even get me started on the condition of our lawn.

Time to bring out The Secret Weapon.

Our "go to" brand has always been Scotts MiracleGro®. We made a run to Walmart and returned with bags of Scotts MiracleGro® Potting Soil and also the Miracle-Gro® Garden Soil to refresh our potted plants and our beds.

We already use and love all of the Miracle-Gro® products for our lawn and garden, so I am delighted to participate in their Express Yourself Program.

As you know, over the warmer months we spend a lot of time outdoors. I also think that because we entertain so much and that that is such a family affair, prepping our home and garden in anticipation is always a group project. In other words, getting ready for the fun is well, in a word...fun.

"Honey, it's time to get out the wheelbarrow!" Yay!

The secret to our gardening success (besides the perfectly perfect So Cal weather) is Scotts Miracle-Gro®. Also, my home and my garden are definitely an expression of me and (full disclosure here) I really love driving up the street and seeing my white picket fence and all my flowers in bloom. 

I fantasize a little about when we throw our party and people drive up and see all the beautiful green growth and the flowers in beautiful bloom. (I know. Shut up.)

We recently spent a sunny afternoon - a perfectly perfect Southern California afternoon, not too hot, not too cool, but that's not important right now - weeding and pruning and refreshing all of our pots and garden beds.

The pots got a big dose of potting soil. We repotted some and just added soil to some others. The plants are super happy. Soil is a big thing for them, you know. 

Look! My newly re-potted hydrangeas are just going to sing! They already look totally happy. Am I right?

I want to make a distinction between the two Scotts products we use:

1) The Scotts Miracle-Gro® Potting Mix is for indoor and outdoor plants in containers. So we went around the entire garden re-potting and refreshing our pots. They were visibly happy. 

2) The Scotts Miracle-Gro® Garden Soil is what we use in our beds.  

The beds have eroded some from last year and I know they get so much happier when we give them this delicious soil because it also feeds for up to 6 months. 

Plus, my roses are already starting their first bloom and I'm a little crazed thinking about how awesome they're going to be after they get some fresh soil. 

Here's a gratuitous photo of my beautiful Disneyland Roses enjoying their first bloom. You can see how the bed has eroded and doesn't look happy.

I can hardly wait to see what they will do next month after the soil re-fresh and some feeding. Stay tuned. 

So, we spent a really fun afternoon doing all the prep work and planning the upcoming Big Birthday Celebration. And I'm getting super excited. 

Once we get our garden and backyard freshened up and it's all happy again, all I will have to worry about is the food for our party. I think all the prepping and planning may just be my very favorite part of entertaining. 

Do you do this same thing? Are you planning on fixing up your lawn and garden for the warmer months? Tell me all about it.

If you're on Instagram or Twitter, please share your garden photos and use the hashtag, #Mijardinalidad 

Remember to always read and follow label directions for the referenced products.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Scotts . The opinions and text are all mine.

 

Bacon Guava Cream Cheese Bites Recipe

This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Farmland® and Latina Bloggers Connect. But, of course, all opinions are my own.

Recipe Development - let’s discuss this for a moment. 

When I hear the term, “Recipe Development,” I think of scientist types in an expansive, pristine kitchen, clothed in white lab coats and safety goggles. Because “Recipe Development," you see, is probably something that's best left to the professionals. 

At least that’s the way this plays out in my mind. However…

I’ve had an idea for an appetizer-type recipe rattling around in my brain for a while. It has some of my favorite ingredients with the delicious addition of bacon. It would be ideal for a game day snack. 

And serendipitously, I’ve been tasked to develop a recipe using Farmland® Bacon. 

Full confession: My first reaction was, “Seriously? I’d so love to.” My second reaction, “I don’t really know if Recipe Development is part of my particular skill set.” Of course, I didn’t say this out loud, but that's not important right now. 

It had to be something that appealed to my Cuban sensibilities. And incorporated bacon. 

“Seriously? I’d love to!”

The best ingredients are key for this recipe to taste like I wanted it to. Farmland^® Bacon has that whole “slow smoked over real wood” thing going for it so that was a no-brainer. (I buy it at Walmart.)

From the Farmland^® Bacon website: For decades, Farmland^® has taken pride in perfecting their curing and smoking technique – a difference you’ll taste in every delicious bite. (Emphasis mine.)

The Farmland^® Bacon is what takes this recipe to that next level. So much so, that I thought about calling this recipe, “Every Delicious Bite.” Yep. It’s that good.

Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, let me present to you my latest recipe (drum roll, please).

Bacon Guava Cream Cheese Bites.  

Let’s just observe a moment of silence, please. Thankyouverymuch.

I have had cream cheese wontons before and I think they’re perfectly lovely. Of course, when my thoughts turn to cream cheese, you know I will be thinking of adding guava somehow very soon. But then, I still needed to incorporate bacon into this mix. 

That’s right when the whole thing went from Pedestrian to Sublime, the Heavens opened and an Angelic Choir burst into a Song of Great Celebration and Joy. That, or I got really, really excited.

Bacon. Guava. Cream Cheese. Wontons. Together at last.

Believe me when I tell you that this is a pretty brilliant combination of textures and flavors. And you’ll be floored by how these beautiful little creatures can be put together so quickly and so very deliciously. 

 

The guava is what gives it the sweetness. Paired with the cream cheese it takes this to the Next Level of Cubanity. The bacon? Well, the bacon is what makes it other-worldly. And when you deep-fry these little bundles you get crunch. Everything you want in a Cuban-style appetizer or game day treat. 

Bacon Guava Cream Cheese Bites 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 lb. (half a package) Farmland® Classic Cut Bacon
• Square wonton wrappers (I used the small ones.)
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 4 oz. guava paste
• Cooking oil (for deep frying)
• Water (to glue the wontons)

1) Slice the entire package of bacon down the middle so you have shorter pieces to cook. 

2) Fry these in a hot skillet until they are crispy, but not burned. 

3) Drain on paper towels and chop roughly into smaller pieces. 

4) Separate the thin sheets of wonton. I used both 1 and 2 sheets. Two sheets add more crunch. This will depend on your personal preference. I tried some both ways and I was equally happy.

5) Cut up the guava into small pieces.

6) To build the wontons, place small pieces of guava in the center of the wonton.

 

7) Spread with cream cheese, drop a few pieces of the roughly chopped bacon into this little cream cheese nest. 

8) Dip your fingertip in water and run a tiny bit of water around the edges of the wonton. This acts like glue. You can also use egg white for this. Grab the corners of the wonton and squish (<—yes, that’s the technical term for it) corners together to create a little pouch. 

9) Heat your oil in a deep skillet. The depth of the oil should just cover the wontons.

10) Fry quickly in the very hot oil. It should only take about 10-15 seconds, if that. Work in small batches. Don't do more than 3 or 4 at a time. They cook very quickly.

11) Drain cooked wontons on a paper towel. 

12) Let them cool slightly before eating. They’re great at room temperature.

13) Serve and receive your praises. 

Makes about 36 pieces.

Come to think of it, I kind of ROCK at Recipe Development. 

For more awesome Farmland recipes, go give them some Facebook love right here.

-

This is a compensated collaboration with Farmland® and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Bacon-Wrapped Plantains Recipe

This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Farmland® and Latina Bloggers Connect. But, of course, all opinions are my own.

I'm looking forward to The Big Game.

I'm talking about the Superbowl, of course. And, yes, I know who's playing and all, but truthfully, these days I'm more concerned with the menu than with what teams are on the field, (because I'm usually feeding an army of my own) but that's not important right now. 

I plan my Superbowl Menu by quarters. Appetizers for the first half. Main Dish at half-time. Desserts for the fourth quarter. I know it sounds kind of formulaic, but it works for the organized part of my brain.

If I can make it work for my Cuban taste buds, all the better.

Here's a Cuban-inspired appetizer using Farmland® Bacon. (I found it at Walmart.) I decided that the perfect appetizer would be something both sweet and salty which made me think of maduros (sweet plantains) and Farmland® Bacon. Genius, no?

Farmland® bacon is slow smoked over real wood for maximum flavor. For decades, Farmland® has taken pride in perfecting their curing and smoking technique – a difference, they tell me, you’ll taste in every delicious bite. I am a believer.

Thanks, Farmland®. You had me at "slow smoked." *sigh*

I had picked up some fresh plantains to make these, but they weren't truly ripe enough for what I wanted to do, so, as we Cubans say, I had to "resolver." 

So I used frozen (baked) plantains instead and was super happy with the results!

Bacon-Wrapped Plantains Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (16 oz.) package of Farmland® Classic Cut Bacon
• 2 lb. package Goya Frozen Baked Ripe Plantains (the pre-cooked frozen worked so much better than the fresh for this recipe)

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Thaw the frozen plantains for about 20 minutes.

3) Line a baking pan with aluminum foil.

4) Slice the plantains into 1 1/2 inch slices - about the width of the bacon.

5) Cut the entire package of Farmland® Bacon in half with a sharp knife.

6) Wrap each slice of plantain with a half-slice of bacon, rolling it all the way around the plantain.

7) Place each wrapped plantain slice on the foil-lined baking sheet, seam side down.

8) Bake in 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. 

You will want the bacon to be just slightly brown but not too crunchy.

9) Remove from foil immediately or they will stick. Move onto a plate lined with paper towels to blot any excess.

10) Can be served immediately or at room temperature.

If you did your job right, they will not make it to half-time. 

Thanks, Farmland®. Buen Provecho and Go, Patriots!