Buy Broken Arrow Campaign

We are excited that this is the second year that The Gift Garden is participating in the Buy Broken Arrow Campaign sponsored by the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce. Support your local businesses this holiday season and get tickets that enter you in to a drawing in which you could win $3000, $5000, or even $10,000. Drawings will be held on December 18th. Stop by participating businesses and get your tickets!

Taco Salad Recipe

This is a recipe that was given to me years ago from a friend. I just made it at home this weekend and thought I should post it here. It is great for potlucks too. I have never had leftovers when taking this to a potluck and would usually do a double recipe. I even used this for a Halloween potluck as we were tasked with bringing food that orange and black. To create that, I mixed everything according to the directs and right before serving a sprinkled a layer of the crushed Doritos on top and then added some sliced black olives.

1 bottle Catalina salad dressing
1 head lettuce
2 lg. tomatoes, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
1 med. green pepper or green onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. shredded Cheddar cheese
1 pkg. Nachos or Doritos, crushed or broken
1 pkg. taco seasoning (optional)
Olives are also optional

Brown beef with taco seasoning and allow to cool.

Combine all other ingredients except chips in a large salad bowl. Toss like a regular salad. Add ground beef and chips just before serving. Pour Catalina dressing over all or serve alongside.

For a lower calorie option substitute ground turkey for the ground beef, use light versus regular cheese, use light Catalina versus regular, and use Baked Doritos.

Enjoy!

Health Care Expo

Saturday, October 24th from 9 am to 4 pm at Neinhaus Park Community Center. Lots of free screenings, kids activities, and more. For more information click here.

2010 DRNA Calendars

As you may know, I am a doxie mama of 3 and a foster mom of 1. I foster rescues for Dachshund Rescue of North America (DRNA). The new 2010 calendar for DRNA has been released. They are available for $18.00 and can be purchased here or in my store. Proceeds from the sales of the calendar help to pay for medical expenses and care of these precious and needy rescues. They will also make a great gift or stocking stuffer for any dachshund lover in your life.

Soap Making App for the IPhone

I must say I was thrilled to find that there is a Soap Making Application for my IPhone. How great is this? Leave it to Brambleberry to be the creator of the app.

I have been playing around with this quite a bit lately and I am loving it. It is easy to use and even comes with 3 recipes to help get you started.

There is an extensive list of fats, oils and butters to choose from. You can choose your percentage of superfatting and the size of your batch. You can even email the recipe. The only addition I would like to see in future updates would be an area for notes so I could keep information about fragrances and colors I used in the batch...etc. Otherwise, I could not be happier. Creating new recipes made even easier. Get yours for just $4.99.

Autumn Harvest to Benefit Madonna House

The 16th annual Autumn Harvest Arts & Crafts Festival benefiting Madonna House of Catholic Charities will be Saturday, Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bishop Kelley High School, 3905 S. Hudson Ave. in Tulsa.

The Autumn Harvest Festival is sponsored by the Madonna House Auxiliary, an organization with more than 600 members that support the Madonna House residential maternity home dedicated to helping pregnant women, new moms, and newborns.

This organization assists women through lodging, nutrition, linkage with health care, professional counseling and child care education, as well instruction leading to a GED or support toward post high school education.

I have a booth at this craft show. I hope to see you there!

Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce Expo

Tomorrow is the Chamber Home & Business Expo. I will be exhibiting there along with many great businesses in Broken Arrow. Come down and check it out. Lots of great door prizes and a chance to find out what is happening in Broken Arrow!

Saturday, August 22 , 2009
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Nienhuis Park
3201 North 9th Street
Broken Arrow, OK