We had FUN!!!

Posted by TNfarmgirl on 22 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Family Life, Fun!

We had so much fun tonight!! I don’t know how I have cooked for so long…and I cook so much…and no one has ever invited me to a Pampered Chef party before!

I had a lot of things ready before anyone came. Jeremy was gone today so Siah and Elijah picked flowers to match our tablecloth (really just a sheet!). Who needs a florist….be one instead!! Everyone should grow zinnias and cosmos!

Then Brandy came and told me that at a P.C. party you use the table for demonstrations…who knew? :) So, we quickly, moved the food to the counters and got ready for guests.

Lots of people came…some brought a friend…and then the cooking began!

Here the pizza crust is in the pan. It was topped with onions, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese. I got to use the chopper that so many of you recommended….very cool! When so many of you recommended it, I sort of poo-pooed the idea.

I have knives…I can chop! But..I admit it….I was wrong and y’all were right! I couldn’t believe how quickly and easily it chopped and the best part was how it came apart so easily and went right into the dishwasher. My kind of tool!

I also got to use their micro-planer. We grated Parmesan cheese and zested limes. I have to admit that I have one that isn’t made by Pampered Chef and EVERY TIME I use it I scrape knuckles, fingers…something. So I liked the fact that it was wide, it protected my hand AND was adjustable AND stored flat….really cool! Jeanne demonstrates for y’all! Now…how come no one told me about this?

They had the COOLEST garlic press (can you tell I’ve never been to a Pampered Chef party before?). You don’t have to peel the cloves!!!!! You just pop the whole thing in and press…the garlic comes out and the skin is left in the press….just look…

I think Brandy was tickled by how tickled I was. I just had to try it and I still can’t figure out why the skin didn’t press through with the garlic but…it didn’t. I tried it twice to make sure. Then it also had this nifty little cleaner to get the garlic leavings out. No more using a toothpick ladies!!

By the way…you can read the writings of the lady in pink (behind Brandy) here. She is one of my boys favorite people. I watched Elijah idle closer and closer…I knew what he was after…one of her hugs! (She’s one of my favorite people too, I dearly love her!).

Then we got to play with a mandoline. Now, I have a mandoline but it is nothing like this fancy thing! Here my friend Ginny is giving it a whirl.

I like the fact that it had a built in stand and that there was a storage box for the extra blades. It was really neat that the storage box fit onto the mandoline when it wasn’t being used. But the best part is that there is a safety built into the machine…if you aren’t using it properly then you can’t cut yourself. I use one of these a lot for cutting cukes into pickles and for cutting squash and zuchinni for the dehydrator . Julie and I thought it would be good to slice Roma tomatoes thin, sprinkle them with Italian seasoning, add a little parmesan and then dehydrate - bite sized pizzas!! We also figured out that it was SO safe we could assign slicing to children!!! Many hands… :)

Here is Willa covering the pizza just before baking. I’ll send a free bar of soap to anyone who can guess where we met!!!!) She has the most adorable 2 yr. old grand-daughter! My boys spent the evening playing with her, reading to her and lamenting the fact that they didn’t have a sister and want one just like her…and the golden curls are a must! She’s been gone over an hour and they are still talking about her and how much fun they had!

I did find out that I have two (count ‘em two!) Pampered Chef things in my kitchen. One is a round stoneware dish that I make cinnamon rolls and deep dish pizza in. I love it.

And the other….one of my most FAVORITE kitchen things in the WORLD…is this nifty little tool…ta…da!!

I have two of these and use them everyday…I’ll probably order a couple more. This is THE best little gadget. I use this little springy, whisk thing to heat sauces, mix gravy, beat eggs, melt butter and more. But the MOST important thing I use it for is making salves for y’all! It is the BEST tool for whisking the beeswax into the other oils as it melts. And it cleans up like a dream!! Gotta have it! And at $3.95…I can afford to love it! (Can you tell that Brandy thinks I’ve lost it?).

We laughed, talked, ate and laughed and talked some more. I think we all had a great time. Then it was time to clean up….notice the medicinal herb i.d. book? Seems that the interest in medicinal herbs is growing…I almost always need one when I am with a group of people. Someone always has few questions. Around here I am known as “The Herb Lady” :)

We began cleaning….many hands pitched in to help. The boys walked Grandma home across the drive way, helped Brandy carry her huge and heavy bag to her car and before you know it we were back to normal…

Everyone found something to order so I think we were able to bless Brandy. If anyone still wants to order you can do so by following the directions here. Don’t forget! I am still sending out a free bar of soap (no shipping even!) to all who place an order with Brandy…so be sure and email me with your request! I think she said you can order through Thursday.

I wish you could have all been here! I got to see old friends and new friends. I even made new friends! Good food, great friends…what a wonderful evening!

Thanks Brandy….you did a GREAT job!!

The name and other things…

Posted by TNfarmgirl on 21 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Farm Life, Fun!

Well, believe it or not, we actually had 78 names submitted!  Wow!  What creative people y’all are!  That is on top of the SHORT list we came up with ourselves.

We need a few more days to pray and pick the final name (this is a really big deal after all!) but we have narrowed it down to the following:

Still in the running from y’all are:

Stonebrook Farm

Copper Hills Farm

Iron Stones Farm

Providence Farm

Charis Acres

We’ll let you know as soon as we pick.  Since we are baling hay today (Hard Work Farm?), and we have a party tomorrow that y’all have been invited too, it will probably be a few more days.

It has been fun to get some phone calls from local readers letting me know they are coming to the party.  Wish you could all come - wouldn’t that be fun?

For those of you who placed orders with Pampered Chef…THANK YOU!  If you sent me your choice of soap, it will be mailed today.  If you haven’t…don’t forget!

You can still place an order if you are interested.    Follow the link above for the “how to” information.  Brandy will be blessed!  Then email me and let me know what soap you want and a free bar will be in the mail to you :)

And stay tuned for party pictures!!

Thanks for your patience!

Blessings!

Cheri

All you Pampered Chef fans….free soap!

Posted by TNfarmgirl on 20 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Fun!, Soap

Just thought I’d add a little fun to the party for our “virtual” attendees!

If you are unable to attend but you place an order online…email me and let me know….and I’ll send you a free bar of soap of your choice!!! No shipping charges, nothing, nada, just pick your scent and send me your address. I’ll mail them out on Wednesday morning!

For those of you who have already placed an order online (you know who you are!) send me that information and your soap will go out in the morning!

Have fun!!

Cheri

Y’all are invited!

Posted by TNfarmgirl on 18 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized

This Tuesday…July 22nd…my house…7:00 p.m.!

Has this ever been done before? Will this be a new Internet phenomenon? Want to be a part?

Let me tell you more. I have this sweet friend named Brandy. Brandy is a young mama to 3 littles - all under the age of 5. She is such a good mama! To help make ends meet, and to enjoy a few minutes of “adult” conversation, Brandy has become a Pampered Chef consultant.

Truthfully, I didn’t know what Pampered Chef was when she told me. I’ve never been to a party but I wanted to do this to encourage Brandy. Since then, many women have told me what great products they have…I can’t wait to see myself! Don’t know how it all works (I was surprised when I was given a shopping list!) but I know we will be eating, laughing and having fun!

So…here’s my plan….ssshhhhhh….quiet now…..I am hoping to bless Brandy’s socks off with this party! If you are in my local area…please join us. I know that Brandy will be cooking some things and I plan on making some of my herbed cheese and crackers, some hot blackberry cheese, some delicious pound cake and many other things (guess what I’ll be doing on Monday?!). I’d love to surprise her with lots of guests and great sales. They live north of us about an hour but are moving in a week or two into our area. Let’s make this an awesome welcoming party!! You’ll even get to meet this lady! I’ve been told that if you bring  a friend you get a free gift…so grab someone and bring them along!  Just drop me an email or phone me and let me know you are coming! (My boys think I’ve lost my mind!!)

If you aren’t local and would love to bless Brandy, we are having a “virtual party” too! You can order directly from her by going to her website and clicking on “Order Products”. A window will pop up and you can fill in my name (Cheri Shelnutt) and proceed from there.

I also need your input….do you love Pampered Chef? I’m really flying blind here since I’ve never used their products or shopped their catalog…. so leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite product is…which product is a must in your kitchen…which is the greatest time saver?

I’ll be posting pictures after the party of how much fun we had…who was there…what we ate… all the details :)   Perhaps we’ll make internet history :)

We’ll eat, visit, talk, eat, laugh and really enjoy ourselves (did I mention that there would be lots of food?) …y’all come!!!

Last chance…

Posted by TNfarmgirl on 18 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized

Just a reminder…tonight at midnight the contest ends…..it is going to be so hard to pick a winner!

Later today….the invitation :)

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