This is a wonderful recipe for an impressive looking cake! I have used candy bars with and without nuts as well as adding my own chopped pecans to the icing spread and sprinkling on top of the cake. 
Chocolate Candy Bar Cake
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c powdered sugar
1/2 c sugar
10 (1.5 oz) milk chocolate candy bars with nuts
1 (12oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Prepare came mix according to directions. Pour into 3 greased 8″ round pans.
Bake at 325F for 20-25 min. or until a fork comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 10 min. Remove from pans and cool completely.
Icing
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and sugar at medium speed with mixer until creamy.
Chop 8 candy bars finely. Fold cream cheese mixture and chopped candy into whipped topping.
Spread icing between layers and on top and sides. Chop remaining 2 candy bars and sprinkle half over the top and press the remainder into the sides of the cake.
In Garden Time!, last week, planning your garden location was determined to be one of the first steps to planning. This week I will continue with other factors to consider in the planning process.
When planning your garden, one question is whether to buy seeds or plants. There are many vegetables which are easily started by sowing seeds directly into your garden soil: squash, (summer, zuccnini,) pumpkin (also a squash), beans, corn, peas, cucumbers, watermelon, cantelopes…
Others however, must be started indoors from seed and transplanted. They are transplanted, or replanted to your garden once the weather and soil warms and there is no danger from frost. Tomatoes are a good example of these, along with eggplant and peppers (bell, jalapeno). To have plants which are large enough to transplant, you must start early. Usually seeds must be started 8 weeks before the projected time comes to transplant. In addition to time, indoor space must also be available. Seeds are definitely less expensive than buying plants but also require more planning.
Logically, the next decion is where to purchase the seeds or plants. Local stores often carry both seeds and plants. Whether a local feed store or WalMart, buying locally is, many times, more convenient. Another option is to order from a seed company. I have used Territorial Seed Company and have been very pleased. Advantages of seed companies over local retailers include:
- A narrow line of products all related to the gardening field which may translate into better quality.
- Valuable customer service to answer questions and help in the decision making process.
I will be doing a combination in our garden this year. A friend very generously gave us a greenhouse, so I now have room to start my own seeds! Since the greenhouse will not be heated, I will be starting the seeds inside our house and then moving them to grow and get sunshine to the greenhouse. I will be posting pictures of the greenhouse in the next few days and hopefully, you will be able to see the progress of its building. For now, it is in pieces waiting to be assembled.
Further Reading about Gardening: Garden Time: Part 1, Garden Time! Part 3, Gardening With Children, Gardening From Seeds.
Photocredit: Bing Images
This Giveaway is Now Closed! Thank you all for participating.
Congratulations #151 Teresa!
Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil is produced in the Philippines by small scale, family businesses. They use only the highest quality, hand selected, organic coconuts for their Gold Label brand. To earn the designation as the Gold Label Standard , the product is tested to show that it contains the highest amounts of antioxidants available in Virgin Coconut Oil. In addition to high levels of antioxidants, it also contains lauric acid which is found in mother’s milk.
Uses for coconut oil include:
- Cooking – Coconut oil is an all purpose oil. Great for everything from frying to replacing butter in your everyday cooking. It is a choice oil because of its high antioxidant content. Need recipes? Tropical Traditions has plenty of great sounding free coconut recipes!
- Hair Treatment – Coconut oil is able to penetrate the hair shaft thus reducing protein loss in damaged, as well as, undamaged hair. It can be used for dry scalp and as a conditioner.
- Skin Care – With its high levels of antioxidants, virgin coconut oil is a choice base oil for skin care products. Whether it is moisturizers, soaps or deodorants, all of Tropical Traditions products show higher levels of antioxidants than others.
Upon delivery, my jar had solidified! I found out that this is characteristic of coconut oil when stored below 76F. This was easy to remedy – I simply placed the jar in warm water to re-liquify. After opening, it is unnecessary to refrigerate coconut oil.
I had never used coconut oil before so it has been fun experimenting! While trying it successfully in several recipes, one of our favorite items to use it in has become pancakes. It gives a wonderful hint of coconut flavor. The oil itself has such a smooth coconut flavor – it really reminds you of the tropics!
You May Purchase It! You may purchase direct from TropicalTraditions.com. They have coconut oil products which include: Gold Label Standard Coconut Oil, skin care, hair care, household goods, pet products, recipes and books.
You May Win It! I am pleased to offer one Dimes2Vines readers a 32 oz jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Standard Coconut Oil. This giveaway will end on March 20, 2010 at 11:59pm CST and is open to all US residents. The winner will be posted here and notified by email. Please be sure to leave contact information.
***Please remember to leave a comment for each of the following entries.
***If you already follow Dimes2Vines via RSS, Email, Twitter and/or Facebook - Leave a comment letting me know as your entry.
To Enter: Visit Tropical Traditions’ Free Coconut Recipe website and leave a comment telling me which recipe is your favorite. This is the first and mandatory entry.
Extra Entries:
** Subscribe to Tropical Traditions free email Sales Newsletter.
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The prize will be shipped direct from the sponsor of the giveaway. Dimes2Vines is not responsible for shipping or lost/damaged prizes.
Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review and I was under no obligation to review it. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
Homemade laundry detergent? I haven’t made any in about 8 months now. I haven’t needed to! Thanks to the combination of coupons and a sale, I had stockpiled. But, with a large family, it can’t be helped; it was all used up.
So, I made more homemade laundry detergent. I actually had forgotten how quick and easy it is to make. And, oh yes, it cleans clothes wonderfully. The problem now is, everyone is accustomed to filling the bottle top, used to measure the liquid detergent, half-full. But, with the homemade laundry detergent it really only takes 2 tablespoons of the powder! So, I used a marker to mark a fill line on the scoop. It makes it easier on the children, and me!
You can see the yellow shreds of bar soap. I used Dial for this recipe but have also used Safeguard – whatever soap I have gotten a “deal” on, is what I use. I really think any soap would work. It is a great inexpensive way to get scent-free detergent; just use scent-free soap.
If you are looking for an inexpensive alternative to laundry detergent, give this homemade laundry detergent recipe a try.
Bonus swagbucks!
Today is the last chance to sign up for Swagbucks and receive the 60 Bonus Swagbucks!
In honor of their second birthday, I have been thrilled to offer my readers who have not signed up yet for Swagbucks, a special code which will give 60 Bonus Swagbucks! It is case sensitive and good from Thurs. Feb. 25, 2010 at 6 am PST until Thurs. March 4, 2010 at 6 am PST. So hurry, today is the last day!
The code is: DIMES2VINES
If you don’t know yet, Swagbucks is a totally free search engine that awards “bucks” randomly. These bucks can then be redeemed at the Swagstore for great prizes including electronics, gift cards, apparel – the list goes on! My personal favorite is the $5 Amazon Gift Card. I think it gives the most bang for the buck!
The celebration also includes:
- The launching of Swagbucks.com 3.0 with special features and tons of Swagcode giveaways through their blog, twitter, and facebook.
- Earn swagbucks by viewing their special “No Obligation” offers.
- Earn swagbucks by downloading the toolbar and being logged in through the toolbar. Downloading is easy to do and I find that having the toolbar at my fingertips, makes searching with Swagbucks even easier and more convenient.
- Launch of the Swagstore Portal: Previously they had a dozen on-going sweepstakes (called Swagstakes) at any given time. Now with the lauch of 3.0 there willl be dozens of Swagstakes running at all times! Tentative items offered include: $100 Amazon Gift Cards, Sony 25″ TV, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPod Touch, Rachel Ray 10pc Cookware set and much more!
Head on over to Swagbucks and join in the celebration, download the toolbar and start winning!
As you can see, we have sold our boat! A couple of weeks ago, I posted How to Avoid Scams and using common sense when dealing with people who are selling items. A young couple drove all the way from Abilene which is about 3 hours away. We convinced her to wait for the title and when it, came they they drove up. They were so excited as this is there first boat ever.
While it was sad to see it go because of all the fun, family-time memories, it was also wonderful to sell it! A friend said,
“The second happiest day of your life is when you buy a boat. The happiest day of your life is when you sell it!
With spring around the corner, it is time to begin thinking about your vagetable garden. Are you ready?
Until we moved to Texas, I had never been fond of gardening. Whether it was lack of need, lack of experience or lack of success, I am not sure, maybe a combination. But, with our lifestyle change from the corporate world to farm life came a new love for gardening. The first year here in west Texas, our garden did well, yielding enough produce to eat, as well as, some to freeze. Last year, with greater forethought and planning, it was a huge success. The Lord blessed our garden produce so that we were able to fill three chest freezers!
Planning a garden takes a little more time, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting a series on planning your garden and hopefully give you ideas which will lead to a successful one.
One of the first considerations should be the location of the garden. The location should be easily accessible, have good soil and water access. Once the location is determined you will have a better idea of how large a space is available for planting. The size will determine what and how much of each vegetable will be planted. Thankfully, we had a large space available so we planted a large amount in a wide variety of vegetables. If you do not have the luxury of a large space, think about what your family enjoys eating.
Investigate the different types of gardens. The traditional gardening method is a grouping of like plants together in a specified area. Most of us choose this method for convenience and ease. Container gardening makes use of containers or pots to grow plants in. This is especially good for city and apartment dwellers. Raised bed gardening has gained popularity in the past as an answer to minimal space availability and as a way to have total control over the soil. Raised beds are built and filled with a mix of soil including compost and manure. They drain well and are especially good for the elderly and disabled as they can sit comfortably while gardening. Hydroponic gardening is another technique used to grow a wide variety of plants. In hydroponic gardening the nutrients are in the water fed to the plants rather than primarily in the soil. There are several different watering systems available for this type of gardening.
There is nothing like eating fresh vegetables from your own garden. If you are new to gardening there are many resources available to help you get started. In addition to books on the subject, do not overlook the people around you. Ask questions, get advise and get started!
Further reading about garden planning: Garden Time! Part 2, Garden Time! Part 3, Gardening With Children
Photo credit: Bing Images
I am privileged to be featured at Midday Escapades! Dimes2Vines: Meet and Greet Mondays!
If you have not stopped by Lynn’s blog, Midday Escapades, be sure to head over there! She is full of encouraging posts, reviews and great giveaways. Every Monday she features a different blogger and interviews them. It is a great way to get to find out about new blogs and the creator behind them.
Lynn has been so patient with all by “blogging” questions and has become a great bloggy friend – Thanks Lynn!
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Grab My Dime! 
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About Me 
God has amazingly blessed me, Dina-Marie, with a wonderful husband and 10 beautiful children. Moving from our "secure" life in Alabama to the "exciting" life of starting a vineyard in west Texas has been challenging to say the least. I have had the opportunity to take a crash course in frugal living and become a real farm girl - complete with milk cow and chickens. I have learned the importance of health from the inside out, "traditional" cooking and cod liver oil!
I hope to encourage you to make the most of where you are and what you have. |
