Awesome Ghirardelli Chocolate Bundt Cakes Old-Fashioned Homemade

Ghirardellhi Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake by AllRecipes made our night! This was 
PERFECT for our weekend! It was so simple and a small bundt so we had our treat 
and then it was gone.G.O.N.E.  Gone because it was amazing and because it is a 
smaller cake. Check it out. If you want a regular size Bundt Cake, double this 
recipe and you are set! Get ready for tasty cake.

  

         1 cup all purpose flour 
         1 cup sugar, plus 2 Tablespoons sugar 
         1/2 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
         1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
         1/4 teaspoon salt 
         6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft, not melted
         2 tablespoons flavorless vegetable oil (such as canola or safflower)
         2 large eggs 
         1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
         1/2 cup cold water 
         1/2 cup Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips 

         *optional: powdered sugar to sprinkle 

Bake at 325 degrees. I just blended the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then added in the wet ingredients one at a time. Blend evenly and smoothly with each addition. Then stir in chocolate chips. Pour evenly into a greased Bundt Pan and bake. Cool and sprinkle with Confectioners Sugar. Enjoy!

This is how we enjoy our Bundt Cakes. This one was very smooth and the rating was easy! And Chocolaty which is a win for us!

Here are some other awesome sounding Bundt Cakes!


Andes Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake by Real Life Dinner is something my niece and I have to check out. I didn't know there was a thing. Given our obsession with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, I have a feeling this will be a win-win for us.

Andes Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake

Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Elizabeth's Edible Expert is the cake I grew up eating. A classic, Southern Pound Cake. I am not posting my family recipe here. However, ours looks like this. It's a moist and tasty pound cake. No bowl of icing on top, no candy bars added, no sprinkles on top. Truly, this is a family favorite. We usually add fresh fruit and homemade whip cream. Delicious.

Cream Cheese Pound Bundt Cake

What is your favorite Cake?!

Warmly,
CarolinaMama

AT&T GoPhone Partnership Opportunity and NC State Fair Tickets GIVEAWAY

FTC DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored. All products mentioned and reviewed on this page are compliments of AT&T. All opinions of the products are my own.

Fall in North Carolina means one thing, it's North Carolina State Fair time!  We love our Fair the livestock, the working water wheel with homemade NC Hush Puppies, the Competitions, from Essays, to the best Homemade goods, to Knitting and more.  Of course there is more, the food and the rides! What will we Fry this year!

This year, I am so excited to partner with the AT&T GoPhone Freedom Network!  AT&T has been our preferred carrier for a long time - Go GoPhone!  At Carolina Mama, we are test driving the GoPhone 4G LTE most reliable network!

Have you tried a GoPhone? We LOVE it!  GoPhone is a prepaid service where you can choose the amount of money, minutes, and data you use each month. I will be sharing with on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #GoPhone. Please join us!  And the GoPhone Freedom Team is making its way to the North Carolina State Fair October 16-26th!

Enter to Win (2) Tickets to the N.C. State Fair! 

1) Tweet AT&T GoPhone with the hashtag #GoPhone;
2) Leave a comment below state if you have tried GoPhone and will you? :)
3) Tweet the Link to this Giveaway with #GoPhone
4) Share it on your Facebook page;
5) Post a pic on Instagram and has tag it with #GoPhone

Contest closes Tuesday, September 23rd at 1pm EST. Leave a comment below with each step you completed to use as an entry. 

Remember to check out the GoPhone Freedom Team Touring at the NC State Fair!

The GoPhone Freedom Tour team will be at the North Carolina State Fair from October 16 – 26, 2014. The team will be offering one-on-one introductions to GoPhone and live hands-on demonstrations of the latest smartphone devices on the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network. Guests can visit the GoPhone 4G LTE Fast Grab Booth for a chance to win a GoPhone prize pack and be entered for a chance to win a brand new device!

Warmly, Carolina Mama

FTC DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored. All products mentioned and reviewed on this page are compliments of AT&T. All opinions of the products are my own.

Gluten-Free Southern Buttermilk OvenFried Chicken

Growing up Southern, my mother used to make us, homemade, fried chicken for Sunday Dinners! It was quite a laborious and delicious task! We loved her real food, real Fried Chicken. Meander into the 21st century and we don't fry with grease. So, I figured out a way to make the best of the Buttermilk Oven-Fried Chicken and put my Gluten Free spin on it and even a great short cut to bring you this delicacy....

Southern Gluten-Free Buttermilk OvenFried Chicken

                     

Forgive me, I have abandoned the whole chicken for this simple recipe. You'll be happy about this, trust me.  So, really this should be titled the Southern Gluten-Free Buttermilk Fried Chicken Nuggets! :)  You know, similar to Southern icon, Mrs. Kay from Duck Dynasty and her Buttermilk Frog Legs. 

For today, let's just make this Southern Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken. :) 

Here we go: 

1 1/2 .lbs Chicken Breasts - boneless skinless and sliced into desired nugget size, or not

1 c. Buttermilk 

2 T. Crystal Hot Sauce from New Orleans :)              

1 t. black pepper

1 t. white pepper

1/2 t. cayenne pepper (if you are me, more! :)

4 garlic cloves mashed 

1 1/2 cups Almond meal (100% almond "flour)

2 T. Butter (whole, real and salted)

2 T. canola oil

Salt and Pepper 

This is Crystal Hot Sauce
from New Orleans

Preheat oven to 425 degrees when ready to Bake the Chicken. 

First, place chicken breasts in pyrex; in a small bowl mix the buttermilk, Crystal hot sauce, black, white and cayenne peppers, and garlic. Stir to mix. Then pour over the chicken breasts in the pyrex; cover and place in the refrigerator; let marinate over night or at least a few hours. 

Next, place the 2 T. of canola oil in ANOTHER 9x13 pyrex and let it cover the bottom of pan. Then, take tongs and, one at a time, dredge the chicken in the almond meal in a small bowl. Cover the chicken breast with the almond meal. Then, place in the pyrex with canola oil in the bottom. (I found this system worked well for me even though it involved two dishes. Someone may want to use the same pyrex dish.)

After all chicken nuggets are coated in almond meal and placed in the pyrex, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Also, drizzle melted butter, a little on each slice. 

Mine look like this going INTO the oven/UNcooked. 

Bake in Oven uncovered for 35 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, bake until golden brown and cooked throughout like mine pictured here. 

                      

This is a new family favorite! And we don't miss out on fried chicken. We also do not have to compromise for over greasy and over cooked processed fried chicken you buy out. 

Let me know if you try the recipe. We LOVE it! Cheers! 

Warmly, 

Carolina Mama 

Target and TOMS for the Holidays

Typically, I do not talk about Christmas in September. I am happy to savor the final days of Summer. Enjoy the sunshine, catch another wave, feel the sand between my toes, make Blueberry Ice Cream, watch another sunset on fire over the lake....

This year is different, two of my favorite brands announced some incredible and Giving News! Yes, isn't that what Christmas is all about - Giving. Afterall, Jesus gave His all for us and we celebrate his Birth, Christmas in honor.

So, when Target and TOMS broke their news, yes, Facebook ad gone right!, I wanted help spread the excitment, the goodness. The Giving.

Here Target will donate blanket, meals and shoes for each purchase made.  That's giving. So purchase this cool shirt and it feeds or clothes someone.

Go ahead and gift these fun and classic TOMS and help someone else through Target, TOMS and 

the American Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Relief. 

That's something - now you get to share the good news of the Holidays with others!  Thanks TOMS and Target for sharing Christmas and the Holiday Spirit with others!  Really, we're all partnering together on this one... right?! Guess it will be time to TOMS Target shop in November! :)

Warmly, Carolina Mama

Character Health LIVE Media and Twitter Party Giveaway

This year I have loved working with Character Health!  

The Character Health Mission is: 

Our mission is to transform the American culture 

by equipping parents to train a new

 generation of courageous, Christ-like, character-healthy leaders.

This week Join Steve and Megan Scheibner as Steve appears LIVE 9/11 5pm EST on the Glenn Beck 

Program talking about his 9/11 Story, In My Seat. 

Steve and Megan join Dr. James Dobson of Family Talk for two days of 

conversation on 9/11 and 9/12 at DrJamesDobson.org. 

Character Health will host a Twitter Party for their media events on Wednesday, 9/10 at 8pm EST.  Come join the party and enter to Win a Giveaway at the twitter party. Follow @CharacterHealth on Twitter.

You can Sign Up for the Character Health FREE emails and receive their FREE Ebook here.  You'll love the Character Quality emails.

Warmly, Carolina Mama

FTC Disclosure: Joyfully, I work with Character Health. All opinions are my own. 

Precious Moments with Buckle Up For Life Twitter Party Tonight, Car Seat GIVEAWAY

When our Twins were smaller, we have fabulous car seats that were 5 point harnesses and we kept the boys in them until they were well beyond the legal requirement.  We wanted our boys safe as possible.  One of the Precious Moments of my Parenting came when we were leaving town on a road trip and we were all set: bags packed, gasoline filled up, GPS, and we were off.  

This precious moment includes our young babe crying...I was in the passengers seat and I tried to talk to our son. I tried to give him water, a toy, etc. I was hoping to keep our son calm while my husband drove.  My son began to cry louder, I reached back to hand him his blankie, hold his hand....nothing was working. 

My husband pulled the car over safely and put on the hazards opened the door to talk to our son and see what was making him uncomfortable. He was pulling on his car seat. His harness was not completely snapped and HE KNEW IT!  That moment will always remind me of each precious moment we have. It also reminds me to be safe!  Buckle UP and double check yourself. Right! My son knew that secure feeling of his 5 point harness car seat buckling him up. 

This evening I am excited to be helping Host a Twitter Party with Buckle Up For Life and Traveling Mom, also SheBuysCars.com.  We will be sharing all things Precious Moments in the Car with our children!  So you will get to hear more fun stories of Precious Moments with our children. :) How fun is that. We hope you will join us! 

Please join us for this fun Twitter Party TONIGHT, Monday, September 8, 2014 at 9:00 pm EST.  And at the Twitter Party, Buckle Up for Life is GIVING AWAY (4) Car Seats during the hour long Twitter Party! Hope you Win! :) 

"Buckle Up for Life is not just a partnership between Toyota and one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals. It is also a program that is bringing many of the leading children’s hospitals across the U.S. together. That’s how important the cause of child passenger safety is and why we are so grateful to have the opportunity to make the program better each year by adding new hospitals to our growing list of distinguished partners. "

In addition to the Twitter Party tonight, we are having a Google Hangout with Buckle Up For Life Google Hangout on Wednesday Sept. 10th, 12 Noon-2PM, Toyota, SheBuysCars and TravelingMom. This should be fun and I hope you can join us then as well.  you can check out your local Hospitals that Partner with Buckle Up for Life here. 

At the Buckle Up for Life Google Hangout on Wednesday, the first (20) Hangout Attendees who ask a question will win a Car Seat! Join in for the car seats (20) Giveaways! There will be experts answering questions about car seat safety. You can Tweet your Questions with the hashtag #BuckleUpForLife or submit them in the Google Hangout forum. 

So, join us tonight, September 8th from 9:00 pm - 10:00pm for a great Precious Moments Twitter Party with Car Seats (4) Giveaway! We'll talk about Safety in the Google Hangout on Wednesday, September 10th from Noon-2pm EST. Experts will answer your safety questions. 

Enter the CarolinaMama Car Seat Giveaway NOW: 

1) Leave a Precious Moments Comment below; just share your child's precious moment in the car;

2) Tweet that you hope to win the @CarolinaMama Giveaway with #BuckleUpForLife; and

3) Share this Giveaway on your Facebook Page.

*Enter Once For Each of the (3) steps. Good Luck! Contest closes at 10pm EST September 18th. 

Thanks for joining us and I hope to see you at the Twitter Party tonight and on the Google Hangout on Wednesday, links above in this post. Cheers to Precious Moments with our Children. 

Warmly, Carolina Mama

FTC Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by Traveling mom, Buckle up for Life and She buys Cars. All opinions are my own. 

Rayovac Power Boost 800 Emergency iPhone Charge

As a social media mom who loves her technology, I have been through all of the not so great phone chargers. Now, Rayovac has brought to us the NEW Rayovac Portable iPhone Boost 800 Charger for Apple! LOVE it!



It charges up to 150 minutes of Talk Time per Charge!  Check it out!





                          



We love the LED lighting and the simple USB availability!  Charge it on your computer or any USB outlet, in your car, at Starbucks at home. The possibilities are endless to stay charged and,  get this,

it carries the charge for 6 months!  That's awesome!



I love that I can power up before a trip and have that back up power!  It is sleek and simple



Look at the price tag: a very reasonable $29.99.

Here it is your Phone Boost800 for Emergency Charges for your iPhone. They also have 

Androids for those of you.... :)  See, Rayovac makes everyone happy! 

The features are incredible for staying charged. "Freedom to be without cords OR outlets!"



Check out all the official goodness:

• 800mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable mobile device charger

• Charger holds enough power to recharge your mobile phone for 150 minutes of talk time*

• Recharge the Phone Boost power pack 500+ times by using a USB charger

• Holds charge up to 6 months

• Integrated USB and Micro USB device connectors with protective caps

• Compatible with Micro USB devices (cell/smart phones, digital cameras, portable gaming devices, MP3 players, and more)

• 4 LED battery gauge indicators show charge and discharge status

• Keychain attached for convenience and portability

• Instant power once your device is plugged in

• Push button switch turns charger on – if inactive for 30 seconds, charger will automatically turn off to save battery power

• Limited product warranty

My personal favorite is that it is sleek to fit in your PURSE. That's fashionable!  And Functional!

Follow Rayovac on Facebook and Rayovac on Twitter to see the latest technology products and to get valuable coupons.



Thank you Rayovac for keeping the very best coming our way!



Warmly, Carolina Mama





FTC Disclosure:  I am a Rayovac Power Blogger. This post is sponsored by Rayovac and all opinions are my own.