Paleo Hummus Recipe from E-Meals

E-Meals has been an amazing sponsor on The Nest Effect for the last year. Here's another great recipe to share.

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped 
• ½ cup tahini 
• ⅓ cup lemon juice 
• ⅓ cup olive oil 
• 3 garlic cloves 
• 1½ teaspoons cumin 
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions 

1. Combine all ingredients in the base of a food processor, and process until smooth. 
2. Serve with crisp raw veggies, such as carrots, celery sticks, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, or cucumber slices, for dipping.

Apple Cranberry Pie Recipe from E-Meals

E-Meals has been an amazing sponsor on The Nest Effect for the last year. They have sent me a few recipes to share with you. I think this recipe for Apple Cranberry Pie sounds amazing.

Ingredients

• 2 refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box 
• 1 ½ cups sugar 
• ⅓ cup flour 
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese 
• 3 cups peeled, diced apple 
• 3 cups fresh cranberries (or frozen, thawed) 
• Vanilla ice cream 

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. Press one pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. 
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 
4. Add cheese, apples, and cranberries, and toss to combine. 
5. Pour into crust-lined pie plate. 
6. Top pie with second crust, pressing together edges of crusts to seal, and flute if desired. 
7. Cut several slits in the top crust. 
8. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. 
9. * If the crust starts to get too brown before the apples are tender, use strips of aluminum foil to cover edges of crust. Remove from oven and cool 20-30 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Let's Do This!

CREDITS: Background - JW Illustrations; Frame - Graphics from the Pond; Font - Kimberly Geswin

It Has Arrived... The Surface

Maybe you've heard, maybe not.

I was asked to blog for Microsoft as a Windows Champion for the next year for the Windows 8 launch. How could I resist? After all, I am truly a PC to the core. {I only have an iPad because my school gave each teacher one to use in the classroom}. I'm loyal to all things Microsoft and Android, naturally. =]

I was sent a Microsoft Surface PC/tablet to test out Windows 8. I received it on Wednesday, and I'm absolutely loving it. My students were amazed by it yesterday at school. They've all seen the commercials on TV and were so excited that they were seeing it in person. It was so funny.

More to come on my new toy! I can tell already this is going to make creating printables so much easier via touch!

More information {provided by Microsoft} on the Surface:

Surface with Windows RT has a widescreen HD display that provides a larger view of your TV shows and movies. It feels great in your hands and when you want to put it down, Surface’s integrated kickstand is there when you need it, and disappears and doesn’t get in the way when you don’t. When you want to get something done, simply click in either Touch Cover—a unique and innovative pressure-sensitive keyboard that’s 3mm thin and doubles as a cover that protects your screen, and is available in a variety of colors so people can express their personal style— or Type Cover, which adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel that’s only 2mm more. Surface also comes with a full-size USB, enabling connectivity with literally hundreds of millions of devices, as well as a microSD card slot for adding almost limitless storage.
Price: Starting at $499.00

And if you're looking to upgrade, Windows 8 is also currently available via electronic download for $39.99 on windows.com!

For more Windows 8 info from Microsoft, check out the Windows Experience Blog.

I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.

Neighbor Christmas Gift Idea: Brownie Mix & Plate {Free Printable}

As requested by some readers, I've changed the wording on yesterday's cookie mix gift tags to brownie mix.