Slow Cooker/Crock Pot Week on Anyonita Nibbles

It's officially Fall! In our house, Autumn is when the slow cooker starts earning its keep. It gets used 2 or 3 times a week during the colder months because warming comfort food is what everybody craves this time of year. {It might also be because in Fall and Winter, my kitchen feels like an iceberg!}

How to Preserve Fruit for Winter without Canning

As summer winds down, it's time to take advantage of seasonal fruit and stockpile for the winter! Check out these failproof tips for enjoying summer fruit year round.

Makes as much fruit as you have space for

There's not much better in the world than a juicy, ripe piece of fruit. During the summer months, I engorge myself with fresh summer fruit: plump strawberries, luscious mango, tart raspberries and sinisterly sweet blackberries. As winter approaches and the vibrant displays fade from the markets, I begin to crave the burst of juicy sunshine of a fresh summer berry.

One of the most common ways to preserve fruit is to can it, but this isn't a method I find very fun. The thought of sterilizing jars is pretty unappealing. Plus, in my compact kitchen with only 6 cupboards (5 accessible at all times)  and 5 drawers, space is a valuable commodity. Taking into account my disdain for the multi-level process of canning, the lack of storage and my general impatience and affinity for ease over fuss, I'm a fruit freezer. All the way.

How to Autoschedule Your Pins on Pinterest + Free Autumn Printable

How to Autoschedule Your Pins on Pinterest

Written by: Anyonita Green on 9/19/2103

Welcome to the Blogging Crash Course! 

Helping you grow your blog into the powerhouse you know it can be!

Ever since Pinterest became a key marketing tool for companies and bloggers, people have been yearning for a way to schedule pins to post automatically. 

Scheduled status updates on Facebook, and tweets on Twitter allow bloggers a bit of space to breathe without losing the momentum they've built up on social media sites. 

As much as we love blogging and social media, we can't devote 100% of our time to it. Many of us have day jobs, mouths to feed and other hobbies to tend to. The masses have spoken repeatedly, "Give us a way to autoschedule our pins!" and one company, Pinwoot, has come to the rescue! But is autoscheduling pins everything it seems? In this tutorial, I'll show you how to autoschedule your pins in 7 steps as well as look at the pros and cons of Pinwoot.

Update: This freebie is no longer available for download. 

But before we get to autoscheduling your pins, I have a free printable for you, just in time for Fall! 

Want that snazzy printable? Download it now! Print it & frame it!

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Gluten Free Autumn-Spiced Apple Crisps and 100 Fantastic Fall Recipes

Celebrate delicious in-season apples with this easy apple crisps recipe and discover 100 fantastic Fall recipes!

Makes about 3 cups of apple crisps

As soon as the weather turns chilly, I start to get into apple mode. These apple crisps are the perfect cure for my autumnal apple cravings, too! Sprinkle them with as little or as much spices as you'd like. Use any variety of apple, too. Because they're baked slowly at a low temperature, you won't have to worry about them breaking down.

I love apples, but I have strict rules about them: I can't stand red apples! I'll eat any variety of green or yellow apple and I'll happily munch away on a Pink Lady or Gala, but give me a Macintosh or other red apple and it's all over. So for this recipe, I used Golden Delicious, but feel free to use your favorite variety. I didn't add any sugar because my apples were sweet enough. If yours are a little tart, add some sugar to the cinnamon before sprinkling it over.

While you're here, don't forget to check out the roundup of 100 Fantastic Fall Recipes! If you're looking for unique and tasty recipes, then look no further! We've done away with all the variations on apple pie and apple crumble and apple crisp. Instead, you'll find decadent sweet potato shepherd's pie, filling pumpkin and black bean chili--two versions! There's delicious desserts with a Fall feel: blondies, cheesecake and choux pastry. Wash it all down with a cheeky autumnal cocktail or two!

Tasty Tuesays #28 + Call for Slowcooker/Crock Pot Recipes

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

This link party is all about sharing recipes! Joining in is easy; just click "You are Next" and copy/paste the URL of a previously unlinked blog post's URL. Choose a flattering photo to upload and then click some of the other great posts in the party and meet new bloggers!

Why should you link up to Tasty Tuesdays?

Linking up to parties and leaving comments on other posts is a proven way to increase traffic to your blog and grow your blog's followers!

All Tasty Tuesdays participants get guaranteed Pinterest exposure!
We pin every post you share because this party is about everyone getting exposure for their blog! Due to Google's algorithm changes regarding comment spam, I have had to adjust my commenting style and as of Tasty Tuesdays #19, I will no longer be leaving comments on every post. Instead, I will now share three different links each day the party is live on various social media sites. I will also still continue to pin every link that complies with the rules of the party. Be sure to follow our Tasty Tuesdays board on Pinterest!

Rug Doctor Review

Rug Doctor Review

Life with a toddler is messy. Our sofa and carpet felt the brunt of daily life with spilled cups of juice and pots of yogurt, not to mention the ready transmission (sometimes projectile!) of bodily fluids. I used carpet cleaners and stain removers and thought I was getting rid of the muck and grime. Until I used a Rug Doctor. 

I have a confession to make. The upholstery on the sofa in our lounge is was hideous. Stained rings from spilled juice boxes, yogurt pots and soda cans decorated the fabric and it resembled a patchwork of muck. Reminders of family life? Perhaps. Filthy? Definitely.

Such was the state of our sofa that it was hidden away beneath sheet slipcovers or blankets.  I had been hankering for my husband to rent a Rug Doctor for ages. Every time we passed  by one in the shops, I'd point to it and drop hints that our filthy couch needed a deep clean. He'd shrug off my prying, not fully grasping what I wanted. But after seeing our carpet and sofa 10 shades lighter, we've agreed to make Rug Doctoring a regular part of our cleaning regime.

Gluten Free Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Sweet potatoes and tender turkey mince replace the classic ingredients in this comforting autumnal pie!

Feeds 2 adults; 1 toddler with leftovers

As autumn begins to make her presence known, I've been meal planing warming and heart family recipes. Food with roughage that sticks to your ribs and keeps you warm. Like this Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie. I love the sweetness of this pie found in the frozen corn and the potato. It's like a big, aesthetically pleasing and tummy-filling hug.

The best things about this recipe are that it is a cinch to prepare. It's ready in 30 minutes or less. Callum absolutely devoured it. The Emmental or Swiss cheese adds a perfect element of nuttiness to the dish and it's packed with veggies and lean ground turkey mince.

It's very forgiving and versatile, too, so feel free to swap out any ingredient or half or double any quantity. I must be honest with you, the only thing I measured before making this was the sweet potato. That's because I had to ask for the husband to pick up a specific amount on his way home! All other measurements have been added at the time of typing this up and are what I feel I would have used. By all means, explore and play and make it to your family tastes.

#GetHimFed 9

Welcome to #GetHimFed with Jess from Hungry Harps and me! :)

We have all heard the saying, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” It’s true – and any good woman knows it! Not only do men love to satisfy their hunger with something delightful on the palate, they are also in love with the fact that their meals are made, with love, by the women in their life. Sometimes they are even eager to please back after tasting a recipe that was whipped up for them – and those are the ones we are looking for at #GetHimFed!

Mindi's Gluten & Ghee Free Punjabi Snack Pots Review

Mindi's Gluten & Ghee Free Punjabi Snack Pots Review

Members of the UK public, Mindi's snack pots are going to revolutionize your lunch. These microwavable curry lunches or snacks come in a range of tantalizing flavors and strengths of spice.

I love Indian food. It perfectly combines vibrant spice with bold flavors and I am a huge fan. So, when I was approached about reviewing these new snack pots, I jumped at the chance!

DIY Stunning Titled Photos Walkthrough Tutorial

DIY Stunning Titled Photos Walkthorugh Tutorial

Written by: Anyonita Green on 9/12/2103

Welcome to the Blogging Crash Course! 

Helping you grow your blog into the powerhouse you know it can be!

Last week in the Blogging Crash Course, I shared 5 easy steps for getting stunning titles on your photos. We looked at the benefit of thinking about your titles when you're taking your photos as well as the type of wordage to use. If you haven't read that post, I'd suggest you start there an then come back here, as you might find it helpful. 

More and more bloggers, especially food bloggers are finding their photos circulating on Facebook with their blog name cropped out and with their recipe pasted in full in the image's description. This type of web plagiarism is prevalent, unfortunately. Jamie has an amazing tutorial on her blog about why it's so important that this doesn't happen because it prevents people from visiting our blogs to get recipes! Why would anyone come to my blog for the recipe they've just got off of Facebook? 

This habit of users stealing photos and cropping out the owners name or the blog title makes ensuring you title your photos properly even more important. Your hard work is at stake!  As I discussed in my post Why, When & How to Watermark Blog Photos, when done properly watermarking can also enhance your posts. Plus, it grants you valuable opportunity on sites like Twitter and Pinterest where users have short attention spans (limited number of characters in tweets and the sheer volume and speed at which people pin reflect this).

Let's jump right in! We're going to do this bit together! I'd suggest you follow each step with me and try to mimic what I do to get a feel for how the programs I'll be using work or to get a better understanding of them. Alternatively, just read through the post and get some pointers. Here we go!

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