Mason Made Roasted Onion & Garlic Cheese Balls

Kristy DeVaney from cavegrrl.com invited Mason to create something using cream cheese. Mason is not one to shy away from a challenge, especially when it involves Challenge cream cheese!

Mason created a cheese ball that when rolled in different coatings, adds variety to the flavor. Make them for your next party. Hey the big game is coming, February 7th, your guests will love this snack and it's not the same old thing.

If you are interested in Paleo and gluten free options, visit Cavegrrl.com and you will love what Kristy is doing with real food.

Mason Made Roasted Onion & Garlic Cheese Balls

2 pkg Challenge cream cheese

1 med yellow onion

1 sm red onion

1 lg head of garlic

6 sage leaves

2 springs of Rosemary

1 pkg chives

1C Italian blend grated cheese

1.5C fresh grated parmesan

1C chopped or sliced nuts (we used almonds)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Quarter the onions and top the head of garlic. Create a wrap around the garlic with foil so it sits up, it does not have to be closed up. Drizzle the onions and garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until soft. Set aside and let cool. Once cool, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their casings, Mason thought this was way fun how they pop right out.

Finely dice the chives and place them in a bowl, set aside. Dice the sage leaves and Rosemary. Once your roast onions and garlic are cool (don't have to be cold, just not hot), place them in the food processor and pulse until they are almost a paste consistency - not quite though. Add the cream cheese, Italian blend, 1/2C parmesan, sage and rosemary and process unit it is all completely mixed. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. You may need to scrape your food processor bowl and mix again to be sure you don't have cream cheese lumps. Turn the whole thing out on to a cookie sheet being sure to scrape all the cheesy goodness out of your processor.

Form the cheese into four logs or balls and roll in the chives. When you start to run out of the chives, add the other cup of parmesan and coat with that. Do the same with nuts if you want. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. 

Serve with a French baguette and crackers, it's delicious!

Mason also notes that if you have leftovers, it adds a delicious layer of flavor to casseroles or we added it to white chicken chili, it was so good!

And Then There is Nothing...

I have a million things daily that stimulate my thoughts and inspire me to write, so to resolve to write every day in 2016 seemed like a great way to get those ideas and questions out of my head and in print. So why the heck does my mind go completely blank when I make time to write? Is it because I have so many things I want to write about that I can't choose just one? Could it be that I've not organized properly and made a list of all my topics and I can't all the way remember them?

I don't know the answer to the question but I suspect I'm not alone. Tomorrow I will start a list in my Whimsy Log (yes, I have a paper Whimsy log!) so when I make time to write, I can pull out my list and pick a topic. Maybe this is part of the fear and paralysis that takes hold when we actually take action to do that thing we really want to do, but don't all the way think we can, or believe that we are not good enough. Hmmm, what do you do when it's time to start and you have nothing?

How Do We Keep the Spark in Marriage?

Dave and I have an amazing love story, well I think we do. I won Dave on the radio in 1996 and though it was not love at first sight, that first date was the beginning of our romance novel. We didn't date right away, in fact, it took us six years to finally admit what others could see so clearly, and he and I finally became we.

We love our story and I think that we talk about it often is part of what keeps our love alive - we always remember why we fell in love with each other. But there is more to it than just reminiscing, Dave and I intentionally hug each other every day and we pay attention to the times when it seems like it's been longer than usual that we've been intimate and both of us initiate a reconnection.

We get busy and when stress levels start to rise, it's tough to tune into your partner, relax and get into a sexy headspace. The problem is, the longer you go not tuning in to each other, the harder it is to reinvest in each other. For us, it's always okay to say, "I'm not up to it tonight" but we will likely follow up with a conversation that sets a mood for the next few days. A little flirting, some sexy texts, and some planning to make time with each other alway works.

Ultimately, we keep talking and touching. There is some effort that goes into keeping our love alive but it's not work, it's not that thing that you hear people say, "Marriage is work, you have to work at it." It's the kind of effort that you put into letting someone know you love them, you still find them attractive and sexy, and you still want them. Letting Dave know I love him and I love us is not work, I always want him to know how I feel, even if it takes a little more on my part, I will go the extra mile.

Why Don't You Start?

We've all said it, "Someday, I'll..." What? What is on your list of things that you will do someday? Mason often reminds me of the lofty goals I have in my life, things like take my family to Italy, or travel for 3 months around the US in an RV and when he does, I say, "Someday." He loves that because he knows he will get me when he replies, "Someday is today!" Yes, I say that all the time and now, so does he.

In reality, what I actually mean is someday is today, today is the day to set the wheels in motion to work toward that goal. Every small step adds up to getting you where you want to go. I proved this to Mason two years ago when we were watching a Travel Channel special on Disney Cruises and the construction of the new Disney Dream. Mason said, "Mom, you always say you want to take a Disney cruise, when do you want to go?" Without hesitation I replied, "Let's go next year for your birthday." He was pleasantly shocked and we immediately started looking at the different plans online. I called a Disney cruise specialist the next day and that phone call turned into several emails, some literature that came in the mail, and my first small payment on our cruise. In October 2014 we set sail to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream! A simple intention and the action following it with a phone call made that bucket list family vacation a reality.

What I'm really loving is watching Mason learn about the power of intention and how to set his to get what he wants. In 2013 Mason set his intention to be on the Food Network and this year, he competed on and won Chopped Junior! I look at him and I just imagine what my life would have turned out like if I had learned the power of visualization and intention at his age. Stay tuned, I see big things in his future and I suspect his Somedays will come sooner than most others Somedays.

What do you want to do, what is on your list to happen Someday? I bet there is something you can do right now that could set the wheels in motion to that someday coming sooner than you think. Go ahead, start.

Welcome 2016, Let's Write!

I always want to set goals for the new year, resolve to succeed and take as many actions as possible to help me get closer to achieving the long list of things on my "I Want To Do" list. I'm thinking a writing resolution; blogging, food, art, RiverLights Originals, my cookbook, our Chopped Junior experience, and who knows what else. All in all, 365 days of writing. 

Though I write diligently each week on my Monday Motivator blog, I want to write more and on a broader spectrum of topics. It would be fun if people read my musings, but that's not necessary, it's really more for me, and for Mason after I'm gone. Like so many other ideas I have, I will just start and see where it goes. 

I want this to be more personal and I want to be able to write about anything I'm feeling, thinking, creating, contemplating, or processing, I don't want to worry about what people think. If my post resonates with you, great, if it doesn't, that's okay too. I welcome stimulating conversation as long as it is respectful. We don't have to agree to get along and be kind to one another and ultimately, if you don't like what I'm posting, you don't have to travel this journey with me. That's the beauty of this life, for the most part, we can choose to participate or not. 

Happy New Year, let's make this one great!

A Little Snippet from the Intentional Winning Pilot

What is Intentional Winning in Life?

Because I know we have new friends joining us here in the Dream Machine, I periodically repost the explanation of Intentional Winning in Life. Read on and join us on Facebook, too! I have big plans for IWIL and would love nothing more than for you to have been with me since the beginning! 


Intentional Winning In Life - IWIL is the process of bringing your dreams to life right now by thinking about them differently.

So many of us had dreams when we were younger that for this reason or that, we let go of pursuing. Even as adults, things come up that seem exciting or worthwhile, but we believe we aren't qualified, don't have time to learn, don't have the money, or simply don't feel we can reach the goal. Whatever you think, you're right! So if you don't think you can do it, maybe you could think about it in a way that does seem doable to you. Just maybe, there is another way to bring that dream into reality.

Here's an example (reference the photo above): Let's say your dream is to go from San Francisco, CA to New York, NY. Most would agree that the fastest, most direct route would be to travel eastbound on highway 80 in one strait shot - the pink road. You'll see a little piece of green on the pink route which is a planned detour where there's a break in highway 80. As we do this, plug in life goals and normal activities that come along the way such as going away to college, getting married, having kids, changing jobs, etc. If you think about each of the events in your life that stop your progress to your dream destination, it's easy to see how we get stalled and eventually "settle down" in Anytown USA along the way. If you look closely at a United States map, you will see that there are hundreds of other roads to get you to New York from San Francisco - the orange roads. Will it take longer? Yes. Will it cost more? Possibly. Will the journey be full of surprises? Absolutely! When you realize that all those other roads can get you where you want to go, you can see that not only can you make your dream come true, but you may also find other things that make you happy and bring you joy along the way.

I'm going to define IWIL a whole lot more as we continue through this year. I'm also going to show you many things you can do to restart the engine on your dream and start feeling it's joy this very minute! Let's get this show on the road and start discovering what the orange roads have to offer.