Bethlehem, GA

Photos ©2009 Anne Rains Photography, All Rights Reserved.

If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today! 404.357.2231

Gooey. Creamy. Tasty. Easy. Those are the words I would use to describe this banana pudding recipe! It's so simple to make yet so delicious that you better watch out or you may eat the whole thing! The great thing about this recipe is that it makes a huge amount. It serves at least 12 people so it's great to take to the next family gathering or the potluck supper at church on Sunday.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag of vanilla wafers or 2 bags Peperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
• 6 to 8 bananas, sliced
• 2 Cups milk
• 1 5-ounce box instant French vanilla pudding
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line bottom of a 13x9x2-inch dish with cookies and put bananas on top.
2. Blend milk with pudding mix well with a handheld electric mixer.
3. Beat cream cheese and condensed milk together in a bowl until smooth; fold in whipped topping.
4. Add to pudding mixture, stirring until well blended.
5. Pour mixture over cookies and bananas; cover with remaining cookies.
6. Refrigerate.
7. Eat, eat, eat!

Okay, a few quick notes about this recipe: if you want to make a lighter version of this (so you can eat more *smile*) then use skim milk, neufchatel cheese (it's the low-fat version of cream cheese--tastes the same) and light whipped topping. It still tastes the same I promise!

Also, I think that crushing the cookies for the top layer makes the presentation prettier. And I think this recipe is better if it's made a day in advance and has time to chill in the refrigerator for several hours--I believe it makes the texture better because the cookies get soft and gooey.

ENJOY!

You know, I would really enjoy any wonderful dessert recipes you have...leave your best recipe in the comment section please :-)

(This recipe is found in Paula Deen's cookbook: The Lady & Sons: Just Desserts)

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It's a great time to buy a home in Georgia, whether you're a first-time home buyer or not, and I would love to walk you through this process. If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today: 404.357.2231!

Georgia buyers can now receive an $1,800 tax credit in addition to the $8,000 federal tax credit. Governor, Sonny Perdue, signed House Bill 261 on May 11, 2009.

The $1,800 tax credit is only available for six months; you must close on a home between June 1 and November 30, 2009 to receive this credit. Here are the other important details:

• AMOUNT: the credit is equal to either 1.2% of the purchase price or $1,800, whichever is lesser
• WHO QUALIFIES: this credit is for ANYONE purchasing a home between the deadline--NOT just first-time home buyers!
• HOW DO YOU RECEIVE IT?: You may claim one-third of the credit available in each taxable year, and may carry forward unclaimed amounts--essentially, you'll receive this credit over the course of the next 3 years

Also, there aren't any income restraints to this credit and as I mentioned before, this is not limited to just first-time home buyers. You just have to buy a single-family property within the time period.

Representative Ron Stephens said this about the bill: "I'm proud of Governor Purdue for signing this legislation, and I'm proud to have brought it before the state legislature. This bill will put people to work, reduce the inventory of unsold homes, and kick start Georgia's economy."

To determine the specific forms you need to use to obtain this credit, please contact your tax professional.

If you are a first-time home buyer and would like to learn more about the $8,000 federal tax credit, please read this article:

Understanding the New $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

It's a great time to buy a home in Georgia, whether you're a first-time home buyer or not, and I would love to walk you through this process. If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!

(The information from this post was obtained from this article)

It seems like lately I've been making a variety of chicken casseroles, maybe I need to branch out more, but they're just so easy and very cost effective. Because it's just the two of us we always have leftovers, which although I'm not a huge fan of, they do make our grocery budget go farther.

This one is a Mexican Chicken Casserole by my favorite cook (you already know I'm going to say Paula Deen don't you?!). Well this one is cheesy, creamy, delicious and really quick to make--from assembly to oven to table is only about 40 minutes!

Ingredients:

• 1 10.75 oz. can cream of chicken soup
• 1 10.75 oz. can Cheddar cheese soup
• 1 10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 10 oz. can Ro-Tel tomatoes
• 1 whole chicken, cooked, boned and chopped or 4 Cups leftover cooked chicken
• 1 11.5 oz. package flour tortillas
• 2 Cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the three kinds of soup and the tomatoes. Stir in the chicken.
2. In a greased 13x9 inch pan, layer the tortillas and chicken mixture, beginning and endgin with tortillas.
3. Sprinkle cheese over the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This delicious dish serves 8 people. I served it with a hot spinach and artichoke dip that complimented it well. Hope you enjoy this! A great one to make for the family!

Thank You for Reading!

I hope this information has helped you! If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!

Today I went to check in on how things were coming at the Barrow Crossing shopping center development in Bethlehem, Georgia. I was pleasantly suprised to find that TARGET and BELK are now open! This made me very, very happy since I'm in love with Target! Yippee! (Hubby is none-too-thrilled with this news--as my shopping addiction now has a convenient place to be fed)!

Additionally, Staples and PetSmart will be opening shortly, as will Publix. The Best Buy that I had originally said was going to be at this development was actually put in the new shopping development in Loganville.

Now, more than ever, I believe that it's a great time to buy a home in the Bethlehem, GA area! With this shopping development built, more are going to be developed over time and property values are just going to increase in this area. If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!

Thank You for Reading!