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Food – Frugal Novice
Browsing Category

Food

Dreyer’s Gives You More Than One #ReasonToSmile

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Note: This post is brought to you by Dreyer’s and the Motherhood. I was provided with product coupons and compensated for my time, but all opinions are honest and are my own. 
DRY-IceCream_Month-1

It’s July. And I’m in Texas, which means that I’m in the midst of triple-digit temps and scorching summer days. What is the perfect treat to combat the heat? Ice cream, of course! It’s an even better choice right now since July is National Ice Cream Month.

Even better – Dreyer’s has released four Limited Edition flavors, which are a great way to celebrate this momentous occasion! I got a chance to try the new Dreyer’s flavors, and decided to have an ice cream party up at work to share the fun with my coworkers. We lined up the tubs along the counter in our office kitchen, and everyone had fun trying all the different flavors. Let’s take a look at what we got to try:

Dreyers_FourFlavors

Dreyers_TakeTheCake_Front  Dreyers_TakeTheCake

Take the Cake: Yellow cake-flavored light ice cream with a frosting swirl and multi-colored sprinkles. It’s the classic combination of cake and ice cream in one convenient carton. Available in Slow Churned Light Ice Cream.

Dreyers_GermanChocolateFront  Dreyers_GermanChocolate

{NEW} German Chocolate Cake Spectacular!: If you froze a German Chocolate Cake and then exploded it into a carton of chocolate ice cream, you’d end up with this amazing limited edition flavor. Chocolate ice cream with a caramel coconut swirl and brownie pieces. Available in Grand Ice Cream and Slow Churned Light Ice Cream.

Dreyers_SaltedCaramel_Front  Dreyers_SaltedCaramel

{NEW} Sunny Salted Caramel Pretzel: Salty, sweet, and oh so scrumptious. Vanilla ice cream with a salted caramel swirl and pretzel pieces. It’s probably the greatest flavor combination in the history of the world. Available in Grand Ice Cream and Slow Churned Light Ice Cream.

Dreyers_ThreeStripes_Front  Dreyers_ThreeStripes

3 Stripes You’re Out: America’s Favorite Pastime has a new favorite flavor! Vanilla ice cream with mixed blueberry and strawberry swirls. This Limited Edition flavor will leave your home crowd on its feet cheering! Available in Grand Ice Cream.

Ladies_Dreyers

As you can imagine, we were all ready to dive in and start sampling. The flavor I was most drawn to was the Sunny Salted Caramel Pretzel – and it was SOOO good. I love that the Slow Churned Light ice cream has all the taste and 1/2 the fat (with 1/2 the fat and 1/3 fewer calories than regular ice cream). The caramel swirls and the saltiness perfectly balanced the sweet creaminess of the vanilla ice cream. It was definitely my favorite flavor! They were all great, though, and everyone was amazed that the slow churned light ice cream was so deliciously rich.  Here are some of my coworkers with their treats:

Gregg_Dreyers

Sarrah_Dreyers

It worked out well, because one of my coworkers was celebrating his birthday the next day, so he took home his favorite flavor (“Take the Cake”) to share with his family. It was a lot of fun sharing these delicious flavors with everyone, and people enjoyed sampling each one.

Dreyers_FlavorsTasted

Beyond amazing ice cream, Dreyer’s has given us another reason to smile, with their #ReasonToSmile campaign partnering with Operation Smile. If you’re not familiar with it, Operation smile is an international children’s medical charity that makes it possible to provide reconstructive surgeries for children around the globe suffering from cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. Thanks to this great campaign Dreyer’s & Operation Smile will help make it possible for 500 of these surgeries to take place!

Dreyer’s has been posting content on its Facebook page since mid-May encouraging fans to help the brand donate to Operation Smile. They’ll donate up to $125,000 this year and the campaign will run through September 30, 2013. For more information on “A Reason to Smile”, or on the amazing Dreyer’s ice cream flavors, please visit their Facebook page.

Are you ready to smile? Join the conversation on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #ReasonToSmile.

Win_it

I can help you with yet another reason to smile – I get to giveaway two coupons for FREE Dreyer’s Ice Cream to one lucky reader! Just comment below with which of the four flavors you’re most excited to try, and you’ll be entered to win! This contest is open to all U.S. residents aged 18+. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight Central) Tuesday, July 30. By entering this giveaway you agree to the Official Rules.

Celebrate Summer – Share Iconic Summer Moments with Lay’s and Win! #Lays75

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I participated in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Lay’s. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

One of my kids’ favorite things to do in the summer is ride their bikes, so when I started thinking about a favorite, iconic summer photo, I chose this one. It’s from two years ago, and it shows my oldest son trying out his little bike after we decorated it for a Fourth of July parade:

FrugalNovice_SummerPic

 

What’s your favorite summer photo? Get to thinking about it, because this summer, Lay’s potato chips is celebrating its 75th anniversary by sharing iconic summer moments – re-created in Lay’s packaging – every day for 75 days on the brand’s social media channels. I thought this one was pretty great, and fitting with my favorite summer photo:

LaysBike

To join in the fun, they’re asking fans to share their favorite summer moment to Twitter and/or Instagram and tag @Lays. Be sure and use the hashtag #Lays75 to make it easy for them to see your photo! This will also enter you for a chance to win a daily $75 gift card! I just shared my iconic summer moment (I’m @FrugalNovice on Twitter & Instagram) – I hope you’ll share yours too. Also, be sure and check out the great tutorials on their Pinterest page show all of us how to re-create the adorable Lay’s images at home.

I participated in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Lay’s. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Get Your Dishes Sparkling with Cascade Platinum Pacs – and Enter the “My Platinum” Instagram Contest!

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“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”

With three children, our dishwasher is pretty much always full, and is a vital component of our kitchen. I remember when Brian and I were newlyweds living in our first house with – GASP – no dishwasher! We were thrilled when we moved and finally had one, and now it’s a must-have for whatever home we’re in.

Of course, even with a dishwasher you can still end up with dishes that aren’t as clean as you’d like, if you’re not using the right detergent. We’ve used some in the past that have left a film on our dishes, which particularly shows up on our cobalt blue Fiesta Ware. Not the most appealing look, especially when we’re entertaining friends!

CascadePlatinum_Packaging

I was thrilled to learn about Cascade Platinum Pacs, which have a triple action “recipe” that will leave my dishes pretty much spot-free. The unique liquid-top dual surfactant system delivers exceptional shine for dishes AND helps keep your dishwasher sparkling – that’s a huge thing for me, too (no one wants a dingy dishwasher)! The Platinum Pacs also:

  • Power away tough, 24 hour stuck-on food
  • Eliminate the need to pre-wash dishes
  • Help maintain the look of new machines and help prevent additional hard-water film build-up
  • Deliver exceptional dishware shine

Just stick one in the detergent area of your dishwasher, close the lid, start your dishwasher, and voila! Easy, clean, sparkling dishes.

Cascade_Packet

I’m thrilled to have Cascade Platinum Pacs to use in our dishwasher. We’ll be moving soon to a new construction home, and I love the idea of starting off the use of the dishwasher with these pacs to keep my dishes AND my dishwasher fresh. And of course, when you move to a new house part of the fun is having friends over for dinner, and I’ll look forward to serving them on sparkling plates, with ice cold sweet tea in crystal-clear glasses. After all, people eat not just with their mouths, but with their eyes too – if something doesn’t look appealing, it’s a whole lot harder to enjoy it!

Top Chef judge, and editor of Food + Wine magazine Gail Simmons has partnered with Cascade to discuss why presentation is just as important as preparation. She says, “The easiest recipes pop with unexpected, gourmet presentations. Drizzle bright sauces on sparkling white plates or layer desserts in crystal-clean glassware. Keep your presentation sparkling with Cascade Platinum, which keeps dishes perfect for anytime entertaining and impromptu guests.”

Check out some plating tips from Gail in this video:

Also, I’m sure you noticed the word “contest” in my post title above – this is a fun, easy Instagram contest you should definitely enter! Visit the contest landing page for info on how to enter and submit images. Each week, two contestants will be selected to receive a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher. Awesome, right? Additionally, one lucky grand prize winner will receive a Platinum kitchen makeover! To win, be sure you register and that your photos are tagged with #MyPlatinum and @MyCascade. Week 1’s theme was “My Platinum Plate” – here are the remaining themes so you can get to brainstorming!

  • Week 2: My Platinum Bite – Show your best bite and most creative use of sparkling silverware! (June 10-16)
  • Week 3: My Platinum Clink – Show how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses. Cheers! (June 17-23)
  • Week 4: My Platinum Table – Show your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations! (June 24-30)

Again, click here to get to the Instagram contest details. Be sure and keep up with Cascade on Facebook, too!

Healthy Veggie Pizza & Delicious Stuffed Cinnamon Roll Bites – Recipes

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GreatValue_CreamCheese_Crescents Can you believe Spring is already here as of today? It seems like the first quarter of the year has flown by, but I’m ready for nice weather, playing outside with the kids, grilling, and having friends over.

We got a jump on ideas for delicious spring treats last night at my Great Value baking party – and everything we made just involved a few ingredients – so easy!

We decided to make something savory and something sweet, and the starring ingredients in both dishes were the Great Value crescent rolls and cream cheese spread. I love having dishes with overlapping ingredients, because it makes it cost even less to provide great food when you entertain – not to mention the lower Great Value prices to begin with!

So, I’m sure you’re curious about what we made, right? First let’s talk about our savory dish – cold veggie pizzas shaped to look like carrots! These are a fun way to introduce veggies into your kids’ meals, and with Easter around the corner you can remind them that bunnies love to eat carrots, so they should eat some too!

For our pizzas, first we rolled out crescent roll dough into sheets on baking pans, and baked them at 375 degrees until they were golden brown. Then my friend Amanda chopped up broccoli into fine pieces, while my friend Kristi did the same with carrots.

GreatValue_SpreadingDough   GreatValue_ChoppingBroccoli   GreatValue_ChoppingCarrots

 

Once the dough is baked, we just cut out cone-shaped pieces. We made ours small, but you could easily make these bigger for a more substantial pizza piece. Then just spread each piece with cream cheese, and sprinkle with carrots and broccoli! The idea is to make the broccoli look like the leafy part of the carrot, but you can approach the design however you like best.

GreatValue_CarrotIngredients

GreatValue_AssemblingCarrots

 

GreatValue_CarrotsFinished

 

These are REALLY good – I’d had something similar before, so I knew I’d like these, but my friends were a little skeptical. These won them over, though, and I think they’ll be making them in the near future!  My friend Jennifer’s daughters liked them, too:

GreatValue_EatingCarrot

 

Now, on to the sweet treats (always my favorite part)! We made stuffed cinnamon roll bites – and let me tell you, these are AMAZING. Like, so good I can’t even convey it with words… you will just have to make them for yourself.

For this dish, all we needed was the crescent roll dough, cream cheese, cinnamon, sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

GreatValue_CinnamonSugar

We mixed up a cinnamon-sugar combination to coat our crescent roll dough. We tore off small pieces to fit in a fun bunny-shaped muffin tin I bought, coated each one on both sides, and pressed it into each of the bunnies.

GreatValue_Bunny_Dough

 

GreatValue_DoughPressed

Then we mixed up 1/2 cup of cream cheese, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to use as a filling.

GreatValue_CreamCheeseScoop

For these small bites we just used a tiny spoonful, not filling the cavity up completely. Then we topped these off with another piece of cinnamon sugar-coated crescent roll dough.

GreatValue_Bunnies_NotCooked

 

Once these baked and cooled just a bit we popped them right out (easy with the silicone pan!) and had adorable little bunny-shaped, stuffed cinnamon roll bites. The tops of these are slightly crispy and the bottoms are gooey and amazing. We flipped ours upside down because the bottoms showed the bunny shape a little better. Aren’t they adorable?

GreatValue_BunniesFinishedLabeled

You could easily modify these with other shapes, or you can do like my friend Jennifer did and make roll-ups – she coated a full triangle of crescent roll dough with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, spread it with the sweetened cream cheese filling, and rolled it up like you would a normal crescent roll. YUM!

I hope you’ll give both of these fun spring treats a try – and don’t forget you can make other easy desserts with Great Value cookie dough – I think we’ll be making Easter cookies soon!

Note: I am participating in the Great Value program with The Motherhood. I have been compensated for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

 

 

Great Value Spring Party Prep

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CrescentRolls

I can hardly believe Spring is right around the corner! We’ve survived the time change, and now we’re looking forward to warmer weather, longer patches of sunlight, and lots of fun outside.

It also means it’s about time for my next Great Value baking party! I am looking forward to another excuse to get together with friends and bake some delicious goodies – and without spending an arm and a leg on supplies.  This party I’m going to focus on some good crescent roll recipes. I’ve loved crescent rolls for a long time, and they definitely add a great flavor to all sorts of recipes, both sweet and savory.

One thing we’re going to make is some mini, bunny-shaped sopapilla cheesecakes. I bought this silicone mold at Walmart:

BunnyMold

What we’ll do is take small pieces of crescent dough and coat them with a cinnamon/sugar mixture, then press them into the bottom of the molds. Then I’ll put a dollop of sweet cream cheese filling in the middle, and then top with another piece of crescent dough. I’m excited to see how these turn out, because I think they’ll be adorable AND delicious.

For the savory side, we’re going to make some veggie “pizzas” in the shape of carrots, an idea I got from Hungry Happenings. So cute, easy, and it’s a way to sneak some veggies into your kids’ diets.

HungryHappenings_Carrots

 

I bought my veggies and cream cheese along with the crescent roll dough, so I’m all set!

Veggies CreamCheese

And last but not least, since crescent rolls are pretty delicious all on their own, we’re going to make some “bunny buns”; all we have to do is roll the dough into a rope and twist to make a cute addition to meals your kids will love. I’ll show you the trick to those in my next post, along with photos from the party! Be sure and check back for the pics, recipes, and tips for some great Spring snacks and treats – I’ll share a cookie recipe with you, too, so you can use your Great Value cookie dough for some adorable desserts. Can’t wait!

Note: I am participating in the Great Value program with The Motherhood. I have been compensated for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

This Giveaway is Flatout Amazing – $50 to Walgreens!

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Flatout_Cart

You probably saw my Hungry Girl Flatouts post from the other day – and if you haven’t, be sure to take a look for two delicious recipes! Well, thanks to Flatouts I’m getting to host a great giveaway for a $50 gift card to Walgreens!

walgreens_gc

 

It’s super easy to enter – just use the Rafflecopter below!

This contest is open to all U.S. residents aged 18+. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight Central) Monday, March 4. By entering this giveaway you agree to the Official Rules.

Note: I am participating in the Flatouts program with The Motherhood. I have been compensated for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Healthy Sandwich Recipes with Hungry Girl Flatouts

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We eat a lot of sandwiches around our house, especially now that I’m trying to make a concerted effort to eat healthier. It can be easy to fall into the rut of eating the same sandwich over and over again… but I’ve been inspired to try something new with Hungry Girl Flatouts.

One thing I love about the flatouts is that they’re available at Walgreens, so I could run in quickly and buy ingredients without having to make a long trip to the grocery store. Of course, these are popular… the first Walgreens I went to was ALL OUT!

FlatoutsGone

 

I wasn’t about to give up, though, so I went over to another location and found some – yay!

Walgreens

FlatoutShelf

 

There are several flavors available, but our store only had the rosemary & olive oil variety. I happen to love rosemary, so that was fine by me! I was looking forward to adding new flavors, and rosemary isn’t something I typically get with a standard-fare sandwich.

Flatout_Cart

Once I had my flatouts, I went ahead and grabbed some other ingredients for my sandwiches. I had never realized before how many staple items are available at Walgreens, by the way – I was able to find quite a few things I needed!

DeliChickenStore

TomatoPaste_Store

Spices

 

We decided to try out a couple of different ideas for sandwiches, to add a little creativity and variety. It was a lot of fun, and I think we came up with some really tasty creations.

First, we came up with a basil chicken sandwich – SO easy and packed with flavor. The ingredients for this sandwich are:

  • Rosemary & Olive Oil Flatouts
  • Mayo
  • Basil
  • Deli Chicken
  • Tomato Paste
  • Shredded Italian blend cheese
  • Italian Seasoning

Supplies

First I made a quick basil aioli by blending olive oil mayonnaise with fresh basil:

 

 

 

BasilAioliBowl

I spread that on the flatouts, then topped with cheese and then the chicken:

Sandwich_goatcheese

 

SandwichChicken

Then, for a little extra punch, I spread a thin layer of tomato paste and sprinkled some Italian seasoning.

Sandwich_TomatoPaste

 

That’s it – SO easy! You could add some baby greens too, if you wanted, but I think it was really good as it was:

ColdSandwichCompleted

 

Then we decided to make a hot sandwich. Since we LOVE breakfast for dinner, it was only fitting that we made a breakfast sandwich. We added scrambled eggs and bacon, and for a twist we used goat cheese spread on the flatouts. Yum!

GoatCheese

 

Sandwich_goatcheese

 

SandwichesAssembled

 

I popped the sandwiches in the toaster oven to warm everything through, and give the flatouts a nice crunchy finish:

SandwichesCooking

 

 

 

 

FlatoutHotSandwich

 

We loved these! Brian said the crunchiness of the toasted flatout really added to the sandwich, and the goat cheese was a nice, unique flavor with the eggs, bacon, and rosemary from the bread.

Brian_Flatout

 

Note: I am participating in the Flatouts program with The Motherhood. I have been compensated for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

 

 

 

 

Great Value Valentine’s Baking Party Recap

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We had the best time at our baking party! These Great Value parties are starting a tradition I think we’ll continue for a long time. It’s a great, inexpensive get-together that allows quality time with the kids and creativity (plus the ability to enjoy the finished product)!

Our party was Saturday morning, so I got up and got everything prepared.

CookieSupplies

Think I have enough heart-shaped cookie cutters? I love my little collection, and they were perfect for the party.

Kids_CookieDough

 

First we let the kids make the chocolate chip cookies. This was a fun and easy way to get them involved – I just cut slices of Great Value cookie dough and put them on each child’s plate, and then we had them roll them up into balls to put on the cookie sheet.

Next we got out the sugar cookie dough and used the cookie cutters to make heart shapes for our stained glass cookies. I will say, in hindsight, that we should’ve added a little flour to the dough so the cookies didn’t spread as much after cutting out the dough. But they still turned out cute, and the kids (and the moms!) had a lot of fun. We sprinkled bits and pieces of broken hard candies  into the cutouts:

Kristi_Cookies  Cookies_Candy

Here’s the finished product – the kids thought they were beautiful, and they tasted delicious.:

Cookie_CandyCenter

 

Once the chocolate chip cookies came out of the oven, we quickly added chocolate hearts to give them a Valentine look (and who doesn’t like a little extra chocolate for Valentine’s Day?) – these were SO good!

Jocelyn_Chocolates

 

Cookies_Chocolates

 

Once we finished all the cookies, we let the kids play while the moms made pies and tarts. We used Great Value pie crust and the cookie cutters to make our pies heart-shaped, of course. For the filling we just used frozen berries (thawed) and strawberry preserves. By using the Great Value brand products, we were able to make our pies for less than $10!

Jen_Pies   PiesTarts

Pie_Uncooked

 

PieCooked

These were SO good!! In fact, I bought more supplies and am going to make pies tomorrow night to take up to work for Valentine’s Day. They would make a great gift, and the flavor combination possibilities are abundant!

As you can see, we had another fun and tasty Great Value baking party – I can’t wait to see what products our spring baking party will feature… time to get planning!

For more fun baking party posts, check out these blogs:

Note: I am participating in the Great Value program with The Motherhood. I have been compensated for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

 

LOVE to Bake with Great Value!

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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! We’re going to bake some fun Valentine’s goodies this weekend with friends at our Great Value baking party and I’m looking forward to trying out some new and creative ideas! We’re going to make two different kinds of easy but creative cookies, and then we’re going to make mini heart-shaped mixed-berry pies. Fun and sweet!

First we’re dressing up some standard sugar cookies, and it’s incredibly easy since we’ll be using the Great Value sugar cookie dough. All we’ll have to do is cut out another heart out of the center of a larger heart-shaped piece of cookie dough (we’ll use the cutouts to make some iced sugar cookies) and then in the hole place two hard candies. Bake as the package directs, and voila! Stained glass cookies.

StainGlassHeartCookies

Another easy cookie idea – we’re taking Great Value chocolate chip cookie dough and adding chocolate hearts to make them a special sweet treat. They’ll look like this, only the ones in this picture are made with peanut butter dough. This would be a great little gift for neighbors or for your kids’ teachers! I think we’ll be using them to put in our boys’ lunches for dessert next week building up to Valentine’s Day.

CookiesHeartChocolates

Of course, I mentioned that we’ll be doing pies, too. I’m not following a particular recipe for these. I bought some Great Value pie crusts and frozen berries, and some strawberry preserves to make a nice berry pie – yum!

GreatValue_PieCrust   GreatValue_Berries

We’ll just use cookie cutters to cut out two large heart shapes, fill with some berries and preserves, and press the edges together using a fork. I got some decorating sugar to sprinkle on top of these to give them a little sparkle. Couldn’t be easier, and I think they’ll turn out adorably! I am thinking about packaging these with cellophane & ribbon and putting a tag that says “You’re Berry Sweet!”

I think this will be so fun and can’t wait to share the results with you! What kind of treats do you like to make for Valentine’s Day?

 

Note: I am participating in the Great Value program with The Motherhood. I have been compensated for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

 

Shari’s Berries Make a Sweet Valentine’s Gift!

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SharisBoxesI am one of those that LOVES Valentine’s Day. It can be hard to come up with a good gift idea, especially for someone who has everything… and guys don’t really want a bouquet of flowers, so it can be difficult for girls to find gift ideas for the men in their lives.

Are you needing an idea too? Well, I’ve got one… check out the boxes in this photo and there’s your solution – Shari’s Berries! They have a ton of different items from chocolate covered strawberries, wine, nuts, cookies, cake, and more.

Edible Valentine’s gifts are a perfect choice, in my opinion. Who’s got room for a giant stuffed bear? Delicious treats from Shari’s Berries are something everyone can enjoy. I can imagine everyone from my kids to my grandma liking something from their site.

I got a chance to review some chocolate covered strawberries from Shari’s Berries, and I had them delivered to my office. Let me tell you, they were a hit with everyone! They came with a variety of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate – and there are some you can also select that have nuts and other toppings – yum!

The berries came well-packed and were in perfect condition. Doesn’t this photo make you want to dive right in?

SharisBerries_Dozen

We were all impressed with how juicy the strawberries were, especially for this time of year. And the strawberries are big, so they definitely feel like a decadent indulgence! I had two dozen strawberries, and they were gone within a matter of minutes – it just goes to show how much everyone – men and women alike – loved them!

SharisBerries_Bite

 

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day gift this year, be sure and check out Shari’s Berries for all of their many delicious choices. AND they have coupons very often – just click here to take a look!

Note: I received chocolate-covered strawberries to facilitate my review. I was not compensated monetarily. All opinions in this post are honest and my own.

 

 

Cool Whip Frosting Makes Celebrating Anything Easy! {Giveaway}

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Do you like to celebrate the little things in life? A lost tooth, an A+ on a test, or finding your keys you were just certain were lost? Well, with Cool Whip frosting you can have items on hand at all time to celebrate any occasion.  This frosting will have you looking for any reason to frost a cake or cupcake and celebrate!

Found in the freezer aisle, Cool Whip frosting is whipped to perfection, making it easy to spread while providing a perfectly sweet touch to your baked goodies. As a great alternative to canned frosting, Cool Whip frosting comes in three flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla and Cream Cheese. We bought all three to try out and I’m keeping the vanilla and cream cheese to have on hand, but we decided to celebrate Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd, of course) with some fun cupcakes.

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The frosting is easy to spread and tastes great! We loved adding it to our cupcakes and having a special treat.

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Win_it

To help you celebrate those little moments and baking your favorite cakes and cupcakes, Cool Whip Frosting is providing  a “reasons to celebrate” Cool Whip Frosting pack! Valued at $100 which includes:

  • 3 Gratuity coupons (so remember to find us in the freezer aisle!)
  • Heart shaped silicone cupcake liners
  • Baking by Flavor – Recipe book by Lisa Yockelson
  • Cupcake Liners
  • Stainless Steel Cake Icing Spatula by MIU
  • Cake Stand plus Cover Set

One winner will receive the prize pack detailed above – valued at $100 and filled with fun items to help you celebrate any occasion!

This contest is open to all U.S. residents aged 18+. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight Central) Wednesday, January 9. By entering this giveaway you agree to the Official Rules.

Note: I received a prize pack for writing this post, and one is being provided for the giveaway.  I was not compensated monetarily. All opinions are honest and are my own.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Great Value Cookies Perfect for Holiday Baking Fun {Baking Party Pics!}

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Our kids LOVE to bake and decorate Christmas cookies, so I was really excited to share the fun of this tradition with some good friends this past weekend.  One of my friends, Jennifer, and I went to WalMart the weekend before to shop for supplies, and I really realized how far my money could go since I was buying Great Value products and saving money on each of them.

My sweet friend Kristi offered to host the party at her house, which was great since her kitchen is a lot wider and more open than ours is. We baked some Great Value cinnamon rolls, which were a great snack to enjoy. I don’t know about you, but cinnamon rolls are a big tradition for Christmas morning. I love the idea of making them from scratch (and have before) but we all know there’s a lot to be done Christmas morning, and it’s more important to spend time with your loved ones than to be in the kitchen. Great Value cinnamon rolls provide an easy, inexpensive, tasty alternative.

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Then we got down to the fun! We set up tons of toppings on the station Kristi put together, and Jennifer and I whipped up red & green buttercream icing to go along with the white (again – using Great Value products allowed me to make a TON of icing at a very reasonable cost)!

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They had a blast with the cookies. Since Great Value cookie dough is so affordable, I was able to buy a lot and provide plenty of canvases for our little cookie artists.

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And here are some of the masterpieces (the moms got gifted cookies in abundance, too)!

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I got the kids colored aprons to wear and take home as party favors, and they humored the moms for a photo in them – aren’t they adorable?

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If you’re looking for some time to fit in a little more holiday fun, let Great Value cookie dough and cinnamon rolls become a part of your traditions. You’ll save money & time, and get quality, great-tasting items to share with your family.

Now, if you remember in my previous post, I promised another cookie recipe along with five of my favorite cookies… here goes!

Easy Orange-Cranberry Cookies

Perfect for the holidays… and SOOOO easy!

Ingredients:

  • One tube of Great Value sugar cookie dough
  • Zest of one large orange
  • 1 teaspoon of orange extract
  • 1 cup of dried cranberries
  • Decorative sugar (clear)

Directions:

  1. Open the tube of cookie dough and place into a large bowl. Let it sit out for 15 minutes or so, enough to soften and make it easier to add mix-ins.
  2. Add in the zest and orange extract, mixing well. Then add in the cranberries, making sure they’re evenly dispersed through the cookie dough.
  3. Roll the cookies into walnut-sized balls and sprinkle with decorative sugar. This is a larger size of sugar than granulated sugar, and it provides a nice sparkle and crunch to the cookie! Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

And now…. five of my favorite cookies:

  1. Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
  2. Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

  3. Oatmeal Cream Pies

  4. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies

  5. Ranger Cookies

Note: I am participating in the Great Value program with The Motherhood. I have been compensated for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.