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Fun with Chef Boyardee Little Chefs

October 18, 2012 By 1 Comment

I’ve been working with Chef Boyardee over the past few weeks on some really cool projects.  They are all based around getting kids involved in the cooking process.  Personally, this is something I really believe in, as I know it definitely helps to get my picky eater to, well, eat.  I also love using time in the kitchen to reinforce the concepts LJ is learning at school.


My own Little Chef!

The first project was an e-book.  I got to contribute some ideas about how to support school lessons in the kitchen (and maybe even make them a little more fun as well.)  I’d love if you’d check it out and let me know what you think!! 


I also got to do some cooking with LJ.  I had plans to create some artichoke mac and cheese, but once LJ found out there was a make your own pizza option, he couldn’t be convinced to try anything else.  The make your own pizza at a local restaurant is a favorite treat, so doing it at home was super special.


I loved how easy it was!  The Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit comes with the crust, sauce and cheese right in the box.  You simply add warm water to the crust, let it rise for about 5 minutes and then create your pizza however you’d like it.



You can make a taco pizza with ground beef, Mexican cheese, and a few peppers.  You could add pepperoni or sausage or veggies.  Being a true Wisconsin boy, LJ decided he would make an extra, extra cheese pizza.  There was a lot of cheese involved!

Want to get involved in all the fun yourself?  Consider yourself invited to a Cook Along tomorrow!!  Here are the details: 

What: A virtual Cook-Along called Teachable Moments, part of The Little Chefs Project series on The Motherhood. 

The Little Chefs Project series consists of live chats called Cook-Alongs taking place every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET until November 15, and each Cook-Along covers a different topic around cooking with kids. Teachable Moments addresses how you can use the kitchen as a fun, practical classroom to teach anything from math to culture.

When: Thursday, October 18, at 2 p.m. ET.  It will last 30 minutes.

Where: The Motherhood – here is the link to the page where the class will be held: http://bit.ly/QNWJP7

About the class: Let your recipe box and cooking supplies help you make learning fun for your kids! And the best part: at the end of the lesson, you can all enjoy the meals you created together. Find out how you can work math, science, culture, and even history into kitchen time with your Little Chefs.

To participate, just click the link above, log into The Motherhood using your member ID (if you don’t have one, it’s easy and free to sign up), and chat away in the text-based comments. We’ll also have a video feed running during the half-hour Cook-Along, so you’re welcome to show up simply to watch if you’d like!

The Cook-Along is sponsored by Chef Boyardee, and it is hosted by The Motherhood.  You can visit Chef Boyardee online at http://www.chefboyardee.com/ or on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/chefboyardee.
I’ll be there with several other bloggers to co-host the class, and I hope you’ll join us!  The fabulous people who will be co-hosting with me are:
   
 Amee, Madame Deals http://www.madamedeals.com Caroline, Smarty Pants Mama http://smartypantsmama.com Janene and Christine, More Than Mommies http://morethanmommies.net Mel, MamaBuzz http://www.mamabzz.com Monica, Mommy Maestra http://www.MommyMaestra.com Tiffany, Sweet Phenomena http://sweetphenomena.com 

This post was brought to you in partnership with The Motherhood and Chef Boyardee. 

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Soundfreaq Soundstep Recharge Review

October 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Remember those huge boom boxes from when we were kids?  (Okay, from when I was a kid…I may be dating myself here a bit –  think John Cusack in Say Anything.)  They were huge, clumsy, and the sound wasn’t even very good. And did I mention they were huge???

Nothing symbolizes how far technology has come more for me than to look at the Soundfreaq Soundstep Recharge System in comparison to one of those old boom boxes.  The Soundfreaq is very small considering the BIG sound that it creates.  It works with iPads, iPods, iPhones, or any bluetooth enabled device.  And by “works with”, I mean it will play music with amazing clarity AND allow you to charge your devices.  You can dock any of your iGadgets as well as plug anything into the USB charger for some juice as well. (Even at the same time – play your iPad and charge your phone simultaneously ) For extra versatility, there is also a sound jack (3.5 mm line in) so you can use any other devices you might want to enjoy.  It also has an antenna so that you can use it as an FM radio AND a remote, so I don’t have to get up to skip a song or turn it down when the phone rings.


The sound from the Soundfreaq Soundstep Recharge is so much better than what you would expect from a speaker this size.  The official website says that it: 

features a 2.1 speaker configuration with a dedicated sub-woofer and Soundfreaq’s proprietary UQ3™ spatial sound enhancement to deliver natural bass and stereo separation, unique for a compact speaker.

Not being a speaker expert, I’m not really sure what all that means.  BUT, being someone who loves to listen to music, I can tell you that all of that jargon up there comes together to create the best sound from a portable speaker I have ever heard.



And, in case all that wasn’t enough, it is also portable.  Once it is fully charged, you can place it anywhere for up to 6 hours of cord-free enjoyment.  That makes it perfect for patio entertaining, poolside listening, or picnics in the park.

When I first got my iPad, I had picked up a speaker/stand to allow me to watch and listen to it hands free.  The biggest draw back to that system was that the sound was pretty tinny and I couldn’t charge my devices on it as well.  The Soundfreaq solves both these issues for me.

If you are already thinking holiday shopping (I know!), this would be a great gift for anyone who loves their gadgets.  Or a great thing to hint about to your special someone as a gift for you!!  Either way, you’ll want to visit the Soundfreaq e-store and enter the discount code “momblog” to receive a 10% discount on the Sound Step Recharge and all other products in the store. 

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Soundfreaq and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

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Save Money on Gas *Giveaway*

September 28, 2012 By 1 Comment

It’s great to see the gas prices fall a little bit, even though we are still paying through the nose for each tank fill up.  How would you like to save a bit the next time you fill up your gas guzzler?  What if I could tell you I had a magic code that would take 50 cents a gallon off of your next fill-up?

Well, I can!!  The nice folks at BP have sent me a few codes to hand out to you.  When you are done reading, scroll down to the bottom of the post to enter.

In the mean time, hop on over to sign up for the free BP Rewards card – you will earn rewards to save big at the pump, even when you are paying full price!  Learn more and sign up at PumpRewardsMilwaukee.com! (You can still sign up even if you aren’t in the Milwaukee area!)

Okay, okay – you want to know how to enter to win the $.50 off code, don’t you…Here you go!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was given a BP Discount code as a thank you for my time and effort.

Filed Under: giveaway, things to do Tagged With: , , ,

The One Where I Get to Go To Sobelman’s #SargentoCheeseburger

July 19, 2012 By 11 Comments

I love my job, I really do. And some days I REALLY love my job!  One of those days was recently when I got to visit a Sobelman’s Restaurant and try their bacon double cheeseburger topped with Sargento cheese.  This is the burger entered in the America’s Ultimate Cheeseburger competition. Tough assignment, right?


Lucky for me, I had recently nabbed a GoGeddit deal for Sobelman’s at Marquette so I piled the family into the car and headed back to college. (It’s much quieter there during the summer!)



For those of you who might be outside the Milwaukee area, Sobelman’s is a local burger joint that was featured in the Travel Channel’s “Food Wars”.  While they might have come in second on the show, they have been voted to have Milwaukee’s best burgers in many other local contests.  While their fresh Angus beef burgers are amazing, the thing that seals the deal for me is the bun. Fresh baked just for Sobelman’s, the bun is like biting into a puffy cloud of doughy heaven. My mouth is watering as I type this….





Sobelman’s has three Milwaukee area locations: the original located on W. St. Paul Ave, the Marquette location which opened in 2011, and Sobelman’s Tallgrass featuring all grass fed beef on N. Farwell Ave.  No matter which you visit, you will be treated to a burger like no other!  Be sure to try their signature jalapeno ketchup – it really does pack a kick!



Now, until Sobelman’s starts supplying me with their super delicious buns, I will have to make due with the ones I usually get. But that doesn’t mean I can’t make my own mean cheeseburger!  I have a secret recipe that I have used since I moved here in 2000.  I don’t share it with many people, but I like you guys, so I will share it with you!


Wisconsin Mommy’s Kickin’ Cheeseburger 



1 lb ground beef (the better quality beef you get, the more flavor your burger will have – I personally use grass fed beef which does cook a bit faster)


1 1/2 tsp Rupena’s Secret Beef & Pork Seasoning (this is what makes all the difference in the flavor of the beef – it’s all natural and has no MSG)


Sargento sliced Pepper Jack cheese


That’s it – easy peasy!!  Just form into patties and grill until your desired doneness, load up with fresh lettuce and tomatoes from you local farmer’s market and enjoy.




In case you can’t get to Sobelman’s, they’ve been nice enough to share their recipe for the Bacon Double Cheeseburger with you as well:

Sobelman’s Recipe for “Bacon Double Cheeseburger”

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1

Ingredients
• 1 slice of Sargento® Deli Style Sliced Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 slice of Sargento® Deli Style Sliced Pepper Jack Cheese
• 1 slice of Sargento® Natural BlendsTM Deli Style Sliced Colby-Pepper Jack Cheese
• 1 slice of Sargento® Deli Style Sliced Aged Swiss Cheese
• 2 slices thick bacon
• 10 oz. certified angus ground beef
• 2 oz. Vidalia onion, diced
• ½ tsp. butter
• 1 fresh Country Butter Roll

Directions
• Shape beef into two patties. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Cook to desired doneness on grill.
• Meanwhile cook bacon and sauté onion in butter (approximately one to two minutes) on flat grill or sauté pan.
• Put pattie on the bottom half of the bun. Place Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Pepper Jack Cheese on pattie. Top with bacon and second pattie.
• Place Colby-Pepper Jack Cheese and Aged Swiss Cheese on top of the second pattie. Top with remaining bacon and onions and top of bun.

Be sure to submit your favorite cheeseburger recipe to Sargento’s America’s Ultimate Cheeseburger page on Facebook!

And if I’m lucky, you’ll like mine as much as LJ likes Sobelman’s!!



I received products and compensation from Sargento Foods Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in this campaign. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

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Grab Free Tickets to Mt. Olympus Waterpark (Wisconsin Dells) #FillUpSplashDown

June 20, 2012 By 1 Comment

While summer is short here in Wisconsin, we sure do know how to pack a lot into the few glorious months we do have: Summerfest, State Fair, weekly ethnic festivals, baseball games, and trips to the Dells.  


The Wisconsin Dells (for anyone who might not already know) is called the “Waterpark Capitol of the World” and for good reason.  Every summer, tons of folks flock there to take part in all of the fun things to do and visit their favorite waterpark.  For many folks, Mount Olympus Water & Theme Park is a yearly destination.


This summer, Mt. Olympus and Shell have teamed up to bring you the “Fill Up Splash Down” promotion.  Simply fill your car up with 10 or more gallons of gas at your local participating Shell gas station and receive a free pass to the waterpark at Mt. Olympus!  (Upgrade to include unlimited roller coaster, go-kart, and amusement rides for $10.)  Check the official Fill Up Splash Down Facebook page to find a participating Shell station near you.


You can also enter to win a family four pack of passes right here!! 
 a Rafflecopter giveaway


This post was brought to you in partnership with the Wisconsin Mom Squad.  I was provided waterpark passes to give away and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

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