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Pillsbury Bake-Off Giveaway

March 9, 2011 27 Comments
Calling all home cooks! Do you have a million dollar recipe idea? The 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest is open for entries and one simple recipe idea could help you take home the dough!
Pillsbury is looking for original recipes that taste and look delicious, are easy to prepare and that families across America will love to eat. Consumers can submit recipes in one of four recipe categories:
-The Breakfast & Brunches category includes casual brunch or weekend family breakfast ideas. For example, sweet rolls, pull-aparts, pastries, breakfast breads, egg dishes or breakfast sandwiches.
-In the Entertaining Appetizers category, entrants can submit appetizers and snacks to serve at casual gatherings with family and friends or for holiday entertaining. For example, bite size appetizers, tartlets, pinwheels, puffs, bruschetta or focaccia.
-The Dinner Made EasyTM category encourages home cooks to create easy-to-prepare main dishes that will delight your family. For example, pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, foldovers, casseroles, chilis, soups or savory pies.
-Quick and easy treats for anytime celebrations can be entered into the Sweet Treats category. For example, cookies, pies, tarts, brownies or bars.
Entries are being accepted online between now and April 18, 2011, at Bakeoff.com  One hundred lucky finalists will compete for a chance at the grand prize during the contest finals, which take place March 25-27, 2012 at the Peabody Orlando Hotel in Florida. You´ll also find contest details, including eligible products, prizes and the official rules, on the web site.
The recipes will be judged for 1) taste, 2) appearance, 3) creativity and 4) consumer appeal. All entries must meet the requirements of the recipe category and appropriately use two of the eligible products in at least the quantity specified.
Check out Bakeoff.com for more details on the contest.
Win It!  One Simply Sweet Home reader will win a Pillsbury Bake Off Prize Pack which includes an apron, pen, and cookbook.
Giveaway Closed.  Congrats to Kathie!

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Disclosure:  This giveaway and contest information was provided by Pillsbury via MyBlogSpark.  For sharing this information, I received a prize pack like the one being given away.

Filed Under: Giveaways

Chocolate Mint Parfaits

March 7, 2011 23 Comments
I love taking recipes that work and giving them a slight twist! Last week I shared my Frozen Mint Cups with you.  And this week I’m taking the same recipe but adding a little brownie to it.  The result is a yummy parfait, suitable for at home snacking or entertaining.  Just imagine serving these up alongside the Frozen Mint Cups for St. Patrick’s Day! So fun and festive! Hope you enjoy!

Recipe for Frozen Mint Cups:

Ingredients:
1 8oz whipped topping
2 teaspoons mint extract
a few drops food coloring
chocolate mint cookies
1 batch of brownies or a chocolate cake

Directions: Add mint extract to whipped topping. Mix well to distribute the flavor. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir in. Add more if you like, to get your desired hue.
Place chocolate mint cookies  (about 3 per parfait) in a ziplok bag and crush with a rolling pin or other kitchen utensil. Or use the food processor. Crumble your brownie into a bowl.  Then layer your ingredients into bowls or cups. Top with a cookie crumbs and an additional cookie.

I’m linking up at these parties.

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Filed Under: desserts, Misc Holidays

Spotlight on Julian & Co

March 4, 2011 3 Comments

I’m excited to introduce you to my newest blog sponsor Julian & Co.  This unique shop is owned by wife and mom Tania, and it offers an array of lovely, heirloom quality jewelry for moms, dads, and children.
These lovely pieces can be personalized with your child’s name, birthdate and time, weight, and length.  And for those who love birthstones, you’ll be excited to know that Julian & Co will soon bring on birthstone charms for this lovely line of jewelry.
When I first ran across Julian & Co, I instantly fell in love with their personalized jewelry, and I was even more excited to feature them on my blog after I read the story behind the company.  After wearing many hats in her career, Tania and her husband Tony decided to start a family.  Their son Julian was born 11 weeks early and weighed only 3lbs 4oz.  Tania’s husband purchased a personalized baby bracelet for Julian, but it was too big for his tiny wrist. So Tania set out to design her own sterling silver id bracelet for Julian.  This was the first of many pieces in the Julian & Co line.

The  Signature line of Julian & Co  is the baby hand and feet jewelry.  So overjoyed to have Julian home, Tania handcrafted sterling silver disc pendants adorned with Julian’s own hand and feet prints, as well as his name and birth date, for her and her husband to wear. As soon as her family and friends saw Tania’s lovely creations, orders came rolling in, and the business grew from there. 
For me, Julian & Co. combines two things that I absolutely love: silver jewelry and personalized jewelry.  Ever since I can remember I’ve loved silver. It’s so simple, yet very elegant, and it goes so well with any outfit, from jeans to dresses.  And the personlized touches to Tania’s designs take these pieces from being just another piece of jewelry to being a keepsake that you will cherish forever.
The entire Julian & Co. line is durable and heirloom quality, and most pieces have a high shine mirror finish and are thick enough to be personalized on both sides. 

Connect with Julian & Co:
Follow @JULIANandCo on Twitter.
Follow Julian & Co on Facebook.
 Subscribe to receive updates & latest promotions.
Follow the Julian & Co blog.

Please visit Julian & Co to see more of these beautiful pieces and help support this amazing mom and her shop!

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Disclosure:  Julian & Co is a paid sponsor on Simply Sweet Home.  The opinions in this post are my own.  If you’d like to advertise on this blog, please see my PR Page for details.

Filed Under: shopping, Sponsors

Friday Favorites – Week 53

March 3, 2011 19 Comments

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 Happy Friday!  And thanks for coming by this week to link up your wonderful recipes and projects!
Also, while you’re here, please take a moment to enter my $25 Publix Giveaway.  It’s ending in just a few days, and as of this writing there’s less than 40 entries!  That’s very surprising to me, considering how much I know people love Publix,  and not to mention, it’s $25 in FREE groceries! Who wouldn’t want that?
Now feast your eyes upon this week’s yummy features!
Cherry Banana Bread with Nutella Swirls from On and Off My Plate

Choo Choo Train Cake from Cook Clean Craft

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

Sonic the Hedgehog Cake from Heidi’s Recipes
Chocolate Coeur La Creme from Sense of Home

I’m looking forward to seeing your posts from this week.  Link up below!

LINKY TOOLS NOTE:  The owner of linky tools is doing a server upgrade, this includes moving ALL the thumbnails from every single linky party on every single blog out there.  So if you’re having problems seeing some of the thumbnails, that is the reason.  Please link up anyway, and hopefully this will be resolved soon! Thanks!

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites

St. Patrick’s Day Wreath

March 2, 2011 22 Comments
I had planned for the first Wednesday of each month to be for my jewelry showcase, but I’m doing some rearranging this month because  I wanted to make sure that I shared this wreath in time for others to  be able to make their own for the holiday.  This is a very easy wreath to make.  No crafting tools or skills needed!
What you need:
plain wreath
clover garland (found at Wal-mart or Hobby Lobby)
ribbon (for hanging)
Directions:  Simply take your garland and wrap it around the wreath.  This particular kind of garland has a wire at it’s base, so it easily wraps around and through the vine wreath to stay in place.  But if you’re using another type of garland, you may need to use some hot glue to make sure it doesn’t come unwrapped.  Then simply tie a ribbon to the top for hanging. And you’re done!

In honor of the St. Patrick’s holiday, I’ve added this really cute clover cloth to the sewing machine in the dining room.  Here’s Dixie posing with a few of her clover-adorned friends!

I’m linking up this week to these parties.

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Filed Under: crafts, decorating, Misc Holidays

DaVinci Beads Review/Giveaway from Coppin’s Gifts

March 1, 2011 53 Comments

As someone who loves to make and wear jewelry, I’m really excited to bring you this week’s review and giveaway.

A few weeks ago I was introduced to Coppin’s Gifts. They offer top gift brands, such as Precious Moments, Boyd’s Bears, DaVinci Beads, and more!

DaVinci Beads are similar in style to the popular Pandora beads but much less expensive and just as cute!  Coppin’s Gifts offers a variety of DaVinci beads to fit your personal style.  These include birthstone beads, art glass, foil glass, and more!  They also have family beads and fun dangles in a variety of styles and themes.

I had the opportunity to choose a toggle bracelet and 3 DaVinci beads from Coppin’s Gifts for review.  Ironically I was just telling my husband how I wish I could have one of these bracelets, and a few days later I heard from someone at Coppin’s Gifts.  So I was really thrilled when  they gave me this opportunity.

Even though I’m a December baby, I’ve always loved the color of the March birthstone, and since I love the color so much (and since I at least have kitty cats that were born in March, lol) I chose three beads in the March birthstone.  These are pictured above.  One is a CZ Ball Birthstone and the others are Glass Birthstone beads.

I was very impressed by the look and quality of both the toggle bracelet and the beads.  The beads are a good size, and I just love how they sparkle and shine.  They are just lovely, and I was so happy with my choice! 

In fact, I’m looking forward to adding more beads to this bracelet in the future.  I’ll either do a mix of March and April birthstones (since my husband was born in April), or I’ll possibly choose some of the other birthstone beads for a multi-colored look.  Either way, I’m sure that any DaVinci Beads  I choose will be beautiful.  And I’d definitely recommend DaVinci Beads at Coppin’s Gifts to anyone who’s seen this style of bracelet and wants to build their own.

Win it! One Simply Sweet Home reader will win 3 DaVinci beads of their choice and one toggle bracelet.
Giveaway Closed.  Thanks for entering!

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Disclosure: For hosting this giveaway, I received a bracelet and three DaVinci beads from Coppin’s Gifts.  I was not otherwise compensated.  The opinions are my own.

Filed Under: fashion, Giveaways, product review

Frozen Mint Cups

February 28, 2011 21 Comments
I was in the mood for something minty, when I put on my thinking cap and came up with these Frozen Mint Cups.  These are really sweet and yummy without being too rich, and they are very easy to make.  So if you’re kids like chocolate mint, you may want to consider making something like this for St. Patrick’s Day (or just make them for yourself, either way).  Hope you enjoy!

Recipe for Frozen Mint Cups:

Ingredients:
1 8oz whipped topping
2 teaspoons mint extract
a few drops food coloring
36 chocolate mint cookies

Directions:  Add mint extract to whipped topping. Mix well to distribute the flavor.  Add a few drops of food coloring and stir in. Add more if you like, to get your desired hue.  Take about 24 chocolate mint cookies and crush them in a food processor, or place in a ziplok bag and crush with a rolling pin or other kitchen utensil. 
Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. (This recipe makes about 12.)  Pour the crushed cookies into cupcake liners.  You’ll want to use almost all the crushed cookies, leaving just enought to garnish the top of your mint cups.  Next spoon your whipped topping mixture evenly into each mufin cup.  Garnish with remaining crushed cookies, and then stick an uncrushed cookie in the center of each cup.  Chill in the freezer until ready to serve. 

I’m linking up at these parties.

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Filed Under: cupcakes, desserts, Misc Holidays, Recipe of the Week, recipes

Friday Favorites – Week 52 (with Giveaway)

February 24, 2011 22 Comments

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Hey everyone! I’m so excited to be celebrating the one year anniversary of Friday Favorites this week!  Looking back at my first week, we had 27 posts linked up (and that was with me inviting some people to the party).  And now since December, I’ve had 100+ posts linked up on most weeks, which is really amazing!  Thanks so much for stopping by each week to share your posts with us!
Before we take a look at this week’s featured posts, I want to remind you about my Shabby Apple Giveaway.  Also, in addition to our featured posts and linky event, today I have a fun contest and giveaway to share with you.  You will find all the details below our featured posts. Have fun!
Nutter Butter Truffle Cupcakes from Inside BruCrew Life

Thrifty Tray Makeover from Make the Best of What’s Around
Sloppy Joes with a Twist from Nurtured Family Life

Painted Tray from Green Door Designs

Cherry Cola Cupcakes from Tnt-cook

Now before we get to the linky, I have a fun contest and a blog giveaway to share with you!

Kim & Kris from “The DIY Dish” want to have a craft night with you and your friends! You get to invite 10 of your friends and EACH ONE OF YOU will win the Epic 6 Cutting & Embossing Tool and Letterpress Combo (each is a $169 value!) as well as accessories, di-cuts, papers, paints, etc. all thanks to Lifestyle Crafts. Catered food and a whole lot of FUN will all be a part of that craft night! 
To enter, all you have to do is send a short video (less than 1 min, 30 seconds) letting Kim & Kris know why you would love this prize package for you and your friends!!  Send them to info@theDIYdish.com. Entries will be accepted until February 27, 2011.  Check out the video on DIY Dish for more details.

Blog Giveaway! Two Simply Sweet Home readers will win 2 volumes of “Bloom” books from You Can Make This.  
Mandatory Entry:  To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. Deadline: Feb 27
Additional Entries:  You can get an extra entry if you link up today for Friday Favorites, as well as extra entries for any way that you follow me or my blog and/or if you follow You Can Make This.

Thanks for stopping by this week! Please link up your posts below!
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Filed Under: Friday Favorites, Giveaways

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these Fun Finds

February 23, 2011 1 Comment
Photo Credit – Hudsons Holiday

I just love looking around on etsy and have recently started creating my own treasuries.  I created a really fun treasury last week called Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It’s filled with adorable items that will help you celebrate the holiday:  cupcake toppers, cookies, banners, and fun decor!
Today I’m sharing just a few of the items from this treasury.
St. Patrick’s Day Wreath

St. Patrick’s Day Banner

Exquisite Fun St. Patrick’s Day Cookies

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Gift Tags

Looking for more? Check out the rest of the items in this treasury.

I’m linking up to these parties.

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Disclosure:  None of the shops featured in this post are paid sponsors. I hand selected all the items for this treasury on Etsy based on my own opinions. Photos are owned by the shop owners they are linked to.

Filed Under: decorating, Misc Holidays, party ideas, shopping

Meatball Subs and Publix Italian Days Giveaway

February 22, 2011 70 Comments

Stir up authentic Italian flavors and bring your family together around the dinner table during Italian Days at Publix! Now you can share the taste of a home-cooked Italian meal in the comfort of your own kitchen without spending a fortune.
From February 17th through March 2nd, visit your local Publix to take advantage of the great savings on some of your favorite General Mills brands such as Progresso, Green Giant, Pillsbury, Muir Glen and Totino´s, and save $5 when you purchase 20 participating products.
While visiting Italian Days at Publix, you can also enter the Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes, sponsored by General Mills, for a chance to win one of four grand prizes of $10,000 worth of free groceries or one of 200 $100 Publix gift cards being given as prizes.
There are three easy ways to enter for a chance to win the Sweepstakes. Enter via phone, mail or at ClickCallMail.com – a convenient one-stop website, where you´ll also be able to download great coupon savings on some of your favorite General Mills brands and other great offers from Publix.
Here´s how it works:
Click – Stay up to date with the latest General Mills promotions happening at Publix by visiting ClickCallMail.com. Once you´re registered and logged in, you can participate in any current promotions.
Call – If you´d prefer to enter the sweepstakes and participate in other promotions via telephone, feel free to call the General Mills/Publix hotline, at 1.800.627.6059, and be sure to say that you want to enter the Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes. Please be sure to provide your complete contact information (Full name/address/zip code/phone #).
Mail – If you prefer to participate via mail-in entry, print and mail your complete contact information (Full Name/address/zip code/phone #) to P.O. Box 43425 Atlanta, GA 30336 and be sure to write “Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes” on the outside of the envelope.

Photo Credit
I absolutely love meatball subs! I found this yummy recipe for them at Pillsbury.com.  It features just a couple of the participating products featured in Publix Italian days. Give it a try!

Recipe for Italian Meatball Subs

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. bulk Italian pork sausage
1/4 cup Progresso® Plain Bread Crumbs
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1 (15-oz.) can pizza sauce
2 cans (11 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crusty French loaf
4 oz. (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions: Bake bread as directed on package. In medium bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, bread crumbs, onion and egg; mix well. Shape into 16 (1 1/2-inch) balls.
In medium skillet, cook meatballs over medium heat for 5 minutes or until browned, turning frequently. Drain. Add pizza sauce. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked.
Slice each loaf open, sandwich-style. Place 8 meatballs in each loaf. Spoon sauce over meatballs. Cut loaves in half to make four sandwiches. Sprinkle with cheese.

Win it! One Simply Sweet Home reader will a $25 Publix giftcard to help you buy the participating Italian Days products.

Mandatory Entry:  To win, you must be a follower of my blog. And leave a comment telling me what your favorite Italian food you like to serve to your family. Deadline: March 7

Extra Entries: Leave a comment for each.

-1 if you follow @SimplySweetHome on Twitter.
-1 if  you subscribe to Simply Sweet Home via email.
-1 for subscribing to my RSS feeds through Feedburner.
-1 for sharing this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. 
(Sample Tweet:  I want to win a $25 Publix giftcard!  http://bit.ly/gBihQs @SimplySweetHome )  (Limit one tweet entry per day.)

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Disclosure: General Mills gave me one gift card to keep and one to giveaway, as part of the MyBlogSpark program. The opinions are my own. If you’d like sponsor a review or giveaway on my blog, please see my PR page for details.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, Giveaways, Recipe of the Week, recipes
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