Life, Family, and Home - Simplified & Sweetened
Hey guys! Last week there was a problem with the linky. I’m not sure what happened; after I posted, it appeared to be working perfectly. It wasn’t until Saturday that I realized there were NO links! Eek! Sorry about that! Anyway, since there we didn’t really get to have a proper party I decided to use this week’s party as an opportunity to give thanks to my wonderful sponsors and affiliates! [Read more…]
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fresh From Florida for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Spring time is right around the corner. (It's 75 degrees here today! Nice!) This means it is time to start breaking out the fresh fruits and vegetables. There is nothing like a fresh salad or a plate of freshly cooked vegetables for lunch on a sunny spring day.
While shoppng for your fruits and vegetables, look for the products Fresh From Florida. The great thing about Florida is that the weather is perfect, and you can always find fresh, locally grown produce, no matter what time of year it is.
Vegetables are so versatile and can be prepared in so many ways. Personally I love cooked vegetables way better than raw, and I just LOVE roasted vegetables. Today I'm featuring a fantastic recipe for Pan Roasted Florida Vegetables. The recipe comes to us form our friends at Fresh from Florida. Check it out!
Recipe for Pan Roasted Florida Vegetables:
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, large diced (remove skin if desired)
2 zucchini, large diced
2 large squash, large diced
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced large
6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
12 mushrooms, rinsed and quartered
1 large yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, hand torn
2 teaspoons fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
canola or olive oil for cooking
sea salt to taste fresh
Directions:
1. Pre heat a large-sized sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the hot pan. Add half of the onion to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add half of the garlic and all the bell peppers to the onion mixture in the pan. Continue to cook the vegetables in the pan and add all of the yellow squash and zucchini to the pan.
2. Lightly season the cooking vegetables with salt and pepper. Let the vegetables cook until the squash is just crisp-tender (about two minutes). Remove the vegetables from the pan into a large serving bowl. Place the sauté pan back over the heat and use a spatula to remove any debris.
3. Once the pan is hot again, add 1 tablespoon oil and the other half of the diced onion. Let the onions cook for 2 minutes and then add the garlic, mushrooms and eggplant. Lightly season the cooking vegetables with salt and pepper. Let the vegetables cook until the eggplant is just tender (about 2 minutes).
4. Remove the vegetables from the pan and place them into the bowl with the other vegetables. Add the fresh herbs to the bowl of vegetables and stir to combine. Serve warm.
What's your favorite vegetable Fresh from Floria? What's your favorite vegetable recipe?
Hand soap is a MUST have item for any household. And I also like to have something that not only cleanses, but also smells great and leaves your hands smelling great. When I was growing up, Dial soap was almost always what we had in our bathroom. I’ve always known them mostly for their gold and white bars, and we also used Dial Hand Soap in the gold/original variety, but now they have a variety of other products, including a new line of the hand soap. [Read more…]
Are your meals heart healthy? Campbell’s has a line of heart healthy soups and ingredients. And the Campbell’s Kitchen website has a whole host of delicious and easy recipes for you and your family, many of which are heart healthy. And the great thing about Campbell’s soups is that they are so versatile, allowing you to make everything from rice casseroles to pizza (yes, pizza!). I recently checked out their website, and today I have 5 heart healthy recipes that I thought sounded like great picks for the family. Check them out! [Read more…]
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boar’s Head Brand for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Are you excited for March Madness? Boar's Head is celebrating with a Bold line of sandwiches, including their Blackened Turkey and their NEW Horseradish Cheddar Cheese. Made with spicy meets and cheeses, the line includes fresh ingredents like Blackened Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, Chipotle Chicken Breast, Jerk Turkey Breast, Horseradish Cheddar Cheese, 3 Pepper Colby Jack Cheese, Chipotle Gouda Cheese, Fiery Chipotle Gourmaise.
They are also celebrating with the launch of the Boar’s Head Boldest Bracket Challenge. The challenge is taking placing on Facebook. Participants will vote for their favorite sandwich in each bracket, and the sandwich with the most votes will advance to the next round and ultimately the championship round.
And that's not all! When you vote in the Boldest Bracket Challenge, you can be entered to win prizes!
For round one, 8 winners will receive Boar's Head t-shirts.
For round two, 4 winners will win a $50 Boar's Head Gift Card.
For round three, 2 winners will win a $100 Boar's Head Gift Card.
And one final winner will win an Ipad Air (to stream the games and check out Boar's Head recipes) AND a $500 Boar's Head Gift Card (to cater your game watching party)!
For round one, my pick was the Spicy Jerk Turkey Melt (right). Doesn't it look delicious?
To participate in the Boar's Head Boldest Bracket Challenge, visit their Facebook page. Then vote for your favorite sandwich and fill out their form to be entered to win prizes.
As we’ve been looking around for new houses, I can’t help but think about all the great things our community and metropolitan areas have to offer. There’s no place like home! And when we want to do something extra special, Huntsville s a great destination for us. Here are 5 reasons you would love it too:
1. Jobs – The city is booming with business and is the ideal place to find a job in a number of fields, especially military/defense, engineering, industrial, medical, education, and technology.
2. Education – The city features a number of good area schools for your children, as well as colleges and technical schools to further your education. It is home of the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is also home to Alabama A&M and a number of technical schools and community college, and is within an hour’s drive of other state schools and universities.
3. Shopping – The city has a number of malls and shopping districts, including Parkway Place, Madison Square Mall, and Bridge Street Town Centre. You can find everything from your favorite discount store to high-end shops.
4. Food & Dining – Huntsville offers a number of options for eating out. No matter what side of town you live on, you can almost always find a location for your favorite fast chain. And for a night out on the town, Huntsville has a vast array of restaurants. These include casual dining chains, bars & grills, foreign food restaurants, sandwich shops & eateries, and fine dining.
5. Arts & Entertainment – Huntsville has entertainment for everyone. The Von Braun Civic Center boasts a schedule of concerts and shows from a variety of well known entertainers, as well as local acts, theater, and more. Big Spring Jam also features a whole host of popular artists from rock and country to r&b music. Big Spring Park is also home to other festivals and entertainment events, such as Panoply (a music & arts festival), Movies in the Park, and Tinsel Trail.
Hunstville is also the home of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center museum and has other museums and historical sites, such as Constitution Village, the Hunstville Historic Depot, and the Huntsville Museum of Art.
And that is just the highlights. Do your own research on Huntsville to learn more and also search for Huntsville movers.
Do you have a furry friend at home? If you do, and you are like me, he or she is truly a member of the family. He never lets you down, and he’s always there to make you smile. How do you show your appreciation for your pet?
Most people would say that they show appreciation for their pets by giving them a treat, a new toy, a little one on one play time, or a little petting session. But the best way you can show love for your animal is with a healthy diet. [Read more…]
Welcome to this week’s Friday Favorites! This week we’re celebrating St. Patty’s Day a little early with a few St. Patrick’s Day inspired posts. Hope they inspire you to create something green and lucky!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Waterpik.
Every time you go to the dentist, you are reminded to floss, but often the simple task goes undone. Why? Many people say they forget; others say it takes too much time, and for others it is simply a pain in the neck (and teeth). If you fall in to any of these categories, you should try a Waterpik Aquarius Professional Water Flosser. This machine is the easy and more effective way to floss.
I had a braces for 2 years and afterward I had to deal with a lot of other dental issues and dental work. I’ve had to have fillings, root canals, and crowns, and a lot of the problems I’ve had and still experience today, stem from a lack of flossing. I had heard of Waterpiks before, and I wish I’d had one years ago. Needless to say, when I recently had a chance to try the product, I was very happy to do so.
The Waterpik water flosser has a very compact, yet sleek design and is very user-friendly. You simply fill your unit with water. Put your desired attachment in place. Plug in, turn it on, and get to flossing! With the push of a button the machine goes from massage to pulse mode, and with the turn of a dial you can change the intensity and strength of the water steam. From there, you just remove the hand-held flosser from the holder and use as directed.
I love the machine for its ease of use, but I also love it because it comes with a number of attachments. There’s the traditional water squirter attachment, toothbrush attachment, tongue cleaner attachment, and tools for specific tasks like cleaning braces fillings, crowns, bridges, gums, and more.
As someone who’s had a number of fillings and crowns, as well as a couple of fillings which have actually come loose due to traditional flosser, I really love the alternative of the Waterpik and it’s attachments.
The Waterpik is also clinically proven to improve gum health more than string flossing.
Buy it! Visit the Waterpik website to order yours.
Discount: Want free shipping? Just use coupon code: FREESHIPWP660. The code is good for free shipping on any Waterpik product purchased through the site. This coupon is valid until March 31, 2014.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Waterpik.
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. #HealthcareClinic
Do you have a Walgreens Healthcare Clinic? The closest one to us is Walgreens Healthcare Clinic Nashville. It would be great if we had one in our town. As a Walgreens shopper and Balance Rewards member, we already save money on medicine, food, and other items by shopping there, and it would be great if we could see a doctor at the same place we get prescriptions filled.
With a Walgreens Clinic, we’d have a convenient place to go, not just for minor sicknesses and injuries, but also for ongoing treatments, vaccines, and more! [Read more…]
