Wordless Wednesday - Kitty Car

Popcorn Trail Mix - Snack in a Bag

Spring time is finally here and we are all going to be spending more time outside and that means we need to bring snacks along for the ride. And since we all love popcorn, feel free to utilize it in this trail mix.

Hey, no picking out popcorn and cereal allowed, only handfuls with fruits & nuts to be consumed.


Ingredients:
3 cups plain or lightly buttered popcorn
½ cup unsweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup whole raw almonds
1 cup honey nut O cereal

Instructions:
1. Pop the popcorn according to manufacturer’s instructions

2. Meanwhile, place the cranberries, almonds and cereal in a bowl.

3. Add the popcorn, toss well and distribute 1 cup each into a bowl or plastic bag for easy transport.

Yield: 4 servings at 1 cup each

Chicken Cacciatore Triangles & Family Bites Feature

Back in January, Foodbuzz introduced a new section they were planning called Family Bites and offered us an opportunity to compete to be featured. Each of us needed to create a number of recipes using products from Newman's Own and guess what? I was choosen to be featured this week. I hope you love the recipes as much as we do. Today, I am sharing Chicken Cacciatore Triangles (aka chicken calzones).

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/ teaspoon ground pepper
2 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
½ cup Newman's Own Sockarooni Sauce
1 13.8 ounce Pizza Crust
1 egg
1 teaspoon water



Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Cut chicken into small chunks and add to pan. Sprinkle with oregano and cook about 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring often.

3. Turn heat to medium low and add cream cheese and Parmesan and stir until melted. Add the Sockarooni sauce, stir well and turn off the heat.

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to the size of 20 x 12 inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle down the center lengthwise and then each side into 4 squares. This results in 8 squares.

5. Make the egg wash by mixing the egg and water well with a fork

6. Scoop about 1.5 heaping tablespoons onto each square. Lightly brush egg wash over each edge and fold one corner to the opposite in a diagonal way to create a triangle.

7. Crimp the edges with a fork, lightly brush the triangle with egg wash and sprinkle cheese all over.

8. Bake for approximately 17 minutes. Serve with a side of Sockarooni sauce if you wish.

To see the rest of the recipes, go to Family Bites.

True Lemon - A great addition to my Pantry

Back about a year ago, a friend wrote me asking if I had heard of True Lemon. She told me it is a crystallized lemon product that she used in her iced tea and that it did not contain anything artificial. I went to the website and requested samples and had not even tried them when a package full of True Lemon and True Lime showed up.

My friend was so excited that True Lime was now on the market, that she sent me full sized packages. Honestly, I usually try to use either fresh lemon and lime (plus, I love citrus peel in my food as well!) or I have the bottled stuff hanging in the fridge. However, I did lots of experimenting this week and I am hooked. I have been using it in fish, sauce and baked tortillas chip recipes and love it. I also noticed that they now have True Orange. Yippee!


Go here to request samples or to print a coupon.

Eating your Words 2010 Challenge Countdown

Photo courtesy of The decorated cookie

Alrighty, there is 1 week left to enter the Eating your Words Challenge and Tanglednoodle and I are thrilled at the entries so far. Here is a summary of the event for those of you jumping in now:

Feel free to grab the badge and link proudly

The Premise: As Tangled Noodle stated: "Do your waffles whisper to you? Or does the arugula like to argue? A great dish can speak for itself, so why not let it do all the talking!"

To Enter:

1. 'Write, spell or draw' using food or drink, and create a blog post about it from now (the date of this post) until midnight on Wednesday, March 31st. We will accept any previous blog posts you may already have where you've created a 'written'-inspired dish or drink.

2. Blog about your creation, including photos, and add a link back to Savor the Thyme (http://savorthethyme.blogspot.com) and Tangled Noodle (http://tanglednoodle.blogspot.com). If you'd like, feel free to grab the badge below and place it in your post!

3. Send an e-mail titled 'Eating Your Words 2010' with the following information to eatingyourwords10@cox.net:

• Your name
• The name of your blog
• The name of your dish or drink
• The link to your blog entry and a photograph of the dish or drink
• Entries must be received by midnight March 31, 2010

You can still participate even if you don't have a blog at all. Simply e-mail the above

information minus the blog details and we'll include it in the round up.

4. Please keep it clean! Appropriate humor is always welcome. Open to both Domestic and International entrants.

All entries will be posted on both blogs in the first week of April.

The Prize: This gorgeous aebleskiver pan, courtesy of Aunt Else's Aebleskiver!

The Judging:
We will choose the finalists and then present them to Andrew Zimmern! Yes, Chef Zimmern of Travel Channel fame AND a judge on Bravo's Top Chef Masters, Season Two . . . We are honored.

Need some inspiration? Take a peek at last year's entrants:
Eating Your Words Roundup, Part I

Eating Your Words Roundup, Part II

Shrimp, Corn & Avocado Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

Leftover Shrimp is one item you are not going to let go to waste so I decided to have a salad with them. I also had leftover corn for the previous evening so I grabbed a few of my favorite items and went to work. I also knew I wanted to make a zesty dressing using up my cilantro so I turned to EatingWell and created their Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette.

The salad is a delicate one with all the flavors blending so if you want to punch, add some onion. As far as the vinaigrette, it was fresh and the flavors blended but I would add some red wine vinegar to add a bit more zest for this salad.



Ingredients:
1 cup Romaine Lettuce, chopped
1/3 cup cooked and chilled shrimp
1/4 avocado, chopped
1/3 cup cooked and chilled corn
handful of cilantro.

Prep and toss all the ingredients together and top with vinaigrette

Mushroom Soup - Altering the Presentation

Do you ever not try a food or enjoy it because of the way it looks? That was the issue I had with my Mushroom Soup and my son. My daughter loves the mushroom soup the way I make it but my son does not want to try the soup because he sees the floating mushrooms and says he does not like them and therefore, will not try it. I decided to give it another try but using a hand blender to puree the soup and see if I could get him interested.

The result: he ate it and my daughter did not mind the difference. I will say that I think the soup look prettier before pureeing but a mom does what a mom needs to do.



A few words of wisdom:
1. Puree before you add the milk (I pureed after I added it and it made a ton of froth which I needed to let settle)
2. Make sure you add the rice after pureeing.

Mambo Sprouts

Have you heard of Mambo Sprouts? I did not until I 'tweeted' asking folks if they knew of a resource for organic/natural foods coupons. Since then, I have received coupon booklets from them and I have to share this great site. They are more than coupons (you can get some online as well).

Mambo Sprouts is a great resource for healthy and organic living. The site features health tips, recipes, and healthy & organic food product news and information.



Sign up today and enjoy the savings on high quality foods.

Plimouth Plantation & Saving the Rain Forest

Spring has finally arrived here in New England and we wanted to spend some time outdoors and since we were planning on visiting relatives out of state anyway, we decided to spend the entire day in Massachusetts. I went to Tropicana.com and I found that we could get a Buy 1 Get 1 admission to Plimouth Plantation for only 5 points. I could then also donate points to the 'Save the Rain Forest' program to round out the 6-9 points that I had allocated to spend this weekend.



Plimouth Plantation: This is a bicultural museum, offering personal encounters with history built on thorough research about the Wampanoag People and the Colonial English community in the 1600s.



The kids were fascinated by the 'houses' of the time, the farming/food resources and the kindergartner was in awe of all the physical labor that children had to do. And touring the Mayflower II was a hit as well. We then enjoyed sitting the the grass and enjoying the Cape Cod Bay. The finale was learning about the Plymouth rock and tossing coins at it.



Save the Rainforest:
Tropicana has teamed up with coolearth.org on a special project in the Ashaninka Corridor in Peru. They are securing forest once held by logging companies and opening it up to rubber tappers and harvesters of forest produce, helping the Ashaninka tribe to manage the forest resources sustainably and to protect the rainforest and its valuable store of carbon.

You can donate any number of points that you wish. We donated 3 today which equals 100 sq. ft. of rainforest rescued.



I want to encourage all of you that use Tropicana products to register online so you can enter codes and take advantage of this fabulous program.

Use the code MOTHE-RHOOD within 6 hours of registering for Juicy Rewards and you'll get one extra bonus point worth $5 in savings immediately! To get your bonus point:

1. Go to http://www.tropicana.com/
2. Set-up your Tropicana Juicy Rewards account (just takes a minute!)
3. Visit the "Enter Codes" page within the site and get started with MOTHE-RHOOD

**This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account.**

Disclaimer: I am a Juicy Insider Ambassador with TheMotherhood.com . I am compensated with both points and for redeeming the points. However, I have been ringing up plenty of points on my own because I am a Tropicana OJ drinker and look forward to the many points I will be accruing and using this year.

Visions of my Easter Table Scape ala Pottery Barn

The sun was beaming down on me late this morning while the gentle breeze blew and I started thinking about Easter. Then I started thinking about the Ham, the side dishes and the new recipes I would create. Next came the vision of the table scape which lead to flipping through the Pottery Barn catalog. My Easter table vision includes the items below.





What are some of your favorites from their recent catalog?

Vegetable Burger on Sandwich Thins - A Year to Savor the Thyme Tip #15

You ever spend a week craving the same thing to eat? I have been eating these sandwiches every day, mostly for breakfast. Here is the real kicker: my son sees me just sitting there chomping away and he is intrigued. He takes shy little shuttling steps over to investigate. I see the interest and so I do the opposite of what my mom self wants to do: No, do not show excitement and say 'Oh want some veggie burger?!'. Nope, I show no response, not even eye contact and so what happens, he says 'Mommy, can I have a bite of your sandwich?' Luckily, I did not get Red Hot sauce in one area and so, he bites, chews, processes and says 'more!'.

I then make him his own sandwich. After eating it, I let him know that I will make him veggie burgers whenever he wants. He says 'Okay!'. Lesson: Do not be intimidated and shy away from something you think the kids will hate, not eat, throw etc. Just eat it yourself and see if they have interest.



Ingredients:
1 MorningStar Farms Veggie Patty
1 Arnold 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin
Dash of Frank's Red Hot sauce
Baby Spinach

Microwave the patty per instructions, place it on the sandwich thin, add some baby spinach leaves, place a dash of sauce on and enjoy!

Photoworks Photo Books by American Greetings : A Father's Day Gift

I am usually the one who starts thinking about special occasions and gifts early on yet ends up scrambling at the last minute. In an effort to avoid that situation, I agreed to create an American Greetings Photoworks PhotoBook as part of a review (with Father's Day in mind). I realized afterwards that I was really supposed to create a baby book but I will take poetic license as my littlest was only a young 3 when we took the trip to Disney.

I have created photobooks in the past on a different website so I knew that they can be time consuming however, so is creating scrapbooking pages. However, you do not need any supplies and you can do this without anyone knowing.

Pros:
*Sign up was quick and easy (no need to go to email to activate etc.)
*Easy to customize colors and themes and edit them later as well.
*Generous book with 20 pages and since you can 1-4 pictures per page, you can fit like 80 photos and stay within budget.
*There was a code for free shipping.
*I appreciated that they let you know at the get go that this process takes 60 plus minutes.
*The Upload was rather quick but I would expect this to vary based on connection speed and photo size.
*Love that you are given a preview as you load each photo so you can double check that you selected the correct one.
*Enjoy changing layouts on each page if you do not like the way it looks.
*Each time you use a photo, a little yellow dog ear appears on the upper left corner so you know which photos you already used
*Easy check out
*Reasonable prices
*Love that they call the book my 'masterpiece' when they send the confirmation email.
*Live chat available to assist you during the process
*You can edit the photo via Picnik after you have loaded it.
*I truly enjoy making photobooks and am excited to receive it in the mail next week

Neutral:
*You may need to download Java
*I just ordered the book so I can not comment on the quality, only the process



Cons:
*Defaulted to 'create new album' whenever I wanted to add more photos which can cause you to upload to the wrong album and have to reload.
*Wish I could customize the layout even more or if you can, I did not find how.
*Wish there was an edit undo feature. I had changed the layout on the wrong page and went to change it back but the photos and wording was gone.
*For some reason, some of the photos did not have the dog ear after I placed them on a page.
*Love that you can use a photo more than once but think a window should pop-up simply to verify you want to use it again.
*Wish it had spell check as caught some typos. and it would be disappointing to receive the book with misspellings.
* The name of photo file showed up in caption on some of the pages.
*Wish there was a quicker way to change the cover color after you create the book as it loads the entire book contents each time.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of American Greetings PhotoWorks and received a free photo book to facilitate my review

Eating your Words: The Judge (initials AZ)

As if the challenge itself and the prize is not enough, we have asked Chef Andrew Zimmern to decide the winner for the Eating your Words challenge!! Yes, the fabulous Mr. Zimmern of Bizaare Foods on The Travel Channel. You have watched this show right? If not, you are missing out on a show that Slashfood named as one of the Top 10 Food Shows, so start watching!



The plan is that Noodle and I are going to present Chef Zimmern with the finalists and he will choose the winner. Both the round-up and winner will be posted within 1 week of the March 31st deadline.

We all know he appreciates creative, unique and fun food so get into the kitchen and let the food do the talking! If you need inspiration, take a peek at last year's entries:

Eating Your Words Roundup, Part I
Eating Your Words Roundup, Part II

A few teasers from last year:

Fake Free Food TangledNoodle

The Decorated Cookie

If you would like to tweet along, please follow @Savorthethyme , @TangledNoodle and @AndrewZimmern on twitter and the hashtag #eatingyourwords

Bison 'Chop Suey' or 'American Goulash' : An updated 70's Classic

Ground Bison, Whole Grain Pasta & Sauce = simple, quick, affordable and nutritious!



If you are wondering what the thing on the pan is, it is a splatter screen. I love my splatter screen. I use it when I saute, brown etc. and really love it when I am warming or making marinara sauce. You ever turn up the heat and walkaway to find that suace is all over the stovetop and wall? You can find it in my Shop.

Also, the 15% off for the Curious Chef measure and prep gift set expires tomorrow -> take advantage of this offer using code CURIOUS15.

Oh the recipe is simple: While the pasta is boiling, simply brown the meat and then add in some marinara sauce, toss the pasta in after draining and mix well.

Mabel’s Labels BlogHer ‘10 Contest

I am sure many of you have heard of the company Mabel’s Label’s and that they are running a BlogHer '10 contest. Here is the challenge: You have one day left to write about your passions: what do you want to say to the blogosphere in 300 words or less? Here is my response:

Passions: family, health, respect, cancer research, science, everyday moments, kindness to everyone, exploring, loyalty, my word, your word, less suffering, valuing time with each person you encounter, making sure everyone feels included. You know that Golden Rule? Live it. Don't just preach it.

Remember that we have a postal system to support so break out the pen and spend some time buying quality papers and write. Go to the library and dust off the old phone books. I think they have one for each state so look up your friends and continue connecting. I will even place a Savor the Thyme ad so you can write and call me. I will also start planning a ‘No Longer Blogging’ Conference so we can all meet Face to Face and express ourselves and continue to connect. Contact me if you want to help.

In case, we never meet in person or speak, here is what else you need to know: I am sensitive, passionate about respect, very loyal, give 100% to my commitments, am rarely late (even after kids) and love to entertain. Now, I want you to print these quotes from Robert Fulghum and display them in at least one place:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder

Sahale Snacks = Snack Better

A while back, you may recall a did a Whrrl story about some new snack options at Starbuck's. I frequent Starbuck's as I use it as my 'office' each week and noted some new snacks they had. I immediately grabbed a bag of the pricey but exotic and promising 'Almonds with Apple, Flax Seeds, Date, Balsamic Vinegar + Red Pepper'. I mean how often does your snack have that kind of title? I love how they have a delicate sweetness and the heat from the red pepper had me sold.

Since then, I have had the Almonds with Cranberries, Honey + Sea Salt and my son's favorite Cashews with Pomegranate + Vanilla .

So why else does this line appeal to me? A quote straight from Shale Snacks : "The company was founded on a simple idea: take all-natural ingredients, add a dash of culinary magic, and produce great tasting snacks."



Try some and feel free to share them with the kids.

Horseradish Crusted Salmon

I was browsing a copy of Good Housekeeping magazine while waiting (and waiting) at a doctor's office last week and one recipe caught my eye: Horseradish Salmon. I knew right away that this would be popular at home as my kids enjoy Salmon and my son loves a Boar's head Horseradish Sauce.

I bought the sauce a few months back figuring my hubby would love it on sandwiches, steaks etc. and since kids love trying what we like (especially daddy), I know must keep it in stock for the youngest as well.



Ingredients:
2 (5 to 6 ounces each) boneless wild caught salmon fillets
1 tablespoon fresh thyme and parsley
1 tablespoon(s) olive oil 1/2 cup(s) panko (coarse bread crumbs)
2 tablespoon(s) Boar's Head horseradish sauce
A few dashes of salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a pan with parchment paper.
2. In small bowl, combine panko crumbs, horseradish sauce, thyme, parsley and oil. Place the salmon on the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Press panko mixture evenly on top of fillets. Bake salmon 8 minutes or until golden brown on top and opaque throughout.

Eating your Words Challenge 2010 - The Prize!

I know, you were already excited to participate because this is the funnest food challenge out there right? The admiration from the millions in the blogsphere is kudos enough right? Well, TangledNoodle and I decided we wanted to take it up a notch. In fact, we wanted to make sure that the entire world could enter and that there was an amazing prize for the effort. So what do we have for you? A fabulous prize that can be shipped anywhere! Yes, you bloggers in Botswana can get the prize as well: drum roll.....

A gorgeous aebleskiver pan! Courtesy of Aunt Else's Aebleskiver! This heirloom quality piece of cookware is made in Noodle's hometown of Minneapolis. Wouldn't you love to stuff them with jams, jellies, eggs or coat them with sauces, syrups and sugar? Well, no need to wait as you can go ahead and order one now at 10% off using the code 'EYW'. Hurry though as this offer ends when the challenge ends on March 31st.

By the way, Tanglednoodle already has stuffed them with everything I mentioned above! Here is one photo and her photos and recipes are on her site.

Now, let your food do 'the talking' To enter:

1. 'Write, spell or draw’ using food or drink and create a blog post about it from now until the midnight, March 31st. Any previous blog posts you have where you've created a ‘written’ inspired dish/drink are accepted.

2. Blog about your creation, including photos and add a link back to my blog and tangled noodles within your blog post; Savor The Thyme and Tangled Noodle . If you'd like, feel free to grab the badge below and place it in your post!

3. Send an email titled 'Eating your words' with the following information to eatingyourwords10@cox.net :

*Your name

*The name of your blog

*The name of your dish or drink

*The link to your blog entry and a photograph of the dish or drink

*Entries must be received by midnight March 31, 2010

4. Please keep it clean! Appropriate humor is always welcome.

5. All entries will all be posted the first week of April on both blogs.

Stay tuned for more amazing-ness next week!! We promise.

OpenSky Giveaway & Discount!

In case you missed the inaugural OpenSky Twitter Party last night, the topic was 'Family Cooking, Family Time and Family Fun. During the party, we revealed some specials and a giveaway.

Right now, though March 18th (11:59 PM EST), take 15% off the Curious Chef Prep Kit using the code CURIOUS15 ! Talk about getting your kids in the kitchen and involved in creating meals! Your kids will feel special having their own set of measuring spoons, cups, bowls, timer and more. This also makes a great birthday gift.


GIVEAWAY: Please visit my shop and then leave a comment here answering : What item most interests you in my shop or would you like to see in my shop?

In case you missed the party: The hastag to follow tonight will be #OSfamfun. Be sure you are following me (@savorthethyme), @centsiblelife @bellalimento , @lindslj123 , @jazzybee09 and @tedrubin . We used the TweetGrid http://is.gd/ad65b

See you there!

Sun & Earth Review & Giveaway

I have been using a few of the Sun & Earth products for a while now and have even tweeted out about them so when they asked me to review their entire Fabric Care Line, I said 'Yes'. They also shared their excitement about the launch of the Laundry Detergent REFILL Stations at Whole Foods in NJ, NY, and CT.

But first, a little more about Sun & Earth. Their products made with non-toxic ingredients including coconut and orange oils that clean and shine beautifully and have an appealing scent. All of the laundry and cleaning products are free of petroleum based cleaners, chlorine, phosphates, dyes and perfumes that leave a residue. In addition, they are not tested on animals.

Now, more about the refill stations: They are an easy-to-use fill nozzle stations where you reuse the laundry detergent bottle and cap that you already have (marked on the bottle) and refill them at Whole Foods. Since you pay by the ounce, you are in control over how much you spend and that can help all of us stay on budget. Wow, they meant it when they coined "Don't Recycle, Re-Use and Re-fill."

Okay, now I bet you want to read my thoughts about these products as I have put them all through the wringer for the past month (or more).

Xtra Concentrated Dish Liquid:

Pros:
· A little goes a long way. This is truly a dish liquid in which I use very little as it does not rinse right off the sponge or only make it through 2 plates.
· Smells great
· Cleans wonderfully
· Does not irritate or dry out my hands-how is that possible?
· Generous sized bottle so I get a lot for money and lasts a long time
· Website states that you can even use it as a fruit & veggie wash – who knew?

Cons:
· As with all brands, the liquid will pool around cap and drain down side of bottle. Can’t anyone invent a design that eliminated that issue?

All Purpose Spray Cleaner:
Pros:
· I have been using this product before I was sent it to review it and I love it.
· Multi-use for sure. I use it on the kitchen counters, bathroom sinks, counter, outside of toilets, door knobs etc.
· Citrus Scent that I enjoy
· I even used it as floor cleaner until they sent me the new floor cleaner.

Cons:
· The citrus scent is a bit strong. Now, I love citrus scent but I think some can be removed and it will still be refreshing.

Concentrated Floor Cleaner:
Pros:
· Scent-The cleaner leaves a very light, citrus scent and not an overbearing one as with most scented floor cleaners. Most floor cleaners give me a headache.
· The floor felt and looked very clean
· The floor was not slippery afterward as with some cleaners

· The bottle states that it works on wood floors as well although I did not try it on them yet (I am lazy when it comes to cleaning our wood floors)

Cons:
· Unless you want some artificial high gloss shine, there are no cons.

Deep Cleaning Laundry Detergent: (both Citrus Scent & Unscented):
Pros:
· A little does go a long way so it is very economical.
· Cleaned my clothes and I have been using it a long while now so I already knew it was a keeper. · Does not leave a strong scent on clothing

Cons:
· Cap Marking: You cannot see the marking inside the cap which makes it challenging to know the correct amount to add.
· Cap Drainage: I found that the excess liquid in the cap did not drain back into the bottle as fast as it could in order to avoid build up on the rim.

Note: I also gave some of the unscented detergent to a friend and she also noted that a little does go along way. She did think the detergent did a good job on her colored clothing but not as good on her whites as her usual brand.

On the Spot Instant Stain Remover:
Pros:
· Convenient to carry around
· Did a great job getting out even older stains even thought it is made for removing fresh stains.
· Can use it on clothing, draperies, furniture.

Cons:
· None

Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets:
Pros:
· No slimy feeling on fingers or clothes. The biggest issue I had with dryer sheets in the past is that you had a slimy feeling on your fingers after handling them and I often felt a 'layer' on my clothes.
· Not overly scented
· Made my old towels feel newer (Newest ones are from our wedding 8 years ago)
· No static cling—especially important to me as get shocked so much (actually my biggest pet peeve in the winter. I can not even touch the car door without a jolt )
· Left one in the dryer after one use and it went though another load but did not shred apart all over the clothe.

Cons:
· None

Ultra Fabric Softener:
Pros:

· Clothes were softer and I wish I had used this with the kids were babies (don’t we a love the extra softness when they are so little).

Cons: None

GIVEAWAY Details: 50 oz 2x Laundry, 22 oz. Xtra Dish & 22 oz. All Purpose Cleaner.

To enter, you must answer one or all of the following questions (can do in one comment or separate) and be sure that a valid email address is available:

* Would you try the refill station if there was one located near you? Is it intuitive? What questions do you have about it? Do you understand the idea behind it? *

Additional Entries (Null if entry above not completed): These are optional however, you MUST leave a comment for each one separately.

1. Join the Savor the Thyme Facebook Fan Page and leave a comment with your FB name

2. Follow @savorthethyme on Twitter.

3. Post this on Twitter (can do every day if you wish but need separate comment for each entry) "Entered to win Sun & Earth Products @savorthethyme Plz RT http://bit.ly/d3xOjI #sunandearth "

4. Subscribe to the Savor the Thyme RSS feed (on the right sidebar).

Contest ends 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010.

Roasted Edamame

I have been snacking on edamame beans from Trader Joe's for weeks so I decided to switch things up a bit. The results: a tasty little snack/side dish with enhanced flavor thanks to the roasting.

Feel free to use whatever seasonings suit your taste buds.



Ingredients:
Shelled & thawed Edamame
Olive oil
Chile powder
Paprika
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Stir together the oil, chile powder, paprika, salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Add the beans to the bowl and toss to coat.

3. Arrange the beans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes (may be a minute or two less-remove if start get too brown.)

4. Eat hot or Cool. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Tropicana Juicy Rewards Program : Half-Price Bowling

We all know that prices on most items (housing, food, clothing, etc) are not going down and with the economy these days, it is harder than ever to afford extra activities. That is why I was so excited when I was told about the Tropicana Juicy Rewards program. Here is how it works: You buy specially marked Tropicana products, enter the codes online and then choose your rewards. Take a look at what fun we had for 1 point!



Use the code MOTHE-RHOOD within 6 hours of registering for Juicy Rewards and you'll get one extra bonus point worth $5 in savings immediately! To get your bonus point:
1. Go to http://www.tropicana.com/

2. Set-up your Tropicana Juicy Rewards account (just takes a minute!)

3. Visit the "Enter Codes" page within the site and get started with MOTHE-RHOOD

**This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account.

Disclaimer: I am a Juicy Insider Ambassador with TheMotherhood.com . I am compensated with both financially and points. However, I have been ringing up plenty of points on my own because I am a Tropicana OJ drinker and look forward to the many points I will be accruing and using this year.

'Eating Your Words' challenge is Back!

We are back! Yes, last year’s entries were so amazing that Tangled Noodle and I had to do it again! The challenge: utilize an actual fruit, vegetable, noodles, milk, coffee etc. in some sort of writing, drawing or video. Need some creative inspiration? Look over last year’s entries!



Photo courtesy of chiccookiekits (go there-she is so creative and talented!)

Eating Your Words Roundup, Part I
Eating Your Words Roundup, Part II

The prize? Well, we are working on some prizes and hope to be able to offer something special for those entries that really 'speak' to us but we know you will be happy with the admiration of billions right? Here are the details:

1. 'Write, spell or draw’ using food or drink and create a blog post about it from now until the midnight, March 31st. Any previous blog posts you have where you've created a ‘written’ inspired dish/drink are accepted.

2. Blog about your creation, including photos and add a link back to my blog and tangled noodles within your blog post; Savor The Thyme and tangled noodle . If you'd like, feel free to grab the badge below and place it in your post!



3. Send an email titled 'Eating your words' with the following information to eatingyourwords10@cox.net :
*Your name
*The name of your blog
*The name of your dish or drink
*The link to your blog entry and a photograph of the dish or drink
*Entries must be received by midnight March 31, 2010

4. Please keep it clean! Appropriate humor is always welcome.

5. All entries will all be posted the first week of April on both blogs.

A Year to Savor the Thyme Tip #13 : TLC bars

Snack-Fulls: apple, string cheese, raisins and bunny grahams

Some days, no matter how much you plan, you are not prepared for the hunger pangs. I am happy to share this little box of snackiness that both myself and the little ones enjoy.

Hot Bloggers Calendar : Support for the Red Cross

Did the title catch your attention? I wanted to tell you about the Hot Bloggers Calendar for two reasons:

1. I am a nominee and would appreciate your vote . This seems like such a fun and once in a lifetime opportunity so I am hoping to be able to take part.

2. The proceeds of this calendar (I will let you know when it is published and ready for purchase) go to the Red Cross.

EatingWell Wednesday - Tomato & Corn Saute

In an ongoing effort to exploit the fact that the kids are currently in love with corn and that my daughter is obsessed with tomatoes, I decided to try a Corn & Tomato saute. I know, these items are best and freshest in the spring but I love to switch things up and was not going to wait.

Since I was out of shallots, I used some garlic and onions and parsley for the herb. I loved the flavors and think this would be great as a topping on your favorite protein or as a cold leftover salsa. I found that it took a higher heat to brown the corn but that may have been due to the fact it was thawed and a bit wet, versus fresh.

Wooden Blocks: Buildings, Ramps & Playgrounds

Three years ago Grandpa sent money for me to go out and buy the kids something for Christmas. I wanted to get something classic that would foster their imagination so I bought the Melissa & Doug Standard Unit Blocks from the downtown toy store. Naturally, we build towers but we also build 'mansions' for animals, 'race car tracks', ' ramps' and well, watch the video and see what else our imagination has designed.



**Please use the code BLOCKS20 to get 20% off these blocks now through Friday, March 5th at midnight.